Shock! If I’m anything (and that’s debatable, I know) it’s a cyclist – but since the start of December I’ve been to the velodrome once and out on the road four times, for a total of less than 100 miles.
Today was cold and windy but there seemed to be a dry window so I went out to ride my test circuit to set a benchmark time for 2017. The window shut and for the last 10 miles I was cycling in quite heavy rain which made it pretty miserable.
The circuit is 45.1 km with 354m of ascent. I managed 29.2kph average speed, so that sets the benchmark for 2017. I went out about midday, on an empty stomach and pushed fairly hard, but not quite full gas.
Oddly, the last time I rode this circuit was April 2016 and I went 0.1kph slower. That’s odd as I’d certainly done a lot more cycling before that ride last year (I did 3 100km rides in March 2016 alone).
I’m not sure I can explain it – I’ve done less training, am a bit heavier, a year older and the weather was poor. Could it be that the lunges and other exercises are working? Too early to say but a bit encouraging ..