Ajax Sunday Ride - Up the Rhigos in the Sunshine!

On Sunday I went out with Ajax for another Sunday Social Ride.  The routes had been put out on Tuesday (they're always ranked 1-4, 1 being fastest and 4 being slowest) and group 4 was going to Chepstow and back - a flat ride I have done loads.  I was all excited for the flat ride but when I got to the start MTB Ben told me to go with the faster ride (group 3) which was going up a massive mountain.

I said no.

Then I joined the group

We made it up the Rhigos fine, I was the 2nd from slowest but mostly from fear of not knowing how long the mountain was going to be, by the top I was moving quick again.  Next time I will try harder and next time I will go faster!

At the top everyone was waiting for me and also enjoying the sun

I decided to practice posing like a poser!

So comfortable! so natural!

After the ascent was the decent - 3.5 miles down the other side of the mountain with and average speed of 29.4mph and a max speed of 37.5mph.  SWEET!

Then we stopped at a cafe to refuel, where I dined on the competitive snack of champions:

Dark chocolate kit kat and full fat coke - YUM!

Unfortunately I had a bit of a mechanical problem at the end of the ride - 12 miles outside of Cardiff my pedal fell off.  2 miles later it fell off for good.  Despite the best help of my group I had accidentally destroyed my crank, partially from the sheer power and strength of my legs and mostly from cross threading my pedal until it was destroyed

I tried to cycle 1 legged for a while (there was no pedal anymore for leftie!) but it was painful and uncomfortable and I got a lot of odd stares so eventually I waited for Brewer half to pick me up from a town about 6 miles outside of Cardiff.

Brewer half earned some major beer credit from me on that ride - a lift home from Tongwynlais (lol at welsh town names!) and this dinner when I got back!

Yes I ate the whole bowl, and then a bit more, and then some stir fry, and then some crackers and cheese.  55 mile cycles make Hungry Rachel hungry!

And in case you are interested... here is the Strava:

And the Strava of my 1 footed ride

April Recap!

April was Pile on the Miles!  I was going to run lots and lots, all the time.

It started strong (as these things do) with 13 miles of running in the first week.

And now, at the end of April, my grand total is...  24.9 miles.

Not even a Marathon distance!  Oh well.  That's okay, because this month is

PILE ON THE MILES: MAY EDITION!

The cool thing is that after runs I sometimes feel bad because I went slow.  But when I count up my total miles I don't look at speed, I just look at miles.  And so I shouldn't feel bad about being slow, because I'm not looking for speed, I'm looking for distance!  Here's to more distance in May.

Cycling-wise I only did 92 tracked miles (there are about 50-60 more in commuter miles) of which 50 were road cycling and 42 mountain biking.  I'm going to try and track my commutes more, and certainly going to get out with Ajax more too!

Unfortunately last month had a lot of stressful things.  This month is starting mega-stressful as well (I'm moving in 2 weeks, among other life-stresses) however I'm quite excited because in about 2 weeks lots of different stresses should be sorted, and then it will be very exciting!

Also, the more stressful times are now means that the more relaxed times will be later when the world is not being so... stressful! :-)

Phew, that's a lot of stress!

You know what's good for stress?  Running!

Horray for Pile on the Miles in MAY!

Oooh check out this Strava Widgit I found!

Saturday Cycle with Cardiff Tri

Today I got on the road bike again!  I hadn't been on the bike since December I think... it's been a while.  I woke up to blazing sunshine at 7:30am on a Saturday, and I was ready to cycle.  I'de never been out with Cardiff Tri before and was excited to go out with them - the leisure ride sounded like it would be a good way to get back in the saddle as the route was flat and no one would be dropped.

I had a breakfast of 1/4 cup oatmeal with almonds and brown sugar, plus a hardboiled egg and a slice of toast with avocado (I'm hungry!).

The first 20 miles were nice but much colder than I anticipated - apparently 11 degrees isn't shorts and tee-shirt weather.  After 20 miles Brewer Half and a few others did a cheeky 5 mile sprint to the coffee stop, I held the tail for about a mile before dropping off at 20mph.  I pootled there at a windy 13mph but still made it to cake third - I could see two in pursuit behind but was able to hold them off.

On the way back Brewer half and I needed to get home quick so unfortunately had to zip away from the group.  We picked up a spare rider and belted it through the lanes, I took the lead for some at 18mph and we averaged nearly 22 for the 7 mile flat sprint from Newport to Cardiff.  I was completely wheel sucking* by that time but it didn't matter - I only got dropped when Brewer Half and Rob hightailed the last mile to get their Strava up.

In the end it was a 55 mile route, really nice and pretty flat.

When I got home I tried hard to not crash and waste the rest of the day - I had a protein recovery bar and then a big lunch of shrimp stir-fry.  I actually got a fair amount done after the ride, which almost never happenes before since usually I'm too tired to even make food.

I'll have to get on the bike more soon - long cycles are great when the weather is nice - it's pretty, it's quick, and it burns 1,600 calories in a morning!

Here's the Strava!


*wheel sucking is staying on someones wheel because you expend 30% less effort go get the same speed and the person in front gets all the wind resistance and you get sucked along.  It's good.

Pile on the Miles - Running for April - Update

So there's one week left in April!  I took a bit of a hiatus from mile piling and did not run for 2 weeks, bad Rachel!  But on Monday evening I was being especially grumpy and Brewer Half convinced me to go for a run.  I came back feeling awesome, and even though it was slow (3.5 miles in 38 minutes) I felt a million times better after going out than before!

Today I was keen for another run so I set off at 6.  I was doing a pretty okay pace (for me) but I kept switching between feeling good and feeling like I wanted to stop and walk.  I told myself I could walk at the end of the CD (35 minutes) but it turned out the playlist was 45 minutes! I finished my 3.3 mile loop in 35 minutes anyways, and didn't walk at all.

This is where I run - it is super pretty

And these are my lovely Strava awards for my run today!  

Someday I'm going to try to smash my short sprint times, like my 400 meter time.  But today the miles were 9:38, 10:17, and 10:50!

This week has been good - Running monday, mountain biking tuesday, and running on Wednesday!  But tomorrow is Crepes and Cider at Creperie de Sophie, so lots of yummy crepes and no exercise for me!

Cardiff Ajax Sunday Club Ride - Steady Group 24th February.

Today was Sunday, and as such it was time for a SUNDAY CLUB RIDE! The local cycling club - Ajax - puts on Club rides every Sunday for varying skill levels.  One of Ajax's own - Elinor Barker, just won Gold at the UCI Track World Championships.

Here is Elinor Barker with Ajax Kit

(Elinor Barker in Ajax Kit)

But today I did a ride that was not for Elinor Barker.  It was mostly flat and 60 miles and was the "steady group" which is the "slow group" but longer than the "steady steady" group which does 30 miles.  

I haven't bene on a long ride since before Christmas and was very nervous to start.  For Christmas my housemate got me a cycling stem bag for holding snacks:

 Like a true athlete I filled it with Jelly Babies

Hypothetically I can now eat jelly babies while cycling for added fuel.  I tried to eat while riding today but it's not very pleasant, and I like eating so much that eating unpleasantly feels defeatist to me.

I was feeling good until the "cake stop" which was after 35 miles at the Chepstow Garden Centre.  I had a snickers and about a litre of water and when we got back on the bikes 20 minute later I felt like my legs had hit a wall.  The last 25 miles were hard - there were good bits but I was often off the back and couldn't seem to get my desired middle-pack position back.  About 15 miles out I contemplated giving up, but the group was nice and the leaders were taking care of people me so I couldn't just sneak away quietly.  Also I was still 15 miles from home, so where would I go?

I did make it home at last, and in an attempt to not fall asleep immediately I ate a powerbar recovery bar

And then I had a grilled cheese sandwich with a fried egg.  And went to Marks and Spencers to do some fancy shopping with my £15 gift card from Living Social.  And then I came home, and sat in my room, and did nothing.

Cycling takes it out of me - I'm useless after a Sunday ride.  But being able to ride 60 miles is not to shabby, so let's hope the legs work tomorrow!

Strava from today:

Cardiff Parkrun - take five.

Today I ran my fifth park run.

I was quite excited in the morning - everything seemed right. I had slept enough, I woke up early enough, I wasn't hungover, things were looking good.

I took a position closer to the front than usual, trying to get spurred on by the other faster people.  Last time I ran a 28:50, I was hoping I could get even quicker this week.

My pace felt good for the first mile, and even for the second.  I could tell I started to go a bit slower but there's a stretch I dread, the slow stretch, and I think I ran out of people to pace me, no one I wanted to chase was in front of me and the girl behind me seemed to be pacing off me.

I felt good still, and not out of breath.  I did manage to overtake 3 people towards the end, but I didn't manage a sprint finish and I didn't feel like I was going to die at the end.  But when I got my time I was still disappointed - 29:30.

Then I realized that only 3 months ago I dreamed of going under 30 minutes, and eight years ago it took me 40 minutes.   The first 10 minute mile I ran was the last 10 minute mile for 5 years - and now I was disappointed because I did 9:05, 9:48 and 9:51 consecutively.

I look a little defeated in my post race photo - but I should have been elated.  Sometimes I get so focused on the goal that I forget the progress.  

And my stupid goal really is to run a 27 minute 5k.  And then a 25 minute one.  

But my real goal is to keep running.  And running.  Because I won't get better at anything unless I keep trying!

Here's the strava of the run:

Tomorrow I'm going out with Ajax again - 60 mile bike ride.  It's been 2 months and I'm somewhat scared.  I'll report back tomorrow, wish me luck!

Y Wal - Mountain Biking Afan Argoed on a Wet Winter Day

On Sunday my Brewer Half and I headed to Afan Argoed for a quick blast around Y Wal - 11 miles of lovely single track with some of my favourite descents - and even climbs! - in Wales.

Y Wal is mountain biking pleasure.

It was raining heavy on the drive, but once we started cycling the rain disappeared and we were left with a nice winters day!  The fog was immense in bits - Afan has parts where you go through forrests and trees and the fog adds to the striking ambiance!  Especially when the trees open and you tear through puddles and bumps on a scenic hillside - if that's not perfection I don't know what it!

Y Wal did have more fireroad ascents than I remembered, but they're all the better to practice my climbing on....

...Or my standing next to a bike and posing.

Of course I strava'd the day, and was quite happy with 12 Personal Records and 28 Achievements!

The only minor hiccup was on the last turn of the last decent.  One thing I'm still not confident on is Burms - curved bit of track like this:

(that is not me.  that is a good biker)

And especially when they go into a downhill.  But I was feeling confident.  And so I saw a burm and a decent and I slowed down to get off and walk, but then I decided "NO!" and I said to myself "Self, you can do this!" so I did not get off, I decided to pedal through... heeding the words of wiser men than me...

"If in doubt, go flat out..."

And as I tried to gain speed I realized I had second guessed myself too much, and I was not going to make it - not because I couldn't, but because I hesitated.

I asked my brewer half to get me some water to clean my knee.  Instead he grabbed my camera from my backpack and started taking photos.

Luckily I saw the humour in the situation. Also lucky is that I was wearing cheapie Tescos leggings.  Unfortunately I knocked my crank off and so I had to walk the bike back, but luckily (AGAIN) I was pretty much at the end of the trail anyways.  

So that was another awesome ride at Afan, I will get back and do Whites Level (another slightly more difficult trail) at some point soon, but I think my bike (and knee!) need a bit of TLC first!

Mountain Biking Sunday - a trip to Glyncorrwg and an abandonment of W2

Sunday was beautiful!  The sun came out and it stopped raining and I managed to get my bike in the car by 8:30am for a trip to one of the most beautiful parts of South Wales - Afan Argoed!  I was trying to complete the (overly) ambitious Wall 2 - 27 miles of black grade trail with 3,000 feet of climbing and  "two of the most demanding descents in the UK" according to the website.

To be honest, if I had looked at the website before I started I probably wouldn't have tried.

But I did it!  Well I did some of it.  I did half of it. But this doesn't really matter - I'll only do better next time!  The important bit was this:

The view was amazing!  Many people call the South Wales Valleys "Gods Country" and though that's often mocked by Cardiff people, they have a point.  It's beautiful!

My Strava was less impressive - I'm getting quicker downhill, but my climbing and stamina are crap.  I also forget that unlike road biking, going downhill on a mountain bike takes almost as much effort as going up hill. 

The only rest was when I took a gently sloped fire road down a hill for a while.  This was counteracted by realizing I missed a turn and grinding it back up the hill for a while.  

Next time I'll probably just do Whites Level - It's about 15 miles and will probably tire me out enough.  Looking forward to the next nice weekend!

PS - I'm sorry about the stupid shirt that I'm wearing.  I once went on a mission to get a shirt from every state.  I had a few, but the only one left is the above "Idaho? No, Udaho" shirt.  Embarassing!

An Independent Triathlon Thursday

Today I did what I've decided to call an "Independant Triathlon" An Independent Triathlon is where you go for a swim and a run and a ride in the same day but transition includes watching tv and tweeting.

It all started this afternoon when I was feeling antsy but didn't know what to do, so I did some laps around Maindy Track because I had no better ideas.


When I got back I watched an episode of storage wars, then did a fairly slow 5k (34 minutes).


I wondered if my lethargy was caused by the fact that I've eaten nothing but cheese and bread and chocolate and more cheese and more bread for the last 3 days.  So I made this shrimp and veggie stir fry with noodles and avocado and Sriracha:

om. flipping. nom.

I love Sriracha.  It is like spicy asian heaven.  Sometimes food does not have enough spice, and I just add Sriracha, and KABLAMO food is delicious.

So spicy. So delicious.

In the evening Andy and I went to the Cardiff pool for swim training with the Cardiff Tri club. We got there a bit early, so like true athletes we spent 30 minutes on the slides:

HORRAY SLIDES!

All in all it took me 6 hours for my independent triathlon.  Also everything was in the wrong order, and the distances were wrong too!  How wrong? So wrong!

1) bike 9 miles (35 minutes)

Transition: 1 hour

2) run 3.3 miles (35 minutes)

Transition: 3 hours (including dinner and playing on slides)

3) Swim 1.25 miles (60 minutes)

Then I ate cake with ice cream.  That's recovery eating, right?

A christmas eve cycle and some Christmas-y presents!

Happy Christmas Eve everyone!  Today it was only mildly rainy, so I got on the bike for a little jaunt to try out my new cycling gear!  My dad bought me a very exciting selection of base layers and other awesomeness, I now own the complete DHB set, including the ever sexy cycling bib:

Bibs are the new Little black dress!

I also now own the following Merino base layers:

So warm! So quality! So comfy!

Unfortunately my gear to idea ratio is a bit high now - I have more cycling gear than skill.  But if not being cold (or riding in the rain) count as skills then I'm moving forward rapidly!

Yay more cycling!  Thumbs up for base layers!

After the ride we stopped at Maindy track, purely so I could finish my goal of not being The Slowest Rachel.  It worked, and now I'm 8th of the ladies, with 3 ladies slower than me.  Horray!

I need to adjust my mudguards, because I broke them on the first ride and now I come home looking like this:

hahaha poopy butt!

Anyways, now it's time for a massive house clean and a delicious dinner of discount M&S Salmon with discounted Morrisons ravioli and expensive M&S rocket!  NOM NOM!

Happy Christmas Eve Y'all!

Water Polo Tuesday

On Tuesday I made it to the Cardiff Tri  swim session.  The session started at 7:30 with the usual hour of lap swimming broken up into hard and really hard bits.  Sometimes I felt like an amazing swimmer, gliding effortlessly and gracefully through the water.  Most of the time I felt like a drowning seal.  As a special christmas treat the second hour was a game of water polo, which I had never played before but which is completely awesome.

Why water polo is awesome:
Flailing is an integral part
It is agressive
You don't have to run (or be seen running)
I am agressive

I wasn't particularly good, but I was particularly agressive.  I'm not sure which team won, because there were some dodgy fouls, but all in all it was loads of fun, and a lot of effort.  I played defense, which seemed natural from my short lived football/soccer career, but really I just flailed around in the pool for an hour.  It did make me remember how much I enjoyed playing team sports and how agressive/competitive I can actually be - I need to bring a little more competitiveness into my cycling/running.  Winning is exhilarating  finishing is expected.

New goal: feel more competitive during cycling.
Step 1: go to Maindy and not be last on the Maindy Strava segment:

Step 2: nail it.

A Sunday Ride

On Sunday I went out with Cardiff Ajax for a Sunday "social" ride.  At 9:30 the fast group shot off, with fast people who do the fast pose when not riding.

Ben is in the fast group.  He sits on his bike like a fast person, but he should have one foot clipped in. He's still fast though, so his foot can be unclipped, I guess:

When the fast group left they then called the middle group, followed shortly with the steady (read: slow) group.  Normally I go with the steady group, but they were only doing 30 miles this week, and I wanted a bit more of a challenge.  So off I went with the middle group. This is what we did:



Yes, that indeed is about 60 miles in 4 hours.  It was hard.  At the cake stop I ate a cheese pasty, which is like cheese and potato in a flakey butter pastry.  It's delicious.  In order to not suffer the terrible energy crash later I ate a snickers as soon as I got home, followed by a big plate of pasta.  And then I slept for about 2 hours, had a big glass of chocolate milk, and went out to Dinner to say goodbye to my housemate.  There I had a most delicious giant burger, and chunky wedges, and sticky toffee pudding.  It was the best I've done at not having a post-ride washout day, where I just feel tired and grumpy and exausted all day.  I know the rides will get easier, and I'm sure my consumption is not the beacon of recovery eating, but it's better than last week where I cried, fell asleep, woke up, and then felt sick to my stomach for a whole day.

Anyways today I was pretty sure there was a problem with my bike as it was moving really slowly on the way to work, but I think the problem is with my legs, so I had an evening off.  Tomorrow the Cardiff Triathlon group is doing water polo after the swim training so I'm looking forward to that!  Also looking forward to home made soup and fishcakes for lunch!

Also, with the addition of overshoes (Silly shoe covers that keep my feet warm while cycling) I now have everything I need to look like a real lycra-clad cyclist!  Check it out!

Andy took this photo.  I wonder if as a 6 foot and change boyfriend he always sees my head as being almost as large as my legs.  Perspective is strange!