Beginner Silks at NoFitState

Now that I'm back in Cardiff for a few days I've managed to make it to a few sessions at NoFitState

There's loads of excitement at NoFitState at the moment, in addition to working on their new space (Four Elms - looks amazing!) they're gearing up for another tour of Bianco which will be traveling around the UK all summer.

Bianco is the show I was lucky enough to see three times last summer at the Eden Project.  I'm so excited they'll be back in Cardiff at the WMC for a while, I'll certainly be seeing it again to see how it's evolved.

In case you don't believe me on how amazing it is, check out this video:


And this song, by the amazing band Fireproof Giant who provide live music for the Bianco



But alas I am not good enough for Bianco but I am getting stronger and I will be learning more tricks soon!  I'm really loving circus classes at the moment but I need to get serious about my core strength, I'm still mega flail-y. I did get a video this week - which will look woe-fully underwhelming compared to the Bianco ad.  But pretend you didn't just see amazing people doing amazing tricks, and look at my 1.5 minutes of awkward flailing!

D*bag Driver Alert

Welcome to my new feature! It is not as positive as all my other features.  This new feature is the D******G DRIVER ALERT!

This Driver had LOADS OF ROOM but pulled into the cycle lane anyway, just to be a jerk!

If you see this ford focus please let him know he's a jerk!

And this ends my new feature.

This feature probably isn't a good idea, so I'll likely take it down in the next few minutes.

Weekend in Bath - or - Rachel eats all the things

This weekend I had the good fortune of visiting my friend Amy in Bath. Amy and I met four years ago while playing softball in Bristol; we used to stomp our way through tournaments and camping and got up to all sorts of shenanigans. Two years ago I realized that Bristol was really too far for me to travel and also that I consumed more calories in beer during softball than I burned in the actual sport and thus hung up my cleats and glove for my bicycle and trainers.

Amy has an amazing life in Bath full of fancy things which she writes about on her lovely blog.  But one of the many things that Amy and I both love is FOOD.  And hence I spent an entire weekend in Bath and managed to take the following photos:

1. Arrival in Bath - Amy shared her parents care package with me, Saltines and Jif.  I used to LIVE on saltines and Jif.  There is no peanut butter to parallel Jif in the UK, it is creamy and crunchy and oh so delightful. Sunpat is good but doesn't hold a candle (or a peanut!) to Jif.

2. Dinner a la chef Amy.  Kraft Mac-n-cheese dinner.  I love Kraft dinner and it's one of the foods I miss most from home.  Day-glow orange so you know it's tasty, made with butter and milk.  Amy convinced me to put ketchup on it, which I had never done before but which was EPIC! And - like the classy ladies we are - we enjoyed a nice bottle of rose with our $0.99 dinner:

 3. A number of delicious cocktails occurred now, which I didn't get pictures of but which can be found on Amy's blog.  After leaving the bar we found a subway that stayed open until 3am.  THREE AM!  Amy took charge and ordered the BMT (I'm still not sure what it was) and I insisted on loads of pickles.  Amy even drunk-grilled it.  As far as I can remember, it's one of the best things I've ever eaten.

4. Day TWO!  A bit worse for the wear, Amy and I head into Bath.  The train is jammed full of people but we get some standing room in first class.  The conductor doesn't even come around for tickets - free trip!  Score!

 5. I found out there is a Mission Burrito in Bath.  "OMG WE MUST GO" I tell Amy. And so we do, and it is delicious.  Why there are no burrito places in Cardiff of any calibre makes me sad all the time, but I heard a rumour that Mission Burrito is scouting a potential Cardiff spot so my heart filled with joy and my mouth filled with, umm, dreams of burrito.

To sum up, I spent a weekend in Bath, a beautiful city that looks like this:

And I stayed in Bradford-on-avon, an possibly even cuter town with shops like this:

And I managed to take 5 photos - mostly of food.

What an amazing weekend!

Monday Interval training with Cardiff Tri

Tonight I did my first running training with Cardiff Tri.  I had no idea what I was in for and it was a bit of a shock.  I do interval training on the treadmill - 20 seconds at a time.  This was 2 minutes at speed and 2 minutes recovery.  I knew I was in for trouble when the 6 minute jog to warm up was at 9:30 minute mile pace.  That's not a jog for me - that's a run.

I sometimes wonder why I picked triathlon and I think it's because I don't know what I want to do and triathlon is the perfect outlet for indecisiveness*.  There are a lot of people who are good at running who get into tri for the challenge... a few people who are originally swimmers, and some people who are originally cyclists.  In fact I think, through no science at all, that the split is like this:

Runners: 60
Bikers: 30
Swimmers: 10

Anyways, I managed to run 6.1 miles today, which is longer than I've ever been out before.  I kind of lost the will to "interval" after about 6 goes, but I did keep on moving, and that was victory enough.

The cool thing about triathlon - or maybe just Cardiff Tri - is that everyone is friendly and supportive.  At the 2 minutes everyone ran off and I fell steadily behind, after 2 minutes they used recovery to come back and find me, 2 minutes later they sprinted off again.

I'm not sure if I was really ready to do the interval training yet - doing 6 miles of interval training as the next step up from 3 mile fun runs was a bit intense.

On the other hand, at this rate I can just double again to 12 miles and I'll be ready for a half marathon in a few short weeks!

The good thing about being so rubbish on the first try is that I can only get better.

I didn't get a photo but this is how I felt after:

*If only triathlon was quadrathalon and included flying trapeze.  Or pentathlon but instead of all the running and jumping included lightweight barbells and push-ups.  (editors note: my brewer half just commented that I would still be bad at it.  He's probably right.  He keeps it real.)

Thursday Meanders in Cardiff

I am good at lots of things.  I am not good at relaxing.  I like doing things and I like being on the move and I like accomplishing things and I like making plans.

I struggle to do nothing. 

But sometimes I have to do nothing. On Monday afternoon I did not feel well.  Nor did I feel well on Tuesday, so I came home from work and did nothing.  On Wednesday I felt worse. 

But today I had the day off work, and I relaxed.  I cycled into town quite leisurely at 11am, and took this accidental photo while playing with my phone:

(One should not play with phones while cycling.  It is very bad form)

There were a number of stalls up in Cardiff for St. Davids Day.  I couldn't resist buying 4 hot welsh cakes for £1:

And while in town I stopped at Certini - the Bike Store under House of Fraiser.  The ever helpful staff helped me pick out a new helmet, and I cycled it home to get final Brewer Half approval.

There is something a bit odd about carrying a helmet on the back of a bicycle. 

And now I'm home, and relaxing while blogging and watching the sun set out my window. 

Also, It's still light at 5:30, which is a sure sign spring is coming.  And yes - I'm still wearing my Awesome Hat inside - because I love a good hat!

So I didn't manage to do nothing today - but I did manage to relax a bit and get my mind off work. In an hour I have thursday yoga with Tori - I don't want to risk illness by jumping back into swimming or climbing but I think Yoga is a good mid ground for relaxation and recovery.

5 Good Things Monday! (and an adoration of Fresh Baguette Bar in Cardiff)

Today was an awesome day!

1.   I made it to the gym at 7:15 and was ready to work out when Geraint got there at 7:30.  He showed me the new weights routine and it is AWESOME! It's got 4 sets of 4 things and you do each set twice and it's just brilliant.  My pushups are getting better! My pull ups are getting worse.  But I am feeling awesome!

2.   I made an epic pasta dish for dinner.  It was all the veg and all the herbs and also olives and pasta and it was delicious.

3.   I wore this mega cool hat all afternoon:

4.   I managed 12 miles of commuter cycling on my road bike.  Clip shoes make me feel like a speed machine.

5.   We had a lunch buffet at work from Fresh.  In case you did not know what the best sandwich shop in Cardiff is, it is FRESH.

The thing with Gareth (who is the owner of Fresh) is that he takes things I could eat anytime and makes them into DELICIOUS THINGS I WANT TO EAT ALL THE TIME.  We had an amazing selection of sandwiches today, including salmon and cream cheese, mixed veg and spread-y cheese, brie and grape (YUMMY) and more.  AND MORE!

Since moving to the UK I find often my sandwich choices are either ham and cheese or cheese and pickle.  But at FRESH my choices are UNLIMITED!  For instance, look at this photo of a baguette that I stole from the internet:

See in this photo Gareth saw a chicken baguette and said "I can do better!"

And he did!  He added crackling and veg and seasonings.  Today we had pea and garlic soup too - immense!  And on Wednesday I'm going to have butternut squash soup, which is also going to be immense!

Anyways, those are 5 awesome things that happened today.  A workout, a pasta dish, a hat, a bike ride, and a sandwich.  

Yeah, my life is pretty sweet.

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: