Last Sunday Homework Ride!

I woke up this morning feeling a little icky after yesterday's big ride. My throat isn't sore as such, just a bit scratchy and flemmy and I have an irritated cough. I suspect I'm fighting off a bug.

With that in mind and knowing that the weather forecast for today was pretty shoddy I ended up staying in bed till about 10.30 then getting up and cooking corn fritters with chicken bacon for breakfast. I used a new recipe that included an extra teaspoon of baking powder and the fritters turned out so light and fluffy and delicious that I'm definitely making them again.

By 12.30 I was feeling a bit more active, even if I did still feel like I was fighting something. I decided to head off to Les Mills for Body Balance. Sarah wa s there as well so we got to catch up, which was nice. Margaret chose some great tracks today, even if the hamstring track DID include the splits, which gave Sarah a chance to show off her stretchy skills. Darn her!

By the time I was driving home the weather had improved significantly and it was too good an opportunity to pass up. Despite still feeling a bit blah I threw on my cycling gear and headed out. Cleo and I cycled down Farnham Street to Island Bay, then turned left around the coast. Out of the wind it was lovely and warm out there, however there was still a strong breeze blowing, even if it wasn't as strong as yesterday.

I decided to cut through Kilbirnie to Cobham Drive, then continued on around the Bays. I didn't really do any hills, though the wind was strong enough that I felt like I was grinding up Houghton Bay Rd on the flat! Once again there were cyclists everywhere, all wearing that 'last ride' look of determination.

Around Lyall Bay I was hating the wind again and considering calling H to pick me up from Owhiro Bay so that I didn't have to fight it all the way up Happy Valley. Then the penny dropped. I ate the half a power bar that was lurking in my pocket and instantly felt better. Refuelled I made it home easily. The ride up the valley was in no way as bad as it could have been and from Garfield Street I turned South again and it became a tailwind.

So that was it. I'll probably cycle into town tomorrow to drop Cleo off for her service then ride her home again afterwards and I'm booked in for RPM on Tuesday, and that will probably be it until Saturday. I'm in a good place, feeling strong and as of this moment am looking forward to the challenge. I'll still spend the night before freaking out and I'll still feel overwhelmed on the morning itself, but these are all familiar emotions now so I know what to expect. Besides, I've done so many events this year already that I don't get anywhere near as worked up as I used to.

Now, on to post-Taupo plotting. I'm meeting Dave Creamer this week to talk about a programme for the next six months, but I'm considering a return to running races sooner rather than later. Sarah's doing the Korokoro half marathon the weekend after Taupo and needs a lift out there and, well, they have a 10km option which is basically flat and ....

So, would it be stupid to run a 10km race (however slowly and taking walk breaks if necessary) one week after Taupo, not having run since, oh, forever?