Finally got myself a turbo trainer. I always hoped to avoid having to spend hours peddling like crazy and getting nowhere, but the combination of work being a bit mental, a chesty cough I just can’t shift and the extra distance of the commute from the new house meant without some method of getting the miles in I’d be to leaving training very late for Bikefest and La Marmotte.

I managed four sessions on the turbo, roughly 2 and half hours. All of them intervals based to keep things interesting. 45 minutes seems to be long enough so next week will try mixing turbo sessions with a single commute. The aim will be to have one day off next week, more like the schedule I’ll need to keep to the Eatough plan which will start mid-March.

Just checked my weight, while I don’t feel too podgy, the scales say different so I definitely need to start focusing on diet. Fruit and fish being the easy things to increase. Cut down on the sandwiches at lunch, and try something different for breakfast. Also the post work beer will become a think of the past.

Looks like I’ll be having a few days riding with Doug @BasqueMTB early March, weather may be a bit mixed at that time in the season, but it will be good to get a few solid days riding under the belt, 2 weeks before the main training programme kicks in. Might even offer to go and get the van at the end of each day to get the road based climbs under my belt.

Finished the week with a single lap of Cwmcarn. I think I’ve said before it’s the one loop that keeps me honest, doesn’t matter how fit or fast I think I feel, the climbs and descents won’t be fooled, so my slow time today (15 mins behind the personal best) came as no surprise. The legs did well on the climbs, especially that last one before the final descent so underneath the lack of skills, lack of endurance and general slowness I think this year I might be able to get closer to a sub 50min lap.

Of course the trail pixies are always improving things, a couple more tricky bits I noticed had been “fixed”, which makes me a little sad, but given the volume of riders I guess it is inevitable.

Also had a comedy session at the doctors. All I needed was to get a signed letter for La Marmotte. What I got instead was a big lecture on why as a GP he can’t sign me fit, I could be going down the pub every night, how was he to know! I was really left totally gob smacked, you try and look after yourself and get fit and rather than being encouraging your local GP basically says sorry I can’t help. Even if I was going to the pub every night, you’d think if I’ve turned up saying I want to do a big event the GP would focus on how I can get fit enough, where I can get help training, and generally do everything he could to avoid me becoming a massive burden on the NHS in later life. Anyway hopefully I will get some kind of letter from him next week.

So with that rant over looking at the plan I’ve comfortably beaten my target of 4 hours this week, thanks mostly to the turbo trainer. Fitness is returning slowly, so next week, I should be safe to go for 4 sessions of 45 minutes on the turbo, one day commuting (1 hour each way), and ride on Sunday. That’ll be 7.5 hours total, but I’d be happy with 7h if I can.