Fat and unfit to 2hr40min Hell of west in 1year

mossym

Trig1 wrote: »

(maybe a sign of things to come next year)...

Birdhill Hill -

Birdhill Hill, feckin limerick blow in's that's not birdhill hill, the road from coopers heading for the primary school is birdhill hill, the hill you went up didn't even exist 10 years ago.

that's the second time you've mentioned bike racing rather than combining sports next year. given your bike numbers i'm not surprised. Decision already made deep down?

Trig1

mossym wrote: »

Birdhill Hill, feckin limerick blow in's that's not birdhill hill, the road from coopers heading for the primary school is birdhill hill, the hill you went up didn't even exist 10 years ago.

Ha Ha, I know its not birdhill "Hill" , sorry I should have been more thorough in my post.... The Hill leading from Birdhill to the motorway, not the birdhill hill but the other hill in birdhill.

mossym

ah just joking with you

as for the injury, i refer you to joey's advice in post 735. your injury i'd wager is from pushing too hard

last year i did what you did, hard every run. spent the year missing weeks of training, in and out of physios

this year, easy runs as easy.onehard, one long run a week. not had a runing injury in 5 months. having met you, i know it's your character, and it wouldbe really difficult for you to change. but i reckon if you knock back some of the runs to be slow and easy you'd motice a major difference injury wise

BennyMul

mossym wrote: »

ah just joking with you

as for the injury, i refer you to joey's advice in post 735. your injury i'd wager is from pushing too hard

last year i did what you did, hard every run. spent the year missing weeks of training, in and out of physios

this year, easy runs as easy.onehard, one long run a week. not had a runing injury in 5 months. having met you, i know it's your character, and it wouldbe really difficult for you to change. but i reckon if you knock back some of the runs to be slow and easy you'd motice a major difference injury wise

Would you leave him alone, its the only hope I have of getting close to him in Kenmare is if he is injured :rolleyes:

on a serious note Mossym is right, its ok (to a degree) to push every bike\swim they are not impact sports, running is and this continuous punishment does have its toll on the body,


Also will have to have a chat regarding where you got the wheels,

mossym

BennyMul wrote: »

Would you leave him alone, its the only hope I have of getting close to him in Kenmare is if he is injured :rolleyes:
,

wow trig you;re a marked man. you needn't be worried about what pace i'm running, i'd focus on bennymul gunning for you..

Trig1

Ha Ha, I'm focusing on 1 thing only at the moment in the lost sheep... going 14mins and change faster than last year

Trig1

Fri 25th July- rest day. (working all day)
Sat 26th July- just a nice light 6k run during lunch time in work- hip still sore but able to run ok 5.18mins/km
Sun 27th July- So I got myself a lovely new set on ultra light 60mm carbon clinchers which I was dying to test on my tt bike so finished work a little early this evening and with the family away in durrow I had a window of around 40mins to test out my new wheels, what better to do than my 21.5k hilly tt route- have been doing this route for last few years since I started cycling and have wittled my p.b. down to 38.20mins on 29th March this year- I knew it would be tough to go under 38mins but with the new wheels I was gonna give it a lash, I set off and straight away I felt a massive difference, felt I was able to drive harder, climb better and keep my av speed up easier, also the sound from the wheels was fantastic - I was flying up the hills and loving it, pushed hard as I felt I was on for a massive p.b. , its a tough tt route with 350metres of climbing , sprinted the final drag home and stopped the watch and looked and looked again with disbelief...36.16mins at 35.6kph- I just knocked 2mins4secs off my p.b. and did it at 1.6kph faster than my old p.b. time ...some wheels eh!!!! got a few nice KOM's (king of the mountains) on strava too.

http://www.strava.com/activities/171773118/segments/4039578801

Mon 28th July.. did a long swim/bike brick session this evening- 2k continuous swim at worlds end in 36mins...quick transition and onto the tt bike with my lovely wheels for a 70k session..plan was to do the session on the bike at a decent tempo but to target 1 hard section of 25.3kms KOM(king of mountain section) (strava) section for a 45min tt...Birdhill roundabout to Nenagh Roundabout via Portroe...(loads of climbing) fastest on the leaderboard for this section was 46.16mins at 32.8kph, anyway I buried myself on this section to see how much into the red I could go, my heart was about to come through my chest on some of the uphill sections, my thighs were screaming and I was gasping for breath (oh and I forgot my waterbottle so no drink or food whatsoever), on the downhill sections I was flying- clocking many km's over 50kph and hitting 65kph out of portroe...achieved the King of the mountain beating the next fastest guy by over 2.30mins - did the section in 43.46mins at 34.6kph...after this I took a breather for few mins and then spun home into a headwind from Nenagh roundabout back to castleconnell- was gasping for water by the time I arrived home..full spin was shy of 70k at 66km's in 2hrs and 29secs - pace for full cycle was 32.8kph

http://www.strava.com/activities/172215793/segments/4017693049

Tues 29th July - needed to really see how the hip was and had to start getting some long runs in so I decided to just go to the local gaa pitch(3 pitches together making up 1km) and jog around it for 15km's - boring but a lot easier on the joints- did the run at a nice handy pace and felt good for most of it- legs were tired for last 2k but was happy with the run and the hip felt ok for most of it, did the 15km's at av pace of 5.17mins/km and a longest run this year of 1hr20mins

http://www.strava.com/activities/172531100

Wed 30th July - working nights at moment and didn't want to cycle into work as I knew I would be too tired cycling home so just got out on the tt bike again and did my 48.5km tt route- Newport to birdhill via finnegans roundabout and back- didn't expect any pb.s from today as there was a dirty headwind for a lot of the cycle but felt good again on the bike so just went with it...first 10k -16.49mins was fresh but into headwind at 35.7kph
2nd 10k ..15.40mins..tailwind for most of it at 38.3kph
3rd 10k..17.44 bit of tailwind- a lot of headwind at 33.8kph
4th 10k.. 17.40- headwind for most of it at 34kph...
l had a section that I had another KOM on strava from a few months back at 38.7kph, its from Finnegans roundabout to Newport- its a 7.9km route towards the end of my 48.5km's - I was feeling good so I said I'd attack the bike again for the 8k section and see could I better my time, pushed well and the wheels and bike responded- I was averaging 40kph+ on the section and knocked 25secs off my KOM on the section doing it at exactly 40kph...also knocked 20secs off my overall time for the 48.5kms from 13march doing the route in 1hr22mins11secs..

http://www.strava.com/activities/173079860/

ok so a lot of hard cycles this week and a lot of PB's and KOM's but where does that leave me for "the lost sheep"... running is still suffering but I was delighted to get a long run in this week, swimming is slow but steady...I think if I want to do sub 5hrs for lost sheep I would realistically be looking at knocking 2mins off my swim and around 12mins off my bike from last year (knocked 8mins off my HoTW bike time so should be achievable) I stopped at every water station on the run last year and walked up the hill- if I can keep running this year hopefully fingers crossed I will do sub 5hrs. Anyway- 4 weeks of training to go!!

mossym

i wouldn't worry about taking the time out on the bike, way you;re biking this year should be manageable.

the mental pressure of trying to hold off bennymul on the run is where i'd worry..:)

Pmaldini

mossym wrote: »

i wouldn't worry about taking the time out on the bike, way you;re biking this year should be manageable.

the mental pressure of trying to hold off bennymul on the run is where i'd worry..:)

looks like your trying to take the focus off yourself there mossym, I think you are the man with the target on his back for Trig1:D

mossym

Pmaldini wrote: »

looks like your trying to take the focus off yourself there mossym, I think you are the man with the target on his back for Trig1:D

I know at least one or two who’ll give me grief for sandbagging (:) ) over this, but first time tackling a half, so my focus is on getting around it feeling strong and enjoying it. Think myself I’ve work to do before I can properly give the distance a lash, and worrying about what others are doing is risking just blowing up and hating the day. So I’ve a game plan, will stick to it, and smile coming across the line if I hit it. Fully expect trig to be there waiting for me given what I think he’ll do on the bike, versus what I can take out on swim or run.

Bennymul is the one that was talking about chasing him down. So I’m going to let the two boys duke it out. Not sure trig would be too happy to beat me home only to see bennymul waiting for him at the finish..:)

BennyMul

mossym wrote: »

Bennymul is the one that was talking about chasing him down. So I’m going to let the two boys duke it out. Not sure trig would be too happy to beat me home only to see bennymul waiting for him at the finish..:)

You both are very safe, I was aiming for sub5 but honestly not sure I am there (and unlike Mossym Im not sandbagging:P)

mossym

ha. if the two of you are targeting 5ish or under ye can have a coffee waiting for me when i finish. Black, no sugar. strong enough for the spoon to stand up in. just don't buy it the minute you finish or it will be cold. thanks lads

BennyMul

mossym wrote: »

ha. if the two of you are targeting 5ish or under ye can have a coffee waiting for me when i finish. Black, no sugar. strong enough for the spoon to stand up in. just don't buy it the minute you finish or it will be cold. thanks lads

If I beat you I will gladly buy you both Coffee's (Trig how do you like yours)

Pmaldini

BennyMul wrote: »

If I beat you I will gladly buy you both Coffee's (Trig how do you like yours)

Trig, theres defo a challenge being thrown down there by Mr Mull:)

Trig1

BennyMul wrote: »

If I beat you I will gladly buy you both Coffee's (Trig how do you like yours)

Ha Ha love it... bring it on:cool: !!! just don't laugh at me when I'm walking half the run and you fly past me
and as for Mossym- serious sandbagging!!!!! I reckon there will only be a matter of minutes between 3 of us with mossy winning...

Anyway down to the serious stuff..are ye staying down in kenmare that night? great craic and atmosphere last year- I'll be looking forward to a few pints that night, it would be good to meet up for a few.... instead of coffees why not wager a few pints !! lets say first round is on 3rd place of the 3 of us, 2nd round is on 2nd place of 3 of us!!

Pmaldini

Trig1 wrote: »

Ha Ha love it... bring it on:cool: !!! just don't laugh at me when I'm walking half the run and you fly past me
and as for Mossym- serious sandbagging!!!!! I reckon there will only be a matter of minutes between 3 of us with mossy winning...

Anyway down to the serious stuff..are ye staying down in kenmare that night? great craic and atmosphere last year- I'll be looking forward to a few pints that night, it would be good to meet up for a few.... instead of coffees why not wager a few pints !! lets say first round is on 3rd place of the 3 of us, 2nd round is on 2nd place of 3 of us!!

tough one to call, with Bennymul heading to Penang today he will struggle to get decent training in the next 2 weeks,its going to be very close between ye, i'd love to be joining ye,(but have a little event to attend on the 24th!!) obviously id be last but i'd give you a good run for your money in the bar later:D

mossym

Trig1 wrote: »

Ha Ha love it... bring it on:cool: !!! just don't laugh at me when I'm walking half the run and you fly past me
and as for Mossym- serious sandbagging!!!!! I reckon there will only be a matter of minutes between 3 of us with mossy winning...

Anyway down to the serious stuff..are ye staying down in kenmare that night? great craic and atmosphere last year- I'll be looking forward to a few pints that night, it would be good to meet up for a few.... instead of coffees why not wager a few pints !! lets say first round is on 3rd place of the 3 of us, 2nd round is on 2nd place of 3 of us!!

we'll see. never raced a half, so pacing will be on the cautious side. i won't be near 5 so if that's your guys aim i stand by my statement

not staying down the saturday night either. discussed making a weekend out of it with the missus, but with her being 7 months pregnant by the race i'll be heading home after it. shame as i reckon it will be a good night

Pmaldini wrote: »

tough one to call, with Bennymul heading to Penang today he will struggle to get decent training in the next 2 weeks,its going to be very close between ye, i'd love to be joining ye,(but have a little event to attend on the 24th!!) obviously id be last but i'd give you a good run for your money in the bar later:D

ahem, mossy is on a plane to japan on saturday morning for work, not back till the following saturday night. all your's so trig

Trig1

mossym wrote: »

ahem, mossy is on a plane to japan on saturday morning for work, not back till the following saturday night. all your's so trig

Jeez...with all the sandbagging it looks like all I'll have to do is show up on the day to beat the 2 of ye!:P:P

hopefully 3 solid weeks of un-interrupted training ahead of me and I'm aiming with the help of more squeezy athletic to hit the coveted 13stone for race day- a weight I haven't seen since my rowing days!! good conditions and fingers crossed and I might hit the sub 5hrs

Trig1

Thurs 31st July- Nenagh cc raceday.. Another hard bike session this evening before work- 10k warm up and arrived at the start nice and early, planned on going in the scratch group again tonight even though the legs were a bit tender after the weeks training but I was feeling strong, being honest I was a bit nervous about going in the scratch group tonight as there was some strong cyclist in it such as Huff n Puff and his bro, Ken kennedy and Aaron O'Brien to name but a few :eek:, anyway I said feck it lets go for it. There was only 2 groups tonight - no slow group- around 20 in the (usually) 2nd group and around 10 of us in the scratch group, 2nd group got 2.30mins on us. Pace was as usual very fast from the very start- speedo was averaging 47kph for first few km's leading up to birdhill and I was rolling over fine and feeling good. once we got to the drags after birdhill the group strung out a bit with only 2-3 rolling over in the front, I tried rolling over at this stage every 2nd or third time successfully, (at least I felt like I was sharing the work a bit more this time). As usual once we got over the hump after birdhill and hit the fast section after the yellow bridge the pace rocketed- we were rolling over at 55+kph- this is the section I love and I was powering through it, the 2nd group were still going well and bar catching a few stragglers they were still well up the road, once we got to Nenagh Roundabout the 2nd group still had around 45seconds. we were still pushing hard to catch them but once around the roundabout we were (as usual) pushing into a massive headwind. We were still rolling over well and kept speed up around 38kph into the headwind- the 2nd group were coming back to us fast now and we caught them well before the yellow bridge bar. Pace dropped for a few km's here and I was able to take my first drink. once we got beyond the yellow bridge the pace jumped again, there was no real breaks tonight- probably due to the massive headwind- once we got around birdhill roundabout and started facing into the climb to the finish (1.5km ) I tried to control it and stay on ken's wheel but once people took the pace up and started sprinting up the hill I was dropped, I stuck at my own pace and kept plugging away and reeled in 5-6 lads that died before the finish line- finished 9th overall- happy with that- another great session- would highly recommend these races to anyone next year that wants to increase their bike speed!! Full race to the finish line up the hill was 36.7km done in 53.01mins- 41.6kph

Pmaldini

Trig1 wrote: »

Thurs 31st July- Nenagh cc raceday.. Another hard bike session this evening before work- 10k warm up and arrived at the start nice and early, planned on going in the scratch group again tonight even though the legs were a bit tender after the weeks training but I was feeling strong, being honest I was a bit nervous about going in the scratch group tonight as there was some strong cyclist in it such as Huff n Puff and his bro, Ken kennedy and Aaron O'Brien to name but a few :eek:, anyway I said feck it lets go for it. There was only 2 groups tonight - no slow group- around 20 in the (usually) 2nd group and around 10 of us in the scratch group, 2nd group got 2.30mins on us. Pace was as usual very fast from the very start- speedo was averaging 47kph for first few km's leading up to birdhill and I was rolling over fine and feeling good. once we got to the drags after birdhill the group strung out a bit with only 2-3 rolling over in the front, I tried rolling over at this stage every 2nd or third time successfully, (at least I felt like I was sharing the work a bit more this time). As usual once we got over the hump after birdhill and hit the fast section after the yellow bridge the pace rocketed- we were rolling over at 55+kph- this is the section I love and I was powering through it, the 2nd group were still going well and bar catching a few stragglers they were still well up the road, once we got to Nenagh Roundabout the 2nd group still had around 45seconds. we were still pushing hard to catch them but once around the roundabout we were (as usual) pushing into a massive headwind. We were still rolling over well and kept speed up around 38kph into the headwind- the 2nd group were coming back to us fast now and we caught them well before the yellow bridge bar. Pace dropped for a few km's here and I was able to take my first drink. once we got beyond the yellow bridge the pace jumped again, there was no real breaks tonight- probably due to the massive headwind- once we got around birdhill roundabout and started facing into the climb to the finish (1.5km ) I tried to control it and stay on ken's wheel but once people took the pace up and started sprinting up the hill I was dropped, I stuck at my own pace and kept plugging away and reeled in 5-6 lads that died before the finish line- finished 9th overall- happy with that- another great session- would highly recommend these races to anyone next year that wants to increase their bike speed!! Full race to the finish line up the hill was 36.7km done in 53.01mins- 41.6kph

unreal speeds there Trig1, you are flying it, the avg speed with all those drags is very impressive, does the race finish on the hill up to the motorway from the roundabout? that is some lung buster to finish if it is, i must give the series a lash next year, sounds very good, as for the lost sheep I have to put you in as favourite now ahead of those 2 sandbaggers:D:D

Trig1

My shiney new wheels :-)

Trig1

Pmaldini wrote: »

unreal speeds there Trig1, you are flying it, the avg speed with all those drags is very impressive, does the race finish on the hill up to the motorway from the roundabout? that is some lung buster to finish if it is, i must give the series a lash next year, sounds very good, as for the lost sheep I have to put you in as favourite now ahead of those 2 sandbaggers:D:D

yes the nenagh race finishes nearly at the top of the hill, limerick race finishes around 300m up the hill

Trig1

Fri 1st Aug... Planned 10k with 1k easy, 1k steady X5 cross country...actual was 1k easy (around 5.20mins/km) 1k steady (around 4.25mins/km) X3.. could not continue as hip was in bits (getting nervous about lost sheep)

Sat 2nd Aug... Morning spin with Nenagh CC. nice handy long spin at around 29kph for around 110km's - phone died so no data.

Sun 3rd Aug... Headed to inlaws in Templemore today- an opportunity to do a good tt session on good roads...62.4km tt in 1hr46mins- was flying it for most of spin and felt great- love the new wheels- 2 more KOM's also on strava...35.4kph for the 62.4km

http://www.strava.com/activities/174720043

Mon 4th Aug... A day off with the kids- headed to Tayto Park for the kids- good quality family time

Tues 5th Aug... Limerick summer league (I wish) cycled to limerick summer league in cycling shorts and short sleeve jersey..5k into cycle got caught in a torrential downpour which didn't stop- saturated by time I got to the race start- only 5-6 of us hanging around in the pi$$ing rain for 10mins until we were told race was off- I was freezing at this stage and contemplated ringing the wife to collect me..just cycled home in the rain soaked and cold..a wasted day- 23k cycle round trip done

shotgunmcos

Trig1 wrote: »

My shiney new wheels :-)

Nice

mossym

you still doing world's end?

Trig1

mossym wrote: »

you still doing world's end?

Ya but I'm not focusing on it at the moment- will train through it as a training day for lost sheep- will swim hard and bike hard but may run easy ,all depending on what my time is after bike- if it looks like sub 70mins is on then I might push the run, if not then I will run easy

Trig1

Wed 6th Aug: nice 2k swim at u.l. pool- felt good 42mins for 2k- felt long and relaxed

Thurs 7th Aug: Nenagh summer series-final race . Felt great the whole way during this race and hit pb's all round (went in scratch group again) even went on a mini break and stayed away for a few mins- very happy with spin and up to 5th overall on the strava leaderboard for the nenagh cc race route.
50.32 mins for the 36k race route 42.8kph, it was extended a bit over last few sessions going further up the hill so full results are 37k in 53mins at 41.6kph
47k in total with warm up and cool down

http://www.strava.com/activities/176935434

Fri 8th Aug: 18k run cross country around 3 hurling pitches- felt ok for most- struggled for last 3k - averaged 5.08mins/km for run

http://www.strava.com/activities/177265601

Sat 9th Aug long morning spin with nenagh cc, nice and enjoyable-
103km's at 29.6kph
http://www.strava.com/activities/177626044

also -son (12 year old) got new bh racing bike today so took him out for his first spin- 8k at 16kph

Sun 10th Aug- Rest day today- Son wanted to get back out on his bike today so I brought him for a longer cycle- brought him on my 21.5km hilly tt route- fair play to him he did well on it and was flying up the hills (a proud daddy) He did the 21.5k at 19.5kph

http://www.strava.com/activities/178268886

Mon 11th Aug 13th Wedding anniv today so only managed to sneak away for a quick swim - 2k straight o.w. swim at worlds end in 38mins!

Tuesday 12th Aug (start of 3 days of no food -squeezy athletic shakes only) Limerick cc race ....did around 15km's warm up for race, felt a little tired and very hungry- was probably a bit too optimistic going in scratch tonight as there was some strong cyclists, anyway set off in scratch group after the first 2 groups and pace was hectic, I was struggling from the start and the legs were in bits..stayed with them for around 6km of the 7km of drags out of Birdhill towards yellow bridge- lost a wheel on the last drag and I was in no mans land- almost grinded to a halt as I was so wrecked- anyway I had 2 choices- call it a night and a wasted session or keep racing on my own and join in when they turned around ...so I kept racing...saw the 2nd group coming towards me after around 15mins on my own- they had still not been caught by the scratch at this stage so I joined them - they were rolling over well and going at a decent tempo- pace picked up coming towards the end and scratch group caught us with around 2km's to go- pushed the finish up the hill but the legs were in bits- a race best forgotten but still got a decent workout ...still managed 37.7kph average for 32.5km's

http://www.strava.com/activities/179296198

Wed 13th Aug- (day 2 of no food) cycle with Keeper cc tonight- group are coming on well- nice fast session for most of the spin- a good few strava pr's on the spin - average was 32.8 for spin but the included around 5km's of slow cycling and chatting at around 20kph- average was more like 36kph for most of the session...51km's in 1hr33mins

http://www.strava.com/activities/179779132

Thurs 14th Aug (so hungry- day 3 of no food) Just a nice 8k run at lunchtime in work- could feel the last 2 nights cycling in the legs- hopefully this will be there or thereabouts for my pace for the lost sheep...did the 8km in 38.18mins averaging 4.46mins/km

http://www.strava.com/activities/180085318

2 weeks to go- need a few more long runs I think!! and a long 4hr brick!

BennyMul

Its so cool going training with the kids, Have brought out my young lad a few times, you going to get him into racing as well ?

Trig1

BennyMul wrote: »

Its so cool going training with the kids, Have brought out my young lad a few times, you going to get him into racing as well ?

Hopefully...already swimming and biking

Trig1

Fri 15th Aug Cycle to and from work- 51km then light 21.5k cycle with the son - 72.5km's in total

Sat 16th Aug Cycle with Nenagh cc- nice 115km cycle with few stops and a bit of waiting for people but nice to be cycling in a group- 27.3kph

http://www.strava.com/activities/180918314

Sun 17th Aug Hilly cycle with Keeper cc- good tough session 85kms at 27.7kph - 625m of climbing with a new KOM

http://www.strava.com/activities/181382097

Anyway that was the good bits out of the way....Sunday evening I was cleaning the house and was leaning out the upstairs bathroom window (standing on the toilet) to try get a tennis ball out of the drain as the drain was blocked( i was leaning a long way out)- got the ball out of the drain but as I was getting back in I slipped and my lower ribs got caught and yanked in the window ledge- was in agony for the evening but hoped it would be ok next day, couldn't sleep that night and couldn't train monday - this was also supposed to be my peak week of training for the lost sheep, ribs have been getting worse and worse- sore to bend over or take deep breaths- tuesday again no training and popping pain killers and anti inflammatorys all day. Woke up wednesday and still in pain but pretended to the wife I was a lot better so I could get a training session done.

Wed 20th Aug Long SBR brick session- 2k swim at worlds end in 37mins- felt ok but found a big hole in the wetsuit on entering the water- not happy -not too sore though- planned then to meet the keeper cc group for 50k cycle straight after swim- so quickly off with the wetsuit and up to meet the group- had the tt bike so gave the lads 5mins and played a game of cat and mouse- was going strong but was very sore and every time I pedalled my thighs were hitting my ribs and causing discomfort- just blocked it out and kept going- caught the group after around 30km's and just kept going until I cycled passed 2 girls in trouble trying to change a puncture on a bike so I stopped and helped- took a while to get going again and av speed dropped off alot but did the 51.5km's at 33.6kph (would prob hve been over 35kph if I didnt stop)

http://www.strava.com/activities/183025116

When I got off the bike and tried to straighten up i let out a little yelp and I was pretty sore- got on the running shoes and wanted to see could I do a few km's - after 2-3kms the pain subsided so I kept going and managed an ok 10k in 46.16mins at 4.38mins/km - once I stopped and cooled down I was very sore- got home and popped more painkillers.

http://www.strava.com/activities/183056997

what to do now- race this weekend? dont race this weekend- race Lost Sheep ??? now to add some more misery...


Thurs 21st Aug Planned to try get a key session done today- a very hilly 80km bike on my tt bike with full tt setup including my new 60mm clinchers- followed by short run so set off with 3 big hills in mind- Shalee hill, the step in silvermines and the full silvermines climb, climbed Shalee in a new pb time, then onto the step (which I have never got to the top of) climbed hard up the step which was neverending- looking at me speedo reading 12,11,10,9,8 kph and still going- eventually got to the top but my ribs were in absolute bits (showing signs of bruising at the moment)... it was raining when I got to the top so decended slowly for the 2.7kms- fully on the brakes- getting close enough to the bottom of the hill I started smelling burn??? I looked down at the front wheel and it looked slightly buckled? the tyre also looked like it was popping then suddenly POP- front tube explodes- I stop the bike to see the front carbon clincher is completely warped and buckled and roasting hot- I felt like crying there and then... rang the wife to collect me- not a good week.... Ribs still in ribbons, wetsuit tore and new wheels in bits. Big race next weekend and no training done for it.

http://www.strava.com/activities/183368967