Deluded’s blog

Monster pre start

By some miracle Team Deluded were loaded (the car) and setting off on the road to Inverness by 10am last Friday. The bikes were gleaming on the roof, the boot packed with kit bags and the back seat littered with bags of sweets and energy drinks. It felt like a holiday. We made excellent time, mainly due to the fact that Sarah, already in fine competative form, insisted on overtaking any vehicle on the A9 with a bike attached . Plenty of time to find the sports centre, register, unload and check the bikes and recce the last leg of the course. At the briefing and pasta party we were a little disconcerted to notice we were one of the few groups to sport total team branding. Not sure why; haring around the Highlands labelled as Deluded proved jolly good fun. We retired to our hotel to settle our nerves with a small glass of wine in the bar before trying to grab a few hours sleep.

An early start, we got to the sports centre at 6.15am, Jane, Sarah and Pauline to catch buses and boats to their transition points, me to limber up for an anxious 45 minutes. My leg, basically an off-road 10k race, involved a fast dash out along the Caledonian canal, before climbing along the Great Glen Way into beautiful pine forest. Early morning cool with the joy of the rising sun to take the pain out of the ascent. Finishing I handed on my dibber to Jane with words of encouragement before discovering a second breakfast in a tent.

A bus carried finishers to the next transition point where screens showed timings and positions for each leg. Delighted come in 35th on my run. Time to check over my bike, 2 wheels, no punctures, great. More food in a tent, then the excitement of watching the elite competitors fly into transition. Pauline soon appeared elegantly galloping through the trees to pass on the timing dibber. I ran to retrieve my bike then off on a glorious 22.5k of undulating forest path and track. Had been feeling worried about the cycling, new territory for all of us; but it was fun, grand views of Loch Ness and scary hairpin bends before a speedy finish into Fort Augustus, where Jane was waiting to start her gruelling ride up a mountain pass. Ah joy to finish, sit in a field with more food from a tent, following the progress of team on the big screen. Time to exchange the story of your race and your life with other competitors as we return by bus to the finish. 

Reunited with my Deluded team mates, we talked through every inch of the race and toasted ourselves with real ale.

Thanks to my team mates for a superb event

Monster- bikes ready to go

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Bike training for the Monster

Only a week to go until the Deluded team, Jane, Sarah, Pauline and I, take part in the Monster Duathlon. Our training as ever has not been plain sailing as we all have been hampered by illness and injury, (most of the injuries caused by falling off bikes). The latest calamity to strike has been a nasty virus, contracted not by me but by my computer, hence my recent cyber silence. This disaster however has not been without benefits; the inability to go online has prevented me from indulging in the usual pre-event panicky shopping spree and has saved me a small fortune in buying technical and medical items to make us go faster. Apologies to my team mates I have not after all purchased the following items:

Gortex lingerie, rose-tinted sports glasses, on bike portable defibrillator, Beef-it-Up Energy Drink, electric trainers, etc etc...

Instead I can contribute the following items;

1 out-of-date energy gel, two Bugs Bunny plasters, half a bottle of Muck-Off,  Brownie Guide First Aid Badge circa 1970's, 1 pair of legs ( high mileage, one careless owner), competitive streak (honed into cut-throat determination through training with WRC ) 

And also I would make the following pledge, " I promise to do my best, to serve my queen and country and to help other people"..................... hang on a minute thats the Brownie Guide promise I was thinking more along the lines of the 3 Musketeers. Anyway  I will give the event my all and try not to let my amazing team mates down. Thanks to all our friends at WRC for supporting our deluded efforts.

Its now only two weeks till we head North for our epic journey of bravery and courage, fearlessly stepping into the unknown, going where no other WRC ladies have gone before, taking on ..... THE MONSTER. 

Tony has done a fantastic job moulding us into finely tuned athletes.  He's had us working at threshold, 70%, 80%, 90%, 100% and I think I also reached the dizzy heights of 110%.  He's had us bricking and bonking, hammering and pumping, always offering praise and encouragement.  He didn't even complain when I had my first fall and took him down with me (only a few weeks after his op)! 

We had our final 'long' ride today - to the Barn at Beal and back  (and a nice piece of cake and coffee while we were there).  That is a great ride, about 30 miles, hillier than we expected and a good workout.

We've suffered illness and injury, work and family, highs and lows.  All that is left now is a nice taper and we'll be ready to load the cars up and we'll be off. 

Walking-bike-max-knight-2

The time trial at Alnwick two weeks ago was a very traumatic experience. Dolly and Tammy realised that free-wheeling is never permitted and braking only rarely. There was a complicated system of hand signals and shouts to be learnt, the girls gamely joined in yelling "Car behind" and "Riding on the horn". Oh how embarrassing to trail in last and then discover that the lumpy bit on the handlebar is called the hood not the horn....

Since then Deluded have got serious... all talk now is about cadence and cleats. Patsy is studying Nicole Cooke's book and keeps muttering about blue and green routes. We are spinning our way around a 6 mile loop near Chillingham faster and faster and faster....

Cadence training, Chillingham

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Robson is not the only one with newfangled pedals.  I took my birthday pennies to Breeze Bikes tonight and spent the lot!  New saddle, stem, shoes, cleats, pump, gloves - the lot.  As the owner looked proudly at the bike he'd just converted into his own profit, he stepped back and said the dreaded words "all you have to do now is ride it". 

I believe Tony is working on a schedule for us to involve copious amounts of running and cycling over the next 10 weeks.... 

First day strapped into the semi pro pedals. Fell off on first attempt but soon got the hang of having my feet being well and truly fixed. When concentrating (always tricky for a Robson) you do get much more power> I found chanting PUSH.PULL kept me focused on the cycling and pushed me along in a slicker fashion.

Go Get them pedals girls.

This blog marks the official start of our duathlon training.  We are four, fit, feisty,  forty-something females who are taking on the Monster.  We are up for it, we have all the gear, we have the determination, we have the ability, we are... Deluded. 

Hop aboard our emotional roller coaster and join in the thrills, trials and tribulations of our training.  Remember to fasten your seat belts because this guarantees to be a somewhat rocky ride.