Long cycle

Went for a long cycle this evening, one of the cross training sessions on the FIRST plan. Went with another lad here in Cambridge who's also doing Gael Force in August and the plan was to get 50km's in. The weather all week has been absolutely fabulous and today was no exception.

For the first hour or so took it relatively easy, just spinning the legs but still making a good pace. After that, pushed up the effort level a bit and at one point our overall average pace was hitting 18mph. Unfortunately a quick toilet break reduced this significantly and a slight headwind, coupled with tired legs and a hungry belly meant the average pace dropped until the finish.

Overall, very happy with the cycle and will probably give this route another go at some point. Overall distance was 56.34km (+ 4.85km to start point), total time was 2hrs 04m 21s (+ 12m 19s) and average speed 27.2kmph (23.6kmph).

Quick update

Figure I may as well write a quick update for anyone thats interested in how Gael Force went. I'll hopefully get around to writing a proper report in the next few days.

I really enjoyed the race, even while suffering on Croagh Patrick. Overall, I took 6hrs 15mins which was more or less the figure I predicted (of 6hrs 1min). A couple of things would have made me get closer to that goal, but I'll leave that for the bigger report. Suffice to say, I'm really happy with the time and will more than likely be back next year to better it.

As for how I felt afterwards, surprisingly good. I felt fine the next day, around the same as I'd normally feel after a GAA game.