8, 40-ish and 02

8 weeks to go.  Gulp.  Anything in single figures is a bit scary...

Training has been somewhat curtailed this week - bonkers week, work wise, and then a bug too.  The Melodeon Master has it as well and he's actually more ill than I am - he has a hacking cough, and I just have an upset tum which means I didn't eat at all yesterday.

This is not good for my planned 70 miles 'on the flat' today.  I set off at 6.30am anyway, ignoring the sore throat and faintly queasy feeling.  From home in any direction is invariably uphill and the first 2 miles were hard going, then I hit downhill and then.... (drum roll) FLAT ROADS.  How much easier are the flat bits, eh?  This is the first time I've actually cycled on flat roads (near Marshfield, since you're asking) and it's soooooooo much easier than the hilly bits.  I went 'right' towards Cardiff, just to see where it went, then round a roundabout and back past where I started and on to Newport.  Easy peasy.  Until the spokes began to shatter.  I've no idea why, but after the second spoke went I decided to call it a day (and stomach cramps had kicked in).  At this point the wheels came off.  Literally.

It's funny - when I was on the MTB I was comprehensively ignored by road bikers.  Now that I'm on the road bike they all say 'hello' - what's all that about??  While I was waiting with my dismantled bike at the side of the road, two MAMILs stopped to ask if I was OK (which was very nice of them).  I explained the shattered spokes and that I'd phoned home to be collected, then we got chatting and I asked if they were going far.  It seems they'd come from Cardiff, were tackling one hill then going home for cake and coffee.  And avoiding Fathers' Day.  One hill?  Rubbish...

My shortened slightly feeble ride was 28.5 miles and I felt like I hadn't even started - which I guess is good?  Only 12 miles in the week on the turbo trainer, so just over 40 miles in the week.  Rubbish.  Next week will be better, and I will (hopefully) be able to eat properly - clearly trying to do an endurance event on an empty stomach is a mistake.

Although I had taken age-appropriate jelly babies with me...

And I'm also trying to increase my lung capacity.  Apparently blowing up balloons is a good idea.  We now have a kitchen full of balloons.  Or we would have if the Melodeon Master hadn't pointed out that I could simply blow up and deflate the same balloon lots of time over.

Doh.