Week seven - Tuesday

I was determined this week to get back into my training programme properly so I set out on this ride with a target in mind.  I really wanted to ride at an average mph of more than 13mph.  I need to be averaging at least this speed in the Sportive so I need to practice this.  Obviously a sportive is not a race and as it is the first time I have done one I do not have a time I am trying to beat, or indeed set, but there is a time limit on the route.  There are three points at which I will be timed and if I have not made it in the required time I will be disqualified of sorts.  I believe I can still continue and do the 100 miles but my time won't count or be registered.  There is no way I want this to happen! 

I decided to do my favourite route as it is relatively flat so good for speed training.  I knew I was making good time and used the speedometer on my bike to keep an eye on myself.  It was really handy as whenever I saw I was dropping in speed I forced myself to dig a little deeper.

It worked.  As you can see I managed 13.6 mph which is great.  I'd like to get it up to closer to 14mph by August but I have time to achieve this.  

  

    The mph average I'd wanted - at last!

The big question of course is could I have maintained this (and more) for the 8-9 hours I need to do the sportive in?  The honest answer at this point is no, probably not, but that's where I can improve over the next 9 weeks.  I intend to use the longer weekend rides for stamina training and also need to improve my overall fitness.  This means loosing a bit of weight and trying to find time to include some more exercise into my week on non-cycling days.

Hopefully my success in achieving my target on this ride will help me achieve my other targets.