No cycling......no problem

It's Sunday evening, the sun is shining - a rarity in Manchester this year - and I am sitting in the garden with my partner enjoying the early evening sunshine with a glass of Argentinian white wine and a bowl of hula hoops.  Not your average training routine I know, but it is a rest day.

You could be forgiven for thinking it has been a rest week as there have been no training updates for a while, so I feel compelled to set the record straight.

I have signed up for another challenge prior to Cycle Cuba, and the event is fast approaching.  I am taking part in a 199 mile relay race across Oregon, USA along with 11 other team mates.  We all run 3 x 10km (approximately) over 36 hours (again, approximately), taking us from Mount Hood, just outside Portland, to the Pacific coast.  It is the longest relay race in the world - an amazing experience as you run through the night - no stopping till you are at the beach with a beer in your hand!

I am really lucky to have a place in a team as places on this race fill up the day registration opens - it is like getting a place in the London Marathon.  I am running with some of my work colleagues from our office in the USA, along with some people I don't know.  All planning has been done via email.

Consequently, my training over the last couple of weeks has been running focused - my poor bike has only been used as a handy stand to dry my umbrella!  I have still been going to my spin class though - I am now hooked!  That said,  it isn't getting any easier yet.  My bum has just about recovered from one class by the time the next one comes round.

I have 4 weeks training to go before I fly to the States and this weekend I did my first 'double run' - 5.5 miles on Friday evening and 8 miles on Saturday morning.   Today I feel tired.  I have to be able to do this, plus one more run, without a sleep in between.  There is still work to be done, and not of the Argentinian white, dry, fruity, delicious variety!

I am trying to bin off the mid-week drinking and have almost been successful - just falling at the Friday night hurdle.  I thought I was going to make it this week, but after our run, my other half asked the fatal question - "Are you going to be good or bad?"  Now, I can wrestle with my inner demon silently and have a chance of winning, but once those words are spoken and I know that he is caving in, I am a lost cause.  This week I will be strong.

Next weekend I am going for 3 runs - 5 miles Friday evening, 5 miles Saturday morning, 8 miles Saturday evening.  Thank goodness Saturday evening is not covered by my drinking embargo - you will find me on the sofa with a large glass of something cold, ...............recovering.