Time to bare the fruits of Spain.....FTP Testing Time!

After a solid month including a training camp in Spain over the holidays it was time to test the Functional Threshold again......next post to detail how it went!

After a solid month of training including a semi training camp in Spain, it was time to test again today! Good progress...details to follow on the blog (link in bio) #ftptest #wattagecottage #ciclismo #xterraoffroad #livemore #dirttri

A photo posted by Iain Banks (@iainbanks1) on Jan 14, 2017 at 4:50pm PST

Is that Mud or Poop!

As much as I like climbing its really the rural farm roads that excite me when riding. Last week in Spain there were lots of great roads that rolled through the best rural villages #ciclismo #rouleur #isthatmudorpoop #flahute

A photo posted by Iain Banks (@iainbanks1) on Dec 30, 2016 at 6:37am PST

Dec 14th - Dec 20th: Training Ramblings.....Correr en España

On Saturday we jetted off for the holiday vacation back to the UK and Spain for two weeks, meaning that I would be off the bike for 14 days so run, run, run it was.  The first week was split between the UK and then off to Spain to see Sarah's parents who now live out there.

It was good to run around the old haunts of my childhood while in Southend, it seemed such a long way when I was on my bike as a kid.....now it is just part of a run! In Spain it was fun to run on different roads and especially along the canal which just goes on and on and on and on (ok you get the idea).  The weather is Spain was fine, not hot and sunny like we all think it is. They have a winter too, so it was shorts and long-sleeve for running. 

Orihuela on the first day in Spain

Aside from the first travel day to the UK, I ran every day so in 6 days got in 45miles, which for me is about double for a regular December week.  The legs held up and managed to get in some decent efforts, fueled by a solid November run month.

I also squeezed in a swim at the local center that opened last year.....slightly embarrassing that you had to wear a swim cap, which I didn't have. I think the lifeguard was having great fun when he gave me this one... 

It did me a solid for 45mins swimming though!

 


Total: 46 Miles / 6 hours 05 minutes

Swim: 2,250 yards / ~1.28 miles / 0 hours 44 minutes

Bike: 0 miles / 0 hours 0 minutes

Run: 45 miles /5 hours 21 minutes

A Bit Like London Buses.....

You don't see one for hours and then two come along at once!

Sarah and I have only just booked our flights to visit the Motherland and today in a rush to grab the decent flight times and good prices, we also booked our flights down to Clearwater for the Worlds in November. You don't have a vacation for months (Charleston in February) and then you book flights for two in a matter of days!

Both should be great trips and Clearwater will be the ending of a long season, just the right time to spend a few days on the beach after the final race of the year (and before winter sets in here in Maryland). Before then however, we have lots of training to do and we have to navigate the infested waters of a trip to England (last two weeks in August)......

Anyone would have thought that going back to England would be an easy trip to plan and one where we can have a two week rest amongst friends and family. Not so fast....except for the four days out in Spain visiting Sarah's parents, which will be relaxing along the Mediterranean Sea on the Costa Blanca coast, the rest is a matter of trying to squeeze everyone and everything into a few days. It will be a positive whirlwind of activity.

For the past week or so we have been trying to organize a schedule for while we are in England and it appears to be working out well at the moment....with the exception of a few stubborn people ;-) it looks as though we will be able to see everyone! The trick now will be getting in some decent training (only a month away from ChesapeakeMan) and not succumbing to the healthy english diet of fish & chips, beer (none of the "Lite" stuff) and stodgy puddings (desserts!).....oh yeah and trying not to catch a cold in the delightful English weather!

Creative menu, huh!