Palace to Palace 2012 - 45 miles+ cycled - a Victory lap of 2012 training

2 medals in 2 weeks!

What a fortnight! Today's Palace to Palace marks the completion of my longest organised cycle ride to date, and although it is not a timed race, but an opportunity to raise funds for the Prince's Trust as well as for networking - I cannot help but apply the mindset of a marathon runner to the Bike ride - and have a few noticeable differences to a running race. In an organised bike ride:

1. there's no time to linger at the start (and almost missed my team start at 802am!), your hands are not free once you are summoned to the start line - no time to retrieve unworn sunglasses, unstarted GPSes (if it is in your bag), the only way to do anything is to stop


2. it's a lot easier to pass the 'talk test' although one has to multitask well, and watch the traffic when roads are not blocked


3. the more gears available the better for killing those hills!

With multiple starts/stops with my companions - I managed to make the 45 mile distance from Buckingham Palace to Windsor castle in just over 4 hours - if only this was a marathon time! The level of exertion isn't as bad as I thought (as you can stop!!) and I skipped 2/3 of the drinks stations!
Also received a lot of nice comments from those overtaking me on a Brompton - as if I am already in fancy dress (in cycling terms today: hiring a Boris bike to tackle the distance, Tigger suit, Tandems)
"I dont know how you do it in a Brompton!"
"I take my hat off to you!"
"If you had used a road bike you wouldve been a lot faster!!"...
The truth is, it wasn't that difficult - the Brompton foldable is actually a powerful machine- despite its small wheels, I was able to tackle all of the hills during the course without once getting off the bike :)
The other advantage of it is being able to get on London Public Transport at the crack of dawn (first bus 615- at 4 degrees celsius and when it was still pitch dark outside! and then on the Piccadilly Line - eastbound to Hyde Park corner!)

 Getting out from Hyde Park corner meant I got to go down past Buckingham Palace and the Mall to see how the start works - the area is lovely at 745am on a sunday morning!

 

Didn' t have too many photos to share along the route - but many memories (too tired to note for now but will sure capture it for later!) - many of these are from running/cycling earlier on this year/previous years.

This is Richmond Park - Misty - (and too much in love...!) a welcomed retreat after going through Millbank , Chelsea and Putney.

Richmond Park usually means hills to me, and glad to report, what I saw today wasn't the worst i have seen, as we were going downhill into Ham! skipped first drinks station (as it was too early after the first rest break ) and headed onto kingston - back along the river - bushy park - a308 along kempton park - only too familiar!
into Lower sunbury - and shepparton....yeap, walton on thames - past the road of the chicken run....and near 'yes- the meadow with lots of cows!' and across Chertsey bridge...a glimpse to the right, my usual 10k training route back home...
and into Chertsey - past a particularly hilly run through Lyne and into 'single file cycling only' territory - a stone's throw from my new-home-and playground-to be...new parks and heathlands to explore...and then more hills, up and down...but after some adjustment to the height of my seat....I stayed on the saddle through all of these..
at times it feels like a downhill ski, when I duck my head to let the wind pass on top of my helmets...whooaa..what a feeling.
and into Virginia Water, Englefield Green - yep, very familiar territory, and the big downhill into Old Windsor (it was only in late spring that we did a group run through runnymede on this) - all in all..very recent.
Into windsor, when fellow cyclists 'oohhed and ahhed' to stop and take pictures of the Home Park , and the first glimpse of Windsor Castle. I didnt need to. All done so many times before...and then, to the final miles, to Windsor Racecourse..
It was closer to noon, and traffic was building up in the area to what turned out to be a day of cool but clear blue skies. We were asked to use the footpath, which wasn't easy to navigate. Almost there, but no final dash allowed...felt a bit like the cobblestones last week into Grand Place of Brussels! Seeing riders coming out from the finish riding with their medals round their neck only kept me going...

Finally...Windsor Racecourse came into sight. and the finish line was there! Yes! Another medal to add to the collection!

some food and drink and to catch up with my colleagues and friends who have arrived before me - it was lovely to have made it!

Slightly refueled and decided to dodge the 1 hour wait for the next train home - I rode the extra mileage home, in 35 minutes. Knowing that the moment I stop and wait , I will get colder and my legs would seize up, I didn't regret this decision.
It has been a long day - and a long 2 weekends. What next? all i can think of now, is a good night's sleep and any tensions and pains to go away.  :)

Brussels Marathon - Oct 7th - a quick review....

Conquered those crazy hills with a Personal Best...only just!


A hilly course through the capital of belgium, a small marathon and considered a non-PB course, but with the right mindset, our group of 3 did it!

of course this was mapped by my faithful Runkeeper iPhone App who declared I have done an Ultra Marathon (43km+ Thanks to lack of GPS inside tunnels) - it nevertheless illustrates that we parted from the Half marathon crowd (whom I never saw, at around 20kms, to go into the woods) and back up into town again...my iPhone battery drained at the finish line, to deliver this result, and a last text message of where my hubby has been waiting for me.

Thanks to a conversation with a 3:57 veteran, we were prewarned - Some long uphills around 30km mark to save your energy for, once onto 40kms (which is near the start),

one can let loose  - (the first time in my racing 'career' that my toes have felt like they were burning in the last 6kms. )

running down these slopes through the arches, with photographers lining the grass...do I let my toes burn, or regret forever? I chose the former ;)

to hit the Grand Place finish (minding the cobblestones on the last 1km or so and entering via meandering the corner where the new Superdry store is, Tintin, Godiva...and in the centre of the Grand Place....the big clock....saying something less than what my fridge magnet at home says, so I knew...the PB is in the bag. :)

LHS: Seng's medal that came with free waffle, and foil body wrap and AA sports drink. Right: Mine, No frills, approx 3/4 hour later..after all, I am an 'ultra endurance athlete' per Lucozade re time out on the road, and therefore need no other encouragement. ;p

 Good atmosphere with crowds, marshalls and drink station volunteers cheering your name printed on your bib. "Allez Bonnie"...

A chance also to feel like an elite with 'personal drink' service available (although I didn't trust the service and came with no stickers/flags to label..hence I was my own personal drink carrier as I learnt from Amsterdam Half that AA (pronounced Ah-Ah - the Dutch 'After Activity' Isotonic drink, does nothing to me).






Then, an evening of enjoying the Best of Brussels culinary treats with my fellow runners and fellow travellers from Texas..

Another Blue technical shirt to keep...here's my collection of marathon finishing tshirts (all sub-5's!) over the years (missing Paris - which was another boring white tee good enough only for sleeping) - very, very relieved to report that it has been a consistent improvement in times over the 4.5 years since I started 'doing marathons'.


There's lots to juggle at the moment, so I should stop now and save more for the emotional, technical entry which I will post soon to do this event justice. A few days now to recuperate, eating and sleeping well, ensuring my legs can still move, for the Palace to Palace bike ride this sunday (Thanks All who are reading this, and have contributed to my fundraising efforts so far!).

(K)night Rider

Got my gear ready for the Palace to Palace bike ride from the post room today. Here's the back view:





Very timely. It's getting colder, and for the first time, I rode half of my commute after sunset. Lucky I was able to make use of this jacket, and the roads and bridges across the Thames were pretty well illuminated.

That's it. Last bike ride before I head across the Channel for Brussels for 26.2 miles on my feet.

Then it's all cycle, cycle, cycle til Sunday 14th!
Later!

Link to my sponsorship page ;
http://bitly.com/TVkAkX

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Almost there!

The end of a long road.
4 consecutive years of marathon training - 3 spring, 1 autumn.
2012 was a long training season, starting with Wokingham Half (Feb) with nothing in the horizon, til Milton Keynes (July) and then...Pilgrim Trail Half  (Sept). and finally...the crazy fortnight of Brussels Marathon and Palace to Palace Cycle is just around the corner...(please sponsor me here if you haven't already!)
Last weekend was a busy one, 'cross training' between lifting boxes, and a final 11-miler on sunday morning up to Shepparton-on-Thames, a route that I've come to know very well and this year, down to even the mile splits.
Yes, the milestones I have created for myself, the little excitements to look out for.
There's been many times I've looked:
-The Scout camp, doing all sorts of fun things at different times of the day.
-The families setting up volleyball nets on the meadow where my cows roam
-at the barge selling pots of jams by the shore, where it's moored - could I have stopped and paid and carried one home?
There wasn't the time, and logistics to do that on a weekend run.
The days are getting shorter, cooler, summer is almost over...



 
It's been lovely seeing the Thames Path over this summer, having missed the peak of it last year - the ups and downs, lessons learnt on hydration, nutrition, experimenting with different terrain, clothing choice, technology (or better, lack of) - some of my friends ask: will I ever get tired of it?
I can almost visualise the Brussels marathon expo like every other. Check-in, collect bibs, tour and last minute bargains on sports gear, early saturday night. mushy breakfast on sunday morning, bin bags before the start...and then run, run, run until the finishing line :)

and...the day after? now this year, I've got Palace to Palace bike ride to look forward to.

Miss Brompton has made a big difference in my life. Shortened (or more fun) commutes, efficient running of errands, the dual ego of a pedestrian/cyclist ....I've never cycled so much in my life. Have I followed the training plan for the 45-mile ride? I might've done my mileage only on feet, but every little bike ride counts. The legs and body feel rejuvenated even when my feet are sore and tired...a quick dash to the shops, to the station, makes it worth it (at the expense of carrying more luggage, and not looking as civilised when arriving at the office).and the friends one makes when I have "Sagey" Brompton in tow. The nods with fellow bike commuters, the race on unfolding our bikes at the station (I won :) ) makes it so much more fun - at the expense often of a proper seat...but less load on my back, and a (sometimes) good excuse to get home before one needs to use/rely on the lights.

The good thing is, after the 7th, I dont have to care about race time anymore, as the Palace to Palace on the 14th is not a race, its a journey through the city I love, the Palace I use to work just right down the road from....along to the back routes through the Parks that I love...potentially near my new home...and then to the working home of Her Majesty - Windsor, a place that holds much (touristic) memories and a destination for quite a few of my long runs and weekend bike rides.

Time to get some sleep - 3 more to go! But too much to do before setting off again on the commute!