15th March 2019
Today is the last day of the training camp. I managed to get a couple of hours sleep last night, a bit more than the night before but only about 5 minutes more deep sleep.
Hopefully I’ll be able to get a decent amount of sleep tonight. Tomorrow night isn’t going to be the best night’s sleep because I need to be up super early Sunday morning to get my bike, cycling and running kit, and everything else I need after the swim, to my place in transition. With transition only open between 5am and 7am that’s going to be a super early start. Hopefully I’ll be able to grab a bite to eat far enough in advance of the race start at the hotel. Nothing heavy. Just some porridge or a bowl of fruit.
Today’s training sessions were the usual early morning swim. Not as far as other days but still far enough, especially as I was swimming with paddles on my hands for the entire session.
When I get home, I need to trim them down to fit my hands better and use them during my sessions a couple of times a week. The last week has highlighted that I need to spend more time in the pool in order to increase my swim strength and speed.
After breakfast we had a time trial bike session. We did the session this morning, while still dealing with full stomachs, because the forecast for the afternoon was heavy rain. Something which came true in style when we got thunder and lightning.
I managed nearly fourteen miles during the TT session. Not bad for me, and something I’m hoping carries forward to Sunday and beyond.
Coming back for a second year’s training has been good, especially when you add in racing Ayia Napa, as I’ve had a couple of sessions where I’ve had slightly more challenging things to do. Like in the TT sessions where I’ve had to do longer loops with sections of “mad” efforts.
This time last year I would have been absolutely shattered. This year, I’m tired but my muscles aren’t aching and sore. If anything, I think I’ve recovered well after most of the sessions. A bit of soreness but nothing that a few days recovery won’t sort out.
If I wasn’t racing Ayia Napa on Sunday, I’d be dismantling my bike and packing it in the bike box and putting the rest of my clothes and gear in my bag ready to catch a flight home tomorrow. As it is, the bike will end up going in the car along with the bike box and then getting dismantled and packed away on Monday. The rest of my stuff will either get tossed in the box or in the bag depending on whether I’m going to need it or not, and whether it’s wet and dirty or clean.
I’ve spent a bit of money, but not masses and masses. The next few days will see me spending a bit more but with luck I’ll still have enough left over for when I go to Finland and won’t be having to get more Euros in order to go out there, or at least not huge amounts.
Although it’s been great having company for the last week, I’m looking forward to having a bit of time to myself next week in Ayia Napa. Monday I’m just going to chill and recover, not going very far. On Tuesday I’m going to go and visit the Monastery there and maybe will get a bit more of a sense of God’s presence. Something I’ve not felt for a long time.
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