Don't get even, get angry!

Today being a Friday it was commuting day, the weather forecast was for a lovely sunny day so despite:

1. The bike not having been washed post last 2 days of Tour of Wessex
2. Some strange swellings on each side of my ankles, about the size of half an apple
3. Lethargy and tiredness like you can't imagine (still-although also to do with some work I have been doing)
4. Odd numbness in my two little toes on my left foot (like the film) and my right hand being a bit numb still
5. To cap it all the wind forecast was for a north easterly in the morning and a south westerly in the evening, not just a cyclist's moan, it actually turned out like that-headwind in both directions, class.

it just had to be done.

And this morning I felt rough, slow, weak etc. etc. And yet when I looked at the stats for the trip I was amazed to find I had actually done an average speed of 15.7 mph, faster than usual despite everything. The evening run is generally slower as after a day at work and with little food since lunchtime it's hard to keep it up. So to speak. [I do love a good double entendre, don't you, not that that was a particularly good one].

So an average 14.7mph was a bit surprising. I think the momentum was helped significantly by an encounter with a driver who nearly took me out while talking on her mobile phone. I think that anger turned itself into adrenaline which gave me a boost when it was most needed. Hence the title of the post.

My heart rate was also down too, so perhaps I may be gaining a bit of power. If I could organise myself and train systematically I might actually get faster up hills too. While i remember I was 207th out of the 278th who finished the ToW. But of course sportives are not races. The medal was great too.

One final thought, cycling, like most sports, has a huge amount of psychology attached to it. For instance, I doubt if Cadel Evans will ever win a Grand Tour. I just don't think he is mentally tough enough. Another example. After every sportive I have ever done, even the short ones, I'm always pretty tired and feel it the next day. I feel pretty sluggish now and I've only done 45 miles in two trips today. Is it because i know I'm having a day off the bike tomorrow? My brain allows my body to feel tired.

When Bunny and I did LEJOG last year, and then again on ToW last week, we were getting up in the morning saying, "we shouldn't be able to do this", but every time we were able to get on the bike and off we went. Hard, yes, but far from impossible. In Bunny's case actually, fairly easy, but then he is a cycling God.

Any way, voila Charles:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/35667427