Time in the saddle

Cyclists will tell you there are no short cuts to improving performance.  It's all about time in the saddle.  Following my training in Majorca I took the rest of the week to recover and I'm pleased I did.  On Saturday when I headed out I could feel some fatigue in my legs.  But I enjoyed 72km "in the saddle" while climbing 800m and increasing my average speed.  Incremental improvements is the name of the game and my average speed had improved from before my training in Majorca.  Also my "mental" approach to hills had improved as well.  I was attacking them rather than preparing myself for pain!
This morning I headed out with my coach Genevieve and her husband Colin for a "short quality ride".  Colin's road bike had been written off in an accident so he was out on a cx bike with thicker (slower) tyres - didn't seem to make too much difference to him, probably wouldn't have seen him for dust on a road bike!  We kept a steady pace for 50km while climbing 563m and when I looked at the data, again my average speed had improved - marginally.
The highlight of the day however was talking to Genevieve (while eating cake and drinking coffee)about my plan for the next 9 months.  My Ironman training officially starts on 1 October and I am so excited to have a plan to follow.  I know from my Lanzarote Ironman how she meticulously prepares the plan specifically for me.  It will start with building my core strength in preparation for what's to come along with "base level" training - building a solid foundation on which to build.  We've already decided that I will be entering the Swashbuckler half ironman on 16 May 2016 as a way of testing my fitness and rehearsing in a race my transitions between the swim bike and bike run which are so important.  Just getting this detail in the calendar is starting to make it real.  Bring on 1 October!  I hope you enjoy following my transformation from a weekend warrior to an Ironman!  Thank you for your continued support.