Training has started ( sort of)

Well, i'm at least half a month later than planned doing this blog and have had to drag myself off the sofa to do it, after a 2 hr bike ride this afternoon. Not long i know, but i did cycle from here to the skylark at clearbrook on the moors then back through the plym cycle trail to Plympton and then back up from marsh mills so its not a bad time for only my second big bike ride.I know the ride from clearbrook to saltram is 13 miles so add on 40 mins actually getting to the starting point first and i must have done about 20-25 miles, which i know is really poor but at least it felt quite easy. wierd how i feel so tired now though 4 hrs later.
Yes i'm officially on week 7 of the 20 week training programme and i have officially done all of 5 bike rides. But this is owing to the fact that i had squealing brakes and was scared to go out on the damn thing when it was raining and then i finally returned to work and did two induction days during which i was ill AGAIN, with some sickness bug, keep getting ill since christmas. Then the day before i started work i had a gum infection and had to get antibiotics from the dentist, then i had to revise for a job interview on tues for a permanent job on tuesday which i failed miserably at and then i've been busy looking after the kids all this week with the other half being slightly incapacitated at the moment. So it was getting to the stage where i could barely keep my eyes open let alone remember my name or what i had been doing for the last five years ( how dare they ask such technical questions at interviews) or do anything remotely resembling exercise.
But hey, now spring is here, so today was the day to kick start the cycling and hopefully i will be on a roll now with 3 bike rides a week. And i'm even starting to like my bike( a liitle bit.) I did take it back to where i bought it and thank god i got a different bloke who actually listened to me, took it away and fixed it and told me yes the brakes were all over the place and also the gears weren't aligned or something. So it feels a lot better now. He was really good at explaining all the technical stuff to me so i plucked up courage to ask him what the little black thing was sticking up from the handlebar, and he pinged it and said " it's the bell" Anyway,whether it was the bike or the black lycra leggings i don't know but i fair flew past all the other cyclists on the plym trail today ( they were at least 65, i know) But the other week when i went up and around bickleigh and shaugh prior before heading back on the trail, i paused at the stile for a drink and two seasoned cyclists clad head to toe in racing gear flew past me and continued to make mincemeat of the 2:1 gradient signposted tavistock 10 miles that i had decided i was not going to even contemplate at this stage. And they looked at least 80. Which made me think- you're never to old to start, and if i start at 40 maybe i will finally be fit at 80. Although james told me today when he made some comment about how Keira is growing up too fast with the whole rock star dancing and sticking her bum out that she has started doing at the moment and said i bet your mum is looking forward to the teenage years, or something along those lines she apparently replied" won't she be dead by then?" Thanks. Even the two year old prods my face and suggests " magic cream?" and then prods my stomach and laughs when she says " bouncy belly"
At any rate by some miracle, or maybe not as the timing is akin to the sudden flash of inspiration i would get the day before my essays had to be in at Uni( the ones' that you got six weeks to prepare for), i have in one weekend seen my offline fundraising total boosted by a massive £300 so with any luck when i pay it all in tomorrow i will be around the £900 mark and not the nearly£600 mark which it has been for some time. The girls night on friday went really well and all the mums were such good fun and my friend kate had a steady stream of people getting their nails done. Despite at least 7 that couldn't make it 13 turned up with a tenner each, and yes i am ignoring what i spent on wine and booze for the evening. It was worth it and i got £130 for my pot. Then my mum did a great job down the church and with other sponsorship from friends and family and a generous £100 from james brother's company i'm finally getting there, and can hopefully take a breather for a bit. I haven't sold anything on gum tree yet, evidently no companies have any money to give me, which i was expecting, but i have got another car boot lined up for next sun and will be reeling in all those last minuters, as well as possibly annoying people at work for more pennies.
So that's all really, now the real training can start. I ve actually got a meet-up in london with lots of my fellow cyclists at the end of April and i will be mortified if i turn up looking like lard and they are all looking like the front cover of top sante. So i will definately be putting the hours in now.
Thank you for everyone who continues to have faith in me when i've had enough
I will hopefully get my camera fixed in time to post some sporty shots later in the month!
Laters, kim x