Weekend of first's!!

No not first kiss - I'm a bit old for that!! But first sea swim - Brahhh! it was cold. I looked for every oppourtunitry not go in, but told myself if i did 10 mins i'd let myself have coffee on the seafront. So Neoprened out in new Zoot Suit, hat and booties, i venture into the 11 degrees. Once my hands went from painful to just numb I actually started to enjoy it and spent almost 40 minutes in the water. Dissapointingly forgot to put my £2 for coffee in my bag :-(

Sunday followed with my first 25 mile Time Trial -Dismal time and just pure pain, but had a good hard run off the bike. The afternoon was spent eating too much cake (couldn't resist a second chocolate slice) at a house warming tea and cake party!!

Next week off to King of the Mountains holiday and training - latest update is that the white stuff is on the retreat :-)

Despite my best intentions, i've been a complete slacker!

At updating my blog only, the rest of my life has been madness for the past couple of weeks. working lots (more than i want to and more than I'm paid for!, putting together a piece of research I've been working on - work again!!. Within that I've been swimming lots, cycling lots and running quite a bit! The past 6 weeks have just been manic! Some good things have happened in between all that.

1. Took Simon (boyfriend) away for his birthday and for a break from craziness in the New Forest at the end of March. Rented a cabin for the long weekend. Did some good long rides, but the weather wasn't liking us - drowned rats one day and snowed on the next!

2. Discovered home shopping - I place my food shopping online and some lovely delivery man brings it right into the kitchen - bliss. My life's been made so much better by that alone.

3. Finished paying of Hawaii credit card bill - thank goodness! Only one more and student loan to go to be debt free!!!!

4. Only 3 weeks until for to King of the Mountains - for a week of cycling and catching up with Guy and Helyn. I'm hoping the cold white stuff is retreating.

5. Started racing again - did first time trial on Thursday - a 2 up with the boyfriend. Enjoyed the hurt!

6. I'm now running for 90 mins!!!!!! - Weymouth half ironman is looking likely!!

7. Found a local coffee roaster, which roasts your beans and then dispatches on the same day - for super fresh and delicious coffee beans - very important!

8. Went home for Easter weekend and caught up with the family. Had lunch with my younger brother, Jamie - had a good gossip and quizzed him about his new and first proper girlfriend. Also my other brother, Simon, his girlfriend Natasha is riding a cycle challenge for the stroke association in June. She hasn't ridden a bike for years - She rocks!

9. Discovered Gavin and Stacey on BBC i player - how have i missed this!

10. Learnt home to completely stripped and rebuild by road bike, when i had a spring clean. Now feel like i can call myself a proper bike rider. Actually I can probably do more repairs/fixes to my bike than most of the boy's i train with. Having said that i still prefer Simon to check over the gears.

Happy training

Sarah xxx

Good things come in small packages! (or large boxes if your greedy!)

Yesterday I arrived home from my ride to find a large box outside our flat door!

The lovely people at DJM had sent me my spring 09 training and racing kit - oh my god the excitement could not be contained. Even before I could get my helmet and sweaty bike kit off I had the box open and was tearing open the plastic bags to inspect my new kit!!

Like a child in a sweetshop (unless it's the sweet shop on Rye high street, which has sweets in jars floor to ceiling - I'm in heaven) I couldn't wait to try it all on.

Can't wait for the weather to get warm so it can be worn in all its glory, rather than hidden under winter layers.

Sported my new Zoot swim costume at training this am - In 90 minutes it and I got treated to 1,100m warm up, 2,400m paddle, pull and band set, 250m kick than to finish 20 x 25m fly off 40 seconds. Having never done a full length fly! let alone 20, I started doing 1/2 length one arm, 1/2 length butterfly. But I like a challenge so after the 3rd 25m, I decided to see if i could do a full length. It wasn't very pretty, or very fast, but got to the other side and had about 10 seconds rest. So my first length butterfly, turned into 17 lengths :-)

Easy Week!

This last week has been an easy training week and with Simon away on a course (cycle mechanic's course - funny since he's been fixing bikes almost as long as I've been alive!) I've had the flat to myself. But I've been boring! Training done -and the evenings spent reading journal articles and doing yoga. Long baths (I've finished the bubbles!) and early nights. But body and mind feeling ready to go again. When training you look forward to days off and easy weeks, but when actually come around, you want to throw yourself back into training again.

Swimming update: Still at the back of the slowest lane, in morning swim session. But have done an 86 for 100m's, during a set - that's a 2009 PB and equal to my fast 100m ever!!! Oh and still can't do butterfly and hate back crawl with band.

Finally putting fingers to keys!

As my boyfriend has just put it - "about time". And yes I apologies to all my avid readers! If I have kept you on the edge of your seats waiting in anticipation since I announced a new blog. I honestly did have good intentions of writing regularly, but life has been a bit hectic and gotten in the way. Decided it would be really good to apply for a new job, which I didn't get! Also to develop myself as a clinical educator and do some teaching session to carers - which has involved taking a lot of work home. Stressful! Become very scatty, for example forgetting bike lock or house keys. The worst being leaving the car lights on twice in a two week period, draining the battery and having to get recovery guys out to rescue me. What makes it worse is I only drove the car 3 times in that two week period.

So the more interesting stuff - what's been happening with me since the start of 2009. Well, quite a lot - I've started training under Sarah Coope of Bodyworks xtc. Now in 7th week of training and all going well, but I've never done such hard turbo sessions. I've also joined the swim squad. So 4 mornings a week I'm getting my arse kicked, by 10 year olds. But the tough swim sets are hopefully going to help bring up my weakest discipline. And best news of all I'm back running - not very fast or far. but back pounding the pavements. Rather the soft surfaces of the downs surrounding Eastbourne.

Race plans for this season aren't set in stone yet, but likely to do a couple of UK half Ironmans and maybe Almere Ironman - we'll see how the running goes. But importantly holidays are booked. One week in the french Alps staying with our friends who have converted an old school house and run a chalet business for outdoors-ey people like cyclists etc - king of the mountains. We last visited the day before their very first guest in 2005, so be lovely to stay with them again. Plus the location is fab, Bourg d'Oisans in 10km and some of the major Col's are close by. So here's hoping that cold white stuff (aka snow) is going by late May and we can do some crazy cycling.

Promise to be better at blogging

Sarah xxx

p.s Just found out my boyfriend Simon has been a secret blogger - so if you're a bike geek you might fine his rambles interesting. His blog is http://simontunderwood.blogspot.com/