Fully aware of the fact that I suffered badly in the heat on Sunday and that I may not have enough time to recover fully for this Sunday, I intended to do a hard hot brick session to prove I’m one of those kind of triathletes.
I um’d and ah’d all morning at work about cutting the day short and doing my mad brick in 30C temp’s.
At 13:00 finally bit the bullet and took a half day holiday. I then realised that with getting into work late because of getting onto the train and missing my coffee, then that slow train being held up at Potters Bar, I’d missed breakfast as well as my required morning coffee.
I had been so busy at work that I hadn’t drunk much at all, if anything, all day. You might think this unwise. Not so for a highly trained athlete[sic]. All that was needed was a Cornish pasty and a diet coke from Kings Cross before hopping on the train.
Nutrition: the fourth discipline? Suck it!
Due to the time i actually left work and trains/buses, I didn’t get home until 15:15 and it was 15:45 before I was on the road by which time the temperature was up near 30C
Brick Part 1: Bike
32km in 1:06
Hitting those hills like Froome battling Quintana up Mont Ventoux, my calves started cramping at ~20km.
Alleviated a bit by trying to stretch my calves out on the downstroke and pull more on the upstroke, concentrating on pedal stroke form.
I also took on some water and a saltstick tablet. Cramps eased a little after a few more km, although the niggle was present for most of the rest of the ride.
Noticed that I was being a bit cautious on descents especially when cornering after last weeks accident. It seemed like every corner had gravel down the centre line and it was generally dusty throughout the whole ride.
When I came into Baldock, whilst waiting and pulling out at a junction I may have kicked my cadence/speed sensor, from that point I got no further cadence readings.
Pulled back into Cleveland Way at about 1:05 after leaving, for a quick change over and new water bottle with cold water.
Brick Part 2: Run
Felt a little uneasy to start with and wasn’t sure how far to go, as it was so hot, did I mention it was ~30C?
Decided to just go for 5km route. Glad I did, as with about 0.5km to home, my quad’s started cramping. Taking water didn’t seem to help. Just had to man up and push through to the end.
TrainingPeaks analysis
Strava reports