One more sleep, and an early night for me!!!

Hello all!

I've finally sat down and worked out some rough timings, which will, all going to plan(!) get me to the finish line at 4pm. That's my goal, anyway...

The following timings are loosely based on the spectator's guide, which you can see here: http://www.prudentialridelondon.co.uk/Assets/London+Marathon+Digital+Assets/Prudential+RideLondon/London+Marathon+Digital+Assets/Downloadable/Prudential-RideLondon-Surrey-100-Spectators$!27-Guide.pdf

07:18 - Start! - Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
08:00 - 10 miles - Trafalgar Sq
08:40 - 20 miles - Richmond Park
09:00 - 24 miles - Hampton Court Palace - Hub 1 - loo and refreshment stop (10-20 mins)
09:40 - 30 miles - just before Weybridge
10.20 - 40 miles - Ripley
Things will start to get a bit unknown from here onwards (hills, etc!)
(47 miles - Hub 2 - optional stop)
11:00 - 48 miles - Abinger Hammer - lunch stop (45 mins) - hopefully see family!!!
13:00 - 60 miles - Westcott (coming down off Leith Hill)
14:00 - 70 miles - Leatherhead (coming down off Box Hill - assuming I made it UP Box Hill)
(72.5 miles - Hub 3 - optional stop)
Looking forward to the next 10 miles - mostly downhill :-)
14:40 - 80 miles - just past Cobham
15:20 - 90 miles (gulp!) - just before Wimbledon
16:00 - 100 miles - WOO-HOO!!! - finish line at The Mall

Please be aware that these are just best guestimates, so if I manage to zip around in half the time - you probably won't see me.
Ha!

There will be a post finish area where (hopefully) I get a medal, goody bag and reclaim my kit bag.
The Meet and Greet area in Green Park will have lettered trees so, assuming I can still walk and identify the alphabet, anyone who wants to come and see me will find me at tree H at around 16:20, I'm guessing. Please look on the floor, I am unlikely to be standing! Mobile phone reception is not going to be reliable in that area so in case you don't find me there, I will probably be going to Mind's after race reception, a short walk away, for a shower and a massage (see below), which shuts at 18:00.

Please bring your best cheering voices and brightest clothes so I can spot you en route :-)

Thanks ever so much for the support!!!

C x

1 week today, 1000 miles and almost 1000 blog visits :-)

OoooooOOOOOooooooooh! There's just one week left to go, folks!

Check out what I did with my blog content in Wordle:

Fun, huh?

If you fancy doing the same to any of your writings, you can do it at http://www.wordle.net/ and you can choose your preferred layout, colours, etc.

The charity I'm riding for, Mind, the mental health charity, has been really supportive via their emails and facebook page, as have all the other riders taking on this challenge. I've decided I have to complete the course because then I can legitimately go to the reception afterwards and get myself a massage :-) It will be lovely to meet some of the Mind supporters in the flesh too, having shared our training stories online!

When logging the miles in my training log today I realised I've ridden over 1,000 miles since I started this blog. I could be in the South of Spain by now! Not bad for a complete couch potato :-)

So, today was effectively my last major training ride before the big day!!!
I did 42 miles and worked on my speed - I'm currently averaging 14.5mph out on the road - a long way from the 8.24mph I started out at on 5th May!
I hit a 22mph split for mile 9 (don't tell anyone though - there is a 20mph speed limit in the park!). Yes, it was a downhill, I'm hoping there will be more of those than there will be uphills on the course next Sunday...

The trouble with speed practice in Richmond Park on a weekend is the many and varied human obstacles - if I could've won nectar points for people I might have mown down I reckon I would've accumulated enough for a year's supply of shopping today! You'll be glad to hear that I didn't hit a single toddler, pedestrian, cyclist, or any other road user though, and nobody hit me. I've done practically all of my training so far solo and my biggest fear about the day itself is that I will cause an almighty pile up at the start and ruin the day for thousands of people. My flatmate, Emma, has very kindly offered to practice riding together so I can get used to riding in tandem and overtaking safely. This has got to be of some help when I've got the prospect of riding in a group of 20,000.

Some sad news - Twitchy, my bike, lost a toe clip today :-( I have absolutely no idea at what point it went walkabout, but apparently my left foot will have to cope without until I can get a replacement. Trouble is, if I go into a bike shop I just know a toe clip is not the only thing I'll be leaving with. I'll want new cycling shorts (with extra padding), water bottle, gloves and helmet too, to go with my new Mind cycle jersey!

I told my Dad this week that this blog has had over 800 visits since RideLondon mentioned it across their social networks (currently at 922 so I'm aiming for the 1,000 now!). He subtly told me he wanted a credit - "remember who taught you to ride a bike?!" So, thanks Dad, your efforts all those years ago are about to pay off in a very big way :-)
Both of my parents are coming along to support me on the day, and my sister and her family as well as quite a few friends have said they'll be cheering from the side-lines. I can't wait to see everyone along the route. Tip - if you want to make sure I don't flash by in the blink of an eye, position yourself at the top of a hill ;-)

Well, my lovely readers, it's that time of the blog when I beg for your cash again. C'mon, who hasn't gotten around to it yet (you know I won't stop nagging!). Click here to donate a couple of quid, and I'll love you forever ;-) http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CathyHyland

Cheers, peeps,
C x

Double down on one little duck - less than 2 weeks to go!

It's arrived! This is what I will be proudly wearing on 4th August for the RideLondon-Surrey 100 event. I don't know if it'll make me any easier to spot amongst the thousands of cyclists but I've got some iron-on lettering to spell "CATH" across my shoulders so if you're coming to support - feel free to shout at my back! In fact, just shout "CATH" at every Mind cycling top wearing entrant and you'll be sure to get me at some point (there are 130 of us!). If you're thinking about coming to watch, you can download a fab spectator's guide here: http://www.prudentialridelondon.co.uk/Assets/London+Marathon+Digital+Assets/Prudential+RideLondon/London+Marathon+Digital+Assets/Downloadable/Prudential-RideLondon-Surrey-100-Spectators-Guide.pdf
Also, let me know if you want me to put you in touch with friends and family that will be there on the day.

This week I'm super chuffed that RideLondon posted about this very blog on their Google+, facebook and twitter sites! https://www.facebook.com/#!/RideLondon?hc_location=stream! It's now had over 800 views and I've also received lots of encouragement from the (far more accomplished) Mind Charity cyclists page on facebook too.

Since my last post I have exceeded my initial fundraising target of £600, so I'd like to say another big THANK YOU to everyone who has taken the time to donate and support me with this :-)
It's not over yet, though! Having taken advice, I have upped the target to a whopping £1,200!!!
Yes - that's DOUBLE what I initially wanted to raise, so come on people, if you've been meaning to do it but haven't quite gotten around to it yet - stop reading right now, grab a credit/debit card and go here immediately: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CathyHyland
Remember, I have been out in some crazy hot weather (and picked up a few saddle sores) training for this ;-)

Last weekend my long ride (72.5 miles) went quite smoothly, despite the heat. It didn't go smoothly for everyone, though - I did stop at one point to check a fellow cyclist was OK after I saw him stumbling around on the side of the road. He was holding his head and I was worried that he'd been hit, or had hit his head on the ground, but when I reached him he was in the process of plucking a bee sting out of his scalp! Apparently the bee had flown into one of the vents in his cycle helmet and got stuck - poor guy had a shaved head so no hair to protect him. Another cyclist stopped and offered him antihistamines (something I'll add to my kit from now on!) and you'll be glad to hear he was fine :-)

What with all of the calories I've been burning, I love that I can have guilt free ice cream in this weather. In fact, I'm feeling pretty good - like I might actually be able to do this, after all :-)

Now, where to find the best remedy for chafed buttocks...

Cathy x
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CathyHyland

3 weeks yesterday

Hello, long time, no see!

5 weeks to be exact - I've had a lot going on during that time, but fear not - I'm still in training and dare I say a lot more confident about achieving success than I was!

Not in small part due to this:

Meet "Twitchy", my new steed.

He's a bundle of fun and a whole lot lighter and faster than his predecessor (anybody want to buy a 1 year old, fully functional hybrid bike, one not so careful owner???)
The only complaint I have is about the saddle - it feels more like I'm sitting on a razor blade than a racer. Still, gel padding will be employed on the day.

So, what have I been doing for the last 5 weeks? Well, finishing up one job and starting another, mostly. What with birthdays, weddings, visitors, house moves and leaving dos, I haven't had a lot of free time to update the blog!

I might as well bring you right up to date with yesterday's ride. I managed at least 67 miles, but my GPS app mysteriously can't account for a gap of about 3 miles, so I reckon it was more like 70 really.

Had to slow down several times to allow these guys across the road:

...and then there was the time I just had to stop so I could take this pic (I missed the bit where they were splashing around with joy) of deer cooling off in the pond.

I wish I could have joined them. Yesterday was by far the hottest day of training I've experienced so far. I lost count of the number of times I refilled my water bottle, but it made my end of circuits ice cream all the more appreciated!

This was my view after about 40 miles - stretched out under a lovely shady tree:

I can't write an entry on this blog without making reference to the fauna, as well as the flora, but, apart from the deer, there wasn't much willing to show itself to the summer sun. Except, that is, butterflies and dragonflies :-) They were everywhere and were clearly attracted to either me or the bike because we came into contact repeatedly. All that space they've got to flutter about in and they kept fluttering into me! Sorry, I don't have any pretty pics to add of those :-(

So, looking forward to the big day (Sunday 4th August) I've now received my registration number and start time!

There are going to be several waves of starters between 6am and 8am and somehow I seem to have been put up the front with the fast riders :-S
Oh well, I'm hoping that means I'll have longer to complete the course. If not, I'd better get practising my lassoo technique  so I can get someone else to pull me along...

Saving the best til last, another BIG Thank You to everyone supporting me with my training and fundraising for Mind. I am now less than £7 away from hitting my £600 target!!! I am blown away by everyone's generosity and am hopeful to be able to say the target had been reached very soon! Hint, hint, who wants to be the one to get me there?!

Http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CathyHyland

Thanks again,

C x

Dead squirrels, blind ducks, lazy bugs and 8 weeks left!

It's update time again!

So, I thought I'd post a pic of my trusty, if pitifully slow, steed after a Sunday jaunt - catching the last few rays of sunshine in Richmond Park. (In my mind) I've already replaced it with a new, more slender and much slicker model. Perhaps I'm going through a mid training crisis...

Richmond Park is a lovely place to escape the noise and bustle of the city. There were loads of deer, including some very cute baby deer, posing for the cameras on Sunday.

After the dead badger the other week, I was less surprised to see the squashed squirrel, followed by the blind duck almost getting hit by a relatively slow moving black Mercedes Benz - oh how the feathers flew - but I was tickled by the number of bugs that took their chance to hitch a ride on my clothing (and in some cases, reach their final destination - my sunglasses!). I'm not sure what they got out of it, it's not as if I was going all that fast.

Sunday's long ride was my longest yet at 46 miles. I even managed to overtake a couple of other cyclists, on a hill!!! I was quite pleased with myself until I realised I'm going to need to be able to do more than double that distance without my legs completely turning to jelly! Hmm...
 

I'm sure you'll be as thrilled as I am with the news that I managed to ride a total 99 miles last week!

Ok, so it wasn't exactly all in one go. In fact it took place over 4 separate sessions, but all I have to do now is glue it all together in less than 9 hours. Easy!
 

It's just that I've got less than 8 weeks left to pull it all together...

If you want to help spur me on, make me pedal faster and overtake more cyclists, feel free to show your support by sponsoring me on my charirty fundraising page:
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CathyHyland

I've been amazed at everyone's support and generosity so far - I'm on track to reach my target :-)

Thanks boys and girls!

C x

 

 

Keep Calm, only 10 weeks to go!

 

I hope everybody has enjoyed a sunny Bank Holiday weekend :-)

 

I have just begun my 10 week countdown!

Ooh, it's all starting to feel a bit real now :-S

Last week was a tough one. I was tired and a little demotivated by thinking about how far I've still got to go and I missed a couple of spins. I felt really guilty about it because of the generosity of everyone who has sponsored me to date, so yesterday I kicked myself up the bum and forced myself to get out and ride my longest distance yet: 34.5 miles. What's even better is that I know I could've gone further, but it was late in the day by the time I'd talked myself into going out and I didn't want to be riding home in half light (must get new batteries for my lights).

Today is a rest day but I'll be back up and on the bike before breakfast tomorrow :-)

Another positive thing about all this exercise - I can't afford to have a hangover on a training day so I've really cut down on my drinking. Rather than after work drinks several times a week, I'm allowing myself one boozy evening per week but only if I've trained that day and am due a rest day the next. This week I've got a company social on Thursday so I really have to get my training out of the way before then! 

Now, what I'm not spending on alcohol I'm intending to spend on massage. My legs are starting to let me know they've been working hard and tend to take a while to un-tense, de-tense? Hmm...

Anyway, keeping an eye out for a good deal on Groupon so please shout if you see one! 

Right, it's a 4 day working week, people, let's do this! 

https://www.facebook.com/events/511863315518721/

C x

Ouch! 1/3 the distance, with just 11 weeks left!

 

So, this is what I imagine I will look like after I complete RideLondon-Surrey 100. Fresh as a daisy and feeling grrrrrreat!!!

...or, I might feel like I did on Sunday after riding just 32 miles - tired, aching and unable to sit down...

Either way, I will have got round with YOUR support. Thanks again to everyone who has kindly passed on tips and/or donated so far on my fundraising page - you really are keeping me motivated to do this. My legs might also thank you one day!

Well I'm starting to feel quite nervous now. I've managed just about 1/3 of the distance within 1/3 of the time available. Even if I could sustain that pace all the way it's still a lot slower than my target (which I have drastically reassessed since pulling a notional and extremely uneducated 6 hours out of the bag when I registered. Ha!) I think I'd better let the organisers know, or I'll just be getting in the way of faster riders and making a lot of enemies at the start. Causing a pile-up before the start line is no way to get on the news!

My inspirational flatmate, Emma, has just ridden the cycle section of the property triathlon relay. She is really fast. I reckon it's her racing bike (*note - steal Emma's bike) - it flies along while my humble hybrid, quite frankly, bumbles. My bike doesn't like hills either. This course is downhill all the way, right? 

A pleasant side effect to all of this exercise is that I have a limitless excuse to eat. Lots! Healthy nutrition has never been top of my list of priorities, but I'm getting there. It's weird having to count calories to make sure I'm eating enough fuel. Anybody got any recommendations for 'eating on the go' type snacks I can take on the bike - please tell me there are alternatives to flapjacks!???

Ok, it's that time of the blog again - the bit where I beg for your spare change ;-) 

If you'd like to support my efforts to achieve this physical and mental challenge, you are most welcome to do so here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CathyHyland
Any and all amounts will be super gratefully received :-)

If you want to see where your money is going to go, do take a look at the Mind.org.uk website too.

Finally, if you're on facebook and you haven't already - please join my support group here.

Thanks!
C x

12 weeks to go - Let the Sportive training begin!

Well today is the last day of my fitness training, which can only mean one thing: the hard stuff starts here!

I now have 12 weeks to build up my distance, speed, strength and stamina to a point where I get all the way around the 100 mile course within 9 hours. If today's ride is anything to go by, I've still got a very long way to go...
Today I managed 25 miles but it took me 2hrs 21minutes. My maths isn't great but I don't need a calculator to work out that I'm not going to finish at that rate!

I've never asked my body to do anything like this before so I'm not really sure how it's going to respond! I've taken care to build up my fitness training slowly and surely to make sure I don't do myself any damage, but the next 12 weeks are going to push me harder and harder, and I know it's going to hurt :-/

It will hurt BUT, it will be well worth it!

Every penny I can raise for my chosen charity (http://www.mind.org.uk/) is going to go towards helping people struggling to cope with a mental health issue:

£8.70 gives a lifeline to someone in desperate need of support by letting the Mind Infoline team take their call.

£30 could help Mind work with the Government to promote mental health needs and improve services for years to come.

£150 could fund a local support group and let people living with mental health problems get back their confidence and self-esteem.

£250 could fund equipment for an art therapy group, so that people can express their feelings through art and start the healing process.

£500 could keep Mind's legal advice service open for a day, helping people understand their rights and receive practical legal advice on mental health issues.

If you'd like to support my training and supplement my motivation to complete this challenge, please feel free to do so here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CathyHyland
EVERY PENNY you can spare is greatly appreciated by me, and will give someone suffering the support they need. Thank you x

This time in 13 weeks...

At the risk of frightening small children - it's too late to look away now - I am making good on my promise to post this picture of my post-work-out 'look':

I'm giving away bonus points to anyone who can explain the reason why only my face turns bright pink. It's a bizarre phemomenon if I do say so myself!
Just to re-cap on why I would even dream of putting this online, in my last post I set a fundraising target of £100 by 21st April, the day of the London marathon, and I'm really happy to say that this goal was not only achieved but exceeded - THANK YOU SOOOOOOOO MUCH to those of you who have donated thus far. Your generosity is keeping me well on the road to RideLondon100 in August. For anyone who is intending to support me, you can do your good deed right here. Even better - for every donation I receive over the summer (starting now) I will get entered into a draw to win an additional £500 donation for my charity, Mind.

I've got a long way to go before I can feel confident that I'm going to make it round the 100 mile course on the day, but I've been sticking to my training plan and I'm on schedule to get there in the next 3 months :-) In fact, my training plan for this ride and my desire to reach this goal has been the major thing that has kept me going through a really tough winter. I experience the effects of S.A.D every year, but this year it seemed to go on forever and, unfortunately, evolved into a depressive episode that had me signed off work for 4 weeks. Some days I couldn't even muster enough energy to get dressed, let alone go outside, but having my little foldaway static bike set up in the living room meant I could do a cyling session without it seeming like a huge chore - those days were the good days.

Thankfully I'm now back at work and feeling almost normal - hooray for the reappearance of Mr Sunshine! I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather this Bank Holiday weekend. It's fair to say I'm something of a fair weather cyclist and today was just perfect for a jaunt around Richmond Park. Happily, a slight adjustment to my saddle height seems to have corrected my tendency to fall off at traffic lights, and I didn't get chased by a single man's best friend - success!

Don't forget, if you're on facebook you can show your support by clicking 'Join' on the event I created here. I have no expectations of people actually turning up on the day, but just knowing you're behind me makes every training session that little bit easier ;-)

Thanks for reading!
C x

19 weeks and 'the bonk'!

Hello folks!

Thought I'd post a photo of cycling in the sunshine, since we haven't had much of that over the last 4 weeks - during which time I've been slowly but surely progressing with my training and so far, so good!

Now, did anybody spot the (not so deliberate) mistake in my last blog post? 4 weeks ago was actually 23 weeks to the big day, not 22. I've just realised I've got a bonus week to train - woohoo!

One thing that came out of a conversation with my cycling buddies from Jordan last week, is that people want stats - how far are you cycling? how much time are you spending in the saddle? etc, etc... Well, I will start logging the miles and times in the blog from now on - 42km (a marathon) last week and another 15 kms/9.3 miles this morning - and you can comment on how far I've still got to go!!!
Everyone I've talked to about this challenge so far has been incredibly supportive, with hints and tips to make sure I survive on the day. If you're on facebook you can show support by simply replying to my invite to the event on 4th August - don't worry, I'm not expecting everyone to actually be there (although it would be ace if you could make it) but feel free to click on 'join' on the event just to let me know you're behind me in spirit.

I've also been reading up on some training articles to find tips for my 'century' and was intrigued to come across the phenomenon known as 'the bonk'. Surprisingly, 'the bonk' is something to be avoided (in cycling anyways). Best make sure I've got enough snacks to munch on the day...

So, training has started well, my motivation is still strong, and I've made a start on my fundraising too - many thanks to everyone who has donated so far! If you want to know what your money is going towards, click here: Mind.
If you're thinking of sponsoring me but haven't done it yet, why not do it here now: Cathy's Charity Cycle Challenge?

Having not really done any exercise since school, I have found it pretty amusing to see the effect cycling has on the colour of my face - after just 30 minutes I'm as red as Cameo's cod piece in the Word Up video! I haven't got a photo of that to share with you, but maybe if I reach £100 of my fundraising target by 21st April (date of the 2013 London Marathon) I will take a pic for you to have a laugh at in my next post ;-)

Keep warm and carry on!

22 weeks today - and so it begins

Greetings - 22 weeks today I will be attempting my first ever physical challenge for charity!

On Sunday, 4th August, I'll be competing in the 2013 RideLondon- Surrey 100 road race: RideLondon100

I'm a road race newbie and, following a few worrying cycling escapades in 2012 which included a collision with a car, almost getting my leg torn off by a dog, a near miss with a maverick Jordanian driver, and a general inability to balance on 2 wheels,  you'd be forgiven for thinking "it'll never happen" because it's crossed my mind as well!

So, in order to make sure I have as few get out clauses as possible, I thought I'd write a little blog, set up a fundraising page: Cathy'sCharityCycleChallenge, and make it a challenge where others will benefit too.
Thankfully, I am not completely alone in my endeavour because I have applied and been accepted to ride on behalf of Mind a mental health charity who provide support to people with mental health problems.

Not all of you will be aware (well, it's not exactly easy to talk about, right?) that I have battled with depression and am seasonally affected by SAD (Mind have written a brilliant article on this subject, if you're interested in learning more about it: UnderstandingSAD ). Hitching onto the back of the "Time to Change" campaign you may have seen publicised in the media recently, I thought I'd do my bit to change attitudes and help raise awareness for great organisations such as Mind, and Rethink.
I am lucky in that I have family, friends and colleagues (you know who you are) around me who support me and help me through the hardest times. Others don't have such a great support system but there is help available through these amazing charities. Their work relies on everyday people who give their time, money, energy and passion to make sure that Mind and Rethink can be there for anyone who needs them.

Looking ahead over the next 22 weeks, I have to admit, is pretty daunting. I've never taken much interest in exercise, and fitness might as well be a foreign word, but I'm taking this opportunity to:
1) Get fit before I'm 40 - better late than never,
2) Give me something to aim for to help me get through the rest of this winter, and
3) Raise some cash for a good cause - this is where you come in ;-)

It's worth pointing out that I'm not only interested in your money, however, as I would also be very grateful for any advice on training, motivation, fitness and cycling in general. I am, after all, only a novice!
So, thank you for reading this far, and I have a little favour to ask - if it's not too much trouble, but no worries if you'd rather not, please help me get the word out by sharing, liking, re-tweeting and commenting on my blog, facebook, twitter and event.