The last two weeks have been pretty full on. Last weekend included a 16km run to work and back on the Thursday, a long hilly road bike ride on the Friday, a long faster paced (for me) trail run on the Saturday with my husband and finally a 30km hike with full kit on the Sunday.

This was great training and I felt good too but by bank holiday Monday I was walking around like robocop with very stiff legs and sore muscles. Between that and the rain, my plan to do a lovely long mountain bike ride went out the window. Instead I spent a valuable day chilling out, recovering and writing a little bit more of my book (which I think I will still be writing when I’m 70…).

This week was my easier week in the month so I had three rest days and only did one run. I did however, go and camp in Edale and hike home the next day over Kinder Scout.

It was good to practice putting up the tent again and ensure all my kit was in working order. It was supposed to be a nice 16km back to the train station but the trains weren’t running so it turned into a 27km hike instead. All good practice though.

Today I went out on a beautiful long mountain bike ride. There were some bits that were too technical for me so there was some walking/bike pushing going on but for the most part it was a very enjoyable ride in the sunshine.

In other news we’ve been using the ice barrel quite a bit and I can definitely say it feels really good to get in after a long run/hike or bike. Whether it actually does help recovery – who knows. It’s hotly debated (although most consider it does). Either way it feels really therapeutic so who cares.

With only four weeks to go to my coast to coast adventure I’m starting to feel ‘kind of’ ready. I’m starting to believe I can do the distance on the bike and that I can hike/run a long way/day if I just set off very early in the morning. I also know I will be very very tired but that comes with the territory.

I’ll be doing this C2C self supported. JOGLE was mostly self supported where this will be entirely so for the duration of the bike and then the duration of the run. I’m having help with the logistics of collecting my bike and bringing my rucksack up (thank you hubby).

So there will be no support vehicle and I cant accept drinks, food, route advice or anything else from anyone I personally know. I can fully accept these things from strangers however. If I come across a group of cyclists I don’t know I can sit on the back and draft for example. I will definitely look out for this! I will be stopping at a bed and breakfast for the bike ride (one nights stop) and camping for the run back (two nights stopping). I’ve ordered a tracker again. For one thing it was kind of fun to have one and for another it means I will have a recording of my bike/run as I may upload it to FKT site afterwards (Fastest Known Time). This is a website that people use to record their ‘event’ if they know they are the fastest person doing a particular thing. I don’t think anyone has done a C2C duathlon so I’m guessing I will be the fastest if I just complete it.

This week is supposed to be a build week i.e. lots of training but I’m off to a wedding next weekend so training will take second priority around that. Weather is looking good for the day, the dress is hanging up and I’m debating trainers over high heels as I have a blister on my big toe! The downsides of hiking…..😂

I’m sitting in with my feet up on one of those nice armchair recliner thingamys and wanting to write something inspiring, clever and interesting. My brain is a complete blank.

I will just start writing and see what happens. It cant go that wrong surely. Apologies if I get waffley. Not the tasty kind with ice cream and sprinkly bits.

My training week was so much better than the week before. I managed a decent four hour hilly’ish road bike ride. It wasn’t fast but it doesn’t have to be. I got around, that is the main thing. I still suffer from ‘dont want to go syndrome’ when it comes to road biking. I get up on a Fri morning (I don’t work Fridays) and think ‘Oh I wish I was going mountain biking’. I then spend the first 30 minutes of my bike ride thinking ‘I wish I was on my mountain bike out on the trail’.

I’m not quite sure what makes me think this. I recently got my bike adjusted both for comfort and fit and also for easier gearing. It’s great and I can ride for ages without any aches or pains. It’s also a lot easier riding on the road bike in reality. At least its quicker and its lighter. And yet that voice is still there in the back of my mind…….’you want to be on your mountain bike’……mountain bike…….m bike……..

I’m still hoping I will learn to love road biking as much as the MTB but we will see. For now I’m getting around. That’s all I need to do.

I did a shorter run on Saturday this week. When I say short – 15km is short now. It’s all relative. I wanted to have the energy to focus on my hike.

So off I went on Sunday to Chinley and hiked up South Head and over to New Mills. It was 18km, which I’m happy enough with for now. I was carrying my backpack with about 7kg. I need to pack it properly next time to practice walking with the full weight. I also need to know what that weight will be. At the moment I tend to just throw things in the rucksack before I set off, to approximate the effect.

Going uphill 5km an hour would be a very decent pace with the full rucksack and weight. On the flat I can manage more but uphill thats probably a realistic limit. I will need to stop to eat, get water, pee etc. So that means it may take me 14hours plus stopping time to do 70km (if I walk the entire thing). That’s doable if I set off at 6am. However, since stopping time is generally around 2 hours (not kidding it adds up quickly) I wouldn’t be pitching my tent until 10pm. Hmmmmmm.

This is the kind of uncomfortable maths I find myself doing as I hike or run on the weekend. It makes me think, don’t stop for breaky/lunch/dinner, or run uphill or set off at 5am. Or perhaps I just shouldn’t pee 😁🤷. I probably shouldn’t ponder these things. 😂. Any other suggestions are welcome. A time portal?

We have a new bosu ball in the gym. It’s a large dome shaped thing, like a large ball someone cut in half. You can sit on it to do your core workouts, balance on it with your tum, stand on it to do single leg squats. We are both discovering more and more workouts you can do with this one single item. It’s a lot of fun and a good way to build strength.

Now I’m feeling a lot better about the bike this weeks focus will be on running and hiking further with the backpack and ensuring its fully packed. I’m also starting to focus in on my nutrition, making sure to eat well to support my hard work and my recovery.

In other news my husband has bought an ice barrel for the garden. Apparently its very good for your health to have the occasional dunk. Some of you may have seen that series last year on the TV with Wim Hof.

Thankfully hubby has yet to insert a mini step in the barrel, before I can use it as currently I could get in it but would struggle to get out. We have both booked ourselves onto a cold water workshop in May; so I’m hoping they teach us the breathing techniques for getting in the icy water. At the moment I’m thinking hmmmm can I wear my wetsuit, a woolly hat and bring a hot chocolate with me?

It’s been a hard week’s training and mentally tough too. I felt really tired at times this week and do wonder if I’m suffering from a bit of over training. It’s hard to know. I tried my best to create a plan that was progressive but also had rest days and recovery weeks. However, I’ve also been under a time constraint for this “event” from the beginning.

Training up for 70km day runs back to back (carrying all the kit and weight) plus training up to road bike further than I personally have in a few years and with quite a few burrmps on the way (as Peter Sellers would say) – well it sometimes feels like an impossible task.

This week felt like that. I ran with the backpack for the second time on Tuesday and pushed myself to run a bit faster and more ‘up’. I should add to this that when you have 6-12kg on your back – its hard to do a normal run (the greater that figure the more true that is). Your upwards momentum just isn’t there without physically feeling like you’re doing a crazy hard HIIT workout, being asked to jump onto a bench carrying a large kettlebell.

So instead you resort to keeping your feet low to the ground and jogging with minimal up and down movement. This results in a considerably slower speed I might add but it does minimise hip pain, knee pain and any discomfort to your back from the rucksack.

So there I was on Tuesday and I thought to myself. Today is supposed to be the one day a week where I work harder/go faster, get my heart rate up more. So it seemed logical to try and actually “run” with the backpack rather than doing the shuffle jog thing. It was really hard work and I could definitely feel it. By the end of my run my hips and glutes felt every bit like they had been pushing me around the hilly trail 10km route I’d planned.

On Wednesday I did my slow recovery jog in the lunch hour at work. Phew that felt much easier! After work I went to see my PT (personal trainer) and she gave me a really hard workout to do. I mean thats what I pay for of course. At the time though I do sometimes think, just 20 mins more to go……because yes its just that hard.

She tends to interweave HIIT movements like mountain climbers, jumping jacks into low squats with heavy weight workouts. I also do a lot of balance work. One memorable one is where I balance on the Bosu ball on my bottom with legs off the floor outstretched and leaning back slightly. At the same time as holding this balance with your core I have to throw a 5kg medicine ball at a trampoline and catch it. I do so love her creativity – it keeps it interesting.

On Thursday I ended up having a second rest day of the week as I’d not slept well and simply didn’t have the willpower to bike to work (and back). I figured this would at least enable me to be fighting fit for my crazy weekend of long runs and bikes. Hmmm.

On Friday I threw the idea of my road biking session out the window as it was forecast to rain quite a tad. For me rain just screams ‘mountain bike’. So off I set on a hillier route than usual although it was only 36km. I puffed my way around finding the hilly bits harder than usual although I did massively enjoy myself (got to love the MTB).

On Saturday I once again moved the idea of my road bike session back a day as once again the weather was forecast to be bad and Sunday looked great (they got it wrong by the way). Not having the time to do a hike this weekend I decided in my absolute wisdom….sorry insanity….that if I run with my weighted backpack and go a bit further then thats like doing my run and my hike together. Hmmm.

I can honestly say I was not feeling it right from the beginning. I am much slower with the rucksack as explained above but I was only managing 6.5km an hour. Honestly on a good day I could probably just about hike at that pace. On top of this I just felt tired despite the slow pace. By the end of my 25km I felt quite depleted of energy and it didn’t do my confidence much good either. How can I cover 70km in a day when 25km is that hard?

Finally today I was up early and ready for my 4 hour big hilly road bike. Only I wasn’t physically in the right place at all. My tight hips and glutes had returned and I felt so tired I could of quite happily just gone back to bed. I dithered for a while, frustrated at the situation and eventually decided I had to at least do an hour on my road bike. So I went and did our nearby ‘up and over’ as we call it. It’s pretty hilly for such a short ride. Ride done I punished myself with a gruelling 50 minutes of core and arm work in the gym.

So yes I did do 11.5 hours this week but it wasn’t the 15 hours I’d planned and moreover I’m just feeling quite behind in terms of where I’d like to be at this point. I’d ideally be riding 100km a week and running 50km a week. But thats just not viable given where I am now.

I need to psyche myself up a bit. I did JOGLE off the back of just 4 runs a week and the longest was only ever 30km. So anything is possible, its just in my mind.

This coming week will be another build i.e. hard week. I intend to focus in on the road bike as a priority, even if it means sacrificing the long run. I’ll then focus on the long run the following week. See how that goes. Now then weather be kind 🙂 ☀️

I’ve had a really good two weeks running and cycling.

I’ve taken my new remodelled road bike out twice now and managed 67km and 1500m of ascent on my last ride. Thats a pretty hilly ride and I felt really chuffed to manage it. I’m starting to feel more confident that I can get through the 120km I need to on the first day of my coast to coast challenge.

The main difficulty with riding is reading my wahoo computer navigation as I go. This is on a very small screen which sits on my handlebars.

Through my chromatic prescription glasses (basically sunglasses) I can only see the rough arrows I’m heading in but can’t see where my blob is on the map relative to those arrows or how far it is to my next turn. So to help with this issue I’m also wearing my watch, which has a different type of map and routing on it. This is easier to follow but I can only really look at it if I stop. I’m hoping if I keep practicing with both I will start to find it all easier. Currently the whole art of navigation is definitely slowing me down.

Now I’m starting to gain more confidence on the bike my main concern is the running. I intend to try and run 60-70km a day during the coast to coast and my longest run this year is only 28km. I’ve also yet to run with my weighted backpack and haven’t done a long hike in a while.

I intend to spend the next month working on these issues. I will start this next week by doing my Tuesday run with the weighted backpack.

My long runs will get longer but will also start to incorporate some walking, running intervals. Finally I will do a long hike next weekend with my backpack and make that a main stay either every weekend or every other weekend (yet to decide on that point). I really love mountain biking at the moment and would like to fit it in somewhere.

Next week is my recovery week so I will have to ensure a reduction in running and cycling mileage despite the inclusion of the backpack and hike. After that there will be a new four week building block which will be designed to get me to the ‘almost ready’ stage. 😬

Well its been quite a week. I’ve recently switched my HRT (medicine for Menopause symptoms) to the continuous patches. Asides the fun of getting them to stay on when you are a sweaty sporty person, I’ve noticed they have yet to fully abate some of my recent menopause systems. The main one is anger. It can build up in you over the teeniest stupid thing and its hard to know where to go with it. It’s very similar to PMT only can pop up at any time of the month. Even not being able to find a sock can make me mad 😂.

It’s not to say that the thing making you mad wouldn’t normally irritate you. It’s more that your emotional resilience is significantly reduced or even absent. Thus you can feel instantly angry over something that would normally make you think ‘hmph’ but 5 minutes later you’d of forgotten about it. Especially if you’ve been given a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit. Come to think of it, that could work….hun….pleaseeee😁.

It’s all taking some getting used to and I’m not there yet but exercise does help – as it seems to with everything for me.

This last week I’ve done a fair amount of sporty stuff. 11 hours of it in fact. Most of this was on the weekend but I try to fit in what I can during the week.

This last week I had a rest day on Monday, went out hill running on Tuesday after work and got back home to do a short gym session with my husband. The run home was faster than I’d intended but I’d forgotten to take a head torch and was running on trails, through fields and the light was starting to fade. I didn’t have a phone with me either so 1/10 for safety efforts there. I will make sure to take all the relevant stuff next time.

On Wednesday I cycled to my Personal Trainer’s house after work, did a workout with her and then cycled home. It was a lovely ride down the canal and I really enjoyed it. Again the light was fading on the way home but this time I had lights and its kind of fun cycling when its getting dark. I like spooky!

Thursday was an easy day. I did a short recovery run after work but otherwise was more inclined to enjoy a gin and tonic in the evening and chill out.

On Friday I went out on my road bike – woohoo! I cant tell you how nervous I was. The last time I was on a road bike, I was returning it to the rental place in Mallorca a few days early because I’d experienced so much anxiety and panic whilst out on it. All of this came flooding back as I set out on Friday morning and I really doubted myself.

I did feel slightly uncomfortable on the first few roads as they were busy and I could feel the traffic going past me. Especially when the lorries go past, I’m not sure thats something you ever really get used to.

After that I was on lovely quiet country lanes and I started to really enjoy myself. In fact my main difficulty proved to be going uphill. I’d lost some of my cycling strength (to my surprise) and I was looking for a lower gear to get into (which didn’t exist! 🤔). I had to push hard in the lowest gear I had available to get up the hill. There is a hilly road we often go to called the Brickworks. It’s not crazy steep. I would say its a beginners hill but difficult for beginners maybe. I wasn’t expecting therefore, to struggle! Surely all my running would translate over?….

Still I pushed on and got to the top with my heart rate higher than I would of liked, but you have to start somewhere. I carried on and did a few more hills and started to feel better and find my rhythm. I even enjoyed some steep downhills I’d previously found scary. Funny how things can change. I was pleased to do 46km. It’s not a long ride for a club cyclist but it will more than do for me. I will need to be able to do 120km for the coast to coast challenge (in one go) but having done more than a third in a few hours, I feel more confident I can get there.

On Saturday I ran 16km at a much faster pace than I would normally do my long run. I don’t know why, but I just felt good and went with it. It’s nice to change things up now and again.

Finally, today I took a train out a few stops and hiked home, covering 13km. All the sport caught up with me and I found myself eating a banana, a snack bar and a large tea cake in a matter of a few hours – then coming home for lunch!

I’m really looking forward to my next road bike outing now. I know I have some way to go to build more confidence and strength but I know now I can get there. Perhaps I should use my inner meno anger to get me up those hills!

Well I can ditch my gym membership now 😁. We’ve finished the home gym whoop. It was previously a garage and its already getting used regularly.

In my DIY glossing clothes testing out the workbench (which you cant see in this picture I realise!). I am lying on a black workout bench honestly. The Turbo is ready at the far end for next cycling workout.

The mirror isn’t flat yet so standing in front of it is like being at the funfair! Or maybe I’m just wibbly wobbly.

As well as finishing off our gym we’ve been busy decorating the hallway. Lots of debating before we fell in love with this blue colour for the walls. It was also a great chance to finally hang the artwork I’d done when I was 19 at art school, It had been kept in a folder in one garage or loft after another for many many years! So we brushed off the dust and had them framed.

In other news I increased my long bike time up to 2 hours 45 mins. I’m increasing it by 15-20 mins each week. For now I’m just going out on my mountain bike and I’m surprised by how much I’m enjoying it. In a week or two I’ll get the road bike out and I’ve booked in for a bike fit to make sure I’m as comfortable and correctly set up as I can be. I suffer from a bad back sometimes so its important to get it right.

I practiced navigation on the bike again and have found I can read the map on my watch if I pull my glasses down my nose and peer over them. I have to slow down to do this but not fully stop so this makes things easier.

My long run was 19km this week and I keep it deliberately slow and easy to keep my heart rate down. I’m not yet certain whether I can keep increasing my run each week if I’m increasing my bike. I may have to keep it static or reduce it even. Doing your own training plans is a bit of trial and error.

I still find I’m getting very tired lately. I can be full of energy one minute then simply need to stop what I’m doing/nap the next. I’ve started using the HRT patches so am hoping they will improve my mad hormone swings and settle my moods and wavering levels of energy. That said I did 11 hours of exercise this week and I’m 54. I do wonder sometimes if I should expect less of my body. It does feel hormonal related, however, its is hard to know for sure.

Btw has anyone got any book/author/thriller recommendations? I tend to get attached to a particular author, read all their books and then be looking for something new. I’ve just read all the books by Louise Candlish. So if anyone has any thoughts let me know 😀

Last week I started training in earnest for my cycling/running 3 ice cream, coast to coast adventure (well if I eat one when I start and one when I reach each coast thats three – seems like a reasonable goal to me!)

My motivation for training, however, has been very hit and miss. I appear to be in a new stage of Peri-/Menopause (who knew there’d be even more excitement!) and I’m experiencing crazy mood swings, lack of motivation and above all else, extreme tiredness. Its difficult to manage and doesn’t lend itself to long runs and bikes on cold wet days. I’ve taken to having afternoon naps on the weekend. All I need now are slippers and a pipe (I have the blanket). Actually I have the slippers come to think of it.

None the less I’ve managed to get out a few times and generally feel better after a few warm up miles outdoors. My road bike is still tucked away for winter so I’ve been out on the mountain bike instead. So far I’m enjoying getting back in the saddle. I need to remember not to put my water bottle in the holder on the down tube of the bike, when I go mountain biking. You inevitably ride through mud and sh** and the drinking bottle starts to look less appealing….

In order to train intensely over the next few months (as I really don’t have much time compared to the time I had for JOGLE) I will need to build my strength up further in order to avoid injury.

My husband and I have turned our garage into a gym recently and so have started working out together. This is a lot of fun and we can help motivate each other. He is also training for a few Ultras this year so also needs to minimise the risk of injury.

Our cat is still wondering how a new room has appeared as if from nowhere. He keeps going in there, sniffing around a bit and running out again. Bless.

As well as physical training, I need to practice navigating on the bike. Navigation when I run or hike is easy (aside when paths just aren’t there! 😆). I have used my Fenix watch for this and its easy to follow. The problem with cycling is that I have to wear prescription glasses to see the traffic in the distance and the watch or onboard Garmin ‘thingamy’ is at reading distance. I simply cant see either when I’ve got the glasses on. This is something I need to ponder on. I could get varifocals but really don’t fancy them. Perhaps my bike screen with the map could be enormous, like size 50 font? Or my watch could beep madly at me when I have to turn left or right? (Any thoughts?)

So I genuinely wasn’t planning on having any adventure this year but then I was talking to my husband one day about running coast to coast and pondering the idea of simply doing it over a ‘long weekend’.

That conversation turned into ‘why not take a week to do the coast to coast trail’? I did consider this but after much consideration I decided I liked the idea of running the shortest coast to coast cycle route on foot. Since this would only take 4 days max and my hubby had mentioned the idea of me taking a week I came up with the idea of a coast to coast duathlon.

So in June I will cycle from the west coast to the east coast and then run back again. This adventure will be quite different from my last one in a number of ways.

• Its just one week versus seven but I want to run as far as I can each day on the running section. Rather than limiting myself to say 40km a day I would like to see what my body is capable of and keep going till I cant go anymore.
• I will definitely camp or wild camp so that the first point is possible. This gives me the freedom to carry on into the evening and reduces admin.
• I have yet to decide whether to do the bike in 2 or 3 days. Ideally 2. For many club cyclists this would seem fairly easy, however, I’ve never been a great endurance cyclist and I haven’t been on my road bike in 14 months! So it’s definitely a challenge for me!

The coast to coast route I have decided on is Whitehaven to Sunderland (and back). It’s approx. 210km (each way) but will no doubt be 220km+ by the time I’ve faffed, got lost etc.

So there you have it, the coast to coast duathlon. I would of made it a triathlon but the ocean is in the wrong place.

Wish me luck 😁