May Stats

It's been a good month.
552 Miles & about 25000ft climbing
Weight has fluctuated around the 82.5kg mark (10kg less than New Year) - I really need to focus on it now and lose those final few lbs. I find that with pre and post event carb loading, the weight doesn't drop off quite as you might think it would after doing a 100 mile sportive. I've got a break of about 4 weeks to be filled with normal training - hopefully, that will help to get rid of it.

Tomorrow is the Polka Dot Challenge - 104 miles into the peak district and the most climbing I've done on a sportive yet. The weather forecast looks awful - rain for most of the day. So what do I wear? I have a fully waterproof jacket (Gore) but found that I was overheating in that, even in January. My gilet/base layer/jersey/arm warmer combo works well in cooler temperatures but probably wouldn't be warm enough after a full on soaking. So what do you do? You go and buy a new jacket that you've never worn before and go out for 100 miles in it on a big event. It's a calculated risk, really. Really. The jacket is same material as my gilet so it's not completely unfamiliar. I also have a lot of faith in this brand - reassuringly expensive, I think they call it.

I checked last years times and the average was 7hrs 45 mins. Somewhere around that time would be my dream goal. I think anything under 8hrs 15mins would be a great time on what is a hard course 104 miles, 12500ft climbing. Right, off to make a huge bowl of pasta.