English
Birthday Madness Part Two
More fun follows…
So how do you top 10k in the pool?! A big birthday ride, of course! Never have I woken up so early on my birthday – even I was shocked by my being wide awake @ 3.45am, it was like being a kid on Christmas morning all over again. Although we weren’t setting off until 5.30am, I was too eager to get into my pressies sent all the way from Pommie Land to go back to sleep, so I began unwrapping the box sent by my lovely Mum to find all sorts of goodies that I’ve been dreaming of for weeks including Percy Pigs from M&S – GET IN! (These tasted even better, if such a thing is possible, 100k’s into the ride when I also got Belinda Granger into them, see pic!)
Although the first 20k’s saw us losing three of the 8-strong group (not through anything sinister, just mechanics etc), we soon cracked on and headed out to the redneck town of Gympie, which was roughly the halfway mark. It was from this point on that the temperature and humidity really cranked up and I was shocked at how much water/energy drink I was guzzling and STILL not needing to jump in a bush for a pee (which is an occupational hazard here anyway because you never know what might bite your butt!)
The route took us through some truly stunning Aussie countryside which is surprisingly green and almost English-looking in places with its rolling hills and grazing cattle. I think it’s a good sign that I felt strong throughout the ride and then enjoyed a great 2k swim in the ocean just minutes after getting off the bike. Walking up the beach post-swim at about 12.30pm after 7+ hours training, I really felt chuffed, honoured and fortunate to be spending my b’day doing something I love so much. Here’s hoping my 29th year is as enjoyable as the previous 28!
Happy training
EK