Overtaken!

Right its been a busy old week and I've been coming home rather tired. That is why therefore I have not been publishing my posts very well. I have to admit other than Monday it has been a real chore to get up in the morning to go for the run. I thought it wouldn't be that hard as my alarm goes off at 05:30 anyway I just like to take a minute or two to reorientate myself to the waking world before I get up. Unfortunately that means being out of the door at 05:30 for the run and have everything ready to go to work,on or off of the bike, sat in the bag waiting for me at the end of it. The energy demands for this are very high and I'm wondering if I've started off too high. I can run and cycle just about but then going swimming blows me out for the next day's run/gym/swim with a knock on effect down the week unless I take a break. I found out on Tuesday that the body didn't want to go running in the morning and refushed to get up in time to even take the bike. In the end I wrote the day off. According to my rules I now have to go for a punishment run. I've decided to make it a bit of a triathlon punishment run and do all three disaplines one after the other in the correct order. To that end I will cruise on the bike to the gym. Swim 40 lengths (1km) change quick and leap on the cycle. I'll head down towards Huntingdon and turn straight around and come back. This should be in the order of 32miles straight. I'll then come home ditch the padded shorts and go out on the run. Not sure how far yet will have to see how I'm coping. If I can I'd like to extend the run to close to the half marathon distance by heading down into P'boro and taking the railway route from Ma&Pas. If not I'll try and do the standard hoof.
 So that compensates for tuesday. Wednesday I was able to get up and ran 55.01. Two minutes slower then Monday even with the break. I wasn't happy but could see the reason. The gym session went well and 30 laps in the pool to finish the day. Thrursday was a bit of a disaster. First I was unable to get up on time. Again. and although this time I got out on the bike about half way in to work I was over-bloody-taken by a lycra clad road biking geek. Cheeky git even had the cheek to say "Good Morning" as he passed. Git. I was infurated and even applying power to the pedals I was only able to keep him just about in sight until the turn at Alconbury-on-the-hill and hen he was gone.
 I couldn't believe that I had been smoked that way. It had to be the bike, right? I went straight onto the net once I got to work and googled for road bike vs MTB and sure enough someone had asked the question. The answer was complicated but basically, yes road bikes are faster on roads then a modded MTB or hybrid mostly thanks to the thinner tyres and better cycle position. All stressed the fact that you can go faster thanks to these things but only if you are capable of using them effectively and they only gave slight advantages. The post I like the most did point out the gearing difference. A road top cog can give a 13% edge over the top MTB cog if you can crank the pedal. If you're not maxing out the top gear on the MTB you can't push the road bike any faster because there's an equvalent gear on its range that you'd be stuck in. Personally I think there is an advantage in the road bike. I think some of it is training. I live in a groove enforced by my gear range. I never ride hard in the highest gear I can because I know I've got to get to work or where ever I'm going to. Having more gears and a harder range would challenge my comfort zone and result in faster movement and better times.
 No chance of getting a new super dooper roadie any time soon so I'll just have to challenge myself to start using that high gear and get out of the comfort zone.
 Rolled in rolled out of work and couldn't go straight to the gym for the planned swim as I'd left the swimming trunks in the gym bag. opps! Rocked home instead and repaid the debt on the run. 56.46 later wasn't bad considering I'd gone straight from the bike to the run.
 Friday I missed my run. Again. but did go to the gym and was able to do a very respectable 40 lengths plus 6 sprint lengths giving it everything I'd got. I was quite pleased with this but It did highlight the difference in speed I was using to get the distance.