Take that, Cedric!
That was Travelling Hopefully’s reaction when I said on Twitter that I’d beaten the stick man (not the rather diminutive chap that I live with but the virtual partner on my Garmin, who I call Cedric [Travelling Hopefully is also trying to think of a name for her’s and has a naming competition on her blog that you can enter and win some sweets]).
I had a bit of a dilemma this weekend. Last year I took part in the 35 mile Great Kent Bike Ride and had hoped to do it again this year. Doing it again this year had indeed been the plan for months and months, although there was a local 10k on the same day that I fancied doing. Then I saw that there was the Big Wheel of Kent on the day before, and so I thought ‘aha, I can do the the Big Wheel of Kent on the Saturday and the 10k on the Sunday. Sorted.
Then I looked at the route and map for the Big Wheel of Kent and the map didn’t actually say where I’d be going and the route looked all twisty and turny and confusing and so I emailed the organisers to ask if there would be arrows along the way. They said no. Bah. Another off-putting thing about the Big Wheel of Kent ride was that it was one way, so after cycling 19 miles from Ashford to Canterbury, I’d have to get the train back. The decision was made for me, however, when I checked the weather forecast for the weekend and it said that it would be raining all weekend. I don’t have a problem at all about running a race in the rain but I’m not cycling in the rain for hours and so I decided to ditch both bike rides and do the 10k on the Sunday and do a 20 mile bike ride on my own on the Saturday after I’d ran.
Because I was doing a 10k on the Sunday, I was going to stick to my schedule that said today I was to do 5 miles but I decided that would be overdoing it a bit and so this morning I thought I’d wake up Cedric and get him to pace me over two miles at 10 minute miles. Then I decided that was too quick and so I set him up for two miles at 10:30 minute miles and yay, I beat him!
Stats
Distance: 2 miles
Time: 21:02
Pace: 10:23 m/m
Calories: 213
Stick men beaten: 1
Update for cycling stats:
Distance: 20.56 miles
Time: 2:19:42
Speed: 8.8mph
Calories: 601
Hills: quite a few
Pubs went past: about 3
doesn’t really help much, they’re still taking up the pavement and I manage to go round the side of her and she doesn’t look very happy but I think fuck off, it’s my pavement too and I’m nearly home and still in the lead and I’m knackered and a bit light-headed and I think oh, maybe this is what training’s about, putting a bit of effort in and then my Garmin says goal reached, press the stop button and I press the stop button and the little stick man who’s pretending to be me is standing there with its arms in the air in a I’ve just done an Ironman pose and it says success, you had 00:00:55 to spare which means that I am the champion. Sorry Cedric.
partner to race me at 10 minute miles which I know I can do, it’s just that I usually don’t, and it’s a bit icy outside and bloody freezing and I’m thinking I should have put two tops on and my lips are numb and as I get to the marshes there’s a hardcore runner out in just a short sleeve t-shirt and shorts and I think brrrrrrrrrr and as I get up to to the marina a girl runs past and says morning then four cyclists come along and one of them says morning and although I don’t really approve of cyclists I decide to be polite and say morning back as I don’t want to give the impression runners are miserable although I’d like cyclists more if they didn’t give the impression that they like going through red lights and cycling on pavements and I’m still ahead of my little virtual partner that I’ve decided to call Cedric and I run up the bridge and skid along the top of it on the ice and I think whoops, and I get over the other side without falling over and I brush the ice off the sign that says something about the cows and it says that if you see the cows having any problems to tell a marshal and I think what kind of problems do cows have? and it says what make of cow they are and it also says they’ll be here until January and I think January? waa, it’s almost January now and it’s not fair and there’ll be no more cows until July and maybe not even then as this year they were late and didn’t arrive until mid-August I think and while I’ve been pissing around trying to think what problems cows have, Cedric’s overtaken me and I think oops and I try and catch him up but I’m feeling a bit feeble and as I get back to the stables I think someone’s behind me and I can see a shadow but it’s only my shadow and I think bloody hell, I really am scared of my own shadow and I scroll through the screens on my Garmin and it’s pretty cool as it shows me how far behind I am and how far I’ve got to go in minutes and feet and it gets to 35 minutes and tells me I’m a loser and I think fine, if Cedric’s that far ahead, he can put the kettle on and then I think, hang on, it’s not a real little man, it’s just a pretend one and he can’t really put the kettle on and I don’t know if the Garmin will carry on recording now the time’s up and I don’t want to run if the Garmin’s not recording it but I think it is as it’s showing me in minus time and I stop the clock and it tells me I’m 1:13 over time and I have been quite spectacularly beaten by the little stick man. I’ll get him next time.