Staying on Track

We were at our club's training camp in Gala this weekend and were staying at the rather luxurious Heriot-Watt halls of residence.
 
The previous night had involved a swim session with Alister and I coaching. I'm normally very chilled about sessions but Rosemary was in it and she always asks questions and I was nervous about her seeing me in action on the pool deck. Of course she asked questions but I took the opportunity of pulling the dictatorial joker card which would never normally work.
 
Anyway, after far too big a breakfast we headed out on the bikes for a hilly ride. The first hill was a nightmare. There was a nip in the air but we both had winter kit on and soon overheated. It was really hard to keep up.  We both knew that pace would settle though as the zip came out of everyone else's legs.
 
It's great to be on roads that you don't know. I only knew about the 2nd big climb of the day when I saw a car far in the distance near the summit. I've got an aero-shell on my helmet, which amplified the sound of the sleet as it thumped off it. I would now glad of the winter clothing.  The group had split up with Mitch and Tom climbing way ahead. Andy, who had been with Mary and Julia flew past like a mountain goat towards the leaders and Rosemary was ahead of me in no-man's land.
 
The Tour of the Borders sportive was coming the other way as we hit the long Gordon's Arms climb. I'm still feeling chubby but my legs were feeling good by this stage and the gradient (not steep) was ideal.
It was more ideal when we got over the other side onto relatively flat roads! I gotta admit I pushed it harder than I should as I didn't want the lighter riders to have an easy time of it after the mountains.
 
Just before Gala there was a little kick in the road and my legs went weebly wobblie! Mitch and Tom left us behind. My legs came a bit more alive, I turned to Rosemary and she said "I'm toast!" Wow….1st time in ages I've been in this position. Just before we got back to H-W we had to stop for coke n chocolate.
 
After lunch and a little rest we headed to the running track with Alister coaching. I took photos due to the fact that my injury is still preventing me from running. Then it was a little yoga…..but I kept getting head rushes and the pace was also a little fast for me to keep up (I am slow).
 

The day didn't end there…..we had dinner and then a quiz. It was good to get to bed, especially after having a few glasses of grape juice…….which was fermented. I think they call it wine!