Headed up the beaches early for the first proper post Forster / pre Canberra brick session. Was planning on an 80/10 split on the roadie which was going well until I reached Dee Why - and promptly punctured. Luckily riding solo, I had packed a spare tube so within 5 mins I had changed and was back on the bike, reaching the Church Point turn off in 34 minutes, and the top West Head turn off in around 62 minutes.
From there I headed out towards West Head and again all went smoothly until I reached the turnaround point (toilet stop before the descent to West Head itself), at which point I noticed that the back tyre had again deflated (at the furthest point away from home!). Luckily this time it seemed to be only a partial deflation though and so luckily I was able to pump it up, cross my fingers and head towards home. I was only carrying one spare tube and so if this one went, I would have to call Catherine and get her to pick me up!
Anyway, I made it to the bottom of McCarrs Creek Hill before I had to stop again and re-inflate - it seemed to be a 10km slow flat - the best kind.
Apart from the obvious, the big downside of the flat was that I wasn't concentrating on my fuel and hydration, and being 2 hours into the ride now, was starting to flag. Quickly downing some energy drink and half a bar, I headed up McCarrs Creek to Terrey Hills, making it onto Forest Way before having to refill the tyres....and then again at the end of Forest Way, just after Seaforth Oval and one final one at the bottom of Condamine.
Eventually I made it back home with 76.5km on the Garmin in 2.51. Not too bad considering all the faffing.
After a quick pit stop, I was back out on the run, keen to at least follow through with one part of the day's objectives.
Having downed a GU gel on the way home, I felt good from the outset (probably all the pent up aggression from the flat!) and quickly settled into a 4.45 pace up Kenneth Street.
Although I dropped my pace on the climb up to Sydney Road (reaching 5km in 24 mins), I soon got back on track by the time I made it around to the Spit - Manly section and was back at 4.46's, dropping to 4.45's by the time I reached the beachfront.
Picking things up slightly meant I was able to negative split, making it to 10km in 47.30 seconds, averaging 4.44's for the run (basically my HIM pace to the second). Pretty good considering.
Felt pretty tired for the rest of the day though - probably due to the lack of proper hydration/nutrition on what was a warm day...
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