The earliest start so far - 5am had the 3 of us on the bike at 5am on Saturday morning for the first in the longer brick sessions...the plan was to be out for 6 hours and aim for 100km on the bike and 2 hours on the run. Whatever, we had to be back by 11am so that was going to be the control.
Starting in the pitch black we headed up the beaches and followed what has become the usual circuit through Church Point and up McCarrs Creek Road, stopping at the top for a jam sandwich (cheaper than using up the Torq bars!) before continuing on through Terrey Hills and back along Forest Way. Despite stopping for literally every traffic light between Terrey Hills and Manly, we reached Manly in under 2 hours before embarking on a second lap of exactly the same thing.
Unfortunately our lack of luck with the traffic lights continued through Dee Why and all the way up Pittwater Road, making progress a little tedious to say the least. Even traffic lights that have never been red in any previous ride were now changing. It was rediculous and particularly tedious!
Heading through Church Point again, and with a quick pee stop, we continued on, up to Terrey Hills and back along Forest Way, the Wakehurst Parkway and into Manly, ending up back in Queenscliff with 98km on the clock in 3.47. Ironically we were actually out for 4 hours flat, but spent 13 minutes waiting for lights on the way around!
Nutrionally I ate 2 x rounds of jam sandwiches, 1 x bar of Torq, 9 electrolyte tablets and one disgusting Power Bar chocolate gel with 1 x bidon of water and 1 x bidon of electrolyte.
Feeling strong after the ride, and with one eye on the clock, we headed out onto the run deciding to run along Pittwater Road, turning at 9km. All went well on the outward part of the run as we headed through Brookvale and Dee Why, up through Long Reef and down towards Collaroy, turning just after the pie shop for the return leg.
I had 2 x gels with me, taking one at 30 mins and the other at 60. For some reason they tasted a lot better warm than in previous times. Still feeling strong on the backward leg the pace increased slightly to 5.05's. Not fast, but consistent throughout.
Eventually retracing our steps we turned for home, past Bike Addiction and along to the lagoon. By which time Roly had caught up having been held up by traffic lights coming through Dee Why. At this point things got a little competitive as first Roly and then Tim took the lead as we ran through the lagoon.
Clearly with too much energy left, Tim sprinted to the finish followed by me and Roly. Looking at the Garmin we finished at sub 4 minute pace. Rediculous after over 5.30 hours out!!
After a quick drink and a dip in the ocean we called it a day, happy to have got the first big one out of the way. Perhaps not as long as we first envisaged, but still a good marker moving forward.
Encouragingly I recovered well, and as I sit on the couch this morning I am even contemplating a cheeky dip in the pool this afternoon....!
Bike: 89km in 3.47, average: 26 km/hr
Run: 17.6km in 1.29, average: 5.04/km
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