Settled in nicely

After Tuesdays heavy drinking session with Queen Bev and Wednesdays race at Brize and the excitement of JC crashing instantly he mounted his bike I am now enjoying a somewhat relaxed preperation to Sundays race. Which is not really like me, I did however promise Dawn to have words with myself about my poor performances in recent weeks training. I have and promise to not let it happen again.

The flight from Luton to Barcalona was uneventful apart from having a lovely young Austailian lady sit next to me and pass the time away with polite conversation. The drive in a foriegn land on the wrong side of the road was a little different. Me being the typical hot headed male, decided not to print a map of of my route to the hotel and just guessed at the correct direction and roads. Your now thinking "no he wouldn't, would he" well i did and only 25 miles later I found the lovelly town of Calella, finding the hotel wasn't as easy though and several hours were lost dodging late night revelers and driving the wrong way down streets.

So today I got up nice and early, put the bike together on the sun soaked balcony (picture to follow) enjoyed a relaxed continental breakfast before registering for my first Challenge. Before lunch I decided on a 1hr spin out on the bike course, just to see how flat they thought it was....they lied, it undulates but comfortably however the road surfaces are not as nice as expected. Just to finish it of I had a quick jog back to registration to pick up the missing swim hat.

With the package I booked with Challenge I opted for inclusive meals and the use of the CMR (Spanish institute of Sport). What a facility. 50m pool and spa free to use any time, gym and cafe facilities and all within walking distance (or 5mins). After a quick dip and getting my pulse racing watching the Swedish Hawiain Tropic swim team warm up on pool side I opted for a relaxing spa visit. Well all I can say is I love this place and can easily get used to spending all day relaxing in the perfect training enviroment.

Tommorrow will be another day relaxing, a shorterand quicker tempo brick in the morning before a dip in the pool and racking in the afternoon and the late night revelry of the Pasta Party

My only complaint and really this is my fault and I should have thought about it really. SIS products work best when you pack them for your trips away instead of leaving them on the kichen side. All I can say is thank you Tri UK (this is not a plug) for the free triathlon mag with free SIS sample attached. Lets hope it's enough for the 90k bike!