"Bianca's First Flat" and other tales of success in the face of adversity

I went out for a cycle with Hannah first thing this morning. A steady, undulating local loop to get the day off to a cracking start. We were heading down a hill at a not-too-sensible pace, I was just in front and at the last minute I saw it, a giant jagged pot-hole. Actually more like a tarmac crevasse that had opened up to swallow the lovely village we were riding through. I couldn't avoid it, and my lovely bike had her first ever blowout. Front tyre was as flat as one of my really badly made pancakes after it's fallen on the floor and I've slipped over on it.

Luckily for me, this was not Hannah's first time. She may well hold the record for most number of flats in the shortest space of time and has had several unlucky incidents of late. I hadn't even come to a stop and she was armed and ready with tyre levers in one hand and a pump in the other.

With her expert knowledge (she has been doing some serious googling of tyre changing instructions, and was literally quoting it step-by-step) and some hardcore leverage and pumping, we were back on the road.

22.38 miles and a couple of big hills later and I took Bianca home so she could rest and recuperate.

I went on to have a super productive and busy day of generally getting things done. When I had finally settled, I then decided it was time to kick it up a notch. It has been a while since I've run a 5k against the clock, so I headed out into the grey and windy evening determined to set myself a new personal best.

After the first kilometre I was already hurting, and when I hit the halfway point I thought my heart was going to go into meltdown as I turned right into the wind. But by that point I was off the track and onto the road and the legs just kept going. By the last kilometre I think I may have been groaning on each exhalation as mothers with pushchairs and small children were giving me a very wide berth.

Finally, I hit the end and really thought there may have been a chance of projectile stomach regurgitation I had exerted myself that much. I checked my watch.. 27:00:2. WOOOOOHOOOOO, TWENTY SEVEN minutes! Wow! For anybody who is not mathematically inclined that approximates to a 8:26 minute mile, which is by far the fastest I have ever run over any distance whatsoever. I celebrated with a good stretch and a handful of almonds.

Could this day get any better? Why yes, it could.. I planned to go for another swim tonight, and once again, Leo came on down to give me some handy hints. I won't go too much into it, but the crack is, I can actually swim now! I even did two lengths in a row without a break which for me is quite something. That 400m triathlon swim is looking more achievable by the day. I celebrated this with a banana.

All in all a super day!