Faster and heavier than you

Busy at work. Sore foot. T. Shirt design. That's three of the reasons for not getting much training in this week. It certainly wasn't the improvement I was looking for. A good 90 minute effort on Monday tweaked the foot problem I picked up the previous week. Couple of days off before a lap of Snaefell (Bungalow - Black Hut - summit - Bungalow) on Thursday morning and the evening hill session. Sore again, so left it until Sunday. A three hour walk - glad to get a few miles in, but felt slow and tired. Crikey... this year I was planning to get a bit further than Rushen before blowing up.

TT fortnight is here. Love them or loath them, the bikes are faster and heavier than you, so try to avoid sharing the road with them. If there is a pavement, fine, but if there isn't, don't walk on the busy roads. Find a quiet route (Baldwin, Marine Drive, Maughold, Regaby etc) and stick to it, leaving your iPod/walkman at home. For the ultimate in safe (but tedious?) road mileage, don't forget the half-mile NSC roadway. The hill session was another damp affair on Thursday, but everyone enjoyed it. This coming Thursday (31st), we're meeting at Axnfell Picnic Area for a walk around Glenroy. All very welcome.

Got the gumpf through the post about the Telecom-sponsored 'Sportident' timing system. It will be brilliant (and painful) to be able to see just where (and by how much) you lost/gained on your rivals in the weeks after the race. Another winner will be the ability to have your progress sent by text message to two mobile numbers. I was wondering whether Robbie and Sean might put each other's numbers down - just to keep a tab on each other... The organisers are hoping that this facility will enable support crews to avoid unnecessary driving on the day. I for one will be repeating last year's plan and telling my support to stay at home until I reach (that's right Steve - stay confident) Peel. There were so many drink/feed stations in the early stages last year that I didn't need to have had breakfast. Maybe I'll have an extra hour or two in bed this year.