What a difference a day makes. Loads of friends down at the swim this morning. Headed out to the half way point swimming with Rachel. Felt fantastic in the water and was able to keep pace with Rachel though I suspect that was partly due to her taking it easy. I  seemed to be swimming strong in marked contrast to yesterdays swim.

We headed to the new Splashers for breakfast. It’s a great location but has gone a little upmarket. Menu still the same but it lacks the gritty down to earth feel the other place had and it’s no longer right next to the street. Can’t see us being there every morning like in previous years which is rather  ashame. We will have to search for our new “Splashers” which could prove fun.

Jo was riding the course today so I joined her. It was pretty favourable conditions – not too windy, pretty overcast and cooler in many places. In fact it rained a little on us on three occassions. Like the swim I was feeling a lot better on the the bike today. It’s the first time I’ve been out riding with someone else whilst on the QR so I had Jo take a look at my position. I knew I was lower at the front end and she confirmed this. She pointed out that my knees came slightly above my elbows which never happened on the P3. I’ve just got some spacers to try out raising the front end a little. It was nice to pootle a long a little and chat and then do sections of really pushing it along. Was happy with how I was going and how the bike felt. Even came to the conclusion that I should sell my P3. Think I will build it up as a full TT set up – Hed Aero bars and HED Alps wheels. Unfortunately being away for 5 months means I can’t really sell it till next March but perhaps advertising it in advance of that will be good – just as people are thinking of the coming season.

By the end of the ride my legs felt pretty drained but with my new FiveFinger Bikili’s (see piccie) to run in I got out on my run.  The shoes felt great when runnning. Having tried them on in the shop there’s a noticeable cupping of your heel and the under arch is a bit firmer. I was slightly concerned this would offer support but once running they are fantastic. There’s feedback from the road but the soles are that little bit more solid in key places to prevent the sharpness of stones coming through. I tested this out by initially running over rough gravelly sections and finally by running across a section with bits of Lava. Really comfortable to run in. I am very impressed. These will be key shoes to run in when I’m not sure that the running surface will be reasonably smooth.

The day ended back at Bongo Bens for a lovely dinner catching up with friends.