Spring 50 Tourist Trial

What a difference a day makes! Looking out of the window the skies are grey and it is raining. Yesterday seems so far away although my aching legs remind me that is happened very recent!

I've just downloaded the stats from the Garmin to check on what actually happened yesterday and it is a real mix. For those who haven't read my post from last Sunday, we did a dummy Spring 50 last Sunday and comparing it now with the real thing looks interesting.

Last sunday average HR: 147
Yesterday: 157

Max speed last sunday: 33.8
Yesterday: 32.8

Something which I did last Sunday was not stopping the Garmin when we sat down for lunch, and yesterday I did do that, so technically I messed up as my averages and my overall time is now skewed with stopping time. Grrr! Seems that I will have to cycle this 50mi again to get the right measuremets to see if I have improved. Well, I guess that would be a good thing and there are still Saturdays and Sundays left.

I'm urgently looking for some training plans that can help me train for the next two months. I have the commitment, I just need the tools. Can anyone advise me of good plans / books that would help with endurance and weight training for cyclists?

I will post the map and detail of the ride seperately as it seems I can't use Firefox!