It’s getting lighter and warmer!

At last! The terrible winter appears to be fading in favour of some (relative!) warmth and lightness! It’s the start of a good season…i hope!

After my outing a few weeks back in horrendous rain, the hub on the back wheel on my winter bike seems to be a little worse for wear. A quick strip down and new bearings should do the trick, but it was all too much for me the weekend before last when I didn’t realise until the afternoon before I was due to go out with the guys.

A quick switch about with wheels, tyres and cassettes and I had the ‘training wheels’ off my Giant on the specialized; a set of Mavic CXP22s. They’re not great wheels, but a lot nicer than the horrible Alex Rims that came on it to start with.

The ride was a good one, covering 55 miles at an average of 17.4mph. I was actually quite surprised as the headwind was chronic for the majority of it. The weather was great otherwise and it was just fantastic to be able to get out and not fear death from cold!

So anyway, next weekend the clocks change in favour of giving us an extra hour of light in the evening – hurray! That means I can start to fade the turbo sessions out a little and actually get some decent road miles in. The guys at work apparently go out every Thursday night and do hill climbs and naturally I will be joining them.

I will also try and get an outing in on Tuesday, probably to do some drill work on the flat and it may even be time to break out the summer bike (and try out my new wheels!).

4 weeks till the first Sportive of the year (the Wiggle New Forest ride) which is 83 miles albeit it on a yet unknown terrain! I need to do well in that, just for a start of the season moral boost.

Let’s wait and see….

Ventoux on the Turbo

I’ve got a DVD showing the climb of Ventoux (on a bike!) which is great for the turbo. Anything more than an hour on the turbo looking on the wall is stupidly tedious.

I say the DVD is great but what I actually mean is that it’s hell. It’s an 1:45 long, with the first 30 being the approach (level 3 of 6 – a nice warm up) and the remaining 1:15 being a full on relentless climb. The first 45 minutes of the climb are at full tilt (6 out of 6), a serious grind; it’s a real killer. It then eases off slightly for a couple of minutes before returning to a good climb (5 out of 6).

I did the full climb last night, just a couple of days after a heavy leg session in the gym and it was a real slog.

I don’t collect stats off my Tacx computer at the end (averages) but do monitor them whilst riding:

Avg HR: 164
Max HR: 177
Climbing Cadence: 70-80rpm
Sustained Power Output: 200w

My power output was a little lower than it maybe could have been, as I was pushing out 230w at some points but i wanted to try and get a good sustainable pace going. by the end of the climb, my HR was sitting at about 172, which is quite high (but also a zone that i can hold for long periods).

I would like to improve to the point where I can sustain the 200w for the duration, but also reduce my HR into the 160s. It’s tough when I know that my bike needs a service and my back wheel isn’t very true. There’s a lot of potential causes for fluctuation in readings…

I’m pretty sure I’m pushing the same power as last time I did the full climb (November?) but am a good 4kg lighter, which has to be a good thing!

It’s been a while….

It appears that my first attempt at keeping a blog or training activities has failed miserably, as I’ve not actually posted anything new since November 2009!

That’s 4 months of training that haven’t been documented! Having said that, there’s been quite a few weeks that were heavily disrupted by snow and breaks.

In reality I don’t know how succesful my my training has been this far. At the beginning of this training season (October) I never set myself any benchmarks, which is something I really regret. It was so often that I read about how important it is to do a series of tests each month, in order to track progress. Sadly I didn’t do that, so now I am left in the dark.

The trouble is that I’m doing a lot of indoor training and only getting out on the winter bike (Specialized Allez Sport). Naturally, that is slightly less performant than my race bike, so doesn’t feel quite as good. I also fail to account for the fact that it’s cold, windy, wet and slow out there, so often come back feeling a little less than satisfied with my performance. Nonetheless I continue to train.

I’m still doing strength and length sessions in the gym 4 mornings a week, followed by at least 4 evening sessions on the turbo (or an outdoor session if the weather is suitable). I’ve got no issue with going out in bad weather, but for an hour of intense training, it really doesn’t work well. On the plus side, I’m soon getting rid of a major responsibility, which takes up a lot of my time in the evening, so my training time can start to slope up. It’s been a limiting factor up to now…

For my records :-
Parallel Squats : 60kg (+bar) – 8-12 reps – 3 sets
Calve raises: 70kg – 10-12 reps – 3 sets
Deadlifts: 30kg (all the weight I can get on the bar) – 12 reps – 3 sets
Stepdowns: BW+10kg – 12 reps – 3 sets
Gym ball hamstring thrusts: 12 reps – 3 sets

Current weight: 73kg (down 4kg from November!)

Average weekly training time :-
Gym: 3 hours
Turbo: 4 hours
Roads: 3-4 hours
Total: 10-11 hours

It’s time to start picking it up! I’m aiming for at least 8 hours a week on the road in April.

Another week…

The tail end of last week was somewhat poor, in terms of training. I ended up going out for some food and drinks on Thursday night for a work leaving do. I really wasn’t feeling up to much on Friday morning, so spinning got missed.

The rest of the weekend was then spent taking bits to the paint shop (where my beetle is being painted) and seeing friends. All of which took place between Leeds and Sheffield. Naturally, this meant that no riding got done!

So it’s back to Monday and I went to this gym this morning. Once again it was a session of squats, calf raises and leg extentions, followed by spinning.

I worked on my squat technique and feel much better about it now – I also upped the weight to 60kg quite happily. I don’t ache anywhere near as much as I did last week (yet!).

My primary driver for the resistance training here is to ensure I have a muscular balance in my legs. Cycling is quite specific in the muscles it uses (and avoids) and I don’t want any imbalances to affect my knees more than they already do. As such, much of the training is focusing on the vastus medialis, to support my patella.

I also bought Joe Freil’s “The Cyclist’s training bible” after hearing good things about it; So far so good!

I won’t update this daily, as it’s not that interesting, but I write progress every few days, for my record. 🙂

SAD or just lazy?

I was woken up a couple of times last night by the terrible wind and rain (and the car alarms it was setting off) – As a result, I was chuffin knackered this morning and managed to sleep through my alarm.

I had planned on being up at 6am to get the gym with time to do a chest, biceps and triceps session before spinning but ended up waking up with just enough time to get there in time for spinning.

It wasn’t a great session and I don’t feel like I worked it hard enough but my legs are still as tight as a ducks arse from Monday’s squats (even though they were only light!). It just goes to show that a change in exercise can lead to a big difference in muscle groups.

Body Balance first thing tomorrow – I’m not sure how well it will go since I am feeling as flexible as a pencil! 🙂

At the centre of everything is a core…

I’m terrible at neglecting my core strength. I tend to tell myself that it will just strengthen itself through my usual activities. Well, I’ve decided to take the viewpoint no more and to dedicate at least one session a week to core strength exercises.

Today included:
Medicine ball wood chops
Standard crunches
Leg raise crunches
Leg & Torso crunches (lifting both)
Plank

Nothing too much to get me going, but enough to know I’ve done it! I’m also booked in to Body Balance on Thursday morning, to add to my core work and flexibility. If my legs are as tight then as they are now, it might be interesting!

Monday Morning

My alarm went off at 06:00 and I woke to the sound of the rain and wind battering my bedroom window – The perfect start to a week! It never gets any easier to get up knowing that you’re about to slog your guts out in the gym…

After a quick snack and a smoothie, I pedaled my way into work (about a 2 mile ride) battling the elements. I had a little accident en route though, as I dropped the bike on wet leaves; not the first time it’s happened either. I hit the deck, made sure no one saw and carried on along my way 😀

Anyway, I got to the gym with a plan to do a leg session followed by the usual 45 minute spin session. I wanted to incorporate more compound exercises, rather than focusing on specific muscles, so I opted to include squats. Here’s how the session panned out:

Weight: 40kg
Exercise: Squats > Calf Raises
Reps: 8 > 12
Rest period: 1 minute
Sets: 3

Weight: 20kg
Exercise: Leg Extensions (one legged)
Reps: 10 (each leg)
Rest period: 1 minute
Sets: 3

Cycle Based training: 45 minute spin class, preceded by some dynamic stretching and followed by some static stretching.

Post workout fatigue: 7/10

I’ll soon work out a better way to document this (for progress tracking) but overall it was a good session. After the two turbo sessions at the weekend and this morning’s session, my legs are somewhat knackered!

The turbo…

As mentioned previously, I’ve got myself a turbo trainer to help with winter training.

I’ve been meaning to get one for ages, but wanted something that met the following criteria:

– Must have a power meter
– Must have adjustable resistance
– Must be as quiet as possible
– Must be under £300

So it took me a while to find what I was after. Initially I wanted an Elite SuperCrono HydroMag, with the digital upgrade. Sadly that’s no longer available as a package and was going to be over £350 to buy the two components.

Eventually I found the Tacx Flow, which met my criteria. Having only ever experienced the Elite trainers before, I was a bit uncertain; however, a read of various reviews led me to believe it was going to be suitable. Once such review was the one from BikeRadar.

The list price for the unit is £385 but I managed to get it from Rutland Cycles for more than £100 less than that – Bargain.

Anyway, I set it up yesterday for a quick trial run and then again today for my first training session. I must admit, I’m pretty pleased with it. It’s very quiet, the resistance available is more than adequate and the computer tells you everything you would need to know (power, cadence, HR, speed, time etc). I’m yet to work out any ‘proper’ training programs for it but for today I just did a pyramid session:

10 min: Warm up spinning – resistance at 0 – Cadence 85+
1 min: resistance +1 – power 220 watts +
1 min: resistance +2 – power 220 watts +
1 min: resistance +3 – power 220 watts +
1 min: resistance +4 – power 220 watts +
1 min: resistance +5 – power 220 watts +
1 min: resistance +4 – power 220 watts +
1 min: resistance +3 – power 220 watts +
1 min: resistance +2 – power 220 watts +
1 min: resistance +1 – power 220 watts +
1 min: resistance 0 – Recovery
Repeat last 10 steps, with power at 230 watts+
5 min: resistance 0 – cadence 90+ – power 220 watts +
5 min: cool down

I’ve got it set up in the coldest room in my flat (the spare room) as it means I can leave it set up and open the window to stop me overheating. Despite these efforts, and training in only my shorts, fluid loss is pretty high! I’m going to get a fan to ease it a little more during longer sessions.

Here’s my setup at the moment. Once I’ve got the winter bike, that will be going on the turbo instead of my race bike. Oh – Excuse the

Tacx Flow Turbo Trainer

Winter training

It’s winter and it sucks. I’ve only managed to get out on my bike about twice in the last month and the gym just doesn’t quite cut it. My last outdoor ride was last Sunday, for a local Evans ride. Although the ride was good, the roads were shocking and it actually felt like I should have been on a mountain bike at times. The bike got filthy and so did I. It’s now raining like a mo fo, so there’s no chance I’m getting out today, but I’ll see what it’s like tomorrow.

Not wanting to totally trash my race bike this winter, I’ve taken two steps.

1. I’ve applied for a Ride 2 Work voucher to allow me to buy a new road bike for winter training (that should come through by mi December). I think I’ll end up getting a Specialized Allez of some degree but I’ll have to see. I need to get it from Evans, so it very much depends on what they stock.

2. I’ve just picked up my new turbo trainer – I opted for a Tacx flow, based on features, reviews and price. I’ll give my own review of the turbo shortly, as I’m about to do my first session on it whilst watching Scotland v Australia (Rugby Union). I live in a 2nd floor apartment, so hopefully the neighbours’ hearing isn’t too good!

The entry is in & we’ll see the Tour!

The beginning of November saw the release of the Etape entries and also Sports Tours International’s package trips. I was due to be in meetings all day at work but luckily Dan was able to do the dirty work and make sure we got a booking in.

As soon as entries were released Dan had booked us places for the 3 day trip staying in Central Pau. Based on Dan’s previous experience (he’s done the Etape a couple of times before) we wanted to go for a little longer than just the 3 days. Afterall, there’s no point in going to the Pyrenees with your bike and making a rush trip of it – Especially the case when the Tour de France is due to come in a few days later.

As a result, we’re booked to go out a day Earlier (the Thursday) and come back on the following Wednesday. This gives us time to do a recce and spend a bit more time riding and watching stage 16 of the Tour:

The whole trip works out to have an extraordinary cost to pain ratio, in that it’s bloody expensive and no doubt painful. An odd way to spend the hard earned but it WILL be worth it.

The trip itinerary will be along the lines of:

Thursday: Travel out
Friday: Do a recce ride and check it all out
Saturday: Collect race numbers and admin stuff
Sunday: RIDE!
Monday: Recovery ride / rest
Tuesday: Ride up the mountain to watch the Tour come through
Wednesday: Travel home

It’s going to be a few long hard months of training…