Feeling a little calmer now. Probably just resigned to the fact that there is nothing I can do about my level of fitness now. Just have to go with what I've got.
I've managed a couple of turbo sessions since the last post, with some pleasing numbers (managing to keep 320watts for 10 minute intervals), so that is good.
Also went out for an evening blast and did 40 miles in 2hours 20min. Again, feeling good.
Last weekend was the annual "Challenge Weekend" : a 10 mile tt on Saturday afternoon and a 25 mile tt on Sunday morning. Good results for me : 25min 18sec for the 10. Just 8 seconds off my PB, and a Class win ( with a cash prize of £10 :o) and finishing 28th overall. Happy with that !
The 25 time was also a PB : 1hr 5min 41sec, 29th overall. Only 4 seconds behind Rich Gamble, my 2-up partner. So again, very happy with the result.
This weeks Tuesday 10, was another quick one. A new PB by 1 second ( 25:09 ).
So, to state the obvious, a bit of training and you go faster!
Let's just hope this is enough to get me up to Alpe d'Huez.
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
3 Weeks to go... and no training.
Once again there has been a total lack of riding over the last couple of weeks. Not Good.
The Hinckley 25 on 12th June went well. A really windy day, but I finished with a time of 1hr 7min 2sec. Pretty close to my 2-Up team time trial last month, and faster than most of my closest rivals. All very good.
On the down side, I have failed to get my long ride in again this weekend. Family stuff has got in the way, specifically get the houses on the market. 18th and 19th June was going to be my big mileage weekend, but instead I spent the weekend clearing the garden at the in-law's old house. No riding at all.
Also haven't ridden the regular Tuesday TT for a couple of weeks. Last week Josh broke his arm, so I was looking after Fin while Jo took Josh off to A&E. Really annoying as conditions were perfect for a good time. (Obviously upset the the little chap has hurt himself) This week I was down to marshal, so, again, didn't ride. Did think about doing my pushing-off duty and then riding at the end, but got messed about by some Cock who was also supposed to be marshaling. Ended up with him riding and other picking up the slack. Not happy.
So I'm not into the last 3 weeks before the Etape, and my training has disappeared. Not happy, but some things in life out-rank riding my bike.
The Hinckley 25 on 12th June went well. A really windy day, but I finished with a time of 1hr 7min 2sec. Pretty close to my 2-Up team time trial last month, and faster than most of my closest rivals. All very good.
On the down side, I have failed to get my long ride in again this weekend. Family stuff has got in the way, specifically get the houses on the market. 18th and 19th June was going to be my big mileage weekend, but instead I spent the weekend clearing the garden at the in-law's old house. No riding at all.
Also haven't ridden the regular Tuesday TT for a couple of weeks. Last week Josh broke his arm, so I was looking after Fin while Jo took Josh off to A&E. Really annoying as conditions were perfect for a good time. (Obviously upset the the little chap has hurt himself) This week I was down to marshal, so, again, didn't ride. Did think about doing my pushing-off duty and then riding at the end, but got messed about by some Cock who was also supposed to be marshaling. Ended up with him riding and other picking up the slack. Not happy.
So I'm not into the last 3 weeks before the Etape, and my training has disappeared. Not happy, but some things in life out-rank riding my bike.
Friday, 10 June 2011
JFDI #2
If I keep going like this I'm going to be in trouble.
Training has been a bit hit and miss again this week. Some good intervals in the turbo on Thursday and Friday, followed by a fun weekend away in Oxford. Good to see Matt & Niki and the boys again, and good to relax with a beer or two, but not good from a training point of view.
The main down side is that there was no long ride again this weekend. My good intentions of another turbo session when I got home on Sunday soon faded and we tried to get an early night. Monday was a gray day and I just couldn't summon the enthusiasm for training. A slightly randon 30 minutes on the turbo, followed by a couple of hours battling with the internal cable routing on my TT bike handlebars instead.
Tuesday Night 10 round #10 this week was an interesting night. The new base bar on the time trial bike had moved the position of the aero bars - just a little closer together. I'm not exactly Martin Johnson, but I think I've got quite wide shoulders and chest. The new position was a bit uncomfortable, and also made steering a bit difficult.
Wind was really blustery, from the side. No real help in either direction, but did bouncy me sideways a couple of times. Once, at about 9.5 miles, the quickest part of the course for me, I lurched onto the wrong side of the road. It scared the **** out of me, but no harm done.
Per formance was good. Didn't feel smooth, and was fighting the bike a bit, but came out on top. time : 25:11 just 1 sec of my PB from a couple of weeks ago. Quite a few people struggled, and many were significantly slower - so a net gain then !?!
The rest of the week again lacked motivation and energy. No more training at all. This weekend is also filling up. Saturday we will be off to see my brother-in-law to discus house stuff and the evening is the MIRA 65th celebration party. Sunday is the HCRC 25 mile TT championship. Weather is looking wet and windy. Don't think quick times are on the cards.
So, again, no long ride this weekend.
31 days to go.
Just want it to be over now.
Training has been a bit hit and miss again this week. Some good intervals in the turbo on Thursday and Friday, followed by a fun weekend away in Oxford. Good to see Matt & Niki and the boys again, and good to relax with a beer or two, but not good from a training point of view.
The main down side is that there was no long ride again this weekend. My good intentions of another turbo session when I got home on Sunday soon faded and we tried to get an early night. Monday was a gray day and I just couldn't summon the enthusiasm for training. A slightly randon 30 minutes on the turbo, followed by a couple of hours battling with the internal cable routing on my TT bike handlebars instead.
Tuesday Night 10 round #10 this week was an interesting night. The new base bar on the time trial bike had moved the position of the aero bars - just a little closer together. I'm not exactly Martin Johnson, but I think I've got quite wide shoulders and chest. The new position was a bit uncomfortable, and also made steering a bit difficult.
Wind was really blustery, from the side. No real help in either direction, but did bouncy me sideways a couple of times. Once, at about 9.5 miles, the quickest part of the course for me, I lurched onto the wrong side of the road. It scared the **** out of me, but no harm done.
Per formance was good. Didn't feel smooth, and was fighting the bike a bit, but came out on top. time : 25:11 just 1 sec of my PB from a couple of weeks ago. Quite a few people struggled, and many were significantly slower - so a net gain then !?!
The rest of the week again lacked motivation and energy. No more training at all. This weekend is also filling up. Saturday we will be off to see my brother-in-law to discus house stuff and the evening is the MIRA 65th celebration party. Sunday is the HCRC 25 mile TT championship. Weather is looking wet and windy. Don't think quick times are on the cards.
So, again, no long ride this weekend.
31 days to go.
Just want it to be over now.
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
TNT #8
Round 8 of Hinckley CRC's Tuesday Night 10 (10 mile time trial)
I wasn't looking forward to tonights race. After a lackluster effort on the turbo last night and a dull day at work I just wasn't up-for-it. Jo pushed me out of the door and off I went to Wolvey, trying to think up excuses for not riding. In the back of last week's performance I should have been eager to go again, but no, not interested. I joined the back of the long queue at about 6:30 and picked up number 44. Back of the field again, but I like being back there. Road is quieter and wind usually drops for the later starters.
Weather was a bit better this week. Sky was brighter with lots of blue and a few clouds skidding across. Wind was a bit of a pain. Had been quite strong during the day, but as the evening came it was calming down. Helping on the way out (the longer leg) is usually good for me. And slightly from the right(West) gives you a little shelter from the trees on the way back.
A short warm up and off to the start for 7:44
Was horribly distracted by my heart rate monitor and speedo today.
HR sensor seemed to drop out a lot during my warm up and I wasn't comfortable with it during the race. Should really have been concentrating on riding the bike, rather than pressing buttons on the phone. Heart rate up at 155 was ok and speed was good down to the turn. Tried to push a bit harder on the way home, but didn't quite have it in me.
Crossed the line with another PB of 25:10
It would be nice to catch my 2up partner Richard Gamble one day. Think I've got him worried.
Another Good Day.
I wasn't looking forward to tonights race. After a lackluster effort on the turbo last night and a dull day at work I just wasn't up-for-it. Jo pushed me out of the door and off I went to Wolvey, trying to think up excuses for not riding. In the back of last week's performance I should have been eager to go again, but no, not interested. I joined the back of the long queue at about 6:30 and picked up number 44. Back of the field again, but I like being back there. Road is quieter and wind usually drops for the later starters.
Weather was a bit better this week. Sky was brighter with lots of blue and a few clouds skidding across. Wind was a bit of a pain. Had been quite strong during the day, but as the evening came it was calming down. Helping on the way out (the longer leg) is usually good for me. And slightly from the right(West) gives you a little shelter from the trees on the way back.
A short warm up and off to the start for 7:44
Was horribly distracted by my heart rate monitor and speedo today.
HR sensor seemed to drop out a lot during my warm up and I wasn't comfortable with it during the race. Should really have been concentrating on riding the bike, rather than pressing buttons on the phone. Heart rate up at 155 was ok and speed was good down to the turn. Tried to push a bit harder on the way home, but didn't quite have it in me.
Crossed the line with another PB of 25:10
It would be nice to catch my 2up partner Richard Gamble one day. Think I've got him worried.
Another Good Day.
New Blog Colour
Oh look, I've found the colour templates for the Blog. Got a bit bored with black, so here is a new, easy to read, ligher coloured version.
( really should be working, but...... )
( really should be working, but...... )
Monday, 23 May 2011
JFDI !
I know I have a "motivation problem".
Today was a prime example. Had a dull day at work and really didn't get much done. Dragged my lazy arse out to the garage for a turbo session in the evening with Zero enthusiasm. Faffed about for a while fiddling with the bike and anything else that came into view in the garage. Pedalled for about 30 minutes with a short sprint in the middle then gave up. Not going to happen tonight.
With hindsight I hate myself for this. I need to get the training done, but some days I just don't want to do it.
Today was a prime example. Had a dull day at work and really didn't get much done. Dragged my lazy arse out to the garage for a turbo session in the evening with Zero enthusiasm. Faffed about for a while fiddling with the bike and anything else that came into view in the garage. Pedalled for about 30 minutes with a short sprint in the middle then gave up. Not going to happen tonight.
With hindsight I hate myself for this. I need to get the training done, but some days I just don't want to do it.
Saturday, 21 May 2011
Burbage to Bardon to Beacon and back
I have to face the fact that I need to get some vertical metres as well has horizontal miles in the training. So the Saturday morning route took in Leicestershire's highest point : a not very high Beacon Hill at 220m. A steady climb 6%- 10% from Quorn up to the top:
Just for a quick reality check, this is what it looks like on the Etape profile scale :
I think I'm in trouble!
May try to get out and about a bit more over the next month. I'll ask around and see where I can go. Probably just stick the bike in the car and drive to the bottom of some thing hilly, do an evening of hill repeats and drive home again.
I quite like the simplicity of a training ride that has the same metres climbed as the etape. Obviously not on a single climb, but 10 repeats of Beacon hill would be a start. 10 x 15 minutes (up) + 8 min (down) = about 4 hours of the same bit of road. Not much fun. Total climbing in the Etape is 3600m.
One of the other thoughts to come out of this ride was that I need to think more about my fueling. Felt pretty rubbish after an hour and really struggled at 2 hours. I think I need to try to eat more real food (bananas, fig rolls, flapjack for a start) rather than just Go Bars and PSP drink. ( Not having a nice bottle of Red wine the night before may also help ;o)
Now only 50 days to go.
Tim.
Just for a quick reality check, this is what it looks like on the Etape profile scale :
I think I'm in trouble!
May try to get out and about a bit more over the next month. I'll ask around and see where I can go. Probably just stick the bike in the car and drive to the bottom of some thing hilly, do an evening of hill repeats and drive home again.
I quite like the simplicity of a training ride that has the same metres climbed as the etape. Obviously not on a single climb, but 10 repeats of Beacon hill would be a start. 10 x 15 minutes (up) + 8 min (down) = about 4 hours of the same bit of road. Not much fun. Total climbing in the Etape is 3600m.
One of the other thoughts to come out of this ride was that I need to think more about my fueling. Felt pretty rubbish after an hour and really struggled at 2 hours. I think I need to try to eat more real food (bananas, fig rolls, flapjack for a start) rather than just Go Bars and PSP drink. ( Not having a nice bottle of Red wine the night before may also help ;o)
Now only 50 days to go.
Tim.
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