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First race of the weekend was on the E2/25, a fast course by all accounts. A hot sunny day and a start time of 4:07 in the afternoon got me feeling that this would be as good a chance as any. Got the heads up in the HQ; "if you don't go under today you won't do it this year.." and "if you've gone close before you'll do a 58 today" were the things that were rolling around in my head as I crawled towards the turn at about 20mph for what seemed like forever. The way back was a lot quicker though but not quick enough, over the line in 1:00:16 - Ouch. I was really hurting to get there and I'd promised myself that I wouldn't be riding again on Sunday as planned if I managed to break the hour.

Seeing as I didn't it was a bit of a Hobson's choice, and so it was that I found myself getting up at silly o'clock on a Sunday morning for the 2nd attempt of the weekend. There was rain when I left to get to the HQ and it seemed to be getting worse on the way. Luckily enough it had stopped by the time I started and although the road had some surface water it was still quite warm and the drying out nicely. The wind wasn't so much of a factor this time and to cut it short before you fall asleep I got across the line in 59:38. Really pleased to have cracked the hour with the same kit I started the season with. Will keep an eye out for the Sunday course again. It was the B25/4, can't help thinking I was lucky to get starts at both. The reason for entering two was that I expected to get rejected from at least one of them.

this, is it...

Got two TTs for the price of one this weekend both on flat courses, both on what should be warm days. One of them should be at least mildly wind free. I've got my race nutrition plan sorted courtesy of XXXXXX. Won't be using their products but will be following there doses:

90 minutes before - caffeine load:
Drink one 750ml bottle of Energy drink 90 minutes before your race starts. At the same time take the following Energy Gel sachets
based on body weight:
70kg to 90kg: 3 x EnergyGel Plus
during your race:
If your ride is less than one hour: swill Energy drink around your mouth for
a few seconds and spit it out (like mouth wash). If you swallow it does not work. Repeat every 5 to 10 minutes. If it’s hot or your race lasts more than one hour, ignore this advice and instead start drinking Energy drink 10 minutes
before the start and during your race.
recovery after:
To re hydrate, refuel and to increase the development of lean muscle: drink 500ml to 1000ml of Energy drink after you finish.

Could be interesting...

Making movies baby!!!

Guess whos back...

Is shagged? :(

MDM-me

I headed over to Hillingdon in pursuit of points and managed to achieve just that. 5th place gets me 5 points so I'm now halfway to my 3rd cat license. I also got a tenner for my efforts as well!! I was smiling so much afterwards that I anyone watching might have thought that I'd been sniffing glue or perhaps something even stronger with the local crackheads in the park next door.

I'm never really very good at remembering details of races but basically I spent a lot of time on my own and with various people off the front of the pack. I think a more committed trio or perhaps duo could have got away and stayed away but frankly the people that I teamed up with were either unwilling or unable to do the work necessary to stay out in front. So with that it all eventually went down to a bunch sprint, this is normally where I would have come unstuck having done so much previously but not this time. I held my position when the last two laps were called and even led out the penultimate lap. I let up for the briefest time in order to get a wheel to suck as close to the front as possible for the last windy drag before two lefts and the slight rise towards the line. I held my position here too and even going around the outside stayed true to my new best friends wheel. I was so fooked at this point I couldn't even get out of the saddle, I just had to sit there with my head down trying to turn the gear over as quickly as I possibly could. The excitement was immense as I headed towards the line, I was looking in front and knew that I was in the points but could see people around me and wasn't really sure what position I'd got. What a great race! I'm thinking about going back there next Tuesday with backup to see if it was all just a fluke or if I can get an even better result and those last 5 points...

Mr potato head

It's bank holiday weekend and I'd signed up for my third TT of the year. Made my way up to Suffolk with Miss Drago and other relations in tow. Arranged lodgings with the folks. I think it was shortly after the Dartford tunnel when I realised that I'd forgotten my cycling shoe, doh! Made a visit to the local bike shop the following morning and restocked on essential footwear. The weather was amazing this weekend so it would have been incredibly rude to not go and give the new shoes a test ride.

The cycling up here in Suffolk is fantastic, much quieter roads in a better condition then the ones around South London and Northern Surrey. Looking forward to figuring out ways of avoiding the busier ones and discovering where best to jack up with the obligatory caffeine spike.

I'd done a minuscule amount of research for the route, not a super fast DC but a bit of a sporting affair. Was still hoping for a respectable time though what with the good weather. Bought the Powertap with me for this one and was treating it as a bit of a FTP test. I'd also planned to use the wheel covers I've got with the PT in order to knock a few seconds off my time. Unfortunately the shoes weren't the only thing I'd forgotten, in order to fit the wheel covers you need to remove the cassette. Not going to happen without the right tools though, is it? Double d'oh!! Race went reasonably well, my HR average creeped up from 170 to 172 for the effort when compared to the last TT I did. I'd say I went harder in this race then the last one but the slower course and less aero kit meant that a slower time was on the cards. Finished with 1:03:47 which I'm pretty pleased with.

I just pee'd my pants

Found this on the BBC website, this guy signed up for the sportive version of the first TdF stage that went from London to Canterbury in 2007. Check out his expression after his first long ride!!

Fish and chips...

A strange week so far, went to Palace for the first time which was great fun. I hadn't expected to enjoy it so much as I did or to feel reasonably ok. I was a bit naive and started at the back of the pack which I'd promised not to do after Ixworth. Someone pointed out later that it's better to sacrifice a warm up lap for a good position in the starting grid. Still, made up a few places quickly and had some good fun practising the corners, got involved with a few others here and there and as mentioned earlier, I had a good time. Was going to have a second race on Thursday night but had a mishap on Thursday morning, the day that London declared war… ON ME! First thing to happen was my bike getting struck by a car, no damage to me though and the bike seemed fine at first. Noticed shortly after that the wheel was buckled, I had to fully disengage the brakes but the wheel was still rubbing against the pads. I remember counting four other incidents on the way in which is an unheard of. My commutes are normally totally harmless affairs and I recommend the bike over the train on all but the sh1t est of weather days. But saying that it was a mere £11.50 to get the wheel trued on the way home and I was back in business. Thanks to www.deensgarage.co.uk bike shop in Beckenham for fitting me in and scrubbing the frown from my face. The anti frown look didn't last long though. Have been feeling a bit sore along the undercarriage recently but though nothing of it until I had a quick peak/feel the other evening only to discover what can only be described as a nuclear nipple growing. I'm hoping that it's going to bare fruit soon because if it keeps growing I may need to commission some sort of saddle orthotics to keep me even on the bike. I may you tube the exact moment of eruption for this little beauty in the interests of medical science. Perhaps, if I time it just right, I can use the eruption as some sort of racing aid, simultaneously giving myself a speed boost and covering my competitors in a incapacitating (but harmless) sticky mess. For those wishing to catch the moment in real life I'll be at Goodwood this Sunday for the 4th Cat race...

A downward trend?

So, for the second time this week I put on my TSN jersey and went into battle. The first time was up in Suffolk whilst visiting Mummy and Daddy Drago. I'd noticed on the BC website that the annual Ixworth Crits were happening on Bank Holiday Monday and decided to give it a go what with being in the area. And so it was that for the first time this year I found myself at a proper race, it nearly didn't happen though as, I turned up, it started raining, I started cacking my pants, I got in the car and drove away. Minutes later after a quick toilet stop in a bridleway and a wake up call from the lovely Mrs Drago I'd re-composed myself and was pinning a number to my jersey trying to figure out where to go and attempt a warm up. 

Pre race ritual

The race was OK, I foolishly hid at the back for the start and only realised just what a stupid move this was when on the first corner I look ahead and see that the people in front had already let a gap go. For anyone who doesn't know it's stupidly hard to catch a group of speeding cyclist when all you've got to do it with is your own legs and a bicycle. I show up as 11th in the results but that isn't the case. If I'd been given any points I probably would have owned up but seeing as there are none for 11th I don't think anyone will be that bothered...

Second time in the jersey was for today's Norwood Paragon hosted 25 TT on the Broadbridge Heath course. This is the second time I've been here in two weeks! Come to think of it I've only ever done 4 x 25 TT ever, that's including this year's efforts. 

Had noticed on the turbo this week that the front of the TT bike didn't look right and so I spent a bit of time yesterday getting that right. Thought about using the Power tap but decided against after a quick chat with Mr Betablocker himself. A later start time probably helped get the speed up and I'd also had more then two hours sleep, which was nice. Managed to get around in 1:01:01 according to my watch but will know for definite later once the results are available. Really pleased with that. Had a think about it on the way home and If I can finish every mile just a little bit over 2 seconds faster I'll get under the hour. I've entered two more events over the next month or so and I'm hoping to use some road races to sharpen me up a bit. Interestingly enough, my race number was 111 today which was the same as my time. I think I might be being optimistic requesting number 56 for the next race though...

ACC 25 TT

We'd been forecast heavy rain mid week so waking up to see clear skies was a bit of a bonus. The two hours sleep prior to waking up were a little less then I would have chosen but beggars can't be choosers and I had to work so that was that. 

Managed to get to the with time for a quick warmup on the turbo before heading off to the start just as my two minute man was beign pushed off...

The course was the G25/53 and the event was being hosted by ACC the second claim club. I'd chosen avg speed, HR and time as the info screens on the Garmin and I'd managed to average about 36kph by the time I got to Tollgate roundabout, I was hoping to make up a little more time then I did on the back to Southwater and beyond but only managed to get the avg. speed up to 38.5 as I crossed the line with a 1:02:52. Won't complain too much as it is a PB, but it was a nice still day even if it was a little cold. 

I think I could have done a little better if I'd concentrated a bit more. I've only done 3 25's including today's and so I could probably benefit from a little more experience. Anyway, as I said I can't moan too much as it was a PB and it is April so plenty of time to crack the hour.

Lastly was good to see a few TSN guys out today, nice to meet some of you for the first time. Now where did I put my handbook... 

Before, during and after

Did the second double hard bastard session this week. The PT has had a firmware upgrade and I wrapped a piece of t-shirt around the head unit to prevent it being drenched in sweat. This seems to have done the trick as the signal didn't drop out once, even the HR worked for whole session. Even managed higher power and speed avgs for the session then last time and didn't feel anywhere near as awlful after. A good sign that things are going in the right direction?...

Got thinking today about when things are enjoyable, sometimes before, sometimes during and sometimes after. For me racing is at it's most enjoyable once I've finished...

Before:

Had entered the Dragonslayer Duathlon a month or so ago with Mr B and promptly forgot all about it until the last few days. A text from Mr B turned up last night offering a lift, bonus! Got up this morning and thought to myself; can I be bothered? I had similar feelings before the Ballbuster last month but like then I managed to get out of bed and sort my bag and bike out before being picked up. The venue today was Hog Hill or Redbridge cycling centre (whichever you prefer). Never been before heard that it was a good venue, brand new, great facilities. The course that we had marked out for us was a 2k circuit heading in a anti clockwise direction. 

Hog Hill 

During:

The distances were 7.5 run, 40k and 5k. Four laps run, twenty laps bike and three laps run. The first run lap was on the circuit and the rest were off roadaround the perimeter. First run went well, pace was a bit spicy at first, so got into own rhythm and on the last lap I had started overtaking people who were punching above the weight in the early stages. The course was surprisingly cruel, you start of at the highest point on the course before dropping height towards the furthest edge of the course. There's a nagging headwind/drag/hill all the way back to the start. Choose to ride the Focus today as thought that the TT bike might be difficult to manage in the wind on a "technical" course. Think I'd have been better of the TT bike in hindsight but doubt if it would have been that much faster. Got lapped by Mr B at some point, not sure when but couldn't match his speed so just got on with my own thing. Twenty laps was hard going, especially watching the numbers creeping up as slowly as they seemed to be. Onto the last run and I was pretty spent, been skipping run sessions recently and so it was always going to hurt having already been on the go for the best part of two hours. Started to feel my right calf twinge a bit on the first descent and so stoppped to stretch it out for a bit before carrying on. Glad I did as I never had a problem after. The run laps were on the mtb circuit and it was really quite cruel, a downhill away from the clubhouse, then up a steady drag before s-bends down the other side. A nagging headwind (again) along a wooden bridge followed by some berms and the start of the uphill towards the end of the lap, The course went a little wild around here but the organisers had covered the worst of it in tarpaulin. In fairness the oraganisation was spot on. The marshalls had lists of names and I got plenty of personalised support which was cool. There was a race t shirt AKA bikecleaner, drink, energy gel and even some food in the goody bag. For me these little things turn a good race into a great race and while I was suffering on the last lap it was made bearable (just) by the marshalls. Had a quick peak behind on the last lap and knew there was no one in front ot catch or behind to be caught by so I didn't have to dig in to save a place or defend one...

After:

Now, this is always my favourite bit! Finally giving in to all those bodily urges to stop doing whatever it is that is causing the pain. Had a quick drink and a chat with a few people. Got a compliment from a guy I'd been near on the bike about my handling skills, this put a massive smile on my face! Going back to the organisation; they had timing chips. At the end of the race they had a flatscreen set up with a nummber pad attached. Type in any number and see their finishing position .18th - Sweet mate!! Having not run much since Ballbuster I was pretty pleased with this. Moonwalked my way into the changing rooms and had a much needed shower before packing up and heading back with Mr B. Mr B came 6th overall which is pretty awesome considering that he's only recently finished his first marathon (Paris) in 2:50 something. 

:)

Café con leche...

Wow!

Got back from Majorca this week having spent a "cheap" week away in more clement weather. Sit back...

Day 1:
Booked the earliest/cheapest flight possible. Met a colleague at his house in Copthorne, Sussex at the ungodly hour of 3am. Pretty pain free once awake and after flight and transfer we arrived in Santa Ponsa at midday. Was pretty tired by then but we put the bikes together before the phone in the room went and we were invited for a quick ride out with two others. The trip was planned by Addiscombe CC, my second claim club. To put things in perspective the guy I was rooming with had done 60 miles this year and had never used clipless pedals before this trip.  I've been commuting for the last 5 months but haven't really done any high intensity rides with others. The two others are pretty keen 2nd/3rd cats (I think). Anyway, the weather wasn't great but as we left it was dry if a little overcast. Did about thirty miles, got our first taste of  Majorcan rain, sunshine and one of the four got their first taste of Majorcan tarmac. Nothing serious, a bit of road rash and a hole in the elbow.

Day 2:
Everyone who was coming had turned up by midday for the first of the longer rides. Rode out over a few gentle climbs. The climbs felt so much more manageable then the Pyrenean ones I been on in the past. Consistent gradients and shorter climbs made for a much happier Rob, I even managed to keep up with the light weights who were there :)

All begins to turn into a bit of a blur from here on in. I think I can sum it up by saying that I had a great week. Caught a bit of Sun, did some decent mileage, noticed some big improvements in my bike handling, noticed some reasonable improvements in fitness after the winter and was
there with a good bunch. A big thumbs up for Majorca, thoroughly recommended...

And... There off!

Had meant to post before now but haven't really had too much time.

First thing to mention is the Ballbuster. Had trained the preceding week and had a few beers the evening before so wasn't really expecting too much if anything out of the race. The weather on race day was great, clear skies and a little chilly. Started of at a real steady pace on the first run was aware that I wasn't running as hard as I could but then I've done the event before so knew that there was still a lot of the event left to do. A friend came up with me and I'd left him my camera in order to to catch some of the magic as it happened. Was good to see him on each of the laps and get some encouragement.

Onto the bike and hammered the first lap, was really enjoying the dry roads and ropey triathlon handling skills of some of the other riders. Made up some easy places whenever the road started to twist and from memory I don't think I was overtaken on the bike. Calmed the pace down
a little on the second lap with the last run in mind and got caught up behind a car on the last lap towards the end of little Switzerland. Spun my legs for the hill at the end of the  last lap and went past Chris, Lisa and Dave as they went up Box Hill. Again cheers for the support, I'm sure you all rushed home and ordered your own compression socks having seen just how good they look on me!

Getting off the bike at the top was interesting, the legs didn't feel like they were going to respond well to running as I hobbled my way towards transition. Still, once I got going and after a short comfort stop I settled into a nice pace. I was wearing the GPS watch throughout and I seemed ot be keepign a good pace on teh run so was pretty happy. Managed to take a few people over on teh last ascent of the Hill and finish in a reasonable 3:14 something.

All in all a pretty pleasing first effort to start racing with the season. Pretty pleased overall for a number of reasons including the beating of my previous time by 7ish minutes with what I thought was a much lesser effort, the even run splits and a good bike leg. If the running is going well over Summer I think I might go back and have a crack at a sub three hour time...

Double hard bastard

A good week of training under the belt albeit one without a longish run or bike ride. Picked up a couple of new sessions including the one I did this morning...

3 x 10 mins as 15 secs on 15 secs off. I'd been told to stay in the same gear for the whole session and aim for a cadence of 120. Surprisingly enough the PT actually worked for the whole session which is great because without it I wouldn't have had much of a clue as to what I was doing and probably wouldn't have got so much out of it. The warm up involved getting my HR up to 160 and then... POW, the efforts begin. Got the feel after the first few that 400 watts minimum for 15 secs repeated would make for a good target. Depressing to think that some Pros put this power out for hours rather then seconds...

Halfway through first set HR is creeping up to 175, sweat everywhere, not sure I can do another 50 of these. 2nd set HR still creeping up, having lost faith in the PT HR reading I'm using the trusty suunto. It has a measurement of training effect for each session and also EPOC values. These are also creeping up. Bogeys start flying about halfway through the 2nd set and I'm spitting on the floor of my garage trying to make the efforts just slightly easier. 3rd set, even after the 5 min recovery I'm feeling awful straight away, the album I'm listening too runs out and some dreary song comes on after effort number 43/60. Walkman is flung to one side, that sort of music isn't helping. I'm battling against the clock and coming off second best, 15 seconds seems like forever on the effort and I barely notice it for the recovery. The cadence and power numbers are staying where they should be but the legs are not my friends. Last few efforts and I get a visit from a neighbour asking to borrow a saw. It's all I can do to point a finger at a box where he trys his luck. I realise that I'm down to the last two efforts and then I'm done. Thank **** for that!

Schizophrenic weather...

Russian blizzards or Mr Blueskies? The weather doesn't seem to be able to make it's mind up. That said Mr Blueskies seems to like the weekends, which in the grand scheme of things suits me just fine. The last three weeks that I've been out at the weekends have all been on the "posh" bike, my trusty faithful focus. It's soo nice compared to the commuter bike that I ride during the week. Today's outing was really good even with the two punctures, was out with Mr B, the king of pain! Managed to keep up with him to the top of Toys which is a first. Came home via White Hill Lane which is a bit of a bitch, 20% gradient for anyone who's not familiar with the North Downs/Surrey Hills area.

Training wise things have seemed pretty good after the cough/snow/NY triple combo. A more dedicated athlete would have found a way to overcome but I sat back and let the storm pass. That was a while ago now and I have manged to get some higher quality runs in as well as bike commutes, turbo sessions and some almost regular weekend rides of generally sedate intensity levels. Having mentioned crappy weather earlier it does seem as though you can almost feel Spring. It's got to the point now where I'm riding too and from work in daylight. Bonus! It certainly felt like I'm begining to at least feel the benefits of a long steady winter's training. The easy commutes aren't the most glamorous of rides, but they have , for the most part, been consistent, frankly I think that's the key. All will become clear though as the season progresses...

On the horizon for now is the Ballbuster at the end of March (I'm entered and paid up so I guess I'm doing it), a trip to Majorca in early April and perhaps the Dragon Slayer Duathlon and the ACC Broadbridge Heath 25 towards the end of the month.

Would like to have done a lot more running and be a bit faster but such is life, at least it's still the early season and there is another one at the end of the year. I think with a decent spring/summer I might be able to crack 3 hours...

Stardate Feb 2009

Busy times and a spate of Russian snow storms have meant that training or at least trying too has been particularly hard over the last few weeks. As of Tuesday things got back to business. It turned up on a Sunday night, the evening before I had booked a days holiday to go snowboarding at the MK snowzone with a friend. I'm still struck by the irony of not being able to go snowboarding because it had snowed? Still, at least I got to go out and play, I even made myself a new girlfriend. This one didn't moan once and is really quiet which made a nice change. Things went cold  quite quickly though and by the end of the week she had disappeared. 

The futures bright...

And my bogeys are orange. That's a good thing of course because it means that I'm over the worst of the cold that ended up with me having the last week away from the bike. It seems like ages since I last had a cold so I guess I was owed one. I've ordered up some neovite as I'm reliably informed that it stops you from getting colds and makes you go fast.

So now it's back to the training, a ten day block courtesy of the coach. First day back on the bike today for the commute and it felt ok, went for a ME type ride and made pretty good time. Will need to start running again shortly if I want to get a decent time at the BB...

A winter workout

Ha ha!

Just realised that you can update the blog by email! Blinding! I might
start posting more often now I know that.

Anyway, the story since November has been a good one. I hadn't realised
that it had been quite so long as it had...

First things first, there's been a few changes to the look of this blog
as a result of joining up with TSN after an invitation from Chris S. Got
a tasty looking jersey on order and hoping to have enough cash to be
able to afford some 2xu kit ASAP. There have been some thoughts about
another steed but I'm not going to be able to talk about that!

Haven't done any racing in the new kit yet but have entered the
Ballbuster at the end of March and hoping to put in a reasonable time on
the day after the consistent training I've been doing.

The ankle that I mentioned in the other post took a bit longer to heal
then I would have hoped but thinking back it was pretty badly bruised
and was making some nice clicking noises at the time so maybe I was a
bit naive to think that it would be gone in a week or two. Skipped the
running for a while as a result of this before heading out on some nice
easy runs with the GF. Been coming along nicely and in the last few
weeks I've been running 8miles in a hour and feeling really comfortable.
It's hard to quantify at this point of the year but all I've really done
is very low intensity workouts on the bike and when running as well as
some weight work in the gym and it all feels like it's coming together.
Everything has gone really well even with Christmas with the exception
of a cold that I picked up this week which has meant I've taken a few
days out.

Blog test

Here's me just wondering if I can update the blog with an quick email?

Change you can believe in?

Word up,

I don't pretend to think for a second that anyone other then me reads this blog, but as a way of capturing moments for recollecting later I'm still posting occasionaly.

Things I think I've learnt this year:

Reading CW or any other training type publication doesn't make you an expert
There are only so many hours in a day and you can't do everything
Change can be a good thing ( I hope ;) )
Beasting myself for 3 months on a turbo with a power meter did not:
a) make me a better rider
b) enable me to enjoy my cycling very much

So what now? Well, I've been asked if I want to race with a team next year and I'm currently getting some coaching in order to use my time more effectively.

I've said yes to the offer of racing with a team as I was a bit disillussioned with the club I'm currently a member of and the new place seem pretty spot on. A nice group of people who actually plan to race together which to me is the point of a club/team. Still waiting to get final details of what to expect...

I think the optimism is in a large part to the coaching that I'm getting. After setting some goals for next year I've gone right back to basics and what I would imagine are real old school training values i.e. build up a big base over winter so that you can reach a really high peak for the season.

The training has been going really well, it's been a lot of low intensity work and I've started to commute into work to enable myself to get the hours in, this means that on a week when I'm in the office for 5 days I've done 125 miles or 10 hours without even thinking about it. This, obviously, isn't always the reality but in the last 8/9 weeks the least amount of hours I've done in a week is 6. I think the average must be about 9/10. I've also started running again, which with the exception of a twisted ankle in my first XC race in over a year has been really great fun.

TTFN...