Trainerroad plans and the BBAR

Unfortunately the whole month of December has turned out to be a washout for training. As I type this I am coughing my lungs up and have a very bunged up chest. Wheezy by name - wheezy by nature. I thought that I had got over it on Monday and was feeling pretty good so I headed out for a gentle 4 mile run around my standard circuit at comfortable 8 minute miling but almost as soon as I got back I realised that was a mistake. I was then in bed for almost 20 hours feeling thoroughly miserable about it all, the only good thing being that at least I was not at work. So I think December has seen me run twice and do two turbo sessions. Talk about going out with a whimper!

So thoughts naturally turn to next year and the Outlaw. I spent this week flicking through the Trainer road plans and have decided how to attack it. I'm doing the full 12 week Triathlon Base Plan, followed by the 8 week full triathlon build and speciality plans. 28 weeks in total which will start on the week January 9th. So that gives me a couple more weeks to get this bug out of my system and be fit and healthy to start the plan in good shape, although I am sure that both my ftp and weight will be taking a dent. In terms of running I have entered the Hampton Court half Marathon in February which should give me a starting point for some useful run training.

For the rest of the season, I intend to do less tting, with the aim of using races as stepping stones towards to Outlaw and beyond. I intend to focus more on the longer tts with a view to getting a BBAR certificate, which didn't happen this year. I learnt that aerobic fitness over 25 miles simply doesn't translate over 50 and 100 if I have not done the long distance training too. As I am going to have to do that anyway in preparation for the Outlaw, the goals of a decent Outlaw and a BBAR certificate align quite nicely.

In the meantime, I'm off to drink a lemsip.

Frustrating fortnight.

A really frustrating fortnight with last week being a very busy work week; early mornings and late nights leaving very little time to do anything meaningful. I managed to get my 25th park run under my belt and bulked it out to 10 miles with a warm up and down, so my longest run of the year but that was it. Almost immediately on Saturday afternoon I came down with manflu which has put paid to all of this week too. But I am long enough in the tooth these days to not worry about it. Training starts again tomorrow evening with a gentle run before getting back on the turbo. There's still the best part of 7 months until the Outlaw so still plenty of time.

We go again

It was exactly  this time last year that I started to focus on being a better cyclist by focussing on turbo sessions and using trainerroad. Then, My first ftp test was 205 watts. Last night I tested myself again before starting on the sweetspot base programs and I have a ftp of 256 watts. This was really pleasing and quite a surprise as I have spent the month kicking back and not done any turbo work at all. Somehow my ftp has jumped from 233 to this new figure and I think there are a few things at play here.

 Firstly, temperature. All summer I have been slogging away in the shed when it has been at least 20 degree outside and I have not used any form of artificial cooling whereas last night it was barely above zero. It seems that I was dropping more watts than I thought in an effort to keep cool. I thought it might be a few but am surprised that it was almost 20. Secondly, freshness. My one criticism with Trainerroad programs is that they are quite intense and can leave my legs feeling dead when I need to do another tough session. I think the month's break while doing a little bit of exercise to tick over has actually left me feeling a lot fresher. Lastly, I am more practised at taking and pacing an ftp test which leads to a more accurate result. Anyway, it's all good and great for me to start the base phase with a pretty healthy ftp number.

I became a parkrun tourist for the first time last weekend. We had a weekend break in Weymouth so I decided to go along to the the Parkrun there in Lodmoor Country Park. I managed to squeak into the top 10 with a 19:16 but the weekend before I had achieved a Parkrun PB at Bushy Park and got under 19 for the first time with 18:55. Over the next few months I am going to tick over and try to incorporate some intervals and see if I can get down to a low 18, before starting to build a bit more endurance and try to remain injury free.

I'm still reeling a little bit from entering the Outlaw but I am excited about the challenge. I am going to race a bit less next year, particularly tting, but will focus on key events over the year to build towards the Outlaw triathlon at the end of July. I still feel there's a lot I can do to bring down my 10 and 25 times while my 50 and 100m tt times are still there for the taking and with another winter of focussed work I knw that I can have another good season.

Not sure how that happened...

I've gone and entered the Outlaw Triathlon next year. One minute I'm merely looking at the website and the next I have a congratulatory e-mail confirming my entry. I genuinely don't know what came over me but I'm quite excited. My basic plan is this:

Bike; lots, especially on trainerroad.
Run; a bit. Keep ticking over, enjoying PArkrun and think about some longer miles in March.
Swim; meh. That's cheating.

All the nineteens

It was my 19th Bushy parkrun yesterday and I ran 19:19! Spooky. Even more spooky was the fact that I ran 20:20 the week before, but I guess I should aim to run that next week. I started much nearer  the front so didn't get too hindered and had a clear run. My main motivation was chasing down the man dressed in a carrot costume and I managed to overhaul him in the last 400metres. Running a solid sub-20 time and being beaten by a fancy dress vegetable would be just too hard to bear. Anyway, second fastest ever time on fairly minimal training. Having a lovely break from the turbo and already feeling quite refreshed. Onwards.

2017

So it was my last tt today with a 25 mile effort on the lumpy G25/56 course. It was frankly a bit rubbish as I developed a cold earlier on in the week and I just couldn't get much power through the cranks. The first half was ok but a 4 minute negative split showed the fact I bombed pretty badly over the second half. 1:05:20, almost a full 10 minutes slower than my pb three and a half months ago, which in fact seems like almost a lifetime ago. So a crap end to the season but not entirely unexpected.

However it's been my most successful season ever. Taking over 5 minutes off my 25 mile pb and almost 2 minutes off my 10 mile time, as well as setting a course pb on the club G10/42 course by over a minute. That's all something I am super chuffed with and beyond my expectations before the season started and I believe that there could still be more to come next year. My 21:58 10 was on a pretty slow day and I had not done as much VO2 max work in the build up so I think that a sub 21 is achievable and a target for next year. I think that a sub 53 25 m tt could also be achieved and I am going to see if I can set a fast enough time to enter the National 25. So, that's the two main targets for next year and I need to get a decent 50 under my belt. My pb is still around 2:06 which is well below where it really should be.

How to achieve all this though? Well, a bit more of the same, in the sense that I'm going to hit the turbo hard again this winter, but as I said above, I'm going to do more VO2 max sessions and really try to boost my ftp over the winter. If time allows I would like to get a monthly long ride in of around 70-80 miles to aid the fat burning and aerobic efficiency. I think that's where I have lost out when competing over the longer distances. The first half of my season was way better than the second so I need to think about how I can not lose focus from June onwards. I'm going to need to lose a few more kgs too. Too many biscuits and crisps are slowing me down and that's where a little bit of running and some Parkruns come in.

All that said, I'm looking forward to a bit of a break over the next 4 weeks. The plan is to have no plan except to keep doing a little bit of running and some very unstructured cycling before getting back on it at the beginning of November. Then it's time to get it on like Donkey Kong.

When is a 25m tt not a 25m TT?

When it's 22.5 miles.

It was the Epsom Open 25 on the G25/54 course, two laps with a pretty testing climb over the first mile and a half of the lap. Only it wasn't. The organiser found out at 5am this morning that dozens of cones had been put out on the second half where a 'Tough Mudder' event was going to be taking place with all the ensuing traffic that would entail. The promoter changed the event to avoid this and it became three shortened laps and therefore three times up the hill. Bah. After the last couple of months I was not expecting much but it was my best ride in a long while. 53:18 for 22.5m equates to a 59:20 25mile TT and on such a lumpy course I'm pretty pleased with that, with me pretty much negative splitting over the course. So I have one more 25 next week and the Bec Hill climb for a bit of fun and then I'm planning to take a month off from anything structured before starting up again in November. I'm not sure what I'm going to change, if anything. I'll be sticking with Trainerroad over the winter but as I intend to focus primarily on 10 and 25 tts again, I am not sure whether to change plans. The guys at Trainerroad are uber-helpful so I might ping them an e-mail and see what they suggest.

I have been ticking over with a few short runs every week and I was back at Bushy for the Parkrun yesterday and recorded a 19:36. Usual scenario. Started too far back, worked my way through and felt comfortable and was blowing like a train over the last mile. 4th in my age group and 49th overall, so quite pleased. Might see if I can do a little speedwork and give sub 19 a go. Onwards.

End of the season

The last month has been a bit of a wash out but to be honest, that's been no bad thing. A couple of tts but my lack of training really showed. One thing I have learned this season is that my age is starting to show, mainly in the fact that a) if I stop consistent training I lose fitness very quickly and b) I need a lot more rest between hard sessions than I used to. Even when on the bike, a hard Trainerroad interval session leaves me barely able to turn the cranks the next day. It's not a major pronblem but it is a readjustment that I have to make. Two hard, back to back sessions are simply counter-productive for me now.

I have started running again, which has been great. I have actually been very good and reigned my ego in. I have two rules. No runs on consecutive days and all my runs are on grass. I have got up to four miles and I have done more laps of my local recreation ground than I care to count, but it's been a real toni and so far there has been no grumbling from my feet.  I also did a couple of parkruns at Bushy. Nothing spectcular but just used them as a harder run instead of the plodding around the rec.

So I have a couple of 25m tts left. It will be interesting to see if I can get under the hour. I think I will be there or thereabouts and I have tried to get some Trainerroad miles under my belt to claw some fitness back, but it's not a given. I'm just trying to grow my ftp a little ready to hit some big base miles at the start of November.

A steady decline

So I have been on a steady decline since June. July has seen me become unfocused and much more ad-hoc with my training and as a result my speed and power on the bike have taken a hit. The summer holidays are always a hard time for me to remain consistent. In theory, I should have ample spare time but actually the focus is on my family and therefore camping holidays, lazy days and wall to wall Olympics watching are the order of the day as regular routine goes out the window. Yes, early mornings are there but as I am a bit of a night owl,  a 5am alarm call becomes impossibly difficult. I have also far exceeded my expectations for this season over 10 and 25 miles which has dented my motivation somewhat.

But I have another go on the F11/10 in three weeks' time so while I completed a thoroughly dreadful ftp test last night which has seen a 10watt reduction, I've got a short space of time to get some focus back and see if I can better my 21:58. On top of that, I am flirting with purchasing a cyclocross bike and having a go at some cyclocross racing this winter for a few giggles and bants. They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. They are probably right but at least I'll have a soft landing when falling off.

Dunstable RC Open 10

So last Saturday I was on the super fast F11/10 course down on the A41 near Aston Clinton. It's an hour's drive but it seemed worth it to have a go at getting under 22 minutes, which was my main goal. I was hoping that something nearer 21:40 could be doable with favourable conditions. The course is fast as it is basically two long flat sections of the A41 with a long downhill in the middle that you don't have to go back up, so a dream of a course. As expected though, the weather conditions were not too favourable. It was trying to rain as I pulled into the school car park and the air temperature was well down at about 15 degrees. Worse than that, the wind was steadily picking up and with it being a north-easterly it would provide a head/crosswind for most of the long leg between the two turns. Bah...

Anyway, I still felt pretty good so after a warm up on the turbo and finding the start I was feeling confident that I should pb. The start is on the slip road that joins the A41 and it is a nice fast downwards ramp and as I headed along to the first turn I was bumping along at around 29-30 mph with a tail wind. very cool! The first turn was quite complicated and relatively slow but very well marshalled to send me back up the dual carriageway and straight into the wind. So again, it was just a process of hunkering down but after a mile or so along here I could feel myself red lining. Even the downhill didn't offer much respite. I had bn told that I would probably end up spinning out here but I was still mashing the cranks pretty hard even here. The end turn was a lot simpler although I had to slow up for traffic and then it was the final sprint, if tou can call it that to the finish, another mile or so away.

I tend not to look at my Garmin too much but as I was within 20 metres of the chequered board I couldn't resist a peek and saw 21:54! I was desperate to get under 22 and I knew I had a few seconds in hand as I always start the Garmin as the timekeeper counts down the last 5 seconds. I just squeaked it with 21:58. Really pleased to get under 22 but was hoping for a bit more. The thing with tting is, there's always next time.

Resetting goals

Another 25 on the fast P885/25 course this morning and another pb, taking 59 seconds off last week's time to record 55:49. A massive gift hill right at the start and very little wind although it drizzled most of the morning.  Over half the field decided not to start as a result and I thought about it, but obviously I am pretty glad that I didn't bale. Being a faster course it generated a faster field. I was 31/57 starters. Normally a 55:xx time would see a rider in the top ten on a G course but I am used to being mid pack.

My main goal for the season was to go under the hour and I have done that, and more importantly I know that I can keep doing it. I never thought that I would ride a 55 but here I am doing so and it feels great, but I now have to start resetting some goals. Short term, I've got a couple of 50s coming up so barring disasters, a pb should be on the cards. In theory, a sub 2 hour might be possible but I am not sure that I have the endurance legs for that and the course I will be racing on is quite lumpy. Mid-term, I have a 12 hour again in August which will be just to get around and see if I can add a few more miles onto my distance from last year.  Other than that, I am a bit stumped and I need to take a few days to plan out some other events to target this season.

Portsmouth North End 25m TT

For most of the week I was still feeling a bit run down but by Thursday I had started to perk up a bit, so Simon and I headed out for a few hours, spinning gently. Although our gentle spinning took us up Newlands, Whitedown and Pebblecombe hills. I dropped it down a notch, letting Simon take the KOM while I just winched myself up as steadily as possible. I got up early on Friday to do a Trainerroad VO2 max workout and I was glad to see my NP for the session was where I would expect it to be; another indicator that I had worked the bugs out of my system.

So this morning was the Portsmouth North End CC 25m TT, on the fast P881/25 course, basically batting up and down the A3 for two laps. I have had this event inked in my diary for a couple of months with this being my first proper hitout this season at a sub 1 hour 25m tt on a fast DC course. We had also got a team together with the intention of trying to beat the KPRC Men's 25m team record of 2:52:54, therefore three of us would need to average 57:xx to achieve this. Dale has been on top form all season, riding 55/56mins all season so it would be down to Simon, John and myself to back him up for the other two places. Simon went sub 60 two seasons ago and John was looking for a sub 60 too. I knew that without the illness I had suffered recently I should be in 58 minute shape, so it would be a close run thing, but I still felt that I could improve on my pb of 1:00:56 set two years ago.

My mantra for today was 'relax'. I have obviously been thinking about Frank a lot recently, and our many conversations and I remember discussing with him not that long ago, the phenomena of riders posting faster average speeds in say a 25tt when compared to a 10, or in a 50 when compared to a 25. Frank puts it down to being relaxed and not chasing the time, which I think was partly what went wrong for me at the last club 10, as well as being under the weather. I also got some final advice from John about this course which was to not lose too much time on the northbound section as this had some noticeable climbs, so his advice was to hit the hills a bit harder and recover over the top.

So, a decent warm up on the turbo and my legs felt pretty alight straightaway, I think I had the vagaries of the VO2 max session still in them, but as I headed north for the first time I settled into my cadence and was not afraid to back off if I started to stress a bit too much straightaway, but really aimed to keep my legs using the whole of the pedal rev. After the turn at 5 miles I started to hit some pretty good speeds as I dropped back down to the start area, catching a couple of riders en route, which is always nice. The bottom turn was a little confusing but well marshalled, but as soon as I hit the northbound carriageway my speed plummeted. The wind had picked up and I was fighting the front wheel, even bouncing over the rumble strips on one occasion.  I stayed relaxed and tried not to fight it, tucking myself as low as possible, trying to make sure the tail of my helmet was down my back and not sticking up like a sail, not worrying about the drop in speed but just aiming to get to the final turn and the 20 mile mark where I could start to really empty the tank. I had a bit of luck here. One of the fast guys caught and passed me but I was able to use him to push me on, with him dangling out 50 metres in front while I tried to keep him there, which I just about did, although he was on his first lap while I was nearing the end. I had a final check of my garmin at 23 miles and it showed 52 minutes elapsed time, so 4 minute miles would get me home under the hour, but I knew I was obviusly going much faster than that so I really started to push on as hard as I could, using the downhills as best as possible and thinking that a 57;xx might be on; a result beyond my wildest dreams.

The chequered board came up and I stopped the Garmin on 56:48!! Blimey. A 4:08 minute pb. Not too shabby, even if I say so myself, and I didn't feel completely wiped at the end. Staying relaxed had paid massive, massive dividends (and the months of Trainerroad sessions on the turbo in the shed of course.) The double bonus was Dale, Simon and I beating the 28 year old club record by over a minute.

I am a very happy chappy. I think I might have turned myself into a time triallist at last.

A bad week

I was at work on Wednesday when I got a few urgent messages on my phone.  It transpired that Frank, our timekeeper and until recently, our secretary at Kingston Phoenix had been in an accident while cycling to meet some other members of the club that morning.  I won't go into specifics, but he is alive, which is a testament to his fitness and the many thousands of miles of cycling that has kept him fit and healthy all his life. He has been very seriously injured and it has shocked all of us who know him, as he has been a District timekeeper for many years and has many friends within the time trialling community. If you TT in the London South District, you know Frank. If Frank can have such an accident then anyone can, and after the recent other scares I and other friends have had, it has just reinforced the feelings of vulnerability I currently have. We have all been in shock since it happened and we can only hope and pray for Frank's recovery, which will be long.

On a much more mundane matter, my performance also took a big dip last week.  After my joint pbs over 10 miles in the previous weeks, I was looking forward to consolidating my training. I had been bulking out my trainerroad sessions with some longer commute rides home, usually about one hour.  What I didn't realise was that I was burning the candle at both ends and was over-training. The first indication was last Monday's threshold session, which I had done a few weeks before. I felt really uncomfortable and when I downloaded the session I was 10 watts down on the last time I had done it. I didn't really cotton-on at the time, but this was the first indication that I was not right. A few hours later I had a scratchy throat and raised temperature, my usual indicator that I am overreaching.

So Wednesday evening's tt came around and while I was not particularly in the mood for it, what with the news about Frank and the fact that it was miserably cold, I felt pretty strong, as I set out on the first leg. By the turn at Beare Green, I was still feeling ok, but not as strong as two week's before and as I headed for the finish it all started to unravel. The final hill at South Holmwood, which I had utterly nailed before now felt like the North face of the Eiger. There was no staying on the tt bars this time; instead I was sat up spinning furiously with burning quads. Dave, who I had beaten by 40 odd seconds before went past me and took and 15 out of me. My final time was 23:56. Last year that would have been grand but to be over a minute slower than my previous time, and almost two minutes slower than Dale, after being only 20 seconds behind him showed how far I had fallen.  I have taken the second half of the week off as I try to get back on track.

So, no more late nights, no more unnecessary commute rides, and rest. I'm still learning