Kingston to Worthing TT

I've ridden this event four times and just ducked under 2 hours on a couple of occasions. Being a point to point TT the wind makes a bigger difference than usual and thankfully, yesterday, there was very little of it about. There was however plenty of sun, but being an early start most of the course was in shade as we headed South. I had Pat Wright of Paceline three minutes behind me, so my aim was to try to keep him from overtaking me for a long as possible.  There's not a lot of Pat but he is extremely fast and has won a few open events this year.  This however was to just be a training ride for him so while I was in full TT gimp outfit, Pat was on his road bike and road clothing so at least he was giving me a bit of a handicap.  Dale had dropped out so it would be left to Simon and I to duke it out to be the first Phoenix rider in this event so there was quite a lot to go for.  Simon and I are very evenly matched with us both beating each other only by a handful of seconds over various distances with our last 50 only separated by 1 second so it would be tight.

It's quite lumpy until you get to the Great Daux roundabout at about 20 miles before the A24 opens up to proper dual carriageway.  I think I probably overcooked it again in the early part but was glad I still hadn't seen Paceline Pat. It was not until the penultimate roundabout at Washington that he went past me, with a much higher cadence than anything I could manage, and I really struggled up this last climb.  I gave it everything over the last two miles and saw 1:52:xx on my Garmin which was a 5 minute pb.  My final time was 1:52:45.  Simon's was 1:52:46! So in 46 miles of racing we were split by 1 second.  I get the feeling that had the event been 47 miles I would have lost.

SCCU 50 and Newbury 12 hour TTs - meh

All the gear; no idea.

I can't say much about the SCCU 50 other than I was delighted when it was over.  I just felt really slow, which was damn frustrating bearing in mind how much work I have put in on the bike over the last 6 months.  The course for this event is horrible with lots of slow single carriageway and sapping hills, but I felt that I should be around a 2:05.  I wasn't even close. 2:11:48. The only slight consolation was that I pipped Simon by 1 second, however he lost a lot of time temporarily going off course to avoid colliding with a lorry at a roundabout.  So even that was pretty hollow.  It just felt stupidly slow for no real reason as I have ridden a 2:06 on that course before. What the hell was going on?

So on Saturday I was tinkering with the Argon as I had bought a new rear bottle carrier for the Newbury 12 hour and was just checking things over. I've had a problem with the rear brake for quite a while, not being able to set it up right to bite on the rims properly and I just put it down to the design of cantilever brake that's on there. So I had opened the brake right up so it wouldn't rub the rim, which obviously from a safety point of view isn't the most sensible thing to do, so I thought I would look at it one last time before the 12 hour. It was only then I noticed that my rear wheel was completely out of line;  I'm talking three or four degrees here. So instead of rolling perfectly if would be continually scrubbing sideways, effectively acting as a brake. I might as well have tied a brick to a piece of string and thrown it off the back of my bike.  That was also why I couldn't get the rear brake to clamp true on the rim as well.  Suddenly it all became clear and within a couple of minutes I had adjusted a couple of screws and the wheel was back in line.  A quick road test and it was like riding a new machine.  I've only been riding like that for the last year!

So it was off to the Newbury 12 hour with renewed energy. The only downer being the strong westerly that was likely to gust to 18 mph in the afternoon, but it promised a very fast easterly leg too. I gave a lift down to another rider, Chris, who was ironically my minute man. He was riding his audax bike and has ridden a sub 20 minute 10 and a 1:48:xx for a 50,  so he's what you would describe as a 'pretty useful rider'. I was slightly taken aback when he lit up a cigarette while donning his skinsuit and tied the most enormous frame pannier bag to his bike though. It seemed like he was doing everything to slow himself down. He was looking at riding around 270 miles so with my best being 234 I was unlikely to see him much after the start.

So off I went on the first leg and I have to say I felt very comfortable with the Argon just feeling totally different. The first leg was with the wind and I was spinning out at 30 mph on some sections.  Blimey it was quick.  Not surprisingly at the top turn the anchor was thrown out but I was still able to maintain 22-23 mph.  After an hour I could see Chris and I caught him and went past. That should have been when the first alarm went off in my head, but no, I ploughed on feeling amazing.  The second alarm should have gone off when I caught a guy who was my two minute man, again, a rider of considerably more talent than me. But no, I carried on.  The third alarm should have been when I went through three hours having ridden 70 miles.  A 280 mile finishing distance which would have broken Dale's Phoenix Club record by 15 miles. But no I carried on.

And then, as sure as eggs are eggs and as dependable as gravity, the wheels came off. At four hours I had covered 90 miles so I was still looking at a 270 mile distance finish, which would still be a club record, but the fact I had slowed that much in such a short space of time showed that I had gone out way too fast. This was confirmed when I went through 100 miles in 4:20; that's 16 minutes quicker than my stand alone 100 mile time. The three or so fast guys who I had gone past, overtook  me again like I was cycling in treacle as the stiff headwind began to bite.

While I had slowed a lot I probably could still have seen out 250 ish mile distance but now I had a new enemy; saddle sores. I was wearing my new no pinz skin suit which is a lovely bit of kit, but the chamois pad is a lot thinner than I would use for a ride like this and I started to get very uncomfortable.  The saddle I have on the Argon is the one I bought it with and it's a very cheap, hard and unforgiving one, which is ok for shorter distances of more relaxed riding positions, but now I have a more aggresive position it's just not comfortable enough.

It got to a point at 5 hours when there was no way that I could do another 7 hours in such discomfort so I decided to pack. It's the first time I have not finished a time trial but I learnt a lot.
1: I need a specific TT saddle. Not the testicle destroying monstrosity that I currently own.
2: I didn't have enough savoury food to eat. I should get a bento box for sandwiches etc.
3: Apply sun cram. I have some interesting tan lines this morning.
4: pace it right.

Anyhoo, it was still a good training ride even if I didn't accomplish a finish. Onwards.

Sub 11

My intention, when I entered the Outlaw Triathlon was to get under 11 hours and even up until a few weeks ago that seemed quite possible.  I am now looking at reevaluating my goals as just to finish. My cycling is fine. I know that I will be able to cruise around the 112 miles and knock out a fairly comfortable time around the 5:15-5:30 mark and that would normally stand me in good stead for a sub 11 time. More importantly I think I've managed to put the miles in for that type of time to be relatively comfortable and at a low rpe.  Once again, the issue is my running.  After aggravating my Achilles four weeks ago, it has not really gone away. I've been able to do some gentle 5 mile runs a couple of times a week, but anything more than this and I can feel my Achilles tightening again.  I am still hopeful that I will be able to get a few long runs of around 15-18 miles banked, but I will not have the run conditioning that I think I will need. My mindset has therefore changed, and changed for the better.  It's going to be a long training day and I intend to just enjoy it, stay relaxed and not worry about the clock. As I said last post, it's only a hobby.

In the meantime, I still have some things to get ready for.  This weekend is a family one so no training at all to speak of, but the weekend after next is the SCCU 50 TT. The plan is to ride there and back which should give me a good 100 ish miles. The SCCU course is quite hard with lots of junctions and climbs; not a sporting course but most definitely not a drag strip either.  Then the weekend after that it's the Newbury 12 hour TT.  I didn't realise that it was effectively the same course as the Charlotteville 50 that I rode a couple of weeks ago, except just lots more of it! There's a rumble strip section which I think is going to drive me insane by the end.  Both these events will give me the chance to practice eating and drinking on the bike and getting my nutrition right.  Happy days.

Mostly cycling

I rode the SCCU 10 at the weekend on the G10/57 and achieved my aim of a course pb of 22:46; a one measly second improvement. I had a really good ride and with the stiff climb almost from the start, which I have always found tough, it was a well paced ride.  Simon beat me over a 10 for the first time in a year by 9 seconds, which was a great ride from him.  When I compared our rides on Strava he went out much faster than me, climbing that hill considerably quicker and I was going faster towards the end as I slowly caught him, but not quickly enough.  It's really good for both of us to be so close and to be pushing each other on. I was wearing my new Bambino lid, which was extremely comfortable and gave good visibility; it is the most comfortable aerohelmet I have ever worn.  Only time will tell if it will be actually 'faster'.


 Simon, Dale and I currently hold the Phoenix 25m team record so we have all entered the Bedford 10 on the F11/10 course and the Blazing Saddles 50 on the fast P885/50 course, with the intention of us getting those team records as well. The 10 record will be relatively straightforward, but the 50 will need Simon and I to go a good chunk under 2 hours, while Dale will probably be looking at potentially 1:49:xx.  It's something to aim for and it will be pretty cool if the three of us can hold all three team records at the same time.

I did an early turbo session this morning. My legs were very heavy from a 7 mile run home from work yesterday and I just couldn't push out the watts and I ended up spinning for most of the session. I was pretty disappointed and hacked off; I hate it when these sessions don't go to plan and I stalked off to the kitchen to get breakfast and turned on the TV to hear the news about the events in Manchester last night.  A big dose of perspective; it's only a hobby.

Free speed? You must be joking!

So after my outing at the Charlotteville 50 last week, things have been on a bit more of an upward turn. It was a pretty consistent week's training and I ended up riding over 180 miles, plus a swim and a couple of runs. Saturday morning saw me out for another 70 miles on the road bike on my own and while it was a slog at times into the wind, I felt pretty comfortable and got a pleasant increase in speed over quite a few Strava segments, despite it just being a steady aerobic ride. I did have a minor spill while riding one-handed and eating a soreen loaf. A temporary set of traffic lights had been set up for the Horse Show in Windsor and I just wasn't concentrating as I almost ploughed into a group of pensioners. Doh! Hit the back brake with my one hand and went straight down on the greasy surface with fresh rain. Thankfully, I was only pootling at 5mph and nothing damaged or dented except my ego. I had a lot of bemused stares from the elderly as I picked myself up, but the lady who was controlling the crossing was lovely and seemed quite sure that I wouldn't make it back and I should take care.

So, free speed. The bike speed that can be obtained without the need to train for it. However, free speed is a misnomer. Free speed is bloody expensive. My Catlike TT helmet was looking very tired and it was very large on my head. More importantly it had a very long tail and quite a few pictures taken of me racing time trials showed that the tail was often sticking up into the air as I got tired and lost a good aerodynamic position. I decided to get a short tailed aero helmet instead so I have bought myself a Kask Bambino, as worn by Team Sky. If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me. It may not be as aerodynamic entirely as the Catlike, but with my head potentially wobbling about a lot more than it should I am hoping that the net effect will be a reduction in the amount of watts I need to push my carcass through the air.

And then there's a skin suit. First of all, my existing one is red and I look like an enormous overweight chilli pepper. It is highly unflattering. More important than that is the fact that it has a lot of wrinkles and wrinkles equals drag. I also have to pin my number onto the back and a pinned number also equals drag. So I've invested in a Nopinz skinsuit, which seems to be the current standard for such lycra items. On their website they claim that their Supersuit will give a 10 watt reduction in power needed at 45km/hr, so in theory over a 10 mile TT, that's a 'free' 16 seconds. So, for these two items I have pretty much spent the same amount of money as my first road bike. On Saturday I am riding the SCCU 10. Last year I rode a 22:47, which is my second best time. In theory if the conditions are on my side I should knock that out the park. If not,

Charlotteville 50m TT

I rode this event for the first time this morning, hoping for a pb, which I got, but it was one of those unsatisfying PBs that left me feeling a bit flat. Training's been going well and I've been pretty consistent, ftp's been creeping up and I've done more weekly miles than ever before. It's a pretty fast course so after last year's 55 minute 25 I thought a sub 2 hour should be on. I know that on a bike I have been finding it hard to keep my power up once I am over an hour, so this would be a test to see how my longer earobic endurance work has been going.

Well. it was fairly meh. it was quite parky when I set off but my heart rate was soon up, but on a few flat sections my speed was well down as I battled a head/ cross wind. After the first turn I was able to get my speed back up again and thought I was back on track as I headed to the top turn. Again, a long battle into wind as I headed south and I just hunkered down, trying to keep the cranks spinning quickly.  I ended up with a long 2:02, so a four minute pb, but there were people who I had beaten last year riding 1:58. I find a 50 a hard distance to pace and I think that I was too conservative and probably needed to push harder from earlier on. Next time.

It wouldn't be triathlon training....

without an injury.

I tweaked my left Achilles last Sunday (not an official physiotherapy term, but one that we can all relate to and understand) last Sunday when I ran with Simon and Dale. It was fine at the time but was quite sore afterwards. The route we ran was considerably hillier than I have been used to recently and the additional stress ended up with the tweak. I left it a couple of days and it seemed fine so I ran home from work on Wednesday. It's a fairly flat 7 miles and with hindsight I should have taken the shorter route to test it out, but the need to get some run volume has been playing on my mind so I went for the longer option. With a couple of miles to go it was quite sore and I plodded on, again ignoring common sense and not walking. It's now settled down to a very mild ache and I have started to do my heel drops and calf stretching which I should have started weeks ago. I have been a good boy and been doing some core work though; the dirty dog, scorpion twist and plank are all back in my regular vernacular.

Cycling is going well with another couple of TR sessions in the week, a recovery 20 miles on Friday followed by 85 miles yesterday, riding out to Windsor and back with a bit of a loop around Surrey, avoiding the hills bar the climb up to Newlands. That's three 80+ mile rides this month so I think my aerobic endurance is hopefully growing along with my ftp. All this has been on the road bike so I am going to start to practice my pacing and nutrition on the TT bike over the coming weeks, starting with a 50m tt next weekend, if I make the start sheet.

I'm 12 weeks out from the Outlaw, so as long as I can get running again soon then I should still be on track. But, as usual, it's probably going to be a bit of a close run thing.

Broken noodle stops play

I never learn. I really never learn. At the start of every TT season I take my Argon off the turbo and begin to tinker. This tinkering usually occurs some 2 hours before I am due to sign on to my first big event. Yesterday was no different. The only thing I dislike with my Argon is the low rear brake under the bottom bracket. It looks great and is maybe marginally more aero than one in the standard position but is doesn't half get covered in road crud. Not a problem if you religiously clean your bikes, but I don't. So with two hours to go before signing on for the Phoenix Open 10, there I was trying to recable my rear brake. Not a difficult job and I do have an engineering degree after all, so it should be a pretty easy job. But no. Despite much mucking about and vocal blasphemy, the new cable wouldn't go through. Five minutes later, and the noodle thingy which guides the cable into the caliper is in two bits when it should only be one piece; completely sheared off in my hands.

Broken noodle thingy

Twenty minutes later and I am on my road bike, heading to the 10. It wasn't all bad. A solid 60 miles in the afternoon, but the 10 was very hard. No aero benefits and tired legs battling the winds. particularly on the way back. I was the minute man for the joint winner, Liam Maybank. He's winning everything in the district at the moment and I was hoping that on the Argon that I might be able to hold him off until the turn at halfway, but being on the Van Nic I thought that I could hold him off until Beare Green at quarter distance. Nope, not a chance. He went past me just after the petrol station pushing his 60 tooth chainring like an exocet. The guy is a complete machine. I, on the other hand, spluttered my way round with a mid 26; some 3 minutes slower than this event last year. I'm not too despondent. I did an ftp test earlier this week and that's improved from 226 to 253 watts, which is great news and that test coupled with a hard interval session on Thursday left me feeling pretty wiped, but the test proves that the training's working.

I'm enjoying my running again. Just a few times a week, aiming to get one long one in with a couple of 3-5 milers. No speedwork and nothing stupid. Just slow or steady comfortable miles aiming to keep injury free. Today, I even went for a swim. Well sort of. I took the two little wheezys to the local pool and tried to do a few lengths, dodging the floating mats and inflatables with boisterous teenagers. It was almost like an open water swim start. Ended up doing 900m. A start, but a hell of a long way to go. Onwards.

Mallorca 2017

Last week we were in Mallorca for a family holiday with a bit of cycling thrown in. Simon's wife had organised it all, which made our life easier as all we had to do was book flights and a hire car. Amanda had even found out a cheap place to hire road bikes (Venska in Palma, only just over 60 euros for the week for a basic but perfectly good ultegra equipped aluminium and carbon framed bike). We were staying in the beautiful village of Deia which is on the north west coast of the island and is where a lot of the classic Mallorcan climbs are. The idea was to get some warm weather training in while also having a good family holiday too and in the main, I thionk we got the balance right.

Our first ride was a 64 mile effort, with a start climbing up the Col de Soller, just outside the town of Soller (suprisingly enough!) before heading down over the other side and then going towards Bunyola and Orient. We stopped in the village of Alvaro which was wall to wall lycrs from all over the world, including a few Austrians who were sinking a few beers before getting back on their bikes. I still can't work out whether I should be horrified or impressed.

Alvaro Square. Lycra city.

The next day was a family day at Port de Soller on the beach but in the evening we got out for an evening spin for a couple of hours, again cycling from Deia and climbing Soller and returning home. 2 hours before eating from the barbeque. Perfect.

The next day I have to say I was feeling a bit second hand but we had another big day planned. This time riding from Soller out to Sa Calobra and then back. It was a relatively modest distance at 44 miles but the Sa Calobra climb is as brutal as it is beautiful. Literally contless hairpin bends it requires a lot of concentration on the descent with some very big drops if you get your lines wrong, but it is a truly stunning piece of road. By the time we had descended to the port I was already feeling pretty wiped but had a big plat of pasta, coke and chocolate ready to ride home. Unfortunately, it didn't do the trick and I struggled back up as the temperature climbed. The rest of the ride which also meant another climb up Puig Major was a bit of a slog, but if youre going to bonk it might as well be amongst some stunning scenery.

The next day was another rest day, which was a walk into the town of Valdemossa and some shopping and sightseeing, with another evening gentle spin, this time heading in the other direction along the Ma10 towards Valdemossa. The light ran out on us a bit but the descent back to Deia was fast and furious, being a long gentle descent with sweeping bends enabling us to keep the speed up. it was a complete grin-fest.

So we decided that our last ride would be a bit of a monster, and so it turned out. 88 miles with over 12,000 feet of climbing, including Soller and a descent and climb of Sa Colobra again. It was actually much better this time and I was a couple of minutes quicker up than two days before, despite not going at it as hard. Simon was considerably quicker than me up it but being over 10kgs lighter than me, he was always going to be pretty quick going up, particularly as it is a couple of percent higher in gradient compared to the other climbs we were doing. The descent back into Soller is just epic, taking a good 10-12 minutes and with long sweeping bends we were comfortably over 70kms/hr at times. It didn't do much to bump up our average speed but it certainly gave our battered legs a bit of a rest.

I really feel it's given me a bit of a boost and next week's ftp test will let me see how much. In the meantime it's time to get my head down and get some proper running in ready for the Outlaw. It's also about time I started thinking about getting wet, because at this rate I'm not even going to make the cut-off for the bike!

Lack of volume.

I have had a really frustrating week as I have been ill again. I've been feeling very run down and supremely tired along with a gobful  of mouth ulcers.  Life has been very busy and while I have not exactly been burning the candle at both ends, I have been struggling to get enough sleep and combined with general life stress has been a bad combination nation. So this week has been a very low volume one and pretty much this weekend has been a weekend off rather than the two tts that I was entered for. Hopefully this rest break will give my immune system a chance to get a boost ready for a good block of hard training.

Race wise, I've entered the Cahlotteville 50 in May which could be a good opportunity to go under 5 hours for this distance. It's a pretty fast course so that could be a distinct possibility. I'm also thinking about the Newbury 12 hour which is quite early season and will help me get some big endurance miles before The Outlaw. I also need to do 100tt to get a BBAR qualifying time and this year the National 100 is the local Hounslow event. I'm not sure that my current best time will get me a start but I will ping off an entry and see.

First TT of 2017

At this time of year, most time trials are sporting courses (hilly) with the idea of prepping riders with a last shot of endurance before hitting the fast DC courses. There is also the odd Medium Gear event which is where riders are restricted to a 72" gear or less. I believe the idea behind this was that it would force riders to endurance spin on a fixed wheel bike. So today it was the KPRC Medium gear 25m tt. Thankfully, I didn't need a fixie to ride but just had to ensure I didn't change out of my selected gear. It was also stupidly windy this morning so my plan was to hit the hills hard knowing that I wouldn't be able to spin downhill without a lot of bouncing in the saddle, and these would therefore be enforced rests anyway.

It turned out to be an ok ride. I ended up third behind Dale and Simon. To be fair I was quite a long way back behind them both with Simon catching me about 2 miles from the finish. But bearing in mind that my last few long rides have been pretty rugged , I was feeling a lot stronger and I am gradually clawing back some fitness after my couple of bouts on manflu. I was able to keep up quite comfortably with Simon on the couple of hills I followed him up but I just didn't have the gearing or leg speed on the flats and I was bouncing all over the saddle which was decidedly uncomfortable. Next weekend is a 10 on the Saturday and a 25 on the Sunday if I can get a pass for Mother's Day.

Only one run this week; a gentle 4 miles after work. Need to do more.

A tin pot or two

The George Crouch Trophy

It's been a relatively big week on the bike, and started off really well. A pretty easy 20 miles taking the long way home from work and I felt really good and started to feel that the turbo sessions are really starting to get my bike fitness back. But once that was done, the rest of the week was really hard work and by Friday evening I had my usual scratchy throat which is my 'overtraining' indicator. Well, maybe not in this case as I had actually only done relatively few hours, but the early starts in order to get the sessions done have taken their toll and I don't think I was getting quite enough sleep to compensate. Yesterday, Simon and I went out on the TT bikes for the first time this year and we did 2 laps of the G10/42 course at a tempo effort. It was very hard work going out riding into a stiff southerly and I was well down on Simon on both loops, although I held station with him over the last 5 miles at the end, so not all bad.

We both ended up at the Phoenix Awards and Dinner Dance last night, which was a lovely occasion for us all. As well as the usual ceremonies we took time out to Remember Frank Cubis, and everything that he did for the club. It was fitting that Dale received the lion's share of the trophies including the 12hr trophy in which he also beat Frank's record which had stood for over 40 years. It was nice for me to win a couple of tin pots too. The one I had my eye on all last year was the George Crouch Trophy for the best improvement over 25 miles, and I won it having improved from 1:02:30 in 2015 to 55:49 in 2016. It made all those hours in a damp shed doing the Trainerroad plans worthwhile.

off my feet

So two weeks of solid bike work and quite chuffed that I have not missed any Trainerroad sessions since the first week, which has panned out as three turbo sessions with a long road ride each Saturday morning. Last week was my longest ride in about a year, covering a shade over 60 miles going out to Windsor and then finishing off with a little lap around home. Yesterday I was joined by Simon again and I found it pretty hard going as it was my fifth ride in five days, with the proceeding two being quite long sweetspot turbo sessions which left me feeling pretty battered. I have one more big bike week this week which I am hoping to finish off with a long tt ride on Saturday.

Running has been a bit of a false dawn. I was looking forward to the Hampton Court Half this morning until my foot flared up on Friday evening. It was ok on the bike but quite painful to walk on so there was no way I was going to run 13 miles on it, so today was a rest day. Once it clears up in a couple of days I need to get back on my feet and start to integrate some weekly running properly. I also need to enter a couple of races and see where I stand.