Riding around

[Alistar]

Too tired(tyred?) to go biking last night after working too hard, so went today instead.
Still quite fatigued, and it showed on my ride. HR was on the floor for most of the ride but I seemed to perk up in the last 20mins.

Just kept it flat except for Gebbs and the last hill and heading out towards Little River into a strong headwind and was under 25kph for a lot of it. Knew my HR relative to effort wasn't correlating so just went by feel. Felt pretty heavy and crap, and even worse when looked at my speedo. But on the way home with the wind at my back cruising at around 38kph and felt a lot better.
Thing I think is strange is what is telling my heart to beat slower when I'm tired? I'm not really going much slower for x perceived effort so its all a bit weird IMO.

13:50 Wheatsheaf
19mins Gebbs
26:05 top
1hr = 25km into headwind there
50mins = 25km tailwind home )
7:50 Gebbs taking it easy until right at the top when did a bit of a sprint
Last hill 4:24 @ 145 to 150bpms

50.3km 1hr50:49 27.28kph Av 77.3kph Max
75 22 1 127A 165M

[Alistar]

Another crappy "un–summery" summers day. Overcast, and cool Nor Eer blowing. Heart and me, had recovered from my ride on Friday, and again I found it hard to control its upward gallop up the hills. Anyway, at least the drained feeling and fatigue had gone

Took off quite late just before 4pm. Wrapped a polyprop 'round my waste making me look like I had a middle aged "spare tyre" around my stomach and headed out. Reasonable tail to top of Gebbs, head to SOK,tail to Mot etc etc. Quite comfortable up the climbs in my SS but a little cold around the tops and on the flat. So got quite cold after 3hrs, but not cold enough to be arsed stopping and then wearing my spare tyre. Figured it was keeping the kidneys warm anyway.

Kept it pretty steady for the duration. No real big efforts except letting the HR creep up on the 2nd half of the big B to beat my lap1 time Figure I still need to ramp up my efforts slowly as still have a bit of time before my strength phase. Other years I've gone hell for (vegan)leather a bit early ,then plateaued before getting a bit stale before Le Race which I'm mainly training for. Just have to make ammends for my pathetic showing in Oct. But man I was good up till the SOK! Pity about the rest of it. Heres me at 34secs in the liquigas top before I got passed by what felt like half the field
Hopefully won't let this happen in March, but on current form not so sure...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYGXViSE ... er&list=UL

Wheatsheaf 12:22
Gebbs 16:05
22:35 /47 (had to wait for a car at 1st cattlestop)
41:20 top of big B
59:50 SOK
1hr24:17 SOK after loop to Rapaki on S rd
1hr30:56 bottom
2hr22 Black Tulip
2hr31:15 Gebbs
2hrs39:04 top
2hrs57:32 top of big B
3hrs17:40 SOK
Last hill 4min22 going quite hard but legs tying up.

3hrs52:11 101.4km 26.1kph Av 78.8kph Max
45 36 17 138A 168M

[bob_summers]

Le race is in March? When?

What can you do in training to avoid fading in the last third after a strong start? Interested as most of my races end the same way!

[Alistar]

It's on the 31st

Not too sure. At the moment I can do a hilly 3hr ride(1000 odd m) at 3/4 pace comfortably without tying up too much, and ride close to 2hrs at race pace intensity.
Therefore have this idea that if I can slowly build myself up and ride a similar hilly course for 4 to 5hrs( adding in intervals, hill repeats later) perhaps I can extend the time I can handle the required pace I want to go, for even 2.5hrs which would make all the difference, in a short but fast/intense race like this one. Then I'd be over enough hills(including the steepest) still in a group to only lose 2 to 5minutes if I blow up rather than 25min (like last time when I only had 1.5hrs in the tank ).

Trouble with Le Race is if you take it too easy up Dyers(18mins) considering you're fit to begin with, you'll lose a lot more on the flat than you can pick up over the last 30k's of hills due to the level of rider (finish in 3hr10 or so). Ride hard(15:30 to 16min ) which you need to do to have a chance of getting under 3hrs( 3hrs5 in bad conditions). And its easy to get in a too fast group half–full of elite guys on the flat esp if you're a reasonable descender , who'll punish you by continuing to race on the flat dropping as many weaker riders as they can in aggressive bastard moves. They can do that with their superior fitness and still ride the hills pretty well. Suicide for guys like me on the hrs I train a week, whose never been that great on the flat. So if I find myself in this scenario again need to swallow my pride and bail early , before I waste energy and end up shelled anyway. Then softpedal as much as possible in the next group to the start of the hills, and hopefully stay with them to the finish which will still give me a competitive time.

Trouble is I'm not very sensible in races and get caught up in the moment and leave my brain at the startline. Still think If I race well can make the top 50 or 60overall which will put me around the top 10 in my age group which would be a very good result considering elite riders (local, National and a couple of overseas pros) and non elite all start together.

But first I need to train smart.

[bob_summers]

Yep, seems a sound plan - the key's gonna be getting and staying in the group that's doing 45kmh over those flat 15kms.
My first race of the season is almost identical in terms of distance and vertical, but the flat kms are the first 20. So it's easier to be in the right group (ie almost everyone is). After that it's a case of climbing at around 20kmh without dropping the pace too much, descending without crashing, and that's 3hrs@33kmh.

You're gonna have to be soooo canny at picking wheels! Especially if the pace is too hot on the flat... better to bail at the same time as a couple of riders, so you can keep a decent paceline together, than to hang on to the death and get shelled alone. Those two guys will then pass you and you won't be able to get on!
That, and like you say, doing some good speed work to limit the damage done by the first climb.

[Alistar]

Yeah think its all about not going into the red on the flat and saving energy, and remembering what all the sensible people tell you. The race starts at Hilltop No point gaining 7mins on the flat if you lose 20 in the hills

Oh well had a blat to Lyttelton. Kept it pretty much in check to Lytt and back. Felt pretty good so thought about time I did a "last hill tester". Quite enjoyed gasping for air and legs burning as haven't done that for awhile. Bit of a tail that did help a bit, but pulled out one of my best times which is encouraging. Felt better for the 100k ride on Sunday(up from my usual 80k).

30:15 Govs
50:04 Lytt
47:09 Back
Last hill 3min15

1hr37:15 47km 28.6kph Av 71.9kph Max
30 50 19 143A 179M( if racing would have been 205 )

[Alistar]

Had an excuse to bike into town as didn't need to take gear. yay! Did a few errands on way home Also there was this strange yellow disc in the sky emanating heat Fantastic to be out in it for a change

Man I'm up and down like a yo yo at the moment, need more consistency in my training. Unexpectedly tired and so legs felt leaden again which must have been the shock of a 3min sprint in a biggish gear up the last hill last ride? Heart rate was running away which is good in a way as it shows no fatigue. Seemed a bit over the top though today. But it never seemed that fast a few yrs ago at x speed so I'm a little confused. Maybe age is just catching up with me? Or maybe I've got used to riding too hard up hills for my fitness level and my perception has adjusted to "hard" being average so when I actually stick to my effort level I'm a k or 2 slower and feel like I'm crawling...

16:44 SOK 155 to 163bpms
18:58 just went up at own pace and couldn't believe I was hovering around 170+ up near the top. as knew I was going quite hard, but not that hard. Hmmm...

Last hill (in check) 4min44

72.66km 2hrs54:10 25.03kph Av 75kph max
40 31 24 139A 179M

[Alistar]

Sat met the partner in town who had to go in early before going to a vego bbq
Legs a bit sore...

15:10? SOK

31.24km 1hr11:20 26.23phAv 66.1 kph max
22 42 33 146A 175M

Sunday
Same as last week. Wanted to do a half hr more, but due to yesterdays effort legs didn't feel up to it.
Cold overcast grey day. Felt quite Autumnal. Had to even wear my polyprop! Left my HR strap at the inlaws place which was prob a good thing as I've been getting a bit anal at keeping my HR in check. Then because of it getting a bit anxious which makes my HR go up
Anyway just went by feel today and keeping things hard up the hills but not bursting my boiler. Interestingly was level peggying with myself from the week before. Actually had the same wind but it was quite a bit stronger last week. But even so was faster along the tops (headwind) last week maybe due to taking it slighty easier on the climbs? Hmmm...maybe there's something to this pacing yourself lark afterall
Legs tied up worse(felt worse anyway) towards the end than last week prob due to yesterdays ride taking a bit out of me. Good to pull out a better time up the last hill anyway.

13:03 wheaty
16:44/17:00 Gebbs
23:26
40:55 top of Bastard
59:20 SOK
1hr23:17 SOK via Rapaki
1hr30:09 bottom
2hr22:23 Black Tulip
2hr31:51 bottom Gebbs(mot side)
2hrs38:10 top
2hrs55:58 top Bastard
3hrs15:14 SOK
Last hill 4min05 (going pretty hard on heavy legs)

3hrs49:14 101.08km 26.4kphAv 77.0kph Max

[bob_summers]

maybe there's something to this pacing yourself lark afteral

Hope so. Did a 4h45 easy flat ride on Friday at 123 avg HR... soul destroying!

Good to see you're getting the KMs in, some good numbers too. When are you starting on the speed stuff?

[Alistar]

Ha ha! Yeah good for mental toughness if nothing else!
Sounds nearly as bad as 40mins on a trainer. Well done for sticking to it as long as you did. But a good time of yr to be doing that kind of stuff...

Yeah time is running out on me. Probably start next week properly on some short intense efforts, climbs etc. Legs are a bit wrecked from Sunday( little hard on the last hill?) so will take a few days to recover. G.medius is a bit sore which I haven't had for awhile.

Been reading this Chris Boardman book written in 2000 which is quite good and has some usefull tips, training techniques. Its in that transition b/t powermeters and HR so has recommmeded HR's levels, as well as power(at least for him). So it jumps b/t the two rather than being too either/or. Not that you can extrapolate it to yourself, but interesting nethertheless.

First time I've read about a guy whose HR dropped significantly through fatigue. Interestingly he had lost too much weight too quickly for the tour which led to sporadic form, great one day, poor performances the next and overtraining. So perhaps my significant HR drops I get periodically while working/training hard could be caused by a lack of daily calories? Lost a bit of weight recently...

[bob_summers]

I got the impression that CB lost weight before races by removing his brain...

Not sure about your theory - I suffer the same drops in HR and if anything, I overeat. Inevitably I lose weight in Spring as the training increases, but very slowly (always set myself a target of 68kg, always miss it by 2kg!)

I'm leaning more towards it being lack of quality recovery. I have more days per week off the bike than some, but they're not as 'restful' as I'd like.

[Alistar]

You're too harsh Bob! Never really followed his career much at the time. Remember being very impressed with his Lotus though Quite an amazing pursuiter and prologue rider. Pity he couldn't become more successful after turning pro at some of the classics and the tour. As it would seem he had the potential to do a little better than he did. Pretty hard riding clean in those days though?
But who am I to talk. I can't even work out a rec race

Yeah fair enough, I just like to hear different opinions of people who have the same issues as me from time to time. Would be so much easier if it was just a case of eating more food, rather than training schedule, and slowly fading recovery ability

Little bit smashed today. Lower Back pain and sore right hip joint(which may be refered pain). Lost my bracket in a "safe place" for my rear light after taking it off for a race awhile back so when I was able to head out the door only had 30mins of daylight left. Just tootled up and down the rd for a few recovery k's at a pretty slow speed. Lovely calm evening after the rainclouds cleared.

18.41km 40min10 27.5kphAv 44.7kph Max

[Alistar]

A day of sadness and reflection a yr after a few seconds changed everything. Even got a little emotional about the whole thing which hasn't happened much. Don't want to be too dramatic but we've lost a lot down here. Man I miss my old rides Lots of ceremonies etc today but to me it all just seems a bit premature for public displays. In a few years I'm sure I'll feel a bit different when peoples insurance(personal and business) is sorted and the rebuild etc is well underway. The size of the problem is just mind blowing. Demolition work is still in full swing. The rebuild is still awhile away. Honestly there's fuck all left of the Christchurch I used to know.

Anyway after work jumped on my bike and did my Lyttelton ride. Amazing what difference a day makes. Felt really good so concentrated on my position, technique and cadence which is a little slow especially up hills. Didn't feel like the usual struggle today to speed up the rpms from sixty or 70 to 80 or so. Weird how when you're not used to it higher cadence feels like more strain on the leg muscles when trying to keep the same speed However a bit hard on some pinch climbs, as its quite hard to go fast enough in your 25 to even reach 80rpms(around 13/14kph).
Did a about five six sec sprints and 24secs rest down the Teddington straight whereas I was just going to ride tempo there and back. Just to give me a bit of a taste. When the (smallish undulating) hills came made it a little harder to get the breath back up these had a bit of trouble with my left hamstring from about halfway and my lower back and hip towards the end as spent a bit of time on the drops.

Looking forward to my 175mm(up from 172.5) ultegra crankset etc. Slowly building up a roadie for my daughter so she'll get my 105 parts as I upgrade, so thats my excuse . Waiting for her to grow though before i get the frame. Could take a few yrs if she takes after me

13:04 Wheaty( head)
29:05 Govs
47:30 Lyt
1hr06 Govs
Last hill 3:44 holding a little back

46.44km 1hr34:57 29.36kph Av 71.7kph max

[Mr. Cleetus]

I think mind blowing sums it up pretty well.

Nice to feel good for a change, eh?!

[downhillingdemon]

Was it really a year ago? Goodness, time goes by so fast.

*hugs*