Monday 27 February 2012

Weekly Mileage - 372

          Missing a few days of quality training due to injury really got me motivated for the couple of weeks after. It seemed to be the kick I required. Week Starting 13th Feb I completed 200miles where the beginning of the week saw me recovering from my run over leg. Week starting 20th Feb saw the beginning of the week commuting, 41miles , 52.5miles, 42.5miles and 80miles Mon-Thurs. Thursday was extra special. I started the commute at 00.40 and the air felt super warm, dry, fast but a little windy which really picked up to 30-40km/hr around 2am. I was going so well, the Westerly wind was joined by a fighting Northerly and Southerly ish. I struggled up to Bury then flew back down again. Felt wierd.

I averaged 18.1mph for 40miles with 1350ft climbing. THAT'S NOT FAST I hear someone scream.

It is when my heart rate was barely above resting - slight exaggeration - 120 average Actually I thought it was lower as when I looked it was always around 114.. My cadence felt quite quick too. The hilly 41miles home, I thought due, to really good temps would be really fast so I hammered it. The wind proved to be really awkward and was very blustery. I was expecting more of a tail wind from setting off and I was a good few mph down in sections on a more summery day. Records I wanted to break were nowhere to be seen 19.2mph didn't feel like an acheivement.

Turbo miles dont count! I can't see why not.... within reason. If the resistance is high enough and the effort is there, there isn't much difference to road miles. Well my turbo miles aren't too different. Friday I did 2 sets of turbo session, one on TT bike and one on new Felt TT/Road/Hill climbing bike. 46miles in 2hrs 15.




Saturday 25th Feb I decided to test out those turbo miles on my TT bike and apply it to the road. It was cold! in the morning but warmed up nicely later on and that thick air was still about.Went quite hard but those pesky traffic lights and other stoppages slowed me down as did my seat post slipping down to the lowest setting. 26miles averaging 21.7mph makes my turbo miles look fairly realistic after all.

Sunday 26th February

Forecast for today was warm, dry, WINDLESS and with sunny spells. I decided an epic ride was the order of the day. I had been dying to try out my felt TT bike on my commutes but didn't want to get an ounce of dirt or water on her so begrudgingly waited for the perfect day which I thought could be today. Was it too much to expect still being in winter? Unfortunately so.

Even with an alledged tail wind ( it was about 10-12mph in the direction I was travelling) I found the going tough. When my cadence drops below 80 on the flat its due to either 1) feeling crap or 2) the air being crap. I don't think it was number 1. Once again the humidity was Uber high. Started off in the 90's and my breathing is different, I tend to take large gulps instead of short sharp efforts when my heart rate increases.

Climbing Holmfirth Rd and HolmeMoss saw the humidity hit 100%, visibility 0% the roads were wet which meant my bike got wet and dirty and water was instantly condensing in the air. The tail wind up Holmfirth Rd was supposed to be mega but in reality not a help at all. On the top I was going so slow I wondered if the wind had changed direction but it wasn't to be. Up HolmeMoss I would feel the wrath of a 20mph head wind.  My 'heavy' alloy bike again felt great and even with the wind my Strava times were exceptional. Once I hit the Woodhead Rd I turned around to climb Homle Moss again and Holmfirth Rd, legs still in good shape.

Admittedly there was a tail wind for the first half of the climb back up Holmemoss which turned into a cross killer later on. The climb and descent to Greenfield was harsh and punishing and I got drenched. Going back downhill was a nightmare as my body core got really cold and I found it hard to get going again. 11 degrees? It was bleeding 3!!! I needed to find more climbs and quick, just to warm up. I climbed up to Delph and hunted out Blackstone Edge for one final ascent. If the weather was nicer I would have carried on into Todmorden and completed 100+miles and 10,000ft climbing but I needed to go home ASAP, legs were good but my body wasn't. The thing is, once on lower ground and as the day went on the air dried up and the sun started to shine. The headwind actually felt better than the tailwind in the morning and I was strong again.

Ended the ride on 85miles with 8500ft acsent 16.7mph average

There is a lot more to come from the bike and it is only a matter of time until I get the right day. Maybe I was expecting too much to0 soon. Also Im about 5 kilos heavier than where I want to be.

2 comments:

  1. I used to have the Tacx trainer too, a super bit of kit.
    I always used to find miles on the turbo harder than on the road. I put this down to being boiling alive while on the turbo.

    BTW, the tacx seems to get slightly easier/quicker on the hills if you keep a very high cadence

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  2. You still alive? still got a blog up and running? Turbos were made by the devil!

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