Super Compensation

Briefly and probably not entirely correct but super compensation is the post training period during which the trained function/parameter has a higher performance capacity than it did prior to the training period. ( thanks Wiki)

I have no idea what the time scales actually are ( days, weeks or whatever) but I can usually feel when such a period 'maybe' approaching and can last a day or even up to a week depending how well fuelled my muscles are at the time or how hard I go during that time. I think the last time was about 3 weeks ago and didn't last long at all as  it coincided with a huge weight loss program. Last week, in hindsight, must have been the recovery phase as its when I've felt the worst, kept plugging on nice and easy, my speeds relatively slow but also due to the very high pressure system we've had. On my last commute on Thursday I could start to feel my muscles being repaired as the pain had almost gone. The evening commute I hammered it as hard as I could as I had planned a 40mile easy ride but was told to get home asap :). Quite slow again due to the high pressure and very low temps. I ended up doing 10 hill sprints and a 12 min threshold with as little rest as possible, just a couple of minutes rest altogether. 13 miles at 20mph. Comparing it to other rides, when I reached the top of wood street, I was only doing 13.5mph but have done 16mph quite 'easily' in the past yet I really went as hard as I could.


Friday morning I could barely walk so could only manage a 30min spin which was unbelievably difficult but on Saturday I was allowed to play out on my TT bike. Now the air pressure had dropped considerably so that might have had an effect on the 'feel' but I was going fast, for the damp conditions, with little effort. I kept heart rate as low as possible as not to build up lactate but still maintain a good speed. It just didn't fee like I was trying too hard. I ended playtime when the rain started to pour down, I could have gone on for ages. My position looked really  low and fast! but super comfy. 20 miles @ 21.9mph. 


Sunday 18th March


The legs were itching to go out and ride hard. I readied Scottie the night before as I planned to put a time into Cragg Vale as I hadn't been up for ages prior to last week. I remember a couple of years ago I must have averaged 22mph possibly even higher for the 2nd half of Cragg Vale which would have given me a super fast time but I must have had a massive tail wind and perfect conditions. I actually stood up all the way and ran out of gearing on a 53-12/11? Shame I have no time for it as I didn't have a Garmin then. On waking at 6.30 it was raining, just about stopping and super humid and very cold! About 2-3 degrees. I put Scottie back into hibernation and got my commuter bike ready. Why Jamis? I have, after 3 years of trying, totally perfected my position. Focus bike is new and adjustments still need to be made but not on a ride like this. Took with me 2 gels and 750ml of diet Ribena. Just a cuppa tea was downed before setting off, no food. Wasn't too sure of the distance I wanted to do but it is easily adjustable on how I feel just as long as I get my main objectives in there.
On setting off I was really pee'd off. The air was thick, cold and humid the worst possible combination. My speeds were well down on what I expected but my legs were strong so I decided to take it easy for a while and bide my time as I knew the sun was coming out later in the morning. 
Even if I wanted to go faster I just couldn't, was it the cold? the air?humidity? My heart rate hovered around 120 which is quite low. My first task was Burnley Rd from Bacup to Burnley and is a Strava segment. I wasn't breaking any records today due to the head cross wind and solid cold air but I still made it up in a good time, keeping fresh. I was planning that crack at the time up Cragg Vale at some point but since it was still cold (but sunny) I diverted my ride to continue to Halifax to give the air and my legs a chance to warm up.

At the foot of Cragg the temperature had now risen from about 2 degrees to about 5 degrees which wasn't ideal, in fact I wasn't expecting much, but I couldn't be bothered waiting any longer. I thought the Strava segment started further up the climb so didn't get going straight away, probably took me 3 or 4 mins which was my warmup time as I was still cold. I should have hit it from the turning point. *TimeTrialMode* ON.  I treated it like a proper TimeTrial and went in 'the Zone' when you block all pain sensations and just go all out for as long as possible. My cadence was really high around 90-100, surprisingly as I tend to churn a big gear up hills but I have no idea what gear I was in. The lower half is the steepest and struggled with the changes in gradient. I like a nice even pace when sitting down. I had to ease off a little on the really steep little section as my heart rate and breathing got a bit out of hand but it didn't take long me me to settle into my rhythm again as the gradient levelled out again. The second half is not steep at all. I tried standing up like I have done in the past and flew up at 20-26mph but I didn't have that tail wind or good air to float up and it felt like I was slowing down. I was content with 18-20mph. I really don't know how or what kep me going but it isn't easy going flat out for 20mins. It felt easier to put the power down than any flat TimeTrials I have done (not many) though. I reached the summit quite content that I had given it my best shot despite the conditions. At least there wasn't a roaring head wind like last week. 

 Going back down Cragg would give my the recovery time required to get a few more miles in. I had just done 45miles and was hoping for at least another 20-30. Wan't expecting them to be fast miles but under the belt they would be.  The air was starting to warm up suddenly, the humidity lowering massively and the difference was amazing. It was easier to keep a more controlled but higher heart rate but my attainable speeds were 15-20% higher with very little effort. The temperature hit about 11-12 degrees in no time. If only I could have waited another hour or so for climbing Cragg! Having no breakfast, just 2 gels and 700ml of water I thought I wasn't going to last any longer but I felt GREAT! I could have just carried on and on but had to get back to see the missus. This could have been due to the low heart rate at the beginning only using my fat stores and having trained to adapt to be more aerobically efficient.I have never done 'base miles' before and all my training has been experimental, I find it difficult to trust other people until I have experienced it myself,  but there seems to be something in training at a low HR for long distances as previously I thought they were wasted miles.

 90 miles completed on Jamis the commuter in good time, ~5000ft ascent, ride time 4hrs 45min. Quite iimpressive.


So what of CRAGG VALE? 5.4miles of climbing, averaging 3.4% with 1000ft of ascent. Out of 72 riders on Strava I placed second with a time of 19mins 53 and average speed of 16.2mph.




 So that completes this week with 340miles done! My weight is slowing dropping off and am now 67kgs. Just contemplating whether I need a rest or not even though I think I could go on forever. Just when I think I'm fading I go and pull one out of the bag ( The day after- Monday my legs are still feeling awesome)

Just a quick piccy

CRASH!... (diet)

It was January or maybe February when I weighted myself and had a big shock. 71kgs for someone who is 5'6" isn't exactly 'heavy' but for my goals it isn't ideal. Why such a shock? I have done way more mileage this winter compared to last and eaten less crap yet I am 5kgs heavier. The amount of food I can put away is quite simply astonishing so The only way to lose the weight is to increase the mileage even more. Sound reasoning? Probably not but I like to experiment.

Ok so I have tried to diet along with the increase in mileage, I didn't think I could keep it up for long as fatigue should set in pretty quick along with my energy levels and Ill just collapse into a heap and give up. Soup for every meal of the day and a protein shake got a bit laborious but I always looked forward to my slap up meal treat on a Saturday night before a big Sunday ride. According to Strava's calculations over the last 4 weeks I have averaged over 300 miles over 10 rides per week. The sessions have been a mix of long aerobic, shorter intervals, 1hr thresholds, TT rides, recovery and everything inbetween. Has it worked? Weight as of last week was 68kgs. Phew but its not gonna end there. As long as I feel strong and the motivation is there then my target weight is 63kgs.

One way of measuring my strength/fatigue is to go on a long ride and see how long it is until I die. Sundays are a good day for this. The week preceeding the ride was as intense as previous weeks, 3 days of intervals and 3 commuting days with a fairly hard Saturday to test the positioning on the Felt TT framed road bike.

Sunday 11th March

Awoke at 7am but really couldn't be bothered to get up however a gentle nudge from the missus saying what a mood I'd be in the whole day if I didn't get up was enough persuasion. Setting off in high humidity put a dampner on things but I could see the sun trying to peer through which gave me hope for the ride ahead. Legs weren't feeling majorly great and that swirly wind was still present killing all signs of momentum so I decided on a low heart rate, long ride which hopefully would make my body more aerobicly efficient and lose weight to boot as my fat stores and not my non existant glycogens stores would be used.

15miles in I was out of drink as it tasted like washing up liquid so I threw it away. I also had nothing to eat before or during the ride but my recovery shake was waiting for me on arrival at home. The first half of the ride the wind had really picked up but died down in places then would pick up again but it didn't bother me too much ar at least I didn't let it. In Yorkshire it was its worst. Just got on with my goal of keeping my HR low. At one point I thought I had a Northerly wind which meant a crack at Cragg Vale Strava segment time but when I got there it was a full on head wind but is sheltered for most of the bottom part however I thought I'd save myself for the rest of the week. There's always another day to have a go. The biggest challenge now was to get up Cragg reservedly but some time today and preferably before dark! It is easier said than done but somehow I acheived it. Under 130 bpm for the whole climb. As the ride went on it got more and more difficult  to keep my HR low and near the end when I ended up having a slanging match with some scallies , it sky rocketed. Nevermind still a decent average and Hr of 122 meant a job well done.

Garmin    Av Sp 16.2mph     Distance 70miles     Ascent 3600ft     Av Hr 122

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.

The End Is Near

Post track 'accident' activities were more common than expected. Although it was difficult to walk, pedalling in circles proved to be more fruitful. A quick turbo session on Tuesday felt ok so I decided to go to the Velodrome on Wednesday for the Paul Taylor Memorial SQT. ( PT was a leading coach for Manchester Velodrome and Rochdale Tri club who sadly passed away not long ago after losing his battle with cancer). Initially I wasn't going to ride as in the morning I was very stiff, painful to walk and had no motivation.
Limping up to the riders 'D' I stalked a coach to pick up my track bike from Sunday so I could assess how rideable and what, if any damage.  Luckily there was a tiny scratch on the downtube, barends came off and the front wheel was a little out of true.  Unbelieveable. There was a bigger than I expected turnout and thought I'd give it a go to assess the damge to myself and the bike. Now was a good a time as any. No pressure, nice and easy riding, worthwhile.
Thursday 16th Feb went out for a ride which I dont remember and had to look at records to see what I did.Just an easy pootle by the looks of it then back to commuting on the Fri and Sat. Since Sunday looked like it could be nice I took the commutes easy but were long, amassing 115miles in 2 days.

Sunday 19th February

Not participated in a Sunday ride for a while and looking at the forecast it would be 'windless', dry (humidity wise) sunny and warm. It turned out to be totally false!!! It was blowing a gale, freezing, very humid with sunny spells. Luckily the roads were bone dry and it gave me the opportunity to try out my new bike. This is bike number 5  and is a second hand frame from a forum. A Focus Culebro Tria 2009. The frame is tiny, super low headtube, aero profiling, the white looks amazing and it is alloy so not especially light. What better way to test it out than on some lovely hills. I have fitted SRAM Apex rear mech with a 12-32 cassette as my sportive/audax super hilly climbing bike, bit strange for an ex TT frame.
As soon as I pedalled the first few strokes I thought this is going to be slow. The humidity artificially increases my heartrate, restricts my breathing and Im sure for some unexplainable scientific fact makes the air like sludge. The wind was swirly and  brisk from the North North West which meant it was also feeling bitterly cold.  I really couldn't be bothered and wanted to turn around but looking at the speeds I was doing in my super dooper aero psoition  without too much effort made me smirk....a little. Lets see what  this baby can do in less than favourable conditions.

I approached Blackstone Edge cautiously, saving my energy for an expected head/cross wind. About a quarter way up I opened up the taps and began to set a reasonable pace from where the gradient rapidly increases. The head/cross wind died down as I negotiated  a couple of twisty bends about 3/4 up, this is due to the hill shielding the road so there was a nice moment of zero wind which blew again as the hill became more exposed closer to the top. Miraculously the bike climbs like a dream. Totally unexpected and I didn't even use the little ring of my double chainset. I also noticed as the day went on my breathing got easier as the humidity decreased. The bike feels so stiff, like my Scott Addict. I feel like all my power being transferrred to the wheels and the road, I love the feeling of the road, non of this comfort nonsense. This is in stark contrast to Jamis and the Cannondale Super Six which is way too 'comfortable' for my liking. The Cannondale I rode in Gran Canaria  just isn't a race bike although it is touted as that just because it was 'race geometry' and all the marketing spiel which I have to disagree with anyway. Although I didn't weigh it, it felt very heavy which shocked me.  I've not read the review but how it got bike of the year I will never know, well actually  I do but I don't want to be controversial. £3000 bike or  this one for a few hundred, I know which one I prefer....by miles.
The Cragg Vale descent was a total nightmare of  freezing my arse off and being caught up in swirly cross winds slowing me down loads. I was tempted to go up Cragg to possibly get a fast time but I would have knocked 10miles off my ride. Due to the nature and direction of the ride I must have had a tail wind for about 15-17mins of the total 2hrs riding from Walsden to Littleboro' and I was held up in traffic and temporary lights most of the way from Mytholmroyd which makes my 19.2mph average quite remarkable. Looking  at Strava my Blackstone edge times are very good indeed. Should easily top the table on a good day. The longer segment includes the flat bit at the bottom which I took easy and I still got 3rd I think.  Garmin Data 

The title was meant to mean the end of Winter as my commutes on Wed 23rd Feb felt warmer and less restricted by the air even though my heart rate was super low ~120 average I was going quite fast.

Not Good timing.

I'm getting to the point where Im finding very little time to do the little bits and pieces I like to do. This includes watching tv, cooking, bike cleaning and blogging. Either I don't find the time or I can't be bothered.

Gran Canaria turned out to be a bit of a damp squib. I got some good riding in but my Garmin screwed up and by the time I found out the problem ( no memory left) I was unable to do my long hilly route without fear of getting lost and stranded. Got a good 9 hrs in but the legs weren't too good ( over 300miles the week before) and it was super super windy. I hired a Cannondale Super Six ulegra DI2 with electronic shifters. Wasn't majorly impressed with the new technology and will not be getting it anytime soon. I really need to take my own bike.

Commuting was regular as ever until last week when the snow and ice hit however the incredible air pressure of 1042mb  and mega cold temperatures limited my averages to around the 17 mark. Also got side swiped but no major injuries or damage luckily. I even got a ride out on the TT bike and did the local 8 mile TT course and averaged 23mph, my best was 24mph in favourable conditions.

So yesterday saw my return to the Velodrome and the A/B SQT. After a weeks rest I wanted to see how much I had improved. Midweek , however I was training on my TT bike via the turbo and went so hard I got really bad cramp and took a few days to die down. My heart rate hit over 180 which is very difficult for me to achieve.

There was a huge mixture of abilities and was quite surprised to see the warmup lap at 24mph fairly easily. My heart rate was showing 120-140 for nearly an hour showing how easy the session was but the speeds were a lot higher than previously experienced - over 24mph.
 After a 25min warmup we did pursuiting in fours changing every half lap however I always had a slow guy in my group and to keep it together and make it fair for him we were unable to get a really high pace going. One of the guys got fed up and charged on alone which was a bit out of order.

Next was a 45 lap scratch race and I was really up for this. The first 10-20 laps done at an easy 25mph then ramped up to 28mph for the next 10. THe last 10 even higher. With 8 to go I was at the front and wanted to up the pace and I hit 35.2mph. There was no one behind me and I had opened up a gap of 50metres. Where was everyone? Even only one would have been a massive help! I didn't have a clue what to do so  I carried on wasting my energy for another lap to see if the gap was getting bigger but it wasn't so I eased off. Thinking about it I should just have gone and took the chance but when I saw the 7 lap to go sign I got a bit demoralised. I rejoined the back which had dwindled to only 8 riders and knew my chance of a sprint win had totally gone. I recovered for most of the rest of the time and just made sure I kept out of trouble and wasn't far off the winner, maybe 2 -3 bike lengths.
Hunters followed and then one lap intervals.

We finished off with the 6day points race thingy but instead of 5laps we were doing 4 laps. I was at the back and everyone else had gone and my group of 4 was the3 last to go. I shouted to the coach how many were to go as there was a tandem who had gone off about 5 bike lengths infront.  I eased off a little on the corner ( as thats when they are supposed to put more power down) as I took my eye off the wheel infront but everyone else had the same idea, sticking their effing noses in to what I was saying to the coach. I clipped the wheel in front and fell down hard. The guy behind me ran over me and fell. Strangley, I grabbed him so that I cushioned his fall....intentionally. He got up straight away with no injury. I was glad. Another guy infront fell but I don't think it was the one who's wheel I clipped.  Eventually we came to a standstill and all the coaches came running over. I felt ok but didn't get up straight away. I was told there was no damage to my bike which put my mind at ease but then someone pointed at my calf which looked like there was a huge golfball under the skin. Ice and Ambulance were requested immediately. I had cuts and burns all over and my hip was really badly bruised. I managed to hobble back to the riders 'D' where I tried to clean myself and apply cold compression simultaneously.
I'd only just had a week off cycling and didn't want another. Could have been worse I suppose. The big lump was just a burst blood vessel which went down but my bruised hip/thigh was excruciating the next day. Grrrr. Garmin Data The 3 spikes at the end are my one lap individual interval sprints when I hit 35.2mph again. The start of the 6days points race didn't record.

Good Timing

What a week! Mon - Thursday were commuting days 30 miles into work at 1am! and 25 miles home every day which gave me approx 220miles then I did 2 turbo days which totalled 2.5hrs and around 56miles and finally on the Sunday the A/B SQT, although 2hrs long I reckon we only did about 30miles. So totals for the week are:

Miles ~ 310miles
Time  ~ 16hrs

SO glad my commutes missed all the freezing cold weather and as from today I'll be in Gran Canaria so Ill miss the rest of the 'big freeze'. The boiler at work has packed in so I can't dry any of my stuff on the radiators. Meaning my cycle home has been miserable! Averages have been in the high 19's, both ways, apart from Thursday when the wind hit 70km/hr again. What a biatch that wind has been.

The turbo sessions were spent tweaking my TT position and I could have a very very good aero one without compromising too much on power.

 I decided to apply the principles to my track bike ( open up hip angle)  so saddle forward and raised. Not too sure if I could feel any difference but I seemed to be going very well and everyone else looked like they were dying. The moment of truth would be the scratch race. Only 40 laps this time and close to the end of the session instead the front but everyone looked hungry for success and glory. I wasn't too fussed but had a little plan and thought I'd execute it this time and if it totally backfired I wont do it again.

Due to the big gear I use I don't have the acceleration of the others. I've found out today my gearing is now banned from SQT's which is a right pain as I can't spin!  Bradley Wiggins school of thought. If you can't accelerate with them, keep them at a tempo that makes them unable to do that! In other words take away their advantage or minimise your disadvantage.

 With about 15 to go the B line had disappeared and done their thing and I was leading for about 2-3 laps to up the pace. The back of the line was about 20 places back and I slotted in about 18th as the end 2 were flagging. The pace I had set was quite high and people started to only do half laps which worked in my favour and I found myself 2nd in line with 4 to go as a couple more had dropped out. I also had to do a few big sprints to bridge any gaps that appeared which always seemed to happen right infront of me!  One of the faster/est guys was leading me out and when he went back I thought this was it and hammered it from 3 laps out. Usually I'd do my lap and drop back a little bit then wind up for a sprint. Not this time. I felt great. 2 to go and I thought how long could I keep this up for?  No one had attacked yet or were unable to? I kicked into the final corner before the last lap and could hear the first of a few attacks breathing down my neck. I could see someone coming over the top of me so kicked into the penultimate corner, keeping him wide. Listening to him panting and dropping off was a joy to behold. There must have been 3-4 trying to get me on the last corner but I kicked again Keeping them wide and holding my inside line. On the final straight I had my head right down to my front wheel which isn't as difficult for me as it sounds and drove hard to the line. Believe it or not, in the end, it was easy. I won by a fair margin in sprint terms ( a good wheel, maybe 2) and got quite a few congratulatory pats on the back. The guy who came second usually wins his fair share and said I did a great ride.  What a feeling.  Just when I thought I couldn't be bothered going as well. Would I do it again? Maybe depending on my positioning. It was my plan all night to do what I did but the way all the pieces fell into place was unreal. Max I would have gone from would be 5 laps out, 2 ideal.

See you in a week.

Scalped :(

Hey there! For those that still tune in, and if not its still for my own personal benefit. Nearly 2 months since my last post so what on earth have I been up to? Commuting has been regular and consistant. Only 1 day in the car for those 2 months. Got caught up in a tornado when a wall of water  attacked me, more hurricane style weather and virtually every ride has seen me limp home drenched and wind swept.

Averages in November were apalling to say the least. 15 - 16 - 17 mph on the downhill 22miles to work yet I didn't feel bad in my self. Rides back home weren't much better 16-17-18mph. One Saturday whilst  belting down a hill, 2 spokes on my front wheel nearly sent me flying as they snapped off! So so lucky. I think the problem was that my front mud guard had been rubbing against the wheel wall and slowing  the plastic was being eroded until there was nothing holding it and mangled in my wheel. Have also completed a run a week in November.

December has been amazing, training wise. All work days commuted bar one and usually end with an Sqt A track session on the Sunday. One of the sessions started off with a 50 lap scratch race and one day we were lapping at 32mph until a few guys got brought off for dangerous riding ( the B line was being lapped instead of being half a lap apart) and we were down to about 28-29mph. In fact the guys who were brought off and bollocked belonged to a club I was thinking of joining lol. This garmin data catches the end of the race and the rest of the session.  I was up there up to the last lap but didn't contest the sprint as I'd 'run out of gears' in other words I cant spin my legs very quickly so when I stood up to sprint my legs were whirring but no extra power was being put down. Same story for every session. If a break went I was able to bring it back within half a lap, I would take  big turns on the front and still stay in whilst others dropped out, I think the main guys sprinting didn't do too much in the line though but for me to contest that sprint, no chance and it wasn't because I was too tired ( Actually looking at my heart rate of 180 maybe I was too tired). All that and my commutes were still at 16-17-18 mph. Tragic. Actually the one day I didn't commute was in January so full set in December.

Don't understand why outside Im so slow. I have ridden out 2 bouts of illness, just recovering from one now, nothing as bad as last year. One thing I have noticed is humidity has been in the high 90's for 90% of the 2 months, wonder if that has any effect.
 During the peak of my recent illness I got well and truely beaten by another roadie. I had just set off leisurely from a set of lights and whooooosh he goes past. I let him have 20m and try to catch up.  Didn't want to slipstream him as that would be too easy. Ugh ,my legs wont spin, tried higher gears, nothing but I manage to claw loads of time back on any inclines.  I was hoping he'd turn up this 6%er but he carried on into Manchester the flat way. I was gutted even though I could barely breathe as if I went too deep I'd start a massive wheezing and coughing fit and knew my illness held me back. Still only managed a 17mph average that day.  About 800 miles in December, 600 in Novemeber.

January has seen more running, the return of the dreaded gusty wind and more bleeding rain. I missed one commute and replace it with 2 totally boring turbo sessions. I bought a sufferfest video to alleviate the monotony but I didn't end up watching any of it anyway due to  looking at the floor. The second sesh I played some music which Im not usually a fan of but it deffo helped and I did some negative splits where I went faster and faster as time went on. I used my TT bike on the turbo and seem to have quite a nice position but totally wrecks my muscles the next day after hard efforts. The road bike is different as I could go really hard one day and still be fine the rest of the week.

Strava is very new to me but what a cool app/website to compare times with other guys and even get an idea what power you're outputting/need to output to be near the top. After uploading a few files I was quite surprised to see how well im doing even after only doing the odd ride here and there.  Going to pay more attention to this for the coming year. 

My fave beinbg this one which I've ridden once during a big sportive and has quite a few names down and I top them all :)

My Goals for the year ahead are to race and not chicken out, do a 10mile tt in 22mins but I'd only be happy with a 21, complete Liverpool olympic distance Triathlon and absolutely murder the flat bike course and do a 25mile tt with a  target time of 59:59.

The goals are relying on me not to put any weight on all year as I spent most of 2011 losing excess weight and ruining training due to a possible lack of protein.

Hill Climbing Season - Tenerife style

                 Garmin Stats


 The hill climbing season has been in full swing and is coming to an end. The nationals were the other week with a 4miler at 3%  up long hill which I have climbed before but not taken much notice of. I'm not keen on the short harp efforts just like sprint triathlons so I went in search of a climb worthy enough to actually call a hill climb. I suppose leaving the country was actually cheating but since I had the opportunity to climb a mountain I thought that it would be rude not to.

 Wednesday 2nd November saw my arrive at Tenerife South airport and immediately I went on a run to scout for a bike shop. Just over 5km around Playa de las Americas but I somehow missed the bike shop I was looking for. The next day on a family walk of about 10km we found it and had a nosey on what they had to offer. www.bikepoint.com . They had Carbon Ridleys and Focus's which looked brand spanking new and barely ridden. The owner informed me that they had only been open a few weeks and were trying to get off the ground but the have an established shop in Medano. Harsh negotiations with the wifey and mother saw me able to ride the very next day!

Friday 4th November, barely able to sleep the night before I shot up out of bed when the alarm went off and readied everyone for breakfast. It was then a 1.3mile run to the bike shop and a run back if I was able to at the end but I took enough dosh for a taxi. My Garmin was pre-loaded with a 100km + route and I wore my Rochdale Tri gear. Temps were around 25 degrees and wind was very harsh, around 15-20mph with some big gusts. After quickly setting up my bike and purchasing some energy bars ( my bananas had pulped due to running with the bag on my shoulders) I was away in glorious sunshine.

UP and UP, the ascent started straight away. I overtook a german roadie who was pootling and going the same route, I deduced after a strange conversation but there weren't many others about. I started off feeling super strong but as I ascended, the temps dropped, the humidity increased, the oxygen decreased, the wind howled from the NNE and I gradually grew wearier and wearier. The climb was amazing, the roads superb, traffic so polite and light yet there was just no respite for 27 miles. All my drink had gone after 20miles  and dehydration could have been a performance limiting factor as it can't be a coincidence that after 50miles I stopped at a petrol station to refuel and my heart rate was workable again.

My turn off to TF-38 was approaching and I missed it carrying on along TF 21 for a bit longer which I would come to regret as I turned around, should have carried on. TF-38 is probably the worst of the worst of all cyclists nightmares. The road looked like it was made from old volcanic lava that had been cluster bombed then nuked for good measure leaving this obstacle course for a main road! If that wasn't bad enough I also had the full force of 30-40mph head winds to contend with. Arghghghg. Luckily there was hardly no other traffic and I was able to zig zag from one side of the road to the other, sometimes purposefully  to avoid the holes other times I was blown all the way across. Cobbles would have felt like silk compared to this and after 10mins my feet and hands were numb and my back was burning due to the torture although i was unsure if the bike position had anything to do with the latter.  I had to descend really slow in places or the vibration got so bad I just couldn't hold on or  because of the tight corners. Once off that road though the feeling was like going to the bog and relieving yourself of a massive dump.....ahhhhhh.

The mist had lifted and the air was getting warmer with every metre travelled. Once on the other side the mountainous craters separated and revealed open space, blue skies and miles and miles of banana plantations. I now had about 30miles of downhill riding and I figured that it would all be done at a considerable speed however I was terribly mistaken. I couldn't feel my legs at all for starters and those tight bends had returned along with some really steep sections in the middle of nowhere. I did go in totally blind and followed someone elses route but it all added to the fun. They had picked some really nice, totally quiet roads for the way back but on the odd occasion it looked like I was going the wrong way and they were building main roads on top of the old roads shown on my Garmin and were a few hundred feet out of position.  My heart rate had plummeted  to about 80 now and luckily a service station appeared on the busy coastal road of TF 47.

A couple of powerades later and I was back on track. If I was quick enough I would be able to make lunch which finishes at 3pm, I had set off about 9.45am. The drink must have done wonders as when I got back I was full of running so after saying my goodbyes and packing my bag I was straight into the run, that's another couple of kilometres under the belt.

 Managed to run over 20km whilst away but was unable to get back out on the bike. Unfortunately I must have put on a stone due to the joys of 'all-inclusive'. Never having been on one before I was a bit sceptical of the quality of food but was totally surprised and ended up stuffing my face every meal time and with christmas approaching at warp speed the next couple of months will be a difficult test of limiting the self indulgence but I know I wont be the only one!

More Track time

       After a nightmare week of commutes, I just felt like I had no breath in me, I wasn't looking forward to the track SQT on Sun 30th Oct which I had booked in advance. The last couple of days commuting I took it easy so that I had a little bit of ooomph going round the velodrome but I wasn't hopeful or in the mood. Luckily the session is quite late on so I had all day to loosen up my tight muscles.

Once at the velodrome I found out, whilst signing on, I was in current World TT Champ company although he wasn't wearing his rainbow bands. After being a little awe struck I set about changing my gear ratio from a 49-16 to a 49-15 (88) as if I spin too quick I get out of breath so soon. The warmup I took it as that instead of  racing around like a headless chicken trying to prove a point.

Various skills and sets followed and I was going around with relative ease for a change. It was supposed to be an A/B Sqt but 80% were A'ers. One set I was doing pursuit changes with a tandem who was very quick but stayed on fine. For the really fast efforts like that I deffo need a bigger gear!

Sprints, half laps sprints, and more laps followed until we ended doing a strange version of the 6 day points race which is strange enough without complicating matters. We had a recovery line (18-20mph - most probably higher than that) then when the whistle blew the first two sprinted all out for a lap and rejoined the line - simple. So after an eigth of a lap rolling start the timer started. I was leading for both my efforts but not sure wether it is easier to win from front or behind.  I saw a couple of riders go up the banking to get a better start and out fox their opponent but I just went for it!  Out of the saddle I went but I feel Im held back by the fact it feels like my cleats are slipping out. Those Keo Easys are not built for sprint work as their is no tension adjustment. However I mauled my way around in my fastest time ever.

My previous PB for a 200m sprint was about 13.5s although it was a while ago with MIddleton Cycling Club.  This time I was wearing a track timing transponder and my first effort gave a 200m time of 12.921 and a 250m time of 16.273. Smashed my previous PB without a super run up or the best gear?  My fox gave up after half a lap.
The next one was just as quick  but I slowed the pace line right down to get an advantage as my strength is acceleration from standing. My fox was the same guy and I'm sure he must have thought I was dead after trouncing him and him having an extended rest.  But I just kept the same tactic and went as hard as I could, no messing about. He was closer this time but I still did a good time even after only having a few minutes rest. 200m time - 13.296,   250m time - 16.733. Hopefully the links work.

That fastest lap time was at a speed of 55.3km/h unassisted all on my own. The total distance showed was 49km but we stayed on the blue line ( higher up) instead of the black so total distance was probably more like 53km - 33miles in the 2hr session ( riding time 1hr 20ish), average 22.3mph. Very worthwhile training indeed.