They say a bad workman always blames his
tools.
Which is why I decided to tool up for my 36 week training plan. I've long had a home gym with rower, treadmill and weights...
Tacx Flow Trainer
I decided to go with the Tacx Flow primarily because it is reasonably priced at roughly £260 and has watts, heartrate, cadence and speed. But should I find I use it a considerable amount I can always update with the i-Magic and Catalyst software via my PC and use some of the tools over at ownsports.net to replay my favourite rides.
Having got the thing home after a mercy dash to Evans cycles in Woking to pick it up I find the frame is missing. I ring the sales droid to discover it was the display model. All plans of Friday night assembly and 2 hour burn in ride are blow. Need to go back tomorrow and pick up the part that was sitting in the window and spend Saturday afternoon building and burning. Hey ho.
Heart Zones Cycling Training Methodology
I guess I can spend the evening working out my macro-, meso- and micro-cycles. Yep, I've graduated from Joe Friel's bible to Heart Zones Cycling. It really appeals to my IT mind, strong on ideas but also contains actionable content. It is much easier to read and frankly makes an awful lot of good sense. Periodized cycles (sorry) here I come.