40 Goals

Looking forward to testing my legs with some beautiful mountainous climbs, Col de Soller a mini Alpe d'Huez and Col de Calobra known as The Snake but the trip to Cap de Formentor (above) will be more a test of my fear of heights ... gulp.

Over 1,000 miles this season on the Computrainer.   (That's a whole lot of sweating)

I had some residual fatigue from the double commute I did on Friday but managed pretty well. It was a little windy but in gusts rather than a constant breeze. I nearly came a cropper with side winds, glad I didn't have deep section wheels. The ride was a milestone for me, a route I've ridden extensively in the past and very demanding with plenty of steep climbs from 10% through to 18% and 21%. I was worried I would fatigue since the majority of my riding has been in the 2hr ballpark, but I was absolutely fine. A ride time of 4:15 is up there with some 0f my better times, 4hr being my PB. So I've drawn a line in the sand. And more importantly I'm not scared of the ride anymore and so will be incorporating it into my weekend long ride from now on. Roll on the spring!

As is common practice last season I had a rest day once a week - that's 6 days on 1 day off. I did find that when I was forced to take extra rest days (kids, work etc) I often got unexpected performance imrovements, but not always. This season I have long resolved to take more rest days and to eat more. Last time I was so obsessesed with weight loss I forgot to feed the adaptations. So, since August, I have taken a 50/50 split between workouts and rest days (not neccessarily 1 on 1 off, but consecutive workout days are followed more or less by the same number of rest days). I have also eaten whatver I fancied. I don't drink so that isn't a problem for me. As a result, over the last 4 months or so I have made great progress in most of my critical powers. I've only lost a modest amount of weight but have enjoyed being able to ride harder when I do train, and boy have I been riding hard! BUT As I get stronger the 50/50 split feels too much, I am often raring to go but with...

1,720km since restarted riding in August.

I can feel my CV system springing back into life. I feel like I can breathe again instead of feeling constrained and tight as soon as I started to lay down any power on the bike or lifting my pace on the run. Still a fat lardy tho. Which is really depressing when I hit a gradient. I get overtaken by litter. Indeed, my weight has gone up, despite dieting and lots of exercise. I'm putting it down to high intensity eating into carbs more than fat and whilst body fat is reducing more muscle is being laid down. That's my excuse anyway - a look in the mirror confirms my body shape is changing. My wife and I are definitely in the Flora this year, so I'm mixing up cycling, running and rowing to get back into shape and avoid injury. It is enjoyable too, which right now is sooooooooo important.

One of the benefits of obsessively collecting data whilst riding is the ability to analyse amd compare past and present performance and make informed decisions about my training strategy. Below is a comparison of my mean maximal power output for last season vs my current performance this season. I'm down across the board, something I am more than aware of when I ride. This chart will help me quantify that. So, every month I'll share this chart and lets see what improvements take place (or don't) and figure out why and adapt training going forward. BTW, it is true to say that I haven't collected a lot of data so far this season and yes, by performing more rides I'll collect more favourable data etc -- The bottom line, however, is that my performance is down by well over 20% across the board. At least I know what I'm capable of and can set a realistic target -- to get the dotted line above last season in every respect. November 2007 - The only way is up! Its pro...

I've been very quiet, apologies. I'm doing the weekly long run and getting other sessions (incuding the turbo and hills) in during the week. I've got to admit that running isn't very interesting! Went for a run, had a tweak in my ankle. Went for a run, felt ok. Went for a run, shins ached etc. etc. it makes for a dull old blog! Its not like there is any interesting gadgetry or training regimes. You just run. I've got a forerunner and a schedule and just keep at it. I'm not made for this kind of training ;-) I'm going to sign up for next year's Etape - if I can't get in to that then either the Marmotte or Campag Gran Fondo will be next on my hit list. I'm missing the bike :-( I'm sure London and NY marathons are going to be an awesome experience but frankly I'd rather be on my bike.

Went out for just over 2 hours yesterday and felt dreadful for the first half an hour. I'm beginning to realise that I'm not really cut out for this endurance running melarkey. I think I'll stick to cycling after the marathon. It hurts too much during the run and then in the recovery afterwards. My ankles are sore, my calves are a little tight and knees have a tweak. You don't get that on the bike. Maybe I need to get rid of the negative head and run more regularly ... or maybe less. Yeesh.

We're both in. 2:09 events have got us uploaded and we've got our numbers for the NY marathon. Long, Long run of 16 miles on Monday. Its all getting a bit more serious. Sorted out some decent routes around the canals in Brum, which is nice cause canals tend to be pretty flat!!!!

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to go for a Tour of the Surrey Hills after running a half marathon the day before. Especially since I'd done nothing for the week prior. To say I was hurting would be an understatement. Imagine my relief when approaching the Coldharbour lane route to the top of Leith Hill upon finding the road closed ... oh shucks, I'll have to avoid the hills and take the A25 home :-) Still, looking at my average speeds and heart-rate on the hilly bits I'm in ok shape and certainly haven't lost much, despite having stuffed my face for 14 days straight (!). Nice to get back in the saddle and enjoy the glorious (and oh so hot!) weather ... From Grimpeur to Roleur ...

Mad dogs and englishmen. Not exactly Etape heat but not far off. Another hilly long run in the heat and faster than last week. Not a lot left in the tank at the end and the heart rate average is 10 bpm higher than last week but that'll be the heat anyway. Quite pleased since I've done absolutely nothing all week, except eat a tonne of unhealthy biscuits, chocolate, cake etc. Doing a ToSH tomorrow in prep for the real thing on the 19th and turning over a fresh leaf on the "fuelling" front. I think I deserved a bit of fun.... A nice run in the sun, temperature in the 30s!

So the schedule had me down for a 12 miler at 9:15 pace. Sam and I ran a "hilly" (800m of ascent) 11.25 miler at a steady 9:30 pace. I figure this is good enough for a first long run and I certainly could have gone harder since my average heart rate was 137bpm to a max of 158 and felt strong as we stopped for a cool down and gentle walk to home. I have bought a garmin forerunner and so the long run data is below, the polar data is rather boring by contrast so I haven't bothered to show it. You'll notice a 4 minute break at about 20 minutes into the run, I took an impromptu 'comfort' break ... First long run data, sans heart rate ...

What a great resource ! Of course my finely tuned athlete's body requires only the very best surfaces for my speed work...

Well, with only one bike ride of note left to tackle in the 25th anniversary UK Audax Tour of the Surrey Hills on the 19th of August it is time to start focusing on running . I've been out for three one hour runs of approximately 12km over the last week including a lovely run in the Pyrenees and I've chucked in a couple of decent bike rides for fun and recovery. I know I'm not starting from scratch for the marathon training but the recovery time from each run has been about 2 days with really sore inner thigh at the knee joint. It can only improve with more time on my feet. As ever with running listening to the body is a primary occupation. Nice to get running again and not be so obsessed with weather conditions - which is just as well since Northern Europe is getting a pasting at the moment ... I think we're due an indian summer.

It really is time to reflect on the work I've done since October last year, here are some facts and figures. One thing that stands out for me - I don't eat enough during my riding. Even on my last training ride I forgot to take any food or gels and was flagging towards the end. Work 183 hours on turbo 218 hours on bike 5,321 kilometers 152 maximum cadence 101 km/h maximum speed (!) 24.4 km/h average speed Food 3.2 kg SIS PSP22 2 kg SIS GO 2.4 kg SIS REGO Only 53 Gels consumed Results 62 mins to climb L'Alpe d'Huez 10 kg lost in weight 8% body fat lost 4" off waist (36-32) 43 bpm resting heart rate from 47 bpm 188 bpm max on bike up from 181 bpm 165 lactate threshold up from 145 (!) 293w FTP up from 245w Technology 3 inner tubes 4 tyres 2 chains 2 cassettes 1 compact chainset 104 blog posts (!)

Well, before Etape anyway. Chances are I'll line up for the Audax event in August looking for a gold medal - lets face it no-one could know the route better than me! Anyway since I'm now tapering I figured I'd go all out for the 60 mile hilly route, i.e. increase intensity but reduce duration. It was surprisingly windy in the latter half and I lost 4 minutes in a stupid traffic jam on Box hill with cars blocking the road for the annual Box hill fete. So I'm pleased with a time of 4:10 which is 18 minutes faster than my previous PB for the route. What really surprised me was with all that additional effort the return wasn't that significant. July 2007 - 4:10 January 2007 - 4:28 Looking at the heart rate distribution from today and then from late January (just after the Lanzarote camp) it is clear that I'm better off keeping it in the sweet spot and staying out of the red zone - is that pain worth 15-20 minutes? Or was my performance impacted by recovery from t...

Estimate of 59:18.75 I did a dry run for the Alpe last night, with a week to go I'll be doing nothing heavy over the next few days, just a little light spinning.I worked on the Tacx keeping the power output between 300w and 310w at a steady cadence of around 70-80rpm. Trying to simulate the cadence I'll be using on the big day and keeping the Tacx "honest" (since it tends to overstate power output at higher cadences). I kept it steady for 30 minutes with my heartrate settling at 163bpm. I'm well chuffed with that, since in the past 300w has caused my heartrate to fly up to max hr fairly quickly. I guess I'm as ready as I'm going to be. I stopped short of carrying on for the full hour - I could have carried on, there was no physiological reason to stop. But there was no value in it and I don't want to get overtired or risk injury etc. And of course, it really hurts! I'm going with an FTP of 300w and a weight of 76kg - according to kreuzotter this w...

Caged Tiger Summer is definitely here then. Glastonbury. Rain. Summer Solstice at Stonehenge. Rain. Plucky Brits at SW19. Rain. Will this damn rain ever subside? Its been such a frustrating week - when I was ready to ride it rained. When I couldn't ride the sun shone. Took the lad to the Slipstreamers yesterday got back in the afternoon, it rained. Got up this morning ready to ride. It rained. BBC tells me it'll be clear through till this afternoon, shame it's raining cats and dogs right now then. I actually WANT to go riding, not interested in the training benefit. Ho hum. Off to see Shrek 3 with the kids at 4pm, no doubt we'll get a heat wave. S'pose it'll be a good opportunity to clean and service my bike ... especially the drivetrain - it needs a little TLC. Of course, I can afford to be a little smug. I'm off to Grenoble next Sunday for the Alpe D'Huez ride and with a week in the Alps I'll certainly be doing a lot more riding besides. I am defin...

Pavlov's Dog So Ivan Petrovich Pavlov trained his dog to salivate when he heard a bell. I have now been trained to drink from my water bottle when I hear a polar HR monitor beep. It all came about from my training weekend in Northumberland. I have been struggling to take-on the right amount of fluid on my long rides. Using my Polar HRM I can set an interval timer that repeats every 20minutes (if you are interested under Options->Exercise Set-> Timer1 and Timer2 ). So now I start my ride as normal and every 20 mins, bingo alarm goes off and I dutifully drink from my bottles. The funny thing is, I took my lad racing last night over at the Hillingdon Slipstreamers (his first real race!) and whilst waiting at the paddock loads of adult roadies arrived for their races, which start after the juniors. As they milled about their monitors beeped as they auto-started and auto-stopped with the activity. Every time I heard that beep I felt the need to drink... it became quite unnerving! ...