40 Goals

My CTL and TSS make interesting reading with CTL up to 31.6 from zero in just 3 weeks and my TSB down to a miserable -58. I think my original FTP setting of 200w was underestimated and I've lifted it to 250w since the IF for most of my rides was greater than 1, even a recent recovery ride with HR of 125-135!! I just wish I could retrospectively change the FTP settings and get the IF and TSS re-calculated... any tips on how this can be achieved? EDIT: Ok, so you just change the zones in the athlete settings and they get recalculated automatically. D'Oh. I could have sworn I tried this and it didn't make a difference!

Again. Last year I went a bit hard for a week and really did my right foot in and ended up skipping the NYC marathon. The pain on the top of the foot was really nasty and was made worse from running. After a month of no running it went away. Its a good job I'm not in training for the marathon yet, just getting back to some form of fitness. The pain isn't as bad as last time and I'm pretty sure I can blame overuse rather than my shoes. I'm going to change the lace pattern from criss-cross to straight-bar and tie them with less force. Obviously I'm gonna lay off for a week and then get back with some ginger runs of no longer than 40 minutes. Ice, Ibuprofen and Stretching being practised as I type. Anyhoo, means I'll do more on the bike instead, which is ok.

Jamie Staff, the olympic gold medallist took time out to visit the Hillingdon Slipstreamers today. What a top bloke and inspiration for the kids that were there (not to mention the Dads). He gave his time graciously despite having flown in the day before and being woken at 5am. He signed autographs and answered questions for a while. I couldn't resist and asked him about his training. Surprisingly, it is about 4 hours of road training and 4 hours of track work per week. But the track work, I guess, is at high intensity. In the sprint final Jamie completed the first lap in 17.1 seconds and I asked him about the kind of power he generates. He said that in training prior to the world championhips he was peaking at 2,300w for the lap but had managed to increase by over 10% to 2,600w for the olympics! And in case you are wondering he is still pumping out over 1,200w when he crosses the finish line for Lap 1. Unbelievable numbers, but that Gold Medal tells you how real those numbers are...

OK. So it is early days, I'm going to do 50/50 splits between rest/recovery and training days. I just took 2 consecutive days rest (instead of 1 day a week) and felt better for it and posted a much better time for the 'Ian Run' . Previous bests were a completed 23:10 and two runs aborted after 20 minutes due to exhaustion. I passed the point at which the previous two runs aborted with 19:30 on the watch before going on to finish in 21:31. Its only 2 and a bit miles but right now that feels like a half marathon! I'll still do some walking or recovery riding on rest days but nothing strenuous. Will review along the way to see how it goes. No heart rate data for now as strap is broken. A good day!

OK, I'm not convinced entirely but I'm more than willing to believe some of the messages. As a result I'm gonna spend some time running barefoot or at least without the highly cushioned shoes I'm used to (ASICS Gels). Fortunately, we have a high quality treadmill at home so I can start there. I've also ordered some Nike Free shoes, but may not go the whole hog to start with and run just around the local park barefoot on the grass. Watching out for dog eggs obviously. If you're thinking I'm a lunatic then read some of the evidence and science here , here and here . Of course, the biggest part to all of this is learning to run as a forefoot striker and running "quietly". Since I'm starting afresh and from pretty much square 1 this will all be part of my approach. The Gordon Pirie reference above is my nod to the Chi / POSE method. I have to say that Gordon sounds like a pretty special guy and his free book has got me assessing how I run and wha...

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.

I am a bit of a robot. I've been running without objectives or any rules and as a result my fitness has been impacted and my weight has crept up. So, to get me back on track ... Primary objective Get weight and fitness to level that I can comfortably complete a Tour of the Surrey Hills regardless of time Secondary objective Get back into good habits of eating well, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep Rules 8 hours sleep - in bed by 10.30 at the latest Keep a food diary, with every item recorded Limit refined sugar and no cakes, biscuits etc Eat breakfast, lunch and small dinner (after exercise) Exercise every day with a rest day on fridays Don't fret about exercise intensity, just get out there and run or cycle at a pace I am happy with. If I am fatigued then take a rest day or just do 15 minutes of something. Started on Sunday and will maintain until primary objective is hit. I'm not even ready to attempt the ToSH (100km and 2,500m climbing) and probably won'...

My critical power numbers are getting better all the time, the chart below shows my mean maximal curve for now versus all time. The dotted line is now. I went out for a jaunt with my wife on Sunday morning and managed to put the hurt on her for a change and felt good too. I feel like I'm coming out of a cloud of unfitness and emerging stronger and stronger. Having lots of historical data has really helped to put this into context. I know there is a way to go (especially my 60 min watts per kilogram!!) but at least I have realistic targets - these are real numbers since they are what I was capable of only a year ago.

Dehydrated so a little flattering. Probably more like 89kg. Looking healthier and chubby cheeks are subsiding rapidly. Still lost over a kilo in a week, I'll be delighted to keep that going for a while. 51.5% body water (!!). 23.4% body fat. Happy with good progress and feeling good about myself. Of course, it also helps that the sun is shining and bike riding is fun again!!

So, out for a "tempo-ish" kinda ride today. Working from home and could spare an hour or so as a break from Microsoft Office. I went for a ride in the hills with Samantha and watched her disappear over the hills. It was quite an eye-opener in many ways. My power output wasn't that horrible and CV system is starting to kick into life. I use cyclingpeaks and trainingpeaks.com so I am able to compare my critical power numbers against all time (well all time that is recorded in cycling peaks and training peaks anyway). So, my very best Critical Power numbers on file were captured on the 10th June last year on a fantastic ride between Alnwick and Jedborough and back. When compared with today's little jaunt things don't look quite so bleak. I just need to lose the 20kg strapped to my stomach!! (and work on endurance, obviously). CP.2 575 vs 502 CP1 388 vs 349 CP6 285 vs 272 CP12 255 vs 244 CP30 211 vs 207 CP60 203 vs 197 CP90 200 vs 183 CP180 185 vs 143 Now obviously on...

Don't need to say a thing. 24.4% body fat. The only way is up.

Don't ask. I'm in pre-prep-base training phase with Build phase peaking sometime around April 2009. I cannot believe how quickly you can lose fitness. But, with spring here and a fresh new leaf I'm on it. Just need to form two habits, namely; Exercise every day Eat less every day Simple. The everday exercise is running since it is so time efficient when you're not fit. I'll mix in cycling when I get a bit fitter and at the weekends when it's not raining. The Computrainer gets a recovery ride in the evenings but thats mostly to stop me drinking or eating!! I have thrown in turbo sessions in the morning but they are NO FUN when you're rubbish.

Well. Fell off for a few months. Fags, Booze, Chips, Chocolate. I've been bad. But like all good (?) things they have to come to an end. Largely in me being 2 stones heavier than I was at L'Etape and unable to ride at pace for more than an hour. Where did it all go wrong? Burn out man, burn out. I have an obsessive personality - I'm either riding 2hrs+ a day and eating pulses and raw fish or sitting on the sofa stuffing my face with chocolate. There is nothing in between! As you can imagine the Marmotte is a non-starter this year, but I need to get back into decent shape ready to train for the London Marathon next year. And I'm starting to crave those rides in the hills ... before it became a chore and was actually a bit of fun? Anyways ... fags and fat are gone. Let see if I can get some value for money out of this here computrainer ... shit I reckon so far its been the most expensive clothes horse in history... I reckon losing 10 kilos is reasonable given I'm near...

My first ever club run! Out to Odiham with the Charlotteville CC . A round trip of 60 miles or so and some fine company. Quite mild compared to Saturday. I think this is the way to go on these cold winter weekends ... beats beasting around the Surrey Hills on my lonesome ... that will start in January!

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...

What a depressing moment - taking off the conti gp4000s summer tyres and replacing them with a set of spesh armadillos. Winter training has arrived. Mind you, its flooded out there and I've picked up the flu so bike maintenance is about all I can look forward to. winter is well and truly here

All setup for base training ... ok, so it will all get shipped up to the pad in Brum tonight but you get the general picture. Nice bit of kit the computrainer ... lots of new things to learn. It doesn't do the workouts for you though - so that'll be the same as last year!

Either I've lost cycling fitness due to running or the Computrainer has brought me back down to earth** ... or maybe a bit of both. I did 1 hour on the CT last night in my Endurance HR zone (132-145) and had to keep the load at 150 watts. Strength? What Strength. I guess I'm back to square one. At least I've got tools I can trust and it is the beginning of base training. I've got almost 7 months to prepare for La Marmotte and I know where I am starting from. More importantly, this year I understand what matters and what doesn't. Here are my estimated zones based upon an FTP of 250 watts (HR then Watts); Recovery 131 or lower, 139 or lower Endurance 132-145, 140-189 Tempo 146-152, 190-227 Threshold 153-162, 228-264 V02max 163+, 265-302 Anaerobic Capacity 163+, 303+ I don't feel ready for a proper FTP test - dusting off the cobwebs from the running. I'll do a test next weekend making sure I get a bit of rest beforehand. So for now I reckon 250w on the CT is re...

My wife Samantha has got a place in the FLM via a charity! How cool is that? You won't catch me in my runners though ...