I have recently started training ready for my solo and pair 24 hour races later on in the year. They feel very far off at the moment, I know from experience that it takes a while for your body to adapt to training.
One of the best ways to improve your power is to use hill repeats, these sessions usually take between one hour and one hour 30 so are ideal for fitting into lunch breaks and before work.
The training session.
Depending on your level of fitness would depend on the amount of reps. I set myself 8.
Warm up for a good 15/20 minutes in heart rate (HR) zones 1 and 2 if you’re a HR meter
3 min power climb to the top of the hill push as hard as you can, I find counting to 10 before switching gears makes me push harder (zone 5 HR)
Use the lap button on your Garmin to record each climb
Free wheel down the hill and have a 3 min rest
Repeat 5 – 8 times
Easy cool down for 15 mins
Spending time in the pain-cave can really help to improve your stamina, threshold power and determination to push that little bit further or faster. You goal over this session should be to maintain the speed in which you climb the hill consistently over each rep and to improve your recovery between reps.
To find some great tips on hill climbing check out the British Cycling website.
The shortest day of the year may be behind us but winter is in full swing! Winter is a great time to put in some base training and work on your overall fitness for the spring/summer.
Here are my top tips:
Running: I am not a natural runner, but during the winter I like to put on my trainers, wrap up warm and head out for a 20/30 minute run to stretch my legs, release some endorphins and enjoy being active outside. Try adding some squat jumps or lunges to your run to build leg strength.
Strength & Conditioning in the gym: Working on your general strength is really important, cycling is a non-load bearing sport so putting in some time during the winter to build on your bone strength, build bone density and do some resistance training could really pay off and improve your cycling.
Pilates: Pilates is a fantastic way of keeping your core strength up. Your core muscles keep you in a good riding position, with correct alignment enabling you to ride for longer.
Fartleck Training: Fartlek is Swedish for “speed play,” and that is exactly what it’s all about. Unlike tempo and interval training, fartlek is unstructured and alternates moderate-to-hard efforts over a period of time. After a 15 / 20 minute warm-up, play with speed by cycling faster for short efforts (how short and how hard is up to you), then use an easy effort to recover, this should always be slightly longer than your hard effort. This can be great fun in a group to bring in a competitive element sprinting to the next lampost or end of the road. (Please be aware and careful of the traffic and obstacles)
Training explained
This session mixes up working anaerobically and aerobically.
Anaerobic exercise is a physical exercise intense enough to cause lactate to form. It is used by athletes in non-endurance sports to promote strength, speed and power.
Aerobic exercise is any physical activity that makes you sweat, causes you to breathe harder, and gets your heart beating faster than at rest. It strengthens your heart and lungs and trains your cardiovascular system to manage and deliver oxygen more quickly and efficiently throughout your body. Aerobic exercise uses your large muscle groups, is rhythmic in nature, and can be maintained continuously for at least 10 minutes.
I have been really impressed with the products I have tasted and this is no exception!
During my 3 hour training ride I used this as an energy snack. The session was mid to high intensity and I found I had to slow down to eat this bar. However the taste was brilliant a mixture of wholegrain oats, fruit pieces, pumpkin seeds and peanuts. It was the right balance of flavours and the mix sweet and savoury.
The texture was like a normal cereal bar and it was easy to chew when riding at a steady pace.
I found later during my ride that my energy levels had been maintained and I did not get a sugar rush or a low which was great. On long rides you want your fuelling to maintain your energy levels for the duration of your workout without major changes in your energy levels.
Nutritional Information:
Nutrition Information
per 100g
per bar (40 g)
Energy kJ (kcal)
1549 (367)
620 (147)
Fat
7,2 g
2,9 g
of which saturates
2,6 g
1,0 g
Carbohydrate
65 g
26 g
of which sugars
22 g
9,0 g
Fibre
5,8 g
2,3 g
Protein
7,2 g
2,9 g
Salt
0,33 g
0,13 g
Magnesium
180 mg
72,0 mg
(48%**)
(19%**)
I would recommend this bar for a pre-training snack and on long steady training rides its great to have as a crunchy snack.
Earlier in the year I took part in the Trans Alp bike race. For the race I rode the Specialized ERA Comp. The brain technology in the shock made for a super comfortable ride without loosing power going up hill. The Era is a brilliant bike for long distance mountain biking because the full suspension allows the bike to keep excellent traction and provides a comfortable ride, whilst the 9mm FACT carbon frame is light and means that the bike is agile. The rear shock uses’ Fox/Specialized Brain technology which means the bike understands and adapts to the ground underneath it, it knows if the shock is coming from the terrain or from me and adjusts itself accordingly. Pretty cool stuff!
Sorry for the long period of silence it has taken me some time to put my thoughts into sentence form!
Since competing the Trans Alp at the end of July life has been somewhat bizzare… I came back full of memories of the highs and lows and buzzing from achieving my dream to complete my first stage race.
The Trans Alp was a magical time where life was completely consumed by racing. The year leading up had also been consumed by training, after a week of re-telling the story and the excitement that we had achieved it, I hit the ‘what happens next’ wall. I found it difficult to describe how I was feeling, but down pretty much covers it, after such a high it was a massive low and for a good few weeks I couldn’t get on my bike for the shear fact that I didn’t know why.
I decided to take the pressure off trying to find the next thing and spend some time enjoying cycling with friends and family which was fun.
Getting out and having some chilled time on my bike was great and gave me time to clear my head and think about what was next.
After a coffee ride with my Mum one day she said why don’t we do a challenge together! after lots of discussion we have now decided to do London to Paris next year which I am super excited about!
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