by | Aug 24, 2015 | Racing
Pedal 2 Pedal travelled to the last in the Southern XC Series at Checkedon. I have been working hard on my endurance ready for my 12 hour solo next week and have not raced a cross-country race since June.
I was feeling strong and enjoyed my practise lap. Arriving back in time to see Fred take 5th place in the under nines and Ollie take 11th in the under 11’s. Well done boys! Head over to Pedal2Pedal for their write up.
As I have done no technical training for a couple of months I stuck with the B line even though I knew this would cost me time.
It was soon time to grid and I lined up on the front line with four other elite girls. When the whistle went I got squeezed and was not fast enough to react and lost my position. I have always found grass energy sapping and today was no exception the short grass loop to spread out the feel was exhausting I went into the single track struggling to stay with the group.
The singletrack was made up from lots of rooty corners and long fast straights I enjoyed the twisty tight singletrack and on the long straights pushed as hard as I could. My heart rate was averaging around 162 which is low, compare to what I know I can handle but I just couldn’t push any harder.
After the first lap the rain was really starting to come down making the roots slippy, I had to slow down on some of the root sections as I had quite hard tyres which did not grip as well, I had decided to keep them harder to stop the possibility of getting a puncture but now doubted this decision!
I worked hard for the next four laps catching glimpses of the other girls as the singletrack traversed through the wood.
After five laps I had consistently kept my lap times around 19 minutes which I am pleased with. I was frustrated that I lost the rest of the field and need to work on my speed ready for next year.
I surprisingly took third place which I was happy with but disappointed not to be able to close the gap.
Thank you so much to Bike Fixers, Steve has kept my Silverback in tip top condition. Thank you to Grip Grab and Dog Tag for supporting me and the rest of Pedal 2 Pedal.
by | Aug 15, 2015 | Training
Today I did my second vo2 session of the week! These are lung busting short sharp efforts with minimal rest in between.
I have been at home this week so found a loop on quiet country roads which was around 2 miles and sprinted round as fast as I could.
My best time was 6 mins 33 seconds with a max heart rate of 186 bpm.
I did four efforts which is an increase of one effort and between each one I had a 2 min rest.
Altogether I did 19 mins at my threshold heart rate (between 168 – 186) which i am really pleased with.
by | Aug 8, 2015 | Racing
Yesterday I rode my first ever mountain bike super marathon, 100km. The Scott MTB Monster Marathon in Wantage, Oxfordshire. I had not had the best start with a few weeks of bumpy training and no time for long rides. I was hoping that the short sharp vo2 sessions which have helped improve my fitness would be enough to pull me through. To add to this it was my Dad and Sarah’s wedding on Friday so after a wonderful day and long night I hadn’t had a lot of sleep and had a belly full of cake and wine!
I drove up to Oxford apprehensive about the distance, the furthest I had ever been on a mountain bike but excited about the challenge.
The start was delayed by 15 minutes as people got stuck in London because of Ride London. Which reminded me of the absence of Martyn, who was meant to be accompanying me on this latest adventure…
When the horn finally went my relaxed start meant I was quite far back, I worked hard through the field to try and get in a good spot before the single track. I managed this relatively successfully and turned into the singletrack in a good position.
The first hour passed quite quickly, I thought the feed zone was at 21km it turned out to be at 17km which had taken me an hour; this worried my slightly as I had planned my own rations around when I could replenish. I picked up half a banana and re filled my water bottle.
The next couple of hours went by without a hitch I was happy I put more air I’m my tyres as I flew by lots of people with punctures. The hills were easy climbs but in the heat felt hard.
The views were amazing up on the ridgeway I could see for miles which took my mind off how long I had been riding for. The ground was chalky and rutty in most places with some loose rockie climbs and descents. A few road sections linked together the mainly double and single track course including one road through a valley where the wind seemed to be pushing me backwards.
The first 70km I felt happy with my pace and progress. I had a slight head ache due to the heat and being slightly dehydrated. At 76km I reached the final feed station snacking on peanuts and bananas I was starting to feel tired. Luckily I met a fellow cross-country racer and chatting about racing helped the time to pass quicker! When the 10km to go sign came I was really excited to be so close to finishing but also sad that my first 100km was coming to an end.
Crossing the finish line was a relief and being able to grab a cold drink felt very rewarding!
My first 100km was a great experience and I learnt a lot. I think in reflection maybe I needed to drink more in the first two hours. Also I think I would have been better with a more salty snack. Malt loaf was great but I craved salt so would try something savoury next time.
by | Jul 16, 2015 | Training
The pressure of moving house has really impacted on my training and in the last three weeks ive missed two races including the national championship race and hardly sat on my bike for more than 30 minutes!
Martyn and I are now finally settled in our first home together and ready for the challenge of renovating! I do wonder sometimes how im going to manage renovating, working, coaching and training but where there’s a will there’s a way!
The decision to not train over the last couple of weeks has been really hard I feel guilty for not training but with so much going on my body started to show signs that it needed a break from the pressure before it cracked.
I am now feeling more settled and having unpacked most of our stuff the house is starting to feel more like a home and so I feel comfortable enough to start training again and not feel like there is loads of other jobs to do on top of that.
Training started with a bang yesterday. A tempo session for two hours, after 20 minutes I wondered how I could even ride for two hours let along at any pace. Luckily it did get easier and I finished my two hours feeling good for achieving something I had felt was impossible.
After uploading my results to training peaks it’s clear to see that my time spent at tempo was low compared to what I’m capable of. This I aim to change.
I think this break has made me rethink my priorities it is really important when you have such a small focus to sometimes step back and see if that still sits with your values and I believe that training and racing does still belong as a big part of my life, however I would like to keep challenging myself. Part of this development has been moving from cross country to longer endurance rides which so far seem to suit me.
My next focus race is now the Scott MTB Mega Marathon at the start of August. After this I will be preparing for Torq 12:12 and taking it on solo!
Wish me luck…
Thanks to all my sponsors and support network I couldn’t do it without you. x
by | Jun 5, 2015 | Training
Now don’t get me wrong I love racing, the buzz of arenas the blood sweat and sometimes tears that have got me to the race. The starts, fast and furious, seeing my heart rate busting over 180 and knowing ive got laps to go, and having the determination to keep going! It’s all a huge adrenaline rush. BUT there is a part of racing which this week ive found really tough and that is not being able to just get out and ride. I love being on my bike, but training and riding are very different. I have a training program which I have to stick to and I understand the importance of structure to my training but this week I just wanted to ride my bike, not worry about the pressure of training and enjoy the satisfaction I get form cycling.
To me cycling has become more than just a hobby it has become a routine, a lifestyle choice to train, eat, sleep, repeat (okay not that regimented) but you get the idea! My goal this year was to take on longer races and challenges and so far I have done one… I got sucked back into chasing points in XCO but have had goals set out to change this and so I shall starting next week with my first ever six hour race. I will continue to race XCo because I love it but have re focused my attention on endurance.
Last weekend Martyn and I went to London which was fantastic it was nice to spend some quality time together and as I find it almost impossible to relax when I’m at home it was nice to feel totally free of any worries.
I came back this week hungry to ride and not ‘train’ I wanted to get out and explore not get out and do hill reps!
I feel okay about feeling like this after all im only human and the pleasure I get from cycling is not training it’s the pleasure of being on my bike pushing myself towards my next adventure.
So this week I made a decision not to race on the weekend instead, I would concentrate funnily enough, on a long training ride and do something new! A charity road ride, my charity Dreams Come True were entering a ride where some of the proceeds will go to the charity, having done Ride London two years in a row I have done road rides before but I thought it would be really fun to cycle with new people and enjoy riding my bike.
Saturday I am going to put in a long five hour ride to fulfil my training needs, I am feeling very positive about my up and coming first ever six hour race next weekend followed by my first ever 24 hour race. My training has gone well I feel physically up for it and mentally prepared for hours turning the pedals.
When you set yourself a goal is is important to revisit the reasons behind setting that particular goal and see if that still sits with who you are and where your going.
This year my goal was to do some endurance races to see whether this suited the type of ride I have become and so far I have completed Battle on the Beach. I have two six hour and one 24 hour race on the cards and am on the look out for more challenging events I can accomplish.
To me the motivation of achieving what I set out to do is what I strive for. Knowing that I said I would do it and then doing it! I have also decided on a big challenge for 2016 so watch this space….
Bring it on!
