Early Morning Cadence Workout
This morning I ventured out in -6, I new it must be cold because my water froze in the bottle!
Here are some pictures of the sun rise over Petersfield.
New Year, New Challenges
As it’s the start of the New Year I have heard a lot of friends new years resolutions, to join the gym, stop drinking or eating sugar. My new years resolution is to gather as much experience in endurance racing as I can and establish my first year riding in the Elite category.
I am under no illusion that this is going to be tough not only in moving up to the sharp end of racing but also taking on a new longer distance and essentially having to adapt my physiology to be able to cope with the increase in distance. Where cross country racing is short and sharp with races not being over an hour and 30 mins, I have predominately for most races been anaerobic for most of the time (heart rate above 170bpm). Endurance racing is going to require me to work aerobically to be able to take on food in order to fuel the long distance.
With this in mind I have been scouring the Internet for events and came across the UK’s only beach race. Looking at the photos and reading about the event I decided this would be a great first long distance race for me to tackle. I also managed to convince Martyn that he should race too for moral support, he reluctantly agreed.
So a little bit of information on Battle of The Beach. It is 25 miles (40km) of beach, singletrack and double track and the race loops three times around this 7-mile course.
Taking place in Pembrey Country Park, South Wales on March 21 – 22nd . There is a weekend of racing including roller racing on the Saturday, a youth race and many categories in the main event on Sunday afternoon (including my open female race). The trophies for first, second and third look awesome and there is also prize money for the top three in the open male and female races, bonus!
I have done a little research on the results from last year where the winning female had impressive lap times of around 31 minutes making her travelling speed 14 mph, on the beach! That is as far as I’m concerned, super speedy and has motivated me to increase my speed training.
To increase my ‘spinning’ capability Mark my coach has set me the task of high cadence sessions working up to a cadence of 130 rpm! At the moment I can’t reach 130 rpm, but with practice I am getting closer! The idea of these sessions is to get me used to a higher cadence, which will eventually allow my heart rate to drop so I can work aerobically for longer during endurance events.
So far my training for this season is going really well I clocked up 475 miles in 37 hours in December.
I am going to keep a diary of my training and my progression towards 14mph off road consistently which is my goal for March and Battle of the Beach.
The early Bird Catches the Worm.. Or Something Like That!
This year I have been promoted to elite and taken on a new challenge of endurance racing! Its similar to cross country with a mix of open trail and singletrack, but the distances start at around 24 miles which is a vast difference from the short sharp cross country racing I am used, where laps are around 3 – 5 miles long.
As this is going to be a big change for me I decided to hire a coach to help me plan my training and focus.
So far this is working really well. Mark Grange at Velo Coaching writes my weekly programme and we use Training Peaks to log and monitor my training. The system links directly into my Garmin making it simple and easy to use.
Like most people I work full time. I usually train 5 days a week, which is a lot of hours to get in! I also run my own coaching company on the side so sometimes trying to fit in time to spend with loved ones and training all seems a bit much.
To balance out this training load I have started training before work starting around 6.30/7.00. I am able to get a good hour or two of training in at a time when I would usually be tucked up in bed! Being an early bird this doesn’t affect me and as long as I’m in bed by 10.30 I haven’t found that the reduction in sleep has impacted on me.
Getting up early is about mental determination and also preparation the night before. I get all of my stuff out and ready. Clothes on the radiator, shoes at the door, lights on the bike, then its just a case of rolling out of bed and getting out of the door!
The other part of this is having a clear goal, especially when its dark and raining, going out with no really clear goal is tough. Therefore having a clear training plan and knowing exactly how long and what I have to achieve in that time makes it easier to get up and go.
There is a certain joy to training early. When I first roll out of my driveway its pitch black and the only noises are my breathing and my bikes wheels turning. If I am going through the countryside then ill often meet the odd runner or dog walker but apart from that everything is still. Slowly the birds start to come alive and the sky turns from inky blue to a lighter more brighter shade. It’s a peaceful and pretty time to ride, run or walk. So, if your struggling to keep to your New Year’s resolution to go to the gym or go to a class because of time, then try an early morning run or ride you might just find this is a good time for you too!
Winter training tips to keep you rolling!
After the racing season is over and winter sets in there is a good period of time when cyclists can look to analyse and improve on last years results by putting in some hard endurance miles.
It is important you give yourself a few weeks rest between racing and training to recuperate, then start building up your base. Think of your base as the foundation of your fitness. Building a strong base during the off-season will enable your body to cope better and improve when your pre-season high intensity workouts start.
To maintain and develop your aerobic capacity over the winter you need to put in some long miles. Once or twice a week you should be aiming to get in some long rides, depending on your goals will depend on the length of these sessions, but to improve your aerobic fitness they should be 2 hours plus. They should be done at a pace, which requires little concentration on the training, (for once you will be able to take in the scenery of your rides).
My five tips to winter training success are;
Set a goal and get a training plan. Going from the structure race season to an off-season can leave you feeling a bit, lost! To keep on track set your 2015 goal in October and work your training out for the off and pre season aiming for your goal or goals.
Make sure you have good tyres on your bike whether its road or mountain bike your going to need more tread and potentially a lower tyre pressure to add to your grip.
Wear enough layers and don’t forget your head, feet and hands. Good gloves and over shoes are a must especially for long sessions, lost feeling in your toes and fingers will lead to cutting your training short.
Mix it up, the winter is a good time for cyclists to do some strength training to build strong core muscles.
Don’t forget to drink. When riding in the cold, it’s easy to forget to drink but, with warm winter kit on, you could still be losing significant fluids through sweat and compromising your performance.
Winter begins!
Today I officially started my winter training after a couple weeks off. Winter training means lots of endurance miles and strengthening up my core ready for the new season in March.
With a clear weather forecast I opted for the slightly more fun off road ride. Starting in Petersfield I headed out to Queen Elizabeth Country Park (QECP). A good road warm up climb brought me to the back of QECP and yes another climb this time a fire road climb which are the down pour over the last couple of days had left leaves sprawled out over the chalk making for slippy riding to say the least!
I headed further up and onto the new blue trail which weaved through the trees, its a good blue great for beginners as the corners are nicely spaced and the gravel surface is beading in well to make a hopefully winter resistant trail!
Making my way onto the red trail it was great to be out on my bike again, the air was cold but from all the climbing I was toasty warm as my bike swooped down the steep red sections. Dodging puddles as I went, partly not wanting to get wet and partly as my tyres were pumped slightly too hard for sticky wet riding.
Working my way back to the top of QECP the sun shone low through the trees making seeing far ahead difficult so I had to slow down. This gave me time to take in the scenery the stunning colours of the leaves burnt orange and golden brown contrasted against the bright green moss.
The trails always look different in the winter, more severe, as the leaves retreat and the trees are left bare. Winter riding brings new challenges, not only how to keep warm but the clear line through the trail has now vanished and in its place is thick layer of mud ready to swallow your back wheel should you enter a corner with too much speed. The opportunity now presents itself to be the ‘black sheep,’ as following where those other bike tracks have gone is going to end up in the goo, so the game is now find the line around the mud that is still on the trail!
With the red completed it was now time to head back up the blue and on home. The sun was fading quickly which pushed me onwards and upwards towards home.
Finishing the blue climb I took a slight wrong turn and ended on a gem of a singletrack run which soon spat me out onto the road lower down than I expected in the village of Buriton. Rolling into my drive it dawned on me how much of the trail seemed to still be stuck to my bike!
Summer Essentials
As a mountain biker you wait all year in anticipation for that day when it’s not dark by the time you get back from work, you spend more time on your bike than hosing it and your self down and getting lost finding trails becomes fun and not a race to get back home before the light fades and leaves you in darkness.
All that commitment to riding over the winter pays off when the days get longer, the trails get dustier and the scenery changes from orange and brown to a carpet of green.
So here are my top tips for summer off road riding;
Short Sleeved Jersey – A good lightweight jersey with ventilation and a long zip is great for summer riding check out Outfoxed for some cool options!
Light weight gloves – To avoid hot sticky hands grab a pair of lightweight summer riding gloves which will breathe but protect your hands. My suggestion would be Grip Grab Shark gloves with built in forehead wiper!
Sun glasses with reflective lens – A good pair of cycling glasses or goggles will probably come with a selection of lenses, changing to a reflective lens in the summer will help reduce the glare to enable you to focus on your ride. My suggestion would be DHB triple lens glasses they are the best value and great quality with good lenses and light weight for summer riding.
Lip balm with SPF – Really important to avoid that sticky feeling when riding and to protect your lips from the suns rays. My suggestion would be Nivea’s sun stick it doesn’t seem to melt in the heat which is a bonus!
Hydration tabs – Staying hydrated is so important especially when riding for long periods in the sun. The best way to keep vital electrolyte and fluid in take optimal is to take a hydration tab in your water bottles. My suggestion would be High 5 they do some great flavours and I’ve always found them to be reliable.
Sun cream – Pretty obvious I’m sure but wearing sun cream will protect you against harmful rays, even if your going to a relatively shaded area you will be surprised how easy it is to burn the back of your neck when riding. My suggestion take cream with you and layer it on, always go for a water proof / sweat resistant formula.
Light weight water/wind proof – I am sure I’m not alone in feeling a chill when the sun goes behind a cloud or the wind picks up. Having a light weight wind proof jacket that you can slip on while you much on lunch or stop to admire the view will be beneficial. I would suggest Giant/Liv jacket its really light and great for keeping the wind off.