by hattenburrow | Feb 17, 2016 | Training
This week I have been having a rest. After a few weeks hard training my body needed a well earned break from training for a few days. Last week I had low energy levels and found my concentration was all over the place.
It’s important to remember that while your resting your muscles are recovering and growing. This is something I struggle with as I’m not very good at chilling out, I am on the go most of the time, even on rest days I like to go on walks and stay active. So when my coach said I should have a rest week I couldn’t quite get my head around the idea of a week of no exercise. After my long ride on Saturday, when I had felt very tired, I decided to listen to my body and planned to take three days off to recover.
Since Sunday I have been concentrating on building my core strength doing Pilates, foam rolling and stretching this has been really energising and I feel like my body feels better for having a rest and a stretch.
Tomorrow is my first test of the year! An all out effort loop as flat our as I can for an hour, this is going to be fun (and by fun I mean tiring and painful).
I’ll let you know how it goes! 🙂
by | Feb 14, 2016 | Training
Now five hours riding with a coffee shop stop sounds like my ideal kind of day! However 5 hours non-stop on a training ride where you are not supposed to stop at all is hard work both mentally and physically to do.
Last weekend I rode my first five hours since my knee started to give me pain. I sorted out my nutrition before I left making sure I had fuel for every hour and enough water to keep me going for a good few hours too. I have recently started using a water bladder in my run sac so I can carry 2 liters on my back as well as a water bottle. My new Specialized Era only has room for one waterbotttle as t has a very compact frame to increase the stand over height for women.
When I set out the weather was good as I rode towards buster hill and had a loop planned which would include all the good hills in the area.
The first two hours went by quickly and I felt good keeping my heart rate over 150bpm as much a is could, on long rides, especially on the road on your own it can get a bit dull I always look for spots in the distance or if I’m on a route I know only allow myself to think as far as the next hill or obstacle this keeps me focused on riding at a good even pace and means I don’t get phased by the distance still to go.
By hour 3 I had reached my next considerable climb, Harting hill this one was a killer and left me with not much left in the tank! I had my third snack, a banana and carried on towards my next goal.
The weather had started to close in and the wind had picked up as I rode past Funtington it took all my energy just to stay in a straight line against the wild wind.
Long rides are as much psychological as physical and as I got near the turning for home with just under an hour to go it was hard to turn back away from home but by this time I had a new goal! I had been doing around 20km per hour so my new plan was to hit 100km this was really motivating and helped me push on when my legs were so tired, I piled in the food eating a Torq energy bar, handfuls of salted nuts and a malt loaf slice for good measure in my last hour riding.
By the time I got home I was exhausted I had left it all out on the road. I was really proud with my achievement.
Overall I covered 100km climbed 1,261 meters and burnt 1,528 calories in 5 hours. My average heart rate was 141 and my max was 177 which is encouraging as I know I can push it higher than that and go faster.
My goal is to beat this 100km time before I go snowboarding in March.
by hattenburrow | Feb 1, 2016 | Training
I can’t believe today is the 1st February! January has gone so quickly at this rate the Trans Alp will be here very quickly…
I started January feeling positive about the improvements in my knee and mega excited about being supported by Specialized for 2016. When I got the phone call from Olivia to say when I could come in for my bike fit it felt like Christmas all over again!
I went up to Specialized HQ to have my bike fit at the start of January it went really well and I was amazed at how the minute changes made such a difference to my riding position and comfort. Red more about my bike fit here.
Since my bike fit I have really pushed my training to the next level, (apart from a blip week getting over a cold) I have been increasing my training load and pushing my body out of my comfort zone.
The last two weeks Michelle and I have combined our long distance training rides, on Saturday I went to Guildford and we rode around the Surrey Hills up Leith Hill and Newlands Corner getting in some great single-track sections in Peaslake and Holmbury Hill. We climbed over 1,200m over 4 hours which was good going, I think we might need to do more sessions like this!
I feel my stamina and fitness is really improving and I am looking forward to increasing the miles over the coming weeks.
So far in January I have ridden 384.41 miles burning 11,913 calories in 35 hours.
Although I have only been able to ride my new bike off-road a couple of times, I have found the 29er more efficient over rough ground it doesn’t feel like I lose as much power.
I had never ridden a full suspension bike, doing XC racing my bike choice has always been down to weight and how much power I can transfer through the pedals, something a ‘normal’ full suspension is less effective at. Enter the brain! The brain is built around an inertia valve which can tell the difference between me pedalling and moving around to a bump coming from the ground. (A weighted mass sits on a light spring, limiting the flow of oil. On smooth terrain, this means oil is not flowing, so the suspension stays firm for efficient pedalling. When the wheel strikes a bump, the weighted mass overcomes the spring, immediately allowing oil to flow and the shock to become active. Once the compression of the bump is complete, the rebound action combined with the spring push the mass back in place, limiting the oil flow again, and instantly putting the shock back to firm.) So far this has been really amazing I have been really surprised going uphill on smooth stuff I don’t feel like I am losing any power and then as soon as I hit the single-track the suspension kicks in allowing the bike to maintain momentum over rough ground and has improved my control and confidence when things getting a bit hairy!
Looking forward to testing my new bike on more trails over the next few weeks.
by | Jan 23, 2016 | Training
Today was the my long ride day. My ride was set to be 4 hours long in tempo heart rate for 220 mins (heart rate between 150 – 160 bpm).
I set out with Michelle my partner for the Trans Alp from Petersfield on a loop I had planned with as many hills in it as possible! Our first big ascent was Butser Hill, which usually has awesome views out to the sea from the top, today not so great!
After climbing Butser we made our way down and around to Liss, I was keen to take my new full suspension bike off road so we headed to the wood to try out some of the single track around Liphook. Living in the South Downs we are really lucky to have such amazing riding all around.
The new Era was such a comfortable ride, the 29er rolls smoothly over lumps and bumps once the bike is moving it just seems easier to maintain momentum.
After our ‘playtime’ off road we headed back to the tarmac to finish our long ride.
Altogether we clocked up 47 miles in 4 hours and 10 minutes, we climbed over a 1000m which was a great achievement but far off the 19,000m we will do over 7 days in the alps!
As ever all great rides end with cake today we stopped at Madelines Delicatessen for a slice of Almond and apricot cake totally awesome worth checking out this place.
I am excited to be back training properly again and working hard towards my first race, Battle on the Beach in March.
This week I have done 9 hours training so far and clocked up just over 100 miles. I am pleased with my progress and enjoying learning how to get the most out of my new bike.
My coach added a sprints interval session and a flat pedal technique session to my normal routine, it is good to have new challenges and goals to work towards. I have forgotten how tough sprints were so its nice to be out pushing my body to new limits.
by hattenburrow | Jan 22, 2016 | Training
Last week I went to specialized to pick up my new Era, I met Olivia from specialized who took me to meet the guys doing my bike fit Murph and DA.
I had a body geometry bike fit which started with talking about my background and any injuries I had sustained. This was a relatively short list, however I find it interesting the few injures I have had seem to all be related back to my back injury from years ago kitesurfing. My top tip, when you have a physio and exercises keep doing them and then go to Pilates to keep your core strong, it’s like any muscle if you don’t use it, you lose it and it impacts on other muscles.
I then had a physical assessment to check my alignment, leg length and flexibility. During this we also looked at the contact points on the bike so shoes, gloves and saddle. To find out what size saddle I needed I had to sit on a piece of memory foam which recorded where my sit bones were, from this Murph (one of the fitters) could work out the best width saddle for me.
One of the parts I found really interesting was this heat mat that I put my feet on and it showed where the parts of my feet where connected to the ground. Doing this test was really interesting because I learnt that I have very high arches in both my feet, which don’t collapse when I am standing, which is good. This was interesting to find out as I have always struggled with finding supportive footwear and now know why!
Because of my high arches I had special green insoles designed for people with high arches out in my new s-works shoes I immediately felt more supported on the inside of my foot.
After a few more tests it was time to get on the bike, the information Murph and DA had collected from the tests helped them to pin point changes that needed to be made straight away.
Once I was on the bike they wired up the joints of my body so that they could see my movement patterns on the computer screen.
Using side analysis they looked at my full leg extension which determined whether my saddle needed to be higher, which it did. This also helped judge how far forward to push my saddle to create more of a bend in my elbows.
The front camera showed my hip, knee and foot alignment, as I was already aware that I have one knee that moves towards my frame more than it should DA looked at my cleat position and step up and we moved my cleats to help correct my knee alignment. This was also helped by the new supportive insoles.
I get a funky bend in my wrist which seemed to happen whether my hands were wide on the bar or not, Murph cut 35mm off each end of the bar which seemed to suit my riding position.
They also looked at my riding position from behind which highlighted an issue I was having with my saddle, my left hip would drop and I had to keep moving myself backwards to get comfortable. We tried a variety of different saddles. The last one was, called power, it seemed to lock me into a stable position and also felt like my weight was distributed more evenly between my sit bones.
A little video of the bike fit:
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This process was really thorough and we spent a long time making little tweaks until I was in my optimal riding position.
I am now going to ride the bike for a couple of weeks and see if there are any little niggles that need ironing out.
I was really impressed with the whole fit and how such small tweaks can make such a difference. From having such an in-depth fit I have realised how important it is for your bike to fit you properly to be comfortable and also to make the most of the power you create! This is going to be especially important during the Trans Alp as I will be riding my bike for around 5/6 hours a day for 7 days.
Thank you Murph and DA for a brilliant fit and cuppa T! A massive thanks to Specialized for supporting my 2016 race season, I can’t wait to race my new Era.
Follow my journey to the Trans Alp on Twitter and Instagram
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
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by hattenburrow | Jan 13, 2016 | Training
My winter training didn’t get off to the best start, running during my off the bike month created a problem with my knee, probably due to a weak core and pretty naff hip flexors! So I had to go back to basics working on my core strength and hip flexor mobility. An MRI showed that my knee is actually in pretty good condition which was great news and meant I could concentrate on doing light training.
Over the past two weeks I have been concentrating on increasing the miles using tempo rides. Having had a sore knee I have been working closely with my coach to steadily build my training back up.(Velo Coaching)
I have been doing 2-hour tempo rides (heart rate zone 3). Training this way (avg HR 155 BPM) achieves 2 things, it allows me to condition my aerobic system whilst gradually building my base aerobic capacity without having to ride for hours in HR zone 2. Riding in this heart rate zone also maintains my lactate threshold by working the upper limits of my aerobic capacity.
The other key session is hill repetitions, as I am gradually building back up to the level of training I would be expecting to do. I have found a hill which begins with a gradual climb and then a steeper lip. I do each rep trying to stay in the hardest gear possible, this works like on the bike weight training!
I find this very tiring and painful but enjoy feeling my muscles burn and my heart beat fast because I know I am doing everything I can to get my fitness back on track and build a solid foundation on which to increase my anaerobic capacity. After each rep I have a 3 minute recovery period.
On Friday I get my new bike from Specialized which is exciting. They have kindly agreed to support my 2016 season so during the year I will be racing and training on one of the most beautiful bikes I have ever seen! I can’t wait to see how going from riding a 27.5 to a 29er effects my training and racing results.
