by hattenburrow | Jul 8, 2016 | Nutrition, Racing, Training
Anyone who knows me well by now will probably be aware that I am racing across the Alps with team mate Michelle. If you’re unlucky enough to have seen me recently you’re probably bored of hearing about the wave of different emotions that hit me on a daily basis about how I feel about it being so close…
Since starting this journey in October the idea that I actually have to haul myself and my bike up Everest twice has been far on the horizon, a blip in the distance. Well now it’s only a week away that blip is in full focus in my mind and all around me consuming most of my days with thought’s on whether ive done enough training, having I got my nutrition right, what if I brake a spoke have I packed enough brake pads and so the carousel of thoughts goes on…
Last week was a huge training week for me as I crammed in vital miles on the bike around work and play (play being one fun ride with my Dad). I covered 185 miles (one of my biggest weeks) in 15 hours and felt super happy with how everything went.
This is my first stage race and one question I keep asking myself is, why did I pick a 7 day stage race as my first and not maybe 2 or 3! I have learnt so much this year from training and racing I have had some real highs and real lows but feel stronger both mentally and physically for it. I think this year has made me a stronger person all round and I am hoping that strength will help carry me through my first stage race.
I have learnt a lot about myself and really learnt to listen to my body most importantly and I feel more in tune with what’s going on inside and how to get the best out of myself.
Training for an endurance event is a bit like rehearsing for a play, each time I set out I am rehearsing for the big event. Concentrating on my fuelling, listening to my body and improving my pacing.
Having Rachel’s help on my nutrition has enabled me to get a lot more out of my training and improved my focus. She has helped me come up with a fuelling schedule that keeps me feeling on top form.
I feel physically ready for the Alps now, I have been working hard with my coach Mark to up the miles and feel myself getting stronger.
This week I have started to taper off training and have been keeping a watchful eye on my nutrition and making sure I’m getting loads of good food!
Thank you to my coach Mark, Specialized, Bike Fixers, Food for Thought, Grip Grab and Dog Tag and of course all my friends and family keeping me going!
Now all I have to do is pack…
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 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.
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Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
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