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!
by | Jan 28, 2015 | Training
Over the weekend I went on two long endurance rides, on Saturday I had planned a long four hour off road ride along the South Downs Way (SDW). The ride started well working my way through QE Park which is one of my favourite places to train. I crossed the a3 and continued up Butser Hill which is a hard climb on and off road. The view from the top was spectacular across the Meon Valley.
I then followed the SDW along towards Old Winchester Hill, the weather was brilliant but days of rain made it sticky going, when I reached the top of Old Winchester Hill a walker said I wouldn’t go down there it’s very muddy I doubt you will be able to break! I thanked the man and thought how bad can it be!
It turned out breaking was the least of my problems! The cloying mud stuck to my tyres like glue until there was such a thick layer my wheels wouldn’t turn! A new game presented itself, how much mud can I allow to clog up my wheel before I have to find a good stick to pull it all off. Progress was painfully slow and all I kept thinking about was getting to the road. I could hear a road ahead but on asking walkers found out it was around 3 miles to Exton and the escape from the mud! I continued for a while push, get stuck, pull all the mud off. By this time my over-shoes kept coming off my toes because to the build-up of mud and my feet were soaked. Thinking of the positives I was out in the fresh air in the sun what better way to spend a Saturday. I soon met a mountain biker coming in the opposite direction his destination was QE Park, where I had come from all those hours ago! By now I had been riding for 3 hours and riding and walking for around 10 minutes. He said it would be worth carrying my bike the rest of the way, which I decided to do and although my beautiful carbon Silverback is usually as light as a feather today, clogged with mud and unrecognisable it was far from it!
Carrying went okay but in bike shoes with very little grip it was slow going through the group.
I finally made a rideable bridleway and headed towards to sound of the road slowly but surely I made it!
By this time I had been going for nearly four hours had very little water left and had only one decent snack left so I had an energy gel, something I would usually only have in a race. It gave me a little boost which got me to my destination of Corhampton to look at a house Martyn and I are interested in. I then turned round and rode back where I had come from up through a pretty village called Warnford, turning right back towards Old Winchester Hill the climb was slow and with little energy every pedal stroke was tough. I finally made it to the top and decided to follow the road as far as I could to miss out any more climbing! I met my outgoing path in a small village and re-joined the SDW. I was relieved to be going down instead of up Butser Hill, I rode slowly passed people and then let my brakes off and let the bike go it was exhilarating the speed and feeling of freedom as I made very quick work of the hill that took a good 10 minutes to climb!
I crossed the A3 and made my way up the blue section of QE Park towards Buriton and home.
Sunday was a new challenge, a three hour tempo ride these are designed to increase my aerobic capacity and my vo2 max, to do this you have to work in a heart rate zone mine is between 148 – 158. I set out spinning to warm up, my legs were a little tired but generally good, I felt in good form as I made my way out of Petersfield towards South Harting. I had a new nutrition plan, to eat a jelly baby or two every 25 mins this worked well for the first hour and a half I felt good and was able to keep pushing a good pace.
About 20 minutes later I hit the proverbial brick wall, after battling with my legs telling me to slow down and my head telling me to stop I turned for home. I reached into my bag and pulled out my last ration, a USN protein and energy bar, these are great and worked well on Ride London, the problem was I was already too fatigued to recover so instead gritted my teeth and pushed on, every pedal stroke seemed like hard work, but slowly and steadily I won the battle and turned my final corner towards home.
Part of my lack of energy was potentially the after burn from Saturdays ride and depleted glycogen in my muscles which I hadn’t managed to completely replace on Saturday before my Sunday ride. This is a factor to think about and plan for in the future.
Sometime you have to listen to your body and know when to call it a day. Looking at the bigger picture if you’re too wiped out to then train for a couple of days, then you’re actually not progressing in your training. Being a time crunched athlete fitting in a job and business I am aware my recovery and training time is a delicate balance between too much and too little.
Our bodies adapt and improve when we are at rest, being a bit of a training nut it’s important to remember that while you might feel great and strong when your lungs are bursting and your racing up hill, that your body actually adapts to this strain when you’re sitting at work or on the sofa.
So for all those just one more mile and then I’ll go home people out there, have a look at your training and recovery load and take a check on how your fitness is changing.
by hattenburrow | Apr 4, 2014 | Inspiration, Training
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”
Is a quote I have always believed in. It has become more apparent recently after dislocating and cracking my elbow it has left me firmly out of my comfort zone, both physically and mentally. I felt like the strength was being sucked out of my arm by the weight of the plaster and the simple things like opening jars seem to take great effort.
Mentally I was fighting demons who keep telling me I’ve screwed up the start of my racing season and put myself on the back foot, which is totally stupid when I know how tough the competition is going to be.
Life has thrown me a curve ball and I’ve decided to catch it, with my good arm!
I may not have been able to get out on my bike or to the gym but you shouldn’t let the present situation stop you from getting to where you want to be.
Thanks to Giant in the first week back from my holiday with my arm in plaster, I rode a total of 135 miles on my turbo trainer in the first week, working on my endurance and pedalling. My focus was on the thought that my racing season is long and apart from my arm I am fit, healthy and hungry for competition.
When I look back it’s clear that life does begin outside your comfort zone.
My fracture clinic appointments brought great news, my consultant was very happy with the progress I had made and now I’m back on my bike and starting to re-discover single track! It has been a long a painful four weeks but I am now ready to start getting back on my bike and start my season.
Tips for training with one arm in plaster:
- Try and set it up outside its far nicer!
- Drink plenty of water.
- Get a mini fan to use to blow cool air down the cast.s
- Try and cycle sitting upright with your arm hanging or in a sling as it maintains a more balanced position on the bike.
by hattenburrow | Mar 29, 2014 | Kit Reviews, Nutrition
I was sceptical when I got my Zip Vit ZV9 protein bar, I liked the idea of chocolate orange, who wouldn’t, but after trying many flavour protein bars the overwhelming taste in all was the protein and the consistency was also chewy and thick.
The ZipVit ZV9 bar was a totally new sensation, the taste was chocolate with a zingy orange tone with no hint of protein taste. The most important factor after how it tastes was the consistency unlike over chewy, dry bars this one was smooth and almost moist.
It was easy to eat the whole bar and when I arrived home I felt satisfied but not bloated and able to eat dinner.
The Zip Vit ZV9 bar has 20g of high quality protein (milk & whey) alongside 25g of easily digestible carbohydrates and a blend of vitamins and antioxidants to help protect against harmful free radicals.
The ZipVit ZV9 is a great grab and go protein source the silver foil keeps the bar in tact in warm weather and although it crumbled in the packet slightly it was easy to eat whilst stretching.
During a race i would still find this difficult to chew, however during a sportive or training ride it would be easy to eat whilst riding.
by hattenburrow | Feb 8, 2014 | Coaching, Training
Last week I revisited the incredible team at Surrey Human Performance Institute for a vo2 max test. My last one was in June, when my vo2 max was 47.5 at a power of 240 watts. I was in the middle of my racing season so took on board the new training program as much as I could but with races every other weekend this wasn’t always easy. Have a look at my plan here.
When my season ended in September I really concentrated on performing anaerobic threshold sessions at a hear rate of 150 – 155 and a wattage of 180 – 200 watts. I have been doing one or two of these sessions a week along with hill sprints and strength and conditioning to build the power in my legs, i am now going to change tact and concentrate on getting in a long endurance ride every week and increasing my leg speed on tempo rides when my heart rate will be low and in a fat burning zone and my leg speed high. This will improve my oxygen use and my cycling efficiency.
After my latest VO2 max test my new VO2 max is 50.7 at a power output of 280 watts. This is a great improvement and i feel happy that all the hardwork working at AT has paid off! I think it also highlights the importance of knowing your numbers and working within heart rate zones as my performance has improved, lets just wait and see how this transfers into racing!
My new anaerobic threshold is 229 watts and a heart rate of 145 – 150. I am now working on my new training program ready for my first race in March.
