A Classic 3 x 20 min Sweet Spot Session

Note: This post draws from Training & Racing With a Power Meter - 2nd Edition by Hunter Allen & Andrew Coggan.  Brillinat book.  Seek, buy and read.

Having spent the winter and the early part of this year building upon my aerobic base, much of this part of the training cycle for La Marmotte is aimed to help build upon my Functional Threshold Power (FTP) - in short, the bigger the number... the better.

To this end I'm spending a fair bit of training time within the Sub Threshold or the "Sweet Spot" aspect of my power profile.  This equates to roughly 88 - 94% of my FTP and is essentially on the verge of the top end tempo and bottom end lactate threshold levels.

While the hours spent at this level are not going to improve my VO2 Max or Anaerobic Capacity, it should help stimulate the bodily adaptations and improvements needed to spend the best part of half a day going over four mightily large mountains come the early part of July.

The graph below taken from my WKO+ shows one of these types of sessions, a classic 3 x 20 min interval ride on the turbo with 10 mins easy spin between each set.

Above: Classic Sweet Spot Session taken from WKO+

For each interval I had planned to stay within a steady wattage range of 278 - 294 - I wasn't bothered about speed, heart rate or cadence.  So, how did the session go?

Interval 1) - Ave Watts: 284

Interval 2) - Ave Watts: 287

Interval 3) - Ave Watts: 286

Perhaps naturally I was really pleased with this workout.  Each of the intervals were well within the limits I'd set for myself and I finished each set feeling strong and fresh.

Hopefully a few more of these over the next few weeks will help me "fly" come July 7th.

Weekend Away…. Cancelled

Sadly I didn’t make it to Bournemouth this weekend for the Wiggle Sportive.  A poorly toddler coupled with a resulting sleepless Friday night meant I chose to stay close to home come the Sunday.  Naturally I was disappointed to miss the ride although I was still able to get out and stretch the legs come the Sunday afternoon.

Hopefully I’ll be able to make the Wiggle Magnificat ride this coming Sunday (June 3^rd).  While coming in at 127 miles is probably a little too long it should give me a psychological view of what it’s like to ride for 7 hours plus.  Something I’m certain to do come the main event in a few weeks time.

Perhaps I’ll see you there?

A Weekend Trip to Bournemouth

Sunshine.  Dusk to dawn wall to wall flipping beautiful sunshine.

Perhaps it’s only me but I’m quite certain the mood in the office has certainly lifted over the past few days with plenty of smiles and perhaps even a hint of laughter wafting over the PC monitors.

This weekend sees me head down to the British Sea Side town of  Bournemouth for one of the Wiggle Super Series Sportive events.   I’m looking forward to it.  The weather looks warmish and the route is shaping up to give my legs a nice workout.  Nothing too strenuous but long enough to help build upon the work I’ve been doing over these past few months.

I had planned to ride a few more of these type of events although for the most part I’ve opted to ride the longer distances within a small group or by on my lonesome. 

While I enjoy sportive riding I’ll be honest and admit there’s a safety element that does concern me.  I’m not too bothered with other cyclists antics (although sometimes the standard of riding can be a little questionable) I do get concerned with the heady mix of 750+ cyclists and what this sometimes does to the odd car driver…..

I’ll report back over the weekend.  Safe riding everyone!

Sunscreen Anyone?

After the grey skies and rain of the weekend just past, what a difference a few days make?

Yesterday and today I hit the road in short sleeves!  No arm or leg warmers and no rain mac in the back pocket either.  Flipping brilliant!

Todays ride was a simple out and back for 90 mins at a brisk pace within my top end endurance and low end tempo zones or roughly 250 watts. 

Up at 5am and out the door half an hour later onto almost empty back roads around Newbury, Yattendon and a few other places within the Berkshire countryside.  Today everything on the ride just clicked. 

My legs felt strong with smooth pedal stroke pushing over the barrel at the top and wiping the mud off the shoes at the bottom.

Even the early rising car drivers were on form this morning with nobody cutting me up or trying to stick me into a hedge.

In the words of the warrior poet Mr Ice Cube ..... today was a good day.

6 Weeks and Counting

With only 6 more Saturdays to go until this years La Marmotte , we’re certainly heading towards the pointy end of the training cycle.

Like no doubt many others taking up the challenge this July, my past weekend was spent out on the bike in the cold and grey English summer.  Despite the greyness and occasional rain shower, I had a really great time with a 2 hour there and back ride on the Saturday and a 5 hour century ride on the Sunday.

For the most part, I’m quietly confident of how things should turn out on the day.  A gold time should be well within reach although of course there are many things that could happen in the run up to, or on the day itself to scupper such plans. 

More of such things to follow….

My Fave Pre Ride Foodage – Eggs & Pasta

Today sees a very quick post and one that shares my all-time favourite pre long ride meal. It’s a simple variation on the classic eggs and rice dish that cyclists and other endurance athletes have been eating for years.

Ingredients:

• 50gms of Orzo or Rice
• 2 fresh eggs
• A handful of black olives (stones removed)
• Fresh Basil for garnish
• Soy Sauce
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper to Season

Method:

Add the pasta or rice to boiling salted water and cook according to the guidance on the packets.

While the pasta cooks, add the seasoned eggs and olives to a pre heated frying pan coated with a thin film of olive oil and scramble the mixture with a fork or wooden spoon according to your taste.

Once the eggs and pasta are cooked, combine the two together on a plate before adding a dash of Soy Sauce and basil to garnish.

Enjoy!

Above: Orzo, Scrambled Eggs & Olives.  Tastes Better than it looks!

Inspired by recipes from within The Feed Zone Cookbook –Biju Thomas & Allen Lim

A Weekend Spent in the Hedgerows of Berkshire

Hello Sun!  Welcome Back!

Last week found me having a really good old British moan about the dull grey and rainy weather we all seem to be having here in the UK.  After all, we’re in the middle of May and I really cant recall a run of weather this poor, this grey and this rainy for many years.

Thankfully things were pretty much all change over this past weekend with sunshine and warmish ambient temperatures from the Friday afternoon to the Sunday early evening. 

Like many others I took the chance to actually get outside and do some riding  in the Berkshire hills away from the turbo which of course made for a welcome change.  Sadly some other annoyance made an unwelcome return which pretty much ruined all three of my rides over the weekend.

Three Rides & 5 Punctures.

Yep.  That’s quite correct. 

This weekend found me getting 5 punctures over the course of 3 rides – I never thought that possible….  Interestingly and perhaps a measure of the rubbish that’s found its way onto the roads over the past few weeks of poor weather only one of these flats came from a pinch.  The other 4 were from bits of flint getting through the tyre or in the worst case (see pic below) a stone had ripped open the sidewall of the tyre.

Above: Front Tyre Ripped Sidewall.  40 - 0 kms/h in secs

This no doubt was one of the most scary things that has happen to me on the bike for some time.  I didn’t see whatever it was that caused the tear although I certainly heard the bang and hissing noise as the front inner tube deflated in a matter of seconds.  This brought me to rapid and very undignified stop in the middle of a narrow little country lane with high hedgerow either side leaving me somewhat exposed as I figured a way out of the predicament.

Upon inspection it quickly dawned on me that my tyre with its ripped sidewall was pretty much toast and I’d have to work out a quick fix to be able to ride the bike home.  Up stepped a used Torq nutrition bar which I inserted into the cavity between a new inner tube and the tyre.  Upon reflation the wrapper made a suitable, if a little fragile, seal against the tube being exposed to other ride side debris and from the rim itself which would probably have caused a pinch flat had I tried to ride the bike home.

As it was, I made it back the 35 mins home without further incident which certainly offset the moodiness of getting the puncture in the first place.

As for the 4 other punctures I had over the weekend, well those are altogether different stories and ones I’m certainly not going to bore anyone with…. For now at least.

I’ll be off to buy a few more inner tubes and CO2 canisters……….

TIme To Rest Up

Note: This is a follow up post to one from earlier in the week that discussed a somewhat hard training session that took me deep into the red.

A coach once told me something I’ve never forgotten - "If you’re still feeling a training session in the legs after 48 hours, then your either doing something wrong or doing too much."

In my case, I suspect it’s the latter. 

The session from last Sunday has really taken it out of me.  My legs are still sore and I’m struggling to produce enough power to stay within a tempo session for more than 20 mins Clearly there is something not quite right going on so I’ve decided, against my normal judgement, to take two complete days off the bike.

When I should be training, I’m going to have my feet up and my nose in a good book.  Hopefully this should help recharge the batteries and let me be fit(ish) for the weekend long rides. 

I know this years La Marmotte is only a bike ride and yet for me it's a whole lot more and something I've worked really hard at for more than half a year.  With only 8 and a bit weeks to go I cant really afford to take any risks.

Can we Have Some Sun Please?

As I type, another long British Bank Holiday weekend spent under grey clouds and rain rapidly draws to a close.  For goodness sakes, I know this is the UK.  I know the weather here is more often rubbish than balmy and yet please, could we have at least a few days of temperatures into the teens with perhaps the odd hour or two of sunshine? 


Really, is that too much to ask for?  At least there's plenty of Snooker to take the mind of it.....

Anyway, I digress.  The last week was the forth in the monthly cycle which for me meant a week spent "recovering".  Perhaps I use such a word a little too lightly as I still managed to get a good nine or so hours into the legs.  What set this past week apart from the previous three was the reduction in overall intensity and a reduced long ride come the weekend.  As it turns out, this was more than welcome.

Given the horrid weather, I opted to get on the turbo for the weekly long ride and somehow I managed to mess the rides nutrition by failing to drink or eat enough during the session.  For some reason I failed to abide by my normal mantra of eating every half an hour and drinking every ten mins which had my head spinning and legs cramping after a little more than three and a half hours.

Lesson learned.  Thankfully I was riding in my front room rather than a few miles from home or lets say half way round La Marmotte. 

The post rides symptoms of dehydration were clear.  A white tongue.  A loss of 2kgs in body weight and a raised body temp nudging 39 degrees. 

Stupid.  Very stupid.

Above: A fetching salt ring around my bib shorts....