This is your 5am alarm call.....

Wakey wakey!!

Today started very much like many of the other Tuesdays over the past couple of months. The shrill of the 5am alarm.  The sigh of annoyance from Mrs T and a groan of realisation from myself that I had better roll out of bed and get myself ready to train. 

I quickly learned back in October of last year that organisation is key to these early morning sessions. 

Everything must be ready to without fuss or it’s too easy to hit the snooze button time and time again and to bail on the session.  To avoid this end I’ve made sure the bike is locked and loaded into the turbo or next to the rollers before going to bed the previous evening.  The same goes for the kit in as much as I’ve got it all ready the night before so upon waking I almost fall out of bed and into a set of bib shorts before my feet hit the carpet.  Of course there have been times when I have hidden under the duvet and decided to train in the evening although for the most part, these morning sessions have treated me well.

Training while fasted

The other aspect of this morning sessions that took a while to get used to was the notion of riding for up to 90 mins in essentially a fasted state.  This was a choice to perhaps help force the body to use some of its fat reserves in the absence of a stomach full of food but also it was a decision based on logistics.  Simply put, there’s no way I’m able to get up early enough to get a good meal down me before waiting the normal time to let it settle before then, and only then, getting my back side onto the bike.  It can’t be done.  Just can’t.

The jury’s out from my point of view on the validity of this type of training as I’m not too convinced I’m not over eating later in the day to compensate for the events in the morning.  That said, I have lost much of my winter coat of lard sooner than normal this year.  This could be a consequence of the early morning sessions burning more fat than in previous years although conversely, this weight loss may also be simply a resultant of the overall volume of training I’m doing.

In any case.  Next week I’m on holiday which nicely coincides with a rest week.  Nice.

TSS on the Rise

What a cracking weekend!  For me, almost wall to wall sunshine which allowed for a good 5 or so hours outside in the saddle.

As the chart shows below, I'm starting to rank up the training (pink line above blue roughly means I'm training harder now than in the past).  This week gave me a TSS score of 478 and a total of 8hrs 45mins of riding.

Above: Pink above blue TSS

So far things are going really well and I'm feeling really strong.  This week and the next will prove a little harder to get the hours in due to work and travel commitments.  Hopefully I'll be able to make up the time - perhaps in my lunch hour.

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Weekly Totals:

Time: 8hrs 45mins

TSS: 478

Distance: 248kms

4 Months and Counting

A quick look and glance over my shoulder to the calendar that's hanging on the wall in my kitchen shows that we are 4 months or so away from the big day.

So far, I'm happy with how things are going.  Touch wood I've been fairly healthy since the New Year and I've been able to keep a steady progression going with my training which has been easier than I thought.

To fit around work and family I've been trying to do my mid week sessions early (as in 5am early) which has meant a little change in the daily routine.  When this hasn't worked I've sometimes taken the bike and rollers to work and have ridden in the car park during my lunch break - I'm gaining somewhat of a reputation for this.......

Anyway.  I'm choosing to be up at 5am so I had better get my head down....

Kentish Killer 2012 - A DNF for Me

So I'm back home, some 70 or so miles away from Brands Hatch down in Kent which for today’s event acted as its start and finish.  My day got off to a relatively poor start with me having forgotten to set my alarm which luckily became superseded by my 13 month old and a well-timed coughing fit from down the hallway.

Breakfasted, changed and ready to get going, the second annoyance of the day greeted me upon getting outside to find my car encrusted with a firm and as it turned out, an almost immovable layer of ice. 

Above: Ice Anyone?

With that remedied I set off into the dawn with the sun popping out into an almost clear blue sky.  The drive was easy and upon arrival at Brands Hatch I parked, walked over to the registration tend and was back out again within 5 or so minuets. 

Good job I thought, most Sportives I’ve ridden require at least half hour of queuing before the off.  Not so here so a big congratulations to the organisers for this.

Above: Brands Hatch in the Morning Sun

8 Mins in and were lost already?

Come my allotted start time I joined 50 or so other people and headed out onto the road.  Sadly within just a few minutes, well 8 if we are counting, our little group of 5 that had formed after an initial kick out from the line came across perhaps 7 or 8 others standing beside a cross-road.  They flagged us down and one of the riders, a member of one of the local clubs, indicated we had taken a wrong turn and that we had better follow him and his group to get back onto the route.

OK I thought, these things happen.  Perhaps we all missed the sign or worse, it had been removed (I gather from other riders that indeed the sign we missed was there.... just that it was hard to see).  In any case we followed this said Gentleman for 15 or perhaps 20 minutes before seemingly re-joining the rest of the riders.  Undeterred we cracked on into the sunshine.

Really, we missed another turn?

An hour or so in and once more it became quite clear we were off the course.  Not lost exactly but not on same route as we should have been.  The simple clue of a nasty little cross road with no marshal and heavy heavy traffic was more than enough evidence. 

So again, myself and the little group of people I was with decided to take a left and head back towards where we thought the route should be and within 20 or so mins we had somehow found our way back amongst other riders with similar numbers on their bars as our own.

 We can't be lost again can we?

Yes we were.  Some two and half hours into the ride and once more we were off route.  At this point I decided to bail. 

I roughly knew I was 20 or so miles away from where Mrs T's family lives and decided to head to theirs for a cup of tea and a lift back to Brands Hatch.  Today was, and hopefully will remain, my first and only DNF from a Sportive.

So what went wrong?

I really don’t know.  I don’t for one moment think this was due to an organisational error but due to me and the group I rode with missing the signage.  That said, we were all surprised to have missed the signage what with them being nice and large and bright and yellow. 

Of course, we all had the route guide although I'd argue without local knowledge and or checking off each direction and route note in turn these guides are somewhat hard to follow.  Perhaps others have more of a natural sense of direction than me and my fellow lost riders.

Anyway, for the most part I enjoyed the ride.  I felt really strong and put out some really good numbers showing the work I’ve done over the winter has clearly worked.

Would I ride this Sportive again?  Perhaps although I’ll need a little convincing......

My congratulations to everyone who got round.  

The Kentish Killer Preview

This weekend sees my on the bike and outside for the first time in 2012.  Come 09:00 on Sunday I’ll be rolling out of the Brands Hatch Motor Race circuit – ahead of me will be a 112kms with a little over 2kms of climbing which in truth, I’m slightly daunted by.

The so called Kentish Killer is traditionally the curtain opener for the UK sportive team.  I’ve not ridden it before although it comes highly recommended from those who have and from aspects of the cycling media.  The ride’s profile is certainly interesting with sections that must be in the region of a 10% - 15% incline.  Naturally this type of climb has nothing in common with those of La Marmotte although they’re certain to test the legs.

Above: Kentish Killer Profile

I’m hoping to finish in 4 to 4 ½ hours although of course that assumes no flats, good weather conditions and friendly car drivers.  The latter two of course can never be taken for granted.

Full write up to follow early next week.

Strada Handbuilt Wheels - Velocity A23 Wheelset Unboxing

Note: For a full review of these wheels, please head over here

I've been looking at getting hold of a pair of "do it all" wheels for a little while and naturally there's plenty of such wheels within the market that meets such a demand.

Having been through the options, read the online reviews and spoken to a few people at my LBS, I was close to pulling the trigger on a set from within the  HED Aredennes range.  What stopped me doing so was a conversation with a work colleague who suggested I could probably get something built bespoke from an independent wheel builder based here in the UK.

A little more internet searching later I found myself speaking with Strada Handbuilt Wheels who are based out of Lancing in West Sussex.  After a comprehensive discussion about what I was looking for, my riding style and weight etc I was recommended a pair of Velocity A23s.  While I wasn’t familiar with the Velocity brand, Strada were more than able to overcome my inherent unwillingness to go for something untrusted.

So purchase I did......

I opted for a 20 / 24 hole pairing (I'm 69kgs) using Sapim CX Ray Spokes built upon a Powertap G3 rear hub (supplied by me) and a black PMP front.

While I'm yet to ride them I've been mightly impressed with Strada from the customer service and the exceptional quality of the wheel's build.

I’ll give the wheels a month or so to bed in and I’ll post a review sometime towards late March or Early April. In the meantime, here are a few unboxing pics:

Firm stong box

Wheels secured firmly in place at the top side

And at the bottom

20 hole PMP front hub

24 hole PowerTap G3 rear

Velocity A23 front wheel in profile

Velocity A23 rear wheel in profile

Testing testing testing....

With a new job, a poorly newly one year old and lots of other things besides, I’ve been rather quiet on the blogging front. 
 
All told, things are going well from a training perspective.  I’ve been able to get the km’s and hours under the belt which has meant switching my weekday sessions to a pre work and pre breakfast time frame.  So far this hasn’t proved to be too taxing just as long as I remember to eat something before getting onto the rollers.  If I forget I tend to get dizzy about half an hour into the ride and all but fall out of the saddle. Not pretty.
 
Anyway… Yesterday I took the opportunity undergo my first FTP test session of the year.  I’ve not tested myself since October of last year and while I’ve not really been training to kick it upwards, I felt it time to see how things are going. 
 
Somewhat interestingly my FTP has gone up to 298 watts (using standard 20min extrapolation method of 20 min max minus 5%) which gives me a 4.32 Watts per KG ratio which I suppose isn’t altogether that bad.
 
Now to improve on it……..