This week has been incredibly hectic - I've sorting out a new person who's moving into my house at the moment and had band practices and gigs to get to.
Fortunately, I've managed to squeeze in some time on my bike.
On Tuesday I went on a long (duration, not distance) mountain bike ride to test out a circular route from my house. I didn't fancy riding fast I my legs were obviously recovering from the weekend's exertions.
Last night was a triumph in time management! I went to the supermarket on the way home from work, sorted out two loads of washing, did 30 minutes on the turbo trainer (concentrating on high cadence - didn't drop below 110 rpm for the whole time and averaged around 120 rpm), watched House and still made it to meet some friends for 2-4-1 cocktails!
It's really important to me at the moment to carry on fitting in biking and running as I don't want to lose the fitness I've worked so hard to build up since starting this blog in February.
I'm looking for a series of duathlons to enter to make the most of how well I'm going at the moment.
Friday, 27 June 2008
Monday, 23 June 2008
Mountain Mayhem
I can quite honestly say I will never do that again. It's unpleasant enough having to ride at various stages through the night but this was terrible.
There was torrential rain through the night that made 70% of the course unrideable. You could barely push your bike as the wheels wouldn't go round (too much mud) and when I tried to pick my bike up not only did the mud suck it into the ground but the sheer weight of the bike was too much to carry more than a few metres at a time.
Also, I only managed around 40 minutes of sleep on Saturday night then had to drive for 5 hours on Sunday which was a terrible experience.
That said, as expected our team did pretty well. We all put in consistent fast laps and kept trying hard all the way through. Out of our category of 60 teams we came 8th and overall, out of 640 teams (including all the pro teams), we came 35th. Which is pretty good really.
There was torrential rain through the night that made 70% of the course unrideable. You could barely push your bike as the wheels wouldn't go round (too much mud) and when I tried to pick my bike up not only did the mud suck it into the ground but the sheer weight of the bike was too much to carry more than a few metres at a time.
Also, I only managed around 40 minutes of sleep on Saturday night then had to drive for 5 hours on Sunday which was a terrible experience.
That said, as expected our team did pretty well. We all put in consistent fast laps and kept trying hard all the way through. Out of our category of 60 teams we came 8th and overall, out of 640 teams (including all the pro teams), we came 35th. Which is pretty good really.
Thursday, 19 June 2008
last bit before Mountain Mayhem
As this week is the last one before Mountain Mayhem starts I've been keen to do some really hard sessions so that I have a psychological advantage at the weekend - "I've felt worse than this in training so you suckers are just going to have to ride past you!" :)
On Tuesday I played football and the Wednesday I did the hardest Turbo Training session I've ever done.
The forecast for the weekend is terrible so there's going to be a lot of grinding through mud, which is a lot like riding up hill to be honest.
Last night I did 25 minutes of the session I did on Monday night then did 10 minutes grinding a hard gear on the hardest setting on the trainer. I then repeated the first 25 minutes so that I knew I could still put in rapid bursts after a looooong time grinding up hill.
It was pretty tough and I had to go up the stairs in two goes afterwards because my legs were so wobbly!
I'm really pleased though because I feel absolutely fine today and I feel ready for the onslaught of mud I'm going to have to face this weekend...
On Tuesday I played football and the Wednesday I did the hardest Turbo Training session I've ever done.
The forecast for the weekend is terrible so there's going to be a lot of grinding through mud, which is a lot like riding up hill to be honest.
Last night I did 25 minutes of the session I did on Monday night then did 10 minutes grinding a hard gear on the hardest setting on the trainer. I then repeated the first 25 minutes so that I knew I could still put in rapid bursts after a looooong time grinding up hill.
It was pretty tough and I had to go up the stairs in two goes afterwards because my legs were so wobbly!
I'm really pleased though because I feel absolutely fine today and I feel ready for the onslaught of mud I'm going to have to face this weekend...
Tuesday, 17 June 2008
Still going...
Last Thursday I came up with a new format on my turbo trainer to simulate the race I'll be doing this weekend. There are no "easy bits", just changes of pace - so I'll either have the trainer on a hard setting or I'll be going flat out on an easy setting in the hardest gear. After half an hour last Thursday I felt like my heart was going to smash my ribs out of my chest!
I didn't get to do any riding or running over the weekend as I was in Cork for a stag do. I did, however do a full day's sea kayaking, which was brilliant. I only had 4 hours' sleep on Friday night and 5 hours' sleep on Saturday then got back home on Sunday at 2am and went to work at normal time! As you can imagine, I felt horrific.
When I got home last night I felt like I would fall asleep while I walked from the car to the house. After sitting down for a minute my nextdoor neighbour came round to ask if I wanted to go for a run. Stupidly I said yes. We did the Dale Winton challenge in a reasonably quick 45 minutes.
While I was running I realised that I wouldn't get many chances for bike riding in this week (Wednesday being my only free night) which concerned me as I have the big race at the weekend.
So, when I got back from the run I put my cycling shorts straight on and got on the turbo trainer to do the same race simulation I did last Thursday.
I reckon it was probably pretty realistic too! Ridiculously hard riding after no sleep when you're already tired will be just like doing the 24 hour race!
I didn't get to do any riding or running over the weekend as I was in Cork for a stag do. I did, however do a full day's sea kayaking, which was brilliant. I only had 4 hours' sleep on Friday night and 5 hours' sleep on Saturday then got back home on Sunday at 2am and went to work at normal time! As you can imagine, I felt horrific.
When I got home last night I felt like I would fall asleep while I walked from the car to the house. After sitting down for a minute my nextdoor neighbour came round to ask if I wanted to go for a run. Stupidly I said yes. We did the Dale Winton challenge in a reasonably quick 45 minutes.
While I was running I realised that I wouldn't get many chances for bike riding in this week (Wednesday being my only free night) which concerned me as I have the big race at the weekend.
So, when I got back from the run I put my cycling shorts straight on and got on the turbo trainer to do the same race simulation I did last Thursday.
I reckon it was probably pretty realistic too! Ridiculously hard riding after no sleep when you're already tired will be just like doing the 24 hour race!
Thursday, 12 June 2008
Slow Ride
Got back on my bike last night to do the 28 mile Hathersage loop. I went with a friend and we cruised round relatively slowly. It was enjoyable to do a slower ride and probably a good choice, being the first ride after the race.
The only problem was that I pretty much never got going and as a result got very cold. On the uphills my heartrate didn't really go up much so I didn't get as warm as normally would and then going down the hills (which normally cools you down nicely) just got me freezing. By the time I got back home I'd lost all feeling in my feet and my 2nd, 3rd and 4th fingers had gone completely white!
The only problem was that I pretty much never got going and as a result got very cold. On the uphills my heartrate didn't really go up much so I didn't get as warm as normally would and then going down the hills (which normally cools you down nicely) just got me freezing. By the time I got back home I'd lost all feeling in my feet and my 2nd, 3rd and 4th fingers had gone completely white!
Monday, 9 June 2008
6hr solo
I don't think I'll do one of these again. Or, if I do, the course is going to have to be a little less technical.
The course was 70% singletrack and very rooty, rutty and rocky. It was really punishing on your arms and hands and incredibly hard to put up with for 6 hours.
The lack of mountain biking I've done really showed yesterday - I was very average through technical sections of the course. However, all the training I've done also showed - on the uphills I passed people on the climbs only to look behind me 30 seconds later to wonder where they had disappeared to.
My back also hurts today. It took a real battering going over such a bumpy course for 6 hours. In fact, on my sixth lap (I did 9 in total) I got a punture and it took me almost 15 minutes to fix! The ludicrously long time was mainly down to the fact I couldn't bend down to pick my pump up etc. Never had back pain like it!
I'm having a night off tonight.
The course was 70% singletrack and very rooty, rutty and rocky. It was really punishing on your arms and hands and incredibly hard to put up with for 6 hours.
The lack of mountain biking I've done really showed yesterday - I was very average through technical sections of the course. However, all the training I've done also showed - on the uphills I passed people on the climbs only to look behind me 30 seconds later to wonder where they had disappeared to.
My back also hurts today. It took a real battering going over such a bumpy course for 6 hours. In fact, on my sixth lap (I did 9 in total) I got a punture and it took me almost 15 minutes to fix! The ludicrously long time was mainly down to the fact I couldn't bend down to pick my pump up etc. Never had back pain like it!
I'm having a night off tonight.
Friday, 6 June 2008
Big Evening Ride
I found out yesterday that the plan for Sunday's race has changed. We were originally supposed to be doing the 6 hour race as a team of three (I think). Now I'm going to be doing it solo.
I was so excited yesterday that I thought I'd go for a longish ride after work to test my legs. I ended up doing the same ride as I did with Tom the first day that he came up - a 50 mile ride taking in some of the biggest hills in the area. I got round in just under three hours and felt fine.
The ride itself was really nice - absolutely perfect weather and amazing scenery. One of the really nice parts was that as I got to top of the last hill I looked over to see the sun setting over the huge hills I had already ridden up a couple of hours earlier.
One thing I must bear in mind for Sunday, though, is how tired I was once i'd got off the bike. After 15 minutes at home I felt ready to close my eyes for a bit - even talking seemed to be too much effort. It'll be interesting to see how I cope riding twice as long on Sunday.
I was so excited yesterday that I thought I'd go for a longish ride after work to test my legs. I ended up doing the same ride as I did with Tom the first day that he came up - a 50 mile ride taking in some of the biggest hills in the area. I got round in just under three hours and felt fine.
The ride itself was really nice - absolutely perfect weather and amazing scenery. One of the really nice parts was that as I got to top of the last hill I looked over to see the sun setting over the huge hills I had already ridden up a couple of hours earlier.
One thing I must bear in mind for Sunday, though, is how tired I was once i'd got off the bike. After 15 minutes at home I felt ready to close my eyes for a bit - even talking seemed to be too much effort. It'll be interesting to see how I cope riding twice as long on Sunday.
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
No Flats
The weather was nice last night and despite my aching legs from the runt he day before I really didn't want to be stuck inside.
I went out on my bike to do what I thought would be a fairly short ride but it turned out to be 1.5 hours which means it just about makes it into "normal" ride length for me rather than being classified as "short".
I'm calling the ride "No Flats". This has nothing to do with the rapidly rising high density housing that is increasingly seen in and around Sheffield city centre. It is more to do with the fact that, even by Sheffield's standards, this is an exceptionally hilly ride - there are no slight inclines, no easy downhill gradients and definitely no flats.
My legs are still aching today so I'm not going to get back on the bike now until Sunday's race to make sure I'm fully fit.
I went out on my bike to do what I thought would be a fairly short ride but it turned out to be 1.5 hours which means it just about makes it into "normal" ride length for me rather than being classified as "short".
I'm calling the ride "No Flats". This has nothing to do with the rapidly rising high density housing that is increasingly seen in and around Sheffield city centre. It is more to do with the fact that, even by Sheffield's standards, this is an exceptionally hilly ride - there are no slight inclines, no easy downhill gradients and definitely no flats.
My legs are still aching today so I'm not going to get back on the bike now until Sunday's race to make sure I'm fully fit.
Monday, 2 June 2008
A minor hitch
On Thursday night I decided to go for a bike ride to find some longer hills to do a couple of reps up in preparation for next weekend's race. Unfortunately, about a mile into the ride a car drove into me and my ride was finished!
I was mainly disappointed that my bike had been damaged and that I would (yet again) have a weekend off the bike. Fortunately, I got it fixed quickly and was able to go on the turbo trainer for an hour on Saturday morning (I didn't feel up to going for a ride as my neck was hurting).
Yesterday, I went on a long and difficult run with Elly's dad. It was the first run I've done for ages and my legs are aching today!
I was mainly disappointed that my bike had been damaged and that I would (yet again) have a weekend off the bike. Fortunately, I got it fixed quickly and was able to go on the turbo trainer for an hour on Saturday morning (I didn't feel up to going for a ride as my neck was hurting).
Yesterday, I went on a long and difficult run with Elly's dad. It was the first run I've done for ages and my legs are aching today!
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