Well it's been three weeks since I put anything on the blog. Usually, it would be time for excuses such as the weather is freezing, I don't ride in the rain or dark or my wheels are too round. Well, I do have an excuse, I have had workmen in every day taking up a lot of my time...So I am proud and a little amazed to say I only missed one days training despite the mayhem in the house. I also missed a day last week but for a totally different reason...
Three weeks ago I was in the middle of the preparation phase still building the miles and looking to drop some more weight. I wasn't feeling great on day one the Tuesday and managed to puncture but despite this I enjoyed a three hour spin around Cheshire. My cadence and Heart rate are holding in the required zones. One good point was trying my new ultegra electronic gears. I managed to get a half price upgrade and have to say the autotrim, rapid, smooth and accurate change make it worth every penny. I also failed to recognise Steve Cummings at the Eureka cafe when I was talking to him. Not clever for a cycling fan.
Wednesday was a four hour day so two long spins in the saddle. Both days were cold and windy but everything, again stayed on target and i felt as though I could of ridden much further. The following day was still cool and windy but with only 1 1/2 hours riding I was happy to push it a bit higher. The rest of the week was more of the same with another 4 hour ride on Friday and a two hour ride on the Saturday, (I swapped these two round due to the workmen) not ideal as it meant I didn't recover as I should of. Sunday was the usual hour on the turbo spinning the legs at a high cadence and flushing the weeks lactate out.
So it ended a good week with 235 miles completed in 15 hours 32mins.
The following week was time to start building intensity. Interestingly only very slightly with extended periods in zone three planned for the Friday session. The rest of the week was more of the same with a 3 hour ride on the Tuesday, 4 hours on the Wednesday, 1 hour on the Thursday in zone 1 and this was where it went a bit wrong. Having prepared myself for a hard ride I couldn't get out due to the workmen. I needed to stay in the house. Saturday was the turbo again which was ok but Sunday was planned for four hours. It was the coldest, wettest day of the week and it ended up going dark earlier than i thought so I cut the ride short by thirty minutes.
Although the weather was foul, could, wet and very windy I managed most of the sessions. The worst thing about the week was being hit by a car on the Wednesday. I rode past a car waiting at a junction who immediately pulled out and shunted me down the road. I spent the rest of the week angry and a little twitchy yet still determined. The week ended a little lower than expected at 202 miles and just under 13hours in the saddle.
The last missing week was another high mileage in cold windy weather. I have now moved to the start of the build up to go from preparation to per comp phase. Put quickly a 3 hour ride at 3 degrees, a 4 hour ride slightly warmer at 5 degrees, 2 hours in a force 5 wind, 3 hours 10 at 3 degrees putting in three six minute efforts with at least a ten minute break between each one. This was great fun. During one session I averaged over 25mph for the six minutes so things are looking good. The problem was that night I woke covered in sweat despite being cold. Like a true cyclist I ignored it and rode the next day. A planned 4 hour ride was cut to 2-47 as it was clear I wasn't well. I struggled round and found my speed dropping off. I wanted to keep going but decided if it wasn't happening it was best to back off and fight another day.
That night I treated myself to VIP seats at the revolution series in Manchester meeting up with Chris White from Palefish and Tim ( have a read of the palefish blog for more details).
Although I also took the Sunday off it was still a good week with 231 miles though it should really of been about 260 and 15 hours 20 in the saddle.
Overall I felt a little tired but more down to being a bit ill than the mileage. I'm also extremely impressed that I have kept riding despite the cold and windy weather.
Finally just 16 days til the TT bike arrives
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