April Mileage and Training for LEL

My training for LEL is now building.  Both in terms of distance and time, but also my aim has been to start to increase the intensity.  So in April I’ve done three 200k audaxes, two of which have had AAA points.  I’ve also done a couple of 25M and a 30M TT, as well as starting midweek Kilton 8.75M TT’s.

The plan for May is four 200k AAA audaxes (two of which will be back-to-back in one weekend), a 100M sportive, five Kilton’s, a couple of 10′s and a 50M TT.  With some time off work at the end, I may even squeeze in a bit more!  June will follow a similar pattern, with July starting hard with an ultra-sportive and then tapering down to the actual event itself!

So my April mileage is as follows (ytd in brackets)

• 727miles (2,037miles)
• 1d 19hrs 17m (5d 4hrs 44m)
• 16.8mph average (16.3mph)
• 34,371ft climb (90,027ft)
• 33,875kcalories (96,372kcalories)
• 136bpm average HR (136bpm)

My next post will talk a little bit about the ride plan that is forming for LEL.

Sports Science Update

Over the winter I trained on a turbo for the first time ever.  I followed a plan set up for me by the Endurance Coach, as I’ve written about before here.  As somebody who needs to see data to believe results I went back last week and did the test again.  Here’s the raw data – the figures in brackets are results from the previous test, and the one before that

• Max HR – 181bpm (191, 197)
• Threshold HR – 176bpm (185, 187)
• Threshold Power – 370 watts (350, 310)
• RQ1 HR – 173bpm (183, 172)
• RQ1 Power – 350 watts (350, 250)
• VO2 max – 64.65 ml/min/kg (62.33, 45.2)
• Max Aerobic Power – 410 watts (390, 370)
• Aerobic Power/Weight Ratio – 5.96 watts/kg (5.65, 4.93)
• Max Sprint Power – 942 watts (1037, 1077)
• Anaerobic Power/Weight Ratio – 13.69 watts/kg (15.03, 14.34)
• Average 10 sec power – 755 watts (906, 862)
• Power/Weight Ratio – 10.97 (12.49, 12.06)

Some interesting stuff here, and plenty to work on, but the summary is that the training has helped give me more power at lower levels of heartrate.  However, losing weight has meant some further loss of top end power – which might be a problem if I was a sprinter or track rider.  Next winter though, I need to get some strength work in the gym done.  My legs now appear to be the weak link in my cycling system, with my aerobic system being extremely efficient.  Hopefully as the season hots up so will my legs!

March Stats

 

 

 

A disappointing month in distance terms, and one I need to rectify in April and May.  I did my first 200k yesterday, more than 5 weeks since the previous one, and its clear that I’ve lost some endurance fitness over the winter.  I’ve done a lot of training for TT’s which is reflected in the average speeds increasing, but I need to get the balance better going forward – something that should be addressed by my plans to do three 200k’s in April followed by four 200k’s and a century in May.  Anyway, my stats for the month

• Total road miles – 431 (623 if you include turbo trainer – I don’t)
• Total road time – 1d 1hr 55m (1d 12hrs 32m if you include turbo)
• Average Speed – 16.6mph (17.1mph if you include turbo)
• Total ascent – 16,425.6ft (pathetic – my climbing has really gone downhil, ha ha!)
• Energy used – 19,604 kcals
• Average HR – 135bpm

That gives me ytd figures of 1311 road miles, 3d 9hrs 27m, 55,655 ft, 62,497kcals, 16.1mph average and 135bpm average HR.

50,000 Views

 

Well I’ve just noticed my blog has been viewed 50,000 times.  That’s pretty small beer in the grand scheme of things.  But considering this is just a collection of my experiences, thoughts and ideas, and not a commercial site trying to sell or advertise stuff I’m pretty pleased with that.  If you are a regular reader then thank you for visiting.

February Roundup

 

 

 

A decent month considering the very cold temperatures.

Figures in brackets are totals including time/distance on the turbo trainer

• 514 miles (675 miles)
• 23,633ft ascent
• 1 day 8 hours 26 minutes (1 day 16 hours)
• Average speed – 15.9mph
• Total calories used – 25600
• Average HR – 138

 

 

January Road Stats

I took a week off the bike during January due to the bad weather and also to rest my knee.  That said I still managed some respectable miles which are building towards my training goals for the year.  One of those goals is LEL, and you can sponsor me on the right.  The other is a set of PB’s on time trials, although this training is more focused on the turbo trainer in the shed.

Road miles : 365 (if you add turbo miles it becomes 560)

Road duration : 23hrs 6mins (if you add turbo it becomes 33hrs 21mins)

Average speed : 15.8mph

Total ascent : 15,596ft

Total energy : 17,586 kcals

Average HR : 132 bpm

 

Happy New Year

I’d like to wish all readers of this blog a very happy and healthy 2013.  I hope you achieve what you set out to achieve during the year.

For the record, here’s what I’ll be aiming for

• Completion of London Edinburgh London (LEL)
• Kilton TT PB below 20 minutes
• 10 mile TT PB below 23 minutes
• 25 mile TT PB below 1 hour
• 50 mile TT PB below 2 hours and 5 minutes
• Be age-group competitive in any events I enter

Best of luck in your own endeavours

2012 Roundup

At the start of 2012 I outlined my cycling ambitions for the year.  They were to clock up 100 miles a week over the year, do a 400km audax, a 24 hour time trial and ride Alpe D’Huez and Galibier.  So how did I get on?

2012 Stats

• Total Mileage : 7,424 miles
• Total Time : 19d 15hrs 16m
• Average Speed : 15.8mph
• Total Ascent : 399,378ft
• Energy Used : 393,475 kcalories
• Average HR : 135bpm
• Number of Centuries (>100 miles) : 19

Some maximum values too…

• Highest Recorded Speed : 52.4mph
• Highest Recorded Heartrate : 194
• Longest Single Ride : 259 miles
• Most Ascent on a Single Ride : 11,663ft
• Most Energy on a Single Ride : 11,473 kcalories

Highlights of the Year

There were a number of highlights in the year for me.  The first was completing a 400km audax in April, with old mucker Anthony.  That was a hard ride and we finished it as mere shadows of the riders who started it, but nonetheless one of my goals I am proud I achieved during 2012.  The real highlights came from riding in the Alps.  I got to conquer Alpe D’Huez but only made it to the snowline at Galibier – maybe a mile or so from the summit where they hadn’t managed to clear the road.  It was still a brilliant week, with fantastic roads, superb riding, great company and epic scenery. Despite getting horribly ill on the last day, the week will live with me forever.

Audax

In 2012 I completed 32 in total (including sixteen 200k’s, two 300k’s and a 400k), covering over 3,500 miles, and racking up 50 AAA points in the calendar year.  I managed to get my AAA Triple Award (meaning I clocked over 20 AAA points three times in total), a Round the Year Randonneur Award (meaning I completed a 200km audax in each of the months of the year) and both Brevet 1000 and Randonneur 1000 awards.

North Cheshire Clarion at the Dalesman!

Sportive

I only did three Sportives.  Two of these run by Polocini to his usual high standard, and one being the Greater Manchester closed roads event – which was amazing!

Time Trials

2012 was the year I started to take TT’s seriously, and I hope to build on this in 2013.  I competed in eleven Kilton’s, bringing my PB down from 22:13 at the start of the season to 20:38 by the end.  I also did five 10′s, resulting in a new PB of 24:20, two 25′s and a PB of 1:02:42 (no less than Dame Sarah Storey competing in one of them!) and one 50 in 2:14:32.  Suffice it to say these times are high on my list of goals for 2013!  In addition, I did four hill climbs and my first ever race on the track at Darley Moor – and I didn’t embarrass myself in any of them.  I didn’t manage the 24 hour time trial – I was having some knee problems at the time and I figured it wouldn’t quite hold up.  Maybe another year?

Blog

Although I primarily write this blog for myself (and my appalling memory), it’s nice to know that in 2012 I had over 24,000 hits, which is a big leap over 2011.  Many of the hits come from all over the world, and I wonder if the single hits I’ve had from Armenia, Lesotho and French Polynesia will be repeated!

Weight

It’s fair to say that I’ve shed a bit of timber in 2012, but that’s not the whole story.  Over the past few years my weight has followed a similar pattern of dipping in the summer and then slowly increasing into winter.  This year I decided I would make a big effort to get ready for the alps, and I changed what I ate.  People ask what the secret is but there isn’t one.  It’s basically eat less and move more.  Of course, 393,475 kcalories of cycling helps, but arguably eating more sensibly has had more of an effect.  I can assure you – if I can do it, you absolutely can.

Finally…

Probably the wettest year on record according the weather guys.  I concur, as most of it appeared to fall on me.

I got a cool tattoo on my calf.  It’s pretty unique so if you see it, it’s probably me!

One other thing I’ve done a lot of this year is measurement.  I’ve looked at my stats, I’ve been to the Endurance Coach in April and November, and I’ve spent a bit of time trying to identify weaknesses and then work to improve them.  If you are a social cyclist then that’s great.  But if you are serious about improvement then my advice would be to capture as much data as possible.  It will help you work out what you need to improve and how to do it.  Good luck.

May I wish you a very happy and healthy 2013, and I hope you get everything you wish for. 

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Rapha Festive 500

 

 

For those that don’t know, this is a challenge set on Strava.  I’m not quite sure how I fell into this – it wasn’t my intention to do it.  I’d planned to ride a permanent audax on Christmas Eve, and one with Chris, Anthony and Martin on the 30th.  So that was about 220km, and with all the talk about it on Twitter and the club forum I sort of fell into it, and by then it was too late…

I had a couple of days off on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and on New’s Years Eve I was going to be out with the family, so that meant I only had 5 days.  The rides I did are shown above.  In weather terms I got absolutely soaked on Monday and Saturday.  Thursday and Friday were cold and somewhat damp.  Yesterday was windy.  It’s a stupid challenge really.

Anyway, that concludes my riding for 2012.  I’ll be rounding up my year later on this blog, but doing this challenge has given me a personal record mileage for a December of 719 miles.

One final thing.  This challenge has introduced me to this blog.  Minipips and his dad Richard, who I met at two cafe stops on the rides.  Minipips is 7 and very much a star of the future.  The blog can be found here

Randonneur Round the Year

Little did I know that on completing the Winter Solstice Audax last Sunday that I would qualify for a Randonneur Round the Year award, but so it seems I do – thanks to Chris and Amy for pointing that out.  To qualify, you need to ride a Randonneur event in each of 12 consecutive months.  That also means I’ve ticked another ambition off – an imperial century each month of the year.

Anyway, I did my first qualifying ride, a 200k, in January.  I did a 200k in February and two more in March.  In April I did the epic 400k with Anthony.  Another 200k in May and June, plus a 300k.  In July I did four 200k’s and a 300k in August.  Three more 200k’s in September, and one each of October, November and December completed the set.  Job done!