Dirk's Super Training Plan 2010

DirkVoodoo

Week 6 - Post-disaster and a sign from God:

Monday to Friday: Nothing but resting and trying to finish Assassin's creed 2 as quickly as possible. Felt better from about Sunday/Monday, but I didn't think getting straight back on the bike or into the gym was a good idea and patiently waited for my saturday return. Had a short 2km blast down to the post office on wednesday. Cleaned my Felt and bar some small headset issues and the dodgy back wheel, it's running perfectly. Even got to try out the new lights I got from Dealextreme, very bright and really impressed, they will make an excellent emergency lighting system.

Saturday: Boards spin out somewhere north, Batterstown direction. 112.6km at 23.8km/hr. One small spill (thankfully just a grazed knee and a bruised hip, bike and new bars are ok!). I really found this tiring, as in my legs felt heavy, lacking and power and by the time I hit Donnybrook and 10km from home, I was out of juice. In retrospect I didn't get a lot of sleep, breakfast was insufficient and I was out of practice, but those are weak excuses and I think I just need to up the intensity a bit. I was meant to go out on saturday night but I developed a thumping headache (dehydration? I was drinking a lot) and a sore neck and I ended up falling asleep until 11:30pm. This definitely reminded me of my early cycling days when a short spin up the Sally Gap would leave me drained and aching the next day. Was relieved when I saw that an Orwell spin wasn't likely on sunday.

Sunday: Day of rest. Cleaned my bike. Should really take my own advice about efficiency but it hadn't been cleaned in about 2 months and I took great delight in wasting an hour and a half cleaning every last millimetre of it. Even managed to get rid of most of the cosmetic damage done to my right hand shifter in the fall (400,800,1000 grit and some 25 micron sandpaper) although it was hard to get a proper finish because cheap ass shimano seem to use some kind of chrome paint on the lever. It looks a lot cleaner without the chipped metal but now has a slight two-tone appearance.

Looking forward to week 7, hopefully if I get a good run between now and the pre-season race I will be in a position to be competitive and not simply making up the numbers.

rottenhat

Would I be correct in saying that you spent more time this week cleaning your bikes than riding them?

DirkVoodoo

I think at this stage it is an even split

My polar says 4:44 of cycling time yesterday.

I do like cleaning though, hearing a newly oiled drivetrain make hardly any noise is almost euphoric (I was going to say orgasmic but I think that was too far?).

DirkVoodoo

Week 7 - Back in black

(Ok, this goes slightly against my "once a week" format, but I want to get it out while it's fresh in my mind, plus it helps motivate me for the next day)

Monday: Played 7-a-side with the guys. Left home at 4:50 to be 8km down the road for 5pm, not a good start. Went pretty hard which I don't like as then I am a little tired before I even start running but had no choice. Cold + speed = numb toes, so the first few minutes I was tired and unable to get my touch. Good game, freezing cold, didn't play well bar one spectacular (if I do say so myself) effort from half way that nearly dipped under the bar.

Straight off to Westwood, had to modify my programme somewhat to account for my lack of fitness from last week's recovery and post match fatigue:

Warm up on the (crap) gym bike for 15 minutes, alternating between level 6, 8 and 18...whatever the heck they actually equate to I don't know. I'm probably warmed up already after my cycle over. I think it's just an excuse to check out any talent.

Leg Press - 80Kg: 3x10
Hamstring curl - 50Kg: 1x12 (cramp!)
All the stretchy stuff: back extension, cat extension, hamstring stretch, inner hamstring, crunches, plank.
Step ups - 20Kg - height of about 55-60cm: 3x12 (each leg).

Popped into a friends for a cup of tea, got lost as usual and my route from Sandymount to Leeson street took a detour by Lansdowne road direction.

Cycled home, a bit tired but felt ok. Must have been about 25km of total cycling today. Power is non-existent but fitness feels better. REALLY need to sort out that back wheel.

DirkVoodoo

Week ? - Dear Diary...

So my structured training kind of fell apart once I saw the league race getting closer and closer. Haven't been to the gym in a while but I think now I may be cutting it back to twice a week, maybe making more use of the pool and other facilities to help relax after races.

I've been off the turbo too, but the last few weekends I had some good spins out, let by El Tonto. Last week I headed out to Roundwood with Planet X, Cadex, et al. it was pretty good, especially the fast cycle with just myself and Planet X after I punctured over some loose chippings. We were hitting between 40/50 km/hr on pretty flat roads, at times it was tough keeping up with the vet!

Took a recon spin of tomorrow's circuit with godihatethehills on Monday. It was good to get a picture of the course and know what I'm up against. Know thy enemy and all that. The legs have been feeling pretty good recently despite the lack of structured training, but I've been doing a lot of trips into town on my singlespeed and I like to try and push it for the most part. My semi-seized axle provided ample resistance for each of the homeward bound legs.

Trying to get in the "pre-match" zone right now, mostly chilling, watch a few episodes of fringe, just don't tax the body or brain and stay relaxed. There seems to be a bit of confusion about why I am nervous. I think people on boards don't know me that well, "Harden up Dirk", blah-blah, etc. I'm like this about most things, far too anxious over little occasions of no importance (although first race is high up there on the "little" list). I call it "getting off the bus" syndrome: lots of worry, followed by action and ending with amazement about why I was so worried to begin with.

Anyway, my concerns stem only from my behaviour in a group and the weather. I'm still coming to terms with cornering at speed in a bunch, pointing out hazards, keeping a good line, etc. and then there is the risk of ice. In short, I would prefer for both myself and the bike to stay upright tomorrow. If this means not being super competitive in the first race then that is something I am happy to do. Don't get me wrong, I would like to place in a race or put in a good performance, and I know I am capable when I try. But for tomorrow I would like to get a small taste for racing without suffering the indigestion of defeat.

Now, what to wear....

abcdggs

Best of luck!

Lumen

Don't overthink it.

Caroline_ie

I'm as nervous as you ...

The tax man

Just go out and enjoy it Dirk. Best of luck.(and to others racing tomorrow)

blorg

Lumen wrote: »

Don't overthink it.

Entirely, just get out there. Everyone has their first race and you are far better prepared than most. Good luck tomorrow.

sy

Good luck dirk. Your symptoms bring back memories! Half the bunch will feel the same way. Stay as close to the front as you can, safer and actually easier!! Above all enjoy and give them hell. ;)Good luck to all boardsies tomorrow

DirkVoodoo

Week ?+1 - This log will self destruct if not properly stored.

Thanks for all the encouragement. It was weird, once I got ready on sunday morning I wasn't so nervous anymore. That all changed once I got out to Clonee and saw the roads. Banks of snow at the sides, slush in the middle of the road and most of the locals still driving like it was dry had me a bit worried. I got the start wrong so had to drive towards Culmullin and onto the Trim road. This back road was part of the circuit and even on a mountain bike it would have been tricky, never mind a pack of riders racing on road bikes. Glad it was called off but annoyed that I was ready to race and now had to wait another week.

Monday - Did some interval training led by El Tonto with godihatethehills. Most of the time I was recovering, going head to head against two sprinters when you don't have the power to compete is tough going. Still, it was good fun and I enjoyed the change of scenery. Need to learn to relax my upper body more when going all out. I'm pretty good at keeping everything loose when climbing or cruising, but twice I managed to pull my front wheel up and sideways, nearly causing an embarrassing tumble (swapped over to the ksyrium SLs for the race, not sure I like the lighter front end).

Played football at 5pm after a nice lunch (left over beef tucked between some bread with rocket and horseradish). Unbalanced teams again for half of it (yay!) so even though we played better with a man down there was a lot of tracking back on the larger pitch. Towards the end I could feel a little niggle in my hamstrings. Luckily I managed to thump my toe off another guy's leg so my sprinting was halted and I didn't cramp up.

Cycle home was kind of tough, felt a little drained.

Tuesday - Gym, had to leave it late because a friend was using a free pass and he could only go at 4, which I don't like doing. All the usual stuff, I'll just post the ones that the weights used tends to vary:

Leg press: 2x12+1x10 @ 80Kg
Hamstring curl: 2x10 @50Kg

Wednesday - Don't think I will do anything today except order stuff online, might go out tomorrow but don't want to go crazy before saturday. I really hope this weather goes away soon, I will never complain about heat again!

DirkVoodoo

Thursday/Friday - Not much aside from riding my bike around town, was still a bit worried ahead of saturday.

Saturday - Race day, w00t! Minor report included, although there was little to report:

Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head. Met Nietzschean, El Tonto and godihatethehills in the Phoenix Park and departed at 9:15 for Batterstown. Got the start wrong for the second week running so headed back the way we came and found the group. It was all very relaxed and after a while sitting around we were ready to get going. I had cooled down a bit and found the pace at the start a bit hot. I was in the limit group along with 5 others: Caroline, godihatethehills, Romano, Conor and Patrick. It was all going well, rotating quickly with Romano and Conor setting the pace. Before the left turn off the Trim road though we lost Caroline then godihatethehills. The 4 man group had to work harder and on the pot holed back roads this became slightly trickier. I started talking to Conor right before the hill up ahead and apologies to him but I think I broke both our concentration and the two lads in front started opening a gap. I learned here how different it is to climb a hill and race up a hill. What should have been an easy gap to close was not. I thought it was game over at this point and considered easing back until the semi-limit group caught up but for some reason decided to chase it down. Bear in mind cornering at speed is not really my forte but something clicked and I managed to attack the bends, catching up with the escaping riders. I was pretty chuffed and pretty tired after that though, but got some respite by hanging on until we reached the left turn onto the Summerhill road. Some great experience from Romano had us passing on the inside to make turns in the sideways wind that bit easier, it really was great having him with us as we would have been caught much sooner otherwise. At this point the semi-limits were behind us, I started to ease up and saw Patrick do similar, but Romano pushed us on, “never make it easy for them” he said. When the two groups merged it was easier but still fast. The final left turn saw the now famous breakaway from Lumen and Niceonetom. Had I seen it I don't think I would have had the legs to chase. I saw the gap opening and for some reason after hanging onto the remains of the group led by Nietzschean thought we could close it down. I went up front and tried pushing, BANG! My legs deserted me and I felt the power failing. My body was on red alert, warp core meltdown imminent! The 3 riders passed me by and left to finish the race. I started crawling but when I saw the flag being waved and the group behind me start to appear I put my head down and started pumping my legs. I don't know what happened really, it wasn't a bonk, I just ran out of juice at the wrong time. When I went over the line I wasn't huffing and puffing and even felt fine for the cycle back. Lack of balls maybe? Not liking the ambience in the pain cave? I admit that was the most suffering I have ever done on the bike, I'm not normally one for pushing it on the flat. I had no stats for the day, deciding to do what Luke did and trust my instincts. It was only after we reached town on the way back that I really felt drained, so why I couldn't use that power in the race will remain something of a mystery for now. 30Km of racing plus 78km of getting to and from the event (based on google maps, includes cycle to and from wrong start).

After I got home I headed out to watch the match with friends. We ended up going out to a night club populated almost exclusively by hen parties. A bunch of firewomen dancing next to an emergency exit (smart, even when not on the clock they are aware of where the exits are!) kept dragging me into the middle of their dancing circle. Interesting night! I cycled home (sober!) at 5am deciding my body couldn't handle sleeping on a couch and 40 minutes of suffering was worth it for my own bed. Added another 22km onto the day's total.

Things to note:

I need to up the training. It was good to get the first race done, I now know the above comments are right and my whining about racing was just that. It's good fun, tough, but fun.
It's not a boards spin: If someone gets dropped, don't start looking around and thinking about dropping back to let them on, you might get dropped yourself.
It's not a boards spin: Don't start talking in the middle of a bunch, introducing yourself and asking “Aren't you the guy on the Colnago”, “No, it's a Cervelo”, “Ah, right!”, is a sure-fire way to get dropped.
Need to do more flexibility stuff, I let it slide recently and my back and shoulders were sore. I also need to relax, every time I took a turn I tensed up as I went up and over. This, coupled with my crap Giro helmet and non Giro shaped head made the entire race rather uncomfortable.

Anyway, I really enjoyed it even if my performance was somewhat mediocre. Now I know what the benchmark is and what I need to do to reach it, time to turn this log up to 11!

Oh, and thanks to Dave and Declan for organising the race.

Lumen

Dirk,

Looking over your training log, you don't seem to be spending more than a few minutes at any kind of intensity. It's all <6 min high intensity stuff, or ambling along at 140W. This is also the kind of effort profile on a typical Wicklow group spin, either easy endurance pace or hammering up hills.

Now whilst the H.I. stuff is useful, you need to be getting comfortable with extended periods at "comfortably hard" medium high intensity (tempo). This is quite difficult to achieve in a mixed group, since one person's tempo is another's unsustainable painfest, but it's easy enough on the turbo and doesn't require a huge amount of time, either pedalling or in recovery.

Just my 2c.

DirkVoodoo

Cheers Lumen, good point.

I think I need to dump the "winter cycling program" and probably try the "12 hour per week" one. I'll try and incorporate some medium intensity suffering into it.

I'll start tomorrow with a 20 minute threshold test, seeing as I never did one. Pretty important place to start I suppose.

Lumen

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

I'll start tomorrow with a 20 minute threshold test, seeing as I never did one. Pretty important place to start I suppose.

Your experience may vary, but in my experience threshold tests on the turbo are (done properly) unspeakably horrible and quite demotivating.

I'm not actually sure they matter too much either, unless you're training at a very high level. It is useful to know your approximate threshold, but you can find this out from HR in races (when you'll be outdoors and highly motivated). Actual training at threshold pace, whilst supposedly the "gold standard" for improvements in aerobic endurance, are apparently not significantly more beneficial than longer tempo sessions.

You could instead start from the lower end, and crank up your steady state power over the course of a few sessions until you find the power level which you can sustain for 30 mins+ on the turbo, which is likely to be your tempo pace.

To give a concrete example, my average power in Saturday's race was 247W, with HR of 176bpm, compared to my averages from last August's 40k TT of 246W and 168bpm. Since bunch racing is jumpier than TTing, and I felt I had a bit in reserve on Saturday, I guess my threshold power has gone up a bit, perhaps to 260W.

But so what? I can't actually train at 260W on the turbo. I've tried, and after less than 10 minutes I climb off in misery.

My currently favourite turbo sessions are either 85% (220W) steady state tempo or alternating easier 10 min @ easier tempo (200W) with 2 min @ 300W+ intervals.

My current thinking is that recovering at tempo from harder efforts is a useful thing to practice for racing, as you're not going to get the chance to ease back any more than that.

Anyway, look forward to reading how you get on.

montac

Ha! You quoted our 'chat' perfectly!!
No need to apologise - I was at my limit going up Dorey's Forge. I was thoroughly enjoying our race, but I think I could well follow Lumen's advice (amongst other things) and work on some longer, higher intensity intervals. Also think that in a bigger group it would have been easier to get a little bit more shelter. We were keeping a fairly high pace, and I could have done with a couple more turns on the back...

abcdggs

Lumen wrote: »

It is useful to know your approximate threshold, but you can find this out from HR in races (when you'll be outdoors and highly motivated).

from an Aussie coach, Graham Fowler:
"I have observed a number of different %max heart rates during time trials. My nephew once rode a junior nationals ITT at 100%MHR. He didn't win it needless to say however didn't crack either. Obviously he was very fit or his MHR was inaccurate. I advise riders to ride just above (1 to 5 beats per min) what they consider threshold. This is around 92%max hr. This mark needs to be derived in training. I am aware of race day anxiety causing the heart rate to elevate somewhat so the hr is not such a good measure with an anxious rider. I am more inclined in the future the train with heart rate to establish a perceived effort (pe), and then remove the heart rate meter during racing and ride on pe alone. The speed of is then the govener (sic)."

from one of the training resources you have here

DirkVoodoo

Open Race Week - Feel the burn.

Still not 100% sure if I will do it, but I no longer have the fear about racing. I know Saturday was small "groups" and so not totally representative of what racing may be like, but now all I want is to keep going, improve and maybe contest one or two.

Anyway...

Monday: Football, 6-a-side, 5pm. Was building the planet-x all day, sitting in the back garden cleaning my old ultegra components with cotton buds. Yes, cotton buds. Had to rush into UCD, hate doing that because it means I'm a little drained before I've even kicked a ball, prefer a gentle ride in.

Tuesday: What did I do? Eh, nothing...except finishing touches on bike: torqued it all up and applied the bar tape.

Wednesday: Against Lumen's superior knowledge I decided to do the 20 minute threshold test:

Warmed up for 10 minutes, probably not enough but it was getting late and I was just eager to do it. Still, felt loose and HR was sitting nicely around the mid 140s. I've had problems with the Tacx reading my polar HR monitor, it was reading fine for these 10 minutes but during the test, well you will see....

Started off the way I remember Carmichael saying to do it: "Start from a stand still in a high gear and go. I think the first 10 minutes was the hardest. I tried not to look at any readouts but once the clock went over halfway I found it mentally easier to finish. I also wasn't sure what to do for the last few minutes, if it had been on the road I probably would have tried pushing harder and sprinting for the line, but being on the turbo I stayed seated and didn't go overboard. Is this right? I upped it a bit, but not an all out effort.

The HR monitor was reading fine most of the time, there were a few odd spikes (max of 230? Eh, no!) and drops to 90 when I was pushing hard. At one point I got "---" for a few seconds, which either meant it was misreading or I was suffering a cardiac arrest.

Anyway, finished! Bike position felt ok, probably needs some small tweaks to saddle tilt, also didn't bother putting on turbo tyre, I hate swapping tyres!

So, the numbers:

Power: 335W (Max), 262W (Avg).
HR: 230 (Max - Junk!), 173 (Avg).
Speed: 49.5 km/hr (Max), 38.5 km/hr (Avg).

So, not sure what, if anything, I can take away from it. I know the Tacx flow is not the most accurate power measurement tool there is, I have no powertap to compare. The heart rate average is probably within a few beats of the actual value, seeing as the outlying readings were for such a short time that it probably didn't affect the average too much over a 20 minute period, but again I can't be sure. I guess the only useful value is the speed.

I think the most important thing I learned tonight is that my cardiovascular system is in good nick. Much like on Saturday, as soon as I stopped my breathing and heart rate settled pretty quickly, whereas my legs had long given up. In fact I feel fine now, like I haven't done any session at all. Could this mean that I am pushing gears that are too big for me and should focus more on spinning to stress my cardio system and take some pressure off my feeble legs? Or is it once again that I just don't know how to suffer?

Oh, I took a little snap of my "blood pipes", at this stage they are getting ridiculous but my sister assures me they are "superficial veins" and nothing to worry about. In fact, like Tom says, I should be proud of them! Still, glad I bought those recovery socks. Oh, don't click the link if you don't like looking at men's legs with gross veins!!!

P1010085.JPG

Plan for tomorrow is a bit of gym and make use of their recovery facilities, then not sure maybe a cycle on friday.

Lumen

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Against Lumen's superior knowledge I decided to do the 20 minute threshold test

I didn't say that! I just said it would be hard and not strictly necessary.

Carmichael's protocol must be different from The Coggan/Allen one, because it doesn't include a 5 minute flat-out "leg emptier" before the main 20 minute interval. That makes a big difference. Did you feel like you could have maintaned that effort for an hour out on the road?

I think this means you need to adjust the figure down slightly using the 95% rule to give FTP/CP60. OTOH I've also read that if the 20 minute test is done in training rather than competition, you can use that as 100%, since you're always motivated less in training (and you're on a turbo, which is harder). What does Carmichael say?

Anyway, 262W is about what I'd expect, which means you're officially a stronger cyclist than me, and certainly a better climber. Ha, you can stop sandbagging now!

As to why your legs ran out of puff on Saturday, no idea. Spin more? What was your cadence like during the test?

You're right to stay seated, I think. Getting out of the saddle makes it easier, and you're not going to be out of the saddle in a time trial or hammering along the flat.

Regarding HR, do you have the average for the last 10 minutes? If so, use that.

You're welcome to borrow my Powertap if you want to check the calibration, although I don't know that my PT is any more accurate.

The veins are cool. Nice pic.

niceonetom

Good stuff Dirk.

I've no advice to offer on the watts, but I'm impressed with your application. The fact that you haven't been traumatised by the threshold test means that you probably have a bit more in you somewhere if you need it, which must be good to know.

DirkVoodoo

Cheers guys, good to know it wasn't a complete waste of time. No idea what HR was for last 10 minutes, nuts.

I've just pulled out the "Lance Armstrong Performance Program" and had a look at the 20 minute test section:

1) Find a relatively flat 3 mile course free of traffic, calm wind, moderate temperature.
2) Do not eat for 2 hours before the test. 40 mins before, drink a high carb drink to stay hydrated.
3) Warm Up for 10-20 mins at hard pace, enough to sweat but not all out.
4) Ask a friend to hold your bike at the start. Select gear that allows a quick, stable start. Pedal standing up to build speed more quickly. Allow 2 mins to reach top speed. Don't start too fast.
5) Find gear that allows 80-90 rpm. Avoid impulse to mash (lactic acid buid up). The secret is to use the gearing most efficient to your riding style. Watch speed and HR in different gears to establish optimum.
6)Settle in and feel the burn. If it isn't hard, pedal harder and faster.

And so forth. I think I fell down on the gearing hurdle. Looking down I was pedalling 50-14 for most of it, with a few bits on 50-13. I'm pretty sure I could have gone down a gear and maintained a higher cadence.

So should I take the 95% value of power? I'm annoyed about the HR reading and not being able to trust it, because I don't have a powertap knowing my threshold power is pretty useless for racing. Remind me to wear my HR monitor on saturday so I can see what I get.

godihatedehills

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

"Lance Armstrong Performance Program"

Often overlooked because it's by his lanceness, and it includes sections such as "what would lance do?" but I think it's actually very good....

DirkVoodoo

godihatedehills wrote: »

Often overlooked because it's by his lanceness, and it includes sections such as "what would lance do?" but I think it's actually very good....

I hate those sections...

But you are right a lot of the book is very useful, no idea how it compares to Friel though as I don't have it but it's vastly more popular.

Raam

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

I hate those sections...

I'll bet you're doing the same though

godihatedehills

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

I hate those sections...

But you are right a lot of the book is very useful, no idea how it compares to Friel though as I don't have it but it's vastly more popular.

blasphemy. those sections are to me what the euro rules are to you......

DirkVoodoo

godihatedehills wrote: »

blasphemy. those sections are to me what the euro rules are to you......

This is the problem, it probably IS blasphemy in some people's eyes. Why couldn't he pick "Lance's corner", "thoughts from my testicle" or any other of thousands of possible titles? No, he picks one as close as possible to the eponymous "what would Jesus do?". Rejoice, the messiah has landed to dispense training advice!

I can see him painting "WWLD" on his next bike.

Anyway, yes the book is handy and yes I even follow Lance's gospel sections.

zzzzzzzz

TBH I don't think the numbers are any use in a race. Unless it's a TT. (Maybe some will disagree)

godihatedehills

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

This is the problem, it probably IS blasphemy in some people's eyes. Why couldn't he pick "Lance's corner", "thoughts from my testicle" or any other of thousands of possible titles? No, he picks one as close as possible to the eponymous "what would Jesus do?". Rejoice, the messiah has landed to dispense training advice!

"...and that's how Dirk sees it"

I think it's time to add a weekly column to your training log.

niceonetom

I have that lance book (a well intentioned present). It's crap though. :eek:

aidan.offbeat wrote: »

TBH I don't think the numbers are any use in a race. Unless it's a TT. (Maybe some will disagree)

I agree. My polar computer died before last weeks race so I did the whole thing with no feedback whatsoever. Didn't miss it at all, despite the fact that I never train without it. It seems that in a race there are only two speeds; fast enough and not fast enough, and you can tell which one you're going at by looking around: if you're alone it's the second one.

HR data would have been interesting to look at though as it would be a good indicator for what I could sustain in a TT in the future - much of that race was at or near TT effort levels for me I think.

lukester

LOL @

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

"thoughts from my testicle"

This training log needs a new title.

DirkVoodoo

Bugger, can't edit!

Thursday - Gym:

Leg Press: 1x12 @80Kg, 2x12 @90Kg
Hamstring curl: 3x12 @50Kg
Step ups: 1x12 @25Kg, couldn't find the 10s so 2x12 @18Kg. Need to HTFU and stick with the 25! Someday I will fall over doing these.

Was with a friend, showed me how to do some upper body stuff. Didn't see the point unless I might be struggling to lift any trophies.

Made use of the recovery facilities: Sauna, Turkish bath, plunge pool (frickin' freezing!), jacuzzi (girl beside me was doing all sorts of funny things with the jets, nice!).

Another 22km cycled to and from, recovery must have worked because the return leg and now this morning I feel super fresh.

Friday - Don't plan to do anything ahead of tomorrow.

Lumen

aidan.offbeat wrote: »

TBH I don't think the numbers are any use in a race. Unless it's a TT. (Maybe some will disagree)

I disagree. Knowing Dirk's numbers will be extremely useful to me in a race.

ROK ON

niceonetom wrote: »

if you're alone it's the second one.

Class. Sums up cycling really.

DirkVoodoo

Lumen wrote: »

I disagree. Knowing Dirk's numbers will be extremely useful to me in a race.

I do feel after doing that test and posting it up that I am slightly "naked" now, like playing poker with my cards showing. Argh, I can see you now, glancing at your powertap readout, waiting to strike...

Lumen

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

I do feel after doing that test and posting it up that I am slightly "naked" now, like playing poker with my cards showing. Argh, I can see you now, glancing at your powertap readout, waiting to strike...

More likely "stop sandbagging Dirk, I know you can go faster than this!"

DirkVoodoo

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Bugger, can't edit!

Thursday - Gym:

Leg Press: 1x12 @80Kg, 2x12 @90Kg
Hamstring curl: 3x12 @50Kg
Step ups: 1x12 @25Kg, couldn't find the 10s so 2x12 @18Kg. Need to HTFU and stick with the 25! Someday I will fall over doing these.

Was with a friend, showed me how to do some upper body stuff. Didn't see the point unless I might be struggling to lift any trophies.

Made use of the recovery facilities: Sauna, Turkish bath, plunge pool (frickin' freezing!), jacuzzi (girl beside me was doing all sorts of funny things with the jets, nice!).

Another 22km cycled to and from, recovery must have worked because the return leg and now this morning I feel super fresh.

Friday - Don't plan to do anything ahead of tomorrow.

Saturday - Race. Report in the main forum, didn't go well but glad I got out and tried.

Sunday - Orwell club spin, good fun, was out longer than expected as I planned to turn back early but enjoyed it all the same. Weather was mostly good bar one or two small icy patches and the token idiot in a van.

This week will see me adopt a Carmichael approach to training. Ditching the "winter training plan" now and going to focus on upping my race effort, i.e. sustained power output at or near threshold. This will be difficult on the road due to my botched HR readings, so I will just have to go by "feel". Still, I feel motivated which I guess is a good thing. I also need to start worrying about the people behind me. I don't mean by riding irresponsibly, but in groups I tend to focus only on the guys behind me, worrying about doing something stupid, etc. I just need to focus on not braking hard, keeping good lines and hanging onto wheels so I can progress in races.

Hopefully I will be getting out for some midweek spins now, but tonight is footie nite! Give the legs a break.

blorg

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

I also need to start worrying about the people behind me. I don't mean by riding irresponsibly, but in groups I tend to focus only on the guys behind me, worrying about doing something stupid, etc. I just need to focus on not braking hard, keeping good lines and hanging onto wheels so I can progress in races.

Cardinal rule racing is you don't worry at all about the people behind you. Your responsibility and focus should be on the rider in front of you and to a lesser extent any riders beside you. Presuming you are not doing anything stupid like slamming on the brakes it is the responsibility of the rider behind you to look after himself. If you touch wheels with the rider in front he will probably be OK but you will probably be going down.

DirkVoodoo

Week - Race week 3

Monday - Football.

Tuesday/Wednesday - Damn, need to remember what I did, I don't think I did anything actually.

Thursday - Went for a spin out to Howth with my mate John, the half ironman. Got fingerbanged by Raam apparently, before meeting John at the end of the first half of the clontarf cycle track. We headed up to Howth head, taking the right at Sutton cross, back down via the same route, out to St.Anne's, back to Howth this time straight through the crossroads and onto Howth village, then up taking the long ascent (left at the church). Descended the same way and back out along the cycle track. Left John at St.Anne's and continued on home. Nice spin, pretty relaxed so doesn't count as a training spin.

Headed to the gym in the evening, usual drill:

Leg Press: 3x12@90Kg
Hamstring curl: 3x12@50Kg
Step up with dumbell: 3x12@20Kg (each leg).

Friday - Nothing!

Saturday - Decided not to head out, suffering a recurring problem of a "tender" nature. Not sure why this keeps happening, it's a fairly new occurence but I didn't want to aggravate it ahead of the race.

Sunday - Race day! Headed out with El Tonto. Cold start did not do me any favours (full report in main forum) but the more I think about it the more I believe that circuit would really have suited a race ready Dirk. Felt very nervous at the start, but once we got going I was pretty happy. Not so happy that I was at the back again and unable to move up until the first climb, but after this I really needed to be more aggressive and move up some more.

Plan for this week (already half way in and no cycling done yet!) is to have a look at this hill climb challenge. I would like to make a good go of it which will require some careful planning and returning to some regular training.

DirkVoodoo

Not such a great week:

Monday-Friday: Football, plenty of trips in and out of town (twice doing 40km commutes!) but no midweek spins. This needs to change! My week was ruined mostly by waiting in the mornings for the postman to deliver my hub and stem from CRC. It still hasn't arrived! Friday I did a quick test of the proposed hill climb TT route with the Tax Man. I think another go at it is needed, I'm pretty sure I know in my head how to tackle it. I think a sub 20 minute time is possible.

After I got home on friday I headed out to Glasnevin to pick up CO2 cartridges from cdaly. Bit of a trek, about 42-44km round trip including a small bit of getting lost and heading toward Finglas. Nearly got knocked off twice and a truck overtook a parked car straight towards me, but other than that it was quite enjoyable. Unfortunately I only had two slices of toast with peanut butter after the TT and on my way home from Glasnevin I started to feel a bit crap. Stopped in for some lunch with my Mum, but the rest of the day was me doing little except watching TV and driving people around.

Saturday: Tired when I woke up at 7am and the idea of a flat 200km spin held absolutely no appeal to me so I decided to skip it.

Sunday: Woke up with a bit of a niggle at the back of my throat, the kind you get before a sore throat starts and I didn't believe going out on the bike would help so again, back to bed. Cleaned out the garage though, I have nearly made space to install some wall hangers for the Felt and the Planet X.

Bad, bad, bad week.

THIS week's plan: Start those midweek cycles! One more trip to the hill TT course and see if I can improve my time and finish at the right point this time.

blorg

It certainly wasn't flat; we were cycling through Wicklow on the way out after all. Up to 300m and apart from that a lot of undulation in places, like around the lakes. What didn't appeal? I think I can guarantee you would have found it challenging and a good workout

DirkVoodoo

Grrr...Arghhh! That's me, turning into the incredible hulk.

So, haven't been on this in a while, had another dip in "training". I think I rely too much on other people for spins, I need to get into a routine where I go out, do my few hours, get in a few intervals and come home. Going out for spins in a group is fun, but it's time consuming and I can't concentrate on my own goals. So, last week:

Saturday - 32km through Dun Laoghaire -> Killiney -> Shankill -> Bray - Enniskerry -> Home.

Sunday - Ardattin 200km cycle (225km in total I think). Went a little hard for the first half, got carried home by the gang for the second half. Arione ain't working out, ordering another Aliante. My favourite saddle by far! Great day on the bike, I think mentally I was struggling with the first long distance in a while. I was guilty of some moaning and general wimpiness, but once we hit Kilmacanogue I was fine (even able for some duelling with Tom, I don't think he noticed though). Great event though.

Monday - Football. Legs were very tired, tried to minimize my running but I played ok for the first time in a while. Weather was fantastic.

Wednesday - 60km (UCD - Sally Gap via W200 route, home via Stocking lane and Military road). Went out with my friend the half iron-man. He was pushing the pace hard and it was hurting me on the hills, I couldn't keep up, legs were still pretty tired. Was getting worried about the TT tomorrow but whenever I mentioned this he kept saying "it's only 16km!". Never fraternise with triathletes! Saw ROK ON and co. on Stocking lane.


Thursday - 100km. Orwell TT! Was bricking it over this all week, my first flat time trial and I'm not particularly strong on the flat. In the end I really enjoyed it, the weather was great, all the gang was out and the course was excellent. I tried using the bars as much as I could and I felt they helped but it was tough to maintain the position and generate power. I'm pretty sure I could knock a bit of time off but 27:36 while not earth shatteringly brilliant (Oh god, I hope slideshowbob isn't reading this...oh wait, he isn't interested in anyone who doesn't place, I'm safe!) was more than I was hoping for. I came 5th in limit and 8 seconds off 3rd (damn you Montac!). I actually enjoyed this more than the Boards hill TT the other week, much less suffering involved.

Sunday - Stamullen GP. Great day, great race and it's helping me focus my week ahead. I'm hoping to get a bit in before thursday's race and maybe, just maybe make a good go of it. I would like to hold my position in a finishing bunch, I think that is my target for now. I'm some way of placing in a race, if ever. I'm determined now to work on increasing my power, maybe if I put on some weight? Hand me that box of delicious donuts.

Next week's goals: Get out on the bike! Do some stretching! I had avoided back/neck pain for a long time and I haven't been to the gym in weeks which seems to be coming back to bite me. Up the power!

niceonetom

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

I actually enjoyed this more than the Boards hill TT the other week, much less suffering involved.

Time-trialling: YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG! :P

Lumen

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Sunday - Stamullen GP. Great day, great race and it's helping me focus my week ahead. I'm hoping to get a bit in before thursday's race and maybe, just maybe make a good go of it. I would like to hold my position in a finishing bunch

Comparing Tom's stats to mine, we lost only about one minute in twenty to the lead bunch in that chase - I finished about 1:15 down, and we started at least 15 seconds off.

Could you have pushed a little harder, or was your back hurting too much? I'm not blaming you btw, just curious about how much on the limit you were.

Agree with the cross-training if you can find the time. Back strength is critical.

DirkVoodoo

Lumen wrote: »

Could you have pushed a little harder, or was your back hurting too much? I'm not blaming you btw, just curious about how much on the limit you were.

You should be blaming me after I took a free trip on the Lumen express, once again, I'm really sorry about that!

No, I was in bits, I had to flick back through gears and any hard pushes sent a shooting pain up the right side of my back, just above my right cheek. Looking at crude maps of lower back muscles (it was definitely muscular) it is around the "iliac crest". Anyway it felt fine today, I just avoided mashing any gears and spun around any hills in the lowest gear.

abcdggs

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Saw ROK ON and co. on Stocking lane.

That'll be me

DirkVoodoo

Monday: Spin with Coolbeans and Captain Havoc from Dundrum taking in Dundrum, Dun Laoghaire, Blackrock, Dalkey, Shankill, Bray, Calary and Enniskerry. Back felt fine after Sunday’s abysmal showing and I kept it to spinning up hills and not going for any big efforts. Good company and the weather was nice, 2hours 45minutes of cycling and a nice 56km spin done. Good start to the week.

Tuesday: Went to watch the Ladies Criterium League in Sandyford and helped out a bit with some of the Marshalling before heading into town to meet some friends and watch the football. 26km by singlespeed.

Wednesday: I can’t remember at all what I did on Wednesday. Did I cycle? Maybe.

Thursday: Race Day ***Warning – Ridiculously pointless race report enclosed*** (This was the fuzziest my head has been after a race, if there are any glaring mistakes or Walter Mitty moments let me know!)
Well, I spent more or less all day mincing over the encouraging words of niceonetom and El Tonto. It wasn’t that I doubted my ability, well sort of, but rather if I failed to place today the guys who I had pretty much started cycling with might look at me in a different way. I would no longer be seen as someone who might do well at racing, but someone who might do well at Marshalling or time keeping instead of racing. The pressure was certainly on and added to that I didn’t know what bike to ride. The planet-x had been built as a winter/sportive/trainer yet because of the protracted build time I had been racing on the p-x and found it more than capable. The Ridley however, was ready to race and I felt the choice came down to the wheels. I decided to go for the better wheels on the untested Ridley. Mistake number one.

I headed out to Brittas, a good distance (~26km) for a warm up that took me through Tallaght and up the N81. At first everything seemed fine, then one by one things started to go wrong. My bike decided to stop shifting into the big ring. Odd, I thought, cables don’t normally stretch after less than an hour do they? Then my left knee started to hurt a little, thank you very much Look Keo pedals with your ridiculous amounts of float, give me the secure and unyielding platform of the Shimano system any day. Next my arms started to hurt and I felt like I was sliding forward too much on my saddle, great! By the time I got to the sign on I was changing my setup, having El Tonto look at my front mech and wondering why had I picked an untested bike to race on what was probably the most important race of my fledgling career. Still, if I had started complaining next to Caroline and her chainless, bird crap covered bike, I would have had my name forever emblazoned at the top of the wimp list.

Ok, so two paragraphs in and you are wondering “where the feck is the race report?”. We started off last in the limit group with a pace car in front of us. The warning was if we caught the semi-limit, not to interfere with their race. No chance of that I thought. A gunshot, clapping podium girls and cheering crowds should have started the beginning of the race, but we were left with a “off ye go” from the organiser. I immediately moved up to the front along with Caroline, Levitronix and Montac to try and take control of the race. If I had sat at the back I would have been kicking myself, not today, time to be assertive. The race’s balls, if it had any, were tightly within my grasp and I wasn’t going to let go. I could see immediately this was a different story to the open races. The smaller bunch didn’t make things easier as when I let my go up at the front there was no orderly paceline. Instead I slipped back a good few places as one of the others took up the reins and everyone else was happy to sit in. I could see now what blorg and others had been saying about organization and this trend would continue throughout the race. We took the left, I moved further down the back. The road was not the most tricky, but the pace was quite high and the bunch a bit loose. People were taking any line possible through the bends so the risk of touching wheels was too great for me and I was happy to sit back. A right turn and onto the back road where I saw El Tonto. Crap, he is going to see me sitting at the back. The urge to pull over and explain the work I had done at the start was strong, but I knew he would not appreciate my throwing away the race to explain this.

The road surface here was terrible and we were having to contend with a huge number of cars and other obstacles. Then it happened, the blue blur! He went off the front in the oddest riding style I have seen. Sitting quite upright, knees pointing outwards and pulling the bike from side to side with every pedal stroke. He had power, but it was a funny place to attack on your own. I went for him. A rush of blood maybe? In hindsight I don’t think he could have stayed away as when we cought him he slipped back through the bunch. I got close to him anyway and had montac on my wheel to take over and finish it off. It was good having three Orwellians who I knew in the bunch, especially when I knew each was capable of racing this. It continued like this for the rest of the lap, Montac and Levitronix doing the bulk of the work with Caroline helping out too and providing me with some instruction. I went up the front on the drag, trying to pay attention to any landmarks and noting where the finish was. I was also trying to work out how much I would need on the second pass, as it seemed to be common knowledge that this was where races were won and lost. Again I slipped back after we reached the finish line and the bell went, the descent that followed was on a badly potholed stretch of road and my fear of crashing took over.

Left at the bottom and again we passed El Tonto. I’m at the back again! Look, I swear, I’ve been doing work, I have potential, I have potential. He must have been looking at me the way the English public look at Stewart Downing: So much promise and yet hasn’t really delivered. I was paying attention to a guy in front of me who seemed to have all the race awareness of a spoon. He would move over to the far right, what I was told in racing circles is where movement happens, and just sit there. He was also a bit erratic, moving from side to side, hitting the brakes unnecessarily. Ah, the back, I thought...the arsehole of a race where all the crap hangs about. Again Montac and Levitronix seemed to be dictating the pace. I saw Caroline move up the outside and followed her. Mr. Righty was again in the way and she had to move too far over and couldn’t squeeze back in. We were approaching a right hand bend and I was on the far right of the road. Oh no, please don’t let a car be there! Caroline managed to move in and I went up around her, almost at the same moment as Levitronix made a move. I went to go with him as we approached the turn for the bridge and suddenly felt like something was not right. Loose bottle cage that had been annoying me all race? No that’s fine. Argh! My stem was pointing off to the right, only a small amount but enough to make the handling feel odd.

I must digress at this point: the stem was bought from CRC, it’s an FSA OS-120 stem – 1-1/4” with a shim for 1-1/8” steerers and a 6Nm torque setting. Even over the specified torque this thing was loose. Back to the race and I’m thinking I should pull out of the race. Levitronix is looking at me to take over but I can’t do anything. If I go for a sprint or big effort I will have to pull the bars and that would not be safe. I slip back again into the bunch as we cross the bridge. Hitting the back roads there is little happening, I get boxed in by Mr.Righty as people pass him (on the right) and start cursing. I have to get up front before the drag or this is over, I won’t be sprinting for the line and my only chance is to try and up the pace on the drag. Levitronix had said as much to me after the last lap (sorry, I can’t remember the exact words) so I started to move up to the front again. I saw a lone rider out in front and made an effort to move across. Come on I thought, make the gap! Too late I saw it was Montac and as panic set in I started looking behind me. Oh no, I’ve done what you are not meant to and brought most of the bunch across. If I had pushed Montac into a ditch and kicked him square in the groin it would probably have been more honest than what I just did. I kept going as I rounded him, urging him to get on my wheel.

We were at the drag and I just started pushing. I was in the big ring, again doing what I am guilty of doing in race situations: grinding when it doesn’t suit my riding style. I shifted down and started going for a high cadence, but I think at that point I had expended too much energy. I could feel heavy breathing behind me and a quick glance showed that the bunch was out in a line. Come on Dirk, keep going! I looked up the road, a house! And a road sign! Was this the finish? I pushed harder, hoping that the people on the left would come into view. Nothing. My heart sank and I felt the game was up but put my head down and kept going. The feeling of “I’m gonna win” started to fade and I could see riders moving up to my right, getting ready to pull the trigger. I saw the line, the crowd and the figure of El Tonto. Christ! Why can’t he ever stand somewhere where I’m doing well?I heard the click-click of gears shifting, or was it guns being cocked? Boom! Off they went. I tried shifting but it wouldn’t and frankly I was glad it didn’t. I had nothing left and limped over the line to collapse on the grass in a heap. A deserved victory for Levitronix but I was left feeling like I had come so close. Still, racing is great! 87km in total – 35km of racing at 36 km/hr average according to the guys (yet another problem, no computer for the new bike).

Friday: Into town again to meet a friend, thought about going to the gym too but the weather was so nice that the idea of being stuck indoors with a bunch of fitness machines and the sterile environs of Westwood did not appeal to me. 22km by singlespeed.

Saturday: Alarm clock goes off, too early and not in the mood to cycle. Happy to leave the weekend spin until Sunday.

Sunday: 128km boards spin. 319km for the week which ain't too bad I guess, wish I knew what I did on wednesday though!

Nietzschean

Dirk you care too much about people's opinions of you racing, i'm still just impressed you keep showing up to everything!

Wouldn't worry about pulling montac in, team tactics are forbidden in the league as far as i'm aware anyway.

Lumen

After dithering over whether to jump to Joe as he soloed off the front on the home straight, I asked around a bit after the race about chasing down team mates.

Consensus was that it doesn't matter (in a league race) and Joe said something to the effect of "ah, it's just a bit of fun, all good training".

abcdggs

Thanks for all the race reports dirk, you're single handedly stoking the fire in my belly to start racing next season. Keep it up, sounds like your improving a lot