Beginner roadie log

colm_gti

Yesterday was a cracking day for a spin, got out with daragh_ and Colm18 for a spin to the Shay Elliott via the Sally gap...

http://app.strava.com/rides/5696548

Good spin, apart from the fact that I was really hitting the wall by the time I got to Enniskerry, having eaten 2 packets of nature valley flapjacks, a packet of wine gums, an espresso and 3 litres of High5 zero, and having forgotten to bring more money than the change that was left in my saddle bag from the previous week, I honestly thought I was going to flop into a ditch! Lesson learned!

Got a good bit of mileage in this week, thanks to the bank holiday!

Week ending 25th March:
Monday: 96.3km spin + 6km commute
Tuesday: 8.3km commute
Wednesday: 9.7km commute
Thursday: 34.2km spin + 8.8km commute
Friday: 13.4km commute
Saturday: 13.4km spin + 18.1km commute
Sunday: 110km spin

Weekly Totals: 322km distance + 4133m elevation gain
YTD: 1452km distance + 13844m elevation gain

Also currently standing at #1020 in the specialized challenge, if I can break into the sub 1000 rankings this week I'll be happy :pac:

monkeyslayer

I too demand you remove all mentions of the word 'beginner' from this thread...

Good man thats some going, you'll be a demon by the end of the summer... You should add up the metres climbed too each week too. Sorry missed yis yest, even got up and got ready to go in the morning, and then the phone rang... stupid real life getting in the way of my cycling...

colm_gti

monkeyslayer wrote: »

I too demand you remove all mentions of the word 'beginner' from this thread...

Good man thats some going, you'll be a demon by the end of the summer... You should add up the metres climbed too each week too. Sorry missed yis yest, even got up and got ready to go in the morning, and then the phone rang... stupid real life getting in the way of my cycling...

Haha, cheers man, no reason not to get out on Thursday sure, the evenings are getting longer and this week is set to be a cracker!

Checked the weekly/yearly elevation totals, I wouldn't even have driven that amount this time last year haha!

Weekly Totals: 322km distance + 4133m elevation gain
YTD: 1452km distance + 13844m elevation gain

colm_gti

Would have been rude not to take advantage of the weather and get out for a light enough spin yesterday, so I took a half day and set off on the bike. Decided to head for Howth seeing as I haven't been to that side of the city in over a month.

http://app.strava.com/rides/5805137

It's funny to look back and think how I used to struggle to do one climb of this hill and now 3 climbs is taking it relatively easy, definitely starting to benefit from getting out with the Thinkbike lads twice a week! :cool:

colm_gti

Out with daragh_ and Colm18 for some more fun on the hills this evening...

http://app.strava.com/rides/5902906

There's a great stretch in the evenings now, should be able for 4 full repeats next week before the sun goes down!

colm_gti

Picked up a garmin edge 200 on Friday (I know, I know, should have went for the 500, but when push came to shove I coughed up for the 200. There was over €60 in the difference, and when you're a student that equates to an extra week of dinners, which is more important that an edge 500) so I was looking forward to getting out to try it out.

Got out with manafana and monkeyslayer this morning for a light spin..

http://app.strava.com/rides/6032545

Brought this weeks totals up to:

Weekly Totals: 284km distance + 3914m elevation gain
YTD: 1736km distance + 17758m elevation gain

wanderer 22

You better be joking calling 120k a light spin!

colm_gti

colm18 wrote: »

You better be joking calling 120k a light spin!

Haha april fools!

daragh_

colm_gti wrote: »

colm18 wrote: »

You better be joking calling 120k a light spin!

Haha april fools!

Well done.

colm_gti

Got out yesterday afternoon/evening to try out my new Bryton Rider 35, and establish a max HR for the purpose of trying out a bit of zone training over the next few weeks.

The computer worked well, acquired satellite as soon as I turned it on, easy to start recording and easy to read while in use, no different to a garmin really. When uploaded to brytonsport however, it seems you can analyse it a bit more than garminconnect, if you're at all interested in time/hr/speed going uphill/downhill (which most people aren't I'd imagine:rolleyes:).

http://www.brytonsport.com/mapTrackView?id=413470

It was friggin cold up there though, regretted not wearing full finger gloves and glasses, the sleet was blinding me!

colm_gti

Got a decent amount of cycling in this week...

Week ending 8th April:
Monday: 17.9 commute
Tuesday: 9.8km commute + 21.4km spin
Wednesday: 9km commute
Thursday: 15.4km commute + 31.8km spin
Friday: 5.8km commute + 104km spin
Saturday: 71.3km spin
Sunday: 29.3km spin

Weekly Totals: 316km distance + 3230m elevation gain
YTD: 2060km distance + 21013m elevation gain

Wasn't overly happy with the week, wanted to try get 4 climbs of Kilmashogue in on Thursday, but I found my mate stranded with a snapped chain at the bottom when I got down from my 3rd climb and we called it a day. Fridays spin with a mate from Castleknock was a bit of a 'make it up as we go along' route, with way too much traffic! Legs were a bit tired then for Saturday so didn't push too far on the hills. Used the spin home to my parents house to loosen my legs a bit, before a tasty Easter Sunday lunch :cool:

As I'm staying here tonight I'm hoping get out for a decent spin from here tomorrow morning, providing the weather isn't TOO bad, and hopefully structure my training a bit better from now on, now that I have a good HRM, and have established as close to my max HR as I can without my heart bursting through my head!

Weighed myself on the parents digital scales while I'm here and I'm still hovering between 87-88kg's, must analyse my diet a bit better and try shed a bit of that :rolleyes:

colm_gti

Not a huge amount of distance recorded this week...

Week ending 15th April:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: 9.3km commute + 47.1km spin
Wednesday: 5.8km commute
Thursday: 4.7km commute + 38.2km spin
Friday: 5.2km commute
Saturday: 12km spin (on the fixie)
Sunday: 99.6km spin (Tour de Foothills)

Weekly Totals: 222km distance + 3366m elevation gain
YTD: 2281km distance + 24378m elevation gain

Really enjoyed the Tour de Foothills today, not as much climbing as the usual Sunday spin, but my body feels like it was worked a lot harder...

colm_gti

Haven't updated this in a while...

Week ending 21st April:
Monday: 9.3km commute
Tuesday: 13.9km commute + 39.2km spin
Wednesday: 6km commute
Thursday: 10.8km commute + 38.1km spin
Friday: Off
Saturday: 122.6km spin
Sunday: Off

Weekly Totals: 240km distance + 3245m elevation gain

Week ending 28th April:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: 34.3km spin
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Off
Friday: Off
Saturday: 107.8km spin
Sunday: Off

Weekly Totals: 142km distance + 1385m elevation gain

YTD: 2663.3km distance + 29008m elevation gain

Last week was a quiet week thanks to the miserable weather stopping my commute, and going to see cirque de soleil on Thursday. Sat in with the St. Tiernans fast group on Saturday to see how I'd get on, with a view to joining up and taking part in their club league. The pace was spot on, was able to hang on for the whole spin, felt like a good workout and learned a lot about technique. Ever since getting off the bike however, my knee has been in agony thanks to overly tight quad muscles, which could possibly keep me off the bike altogether this week, a shame as I'd signed up to the orwell spin at the weekend I've been to see a physio and getting treatment, and he reckons I'd be ok to tackle the spin at the weekend, but to be honest I'd rather wait until I'm 100% again, as I'd like to get in on the club league ASAP!

colm_gti

Been a while since I updated this as there wasn't much to report back on thanks to my feic'd knee. Was with a physio twice a week and he had eliminated all the possibilities regarding muscle tightness, yet I was still in agony after a 20km spin, so it was purely down to an ergonomic issue. Booked myself a bike fitting with irishfit, and Leo there discovered that my left glute was much much weaker than my right, and when it got tired, my knee was buckling inwards, putting extra rotational strain on my joint. A few core exercises a day and plenty of stretching, coupled with the bike fit seems to have resolved it completely

Now the only issue is my fitness :rolleyes:

Week ending 6th of May:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: 25.2km spin
Friday: Off
Saturday: Off
Sunday: Off

Was in too much agony after Thursdays spin to get back on the bike

Week ending 13th of May:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Off
Friday: Off
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 34.7km spin

Knee still pretty tender

Week ending 20th of May:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Off
Friday: Off
Saturday: 44.1km spin
Sunday: Off

Went for a post bike fitting spin and was beginning to feel a lot more comfortable

Week ending 27th of May:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: 47km spin
Wednesday: 71km spin
Thursday: Off
Friday: 70.5km spin
Saturday: 78.7km spin
Sunday: Off

This was the week of the cracking weather, and my knee was feeling pretty good again, so it would have been rude not to get out most evenings. Tried sitting in with the tiernans fast group for the first time since my injury, but the pace was too aggressive and my knee was feeling a bit tender after 25km, but when we crossed paths with the touring group I took it as a sign and stuck with them for the remainder of the spin. Was feeling pretty sore on Sunday so took it off.

Week ending 3rd of June:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: 79km spin
Friday: Off
Saturday: 111.7km spin
Sunday: Off

Felt pretty strong in the hills on Thursday, so decided I'd try rolling out with the Tiernans fast group again this weekend, managed just fine, not even so much as a hint of pain from my knee

Hoping to get my full competition licence in the next week or two, and then all I have to do is get my hands on some club kit the next time there is an order going in before I can make my racing debut

YTD: 3354.1km distance + 36255m elevation gain

colm_gti

Good week this week thanks to the bank holiday and a few breaks in the clouds!

Week ending 10th of June:
Monday: 129km Spin
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: 64.8km Spin
Thursday: Off
Friday: Off
Saturday: 76.4km Spin
Sunday: 70.1km Spin

Saturday club spin was tough! With everyone doing the WW200 only 3 of us turned up, so there was no hiding from the atrocious winds! Didn't help that I was feeling pretty tired from Monday's and Wednesday's spins. Was out for dinner the previous night too, so didn't have a big portion of pasta like usual, was surprised at how big a difference this made!

Hadn't planned to head out today, but a mate wanted to spin the legs, and the weather looked decent, so went on a handy one down to Roundwood for a can of coke and a purple snack bar. Glad I got this in as I doubt I'll have much time to get out this week.

Hoping to get my competition licence tomorrow, so if I can get a lend of a Tiernans jersey for Thursday I might make a first appearance at the club league race


Weekly Totals: 340.3km distance + 4600m elevation gain

YTD: 3565.4km distance + 38783m elevation gain

colm_gti

Only updating this for last week now as I was too busy until today, and as a consequence didn't get out as much as I'd liked

Week ending 17th of June:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Off
Friday: 47.6km spin
Saturday: 46.9km spin
Sunday: 46.3km spin

Weekly Totals: 140.8km distance + 918m elevation gain

On the plus side, I got my (student rate:D) full competition licence, and am strongly considering 'breaking it in' at mondello tonight!

colm_gti

I know its not Sunday, but I won't be on the bike tomorrow and I'm bored

Great week on the bike this week, broke in my newly acquired race licence nicely!

Week ending 24th of June:
Monday: 77.2km spin
Tuesday: 8.7km warm up, 51.7km race + 3.4km warm down
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: 17.1km warm up, 30.3km race + 24km spin home
Friday: Off
Saturday: 53.2km spin + 3hrs Kayaking
Sunday: Off

Enjoyed the racing immensely!

Mondello, stuck with the lead group for pretty much the full 15 laps, until someone commented on how well I was doing, halfway through the last lap, I burnt out, dropped back, got spat out and rolled home solo behind them.

Club league race, went out with SL, stuck with the group for most of it, until the start of the rolling hills, dropped out until the climb, started to claw my way back on the climb and had almost caught the back f the bunch by the time I reached the finish line.

Far from last in both cases, which I'm happy out with for my debut, can't wait for the next one!