A log with me in it..

Scuba_Scoper

Background:
Active in athletics in my teens but lost interest for the usual reasons late on. Nearly 25
years later having tried and gotten bored of many many pursuits, I have 'found' cycling. Started
commuting earlier this year and soon after found this forum which has been an inspiration on a
number of levels. I think after many years in the wilderness I have found my calling. This log,
which is something I have never done before, is my record of my attempts to reach my cycling goals.

Goals 2012:
Join a local club and be very comfortable in the beginners section learning to ride in groups.
Achieved by;
Solo and small group riding to improve aerobic and anerobic fitness levels.

I have a number of goals that will take me up to applying for PBP in 2015 but one step at a time grasshopper.

I am crap at keeping diaries etc. but as I look at the cycling forum as much as I do, I should have no problems remebering to update this log.

Starting Point
I am following a training plan that will build aerobic fitness over the next three months.

Phase: Base 1 - Week 1
Hours training this week: 11
KMileage this week: 251
Total KMileage YTD: 966

Scuba_Scoper

Hours training this week: 11.5
KMileage this week: 272
Avg Speed 24.5km/h
Total KMileage YTD: 1238


I am following Joe Friel's Cyclist Training Bible training plan but instead of late Autumn/Winter training, I am doing this now in order to build fitness. Went well this week but I am finding it hard to keep my HR in Zone 2. I am not being too pedantic about it as time on the bike and mileage are more important at the moment but I am keeping it as close as I can.

I don't know if is just because I am now cycling but I have never seen so many cyclists, both club aligned and solo in all my life. Example, I was driving about 5 miles along the N81 and up towards Marley Park this morning and I counted 27 cyclists with the largest group being 6. The other thing is practically all of them were over 30'ish. Cycling must be one of the few growth industries out there at the moment.

Off-day'ish tomorrow but starting into Week 3 next week. 12 hours planned including 3.5 hours long spin on Saturday - need to find a new route, flattish, starting from Templeogue area- around 90km.

Also, need to start splitting workouts to 2 per day as heading out every evening for 1.5-3 hours depending on the day is starting to raise eyebrows indoors.

Scuba_Scoper

This week was supposed to be the peak of Base 1 - I was progressing fine until my scheduled long spin on Saturday, about 15 minutes into it I had no gas in the legs at all so decided to cancel and live to fight another day. I have a feeling that I may have gone off too fast in this training cycle and will make good use of this recovery week before I launch into Base 2. Joe Friel says that riders over 40 should skip the first week of each phase so the breakdown should be 2 on and 1 off instead of 3 on 1 off. I paid for not taking his advice this weekend but with this in mind, a redesigned training plan will be put in place to accomodate this advice.

So, I made it into the top 20 boardsies on Strava for distance this month and top 15 for time on the bike. Elevation was a different story but that will change next month. Not bad for a non-club aligned-just started in February rider but that in itself points to the issue I had over the weekend. Lesson learned for the next phase.

Hours training this week: 8.5 (should have been 13)
KMileage this week: 186 (closer to 300 planned)
Total KMileage YTD: 1424

Inquitus

Good luck with this. I also want to ride PBP in 2015 as a long term goal.

Scuba_Scoper

Hours training this week: 6.0
KMileage this week: 125
Total KMileage YTD: 1549

Rest and Recuperation week to lock in the gains from the previous Base phase.
Definitely worked as my commute of 9 km each way is starting to feel like a trip to shops now and not the suffer/sweat fest it used to be. Spent the week itching to get back on the bike for some proper spins, which can only be a good thing. Also, spent the week thinking about doing the Orwell Randonee but at 140km, it would have been doable but not advisable yet...

So, really looking forward to Base 2 - 2 weeks of more endurance but also so tasty hilly bits to build climbing strength. Stocking Lane/Cruagh Rd are about 400m from my front door so I will be getting very acquainted with them over the next two months.

Scuba_Scoper

Hours training this week: 10.0 (planned 12.5)
KMileage this week: 257
Total KMileage YTD: 1804

Not a bad start to Base 2 but family sickness got in the way of completeing weeks plan so a bit disappointed. Feeling the benifits of the the R & R week and am really impressed with the structure of Friels ideas. The science of fitness and his training plans satisfies the inner nerd but it;s great to see improvement on the road from week to week.

Going to have to compress training this week as I will be away next weekend with no access to the bike so may drop Speed Work and replace with Tempo will change the plan around to achieve this weeks targets.

Will this weather ever change?

Scuba_Scoper

A couple of weeks since my last update but my progress is coming on in leaps and bounds.

KMileage this week: 290
Total KMileage YTD: 2564

(Lol, I thought when I started cycling this year that I might do 2500km for the entire year - not in 3.5 months)

The 2 weeks on and 1 week reduced volume is paying dividends on each cycle. I am learning more about myself, my capabilities and my limiters each day and am using this to feed into my overall cycling plan while sticking to Friel's template as much as possible. i.e. I keep in Zone 2 for a lot of my bike time but I am starting to love climbing hills so I treat myself every now and again with a blast (for me) in the hills up to Sally Gap.

I decided that at the end of Base 2 I was going to do something special bike wise so when Saturday promised fine for an early start I made up my mind to do my first solo 100k. I headed off to Blessington and instead of my usual turn off for Lake Drive I kept on going down the N81 until I came to the sign for Hollywood and Laragh beyond. It was virgin territory for me an apart from a mapymyride profile I had no idea what was in store for me. The hill on the way out of Hollywood had me laughing when I saw it but with a bit of gnawing on the bar tape I made it to the top and continued onwards and upwards. After the descent into Laragh I made my way up the R115 to Sallygap. First time seeing that waterfall on the way up - most impressive sight. Around Sallygap, my back was aching and my backside was tender but all downhill from here I said to myself, but I had forgotten about Military Road. Thank God for the slight tailwind as i don't think I would have been up to fighting into the teeth of a gale force wind up there but soon I was descending down familiar roads to be greeted by a nice warm shower and a couple of celebratory sherbets to numb the screaming from my thighs.

So, 100km completed about 3 months in advance of where I thought I would be and another 3 weeks of base to look forward to. I am aiming for a 150km cycle at the end of June to celebrate the end of Base training and am now starting to consider my first audax event by the end of summer. I am reading a lot about endurance riding and find that this aspect of the sport appeals to me most.. rottenhats recent post on the REK should have made me scream 'nutters' at the screen but I found myself strangely jealous of the suffering endured. I may not be right in the head - time will tell.

joxerjohn

Hi Scuba, any further updates how did you get on for the rest of 2012 and what are your palns for 2013. i would be interested to know