Training Log Archive: Dangerman

Experiment time. I wonder whether I can actually grow some muscles. I'll give this gig 2 months tops.

3 x 3 x 10 chest
2 x 3 x 10 biceps

C • Carefull Danger..... 6

23x250m hard+100m easy
Once I got on the water, I didn't feel like doing this session. It's just plain hard! Oh well - struggled through and made it.

And so begins the training for Karri Cup. It may sound strange to some, but a major opportunity to improve my MTB pace lies in improving my skills on the MTB. I do admit that they are good, but I still have a long way to go when compared to the top riders. And skills are something that improves pace more quickly than training to get stronger. Also, MTB skills enable me to go faster with less power.

And what better place than the iconic PBGS? 9:13 for the WNM however, I put my foot down at the tricky, steep and full of tree routes section nearer to the top. Felt like I was working really hard for not much speed with my legs burning and sore from running. But.... the time is an amazing 38 seconds quicker than the 20 Feb ride, and a full 87 seconds quicker than 2009. Big smiles :-D Maybe all this riding is making me fitter?

Went exploring after summitting Mt Gungin. Found km's of new trails :-D Also did some downhill runs way too quick but managed to stay upright. The trails were brilliant today with sooo much grip. I was really hammering it in places and I had the flow. IT WAS AWESOME! Things were just falling into place out there - a great feeling to experience.

Found myself near the Dell after my little exploring adventure and headed towards the Scorpion trail. Found some more trails on the way there and also found a baboon. This baboon would struggle up hills and then yell You-Who as soon as it went downhill. It would then speed up greatly. Annoying? Yes. Motivating? Yes - the quicker I went, the sooner I would put him behind me. I got on his tail easlily up the hills but struggled to stay in touch on the down. My god, did this baboon (or is that bafoon?) teach me some tricks. Since we were a similar speed, I just did all the obstacles it did figuring that if he got over it at this speed, so will I.

Fatigue was approaching here so I decided to make my way back. More single track from the end of Scorpion that linked up all the way to the Orange tag (near the pine trees) and then to Chuditch, Hacksaws, Link, Gungin DH (tough!) and then back the way I came.

PBGS didn't disappoint with a nice toasted pannini (sandwiches are for English people) and ice cream. Only 29 more weekends and 19 more rides like this one to go.

C • Sounds great! 3

Whore No More (WNM) - Splits

Legs were sore from last nights intervals, I was running in the afternoon and I couldn't be arsed. I also encountered some traffic along the bike path which was a novelty. I wondered how much patience the people behind would have when we approached a slower commuter going over the bridge near the West Leederville train station.

Not much was the answer as this roadie carrying a big back pack accelerated past. Looked like he was trying too as he was moving around heaps and zipping in and out of traffic. Silly boy, you will still get to work even if you take it easy.

Well, that thought lasted about 45 seconds and then I got the bright idea to see if I could catch him. It turned out to be a good idea as I had to maintain an effort but not over do it and pop. Caught him back near the underpass and couldn't resist the re-pass. Quiet happy that I had it in me :)

10(!)x600m@AT
I was a bit concerned by this session. My shins had healed reasonably from the previous weeks surprise 3 sessions but they weren't perfect by any stretch of the imagination. I was also concerned about how I would recover from this. I usually take a while to cover from a long effort at pace. That's probably got something to do with my muscular imbalances but either way, it still hurts and takes a while to recover from.

I started too quick, surprise surprise, and progressively got slower till I found my pace. 6 and 7 felt a touch hard and by 8 I was starting to feel some fatigue. I decided to pull the pin there. I had still done more than last week so the progression was there and this way my recovery would be quicker.

My right quad and hammy were surprisingly pain free however my left quad hurt a bit. I'll take that as a good sign though. Maybe that right leg is slowly going back to normal?

2:26 felt too hard by 300m
2:31 tried to go slower but still too hard
2:36 about right
2:43 big gust of wind stole 7 seconds!
2:39 pushed harder through the wind
2:34 ?
2:38 wind and rain
2:42 more wind and rain

I woke up in time for my planned ride but with the sound of the rain coming down, I went back to sleep. I'm a little disappointed, especially since I actually enjoyed the ride home yesterday in the rain and despite the mean headwind. Now I have to make this session up. Weekend MTB anyone?

Well, what do you know? I felt more than a little disappointed about not riding this morning that I went home at lunch time, got my bike and brought it back to work so I could do an interval session in the evening, rain, hail or shine. It worked out ok in the end with the rain only being a light shower. I don't think I even got that wet either. Really happy that I got out to do this session. That's 2 good sessions this week, and 2 last week. Consistency, here I come!

12xHeart Break Hill @ AT with active recovery (~2:40)

For 1,2,3,7,8,9 I allowed myself to stand up on the pedals when I wanted to. 4,5,6,10,11,12 I had to stay seated throughout. Each time I kept my arse on the seat, the time increased by a few seconds - probably because standing allows you to use different muscle groups and briefly rest the ones used when sitting.

I also used my POLAR HR strap today with the Garmin control module. After about 20 minutes of errratic readings, it worked beautifully, recording proper, accurate and steady data. Check this out: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/44197224

2:58
2:59
2:58
3:05
3:01
3:03
3:04
2:58
2:59
3:04
3:03 - tailwind
3:03 - tailwind

C • HR strap problems 2

HR data still inaccurate so I've edited it to the best of my recollection and judgement. I even wore my wool thermal over the top of my bib shorts to, well, I don't know, to increase the gap between it and the sensor? Also wet the strap good and proper. I might actually look this issue up on the forums....
Oh yes, I also faced a brisk headwind. Down on the dropouts, tucked into a Aero possy that 2 dots would be proud of and just managed to maintain 25kph!

glutes, hammy, quads, hip flexor, hip abductor, back, neck.
All more on the right side than the left. This is turning into a tug of war. My prior MVA injury creates poor technique which results in my right side getting tighter and shorter. My stretching (hopefully) overcomes that loosens up the area so that good technique can begin. I just hope I am winning the battle.

A bit chilly this morning again but layered up, I was prepared and not shivering for a chance. Virtually at the roll out, Punctual Tooms appeared and joined Sore Boltboi and Tired Danger for the ride. There was a slight hedwind today so that slowed down the leaders and gave everyone in the tow a reasonably easy ride in sections.

I hung around the top third of the pack trying to protect myself as I didn't feel condifent today. Ended up on the front (I think) near the port beach sprint. I put in an effort but when I started to fade, I didn't push it any further. Up Stirling, I didn't get dropped so that makes it 2 weeks in a row now :-) The group split going up the hill though, from Stirling Hwy and I ended up on the front again. I think what happened was that there appeared to be a roll through forming so I joined in. I knew I only had about 1 minute or two at that effort level so I could contribute to a roll through. Unfortunately, no one was behind me, similar to the port beach sprint scenario.

After a while of pulling on the front and hurting, Tooms came by, or was it Boltboui? Not sure. Anyway, I was hurting here and decided discretion was the better option and didn't chase thinking some others might latch onto their wheels. No dice! I doubt I was stronger than everyone else in that group so I got a bit peeved that they weren't pulling their wieght. I eased the pace so that I could recover for the hills later. stuff the lot of them.

Eventually, the leeches started to jump ship and I caught their tail to the first climb. Got to within 10m of Boltboi around the water tower but couldn't match his awesomeness on the decent. He caught up to a group ahead, and I was in no mans land again. Managed to haul him back at the roundabout on the climb to CCGS. After the stop at CCGS, I was spent. I managed to have some luck and hold on at UWA to finish in the lead bunch.

3:20 for Heart Break Hill so definitely fatigued here. Good training ride though as I was left on the front a lot in the last half without protection so had to work hard. Legs shot now though.

4 x right hammy
1 x left hammy
3 x right glute (finally becoming easier)
2 x left glute (still tighter than right side)
1 x left hip flexor
1 x right hip flexor
1 x neck right side
1 x right side back

C • Nothing to report on your ride then? 2

Entered the Anaconda Race with Jess. She's doing the run and swim with me riding and paddling. Suits me perfectly :-) I'll use the paddle leg as motivation to bump up the paddling sessions to 2 per week. Should be a touch easier to maintain that given that I have seen the occasional sea breeze occurring...

10 or 11 x 3min@AT+1min@easy. Lost count of the reps and that was bad as I was the time keeper today. I think we did 11 but can't quite work it out. Worked a bit harder today than last week and maintained the effort until the last rep where I started to fade. Good session - happy with the effort.

Ahh! Struggle city!! I was greeted with a mild, almost non existant headwind today. Oh well, I guess I must be getting tired again.

A better ride home. I wanted to extend the ride a bit and did the South Perth and Herdsman Lake loop. Legs ok in the aerobic zone but nothing left above that.