Training Log Archive: PaulT

Sneaked something after a long day. Wet again = turbo (why on earth are they called that?) including 20mins tempo on the sprocket which I used for short intervals last winter. Think my legs are more attuned to the bike now.

Cue two days of orienteering on hard surfaces ...... will probably be hurting by Monday.

Run around Coulby. I had forgotten what a brilliant sprint area it is, and also how much I still have to do on the map. The last Autumn Sprint should be a cracker.

Monsoon outside

Foul, wet, windy day and not feeling so perky so bottled out of longer route.
Glaisdale, Seamer.

Swiss ball and Wii. Lots of dancing at wedding reception last night must count for something.

Whitby the tricky way, barreling down Eskdale. Eventually located the 25% climb out of Gt Fryup through Street, then Limber Hill, then found tricky minor road to Aislaby.
Calorie expenditure entirely offset by Fish Supper at Graveleys.

Lunchtime: HC, Hell Gill, Rhodos.

Butt Lane, Gribdale, Bousdale. Moors looking magnificent.
Felt heavy legged. Long day? Caffeine cold turkey? Sunday's ride? Who knows.

Legs lifeless.

Easy spin east of Oxford. Legs ok but right lower back felt very stiff

Sportive debut, a tour of the Cotswolds from Blenheim Palace. Really enjoyable , lots learned, one rough patch but still going strong at the end. About 5:50 for 162km plus some faffing. Lots more to write later.

And here it is:

Blenheim Sportive: Felt rested and well prepared although I didn’t get out for the planned short ride on the previous day. It just became too difficult to find both time in among family stuff and also a route in an unknown traffic-locked area; next time I’ll pre-plan a route. Had I done so I would have noticed that the newly greased and adjusted headset was not snug, causing a judder which became increasingly annoying as Sunday went on. Also the seat post was not quite tight. Best decision was to avoid a curry.
The blurb said to expect 2500m of climb. Forecast was for 30degrees with little wind. I had few expectations, no aims other than to finish wanting to do another one, and the words of advice locked in my brain were not to get carried away at the start and to force eat and drink whenever available. The ride was punctuated by food/drink stops, though I probably stopped for <5mins total.

Start to first stop: What a huge event. Hadn’t expected 1000+ riders, so much bike bling and such a variety of shapes and sizes of riders. Sportive starts are the bastard offspring of a TdeF and Parkrun liaison. We were expected to self-seed to decide our start block. Not wanting to get overrun I used my vast experience to jump into the second group of 50 or so to start, 2 mins behind the first. Thankfully the pace wasn’t too hot and was able to maintain HR zone2 as the first 20k rolled past. Small groups came and went. Soon it was not possible to know which people started in which group, but already began to recognise some legs which would become familiar – Tri-guy, long legged titanium guy, Aussie, White Leg, Pinarello Man ……….The rest stop was a massive free tuck shop, and I probably finished the whole event with more gels/bars in my back pocket than when I started. Adjusted seat height.

To Second Stop: After a long descent and out of nowhere, a 20-strong group materialised and suddenly we were averaging 40+kph on the flattest part of the route. What a revelation. Physically it was easy to stick in. Technically it’s a different matter. One needs lots of experience and confidence to keep in the right place within the group, i.e. close to the front. Everyone else seemed to know what to do. Lots of masonic hand signals and bike shirts from L’Etape and Maratona. Eeek. At the front CUCC-guy pulled us all along mainly for the benefit of his girlfriend who must have spent 165km looking at his scrawny backside. After some junctions, road narrowings, potholes, traffic etc, I found myself near the back just due to losing a few metres at each flex of the group. Shamelessly I floated along there, close to Pinarello Man and Tri-Guy. They knew the hand signals. We rolled into the stop. I refilled bottles.

To Third Stop: Suddenly found myself completely alone for the first time and having to spot the (very obvious) route markings. What was touted as a ‘huge climb’ was not far away. Things busied slightly on what was definitely a sharp climb, but still only half a North York Moors or Dales effort. Somehow I caught people up there and gradually worked with CUCC+1, White Leg and Pinarello Man plus others until the next stop at about 100km. CUCC girl didn’t look like a climber but was strong. Still felt fresh but not pushing it, staying seated for all hills. Neck was beginning to feel stiff as usual.

To fourth stop: 60 mile route joined and back-marker encounters became more frequent. The next 20km were solo and suddenly it was very easy not to feel fresh at all; perhaps I should have waited for company. Some were feeling a lot worse in the heat with one ambulance case and several cramped walkers on very modest hills. Luckily this section was the most scenic – postcard villages, rolling hills, wooded valleys - so we did end up with around 1800m of climb. I unshipped my chain somehow, stopped to fix it and Pin-Man joined for the remainder. Felt really strong for the final 40km.

To Finish: Really fed up of Gatorade and flapjack; next time I’ll definitely take a variety including something savoury. Pin-man and I egged each other on. Had to stop a second time to re-fit chain, but caught him back the 45secs and then worked hard on final few climbs (because I could) to roll over the finish mat close to White-guy and Tri-man. Aussie arrived behind us. I was honestly sorry to see the end as the final section had been the most enjoyable. We yarned our way easily back down the estate drive to Blenheim Palace. Physically felt fine which probably means I took the first section very conservatively, but that’s the best way to be. I’ve no idea where this event sits in the spectrum of Sportives but it had brilliant organisation, route marking, marshalling, stops and event village. I can see where £35 goes. And I got to see Rory McGrath racing a Brompton.

No results yet though. Whilst I can see the gory details of my orienteering friends’ splits in deepest Scotland at the Purple Thistle on the evening of the event, the sportive times remain a mystery. Perhaps people aren’t bothered. We knew it was not a ‘race’ because they reminded us at the start, but they provided chip timing and people certainly sweated like they were trying. I’m sure the current time list jumbles up 60 and 100 milers without identifying each. People’s Strava downloads put the quick group at about 5:10 so my 5:50 is not too shabby.
HR average 124, max only 150

Maratona/whatever else 2013 preparations begin now.

C • Sportif 2

Travelling

Summer series at Cowpen. Stings and scratches but good to have a map in hand.

Pissing down so reverted to short spin in garage on Turbo. Three x 3min effort on middle sprocket, then three short 140rpm spins.
Looking forward to my sportive debut on Sunday after a very easy week. . 160k should be enjoyable as long as I avoid getting carried way for the first hundred and keep eating. I read the final details while turbo-ing and found that they somehow claim 2500m of climb. The topography of Oxfordshire must have changed a bit recently or it could be one of those Garmnin effects.

Easy moor loop trying to keep HR below 125.

Olympic marathon spectating

Wilton lane to Redcar to pick up car

Tour of Hutton and Guisborough woods, shaking down the bike brakes and updating some parts of the map. One full climb to finish with.

Up to moor edge

A Wednesday Strava challenge to find the flattest route:
http://app.strava.com/rides/17323619
You can guess what Saturday's challenge will be.

Having seen a sign for the village of Thornton, it would have been rude not to go. That reminded me of some memorable villages from the past few rides:
- Sherriff Hutton (no sherriffs at all, not one)
- Thornton-le-Beans (no beans)
- Sexhow (......)
My favourite remains Grewelthorpe near Masham. Surely this went straight into an Alan Bennett short story.

Rest day except could not resist booking train tickets to watch next Sunday's marathon.

http://app.strava.com/activities/16699621
Headwind, dodging thunderstorms.

Memorable day at Hampton Court expending lots of nervous energy and shouting. Inspirational , but not 'training'.