"Enthusiasm is the yeast"

Today was an easy/recovery day.

Advice from Friel (and other coaches) is not to have any more than 2 tough days in a row , so after the Hilly ride and the Tempo ride in the last couple of days I made sure I kept my HR low - with a target of <110bpm. It rose higher a few times on hills but was soon back down to target. It's all about keeping the easy days easy and the hard days hard. If the easy days become moderate then the hard days end up moderate too...

Route was one of my more usual ones lately, Tyrrelstown to Kilbride then across to Bracetown and down towards Maynooth past the 'Park and Ride' round the back of carton house and onto Cellbridge, Leixlip and Lucan before heading up Laraghcon and home.

45km done.

Mon 23rd Dec

No cycling planned for today. Have been doing some strength and conditioning work throughout base but this was the first cycling specific one. Plan was two sets of each excercise. First set was 12 reps at 65% of 1RM, second set 6 reps at 85-90% at 1RM. No idea what my 1RM is for any of them so it'll take a few sessions before I get the weights right, Some were a little light today...

Warmup - 10 mins easy cycling increase resistance slightly every minute.
Leg Press - 95kg / 135kg
Seated Row - 37.5kg / 52.5kg
Swissball crunches - 50 reps
Boxer crunches - 20 reps
Hamstring Curl - 42.5kg / 67.5kg
Seated Lat pdown - 42.5 / 67.5kg
Pull-ups(assisted) 60kg / 40kg
Dips(assisted) 60kg / 40kg
Cooldown - 10 mins cycling keeping cadence >90.

Also did a 45 minute easy run this evening. Set off and found first few km tough as my knee wasn't great (Damn you ITB! Another reminder to make sure I introduce regular rolling...). After the first few km it eased off and it was just a case of settling down and 'enjoying' the wind.

Hoping the wind isn't too bad tomorrow (start of festive 500), but not hopeful. 110 kmph gusts forecast.

Thu 02nd Jan

So weights session - aim = Strength Maintenance. Still trying to work out what I need to lift to maintain where I am so I'll keep pushing the weight up till I reach my limit.

Warmup - 10 mins easy cycling increase resistance slightly every couple of minutes.
First set was 12 reps at 65% of 1RM, second set 6 reps at 85-90% at 1RM

Leg Press - 120kg / 150kg
Seated Row - 42.5kg / 57.5kg
Swissball crunches - 50 reps
Boxer crunches - 20 reps
Hamstring Curl - 50kg / 75kg
Seated Lat pdown - 45 / 70kg

Pull-ups(assisted) 55kg / 35kg
Dips(assisted) 55kg / 35kg

Cooldown - 10 mins cycling keeping cadence >90.

Weight: 110.2kg - not great but at least I'm no heavier than before Christmas. Goal is to hit 106kg by 14th Feb.

Also started a +1 programme for pressups. On Jan 1st I did 1 pressup. Each day I'll add one to the total and by the end off the year I should be at 365. I'm doing the same for plank but will start with a 30 day challenge to get me to 5 mins and then add 10 seconds each month to get me to 7 mins (!) Plan is here

Training tomorrow is 150 mins cycle outdoors concentrating on form sprints; 8 x 12 secs sprints with 4 min RI.

Sat 4th & Sun 5th Jan

Planned club rides both days. ended up doing nothing. Chest really tight and not up to do anything.
Kept the press-ups and plank going.

Mon 6th Jan

Just a gym session. Weights I'm lifting still going up which is good but I'm getting towards the limit.
One thing I do want to achieve this year is to be able to do pullups unassisted. Never been able to currently assisted by 30kg to do 6.

Tue 7th Jan

Chest feeling better and a hill repeat session planned... out to Tara and 5 times up. Weather turned at Ratoath and was heavy enough at times. Plan was to do these in zone 4 which is 141+ for me. Tried to hold back slightly as I knew I had five to do. Second one I had another cyclists just in front so I put a bit more of an effort in. Got slower and slower over next 3 and was really feeling it by the last one and HR definitely elevated. Got a puncture coming into Clonee and ended up reinflating 3 times with a cannister.

Chest feeling worse when I got home and was in bed by 8:00pm feeling absolutely drained.

http://www.strava.com/activities/104665923

Wed 8th Jan

Chest still not feeling great so just a gym session.
Still keeping on track with the pressups (8 today) and plank was 45s.

Weighed in today at 107.6kg which seems a bit lighter than I expected (2.6kg down in a week).

Wed 15th Jan

Day off - went to UK for a quick trip - ate way too much including a huge portion of cod and chips in Whitby.

Thu 16th Jan

Turbo session - Trainer Road "Palmer" - 10 x (2 min @105%FTP, 1 min recovery) - http://www.strava.com/activities/106770892

Evening - Gym session - Strength Maintenance

Friday 17th Jan

Recovery Ride - nice easy pace...
http://www.strava.com/activities/106934551

Evening "Sub60" swim session - nice to get back in the pool for the first time in nearly a month and the additional cross training should help with the weight loss.

Saturday 18th Jan

Club spin - new group made of A4's and Club Leaguer's. It was also a small enough group too with seven of us and tough enough with a couple of up and overs before we did the Hill of Tara - took it easy up the climb to start with and then used the others as targets - just about caught the first cyclist by the top. From Batterstown back I stuck on the front and kept it at a handy enough pace - a few were struggling at the end and I think the session might have been a wake up call for them. Weather was awful too - I was dry on top but feet were soaked through. 81km done in just under 3 hours. http://www.strava.com/activities/107163457
Afternoon was a swim analysis - in not so many words I got told I've pretty good technique but I'm lazy and fat.

Sunday 19th Jan

Woke up feeling like crap again - thought chest infection was back. A day of vicks vapour, strepsils and Cold and flu tablets plus plenty of fluids.

Monday 20th Jan

Felt better but didnt want to risk going into the cold - turbo session - Trainer Road "Crag". 15 minutes of general warmup followed by 5x30-second specific warmup efforts ranging from 90-100% FTP. The workout?s main set is composed of 6x4-minute high-Threshold/Low-VO2max efforts akin to climbing repeats, all at 105% FTP with brief, 45-second recoveries between each interval. Thought it was really hard and struggled.
http://www.strava.com/activities/107740210

Tuesday 21st Jan

Early start with a 1 hour swim technique session. 1500m done
Then out on the bike for a hill repeat session up Tara. Into a headwind... Really tough but stuck to it and completed the 5 intervals. Tried to keep HR below Tempo on the way home and keep it easy.
http://www.strava.com/activities/107975073

Evening gym session. Still on same session...
10 mins warm up on bike
Leg Press 165kg x 12 / 195 x 6
H'string curl 65k x 12 / 85 x 6
Seated Row 52.5 x 12 / 62.5 x 6
Lat Pulldown 52.5 x 12 / 67.5 x 6
Pullups (asstd) 40 x 12 / 25 x 6
Dips (asstd) 40 x 12 / 25 x 6
Swissball crunches - 80
Boxer Curls - 40
Plank 120s
Pressups - 21

10 min cooldown on bike
Weight is still going down - 106.4kg today - still a way to go though.

Saturday 26th Jan

Club spin. Group was a bit bigger than I was hoping with I think 12-13 of us. Headed out from Lucan up towards Newcastle and when it was my turn on the front I could feel the head wind. Not to matter - at least that meant we would be getting a tailwind on the way back!
Up through Newcastle into Saggart and, as an alternative to the enbankment, a left turn to some hill that I've never done before. One of the lads suggested regrouping at the top so a few went flying off - and I decided to try and stick with them... I didn't manage it and was fecked by the time we got to the top. We then got down to Up and Overs heading into Blessington and then the heavens opened and the wind picked up.

A few minutes of sheltering and then we got back to it. I'd got cold with the stop and the group became a bit stop start and I was struggling to get my HR into the Tempo zone consistently, at one point I was on the front and we were pushing on at a decent pace with a good tailwind and we were told to pull it back - HR was well under tempo. At Straffan the wind had got pretty bad so as a group we called it a day and a few of us headed off at a quicker pace with a few fast surges which at points had me hanging on - good training!

http://www.strava.com/activities/108795293


Sunday 26th Jan

I joined the Lord Mayors 5 alive challenge this year - 5 runs. Number 1 was a 5k on New Years day and Number 2 was the Raheny 5 miler. I haven't ran much at all this year (twice) so wasn't expecting much. A busy start meant Iwas dodging and squeezing past people for the first mile or so before I could get into a rhythm. One we hit Sybil Hill Road there was a nice downhill stretch and I settled in and started enjoying the run. With no time target I just ran, no looking at the watch for splits and it was fun. I just kept jumping in behind people and using them as pace makers until they either sped up or I wanted to go a little but faster. Tough uphill towards the end followed by a turn into a bad headwind just before the finish. Ended up with 38:57

http://www.strava.com/activities/109188382


Thoughts...


A pretty good week of training with 18 hours done over 12 sessions (5 bikes, 3 swims, 2 gym, 2 run).

I enjoy training as a group and on the parts I'm weak at (mainly hills) it's a real benefit to be able to pick up a wheel and push myself harder than I would do if I was by myself. With race season coming up though I need to be pushing myself a bit more for longer whether that means doing my own training on a Saturday or not I'm unsure at the moment. I'm still missing sessions each week - this week was Thursday when 2 punctures meant I didn't get very far and I also missed a couple of run sessions - not critical to cycling but will help with weight loss... weight seems to be flattening off and I aren't losing as fast as I'd hoped. Something I need to look at a bit more closely.

Monday 3rd February

Turbo session - trying to keep to 65% of FTP. 90 mins done at 212w
http://www.strava.com/activities/110979334


Tuesday 4th February

Swim technique session. I've got 3.2km noted down but I aren't sure if it was actually less.

Cycle down to Kilbride then across to Clonee, Maynooth and Barberstown then home via Celbridge, Lucan and Clonee. 58km done
http://www.strava.com/activities/111104441


Wednesday 5th February
Out on the bike and a flat within the first 400m. Went home and went shopping instead.
http://www.strava.com/activities/111421806

Thursday 6th February
Bad nights sleep - stressed out with job hunting. Finally got to sleep about 5am so slept in and missed swim session.

Thursday morning club spin. Struggled. Started off feeling great and was holding it back going up Slade valley till a few went off the front at the end and I went with them. Fastest time up the hill and it felt easy. Headed acrosss to Blessington and onto Naas. Pace was high enough but nothing major but coming out of Clane I started to feel drained and drifted off the back. Made my own way back via Kilcock, Maynooth and Duboyne. 108km done. First time I've hit the wall in a long time. Lesson learnt - a bowl of porridge isn;t enough to fuel me!

http://www.strava.com/activities/111532994


Friday 7th February

Easy spin to keep the legs moving. Out to Ratoath, Ashbourne, a stop for a coffee and home again. 41km

http://www.strava.com/activities/111721318


Swim - 2.5km done including a 20 minute time trial. Up 100m in the TT so swim is heading in the right direction.

Saturday 8th February
Club weekend to Carlow. Headwind all the way. Struggled up Slade Valley - slowest time up it ever and even got a helping hand on the back. Felt like I was on the edge of blowing up all the way down. I'd be fine then it would be my turn on the front and it was tough. Normally I like it on the front and enjoy pushing it on. Nothing in the legs this weekend. 83km done.

http://www.strava.com/activities/111919133

Sunday 9th February
Return trip from Carlow. A lot of drink had Saturday night. Again felt like I could be out the back at any time - been a big week and feeling it in the legs. Still had enough to push it on the sprint in though so my ability to suffer is coming on. 75km @ >32kmh avg.

http://www.strava.com/activities/112170336

Thoughts

Good solid week bike wise with nearly 15 hours in the saddle / 436km done. Missed a swim session and done no running. Feeling it in the legs and feel like I'm on the brink of getting ill. Going to be a recovery week this coming week and hopefully first race of the season on Sunday.

De Bhál wrote: »

Keep the chin up.

pprendeville wrote: »

mind your diet if not training.

Good advice lads - should have heeded it. Feeling sorry for myself all week and ate appallingly. Well up on the scales at the end of last week.

17th February - 23rd February

Still not feeling well. Did an easy turbo on the Tuesday keeping HR low. Feeling a little better on the Friday so went to the group swim in the evening and did the 5km Operation Transformation run on the Saturday. The run wiped me out so did nothing on the Sunday.

24th February
Decided that doing nothing wasn't helping me so I might as well carry on training as best as I can.

Eased myself into the week with a 5km walk. More to get back into the habit of getting out more than any benefit the excercise might give me.

Afternoon was a Strength Maintenance session. Enjoyed it and then into the steam room after to see if I could get the sinuses to finally clear.

25th February
Swim technique session early doors. Really enjoying swimming at the moment - when I get to go. Things seem to be clicking - still revert to bad habits as I tire though.

Tabata turbo session. 15 mins warm-up the 4 lots of 8 x (20s as hard as I can, 10s rest) 6 mins recovery. Found the 2nd one hard and nearly gave up. 3rd and 4th went better.
http://www.strava.com/activities/116078373

26th February
Another gym session - Strength Maintenance and another visit to the steamroom to help the sinuses. Weight was back down to happier numbers.

Run session in the evening 12 x (1 min hard, 1 min easy). Didn't feel too bad and ran with normal running partner plus was able to put a sprint in for the last one.
http://www.strava.com/activities/116342488

27th February
Was up most of the night as the wife was really ill. She wasn't sleeping so neither was I! She's now got a chest, throat and sinus infection (possibly proper flu too) although hers is bacterial not viral like me.

Finally got to sleep just after 6. When I woke up it felt like the first time this year I could breathe properly. Sinuses felt clear although still not quite 100%

Just a turbo today and it was Tabata's again. Had been reading about the benefits of Tabata's so going to try and keep this turbo on a Tue and Thur going for the next month.
http://www.strava.com/activities/116548742

28th February
Swim session - Started off with 1000m as 50m swim, 50m kick with board. I hate kicking but as least I seem to be moving forwards these days. Led the lane out for a few sets alternate with a girl in the lane and enjoyed the session.

1st March
Club cycle. Tri club rather than cycle club. One of the lads is racing Lucan GP so we headed over to Batterstown to do a lap of the course so he had an idea of where it went. Was a handy enough spin averaging just under 29kph and plenty of times when hills were contested. Beat Joey100 up a few hills where he would normally beat me. But he got his own back on the final sprint after grabbing a tow off me for 500m. We were wheel to wheel for 200m till I blew. Good workout though and starting to feel back to normal. I reckon he let me beat him up the hills so he would win the sprint.

Ended up a handy enough 63km - http://www.strava.com/activities/116938199

Had a new2tri meeting after which went well although at one point I thought my voice was going to go. That evening I felt really rough and breathing wasn't great. Was glad I was doing timing at the next days TT.

2nd March
Club TT - Winter League round 2. Just under 9km from Ratoath towards Skryne. I run the club TT league so usually all the routes are flat as that suits me better today was a bit more undulating. " Unfortunately overnight people had volunteered to do timing which meant I had to ride. Decided to take the road bike. Not because of any hills or anything just that I couldn't be bothered moving the power meter cranks across to the TT bike just so I could review power after. Round 1 was a dead heat between me and Joey100 and he is going great in training at the moment and he was on a TT bike today. He was pencilled in as penultimate rider, I was last and 30s after him.

Set off and after 30s legs were burning - no warm-up (it was hammering down) and yesterdays ride still in the legs - but I was maintaining an OK speed. HR was low enough so I continued to push for the first 2km which were all slightly uphill and settled into it. Hardly looked at the speedo but every time I did it was looking ok and I could see a rider in front and was gaining on them slowly. Coming into the final km there was a few riders in the distance so I pushed a bit harder and managed to take one of them and was seconds behind the others. Joey100 wasn't one of them so I knew he had won it - only a question of by how much... In the end it was 16s overall which I was fairly happy with at the time as I thought he was further ahead.

http://www.strava.com/activities/117223735

Thoughts

Much happier reviewing the power readings from today - had an normalised power of just over 380 for the ~15 mins which is way over the first round when I had ~310 and where I first thought I was getting ill. Obviously I have to put more power out being heavier than almost anyone else but today has pushed my power profile up nicely over last years figures so things are still heading in the right direction despite a month of disrupted training.

Have been logging nutrition and am eating or more correctly drinking a lot of calories. Latte's are my downfall. Not unusual for me to be drinking 4-5 a day. Going to cut them right down to a max of 2 per day and see how much that helps with the weight loss.

Still reckon I'm only at 90% so looking forward to getting back to full fitness and racing again - could be the Newbridge GP next week all being well although I've heard it's a hilly one and I hate hills.

Tuesday 25th March
Morning - Swim technique session. Enjoyed but a lot of kicking drills and legs weren't feeling great and was on the verge of cramping.

Evening - Turbo - Trainer Road Taylor. Got about 2/3rd of the way through and just after the hour mark calves started to cramp. Called it a day. No point trying to push through and causing injury

http://www.strava.com/activities/124076199


Wednesday 26th March
Lunch - Laps of industrial estate. 19kms/35 mins done. Windy enough and right on the face on thee uphill section.
http://www.strava.com/activities/124214505

Evening - Interval run session
4 x 200m, 2 x 400m, 4 x 200m. Found it easy and was running well. First time this year I hadn't felt I had "been running through treacle"

Thursday 27th March
Morning - Swim. Another 90 mins of hard work. Not feeling the groove in the swim at the moment. I enjoy the technique sessions but don't seem to be able to suffer in the longer endurance sets.

Evening bike binned - just didnt feel able for it - wrecked after the swim.

Friday 28th March
Was meant to be a bike session at lunch. Realised I'd forgotten my bike as I went to get changed. Schoolboy error.

Evening swim binned as I had emergency baby sitting duty.

Saturday 29th March

Cycle with tri club - 10-12 was out to Garristown and back via Ratoath.
12-1 was beginners and an easy enough loop taking in Clonee and Kilbride.
http://www.strava.com/activities/125179638

Sunday 30th March

Club TT - Dunboyne to Summerhill 17km. 3rd of 3 rounds of the Winter League and after a joint 1st and a 2nd place I had to win to stand a chance of winning overall (and hope Joey finished worst than 2nd otherwise it would be a dead heat).

Last time out I took the road bike this time I was all aero with the TT bike and helmet. Didn't bother switching the power meter over for just 1 race and I don't understand enough about myself yet to use it as a race aid anyway. A bit of discussion and it was decided (by me) that I'd be last out 1 min after Joey.

I watched as one by one they set off at 1 min intervals until it was just me and I waited for the countdown. Off I went and got clipped in quick enough and settled in to a rhythm trying to keep the HR down for the first 5km before I went for it over the next 12km. Early enough I saw Joey in the distance and made a note of where he was and the time (after realising I hadn't pressed start!). I passed the marker 70s behind him. Still kept with the plan though and kept the HR under control. After 5km i saw him again in the distance and had gained on him with the gap down to 45s. Upped the power/HR and as we hit Mullagh I had the gap down to less than 30s and a couple of km after that was within 10s. I settled for 15s or so to lower my HR and then hit it as hard as I could to overtake him so he couldn't (hopefully) jump onto my wheel - I passed him at about 55kmh. The final few km I though he would pass me back as it finshed on a tough drag towards Summerhill but instead I pulled further away and ended up putting nearly 45s more into his time to beat him by 1:44.

Final time for the 17km was 25:05 which if it's an accurate distance would have me just over the 40kmh average I would aim for on a flat course. That gave me a win on the day by 1:05 and the title overall as Joey slipped to 4th. To be fair to him he was sick all week and if he was fit it would have been a lot closer (and he might have won). Wish I would have moved the power meter over now to see what I managed!

http://www.strava.com/activities/125261701

Monday 1st April
Quick Cycle at lunchtime - laps of the industrial estate again. Not the most interesting session but keeps me busy at lunchtime.

Tuesday 2nd / Wed 3rd April
Busy in work - had a 10 day trip coming up so lots of meetings and planning to allow me to get the time away without constantly checking the email.

*next 10 days are about a cycling trip to Sardinia and it might be a bit long as it reads a bit like a guide to cycling in Sardinia...

Thursday 4th April

Early start to get to the airport for flight to Alghero. Six of us from the Tri club (Activmultisport) heading to Sardinia for a week of cycle training - plus my wife and her friend to help with catering/cleaning (they thought they were going to sun themselves).
Flight was delayed due to fog by about an hour which was great as it meant no annoying fanfare music on landing.
Weather was a little overcast as we landed but it felt much warmer than Ireland and the sun was peeking out from behind the clouds. Weather forecast was for a poor first few days anyway. Saw my bike box at the bottom of a pile of luggage whilst all the bikebags were neatly stacked separate. Sometimes I aren’t sure of the merit of the box. Through security and onto car-hire. It's always a risk booking minibus hire online as you've no idea what you are going get or how much room for luggage - we had a Nissan Primastar and there wasn’t enough room for the six bikes and all the luggage, luckily I had decided a day before to book an estate car also to make sure and it was still tight.
The group were split between a house and hotel in a place called Valledoria on the North coast of Sardinia. It’s a small enough town about an hour from Alghero and 30 mins from Sassari (2nd biggest city in Sardinia after Cagliari). I’ve been there a few times over the last 8-9 years and it was me who had planned the trip and would be leading the group on the cycles.
After arriving we did a quick shop and then got the bikes together to make sure they were fine for the next day.One of the lads stripped the thread on his seatpost collar so that was something we would need to sort. The rest of us got everything back together and had a quick cycle to test everything.
http://www.strava.com/activities/126598122
Out for dinner that night and glad to see a couple of the lads with beers as we arrived. I had organised a trip the year before and felt like an alcoholic having a beer whilst nearly all the rest were on water.

Daily – 18.3km – 115m climbed

Valledoria - Beach



Friday 5th April
Woke up during the night with a bad sore throat and tight chest. Was worried I was getting ill and had no idea what to do as I was the only one who knew the routes. Luckily after waking and having breakfast I felt a bit better and felt ok the rest of the week.
I had only booked the estate car for one day so the first thing we needed to do was to get that returned to the airport. We went to the big Decathlon store in Sassari on the way there to pick up a new seatpost collar and then dropped the car off at the airport and onto Alghero. One of the lads had left his iphone on the plane and we had to check if that had been handed in too – it had – fair play to the Ryanair check-in girl who found it and handed it over even though it was marked from the Antwerp flight. After listening to his music though I wish he'd have lost it permanently.
We were able to get 6 bikes in the van if we removed the front wheels, pulled the back seat up slightly and rested one bike on top of the others.
We parked up next to the harbour in Alghero and the plan was to cycle down the coast road to Bosa for lunch and then we would make a decision on which way to return. The scenery on the coast was spectacular and as we hit the first little climb of the day I pulled into strip my arm warmers and leg warmers off. There were Griffon vultures circling the sky above and the smells were constantly changing from gorse, to wild garlic to curry from the curry bushes (not sure if that’s their real name). The weather changed and went from being a little cloudy to overcast and then to drizzle as we continued to climb and descend over the undulating terrain. At times the road ahead looked flat but the speed and strain through the legs showed it not to be so. Descending towards Bosa I got a puncture on the front and pulled in to change it. I had no tyre levers so waited till a couple of the lads behind caught me – only to find they didn’t have levers either. Brute force and strong thumbs won the day and I got it changed and caught the lads up just before we got to the town. We hunted around for a bar for lunch and eventually found somewhere in the centre. We were all cold so quickly ate and set off on the same route home. Tough first day and we had the heating on full all the way back to the house.

http://www.strava.com/activities/126925382

As we got back to Valledoria it was hammering down with rain. I had chosen to do the route as the weather looked better on that side of the island and it was. We probably had 2-3mm compared to the 10-12mm we could have got.
Ate out again that night and the pizzas were huge. The seafood pizzas were loaded with squid and prawns and looked really nice – I went for the healthy four cheese option.

Daily – 94.4km – 1626m climbed
Cumultitive – 112.7 km – 1741m climbed

“Arty” shot of coastal route



Saturday 6th April
Another minibus trip this time we head towards Sorso Marina to park up and then cycle across to Stintino and back. Last year we had fantastic weather for this trip – whilst it was warm enough for just short sleeves it was still cool enough in the shade. This was an easy recovery ride as it was reasonably flat. The plan I had done for the week was alternating easy/hard although none of the easy one felt that easy! We headed up to La Pelosa beach which is stunning (google it) and then it became a bit of a race back – we regrouped at Porto Torres and then once we got clear of the town it was all out back to the car park with someone shelled out the back every couple of km. With about a km left there was just two of us still hammering it when the other lad asked how far was still to go so I told him 10km. He sat in behind then and was surprised we finished so soon.

http://www.strava.com/activities/127185203

Girls cooked that night (sardninan sausage and pasta / veggies I thnk) and I got a bargain wine at €10 for 5 litres that tasted pretty good. The local beer is Ichnusa which is also very nice.

Daily – 95.5km – 534m climbed
Cumultitive – 208.2 km – 2275m climbed

Spiaggio della Pelosa



Sunday 7th April
Final planned minibus trip and we headed to the north east corner of the island to Santa Theresa Gallura for another out and back along the coast. We had agreed to take this a bit steady but, after a tough climb up from the port, straight from the off one of the lads decided to fly off the front and hit the pace up. Another of the group had only done a max of 80kms in a day before this week away so after 2 big days already he was carrying some fatigue and his HR was high and struggling to get it down. I stuck with him and we took it steady enjoying the views as we got down to Palau and first coffees top of the day. The Cappucini’s and free cake went down well and we were off again with another tough climb but it was well rewarded with stunning views over towards La Maddalena. Just after this we saw an Italian cyclist and I checked we were heading in the right direction in my fluent Italian (more like pidgin Italian with a Yorkshire accent) – he confirmed we were and two of the lads decided to chase him down and show him how great they were… we stopped for lunch and then headed on to Costa Smerelda and Porto Cervo. Costa Smerelda is the glamour part of the island where all the famous people go. It’s stunningly beautiful but all the houses are a similar design and I find it a bit sterile. The port was eerily quiet compared to the last few times I had been with none of the super yachts I’ve seen there in the past and we just did a quick loop and headed back out, up the hill for another coffee at nearly twice the price of every other one we had that week.
On the way back the group got split up and we took the low road through Palau whilst half took the high road. As we hit the last stretch one of the lads got dropped and a few km up the road I pulled in to wait for him. 10 mins later still no sign so I rode back to where I had last seen him. Still nothing so I pushed on back to the minibus. We got packed up and just as we set off to find him he rolled in. He had took a wrong turn and ended up at a beach and about an extra 15km for his trouble.
http://www.strava.com/activities/127569332

Daily – 119.8km – 1181m climbed
Cumultitive – 328 km – 3456m climbed

Costa Smerelda


Monday 8th April
Another “easy” day. Not a planned route but we were doing all the other routes from the hotel so I just asked what kind of route people wanted to do and then put something together to suit. Consensus the night before was for a short enough route with a bit of climbing. I had just the thing and it was just two climbs! One missing today so only five of us and we headed out on the coast road up towards Isola Rossa which was a steady enough drag until we turned right and it became a bit steeper as we headed to Trinita D’Agulta. Through the village and we were at the top a nice descent down to Vidalba. I’m not a fan of climbing, but enjoy the descending. Coffee shop was closed in Vidalba so we rolled on to Santa Maria Coghinas and sat in the sun enjoying the heat. Part two was up towards Sedini and was tough. Narrow winding roads with steep camber on every turn. Glasses of early as the lens filled with sweat. I had decided not to let one of the group get too far ahead and as the gradient lessened I got onto his wheel and we arrived at the top together. After regrouping we rode a few kilometre or so to a new road which is pretty steep (been told it’s a cat 1 – but who knows). I just let gravity take me down and hit nearly 88kmh before I got a speed wobble which I struggled to get under control. It shook me up a bit – I think it was probably the wind on the deep rims.
http://www.strava.com/activities/127797125

Daily – 62.1km – 1009m climbed
Cumultitive – 390.1 km – 4465m climbed

Thermal Spa at Santa Maria Coghinas


Tuesday 9th April
So after the ‘easy day’ it was time for another tough one. We headed out through La Muddiza and up to “Elephant Rock” and a nice climb up a closed road towards Sedini. Through Sedini, Bulza and a stop in Perfugas for coffee. From there we headed towards Tempio and up another tough climb. Originally the plan had been to add in Mount Limbara (an extra 1300m of climbing in <30km) but we decided against it and just before Tempio we turned off for Aggius – or rather I did whilst 4 others had gone straight into Tempio. It was only an extra km or so though and they caught us before we got to Aggius and lunch. From there we headed towards Trinita D’Agulta and through Valle della Luna – moon valley. Lovely views from the far side looking back and it is very moon scape-esque (not that I’ve been to the moon to compare). Once we got to Trinita we had the decent down the climb we had done the day before and it was good. Lovely roads, nice surface and no corners too tight.

http://www.strava.com/activities/128112343

Daily – 102.3km – 1393m climbed
Cumultitive – 492.4 km – 5858m climbed

Elephant Rock


Wednesday 10th April
Last group spin of the week and a quick discussion the night before asked for something short and steep. We set off and after 3km hit the cat 1 climb we had been down and everyone was dreading. It actually wasn’t that bad. Just got into a rhythm, let the HR rise and then sat and suffered. Sweat was pouring off me at the top. From there we headed further up through a wind farm and then a nice descent into Tergu. Quick regroup and a fast long descent back to the coast in La Bagnu. Some lovely scenery as we headed towards Castelsardo - over the tourist port and up towards the castle. Nice climb out of Castelsardo and up to the Elephant rock and then homeward bound. Nice short sharp ride to finish the week off.
http://www.strava.com/activities/128419736
Castelsardo

Daily – 49.3km – 1026m climbed
Cumultitive – 541.7 km – 6884m climbed

Thursday 11th April
Early flight home – 0605 so the lads were up at 0300. I had a few extra days in the sun so woke when I heard them but went back to sleep. Had a lazy day. Went to the beach to try and even up the tan a bit and wore arm and leg warmers over the tanned parts. No joy – still a farmers tan.

Beach


Friday 12th April
The problem with having one day off is that you want another. After procrastinating about it though I got changed and headed off for a short circuit to keep the legs moving. Took it easy enough out towards Elephant rock and up to Sedini and then decided to try a descent I’ve not done before. Just after the start of the descent I decided to pull in, have a sit down and enjoy the view. A tortoise came scuttling past as I pulled in and as I walked into the field a couple of Golden Eagles launched from a rocky outcrop and started to rise on the thermals. There was no wind, the sun was out and it was tranquil. It was j
Just one of the times when everything is good with the world.

Wild tortoise


View down to Valledoria and coast.


http://www.strava.com/activities/129064820
Daily – 31.4km – 503m climbed
Cumultitive – 573.1 km – 7387m climbed

Saturday 13th April
Had a few hours for a cycle whilst the wife went to the beach. There was a climb I wanted to do as I thought it had a soft KOM so planned that in and bit of a loop to do another couple of segments I thought I was weak on. Headed out to Santa Maria Coghinas and up to Casteldoria (castle o the Dorians) – first segment and a KOM. From there it was across to Perfugas and up to Bulzi and then Sedini. From there I did part of a route from earlier in the week and dropped down to La Bagnu across to Castelsardo and back up to the Elephant Rock. Was wrecked so pulled up at a bar and grabbed a drink before hitting a downhill segment. Parked the bike under an awning and it appears it lost GPS as it has the downhill section off track and not counting against the segment. Doh!

Casteldoria


View going up to Sedini


Domus de Janas - Sedini


Daily – 76.1 km – 1036 m climbed
Cumultitive – 649.2 km – 8423m climbed

Sunday 14th April
Final ride of the holidays. Had packing to do and house to clean so was only a quick one out to Badesi to check out a road linking back to Vidalba that might work as a link between routes next year. Not a great road – first really poor surface of the week and a no go for next year. From Vidalba back to Valledoria and a quick cappuccino and pastry in my favourite bar before the packing and cleaning began. At the moment it’s Carciofi or Artichoke season and Sardinia is renowned for the quality of their artichokes. It seems like nearly every field is growing them at the moment.

Artichokes



Daily – 30.5 km – 239 m climbed
Cumultitive – 679.7 km – 8423 m climbed

Thoughts
Good block of training and the first week flew by with a good group of lads. Plenty of km’s in the legs and much more than last year all up. Some tough days and one in particular where I woke up not wanting to cycle. Pressure of leading a group means you have to cycle day in / day out and in retrospect everyone was suffering and I was being soft.

I videoed a lot on the trip and now have the fun of trying to edit it and also get a bit of image stabilisation working. There were a few vibrations descending at 60kmh+

The weather was great with it hitting 27c on a few days. Two years in a row we’ve had great weather and it certainly beats staying in Ireland. Trip worked out at about €500 (plus meals/drinks) for those staying in the hotel with B&B - €150 for flight and bike, €240 for single room and breakfast and €100 share of van/car hire and diesel.

Now to start the planning for next year, hoping to introduce more new people to Sardinia (always a few from outside the club come along), have a few from the last two years return (only four of us been both years), and maybe increase the distances/metres climbed too as well as adding some new routes. It’s amazing that what you think is a hill on day 1 suddenly becomes a slight drag by day 7.

pprendeville wrote: »

That's one of the best posts I've read in a long time. Love the pics. The place looks beautiful. Fair play for organising it all. You seem to have a jack of organising events.

Thanks, much appreciated. One of the lads was doing the Gorey this weekend so will be interesting to see how he thought the training week helped.

Inquitus wrote: »

Seriously, your power on the flat is way beyond A4, I honestly reckon if you went hard and got a gap today you could have ridden away on your own, just my 2c.

Thanks, but not a chance on Saturday - just never felt I had the legs to attack - except when I caught you but that was about 2 laps too early.

Monday 6th May

Day off for recovery. Needed it was tried after previous days race - might have been better to do a 40 min easy ride to keep the legs ticking over but sometimes it;s good to just listen to the body.

Tuesday 7th May

Usual park session. The fastest lad was out today and rather than easing into the session it was pretty much flat out right away with a group of 3 of us settling down to work off each other on the front. Did my fastest ever lap and I reckon there's still some more time to be had on it as it wasn't all out for the full lap.
http://www.strava.com/activities/138233333

Wednesday 8th May

Leinster 10 mile TT Champs hosted by Cuchalainn. Decided to give this a go after some of the club were talking about it. Got down early and rode the course as warm-up. All nice and flat except for a drag on the way back about 1km from the end. There were 3 of us from the club and I had one of the A2's as my minute man. Didn't expect to catch him and wasn't far wrong. I set off and had in my head an aim of averaging 41km/h for the 16.1km lap. Settled down and got into the work but after training hard the night before my lags felt a little empty. Saw my average drop well below where I wanted it as I got towards the halfway point and a drag up towards Castlebellingham. I spotted my minute man coming back towards me and made a mental note of the time and by my reckoning I was 90s behind him at the half way point and the man behind me was nearly upon me. I pushed on but was passed just after the turn and I tried to use him to pace off but was slipping further and further back the whole time. Tried to put more power down but it just wasn't there. Got to the finish line and time was called out as 24.07.

Happy enough to have held over 40kmh but I know I could have been faster. I was fastest A4 but there was no prize for that - I was <30s away getting a vets medal. Maybe next time I won't do a tough session the day before and try and practice on my TT bike.

http://www.strava.com/activities/138635172

Thursday 9th May

Day off - marshaled at club race.

Friday 10th May

Finished up in work as project I'm working on isn't viable at this moment in time. Went for a cycle to de-stress. Ended up out nr Batterstown and had a loop of the Dunsany GP lap before heading off over the Mullagh and back home via Dunboyne.
http://www.strava.com/activities/139231524

Saturday 11th May

Dunsany GP. Up early to drive down to Dunsany - I like to get to races early so I aren't panicking about making sign on in time. Arrived just as the GAA club was being opened and the sky's decided to follow suit and open up too. after the shower had passed and we were signed on I did a lap of the circuit and looked for possible places to attack during the race. Generally nowhere was much better than the rest to attack but I had worked out where I wanted to go from. It would have been nice to attack and then have team mates to disrupt/chase down any chasers but the two lads who were there from my club were both racing for the first time so I rightly didn't expect any help for them as they had their own races to concentrate on. I did mention the plan to another lad in the hope he might want to work with me to get clear but it would depend how the race went.

We set off and almost straight away it was slow - and it was one of the Lucan ladies who was being left to lead out the A4 bunch. I didn't think that was fair so made my way to the front but as I got near the pace picked up so I just settled in. First time up the main road I took the front for a while but nobody wanted to come through as I swung out so I slowed it down - Always makes me smile when you get lads in the bunch shouting to keep the pace up whilst they stay nice and protected... Halfway through the first lap a swords lad broke away and I sat in the bunch to see how long it would stick. Towards the end of the lap he still had a gap and I was thinking of bridging over when someone told me I was a marked man I made some remark about the Swords rider not staying out there all day and then jumped over to him. I was clear as I bridged across and I thought we might have been able to work together but the group quickly got across and closed the gap as we started the second lap. Second lap I just sat in and I think I made a couple of half hearted attempts to get away but every time I looked back everyone was on my back wheel. Onto the last lap and it started getting like a game of chess on the main road as the bunch closed right up and no one wanted to take the race on. Just before the point I had identified as where I was going to jump a few lads took off. I got onto there wheels and stayed around 4-5th wheel coming down the wide road to Dunshaughlin where 3 lads broke away heading towards Killeen Castle. We eventually caught them and as the pace started to pick up ready for the finish I got hit in the side and knocked into a speed wobble. Choice words said I carried on but had lost a few positions and was back around 20th coming into the final corner. I took a good line through the bend and took a good few just from maintaining momentum and was ready to sprint when a lad next to me came down hard, put me off enough to know I wasn't going to score points so easy peddled up the hill to finish in the group.

Sunday 11th May

Worked on a stand at the cycle show from 10-3pm then went onto Merrion Square to watch the Giro finish. Back was in bits from standing all day. Really not used to it.

Thoughts

still happy enough with how things are going this season. I aren't ready for A3 yet (I haven't got he results anyway) and am enjoying racing A4 anyway. Saturday course probably suited me more than any other but I wasn't able to take any advantage of my strength. I am keeping an eye on fatigue levels and how everything balances with regards to Form, Fitness and Fatigue but although according to the charts I went into Saturday at peak Fitness and the least amount of Fatigue yet this year (which should equal greater Form) but I just didn't feel it. Maybe the numbers just lie sometimes or maybe a Saturday morning race as opposed to a Sunday lunch race messed with my racing body clock. Who knows?

No more open races for a couple of weeks at least so the plan will be wan increased load in training and to continue losing the weight (which is heading in the right direction and way ahead of target) and doing the club races - oh and I need to find a job too

Monday 13th May

Started the week with an easy ride. Was going to be a hill session but the legs didn't feel great so cut that short. Put a couple of hard efforts in there but nothing too taxing. Nice latte in the Phoenix Park visitors centre to finish it off. 62km done at a leisurely enough pace.

http://www.strava.com/activities/140241380


Tuesday 14th May
Usual Phoenix Park session, met up with De Bhál and we pushed each other on round the laps. Had a few drivers oblivious to cyclists just pulling out but was a good session and was wrecked after. Only 43km but with hitting the hills and the long straight hard it's pretty good race training.

http://www.strava.com/activities/140763509

Wednesday 15th May

Just a run today - long warm-up then a pyramid of 200m, 30s recovery, 400m, 60s recovery, 600m 90s recovery, 800m 120s recovery, 800m 120s recovery, 600m 90s recovery, 400m 60s recovery, 200m 30s recovery and a bit of a cooldown. Running wrecks me. Last few runs though I've been getting a pain in the lower abdomen - doesn't seem to be a hernia but something I need to keep an eye on.

http://www.strava.com/activities/141152825

Thursday 16th May

Club League - 4th round and a handicap up in Brittas. Decision was made to split into two groups with Scratch and Semi Scratch racing together and us in Semi Limit handicapped against Limit. Race started off at a handy enough pace but there were periods where it kept stalling as there were a few just content to sit in, let the group do all the work and then contest the sprint. Sometimes I feel like doing the same but the club races are meant to be there as training as much as anything else so on the last lap when it stalled again just after we left Manor Kilbride I went on the attack, knew it was never going to stick but hoped it would lift the pace and help us catch the limit group It did and a few others launched attack. Coming over the reservoir we had them in view and again I pushed the pace as we latched onto the back of them and quickly tried to get past and into the finishing sprint. I wasn't in a great position so just rolled on over the line. Enjoyed the race.

http://www.strava.com/activities/141560096

Friday 17th May

More park laps with De Bhál. Cycled down to the park and then 4 quick laps before heading to friends for dinner. Last lap I struggled to hold his wheel up the last climb so knew that was enough anyway.

http://www.strava.com/activities/141922961


Saturday 18th May

Spin with a couple of lads from the triathlon club. Handy enough pace without pushing it too much. As always it was a race up the hills. Just over 60km done.

http://www.strava.com/activities/142086708

Sunday 19th May

Training day down in West Meath with the Tri club. I didn't swim as I was spotting in case anyone decided to drown (they didn't) and I didn't run either as I was doing the timing. Just the cycle for me and I had to stop a couple of times to act as a marshall and give directions to everyone behind. Nice little 19.2km loop.

http://www.strava.com/activities/142766114

Monday 20th May and Tuesday 21th May

Rest days - tough enough week last week and hadn't had a rest for a while so decided a rest was needed. I was also planning an FTP test on Wednesday and wanted to go in fresh. I run the club TT league and Tue was the first round - a few good times set but I reckon I would have been close to setting the fastest time if I'd have been riding

Wednesday 22nd May

FTP test. did the warm-up and 5 min leg clearer but abandoned pretty early in the test. It was a war day and there was no wind so opening all the windows made no difference. Really need to buy a fan - but I've been saying that for 2 years now.

http://www.strava.com/activities/144054688

Club run session - 4 km warm-up and then 10 x 400m hill repeats up the Khyber with the 400m back down as recovery. Hard session, lower abdomen sore again.

http://www.strava.com/activities/144083784

Thursday 23rd May

Club League Round 5 - Green Sheds Circuit H/C. Full handicap race this time. Limit had 5 mins on Semi Limit and we set out hard working well to takea good chunk out of the handicap. As we passed Dunsany Lodge the first time we were told we were 90s down so we knew we had them caught although it eased off a little when we knew we were getting close but we eventually caught them nr Dunsany Castle. I still had ambitions of avoiding being caught by Semi Scratch so attacked as the group settled in with limit. The group responded and the pace went back up but after Dunsany Lodge we were caught by semi scratch. The pace lifted then and we were dragged up towards the finishing straight. Again I went off the front with a vague thought of holding everyone off till the finish but it was further than I thought and I died a death and was swallowed back up by the group and rolled over the line. Happy enough with my race.

http://www.strava.com/activities/144391269

Friday 24th May

Another day off.


Saturday 25th May

A4 Race - West Down GP. Early start to get up North for an 11:00am race. Had only decided to do this earlier in the week and at the time I was the 80th of 80 to sign on. Route looked flat enough on the profile I looked at. But it wasn't. Unfortunately start was delayed after someone collapsed on the start line for the A3 race (I think he was an organiser) Hopefully he's ok. When we set off it was straight into a climb and I was struggling from then on. Felt I had just about got it back together as we came round for the second lap but I was off the back and struggling to get back on. Had the group within about 50m for most of the second lap but it was killing me so I eased off and took it easy back to the finish. I got packed up and went home before the race had finished. A bad day at the office

http://www.strava.com/activities/144959574

Sunday 26th May

Out with wirelessdude01 for a hill repeats session. Met up in Lucan then headed up through Saggart to City West for 5 laps of going up the embankment, down Slade valley and back through Saggart to City West. Tough going for me but probably the kind of session that will benefit me most - to get good at hills you have to ride hills. Was watching my power readings going up to try and gauge what I think I can realistically hold for a 4-5km climb. Not as much as I wish. After the 5th I made my way over to Corkagh park as I knew my wife was doing a cycle nearby and I could get a lift home - got into the van just as the heavens opened then had to wait for an hour as she had decided to go for lunch nearby and I didn't have my phone on me to find out where she was, still at least I was dry!

http://www.strava.com/activities/145419416

Thoughts

Well I guess Saturdays race was a bit of a wake up call for me. I had thought I was going well and had been feeling stronger as the weeks were going by but that was the first time I have been dropped this year other than a crash stopping me. It all comes back to weight and I'm still too heavy - I'm down from 112kg a few weeks ago to around 107kg but ideally need to be sub 100. Losing weight and keeping power is tough. If I had finished the FTP test I think it might have been around 350w down from around 360w a month or so ago but it would still mean an increase in w/kg. So on target still for 100kg for Wexford 2 day and hopefully <105kg for the Omagh 3 day in just over 4 weeks time.

Starting to doubt I'll get upgraded this year. Not really been close to getting points in any race yet and still too heavy and doubt that even 100kg is anywhere near light enough.

Next race is the Deenside Cup next weekend. A nice flat race save the 5km hill in the middle - fully expect to get dropped but I need to keep testing myself and it will let me know how far behind I am on the hills and give me something to aim for next year. Races lined up for the weeks after that too leading up to Omagh 3 day (as long as I get in and in club team!).

Inquitus wrote: »

Thing is we well know Richard's strengths, on the right parcours I defo won't be letting him up the road without me on his wheel!

Haha, you were probably sitting in the bunch on Sunday laughing to yourself knowing I wouldn't make it over the hill