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Beasty's sweaty plaster cast - the road to recovery 2014/5/6/7.....

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  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,687 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    The "lair" nears completion

    TV, surround sound, fan and fridge now installed. Hopefully this winter's training is going to be a little more bearable ....

    08e1c510-7905-46a6-9e09-ce82ae556dc4_zps895909c9.jpg?t=1407186130


  • Registered Users Posts: 741 ✭✭✭upthe19th


    Beasty wrote: »
    The "lair" nears completion

    TV, surround sound, fan and fridge now installed. Hopefully this winter's training is going to be a little more bearable ....

    08e1c510-7905-46a6-9e09-ce82ae556dc4_zps895909c9.jpg?t=1407186130

    Nice.

    My wife just looked over my shoulder, saw the pic and gave me the auld "in your dreams" look. Not a bad dream though in fairness:D.


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,687 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Well I could say all this gained approval as a result of the sympathy I received due to all the injuries sustained earlier this year. I could say that, but given I'd already got planning permission for the garage extension before the crash it may not be too credible a position to take ....


  • Registered Users Posts: 741 ✭✭✭upthe19th


    Yeah...

    The way its going in my house at the moment my wife would nearly be relieved to look over my shoulder at the computer and see porn.....


  • Registered Users Posts: 667 ✭✭✭Altreab


    upthe19th wrote: »
    Yeah...

    The way its going in my house at the moment my wife would nearly be relieved to look over my shoulder at the computer and see porn.....

    but that lair IS cycling porn :)


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  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,687 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    This past week I've been feeling pretty crap until Friday when I felt a lot better. That seems to be indicative of how this recovery is likely to go for a while particularly as I try to balance more things. Even though it was a short week, there was something quite "challenging" at work I had to do, and the pressures of trying to do too much were clear

    I wondered if getting on with some exercise may help so I gave the Wattbike a go on Tuesday. It didn't go particularly well and after 35 mins I gave up after what was (supposed to be) a relatively easy effort

    I was feeling a lot better on Friday, but there was no cycling that day as I had gotten wind that the main medic who treated me at the scene back in March would be at the Newry Wheelers 3 dayer, so I headed up there to thank him as well as some of the guys at the club who had helped at the time and in the days thereafter.

    So I managed to glean some "interesting" info from various discussions I had in Newry - the first medic was apparently on the scene very quickly - the message rhat was relayed to some of the organisers appears to have been along the lines that the initial thoughts was I would not survive. Fortunately the other medics were on the other side of the dual carriageway following another race and were also on the scene within a minute or two. My HR dropped from 160 to 80 in the minute after the crash - apparently indicative of a blocked airway, and without urgent treatment I would not survive. Fortunately these guys were close enough and got there just in time....

    Then on Saturday I gave the R5 its first run out. I was feeling fine and managed to head out for 80 minutes.

    Today it was back to the Wattbike in much better nick than I was on Tuesday. After 50 minutes I had managed to up my best power since the crash all the way up from peak power to just over 30s. Next week, depending on how I'm feeling, I'll try and do a commute or two then see if I can push up the 1 minute power


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,687 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    6 months to the day since the crash, so perhaps an opportune time for an update

    Firstly the physical injuries. Bones are as healed as they are going to be. Left elbow still gets a little stiff when cycling, but it's still greatly improved. I get as much discomfort from the right elbow now!

    The right wrist is definitely taking its time to sort itself out and does still get uncomfortable particularly when cycling, but it's certainly not confined to that. I'm trying one or two exercises to help rebuild strength in the arms and wrists so hopefully they will continue to show improvement.

    I've been getting regular physio on the neck and shoulders. My problems I have been described as a massive whiplash. Treatment has improved things though, particularly in the neck.

    I still get fatigued due to the recovery process (particularly the energy going to repairing the brain). I'm expecting this to continue to improive but it's going to take some time. Some days I feel better than others - each day over the weekend I was exhausted after a couple of hours doiwn at the track championships. The last two days at work have been different again, despite having cycled in on both days. As I've mentioned previously I seem to do better at work when I do cycle in - I full expect a backlash tomorrow though, and I equally expect to continue having good and bad days

    Since getting back to work pretty much full time I've really struggled to do much more than about 3 hours a week cycling, but I'm looking to up that over the next month. I've also had a bad lower back spasm over the past couple of weeks which has limited my activity. I get these perhaps once or twice a year, but I don't know if this one has been exacerbated by my other neck and shoulder problems. Anyway it's a lot better now so hopefully it will not hold me back too much.

    I've been invited to an event in tne NW of England in early October. This will include a couple of cycling options, and I'll be going for the flattish 60 mile one. Members of the Rapha Condor team and Team GB are supposed to be there. Tips have been mentioned, but I don't know whether I'm supposed to be receiving or providing them:pac: Anyway I will look to try and build up my spins ahead of that event

    In terms of what I've been doing since the last update, due to the back problems and other commitments I've only been managinga single commute plus a couple of Wattbike sessions per week. Having said that I've improved the "post crash" power curve all the way up to 35 mins over the past few weeks, with larger improvements at the "short end". I've been particularly focussed on cadence which I have managed to keep quite a bit over 90 over the past couple of weeks whan commuting and hitting 102 this morning - the first time over 100 on the road bike since the crash

    All in all things are definitely heading in the right direction, but it is a painfully slow process. Hopefully though, and with a bit of luck combined with a lot of work, I'll be back approaching my pre-crash fitness by the start of the next racing season.


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,687 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Last time I updated this was just under 3 weeks ago, and I've got to say the first two of those weeks I was feeling different again, getting in around 5 hours on the commutes each week plus the odd WB session. I did both back to back commutes and 3 commutes in a week each week, and had achieved neither before that. I was feeling almost "back to normal" for a lot of the time, even if some of the physical problems in the arms were still giving rise to some discomfort.

    The problem I have though (and I expect this following my discussions with the neuro-psychologist) is that my recovery is not going to be continual and there will be setbacks.

    So I guess I should not be surprised that there was a backlash this week. Monday I felt pretty lousy, but Tuesday I was a bit better and gave the WB a short session. Wednesday and Thursday I was not feeling great again (and Friday I was travelling all day which definitely fatigued me). The common factor with these periods of setback tends to be a bit more stress at work and indeed home where the wife was away for a few days leaving me with the kids to look after when I was away from work.

    Things brightend up a bit towards the end of the week though and today I helped out with the McNally Swords CC beginner spin. That was 80km door to door over 3hrs 25 mins. The longest post crash spin I had done before today was 2 hours so I was more than pleased to complete it without major issue (although the arms were definitely aching towards the end, along with the legs of course!).

    Hopefully I'll get another commute or two (or equivalent WB sessions if the weather is bad at all) over the next week and I can perhaps get out for another long spin next weekend


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,687 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    So having been feeling pretty crap last week, I'm feeling a lot better this week. I did a commute on Monday and didn't feel too much in the way of after effects following Sunday's exertions. Tonight on the commute home I was hitting some of the power peaks I last saw in February, and were only around 30w behind the best I've ever done on the road bike

    What I've not properly sussed out yet is whether I'm feeling better because I'm getting more time on the bike (which does not put much strain on the brain), or I'm wanting to cycle more because I'm feeling better:confused:

    My gut feeling is it's a bit more of the latter, as I do find things a bit more challenging generally when I'm trying to balance multiple things, be they work, home or bike related. Regardless, things definitely feel a bit more "back to normal" this week


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,687 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    So, having done the 80km club spin a few weeks back yesterday was an opportunity to push it a bit harder and further. I'd taken in a couple of days watching the World Track Masters - an event I had been competing in over the past 2 years - and it was on to a "corporate" cycling event in Cheshire and into the Peak District.

    I had chosen the shorter of 2 options - 60+ miles with 4,000 ft of climbing

    I turned up to breakfast and found myself sitting next to one of the "celebs" brought in by the company running the event, former 2-time Ras winner and current GB track coach Chris Newton. I took various opportunities through the day to glean whatever info on the GB setup I could!. Then we had a late addition to the team - Rob Hayles, who currently is mainly doing a bit of media work. We also had another Ras winner, Kristian House, there, but he was shepherding the longer of the 2 routes

    Anyway, we set off on the Cheshire plain - the weather was pleasant enough although some of the motorists did leave a bit to be desired. We then moved into the much lumpier Peak District where we would encounter the 2 climbs of the day - not particularly long but definitely hard work. The problem I found though was on the descents. They were very fast, but as I was completely unfamilar with the roads I was always going to be very careful. That meant I was on the brakes most of the time and the grip I was exerting was making both wrist and elbow very uncomfortable. I was certainly enjoying the slight inclines more than the descents in the circumstances

    Anyway after a bit more effort there was then a lunch break, when some of the pros decided to take the mickey out Hayles and turn his rear wheel round!

    After lunch there were a few more slight inclines - with correponding ropey descents - by the end of the ride I had clocked over 30% of the ride with zero cadence.

    Then Hayles decided to take us on a detour through Lyme Park - not only a detour but also claim to be a short cut - we would just have to go down a bit of an offroad "track". After a couple of hundred meters of the descent Newton punctured. My arms were in agony and every turn of the wheels on the rough, very stoney, surface caused pain. Hence while he was changing his tube I and one other decided to take the walk of shame. The track surface for the next couple of hundred metres was far worse than higher up and we both knew we had made the right decision.

    We got back onto the main road and proceeded back towards the outskirts of Manchester. Then the heavens opened. The pace picked up a bit, but agian in my condition I was in no mood for taking any risks.

    We got back to the hotel from where we started. I saved the ride on the Garmin and saw the total distance was 99.3km - if only I could have ridden the Lyme Park track! Anyway, Newton actually headed back to make a few circuits of the nearby roundabout to clock up the tonne. I think everyone else was working in miles...

    Overall it was a great day out and getting the chance to have a natter with Chris Newton (who I now realise was born only a few miles away from where I was and knows the area very well) and Rob Hayles was even better. Total climbing was shown on the Garmin at just under 1,000m and moving time was 4 and a half hours - that's a lot more than I've done since the crash and I was definitely feeling it by the end. The weight I've put on was telling also (although was a definite advantage when I was freewheeling!). It showed I've got a way to go still, particularly with the ongoing arm problems, as well as my lack of confidence when the rain came


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  • Registered Users Posts: 3,477 ✭✭✭rollingscone


    From experience Beasty you can't smash through the fear no matter how much you want it. You'd be right to be proud of your progress and it's much better to get through a boundary pushing exercise sore and a little disappointed than your ego collapsing in on itself because you pushed yourself to a point where your mind/trauma absolutely shuts you down as happened with my first attempt to get back to outdoor rock climbing again, an event that effectively ended my participation in the sport and again with my spin out/near ctash descending Cruagh road last year, when I got so locked up with flashbacks and adrenalised anxiety that I had to walk back to Edmonstown cursing myself and despairing that I'd have to give up cycling too.

    In short in a post traumatic injury scenario strength = persistence AND patience.

    Sorry, that was a lot of waffle TL:DR keep doing what you're doing.


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,687 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Cheers for that RS. Shortly after the crash I had ambitions of getting back into racing within a few months. Such hopes evaporated over time but it was only when I saw the neuro - psychologist back in June that the full scale of what I had been hit with really started to dawn.

    He certainly warned me off racing for a while and I've been deliberately trying to both pace myself and push the boundaries a little at a time. As a result I suspect I am probably way ahead of where I could have been (he had said that it was "normal" with my sort of injuries not to even think about going back to work for 6 months for example. I certainly went back too early but still feel I was probably 3 months ahead of where I would otherwise be). He tells me I'll be feeling different again in another year or so, and I'm definitely looking forward to that!


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,687 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    After the exertions in Cheshire I gave it a rest until a short WB session on Tuesday. I then commuted on Wednesday, pushing a bit harder on the return. However on both legs of the commute my arms were giving me pain. The left elbow was aching again, something I've not really suffered as badly from for a couple of months until Cheshire, and the right wrist was quite painful towards the end of each ride. It's been bothering me since the Cheshire ride and I'm going to ease off on the road bike for a week or so in the hope the arms recover a bit

    The past couple of evenings I've been back on the Wattbike (which puts little strain on the arms). Over the 3 Wattbike sessions this week I've been attempting to push up the "post-crash" power curve. I have been able to pretty much track but not improve the power curve for an interval of around a minute then from 10 to 25 minutes or so. I'm still about 20% down on what I was putting out in January over those time periods but hopefully these efforts are the start of a sustained attempt to narrow the gap a little. Interestingly though over the "sprint" times of up to around 15s or so I'm putting out power which is fairly near to what I was managing before the crash. Hence I'm hopeful that over time the longer times will show significant improvement as I get more "back to normal"


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,687 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Progress on the bike has been pretty good since the last update. I'm definitely moving more towards "normality" although certainly not doing as much as I was at this time last year. What I am doing though is more targetted.

    The legs are definitely getting there and I've managed to do a few efforts both on the road and Wattbike that are putting me maybe 30w or so (over an hour) behind where I was before the crash. It's a gap I feel I can narrow although it will take some time. The gaps over shorter timeframes are actually narrowing more rapidly and last night I managed to hit a post crash peak of 1,300w on the WB - that's my 3rd highest ever and only 21w behind my PB. On the road bike I can often get to or near 1,100w, when around 2 and a half years ago 1,000w was a more realistic objective.

    The heart and lungs still have a way to go though and I'm regularly going within a few bpm of my max HR when in the past I would be 20bpm below it. I am sure that will come over time. I'm also increasing cadence again which does seem to put more of a strain on those organs than the leg muscles

    The injuries though are still a bit of a concern. I guess I'm quite impatient as a lot of people who have suffered similar setbacks as well as medics and physios are telling me it's still early days. I've managed to ease the discomfort in the wrist by strapping it up a bit tighter, but both elbows can still suffer after a relatively short period on the bike. I've now got some exercises for them so will see how it goes. The neck and shoulders have not progressed for a while and indeed seem to have got a bit worse recently. Trying to go on the drops for an extended periods does put quite a strain on the neck in particular. Anyway I'm hoping to get some more physio and probably try and head off for some pilates sessions which hopefully will improve things

    The brain injury and related fatigue are continuing to improve but there are still days when it can be quite a strain, particularly if there's anything stressful at work. I'm not getting as many power naps as I was. Today was a good example when I was absolutely shattered when I got back from work and I've been dozing on the comfy chair for a most of the past 6 hours.

    Anyway, things are definitely still heading in the right direction. Certainly not as quickly as I would have hoped, but equally probably a lot faster than I have any right to expect.


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 11,667 Mod ✭✭✭✭RobFowl


    Pilates, yoga or alexander technique. See which one suits you best but all great for core stability and aches/pains generally.
    Bottom line is
    Keep-On-Truckin--the-70s-482814_713_348.jpg


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,687 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Just seen the provisional Ulster calendar for 2015 - 1 March it is then (and I'm well and truly trucked :pac:)


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,687 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    I've started another course of physio to help with the arms, shoulder and neck, and the pilates will start in the new year. I am spending up to 30 mins a day trying the variious stretches and other exercises I've been "prescribed"

    On the Wattbike I've continued to make progress, pushing up the power curve between 2 and 15s.

    Things have also gone very well on the roadbike, with a commute on Tuesday when I managed to both chase a couple of tractors to help improve a couple of Strava segments despite a crosswind, as well as getting the chance to push up the peak power on the road

    Today I was out for a couple of hours, 30 mins at level 1 then an hour at level 3 and back to level 1 for 30 mins. I managed to push up the power curve from around 50 mins to over 2 hours while again getting pretty close to my post crash peak on the road bike

    I'm trying to increase time on the road bike in the hope it will help improve the arms, shoulder and neck by building up the strength, although the weather is restricting opportunities a little. I do though now feel as if I can start pushing the boundries, certainly when fresh. Knowing the levels I could hit before the crash helps as it means I can try and plan based on past performance, although I am still quite a bit behind over any extended period.


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,687 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Since the last update I've been continuing the physio, and the wrist is starting to feel quite a bit better, although that may be partly down to the lack of roadbike opportunities due to the weather. The other ailments continue to improve also, although it still feels a long process. Fatigue definitely continues to be an issue and I still have to pace myself in all walks of life, althought I feel getting out on the bike a bit does improve things provided I don't have too much else going on. One big negative is my weight and I realy need to start shifting a few of those kilos I've gained since the crash

    The good news on the bike work is I'm still putting in the efforts at the sprint end of the time spectrum and keeping pretty close to peak power. I'm also maintaining it and staying close to my all-time PBs up to around 20s. Beyond that the power is improving. In fact on a normalised basis I've progressed quite a bit and am now approaching 250w over the hour, but I can extrapolate to 20+w higher from some of the shorter efforts (the CP curve isn't doing too badly either at around 240w for the hour).

    For the efforts up to 10s or so I'm pretty much at or around my all time PB. Up to 20s I'm perhaps 5-6% behind and beyond that up to 3 minutes (which is representative of my pursuit effort) around 10-15% behind, but I've not done much in the way of all-out efforts over those longer time periods and hopefully could narrow the gap further if I did make a specific effort. The pre-crash power records are definitely helping me target performances as I feel as if I am now approaching those levels

    I'm hoping to get out on the road a bit more over the next few weeks which with a bit of luck will help both on the endurance and weight


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 11,667 Mod ✭✭✭✭RobFowl


    Beasty wrote: »
    Since the last update I've been continuing the physio, and the wrist is starting to feel quite a bit better,

    There are some specific wrist strengthening exercises .......


    But I wouldn't b so crude as to even mention them..............


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,687 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    RobFowl wrote: »
    There are some specific wrist strengthening exercises .......
    I'm actually starting some specific exercises recommended for goalkeepers. Think I'll struggle to make it but still feel I have an outside chance of getting a match or two for one particular Premiership club.


    Bet you thought all your birthdays came at once yesterday Rob:pac:


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  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 11,667 Mod ✭✭✭✭RobFowl


    Beasty wrote: »

    Bet you thought all your birthdays came at once yesterday Rob:pac:

    My youngest Rob (and yes he's called after God) told me this weekend he now supports Chelski......

    At least I had a fun cross race :) and managed not to burst a new skinsuit....


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,687 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Last week was the most intense since the crash with a couple of very hard WB sessions combined with a commute and an extended spin with the Balrothery guys on Saturday.

    This week was always intended to be a lot less intense with more of a focus on recovery. However I couldn't get out on Monday and then the build up to XMas with all the associated activities meant I was feeling very tired and not up to any effort on Tuesday or Wednesday. Tonight though I did feel a bit better and thought an hour on the Wattbike would help de-stress me a bit.

    The plan worked - basically a low intensity hour, but throwing in some all-out spints (of anything between 2 and 5s or so) every 2-5 mins or so just to relieve the boredom. The rest must have helped as I set new (all-time) PBs between 3s and 6s improving my previous bests by 3-4%. On top of that I had managed a new all time peak of 1,337w last week which was 16w higher than I had ever managed previously (albeit only over a single pedal revolution - over a second I hit 1,322w)

    The rest of this week and next week will continue with easy work with the intention of picking it up again after that


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,687 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Still very much on the "road to recovery" so I'll keep this thread going through 2015.

    The past week or so has been mainly on the WB, although perhaps a little more intense than planned (but also a bit shorter than some of the planned road sessions, but it was a bit too risky to head out given the freezing conditions) as I couldn't resist trying to improve a few of my post crash power bests.

    So on the 27th I upped it between 23s and 33s, then on the 28th between 6s and 12s and also between 50s and 90s. All in all not a bad end to the year.

    New Years Day and another WB session - tried maintaining 400w for as long as I could and again pushed up the power curve this time between 70s and just short of 2 minutes. The really pleasing thing though was at 90s I was only 4w (1%) behind my PB (which was set in the middle of 2013). I realise I'm carrying a bit of extra weight but don't think shedding that will have a major impact on power and to be hitting those levels at this time in the close season is particularly pleasing.

    Then yesterday I did my first ride on the road for a couple of weeks and managed to harvest all those 2015 KOMs and podium places on the commute!! Only problem was I felt a bit of a twinge in the neck. The arms continue to get uncomfortable after a while, but were certainly no worse than recent rides on the road bike.

    Will be trying to make some inroads into the excess ballast over the next few weeks (fortunately I managed to avoid putting any extra weight on over the holiday season)


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,687 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Back to the neuro-psychologist today. Although he was more than pleased with my progress and still thinks I am way ahead of anywhere I could have expected (and probably even hoped) to be in my recovery, it was a bit of a reminder to me not to get too far ahead of myself

    I really thought I was getting pretty close to as near full recovery as I'm going to. Physically I still have a few niggles that will probably continue to bug me for some time, but I'm really feeling as if my performance on the bike is coming along. Indeed I was hoping/expecting to be pretty much race-fit for the start of the new road racing season. The recovery of the brain though is taking a long time. He repeated some of the tests originally undertaken back in June. I am definitely showing progress but today's tests established I still have a long way to go. He was talking years, which was a bit of a surprise to me.

    In addition I've been struggling with sleep particularly over the last month or so. To start with I was having problems with sciatica keeping me awake, and I suspect I've had a bit of a bug over the past week or so which has certainly not helped. Rest is the key to recovery, but at present the sleep I am getting is very disturbed. It's something I need to work on, and he's given me some info that should help. One of the things he's recommending, bike wise, is perhaps shorter sessions (maybe more frequent). A 2+ hour spin is probably going to fatguie me to such an extent that it takes a couple of days or more to get back on an even keel. 30-40 minute Wattbike sessions every day may be more manageable (and maybe a few commutes which breaks the daily effort down into two separate spins). He also said the pilates sessions which start on Monday will definitely help.

    Anyway, a bit of food for thought. I'm still hoping to start racing early in the season, but perhaps need to limit my ambitons a bit. I've already made a request to the IVCA to be allowed to race in the slowest (and shortest) of the 3 races they do every week to start off with. I'll probably try and get in the slow group in teh Clkub League also. Not with the intention of winning anything (and indeed I'm happy to commit not to do so anyway) but to ease myself back into it and try and build my confidence a little before I try anything more strenuous.


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,687 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    While I'm contemplating whatever stupendous post I can craft to bring up my 20k (probably end up being a warning for breach of charter in the Cycling Adverts sub-forum:rolleyes:), I thought I would update this thread.

    Due to the weather the past month has been almost exclusively spent (training-wise) on the Wattbike, usually getting in perhaps 4, but occasionally 5, sessions a week, each one typically lasting between about 40 mins and an hour. I've also managed a single commute a couple of weeks ago

    I have been doing quite a lot of structured sessions, and these have allowed me to continue to push up the power curve with improvements between 12s and 40s as well as in the 50s to 80s range. Hopefully I'll start extending that out a bit more with 5 minutes being a target for this evening.

    On the commute I was still finding the arms uncomfortable, although I suspect a bit more tiem on the road bike will improve the elbows. Equally though I suspect the wrist needs more rest to improve, so it's a bit of a quandry at present

    I also tried the rollers again last night with the traclk bike. Again though the wrist quickly started getting quite sore, I think due to the combination of putting some weight on it and the tightness of my grip.

    As already mentioned I'll be back on the WB tonight and will probably again have a few minutes on the rollers. Then on Tuesday I'll be in Manchester planning to get on an indoor track for the first time in a year or so. It will simply be a matter of re-familiarising myself with the track.

    Later on in the week, weather permitting, I'll see if I can do another commute - increasing daylight hours will hopefully encourage me to commute a bit more. I'm also hoping to head down to Sundrive on Saturday to take part in one of their training sessions, again weather permitting

    All in all I can't complain as I'm still showing progress week on week. Knowing my main objectives are likely to be late in the season is meaning I'm not too worried about my lack of time in the saddle at present, but I will aim to start buiding up my road work over the next couple of months with a view to targetting a couple of early season IVCA races as well as club and track league events


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 24,319 Mod ✭✭✭✭CramCycle


    Beasty wrote: »
    As already mentioned I'll be back on the WB tonight and will probably again have a few minutes on the rollers. Then on Tuesday I'll be in Manchester planning to get on an indoor track for the first time in a year or so. It will simply be a matter of re-familiarising myself with the track.

    Will you be out in Sundrive at any of the training sessions?


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,687 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    CramCycle wrote: »
    Will you be out in Sundrive at any of the training sessions?
    Going to try and get down to the next couple of sessions if I can, then see how it goes from there


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,338 ✭✭✭Lusk_Doyle


    Dear Sir,

    Your thread title is out of date. As it is now 2015 and therefore no longer 2014, how can we be expected to ... yadda yadda yadda.

    Yours etc,

    ...

    Buffalo would be proud of my little letter!


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,687 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    ...."Back" on Track

    Have been in Manchester over the past few days and had booked my first track session since before the crash. Unfortunately the pilates session on Monday was a bit harder than previously and I suffered a bit of a reaction with my back playing up

    I was feeling quite bad on Tuesday morning and fearing I would not get on the track that lunchtime. I went down anyway if only to check the bike out. Was a bit paranoid as it's not been used in such a long period. The tubes had not been replaced in probably 5 years - wasn't feeling too bad so changed them over and then felt good enough to get on the bike

    So I did 2 x 20+ minute sessions during the hour. It was definitely a case of taking it easy early on but I then managed to pick the pace up. Was feeling the odd twinge in the back but it was slowly loosening up. I went a bit harder in the second session and joined in a chain gang for maybe 10 mins. I was feeling as if I'd never been away and although I usually stay on for the full hour, the effort I was putting in was comparable with what I was doing prior to the crash. All in all I was very happy with my efforts.

    Alas after a couple of days involving quite a lot of driving, that track session, a couple of hours sat in a hard plastic seat at Old Trafford and a couple of ferry crossings my back is not feeling too good at present. I'm also getting a bit of sciatica which seems to be triggering a few shooting pains in my right foot. Hence I'm giving it a rest for a day or two in the hope everything settles down ahead of the next pliates session on Monday....


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  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,687 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    The back has been in a pretty bad way but at least have been showing improvement. Hence I've managed a couple of relatievly easy Wattbike sessions before heading to Sundrive for my first proper training session since the crash.

    Got to say I was a little apprehensive - I think the prior derny session had been cancelled due to the weather and it remained very cold with the track damp when I arrived. The fact the session went ahead gave me some assurance as there is no way it would proceed if there was any ice around. The cold itself did not bother me too much as I was properly wrapped up (although it was a bit windy also, which can make pace judgement on the track bike a bit more difficult)

    I did an informal warm up, joining in the line lapping for a few minutes - getting close up to other riders was certainly a little daunting although everything went well enough

    Then there was a more formal warm up with two lines initially eventually moving into single file. The pace was certainly not an issue, although as gadetra can vouch I was inclined to leave too much space between me and the bike in front and my pace judgement was pretty lousy. It really is a matter of rebuilding confidence though

    Then it was onto some sprinting with 2 groups at opposite sides of the track. On the whistle the rider on the front of each group would drop to the inside of the track and try and get to the back of the other groups asap. I was typically taking 25-30s, or maybe two-thirds of a lap to catch up which wasn't too bad at all - was putting out 500-600w in those efforts.

    We each did about 6 of those efforts. I then called it a day, more than satisfied with the hour or so I had spent on the track (at a NP of around 260w) while equally recognising I didn't want to aggravate my back any further.

    With a bit of luck I'll get down to a few more of these track sessions to hopefully further build my confidence, particularly of riding in such groups, in advance of the track league starting


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