Exactly like riding a bike

upthe19th · 04-05-2014 8:13pm

Very, very light week. Stuck to the plan of rest and got a sports massage as well. Have to say I still felt very tired but I'm sure the rest was needed. Wondering if I took it too handy cos the legs were very heavy. Work was extra busy. Continued with Iron supplement. Watched what I ate all week and no increase in body weight. It's staying steady at 13st 6lbs. Need to get it down a bit more and keep it there.

Thursday 1st May
Sports massage. Needed it.

Friday 2nd May
Quick spin to see how things were. Felt reasonably fresh but not as much as I thought I would have been.

Distance: 11.4km
Av speed: 28.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 83m

Saturday 3rd May
Nice slow spin to get the legs flushed before the rain.

Distance: 22.6km
Av speed: 21.5km/hr
Elevation Gain: 170m

Sunday 4th May
Headed down for the Frank O'Rourke race. Quick warm up. Legs did feel a bit out of sorts and lazy but nothing major. Did not learn from previous lessons and was close to the back again. First lap was fine but the legs were heavy. Then things went downhill fast. It was a very strange feeling. Legs just filled up and died. No cramps but they felt "blocked" if that makes any sense. Maybe I had taken it too easy during the week. Plenty of crashes today. Ambulance guys were kept busy. Hope that all involved recover well and bike damage is minor. Good event by wexford wheelers. Met Couerdelion very briefly after the race. I really was surprised that I recognised him so easily from strava pic, I never usually recognise anybody at races, even people I know well.

Managed to stay with the group for longer than last open race but still not great. I really am a good way off. Not sure that I am progressing as I should be compared to other guys I know. I know everyone's different but maybe it's a simple case of "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" when it comes to my cycling ability. Still love it though and that's the main thing and I ain't giving up.

Distance: 33.3km
Av speed: 32.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 277m

Dilbert75 · 05-05-2014 12:17am

And it's not at all unreasonable to expect yourself to be closer to the front of the pack of experienced racers in only your second race? Give yourself a break lad - it's not just about fitness and strength, its about tactics. You can't learn them overnight and once you're working to stay on you're up against it. You also can't expect yourself to be race-ready in the second race of your first year racing, when most of the other guys are at it years.

pprendeville · 05-05-2014 3:07pm

If you want to improve quicker and be ready for racing make sure you train according to how you think the race will pan out. So for example, if the race has a defining hill in it which usually causes a split then find a hill and do some efforts that replicate race intensity on it. For example, you could power up the hill and once you get to the top keep driving on for 500m. You could mix it up and soft pedal to the top before exploding outta the blocks or you could pick a point on the hill where you say "that's the point I'm going to try and make a break". Make it interesting and challenge yourself instead of saying "today I had an average speed of x, therefore I'm improving".

This guy from crankpunk tells the story of a fictional race well, one that you could apply to training:

100km event.

10 mins pre warm-up

5 minute high intensity (Perceived Rate of Exertion [PRE] 8-10) powering after break attempts, staying more or less in top of bunch following wheels

1 minute break (5-6) coasting in peloton

20 minute high intensity (7.5-9) hard riding near front, covering breaks, in wind from time to time

5 minute break (6) coasting in pack, gathering breath, maybe a break has gone up the road

5 minute very high intensity (9-9.5) bridging to break

1 hour 20 medium intensity (6.5-8.5) sitting in break, doing work at front, resting at back

10 minutes high intensity (7-9) covering attacks, following wheels

3 minutes super high intensity (9-10) breaking clear in last 4km.

1 minute super slow, high intensity despondency (-58) got caught with 2km to go and wept like a child, whilst pedaling backwards

upthe19th · 05-05-2014 4:56pm

Dilbert75 wrote: »

And it's not at all unreasonable to expect yourself to be closer to the front of the pack of experienced racers in only your second race? Give yourself a break lad - it's not just about fitness and strength, its about tactics. You can't learn them overnight and once you're working to stay on you're up against it. You also can't expect yourself to be race-ready in the second race of your first year racing, when most of the other guys are at it years.

All fair and valid points C, thanks. Of course I should not, and would not, presume to be able to keep with guys who have years of hard training done as if it could be done overnight. I guess there's a certain amount of impatience there borne of concious realisation of ability versus required ability. That's a trait of mine unfortunately. At times gut feelings and concerns get into my posts in their raw form. More training, less worrying, eh?:o

pprendeville wrote: »

If you want to improve quicker and be ready for racing make sure you train according to how you think the race will pan out. So for example, if the race has a defining hill in it which usually causes a split then find a hill and do some efforts that replicate race intensity on it. For example, you could power up the hill and once you get to the top keep driving on for 500m. You could mix it up and soft pedal to the top before exploding outta the blocks or you could pick a point on the hill where you say "that's the point I'm going to try and make a break". Make it interesting and challenge yourself instead of saying "today I had an average speed of x, therefore I'm improving".

This guy from crankpunk tells the story of a fictional race well, one that you could apply to training:

100km event.

10 mins pre warm-up

5 minute high intensity (Perceived Rate of Exertion [PRE] 8-10) powering after break attempts, staying more or less in top of bunch following wheels

1 minute break (5-6) coasting in peloton

20 minute high intensity (7.5-9) hard riding near front, covering breaks, in wind from time to time

5 minute break (6) coasting in pack, gathering breath, maybe a break has gone up the road

5 minute very high intensity (9-9.5) bridging to break

1 hour 20 medium intensity (6.5-8.5) sitting in break, doing work at front, resting at back

10 minutes high intensity (7-9) covering attacks, following wheels

3 minutes super high intensity (9-10) breaking clear in last 4km.

1 minute super slow, high intensity despondency (-58) got caught with 2km to go and wept like a child, whilst pedaling backwards

:D. Thanks for this. Makes perfect sense, especially the point about average speed and improvement. I do fartlek sessions at times where I do mix it up, i.e. I'll go full-bore, sit up for a bit, steady tempo, sprint a hill, etc. Did one this morning in fact, but the sessions are not intense enough going by that example. I'll push it up a good bit in future. It was pointed out by a club mate recently that some of my recovery spins are kinda quick. Maybe if my hard sessions were harder I would not carry as much energy into my recoveries. Thanks again, time to put it into practice and see how it goes.

nilhg · 05-05-2014 7:54pm

upthe19th wrote: »

All fair and valid points C, thanks. Of course I should not, and would not, presume to be able to keep with guys who have years of hard training done as if it could be done overnight. I guess there's a certain amount of impatience there borne of concious realisation of ability versus required ability. That's a trait of mine unfortunately. At times gut feelings and concerns get into my posts in their raw form. More training, less worrying, eh?:o

:D. Thanks for this. Makes perfect sense, especially the point about average speed and improvement. I do fartlek sessions at times where I do mix it up, i.e. I'll go full-bore, sit up for a bit, steady tempo, sprint a hill, etc. Did one this morning in fact, but the sessions are not intense enough going by that example. I'll push it up a good bit in future. It was pointed out by a club mate recently that some of my recovery spins are kinda quick. Maybe if my hard sessions were harder I would not carry as much energy into my recoveries. Thanks again, time to put it into practice and see how it goes.

I don't know if you use a HRM, I'm no expert on training but I do know that my own experience is that using one makes it easier to make the hard sessions hard and the easy sessions easy, my original reason for getting mine (apart from the SVT) was to pace myself on the longer rides/sportives, sometimes when you're solo it's hard to push yourself as hard as you should be and at others, especially in company, you can work harder than is good early in a long spin, RPE is hard to gauge in the middle in my limited experience .

The other thing I think might be worth looking at is your warm up, just doing the club league races I notice that having done a quick warmup (usually no time for anything else) that it takes the first lap or two to really get going, not really a problem because our A5 group usually takes a while to get revved up but if I was in with the faster lads from the gun I reckon I'd struggle.

pprendeville · 06-05-2014 8:53am

upthe19th wrote: »

All fair and valid points C, thanks. Of course I should not, and would not, presume to be able to keep with guys who have years of hard training done as if it could be done overnight. I guess there's a certain amount of impatience there borne of concious realisation of ability versus required ability. That's a trait of mine unfortunately. At times gut feelings and concerns get into my posts in their raw form. More training, less worrying, eh?:o

:D. Thanks for this. Makes perfect sense, especially the point about average speed and improvement. I do fartlek sessions at times where I do mix it up, i.e. I'll go full-bore, sit up for a bit, steady tempo, sprint a hill, etc. Did one this morning in fact, but the sessions are not intense enough going by that example. I'll push it up a good bit in future. It was pointed out by a club mate recently that some of my recovery spins are kinda quick. Maybe if my hard sessions were harder I would not carry as much energy into my recoveries. Thanks again, time to put it into practice and see how it goes.

That's a pretty hard session and more of a one to build up to in a year or 2 but it gives you an idea. Cycling is all about slow progression. Yes, easy sessions should be easy and hard sessions very hard but don't go overboard either. No need to be on your bike 10 hours a week logging 300km if you play your cards right. Intensity is the key. If you have time listen to a few Graeme Street podcasts (Everyday Cyclist). Always emphasise intensity if your time is limited. Some great practical tips in them also.

upthe19th · 06-05-2014 8:39pm

nilhg wrote: »

I don't know if you use a HRM, I'm no expert on training but I do know that my own experience is that using one makes it easier to make the hard sessions hard and the easy sessions easy, my original reason for getting mine (apart from the SVT) was to pace myself on the longer rides/sportives, sometimes when you're solo it's hard to push yourself as hard as you should be and at others, especially in company, you can work harder than is good early in a long spin, RPE is hard to gauge in the middle in my limited experience .

The other thing I think might be worth looking at is your warm up, just doing the club league races I notice that having done a quick warmup (usually no time for anything else) that it takes the first lap or two to really get going, not really a problem because our A5 group usually takes a while to get revved up but if I was in with the faster lads from the gun I reckon I'd struggle.

Funny you should say that. Been thinking of a garmin upgrade for last couple of weeks. Birthday is literally around the corner, might drop a few hints during the week with the family;). I'd be the very same as you as regard the warm-up. I seem to start to settle after about 15-20k. On long spins I find at about 40k I am cruising along. Hopefully more training and conditioning will make it "easier" earlier in races. Thanks J.

pprendeville wrote: »

That's a pretty hard session and more of a one to build up to in a year or 2 but it gives you an idea. Cycling is all about slow progression. Yes, easy sessions should be easy and hard sessions very hard but don't go overboard either. No need to be on your bike 10 hours a week logging 300km if you play your cards right. Intensity is the key. If you have time listen to a few Graeme Street podcasts (Everyday Cyclist). Always emphasise intensity if your time is limited. Some great practical tips in them also.

Yeah definitely something to progress towards. Read a lot of that blog of crankpunk last night, interesting reading. Great to get the advice, thanks again.

upthe19th · 11-05-2014 7:23pm

Just over 200km for the week and some really positive outcomes. Work was busy. Home was busy. Keeps me out of trouble.
Made slight adjustment to my cleat positioning. Was relunctant to do it as I have had very few issues with strains with the existing positioning, but it just felt a little off. Just wasn't getting the full power onto the pedals. Results were good. Still comfortable and feels much stronger.

Monday 5th May
A fartlek session. Overall not very quick but I was throwing in sprints and attacking on hills and generally mixing it up. Keeps things interesting, thanks Mr. Prendeville:).

Distance: 58.5km
Av speed: 26.5km/hr
Elevation Gain: 492m

Wednesday 7th May
League race. After puncturing and marshalling I was eager to nail this one, once and for all and finish a race. Good warm-up with some sprints and headed for the start line. Pace was brisk and I was at the back again but comfortable there. Ventured up the group a few times and bridged one small break. Towards the end when the pace ramped up I could feel myself falling off a little. Not out of breath but not strong enough in the legs. Finished just at the back of the group, absolutely delighted and grinning as if I had won. Such a buzz and a relief.

Distance: 37.1km
Av speed: 40.6km/hr
Elevation Gain: 71m

Thursday 8th May
This was supposed to be shorter and a recovery spin but when I got going I felt good and no tiredness from the previous night's racing. Decided to turn it into a fartlek session. Attacked hills, descents and a series of sprints. Happy with the session overall.

Distance: 48.5km
Av speed: 28.2km/hr
Elevation Gain: 424m

Sunday 11th May
Awoke to home-made birthday cards and little pressies from my boys. Usually I'd get myself something small. This year my present to myself was a session of hill repeats. Headed off with a neighbour of mine. He's just recovering from injury but a fit guy, runner and adventure racer. Handy spin down to the climb. It's 2.6km with an average grade of 7%. We met up at the top and bottom but other than that we did our own pacing. Did 5 repeats and used the descents for recovery and maybe a minute or 2 extra for quick drink. Went by feel and was not very uncomfortable but still a testing session. Next time I will be harder on myself but today was a good bench mark. Handy spin home with a bit of a tail wind.

Distance: 61.2km
Av speed: 19.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 1068m

career_move · 14-05-2014 7:24pm

Belated happy birthday. You seem to be getting a great kick out of the cycling

upthe19th · 18-05-2014 7:51pm

Work was busy as always and some long days. Just over the 200km again. Closing date for Wicklow 200 is tomorrow. I had been mulling over it for a while but I'm going to leave it for this year. I will do my own 200km+ spin in the hills soon.

Wednesday 14th May
League race again and a bit quicker this week. After finally finishing a race the week before i felt more at ease. I was towards the back for a lot of the first 2 laps. On the third lap I decided to mix it up a bit. I went to the front for a couple of km and worked. I bridged a couple of times and generally put myself about a bit. It felt good tbh without much fear of being dropped. I'd push it and then rest in the bunch and go again. The end was a carbon copy of the previous race, finishing at the back of the group. Overall I was very happy. I had decided to push it as there is really no point in sitting in. I will only progress by upping the ante bit by bit. It's funny really, up to last week I was dissappointed when I was dropped, now I'm not so worried because it means I am out of my comfort zone more and more, if that makes any sense at all. Quite a turn around.

Distance: 37.1km
Av speed: 40.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 71m

Friday 16th May
A recovery spin and a chance to clear the head after the week in work.

Distance: 27.3km
Av speed: 26.7km/hr
Elevation Gain: 228m

Saturday 17th May
Did the Mt Leinster challenge. A great day out. Great buzz around the start and met a few familiar faces. Food was great, company was great, weather was great.....what more could you ask for. I made my way around pretty steadily. Got a puncture and that threw the rhythm a bit but got back going again and finished pretty strong. I did not eat any breakfast and only had fluids up to the food stop. Ate very little there either and had on gel towards the end, more out of habit than anything else. For the last while I have been eating less and less on the bike and maybe the body is starting to grow more accustomed to it.

Distance: 136.5km
Av speed: 26.5km/hr
Elevation Gain: 1636m

upthe19th · 25-05-2014 5:46pm

Light week. Busy at work and home and pretty tired overall. Weight remains steady at 13st 6lbs so need to get it down to the next step, stabilise, and drop again and so on. Year is flying by, can't believe june bank holiday is next weekend. Trying to save some money for the next while to maybe invest in a wheel upgrade. Not sure what to get so I'll need to do a bit more research.

Wednesday 21st May
League race again, last one. I was a bit tired all day but got warm-up done and felt more alert. The plan was to take it handy for first few laps and do a few stints up the front, then mix it up a bit. Pretty happy overall. Tried a few very short breaks from the group. Was caught pretty quick but it felt good to attack, if only for very short periods. If anything it gave me an increased respect for breakaways especially the ones that stick....it's tough going out there and not for the faint hearted.

Distance: 37.2km
Av speed: 38.9km/hr
Elevation Gain: 70m

Saturday 24th May
A handy one to spin the legs. This should have been done earlier than saturday but I didn't get a chance.

Distance: 24.2km
Av speed: 24.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 189m

Sunday 25th May
This spin ticked a few boxes. It beefed up a very, very light week. I also wanted to try longer spins with no food and just fluids. This was done with no breakfast, just half a banana before I set off, 2 bottles of fluid on the bike (one with just water and one with water and a very small bit of dilutable orange) and the other half of the banana when I got home. I know it wasn't a really long spin but I really didn't miss the food. The plan would be to try to up the distance over time. Probably bring a very small amount but not use it unless I really had to, i.e. impending bonk. Met my old running buddy Dilbert75 who was out for his sunday morning run....looking strong C.

Distance: 88.8km
Av speed: 27.7km/hr
Elevation Gain: 684m

pprendeville · 26-05-2014 3:06pm

The bonk rides are a great technique apparently for weight loss. Maybe just carry something for backup but if you're able to get through 88k on 1/2 banana that's some going.

My only advice is that instead of eating carbs before going out (even though you only had very minimal amount) you'd be better off eating proteins/fats. Scrambled or steamed eggs would be perfect. Get them ready the night before if time is short, add 100ml milk and a small bit of cheese or something you like to add flavour. If you feed the body carbs before going out the body will use carbs as it's energy source on the ride. The trick is to train your body to burn fats and so consuming fats/protein beforehand will train it to burn them also.

upthe19th · 28-05-2014 10:48pm

pprendeville wrote: »

The bonk rides are a great technique apparently for weight loss. Maybe just carry something for backup but if you're able to get through 88k on 1/2 banana that's some going.

My only advice is that instead of eating carbs before going out (even though you only had very minimal amount) you'd be better off eating proteins/fats. Scrambled or steamed eggs would be perfect. Get them ready the night before if time is short, add 100ml milk and a small bit of cheese or something you like to add flavour. If you feed the body carbs before going out the body will use carbs as it's energy source on the ride. The trick is to train your body to burn fats and so consuming fats/protein beforehand will train it to burn them also.

Duly noted. Usually have 2 eggs scrambled and a protein shake after decent training spins. I get them from a neighbour from time to time, a mixture of duck and hen eggs and proper free range. Will have the eggs beforehand and see how it goes. Felt grand after the 88km but I have bonked before when over 100km with little food intake. Body seems to crash quite quickly.

upthe19th · 01-06-2014 9:54pm

Not a bad week. Very busy at work again. Trying to maintain weight at 13st 3lbs for the week. One year already since I started this log and started cycling.

Wednesday 28th May
Bit of everything in this session, just mixed it up in general.

Distance: 38.0km
Av speed: 29.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 304m

Saturday 31st May
Brilliant weather. One of those days I just wanted to stay in the saddle. Took it handy for the most part. No food except some protein beforehand, just fluids during the ride. Hurt the shoulder a bit while working at home afterwards. Was trying to make up my mind whether to race the next day.

Distance: 64.1km
Av speed: 27.9km/hr
Elevation Gain: 422m

Sunday 1st June
Despite the shoulder I decided to head to castlecomer for the Deenside Cup A4. Got up in good time, signed on, set up and got the warm up done and off we went. After getting some decent club races under the belt I found the going easier at the start than in previous open races and felt a bit more confident.

I knew that the glenmagoo climb would be where I could possibly lose the group and it didn't dissappoint. As I was climbing I could see Couerdelion coming back off the group very quickly. I decided I was going to give him a shout and try to get him on my wheel to get him going. I reckoned if I could encourage him up towards the top of the climb he would be fine cos this guy's power on the flat is scary. He didn't dissappoint and off he went. I couldn't keep with him and found myself in a group of 4. We worked well together until we were back around to glenmagoo again and we split at different paces and glenmagoo was way tougher the second time for me. I pushed on and spotted Couerdelion about 600 or 700m ahead in a small group approaching castlecomer. I didn't catch them. I tried a sprint from about 500m but I could feel a bit of cramp and I rolled over the line.

Overall kinda happy with the day. I'm heading in the right direction if nothing else. Plenty of work to be done especially on the hills. Need more hill sprints and repeats. Climbing is one thing but climbing at race pace is a different kettle of fish entirely.

Great job by Deenside. A seriously well organised race from start to finish. Met De Bhal and wirelessdude01 after the race. Sound guys.

Distance: 68.7km
Av speed: 35.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 431m

upthe19th · 08-06-2014 6:54pm

Only 3 spins for the week but got just over 280km done nonetheless.

Monday 2nd June
Despite having raced the previous day, I decided to take advantage of the bank holiday and get some distance training in.

This turned out to be a great session. Not for speed or distance but for what I learned. I used the session to increase distance without food. Going on advice from pprendeville, thanks man, I fried 2 eggs before I set off and 2 bottles of fluids. The day stayed dry and really enjoyed the spin. At about 80km I could feel myself bonking. The voice in my head was telling me to give in and eat the fruit cake bar I had brought as a back up. So I decided to change my mindset. I told myself that this is what I wanted to happen. I decided that I would do 15km more in the "Bonk state" and eat the bar for the last 5km. You might say why bother eating with only 5km to go but I used it as a means to an end for motivation. It worked a treat and I was surprised how determined I became. It wasn't easy but very satisfying. Really happy with what I learned and looking forward to the next time.

Distance: 100.4km
Av speed: 25.2km/hr
Elevation Gain: 632m

Saturday 7th June
A chance to get in a longer spin. I ate nothing before I left and tried to keep the food to a minimum, 3 of those "elevenses" bars. Stopped at about 100km for a top up of water from a petrol station. Dry for the most part, although I did get caught in one brief but very heavy downpour. Felt strong enough and really wanted to keep going to 200km but I had work to do at home. Next time.

Distance: 155.1km
Av speed: 27.5km/hr
Elevation Gain: 1244m

Sunday 8th June
Nice handy recovery spin. Really enjoyed it. Looking over ditches and generally enjoying the fresh air and time on the bike.

Distance: 30.9km
Av speed: 22.9km/hr
Elevation Gain: 244m

upthe19th · 15-06-2014 9:18pm

Finally broke 300km for the week despite long work days. Decent week overall. Weight is stabilised nicely at 13st 3lbs. Next week the aim is 13st.

Monday 9th June
Short fartlek session.

Distance: 25.0km
Av speed: 27.0km/hr
Elevation Gain: 191m

Tuesday 10th June
Got the car serviced so I brought the bike to go for a steady spin while the servicing was being done. Nice evening but unbelievable amount of flies......reckon I inhaled about the equivalent of 20g of protein;).

Distance: 37.9km
Av speed: 28.3km/hr
Elevation Gain: 195m

Wednesday 11th June
League race. Had not raced since castlecomer and felt a bit tired and not very alert. More drags than on our course so I was apprehensive as to how I would get on. Not too bad in the end. Middle of the pack or so in the A4's. Novices stayed away. Managed a bit of a sprint and happy enough.

Distance: 40.3km
Av speed: 37.3km/hr
Elevation Gain: 227m

Friday 13th June
Fartlek Session again and gave it a good go with a mixture of everything. Attacked the hills and sprints and other bits and pieces.

Distance: 62.7km
Av speed: 29.0km/hr
Elevation Gain: 548m

Saturday 14th June
A chance to spin the legs. Nice rolling route. No food just fluids.

Distance: 64.1km
Av speed: 24.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 424m

Sunday 15th June
Headed down for the Dungarvan open race. Got the warm up done. Decent set up and good marshalling I thought. I just wanted to finish in the group or thereabouts cos my track record to date in open races is brutal.

Strong warnings from the race director with regard to disqualifications if the white line was crossed. I sat in at the back and pretty much stayed there. Not really by choice cos it was difficult to make any progress. No real turnover and no movement up the right, so I stayed where I was. Managed to stay with the group, even on the drags. But towards the end the legs started to cramp pretty badly and this was 2-3km before the finishing drag. Dehydrated I reckon, just didn't get enough fluids in coming up to the race. I dug deep, stuck it in a heavy gear, up out of the saddle and tried to overcome the cramps. Finished about 8-10 seconds down on the group in the end when I dropped off slightly with 500m to go. Plenty of shouts at people to get in off the RHS of the road for the last climb. Saw one guy squeeze in around the wing mirror of the car:mad:.

Happy enough. Best outcome so far in a open race. The only line I crossed was the finish line and I put my gel wrappers in my pocket.

Distance: 72.5km
Av speed: 36.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 425m

upthe19th · 22-06-2014 8:16pm

Started out as a recovery week. I was absolutely wrecked from the previous week. Legs were shattered and sore from racing in dungarvan. Got a sports massage and a session of dry needling. Managed to get some good distance in over the weekend. Just over 280km for the week.

Wednesday 18th June
Really easy recovery session after massage the night before. Exhausted tbh. Was supposed to race but it would have been absolutely pointless, I wouldn't have managed only a couple of km at race pace.

Distance: 14.2km
Av speed: 20.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 95m

Saturday 21st June
A chance to spin the legs after the needling session the night before. Steady and a bit quicker than I expected. 2 fried eggs and protein shake before I left. No food on bike, just 1.5L of water and dilutable. Met a guy on way home who is training for Iron Man in Kerry in August. Sound fella and strong, I suppose you'd expect that. Gave me a great idea on gels.

Distance: 87.6km
Av speed: 27.2km/hr
Elevation Gain: 641m

Sunday 22nd June
Time for a good distance session. Legs were better. Not 100% but I eased into it. Longest spin I've done.

No breakfast. Banana in the first 10km. Ate energy bar at about 80km. Stopped for water top-up about 115km. Decided to try out the tip from the tri-guy from the day before. He said he had trouble with gels. He'd take them and then if he didn't get in enough water his stomach would suffer. He puts his gel into his water bottle. So that's what I did. Straight water into one bottle and 500ml water and 2 gels into the other bottle. Mixed fine and done and dusted at the shop with the disposing of the gel wrappers so no sticky fingers or pockets. Worked really well. Couple of slugs now and again. With 30km to go I took my back up gel with the remaing water cos I was starting to fade really fast.

The sum total intake for the spin was 1 banana, 1 energy bar, 3 gels (No caffeine) and just over 2L of water. Not too bad having had no breakfast.

Distance: 183.0km
Av speed: 26.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 1383m

Dilbert75 · 22-06-2014 8:52pm

Some rest week.

upthe19th · 22-06-2014 8:59pm

Dilbert75 wrote: »

Some rest week.

Ah it was a recovery week of sorts. Not as much exertion on the spins than the racing entails. You heading down to enniscorthy next week for the dragon?

Well done in portarlington by the way.

upthe19th · 29-06-2014 8:42pm

No racing. It didn't suit as I was away for a couple of nights. Not a bad week but nothing amazing. Managed to do just over 1250km for the month of June, happy with that.

Tuesday 24th June
Kept it steady for this one.

Distance: 45.4km
Av speed: 27.9km/hr
Elevation Gain: 344m

Friday 27th June
Short fartlek Session.

Distance: 28.2km
Av speed: 29.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 257m

Saturday 28th June
Handy recovery spin.

Distance: 66.7km
Av speed: 25.3km/hr
Elevation Gain: 436m

Sunday 29th June
Did the Big Dragon Sportive. I did the Little Dragon last year as my very first sportive. Great day out. Excellent marshalling and fantastic grub. The weather held up its side of the bargain too. It was chip timed this year. I got around ok but not as quick as I would have hoped too. Enjoyed it though and met loads more sound people.

Distance: 139.4km
Av speed: 27.6km/hr
Elevation Gain: 1694m

upthe19th · 06-07-2014 10:08pm

Light enough week but got some racing done so not too bad overall.

Tuesday 1st July
Handy recovery spin.

Distance: 23.0km
Av speed: 24.0km/hr
Elevation Gain: 182m

Wednesday 2nd July
League racing again. Enjoyed it. Felt reasonably strong. Tried about 3 or 4 attacks but caught within a km or less by the group each time. Finished in the group.

Distance: 51.7km
Av speed: 35.3km/hr
Elevation Gain: 291m

Thursday 3rd July
Kept it steady for this one.

Distance: 30.0km
Av speed: 27.3km/hr
Elevation Gain: 193m

Saturday 5th July
Handy recovery spin.

Distance: 17.0km
Av speed: 21.6km/hr
Elevation Gain: 135m

Sunday 6th July
Headed to the Sam and Betty D'arcy A4 race in bunclody. The left hamstring had been niggling a bit and I wasn't sure if I'd make it around for all of it but I said I'd give it a lash anyway. Had got plenty of fluids in.

Wasn't feeling very comfortable for the first 20km but once I got to about 40km I was better. At about 60km I felt pretty good. I made up a few places in the group to about halfway up it. The hamstring started to niggle again and felt like it was going to cramp. I tried a few out of the saddle efforts to overcome it and once we got to the final climb I stuck it out and held on at the back of the group. Unfortunately I heard that awful sound of scraping carbon and got caught behind a crash not too far from the finish. Managed to avoid any of the fallers (hope no one hurt) but had to come to a near dead stop and getting going again was a challenge considering the gear I had been in. Anyway, enjoyed it. Felt more confident overall.

Distance: 83.0km
Av speed: 35.5km/hr
Elevation Gain: 726m

upthe19th · 13-07-2014 6:58pm

Good week overall. One race and just under 400km for the week....and my first ever points finish:cool:.

Tuesday 8th July
Nice handy recovery spin. The racing from the previous sunday had taken its toll. Good to get the legs flushed out and plenty of foam rolling.

Distance: 31.8km
Av speed: 24.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 269m

Wednesday 9th July
I was wrecked all day. Audit at work meant I missed breakfast completely and even though I had a decent lunch I was still hungry. Just wasn't feeling it at all when I arrived for the league race. Was chatting to the lads and reckoned I would be lucky not to be dropped.

Off we went and it was more lively than usual with little jumps here and there. I started to find my pace again and when a breakaway formed early on I jumped with it. About 9-10 of us at the start, which became 7 after a few km and then 6 after half a lap or so. The pace was hard and I was starting to regret going with them. The little doubting voice in my head told me to drop out but I dug in. We worked very well together and found ourselves with a minute and a half of a gap back to the group, which at this stage had resigned to letting us go. We hammered on and with 4 km to go I realised that there were league points to be gotten....my first ever race points. All 6 of us took some time to take stock and get ready for the sprint. I jumped early, too early as it turned out and led the others out, but managed to hold off 2 of them for a 4th place finish. Absolutely delighted:D.

On reflection, the 4th place was nice but I was more happy about the work rate. I had buried myself and done my fair share of the work, I wasn't carried at any stage. I had gone early in the end but I went exactly where I had decided to go. I reckon I would have placed 4th either way, but the next time I'll be a bit more savvy. What a buzz though.

Distance: 52.0km
Av speed: 38.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 291m

Thursday 10th July
Despite the previous nights racing I decided to do a reasonably hard, steady session. Happy with it.

Distance: 54.1km
Av speed: 29.0km/hr
Elevation Gain: 479m

Friday 11th July
Another decent steady session. Little bit tired but nothing major.

Distance: 62.7km
Av speed: 28.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 468m

Saturday 12th July
Handy recovery spin after the last 3 days.

Distance: 61.5km
Av speed: 24.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 474m

Sunday 13th July
Bit of a leg loosener to meet the club guys first, followed by club spin and a bit more on my own. Nice finish to the week. Great to be out with the club. It's been a while and I'd forgotten how much easier it is when you've got great company.

Distance: 24.2km
Av speed: 26.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 168m

Distance: 98.7km
Av speed: 27.2km/hr
Elevation Gain: 645m

upthe19th · 20-07-2014 11:35pm

No racing. Took the family away for a couple of days. Beautiful weather. Nice and relaxing. Got the bike going for the end of the week. Upgraded the gps with HR and cadence.

Friday 18th July
Steady session, nothing major.

Distance: 100.7km
Av speed: 27.9km/hr
Elevation Gain: 853m

Saturday 19th July
Handy recovery spin.

Distance: 44.7km
Av speed: 23.5km/hr
Elevation Gain: 441m

Sunday 20th July
Headed up for the St Luke's 100k sportive. Great sportive. Really well run, good cause and brilliant value. Did this last year as my first ever 100k so I was interested to see how much improvement there was. Last year I did it at an average of 25.5km/hr and was nearly 4km/hr faster this year, knocking just over 30 minutes of my time, so things are going in the right direction. It's a challenging route and a good test for the body.

Learned my lession from the dragon sportive a couple of weeks ago with regard to the food stop. Ate all around me at that one and paid for it later. Today it was a water bottle fill, half a sandwich and a rice krispies square, in and out in less than 10 minutes. No other food and no gels, just an energy sachet in one of the bottles. Much easier going.

Distance: 106.1km
Av speed: 29.3km/hr
Elevation Gain: 1454m

pprendeville · 22-07-2014 12:28pm

Sounds like you're motoring along nicely. Great to see reults coming in terms of points. Nice progression. Keep it up.

upthe19th · 22-07-2014 2:06pm

Thanks man. Getting there. Like you'd say yourself (and dilbert75) its all about patience and perseverence....and of course enjoyment. Lots more room for improvement but in a positive way.

Might see you if you're down next month for the wexford 2 day.

upthe19th · 27-07-2014 10:42pm

Good week overall. Just under 400km. Rolled through 1250km for July so far. That's over 2500km between June and July, so things are progressing. A little more research on wheels upgrade. More to follow next week.

Tuesday 22nd July
Recovery spin.

Distance: 38.3km
Av speed: 26.3km/hr
Elevation Gain: 482m

Wednesday 23rd July
A chance to get in some distance at a steady pace.

Distance: 106.3km
Av speed: 26.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 859m

Thursday 24th July
League race. Felt good throughout. Some time spent up the front. Bridging to little breakaways. Had a crack at the sprinting but not from a very good position. Finished middle of pack.

Distance: 58.0km
Av speed: 38.2km/hr
Elevation Gain: 470m

Friday 25th July
Tough one. Very warm. A chance to do another "bonk" ride. No breakfast. Just a banana on the bike and 1.5L of fluids. Had planned to do about 100km but pushed on a bit further. Last 30km were very tough and done in a very energy depleted state. Got it done though.

Distance: 129.8km
Av speed: 25.7km/hr
Elevation Gain: 1082m

Saturday 26th July
Recovery spin.

Distance: 33.0km
Av speed: 24.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 310m

upthe19th · 04-08-2014 6:06pm

An easier week. Some racing, some physio, some progress. July finished up at over 1400km.

Can't believe we are into august. Harvesting preparations are underway.

Mon 28th July
Good session of hill repeats. Easy spinning on way there and fartlek session home afterwards. Went ok overall.

Distance: 61.2km
Av speed: 23.2km/hr
Elevation Gain: 1114m

Wednesday 30th July
Handy recovery spin.

Distance: 38.4km
Av speed: 25.9km/hr
Elevation Gain: 389m

Thursday 31st July
League race. Little bit tired. Did some work up the front and rolled in behind the bunch at the end when it started to rain.

Distance: 58.0km
Av speed: 38.3km/hr
Elevation Gain: 488m

Sunday 3rd August
Headed up for the SERC GP on the inch circuit for the A4 race. I had a heavy session of needling on my glut with the physio on friday and I was sore and stiff and did not get a chance to spin the legs in between, so I was no sure how I'd get on.

For the first 2 laps I stayed at the back with a few little moves into the middle. I reckoned if I needed to abandon I would slip off the back nice and quietly. I very nearly did throw in the towel towards the end of the second lap and decided to go to the front and burn off the last of what I had. When I headed back into the group I got a second wind and despite a little bit of cramping, I continued.

This wasn't a target race and I hope to do the wexford 2 day, so I decided to use the remainder of the race as training. On the 3rd lap I spent a bit more time towards the front of the group. On the 4th lap, I hit the front and did about 4-5km rotating between 1st and 4th wheel. I did not want to sprint and I did not want to be sheltered in the group and reduce effort. I wanted a good hard interval. With about 4km to go I let myself slide out the back and decided to do a few short, hard sprints on my own to finish up. Delighted to see that there was a little energy and power left in the tank.

Unfortunately, as I looked up the road, about 50yrds or so, I saw the bunch erupt and I do mean erupt. Lads were vaulted into the air and bikes spinning across the road. From what I gathered afterwards from talking to others, many more could have hit the deck but managed to get untangled from various knock on events. Not nice to see and if I'm honest, it shook me up to watch it unfold, it really did.

IMHO Inch is a very good circuit, wide and safe with good marshalling and a good road surface. Reckon the accident happened on one of the widest parts. Unconfirmed reports of concussion, shoulder injuries and one case of stitches required. Not cool.

In the future I would hope to repeat this approach. If I can hit the front and drive it during the race, I will. Hopefully get stronger and stay out of the group in the wind up. Don't get me wrong, I would very much like to contest finishes (hopefully breakaways:)) but I will hopefully be a better rider and a stronger one when I do. I don't want to be in a crash, but I never want to cause one.

Distance: 77.2km
Av speed: 36.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 758m

upthe19th · 10-08-2014 9:15pm

Handy week, a step back week of sorts.

Tuesday 5thth August
Handy recovery session. Tagged on some hill sprints at the end.

Distance: 21.0km
Av speed: 24.6km/hr
Elevation Gain: 204m

Thursday 7th August
League race. Decent warm up. Different route and it handed me my a$$. Great to race on a more challenging course as it lets you know exactly where you are. A nice reminder that at best I'm average on the bike, or a bit below, and shows you what the rest can do that you cannot.....yet.

Distance: 48.7km
Av speed: 33.2km/hr
Elevation Gain: 538m

Sunday 10th August
Fartlek session with 2 others. Nice bit of training. We attacked each other at times and worked together at times. Generally mixed it up as we had planned to do. A strong headwind made it a testing session. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Felt stronger and more in energetic, so the easier week had obviously worked. Did some sprints at the end before I headed home.

Distance: 91.4km
Av speed: 26.9km/hr
Elevation Gain: 882m

upthe19th · 18-08-2014 12:08am

A long week. Light week on the bike but a heavy one work-wise, both with the day job and harvesting. The latter is going ok so far. A couple of hiccups with machinery but nothing major. Could be finished by next thursday which would be great.

Wednesday 13th August
Recovery session.

Distance: 23.5km
Av speed: 26.2km/hr
Elevation Gain: 232m

Saturday 16th August
Decent session. No breakfast. Just fluids on the bike. Home in time to do 10hrs of harvesting.

Distance: 84.9km
Av speed: 26.6km/hr
Elevation Gain: 698m

Sunday 17th August
Fartlek session. Quick protein shake beforehand and just fluids on the bike. Pretty strong headwind for the second half of this which gave me a good workout. Back home to do some repairs on the harvester. Finally got harvesting at 1 o' Clock til just before 11 o' Clock. Wrecked.

Distance: 59.0km
Av speed: 30.0km/hr
Elevation Gain: 455m

upthe19th · 24-08-2014 7:20pm

Harvesting for a lot of the week. Small bit left to do as it was not ready to cut. Bike work was minimal. Did my first 2 day event as my last racing for the year. I had thought maybe to do one more race but I'm sticking with the plan. Maybe a few sportives and club spins and get some nice handy distance in.

Tuesday 19th August
Fartlek session.

Distance: 38.0km
Av speed: 31.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 333m

Saturday 23rd August
Headed over for the Wexford 2 day for stages 1 & 2, an 75km race and a TT later in the day.

The race was tough. I knew it would be. Thought I might be dropped a lot earlier than I was but I hung on as long as I could. The lighter weeks had helped me recover a good bit. Finished over a minute behind the group but I was pretty happy. I wasn't completely spent but a lack of concentration and experience showed in the end and of course a serious lack of hill climbing ability.

The TT was tough for me. Not a great time at all but probably not too bad given my ability and the race earlier. Had a time of over 9.5 minutes. Overall it put me in the lower third in GC.

Distance: 74.9km
Av speed: 35.6km/hr
Elevation Gain: 743m

Sunday 24th August
Wexford 2 day stage 3. A pretty decent nights sleep. I felt reasonable. Rolling start. Light rain turned a bit heavier and the pace was decent. Left hip was not great but not bothering me too much. Unfortunately I had a mechanical and the support car was brilliant, but I had lost too much time on the group. The weather was crap and if it had been better I would have hammered on but an offer of a lift from a really nice couple from newry saw me abandon. First time I've done that but I really didn't see the point tbh, just too miserable. Felt a bit out of sorts this evening, I guess a mixture of disappointment and energy not spent in the race. Still a great experience and I would recommend it highly. Just a great buzz. Thanks Wexford Wheelers.

Distance: 44.0km
Av speed: 36.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 275m

pprendeville · 26-08-2014 3:45pm

Nice to meet you at the race on Saturday. Good to get your first stage race done and by the looks of it that was a pretty successful first season of racing. Looks like you'll drop a lot of weight if you keep up the bonk rides although don't go mad on them is what they say and obviously keep the diet good. hope to drop a few kg this winter and get racing earlier next year myself.

upthe19th · 26-08-2014 9:30pm

pprendeville wrote: »

Nice to meet you at the race on Saturday. Good to get your first stage race done and by the looks of it that was a pretty successful first season of racing. Looks like you'll drop a lot of weight if you keep up the bonk rides although don't go mad on them is what they say and obviously keep the diet good. hope to drop a few kg this winter and get racing earlier next year myself.

Good to meet you too. You got on well yourself, congrats. Not sure how much more you need to lose. You look in pretty good shape in fairness.

Its a start anyway. I've a new weight goal. The bonk rides will continue but mostly supplemented with pre-breakfast turbo sessions, starting half 5 tomorrow morning. I have a new training room outside so the family won't be disturbed and its colder so hopefully the usual sweatfest will be minimised.

upthe19th · 31-08-2014 9:25pm

Really enjoyed the week. Over 300km done. Enjoyed the racing season but I have to say it was nice to get some distance in. Not having to think about what races were coming up and trying to keep myself some bit in form for them. New goal for weight and the focus is the mileage goal for the year which is progressing nicely.

Monday 25th August
Recovery spin. Needed it after the 2 day.

Distance: 20.3km
Av speed: 25.7km/hr
Elevation Gain: 177m

Tuesday 26th August
Handy spin.

Distance: 34.0km
Av speed: 26.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 276m

Wednesday 27th August
Pre-breakfast 20 minute turbo session. Tired but a great way to start the day.

Saturday 30th August
Headed to the Katie O'Brien 100k to raise funds for the Jack & Jill foundation. Great bunch of cyclists and a really great cause, I love the charity cycles. The pace was pretty decent and I tagged on a bit more for good measure. Food was kept to a minimum. 2 bananas, 2 cereal bars and 2 bottles of fluid.

Distance: 144.3km
Av speed: 30.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 936m

Sunday 31st August
A chance to get in some distance again. I reckoned I would have been tired from the 140k the day before but I was fine. No breakfast. 3 slices of thinly buttered fruit loaf, 2 fig rolls and 2L of fluids on the bike. I bonked a bit at about 130k and rode the last bit steadily. I'm going to eat a little bit more on the bonk rides. I'm just trying to balance the fat burning while avoiding the "eat everything around me" feeling afterwards. It worked well today.

Distance: 144.9km
Av speed: 27.6km/hr
Elevation Gain: 1235m

Dilbert75 · 31-08-2014 10:20pm

Headed to the Katie O'Brien 100k .......144.3km

Did ya get lost???? :eek::D

upthe19th · 31-08-2014 10:30pm

upthe19th wrote: »

Saturday 30th August
Headed to the Katie O'Brien 100k to raise funds for the Jack & Jill foundation. Great bunch of cyclists and a really great cause, I love the charity cycles. The pace was pretty decent and I tagged on a bit more for good measure. Food was kept to a minimum. 2 bananas, 2 cereal bars and 2 bottles of fluid.

Distance: 144.3km
Av speed: 30.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 936m

Did a bit before and after C. How are ya fixed for a bit of training sometime? Drop me a txt if it suits someday.

Dilbert75 · 31-08-2014 10:33pm

Hell yeah. Need to get a few hills in before Killarney.

pprendeville · 31-08-2014 11:09pm

That was a big week mileage wise after the 2 day. Fair play. You'll be pretty competitive next yr if you maintain the work ethic. A3 in no time at least I think. I stayed off the bike til yesterday. Had a few things I needed to do and had to prioritise. Did a 140k spin yesterday semi fasted. Went out after scrambled eggs and put some chorizo sausage, 50g emmental cheese and 2 large handfuls of nuts (mixture of cashew, walnut and almond from individual packs in Aldi) in the back pocket. Wasn't sure how I'd go but I never bonked anyway and still had some gas in the tank to work hard the last few km and do a sprint. Had tea at a friends after 80k and drank 2.5L water. Didn't go mad on carbs afterwards either. Check out ibreatheimhungry.com for some fantastic low carb recipes. The cream cheese pancakes are lovely. It's blackberry season now and I picked a load today with 2 of our children and they make a great topping. Fruit is a good anti inflammatory as well as all it's vitamins/antioxidants and it's growing free in a field near you.

upthe19th · 07-09-2014 6:31pm

Good week distance wise with just over 400km, most I've done in a week since I started. Also a good week weight wise with some good progress, more to do but getting there. Changed the back tyre on the training bike. It was worn through to the thread. In fairness it has probably done over 6000km from when I fitted it last October.

Monday 1st September
The car needed brake pads, so I brought the bike with me when I brought the car over to my mechanic. Got in a decent fartlek session while the work was being done.

Distance: 30.6km
Av speed: 31.9km/hr
Elevation Gain: 191m

Wednesday 3rd September
Handy recovery spin.

Distance: 24.1km
Av speed: 24.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 189m

Thursday 4th September
Another fartlek session. Not as hard though.

Distance: 28.2km
Av speed: 28.3km/hr
Elevation Gain: 282m

Friday 5th September
Huge breakfast. Out of work early. No lunch. Collected the young fella from school. Once herself was home I headed off. Strong cup of coffee, no sugar or milk before I left and 2 fig rolls. No food on bike. 1.5L fluids. Bonked a little bit before the end but only slightly. Took in a few climbs as well. Enjoyed the session.

Distance: 84.7km
Av speed: 27.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 878m

Saturday 6th September
Another chance to get in some distance in. No breakfast. 2 slices of fruit loaf, 3 fig rolls, 2 bananas and 1.5L of fluid on the bike. Strong throughout. No mad hunger afterwards.

Distance: 138.0km
Av speed: 28.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 996m

Had some family and friends around in the evening. Didn't eat much junk. The stories were flying and there was great banter. I mouthed the word "Whiskey" to my mate, got the nod of approval......game ball. We don't get a chance to drink together much but when we do its pretty epic. Only one rule, whiskey is to be drunk neat. We finished off a bottle of Kilbeggan and I headed back to the cupboard. Like I say I don't do it much but I always keep a nice bottle tucked away for such an occasion. In this case a nice bottle of 12 year old Glenfiddich. We proceeded to polish that off as well. As they all headed home later I was told to enjoy my cycle in the morning and herself gave me that "yeah right" look cos she reckoned there was no way I was going to be able to do it.

Sunday 7th September
Woke up at 7, paused and waited for the hangover to overwhelm me. Couldn't believe it, I was in great order, like I didn't drink a drop. Not as satisfying though as the look of disbelief on my wife's face as I strode across the room in the cycling gear saying I'd see her in 4 hours.

No breakfast. 2 bananas, 4 fig rolls and 1.5L of fluids on the bike. Enjoyed the spin. I could press on at times if I wanted to and it was a beautiful morning.

Distance: 100.1km
Av speed: 25.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 671m

upthe19th · 14-09-2014 6:59pm

Easier week. Not as much distance. Work was mental. Good progress on weight again. The motto of "You deserve junk you are training hard" has been replaced with "Your hard training deserves a better diet". Well for a while at least.....

Thursday 11th September
Fartlek session. Took the race bike out and pushed as hard as I could. Happy enough.

Distance: 35.9km
Av speed: 33.2km/hr
Elevation Gain: 324m

Saturday 13th September
A chance to get in a bit of distance. No breakfast. A banana was all I had to eat and 2 bottles of fluids on the bike. Really happy with this one. No energy issues at all and at 32km/hr average, I wasn't exactly sparing the whip. Fastest 100k I've done so far but its a pretty flat route too, in fairness.

Distance: 106.9km
Av speed: 32.0km/hr
Elevation Gain: 671m

Sunday 14th September
By far the most enjoyable spin I've gone on. I'd never been up the wicklow mountains before in any shape or form. A while back fellow boardsie, nilhg had offered to take me up them, so we did it today.

We headed from dunlavin with one of nilhg's mates, a really nice fella, and made our way around. Some tough climbing but I have to say that I enjoyed the challenge. The weight loss has really helped me with the climbing.

I had forgotten that there was racing in laragh. We saw the big boys come through and got a coffee and headed on again. Got most of them in today, slieve mann, shay elliot, wicklow gap and turlough hill and a few more drags and short climbs as well. Some nice elevation for an average distance.

All and all a great day. The guys really looked after me, despite my pitifully slow descents, sorry guys:o. Like I've said, by far and away one of the best days I've ever had on the bike. Thanks boys:).

Distance: 86.5km
Av speed: 22.7km/hr
Elevation Gain: 1837m

nilhg · 14-09-2014 8:23pm

upthe19th wrote: »

Easier week. Not as much distance. Work was mental. Good progress on weight again. The motto of "You deserve junk you are training hard" has been replaced with "Your hard training deserves a better diet". Well for a while at least.....

Thursday 11th September
Fartlek session. Took the race bike out and pushed as hard as I could. Happy enough.

Distance: 35.9km
Av speed: 33.2km/hr
Elevation Gain: 324m

Saturday 13th September
A chance to get in a bit of distance. No breakfast. A banana was all I had to eat and 2 bottles of fluids on the bike. Really happy with this one. No energy issues at all and at 32km/hr average, I wasn't exactly sparing the whip. Fastest 100k I've done so far but its a pretty flat route too, in fairness.

Distance: 106.9km
Av speed: 32.0km/hr
Elevation Gain: 671m

Sunday 14th September
By far the most enjoyable spin I've gone on. I'd never been up the wicklow mountains before in any shape or form. A while back fellow boardsie, nilhg had offered to take me up them, so we did it today.

We headed from dunlavin with one of nilhg's mates, a really nice fella, and made our way around. Some tough climbing but I have to say that I enjoyed the challenge. The weight loss has really helped me with the climbing.

I had forgotten that there was racing in laragh. We saw the big boys come through and got a coffee and headed on again. Got most of them in today, slieve mann, shay elliot, wicklow gap and turlough hill and a few more drags and short climbs as well. Some nice elevation for an average distance.

All and all a great day. The guys really looked after me, despite my pitifully slow descents, sorry guys:o. Like I've said, by far and away one of the best days I've ever had on the bike. Thanks boys:).

Distance: 86.5km
Av speed: 22.7km/hr
Elevation Gain: 1837m

Your mistake was to stop and wait for us at the top of the climbs:D.

A very enjoyable day out, though I have to say I hardly knew you when you got out of the car, who is this young, slim fella where upthe19th used to be? Your hard work is paying off, there was no passing you on any climb today and you were even on the "old" bike.

Good stuff, keep her lit.....

pprendeville · 19-09-2014 7:28pm

Savage going. Make sure you have something in the tank when the season is going again next year and don't become a winter wonder.

upthe19th · 19-09-2014 7:49pm

pprendeville wrote: »

Savage going. Make sure you have something in the tank when the season is going again next year and don't become a winter wonder.

Will do. Just trying to mix it up and concentrate on the weight loss.

I see you're on the move to pastures new. Best of luck with it.

upthe19th · 21-09-2014 8:53pm

A decent week again with over 400km done and my first ever 200km cycle. The diet is going well and the weight is coming down nicely. Made a batch of protein bars and they were not bad at all. Just need to tweak them a little bit. I've stopped taking sugar in tea/coffee for a few weeks now. I'd usually have one cup of each per day. I weighed out a teaspoon of sugar and it came in around 8g. By my rough reckoning that would mean I'd avoid consuming nearly 2 bags of sugar between now and christmas. Quite an eye-opener.

Monday 15th September
A nice handy recovery spin. Just what I needed.

Distance: 25.4km
Av speed: 23.7km/hr
Elevation Gain: 261m

Thursday 18th September
Kept it steady for this one.

Distance: 27.3km
Av speed: 27.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 272m

Friday 19th September
Collected the young fella from school and the other from my mam's. Played around for a bit with the boys before herself came home and headed out for a session at a steady pace.

Distance: 64.1km
Av speed: 28.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 473m

Saturday 20th September
I'd been threatening to do a 200km spin for a while. Got the go ahead from herself and off I went.

I wanted to keep the food to a minimum. A banana for breakfast. 3 cereal bars, one at 60km, 120km and 160km. 2.5L of fluid.

It was tough towards the end but not from an energy point of view. In fact I felt pretty good. I just found my motivation dropping. Never usually have any problem with this. I've always found little ways to keep myself going and setting little goals along the way. It was a long time in the saddle and I was a little pi$$ed off towards the end, nearly bored. Not easy to do the distance solo, but then it's my first attempt so it's always going to be bit more of a push.

Distance: 203.9km
Av speed: 27.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 1622m

Sunday 21st September
Out for a spin with the club and tagged on a bit more. Really enjoyed it. Always good to get out with the crew and the nice pace gave my legs a chance to get flushed out. Went a bit further than I had planned but felt ok, even after the long spin the day before.

Distance: 113.3km
Av speed: 26.0km/hr
Elevation Gain: 988m

pprendeville · 27-09-2014 10:32am

Savage going. The depletion rides mustbe working really well for you so. Give us an idea of your weight this time last year v now.

upthe19th · 27-09-2014 1:17pm

pprendeville wrote: »

Savage going. The depletion rides mustbe working really well for you so. Give us an idea of your weight this time last year v now.

Yeah its not going too bad overall. I will give an update on things tomorrow in my weekly post. Its been an exceptionally memorable week this week, one I'll remember for a long time to come.

upthe19th · 28-09-2014 9:11pm

This is a bigger post than usual, so bear with me. Over 1250km for the month of September. A lighter week training wise but a busy one. Gave my regular blood donation. Spent a day at the ploughing championships which is a tough day on the legs. And the small matter of meeting a hero of mine and a true source of inspiration for me, but more on than later.

This week I surpassed my annual goal of 8,000km. I've set a new goal for the rest of the year. It won't be the end of the world if I don't achieve it, I'm happy to have achieved the first one.

I had hoped at the start of the year to get down to a weight of 13st 3lbs. I don't know what weight I was when I started cycling but I had not been running for ages through injury, so I'd reckon it could have been somewhere around 14st 10lbs. I was definitely 14st 7lbs at christmas. I managed to get down to a steady 13st 3lbs by the time I finished racing for this year. At the beginning of September I set myself a goal of hitting 12st 10lbs by the end of October, basically 8 weeks. To date I have surpassed that target in 4 weeks to a weight of 12st 9lbs. It's not massive weight loss but I guess its not too bad. Its meant a fairly strict diet, with some fasting and I'm tired sometimes but I just go to bed earlier. With the racing finished there's less need to be at my optimum performance, so I can go a bit deeper with depletion rides and lower energy levels. I've set a new target and hopefully I can get there.

Thursday 25th September
I've never spoken about this here but some mates at work and my wife would know about it. Gerry Duffy is a bit of a hero of mine and a massive source of inspiration for me. And so when I found out that the Wexford Tri Club were holding a fundraising night with Gerry as a speaker, I was on the phone and booked tickets for myself and a mate from work immediately. When we arrived I met Dilbert75 and the lovely Mrs Dilbert75 before things kicked off.

I've read Gerry's books over and over again. From them I found him factual, ambitious, interesting and an achiever. A guy who had obviously turned things around and then proceeded to apply this to all other aspects of his life. But you only get so much from a book. I needed to see how this came across in person.

I thought the talk was excellent and I got a lot from it. I had finally met Gerry, the speaker. I found him highly motivated, direct, confident and articulate. Pretty impressive from a guy, who described himself as having a pathological fear off public speaking before he turned things around.

Now I wanted to meet Gerry himself, but to be honest I felt very self-conscious. At the end I finally told myself that if I didn't go and talk to him and thank him for inspiring me I would regret it for ever more. So up I went. Now I met Gerry, the person. If I said that he was very friendly and approachable, it would be an understatement. He was the most inviting guy you could ever meet. We chatted away and I mentioned some of the things I was doing as a result of his achievements, trivial as they are in the greater scheme of things. And then I noticed that as I was speaking I commanded 100% of his attention and he was really interested. Whether it was a 1km run you did for the first time or a 1000km cycle, he was interested. Such an amazing quality in a person. A great experience and a photo with a hero of mine, what more could you ask for. I'll remember it for a long time to come.

Friday 26th September
Collected the young fella from school as per usual on a friday and headed out for a steady session.

Distance: 61.8km
Av speed: 27.5km/hr
Elevation Gain: 633m

Saturday 27th September
Nothing major distance wise with this one but used as a depletion ride (going to use your term phil if you don't mind, sounds way better than "bonk":)).

Protein shake for breakfast. No food on the bike. 1.5L fluids. Felt good.

Distance: 85.2km
Av speed: 27.0km/hr
Elevation Gain: 605m

Sunday 28th September
Again not major distance but another depletion ride. No breakfast at all. No food on the bike. 1.5L fluid. Felt strong and no issues energy-wise.

Distance: 83.1km
Av speed: 29.5km/hr
Elevation Gain: 530m

pprendeville · 29-09-2014 8:42am

factual, ambitious, interesting and an achiever

Sounds rather like you to be honest. Was waiting all day for that post yesterday but had an early night so it has been a good read to start the day. Really motivating. I must see if I can get some material on Gerry Duffy. Sounds inspirational. Could help with my college work (goal setting and all that) plus the diet.

upthe19th · 29-09-2014 8:49pm

pprendeville wrote: »

Sounds rather like you to be honest. Was waiting all day for that post yesterday but had an early night so it has been a good read to start the day. Really motivating. I must see if I can get some material on Gerry Duffy. Sounds inspirational. Could help with my college work (goal setting and all that) plus the diet.

I'm not so sure about that but thanks for the compliments. I have a long way to go and have yet to achieve something substantial. But my motto is 'thoughts become things'.

Definitely look him up. I think it could help you alright. No matter what the area of interest is, the same basic principles apply. He's a very practical guy and knows the value of hard work. As he says himself, 'its simple, but simple doesn't mean its easy'.

upthe19th · 05-10-2014 4:33pm

Very light week. Busy at work. Some stuff to do on the farm. Weight went up a little bit but nothing major, 1-2 pounds. Very tired tbh, maybe its the shorter evenings.

Friday 3rd October
Horrible weather. I hit the turbo trainer for a session of intervals, 30 minutes or so. Did some weights immediately afterwards. 3x10 of bench presses and 3x10 of barbell curls.

Saturday 4th October
Time for a session of hill repeats. Cereal bar for breakfast. No food and 750ml fluids on the bike. Split into individual parts below. A nice handy spin down to the climb. Did the session of repeats and it was pretty tough. Nice steady pace home afterwards.

Distance: 20.5km
Av speed: 22.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 173m

Distance: 37.3km
Av speed: 19.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 1188m

Distance: 17.4km
Av speed: 28.2km/hr
Elevation Gain: 108m

Sunday 5th October
Out for a spin with the club and tagged on a bit more. Protein shake for breakfast. One cereal bar on the bike with 750ml of fluids. Legs were a bit heavy from the previous day but being out in a group kept me going. Steady pace. Bonked a little towards the end.

Distance: 90.7km
Av speed: 28.0km/hr
Elevation Gain: 698m

tang1 · 07-10-2014 10:21am

I only discovered this, your making some serious progression on the bike J. Regarding Gerry Duffy, i had the pleasure of being the first person who bought a copy of his last book. I knew it was due out so took a detour on a trip from home via his sisters Tri shop in Mullingar.

She informed me he was en-route to the shop with a box of the new books that were due for release the following Thursday at its launch in Dublin. I hung around for few minutes and he arrived, gave him a while to get into shop and settle before going back in. His sister informed him i was looking for the new book and without hesitation he whipped me out a copy, asked if i wanted it signed(eh course please) and gave it to me free of charge.

I insisted in paying but he wouldn't here of it, he then spent the next half hour talking to me about my training, what i wanted to achieve longterm regarding running. As you said he genuinely listened to me and imparted some great advice. He is a gentleman in everyway. Sorry about the long winded post, hes one of my heros to.

Exactly like riding a bike

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