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Beasty's 2011 assault on the vets

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    #152
    RobFowl
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 11,667 Mod ✭✭✭✭RobFowl


    Statler_Waldorf.jpg


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    #153
    High Nellie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 426 ✭✭High Nellie


    Beasty wrote: »
    I saw the peleton heading towards me and decided to head down the road, expecting them to catch me fairly quickly. I then thought what the hell and headed off to catch the other two - it took me a few minutes to bridge over, and by then there was no sign of the main group,...decided to go for a PB on the Swords to Blakes X segment, averaging 41.3kph

    They were probably glad to see the back of you. Every experienced bunch has to deal with 'winter warriors' arriving on at the fall of the year in good form and trying to push the pace, when the more experienced riders just want to relax into a nice steady ride.


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    #154
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,585 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    I've done it! - moved the spare road bike over to the holiday home in Cornwall that is. That means it's become even more imperative to get a new road bike for Ireland;)

    On my trip over I spent a couple of days in Manchester - brought the track bike over and got a couple of sessions on the velodrome. For the first time I hired a transponder to record my laps - yesterday's session is recorded here. It looks like the battery may have been on the blink as it's clear that 16 lap counters were not triggered. Hence I actually did 145 laps plus another couple warming up and cooling down. A lot of the time I was on the blue line which is a lap of around 265m rather than the shorter black line at 250m, and hence my speed was probably getting on for 5% faster than shown. Although I did most of the session on my own I also did some line lapping with some of the regulars - still I managed to average something around 39kph

    I was back on the track this morning. Here's the record. I probably spent more time on the blue line today, line lapping again with some of the regulars, but this time I took a few laps on the main field, which can be seen where the speed spikes. It felt harder today, although again I was hitting about 39kph. I think yesterday's session and the greater fluctuation in speed/effort took more of a toll today.

    Oh, and I've now hired a storage space for the track bike at the velodrome - so with that bike also having emigrated perhaps I need to think about getting a new one for Sundrive;)


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    #155
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,585 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Only managed the two trips to the velodrome and an hour or so on Monday to total 109km at 35.4kph. YTD now stands at 7,133km at 29.9kph. The faster track sessions pushed the average back up a bit, and I'm now 24km off averaging 30kph (12km with appropriate rounding;))

    I managed to create a nice Strava segment from Lissenhall to Balrothery on the Monday spin - averaging 37.1kph over 13.1km (with a slight net incline) to take the fastest time, only to find Ryan has now uploaded a ride from 2007 that beats mine by 3 seconds!

    I'd hoped to get out over the weekend, but spent all yesterday travelling and woke up this morning with a bit of a head cold. Hence I'll probably not be on the bike again until Tuesday evening, with a couple of commutes to follow later on in the week, assuming no deterioration in my condition


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    #156
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,585 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Shook off the head cold and went out on one of the nocturnal Swords training spins on Tuesday evening. I managed an ascent up Ardgillan only 20s outside my best, which given I didn't feel anywhere near flat out was pretty pleasing.

    Unfortunately I had a tumble on a dodgy bit of road towards the end of the session - the bad news is my knee took a bit of a knock, but the good news is my sciatica has eased significantly since the fall!

    I was back out on Thursday evening, and added a couple of commutes on Wednesday and Friday to give me a total of 162km for the week, bringing the YTD to 7,295km at 29.8kph

    I'm aiming to get 3 commutes in next week together with another evening session. The winds were definitely against over the last few days, and I'm hoping to pick up speed again next week, although it's a bit more of a challenge cycling in the dark all the time


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    #157
    BUACHAILL
    Registered Users Posts: 1,901 ✭✭✭BUACHAILL


    Funny how the body works, took me to pull a hamstring to rid of my back pains last year. How was the bike after the tumble ?

    You have knocked up a serious amount of miles on bike this year, fair play ! Hope the knee heals soon !


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    #158
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,585 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    I suspect the knee pain masked the sciatica, and the sciatica dulled the knee pain;). Forunately the body repairs itself, unlike the some ruined 3/4 Assos bibs, a hole in the elbow of of the rain jacket and a stiff (now replaced) pedal - probably over €300 damage in total.


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    #159
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,585 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Got a couple of commutes in, an extended evening session and a 30 minute turbo session last week.

    The weather was pretty miserable on Wednesday's commute, but had the benefit of a tail-wind on Thursday, which saw a sub-40 minute homeward spin, averaging over 35kph once I cleared the traffic and junctions at Swords

    I also managed a couple of relatively fast (by my standards anyway) ascents of Ardgillan on Tuesday evening. I think I'm benefiting from getting back to my summer racing weight it had drifted up by 4-5kg by early October) - getting a bit more distance in helps, and, I'm back down to around 87-88kg. Ideally I'd like to get down to less than 85kg by the start of the next racing season.

    Total distance for the week was 203km, bringing the YTD to 7,499km at 29.8kph

    Next week should see another couple of commutes plus two track sessions in Manchester. I might also get another session on the turbo over the weekend. Then Sunday sees the IVCA awards dinner;)


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    #160
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,585 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    So after last year's failed attempt at cycling 40km in the hour, I was back at Manchester velodrome this week with hour-long sessions on Wednesday and Thursday. My track bike is now permanently based over there, and I've got to say it's a lot better being able to ride it rather than one of the hire bikes.

    I have my Garmin 500 set up on the bike (another benefit of using my own bike) - the GPS does not work indoors, but I can track distance based on the wheel circumference. In addition you can hire a transponder that counts the laps (not distance though as I spend most of these sessions on the blue line which is nearer 265m in length rather than the "official" 250m

    Team GB are taking priority on the track in the build-up to the Olympics, which means the normal Tuesday "taster" sessions have been cancelled, and the vets that tend to frequent those sessions have decamped to Wednesday lunchtime, when I had my first session.

    I stayed on for the full hour, pushing it hard most of the way, and joining in line-lapping with the faster of the other guys, taking a lap on them every few minutes. The total distance for the hour on the Garmin was 38.6km, less than 4 laps short of 40km. I did 150 laps in total, the details of which can be seen here.

    I was back on the track at 8am on Thursday morning. I wasn't expecting anything special - more a recovery ride after Wednesday's exertions. I therefore started off relatively easily, but was quickly joined by some other riders on the blue line and some line-lapping began. We picked up the pace with 5 or 6 riders in the line for a lot of the time. My average speed gradually increased. Only a couple of is stayed on the track for the full hour and we had a lot of "traffic" to navigate round. For a lot of the timke we were doing well in excess of 40kph, and with a few minutes to go my average was up to 40.4kph. However we rarerly get the full hour on the track, and Team GB were warming up ready to follow us on. We were called in with about a minute of the hour to go, which was taken up with a couple of slowing down laps

    I managed to keep going for the full hour - Garmin summary on Strava here - I subsequently found out the transponders were not activated for the day! But I'd managed it - 40.23km - not only exceeding 40km, but also hitting the 25 mile mark, which was particularly pleasing given the time taken to warm up and slow down

    Now it's clearly not a "proper" hour attempt (where you don't get any drafting), but I had no skinsuit, aero helmet or aero bars and I spent a lot of the time with my hands in the hoods position, so I'm delighted to have actually hit 40km in the hour for the first time:D


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    #161
    Sr. Assumpta
    Registered Users Posts: 411 ✭✭Sr. Assumpta


    Go Beasty!!!!


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    #162
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,585 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    2 commutes, 2 track sessions and half an hour on the turbo amounted to 186km at 33.1kph last week, bringing YTD to 7,685km at 29.9kph

    Next week I've another couple of track sessions booked, and hope to do 2 commutes and some nocturnal training on Tuesday. If I can get somewhere approaching the same distance on the track as last week I should be able to cut the gap on the 30kph average speed target for the year. They will be my final track sessions for the year and I'll probably need more turbo time to close the gap further.
    Beasty wrote: »
    Then Sunday sees the IVCA awards dinner;)
    ... and here is what I picked up, together with my track league medal from earlier in the year:

    2011awards.jpg?t=1322435521

    My first ever silver(and gold!)ware


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    #163
    chakattack
    Registered Users Posts: 1,315 ✭✭✭chakattack


    Beasty wrote: »
    2 commutes, 2 track sessions and half an hour on the turbo amounted to 186km at 33.1kph last week, bringing YTD to 7,685km at 29.9kph

    30kph average speed target for the year. They will be my final track sessions for the year and I'll probably need more turbo time to close the gap further.

    You could just train exclusively downhill with a tailwind :)


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    #164
    biomed32
    Registered Users Posts: 697 ✭✭✭biomed32


    Awesome mate, been admiring your progress through the year and to be honest, from strenght to strenght mate!


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    #165
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,585 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    A repeat of last week (except this time we lost:rolleyes:), with track sessions in Manchester yesterday and this morning.

    Yesterday's session was with the regular older guys, and it was steady all the way - 152 laps for 38.94km at 37.9kph - slightly further than the equivalent session last week when I did 38.83km in a slightly shorter time to average 38.6kph

    Then this morning it was back on again at 8am. Last week I did a record 40.22km in exactly an hour. This week the pacing was not as steady, and therefore more effort was required to pick it up whenever I hit the front. In addition a few of us took some laps on the main group, and therefore there was more effort involved. Still I managed to get slightly further - 40.3km, and this time had to let the computer run quite a bit to get to the full hour - my complete slowdown (to a halt) is included, which lowered the average speed from over 40.4kph to 40.3kph

    I had a transponder recording the laps this time - all the detail is here - the first session (153 laps) is mine (the other sessions are from later on during the day) - so another new record :D

    All in all, a nice way to conclude my track riding for the year


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    #166
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,585 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    In addition to the 2 track sessions I managed a commute on Monday and the Swords training spin on Tuesday. The plan had been to do another commute on Friday, but I chose to scrape the ice of the car windscreen (rather than risk having to scrape myself off the ice). That meant I managed 3 turbo sessions over the weekend - although not as fast as the track sessions, the turbo sessions are normally faster than the commutes, and hence I was able further narrow the gap to my 30kph average speed target.

    Total distance for teh week was 225km and YTD now stands at 7,910km at 29.96kph, effectively 10km behind the 30kph target.

    Next week should hopefully see another commutes, probably a couple of the Swords training spins, then hopefully the Obelisk Wheelers Christmas race on Sunday


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    #167
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,585 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    So my latest bit of training gadgetry allows me to analyse power output from each leg

    The first thing that surprised me was that over time it's almost exactly 50:50. I'm right footed, and hence there may be more "natural" strength in the right leg. However I also suffer sciatica in my right leg which probably counterbalances the extra natural strength (I sometimes suffer sciatica in the left leg also, so it may be worth checking what the impact of this may be when I get the opportunity)

    However when I'm sprinting or pushing very hard in pretty much all cases my left leg is slighty stronger with a typical 52%:48% ratio. Conversely when I'm taking it very easy the opposite happens - my left leg puts out slightly less power then the right one - 48%:52%

    I guess what this is telling me is that the sciatica has an increasing impact the harder I push, leaving me placing more reliance on the left leg - it possibly also means that when it comes to pure sprinting I'm a bit weaker than I could be without the sciatica. When it comes to pursuiting and TT'ing there is much less of an impact (proportionately at least), which may help explain my relative strenght in these disciplines (which is probably a bit counter-intuitive given my relatively large build). That's certainly borne out by my power curve, with my power/weight ratio increasing compared to the general cycling population (using the data summarised in the Training and Cycling with a Power Meter book)


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    #168
    levitronix
    Registered Users Posts: 1,824 ✭✭✭levitronix


    whats the latest gizmo you ve got now ?


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    #169
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,585 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    levitronix wrote: »
    Wattbike's the latest gizmo you ve got now
    Correct;)


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    #170
    levitronix
    Registered Users Posts: 1,824 ✭✭✭levitronix


    One expensive cloths horse :D


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    #171
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,585 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    levitronix wrote: »
    One expensive cloths horse :D
    ... well if it's good enough for TeamGB, then I can just about live with it.

    I've probably spent just about as much on the VR and related gear/software, and it's a much better piece of training kit

    Dipped under 12s for the flying 200m on it over the weekend (my best time in the real world is about 14.5s, although I'm not sure as to what extent, if any, it's speedo is calibrated for wind resistance)


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    #172
    kumate_champ07
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,150 ✭✭✭kumate_champ07


    Beasty wrote: »
    So my latest bit of training gadgetry allows me to analyse power output from each leg

    The first thing that surprised me was that over time it's almost exactly 50:50. I'm right footed, and hence there may be more "natural" strength in the right leg. However I also suffer sciatica in my right leg which probably counterbalances the extra natural strength (I sometimes suffer sciatica in the left leg also, so it may be worth checking what the impact of this may be when I get the opportunity)

    However when I'm sprinting or pushing very hard in pretty much all cases my left leg is slighty stronger with a typical 52%:48% ratio. Conversely when I'm taking it very easy the opposite happens - my left leg puts out slightly less power then the right one - 48%:52%

    I guess what this is telling me is that the sciatica has an increasing impact the harder I push, leaving me placing more reliance on the left leg - it possibly also means that when it comes to pure sprinting I'm a bit weaker than I could be without the sciatica. When it comes to pursuiting and TT'ing there is much less of an impact (proportionately at least), which may help explain my relative strenght in these disciplines (which is probably a bit counter-intuitive given my relatively large build). That's certainly borne out by my power curve, with my power/weight ratio increasing compared to the general cycling population (using the data summarised in the Training and Cycling with a Power Meter book)
    is it the standard or pro version? I didnt realize the wattbike measured each legs power output.


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    #173
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,585 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    kumate_champ07 wrote: »
    is it the standard or pro version? I didnt realize the wattbike measured each legs power output.
    It's the Pro - I don't think any serious racer would get much out of the standard - it just does not accommodate relatively modest power levels - probably more aimed at sportive riders than male racers (there's no difference in price either, it's just the power levels each accommodates). The standard is also more appropriate for women and kids


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    #174
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,585 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Well today really was the last race of the year - bringing my career (and YTD) winnings to €225 plus some BBB overshoes:D.

    In addition I managed a commute on Wednesday and a couple of evening training spins, the Thursday one being curtailed by a puncture. I also had a short session on the Wattbike on Friday, improving my "500m TT" best by over a second to 33.23s, and hitting a new Wattbike peak of 1065w

    Total distance for the week was 173km at 29.5kph, bringing the YTD total over 8,000m, now standing at 8,083km at 29.953kph, effectively 13km adrift of 30kph for the year

    Plans for next week will be to get out on training spins on Tuesday and Thursday again together with a commute on Wednesday - the forecast strong winds will probably slow me down quite a bit, so I'll be relying on the Wattbike to try and claw back some overall speed.

    Now need to work on a new training log and objectives for 2012


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    #175
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,585 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    The weather has resulted in plenty of practice on the Wattbike last week. On Monday I managed a 14m 35s 10k. On Tuesday it was a 2m 36s 2k pursuit and Wednesday a 32.93s 500m. On Thursday I attempted 750m for the first time, setting a time of 52.8s and finally today I managed 20.6km in 30 minutes (at 268w) - if only I could replicate these times in the real world!

    I did manage to get out for half an hour on Saturday, although even in the late afternoon some of the local roads were still very icy. I still managed to leapfrom 5 boardsies to take a KOM on one segment - not quite a mountain, indeed it was a net downhill, but it still felt like a mountain to me;).

    The turbo time allowed me to push the average speed up quite a bit - I maneged 185km at over 35kph, to bring the YTD total to 8,268km at 30.06kph - leaving me around 15km headroom above the 30kph target:)

    Next week will probably be more of the same, although there is a chance of no frost tonight, in which case I'll be commuting in the morning.


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    #176
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,585 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Managed 2 commutes, an evening training spin and 2 KOMs last week. I improved on one of those KOMs on Friday, only to discover both my times had been obliterated by a club mate earlier in the day - I need to try the segment in daylight with a strong tailwind I guess;). I also moved up the leaderboard on a short sprint into Skerries - then Felix English uploaded his Ras file, putting me 11kph behind him - still I'm in 5th though with only 1 non-Ras ride ahead of me

    Then I had an hour on the Wattbike tonight. In preparation for the track pursuit next season I'm hoping to do one 2km or 3 minute TT every week. Tonight it was my first go at 3 minutes, and I managed to do 2,289m

    Total distance for the week was 205km, bringing the YTD total to 8,473km at 30.05kph

    Next week I'll be away for a couple of days, and will be restrited to perhaps a couple of nocturnal training spins and a couple of Wattbike sessions, but at least should get past the 8,500km mark for the year


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    #177
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,585 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    A couple of cancelled ferries disrupted my cycling during the past week, meaning I only managed a couple of Wattbike sessions, and a short spin this afternoon.

    On the Wattbike I did my first 750m TT in a time of just under 51s, putting me in 27th place out of 139 in the Wattbike Rankings. On the face of it a decent position, but on further analysis it looks like half of Nottingham University must have given this event a go, and I’m guessing most of them weren’t cyclists. Having said that my average power was 541w, only 15w lower than my equivalent best on the road bike. Oo today’s spin I managed to move up to 4th place on the Skerries sprint, with only the Ras riders now ahead of me …

    Total distance for the week was 81km, bringing my final total for the year to 8,553.63km in 284hrs, 22mins 49s, an overall average of 30.078kph :) (2010 - 10,211km at 29.4kph, 2009 – 6,800km at 29.6kph)

    Breaking this down:

    Road Racing 810.72km (17 races)
    Time Trials 379.6km (1x50m, 4x25m, 5x10m, 1x hill climb + 2 others) (2010 – 751km over 23 Road Races/TTs)
    Track Racing 70km
    Commuting 3,072.2km
    Other Road Cycling 2,532.93km (2010 – 6,961km Commuting/Other Road cycling)
    Other Track Cycling 566.36km (2010 – 504km)
    Turbo/Wattbike 470.32km
    Hotel Gyms 647.5km (2010 – 518km Turbo/gyms etc)

    Racing achievements:
    Vets over 50 pursuit champion
    2 vets TT race victories (handicapped)
    €225 prize money

    Now I need to think of a title for the 2012 log …


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