Marmotte 2010

Friday - 1 hour Turbo Trainer, moderate to easy pace (fat burning rather than cardio, need to stay in this HR zone for about a month initially to reduce weight, alongside controlling my diet.)

Saturday - 1 hr Turbo Trainer, moderate to easy again.

Sunday - 65km group spin with ThinkBike.ie in rathmines. Was great to get back out in the open air, and for longer than an hour on the bike again. 3 hour spin at an easy pace. Rathmines to Enniskerry (via Dundrum), along the N11 towards the turn off for Delgany, stopped in Greystones for a tea break, back up through Enniskerry an home. Just what the doctor ordered. No real climbs, didnt risk the hills as the roads were frosty in places nad would no doubt be a lot worse the higher we ventured.

Monday - resting up.

Tuesday - 25km, 1hr flat spin. Wet and windy but grand once you get out. Didnt particularly feel like it but its nights like that which make the difference. Felt better for it afterwards.

Not the most productive week, partly my fault, partly not.

Mon - Fri: Got two nights in the gym, which is pretty poor really, If I'm honest I was a lazy bollocks. This has to be improved upon starting this week, aiming for 3-4 nights per week training whether it be onthe bike, swimming or gym. Then saturdays and sunday where I have no other committments.

Sat: Arranged a Marmotte training spin with a guy the previous week, to take place 9.30am saturday morning. I duly showed at the meeting place at 9.30am, and duly left the meeting place at 9.45am, alone. No show on their side, which I was half expecting as they said they had a shindig the night before in advance, and I later learned he had a fall the day before and was wary of the roads higher up. No harm.

Not to worry, off I set heading for Sally Gap via Edmonston Road. Edmonston road is so much better now since they resurfaced it and I now prefer it to Stocking lane. It was pretty cold and I was wary of frost and ice further up, but their was nothing major of any concern the whole way to sally gap, other than a couple of stretches in the shade where the frost hadnt melted but it was dry and safe enough once slowing down on approach.

Saly gap was fine too, so I headed on to laragh. There were some stretches again in teh shade with heavy frost but dry and manageable at slow speed. A few icy patches where the water runs over the road and had frozen solid but again only 6 foot wide and manageable once slowing on approach. I set a relatively sedate pace and the legs were pretty fine climbing wise. When I reached Laragh I decided I would head back the way I came as I knew it was safe enough, rather than risk the unknown on Wicklow Gap. After a tea and a sandwich, shared with some stray dog, I climbed back up to Sally gap and home. 90km covered in 4hrs 45 mins (slow I know), felt fine and will look to stretch that to 120km next time out.

Sun: Showed up with a hangover for the Thinkbike.ie spin from Rathmines. 17 showed which was pretty good. Again via edmonston road whereby half way up I (or rather Bikerbhoy) realised my rear tyre was wrote off, a bulging rip ready to burst. That was the end of that spin, a slow descent of edmonston and then slouched home with 20km under the belt. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise because when I got home I got the rough end of the hangover from hell, weird. Felt fine out on the bike earlier.

Note of caution: Schwalbe Ultremo tyres, easily the most comfortable and quickest, grippiest tyre I have used (opposed to Continental GP 4000s & Open Corsa Evo CX). However, 500km and the are banjaxed so they will be used only in future for maybe the Marmotte, Mick Byrne 200, etc. One day events.

I have ordered a set of Continental GP 4000s from e-bay which should arrive in the next week. I used these last year and they lasted 6 months over the winter and are quite durable with decent enough grip (although not the same as the corsa evo's or ultremo). But what you lose in grip you gain in reliability, and I wont need to buy a new set every month as I would with Ultremos, or every 2 months as I would with Corsa Evos.

Next weekend I wont get any bike time as I am away so aiming for 4 nights traing after work Mon-Thur to make up for it.

Decided to update blog with progress as I attempt to drop from fat frog to beanpole before July. Link in my signature below.

Blog

I havent written down a plan because mentally I'll have turned a goal into a chore. My current training is pretty sedate, pace wise, even climbing the hills. And to be honest, compared to the Marmotte, a couple of loops of Sally Gap isn't exactly difficult and wont do any harm whatsoever.

My main aim is to drop the weight and gain distance ( hills included), then up the pace. My base fitness is fine, always was, have trained regularly for 15 years, just about a stone 4lb above my optimum weight for cycling but it wont be an issue dropping down. I have done it many times before.

I ordered this book , apparently its an interesting read and may help. Time wise I will be looking for 6 - 10 hrs on a Saturday and 3-6 hrs on a Sunday on the bike as the norm. Obviously there will be weekends were I have other committments and that will be reduced.

Bad week for weather. Latest update.

rounders123 wrote: »

Good Blog Mosiki,
Im not sure if you purposely set the blog settings to not publish the date each post is published. Its just that the reader has no idea when each post was written and month to month perusal would be easier if the reader could see the date each blog post was written and have a better idea of the timeline of posts?.

Didnt even realise it wasnt time stamped, turned setting on, so should all have date at top of each post, and the time of day at the bottom in the signature line.

Cheers.

Long weekend on the bike.

Still training Mosiki?
The blog posts seems to have stopped, just wondering is Marmotte off the cards now or?

The Marmotte is tomorrow right? Best of luck with it - looking forward to another epic ride/read!