Cassette

Ordered new cassette from UKBikestore Friday lunchtime and it turned up on Saturday morning and all for £1 postage! Nice one.

More training

Week 12

27/03/09 Turbo 60mins in Endurance HR zone. Good session, Had the new SDG Ti Fly-C saddle fitted and what a joy………..mmmmm.
29/03/09 52Km ride in 2hrs 10mins. Early start, fantastic blue skies and no wind. Fingers and toes were freezing off though as it looked deceptively warmer than it was. There were patches of frost and the odd car passed with snow on the roof! I took me 15 min in the shower afterwards to regain the feeling in my toes.

I love SDG

My bum loves my new SDG Ti Fly C

Saddle fitted.

Saddle has arrived and is fitted ready for tonight. I've been let down by SBR sports though as the cassette has gone out of stock. New order placed with UKBikestore.

Training update - Good session.

Week 12
24/03/09 Turbo 65mins in Endurance HR zone. What a difference from Saturday!! Felt really good, kept the HR up at the top end of the zone and the cadence high for the whole session. Managed an extra 5 minutes as well. What was the difference? No idea, but I wasn’t tired before I started, I’d had a 2 days off, still did the commute though. I had my pasta and tuna for lunch plus a free sample Maximilk protein drink. I started drinking the SIS Go 10 minutes before I started and it alleviated the full stomach problem. Tunes by Pink, if only all sessions could be like that….. Got rejected by the blood suckers due to a recent mole removal so no excuses from that now either.

New bits ordered for the bike

I've been meaning to get a lower (slightly) gear ratio for some time now. As I am running 9 speed Tiagra the choice was a bit limited. The only cassette I could find was the Ultegra 12-27, but everyone seems to be out of stock I eventually found one at a reasonable price from SBR sports. I'm sure my legs will appreciate the two extra teeth whilst climbing those French "mountains".

I bit the bullet and ordered a new saddle too. I've read loads of stuff on the web and the conclusion I've come to is that there is no perfect one size fits all saddle. I suffer from numbness with my current Selle Italia Filante and I was considering one of the specialized BG saddles , but there were conflicting reports on those as well as the Selle SMP saddles (which are very expensive). I have SDG Bell Air saddles on my other bikes and get on well with them so I went for the SDG Ti Fly C, which is similar, but with more of a nod to the road than the Bell Air, it also had 41% off at Chain Reaction. We'll see how it goes.

Weekend rides planned for the next three weekends, so the weather needs to get back to how it was on Saturday, looks a bit wintery outside at the moment.

Training update.

Week 11
18/03/2009 Turbo 60mins in Endurance HR zone. Got the HR up and managed to keep it nice and high in the zone (141- 151). Changed the music from the usual Green Day to Seasick Steve and Guns ‘n’ Roses. Having the SIS Go during the session and the Recovermax afterwards really fills my stomach!
21/03/2009 Turbo 40mins in Endurance HR zone! I nearly died after 20mins, managed to keep it going for 40mins, just, but struggled to keep my HR up in the zone. What’s going on? I supposed to be getting fitter…. I was tired before I started and I only had water during the session instead of the GO, I had been out the previous two nights as well so hopefully the combination of factors was the killer. We’ll see next week. Giving blood on the 25th so will have to take it steady for a day or so after that.

Training update

Week 11
16/03/2009 Turbo 60mins in Endurance HR zone. Felt really good at the start, but it was really hard to get the HR up and I had to push higher gears or pedal at a much faster cadence to keep in the zone. This in turn knackered my legs so I’m feeling it a bit today. Hopefully this means I’m getting fitter……

Training Update.

Week 10

13/03/2009 Turbo 60mins in Endurance HR zone. Felt reasonably good and managed to get a quick sprint in at the end.

14/03/2009 Ride to Mansfield 30km in 70mins into quite a strong head and side wind. This was the same route as the 24/01/09, the discrepancy in distance is due to me cocking up the HR monitor in Jan and having to guess a bit. Felt really good. I’m sure the Recovermax makes a difference (even if it is only my mental state!).

First post catch up

Etape Diary

All turbo trainer sessions include 750ml of SIS Go followed by a recovery drink (Maximuscle Recovermax or SIS Rego). Training is in addition to the daily commute to work, which is 5 miles each way (20mins) total of 3hrs 20mins riding per week.

Week 1
05/01/09 Turbo 35mins in Endurance HR zone
07/01/09 Turbo 40mins in Endurance HR zone
09/01/09 Turbo 40mins in Endurance HR zone
11/01/09 Turbo 40mins in Endurance HR zone
Week 2
14/01/09 Turbo 40mins in Endurance HR zone
15/01/09 Turbo 40mins in Endurance HR zone
New bike received on 17/01/09 J Scheeeerrwinnnn….
Ride to Mansfield 30Km 64mins lots of calf cramp.
Week 3
19/01/09 Turbo 45mins in Endurance HR zone - Felt harder than usual – 3 week syndrome?????.
21/01/09 Turbo 45mins in Endurance HR zone - Good at the start, felt sick near the end (had a big curry 1hr before!) but did 2 mins high intensity at the end).
24/01/09 Ride to Mansfield 34km 80mins (Via Hucknall).
Week 4
26/01/09 Turbo 45mins in Endurance HR zone
28/01/09 Turbo 50mins in Endurance HR zone
30/01/09 Turbo 50mins in Endurance HR zone
Week 5
02/02/09 Turbo 50mins in Endurance HR zone
04/02/09 Turbo 50mins in Endurance HR zone - Felt really hard, not sure if properly hydrated.
07/02/09 Turbo 55mins in Endurance HR zone

Week 6
11/02/09 Turbo 55mins in Endurance HR zone
14/02/09 Turbo 55mins in Endurance HR zone (SIS Rego afterwards – legs a bit sore)http://s233.photobucket.com/albums/ee65/playfords/Road%20Bike/?action=view&current=EtapetrainingFeb2009_high.flv
15/01/09 Ride to Edwinstowe 35km 80mins + on to Mansfield 12km (headwind) 30mins. Total of 47km in 1hr 50mins. (Had a SIS Gel at Edwinstowe and a cup of tea! SIS Rego in Mansfield – legs a bit sore again).


Week 7
17/02/09 Turbo 60mins in Endurance HR zone, felt pretty good (Not sure if the SIS Rego is doing its thing as my legs ached the next day, need to use the tub up so I’ll keep using it and then go back to Maximuscle Recovermax).
19/02/09 Turbo 60mins in Endurance HR zone.
21/02/09 Turbo 60mins (total of 34mins in Endurance zone!) I nearly died on the Turbo (slight exaggeration)....I watched the race DVD that came with my trainer and I blew up after 20mins, after that I couldn't get the heart rate up at all (Max 140) and I was really blowing. I managed to carry on for the full hour, but I was coughing and wheezing afterwards and my lungs felt like they were full of fizzy coke!! I'm hoping that I have a bit of a virus or something.


Week 8
23/02/09 Turbo 60mins in Endurance HR zone. Felt really hard again especially on the legs? New Giordana body clone bib shorts arrived and are very good. (Spurs beat Hull 2-1, at the KC). Legs ached the next day, still on the Rego.
25/02/09 Turbo 60mins in Endurance HR zone. Better this time, HR kept up well.
28/02/09 Turbo 60mins in Endurance HR zone. Felt pretty hard on the legs.
01/03/09 Mountain biking in the Peaks. Hathersage Circuit 30km, 1000m+ climbing including Shatton Moor and Hope cross. Very muddy. Link - http://s233.photobucket.com/albums/ee65/playfords/Mountain%20Bike/Hathersage%20circuit%20Mar%2009/ 3l of SIS Go during with Rego, a pint of tea, a bacon butty and half a flapjack after for recovery mmmmmmm.


Week 9 – 19 weeks to go…..
03/03/2009 Turbo 60mins in Endurance HR zone. Struggling with tiredness, could be overdoing it??
08/03/2009 Turbo 60mins in Endurance HR zone. Went OK

Week 10
10/03/2009 Turbo 60mins in Endurance HR zone. Good hard workout this time, first time for a full hour in the zone plus warm up and warm down. Back on the Maximuscle Recovermax, stopped drinking so much coffee at work. Legs are hurting throughout the session now as I need to push myself harder to keep the HR up. Weight still exactly the same as is was 10 weeks ago (75Kg)!!!