Three weeks into February and have clocked over the 1,000km for the month and s touch over 2,300 for the year. Still manage to feel guilty about the days I am not out there or when I am actually feeling alright on the bicycle. I have had a very slack week after last weekends tremendous Wuthering Heights and return ride.
I am not really certain how useful it is to look back at 2013 at the moment. I didn't manage 1,000km for the month of Feb in 2013 and it was the first week in March before I ticked over the 2,000km for the year, so I am comfortably ahead of that schedule. I didn't do enough riding then and the body was not strong enough. I am trying to be better this time but am still well behind the eight ball. In 2013 I only did one 200+km ride in the prior to the race, that was my memorable ride out to Yea. This time I have done 3 200+km rides already including a couple back to back. I think that the long days in the saddle are very beneficial, not just for the body but learning how to do this stuff.
The learning is a bit double edged. Clearly I was very underprepared last time and it just made it a guts ride from a very long way out (like from the US/Canada border). This time however I know exactly how much it is going to hurt. It does just hurt, there are all kinds of twee motivational quotes for cycling and I hope they work for some people but really the pain of being out there riding has got to be a million times better than the numbness of sitting on the couch all day. I know it is going to hurt, embrace it and ride far and fast as much as possible. Hands, wrists, arse and legs are okay, they are good pain. The neck and shoulders worry me more. Not having the strength to hold the chin off the chest last time did slow me down, I need to be a lot more committed to the strengthening exercises.
I am not really one to panic or make rash decisions but I do worry about things for longer and harder than I should. The more long rides you do in preparation, the more of the issues that happen are going to have already been addressed. You can't be worrying about things if you already know that you can handle things. No point. I suspect I would just find something else to worry about.
Speed, actual straight line bike speed. This is a tricky one. On the Divide last time I only reallyhad one speed. I could not have cycled any faster. Maybe I will be faster this time with the extra training. I see other cyclists much faster than me on the Audax rides who are well in front of me when I am riding to my absolute limit. I suspect that I was faster in the first week but because I wasn't fit enough dropped off much more than anyone else over the second half of the race. My terrible diet and all manner of other things may also have contributed but I need to do better this time.
I think it is okay to nominate Lael Wilcox as one of my TD heroes. She embraced the whole no stopped time philosophy and allegedly didn't even take her helmet off for the final week of the race. This will need to be my chosen strategy given my lack of straight line speed. It will be the best method for me to cover as many miles as possible every single day. Don't get sucked out of race mode. It will take discipline, a discipline I sadly lacked last time. A discipline I only kind of have in my training at the moment but make it count when you are out there. I know that I can start like that but will need to maintain focus and not allow myself to be discouraged when I have a bad day or make one of the mistakes that I will.
My commutes are going much better. I am feeling stronger and faster every time which is a very good sign. I can peel off the 80km per day with little effort and enjoy every turn of the pedals. I have lost a lot of weight, was down to 74kg on Friday but having had a fat weekend am probably back to 76kg. I just need to keep cycling far.
Michelle has been desperately supportive in a way that I had not expected. She knows that I am committed this time and is letting me go ride bikes. There are a couple of weekends coming up where I will have the opportunity to ride big but will need to amp up my own motivation. Get a couple of back to back 250km days in. When I have the time I need to make the most of the opportunity.
I hope I am doing the right things with my bicycle. I am just so out of my depth with anything technical. I can fix things that go wrong but I am having to ask a lot of questions on the bike where people probably look at me side ways for not knowing simple stuff. It just has never interested me.
Sunday 21 February 2016
Saturday 6 February 2016
Some good and some bad
Just a quick update as there has been nothing very exciting in the last week.
Did the commute 4 times this work week which has given me a pretty cool 320km and makes 520km in the last seven days. Not huge numbers but clearly the biggest week so far and have come out the other side feeling really very fit and strong. I have finished each day feeling good and like I can indeed keep cycling for many more kilometres. I am pretty happy to be making good progress.
The flip side is that it is going to be a very limited week coming up in terms of time on the bike. Long weekend at the moment and have commitments that will keep me off the bike. Which maybe a good thing anyway. I will get a commute in on Tuesday but that is it until the weekend when I will do the Audax 400. Being a bit positive, maybe it is good to change things a bit, allow the body to recover for a few days and get a good 400 in this weekend.
I know I have to do the training for my own head, my own body and my own level and health and fitness and to meet my goals but I see guys posting to facebook etc. about doing huge rides and the amount of kilometres they are clocking up. It does get me down a fraction, when I am not out there and they are. Mostly jealousy on my part perhaps but some of it certainly is questioning my own commitment. I had previously talked about my own ability to not be honest to myself, there may be some of that in there. If I am serious about this I need to get out there and do big big rides. I have deliberately held myself back in January as I did not want to ramp up too much too quickly but this has to be fair dinkum February now. I am certain I am on a much better trajectory than last time and will be well placed.
You have to do the right amount of training to meet ambitious goals. It is getting the head there as well. You need to believe that you are capable of doing these truly extraordinary things. I didn't believe last time and found it very easy to slow down when it really hurt. I think everyone hurts out there and this time I just want to be able to keep going.
Need to sit down again and do some better planning for the next two months as well. The January and February plans worked well and have allowed me to do a lot of riding because it was communicated well in advance to Michelle and she made alternate plans. Very important to keep her on board and I have been very lucky and a bit surprised even maybe about how much support I have received this time on such an indulgent exercise. I know she worries about things as many people do and I know that there is no quid pro quo on this one. I just don't believe in keeping score or counting points. This is purely about my need to escape and ride my bike for a couple of weeks.
Also looking at the people that are putting their hand up. There are going to be a lot of very fast guys out there this year. It is going to be a fast year this year with lots of very strong cyclists. It is going to be great to be a part of that even if it is all happening way out in front of me. I do want to go very fast. I think if I keep going with the training and I have no reason to believe that I won't then if I am clever and strong and cop some good breaks when I am out there then I can get down into the 18day range.
Last time I wanted to be fast and thought sub 21 was a fast time. The goal posts are moving rapidly with the training I am doing and how light weight I may be able to go with the bike and kit. Whilst still dithering over wheels, I am certain I will invest in some good carbon rims and a 1 x 11 conversion to lose the rolhoff. Big weight and efficiency gains. I took way too many clothes last time and will just be much smarter with all of that.
The weight training is not going to plan. I have not gotten to the gym at all and having suffered badly from weight loss related neck issues last time, I should be doing a lot more. Just remember the Idaho rail trail. I could not lift my chin off my chest from there onwards. With some luck I am a day or more ahead of the schedule I set last time and may be a bit fitter when I reach there. Get into Wyoming faster than last time and the body can recover a bit more.
Also dithering a little on the flights into Canada. I am pretty keen to fly to Vancouver and have a fast ride out to Banff. If I fly out of here on Thursday 2nd June, out to Vernon by probably mid Saturday and then a couple more days out to Banff. Really enjoyed the ride out to Banff from Vernon last time but that was because I had Gavin with me and I always enjoy cycling with Gavin. He is just the right amount of interaction and amazing knowledge for me when we go riding. Bit different riding on my own but think I would really enjoy it.
The other option I have is to fly out of Australia and into Calgary. That would make only a one day ride out to Banff and I could leave Australia probably 3 or 4 days later. Would I still be jet lagged? It costs more to fly to Calgary but I would save that money by being here in Australia for longer and Canada isn't cheap. I do need to sort flights very shortly.
Am liking the place I am in at the moment when I stop and properly rationalise. Just need to stop comparing myself to others and ride my race and do my training. Take it seriously and sort stuff out.
Did the commute 4 times this work week which has given me a pretty cool 320km and makes 520km in the last seven days. Not huge numbers but clearly the biggest week so far and have come out the other side feeling really very fit and strong. I have finished each day feeling good and like I can indeed keep cycling for many more kilometres. I am pretty happy to be making good progress.
The flip side is that it is going to be a very limited week coming up in terms of time on the bike. Long weekend at the moment and have commitments that will keep me off the bike. Which maybe a good thing anyway. I will get a commute in on Tuesday but that is it until the weekend when I will do the Audax 400. Being a bit positive, maybe it is good to change things a bit, allow the body to recover for a few days and get a good 400 in this weekend.
I know I have to do the training for my own head, my own body and my own level and health and fitness and to meet my goals but I see guys posting to facebook etc. about doing huge rides and the amount of kilometres they are clocking up. It does get me down a fraction, when I am not out there and they are. Mostly jealousy on my part perhaps but some of it certainly is questioning my own commitment. I had previously talked about my own ability to not be honest to myself, there may be some of that in there. If I am serious about this I need to get out there and do big big rides. I have deliberately held myself back in January as I did not want to ramp up too much too quickly but this has to be fair dinkum February now. I am certain I am on a much better trajectory than last time and will be well placed.
You have to do the right amount of training to meet ambitious goals. It is getting the head there as well. You need to believe that you are capable of doing these truly extraordinary things. I didn't believe last time and found it very easy to slow down when it really hurt. I think everyone hurts out there and this time I just want to be able to keep going.
Need to sit down again and do some better planning for the next two months as well. The January and February plans worked well and have allowed me to do a lot of riding because it was communicated well in advance to Michelle and she made alternate plans. Very important to keep her on board and I have been very lucky and a bit surprised even maybe about how much support I have received this time on such an indulgent exercise. I know she worries about things as many people do and I know that there is no quid pro quo on this one. I just don't believe in keeping score or counting points. This is purely about my need to escape and ride my bike for a couple of weeks.
Also looking at the people that are putting their hand up. There are going to be a lot of very fast guys out there this year. It is going to be a fast year this year with lots of very strong cyclists. It is going to be great to be a part of that even if it is all happening way out in front of me. I do want to go very fast. I think if I keep going with the training and I have no reason to believe that I won't then if I am clever and strong and cop some good breaks when I am out there then I can get down into the 18day range.
Last time I wanted to be fast and thought sub 21 was a fast time. The goal posts are moving rapidly with the training I am doing and how light weight I may be able to go with the bike and kit. Whilst still dithering over wheels, I am certain I will invest in some good carbon rims and a 1 x 11 conversion to lose the rolhoff. Big weight and efficiency gains. I took way too many clothes last time and will just be much smarter with all of that.
The weight training is not going to plan. I have not gotten to the gym at all and having suffered badly from weight loss related neck issues last time, I should be doing a lot more. Just remember the Idaho rail trail. I could not lift my chin off my chest from there onwards. With some luck I am a day or more ahead of the schedule I set last time and may be a bit fitter when I reach there. Get into Wyoming faster than last time and the body can recover a bit more.
Also dithering a little on the flights into Canada. I am pretty keen to fly to Vancouver and have a fast ride out to Banff. If I fly out of here on Thursday 2nd June, out to Vernon by probably mid Saturday and then a couple more days out to Banff. Really enjoyed the ride out to Banff from Vernon last time but that was because I had Gavin with me and I always enjoy cycling with Gavin. He is just the right amount of interaction and amazing knowledge for me when we go riding. Bit different riding on my own but think I would really enjoy it.
The other option I have is to fly out of Australia and into Calgary. That would make only a one day ride out to Banff and I could leave Australia probably 3 or 4 days later. Would I still be jet lagged? It costs more to fly to Calgary but I would save that money by being here in Australia for longer and Canada isn't cheap. I do need to sort flights very shortly.
Am liking the place I am in at the moment when I stop and properly rationalise. Just need to stop comparing myself to others and ride my race and do my training. Take it seriously and sort stuff out.
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