Another Day, More Training

A bike session today and I chose a session from last years #Zwift Academy. It was the 'race day' session and consisted of three 'break away' reps. Each rep consisted putting down a short big power blast before maintaining high power for a few minutes before another spike followed by another high power section and then the recovery. I thought I'd bitten off more than I could chew when I realised how long the high (above FTP) sections were. But despite it being a bit of a leg burner towards the end I manage to complete without hitting the spiral of death.

I'm pleased with myself for keeping up the training momentum. I'm feeling it in the legs this evening but hopefully it will be worth it... Need to hit a few session mid week before back on the racing on the weekend at Sugar Loaf.

First Flaxley For A While

With no race this weekend it's just going to be training. Said training began with a loop around Flaxley Wood (9k) and I found it surprisingly hard effort. I was expecting to find it a bit easier going but then I have increased my training effort over the last two weeks. On the plus side it was my fastest on the loop for a year but I somehow expected more. Ah well, I'll just have to keep on with the training and have another crack in a few weeks. More training tomorrow.

Pyramid-ish Session

So having pulled a rest day yesterday I was back on it today. Little and often is the new me (at least until it wears off). It turned out to be a kind of pyramid session of 250m sections undulating between 10, 12 and 14kph with the 14kph section extending out to 500m and 750m and back to 250m for the last two but without the 10kph on the final undulation. Still with me?

It felt like a good session. I was pleased with it, especially the effort on longest rep. And for the first time I'm not finding the reps boring - so that's a first! Finished off the training with 10k on the bike, the Richmond hilly, and I put in some decent effort of the short, sharp hill climbs.

I've no races lined up this weekend so it's just going to be more training...

Nothing Like A Race...

To increase the FTP - by over 6% from 189 to 201W in my case and I have no idea where it came from! I felt pretty sluggish into the first lap (of three). My legs still felt leaden and my power wasn't anything special but, to quote Gloria Estefan, the racing is gonna get you... (never realised she was into #Zwift!)

Slowly buy surely my power edged up. Riding off the front of group after group I gained over 100 places, from outside 500 up to 370th on the line. I didn't contest the sprint finish as I was on my limit throughout the final lap but I can't grumble at such an unexpected jump in FTP. I do love a good race. (31km, 200m ascent).

The Little and Often Continues...

Yep, back on the treadmill today, #Zwift. Six 400m reps with 200m recovery. Paced at 14kph or 103s per rep, it was just about right. My legs are still feeling dead but I couldn't put off the run any longer. It's all a bit random - and a little bit tame - but as long as I keep mixing it up I'm sure it'll be doing me good and over time hopefully I will make gains. Need to look at factoring in some hill work though - and that might require venturing forth into the real world...

Everyday In Every Way I'll Try...

to exercise a lot but if a lot just doesn't happen, I'll settle for a little! And so today it was a little. Another twenty minutes on the bike. My quads are still feeling heavy and I hit the burn without putting much power down. Still, a little is better than nothing.

Is It Just Me?

or does anyone else say thank you to their Amazon Echo when it carries out a command... Nope, thought not, just me then... Anyway, pulling back out of that cul-de-sac, I managed a short, twenty minute pootle on the bike this morning. My quads are sore and had no strength but I wanted to do something even if it was more symbolic than real training. I'm going to try to get into the habit of doing something everyday even if it's just twenty minutes and build from there...

Walked Up A Hill...

and it only cost me £2 for the privilege. Bargain! I fared better on the descent. Yes, I am of course talking about the Pen Cerrig Calch fell race.

I knew I'd be doing a lot of walking on the ascent. I just don't have the legs for it at the moment but it'll come... I enjoyed the descent though. I felt light of foot over the rocky technical sections and advanced through the field. The bottom section gets steep and I was able to gain another three places coming down the final two fields into the finish.

Pretty sure the race score won't be as good as my last couple due to the very slow ascent but there's always the next race...

Training In The Real World...

So I braved the real world and ventured forth into the forest for a training run.... Just a 5km plod around the Sallowvellets Inclosure area but it was enjoyable enough and I didn't want to over do it what with tomorrow's Pen Cerrig Calch fell race - race number seven of the year. I finished off the training with a gentle 10km ride back in the safety of the #Zwift virtual world...

19 Kilometres per Hour...

On the treadmill. Yes, so fast I was overtaking the cyclists! Okay, one cyclist and only for 200m but heck, that's the fastest these old, lardy legs have gone in a long time.... I kind of made it up as I went along and it ended up being six 200m reps with an equal recovery at 14kph, 16kph x 3, 17.5kph and 19kph. I'm stating things in kph as it sounds more impressive... in reality it is a long way from what I could once do but it only took 30mins, including the warm up and cool down, and didn't bore me to death! I almost feel like I could find the motivation to fit in a few more sessions here and there. And now the bridge toll has been removed I really should try and work the flexi late shift - that's 10am to 6pm - in order to get across to Harriers training on a Tuesday and Thursday night....

Short Blast Over the Hill

So I was intending to run on the treadmill after work today but having spent the entire day sat at my desk, my legs were really stiff and heavy. I tried a few strides and decided to do a short ride instead. That ended up being a single lap of the London Loop including the virtual Box Hill. 15km and 230m ascent. I took it steady and my legs felt a bit better afterwards than before. Interestingly it was my third fastest time up the hill and I wasn't really pushing at all.

The lesson of the day though, is that I really should get out of the seat for a stretch or two during the day.

A Bit Of Four Seasons...

for today's Tor y Foel fell race. Yes, we had sunshine, rain, hail and biting strong gusts - practically froze my face off along the top.

So as I suspected, my legs were heavy from yesterday's slightly fool hardy training. I did a little warm up beforehand in the hope that they'd feel less dead - it didn't work. Having said that, I had an okay run. Pants on the main climb - no surprise there - I fared a little better on the descent. I managed to collect about five or six places. I nearly went over a right purler on the section of the descent after the road but managed to 'ski' a couple of metres on one foot before getting back control.

I ran pretty well on the 'cobbles' but didn't enjoy it at all. Most uncomfortable but gained one more place before reaching the finish. Despite the cold and wet I enjoyed it so I'll be back for the next race in a weeks time...

Probably Not Ideal Prep...

For tomorrow's Tor y Foel fell race. My legs are fair wobbly after today's race up the Alpe du Zwift. I should probably have chosen an easier ride. As it was I sat in and ground my way up the 12km, 1000m ascent - after the 15km lead in section. With the race finishing at the top, I decided to add another 13km of easy riding back down. Ride totals, 40km, 1220m ascent - and one set of wobbly legs. On the plus side, I claimed a PB up the climb by just over 2 minutes. Total ride time 1hr 51m. So that's me totally set for tomorrow's fell race....

Managed Something

So I felt a bit crook yesterday and overnight. Yesterdays training session didn't happen and despite not feeling completely topper I needed to do something today. I decided on a short group training session. Just about the right amount of effort. Hopefully I'll be totally back to 'normal' for the weekend and Sunday's Tor y Foel fell race.

Charging The Head Torch....

It's been a while since I've used it for running and I'm not sure how well the batteries will hold up - I guess we'll see at tomorrow's Blorenge Night Roundabout. I don't know much about the race other than the location of the race HQ - and the rogue that organises it. What's the worst that can happen?...

A Better Week Of Training

That's more like it. Despite not racing this weekend, it's still been a good week of training. Yesterday's marshalling felt like a race the way I had to push to get to the checkpoint in time for the first runner. My legs felt heavy before this afternoon's #Zwift Fondo and they're feeling even heavier now. 52km, 550m ascent.

It was a good session. Not a race. Who were we kidding, we were all racing it. I was in amongst some big groups for most of the ride but things broke up in the last 10km or so. The route they use for the bambino fondo suits me as it's a climbing finish and I was able grind out some good positional gains and to that end I moved up through the ride from around 500th at the start to 314 of 967 - but it wasn't a race.

My time was a couple of minutes down on last month but I had a much higher fatigue level going in to it this time - and I felt that throughout. Definitely been a good week's training and I'm feeling buoyed.

Well That Was Bloody Close....

I only just made it to my summit in time to marshal. I arrived at Cribyn a full sixty seconds before the first runner came through. Some might call it perfect timing - I'd call it, getting my timing slightly wrong...

So I arrived at Blaen y glyn car park with plenty of time to spare - in the pouring rain. Happy days, I thought to myself but by race time it had cleared up. I then proceeded to layer up as it was bloody windy, before heading out to get to Cribyn, with what I thought was about the right amount of time. With it being a biting cold wind I didn't want to get there miles too soon - but sixty seconds was definitely cutting it close.

It was unsurprisingly hard work into the the strong wind and as I started into the final section of my trek, the ascent of Cribyn itself, I realised it was going to be tight. I kept looking across to Fan y Big, as that was were the runner would be coming from. When I was about half way up the first, steeper section, I looked back to see them coming - shit, it's going to be close, I thought. I pushed on.

After clearing the steeper section, I pushed on along the final, gentler section to the summit. Looking back, as I was about half way along I spotted the first runner clearing the steeper section - not going to make it... I had to start telling myself, "come on, I can run this bit" - I wanted to slap myself for uttering those words, grrrhh. Eventually I made the summit, got out my phone to record the runners and got myself sat down just as the first runner came into view...

The return journey was less worrisome as I tracked the last runner home. It was pretty decent training. The outward journey was 5.75km with 650m ascent and the return, following the race route, 6km with 175m ascent.

Up tomorrow is the Zwift Fondo number five. Pretty sure it's going to the bambino, but maybe I'll feel refreshed enough for a crack at the medio.

I've Been Upgraded...

To Cribyn from Fan y Big, to a mountain from a hill. Yes, in a change to my recent return to running, I shall be marshalling at tomorrow's Tour of Torpantau fell race. But with Cribyn being the furthest point on the course, it means I won't be traversing much less distance than the runners. Need to make sure I get my timings correct in order to get to the checkpoint in time, especially if the cloud is down...... might take my GPS! 😉

Today, I took a chilled day off work - lots of time to use up or lose it. Put in a gentle tour round Innsbruck, with its 500m climb and 25k - I've only got another 14,000m of ascent to go before I hit the magic 50,000m mark and the reward of the virtual tron bike.... #Zwift.

A Bit O' Racing

Spotted a 30k race going down and just managed to get myself to the saddle in time, #Zwift. There was just 55s to spare before the kickoff. And I'm glad I made it. It was a good effort. Not huge numbers but after the initial blast off phase, there were enough 'blips' head of me on the radar to spur me on. That spur pushed me to a decent power average, circa 190W. Still down on six months back but definitely creeping back...

Legs A Bit Sore

I decided on a bike training session today, to avoid the impact. The triple bumps session, three sets of three power ramp ups. A decent workout and just about the right amount of stress for my sore legs...

More Of A Trot Than A Canter...

but overcoming the strong wind, I got round and for a bonus point it didn't rain. All in all, a result.

At just 8km though, the Carding Mill Canter, was tougher than I was expecting. I struggled on the first climb and it took me a few minutes to get going once I got to the top but then from there I started to pick up the pace and enjoy it. As a bonus I gained a few places - especially on the rougher bits.

My legs were a bit broken after the descent back into the valley at the midway point and I doubly struggled on the north loop. The climb to the top broke into three sections and each one was hard going. The wind made it all the more tough. I was beginning to lose the will to live on the final climb, wind buffeting me sideways, but just managed to hold on and then descend to the finish.

A Sneak Peek...

at tomorrow's Carding Mill Canter. It has the same ascent as last weekend's Hatterall Sledge but crammed into 8-ish km instead of 12. A quick look on google maps shows some paths/trails/trods over most of the route so 'should' be pretty straight forward - and if all else fails I'll still have my GPS... just kidding. Map and compass for me.

The route starts at the lower (SE) car park and heads NW and around the bottom loop, anti-clockwise back around to near the start before heading east and up around the top loop to finish as the top car park - if that make sense....