Massive catch up - whats been going on this year so far....

This post has the capacity to be the biggest that I've written, I haven't posted for quite a while and that is down to a couple of things, the first and most important being work and the long hours and constant driving have left me just enough time to complete my training only and the second, is well, I've been underwhelmed by my start to the year and in that sense some of my mojo temporarily left me.

This is what has been happening , taking it from the top as it were...

14 April - BDCA 25 - 54.07

Some good and some bad points to this performance which I think you'll find is a reoccurring theme. The course was an amended one so not the usual A25/11 course. It had been altered to a two lap affair which suited me just fine to be honest. There had been more double roundabouts thrown in to make the course work. I had the 58 chainring on and looked forward to giving it full beans on the A50. The day was warm and I had sun on my legs which always makes me go.  Now for the race - I started well enough, probably too well. The big chainring working well, and for the first few miles I think I hit my numbers OK. Then it started to ebb away and I had to really race hard just to keep anywhere near my target wattage. So hard in fact that my heart rate data showed I was at a '10' effort for the majority of the ride. I finished with a 54.07 which for early season is a good ride, but I came away thinking I should have been better.

21 April - Shaftesbury 25 - 58.59 

Back on trike, and a trike team comp record attempt with myself, Ian Pike & Gaz Wright making the startsheet in the Shaftesbury Middlemarkers 25 (slower than 57 event). A nice hot day and not terribly windy, about as alright as you can get. I managed 58.59 so another trike 25 PB and second time under the hour this year. Probably my best ride of the year so far for pacing and power. Left it all out there and didn't overcook it at any stage. Not a terribly quick day as it turns out so you can't always go off conditions - we missed comp record by a few minutes but will get closer as the season goes on and we will get there !

28 April - LRRA 2up - 44.31

LRRA 2up - my first appearance at this event for 5 years. It was a wet and windy afternoon and cold at 7-8c. My partner was  about 2 minutes adrift of my 10 pace so I planned on doing most of the work. The course is the same as the Bourne Wheelers 50 so the first 1-9 miles are rolling up hill, which made it tough to keep the elastic band from snapping. Over 18.5 miles I'm pleased with the 290W which I put out ,which was tempered by the easing off and not going full bore for large parts especially the first half. 6th overall, winners of the county vets On Standard - which means a trophy !

After this 2 up, I decided the Trinity still felt a bit foreign to me so decided to have 3-4 weeks off open racing. I rode most of my sessions in training on it and also completed the King Edward 80 mile sportive, and the Lincoln GP sportive (also an 80 miler) on it. Something just wasn't still right and I was failing to hit my numbers in training. Desperate, I turned to my bike fitter who uncovered the truth - I had set up he bike incorrectly and the seat wasn't high enough. There's catch up to do now. 

26 May - Mapperley CC 10 -  22.54

Day One-ish of the new position. It felt better albeit the result maybe didn't feed through immediately. Basically this course was a shortened A46 affair on roads I'd ridden earlier in the year. 5.7 miles into a stupid hooley of a headwind, and 4.3 miles back super quick.  I felt I started better and maybe too hard but I wanted to see what I was capable of in the new position.  The first five minutes felt really good, and I could see that my shadow was still on the road and I wasn't moving much. It became tougher for the next 7-8 minutes and there were parts where the power would dip maybe as the road rolled, but still aimed to keep above 300W. To and over the turn, initially I had another strong section, however as the backwind really kicked in and I started to gurn and chase the power I lost composure and posture and continually had to re-set my backside.  A case of a work in progress and definately a day for those with a lower CDA. I termed this ride as progress as it was the best TT ride of the season so far and I feel like I'll grow to the point of being able to hold it for longer.

Under the hour.... on a trike !

It is a season goal for this year, to go under the hour on a trike in a 25 mile time trial. I had all season to do it, but as fate would have it, I was entered in two fast dual carriageway races during this month - the first being the Melton Olympic 25 held locally on the A46 between Newark and Bingham....

I was off at no.64 as as you can see from the photo, it was a first time outing for my no pinz hi viz dual carriageway skin suit with matching very bright overshoes. It would be my second outing with the new position on the trike as well. The weather gods looked to be smiling with a low predicted SSW which meant that it was as good a day as ant to make that first attempt and break that glass ceiling.

For this race I removed all the various clutter that I had in the last race from the Garmin screen and went back to to last years basics - 10 second power and cadence. I would not have a clue how fast I was going and it would be a complete shot in the dark. When I was warming up, it quickly became apparent that my cleats were so worn that the right side kept popping out - less than ideal and I would for sure need to be so careful especially while cornering.

I set off at just after three, and whilst it was only a mild headwind, the trike felt so slow, and to be fair my minute man caught me so, so quickly so I thought I was on for a very slow ride. Soon after my two minute man caught me - FFS I thought, this could be a long day. I did seem to settle down, and my target power was achieved in a consistent manner, also my cadence was strong. The biggest test was getting the barrow up Bingham mountain in 55 x 21 and I just about managed it. To the turn and again I thought this was bad (in hindsight I was there in 22.6mph average). The return to Farndon was super fast as the wind was in the right direction for the course. A glorious 13 miles of fun occasionally ruined by my right foot popping out and loosing time while I freewheeled to get clipped back in. I think I averaged 28.6mph going back to Newark and as a result my ride average must have been well above my target 25 as I made the final turn up the old A46 road. I gave it full beans and full bore right up and over the line.

Of course at this point I didn't have a clue and peered through fingers at the next garmin screen. 59.37, I had done it, and now I can relax a bit and enjoy my next trike ride knowing that I have already beaten this years goal !

Course A25/34
Temp 59f
HR 166
AP 292
Wind 9mph S

First racing weekend of 2018

After so many months of endless training without so much of a sniff of racing, finally I saw a weekend of racing back to back. On saturday afternoon I would head over to Jodrell Bank for the Trike Association 10 and then on Sunday I would be the bike leg of a relay team entered into the East Leake Triathlon.

TA North West 10   25.48

I headed over to Jodrell Bank and Goostrey Village Hall for a 2.00 event on the rescheduled J2/20 course. traffic meant that I arrived in OK time but not early enough to go out and ride the course. I would be rider no.10 in a ten man field and the trikes would be going off in front of a regular field. I felt strangely serene as I got ready in the car park and readied the trike. Even on the way out to the start and during the warm up I felt no nerves at all and just looked forward to having my first race of the season.

The course would be an honest single carriageway affair with a couple of twists, a couple of roundabouts, a railway bridge and generally some poor road. Like I said earlier, I needed to learn it as I went along. It would also be a learning experience with the new position on the trike and I soon found once I started that this too was a work in progress.

So, good start, and I was quickly on my way to the first roundabout and pushing out crazy watts thinking wow could I hold this? The answer was no and to be fair, although I had caught 4/5 riders by the turn, I was seriously blowing out of my arse and wondering just how f'in far 10 miles is !!

The return was a consolidation exewrcise and I had a bit of a tail push back. I was hoping for an early season 24 minute ride, and I could see that come and go on the Garmin. In the end I just managed to sneak under 26 with a time of 25.48. 299W so in the ball park of where I maybe should be first ride and all that. How do I feel ? Pleased to get the first one done, underwhelmed with the time and wattage, but most of all clearere about how much I need to adapt to the new position. Things should get better.

East Leake Tri Bike Leg

Not being able to do the other two disciplines, I roped a couple of colleagues from work in to do a relay triathlon so that I could just do the bike leg. It was a race I had done a couple of times in the past so I knew the venue and the routes well enough - ideal when you are managing a team.

We would start at 9.50 and a good swim time of 7.55 meant that I was able to get out on the Trinity before 10. I started well and I have to say the Trinity just wants to go all the time - it's an incredible machine and I'm very lucky to have it. I had of course raced the day before, so I was off it just a little bit but still I felt had a good ride all things considered.

My bike leg was just over 33 minutes and when our runner out away a 20 minute run leg - we snaffled the team category win by a healthy margin.

Back to back wins - not a bad weekends results !

Rauceby Ripper 2018

and so February came around... really quickly and that means two things - firstly it signals the end of my running for around 7 months and secondly it must mean it's Ripper time folks - my designated last run of the year for the second year in a row !

The Rauceby Ripper is laid on by Sleaford Town Runners and always sells out before Christmas. It's one of those smaller popular events that once you have done one - well it's a bit moorish shall we say.

Today would see a kind wind ie none, but a light drizzle and a cold temperature of around 4 degrees. I certainly wasn't complaining as I quite like running in the rain and prefer light winds - however, the course was definately boggier than I remember and you can see from the photo the amount of mud and standing water I would need to negotiate.

Walkers start at 9.30am and the runners start at 10.30.  For two years running now I have finished in 30th place, so this year I decided to be a bit more proactive at the start and get myself right near the front - this startegy seemed to work as I was able to push on the hard concrete surface in the first mile as opposed to the usual grass overtake of previous years.

I again used my trusty trail brooks and the boggy section in the second mile was competently negotiated albeit there were a couple of corners I found very sketchy !

My pace settled in, I could see the field had thinned out, and from then on in, it was a case of picking up a place here and there and not gong too hard. For the second year in a row, I was having a really good time out there, enjoying every part of the run and the miles seemingly flying by. 6 miles certainly didn't feel like 6 miles, and it was kind of a shame to exit the wooded section and know there was just a mile left !

I held good form determined not to lose any places over the wet grass down the hill to the finish, and deserved this years great medal with 24th place and a time of 1.07.09,

Running over and out - time to get testing again !

Winter Double Time Trials

Boxing Day - 20.52

The first ride out on the Giant and a fancy dress speed judging event held on the clubs 7.7m Torksey Triangle course. I am the event organiser so it was an early start to get the signs put out on the course which must have given the drivers a scare as I was painted up in my day of the dead costume.

My actual ride was a nervous virgin ride on the bike as I struggled to get used to a different animal to the Planet X which I've raced over the past 5 seasons or so. When I do get used to it I'm sure it will be fast, but this first outing showed nothing really as I had an uneventful 20.52 to show for my efforts and again a 1st place on scratch for my Boxing Day effort.

Nexy week will tell me more as I'm back on the same course for the first competitive ride of the year with a trophy up for grabs.

New Years Day - 18.04
1st place and first trophy of the season - over a minute quicker than last year and comfortably holding my 300W target. To say I'm buzzing is an understatement.  Started at no.12 and apart from a super power heavy first half mile I seemed to settle down well.  Couldn't see my HR data which is a shame, but most importantly the power did work and that was the biggest potential problem during the warm up. I had a decent minute man and reeled him in sooner than anticipated - both of us having good rides.

My season won't start in earnest until the last weekend in March, there's lots of work to be done between now and then, but result's like today's really give some comfort that my coach's way is the right way.

Rounding off the year

It's been a while sine I last checked in but seeing as though it's Xmas Day and strictly has invaded the telly, I'll take the opportunity to cover off the last couple of outings.

Winterton Cyclocross

First off was the Wheelers Cross Championships held at Winterton on the last weekend in November. It would be my third cross outing of the year and also my last. With cross races being on Sundays it has been a case of missing long ride training and trying to cram it in on a Saturday. This means that I'm not really fresh to race a proper cross (not that it makes much difference), and miss the winter base miles - so decision made to knuckle down early and start the base training like a good lad !

Back to the cross at Winterton and actually it was a really nice day. Unusual for Winterton which is either wet, blowy or both. The ground was reasonably dry and speaking to a rider beforehand he suggested more air in the tyres. I duly went overboard, and raced on hard inflated tyres.

Thing is, I didn't feel fast and although after my usual poor start I made up places, I got the feeling that I wasn't going as quickly as I would have done if I'd run my usual lower pressures. This showed through on the strava laps as I was at least three quarters of a minute a lap slower than last year. Cross bike back in car, not much cleaning needed before the bike was retired to the garage for the year.

Percy Pud 10km

A trip up to Sheffield and a stab at my 10km all time PB which I set at Lincoln in 2015. I had been running well this winter after last years 8 month hiatus but I wasn't sure what type of form I was in as I lined up on a cold but nice Yorkshire morning.

The Percy Pud is an annual race put on by the steel city striders and is a popular out and back 10km race where a Xmas pudding is given out to the finishers. I have a couple of finishes in previous years races, but had not raced the event since 2012.

The race itself, once the congestion had settled went extremely well. I couldn't see my pace until the miles flashed up and each one of them looked fast at 6 something. I has some good pacers to stick with and found myself chasing down a Xmas tree on the way back. The last few miles were quick, flashing up 6.37's, and my finish time was 42.04. I think I have a 41 in me somewhere and I'll have that next year I think somewhere down the line.

Great T shirt, time and of course Xmas pudding - a top day out!

Bardney Cyclocross

This was the second cyclocross race of the season and this would be a case of two down , two to go. In fairness, I'm not the greatest cyclocrosser of all time, preferring to pick and choose testers courses rather than technical ones. The first two have been technical, but the two coming up, lend themselves to the testers, so Bardney would just be a fun outing and further work towards being cross fit.

I knew the course, I rode it a couple of years ago or so - it's bleak, it's cold, it's exposed and windy, and it's lumpy - a traditional Lincolnshire Cyclocross course then.

I turned up early and got loads of practice in - there wasn't anything too ridiculous, you kust had to learn the line and know how hard to tackle each obstacle. I wrapped up warm for the warm up, only shedding a layer or two 10 minutes before the Vets race started.

Shivvering, I sat at the back ungridded, waiting for the off. Usual slow start, and hung around at the back for much of the first lap. Some guys got tangled and fell over and down a bank in front of me which moved me up a few places, but other than that, taking places was hard going with a lot of the course being single track. Once settled, I started to ride the more technical bits competently, and felt fast on the long stretches of Testers Country.

Did well Wheelers wise, not lapped for a change, and closer to some of the guys than I have been. Considering I could have quite easily gone home after the warm up, the result and performance today came as a pleasant surprise.