Southern XC MTB Series Final - Chawton Park, Alton

I mapped the course on my Garmin at last week's final round. Click From the map below and you can activate a fly-by video on the MapMyRide website. Very cool.

Energy Gel Test and Hilly ride out to the Military Road

With a mind to starting some proper training tomorrow I used today as a tester endurance session at Level 1 (25bpm below threshold) and planned on 2 hours through Cowes, out to Freshwater, down the Military Road then back through to Newport via Chale Green, Bleak Down and Rookley, a total of just under 41miles.

Yesterday I rode for 90 minutes at Lvl1 and noticed it was getting quite hard to maintain the heart rate after about an hour, and I was only riding on one bottle of water, that I didn't even finish. Today I thought I'd take one sachet of High 5energy Gel and a bottle of Orange Lucozade sport in my bidon. I can do 2 hours on just water, this isn't that long a ride in my mind, but this ride would be a bit quicker than I normally do.

After an hour I swallowed the gel throughout the ride I drank the Lucozade and it definitely made a difference to holding the level quite comfortably right until the end. I'd used them while riding in the Alps and knew the gels worked anyway but they were long slow endurance rides of around 4-5hours where today was a quick middle distance ride.

My right knee started to hurt again too which is a bit worrying, so I'm hoping the running (as long as I go easy to start with) will strengthen it up, either that or it will make it worse, but I'm concerned the short sharp running sections in cyclo-cross might do it in completely! so best not ignore it.

Todays session stats:
Duration: 2h08m33secs
Ave Speed: 19mph
Distance: 40.77miles
Total Climbing: 2684ft

Click for large map

The Cyclo Cross season is close - Wessex Cyclo Cross League and National Trophy just round the corner.

It occured to me today that I really only have a few weekends left to get myself sorted for the 2010/11 Cyclo Cross season. I'm not unfit, far from it, but I haven't raced since May, at all, and my cross bikes are still largely un-assembled collecting dust in the loft. It was only the arrival of a new pair of wheels in the week that prompted me to dig the frames out from under the pile of junk building up on top of them since the end of last season in January. So that's as much as I've done, put the wheels on the frames and a pair of tyres with no inner tubes fitted just to get an eyeful and a reminder of what a cross bike looks like; and let me tell you, even in that state, it made me grin at the thought of what I am in for this winter and I actually found myself wishing, for a very brief moment, that it was in fact winter and the mud was awaiting my arrival.

It's four weeks until the first round of the Wessex League and the first event of the season down this end of the country, but will be five for me as I will be at the Bestival that weekend getting pissed up, a final blowout before the fun begins. That means I only have three weekends to sort the bikes, as next week will be taken up sorting and racing the MTB for a race in the Southern XC in Alton, Hampshire to see how my condition is. I'm 40 now, so will have to loosen up some of the joints and blow a few dusty cobwebs out of my wrinkles :0) which means I will be racing Veteran in MTB as well as Cyclo Cross so it should be a bit of an eye opener. To those who know me well, have I ever mentioned I will be a veteran?!!!!

Applied for my BC membership and Licence today, put a few bits and bobs on eBay so I can get a few other bits and bobs for the cross bikes, and for the first time in months, wondered, not for the first time in 18 years of racing, just what the hell I am going to do training wise.

The last three months have been made up of just general riding, around 9-12 hours a week and apart from my week in the Alps, that is about it, no intervals and nothing near race effort really. So, I should be pretty well rested mentally as well as physically, if not a bit slow.

I need some kind of focus so I dug the Bible out today . . .

No not the Jesus version, the Simon Burney version "Cyclo Cross - Training and Technique".

I've never been too sure how well received this book has been over the years, but it really is the only book on the subject out there and now quite out of date (my version is the 2nd edition) but Burney is a bit of an icon in the eyes of most modern day cyclo-crossers and amongst all the stuff I can't be arsed to read, there is quite a good section on training. The plan he suggests is very generic, but it does kind of mirror my usual weeks training hours, so apart from the fact that I need to do some running as well, I thought I'd use it as a guide and follow it the best I can using my weekly routine of sessions.

Normally, I start with good intentions then give up after a few weeks and just hammer out the intervals, mostly resulting in a total blow out a couple of months later. I want to resist the temptation to go all out from September and being blown to bits by December, when all the important races commence. So, Bestival being the first reason to start slowly and the second "hold-back" being the Burney programme, it looks like September is three weeks of 'doable' training. This is good, but it includes running so I have resolved to start running this week and getting the rest of August out the way to ready the legs for training proper.

So rather than the three week hard, one week easy that Burney suggests from Sept onwards I will start now. The first phase will be 5-6 weeks hard (well hardish') then an easy week at the end of September.

The Burney Plan:

September (in basic terms)


Mon - Thu (daily)
20min run and 1 hour (level2) on the bike
Friday
Rest or recovery ride (I do this anyway)
Sat
90 mins upper level 2
Sun
2-3 hours level 1

I reckon that's 9-10 hours, sounds good to me and yeah, pretty much what I've been doing albeit at totally random intensities and no running.

I got some running gear for my birthday and I know I can do 20mins fairly easily so will try and do those when I get home from work. I've been training at lunchtime for nearly a year now and it is so much easier to get an hour in than after work, and I'm fresher, so an hour at level 2 should be ok, in fact I have been doing that for a few weeks anyway. Level 2 in Burney's terms is 15 beats below threshold heart rate, so that is fairly intense. I did one of his level 1 sessions today (approx 25 beats below) and averaged 20mph for 90mins, so I think a level 2 session is going to be around 21.5mph on the road bike (which will be stripped down soon for parts on the cross bikes - will be back on the single speed to work on leg speed :0~). Perfect, I've been doing between 21.5 and 22mph anyway!!! So that's Mon-Thu sorted. Saturday's can be just what I did today but brisker and 2-3 hours on a Sunday will be easy.

That should ease me in. I intend to do short daily blogs and tweets on progress so please check back here or on Twitter.

Just to set the record straight, and for proof  later in the season that I reached my goals (hopefully), these are my aims for the season:

First three Cyclo Cross National Trophy rounds (Veteran Category)
To be in the top 5-7 overall after round three, otherwise I will ditch it and concentrate on the Wessex league for the rest of the season.

National Trophy Series (Veteran cat)
If I get to the end of all the rounds in January a top five overall will be my aim and hopefully higher.

Wessex Cyclo-Cross League (Veteran Category)
Going for individual race podiums, top three but with a mind to winning as many as possible.
If I quit the Trophy after third round then I will go for overall Veteran winner but top three overall will be pleasing.

South of England Championships - December (Veteran category)
I'd be lying if I didn't admit that winning this is my only interest, but if not I will be happy to medal.

National Championships - January (Veteran cat)
Not sure what to expect but a medal would be very . . . very pleasing.

TTFN