After Sunday's effort I wasn't sure how I would hold up to the first week of Brad's new training program but I have managed to complete what has been asked for without collapsing in a heap on the side of the road somewhere. It has certainly hurt like hell with intense suffering but the feeling of achievement has made it all worth it.
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Monday provided the recovery I needed with a slower RE-E1 effort around the river between the City and Freo being very welcome.
I was keen not to overdo things as I had a feeling that the Tuesday morning torture session with Brad and the group up in Kings Park was going to require every bit of energy I could spare.
Thankfully Monday's ride was incident free and the wind did not trouble me too much allowing me to maintain a steady pace around the river and rid the legs of as much of Sunday's race efforts as possible.
Just the one achievement on Strava which was fine as PRs were not the aim for the morning's effort.
Late to arrive on Tuesday morning but managed get a Strava PR up Mount St before catching the group at the bottom of Lovekin Drive just as the first group of riders were heading back up the hill so I would be joining the faster/stronger riders for the first effort. Noted the presence of AP in the first group so figured his knee must be feeling better to front up to this type of training.
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The legs certainly felt the last of Sunday's effort while heading up Lovekin Drive at a pretty strong pace (for me at least) and I dropped off the back at the Forrest Drive T-junction leaving me to do a solo effort for the rest of the lap around May Drive and back up Lovekin again - kinda used to solo chasing by this time anyway. However I was at least rewarded with a Strava PR and 4th overall for the "Lovekin to Roundabout at the Top" segment. But I certainly had thoughts about whether or not I was going to be able to complete the whole training session.
Persistence is a wonderful thing when you manage to get through something you have doubts about and I completed a gruelling training session that included multiple hill sprints up Forrest Drive followed by repeats up Mount St. No more Strava achievements for the session, but certainly the feeling of satisfaction for completing a session like that is reward enough.
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So a solid E2 ride down to Shelley Bridge and back (via the Narrows) was to be a good effort along with a commute to and from work. I was very pleased with the outcome of this ride as I restricted my HR to 139 bpm average and still managed to complete the ride with 6 Strava achievements including 3 PRs. At 34.1 km/h average for the course it was close to my best time - if not my best.
I did manage to finish the day's efforts with a commute ride to and from work (morning and afternoon) with a reasonable average pace but probably more in the E1 zone - a more comfortable couple of rides. Which was probably just as well, because...
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I really felt the effort though and ensured that I used the full time needed to recover (per Brad's recommendation). I could tell the second attempt was not going to be as easy so my intention was to maintain a consistent HR and try to complete the second climb within 15 seconds of the first - almost (see split #5).
I still had two more repeats to go and after my second recovery, I felt reasonably comfortable and there was no noticeable fatique setting into the legs. I managed my third repeat in similar fashion to the first - beating it by 1 second (see split #7).
The final attempt presented itself after my 3rd recovery and just over half way up the legs were beginning to feel it and became a bit more of a struggle to complete the climb. But I got there and the usual sense of achievement was pumping through the viens as I slumped over the handlebars. The Garmin was dripping wet with sweat but it recorded a very satisfying and consistent set of HR averages for each climb indicating my aerobic fitness is still improving.
Not content to finish the morning after just 35km of riding up Crystal Brook Rd, I decided to head for home, change my saturated jersey and head across to the Narrows for the WCMCC training session at 8:10am. This would be a good test of how I would handle a reasonable pace after such a workout in the hills and put some extra kilometres into the legs.
After finding last Thursday's effort with the moderate pace group a little too easy, I decided I would go with the faster group and try rotating turns off the front a bit instead of pulling the group consistently as I had previously done.
With an overall average pace of 32.5 km/h and a split pace (actual training run) of 35.2 km/h and doing quite a bit of work at the front (wasn't I supposed to be avoiding that? Can't help myself), it was encouraging to know that I was in form enough to complete two training efforts back-to-back as comfortably as I did.
Four Strava PRs including a 5th overall on the Shelley Loop was a welcome reward for the morning's efforts.
Friday was supposed to be an easier ride down with the Rouleurs until we rode into the teeth of a monster. The forecast storms that BOM had been predicting since Wednesday culminated in big black clouds over the southern suburbs with a howling wind blowing them northward. It was with trepidation that the (not surprisingly small) group of riders ventured out toward the flashing lightning storm and was not long before the wind was showing its force.
As we crossed Canning Bridge, it was blowing hard across us and a few precarious moments were had as we were buffetted around all the way the foreshore to Shelley Bridge. The pace was only as good as one would expect in such windy conditions and we had to work hard to keep the echelon working. By the time we hit the final sprint at Shelley the group had completely fallen apart and it was every man or woman for themself. I later found out that Javan's rear dérailleur exploded under the load and ended his ride.
The storm was beginning to strengthen and there was concern for certain people riding lightning rods as it was abundantly evident that ground strikes were pretty consistent. By the time we reached Nicholson Rd, we were all pretty keen to find shelter so the pace picked up quickly with the wind to our back and we were in South Perth before we knew it.
The average pace for the ride was not great (just over 30 km/h) and at only 124 bpm average the HR didn't seem to reflect what felt like a reasonably hard ride in awful conditions (thankfully it wasn't raining). I guess it would be one of those rides where a power meter would have shown the true story of the efforts that were being put in.
I tough week of traing complete and I don't think I will feel guilty about not riding or racing this week end. I will probably try to see if I can get out for something short and hilly on Sunday morning just so the legs will feel like they have actually done something - perhaps a quick climb up Welshpool Rd and out to Pickering Brook and back might be the best option.
I still had two more repeats to go and after my second recovery, I felt reasonably comfortable and there was no noticeable fatique setting into the legs. I managed my third repeat in similar fashion to the first - beating it by 1 second (see split #7).
The final attempt presented itself after my 3rd recovery and just over half way up the legs were beginning to feel it and became a bit more of a struggle to complete the climb. But I got there and the usual sense of achievement was pumping through the viens as I slumped over the handlebars. The Garmin was dripping wet with sweat but it recorded a very satisfying and consistent set of HR averages for each climb indicating my aerobic fitness is still improving.
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| Click to view larger image. |
 |
| Click to view larger image. |
After finding last Thursday's effort with the moderate pace group a little too easy, I decided I would go with the faster group and try rotating turns off the front a bit instead of pulling the group consistently as I had previously done.
With an overall average pace of 32.5 km/h and a split pace (actual training run) of 35.2 km/h and doing quite a bit of work at the front (wasn't I supposed to be avoiding that? Can't help myself), it was encouraging to know that I was in form enough to complete two training efforts back-to-back as comfortably as I did.
Four Strava PRs including a 5th overall on the Shelley Loop was a welcome reward for the morning's efforts.
Friday was supposed to be an easier ride down with the Rouleurs until we rode into the teeth of a monster. The forecast storms that BOM had been predicting since Wednesday culminated in big black clouds over the southern suburbs with a howling wind blowing them northward. It was with trepidation that the (not surprisingly small) group of riders ventured out toward the flashing lightning storm and was not long before the wind was showing its force.
 |
| Click to view larger image. |
 |
| Click to view larger image. |
The storm was beginning to strengthen and there was concern for certain people riding lightning rods as it was abundantly evident that ground strikes were pretty consistent. By the time we reached Nicholson Rd, we were all pretty keen to find shelter so the pace picked up quickly with the wind to our back and we were in South Perth before we knew it.
The average pace for the ride was not great (just over 30 km/h) and at only 124 bpm average the HR didn't seem to reflect what felt like a reasonably hard ride in awful conditions (thankfully it wasn't raining). I guess it would be one of those rides where a power meter would have shown the true story of the efforts that were being put in.
I tough week of traing complete and I don't think I will feel guilty about not riding or racing this week end. I will probably try to see if I can get out for something short and hilly on Sunday morning just so the legs will feel like they have actually done something - perhaps a quick climb up Welshpool Rd and out to Pickering Brook and back might be the best option.
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