With the previous recovery week over it was time to get back into some harder training and this week certainly delivered some trying sessions. Kathy was in Bali between the 8th and 13th March so I started the week with some rides starting much later than usual. It was a little awkward tying in training with work and household duties but I managed to find time to squeeze everything in. It was not long before the form started to really return and I could feel I was getting back to where I was prior to over-reaching.
With the A grade dominated Age Division Championships Criterium still fresh in the memory, Monday was not scheduled to be a hard ride but I was wanting to try something other than the usual Shelley Bridge and return so while I started the same way riding out to Mt Henry Bridge, I opted to head down the Freeway PSP to the Roe Hwy interchange and head along the Roe Hwy PSP. It had been a while since riding this section of PSP and I was glad I did. It's a great path with some small, rolling hills. I managed to keep the HR to the top end of RE as required with a few spikes into E1.
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Tuesday was the first full, hard session since the beginning of the month and it was going to be a real test. An E1 ride out to Crystal Brook Rd as a warm up to 6 repeats of the hill pushing E3 all the way and into E4 at the top and finally another minimum 1hr E2 immediately following. I knew it was not going to be easy and would be a real test of the fitness but I also knew that if I could complete it strongly then it would certainly help to regain any that was yet to be recovered.
The elements were certainly combining to make this as hard a session as possible. A later start meant it was hotter than normal and it was also a bit humid. Additionally, the wind had well and truly picked up and of course it just happend to be a gusty easterly. As usual, the first effort is always the quickest as I rolled straight into the climb off the back of the ride out. I completed the climb in 4:17 which would have to be close to my best time into such a wind. Amazingly, I felt really good at the top and was able to turn without stopping and head back down the hill for a recovery at the base.
The second climb always seems to hurt more than the third and fourth. I still don't know why but it certainly managed to wipe of a good 15 seconds or so but my HR was perfectly consistent not only between the first two efforts but every one of the 6. The last one was a killer! The last part of the climb that kicks up for a steep finish really inflicts ample pain on the legs and respiratory system but I was happy that everything was working in unison again (legs, lungs, heart, etc).
I was also happy to begin applying some extra kick of my own as I neared the top of each climb. Previous efforts up Crystal Brook Rd would usually have me struggling on that last little kick but this time around, I was able to get out of the saddle and push some extra power out of the legs to complete the climbs a little stronger - not just once or twice but for each of the 6 climbs.
The additional 1 hour of E2 riding was a no-brainer! It was up Welshpool Rd from the CBR intersection for a loop around Pickering Brook, Patterson Rd, Aldersyde Rd and Mundaring Weir Rd into Kalamunda. This would be the easiest way to keep the HR into E2 with the occasional spike into E3. While there were no PRs on the climbs (these will come in good time), they were consistent with the times I am used to and the HR was well maintained throughout the remainder of the ride.
From Kalamunda I headed back down Canning Rd to Pomeroy Rd and back onto Welshpool Rd for the rapid descent back to Tokin Hwy. As I turned from Pomeroy onto Welshpool Rd, I bumped into Malcolm Miller (a WCMCC B grade compatriot) who I have never had the pleasure of joining for a training ride. We descended Welshpool Rd with a nice wind to the back which had the speed up to 84.9 km/h and we pressed on through to Kewdale Rd where Mal parted ways and continued his training around Shelley (113 kms in the end).
It was nice to hear from Brad (after I forwarded my data to him) that the ride he had assigned for the day was not something he gives to many of his athletes and he was very impressed that I had managed to complete it so strongly. I'm kind of glad he didn't tell me before I attempted the ride because it probably would have played in the back of my mind and made it harder to achieve.
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It turned out that I had mixed up Monday's training requirements with Wednesday's. That'll teach me for trying to commit the training program to memory and not referring back to it the night before the ride.
In the end it was probably not so much of a mix up as I headed out to Point Walter on Wednesday morning a completed a reasonably good session of E2 with some hills work. Emma joined me once again in an effort to put herself through her paces. As she put it, "my E1 would be her hard efforts" so it probably worked out well for her chasing me up Reserve St, Milne St, Stock Rd and Moering St. Turns out Emma not only completed the drills well but she nailed three Strava QOMs including Moering St (just 3 seconds behind my best time).
The ride didn't compare to Brad's moto-pacing sessions but that was not the purpose. After Tuesday's efforts, the last thing I needed was to punch into E3/E4 keeping up with that 2-stroke torture machine. However, it was an enjoyable session nonetheless and again I was happy with my restraint keeping my HR to E2.
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Brad suggests that 8x30 second hill sprints up Forrest Drive in Kings Park are "possibly the hardest interval known to man" and I cannot help but agree with him. I had never attempted to complete 8 of these gruelling sprints and again, it was one of those sessions that Brad had thrown at me this week to push my limits and get me totally prepared for the UWCT race. It was such a good feeling to be able to complete the drills that Brad had assigned me this week.
I tied the session in with a lap and a half of the UCWT course (with Dave Ellis and Emma) preceding the sprint session. It was a great warm and test run before the actual race. The climbs up Spring St and Malcolm St showed that I had certainly returned to my previous form and was beginning to improve further.
This was backed up with completing the 8x30 second hill sprints up Forrest Drive. I was surprised to find that I had finished them reasonably strongly and the HR did not seem to sky-rocket. I assume from this that this is a sign of returning form as prior to losing it my HR readings displayed the same outcomes and I struggled to raise it into E4.
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A nice finish to the week with an RE ride out to Shelley Bridge and back via the Narrows. The easterly wind was certainly up wich made it a bit more difficult to keep the HR in RE but the average was fine and the ride was certainly nowhere near as intense as others I completed during the week.
A great week of training and the form is certainly back and I'm now ready to build on this with one or two final sessions before the UWCT event on Sunday week. Perhaps a WCMCC Crit at Kewdale will also be some good conditioning.
In the end it was probably not so much of a mix up as I headed out to Point Walter on Wednesday morning a completed a reasonably good session of E2 with some hills work. Emma joined me once again in an effort to put herself through her paces. As she put it, "my E1 would be her hard efforts" so it probably worked out well for her chasing me up Reserve St, Milne St, Stock Rd and Moering St. Turns out Emma not only completed the drills well but she nailed three Strava QOMs including Moering St (just 3 seconds behind my best time).
The ride didn't compare to Brad's moto-pacing sessions but that was not the purpose. After Tuesday's efforts, the last thing I needed was to punch into E3/E4 keeping up with that 2-stroke torture machine. However, it was an enjoyable session nonetheless and again I was happy with my restraint keeping my HR to E2.
--
Brad suggests that 8x30 second hill sprints up Forrest Drive in Kings Park are "possibly the hardest interval known to man" and I cannot help but agree with him. I had never attempted to complete 8 of these gruelling sprints and again, it was one of those sessions that Brad had thrown at me this week to push my limits and get me totally prepared for the UWCT race. It was such a good feeling to be able to complete the drills that Brad had assigned me this week.
I tied the session in with a lap and a half of the UCWT course (with Dave Ellis and Emma) preceding the sprint session. It was a great warm and test run before the actual race. The climbs up Spring St and Malcolm St showed that I had certainly returned to my previous form and was beginning to improve further.
This was backed up with completing the 8x30 second hill sprints up Forrest Drive. I was surprised to find that I had finished them reasonably strongly and the HR did not seem to sky-rocket. I assume from this that this is a sign of returning form as prior to losing it my HR readings displayed the same outcomes and I struggled to raise it into E4.
--
A nice finish to the week with an RE ride out to Shelley Bridge and back via the Narrows. The easterly wind was certainly up wich made it a bit more difficult to keep the HR in RE but the average was fine and the ride was certainly nowhere near as intense as others I completed during the week.
A great week of training and the form is certainly back and I'm now ready to build on this with one or two final sessions before the UWCT event on Sunday week. Perhaps a WCMCC Crit at Kewdale will also be some good conditioning.
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