11 training weeks until the Etape

A quiet week, no dramas.

• Road time: 8 hours, mainly commuting, trying to up the pace when safe to do so. One 90 minute 'crystal cranks' recovery ride
• Gym - bike intervals: Monday and today.
• Gym - core work: 30 mins today. I feel I should fit in more of this.

No idea how much training I will do before the FW. 'Tapering' doesn't make much sense so will just see what time I have over the next week and go with the flow.

Fred Whitton Challenge

The rider pack arrived today so not long to go now until my first sportive and I feel excited and very lucky to have got a place. In at the deep end or what though! You'll have to excuse the paucity of my ambition but uppermost in my mind is to finish [injury free] and enjoy it. It's too early in my cycling career to think about setting a target finishing time but somewhere between last years astonishingly quick 5:46 and the tail end at 12:58 will do. So that's a 12:57 target then.

I haven't got a clue if I can ride all the way up Hardknott. As this film shows, it deserves its legendary status and apart from the gradient I can see 3 barriers to staying on the pedals all the way up: 1. me 2. other riders 3. cars.

The Freddy Files (Part3) from cyclosport.org on Vimeo.

What not to wear?

The internet was invented for me. More specifically internet shopping was invented for me. I loathe going to shops in fact I'm getting a panic attack just thinking about it right now. The problem with internet shopping is that it is so easy to part with your cash. Just a couple of clicks and there's another few hundred quid gone and to make it more special someone brings it to your front door without you having to mix with the general public.

Cycling gear is just an Aladdin's cave for me. So alluring that I just want to click, click, click, spend spend, spend. I do think (errr I've been told) that I've got all I need now. The one area though that I've skimped on is clothing as I've just bought some cheapies from eBay. So I thought for the Etape I would buy something top-notch. Comfortable, light, lots of storage but something of the quality of a Rapha. You know, a Sunday best.

I saw this post on another blog that seems to have dried up which is a shame because there was some good stuff on there:

"Do NOT under any circumstances wear any of the following: Maillot Jaune, Maillot a Pois, Maillot Blanc, World Champion, National Champion. I'll allow current pro team replica kits because I'm feeling generous and they're quite reasonably priced in general. If you ride for a club, you should wear your club kit."

Minefield. The sartorial faux-pas equivalent of using an iPod? So what to go for? I'm not riding in the club kit because I don't have it, haven't been with them long enough, don't ride 'for' the club just 'with' it and what would it do for their reputation anyway when there are photos of a tubby rider slumped at the roadside being given oxygen wearing their kit? I'm tempted by something so ghastly it's quite brilliant (see pic and please don't comment saying "Oi, that's me and my Mrs."). I'm also thinking of wearing Spanish colours. It would be quite distinctive and as an hispanophile I'd like to be able to say a few holas to any Spaniards on the ride and you never know it might help (depending on the nationality of whoever is riding by!) should I need assistance at some point with a mechanical.

Knowing me I'll probably end up going for safe ground with something comfy but bland but if you see a bloke on a Focus and with a LiveStrong helmet wearing fuschia pink then that might just be me.

New toy

Must stop spending money on bike stuff but sometimes I just can't resist. Just can't wait to get out on the road now and put it to the test.

Dirty boy!

You know I've conjured up all sorts of excuses for myself over the last few weeks. Insert any of the following into the phrase - I'm rubbish at climbing hills because... and you'll get my recent state of mind.

• ...I'm too old.
• ...I haven't trained right.
• ...I've got the wrong gears.
• ...I just don't have what it takes.
• ...I'm ill.
• ...I'm overweight.
• ...I'm a weakling.
• ...

Today though I found out why everyone else is quicker than me uphill. I had some spare time so I really gave the Trek a good clean. I thought I had kept it clean through the winter but the state of it once I'd got a few parts off was pitiful.

And then it dawned on me. Bike + Me + Crud ≈ 100Kg

No wonder I was struggling ;-)

My humps

Bodies and minds: weird aren't they? Well mine is anyway. I didn't train at all at the weekend. You know how it pains me to admit that? I'd find it easier to confess that at weekends I like to don a pair of stilettos and a cheeky little off the shoulder number and have people call me Andrea. Suffice to say that I always do some kind of training; maybe 1 rest day now and again but never 2 in a row, even on holiday...

So last night I thought, with the Fred Whitton a couple of weeks away, I would complete the final week of my 4 week climbing training block and make it a big one - try to compensate for my shabby performance over the last 2 weeks. I planned today for example to get up early, go out and do some hill repeats before work and then loop round and cycle my usual commute. However I woke up before 6 feeling totally energyless, put the radio on and just lay there for over an hour thinking, "Oh feck, not another week of no progress. What is wrong with me?". Eventually I did raise myself and forced myself to get on the bike and slowly pedal into work. On the way I got into a bit of a race with another cyclist which gave me a bit of a buzz. Lunchtime came and again I gave myself a good talking to and sauntered down to the gym. iPod on, HR monitor on, and I set off on the gym bike to do some intervals. In the end I did 5x6 which was tough but I got a real high out of it. Came home from work riding quite strongly and tonight all's right with the world once again. I can't wait to train again tomorrow. Weird innit?

PS - I don't know why my HR chart only has 4 humps but I am sure I did 5x6 not 4x6. MAX HR = 182bpm, AVG HR = 148bpm

Now that's what you call a goodie bag

I've done a few little running events, usually 5k and 10k and I quite like the excitement of seeing what's in the goodie bag. It did annoy me a little bit when I did the Sport Relief run recently that even that warranted a carrier bag filled with the usual give aways like cereal bars and tea bags. Instead of taking the chance to promote their goods why didn't those companies forego that opportunity and donate the costs incurred instead?

Anyway, I've just found the best goodie bag in the world. Run the La Rioja half-marathon in Northern Spain, and for 12 euros you'll receive: a commemorative t-shirt from the race and...wait for it...2 bottles of red wine (and Crianza at that)!

12 training weeks until the Etape

Gosh these weeks pass quickly - only 3 months to go now. In some ways I want it to come quickly as I am excited about the event, in other ways I wish it was further away so I could be better prepared.

Definitely more effort in the training this week. Can't say I feel 100% satisfied but I have felt more focused this week which is part of the battle.

I've just weighed in at 86.2kg which is a kilo heavier than the last time I weighed in on a Friday evening. I did think I wouldn't worry about my weight but I've changed my mind and I will target 82kg again.

• Road cycling: 10.5 hours. Really tried this week to turn my commute into a decent workout. Put in some intervals where I could and on a couple of days I wore my HR monitor to check I was working hard enough.
• Gym weight training: 1 hour. A good full body workout on Monday but that signals the end of all upper body weight training now to help me lose those Kgs.
• Gym intervals: Bike (1x20, 1x10, 1x5). Rowing (3000m with pace increase at every 500m until failure)
• Gym bodyweight exercises: 30 mins. Pull-ups, push-ups, hanging leg raises.

Training woes

Like most of this blog, this [rambling] diary entry is written so I can look back post Etape and hopefully see my progress over time. Of course I could end up looking back to see where it all went wrong!

Last week was a pretty poor effort training wise. I just didn't feel right and mentally work took me to another place where there was no room for decent training intensity. This gets me down a bit but I'll have to accept that not every week is going to be perfect.

I didn't really fancy it but yesterday I went out on the Saturday club ride. It's a fixed route of around 30 miles and if I add in my effort to get to and from the start it totals around 45. I guess there are 3 climbs worthy of any note: not Pyreneen, not Mallorcan, not much at all really, but enough to get the heart pumping. I mention this because I am supposed to be into my 3rd week of a 4 week climbing training block.

So I pick the 2nd group of 4 on the ride not knowing what speed it would be at but figuring there would be some kind of descending order of speed from group 1 to 4. I ride strongly for the first 30 mins and feel quite pleased with myself.

Climb 1

Hit the climb riding near the front of the group of 12. On the climb (2-3 miles) the group splits into 3 parts: 4-5 riders - 50m - then me solo - 50m - then the rest of the group. I'm not the slowest for once but then there were some newbies who might have just held back while they cut their teeth on their first climb. My perceived effort? Hardish, breathing heavily but feeling fairly well in control.

Climb 2

Hit the foot of the climb near the front of the group again but one by one I am soon passed by all the group. I am breathing heavily, actually gasping for breath, not wearing my HR monitor but I know I am at my max or even beyond. I'm suffering like a dog. I tell my legs to shut up but it's not really my legs that are the problem it is that I just can't get enough oxygen. I lose about 75-100m on the group but it doesn't get any worse despite my state. I'm worried.

Climb 3

This is a short, sharp, steep one, near 20%. As in #2, I'm rounded by all within 50m. Panic sets in and I grimace as each rider goes by. I just about manage to stay within 10m or so of the last man although I later realise that there is one rider a way behind me. He's new and if his cough was anything to go by he's not well, so no compensation for me there.

Today was a beautiful day but I felt really tired so I didn't train. What the next week will bring I don't know but I am hoping for something to give me back a bit of confidence. I am in no way over-training and can't say I feel ill, so rest isn't the answer. Ho-hum.

13 training weeks until the Etape

A bit out of sorts this week coming down off the Mallorca trip. Busy at work blah blah blah...

• 6.5 hours on the road (not sure if there were any quality miles in there)
• 5km run (cheeky recording this plod really)
• 1 hour weight training/core work
• 1 hour interval training on gym bike (probably the only beneficial workout of the week)

Lucky that my breasts are small and humble so you don't confuse them with mountains

Shakira, I always thought those lyrics rightly deserved their place in the worst song lyrics of all time but thinking about it you might have a point. If you did have bigger breasts and was hanging around the Pyrenees on July 18th there is a chance in my exhausted state that I might mistake your boobs for the Tourmalet and try to cycle up them.

Now then, where was I? Ah yes, music. There is something I was never going to mention here lest any last remnants of credibility I had might be squandered: I had flirted with the idea of taking an iPod with me on the Etape. There you go I've said it now. Now I would never normally listen to music while cycling on the road but I thought with the closed road conditions of the Etape and just for the 2 hours of the Tourmalet that I might pop the earphones in and use music to motivate me. You know something with a good beat and inspirational lyrics like Steps or The Backstreet Boys.

Revealing this now was prompted by a very interesting post on Simon Lewis's blog about listening to an iPod while running the Brighton marathon. The race organisers have banned this for reasons of safety which I find quite difficult to understand. What is even more incredible is the apparent militancy of anti-iPod (or any music player) runners. The full story is on Simon's blog.

So just in case this applies to sportives (where it might make more sense than a marathon?) I think I best abandon this plan. I haven't see anything in the Etape rules about it but because Cyclomundo are following my blog and might think that I'm a complete and utter fool and persuade the Etape organisers to give me bib number 9000 I've changed my mind OK.

14 training weeks until the Etape

The Mallorca trip was a great start to my 4 week climbing training block. Before we left I did get out to do some hill repeats and I've included those in my weekly totals, HR hitting my max around 178bpm quite nicely. Time/distance is less important at the moment but I've included it all in for reference.

• Riding distance: 302km
• Riding time: 13 hours 28 mins
• Total climbing: 4626m
• No gym but I did do 1 hour of bodyweight exercises

I hope everyone's training is going well. I have been catching up on the blogs and it seems everyone is putting in the miles which is fantastic to see.

Here's a short clip of me on my first col in Mallorca on day 1. Thanks Marco for the backing track!

Mallorca training 5

Weather still cold and grey. Not what I had expected and today there was an energy sapping strong wind. I went to do one last climb of my Coll de Femenia which is just a beauty. Lance has Madone I have Femenia. I then made my way into Puerto Pollenca thinking I would head out to another well known climb, Formentor, but I didn't want to be out too long abandoning the family yet again so I changed my mind and rode out to Cala San Vicent instead. The last time I had ridden a bike on Mallorca was just over 30 years ago with my father. Then we had cycled along the coast from Alcudia to an unspoilt Cala San Vicent with a beach the likes of which I had never seen in my life. I didn't recognise it at all on this trip and it looked a bit sorry for itself. That's progress? A quick photo opportunity and then I rode back to Puerto Pollensa to return the bike.

On the way back there was a lot of police around and they had stopped the traffic although I weaved my way through. A police motorcyclist came towards me and told me to stop and then I realised why. There was a huge peloton heading my way with all the team cars bombing ahead loaded with bikes and wheels on the roof. I had bumped into the Vuelta Mallorca race. They were heading out to do a stage including my route up Femenia and on to Puig Major. I took the bike back to the shop and we went for a drive round before returning to Puerto Pollensa to see the stage finish.

All in all it's been a great trip. The weather could have been better but I got out of the training what I needed. Some of the views were truly stunning and as the guy said in the shop when I took my bike back, "it's a special place to ride".

Mallorca training 4

Woke up to the rain that had been pouring all night. I had no wet weather gear with me because the forecast had been for good weather so I decided to take a rest day.

I did drive out to try to take some photos because I didn't like stopping when on the bike but the weather didn't help. Look at these brave souls just starting their descent of Sa Colobra which I had tackled yesterday. Rather them than me in this weather.

Mallorca training 3

Bad weather again today. A heavy grey sky and the mountain tops covered in cloud. I didn't bring enough warm clothing and my 2 layers just were not enough as I went up 'my' climb, the Coll de Femenia. I should have brought overshoes because my toes have already gone a bit numb.

The climb felt a little tougher than on my first day and maybe that was showing in my face: a car overtook me slowly and then when I rounded a bend it was parked on the side. As I passed it I heard it pull out behind me and then again come alongside. As the window wound down I thought, "I know what's going to happen here. It's a drink thrown over me (I had this in Deptford in London) or a foot is going to come out and kick me over the side of the mountain". Instead a female face appeared and said in a thick Scouse accent, "Get a gel down yer lad". So that's what I did.

I made my way to Sa Colobra which from the photos I'd seen looks like Alpe d'Huez. It didn't disappoint. Martin Amis would swing for me for this one but it really was breathtakingly beautiful. There is a shortish climb and then a descent which must be one of the world's finest. It is very technical with switchback after switchback and I'm glad I had got out early so there were few cars and coaches headed up towards me as I tried to master the cornering.

I didn't stop to take photos (couldn't!) so I've pinched this one from the web (apologies to whoever owns it for the copy breach and although it is a great photo nothing could show the scale and beauty of this place). Do click on it to get the full picture.

When I reached the sea it was a bit of an anti-climax because although it's a pretty cove there was some building work going on which kind of ruined things.

The one thing I did realise coming down was that there was no option but to come back up again. This pretty much took me to the limit and I would have liked a couple of extra gears to fall back on. It's about a 10km climb and about 700m elevation and it just seemed to go on and on. It was pretty incredible to be climbing so long and then look up and see a coach two to three hundred meters above snaking it's way down the hairpins. The sense of achievement getting to the top wasn't that great; to be honest, I was just glad it was over (looking back I'm chuffed to bits but at the time I was knackered!).

The descent down into Pollenca is phenomenal and I got a bit carried away because I veered out too wide on a bend nearly into the path of a car coming up. I braked and the back wheel skidded out but luckily I managed to control it. It must have looked quite impressive to anyone behind me but I knew I'd been a bit of an idiot.

Looking back at the day's stats: just under 4.5 hours of riding, 88km distance with 2100m climbing. HR sitting above 160 coming up Sa Colobra which is pretty cool for my training. Check it out:

Mallorca training 2

The weather's not so nice today. The sky is dark and it's quite chilly. I did plan to go out with a group today but there are hundreds of cyclists around and I just fancy doing my own thing. Over a bowl of cereal I've picked out a flattish route that will take in some coastline.

I can't believe how many cyclists were out today. I saw group after group and the bike candy is awesome. I headed out to take in a coastal route but I never really got that close to the sea. It was quite ugly really but I enjoyed the challenge of trying to reel-in the countless groups I saw out on the road. I got bored of the long roads and headed inland which was stunning. Quiet roads, perfectly surfaced - cycling perfection. I found my way to a place called Inca which I had read about but when I got there it was choked with traffic so I didn't stop. I should really have grabbed a snack because I had already eaten the one gel I had with me. The route back to the villa was pretty grim as it ran alongside the island's central motorway. I didn't like this bit and I felt quite tired and under-fuelled.

The one lesson learned was - don't cycle with your mouth open. I saw a fly coming towards me and the next second it hit the back of my throat and despite all my efforts to cough it out I just ended up burping uncontrollably for 5 minutes. When I got back to the villa I made sure the little bugger was dead by drowning it in a few glasses of Rioja.

So 3 hours 22 mins of riding today on a flattish 86km. I see my avg speed was just over 25km/h and with better fuelling I should have been over that given the route. Check it out:

Mallorca training 1

All the notes that make up this little 5 day diary were scribbled down after each day so as to capture how I was feeling at the time. Apologies for the tense switching.

Yesterday we arrived in torrential rain but this morning when we woke up the weather was beautiful and sunny. Had a terrible night's sleep though as the villa, although a lovely place, was absolutely bloody freezing. Drove down to Pro Cycle Hire in Puerto Pollenca to pick up my bike. They were rushed off their feet so there was little time to chat but they put my pedals on for me and I got my saddle height set and I was away. At first I was kicking myself because they had a wide choice of bikes but I didn't look hard enough at the options. I ended up with a Giant TCR which despite being a carbon frame was no lightweight and it was a double so I'd be running a 53x39 around the mountains. I thought I'd stick with it anyway - all part of the challenge.

I knew I wanted to stick to my training plan for the day (2x20) but apart from that I didn't really set out on any kind of route. The Tramuntana mountains was what I had come for and I knew that the big climb was around Soller somewhere so I just followed the signs for Soller. It wasn't long before I saw the sign for my first ever col, the Coll de Femenia. Almost immediately I was down on the small chainring and then the lowest gear and I could see myself back at the shop asking to swap the bike over for a compact. However, I persevered and with Rich's words in my ears ("..enjoy climbing hills") I got into a nice rhythm and that's exactly what I did - I really started to enjoy it. The higher I got the more beautiful the views were and my family were waiting at the top anyway so I wasn't going to flop in front of them!

Going over the top was a great feeling and there was a short descent before some more climbing. In fact I kept climbing, just following the signs for Soller and then took a short break to eat an energy bar at a junction where there was a big crowd of cyclists gathered at a cafe.

The worst part of the route was having to cycle through 2 unlit tunnels I guess a couple of hundred meters long. No high-viz, no lights, just praying that cars would see me.

Not long after the second tunnel I hit a long descent. Looking back at the Garmin, this went on for 14km. It's an amazing feeling overtaking cars as you zip down touching 60km/h. I met up with my family at the bottom and although I felt really good and wanted to ride some more I came under domestic pressure to call it a day so I put the bike in the back of the hire car and my first ride on Mallorca was over.

It wasn't until we looked at the map to see where we were that I realised I had been over the island's biggest climb, Puig Major. There is a closed military road up to the summit so it's not possible to get too close to the top but it's a stunning climb. I was going to save that for another day but banked it gratefully anyway.

A Whole New World

Right, this is a fresh start - the beginning of a new training period. Since my post about my poor climbing ability I've listened intently to what you've told me and I know what I have to do. Periodization: A 4 week training block focused on climbing. After reading all the books and magazine articles I'm back with the first book I ever bought on cycling, The Lance Armstrong Performance Program.

Just to break it down I need to work on:

• Increasing my aerobic capacity
• Increasing my power
• Improving my technique

With perfect timing, the long planned Easter training holiday is finally here. The destination, Mallorca, was only chosen this week and it seems to fit the bill perfectly. The weather forecast looks pretty good and there is some good climbing to be had in the mountains. I (we) booked a property right at the gateway to all this and I'm really looking forward to it. I wanted to tackle some hills that would compare well with what I will face in the Etape, Puig Major being the biggest. Looking at the slope of these lines then I think it will be something between the first 14km of the Tourmalet and the last two-thirds of Soulor:

Training will be in the mornings and I intend to the follow this plan for the 5 days:

I leave you with the truly repulsive Peter Andre and Jordan to 'sing' us out...don't get too emotional now ;-)

15 training weeks until the Etape

This week's totals:

• Road cycling: 7 hours
• Gym - weight training/core: 3 hours
• Gym - intervals (spin bike 2x20): 1 hour

Not a great week but logically it signals the end of the winter training period for me.

Don't try this at home

Coolio but he'll wear out his Vans doing that!

Massan for Leader Bike from Dan Arel on Vimeo.