Well, hard to believe I have not posted for two months! It has been an interesting time, with plenty of ups, downs and in betweens. Since the last post, the strength training phase continued until the end of March, by which time I was a little sick of it. I was also absolutely flattened by the training; I raced poorly again late in March (with no vaccinations the day before to blame it on this time!) and I felt I was unable to bounce back from hard sessions after completing light ones to supposedly recover.
Speaking to the coach about this at the end of March, it became apparent that I was working too hard during the easy sessions, so not recovering as I ought to have been, and then not having the gas to work hard enough in the hard sessions - not enough amplitude between the highs and lows of the training load. In retrospect, I was also sleeping very poorly and for too short a time, so the conclusion is that I was probably over trained, or at least getting that way. Fortunately, the end of March coincided with a trip away for work to Africa for 9 days, so no riding at all for that period. I swam a couple of times but as we were at 6000 ft in Nairobi and surrounds, this was very difficult. Many rests and short sessions due to HR going through the roof (I am a terrible lap swimmer!).
Hearteningly, just before I left, my training bike was assembled and I returned the Trek to its owner with thanks, I am much more comfortable on this bike (an aluminium-framed Cinelli Experience) as it is the correct size. My race bike is still a week or two away (see picture at top of page) but promises to be really something! I was surprised how much this improved my state of mind, even though I was still physically flat.
So for the new training phase, which began on my return, we have made a number of changes to the program. No more gym, unless I can fit in some second sessions Mondays and Fridays. Instead, I ride around the lake on my fixie at 25 km/h for 20 km! This has had the effect of freshening me unbelievably twice each week - a great initiative, from my perspective! Also, the specific strength training has gone and in its place are MVO2 interval sessions (approx. 6 mins duration and one session per fortnight) and TT intervals (10 to 14 mins duration and 3 sessions per fortnight). Additionally, weekday kms have gone down but weekend kms and intensity have gone up. On race weeks (now fortnightly), ride to race, race and ride home then 120 km on Sunday, make for 200+ km over the weekend. On non race weeks, hard Saturday rides of 75 to 95 km then finishing with 8-12 km of climbing at race pace, then 120 km really hard on the Sunday. So far, I am tolerating this (2 weeks in) with much more resilience than before the break, even though it is much harder in some ways.
So, what is the effect on me? Well yesterday I raced after 9 days off and then 12 days of the new program. It was a flat course, a handicap event and the group (9 riders to start) standard was about the same as the previous two races this season. The difference in my riding was enormous! Riders who had dropped me with ease in my last two outings were dropped in the last third of the event, while I was concerned we weren't travelling quickly enough. I felt strong all day and although my group did not get to the limit group, I felt I was one of the two drivers of the group. Sadly, I flatted with 14 km to go but managed to get the tube changed and inflated in time to pick up the group behind. In the finish I felt good with this (stronger) group and finished third in the sprint, despite going to the line far too early. As I rode home, I mused on the last 8 weeks and certainly feel mentally stronger and more confident for having gone through a difficult patch. I doubt it will be the last!
So all up, some light at the end of the tunnel. There are some scary sessions on the way in the next few weeks but I am approaching everything with real confidence after the break and a good race.
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