Tortured Cyclist

I'm feeling pretty tired right now as I've just finished three days of tests for Christa at Stellenbosch Uni's Sport Performance Institute.

The first day involved the VO2max test and a Wingate Test (very unpleasant!) to test anaerobic capacity, followed by a 40k time trial. On Tue & Wed I again did the Wingate test (they don't get easier) and after a rest, completed 100k time trials. During each of these time trials I had to sprint 8 times at set markers. Four sprints were for 1km and the other four were for 4km's each and they were alternated. Preceding all of this was a trip each morning to the pathology lab' at Stellenbosch Medi-Clinic to have blood samples taken. Never a nice experience but at 4am even less enjoyable than normal!!

After all the exertion on Monday & Tuesday I then got to sit in a warm swimming pool for 20 minutes which was great. There were three recovery options and I think I was lucky and picked the best. The other options were ice bath for 20 mins or active recovery on the bike for 20 mins. I would have loved to go in the pool again this morning but Christa didn't need me to as she won't be testing me tomorrow. Instead she talked me through my results and what they mean for my Cape Epic training.

Generally the picture is looking quite good, but I now need to concentrate on power training to increase my lactate threshold. To this end I received a revised heart rate schedule which gives me my optimum target zones to achieve my goals.

I still need to do at least one long slow MTB ride a week to maintain the base fitness but I really need to start upping my intensity work, so I'll start with some interval training on Thursdays as well as starting to push a bit harder on the climbs with a view to sprinting (or as near as) up the last third of each hill. A little closer to the Epic Christa will redo my VO2max test so hopefully I'll see some big changes in the values.

It has actually been a lot of fun (but I refuse to get up at 3am again for a long long time!) and I've learnt quite a lot. I now know I am not a sprinter by any stretch of the imagination! Christa was always very encouraging and sprinting to Led Zeppelin & Pink Floyd was always going to be a pleasure!

Optimal Recovery = Optimal Performance

This coming week I'll be atStellenbosch University again helping Christa with her study on: "The effects of cold and neutral water immersion on the recovery of competitive cyclists after high intensity training."

The image shows what is involved as well as giving an indication of the time commitment. I did the preliminary stuff on Tuesday morning between 4 and 7.30am and will be there again for Mon', Tue' & Wed' at the same times (I think Paula will make me sleep downstairs for those three days). The 100k time trial is incredibly boring and now I have to do two more maintaining a minimum heart rate and power output. I think it's going to hurt. I know the VO2max test will as you have to pedal yourself to the point of exhaustion. Utter madness!

The real benefit to myself and other cyclists is the VO2max test results as these can really help with planning your training programme to ensure you're working smarter not harder.

Hopefully the final analysis of the study will also be of benefit for those training for the likes of the Cape Epic, as we know it's not really about how well you train but how well you recover between training episodes.

See here for previous posts on this.

Weekly Summary

This week is my biggest week of training with 21hours being the goal. Suffice to say I rode the hours and am just a bit tired now! This week was a bit unusual in that I was at Stellenbosch Uni' again on Tuesday morning and did the 100k time trial for Christa. This involved strapping my road bike onto the spinner which is hooked up to a computer which measures power output etc. Having done 7 hours on Monday morning and then 3 hours on Tuesday's night ride I was fairly exhausted by Wednesday morning. However, I managed to drag myself out of bed and joined Petie (owner of Helderberg Cycle World) for the usual Wed' morning ride, but I bailed out after 3 hours. At the time it felt like the right/easy thing to do but I do regret it now.

This week has involved one 3:30am start, two 4:30am starts, one 5:30am start and a night ride which finished at 10pm. I'm beginning to realise that the really epic thing about the Cape Epic is the commitment and dedication required to train for it.

My last ride of the week was this morning, yet another 4:30am start! Once again I rode over to Jonkershoek, but my route was severely disrupted by the numerous fires in the Jonkers' mountains, but it made for a nice bit of variety. Sadly, two young lads were apparently trying to get a braai (BBQ) started and somehow managed to burn down a HUGE chunk of Stellenbosch's glorious mountains. Despite the behaviour of two prats, I and many others were still able to ride in Jonkers' where the fire crews are doing an incredible job of containing the fires. After feeling exhausted on Wed' I felt really strong today which goes to show how important it is to recover well. Next week is a recovery week and I will be taking it very seriously, making sure that I'm well rested for the following week.

Stats for (overload) week:
Ride time: 21:59 (target: 21:00)
Distance: 369km
Kcal's burnt: 14423
Total ascent: 4460m

Weekly Summary

There didn't seem to be much point in posting a weekly summary last week as I was participating in the research study at Stellenbosch Uni' (see here). I was supposed to have done the 100k time trial but unfortunately the computer crashed so it didn't happen. Besides that I only managed two rides totaling just over 6 hours. Had I done the time trial I would have been slightly over my hours required but never mind.

This week has been back to normal, ie; following the training plan properly which is a first since the Double Century over three weeks ago! I'm not far from peaking (hours wise) on the training program and I must admit that it's quite tough fitting all the required hours in. This week has consisted of four early mornings starting riding just before 5am. I'm also doing more back to back rides which should help with the actual event. I've also managed three rides with my Epic partner which is great. So here's how my week panned out:

Stats for the week:
Ride time: 15:35
Distance: 377km
Kcal's burnt: 10114

Tests

This week I've been a guinea pig for a researcher at Stellenbosch University's Sport Performance Institute (SUSPI). The researcher is studying the optimal way to recover after high intensity sessions (ice baths vs swimming pool vs active recovery). The only down side is the very early morning starts!

The first day involved the VO2Max test which basically involves riding yourself into the ground whilst having all manner of things measured and fingers pricked for lactate readings. By the end I wanted to puke but managed to hold on. Having established a baseline, today was the 100k time trial but unfortunately the computer crashed so I've got to go back to do that bit again.

This is a great study and really beneficial to myself as the first set of tests are to establish a baseline prior to undertaking the scientifically controlled 100k time trial in the lab. The key benefit for me is that I received a detailed report containing information regarding fitness levels and performance capacities such as:
• aerobic capacity (VO2max),
• power to weight ratio (climbing ability),
• lactate threshold at power output and heart rate,
• anaerobic ability (sprinting ability) and
• cycling efficiency.
I've also been given a thorough breakdown of my optimal heart rate zones which are now programmed into my heart rate monitor ready for my rides. This is great as the Polar training programme gives generic heart rate zones but now I have personal zones based on scientific data. Brilliant!

I'll not bore you with the details but I now have some vital info which will help me train much much smarter which is far better than training harder!