I'm back!!

Hello world!! :-)

Funny how things happen in life.  This time last year, I had some plans for the following twelve months.  Sadly, they came nowhere near fruition...

No point really on getting too deep and introspective about it.  Work was super-busy and a bit painful, both my teenage girls had a very busy year (academically & sporting) which took up a lot of my focus and energy.  Bottom line though is that I pretty much lost my cycling mojo.  I did just enough to remember how to actually ride a bike, but I wasn't really enjoying myself too much - it seemed more like a chore...

But that has all changed - and I'm excited!!

Funny how things happen, how a bolt out of the blue can ignite a fire that you didn't even realise was ready to off.

In late October of this year, I got an email.  It was about the L'Etape du Tour event that had been slated to be run in Australia in 2016.  Well - it was on!! It's being held in December 2016, based in Jindabyne, NSW, and will be 160+ km in the Snowy Mountains around Perisher and Thredbo ski resorts.

I didn't expect it, but as I read the (scant) early details in that email, my mojo welled up inside of me. I was genuinely excited, for the first time in a loooong time!! I resolved then and there that this would be my target, and I would be ready for it!!

A Simple Plan

I decided to start straight away with a simple plan - a couple of months of base training in November and December 2015 to get the body ready for some big mileage next year.

I have never ridden 600km in a month before, so I figured that I would get serious and make that my goal. I decided that would test me - was I really back? Did I really want this? Was I just momentarily excited or was my motivation back for real?

November came and went, and - 653km!!  The best part about it was, even though it eclipsed my previous highest monthly mileage, and was almost double my previous best for the year, is that it was so easy. No ride was ever a chore. Every pedal stroke, even on the days I was tired or sore, felt like it was another pedal stroke closer to my goal.

All on track...!! :-)

Now here we are in December. Not even halfway through the month yet, but more than halfway to 600km again. It feels so good to feel this good, both physically and mentally... :-)

More than a quarter of my 2015 mileage was done in the last 6 weeks!

What's Next?

Not planning too far ahead just yet. I just want to enjoy this mojo and motivation - it's been so long since I felt this way on the bike, so I'm not taking it for granted.

I have though had a bit of a look ahead at the Gran Fondo & Charity Ride calendar for next year, and pencilled in one each month for February to June.  I'd like to do one each month - they are great for exploring new roads and routes, remembering how to ride in a group, and testing my distance limits in a supported environment.

I'm also keen to find a cycling social group again. All my riding so far this year has been pretty much solo or with my wife and kids.  While I think that will always be the majority of my riding (which is great because I enjoy that!), I'd also like to reconnect in with a wider social group of cyclists.  Luckily I live in a city (Brisbane) where there are plenty of options for me to try...

Thanks for reading! More updates, plans, and reviews to come... :-)

A new year begins - the 2015 plan

So a new year has begun!! Time for phase 2 of the "become an awesome Masters cyclist" plan...

I've got a very rough structure to the plan, split into a few phases:

Phase 1 (Nov-Dec 2014) - do whatever the hell I want, just so long as I'm doing some sort of exercise.
Phase 2 (Jan-Feb 2015) - start to bring an emphasis on 'cardio/endurance' exercise, specifically swimming, cycling, and running.
Phase 3 (Mar-Jul 2015) - focus becomes more specific again, onto cycling and running.
Phase 4 (Aug-Sep 2015) - Cycling, cycling, cycling!!
Phase 5 (Oct 2015-onwards) - get my racing licence again...

Phase 1 went fine, mixing up all sorts of exercises and just maintaining the rough habit of doing something most days.

Now onto Phase 2. While I still plan to keep things pretty mixed up and with lots of variety, I'm going to make sure I have a reasonably steady diet of cycling, running, & swimming in amongst it all. The focus will be on endurance in all of these, and slowly starting to build some length to these efforts over these two months (both in time and distance).

I'm also hoping to sneak in some events. Mainly some parkruns (I'm lucky to have a few close by), a cycling gran fondo, and maybe even a short triathlon.  Nothing serious, but just to enjoy the vibe of 'events', be amongst other like-minded people, and feed off their energy!!

Now, I just need to cross my fingers for a few sunny days to make things a little easier...!!

The Plan - Phase 1

Its the first of November today, which also happens to be day 1 of 'The Plan'.  Its a long-term plan, with the goals I am working towards a good 14 months away - but you have to start somewhere...

The Overall Goal

What I want to do is get back to racing again. I really miss mixing it up on the bike in a speedy peloton. But what I don't want to do is to just jump back in and take up where I left off.

I've held a Cycling Australia racing licence for the last 10 years or so.  There is no getting around the fact that I have not been competitive in a race throughout that entire time.

Don't get me wrong - I have loved almost every minute of racing I've ever done. Whether I've been dropped in the first few minutes and ridden 95% of the race solo off the back, or wrung myself dry trying to just hold on and make it to the finish of a race, it has been a sensational experience and I wouldn't swap it for anything.

What I really want now though is to actually be someone who enters a race and is competitive. Someone who can mix it up near the front, and actually make some the racing. Someone who on the odd occasion even stands on the podium.  This would be a very new experience for me, and I want to make it happen.

So I've decided that the best way to be a competitive racer is (somewhat ironically) NOT to race in 2015...

The plan is to lay down a tonne of mileage and training time over the next 14 months, and focus exclusively on building myself up to be the best Masters racing cyclist I can be in 2016. Whether that's a competitive cyclist or not remains to be seen - but I'm going to give it my best shot and not die wondering!

Phase 1 begins

That brings up to Phase 1 of the plan, which covers the last 2 months of 2014 - November & December.  These two months are completely unstructured. It doesn't matter what sort of training or activities I do during this time.

What these two months are all about is time and consistency.  The plan is to log as many hours as I can, and to try and do something (no matter how brief) every day.

I can choose whatever activity I want, whatever I think I'll most enjoy on that particular day. It could be cycle-commuting, mountain-biking, a long road ride, running, swimming, weights in the gym, core strength work, or whatever else takes my fancy (or presents itself as an opportunity).

I have a rough goal of logging 50 hours of activity over the two months.  That isn't a hard & fast rule or anything, but just something to work towards...

Let's get to it!

I've already started, with a 1-hour run this morning around my local suburb.  I'm feeling excited, and looking forward to seeing how far I can take myself ability-wise over the next year or so.

I;m looking to sharing the journey with you all. See you out there!!

C Grade Cyclist - v3.0

Three weeks ago, I had the last surgery relating to the shoulder I broke back in December last year.  I had the clavicle plate removed from my left side.  Last week, I had my final follow-up appointment at the Royal Brisbane Hospital.

So that's it! No more surgery, no more hospital visits, no more nothing!!  The surgeon advised me not to any heavy lifting or anything 'too strenuous' until the end of this month - but after that, I'm good to go...

Insert cliched "it's a new dawn!!" picture here...  ;-)

The overwhelming feeling I have is one of relief. It's nice to have all that over and done with.  And having gone through this twice now in the last few years, I really hope I don't have to do it ever again!

I have a lot of things whirling through my head now. So many goals, so many possible plans...  What to do?!

I've started drawing together a few ideas of how I'll train & race for the next 14 months (from November 2014 to the end of 2015).  I'm trying hard to make sure I don't over-reach, and keep them all achievable, measurable, and specific.

Not sure how its all gonna look yet. Tossing up between (a) diving back into the cycle-racing deep end, and (b) taking a year off racing to really train hard without pressure, build up a huge mileage base, and crosstrain with both running & triathlon.

Either way, there are plenty of pros and cons.  But I'll have it sorted shortly and start on the next phase of my 'cycling journey'...!!

A couple of things you can expect to see on the blog over the next few months:

I won a bike!! Yes, seriously!!  I was incredibly fortunate to win a brand spanking new Cell Akuna 1.1 from Cellbikes.com.au.  I've had it for a couple of months now, and you'll see a full review for it coming up soon.  But let me tell you this much now - it is probably the best value bike you can buy on this planet...!! I am loving it...  :-)

Intermittent fasting - I'm currently trialling an intermittent fasting protocol.  16 hours of fasting, from 3pm to 7am. I'm doing it 2-3 times each week, on non-consecutive days.  There aren't any particular goals I'm trying to achieve with this, just giving it a try to see what happens (if anything!). I'm about two week s along now, and will give a bit of a write up about it after a couple of months of sticking with it...

That's it for now! Looking forward to finally being able to train again with some sort of purpose. See you on the road...!!

A February Challenge... #everydayfeb

Its been almost two months since my criterium-racing accident, and so its been almost two months since I've done any meaningful exercise.  This simply won't do!

If I wait until I can actually get cycling properly again, a few months will have passed of inconsistent training and I won't have made any meaningful gains.  Common sense therefore dictates that I need to expand my repertoire to include other activities.

A challenge is born...

So for the month of February, in an effort to start getting back into an exercise and training mindset again, I'm setting myself a challenge - do some sort of exercise or physical activity every day for the month of February.

This activity really can be anything - cycling, running, power-walking, stretching, squats, planks, yoga, gym-work, long walks with the dogs, mountain-biking - pretty much anything that will have a positive effect on my body (and mind).

To keep myself honest and accountable, I'm going to tweet what I do each day with the hashtag #everydayfeb.  If I was smarter and wittier, I could think of something catchier. But I'm not, so I haven't...  If you think of something better, please don't tell me - it'll simply highlight my deficiencies in this regard...!!

Love love love this ad - it'll be my inspiration for #everydayfeb

Feeding the challenge...

As part of this month, I'm going to put some extra focus on clean, healthy eating.  I do eat pretty well normally - plenty of fruit and vegetables, lean meat a few days a week, not too much refined sugar or processed food - but I'll be aiming to raise it a notch and be a little more conscious of what I am eating.

I'm not going to be fanatical about it.  But I'll stick with my general principles and use this to support my #everydayfeb activity.

Baseline stats

I weighed in this morning at 84kg.  That's 3kg above what I was when I had the accident two months ago, and around 5kg more than I really want to be.  So I'll be aiming to slowly and gradually bring my weight back down to where I want it.

Let's go!

Feel free to join me.  Adjust and alter the challenge to include/exclude whatever you like, come up with your own goals and activities, and start the journey with me.  Best of luck, and let's see where this takes us...!!

Where have I been...?! (Oct & Nov 2013 Review)

Life's been pretty busy lately - lots happening in all spheres of my life.  Don't mistake inactivity in the bog for inactivity in life - quite the opposite!!  I'm checking in here quickly to log a few stats for my ongoing record, and quickly run over what I've been doing, and what's coming up...

Firstly - updated stats:

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January - 300km / 13hrs

 February - 452km / 20hrs
 March - 341km / 20hrs
 April - 269km / 12hrs
 May - 201km / 10hrs
 June - 437km / 21hrs
 July - 71km / 4hrs
 August - 518km / 26hrs
September - 455km / 21hrs
October - 386km / 17hrs
 November - 245km / 13hrs

Year to date - 3674km / 178hrs

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Obviously things fell away mileage-wise over the last couple of months.

The main culprit has been work.  I had a sudden change of role due to some urgent priority stuff going on. This included some changes to my work location.  So instead of working 4 days/week at my usual building (and 1 day/week elsewhere) - I'm now split 3 days/wk in the CBD, 1 day/wk in Milton, and 1 day/wk at my usual location.

My cycle commuting (which has been the backbone of my mileage) thrives on 'habit' - and my new arrangements haven't been conducive to that at all!!  It took me a few weeks to get access organised for my bike to underground carparks (and other annoying administrative stuff), and then some further time for me to work out the best way to carry a lot more than usual to/from work (the new CBD location doesn't have lockers available).

Fortunately, things are starting to settle into a routine again.  I'm managing to cycle-commute at least 3 days/week, which is (probably most importantly) is making me happy...  :)

Weekends have been a bit scrappy, as my kids' weekend school sport really ramped up over Oct/Nov as well.  That's not a complaint though - I absolutely love it.  Cheering my girls on and watching them improve and grow in confidence is one of life's great pleasures.  School sport is on Christmas holiday break now though, so plenty of opportunity over the next couple of months to build up some time in the saddle.

What's ahead?

In the short-term - club racing.  A couple of HPRW club's twilight criteriums on a Wednesday afternoon (including my first one this afternoon), and a couple of my own club's Saturday morning criteriums.  I had planned to race the Brisbane Blast Open criterium on 15th December - but I waited too long to enter and Masters C reached capacity. Lesson learned...

Big News!!

June/July 2014. Northern Italy - riding the Stelvio, Gavia, and Mortirolo. France - spectating a stage (or two!) of the Tour de France.  Looks like it will happen, but I dare not write anymore in case I curse my luck...

Needless to say, I'm excited...  :)

Getting ready for 2014

Normally, I spend the week or two around Christmas/New Year off the bike.  Then in January, I'll just do some sporadic riding to slowly get back into the groove of it all again.

With some big plans for 2014 though, I want to be ready to start strongly in January.  So December for me is about trying to rack up as many days in the saddle as I can to be ready for a big first 6-months of 2014.

Ride safely!!

July 2013 Review

A very quick post to update and record my stats for July 2013.

I could probably subtitle this month's post as "Blame it on the Tour"! What did I do? Nothing!! I discovered that I am well-&-truly not a teenager anymore that can 'rock-&-roll all night and party every day' - staying up for the Tour de France all through July absolutely destroyed me during the day. 

Just because I want to, doesn't mean I can...  ;)

I was able to do just enough at work to not get fired (luckily my boss is a fellow Tour de France fan!).  I slept as long as I could in the mornings, waking up just in time to madly get changed, kiss the wife & kids, and catch a bus to work. And I spent the rest of my time in a sleep-deprived daze.  It'll come as a massive shock that I also managed to catch "man-flu" not long after the Tour ended in my fatigued state...

Anyway - here are the embarrassing stats...

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January - 300km / 13hrs
February - 452km / 20hrs
March - 341km / 20hrs
April - 269km / 12hrs
May - 201km / 10hrs
June - 437km / 21hrs
July – 71km / 4hrs

Year to date - 2071km / 100hrs

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Pretty disastrous in terms of what I was planning and preparing for.  But hey, I love staying up and watching the Tour - it was an (unplanned!) sacrifice that I willingly made.

So what now - how does one recover from an unscheduled month-long break from the bike?  Well, you get straight back into it...

Apart from a work trip to Canberra and the lingering effects of the man-flu in the first week of August, I've managed to rack up some decent mileage again already. This month will be very much a 'base' month, rebuilding some mileage again.

The new race targets are a couple of months ahead in October.  There are three big Open criterium races, and I'll hopefully be able to schedule in 1 or 2 of them.  In the meantime though, I just need to focus on some consistent training.

Halfway through August, I'm already on track for it to be the biggest month of the year so far. If I can keep that up, that should set me up for some harder, more intense work in September leading into the October races.

Let's see if I can finally get through a 3-month plan!! I've had a few aborted attempts for various reasons this year - but I can't see impediments ahead. Fingers crossed!!

June 2013 Review (& "Half Year Reflection")

I've had a great start to July - a week off work to have some time at home during the school holidays, which has been great fun.  Plus perfectly timed to match in with some late nights watching the Tour de France.

The bike has been left in the garage for the week while I slept in each morning after my late-night TdF watching, and my days were taken up with family day trips. Not ideal for race prep, but perfect for mentally rejuvenating family time.

Sadly back at work now, and so no more rest for the wicked! Before we get too deep into July, here is a quick review of how I went in June...

January - 300km / 13hrs
February - 452km / 20hrs
March - 341km / 20hrs
April - 269km / 12hrs
May - 201km / 10hrs
June - 437km / 21hrs

Year to date - 2000km / 96hrs

Finally some signs of consistency. I only missed one week due to rainy weather, and a few small runs of days due to a new role at work.  Very happy to log my biggest month of the year in terms of 'hours on the bike', and my 2nd biggest in terms of mileage.

Probably the best news (in a weird way) is that I could very easily have done a lot more.  I allowed myself a few indulgent sleep-ins on the weekends, for-going a lot of bike time.  So I'm super-confident of being able to keep the momentum going and building further and longer for July.

Six Months Down, Six Months To Go

A nice round figure for the first half of the year - 2000km (and 96 hours).  Not enough there to be a solid "Masters C" competitor in Open Racing, but at the very least a basis to build on.

My modest aims for the 2nd half of the year is to increase that by 50% - so knock out another 3000km and 150 hrs by the end of the year.  In simple terms, that's only a consistent 500km a month. And a very modest 100-150km per week. 

My very basic plan is to be on the bike for 3 weekdays every week - which'll be 3 days of commuting with some extra mileage or intensity thrown in on 1-2 of those days. That alone will carry me over 100km.  On top of that, at least one weekend ride as well - either a race or a long bunch ride.

That basic week-long structure will give me 150-200km every week. If I can hit that most weeks, I should see some solid improvement all-round.

What's Coming Up

I've mentioned it before, but looming large ahead is the Cunningham Classic - a 96km hilly road race on the 3rd August.  My initial plan was to build to this as my A-Race for the year, and give myself a short one-week taper leading in to the event.

Since then, I've started looking closely at the Charles Coin Memorial road race, being raced two weeks later on the 18th August. Based at Mulgowie (near South Laidley), it is run on an 18km country road circuit. My grade - Masters C - will do 4 laps, or 72km (other grades do more laps for a greater distance, with Elite A racing furthest at 7 laps/126km).

I'm thinking that the Charles Coin race will be more suited to me.  So I'm going to treat the Cunningham Classic as a hard training day, and not alter my training volume/intensity around it.  Instead, I'll taper in to the Charles Coin as my A-Race for the year.

Once those races are done, the rest of the year will be all about criterium racing.  I might make some changes to my training focus for that, but there is no need to consider that until after the two big August road races.
Plenty of work to do now for a big 6-week build into the Charles Coin Memorial. With a bit of luck, I'll reach it with plenty of mileage in my legs to give myself every chance of finishing with the main peloton...!!

May 2013 Review

Just a quickie blog post here to keep my monthly stats up-to-date.

January - 300km / 13hrs
February - 452km / 20hrs
March - 341km / 20hrsApril - 269km / 12hrs
May - 201km / 10hrs

Year to date - 1563km / 75hrs

I've already talked in a previous blog post about the challenges with rain & work meaning I missed the first half of the month (again).  I missed most of the last week as well due to the same, so in isolation the 200km in 10 days was actually pretty good!

Main thing now is ensuring I have no stumbles heading towards the Cunningham Classic in early August.  I've started June well, building up some good consistency.  Without question, June has to be my biggest month of the year so far (in both hours and mileage) if I am hoping to have any chance of making it to the start line of the  Cuningham Classic in decent condition.  I'm not putting any pressure on myself - but the benchmarks I need to hit if I'm serious are clear in my mind.

What's ahead

I've started hitting the trails at Daisy Hill on my mountain bike.  It has been great fun, and has been a real positive for me both mentally and physically.  I reckon mountain bike time is worth almost double the equivalent road time, its really tough on the legs!  Without doubt, it has been an excellent addition to my cycling from all perspectives...

Also, I took advantage of a 'Scoopon' deal and bought a month's worth of access to my local gym.  My reasoning is to take advantage of their RPM and Spin classes, which will be my back-up plan if the recent runs of dodgy weather continue.  They also have Pilates classes, which will help me mix things up when it comes to core strength training. Hopefully, once my month-long membership starts up, I can get some decent benefit out of it.

Racing

The Cunningham Classic on the 3rd August remains my main upcoming goal.  I'll be aiming to start getting some race intensity in my legs this month via the Saturday club criteriums at Murarrie.  I also want to try the monthly club road race held at Pimpama (near Dreamworld Fun Park, run by the Gold Coast cycling clubs) to mix things up a bit.

My monthly stats at the top of this post look a bit dire, having been on a steady decline since February.  That said, I actually feel really good and am super-motivated for my August race goal.  I'm looking forward to continuing my good start to June and posting some big numbers for my June review in a few weeks time...!!

Refocussing & resetting goals...

It's a recurring theme in my training posts - the quest for consistency.

When cycling for training & racing is a relatively lower priority - chiefly behind family time, especially making sure I am as involved as possible in all of my kids' extra-curricular activity - then maintaining consistency is always going to be the key obstacle to building quality training.

At the start of this year, I identified two key races as my main goals - the MAP Financials Metropolitan Championships road race (in two weeks), and the Lifecycle Classic 80km handicap road race (about a month away, in mid-June).  Where I had planned my training and fitness to be, and where they actually are, are unfortunately poles apart.

Over the last few weeks, trying to find time to squeeze in some decent training mileage on the bike, and failing, has been causing me some stress.  I really wanted to do these races - but to actually race them, not just 'complete' them.  And my inability to find enough time to consistently train was driving me a little crazy!!

So after much consideration, I have decided to remove the cause of this stress - I'm scrapping my Open racing plans for now.  These two races are off my calendar.  I train and race because, above all, its fun - and if the stress of going into a race under-prepared is taking away that enjoyment, then its not worth it!

A New Goal

I'm certainly not swearing off Open racing, that's for sure.  I'm simply resetting to aim at a goal that I have a much more realistic chance of reaching in the sort of racing shape I'd like to be in.

So here we go - everything is aiming towards the Upperlimb.com Cunningham Classic, a 96km road race from Gatton to Warwick on the 3rd August. It includes a very long climb up the Main Range, which you reach the top of at the 40km-ish mark of the race.

The Cunningham Classic is 12 weeks away (from the start of this week), which is a perfect length of time for a solid build into form.  Plenty of time, if I'm consistent, to develop into good racing fitness, plus get lots of time in the hills.

Hopefully the 'stars will align' in terms of work travel commitments and kids' sport, and I'll have no dramas reaching the start line that weekend.  Even if it ends up being logistically problematic though, the solid 12 weeks of training will have me in great shape for the back half of the year.

I'm actually feeling excited at the prospect of doing this iconic Queensland race for the first time.  This will be the 31st running of this race, and with some luck and dedication I can't wait to be there in Gatton for the start.

April 2013 Review

Time for a quick update on how everything went last month cycling-wise:

January - 300km / 13hrs
February - 452km / 20hrs
March - 341km / 20hrs

April - 269km / 12hrs
Year to date - 1362km / 65hrs

In outright terms, it was my lowest month of the year for both mileage and hours on the bike. Obviously that's less-than-ideal given I'm supposed to be building to a couple of big upcoming races.

However, you might remember from my last training update that due to a few circumstances (mainly work & weather), I didn't ride the first half of the month at all.  So I managed to accumulate those figures in the last 14 days of April alone.

Given that, I'm actually pretty happy with what I achieved.  No point in dwelling on the time lost that was out of my control. In the time that I did have available, I managed to rack up some decent training, which is all good.

What's next

I'm a little unsure about what to do next.  Not training-wise - that's easy, I'm just going to smash myself with as many kilometres as I can squeeze in. I'll pile in some hard interval work, and hit up the weekend criteriums if I can get to them as well.

My indecision is about the Open races.  Once again, work has 'interfered' and I haven't ridden yet this month due to a work trip to Darwin. Nothing that could be helped, and it was actually a very positive work experience that I enjoyed and got a lot out of - but once again my training structure has taken a hit.

So what do I do? The Metro Champs road race is only 3 weeks away, and I'm not sure if I should enter or not.  Last year, I had a great almost-700km month of training up my sleeve leading into that race (and I still got smashed!).  This year, its a significantly less-impressive lead-up.

I'm torn between just entering it anyway and enjoying it as a hard training day (even if it ends up being mainly solo), or saving my money (both entry fee and petrol) and focus on the Lifecycle Classic in June as my first big Open race for 2013.

I don't think there's a right or wrong answer here.  I'm still loving my cycling (whether its racing, training, or commuting).  Sure I'm a little frustrated that I'm not getting the time to lift my form to the level I'd like, but I'm OK with that as the time is being 'wasted' - its just not there to spend.

This might end up as one of those spur of the moment decisions I make just before entries close this Sunday night.  We'll see how I feel, especially if I can get some decent training in the rest of this week.

April goals

I really, really, really want to have a BIG MAY.  So far this year, I haven't had a huge month of training that I can look back on and think, "Yeah, that was a great month of quality, quantity, and consistency."

That'll be my driving force this month.  Making sure I get out onto the bike whenever the time is available.  The usual higher priority activities are there - my two kids are into the swing of their own sports seasons, plus my wife has a trip away mid-May as well.  But I reckon I can still utilise the time around that to rack up some serious mileage.

Here's hoping I can finally string 4 weeks together and start to approach some decent form!

Jan-Feb-Mar 2013 Review

This year, I committed myself to a few things - the first being to make the Quarter 1 of 2013 a long base building period, with the aim of setting myself up for the remaining 9 months of the year.

While I wouldn't call it a raging success, it went OK:

January - 300km / 13hrs
February - 452km  / 20hrs
March - 341km / 20hrs

January was a bit of a mess.  I tried to change a heap of my training patterns, but the bottom line was the changes just wouldn't work - I couldn't integrate them into my work/family life. So for February, I reverted back to my more usual training patterns - and that worked well for a 50% jump in mileage and a solid increase in training hours.

March was 'messy'. Bad weather and a long work trip meant mileage fell - but on the upside, that 341km was done in the last two weeks of the month, which was a very solid effort! I also managed to keep up the training hours level by integrating some long walks into my program while I was away from home.

The toughest part of all was the mental aspect. By committing to just base training and not racing or doing much effort-wise, I found myself getting a bit bored with it all.  I still loved riding, but I really wanted to stretch my legs out in a race.  So for next year, I'll limit the base period to just one month - lesson learnt.

What happened then

I am pretty disappointed with the first couple of weeks of April - I still haven't ridden my bike this month at all!! 

I wrecked the first week thanks to a little bit of over-enthusiasm. I bought my kids a slip'n'slide - and spent an afternoon in the frontyard with them launching myself at full pelt along the 5m long soap-covered runway.  As it turns out, my almost-40yo back didn't like this at all (go figure?!), and I spent the next 7 days chewing down anti-inflammatories trying to curb the intense lower-back pain...

Slip'n'Slide - for kids, not 39yo men who think they are still a kid...

Then the rain came. Any readers who live in South-East Queensland will know what I mean by that! So for the next week and a bit, it pretty much poured rain. Plus a large chunk of that was spent on a camping trip near Kenilworth.

So tomorrow, the 16th day of the month, will be my first real chance to get back on the bike.  I'm a bit bummed about the off-bike-time, I'm hoping it hasn't ruined all that time & effort I put into the 3-month stint of base training.  But there's not much I can do about it...

What's next - training

I'm not sure what the 'optimal' training approach is from here.  But what I really want to do is train hard, smash my legs with some interval work, and get racing again - so that's what I'm going to do!

The plan will be to work in steadily-increasing interval efforts into my daily commutes, plus try again with joining some fast group rides.  I also want to start a "Mt Gravatt once-a-week" habit to do hill reps. Club criterium racing is also back on the agenda, with the aim of doing at least one race every two weeks.

In terms of training events, I'm also hoping to do the Troy Bayliss Gran Fondo at Canungra on May 19. Its only a 36km event - but it includes the tough 25km climb up to O'Reilly's. It'll be a great last tough hit out before the Metro Champs on the next weekend.

What's next - racing

I have two big Open events coming up, and I am keen to do relatively well (for me!) in both of them.

May 26 - MAP Financials Metropolitan Championships road race at Mt Alford.  I got dropped in this event last year within the first 5km! The aim this year will be to last further with the peloton than last time. I've got about 5 weeks to squeeze some solid training in to do that - with some luck and consistency I'll get there in half-decent shape...

June 16 - Lifecycle Classic (80km hanidicap) at Lowood.  My big target event for the year. I have two months to build for this - that is plenty of time if I can show the dedication and consistency I know I'm capable of.

Juggling it all

So the equation is pretty simple really  - smash myself on the bike, get the mileage up (to at least 500km/month every month), rest & recover properly, and rediscover my form from late last year!

Probably the toughest bit of all this will be juggling in the kids' commitments. My oldest daughter is moving into cross country season, which involves lots of weekend sporting commitments. But that's nothing new - I'll just have to try and squeeze it all in!

Wish me luck! :-)

What's working, what's not...

Normally I knock out a blog-post each month, reviewing how everything is going.  I'm doing it a little differently this year.

I've basically split the year into four quarters.  The first quarter (which we are almost halfway through) is all about doing as many kilometres as I can.  No real structure, just mixing it up as I feel to keep it interesting. The over-arching theme is very much about as much time on the bike as possible.

The second quarter is my key racing season.  The Metropolitan Championships road race and the Avanti Classic handicap are raced late in this quarter.  So training will become more about how to improve my weaknesses, and more focused sessions.

The third quarter will be about hitting some new road races, races like the Toowoomba Open, the Cunningham Classic, and the Charles Coin Memorial.  Depending on how I've gone so far, training and riding will probably be a mix of mileage and specifics.  I won't worry about how to manage that until July comes around.

The final quarter will be all about criterium racing.  So hopefully a great year of riding will mean I have plenty of kilometres in the legs, and I can focus on developing as much criterium-specific speed as possible.  Depending on where I have to be for the kids' sport, I'll be racing as many weekends as I can during this 3-month period.

So no more monthly reviews, I'll be reporting after each quarter instead - thinking about what worked and what didn't, and what/how things will change for the next quarter.

The current quarter

Things started off a bit slowly for me in January.  I mentioned in a previous blog-post how I wanted to shift away from my cycle-commutes (1-hr each way) as the backbone of my cycling mileage, and do more longer bunch rides instead.  Well, that hasn't really worked out.

I've found it really difficult to meld together the earlier morning starts to reach the bunch rides, and my family commitments of a morning. The end result was I ended up doing much less riding overall!!

So rather than fight it, I decided to just go with what I already know works for now.  I've recommitted to cycle-commuting as regularly as possible, and my mileage is once again hitting much more consistent and meaningful levels.  Bunch rides are now weekend affairs (for now at least).

Improved recovery

About 2 weeks ago, I started doing 4 new things aimed at improving my recovery post-ride.  For some reason, my recovery throughout January was really very poor, and it was starting to seriously impact my motivation and enjoyment on the bike.

1. Stretching, both pre and post ride
2. Taking an iron supplement 5 days/week (it sits on my desk at work) - "Swisse Iron Ultiboost"
3. Taking a B-Complex vitamin supplement every day - "Blackmores Executive B Stress"
4. Having a recovery drink (200 calories, 15g protein) after any morning rides - "Up'n'Go Energize"

This has had almost an immediate and significant effect on my recovery - the improvement has been remarkable.  Of course, starting all 4 things at once means I have no idea which one of those is having the most significant effect (or if they only work in combination with each other).  The scientist inside of me is horrified - but the bottom line is things are much better, which is far more important than worrying too much about analysis of why and how.

What's next?

More mileage, more often!  As I said earlier, this quarter is all about riding as much as possible.  I'm missing racing, so I'll start doing a few club crits soon as well for a bit of variety.  If things keep tracking as they are, I'll finish at the end of March with plenty of kilometres in my legs, ready to start a concerted build towards my big A race for the year in mid-June.

Blame it on the rain...

I was never a huge fan of Milli Vanilli.  The Gen Y'ers amongst you won't even know who they are - YouTube at your own peril!!  But "Blame it on the rain" is a pretty appropriate theme song for the last few days in Brisbane...

With a weather system of consistent, heavy rain and cyclonic winds for 3-4 days in a row, what is a C Grade Cyclist to do?  I thought I'd put down a few thoughts on how to handle prolonged wet weather when you're a part-time, fair-weather cyclist...

1.  Running

A lot of people will gasp when I mention the 'R-word'.  There are a lot of highly-respected coaches that basically say that the best training for cycling is, well, cycling - and running has no real cross-training value that 'more cycling' isn't better for.

Now, if you are a top-level cyclist focused on results, then I totally agree.  But if you are a cyclist who's focus is on health and fitness, with racing just some 'added fun' into the mix, then running is a great addition in terms of 'cross training' and general health.

When its raining, running is a great additional 'sport' to have in your repertoire.  I hate riding in the rain, mainly because of the slippery roads and (even worse) all the drivers who seem to forget that the roads are slippery and drive way to fast for the conditions.  Running in the rain, on the other hand, is awesome fun and a great way to relieve yourself of the 'cabin fever' that can build up over successive wet days.

The trick is to always try and have a run each week when the weather is dry.  That way you can avoid a week or two of sore legs when you start running again and your poor legs go into shock from the pounding!

2.  Complementary exercises

Been a bit slack doing your core-strength workouts? Always wanted to try yoga or pilates (or yogalates, or whatever the latest fad mash-up is)?  Use the rainy weather as an excuse to get back into those indoor stretching & sit-up routines, and/or look up a local yoga class and go along to give it a try.

3.  Trainer

If you really can't stay off the bike, then invest in a wind trainer (or mag-trainer, fluid-trainer, or one of the other options). 

I have a mag-trainer at home, and I hate it.  For me, its a psychological torture device - pedalling to nowhere drives me insane. So I only drag mine out if things are getting desperate...

Depending on how much you want to spend (or can afford to spend), there are a ridiculously wide range of options in the trainer market - from your basic triangular framed, back-wheel mounted cheapie, up to machines with linked video-streaming so you can ride virtual Tour de France stages.

If you must ride, then stay safe and do it indoors on a trainer.

4.  Do Nothing

If you've been training consistently and hitting your goals - don't be afraid of staying off the bike.  A few days off won't set you back in the long run.

Take the time to catch up on stuff around the house, or do a few things with your better-half and/or your kids.  Then when the weather fines up - enjoy that feeling of itchy legs desperate to wind up the pedals, and hit the road mentally refreshed and ready for the mileage ahead.

In Summary

Prolonged wet weather isn't a disaster as a non-elite cyclist.  There are plenty of options for exercise and training (or just giving it a miss).

Instead of lamenting the lack of cycling time, seek out new opportunities that you otherwise would ignore during fine weather.  They'll only make you more well-rounded in terms of general health and fitness, which will help give you greater longevity in your chosen sport of cycling.

2013 Goals - Racing

I love racing my bike.  I am absolutely terrible at it - but I love it.  My previosu two posts about my training volume & training structure for 2013 are all about enabling me to get better (or 'less worse'!) at racing my bike.

What I really love are road races.  To me, they are 'real' bike racing - longer, harder, hillier, more tactical, and only those that have put the hard work in are competitive at the end.  Not surprisingly, I am not much good at these races - but I love them nonetheless.  They are a much truer measure of how you are progressing as a cyclist.  They are like Test cricket compared to the hit-&-giggle of 20/20 cricket that is club criterium racing.

So in the calendar below, the Open races I'll be targeting will be the road race events.  I'll still do some of the Open crits, but they'll be more about adding some variety, testing myself, plus supporting regional events.

The aim for this year will be to hit one big Open event each month, and one or two club criteriums as well.  I did hardly any racing last year (less than 10 events, from memory) - for 2013, I'd like to make that at least 20 racing days.

The calendar below is a possible/probable style set-up.  The events that I might race are in normal font, whereas the one's I'll most likely try and get to are in bold font.

2013 Cycling Qld Racing Calendar

February

2/3   Toowoomba 2-day (criteriums)
10    Brisbane Blast (criterium at Southbank)
17    Girraween Criterium (at Noosa)

March

3    AUSENCO Sizzling Summer Series 1 (criterium at Crestmead)
10  AUSENCO Sizzling Summer Series 2 (criterium at Crestmead)
17  Banjo's Mt Cotton Kermesse (hilly kermesse)
24  AUSENCO Sizzling Summer Series 2 (criterium at Crestmead)

April

7        Qld Masters Criterium Championships (Noosa)
20/21 Ipswich Open (ITT and Kermesse)
25      ANZAC 25 (criterium at Lakeside Raceway)

May

3-5  Velo Battle on the Border (3-day stage race - ITT, crits and road stages)
12   Towoomba Criterium (support race to NRS Tour)
26   MAP Metropolitan Road Championships  (hilly road race at Mt Alford)

June

16   *** Avanti Classic (80km road handicap at Lowood) ***

                       My A-Race for the year!!

July

14  Toowoomba Open (prologue & road race)
21  Fusion Games (criterium at Newstead)

August

3    Upperlimb.com Cunningham Classic (huge road race, Gatton to Warwick)
18  Charles Coin Memorial (road race at Mulgowie)

September

7/8  Qld Masters Road Championships (ITT & Road Race)
15   Mike Stout Memorial (criterium at Nerang)

October

13   Be Better Psychology Open (criterium at Toowoomba)
20   Northshore Criterium (Riverside Park, Brisbane)

If you click on the link to take you to the full calendar, you can see I've only listed some of the many events on offer this year - but these are the only ones I am realistically able to make it to.  If I can hit at least half-a-dozen of the Opens (specifically, the ones I've bolded), that'll be great for me.

The rest of the year will be made up of club criteriums, a couple of gran fondo style events, and some others - all to be used as training to get me ready for my A-Race for the year in June.

2013 Goals - Training Structure

My last post talked in macro-terms about my big picture goals for training volume in 2013.  The next thing for me to consider is how to structure that training for maximum effect.

Overall Theme - Volume & Consistency

There is no point in developing a heap of detailed training sessions if you don't have the  underpinning training basics sorted out.

Two key basics I need to nail down this year are training volume and training consistency.  I had a few 'big months' of mileage last year, but they were isolated.  And I didn't manage to achieve more than 3-4 weeks in a row of consistent high-volume, high-quality training before I allowed other things to get in the way.

So for the first 3-months of this year, I won't be considering individual training sessions very much at all. The first quarter of the year will all be about establishing 'training patterns', working out how to squeeze the most out of every week, identifying my 'barriers to training' and how best to work around them, and finishing off with (hopefully!) a better understanding of what I can realistically plan for the rest of the year.

During this time, there will be a few key ideas I'll be exploring...

Bunch rides instead of commutes

In 2012, I tried to set up my cycle-commutes as the 'backbone' of my training.  My commute is about 24km (1-hr) each way, which I always considered a 'worthwhile distance' - enough to get some sort of training effect without getting wrecked before work.

I think the problem with this has been that it meant I rarely rode for more than an hour at a time, and so I haven't got any real endurance capacity.  This has affected both my ability to tackle longer road races, and my capacity to sprint at the end of shorter criteriums.

So for the first quarter of 2013, the plan is to shift the focus from commuting to hooking into longer 2-3 hour bunch rides.

Bunch ride 'taste-testing'

There's probably a better term for it than 'taste-testing' (*ugh*), but another focus in the early part of the year will be trying out as many bunch ride opportunities as I can.  I am lucky in that there are plenty of club, shop, & other bunch ride opportunities for me to be a part of every week - but I have largely ignored most of them during my 'comeback year'.

My plan is to get involved in as many of these bunch rides as I can, and work out which ones suit me best - in terms of skill & effort level, distance, organisation, friendliness & compatibility (not to be under-estimated as a factor!), and how easy it is to blend it in to my routine.

The main ones I intend to hit are my Balmoral Club's rides (weekdays & weekends), the Planet Cycles and Lifecycle shop rides, and "The Wombles" and "Southbank Bunch" groups.

More on than off

As part of the 'consistency' theme, the plan is to have more riding days than not-riding days. So I am looking at hitting the bike 4-5 days every week (if I stick with my "1 run per week" plan, that'll count towards my total too).

That gives me plenty of opportunities to build volume and consistency, but also 2-3 days free to recover as well.  This'll be important in terms of both injury-avoidance, plus giving me heaps of time and flexibility to plan around family and work commitments.

A good time to be 'unstructured'

Whilst I plan to be racing throughout the year (including in January) - my main race goal, which I'll detail in another post, isn't until June. So this first quarter of the year is a great time to just get out there, ride as much as possible, and get a real feel and understanding for what works and what doesn't work for me in terms of training structure.

Given that I am 'chronically undertrained', the great news for me is that any regular consistent training will result in both improved performance and confidence.  The goal is to reach a point where I need to start to focus on the detail to see real performance improvement.

The next step

The plan is to develop a more detailed training plan for the quarter April-May-June leading into my A-Race for the year (an 80km road handicap race).  I'll talk more about that race and my other race goals in my next blog-post in this series of "2013 Goals", which will be about what I am actually training for...!!

2013 Goals - Training Volumes

And so a new year has begun!  I have plenty of big race goals to tackle this year, but to achieve them I have to hit some solid training goals first.

Looking at my training last year, the key themes for me to improve on have been volume and consistency. Pretty basic stuff, but its important stuff to acknowledge and consciously work on.  My best form last year was clearly correlated with my highest volume training months, so the proof is here for me - I just need to get out there and do it!

In the past, my goals have been expressed purely in mileage/distance terms.  This year, I'll be doing it a bit differently and also giving myself some time goals as well.  Both are important, plus the time metric will take some pressure off the mad scramble for distance I sometimes have at the end of a month.

So, what are the goals for this year?

Yearly goal

365 hours of training, and 6000km on the bike.

365 hours works out to an average of 1 hour/day. If I can achieve that, the rest really will take care of itself! Its a significant jump on previous years, but if I'm going to start approaching my potential on the bike then I'm going to have to spend more time with my bum in the saddle...

Monthly goals

25 hours of training, and 500km on the bike.

My biggest training months last year were just over 20 hours, so I will need to build up to doing 30+ hours per month.  But as a minimum, I want to hit at least 25 hours by the time the end-of-month rolls around.  This also gives me a little flexibility in terms of having easier vs big months depending on what racing is coming up, plus a little leeway if weather or illness knocks out a week here and there.

Running once-a-week.

If I was an elite cyclist, then running would have no place here.  But as a middle-aged guy who is training for racing and general health, then I think running has a useful place in my schedule.  There is plenty of evidence on the importance of weight-bearing exercise for the 'mature gentleman'. Also I believe that at the recreational athlete level (where I am at), there are benefits to be had by 'cross-training'.

I'm not a natural runner  but I'll persist with this for the first few months of the year at least and see how I go with it...

That's it...

I'm not getting any more 'micro' with my training goals than that.  I know from experience that if I get too caught up with weekly or shorter term mileage/time goals, then I feel too pressured and I lose some of the 'fun' aspects of training.  And personally, I train (and race) because I want to, not because I have to - and I don't want that to change! So in terms of training volume, then these broad macro goals are the only key goals I'll be looking to achieve.

Of course, how I'm going to achieve them is another question.  So the next post in this start-of-year goal-setting series will be about my training structure for 2013...

December 2012 Review

Well 2012 has drawn to a close - as I type here, there is only about 17 hours left to go!  Just enough time to drop in my final blog post for the year, and draw a line under my 'post-injury comeback year' once and for all...  But first, the all-important stats!


Mileage: 155km (2012 year-to-date: 4638km)
Weight: 79kg 

A 'moment of clarity' changed things a lot for me in December.  Normally, I ride right up until the new year, then take a few weeks off the bike totally.  Then in the last week of January I start turning the legs over again and slowly build up over the next month or so.

Looking at my 2013 goals (a blog-post to come!), I already want to be riding well by February as there is an Open race I'm keen to have a crack at. So starting in late January is too late!  So I had a decision to make - keep pushing for my 5000km 2012 total over December and let January go, or shelve the bike now for a few weeks and then hit the road again in the new year and start building for the February races.

It was an easy decision to make in the end (and a quick one!). I'm super-excited for a big 2013 after mucking about on the bike this year, so all my cycling-focus is on what I can achieve next year.  So after the first couple of weeks in December, I racked my bike and have focussed on other activities for the last few weeks.

I've learnt heaps this past year about how I train, why I train, the types of riding I love or hate, and most importantly what motivates me and what I'm capable of.  I'm looking forward to stepping things up in a (slightly!) more focussed and structured way starting tomorrow - bring on 2013!!

Strava - what is it good for?

Don't know what Strava is?  I'm tempted to say you've been living under a rock!  Depending on who you talk to, Strava is either the best or the worst thing to happen to cycling in a long time...

Essentially, Strava is simply a recording tool for your rides.  You use a GPS (via either your smartphone or bike computer) which records your ride, and then you upload it later to Strava.  Simple so far, right?

What Strava is most famous for is its KOM (or QOM for the ladies) leaderboards.  Segments are created (a segment is just a stretch of road - doesn't have to be uphill - and can be any length, long or short) by users, and then a leaderboard is created that ranks you on an all-time list for that particular stretch of road.

These KOM leaderboards have polarised the cycling community in many ways. Some see it as just a fun way to test yourself, others see it as wrecking the usual convivial nature of group rides and turning everything into a race.  Personally, I think its just a bit of fun - but that's not why I'm talking about Strava in this post.

The real value of Strava is in training analysis. Keep in mind I'm talking about the free version here - there is also a premium 'paid' version that lets you record and analyse power and heartrate as well.

Keeping you honest

If you asked me 6 months ago how often I trained, I'd say "Oh, roughly 7-8 hours a week".  Looking back at Strava, I know now that on my biggest months, I averaged just under 6 hours a week!  Even my best weeks were no higher than 7 hours (with just the one outlier - a 9 hour week).

Knowing what I do (and don't do!), has helped me to develop some realistic training goals for the next month and year ahead. 

Micro-analysis

Strava shows weekly volume graphs (in either mileage or hours), which allows you to match up how you are feeling and performing with how you have been training, and thus start to look at how best to improve.

As an example, I've been able to see where I've felt in the best form and other periods where I've felt sluggish, and consider my training loads around those times to identify some correlations.

Speed graphs

One of the more recent additions to Strava has been 'speed graphs'.  Basically, for each ride (or segment) it will show a graph of your speed from start to finish.

This aspect is very useful for racing.  I've been able to look at some criteriums I've done, seen how the speed has changed over the course of the race in an easy-to-view line graph, and matched that up to when I've felt flat or struggling.

Similarly it has helped with my longer interval training.  I can see how my speed has waivered (or not) for some intervals and gotten to understood where I've backed off and could've pushed harder, or conversely been pleased when I've seen how I've managed to hold my pace high throughout each interval.

Not a magic bullet

Don't get me wrong - I know I am talking Strava up here, and I feel I've gotten a lot out of it now that I've racked up about 6 months worth of data into it.  But I should point out that simply recording data into the application won't change anything (unless you get pleasure from staring at pretty graphs).  The value is having the data there to analyse, and that analysis is facilitated by having a variety of easily accessible formats (eg graphs, calendars) in which to view it.

So should you use Strava?

If you've never used Strava, or simply written it off as a way for ego-driven speedsters to show off their best times, then I'd urge you to look more closely at how Strava can work for you - it really is so much more than just a 'leaderboard'.

It's ease of use (Android or iOS app on your smartphone), simple user interface on your PC, and super-low cost (free!) mean there are no real barriers to entry.  Personally, I use my Android smartphone to record my rides - I just initialise the GPS function before I set off, throw it in my back jersey pocket, and away I go.  I then upload the ride data at home using my own wifi, so I don't need to use mobile data at any stage at all!

Allow yourself to gather a few months worth of data to give yourself a good basis for training analysis, and then go from there.  If it turns out not to be your thing - then so be it.  But if you have an interest in developing your training off the back of real data, then you should give this application a try.

November 2012 Review

Almost at the end of the year - where has 2012 gone?!  Road racing season is well and truly over, and the only racing left is track racing (which I don't do) and club criteriums (which finish for the year in mid-December).  So not much to do but ride-ride-ride!!

Here is what I managed to do for November - 

Mileage: 422km (2012 year-to-date: 4483km)
Weight: 78kg (steady)

Mentally, I'm already preparing myself for 2013.  I have been carefully going over all that I have done this year, and deciding what worked, what didn't, what my obstacles & stumbling blocks were and how to overcome them, and getting some basic goals sorted.  Needless to say, I will blog these in the new year to keep myself accountable!!

Meanwhile, there is (barely!) a month left of 2012 to go, and that is not time that I intend to waste!

I want to make sure I hit my 5000km goal (as per the last blog post) for the year.  I also want to try and squeeze a couple more races in before the clubs shut up shop for the year.  ANother priority is to try out a few more shop/bunch rides to suss out which ones I like the most and can become regular parts of my training next year.

Healthwise, I have had a good going over by my GP - I asked him to make sure I was in good health given I want to ramp up my mileage next year.  Turns out I have a low haematocrit (37) and low haemoglobin levels - not what you want to hear as a cyclist!

I'm getting another round of bloods done, looking at my iron & b12 levels (results still to come).  It wouldn't surprise me if I'm anaemic, as my mother & aunts have all had issues with low iron levels in the past - but time will tell.

Just to cover off any other possible causes, my GP has booked me in for a colonoscopy and upper endoscopy for next week - "cameras up both ends", he laughed (easy for him to laugh!!).  I've never had a colonoscopy before - apparently the 'prep drink' that cleans you out pre-procedure is, well, very effective...  At any rate - better to be safe then sorry, and my GP and I will have all the info we need to ensure I'm in tip-top shape for 2013.

All I need is for the weather to behave itself, and I can hopefully get some good mileage down for December to help set me up for the new year...!!