Anna Does The Etape: London to Brighton for a Party!

Monday, 15 March 2010

London to Brighton for a Party!

Bit of an easy week this week, well except for the end, due to worries about a bad knee. I have a Physio is booked and proper strecthing seems to be helping though.

Simon has succombed as we thought he might and has also decided to do the Etape! He has secured a charity place with Multiple Sclerosis Society and we'll both be working hard to raise sponsorship for them.

The highlight of this weeks' training was a ride from
London to Brighton, the excuse, or rather reward at the end being a friend's birthday party. We set off a 9.30 with some other beginners from work, the ride took just over 6 hours, but the actual ride time was 3hrs 50mins.

Stop off for tea

We made it up Ditchling Beacon without stopping, Simon and I both felt really good afterwards and I reckon we could have cycled back the next day had it not been for the hangovers!

Anna coming up Ditchling Beacon

Boozy night out after the ride

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Dictionary of cycling terms!

Cadence- revolutions of the crank per minute

Cycling computer- these measure various things such as speed and cadence and a whole host of of other things I don't understand.

ITB- Iliotibial band, not strictly a cycling term, but this pesky little band extends from the outside of the pelvis over the hip and knee and causes all sorts of knee and leg problems.

Over shoes- covers to put over your cycling shoes, they keep your feet warm and dry.

Sportive: a cycling "race"

Turbo Trainer- piece of kit you can attach your bike to to train indoors. Good for spinning training which is hard to do outside and good for rainy days. Requires something good on TV as potentially very dull.

Heart rate zones

Most of our training is heart rate based and you'll see in the training plans I post it'll say Z3 or Z4 etc. Below explains the zones, there are personal to everyone

Zone Range BPM Purpose

Recovery Short rides (non-training) for recovery

Zone 1
60-65% Development of economy and efficiency with very high volume, low stress work. Very long sessions improve the combustion and storage of fats. Combine with Zone 2 for practical unstructured low stress rides.

Zone 2
65-75% Development of economy and efficiency with high volume, moderate stress work. An important intensity for establishing a firm base for all riders. Combine with Zone 1 for practical unstructured low stress rides

Zone 3
75-82% Development of aerobic capacity and endurance with moderate volume work at a controlled intensity. Should be done alone or in a small group to stay in zone. Possible (but boring) on a turbo trainer for up to one hour in bad weather. 'Modules' can be incorporated into Zone 1 or 2 rides to increase intensity whilst maintaining volume.

Zone 4
82-89% Typical 'mean' intensity of most road races. Useful for tapering and as preparation, to simulate race pace, rather than as training. Sessions should be ended when the effort starts to tell.

Zone 5
89-94% Raising of anaerobic threshold, improvement of lactate clearance and adaptation to race speed. Should be done alone and:-
(1) as a specific road or 'turbo' session or
(2) for controlled periods within a shortened Zone 1 or 2 session or
(3) in a 10 or 25 mile time trial.

Zone 6
94-100% High intensity interval training to increase maximum power and improve lactate production or clearance. Probably best done on hills or a 'turbo' trainer.
NOTE 1. Should be done only when completely recovered from previous work.
NOTE 2. Heart rates are not the best guide for this type of training. Intensity should be such that the effort can just be held to the end of the interval. Ride on feel and use heart rate for feedback.

Anna Does The Etape

Monday, 15 March 2010

London to Brighton for a Party!

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Training links and the Sky Etape Page

Dictionary of cycling terms!

Heart rate zones

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