Anna Does The Etape: April 2010

Monday, 26 April 2010

Still off the bike

I've been off the bike for a week and a half due to my knee injury, am trying not to let it get me down and am hoping that it'll be ok. The physio seems good, I think he has pin pointed the problem. In fact he pin pointed it quite literally with some deep muscle acupuncture last week!

In the meantime I have been putting my spare time to good use: I've ordered my wedding dress, sorted out our spare room, ordered a funky new Sky team helmet and checked out new bikes! I met a girl on a ride with Dulwich Paragon whose partner builds bikes, he is going to put together a spec for me and I am also considering the new Boardman women's specific carbon bike, the men's bikes get great reviews and are really good value, the women's bike looks pretty nice too.

Thursday, 15 April 2010

255km in a Week!

Last week was a BIG week, it started with a 52km windy ride in Somerset on Easter Monday and culminated in a 93km ride in Surrey with the completion of my first "Sportive".

The Sportive was good, I wasn't as fast as fellow Sky Team etapers Rachel and John, or Simon, (of course!), but I wasn't too bad. I completed it in a ride time of 4 hours with none of the expected muscular aches and pains. My main problem was severe pain in my knee, which meant I had to stop frequently to stretch it out and small slopes seemed like massive mountains- not good if you really have massive mountains to climb!

I've been having knee problems for a few weeks and have been seeing a physio at work, however it is now bad enough that I am concerned I won't be able to take part in the Etape. So, I am off the bike at the moment and have an appointment to see a new sports physio at the National Sports Centre in Crystal Palace, if anyone can fix it surely they can!

I'll keep you posted, hopefully this isn't the end of my short lived cycling career...

Friday, 9 April 2010

Training Week Commencing 5th April

8 hours
Monday - REST

Tuesday- ROAD AEROBIC 1.5hr
15 mins warm-up, 2 x 15 mins RACE EFFORTS! Go as fast as you can for 15 mins on a stretch of road. Did you go as far as last week? 15 mins rest in between efforts. The rest of the ride in Z2

Wednesday - REST

Thursday - TURBO 1.5hr 15 mins warm up, 15 mins 70 rpm high Z3, 5 mins easy, 15 mins 70 rpm high Z3, 5 mins easy, 15 mins 7- rpm high Z3, 20 mins easy

Friday - REST

Saturday - ROAD ENDURANCE 2hr To include 3x20mins Z3, easy in between efforts

Sunday -ROAD ENDURANCE 3hrs Hilly club run ride if possible with no structure

Thursday, 1 April 2010

Training Plan Week commencing 29th March

Monday -REST

Tuesday - ROAD AEROBIC 1hr 15 mins warm-up, 1 x 15 mins RACE EFFORTS! Go as fast as you can for 15 mins on a stretch of road. Check how far you travelled. You will do this again next week! The rest of the ride in Z2

Wednesday -REST

Thursday - TURBO 1hr 15 mins warm up, 4 x 5 mins hard riding Z4 with 5 mins recovery in between each. Then roll down after the fourth 5 min hard riding for 10 mins

Friday - REST

Saturday - ROAD ENDURANCE 2hr to include 3x20mins Z3, easy in between efforts

Sunday - ROAD ENDURANCE 2hrs hilly ride if possible with no structure

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