(33 km, 850 m climbing, 27 kmph)

(33 km, 850 m climbing, 27 kmph) that looks like the riding data of some French dude named Andre Du Bois. Living in his chateau at the base of Alpe d' Huez. Spending spring evenings sipping on vintage French wines and nibbling on fine cheeses. Up at the crack of dawn to tackle the hairpins of the Alp. Speed back down to the smell of fresh croissants and coffee from the kitchen and the sounds of Luc George and Marc Nicholas rising in the boudoir.......

Nope it's some British lad living in rural Japan. Spending evenings knocking back cheap happoshu like it's going out of fashion and munching on mixed nuts. Up with the sun and out of the door without a sound. 10 climbs of the little pass up the road. Back in time for cereal, toast, fruit and of course fresh coffee.....

Ten climbs this morning:

Climb 1: 53 × 27
Climb 2: 53 × 24
Climb 3: 53 × 21
Climb 4: 53 × 19
Climb 5: 53 × 17

I was happy to see my heart rate go over my lactate threshold 170HR quite easily. A lighter training load and a good sleep pattern in the last couple of weeks are to thank for this. Criss -crossing this threshold is important training.

I was also interested to see that the first 3 repeats yielded similar speed and heart rate and only a drop in cadence. In recent years I've been spinning a lighter gear for hill climbs. Partly a conscious choice and partly influenced by the ever easier gear ratios 23 > 25 > 27 > compact cranks. Maybe I should target a heavier gear in hill climb races, particularly at the start where it's important to push hard to follow wheels.

Climb 6: dancing out of the saddle
Climb 7: dancing out of the saddle

I'm very much a seated rider. Relying of shifts in gears and cadence to follow wheels or spring attacks. I've pretty much resigned myself to this style of riding but maybe I should work on out of the saddle efforts more.

Climb 8: intervals (30s hard / 60s easy) x 3 sets
Climb 9: intervals (40s hard / 60s easy) x 3 sets

The basic starting point for intervals is a work interval followed by a rest interval of 3 times the duration. This is often 30s hard / 90s easy. To make intervals harder, you can shorten the rest period or lengthen the work period.

For climb 8 I did a rest interval of 2 times the work interval. Less time to recover, time to go again.

For climb 9 I increased the work interval by 10 seconds. Need to dig that little deeper to complete the interval.

Climb 10: full gas

After a varied training session such as this, it's hard to know how to go “full gas”. Based on feel alone, I went as hard as I could for the last climb of the day.

Sunday's asaren:

Shindou climb x 10

(33km, 850 m climbing, 27 kmph)

In the evening I had a quick spin on the rollers. With nothing much in mind I turned the Super Furry Animals' Fuzzy Logic up loud and aimed for 140~150 HR / 100~110 cadence. I was happy to see an average speed of 55kmph for the 40 min ride. Speed on the rollers is only relative but gives you a good yardstick for measuring your progress over the season.

Sunday evening training:

Rollers - ride to the music – SFA's fuzzy logic

(40 mins, 143 AV HR, 36.9 km, 55.3 kmph)

Musical motivation: SFAs - God! Show me magic.....