andy: 2011年8月アーカイブ

In the week leading up to a race how should you train?

There are two theories on this:

1. rest and low intensity "cycling"
2. rest and short rides with periods of medium / high intensity

Yesterday was a rest day. I used the bike just to get to work and back. The beach for a swim in the evening. And in bed for 9 o’clock.

Tuesday’s training: bike to work (17 km)

Today I did a short ride to work and back. Feeling refreshed, I added a few short climbs of the little pass between Shindou and Kujiranami.

Climb 1: 140 target HR
Climb 2: 150 target HR
Climb 3: 160 target HR
Climb 4: 170 target HR
Climb 5: 170 target HR (big ring / out of the saddle)

Freewheeling down after each climb my heart rate dropped to about 50 HR. A good sign. However, for the last two climbs I had to really push hard to get up to 170 HR. This tells me I need to rest up some more before Sunday's race.

Wednesday’s training: bike to work + Shindou climb x 5

(34 km , 420 m climbing)

Two days of hard training at the weekend. After racing up Komura Pass and Ogami Dake on Saturday, my legs felt like wood yesterday. After hard riding on the flats and racing up Yahiko on Sunday, my legs felt like lead today.

Time for a rest. But I’m working in Takayanagi today. Of course I’ll ride there. And then there’s Isonobe. Calling me through the morning mist. Well why not? The legs are heavy. The heart doesn’t respond either. About 160 HR is all I can keep. Isonobe, I can feel it!

I've been training hard recently. Time for a rest tomorrow. Maybe Wednesday too. Want to be raring to go for Sunday's Tokamachi hill climb...

Monday’s training: Takayanagi commute + Isonobe ( 57 km, 500 m climbing)

40 kmph into a headwind...

Mt. Yahiko in the clouds

Yahiko - AJ again!

Sunday's asaren: Yahiko x 1 (113 km, 750 m climbing, 33 kmph)

new sunrise

new carbon

new scandium

new titanium

Ogami Dake from the bottom

Ogami Dake - AJ!

Sakurazaka ~ Asahi no sato (X NG)

Saturday's asaren: Komura Pass (11:29) ~ Yoshikawa ~ Ogami Dake (full course) ~ Sakurazaka Pass ~ Ishiguro ~ Nota loop

(85 km, 1365 m climbing)

Cycling is a great sport. Nothing beats the feeling of cresting a climb and shooting down the other side. Group rides too, for the chat and banter. On mornings like today though, the rain belting down,the wind in your face, it can be a lonely sport. Head down. In the drops. Find a rhythm. The mind wanders. Tom Courtenay. The loneliness of the long distance runner

Friday's training: Teradomari return (80 km, 200 m climbing, 33 kmph)

From Kashiwazaki to Matsunoyama onsen takes about 1h 45 mins solo at tempo pace
:

Race course:

Once out of Matsunoyama village, the road picks up:

After the climb out of the village, the gradient eases off, time to get in the big ring:

Back into the small chain ring after this left hairpin:

A tight right hand curve (13%) at 500m to go. The race could be decided here:

At the top of the steep section, a chance to get in the big ring again:

Final approach to the finish line:

Thursday’s asaren: Tokamaschi hill climb course check no.2

(112 km, 1100 m climbing, 30 kmph)

Komura Pass - start point

Today marks two weeks back in Japan. Two weeks of getting back into serious training. I’ve done some good rides on my own, some excellent group rides and paid due attention to rest.

Today was a chance to test the form on Komura Pass. 20 minutes to the foot of the pass. The perfect warm up. 28 degrees and sweaty.

The view on the way up

Climb 1 – Full Gas TT (11:06, 173 / 185 HR)

Find a good gear. Tighten the toe straps. Hit the start line. Hit the stop watch start button. Feeling good if not great. Getting up to the high level of exertion is the hardest. Once your there, it’s just a matter of keeping it going.

170HR after the first steep section. Drop a few gears to drive through the next easy section. 180 HR coming out of the second steep section. Drop gears again to keep the momentum going. The last corner. Out of the saddle briefly. Don’t seem to have the killer edge. Keep pace for the line.

Time: 11:06. My PB was 10:41 set way back in 2008 I’ll be trying to get closer to that these coming weeks.

The gentler upper reaches

Climb 2 – Lactate Threshold 170 HR keep (12:32, 166 / 171 HR)

Holding 170 is easy after the first effort. Go hard on the easy sections. Hold off on the steeper sections. I enjoyed this climb a lot.

Komura Pass – goal point

Climb 3 – Intervals 30 s / 90 s (13:22, 160 / 179 HR)

30s hard. Out of the saddle, in the big ring. 90s easy. 34 × 25, trying to recover. 7 hard intervals in all. Great training.

Komura Pass - AJ face

Looking forward to some more hill work tomorrow.

Wednesday’s training: Komura Pass x 3 (45 km, 750 m climbing)

Riding the rollers? In August!? I must be going soft! I used to ride in the rain in February!

After stripping down my old bike and cleaning each part merticulously, I can't bear the thought of filling them up with gunk and grime just yet. Like J Casablancas of the Strokes up to my neck in sludge....

Well if I'm going to roll, I'm going to roll good

1. Speed Intervals

50 kmph x 5 mins
52 kmph x 5 mins
54 kmph x 5 mins
56 kmph x 5 mins
58 kmph x 5 mins
60 kmph x 5 mins

Without training regularly on rollers, it's difficult to get "in the zone". This gradual increase of intensity worked well. At about 165 HR for the last interval.

2. Muscular Endurance interval

150 HR x 20 mins

No problem holding this HR after the speed intervals.

3. Criss Cross intervals

140 ~ 170 HR x 10 mins (3 intervals)

Getting up to about 165 is easy. It's the last 5 beats that are difficult. Cadence up to about 130 in the 53 × 12.

Total: 60 mins (54 km, 54 kmph, 109 cadence, 145 / 170 HR)

Tuesday's training: Rollers - ride to the music, The Strokes' First Impressions on Earth

new position, new bike, new motivation

Monday's training: Sakurazaka Pass ~ Ogami Dake ~ Komura Pass loop (56 km, 1000 m climbing)

A while back, I got my first pair of Assos shorts. I'd always been interested in them, as Andrew always raved about them, but had been a little bit put off by the price.

Well, I have been really impressed by them. So much so that a ride in any other shorts just isn't the same.

I mentioned this on the Tokyo Cyling Club forum. I was surprised when one member John, who hadn't been quite as impressed as I was, offered to give me his pair for free. More surprised when I opened the mail this morning to find two pairs of shorts in there (one pair still has the label attached!).

John, thank you so much for your kindness. I hope I can repay you in some way soon!

it all starts with a frame

the basic build up including 10-speed Dura Ace

the basic starting point for bike fit

while riding the bike, lasers are used to measure position

cycling in a mirror to keep form

determining the best cycling circles

determining the best saddle height

foot positioning to maximise power

saddle height raised from 83.5 to 86 cm! (2.5 cm up!)

stem length shortened from 120 to 100 mm (2 cm off!)

the finished bike

Enosan, 一日ありがとうじょんのび！

Saturday's asaren: Kashiwazaki ~ Takayanagi ~ Matsudai ~ Matsunoyama ~ T HC course (return)

(120 km, 1350 m climbing, 29 kmph)

This is the definition of my life...

Thursday's asaren: Sakurazaka Pass ~ Ogami Dake ~ Komura Pass loop (56 km, 1000 m climbing)

• 30 minutes warm up
• 1 minute hard (20 s standing, 40 s in the drops) / 2 minutes easy x 10 sets (30 minutes)
• 15 minutes recovery
• 15 minutes 150 HR, 90 cadence / 5 minutes easy x 3 sets (45 minutes)
• 15 minutes warm down

Total: 2h 30

Wednesday's asaren: Teradomari loop (85 km, 250 m climbing, 34 kmph)

If Id been on my new Lynskey this morning, I'd be writing about how well the bike responds. How easy it is to find a rhythm on the climbs. Powerful on rolling terrain. Great acceleration on the flats. But no, I was on the VITUS.....

Met up with Yoshida san and Kitano san at 5:30. 23 degrees, nice and cool. Today's menu, a loop of Shiba Toge and a climb of Isonobe.

As always, Kitano san is fast out of the blocks. I can't keep up on the first big climb. He slows down on the flatter upper reaches.

“Mada toge jyanai yo! Achi da yo!” An improvised sprint finish. AJ!

The next climb up to the tunnel. I'm well off the pace on this one. About 100m back at the summit.

Now for the rolling terrain Ishiguro ~ Takayanagi. My territory. I drill it here. Fast on the descents. Carry the momentum over the climbs in the big ring.

Next up the climb up to Shiba Toge. We meet Murayama san on the way down. He must head out at 4:00! I lock onto Kitano san's wheel. He's in a big gear. His pedaling fluid and strong. This is the training I need. The carrot on a stick.

We turn left for the climb up to the onsen. Into the mist. The steepest part. I can't follow here. 3rd man at the top. But here we go again. The rolling terrain. Like being on the top of the world here. I drill it. Drill it.

I descend the other side with Yoshida san. A mail from Kitano san. He has a flat tyre at the top. Time to climb it again.

Next up Isonobe. At last I find my rhythm. No heart rate belt today so riding on sensations. Feeling good. Throw a bottle out to get up more speed. Using a few gears. 38 × 27 on the steepest parts. AJ at the top.

Last the ride back to Enosan's shop. From the top of Isonobe it takes 40 minutes. Three up rotation. Keeping the speed in the 45 ~ 50 kmph range. On the front in the outer top. This is what it's all about.

As we reach CS Enosan at 8:30, it's starting to get hot. Asaren is definitely the best way to get good training in at this time of year.

Thank you Kitano san and Yoshida san!

Tuesday's training: Shiba Toge loop + Isonobe (85 km, 1200m climbing)

Elvis made the best comeback ever. Reinventing himself as a show stop singer Big band. Orchestra. Gospel singers. Pulled out all the stops. Viva Las Vegas!

I’ve changed my comeback plan after Minami Uonoma RR was postponed and the JBCF TT Championships turns out to be only 4.5 km long (the drive to Saitama is harder than the race!)

New plan:

· September 4 Challenge Hillclimb Series 2011 1st stage - Tokamachi
· September 24 Challenge Hillclimb Series 2011 2nd stage – Kitakata
· October 16 Sado hillclimb or Wajima (JBCF)
· October 23 Japan Cup Road Race
· November 6 Minami Uonoma Road Race

Viva Tokamachi!

Sunday was the じょんのび marathon.

As usual it was very hot! 11 km course with ups, downs and no flats! 10 laps. 110 km / 1560 m climbing.

19 riders set out at 8 am. The first lap was supposed to be done slowly but Murayama san was at the front driving the pace. “Parade Pace” he calls it!

By the start of the second lap, there was a top group of 4, Yoshida san, Murayama san, Sagara san and me.

Yoshida san was off the front quite a bit. Looking good on the climbs. Making some big gaps.

I realized quickly that my advantage was on the descents. Hitting 65 kmph plus each time (top speed 69 kmph). I gapped the other 3 on each descent, forcing them to work a bit to get across at the bottom.

The pace was good. I was hitting 180 HR on each climb. I was glad I took a rest the day before. I took a bottle a lap and ate something on the long descent on each lap.

By lap 5, we were down to two, Murayama san and me. I missed a bottle on lap 6 and he was kind enough to share his.

After lap 7 we made a full stop to get drinks and food. From here the race proper would begin.

I put in a few small attacks on the descents, to try to decide where to attack later.

Two years ago, Murayama san attacked me on the last climb. I was on the limit for the entire lap and couldn’t respond.

Three years ago I attacked on the long descent on the 8th lap and managed to keep away to the finish.

This year I decided to go on the 9th lap on the long descent.

Up until the 8th lap, I had done all the work on the front. I let him come around for a long pull on lap 8 and took in food and drink.

On the 9th lap I put in my attack as planned. Each lap I’d eaten at this point, so I think I caught him by surprise.

Looking back under my arm I could see the chase was on. I was freewheeling keeping down as low as possible. He was pedaling hard.

About 15 km to go. Time trial mode. I kept the gap on the descent. I held it on the valley floor too. Now if I could just keep it over the climb out of Betsumata….

But he’s getting closer, closer, time to ease off. He’s back on.

Into the final lap.

“This is the last one Andy!”.

“I gave it all there. I’m finished!”

I lock onto Murayama san’s wheel. We’re climbing R353. I look down. 35 kmph. 180 HR. Drafting!

Turn left. Out of the saddle. The left leg is cramping. Locked at 6 o’clock.

A quick leg rub. The next climb. Locked at 6 o’clock again.

Murayama san is too strong. I just can’t follow any longer. I don’t give up though. There’s always a chance. Push it all the way to the finish.

Happy with 2nd place. Happy with my performance. Happy with the training. A good ride for the last ride on my carbon bike.

After the race was the usual BBQ. Thank you to Enosan’s family for the great food, great beer (draft Malts!) and great atmosphere.

Sunday’s training: 110 km, 1560 m climbing, 152 / 187 HR av / max

sun breaking through the clouds above Ogami Dake

the last twist before the top

sunflowers in full bloom

I took on the Ogami Dake loop from the "easy approach" today. I want this loop to form the basis of my training in August. It's really tough after a few weeks off the bike and in this heat. Hopefully it will become easier.

A rest day planned for tomorrow in preparation for the 110 km marathon on Sunday...

Friday's training: Sakurazaka Pass ~ Ogami Dake ~ Komura Pass loop (56 km, 1000 m climbing)

Got back in Kashiwazaki at 15:30 today. More than 24 hours on the road. A quick search for bottles and kit, pump up the tyres, on the road by 16:00. “Jitensha Bakka!” says the mother-in-law....

I met Sagara san in Nota. I introduced him to Komura Toge and then a lap of this Sunday's じょんのび　marathon course

After almost a month off the road bike, I was planning to take it easy but having someone riding along side you makes you push yourself perhaps twice as hard as you would normally.

Got the HR up to 180 on Komura Pass and the race course too.

We'll meet up again for some asaren tomorrow. Providing I can get up......

Wednesday's training: Komura Pass x 1, じょんのび　marathon course x 1 lap (45 km, 500 m climbing)

Our 3 week break in the UK is coming to an end. I’ve been trying to balance the Elvis lifestyle and the training lifestyle. My mum seems amazed that I can drink till 12 and still get up at 5 for training. “It takes practice” I tell her. However, it can’t go on forever. I was glad to wake up to rain this morning and roll over back to sleep.

We are now in “omiyage” souvenir shopping mode. I spent my money before I got here with a new frame, forks and saddle. The top end Lynskey looks gorgeous and I can’t wait to get it built up. Enosan, yoroshiku!

Yesterday I got an England shirt “that fits!” for Yusuke. I couldn’t resist the yellow goalkeeper’s top for Suzuoto too. Mellow Yellow!

It’s 16 degrees here today. Half of what it will be when we get back to Japan. I’m really motivated to get out on my bike for asaren and to hit the beach with Luke in the evenings....

The “Isle of Skye” is the name the locals give to Saddleworth Moor between Greenfield and Holmfirth. Like the real Isle of Skye in Scotland, it’s barren, cold and windswept.

The climb up to the top out of Greenfeld village is perhaps the longest local climb around these parts. Steep enough to get the heart rate up to 170.

Nice views of Chew Valley and Dovestones reservoir below. There are 3 false summits, you think you are the top, only for it to be another corner. Once you hit the top, the wind slaps you in the face like no other.

I drop down enjoying the speedy descent. Take a left half way down at Binn Green, the entrance to the Peak District. A quick loop of Dovestones reservoir. Home via Grains Bar before the rain.

Saturday’s asaren: MTB on road / off road (2h 5 mins, 750 m climbing)

We spent a few days in a lovely caravan in Pendleton north Lancashire. This was our base for exploring the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District.

The area of Pendleton itself is very beautiful. I took the opportunity to explore the area on foot with some asaren running.

Pendleton is walking country, or better still fell running country.

Pendle Hill dominates the landscape. Its 1831 ft (583 m) tall and shaped like a big whale. The hill is famous for witches and it’s not surprising in this eerie landscape.

I picked up a local walking map. There is a whole network of paths up and down and around the hill. But the one that interests me is the one I can see from the caravan while having a beer studying the maps. Like a scar cutting steeply and diagonally up to the peak.

Up at 5:30. Glass of water. Drive through the small villages of Roughlee and Barley. A small “Public Bridleway” sign. This could be it. Park up. Photo of the sun coming up. Run up the lane. Lots of rabbits. More sheep. Two cattle grids. A couple of farms. Turn right. Another sign. A steep road going up. Bingo!

This track goes straight up! Rocks packed together like a dry stone wall. I want to run up, but the best I can manage is “brisk hiking”.

I reach the top in a surprisingly short time. The “Beacon” marks the summit. Fantastic panoramic views. Rain clouds to one side. Sunshine the other.

The top of the hill is Barley Moor. A wide expanse of peat and heather. Perfect for running on. A fell runner’s dream. I run along the whale’s back and down to the tail until boggy conditions and the first drops of rain turn me back.

Down the hill. Back home. Shower. Put the fire on! Breakfast to the sound of rain falling on a tin roof. Perfect!

Thursday’s training: Pendle Hill fell run (1h 20 mins)

Friday’s training: Pendle valley run (1h)

Back up Marsden Moor this morning to check out the fantastic views I missed yesterday. The views don’t disappoint. It’s wet and miserable on our side of the Pennines, but brighter on the Yorkshire side. Good news as we’ll be driving over to York for a day trip today.

From the top of the Moor I take a right signposted as the “West Yorkshire Cycle Route”. This is an old Roman road, straight as an arrow and with some cobbles still visible at the edge of the road.

Cross over the M62, the highest motorway in England. Drop into Ripponden.

Back on the A62 over Saddleworth Moor. Lots of idiot drivers on this road, driving faster than most would on the motorway running parallel to it.

Drop down into Denshaw, Grains Bar and home.

Tuesday’s asaren: MTB road (2h, 800 m climbing)

Up at 5 today. Haven’t been able to get up the last 2 mornings after a boozy weekend.

Feels good to be out on the bike in the drizzle. Fresh after 2 days “rest”. The plan is a loop over Marsden Moor down into Slaithwaite and back over Stanedge Moor.

Feel good on the first pass from Newhey to Denshaw. Pick up Huddersfield Road. A beautiful climb this one. But the higher we go, the thicker the mist gets.

At the top visibility is poor. I head down into Yorkshire but the visibility is worse here. This road has little traffic but the road over Stanedge could be dangerous.

Time for a U-turn. Stop to check the Pennine Way. This hiking route runs along the top of the Pennine hills or the backbone of England.

The path looks surprisingly well maintained. I try to get over to Stanedge this way (1.8 miles). However after about a mile, it becomes impossible to follow the trail. The mist is so thick here. Don’t fancy get lost up here.

Back to Huddersfield Road. Drop back down to Denshaw. Climb to Grains Bar. Take the old road over the top of Grains Bar and the steep descent into Delph village.

The weather has improved a bit so I take the climb up to Stanedge. U turn. Back over Grains Bar and home.

Monday’s training: MTB on road / off road (2h 40 mins, 900 m climbing)