The Two Donnas

The last two weekends, I have been doing my “long hilly” rides up Donna Buang. Melbourne weather has been shit crazy (nothing out of the ordinary) and the last 2 rides is a testament on the contrast. 

On the 12^th Dec, I arrived in Warburton around 6:30am…I was yawning like crazy on my drive there and could barely muster strength to keep my eye lids open. I had a quick 10min nap in the car which helped immensely. I started my ride around 7am and headed towards the summit. This day was forecasted with a bit of showers around Melbourne but Warburton/Donna Buang was dry and cool. I started the ride off with arm warmers and had the gilet in my back pocket. It didn’t take long for me to sweat buckets and I took my arm warmers off at the mid-way point of the climb (where the Forest Gallery was). I felt stronger on this climb (my 2^nd ever attempt from Warburton) and I paid attention to my stroke efficiency and cadence. I didn’t feel the climb was as horrific as the first attempt on Melbourne Cup day.

Once the arm warmers were removed, I felt much cooler and it was hovering around 8 degrees according to the Garmin. The climb up to the summit was good and I felt much better than the first and second attempt – Melbourne Cup day and part of the Giro della Donna respectively. I knew I was on track to break my own PB as I looked down at my Garmin and I finished the climb within 2 hours (1:50 on Strava as my PB). It was very foggy along the 2^nd half of the climb. At some points, it was hard to see where I was pedaling until I actually reach that point. It was like I was riding through cotton wool. Once I got to the top, I knew it would be a freezing descent as I was starting to feel the chill as I was climbing which was rare.

I didn’t stop for long (more like couldn’t), I put on the gilet and arm warmers straight away before I froze to death. There was a bit of snow/frost coverage at the summit which meant that it was freezing. This was supported by my Garmin telling me it was -1^oC. Luckily I had a pair of long finger gloves in the car and brought them with me along the climb as they were a gold on the way down. It was so cold, my jaw was chattering and my arms were shaking because it was that cold. At one point, I had an “ice cream headache” and I had a little cry because I just wanted to get out of there. Once I had about 5km to go on the descent, I could finally feel my body and felt more relieved. The plan was to do 2 repeats of the climb but decided against it as I didn’t want to put myself through that descent again.

On 19^th Dec, it was forecasted to be 41oC. Once again, the drive into Warburton early in the morning really made me sleepy even with a coffee along the way. Luckily it wasn’t as bad as last week and I didn’t need a nap before the ride. I decided to not bring along arm warmers or gilet as it was already 30 degrees at Warburton.

The ride up was not comfortable and I felt dehydrated. I usually finish a bidon within 2 hours but I found myself finishing nearly two bottles before I reached the top of the climb. 

I logged into a webinar about cycling strength and preparation for 3 Peaks on Wednesday night and one of the things which they spoke about was training for strength and riding on one of two gears harder than what you would on race day. So this meant that my cadence would be slower. I also did a few strokes standing up and training myself to be able to do that more often so I could get myself over steep pinches and maybe Mt Baw Baw.

Due to the heat and the strong winds, it was hard to pedal at some points of the climb as the wind felt like it was a warm blanket holding me back. Even with my sunglasses on, the wind brought debris into my eyes and I did spend a few moments trying to blink it out. There were twigs and branches everywhere along the climb. I think I heard about a dozen or so branches cracking from the tree trunks and cascading down the slope. I was actually afraid that a large branch would fall on or around me during the ride.

There was a bit of coverage from the trees along the route so the temperature along the climb was about 10 degrees less than Warburton apart from the top of the summit as it was exposed (temps around 35oC)

I decided to have a bit of explore to find the natural spring to fill up my water bottles. It wasn’t hard to find as another cyclist was there filling up his bottle too. Luckily it was there as I had ran out of water pretty much when I finished the first climb.

I forgot to unpause my Garmin from the natural spring down to about 1km from the mid-way point – bugger. I decided that instead of doing 2 repeats, I would do a 0.5 repeat from the mid-way point. The second attempt up the 2^nd half of the climb was much harder than the first that I couldn’t ride on a harder gear without going down to 30rpm (too low!) The winds didn’t die down on the 2^nd attempt either and more debris came onto the roads, which was annoying. I didn’t fill up my bottles again on the way down as I had about half a bottle left and it was only a descent down to Warburton.

My quickest ride down to Warburton is approx. 25min but this time around, it took me nearly 33min due to maneuvering myself around twigs, branches and even a wallaby that decided to stand in the middle of the road. The temperature also increased dramatically the closer I got to Warburton.

I decided against a coffee or a visit to the bakery as I wanted a nap before I had to finish off a musette before I headed to the Austral Track Champs on Saturday night so it was a quick pack of the bike in the car and fuel top up and off I went back to Cheltenham.

As you can see from the photo below – the contrast between the two conditions. Top photo was the 19th Dec - around 35 degrees (although it felt like it was 40) and the bottom was the 12th Dec and -1 degrees. 

7 Peaks - Dinner Plain (6/7)

First off, I am a pretty stubborn person. Once I have a plan of attack or a current obsession, I don’t let it go easily or change my plans until it is done/task done to death/item purchased.

The latest plan I had was to finish off 6 out of the 7 Peaks challenge before the end of the year, leaving Mt Baw Baw to do in February once I get some training in my legs and mentally prepare myself for the task ahead. My Baw Baw is pretty frightening and I will dwell on this later.

So I had ticked off 5 of the 7 Peaks already last week. The weekend just gone, we had originally planned on staying at Hotham and riding both sides of the climb – Mt Hotham climb whilst the Tour of Bright (ToB) rode the Gap loop on Saturday and on Sunday ride Dinner Plain-Omeo and back whilst the ToB rode the Hotham climb for Stage 3. There was a slight change of plans due to life-commitments so other plans came into play to accommodate.

As I had already done Mt Hotham climb, I decided to just do one big ride for the weekend and to just tick off the Dinner Plain climb (solo) ride of the 7 Peaks . Instead of staying at Hotham, I decided to stay at Omeo. It’s a small town but provided all the amenities such as caravan park which is where I stayed and a bakery for my lunch post ride.

I had a pretty big week in terms of training: weights on Monday and Wednesday, Wattbikes + Altitude on Tuesday, Wattbikes at Art of Cycling (first class) on Thursday 5:30am class and a swim on Friday afternoon. I decided to take Saturday off in terms of training as the drive to Omeo would be a big day.

I left the house at 11:30am on Saturday after packing 80% of my things the night before. I just had a few things to sort out such as my homemade nutrition (RMS, maple syrup, lemon juice, salt) and something new which was dates soaked overnight and blended in the Thermomix. Packed the bike in the car and then it was off I go along Princes Hwy towards Omeo.

I stopped 3 times during my 5 hour drive – for lunch, iced coffee and then just a juice and a stretch of the legs. I got into the Omeo Caravan Park at about 5pm. The basic cabin I had booked was cosy – everything I needed for an overnight stay (needed to bring my own towels and linen) and it had a community shower block which I really didn’t mind. I had a late check out so I only had to pay for one night’s accommodation.

I brought dinner with me as I didn’t feel like heading to the pub by myself, ate it around 8pm and then it was packing my kit ready for my morning ride.

kitgrid

The initial plan was to ride at 6am as the forecasted temp was over 30 for the day but the temperature of Omeo (especially at the caravan park) dropped below 10 overnight and I was freezing. Luckily I not only brought my sleeping bag but I also brought an extra blanket too. I ended up sleeping in a bit as headed out for my ride at 7am instead of 6am.

There was a climb out of the caravan park which warmed up my legs quick. I rode through the main street of the town and then passed the Bakery which is the official start of the 7 Peaks Climb. I was going along pretty good and then I realised that I forgot my heart rate monitor (no big deal), and then I stopped to turn on my rear light for safety as I was on the road by myself. I stopped again during the first climb out of Omeo as I needed to get rid of my arm warmers (so warm!). I struggled to keep my cadence > 45…I knew the gradient was significant, I didn’t want to push so hard so early in the ride especially when it was only 5km in and lastly, my legs were just dead.

The temperature hovered above 20 at this point and I was sweating buckets. I had about a hundred flies as passengers as I climbed and I had to do a bushman’s hanky blow several times to push these flies out of my nose. After the first climb passed Mt. Kosciuszko, there was a soft descent and I knew that I would have to climb this on the return leg. There was a pretty steep descent after another climb and I also dreaded for the return.

Once I had done the first steep climb, the rest of the ride was pretty good. Rolling hills which sapped the energy out of the legs. More flies…

There was another climb you could see from a mile away through the rolling hills. Luckily I could ride at a comfortable pace and cadence. There were a few people descending, I am guessing they rode from Dinner Plain, heading towards Omeo.

There were a few false flats before the final “climb” into Dinner Plain. I was comfortable and even saw a few familiar faces near Hotham Airport. Once I got to the top of the climb, I was relieved. The climb from the caravan park to Dinner Plain took nearly 3:20 which I was pretty happy with (aimed to be below 3:30). I bought a drink and got my 6^th stamp at the café, sat down for a little break, then it was a toilet stop and refill of hydration before I headed back down to Omeo.

The official 7 Peaks strava segment - fastest female was around 2 hours. 

I have been pretty consistent with hydration ever since I set my alarm for 15min intervals to remind me to drink at least every 15min and eat every 30min. I tend to go through a bottle of hydration every 2 hours so finishing the climb with only a third of the second bottle meant that I was a bit thirsty than usual.

The temperature hit 34 (as max) on my descent down to Omeo. The country roads are rough so there was plenty of friction that I felt comfortable about speeds > 50km/hr on the descents – they were also pretty straight descents which I could do. There were some gravel parts which shook me at some points but I recovered from them quick.

I hated the steep climbs back towards Omeo – my legs were fatigued at this point and I just kept my focus on heading back to the caravan park. I actually slowed down when I reached Omeo as I wanted to take in the scenery of this small town. Once I got down to the caravan park, I uploaded my garmin data, posted a photo of the ride on Instagram and Facebook (also to let people know that I arrived safely). I then took a shower, checked out of the caravan park and then it was lunch at the Omeo Bakery before I headed back to Melbourne.

I stopped twice on my drive back to Melbourne – once at Rosedale for a toilet break and to check up on my friends’ progress at Busselton (Ironman) and the next at the main servo stop for fuel and early dinner. I also bought 2kg of cherries from the side of the road. I have a weakness of cherries – I could eat cherries until I have a stomach ache.

Now having done 6 out of the 7 Peaks challenge rides, my personal ranking for the rides are as follows:

1) Mt Hotham

2) Falls Creek

3) Mt Buller

4) Lake Mountain

5) Mt Buffalo

6) Dinner Plain

I found Dinner Plain to be more like a long ride on country roads rather than a “climbing challenge”. There were some challenging parts but generally, it was very manageable. Just a long day. I would recommend that others carry 2 full size bidons and not those small ones and there is nothing in between Omeo and Dinner Plain for a top up and it can get hot and sweaty.

I have been pretty lucky in terms of weather for all of my climbs – nothing crazy has been handed to me so far (knock on wood) and I have been staying away from cycling outdoors when the weather has been stupid. 

Cycling Update

I haven't done a general update of my "activities" in a while (since September). However, I have been doing regular updates on the significant rides (and milestones). I do like to write about them as much as I could - it gives me a chance to reflect on the event, ride, day and how I went and what I can do to improve and more importantly, allows me to be thankful for being able to achieve those milestones. It also gives me a chance to read them and then reflect on changes in my life, especially on days when I am feeling a bit low on performance.

Since I changed my "sport" from triathlon to just cycling, my training schedule has been manageable and I have been able to tick off more of my key sessions well compared to juggling the three disciplines of swimming, cycling and running. With the addition of strength sessions since May 2015, it was just too much to balance training with work and life in general.

With regards to ticking off my 7 Peaks Challenge - I have done 5 so far! I have Omeo-Dinner Plain scheduled for this weekend and then Mt Baw Baw in February. I am actually scared about this ride and I will talk about it in a separate post. Since the challenge started in October, I had ticked off the following:

1) Mt Hotham - 25th Oct during the Bayside Tri Club Bright Camp
2) Falls Creek - 7th Nov
3) Mt Buffalo - 8th Nov (both Falls Creek and Mt Buffalo was done during a weekend away at Porepunkah with my friend Dale)
4) Lake Mountain - 15th Nov with the Domestique/Hells500 crew (and the Canadian and Dale too)
5) Mt Buller - 29th Nov (rode from Mansfield) with Dale

I have also done a few cycling events since I came back from my holidays in Japan:

- Amy's Gran Fondo
- Dirty Gran Fondo
- Around the Bay
- Giro della Donna

I have one more cycling event in 2016 (Audax Alpine Classic) before the big one in March. I need a few more 8-10 hour rides with 3500+ of elevation climbs under my belt before I am comfortable about tackling this event and making it within the 13 hour cut off. I have never had a fear of making the cut off time for Ironman but this is different - this event is actually a challenge and they warn you that if you can't make certain training goals and climbing segments comfortably, you have no hope of finishing within 13 hours (not as blunt and crude as that but it's close enough).

My weekly training schedule is pretty much as below:

Monday - Rest/Strength - depending if I had done a big event on Sunday the week before.
Tuesday - Spin on Wattbikes + Altitude with CF Racing
Wednesday - Strength
Thursday - Spin on Wattbikes, spin bikes at GESAC or road ride.
Friday - Rest/Recovery ride
Saturday and Sunday is different each week - it ranges from big rides on both Saturday and Sunday, big ride on a Saturday and then recovery on Sunday through to only doing one big ride due to the 4-5 hours of driving required to get to the big mountains for training.

With the long rides I have been doing over the last few months, I have been a bit obsessed with audio books (through Audible) - I have been able to get through 5 books since 25th Oct - pretty much one book per week (for every return trip out of Melbourne). It really beats listening to music which can be annoying when the reception gets sketchy outside of Melbourne and listening to one of the three CDs I have in the car - Chet Faker, Lorde or City and Colour.

I am still reporting to Chris at Excite on a weekly basis and this makes me accountable for my training - both on the bike and strength. We are currently on week 32.

My weight has not gone down the right direction but I know that my muscles in my legs have developed more than ever. My guts however have not shifted - I am putting this down to the lack of running and swimming and the fact that I am either sitting on the chair at my workstation, sitting on the saddle whilst cycling or on a chair at the sewing machine (sewing cycling caps). I am going to have to introduce some other cardio form of training such as elliptical trainer before my strength sessions to assist with that. I am still hovering around 65-66kg. I don't think the fat around my stomach weighs enough that if I get rid of that that I am able to get down < 60kg....

My bike strength has been improving and that is something which is the main priority and not necessarily the numbers of the scales. Mental strength on the bike has also been improving but I am putting that down to the naivety of exploring new climbs and training for new goals. I can climb for 3 hours comfortably (Mt Hotham) but I struggle to ride more than 2 hours on Beach Rd....

Nutrition wise, both The Canadian and I have gone pretty much vegetarian in our house. We still consume meat but its more like thin slivers of salami or prosciutto on our homemade pizzas and we still consume seafood and animal products such as diary, eggs and honey. We sometimes make vegan meals for dinner but this is not on purpose. The reason for this is to increase our intake of fruits and vegetables in our diet and not rely on meat for nutrition 3 times a day, 7 days a week.

Anyways, apart from not looking like a typical lean cyclist, I am looking and feeling stronger in my legs. My fitness on the bike is always improving especially with the Wattbikes (and added bonus of Altitude chamber) on Tuesday nights.

I am looking forward to my work holidays - you will see me riding more mountains, exploring new boundaries and napping.

Coffee, Donuts and Cycling Thighs

Looking Ahead - January 2016

This is my final Looking Forward post for 2015 and also the first for 2016. January will be a busy month for training as I have work holidays from the 24th Dec through to the 10th Jan 2016 (back to work on the 11th). I am going to be heading up to the mountains again to do more training ahead of the Audax ride. I haven’t booked anything yet but there is a 90% chance that I will be spending a few days there, climbing and climbing.

16^th – 17^th Jan: I have a wedding to attend on the 17^th so the 16^th will be repeats of a climb of some sort. Most likely be Donna Buang or Lake Mountain (something substantial) or I will ride the Crucifix in the Dandenongs. Between 5 - 6 hours. 

23rd – 24^th Jan: The Audax Alpine Classic is on the 24^th and I will be riding the “poor man’s 3 Peaks” – Bright – Tawonga Gap – Falls – Tawonga Gap – Bright (130km). Most likely arrive at the accommodation on the Saturday 23^rd rather than arriving there on the Friday night.

No plans so far for the 30^th - 31^st weekend but the training will be local (less than 2 hours drive from home).