Zwift Academy 2019 - Within the first week

For the first time since the launch of Zwift Academy in 2016, I signed up to do this as a challenge. We finally bought a smart trainer for ourselves which we have set up in the garage. Previously, we had a mid-range smart trainer which we borrowed from the shop to use at home.

We bought the top of the range Tacx Neo2 around April but didn't set it up until the last week of June. Since then, I have been the most consistent in my training during winter since the dawn of time. I am still doing reformer Pilates but have reduced the frequency to 2-3 times a week rather than 5. I have also taken a break from Lead Out as they put training on hold during July as the coaches went to Europe for the TdF and I haven't been able to ride at high intensity outdoors due to my weak lungs and the cold/dry air. I have been doing quality indoor sessions since the trainer has been set up, riding over 5 hours (>100km) per week.

I won't go into what Zwift Academy is about here and how the 2019 differs from the previous programs but the 2019 one started on the 5th Aug and will run until for 8 weeks until the end of September. Before the program, I needed to find out what my FTP is. I have written about my FTP before and how relatively low it is but I really wanted to gauge how I am. Instead of doing the standard FTP test, I opted for the Ramp Test instead. The difference between the standard test which can be 45min from start to finish with the 20min free ride test in the middle, the ramp test is much more shorter and mentally more interesting. You start out with a warm up and then go straight into the ramp which starts out at 120W for a min and goes up 20W every minute. The average W will go up (or down) based on how high you go in the test. I stopped at the 320W mark as I couldn't push anymore for that minute and my average W was hovering around 163W - my FTP. I think my FTP was at this 163W from the test I did at SpinLabs. I adjusted it to 160W on Zwift so my workout targets will be whole numbers - I like my targets to end in 5 or 0.

For 2019, the Zwift Academy requires that you finish the 8 Workouts and 4 Rides/Races.

So far I have done 3 Workouts and 3 Rides/Races all scheduled since Monday 5th. You can do the Workouts at your own time but I am enjoying doing it during set times so I am committed to them.

Week 1 - 5th Aug - 11th Aug
Monday 5th Aug - Workout #1
This session worked on threshold and pushing above and below. I found this session relatively easy to finish but found the 10min mentally challenging. I also found the high spin challenging in not going above my target power range.

Tuesday 6th Aug - Race - TT
I raced the TT race for the first time on Zwift. It was the Bologna route which is only 8km but it took me 26 or so to finish. The first 5 km or so was pretty easy to ride. The gradient was pretty easy with a few false flats but at the 6km mark, the gradient went nuts and it took forever to ride each 1km. I was exhausted at the end and my legs were so restless overnight. I actually want to do this TT again in the future now I know what the gradients are and how much I need to pace.

Wednesday 7th - Social Ride
This ride was wonderful especially 24 hours after the TT race which ripped my legs apart. The pace was lovely and I could message as part of the chat throughout.

Thursday 8th - Workout #2
This session worked on race practise. It included intervals of surges, sprints and a 10min (below FTP) range. Once again, loved the interval work, hated the 10min endurance.

I took a break on Friday as I have been doing Zwift for 7 days straight and I am glad I did as my legs were stuffed.

Saturday 10th - Workout #3
This was one of my favourite sessions as it worked on fast twitch power muscles. Lots of sprints at power range beyond FTP with a good break and the session ended with 2 x 25sec free ride which I loved. Maximum power and trying to hold it over the 25sec period to fill out the power curve. I hit max power at 648W, my 20sec was 556W. I know I can hit a higher power range if I was to do this workout on a stable Wattbike as I have hit near 900W before as max.

Sunday 11th - Social Ride
Another social ride for the week but the pace was much higher than one I did on Wednesday. The pace is often set by the Pace Leader and this one was someone I have not ridden with before. She kept the pace at 2W/kg but I found myself pushing beyond that just to keep up as people's weight varies. Compared to the social ride I did on Wednesday at which I finished the hour ride with 32km, this one ended up being 36km. It felt like a mixed grade social ride and a race rather than a social ride. You know it was a fast paced ride if in accordance to Today's Plan, I achieved a PR in average speed for Zwift.

In summary, I have done 3/8 Workouts and 3/4 Races/Rides which is equates to 50% of the Zwift Academy.

Next week, I am planning on doing Workout #4 and #5 on Monday and Tuesday respectively and will play by ear on the rest of the week as I have two full days of meetings back to back for work. If Workout #6, #7 and #8 are scheduled for the rest of the week, I will have Zwift Academy finished in 2 weeks.

What happens after this? I will continue joining the sessions to see if I have improved compared to the previous sessions or I will go back to training with Lead Out when the weather gets better.

Looking forward in 2019

(EDIT: I had to re-write this as I was not in a clear state of mind)

Today is the 10th day for 2019 (10th Jan). I haven't had a chance recently to write anything about the year that was (2018) and to what goals I wanted to set for 2019. In Australia, we have also had a short holiday over Christmas and New Years and I jumped straight into work on the 7th Jan. I avoided touching my laptop over the holidays, I really needed a break.

Now I am literally killing time (in waiting room), I am taking this chance to put a few words down to what I have achieved in 2018 and what I would like to work on in 2019.

I have written a few times on what I have achieved in 2018 with regards to starting up track cycling but I have also written how I have gone backwards. Compared to previous years, I have gone backwards on travel distances and elevations on the bike due to health changes. To my credit I have not lost the love of cycling which is what I was most worried about. My furthest distance in 2018 was 95km which was one of the days I rode the Festive 500.

Over the 2018 Christmas holidays, I didn't achieve the Festive 500. I started out strong with rides of 70-95km for the first 4 days but then weather played havoc with being too hot or raining. I just couldn't be bothered putting myself through riding through heat or showers, I am no longer in the mindset of "doing things" through all weather. I had achieved the Festive500 twice (2016 and 2017) and only 342km in 2018, which included one mountain bike ride.

I still fight with motivational demons in the morning especially during the winter months but it has made it easier for me to be "active" without being forced to wear lycra and breathe in cold air on the bike since taking up Pilates on a regular basis. My motivation has helped when I have friends who have arranged to ride together as I hate breaking promises or letting people down.

I don't have any events for 2019 lined up but will enter events when they come through. I am continuing with my training with Lead Out Cycling, participating in crits on Sundays before we lose Daylight Savings and I want to do a few off road/mountain-bike/gravel events.

I will continue track training with Melburn Hurt as well as seeing if I can fit in DISC training once in a while. I will not race track as it is not something which I have no interest in. I use track cycling purely as a training tool and up-skilling my abilities. I am going to buy a new mountain bike in the next few months as I am interested in doing a mountain bike event in February (Otways Gravel) and March (Shifty Fifty) and my current bike might not cut it anymore being more than 10 years old.

I have not signed up for Giro della Donna for 2019. I am seeing how my cycling will be during the year and how my body is adjusting to changes. I am going to continue with Pilates as I absolutely love it and something which is not weather dependent. I am currently doing a summer challenge of 20 sessions before 31st Jan and trying to fit it into my training schedule can be challenging. I am seeing improvement in my core and can see where the excess fat around my stomach area sits beyond weak and inactive core muscles.

I know that I will be sick over the winter months that I will be out of action on the bike for weeks, maybe months so will need to keep active as much as possible when I am healthy.

With regards to goals, I would like to be skilled and fit enough to finish with the main pack during crits. This has been challenging as I am still nervous about riding in groups at high speeds AND cornering at the same time.

I am really enjoying crits. They are short events and I do get a great workout and with every event, I am getting better and fitter. My heart rate is still at 165-175bpm as soon as the race is on and I just need to work at increasing my ability to work within that zone for longer. I am not 100% on road racing as the high heart rate combined with how shit I am at hills, I don't have the ability to keep up with the group. I honestly feel like I am going to have a heart attack or stop breathing.

There are crits being organised by SMCC and they continue to race over the winter months so I will continue to race them to improve my skills hopefully see an improvement for the 2019/20 season.

That's it for now. I don't have anything concrete which I am "training" towards. My main aim is to enjoy my cycling journey and just be a better cyclist.

Post Crash Update

I thought I would update on my road to recovery and give a bit of an insight to what I have planned for the near future and beyond.


After the crash during Giro della Donna, I took the next day off work to recover, went into work on Tuesday and to also pick up my laptop as I was going to spend the rest of the week in Perth WA for work and for a wedding.


As my left arm and shoulder was still sore (contusion), I refrained from using my left arm when packing my suitcase or lifting it into the car or onto the check in belt at the airport. The gravel rash on my thigh was healing but I still avoided wearing pants of jeans as the area was still sensitive. Luckily, the weather in Perth was warm enough that I could just wear skirts and shorts.


I worked at the Perth HQ on Thursday but didn't end up walking to the office as I wasn't able to carry anything on my left shoulder and my accommodation was 6km away. On Friday, the day of the wedding, I did a 2 hour walk around the neighbourhood which covered about 9km. It was good to just be able to move around after having a stiff and sore body for the last 5 days.


The wedding was held at Chapel Farm at 4pm. The setting for the wedding was amazing and I wore a dress which had a big bubble skirt effect so I didn't get irritations on my wounds. Due to taking pain killers and the time difference of Perth to Melbourne, I was tired at 8pm Perth time, this being 11pm Melbourne time. I kept myself awake with 2 cans of coke and a coffee. I haven't drank coke since Ironman 2014.


The next day, I slept in until about 9am (12pm Melbourne time) having only gone to bed around 12:30am the night before. I did some work on my laptop before I got ready to head out to the friends and family gathering of the bride and groom for those to travelled interstate so they had time for a proper catch up.


On Sunday, I drove down to Busselton to support my friends who were participating as part of the full and half Ironman race. The drive was about 2.5 away but luckily I rented a car with Bluetooth and I was able to not only navigate but to also listen to my audiobook. The event itself was hectic. The maximum temperature was 37 degrees but it would have exceeded 40 on the bitumen. I was swooped by magpies walking into the event area as were a few competitors. The swim was cancelled due to sharks. Due to the heat, there were many exhausted athletes as well as cramps when they stopped pedalling at the dismount line. So much carnage. During the day of supporting, I noticed that I could feel small crackling and popping noises from my ribs and it was starting to get really sore, maybe from too much exertion from cheering on friends.


Onto the run, so many athletes were just cooked from the heat and lost salts. I left the event at 6:30pm and got back to Perth around 10pm. I needed to pack as I was leaving on a 9:30am flight but I also needed to return my rental car at the airport.


Surprisingly, my arm felt much better by Sunday and I felt that I was able to put weight on my left shoulder and was able to carry my bags through the airport. I think I pushed this pain barrier too hard and by Tuesday morning, my ribs were in pain and I went to The Alfred for a check up. I ended up getting a proper Xray and ECG scan to see if there was any organ damage.


Luckily, everything is ok and the fracture is not dislocated and has not punctured my lung or caused any noticeable tissue damage. I was prescribed strong pain killers which I have not bought any due to the hectic work week ahead. Wednesday I recovered at home from the pain and I taught a professional course on Thursday - on my feet and talked for 8 hours straight.


On the weekend, I did a lot of sewing - fulfilling orders as well as the ready-made stock on the online store. On Saturday, I drove to Williamstown for LOC's Christmas ride and breakfast BBQ at which I won the Best Fall award for 2017 for the most recent crash and description on how I fell. On Sunday, I headed nto the Kit Sale at Coffee Pddler to check out what they had on offer. If Lumiere had my size, I would have snapped it up but they only had smalls. I bought a few gifts as well as a backpack for commuting.


For the remainder of the year, I will take it relatively easy in cycling and will be able to try my best at the Rapha #Festive500 again which starts on the 24th Dec.


For the start of 2018, I am going to do the 70km event during the Alpine Classic which is the Mt Buffalo climb as I have rented a nice house for the whole family from Thursday 25th until Monday 29th Jan. Other than the main ride as part of the Alpine Classic, I will probably do a few flat rides and walks around the area.


I have also signed up for Giro della Donna for 2018 (25th Nov). Again, this will be the main event for the year considering the challenge and timing.


For the next week or so, I am back with Lead Out but will not push as hard in the sessions due to the pain and lack of mobility. I will try to get back onto pilates as soon as I have the strength in my arms to be able to hold up my body weight.

Me vs Winter vs Training

It has been brought to my attention that I have had a cough/cold virus since Queens Bday weekend (mid June) and I haven yet to recover. This has been reflected in my training, especially my long rides with LOC. The last long ride with LOC was 8th July 2017.


We have started our "cram-training" for Amy's Gran Fondo. This block consists of 5 training sessions a week with Monday and Friday as trainer sessions and Wednesday and Sunday as rest day. Personally, I will do a swim on Wednesdays and Sundays to aid in my recovery.


It started off with a trainer session on Monday morning. Luckily I an idea of the session ahead and did them at my own due to the technical issues the coaches had. My session was over an hour as I started on the bike around 5:50am and finished just on 7am. Once I am done with these sessions, I will have to rush to get ready for work by 7:30am to get there in time.


This morning was the VO2 sessions at Richmond Blvd. I enjoy these sessions as I get to push my limits without the pressure of keeping up with the group or letting the TTT down. Heading back to the carpark works better for me due to my weight and the slight downhill compared to the other way towards Melbourne Girls. I arrived early this morning and did a quick warm-up half-lap before the start of the session as I am the only one who drives there. Different if this session was on a Thursday where I would have had to ride in from West Melbourne.


As I had mentioned before, tomorrow will be my swim session after work and Thursday will be at Albert Park lake working on our Steady State Tempo (SST) with a few sprints. I also enjoy this session as I get to work on the sprints which is my (pun) strength rather than endurance or climbing.


Friday will be VO2 trainer sessions and Saturday will be a long ride from Kew and we will be doing the Mt Pleasant Loop. The last time I attempted the Mt Pleasant loop, I was so exhausted at the end that I nearly cried. Fingers crossed that I will be able to get through this week's session. Extra fingers to be crossed that my anxiety won't be that strong that it stops me from getting out of bed and heading towards that training session early Saturday morning.


It is hard to manage my anxiety with these cycling sessions as I don't have a fool-proof solution. If I don't think too much about it then I won't stress too much and will be able to sleep and get myself out the door and do the session however if I don't think about it then I won't be prepared. Being prepared for me is being in control of the kit I am going to wear, nutrition, hydration, charging lights and Garmin, sometimes I even pack the bike in the car the night before.


I will only be doing the Mt Pleasant loop for 2 weeks as I will be doing Ol'Dirty on week 3. As much as I stress about doing the long ride on the weekend, it will be beneficial for me for the climb-training required for Ol'Dirty, Amy's Gran Fondo, Daylesford and Giro della Donna.

Tour Down Under 2017

Before I get into the TDU, I didn't end up doing the long ride with Leadout on the 14th Jan due to cramps and pains. This is something which I am trying to manage in 2017 with medication as nutrition and exercise is not working at all.

So we decided that we would drive up on the 18th Jan instead of flying as we were taking our bikes as well as my cycling caps etc. The drive was good but it is a long day. It's a good thing that the speed limit is 110km/hr for some of the route and there are plenty of overtaking lanes which meant that you were not always stuck behind campervans and trucks going well below the speed limit for too long. I am a pretty careful driver so I would only overtake on the dedicated lanes.

Obligatory Giant Koala Stop to TDU

We arrived at our AirBnb accom around 3:30pm that day. The house was located only 2 blocks from the town centre where The Village was located and a walking distance from all the major locations of the TDU such as Rundle Mall for the carpark crits and to all the bike shops of the CBD.

We picked up a friend from the airport who arrived at 6:15pm and we then headed to the Norwood crits to watch her husband and the rest of the cycling team race B grade crits hosted by the local Norwood Cycling Club.

I went for a small ride on Thursday morning with the BlackSheepCycling group. It was a breakfast ride and it was flat which was a relief for me as I wasn't prepared for the hills. The ride took us through the bikepaths and then ended at Henley Beach. We had a quick break there before Jason, a friend Kathyrn and I rode back along Henley Beach Road into the city. We stopped at Cycle Closet which is a shop in the CBD which only stocked clothing, socks, helmets and some accessories. I was overwhelmed by the clothing/kit/socks but only came out with a Ridge Supply jersey and a gilet from Spin Cycling which was on sale. I am going to reward myself with a new (expensive) kit when I lose 5kg and a new helmet when I lose 10kg. We then took a shower and then ventured into The Village to watch the final 60km of Stage 3.

My friend Dayna and I at The Village

On Friday, we ventured out into the city and checked out Giant Adelaide as well as our second visit to Cycle Closet before we headed into The Village to watch the last 60km of Stage 4. We met up with the BSS boys watching the highlights of the Stage before we headed for dinner. The BSS boys do all their big rides during the day, some over the actual course themselves so they don't know who wins each race, they make sure they don't log onto social media and head into The Village to watch the highlights and find out how each stage pans out.

On the Saturday, we decided that we would drive out to Willunga Hill to watch the race as the riders passed through that point twice. The drive was about 50min away and we found a park for the car as well as out butts about 1.2km from the finish. I have to say, the atmosphere of being on the course is amazing! Although we were not close to the finish line, more like half way up the climb, we didn't need to fight through crowds to see the riders at all. We saw plenty of people we knew ride passed and we cheered for them. I am promising myself that I am going to do the ride from our accom all the way to Willunga next year.

My #instafriend Felicity and I at Willunga Hill - I realized that she was standing
10m from me only after she posted a photo and I saw myself in the background.

After the stage was done, we rushed back to the accom to get ready for the event which I was doing to help a friend raise money for charity. Due to the timing of the event so close after the finish of the stage, the event was cancelled. I did end up selling a cap or two but I didn't stress out too much. I didn't really plan the whole trip around selling my wares. I still donated the caps and musettes to my friend and she can use them to raise money for charity. We then walked over to the Carpark crit to watch the crit race up 6 levels of car parking.

The Canadian and I did a small ride up Norton Summit and around Montacute Rd for a 50km, 600m elevation day. It was hard and I am currently so unfit for hills.

I am already looking forward to TDU2018. This will be a goal for me to train through 2017 so I can join in with the group rides and get out to the stage courses.

On another note, officially joined Lead Out Cycling...I am looking forward to improving as a cyclist. I have also committed myself to lose 10kg by Dec 2017. I am being more mindful of what I consume as I am no longer running and high intensity cardio work.

Rapha 500

So it's that time of the year again... the break between Christmas and New Years where people try to ride 500km over the 8 days.


I had tried to do this challenge on several occasions but had failed. I was triathlon-ing and during this time of the year, we used to do "Hell-Week" which consisted of fitting in 3 disciplines in one day. Living in Melbourne, you will also get some crazy weather conditions so actually doing the riding was not done completely.


Last year I was training for Falls Creek 3 peaks and instead of riding the distances, I was climbing for the elevation and strength. As I am not doing this event in 2017 and just riding for fun, I have decided to commit myself to complete this challenge for the first time.


I won't be scheduling in riding a min of 62.5km a day over the 8 days as I know that I will not be riding everyday during that time. I will most likely do a few double days if the weather is great or do a longer ride if I have no plans.


I also have a birthday in between Christmas and New Years so I am sure that my schedule will depend on how I feel.


Happy Riding XX

http://pages.rapha.cc/feature/festive-500

Plans for 2017 onwards

So….you may be hearing crickets in the background whilst reading this entry….I don’t blame you. I haven’t been blogging as much as my previous years because the current phase of my life is crazy!

I had mentioned before we are moving house and for the last few weeks, I have been doing some sewing for the hobby business, looking for a place to move into, culling my belongings to minimise bringing things to the next house, arranging for removalists, arranging for cleaners and steam cleaners, planning for TDU and throwing out clothes which I no longer fit in *sigh*…

Good news, we found a place, it is closer to the city and we move in on the 9^th December. Our current address is Aspendale which is approx. 35km from the city. The new house is in Hampton East and it is about 11km which is going to be great for commute.

I am really looking forward to it as I am going to make changes to my lifestyle for 2017. I didn’t end up doing any events after Ol’Dirty. I had an entry for “Chase the Dog” but the day ended up being horrific and I actually came down with a bad cold which set me back off the bike for 2 weeks. I then pulled out of “Ride to the Divide” as I had a backache and I pulled out of Giro della Donna due to the lack of training with the house moving thing and also keeping up with my cycling cap orders. I sold my ticket to a friend’s husband and as he is elite cyclist. As the change was done on the day before the event, I ended up getting messages that I had scored the QOM for the day (the actual female who came first was about 20min after Pete’s time) and won top 10 of the finish…..wow! Luckily it was all sorted and the females all were awarded correctly for their placings.

Hobby business wise, it has been great. I had a huge order within November which I needed to finish within 1.5 weeks due to the house-moving thing and also completing custom orders. I am totally obsessed with sewing at the moment as I get to tune out with my audiobooks, destress from work/life and it is a creative outlet for me.

I essentially have not done any events within the last half of this year and I am not going to put myself through any until I get some proper training done. After being dropped in a supposedly easy shop ride last week, I decided that I am going to commit to a training/coaching group, doing more group rides and following a program under the instruction of coaches. I think the only reason why I haven’t signed up to coaching before is that most of them start either too early, not great when you have to travel from Aspendale or they finish too late and with my new field of work, taking a shower at work when everyone has already had an hour’s work will not look great…

I won’t be starting out with them until after my move into the new house and when things settle down with sewing and my work but I am looking forward to setting and achieving new goals in the near future. Some goals I have for cycling include:

• Being more comfortable about riding in groups, this includes being able to keep up with speeds greater than 30km/hr for the entire ride.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  • This is the only way at which I can finish at a reasonable time for Amy’s Gran Fondo and Giro della Donna


• Maintaining my cadence > 60 when climbing for gradients > 5%



• Pushing my power/weight ratio > 2W/kg for the majority of the ride with an average power of > 150W



• Following on from the power/weight ratio, reducing my fat mass down to < 65kg

Triathlon training really didn’t condition me for road racing/riding, not enough time in groups and not enough opportunities at cornering either. In the past, there would be one or two cycling sessions a week (on windtrainers) and then a long ride on the weekend. Not sufficient for road racing.

Things I will need to invest in for 2017:

• Getting a power meter for the purpose of monitoring strength and improvement of power to weight ratios. I was supposed to get it within 2016 but luckily it hasn’t been required



• If I do end up doing proper road racing events then I will need to invest in a non-disc brake, Shimano groupset bike. I can’t reach the brakes and the shifters on my Campagnolo down on the drops and I can’t use my Liv because of disc brakes.



• Paying for cycling coaching. At the moment, I have been in contact with Lead Out and will try out a week or two before I sign up, most likely on a $130/month plan.



• Recovery boots. I rented them for 6 months last year when I was training for 3 Peaks and I found them to be a great help especially for my Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS).

I am pencilling in some big goals for 2017 and 2018. I may visit the goal of Falls Creek Challenge again in 2018, with a bit of guidance and a proper training program I want to be able to tick that event off my bucketlist. I will also be biting the bullet and signing up to some road races over the winter months to learn how to ride at a decent distance in a pack.

I am looking forward to being a fitter, better bike handler and generally healthier version of myself for 2017 onwards. 

 

Cycling and Stuff Update

It has been over a month since my last event and I have just been doing a few rides here and there. My next cycling event on the calendar is the Ella x MAAP ride on the 25th June and Melburn Roobaix on the 26th June.

I haven't signed up for Peaks Challenge yet. I am still not committed to it. Although I enjoyed the training, I look back at all the hard work, money spent travelling and paying for accommodation and just not being at home and then stressing out about the ability to meet the 13 hour deadline is not something which I look forward to. So for now, I am going to work on manageable goals in getting stronger on the bike rather putting myself through that realm again until I am ready, both physically and mentally.

I enjoy cycling, don't get me wrong. It is something which I have carried on doing after my stint with triathlon-ing. I have continued with cycling to keep me fit and the impact on my joints has been minimal so that's a benefit.

Looking ahead, after Melburn Roobaix, I have my sights set on Ol'Dirty on the 28th Aug, Amy's Gran Fondo on the 11th Sept (main event), Dirty Gran Fondo Gembrook on the 18th Sept and then I may or may not do Around the Bay in October. I had such a great time last year and the weather was just pure-100% perfect so I just don't want to ruin my experience.

I have changed things around a bit. I am trying out new spin classes to work on strengthening myself on the bike. I am sticking with the Wattbikes but I am mixing things up a bit as different classes use different watt bike types and training types.

Without being too specific:
Class 1 - Often work on technique, we actually look at the pedal efficiency, work on the core. When we work on strength, the cadence is very low and I crank up the fan all the way up to 10 and the magnet to 5-6 and can be pedalling from 50rpm all the day up to 65rpm. We do a few max efforts along the way. The efforts are based on % of max efforts so it will depend on what you determine your max effort is.

Class 2 - They work with the zones based on your MMP test. I attend more KOM classes so during these sessions they work mainly on low cadences and maintaining particular zones. This class has a combination of Wattbike Pro and Wattbike Trainers. I have only used Pro bikes by mistake. The cons about this session is the distance from home. The drive alone is about 40km and the class which I do starts at 5:30am (4am alarm) I really enjoy working within the zones as it is different for everyone.

Class 3 - They only have Wattbike Pro and the difference is within the recovery periods where you want to be able to spin the legs out. I haven't done too many of their sessions. The first session, they instructor based it on W/kg which was hard to maintain for long periods of time especially when your fitness and strength is not quiet there. Everyone had to ride on the same gear and maintain the approx the same cadence so it was hard to maintain especially when the gears of the bike is harder than what I am used to. I am going to attend more of these classes as I feel that I am not part of the main group and therefore, plenty to improve. The location is also great as it is around the corner from work.

I haven't done too many road rides. I just haven't been motivated enough to do them myself as I haven't got a group to do it with and I am not pressured to do it if I am not with a group. If the weather is shit, I stay indoors. I do replace those outdoor rides with spin classes so I am still working on my riding muscles.

Fingers crossed this weekend will have good weather as I would like to complete the Crucifix before the Ella x Maap ride.

Too cold to even smile (4 degrees)

Friends of Tribal Ride (28th May)

Looking Ahead - March

March is the big one….Falls Creek Peaks Challenge is on the 13^th. The thought of this event stresses me out to no end, maybe because I have yet to ride up the back of Falls Creek (from Omeo) and the fact that I am moving house (now) when I am supposed to be riding the most ks, highest elevations and spending the longest time on the saddle.

For the week of 29^th Feb through to 6^th March, I will be training but not doing anymore big rides. I will continue with my altitude and wattbike classes during the week, strength work will be about core and functional movements and my long ride on Saturday 5^th will most likely be about distance rather than anything too strenuous and Sunday will be a recovery ride down to crits.

During the weekdays of Week 7^th – 10^th March, I will continue with my spin classes but it will be a taper set. I will see if the AOC Wattbike class would be suitable or not. Driving up to Falls Creek on the Friday and may ride down to Mt Beauty on the Saturday (not back up).

I am not sure what I will be doing for the weeks after Falls Creek…I don’t have any events lined up. I am probably just going to be commuting more to work…and maybe a swim or two at the beach.

I am about 70% confident about the Falls Creek Peaks Challenge event. My descending skills have improved but my fear of falling and crashing at high speeds is still there. My nutrition training has been pretty good. I still don’t eat solids on the bike ride and this is not something which I am going to change anytime soon. I am happy to run on fluid calories for the whole 13-15 hours from when I wake up. As long as I am hydrated, I will survive the day. 

Looking Ahead - February 2016

February will be a stressful month for me. It is the last month at which I can do any more training for 3 Peaks, I have planned on tackling Mt Baw Baw to finish off my 7 Peaks Challenge, I have 2 weddings to attend and there will be a big chance that I am going to be moving house (if it is not done by the end of January).

Due to double wedding on the weekend of 12^th – 14^th February, I am not able to head back out to Bright for the training camp but I have signed up for Mt Baw Baw with the Domestique group. I do have a wedding at 3pm around Gisborne and the ride doesn’t start until 10am, I may have to get this ride out of the way early before the crowd hits or the day after the wedding.

There are no more events prior to 3 Peaks so it is just a matter of putting in as many hours as I can on the saddle and putting as much stress on my legs as I can in training for the big day.

Some “big day climbs” I might add to my training schedule in February include:

•           Super Crucifix x2
•           Donna Buang x 4
•           Bright to Hotham x 2
•           Mt Beauty – Falls – Anglers (and return) and Towonga if possible.

Just writing this post is making me nervous for 3 Peaks. I don’t have many weekends left for training and I can’t avoid not moving house within the next few weeks. STRESS!

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). 

Looking Ahead - December

This year has really flown by so quick and I have one more month to look ahead to. So many things have changed for me for 2015:

•          Change of job in Jan 2015.
•          Change of triathlon club early in 2015.
•          Change of focus sport from triathlon to cycling
•           Finally took strength/core seriously

With one more month left for 2015, I have the following events/plans to look forward to:

5 – 6^th Dec – Back to the Mountains to ride Omeo-Dinner Plain (7 Peaks) and climb Mt Hotham again. I am no longer heading to Busselton due to leave not being approved.

12-13^th Dec – Due to supercrits on the 13^th Dec (spectating) – I will do repeats of Donna Buang/Lake Mountain on the 12^th.

19 – 20^th Dec – Bought tickets to the Melbourne Madison so will do hill repeats on the 19^th.

My work holidays start on the 24^th December so I will be heading back to the Alpine region to climb more mountains. I would like to tackle most of my 7 Peaks challenge rides by 2015 leaving Mt Baw Baw for February once I get enough training, strength in my legs and maybe less 10kgs. 

Looking Ahead - November

Holy Crap! It is nearly the end of November and I totally forgot to do my Looking Forward for the month of November! Better late than never I suppose, so here goes…

The first weekend of November is Melbourne Cup long weekend. I am planning on riding Donna Buang on the Saturday and do a few repeats (like maybe 2?). Then I am going to ride the 100km Warbuton – Marysville Loop on the Monday before Cup day.

I have plans on heading back to Bright area to tackle at least 1 of my 3 options of the next stage of my training plans: ride Buffalo (Peaks Challenge), from Mt Beauty to Falls Creek (Peaks Challenge) or ride from Omeo to Falls Creek (3^rd Peak of the 3 Peaks Challenge). I will do this during the 6-8^th November weekend.

15^th November is the Lake Mountain climb as part of the 7 Peaks Challenge. Most likely be just doing a spin on Beach Rd the day before.

22^nd November is the Giro della Donna – 110km ride which combines the 100km Warburton – Marysville loop combined with the Donna climb. I will most likely not be doing much the day before so I can rest the legs.

28^th – 29^th November – I will head to Mansfield to ride to Mt Buller (one of the 7 Peaks). Rather than do just the climb, I will either ride from Mansfield – Buller return (100km) or a shorter distance and do ride repeats.  

Looking Ahead - October

Today is the 15th of September - the middle of the month already and this post is long overdue. I have returned from a holiday (Japan and Singapore) and was bed ridden for a week due to a virus. There have been drastic changes in my training and I will go into it more in the next few posts. 

Events:

11^th October – Around the Bay 210km. I wanted to do a long ride as part of my training towards 3 Peaks so for the first time since I moved to Melbourne, I will be participating in Around the Bay. The logistics of the day will be sorted out soon as I am trying to avoid the crowd and would like to be home early. This may mean that I might have to start my Around the Bay at 4am from my house instead of the official start time and place in the city and just finish home on the way into the city from Sorrento. The event is not officially timed and it is not a race. I just want to spend a long day on the saddle.   

23^rd to 25^th – Bright Training Camp with Bayside Tri Club. I don’t have too much to talk about here now until I know more information about the itinerary and my abilities.

Looking Ahead - September

The month of September will be a busy one for me. I will have a holiday for two weeks in Japan and when I return, I have two cycling events. 

13^th September is Amy’s Gran Fondo. This is my first attempt at this event and I am looking forward for the challenge. I have never done Skenes Creek before nor have I ridden the back roads of Lorne. This event is classified as a B event I won’t be doing long runs that weekend but I will ensure that I do the 2 interval sessions during the week. 

Amy's Gran Fondo Route

On the 20^th September, I have entered in my 2^nd Off Road Fondo for the year called Double X. From what I have read, this event is not as hard as the Dirty Gran Fondo so I may do this event on my cyclocross bike instead of the mountain bike. I will decide on the day before depending on the weather. As this is not an A nor a B event so I may do a run on Saturday. 

 

During the month of September, my swims will stay consistent at 3 sessions and maximum distance of 10km per week. I will see how the weather improves during the month of September as I would like to include one short road ride before work, most likely on a Monday or Wednesday and my runs will stay at 2 intervals and a long run on the weekends working on my speed over distance to ensure that my run during Shepparton is at its best. My strength session block continues after my holidays and will keep this going until Shepparton.