Club run tomorrow morning. On Sunday i’ve got a 22mile hilly TT, that i have to ride 20miles to get to and 20miles home again.. Can’t see it being a very good TT! 🙄

shorts to arrive from Minx-Girl and 4.30pm so its time to leave work.

Was a women’s crit so open to all cats, 45mins + 5 laps. Men’s was 1 hr + 5 laps iirc with slightly faster pace.

What’s the bath race tricky?

What sort of pace should I expect??

Last women’s crit i did, average pace was 36kph with max of 50kph sprinting on the flat, then men’s i believe was a few kph faster than that for the average.

it was you and Mol I was referring to

Well, i know my stats, all we need is to agree the finer details! You really should get tested too.

when is the Tri that you are doing and Mol’s doing the bike leg bit?

this brings the thread back around to who is most aerodynamic combined with power to weight ratio question?

That would be me, since you haven’t been tested 😛

What’s everyones training for the weekend? I’m planning to see if i can hang onto the fast chaingang tomorrow, then on Sunday a 20mile ride out to a 22mile mountain time trial and then 20mile ride home. Not sure i’m expecting a good time in the MTT with all of that planned, esp as my legs don’t seem to have fully recovered from the weights i did on Wednesday 🙄

Anyone tried these? Honey Stinger Owned by Lance apparently.

Yup, i use honey stinger bars and chews. The chews are great, a real boost both physically and mentally. Can’t wait til they start selling their gels over here again.

😛 That’s cool, i’m meeting with my coach on Tuesday night…if you don’t share with me, i won’t share with you! 👿

You would have been proud of me last night – i saw stars when doing KB swings!

Dirty – I’ve been putting together a new leg workout for cycling.

Spill the beans then!

Oh, and today I thought I might talk about massage, rest and recovery.

Today I am resting and getting a massage tonight, can’t wait as my legs hurt lots.

In training for what? Ygm btw.

I’ve been reading Chrissie Wellington’s book and she mentions sports nutrition books by Asker Jeukendrup. Anyone read them? Any good?

Yup i agree Solo its all strings to the bow. I’ve been working on all of my weaknesses, descending included.

Anyway, where is TSY?

Glad its not shinsplints 🙂 Aiming to beat your time in the Embra one then?

What was it you said was wrong with my rear mech again btw, i have forgotten… 😳 We brought back some wine for you, and i have leffe for the work you did on my Lisa too 🙂

Well done you, another good time! 😀 I was thinking of you on sunday as we caught the end of another mara on eurosport where the eltie runners were running through huge puddles and hoped the weather was better for you. Shin/shoes ok?

I loved the Lluc climb Tricky, it was the perfect gradient for me to attack on. If i could find a race here with a climb like that in it, then i’d be laughing! After the Lluc climb, me and another girl were sitting on the front doing 40kph on the flat chasing down a girl in front of us. No spanish clubs runs sadly, didn’t see many from where we were staying, just tourists. Not enough speed work though so will be ditching the miles and back to intervals and speedwork. Think we might try to go out next year with the guy you were with.

What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger Tricky! Looks like our summer was that week in March as i’m back to commuting in winter gear!

Solo, I was descending well, i have got over previous fears and was hanging onto the back of mustard/the blokes on descents. Have now got a good sprint when on the drops too so can still kick if i need extra speed. Generally very happy with how i was descending, seems racing crits with sprints of up to 50kph have really helped my confidence descending. 😀 Why?

Yes, I am queen now 😆

Weather wasn’t the best but got out 8 of the 10 days we were away for. After complaining to Mustard before we went that i’d lost my climbing ability, it returned out of the blue which was good as on a few days we did 2,400m of ascent! Was loving climbing well again, was second or third up to the top with the fast blokes every ride which was ace. Highlight was climbing to Lluc, descending 12km to Sa Calobra at sea level and turning round and coming straight back up again!

Lovely riding out there, and ace espresso and cakes. Think i’d better weigh myself tomorrow morning though…

I’ve been on holiday for 10 days and have 18 pages to catch up on!

I have come back from Majorca with a 4 a day espresso and cake addiction, along with queen of the mountains for every ride, including a 12km climb! Are you worried Mol? 😛

*bumpy glitch*

Where’s Molgrips gone?

He is ignoring this thread as he’s worried he’s gonna get beaten by a girlie and ignoring choosing the location 😛

I may have to consult you again to see what i could re-introduce that will help without overdoing it. I know i don’t need stronger arms for road racing, but when its now my arms that let me down for things like press ups…well its just not good. *shakes head*

I on the other hand am finding pull-ups a fair bit easier than I used to… power to weight innit

POIDH 😀

You are wasting away TSY! Oh, you know how we trimmed my weights rountine down? And now that i’m not climbing at all (not enough time, boo), i’m so weak upper body wise. The trx press ups/mountain climbers etc are so hard work as i can hardly do them now having lost so much upper body strength. Its not even meant i’m lighter either! 😡

lightman and cynic-al you probably know/knew each other, and likely have been on the same chaingangs too.

riding a heavier bike must surely help develop/bring on power, much in the same way as weights would?

What size you looking for? If mine doesn’t fit me for commuting, i’ll be selling.

I think i was similar for my 1st RR of the season which as you know went badly. I then decided to ban all thinking/talking about the race by tea time during the week in the run up to the race and wouldn’t allow myself to think about it, read any books that were in any way related to sport/racing so that i would sleep well etc. A bit extreme but i like to read sports related books before i go to sleep and i found i would then start to think about the race = bad nights sleep.

Getting my kit sorted a few days before, plus sticking to my usual routine of work/exercise seems to also work well rather than lots of extra time to worry about the race, and that way i know that my legs are feeling good. I also like to have some films/tv series to watch to escape into as another diversion from thinking about the race. Having settled into that pattern, the next two races were much better by comparision.

I know too well the flight/fight anxiety and the impact it can have on your body and its really not good – you can mail me on fb if you want to talk more about that aspect. What about meditation or yoga or deep breathing? The breathing out longer than breathing in ^^^ is a good tip. I’ve been reading up on the parasympathetic nervous system vs the sympathetic nervous system which is also interesting reading (its related to that heart rate variability ap i use plus past experience and the flight/fight mode too)

I read on the race squad page that its all about what works for you so if climbing on the drops works, then its fine. I don’t / wouldn’t normally, but have done to get a bit more power/speed out of my legs, especially if i’m sprinting into or up the hill or attacking on it. I don’t feel compressed when in the drops.

Of course *slaps forehead* all i need is cheesecake and coke to become better! 😆

Oh, and the high intensity weight intervals that my PT set me (trx pull ups/sumo squats/bent over row/jumping squats/trx press ups/mountain climbers/kb swings) followed by more endurance / lighter weights / higher reps seems to work well…i think changing my weights has = faster, more power and less muscle.

Hoods mostly. If very steep, on the tops. Have been experimenting using the drops which has been interesting. Why do you ask?

I’m not getting any coaching til mid- end of April so just wanting to keep on plugging away til then. I’ve been trying to sprint into climbs to keep the speed, i’ve tried moving to the front of the bunch and staying in the big ring. Staying in the big ring on a hilly course/race is what kills my legs the mostest.

I know, i know, I’ll share. But only so we can both beat Molly without even trying! 8)

Anyone any ideas how to get faster climbing? I’m riding much faster on the flat these days (20-23mph) but my climbing muscles don’t seem to have developed quite as fast so i’m still climbing at my old speed, which seems so blooming slow! Or is this something we should talk about on the idave thread?

I also had muesli.

In other news, it is snowing up here, and i don’t have any biscuits with me today. 😥

I am a moody fecker when my blood sugar is low though.

I didn’t realise you always had low blood sugar, explains a lot 😛

Your body may have got used to the exercise you are doing so mix it up.

+1 for ditching the whey protein. Sugar and stress (for me) are cause to put on weigh/not lose it from my tummy.

Standing starts have helped me loads, but thats not related to weight training. The other things that have helped me are kettlbell swings and the step ups that make me feel like jane fonda.

Good strong core helps too. For the first time ever, i realise have a strong core and its great! 😀

I’d share what my coach has me doing, but then you’ll just be faster than me 😛

Actually that might not be so bad, you and me could be his right hand women and run the country? 😀

Where is he today anyway? He’s been very quiet..i suspect he’s secretly training for the showdown.

molgrips for President!

OMG, can you imagine that? 😆

I don’t think that can be right. Try having cereal with milk in it and a black coffee. See what happens.

This is what i have been doing in my experiment. Skimmed milk in my cereal and black coffee. Then i occassionally have a macchiato and it always = sugar cravings. I have cereal twice a day and when i remove the milk from my coffee, i don’t want any sugar at all, so its not connected to my cereal eating. Its just an interesting observation.

I don’t want sugar today, i’m just a little grumpy/tired but i bet it would make me happier! *snacks on sugar snap peas and pepper*

I guess you’ll continue to test that theory to see if you’ve zero’d milk as the culprit.

Solo, it only seems to be milk in my coffee that does it. Milk in my cereal (yes i know, but i’m not on idave atm) doesn’t give me the same cravings. So yes, its all good to find out.

TSY, i could do with some drugs today, happy pills maybe? If i’ve had a hard ride and haven’t eaten enough/properly, i can also be grumpy the next day. But i think its more the sugar as the second i finished my macchiato yesterday, all i wanted to do was eat and consume sugar. I was a bottomless pit during the ride and couldn’t get enough fuel in me. Didn’t help that i was expecting an easy 40miles and we ended up doing a fast, hilly 70miles so i didn’t have enough of my normal cycling food with me.

I actually was almost in tears on the last climb it hurt me so much after big ringing it all the way and being dragged along the flats at 40-50kph. Mustard had to put a hand on my back to help me up the last climb as my legs were gone! The lengths i will go to to train to beat Molly.

Oh wait, i didn’t have any cheesecake or coke, that was the essential training i needed to do for the DGOAB vs Mol TT. FAIL. 😀

I’m grumpy because its raining today and i am sooooo tired after the weekend! And I suspect i’m having sugar come down/withdrawal, having had to fuel on jelly babies and snickers for 70 fast, hilly miles yesterday. 😡

Still, only 3.5 days to work this week and then its holidays!

Sore but not as bad as yesterday. Mine hurt to touch yesterday after 2 days of hard training. I actually could have cried on the last climb of the day yesterday as my legs were so shot from riding in the big ring all the way, and being dragged along the flats at 40-50kph. Compression tights and choc milk helped.

To keep the thread idiet related, i’m never having milk in my coffee again after yesterdays experience! I’ve been experimenting with this recently and it triggers bad sugar cravings for me.

Mol, did you say a few pages back that you were going to try to increase power rather than lose weight? Apparently its easier to lose weight than increase power fyi.

Solo, i am also grumpy this morning. 😐

Oh and my god news is nowt to do with being preggers (that would be worst news of my life). I got a good enough score on the ramp rest to get 1-2-1 coaching. So Molly’s arse is going to be well and truely kicked! 8)

Mol, Cardiff is too far away. Hows about near idave or TSY instead?

I’m in full compression gear after riding with the fast boyz; 36kph uphill! 😡

Can we stay at yours then please Yeti? We could maybe do some mtb’ing/road riding for a few days either side? Is it wise to tell Mol of my good news tonight or shall i keep it quiet? 🙂