Doubt its the gels, adrenaline more likely or over training. Have used gels in training and racing a lot this year, never feel wired from them, just focused (mentally) and more energy. Don’t notice it after the race.

Go deeper and unless they’re carbon they’ll weigh a ton.

Not always – i opted for bontrager aura 5s as i didn’t fancy carbon rims for racing in the rain, they weigh the same as my ultegras but are SO much better.

am now more likely to enter road races one day.

crits you mean, being a sprinter? 😛 let me know when you do, i’m interested to hear what you think of it! meanwhile i’m about to race 410km in 5 days over 6 stages with a few elites / pros…*little voice* GULP.

Anyone else do it

🙄

My pet hate is this! Commuters who wheel suck without saying a word or letting you know they are there (aside from the fact i can hear them breathing out their a+++), then sprint past dying for some invisible sign, then sit up and look back triumphantly whilst i’m not even in zone one cruising along. Pin a number on if you wanna race, then see how hard you are.

For racing there’s a need to really stretch that zone over threshold. This is what I’m working on at the moment as it’s essential in races to be able to stay longer at over-threshold pace. Horrible.

Or build a bigger base? My main difference this year is a massive base due to boring myself silly with z2 on the rollers over winter. This has meant in racing / chaingangs, i’m mostly in z1 – 4, with only brief spells above threshold / z5a-c.

I hate threshold effort with a passion, they are so boring. But love the pain from z5b efforts that usually means pretty much falling off my bike as soon as the interval is over 😕

Indeed I did. 😛 But we won’t go there again as it’ll end in showdown time 😉

Goblet squats are good, as are sumo ones.

Don’t buy any lighter than 12kg, waste of money unless you are a wuss!

I use Duranos for training, xz for racing. Love both but neither last long before they have nicks in them, especially the Duranos since they get most use.

Not a Conti fan.

Have a protein shake as soon as you finish riding, then another one before bed. Having been converted to them by my coach, my recovery is amazing at the moment despite training up to 18hours a week (plus full time job). I can tolerate whey protein ok despite having some gluten/lactose intolerance so you should be ok with it.

Stretch after your ride, foam roller and elevate your legs ie up the wall also works a treat. Compression tights a big help too but seems overkill for a commute. Lack of sleep is prob your biggest factor.

Go to GP asap. I had 2 week course of antibiotics for this in May, utterly floored me 🙁 My bite had got infected (deep under the skin) which didn’t help matters and some part of the tick/insect/sting was in my legs for a good 3 months before it worked its way out 😥

I always thought that i was most aero on the drops but actually i’m more aero with hands on the hoods and elbows dropped (and that’s with a -17 stem slammed). Its surprisingly comfy, but if i don’t fancy that, then dropping my elbows when i’m on the drops helps a lot (ie in the wind in a chaingang)

Wow, I iz in Lust…. *swoons*

What will happen when i tell you its also slammed and -17 😛 8) 😀

@crashtestmonkey, omg, that is a monster of a bike 😐

Point is, if the bike fits you properly and you look after yourself ie core work, stretch etc, then the bike will be super comfy over any distance. If a shorter stem helps, then that’s the way to go.

160cm and 52.5kg.

Road stems – how short is ‘too short’?

I’m small (160cm) with long legs/short torso, my trek is a 47 and i run an 80mm stem – bike all fitted to my measurements and flexibility, but i can ride on the drops for 100miles. The 80mm stem took a bit of getting used to but now race happily on it. I wouldn’t go less than 80mm, bike would be far too twitchy cornering.

I have one on my both race and winter bikes. love it and use it a lot during training.

Can’t say the weight of it has ever crossed my mind, it must weigh next to nothing! I think unless you are the absolute top end and looking to make minor gains then you should be worried if you think a cadence sensor will weigh you down on longer runs!

Full mudguards, ability to use spikey tyres (i run mine pretty much all winter, only day i didn’t last year i came down on black ice mid morning!), pannier rack and waterproof panniers, gore waterproof jacket plus good winter shoes would be my suggestions. If your thinking cx bike, you might have problems finding one to fit you if you are small (i did)

I race on 23mm road tyres in the wet and it is fine.

+1. Only time i’ve had an issue was racing in glasgow city centre when it was greasy and there was a million wee cat eye type things on the roads. Can’t say i’ve ever noticed white lines being an issue when racing in the wet either, but manhole covers can be if you take them at an angle.

aim to ride in zone 3/4 for the rest of the ride.

er, that’s a lot imo although it depends on how many zones you have? if you go hard all the time, no wonder you can’t recover!

do you have harder weeks and easier weeks?

I’ve switched recently to protein shakes and torq recovery plus, along with a major focus on my diet. I’m amazed that i can get up the next day and feel nothing in my legs from the previous day. I used to use choc milk, but never again having seen the benefits from the shake and torq, plus i’m leaner too.

Yes i know Jack, he’s flying this season. 🙂 He saved my sorry ass on a hilly 100miler, towing us back home at 20-25mph in dusk. Don’t think i spoke a word for the 2-2.5hours he was on the front!

Training with people faster than you will help, but i rarely ride with others these days, proper training is lonely! 🙁

I do max HR sessions already

what sort of things? i do threshold, sprints, hills, some chaingangs but never any max HR work. Is it a legs or lungs thing that you get dropped in at top end speed?

Nutrition and recovery vital, esp as you are working so long. Nothing wrong with eating a lot, as long as its all good stuff, including fuelling well during races.

I assume that’s a typical week and you have a 3 week build / 1 week easy? How many hours per week is that? Starting in May might not be the best – i started at the beginning of March and pace by May has ramped up by then, and pace by end of the season chalk and cheese to start of season. You’ll be on the backfoot from the start if everyone else started racing in March (again, just imo!) I know you can’t do much about that though if you need base / race cross. Just a thought.

Finally, if you are serious, you might want to think about a coach. I have been coached for 2 seasons now, no way would i train myself. My current coach is just amazing, so much support, nutrition advice, tactics help etc on top of my training plan.

I love racing, got the british national womens series this weekend, just coming off a big endurance block so hoping i recover ok for it! Can sympathise with the need to make the step up – i raced against Lizzie Armistead / other pros in the National RR champs. A real eye opener!

When does your season end out of interest? From experience, i did lots of power work in the gym and nothing but z2 over autumn/winter, it stripped my legs of speed (by that i mean RPM) so be careful as i’ve been spending time working on it as its not helped my climbing this season.

Tactics and positioning. Sounds like you do too much work on the front (unless this doesn’t apply in the elite/1st races you are doing?) Yes training benefit from doing this, but waste of energy unless you can get into a break. Probably loads more to say but don’t know enough about your training, nutrition etc to comment 🙂

I took the rollers out to the garden this morning for a recovery ride.

Comparing average speed of races is pointless! Weather conditions can vary so much and have a big impact, plus different field/riders in races will change the dynamics. On a 2 day stage race i did, the crit averaged 38kph but felt hellish with all the sprints. The next day the flat RR averaged the same, but felt totally comfortable. IME average speed varies massively and getting too caught up on thinking about it just wastes energy being nervous.

But never enter a RR without group riding experience first! 😯

What rollers do you have that make it a faff? Mine are a quick adjust with an allen key once you know the right length. Just buy a second set of rollers. 🙂

Only do a recovery spin on the rollers (1hour) before work. The rest of my training is too long (2-4hours) to fit in before work, or doesn’t suit ie evening chaingangs.
I hate training before work too. 👿

I should add most of mine are short, so the efforts are anaerobic

I have anaerobic efforts on the road which are totally do-able. Either you aren’t pushing hard enough, or you are tired and can’t get anaerobic (which i have recently experienced) in which case its time to give up and go home to rest! There’s often a big difference between how hard you are willing to push in training vs a race IME.

define fun. Some people enjoy racing.

Here here! I live for my weekends filled with racing atm, its such a buzz. 8) Except possibly Sunday’s race…just an ordinary 112km race in city centre Glasgow with Olympic medalists and me…. 😯 😯

Also, OP, +1 for night riding on the road, its totally different and a lot of fun.

Got a power meter, spent several years using it too. It has its place in a training programme, but I was never able to put the same intensity in on road as off. Road helped my endurance because I was training with power, but it did nothing for my speed really. Both are very important for an MTBer imo.

You just weren’t trying hard enough then on the road!! 😛

Join a club, learn how to chaingang and race = most fun you can have on a road bike. Ever. 8)

Buy a foam roller for your ITBs. Expect to swear a lot the first time you use it. 😈

I’ll dig out my review of my bike fit for you, but it was well worth every penny (£120 + bits – ie i needed new pedals, stem, bars and seatpost).

Are you stretching? Tight quads and IT band can create pain around the knee cap as the tight muscles shift the patella out of position.
Visit to a (good) physio to get worked on and homework will make a huge difference.

+1.

Also bike fit is one of the best things I invested in last year (a proper one that takes in account your flexibility etc)

Soller
Puerto Pollenca
Selva
Bunyola
Soller

A long day out yes, but not hard – even after Sa Calobra the day before 🙂

I personally like the Lluc climb (Col de sa Bataille) from Selva, its fun, and as said above, if you’ve gone that far, Sa Calobra is a must do. Its a bit more climbing from the cafe stop at the top of Bataille before you then descend for 10km ish 🙂 We found some flat roads to Petra and Randa monestary for two flat but faster day rides, but not sure how far they are away from Soller and i cba looking at the map.

Dgoab were you up racing the deeside womans only apr a couple weeks back ? If so shes the one whos crank broke off about 2 miles in

Yes i was – i was in the scratch group 😯 Horrible racing in such cold conditions, my legs literally didn’t work for the whole race! Good field for tomorrow, its going to be an aggressive race i think. Racing down past Manchester on Sunday too. 8)

I’ve had to cut back on them now i’m racing so much and my body shape has changed as changed – I’m still the same weight, just not as “ripped”.

Also, why are you doing Z2 rides or you still in base?

taking the mrs to the womans road race at garelochhead

trailrat, who is your mrs? i’m racing that one too 🙂

Not read all this thread but other things to consider are kettlebells/body weight core work (ie press ups, planks etc)- they definately help me shift fat/become leaner.

Usually I vary my intervals depending on what I’m trying to improve/ maintain. Tonight is cruise shifting intervals where I will ride high Z4 for a minute, then change down a gear and increase effort to Z5a/b for 30 seconds. Repeat for 30 minutes (20 sets)

Ha, that’s what i’m doing tonight since its snowy here and i’m not risking riding outside. Although mine is 4 x 8 mins changing every min/30 secs, then 2 min recovery. By the time my cool down comes around, i need to get off the rollers to take off the resistance! 🙂

Its part of one of the TP versions (i get it on the coached edition but i think its on the premium £10 a month one) I liked it – but its generic and doesn’t know your weaknesses, so takes discipline to work on them over what the virtual coach prescribes. I think its worked so far for me, having top 10 placings in all my early season races.

If my RHR is up, i move my rest day to that day and the other sessions around it. It depends on how much its up by really – if its just a beat or two, then i might move an easy z1-2 ride to that day, but much more than that = complete rest. It can (but rarely) mean 2 rest days back to back, or 2 rest days a week instead of 1, but i’m still putting in a minimum of 8.5 hours in a recovery week up to a max of 17 (which i rarely hit due to a full time job!) With the training being so structured, its rare that the training is the cause (for me) of a RHR, not enough sleep, work/llife stress or illness is the main cause.

I was coached last year (for free), then moved to Training Peaks virtual coach over winter time and am now being coached again by someone different(again its free). My training plan is put together by my coach on TP and I can move it around depending on how i feel / weather etc. TP is great. I think most coaches broadly follow Joe Friel’s was of thinking ie base periods, build, similar workouts. To put a plan together you really need to read Joe’s book and understand what you need to do and don’t be afraid to take extra rest if needed. The biggest benefit for me of a coach and TP is that my training is all very structured – its rare i just ride my bike – i’m fitter, faster, can talk race tactics/nutrition/get support, and i’m more rested. But i really hate taking my RHR in the morning and not being able to train if its raised! 🙁

As for threshold, i’ve done the 2 x 20mins, increasingly to 2 x 25mins, then 2 x 30mins. I can confirm the 2 x 30mins was the worst thing I’ve ever done, i could have fallen off the rollers by the time i’d finished it! Like MM, i use rollers for this session.

I’ve got 30 road/crit races planned, a lot of which are 8+ hour round trip. Some of them I’m using as training races, learning as much as I can and some I’m going into them looking to win/podium. So far I’ve done 3 ‘b/c’ races, coming 6th, 6th and 5th. I’m lucky as I can claim some entrys/expenses back if they are target races but my whole weekend is taken up with travelling and racing.

I’ve trained hard over winter though and given up a lot to do so, and I will continue to do so over the summer (my big race is the Ras na Mban in September) so i feel its worth it.

Well done again, that’s a massive gap you won by! 🙂 Is castle combe not a crit?

How many times a week/month are you racing?

i wont be making any frappychinos as a)we dont have an ice-try, b)we have no means of making an espresso, and c)we dont have enough space in the freezer for ice-cream.

And d) you don’t want to get fat? 😛

Do you just have one KB? I use 4/5 different sizes of one at the gym for my workout. One would be restricting. 😕

What Molly actually wants is to put his effort into the most effective activity

Then you need a plan! To an extent you can up the reps/sets which will get you stronger too. But you need a bigger KB. You need a plan more if you have time committments to get the most out of it.

If you can’t gradually up the weight, you need to look at things like bodyweight, TRX, plyometrics. I’m stronger but leaner with that sort of stuff, and it KILLS me!

Resistance training encourages weight loss yes

I thought resistance exercising encouraged muscle growth Only if you consume more calories than you burn off. To encourage muscle growth you need to eat lots. after a 12 week + spell in the gym where my weights have progressed through a max strength phase, i can still easily fit into my skinny jeans.