the tour de france...

The week that was training - bit of a mixed bag, which is going with the general trend. A few good sessions in there, but also missed a couple of days. 3 squad swims, which went OK, and swimming is close to back to what it was before the 3 weeks off (so fitness back after 2 weeks I guess). One session involved a big set of 25's (48 in all) which usually numbs my brain to the point of being quite painful - but I actually enjoyed it for a change- even the breaststroke pull and the butterfly! Running was again the big loser of the week. Got a few shorter easy runs in, but unfortunately I have to catch up on a few chores, including giving a talk for 4 hours, and lost 2 days training. Feet have been getting quite sore, and the legs feeling a bit hammered after running, so the running shoes are now officially past there useful point. I use two pair, and alternate them - one pair is definitely gone, and will only be used in an emergency I think, the other pair is not great, but not quite so bad (legs not quite so sore after). The better shoes are actually older than the stuffed ones. I have ordered a new pair, so hopefully the next run will be breaking them in. Unfortunately the shoes I currently wear have been superseded by the "new" model. This is always a bit of a worry, and little changes in design usually lead to disaster when in use. So the next pair will probably be a bit of a stop-gap while I organize/check what model to go with next.
Cycling was sort of steady as-she-goes. a couple of spin classes, and taking the school kids out on Thursday morning. The Sunday long ride was always looking like an in door trainer session with a "weather bomb" coming through. Having really missed my long run for the week, and Saturday ended up being a "working all day" day, combined with the end of the tour de France, I decided to have a bit of a solid ride on Sunday, and do 3 climbs up Alp d'Huez on the virtual trainer. I wanted to do each rep faster, and not really do the last one all out (so I could actually still get out of bed the next day). The graph of the session is below. A warm-up circuit and then 3 steady efforts. I worked out being a very good session in the end. I ended up with my best 2 hour power output - although that probably does not mean that much - as it is just a session that full that criteria more than anything. I have not really done a 2 hour hard out effort with the power meter to this point. I was happy to be able to hold over 300 watts at around 150 HR, and around 325 for just under 160HR on the last effort - which still felt quite controlled. More on that in a bit.


The tour de France is over - with CSC the very dominant team and Carlos Sastre the winner. Sastre executed a great race plan - sit and wait until the hardest mountain stage, and attack on the final climb, and hold off threats a couple of days later in the final time trial. It took courage to wait and put all the eggs in that one basket, but he did have a great team to support him, with initial pressure deflected by Frank Shleck while he was leading the tour. He also knew he was stronger in the last week of the tour, and that was the best time for him to attack. I think it was one of the best tours to watch, certainly not a forgone conclusion from the start, and many riders having the opportunity to take the title. My favourite, Valverde, lost time on one mountain stage, and in the last time trial - but the damage was already done so his motivation was probably gone. He did have a crash early on, which may have affected him at the crucial moments - but that is life in the tour! Tid-bits from the tour - Team CSC won 621210 euro's in prize money (top) and Lampre (bottom of list) won 9840 euros - probably not that much for 3 weeks hard work to split amongst the team!
The two main power meter manufacturers were good enough to put some of the power data from a few riders on their web sites. I find the information quite fascinating, and one of the reasons I think power meters are such a useful tool is that you can quantify what you need to be able to do to be good! Of course there are a few factors that you need to look through - such as tactics, but still good information. To do well in the tour, you need to be able to time trial well, and climb well in the mountains, and preferably not get caught in the wrong half of any splits in the bunch on the flatter stages. For the time trial, straight power output is the vital number. This, paired with your aerodynamic drag number is how fast you are going to go on the flat. So a bit of wind tunnel testing to optimize your time trial position, so your drag is minimized, while still being able to output a good power number is important in the build-up. Then you have to "produce the watts" on the day, given that you have ridden long and hard for several days before. The other important number is power-to-weight. This dictates how well you will climb. The good climbers are putting out 5.5-6.0 watts/kg on the longer climbs when the pace is on, maybe 5 at "tempo effort", and the sprinters in the "autobus", who are just trying to make the cut-off times are generally doing around 4 w/kg on the bigger climbs. So what the heck does that all mean - well, based on my Sunday ride on the trainer - I can survive with the sprinters on the bigger climbs (my last effort was 4.34 w/kg)! That is of course taking out the two weeks of riding that the tour rides have endured, and the 150km of riding they need to do to get to the base of the last climb! For an all out 30minute effort I can probably sustain just under 5 w/kg - so to be in the front bunch on the big climbs I either need to lose over 10kg (and maintain my power output), or improve my power output by over 20 percent... Ouch! Dreams are of course, in general, free...

back on track...

Getting back into a routine certainly has helped the training. With my local swim squad back in action (pool re-opened), it is just a matter of getting up, and going there and doing it. It is a good environment to get good training done! It just seamed to make the other sessions fall in place as well. I did take it a little easier, as there was a little de-training effect after 3 weeks of no real swim training! But I think the mental side of being back on track, and ticking off sessions also made life a little less "anxious" - life is better with ticks in boxes!
It was straight back into a 4km swim session on Monday morning - bit of a shock to the system, and definitely a little slower than 3 weeks ago. Oh well, such is life. I tried to repeat my "steady state aerobic test run" again this week. I did this early on, and thought it would be a good indication of my basic aerobic running fitness, rather than the top end from time trials. I have felt that the top end is getting a little better, I am a little faster and feel more in control (ie can go faster if I want to), and the top heart rates are getting back to where they should be (170-ish). The plan was to do a 6km circuit at a steady HR (155 was the number I chose), and hopefully this became faster as I got fitter. Back in March I did this 6km in 24:15, average HR 155, and average cadence 85. This week I repeated it, and did it in 24:14, average HR 155, and average cadence 88! So what does that mean?? I am no fitter? Or the test idea is a load of crap?? I might need to do a time trial to confirm - but I suspect I am no fitter! To be fair, I have not really advanced the run training very much in the last 2 months, and possibly a couple of easy weeks have not actually freshened me up (I have gone past that stage...). And I guess the other major factor might well be my iron status, as I am just trying to get that back on track, so might have to re-test in a couple of weeks to see if that has made a difference. Well at least I am not under an illusion that I am progressing at a great rate! Darn it!! The other training session session of note was the long ride. Having not been out on the road for a while, and no real long ride (ie over 3 hours) for several months now (gulp - time is tick ticking away!), I was keen to get out there this week. I could see the stars in the sky when I went to check the weather on Sunday morning at breakfast time- so the ride was on. The sky looked decidedly gray as we set off (all 4 of us), then spit... spit.... Oh dear. 20 minutes into the ride and I am soaked. I don't do riding in the rain if I have a choice. Little Katie was keen to head for home and the warmth of the garage and the trainer, but she got a "If I am doing this ride so are you" from me. I figured I would gut out at least an hour 30min, and do the other half on the trainer if need be. But the weather cleared a little, and we were OK for the rest of the ride. The next down pour came, just as I got into the car - great timing!! Not quite 3 hours, but got a tick in a box! 
I got a pile of research papers last week, and have been going through a few. No startling revelations, but I guess a couple of interesting tid-bits in some of the details. One was a summary of research on drafting in swimming, cycling and running. Nothing too startling in the fact that if you draft you get a benefit - either less effort at the same speed, or you can go faster at the same effort. I guess the interesting bit is how much you can save. It is well known in cycling that drafting can result in 40-60% less effort, but swimming and running is somewhat less. And that is quantified at more of a 6-8% decrease. The major catch is the actual drafting affect is significantly affected by the skill of drafting! So learning to draft effectively is an important skill, that can save a significant amount of time and/or effort.
On a similar vein, there were a few bits on the effect of run times on different bike efforts, and the effect on bike times from different swim efforts. 100% effort of best swim time trial efforts had a significant effect on the bike times. Doing the swim at 80% of you best time trial pace (not effort) resulted in a significantly faster bike - making up for more than what was lost in going slower in the swim. Drafting and/or lapping on the bike (alternating drafting/leading) also affect the run leg. Probably the big thing here is you need to know what affect different strategies are going to have, and perhaps try a few scenarios in training to find what works and what does not!
The tour de France is becoming one of the most exciting races in modern history! 68 hours of racing so far and 5 and a half minutes separate the top 10! Amazing...

return to routine, and lessons in suffereing...

Last weeks training was again pretty average, with a couple of good sessions, but overall a little below "optimal". I will take that as my easy week, and now that the local pool is open again, and I can get back into the swing of squad swimming, I can focus on getting back into the training routine. I managed a long run (1hr50min) and a solid swim (4km), and the bike and run interval sessions. Slightly annoyed that I slept through my alarm on Sunday and missed the bunch ride (long ride), as it was the first Sunday that the weather was reasonable - in fact it was very good! What's done is done, and currently I can't change the past (time travel maybe a future possibility....), so just need to move on! In the scheme of things it is not a huge thing, and really I just need to get back into the routine, and be consistent with the training. I was a little disturbed with how the swimming had dropped off after a couple of weeks away from the pool (or at least just a couple of half-assed swims only). Having said that, I am suspecting that I am quite low on Iron at the moment, and that is just starting to affect performance. I have not been looking after that at all (I know it is an issue for me), and I think that has crept up on me. Slightly higher HR and a little short of breath occasionally - where the efforts are not that difficult at all. Hopefully a few weeks of extra Iron supplements will get that back to acceptable levels by the end of the month.
I did have one of those moments that you get sometimes training during the week - not sure if it was good or bad yet. I think I will put it in the "wow that is cool, but slightly disturbing" basket. While on the long run I was running along a track next to the beach, and just happened to look up through a gap in the trees - and out on to the ocean. A very nice view, quite relaxing, and then saw an Orca pop up out of the water, probably no more than 100m from shore. First thought was "wow that is cool". Then a few ticks of the brain later, "hmmm, I swim in there over summer...". Slightly freaky, but still cool - I think....
This week the entries for the Tauranga half ironman opened, and managed to sell out in the first day! That does not surprise me at all. It was a week last year, and I would have been surprised if it went over 3 days this year. While not the "fairest" race - being so flat and multi-lap, it is still a great day out. The draft-fest that it was a few years ago has not quite so bad at the front, but still quite atrocious for the women (basically the leading women sitting in bunches of the faster age-group men). But at least you know that when you enter!
With the enthusiasm of the half ironman entries, it was good to see the trash talking start out quite early this year. I am sure that a fair few people will see me as a target to beat in the half and in the ironman, both overall and in individual splits. Sometimes this can be a hassle and a distraction as people try to sprint you in at the end of a leg, but often it is fun, and adds to the challenge of the day. The end of the swim has been unnecessarily competitive a few times in Ironmans - it is a long day, and gaining a few seconds by sprinting someone off at then end of the swim is not usually a good use of energy. However, I have had to "defend" my position a couple of times - particularly when I have had a good swim, and the lead woman has tried to roll me in the last 50m, after quite happily sitting on my feet for the previous 2-3km! Bets have already been placed, and so far I have a brunch and a 3 course meal as bets, so by the end of the year, I will probably be able to eat out for free for a month, or be feeding others for a fair amount of time!
The Tour de France is continuing. There have been a few shake-ups and a few contenders have already been found wanting - mostly wanting new legs... It is still early days, but as a general rule, in tours it is not about gaining time on your competitors, it is about not losing time. The last man standing wins! Every tour I have done has been a huge learning experience. Initially in the tactics of tours - which are completely different to single stage races, and then learning about yourself, and what you can and can't do!
I have a few vivid memories from cycle racing tours. Here are a couple: in the first, we had just finished a hard stage of around 80km, and there was a 1 hour criterium around 2 hours later. After finishing and getting some warm clothes on, I decided a nice hot coffee was in order and jumped on the bike to go to a cafe a few km's up the road. Jumped on the bike and thought to myself - why the hell did I leave the bike in the hardest gear as I struggled to pedal off? Looked down and saw that I was in granny gear (the easiest gear I had) - then had a deep feeling of dread about the next stage! How was I going to handle a full-on Crit if I felt this bad now? An hour later all was good and we were flying around a 1km circuit at stupid speeds... The other memorable moment was in the tour of southland. It was one of the hardest stages, mainly due to the strong cross winds, and the absolutely ridiculous pace being set at the front. It was a few days into the tour, so riders were getting tired. The competition at the top end was starting to get fierce. After a couple of km's in the start town the pace was really on (45-50kph) and everyone was stuck in the left hand gutter due to the cross wind, and gaps were opening up quickly. I found myself near the back end of the bunch (definitely a bad place to be), and almost pushed into the rear of a couple of parked cars. So it was pull out from the echelon, and sprint up nearer the front, and pull into the next open gap - of which there were a few. After a few km's of leap frogging up I was in the top 20 and slightly over the redline! The next 30km were hanging on the back of the front bunch, and occasionally team time trialling back on to the front bunch with a couple of others who were in the same boat as me - doing all they could to hang on. I have only been dropped a few times - where I could not put in an effort to keep up, sure I have been in the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up in grouppo two, but that is tactical rather than physical. However after around 40km of hard-out riding in the gutter, and struggling to keep up, the pace lifted again, and I was well into the red, then realized, I just could not hold on - I was dropped! Damn! I then rode over a fire hose that was across the road - and realized that we had just gone over a sprint prime, the bunch slowed a bit after the sprint and I was back on!! Yahoo! The next 40km were just miserable - a strong cross wind meant riding in the gutter - so I was absolutely as far left as I could possibly ride, right on the rivet (max effort), just wishing the person in front would ride a few inches to the right so I could get some draft - but knowing he was in the same position as me, and that was just not going to happen! Managed to finish in the bunch at the end (16 riders or so), and the main bunch was over 20 minutes behind - a huge gap in a 80km stage. At the end of the stage, one of the race referees can over to me and said "I have come to inspect your bike. I am checking for teeth marks in the handlebars". At least he appreciated the pain and suffering with his sarcasm - and I think there were teeth marks in the handle bars too!
Learning to suffer is an important skill!

let the tour comence...

Another not-so-exciting week on the training front. Main bad news - only one swim, and no long run. Good news is I got to the pool at least once, and got the weights sessions in. Ended up with a couple of solid rides, so that was probably good too. So the bikes were good this week - a couple of 2hr30min rides (which is long at the moment!). One was taking school training - an hour of team time trial training, then another session of sprint training - and by the time I got home I was quite tired, which moved to quite stuffed an hour later! The second ride was the planned "long ride", which was on the trainer (wet and cold outside). I included a few steady efforts - which were simulated tour de France climbs on the simulator - averaging around 300watts for the climbs, which felt OK, and the heart rate was around 150, which is reasonably comfortable. the perceived effort did climb toward the end - so the endurance is probably not there at the moment! But a good result for a "comfortable steady" effort.
The swim did not enhance my motivation to go and swim with the "general public". I just wanted to get in and do a relatively easy swim. It was a little busy when I got there, but there did not appear to be any "breaststrokers" in the fast lane, so I got in and started swimming. There were 3 or 4 others in the lane, but one lady appeared to take exception to me swimming in "her" lane and started chasing me down - with anger. I was not really interested in racing anyone and just stuck to doing my own thing. Tried to let her go in front of me - but she was not having that, and jumped onto my feet at every opportunity. Then a couple of guys in the next lane started trying to race me each time I came through. I just want to swim easy - leave me alone! I tried not to offend anyone, or cut in front of others - but obviously I upset the local balance.
When I first started travelling and racing, it amazed me how similar people were all around the world. The top athletes really did not worry too much about others - and were more interested and focused on themselves and what they wanted to do. They organize their environment to get to optimize their own training. The second tier athletes want to see where they sit in the overall scheme of things and will try and take little "victories" off others - and always want to race in training to show how good they are - even if it stuffs them up for when they actually have to race! When I was training in Boulder (then the triathlon training Mecca), I was in the swim squad, near the back of one of the faster lanes. At the end of one of the reps early in the session I hear a "do you mind if I go in front", turn around - and it is Mark Allen, one of the greats of triathlon (6 times Hawaii champion). Sure Mark - no problem (gulp)... When I raced in Germany, it was fine riding with the top local guys, an easy ride was easy, and you would get shown great places to train. When you went out with the next tier down, you had to brace yourself for the first 30-45min as they tried to ride your legs off, then they would die and things would settle down, same thing in New Zealand... Why not wait until race day to show how good you are? That is when it counts!
The Tour de France started over the weekend - which is a great sporting spectacle I think. So many different races within a race, and such a dynamic event. If you want to win this, not only do you need to be a great athlete, you need to be VERY focused and need a fair amount of luck fall your way (although you can make some of your own luck). My favourite for the race this year is Alejandro Valverde - probably not a great tour rider yet, and more of a classics stage racer - especially if it is a bit of an up-hill sprint finish. But I like the guy - he appears to have the characteristics of a true champion. He will probably be a bit fragile toward the end of the second week, and may end up loosing a whack of time on one or two stages - but only time will tell. He has won the first stage (a nice uphill sprint finish) quite emphatically - which is a little unusual for a general classification contender. I am looking forward to the great race, and hopefully not too many "drug issues" this year!

Valverde doing what he does best...