11/04/2010
west mids road league round 2
Shrewsbury
12th place overall from 90 riders
back to road racing today and feeling pretty well recovered from yesterdays time trial. Finally it feels like spring with the sun shining and and a bit of warmth in the air. Today's race was 66 miles around an undulating course with 1 or 2 little rises and taking place mainly on narrow tight roads, luckly the road surface was a bit more forgiving than the last race.
The race got going and started of pretty brisk and my found that it took me a while to really get my legs going, i made an effort to stay up towards the front and keep a careful eye on the main player. A few little breaks went away in the early stages and I managed to get in 1 or 2 moves but they didn't come to much. There was never a consistant rythem to the race and various attacks and counters just kept coming and going. We dragged back one of the main breaks that got away and at about the half way point another good break went which managed to pull a lead of about 1 minute on us in the bunch. There was a lot of attacking going on in our group which forced the pace up and by the last lap we had the gap down to about 15 seconds. The last km was all slightly up hill and on narrow roads so I knew I had to get a towards the front to stand a chance, we didn't quite catch the front group but I found my self on a good position for the sprint then next thing i know I'm boxed in to the curb. I had to use a bit of elbow to get in the open again at which point the sprint was taking off, I chased hard, low and in the saddle and manger to claw back a good number of places in the last 100m to finish 12 overall.
This I am very happy with and finally a result I can be pleased with, plus I gained some BCF points as well which is a nice bonus. So overall a good race and a good weekend of racing. I'm feeling pretty positive right now and am happy i can feel the improvments coming along.
More racing soon.
Sunday, 11 April 2010
Saturday, 10 April 2010
Stratford CC open 10 mile TT
10/04/2010
Stratford upon Avon
10 mile time trial
April is the time of year where my second claim club, stratford CC, hold there annual open 10 mile TT. This year is was held on a new revised course which will be the same as the one used for the national 10 which Stratford are also hosting. This brought out some big names who would ride today as good prep for the nationals.
Although I'm not concerntrating on TTs this year I still like to keep my hand in as practise for stage races and that sort of thing. Plus I do actually enjoy TTs, I'm find them very pure and very rewardng.
As this was a local course it was close enough for me to ride out to the race. I set off with about an hour to spare which was lucky because half way there I got a rear puncture in my disk wheel. This meant I had to ride back home on a flat, swap my rear wheel and head off again. Luckly I still managed to get there in time but had to ride pretty hard, this wasent such a bad thing as it got me noclwy warmed up. I quickly signed on and headed off to the start.
Que the next incident of the day; after been given a really good push off I went to pedal and ended up pulling my foot out of the clip, it felt like an age to get back In again. After regaining my posture and focuse I set about business and settled in to a typical rythem of pedalling and breathing. Now, as I had to swap my rear wheel I ended up racing with my powertap which ment I would have power data. Because of this and because I felt pretty good, I decided to use this a fitness test to asses my functional threshold power. This is done by getting a max 20 min power and 10 mile time trial are ideal for this.
I didn't use the power meter for pacing and instead went by HR and feel which I prefer to do In a race. The start was fast as it drops down to the turning point, this does mean however that the way back is all draggy and slightly up hill. I raced hard and felt good doing so, I finished I. A time of 22.04 which I was quite contempt with, I don't know my overall result as I rode home before the race finished but I will post it as soon as I know. More pleasing though was the power data whch showed a 10 watt increase in power from my last test 4 weeks ago. To me this is more important than the result or the time at this stage in my rehabilitation.
Nothing beats the feeling of having a good day riding, nice sunny warm weather, racing hard and knowing you are making progress. Let's hope things keep gong this way.
Stratford upon Avon
10 mile time trial
April is the time of year where my second claim club, stratford CC, hold there annual open 10 mile TT. This year is was held on a new revised course which will be the same as the one used for the national 10 which Stratford are also hosting. This brought out some big names who would ride today as good prep for the nationals.
Although I'm not concerntrating on TTs this year I still like to keep my hand in as practise for stage races and that sort of thing. Plus I do actually enjoy TTs, I'm find them very pure and very rewardng.
As this was a local course it was close enough for me to ride out to the race. I set off with about an hour to spare which was lucky because half way there I got a rear puncture in my disk wheel. This meant I had to ride back home on a flat, swap my rear wheel and head off again. Luckly I still managed to get there in time but had to ride pretty hard, this wasent such a bad thing as it got me noclwy warmed up. I quickly signed on and headed off to the start.
Que the next incident of the day; after been given a really good push off I went to pedal and ended up pulling my foot out of the clip, it felt like an age to get back In again. After regaining my posture and focuse I set about business and settled in to a typical rythem of pedalling and breathing. Now, as I had to swap my rear wheel I ended up racing with my powertap which ment I would have power data. Because of this and because I felt pretty good, I decided to use this a fitness test to asses my functional threshold power. This is done by getting a max 20 min power and 10 mile time trial are ideal for this.
I didn't use the power meter for pacing and instead went by HR and feel which I prefer to do In a race. The start was fast as it drops down to the turning point, this does mean however that the way back is all draggy and slightly up hill. I raced hard and felt good doing so, I finished I. A time of 22.04 which I was quite contempt with, I don't know my overall result as I rode home before the race finished but I will post it as soon as I know. More pleasing though was the power data whch showed a 10 watt increase in power from my last test 4 weeks ago. To me this is more important than the result or the time at this stage in my rehabilitation.
Nothing beats the feeling of having a good day riding, nice sunny warm weather, racing hard and knowing you are making progress. Let's hope things keep gong this way.
west midlands Road Race League Round 1
28/03/2010
Burton upon Trent
Bill Jinks Memorial RR - Cat 2/3/4
65 miles
80 Riders
Following on from my previou post, training had been going great and i could stsrt to feel myself making some progress. Unfortunatly when things go right for me it is usually followed by something bad and this case was no exception, 3 days before the Bill Jinks RR i came down with quite an agressive cold. Typicall isnt it, i go all winter, doing stupid amounts of training, didtroying my body and i donr get one cold. As soon as i start becoming heathly again i get one, i dint get it.
After a bit of debating i decided i would race anyway, stupid i know but i did the neck check, where you see if the symtoms are in your head or chest and as it ws in my head i considered my self well enough to race. The West mids RR League is the teams big goal this year but with most of the team ill or injured i was the only one competing for Cult bu hopefully i will have my buddys there with me in the other races.
The race started at 12.30 on what was quite a chilly day. 80 riders set off from the HQ and rode the 2km or so to the start. To give you an idea of just how bad i felt already, i almost got dropped in the nutrilized zone. Not good. I spent most of the first half of the race at the back trying to get my legs and lungs working, at this point the main break went and the race was split. I started to feel a bit better in the latter haft of the race but not much was happening in our group. I went with a few moves and tried to make a few moves on my own but we were never going to catch the front group so it would all come down to the last lap and a race for the minor places. On the last lap i cracked open a gel which kicked in just at the right momenet, i had decided i did not want to contest a sprint from out quite edgey, nervous group so i blew out the snot and mucus from my nostrlls and summoned up my last bit of strength, enough to launch an well timed attack on the last climb about
3km from the finish. I got the gap and took 2 others with me, we rode through and off with me just hanging on. one of the guys dropped of with about 1km to go and the other one pulled away from me at the same time as i was trying to breathe what felt like a straw. We held of the pack and i finished in what i consider a respectable 24th place given the circumstances.
The winner was Matt Gee of team Raleigh/Avanti, funnily enough, this is the same matt who i just pipped to the post to claim the West midls Cyclocross League. I will consider this my payback but will hopefully but up there with him in the next one.
Burton upon Trent
Bill Jinks Memorial RR - Cat 2/3/4
65 miles
80 Riders
Following on from my previou post, training had been going great and i could stsrt to feel myself making some progress. Unfortunatly when things go right for me it is usually followed by something bad and this case was no exception, 3 days before the Bill Jinks RR i came down with quite an agressive cold. Typicall isnt it, i go all winter, doing stupid amounts of training, didtroying my body and i donr get one cold. As soon as i start becoming heathly again i get one, i dint get it.
After a bit of debating i decided i would race anyway, stupid i know but i did the neck check, where you see if the symtoms are in your head or chest and as it ws in my head i considered my self well enough to race. The West mids RR League is the teams big goal this year but with most of the team ill or injured i was the only one competing for Cult bu hopefully i will have my buddys there with me in the other races.
The race started at 12.30 on what was quite a chilly day. 80 riders set off from the HQ and rode the 2km or so to the start. To give you an idea of just how bad i felt already, i almost got dropped in the nutrilized zone. Not good. I spent most of the first half of the race at the back trying to get my legs and lungs working, at this point the main break went and the race was split. I started to feel a bit better in the latter haft of the race but not much was happening in our group. I went with a few moves and tried to make a few moves on my own but we were never going to catch the front group so it would all come down to the last lap and a race for the minor places. On the last lap i cracked open a gel which kicked in just at the right momenet, i had decided i did not want to contest a sprint from out quite edgey, nervous group so i blew out the snot and mucus from my nostrlls and summoned up my last bit of strength, enough to launch an well timed attack on the last climb about
3km from the finish. I got the gap and took 2 others with me, we rode through and off with me just hanging on. one of the guys dropped of with about 1km to go and the other one pulled away from me at the same time as i was trying to breathe what felt like a straw. We held of the pack and i finished in what i consider a respectable 24th place given the circumstances.
The winner was Matt Gee of team Raleigh/Avanti, funnily enough, this is the same matt who i just pipped to the post to claim the West midls Cyclocross League. I will consider this my payback but will hopefully but up there with him in the next one.
Friday, 9 April 2010
Finding the right road - OCD and overtraining
Finally I have got myself heading on the right path. I have struggled with eating and overtraining and OCD for just about long enough, times have got to change and I have got to change. I have triedit my way for long enough and it clearly isn't working, If I want to reach my full potential and actually make a mark on cycling then I have to start doing it right.
The first step on this long journey back to where I was and progress even further is to establish what went wrong and how to correct it. What went wrong? Well that's easy. I became obsessed with training, I was doing to much and doing it with too much intensity. I had been racing all last year and then went straight in to the cyclocross season as well as upping my normal training load. I did all of this a didn't have any down time, this was a big mistake.
On top of this, my eating disorder, which I developed when I was younger had flaired up again and I became obsessed with my weight and becoming supper lean. With the huge training load I was doing I should have been eating 4-5000 kcal a day, instead I cut back on my food and was hardly eating the recomended daily amount. As a result, my weight began to drop but because I had no fat on me the weight I was lossing was muscle, along with that went my power. Bad news.
This became noticable during the cross season, I started off great, right up there for the win but as the season progressed I got worse and worse. I tried to blame something else or make up other excuses but it was puerly because I was being eaten by myself!
Soon everything began to suffer, my training, my social relationships and eventually my general health. After breaking Down during training time after time I conceded I had a problem and need help. The first step was admitting the problem which I had no problem doing, next step was the doctors. After a few blood tests and other examinations, the doctor confirmed I had overtraining syndrome compounded by an eating disorder. I pretty much new this anyway but when your told it to your face by a doctor it sort of hits hard.
So where do I go from here? First things first, get the weight back on. This is harder than It sounds as my eating disorder prevents me from wanting to eat and put on weight but finally I had a bit of a break through and have got my head round eating the extra calories. I ended up loosing 6kg in the winter so I have to atleast put this back on to get anywhere near my previous levels. We calculated how many calories I would need to meet my demands and it was huge. I struugle to eat huge amounts of food so I decided to go about the extra calories by having a weight gain supplement. I have been taking the drink for about 2 weeks now and can already feel the difference. My weight has increased slightly but the biggest and most pleasing development is how much better my training has become. All winter I had been training in a depleted state with no energy. But now I am training with fuel and it feels amazing, my training has become high quality and consistant, I actually enjoy riding my bike again. My recovery from training has also improved, instead of having days of heavy legged sorness i am ready to go again in half the time.
I have just had an appointment at a sports clinic in oxford which is helping me with my problems. They have referred me to a nutritionalist to get my eating and calorie Intake sorted out and we may also explore hypnothreapy or cognetive mind therapy to help me with my mental issues.
The guys there are fantastic and I really feel this will make a huge difference to me.
Overall I'm pleased with the way things are going and how I am feeling at the moment, I'm finding riding and training fun again, my general mood and view on life has changed and I'm generally feeling more healthy. Hopefully things will keep gong this way and I will see just how good a cyclist I actually can be. As for now, I just gotta keep eating! :)
The first step on this long journey back to where I was and progress even further is to establish what went wrong and how to correct it. What went wrong? Well that's easy. I became obsessed with training, I was doing to much and doing it with too much intensity. I had been racing all last year and then went straight in to the cyclocross season as well as upping my normal training load. I did all of this a didn't have any down time, this was a big mistake.
On top of this, my eating disorder, which I developed when I was younger had flaired up again and I became obsessed with my weight and becoming supper lean. With the huge training load I was doing I should have been eating 4-5000 kcal a day, instead I cut back on my food and was hardly eating the recomended daily amount. As a result, my weight began to drop but because I had no fat on me the weight I was lossing was muscle, along with that went my power. Bad news.
This became noticable during the cross season, I started off great, right up there for the win but as the season progressed I got worse and worse. I tried to blame something else or make up other excuses but it was puerly because I was being eaten by myself!
Soon everything began to suffer, my training, my social relationships and eventually my general health. After breaking Down during training time after time I conceded I had a problem and need help. The first step was admitting the problem which I had no problem doing, next step was the doctors. After a few blood tests and other examinations, the doctor confirmed I had overtraining syndrome compounded by an eating disorder. I pretty much new this anyway but when your told it to your face by a doctor it sort of hits hard.
So where do I go from here? First things first, get the weight back on. This is harder than It sounds as my eating disorder prevents me from wanting to eat and put on weight but finally I had a bit of a break through and have got my head round eating the extra calories. I ended up loosing 6kg in the winter so I have to atleast put this back on to get anywhere near my previous levels. We calculated how many calories I would need to meet my demands and it was huge. I struugle to eat huge amounts of food so I decided to go about the extra calories by having a weight gain supplement. I have been taking the drink for about 2 weeks now and can already feel the difference. My weight has increased slightly but the biggest and most pleasing development is how much better my training has become. All winter I had been training in a depleted state with no energy. But now I am training with fuel and it feels amazing, my training has become high quality and consistant, I actually enjoy riding my bike again. My recovery from training has also improved, instead of having days of heavy legged sorness i am ready to go again in half the time.
I have just had an appointment at a sports clinic in oxford which is helping me with my problems. They have referred me to a nutritionalist to get my eating and calorie Intake sorted out and we may also explore hypnothreapy or cognetive mind therapy to help me with my mental issues.
The guys there are fantastic and I really feel this will make a huge difference to me.
Overall I'm pleased with the way things are going and how I am feeling at the moment, I'm finding riding and training fun again, my general mood and view on life has changed and I'm generally feeling more healthy. Hopefully things will keep gong this way and I will see just how good a cyclist I actually can be. As for now, I just gotta keep eating! :)
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