A full week on the turbo

With the crap weather we're suffering from at the moment this weeks training has entirely been indoors but its a week I've enjoyed. I know last week I mentioned that turbo training is boring - well I might have found an answer - TrainerRoad.

So what is TrainerRoad? Basically its a piece of software that you load onto your laptop and using an ANT+ cadence sensor (I'm using a Garmin GSC 10), ANT+ heartrate monitor belt and an ANT+ USB stick (again from Garmin) it works out your virtual power. That's not all though as there are workouts that you can download on-line that you can do and you get live heart rate and cadence displayed on screen as you work out. The workouts are based on power so by entering the turbo trainer you are using TrainerRoad uses the turbo's power curve to work out virtual power so you have to keep to the virtual power levels as instructed in the workout.

I appreciate that the power measurements are virtual but if you use the same tyre pressure and tension of the roller against the wheel then you'll get repeatable results as you have ironed out the variables. By completing a threshold test first, TrainerRoad will calculate your FTP (Functional Threshold Power) and use this for your workouts.

This does cost $10 a month but there are plenty of work outs and training plans to keep you busy and the boredom at bay.

Have a look at the video below if I haven't explained it very well.

So with a weeks worth of training how do I feel I have done? Firstly I've been working on cadence and FTP intervals this week and I'm spinning the pedals much better now although it has engaged other muscles so I'm aching in new places but this will make my pedal stroke much more efficient. Interestingly I have also noticed an increase in speed compared to pain levels and I'm enjoying the flood of lactate acid into my legs.

All in all its been a great week of very hard training but I can see progress along with the weight I am losing. This week is a recovery week to let my body get used to the increase in training so I'm off swimming on Tuesday and then have a 45 minute ride scheduled on Wednesday (or an equivalent turbo session) and two 2 hour rides for Saturday and Sunday (or turbo sessions again) so I'm going to enjoy the rest starting with the Spurs v Man U game this afternoon.

I hate the cold

Well that's the second week of training in the bank and I'm sat with my feet up enjoying a rest day.

Due to the weather I've done more than my fair share of turbo work this week and it doesn't get any less boring. Sufferfest training films help with the boredom and the pain and so did watching last years Paris Roubaix especially when you spice it up with a flat out spin every 10km the pros ride.

One thing I have discovered that adds a bit of fun to turbo work is using Speedplay pedals - huge cleats, puddle of sweat and you can probably guess the rest.

This weeks training follows what us now becoming my routine. I have a rest day today (Monday) and Friday, Wednesday is 45 minute turbo session across HRZ 1 to 3, Thursday is a 45 minute turbo session of Russian steps to build up my cadence, Saturday is 2 hours of hill repeats and Sunday is a 3 hour endurance ride.

Weight wise it's dropping off and so are the inches - my jeans I got at new year are no longer snug.

So that's what happened in week 2 - role on week 3.

And so it begins.

Well the past week has seen me starting my training for Vaujany Master.

Technically I should have started training with 45 minutes swimming on New Years day, but with being away I didn't do anything apart from eat (I cut out the booze at 2:30am on New Years day) and with still being away on Wednesday that meant some juggling of the plan.

The first ride of the year was on Thursday which was a flat ride ride around the shores of Morecambe bay. The ride should have only been an hour long at HRZ2 (heart rate zone 2 - endurance zone) with 6 second sprints every 15 minutes but I got carried away and was out for and hour and a half and it felt great to be out again.

Friday was scheduled as a rest day but I decided to switch Saturdays session to Friday and Sundays session to Saturday to give me a double rest day over Sunday and Monday. Fridays ride was supposed to be a 1.5 to 2 hour hilly ride (again in HRZ2 apart from the climbs) and I set out really happy and enjoyed the climbing (my god I'm changing) but on one of the descents I got cold and no matter how much effort I put in I wouldn't warm up so headed for home. In reality the excess time spent riding on Thursday made up for the ride being cut short on Friday so no real problems on that front.

Saturday's ride was in the plan as a 2+ hour ride on flat terrain with all HRZ used but not too much time in or over HRZ3 (tempo zone). In the end I was out for 2.5 hours and really enjoyed it until the last 45 minutes which was my own fault because I didn't eat enough and badly bonked.

Overall I'm happy with how the first week has gone although training to times rather than distances is still taking some getting used too. My legs are a bit sore today but I haven't ridden on the road on consecutive days since July/August so I can't complain.

The coming week is similar to this week, rest Monday, swim Tuesday, ride Wednesday and Thursday, rest Friday and then ride Saturday and Sunday with no real change to the times.

My motivation is still good and I've only got a pound more to lose from what I put on over Christmas.

Onwards and upwards.

New Year - New Challenge

This year due to other commitments I am unable to take part in the UU Charity Challenge riding the length of Ireland, so with it being the year of my 40th birthday I am taking part in a personal challenge.

On the 30th of June I will riding the Vaujany Master cyclo sportive in the French Alps. This is single day event with a total distance of 173km which is around 108 miles and the profile is shown below.

This is a significant challenge to me as at 17.5 stone I'm not currently built for climbing so I need to to lose a fair chunk of weight to improve my power to weight ratio.

Just to add a little incentive I have decided to raise money for the North West Air Ambulance as the thought of people sponsoring me will keep riding when I want to stay in bed and keep me on track with regards to my diet. If you'd like to sponsor me you can click on the Just Giving badge on the side of my blog or if you are viewing this on a mobile device you can click here.

I've also added a Strava panel so you can see if I'm doing my training or slacking off and I will update the blog at least once a week with what I am up to.

I'll be starting training tomorrow (Thursday) as the festive celebrations are finishing tonight although the alcohol ban has already come into force.