Yet another chance to get some miles in but it nearly never happened. Having had a weekend off it was tempting to take a third day off the bike. Why? Well once I've had a significant break from training (yes even two days) I seem to walk a tight rope of - "more time off" or "ride hard an test ya fitness". After fighting off the -sofa-is-nice demons I got out to Regent Park on Monday evening and rode hard for an hour.
This set me up nicely for my 4 hour round trip to Luton on Tuesday Morning. As I said before all the sections along the A1081 which were free of roundabouts and traffics were hit as hard as I could manage. In a masochistic sense I even enjoyed getting slightly giddy from the pain of suffering between St Albans and Harpenden.
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
Thursday, 12 March 2009
Spotlight on...Michelle Le Brun
Name:
Michelle Le Brun
Club:
Addiscombe CC
How long have you been racing?:
For just over a year. I started at the Imperial Racing Team Winter Races at Hillingdon with the 4th Cat men last year. I then tried my hand at a 100k mens 3rd and 4ths road race and then thankfully moved on to the womens races for the rest of 2008
What types of races do you do?
Mostly circuit and road racing. Though I would love to give track a go, as I think I may have a decent sprint on me that has as yet been undiscovered.
Where do you race?
Last year was mostly in the South East plus I did some European sportives and British sportives. This year though, I will need to do more travelling around the UK if I am to achieve my main goal.
Describe a typical training session:
I have just come off the phase of my training which has seen the largest time block at about 20 hours a week. During this period I was regularly doing three sessions a day. Session one would be doing an hour low HR on the rollers first thing in the morning (I never saw 6am so many times before). Then in my lunch break I would go out for about an hour and a half in total, fitting in half an hour of phosphate sprints in the middle. This means doing 10 seconds of full on eyeballs out sprinting with about 3 minutes rest in between. In the evening I may have done a big gear session for an hour on the turbo, using increasingly hard gears for 4 minute blocks with a specified break in between.
What are your goals this year?
To get my 1st Cat licence. To get quick enough to ride in the ACC Training Group ride on our club run on a Saturday morning.
What have been your best races so far?
There have been two. Coming first in my first ever women's road race and going from 4th Cat to 3rd Cat in one heady hour; also coming 4th in the Regionals in May 2008, whilst racing with some really strong SE women. One of the best things I did last year was La Marmotte sportive in the French Alps, getting a gold medal.
Michelle Le Brun
Club:
Addiscombe CC
How long have you been racing?:
For just over a year. I started at the Imperial Racing Team Winter Races at Hillingdon with the 4th Cat men last year. I then tried my hand at a 100k mens 3rd and 4ths road race and then thankfully moved on to the womens races for the rest of 2008
What types of races do you do?
Mostly circuit and road racing. Though I would love to give track a go, as I think I may have a decent sprint on me that has as yet been undiscovered.
Where do you race?
Last year was mostly in the South East plus I did some European sportives and British sportives. This year though, I will need to do more travelling around the UK if I am to achieve my main goal.
Describe a typical training session:
I have just come off the phase of my training which has seen the largest time block at about 20 hours a week. During this period I was regularly doing three sessions a day. Session one would be doing an hour low HR on the rollers first thing in the morning (I never saw 6am so many times before). Then in my lunch break I would go out for about an hour and a half in total, fitting in half an hour of phosphate sprints in the middle. This means doing 10 seconds of full on eyeballs out sprinting with about 3 minutes rest in between. In the evening I may have done a big gear session for an hour on the turbo, using increasingly hard gears for 4 minute blocks with a specified break in between.
What are your goals this year?
To get my 1st Cat licence. To get quick enough to ride in the ACC Training Group ride on our club run on a Saturday morning.
What have been your best races so far?
There have been two. Coming first in my first ever women's road race and going from 4th Cat to 3rd Cat in one heady hour; also coming 4th in the Regionals in May 2008, whilst racing with some really strong SE women. One of the best things I did last year was La Marmotte sportive in the French Alps, getting a gold medal.
Monday, 9 March 2009
Surrey League Festival RC 2/3 Road Race
With slightly sore legs from Saturday's Hog Hill adventure I arrived at the HQ and was immediately buoyed by the fact my mate George Brent (Addiscombe CC) had won the morning 3rd cat race. I most certainly wouldn't be winning the 2/3 race but if I finished with the bunch it would be good training. The race got away at a good but not too hectic pace neverthess however after 20 minutes a fellow 2nd cat who has already amassed 78 points in the winter series began riding backwards. Oh dear!
We were on gently rolling 12 mile course and were racing just short of 6 laps.
I spent most of my time in the back half of the bunch which after a three laps and horrendous headwinds had split. The rain came down and so did the number of riders. I was a little tentative not having done many 70 mile rides but managed to get the legs working well in the final 3rd of the race. By this point it was too late to make any difference on the top 20 placings; and my efforts to organise a chase just ended with myself and Simon from Dulwich Paragon tiring ourselves out and getting dropped off from the final 10 man group with around 4 miles to go. When your completely shattered, soaking wet and freezing cold 2nd from last place doesn't tend to matter. Bring on the next race :-)
We were on gently rolling 12 mile course and were racing just short of 6 laps.
I spent most of my time in the back half of the bunch which after a three laps and horrendous headwinds had split. The rain came down and so did the number of riders. I was a little tentative not having done many 70 mile rides but managed to get the legs working well in the final 3rd of the race. By this point it was too late to make any difference on the top 20 placings; and my efforts to organise a chase just ended with myself and Simon from Dulwich Paragon tiring ourselves out and getting dropped off from the final 10 man group with around 4 miles to go. When your completely shattered, soaking wet and freezing cold 2nd from last place doesn't tend to matter. Bring on the next race :-)
Sunday, 8 March 2009
Hog Hill: San Fairy Ann CC Crits 2
Dudes you missed it. Some of South East's top 1st and Elite cat riders - Sigma Sport, Wayne Coombs, J.H-A + Fit For were handing out reality checks to newbie 2nd cats at Hog Hill last Saturday. I received mine on lap five. You know its gonna be one of those races when you start burning matches just to stay in touch on your second lap. There after you're recovery at the top of the Hoggenburg is continually compromised so the "the-get-ready-to-be-dropped-clock" starts ticking.
A slightly dicey moment between female Pro Leda Cox and another rider on the 4th lap bought me a stay of excecution (as we all sprinted around her) but who was I fooling. Another attack just before the climb again on the 5th and I'd burnt my final match so inevitably I had to say goodbye to the "bad guys"... A comfortable small ring spin up the climb and I went into solo training mode. Two laps later I caught up with Cosmo from Dulwich Paragon and we began a two-up. The John Heaton-Armstrong lead break lapped us about fifteen minutes later and John was kind enough to shout "Go Addiscombe" as he cruised by with consumate ease. With 13 laps gone we were finally caught by the main bunch and I jumped on simply for more bunch practise before ducking out on the 20th lap. Hmmm! its nice to be back racing;-)
A slightly dicey moment between female Pro Leda Cox and another rider on the 4th lap bought me a stay of excecution (as we all sprinted around her) but who was I fooling. Another attack just before the climb again on the 5th and I'd burnt my final match so inevitably I had to say goodbye to the "bad guys"... A comfortable small ring spin up the climb and I went into solo training mode. Two laps later I caught up with Cosmo from Dulwich Paragon and we began a two-up. The John Heaton-Armstrong lead break lapped us about fifteen minutes later and John was kind enough to shout "Go Addiscombe" as he cruised by with consumate ease. With 13 laps gone we were finally caught by the main bunch and I jumped on simply for more bunch practise before ducking out on the 20th lap. Hmmm! its nice to be back racing;-)
Thursday, 5 March 2009
Spotlight on - Phil "The Animal" Sheehan
Name:
Phil Sheehan
Who do you race for?
Finchley Racing Team.
How long have you been racing?
Had a brief taste in 2004, encouraged by my good friend Toks. My first race was at Hillingdon and thought I'd won it, but didn't realise there was one more lap to go so my attack came a lap too early :-) I ended up ninth and could barely walk for three days afterwards.
I got to 3rd Cat very quickly and then resumed in 2005 guided by the late, great John Ibbotson. I got to 2nd Cat that year and have been a Cat 2 ever since.
What type of races do you do?
To use Facebook parlance, it's been a case of "Random Play" up until this year. I work very irregular hours and days and more often than not I don't know what shifts I'm doing more than two or three weeks hence, so I've always just raced crits and any EOL road races I can manage. This has made setting goals difficult. This season's a bit different as I now have a baby daughter and it's spurred me on to train efficiently, book specific days off work and pre-enter a number of road races between now and July, when I go to cover the Tour de France for the BBC, and generally pull my socks up.
Basically, I'm avoiding doing too many chippers and concentrating more on quality road races in the Eastern region.
Where do you race?
All over the shop before - from Portsmouth to Milton Keynes. It was always a case of quantity over quality before. This season it'll be mostly Eastern Road Race League events.
Briefly describe a typical training session.
Well, I'm a fully paid-up powermeter afficionado these days so my bread-and-butter is 2hrs sweetspot on the road and threshold work on the turbo. That said, I don't have what I'd call a typical training session as I mix things up a bit. All I'll say is that before I had a powermeter I'd be vague with my objectives and just ride, ride, ride. Now it's more about nailing key sessions and ensuring plenty of rest so I can tackle the next key session as best I can... not always easy when you're a new father. This season I've worked specifically on improving my ability to ride harder for longer. In previous years I'd just ride a couple of hours or more and chuck in a few short hard intervals or sprints, but never really had a good handle on how I was doing or what potential I had.
What are your goals this year?
First and foremost, enjoy my racing - whatever takes me away from my wife and daughter needs to be worthwhile. Secondly is to place well in my target races and be strong in the month of May for the Divisional Championship. Third, and this one is for Toks, is to win a race - I owe you one, mate! Fourth, try and get to 5w/kg.
What have been your best races so far?
Tough question. I've lost count of the races where I've been close-but-no-cigar. Racing is a beautiful, bittersweet thing - you can do well and feel a sense of achievement and still be left with the gnawing "what if" feeling in the back of your mind that keeps you coming back for more. Most satisfying race, I suppose had to be with my new teammates in the ERRL last year, where we attacked and attacked and attacked. Eventually we snapped the will of the bunch and got two of our guys into a three-man break on the final lap. They stayed away - just - placing first and third. I then took fourth with a sprint from a long way out.
>
Phil Sheehan
Who do you race for?
Finchley Racing Team.
How long have you been racing?
Had a brief taste in 2004, encouraged by my good friend Toks. My first race was at Hillingdon and thought I'd won it, but didn't realise there was one more lap to go so my attack came a lap too early :-) I ended up ninth and could barely walk for three days afterwards.
I got to 3rd Cat very quickly and then resumed in 2005 guided by the late, great John Ibbotson. I got to 2nd Cat that year and have been a Cat 2 ever since.
What type of races do you do?
To use Facebook parlance, it's been a case of "Random Play" up until this year. I work very irregular hours and days and more often than not I don't know what shifts I'm doing more than two or three weeks hence, so I've always just raced crits and any EOL road races I can manage. This has made setting goals difficult. This season's a bit different as I now have a baby daughter and it's spurred me on to train efficiently, book specific days off work and pre-enter a number of road races between now and July, when I go to cover the Tour de France for the BBC, and generally pull my socks up.
Basically, I'm avoiding doing too many chippers and concentrating more on quality road races in the Eastern region.
Where do you race?
All over the shop before - from Portsmouth to Milton Keynes. It was always a case of quantity over quality before. This season it'll be mostly Eastern Road Race League events.
Briefly describe a typical training session.
Well, I'm a fully paid-up powermeter afficionado these days so my bread-and-butter is 2hrs sweetspot on the road and threshold work on the turbo. That said, I don't have what I'd call a typical training session as I mix things up a bit. All I'll say is that before I had a powermeter I'd be vague with my objectives and just ride, ride, ride. Now it's more about nailing key sessions and ensuring plenty of rest so I can tackle the next key session as best I can... not always easy when you're a new father. This season I've worked specifically on improving my ability to ride harder for longer. In previous years I'd just ride a couple of hours or more and chuck in a few short hard intervals or sprints, but never really had a good handle on how I was doing or what potential I had.
What are your goals this year?
First and foremost, enjoy my racing - whatever takes me away from my wife and daughter needs to be worthwhile. Secondly is to place well in my target races and be strong in the month of May for the Divisional Championship. Third, and this one is for Toks, is to win a race - I owe you one, mate! Fourth, try and get to 5w/kg.
What have been your best races so far?
Tough question. I've lost count of the races where I've been close-but-no-cigar. Racing is a beautiful, bittersweet thing - you can do well and feel a sense of achievement and still be left with the gnawing "what if" feeling in the back of your mind that keeps you coming back for more. Most satisfying race, I suppose had to be with my new teammates in the ERRL last year, where we attacked and attacked and attacked. Eventually we snapped the will of the bunch and got two of our guys into a three-man break on the final lap. They stayed away - just - placing first and third. I then took fourth with a sprint from a long way out.
>
Inspiration
The Aerobic Monster that is...Jens Voight
Underated English Pro Rider Dave Clark wins the overall in the 2009 Tour Of Cameroun
One of my all time favourite cycling forum posts: Chilling With The Pro's
Underated English Pro Rider Dave Clark wins the overall in the 2009 Tour Of Cameroun
One of my all time favourite cycling forum posts: Chilling With The Pro's
Monday, 2 March 2009
Regents Park: Inner Ring
Ok so if all goes well I'll be putting numbers on my back this weekend. I hope to do San Fairy Ann CC Crits at Hog Hill and Surrey League race at Kirdford. I won't taper for either of these races I will use them as training. Training this afternoon consisted of a set of 2 x 20 in Regents Park followed by half an hour of tempo riding. The lack of cold air meant I wasn't gasping too much (slight asthmatic probs). Race Pace efforts are always hard work - slowly but surely though...
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