Tour of the Reservoir this weekend

The first Premier calendar road race is nearly here - The Tour of the Reservoir in Northumberland. I've put a lot of preparation into this event and am wanting a good result. I've not ridden this race before and a trusty old friend of mine, Doug Collins, reckons its quite hilly? We'll see hey ;-) The only snag is that my new (second) baby is due to arrive 2 days later. This is not the best husband-move, but I owe it to the team and I've a strong suspicion (and gut-feeling) that he/she will arrive on time - 28th March. Anyway, I've setup a contigency so I'm holding and hoping.

My preparation, as I said, has been going well - I've put in the hours and hard work and I feel that my legs are ready. I would've liked to have done a few more races before this, but I guess it'll have to do. For the last 3 weeks I've managed to get in at least 16 hours which included good quality interval sessions that just about broke my legs.

The KEY this week is TAPER. I need to keep my strength but recover enough to get them (my legs) 100% ready. My training plan this week looks something like:

M - Active recovery
T - LT Intervals - 5 x 20 mins in zone 4 (170-188 bpm)
W - 1 hour easy spin
T - 1.5-2 hrs Tempo
F - 1 hour easy spin
S - Travel and 1 hour easy spin
S - RACE

Gorrick MTB Rd 3

12 March 2006 (Warren Heath)
With no ride in any of the road events I headed for the tracks at Warren Heath. I deparately need to push it hard and test my legs. Cross country racing is a sure way to do this.

I entered the Super Masters category as I wanted to ride in the morning to get home early. So the next best thing to Elite is Super Master. The starts as always was a scurry for the first bit of singletrack. I got bumped a few times going up the first drag. But, I kept my wheel firmly on the tracks and stood my ground.

At the end of lap one I was "invited" to take to the front. I did so sportingly and just kept the hammer down. After 10 mins I was alone and was never faced with any more pushes for the win.

Total race time was 01:12 with my HR averaging 170 and max at 184. I must be tired or I never pushed myself hard enough. I think it was a bit of both as I had done a hard 4 hr tempo ride on Saturday and as I was riding most of my time on the front alone - no real push. It was a pitty as I'd like to have done a bit longer and pushed myself much harder.

Anyway, the weather held out nicely - a bit cold but at least dry (unlike last time).

Training - March

My training programme for March. There are more intensity-based sessions with an emphasis on quality and a lot of time spent indoors.

Date Day (Planned)

1 W LT #4
2 T Anaerobics + 1 hr on trainer at home #3
3 F 1 hr easy spin
4 S 3 hrs tempo 50 rpm on climbs
5 S 4 hrs tempo 50 rpm on climbs
6 M 1 hr easy spin
7 T VO2 # 4
8 W LT # 4
9 T Anaerobics # 3
10 F 1 hr easy spin
11 S 4 hrs tempo (motorpace 60 km if possible)
12 S 3 hrs mtb tempo with climbs