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Today - May 2013

joewein

Maximum Pace
Oct 25, 2011
3,532
3,693
571 km in April, despite being 10,000 km away from my bicycle for the last 1/3 of the month (which hasn't quite ended in Germany yet).

I'm planning another ~50 km ride with my brother in the morning, before spending the rest of the day with my dad, then head back to Japan the following day. A little over 2 weeks to go before my 300 km brevet.
 
30 odd minutes on the trainer this morning on the balcony. woke up the wife with the 5 second sprints, 2nd session following leelikesbikes.com's "pump up the base". definitely feeling the improvements. most probably be doing the next session in the basement parking to not wake her up.
 
Got caught in the rain for my commute. Took half an hour to get all the grit off the bicycle. A noticeable amount of wear on the brake pads. I wouldn't have gone out on the bicycle if the weather forecast was accurate!

Now off to figure out what replacement pads to get...
 
48 km loop with my brother before spending the rest of the day with my dad, including a walk with me pushing his wheel chair. In a couple of hours I will be heading for the airport.
 
Got caught in the rain for my commute. Took half an hour to get all the grit off the bicycle. A noticeable amount of wear on the brake pads. I wouldn't have gone out on the bicycle if the weather forecast was accurate!

Now off to figure out what replacement pads to get...

Dura Ace pads, both standard and carbon are excellent braking pads for either wheel type and last a long time. They also do wet weather variants. I'm currently testing a new product by Tni which are ceramic fibre brake shoes, I'm actually coming to the end of the test period as I was originally sent them to race CX on them and I've switched them across to the road bikes.

So far in all weather and road conditions they have outstanding, especailly in wear and tear. I'll go through 1 set of cork pads in a single race.
 
I'm currently testing a new product by Tni which are ceramic fibre brake shoes, I'm actually coming to the end of the test period as I was originally sent them to race CX on them and I've switched them across to the road bikes.

Any local sources that carry these? And thanks for the advice on the Dura Ace brake pads.
 
My Internet has been playing up so much so that I cannot use it at all sometimes so I arranged for the engineer to come round today. Watching the lovely sunshine while I waited was bad enough but watching him flap around while there seems to be an infinite supply of internets today is infuriating. Thankfully I have record of the times it was faulty and he is doing his best to locate the source of my woes.

I leave for Prague in the small hours of the morning and wanted one last ride before I go. Maybe I can get out before the day ends...maybe

The internets will stop coming the moment he walks out the door, I just knows it.
 
Any local sources that carry these? And thanks for the advice on the Dura Ace brake pads.
Not sure yet if they have been released on the open market, but basically ask at a local Tni dealer.
 
Gigapower makes many of the ceramic fiber compound pads. So does Brakeco. Alot of riders swear by the Koolstop dual compound for general roadbike use (Alloy). Bear in mind, different rims and conditions may require different pad compounds. For most alloy rims you probably can't go wrong with the standard Shimano pads. As most braking issues are related to filthy, gunked up rims and brakes, make sure that's taken care of first.

Any local sources that carry these? And thanks for the advice on the Dura Ace brake pads.
 
Enjoying some mountain biking on trails that are in perfect condition! Mt. Hinode, Baigo and a little bit of Futatsuzuka. 55 km, a lot of climbing on tarmac, but the descents made up for that!
 
Went out for the first time since I had my teeth done. Was OK. Hurt when I really dropped the hammer, but was surprisingly OK otherwise. All that stuff about losing form after 3 days; well yeah, I suppose I was being paranoid. Was a bit of a long warm up, and I could feel my body was not as properly pinging as before, but I got into it and rode OK. Will go out again tomorrow and then for a group ride on Sunday and get myself back on form.

Thinking back, the main thing that caused me to dip a bit was all the crap I had to eat whilst being so busy (and not being able to chew!); too many carbs, not enough crunchy fresh fruit and veg, and no time to get the decent sashimi from the local supermarket etc.

Went mad on the fruit and veg last night and today, and feel a lot better.

Back to it!!
 
Owen, didn`t know whether to post in the April thread, or here, but basically, what FarEast said `without knowing any of your physiology, training methods or techniques the question is basically impossible to answer.`

The thing to remember, is that if you train today, the benefits don`t show up tomorrow - body processes, half-lives and all that stuff - so on the same basis, form won`t instantly drop off, like you noticed. In general, if you have trained consistently for a long period of time, then you can take 7-10 days off without a drop in form, but obviously, take a few days to get back into it. (There is some research that backs this up, but I can`t find it off-hand) If you follow Lee Rodgers blog (I like his style of writing) you will note he did the same thing recently.
`so, after the Tour de Taiwan i took ten days off the bike. put it in the spare room and forgot about it. despite the sniffling and whimpering i heard from it during the night, i stood firm.
then when i picked up again i had an easy 5 days, then started training proper again. my motivation was back and within another 5 i felt strong again.`
If you look at tapering protocols, this will give you some idea:-
Cycling Weekly
In particular, the research shows that a relatively short break (two weeks or so) is generally not considered significantly disruptive, provided the previous training adaptations have been achieved over a period of at least 12 weeks(4). Even better, for cyclists who are able to squeeze in just a little training time, there's evidence that even very small volumes of the right kind of training reduce deconditioning to a minimum.
(ideafit.com/fitness-library/tapering-science-and-practice-0)
Well-trained cyclists who reduce training volume, frequency and intensity can maintain their submaximal and maximal performance for 21 days; VO2max is maintained for a period of 3 weeks (Rietjens et al. 2001). Cycling time trials and power output improvements are also seen with taper training (Neary et al. 2003b). In a study done by Neary and colleagues (2003a), moderately and progressively reducing training volume (training frequency and duration), while still maintaining high intensity, appeared to enhance cycling performance.
Cycling VO2max can be maintained at training levels when frequency is reduced from 4–6 days to 2 days of training per week. In addition, training volume and intensity can be reduced to 70% of VO2max, and duration can be decreased from 40 minutes a day to 15–25 minutes per day. When training intensity is reduced by one-third or two-thirds, cycling VO2max is not maintained (Hickson et al. 1985). Table 5 shows an example of a tapering period during cycling training. Table 6 provides a tapering example for individuals who combine running and cycling in their everyday workouts.
Declines in muscular-endurance capacity appear to occur faster during cycling than during running. Exercise performance is usually lost at a faster rate when training is localized to a smaller muscle mass, as seen with cycling (Hickson et al. 1985).
 
2 questions though:-

`This has slightly thrown my training plan, which while stating that I am officially on a softer, rest week, in preparation for the start of the next building phase next week, did not say that I would have as many days off the bike as I have done now.`

I thought you had a coach: has he not modified your program to take account of your changed circumstances?

`Monday this week was the last time I got on the bike, and did 100km into heavy winds, and was pretty much toasted when I finished.`

Cycling training programs should be about time and intensity. Distance is irrelevant, unless you are training for a specific event/s. If the training calls for 100km, then if that is into the wind (like you did), that is a very different session to 100km with a tailwind...unless you have a powermeter keeping you on track.

Anyway, well done for sticking with the plan so long, and keep at it.
 
Ahh if he has a coach then all these questions should have been directed at him/her and the training schedule could have been changed or modified.

However it seems that the perceived decline was a "mental issue" this again is common. I often here phrases from my athletes such as "I just wasn't feeling it" or "Just couldn't push it" and when I have my weekly consultations with them I try to find out if there is anything outside of the training that may effect the performance.

I also recently had some dental work, and I have a phobia of dentists. I can ride with a twin fracture to the medial tibia or herniated neck but god lord anything to do with my teeth and I turn to a jibbering wreck, so I can see how this might have affected your mental attitude towards training as the stress and tension can take an awful lot out of you, I come away from the dentist exhausted.
 
Thinking back, the main thing that caused me to dip a bit was all the crap I had to eat whilst being so busy (and not being able to chew!); too many carbs, not enough crunchy fresh fruit and veg, and no time to get the decent sashimi from the local supermarket etc.
Back to it!!
Times like that a blender can be a good thing, drink your veges: not quite the same fiber kick but it's better than the alternative.
 
Interesting stuff as ever. Here goes;

-I do have a coach, yes, and he knows all about this. My initial question was actually just an open one, asking about other people's experiences with having time off the bike and losing fitness. You guys ran with it, and turned it into what it is now :) While my coach can and does give good answers to all this stuff, what he can't do it tell me first hand of other people's experiences, which is what I was interested in.

-Dentist; I had some major work done, all in the space of a week. Ultrasonic cleaning, treatment (and cure!) for stage 2 periodontal disease, 2 filling replacements, and finally, the big one, wisdom tooth removal, which was a bastard, as the wisdom tooth was so decayed that it snapped as they were wrestling it out, so they had to drill the last part out of my jaw. Horrific, and expensive, and yeah, like James I am not a fan of anything to do with dental work (which is why I was in the state I was in! Left it years too long to see the dentist. Will definitely be going obsessively often now).

As well as all this, I have obviously going to my full time job, and doing all the other work related stuff I do, so training as well was a challenge.

Anyway.
 
Another great ride with my son today 22km and 240m of climbing for the little fella - this time I selected the cx bike and took him along the gravel and dirt road side of the Tsurumigawa all the way up to where the Tomei Express cuts across it at Ichigao.

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Im actually considering in running some "Kids Clinics" as I'm coaching my son ready for his debute races in the Autumn.

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Turn around point ice cream break :D
 
Interesting stuff as ever. Here goes;

-I do have a coach, yes, and he knows all about this. My initial question was actually just an open one, asking about other people's experiences with having time off the bike and losing fitness. You guys ran with it, and turned it into what it is now :) While my coach can and does give good answers to all this stuff, what he can't do it tell me first hand of other people's experiences, which is what I was interested in..

Owen, don't be afraid of asking a coach about other athletes expereinces as well. As a coach should be able to use other riders experience to give you an idea on what others go through and help you understand or slap you about when you get paranoid about performance bumps- Although its bad conduct to name people specifically I often use "One rider I coached last year" or " In my experience I've found that other atheletes have expereinced this or that".

Working with a coach is benifitial for this exact reason, that they can use the vast amount of experience and data collected from other atheletes to help other individuals. Exactly the same for Professional fiters and why I refer all my atheltes to Pro Race Mechanic if they need fitting asI know he has years of professional experience and clients that he can draw on to assist my riders.

Again I maybe jumping the gun and he/she may have already said exactly what I'm refering too and you are simply collecting more data - which is never a bad thing

-Dentist; I had some major work done, all in the space of a week. Ultrasonic cleaning, treatment (and cure!) for stage 2 periodontal disease, 2 filling replacements, and finally, the big one, wisdom tooth removal, which was a bastard, as the wisdom tooth was so decayed that it snapped as they were wrestling it out, so they had to drill the last part out of my jaw. Horrific, and expensive, and yeah, like James I am not a fan of anything to do with dental work (which is why I was in the state I was in! Left it years too long to see the dentist. Will definitely be going obsessively often now).

As well as all this, I have obviously going to my full time job, and doing all the other work related stuff I do, so training as well was a challenge.

Anyway.

I feel for you mate - I had to have 3 root canal proceedures and then 3 crowns, he was questioning one of my wisdom teeth that is horizontal to the jawbone which would require surgery to remove, it doesn't hurt so the little git is staying exactly where it is.
 
Great weather today for some… cleaning!
Almost 1 1/2 weeks since last time… my skin was really starting to itch!

Ran out of degreaser… need to start a bike cleaning service here so I can justify buying all this cleaning stuff!

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You know it's time for a final rinse once the chain doesn't leave a mark on a white towel :)

Feel som much better now, next up the shoes… where's my toothbrush!?
 
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