(copied over from ACF because it has good photos, feel free to move as required)
Some of you may know that I've allegedly got an entry into the Etape. I haven't seen documented proof of this entry, but the mate who is organising it is generally pretty reliable....
So what the heck, I'm training as if I'm going to ride it. Despite the gammy leg (after a bank holiday fall in London), I did do some climbing in Spain last week.
The graph below is a typical ride. 2700 metres of climb over three hills, and 65 odd miles. I was certainly holding back on the first climb, I can do it about 10 minutes faster than that if I go for it - but I know that this approach would have caused problems later in the ride. By the end of it, I was knackered, despite consuming a fair lick of PSP - but I'm never going to get enough food/drink down to cover the energy requirement, which is about 1000 calories per hour. The heart rate starts well, sitting between about 150 - 160, which is about AT for me (154 is the actual AT as measured last year)....but declines throughout the ride. I was slightly amazed to be climbing a decent gradient with an HR in the 130 - 140 range towards the end.
The big problem is that this year's Etape is twice as far and twice as high (120 miles and 4500m of climb). I've got about 2.5 months to improve. What the heck should I be doing?
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Yes, I feared that the correct answer was "ride long distances quickly". My problem is that living in North London, there isn't a lot of incline around - so I'm having to settle for "on the flat, but fast". I did 70 (windy) miles this afternoon at a 19.2 mph average...which is better than last year, but probably not good enough. I'll do it again tomorrow. During the week I'll concentrate on short duration power (Regents park flat out at lunchtime). I'm booking a couple of long weekends in Spain without the family so I can go out for 8 hours at a time and really get the punishment in.
Mike - I think hydration is OK, and there seems to be no difference whether I really hydrate (and have to stop for pee breaks every half hour), or hydrate at a reasonable level, that sees a pee break every 3 hours.
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Nothing scientific in the way of intervals. The best I do is 2 laps flat out in Regents park (5.2 miles, 13 - 14 minutes depending on the lights), then one recovery lap, then another two flat out. I then "cruise" for the rest of the session at about 80% HR. I generally do this every lunch time if I can arrange the meetings appropriately....
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I've been thinking, and all of the input has been very helpful.
1) It is clear that I have sufficient power to drag myself up the hills - the hills I have done are comparable to the Etape, and I have no real problem doing them.
2) It is also pretty clear that I can climb gradients aerobically at sufficient speed not to get swept up. If I was climbing anaerobically, I would I have fallen off the bike about 1 hr 10 minutes into the ride above.
3) What I don't have is sufficient experience to feed myself properly on a long ride. If I am climbing aerobically, then I should be able to climb forever, assuming sufficient fuel input. So I need to find a strategy that suits me, and my stomach.
4) I think that intervals would probably raise my AT a scratch - and if I was chasing Gold rather than Silver, I would be focusing on this. However, I am simply aiming for a finish comfortably ahead of the broom wagon. (Note that I don't do the Regent's park circuits every day - work often gets in the way).
5) I could usefully lose a few kilos - maybe 5 or so. They will come off as I jack up the mileage and effort.
So:
1) I have ordered small quantities of a variety of energy gels/drinks to find out which suits. PSP 22 (my current drink) has an initial effect, but seems to be less effective over time.
2) I have planned out a couple of long rides: London to Leicester which I have done several times, and London to Ludlow...which is alarmingly similar to the Etape at 220K and 4000m to total climb, including Clee Hill, which is a brute. On these I need to find a sustained pace that I can hold for 8 or 9 hours.
3) I'm going to back off the efforts during the week, but still do the laps. Friday will be rest day, ready for the weekend mileages.
4) If I survive this Etape, then I will do the testing so that I have plenty of time to do something about next years.
I'll keep this thread updated....
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Small update. Did 120 miles yesterday, including some slightly lumpy stuff around Henley. Observations:
1) SIS Go suits me a lot better than PSP 22. It seems to be a bit more palatable, and it delivers the goods more quickly.
2) Gels are good, but, oh my, banana flavour is pure evil. Orange and Lime Citrus are the best so far.
3) As a result of decent feeding I was in the strange position (for me) of feeling absolutely OK, but my legs (especially quads) were shot for the last 20 miles. I maintained speed surprisingly well by lifting up more and using my calves - that was rather more effective than I imagined and managed to propel me to a 22 mph cruise back home along the A4. Traffic lights were hell though - zero acceleration was possible!
4) Overall average was 18.8, which I am reasonably happy about given the erratic cross wind, which threatened to become an "omnidirectional headwind" at one stage.
5) I lost a spoke (drive side) coming up Roseberry Avenue on the way home. Thankfully this was 2 miles from home, rather than 40 miles away in Henley.... I seem to do this to my Ksyriums every 5000 miles or so. I might invest in a new one for the Etape. I might also try and lose some weight!
6) Plan for rest of the weekend is a quick 40 today, and a slower 70 on Monday. Then back off for the rest of the week in preparation for 145 next weekend (London -> Ludlow)
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Lessons learnt today:
It is quite possible to do 100 miles on one water bottle, no energy food and absolutely zero preparation in terms of eating, but I wouldn't recommend it.
I'd given myself a bit of a caning round Regent's park during the week and felt a bit pooped, so I thought a gentle 40 might be a good idea. When I got to 20 miles outside London (North Weald), it all felt pretty good. I had loosened up nicely and felt fine. So I pressed on. At Finchingfield (45 miles out of London) I was still going OK despite the headwind, and at 45 miles it seemed silly to start the return journey. I'd kept the pace low (aerobic < 150 bpm) and my legs felt good. Unfortunately the last mile of the 50 was the descent into Sible Headingham. Damn!
To start with, the return was OK. The headwind had become an agreeable tail wind, and I belted back towards Dunmow and Leaden Roding at a blistering pace. I was still conserving energy and keeping it aerobic - indeed it was impossible to lift my HR much above 130 as presumably by now I was runing on pure lard rather than carbs.
Leaden Roding to home started to get interesting. I was getting that slightly dizzy feeling that comes from having nothing in the tank, and by the time I reached Epping I was all over the shop. Pride prevented me from stopping and nailing a pint of Lucozade, after all I was only 15 miles from home. The heavens then opened and I had a cold half hour or so doing the last 10 miles. I was a definite menace on the road for the last 5 miles, braking late and making all sorts of mistakes - but as my speed was pretty low, I kept out of trouble. At least I didn't get tunnel vision, which I know is the precursor to an imminent "reboot".
So I reached the house, shivering and definitely cold. The internal furnace was out (no fuel left) and I was wet through. First things first: protein drink. I had been dreaming of this for the last 20 miles: it is a new one that can be mixed with milk. Yummy. So I nailed a litre of that forgetting that I was already cold, and that the drink was at fridge temperature. Cue the shakes + blue hands and face. I just wanted to sleep (oh dear....) - thankfully the medical department threw me in a hot bath which made things a lot better....
The times weren't amazing, 17.9 average, but then I wasn't going for it in the slightest. Looking back to the first time I did that ride (almost exactly 2 years ago preparing for the Dun Run), it was a huge improvement. Average in 2005 was 14.8, and I remember feeling similarly crap, despite hoovering up about 5 power bars and gallons of lucozade. The training seems to be working!
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In the middle of a big weekend in Spain...but...
Saturday: 128 miles, 4100 meters climb including 1 km of 20%. Fuelled by 4 powerbars, 5 gels, quite a lot of PSP and 7 litres of water.
Sunday: 40 miles, 1000 metres of climb
Monday: 70 miles, 3000 metres of total climb - 0 -> 2200m in one hit. If they hadn't closed the damn road we'd have gone all the way to the top (3200 m).
Tomorrow: 40 miles, 1500 metres climb.
Graphs and pictures to follow. Mental and my legs hurt.
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Day 1 - Etape Simulator.On the first day, we wanted to find out whether we could actually do the Etape: 120 miles is fine, but 120 miles and 4000 meters is a different matter. A quick 20 minutes on Google Earth found us a route that looked suitably challenging. Take the old road from Almunecar to Granada, bag a 1300 metre climb at the start, then descend 600 meters to the reservoir, climb out the other side, then get back over the Sierra 25 miles down the coast. Then, rather than wimping out and taking the nice coast road, head back into the mountains taking in the villages between 700 and 1000 meters as we went. Of course, between each village was a valley, which meant a lot of 300 – 500 metre climbs.
It all looked pretty simple on Google Earth, the reality was rather harder. The first 70 miles was pretty easy, we know the big climb well and just settled into a steady pace. Dropping down to the reservoir (los Bermejales) is 10 km at 40 mph on a lovely smooth road with wide radius bends. Coming up the other side was more problematic – a long haul at about 3% and it was very hard to work out whether we should put the power down or back off. In the end we caned it up – and paid for it on the subsequent climb out of Alhama. What looked like a flat run across a long mountain ridge was in fact a 3% climb into a monstrous headwind, and we were very grateful to head back for the coast. Turning left at Vinuela, we took the mountain road to Torrox, which is where our problems really began. Man or mouse time: do we take the old road to Frigiliana…or do we hit the coast? Squeak squeak, pass the cheese. Oh dear, our first 20% section at mile 93, gradient confirmed by the GPS. We passed a road works gang at the bottom who looked suitably impressed, shouting “Fuerte!” as we ground by. Halfway up bunch of kids hanging over the edge of a swimming pool started chanting “In-dur-a-in” which helped a lot, but by this stage it was getting painful. It was such a relief to get back to a more reasonable 10% climb. Once that was over, it was a case of descending through Frigiliana, onto the coast and home. Only another 200 meters climb or so, but we felt every one of them.
The feeding strategy worked well. I started on the powerbars early (before I felt hungry), and kept eating them. Taking a gel at the start of a descent was also a good tactic as the foul-tasting goop has been absorbed by the time you need it. It was certainly a “back to front” Etape – but probably psychologically harder as the climbs were not clear cut and we had no idea what to expect round the next bend.
About 9.5 hours ride time, which is good enough
Descending to the reservoir
Once down here, you've got to get over those mountains to get home
Day 2 – Rest.Just a quick 40 up the coast and back, no major efforts, some small climbs – mainly to stop the legs from seizing up.
Day 3 – ValetaIt’s the biggest mountain round here and it has a road up it, so we had to climb it. The top is 3200 meters, but we decided that if we managed anything over 2000m that would be a bonus – the effects of altitude were a serious concern, especially as we had a long haul back home. We drove to Motril, parked the truck just above the town and started climbing. The first section is a very lumpy ride through a valley to Orgiva. There is an enormous amount of engineering work going on, building reservoirs and new roads: we followed two long lorries carrying vast concrete beams for several miles. After crossing the river at the bottom, it is the start of the climb. A short haul to Orgiva, then hard right out of the village, into an epic section of between 7 – 11%. At 1000 meters, you reach Pampaniera, which has a fine fruit stall next to the road and a fast flowing drinking water spring set into a wall. Suitably refreshed and armed with bananas, we pressed on. Above the village of Capileria, the road deteriorates with broken tarmac and potholes. Not a big problem when climbing, but descending was going to be tough. At about 1700 meters it got worse – the road turned into a rough gravel track which was more suitable for mountain bikes than road bike with 23mm tyres. Oh well, we’ve come this far. Amazingly we had no punctures and the bikes handled perfectly. The air was noticeably thinner, and it was obvious that the HR was going very high whenever we got out of the saddle. We were gutted when we rounded a bend and found a barrier across the road, along with a surly looking guard. The road on this side is closed at 2200 – and to be fair, even without the guard, we couldn’t have ridden it on road bikes. Time to gingerly head home on the lumpy stuff, before really letting rip for what seemed like miles down into the valley.
And you thought overtaking bendy-buses was challenging. Check out the bloke in hi-viz on the back section - he's doing the rear-wheel steering. On right hand bends he has to duck as 40 tons of beam swings over his head.
rae takes one of Ben Serotta's finest on a totally unsuitable track and gives it large in the big ring. 2100 meters, Sierra Nevada National Park
The view from 2200 metres. We started the trip slightly beyond the visible horizonDay 4 – 1300 Meters For the Hell Of It
A quick spin up the first climb of the “Etape Simulator”. Not a record time, but respectable. I know the descent well, and I was able to compare the Serotta to my normal Condor steed. Let’s just say that I lopped 2 minutes off a 15 minute descent!
Lessons learned:Assos F1.13 bib shorts are the dog’s danglies. The last time I did this (a month ago), I was wearing my commuting Enduras, and my backside was mightily vexed by the experience. This time – no problems at all.
The weather is better in Spain than in the UK. I did think of everyone doing the UK Stage on Sunday as we rolled along the coast road in about 35 degrees. Factor 60 was mandatory – and neither of us burned, despite spending 9 hours a day in the Sun.
I need to eat more. By the end of the first day I was very empty – so I need to abuse the Etape feed stations very badly
Exercise does not help weight loss. I am 2 Kg heavier than on Friday!
