I did another hour-long set of threshold intervals on the turbo-trainer on Saturday, as these seemed to really help me with the climbing at the Dragon Ride. I always feel like I want to give up when I'm halfway through the second set, but for some reason things seem to get a bit easier as I carry on, and so far I haven't given up yet.
Sunday was my first Twickenham Cycling Club run for ages - illness and then rehab have got in the way over the last couple of months, but it was a lovely day, and I was looking forward to it. We headed down to Abinger Hammer, and had a stop for a cup of coffee, although we'd only done about 20 miles and in a way I wasn't really ready for a break. From there, half the group headed back, but a couple of people suggested heading out a bit further, and coming back via Leith Hill and Box Hill. I knew I needed the training, so I joined that group, with the caveat that I might be a bit slow.
As it turned out, I was never quite the slowest, and because it was a reasonably fit group, the ride was exactly what I needed - quicker than I would normally go on my own - forcing me to push my heart rate into my threshold zone for long periods.
I missed out on joining up with groups at the Dragon Ride, because I didn't know whether I was going to be able to do the distance, so I didn't want to blow myself out early by trying too hard to hang on to a fast-moving group. Yesterday's ride made me a bit more confident that I can maintain a decent level of performance even when I'm pushing myself reasonably hard. On the etape it may well be worth occasionally pushing myself a bit harder if it means I can get onto a group that is travelling at a comfortable pace for me, as that'll mean I can save lots of energy by drafting.
All in all, a good hardish (for me at least) ride which gave me exactly the kind of training I wanted and needed. Pretty much 60 miles, and on the second section of the ride the average speed would have been up around 20mph - a good workout.
This week's weights and measures:
Weight: 10 stone 10lbs (maybe 10 stone 7 is within my reach by the Etape)
Body Fat: 16.5%
Visceral Fat Rating: 5
Basal Metabolic Rate: 6887kJ / 1646kcal
Muscle Mass: 8 stone 7 lbs (eh? this is always really volatile, and I don't always understand what's going on with this one...why does it go down so much?)
Water: 57.9%
Good to read that things are going the way you want. Keep up the good work! :)
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