OK – I’m going to have a crack every month to produce some thoughts
for the DR on training, nutrition, health and wellness....and anything else that is on my mind! Why should you read this?
The DR are about Fun, Fitness and Friendship. I really want to help you all with the fitness part. I’m going to be writing about ‘fitness’ in the most general of terms; health, nutrition, physical and emotional wellbeing – and for the long term.
My aim is for you to stop and think about what you are doing and why..... If I motivate you to act or change, then that is even better.... so, lets go...
Why should you trust me?
Well – I hope I know a few things about these topics.... why?
• I spent a long time at University (the theory) I have a PhD in Physiology (Melbourne University) - the topic of my thesis was: the impact of dietary manipulation on substrate metabolism and performance in endurance exercise.....
• I’ve been endurance training for 20 years (the practice) – and I’ve learned through trial and error what works and what doesn’t for me. You can learn from my mistakes...
• My work at PwC is focused on healthcare strategy. I’m focused on improving the decision making of healthcare companies big and small because I want to improve the patient experience and health and wellness of Australians....
• I don’t have all the answers – and so lets keep the conversation going....sometimes, the more you learn about a topic, the less black and white it becomes....
March reflection: The “perfect” long ride...
I’ve done a lot of Mt Eliza loops in 20 years. I’m going to share with you some thoughts that we put into place every week on our standard Mt Eliza loop ride
- 1. Standard leave time
o We leave Cafe Racer at 7am – every Saturday morning. Rain, hail or shine. No need for emails, SMS, Facebook (we started before Facebook!) etc.... if you want to have a coffee before the ride (I do) then get to the coffee shop early. If you arrive at 7:02, we will be gone.
- 2. Short stops
o We sometimes stop at Patterson River for a short “comfort break” – maybe 2 min.
o We always stop at the BP servo. on the way back in Frankston – maybe 4 min. Fill drink bottles, comfort break, buy a drink if you need. No sitting down. No mucking around. Why the reason for the short stops? I only get one chance per week to do a ride that is longer than one hour. We want to replicate race conditions as much as possible. When you stop, you give the body a chance to recover - and this does not replicate racing conditions. I get to practise riding the first 20 minutes every time I go out on the bike, but I only get to practise the time from 2-3hr once per week.... and it is being able: to ride on fatigued legs, to move glucose into the muscles, to cope with the discomfort, to practise concentrating for a long time, to test the ability of the gut to absorb fluid, sugar and salt, to be able to listen to my body to figure out if I'm riding too hard, need a drink or a gel, to ride in the aero position, even when tired.... all these elements we are practising when we ride long, with minimal stops....
- 3. We keep the group together – but allow everyone to “have a crack”
o The pace is smooth, but pretty fast. We always roll 2 up and about 5 to 10 min turns on the front. The idea is to pick your partner carefully – and try to partner with someone of a similar standard.That way you can get on the front and get a good workout, without being overstretched. The pace goes up smoothly off the lights to allow those behind to hang on.
- 4. Give people the ‘option’ to be at the front (not everyone has to do a turn)
o Not everyone does a turn at the front, and that is fine. Especially on the way back. Let the pair who have just done a turn on the front go in-front of you and you will not find yourself at the front. No-one minds this. Just don’t expect to sit in the front 3 wheels...
- 5. Be self sufficient
o We expect that people have enough drinks / food etc to get through the ride. There is only one scheduled stop (BP). And you just have enough time to get a drink or a snack. But most riders carry their own nutrition. What do I carry? I have 1 bidon of Gatorade (made up from powder) and 1 bidon of water and I carry 2 muesli bars and an emergency gel. I have 1 muesli bar at the 40km mark and another for the BP stop. I save the Gatorade for the ride home and the last 30km or so. See point 2 above - I want to practise using the sports drink in the last part of the ride - when we are pushing hard on the way home and I'm tired. At this point, when I look over at Mitch's power-meter, he is riding at 320W+ and I'm bigger and heavier and have less aero wheels, some I'm working a bit harder.... at this rate, we are burning >4 grams of carbohydrate per minute and >1 gram of fat per minute..... these are huge burn rates. And to maintain our blood glucose level, we need to get in some carbs.
- 6. Negative split. (Finish the ride stronger than you start).
o We finish strongly. To keep it like racing. In reality, we all ride the first 20km a lot. The difference with a long ride is the km from 60+ onwards. We want to make these ones count.
- 7. Have a crack through the hills.
o It is “game-on” over Oliver’s Hill. We go hard. People get dropped. But we regroup at the BP servo. If you get dropped on Olivers – then no worries, there will be a couple of chase groups. We all know the way. If you get badly dropped, then climb on for a bit and then do a u-turn (don’t go through Mt Elisa) and roll to BP for the regroup. This allows everyone to use the long ride the way they want to. I personally need the ‘hit-out’ – so I push hard, and I don’t mind being a bit tired on the way home (and some of my home-ward turns on the front suffer because I’ve spent some bikkies on the hills). Other riders don’t push themselves on the hills and instead save themselves for the ride home....
- 8. We stop for punctures...
o Most people look after their bikes and ride good tyres. But occasionally, we get a puncture in our core group. We will stop – but the change must be super fast. 3 people will pitch in and lend a hand (get the tube ready, get the best pump of the group out, put the wheel back in etc....In winter, we might have a couple of people stop and a couple of people will ride on for 3 min and then turn.
So, good luck on your long rides and I’ll post again in April. Let me know what you think and if there are other topic requests....
Finally....I joke that I’m only in Ironman shape one week per year – the last week in March. Just as well, because the Melbourne Ironman is next Sunday, March 24. I’m really pleased with training and preparation – about as good as I can expect at my age and stage. I’ve hit all the key sessions. But, a good training block is only one of a number of components of the ‘perfect race’ (e.g. not getting sick this week, executing race day etc). I’ll see you on the road
Danger
