The End

So its as tardy as ever but here we are.  A full write up of the day could take up pages and pages, so again I'm going to go for the bullet point summary:

The Timings

• I finished in an official time of 9hr 06mins.
• This was 16 minutes outside the gold time.
• Timing was a source of confusion this year. The Glandon feed stop and descent was stated on registering as not being timed, due to accidents, but the certificate at the end did include this time.
• This annoyed the hell out of me because I used the "neutral" zone to have a longer than normal rest.
• The official results now do not include the neutral zone time.
• I don't believe the standard times were adjusted for the section not being timed, so I don't think the gold time was really 8hr 49mins. 
• My total time was 9hr 55mins. So I think its fair to say that I was a way off a proper gold standard.
• Either of these times puts me just inside the top 50% (in total and for age group).

The Bump

• At 6 miles in (well before the start of the Glandon) I got pushed over into a metal crash barrier by the side of the road. This left me with a sore left thigh (felt like an isolated dead leg) and very very sore ribs on my right. So sore in fact that I could not breath deeply for the next 2-3 hours.
• Initially I was fairly distraught at the result, but now in perspective I think the time was ok, and given the pain it was a reasonable effort to finish.
• After the finish I couldn't lift my leg high enough to pedal, so had to walk back to the hotel.
• Ribs are still sore, although about a week after the ride I started to sleep properly.

The Route

• The route itself is mind blowing. It is pretty beyond words.
• I feel it a privilege to have been at the top of the Galibier. To have gone up there (looking back down as I rode up) it seems almost surreal that I did it by cycling!
• I spent most of the time on the climbs passing people, despite the pain, so it felt like things were going ok. Bear in mind we did start pretty near the back.
• Some very, very good riders enter this event. Really good.
• In the restaurant later we came out as some cars went past with lights and horns blaring as they escorted the lantern rouge up the last few corners of the Alpe. This was fantastic, the road was suddenly full of people (coming out from their dinners) to go bananas, cheer the guy on and give him a push! Great moment.
• There is nothing I've ridden before that compares to this, certainly nothing in the UK even comes close. The Marmotte makes (and I say this with all due respect to a ride that I love) the Fred Whitton look like a challenging club run.
• Never drunk so much on a ride, energy drinks / water, just couldn't get enough. Haven't eaten as much either.

The Post-mortem

• My LT zone is higher than I thought, which caused me to back of a little at times. HR indicated that I was in the bottom of zone 5 when I was actually in the top of 4. Obviously this is wrong as I can't maintain low zone 5 for about 6 hours as the data indicates! Update... LT was 169 but is now set as 173, which has significantly altered my zones but does show I was climbing at the right effort.
• I will go back, not sure when though, to have another go. Hopefully then the timing will be sorted out and I can have an uneventful ride.
• I feel much more comfortable descending on my HED Ardenne wheels than my Lightweights. I am guessing this is due to the pressure I'm running (I think it's too low) so rather than take the tubs off for the rest of the year as I had planned I'm going to do some more experimenting with them first.
• I'm rubbish at descending, really crap. Just have no confidence, but I have to work on and improve this. Would have saved me 10 minutes at least this year.
• No mechanicals, phew.

The Advice

• If there is only one thing I would say from all this, for all the kit, toys, gadgets etc, if you have some money you feel a need to spend then there is only one thing you need: a coach!

The Stats for the Year

• Stats for the years training are on the right hand side.
• One thing that surprises me is that how different the training has been this year with my coach, bearing in mind that my goals was a ride with mountains in it! To give some idea of how different the training was - of the total climbing I did this year 19.5% of it was in 2 rides (being the Fred Whitton and the Marmotte itself)!

The End

• So that's that. I guess I can happily say I got fit again.
• I had a planned 2 week break which it turns out would have been required due to the ribs. I'm training again now and really enjoying it.
• The training I'm starting is to build on the fitness I've now got and start preparing for next years goals - whatever they may be.
• If you've read all of this then thank you. I hope you don't feel like you want the wasted hours of your life back :-)

Totals

So just before I leave for the Marmotte, here are the years training totals:

Road miles: 1641
Road time: 105 hours
Road climbing: 74,590 ft (22,735 m)
Spin classes: 121.5 (91 hours)
Turbo time: 34.3 hours
Weights sessions: 17
Body balance / yoga classes: 21
Body pump classes: 7

So that's 230 hours of riding (of one form or another). If I include estimated hours for the other activities then that's 266 hours of training in total. Hope its enough!

On the weight front, here are the final numbers:

These latest numbers are very recent and just in time too. I'm really really pleased with this, and I hope it will be a great help when climbing the mountains. Looks like I've finally figured out the nutrition side of things.

So that's it, that's all the work done. Now for a rather lovely ride in some breathtaking scenery :-)

Before the Marmotte

Well its nearly here and the time has really flown. People ask how the training is going and its strange to say that its basically done, things are just winding down now.

After the Fred Whitton (and an easy week + weekend off) I had 3 very tough weeks out of the following 4. I've now had 2 weeks tapering since then and I have finally stopped feeling permanently shattered. I'm starting to feel rested, focussed and as ready as I can be.

I am really looking forward to the ride, thanks in part to Graham Watson's website (pro race photographer) and some of the breathtaking pictures of the Galibier from last years Dauphine.

http://photos.grahamwatson.com/Print-Gallery/2009/10378977_XQRGz#722456040_aoVY7
http://photos.grahamwatson.com/Print-Gallery/2009/10378977_XQRGz#722455385_mQL29
http://photos.grahamwatson.com/Print-Gallery/2009/10378977_XQRGz#722454737_urdmU

Beyond that there isn't a huge amount to say. I am taking both the new tubular wheels and the clinchers, just in case its so hot that there is a worry of glue / tape melting and rolling a tub, then I've got options. I can say I'm much more relaxed than I was this time last year before the Etape when I must say I was bricking it. I've trained hard, I've trained (thanks to my coach) well and that's all I can do. If it goes pear shaped for whatever reason then sometimes that's just how life is. Although don't get me wrong, I'd rather it didn't :-)

If you have read the posts I've published then I am truly very grateful. As I have said before this hasn't gone exactly how I intended due to the change in training introduced by my coach. Save for the Fred Whitton I've had no point of comparison to last year at all, and while the weeks have ticked past its been very hard to say how things are going. I trust my coach, but it doesn't make for interesting reading! I could have listed what I've done but I didn't want to just post for the sake of it, I wanted to share things that I thought were interesting / different. If you do want to know what I've done (i.e. the program) then I'm pretty sure you can take a look at Joe Friel's book on training. He is my coach's boss and I'm fairly certain that the plan I am following, albeit a little tailored.

I will of course post the results (whatever they are) in a week or so's time. And then, finally, I am going to go out and get very very drunk :-)

Oh and one other thing I had forgotten, on a point I raised in one of my first blogs. I am very happy to say that I have kept my weight down at its lowest level, or within a lb which is good enough. Last year after my lowest weight I was over half a stone heavier by the etape, so to have kept it down this year should be a huge plus.

Kingston Wheelers

I've finally had enough of training on my own and have joined a local club called the Kingston Wheelers. They have a club ride every Sunday that usually has 3 different ride choices, a fast training ride, something a bit longer (but not as quick) and a much shorter "easy" ride. I liked the sound of this as it should make it easier to work into my plans (i.e. turn up and choose which ride matches my plans the most).

My first ride was a couple of weeks ago now and I've got to say it was a hell of a shock! It was the end of 3 very hard training weeks out of 4. That week my coach had given me my first ever block of 3 anaerobic sessions on consecutive days. I knew that was going to be tough and it was, so come Sunday I was OK but definitely feeling the effects. My plan basically said "ride as you feel" with no HR restrictions, so I went along to the club meeting point.

After introducing myself I was pointed to the guy running the "training ride" which is the quick group. He explained the route (which I know well due to Simon liberating it from the club website well over a year ago) and said it would take about 3 hours. That's fine I thought as I can do it in 3 hours from my place, let alone starting 6 miles into the route. From then on things went downhill, although not literally.

For reasons I still don't fully understand the pace was quick and (as described by one guy several times) "its not usually this quick". One member quickly bailed on the ride due to the speed. I was left for dead on the climbs and struggled to keep up. Once at the top of Box Hill we stopped. A couple of young guys peeled off soon after that and the pace become, lets say manageable. But to put it in perspective on a nice smooth, wide, every so slightly downhill road coming home where I would expect to be doing between 24-27 on a good day, feeling great with a smug grin, here I was doing 34 (mph) just to stay on the back. I'm not sure of the exact numbers but we did something like 45 miles in 2hr 15mins, so a 20mph average

As I said I was tired and the legs were pretty empty, but to be honest I really don't think I would have kept up even in top shape, certainly not up the hills.

Still it was an enjoyable experience even if I did go home and have to sleep for most of the afternoon!!

I went along the following Sunday and went out with the next group down as I wanted something longer and easier (it was not in the plan to beast myself 2 weeks before the Marmotte). This was huge, huge fun. Again I was exhausted and was so close to not getting up. But soon after setting off I ended up next to a good bloke called Kevin who did the Marmotte last year, is doing it this year, has a lovely bike and also watched all the recent pro races. So I just geeked out on cycling for a few hours, had some silly yet highly enjoyable moments of male bravado racing up hills. It was a great tonic to just get out and enjoy riding again. Stopped for a cup of tea, waited for the group, loved it. I have spoken with my coach and I will be working these rides in every week now.

I'm not buying the club kit though unless I start racing (and have no plans to do that) as it doesn't match the bike :-)

New Helmet

So on a whim I decided I wanted a new helmet. There's nothing wrong with the old one but I've always felt it looks a bit big and sits more "on" my head rather than around it. So being the gear tart I am I didn't want one of the popular makes and set about finding something a little more unusual. The obvious requirements here were:

- Something that in my opinion looks very pretty.
- Has a good design and use of colours.
- The colours match my colour scheme, e.g. bike and clothes.
- Is reasonably light.

Now I know the Giro Prolite is the lightest you can get but something niggles me about it. The Pro riders who use Giro helmets still use the Ionis which is 100g heavier than the Prolite, which in my humble opinion doesn't say anything good about the Prolite.

And then I found the Lazer Helium. Now this post is NOT to brag about my new toy. The reason for the post is because although the purchase was vanity related I have been genuinely surprised at just how much more comfortable the new one is, and I do mean a huge difference from the old one.

My old Specialized Propero and new Lazer Helium.


The first thing I noticed was the straps. They are much lighter and softer than the old ones and make it a lot lot easier to adjust the exact position of the buckle that sits under the ear - up, down, forward, back you can get it exactly where you want it. But the main feature of the Helium is the sizing "dial" build into it. There is a soft plastic mould around the forehead and around the back which are joined by a thin wire. The dial then pulls these together as you turn it so the helmet smoothly adjusts to your head from and back, rather than just at the back (as with some helmets). It sounds a bit gimmicky I admit but in reality its a great feature and I am a big fan.


At the risk of sounding a bore I take helmets quite seriously. It's a dangerous sport we all do and far too many people have helmets that do not fit or are not adjusted correctly. This seems mindless to me because if you fall off and its loose then its going to move and not do its job, so why even bother wearing one? This again links to why I'm so impressed with the Helium, you can get the fit absolutely spot on, which is safer and compared to my old lid way more comfortable!

Fred Whitton pictures

Ok I couldn't resist it so I bought the photo from this years Fred, I think Mum will like it. So here you are.

Me at the top of Newlands 2009.


And in 2010.




















I think I look a little more composed this year!!

Fred Whitton thoughts

So as I'm sure most of you know it was the Fred Whitton a couple of weeks ago (therefore not the quickest update but hey...) Rather than detail the whole trip / ride (because I know a lot of you already know the details) I'll explain how it felt compared to last year, along with a few overall impressions.

I will be honest and say that I was a little nervous about this ride this year. Although I had lots of indicators that I was in much better shape this year than last, I had gone no where near to this distance in training or come close to the climbing. I had done last year so knew that worst case I'd get around. While I didn't doubt I would this year it still felt like more of an unknown (if that makes sense).

I felt the preparation was just about perfect the days before, I felt rested, energised and ready. On the ride itself I felt like a completely different rider to last year. I felt strong and comfortable. Last year I spent a LOT of time zig zagging up hills (and not just the steep ones) where this year I did not once, I wasn't trying to prove a point I simply didn't need to. A few spectators commented how fast and smooth I looked (made me smile!). When I stood up on the steep climbs it was never a problem and while hard there was never any question of stopping. Cadence was very low at times having to watch where riders in front were going and then get around them but it was always ok, and if I had to quickly sprint into a gap ahead I was able to. My lowest gear (34/27) was more than low enough, I could have gone up a gear at times on the climbs but I preferred to save myself a bit and have the more comfortable light spinning than heavy grinding.

At around 65-70 miles my legs started to feel it a bit, nothing awful, and certainly not risking a bonk, but they didn't feel quite as fresh. I did ease off a fraction because of this, but some caffeine sweets later they perked up a bit. Most painful part of the standing climbing was my shoulders, they've never hurt like that before! Maybe I haven't been able to stand for that long before…..

All in all its hard to compare the rides, especially how I felt after. Monday was rough but generally that was it, last year I was f****d for days.

I've seen a picture from this year taken at the same point (top of Newlands) as last year. I can't post it here because I haven't bought it (and don't want to get told off) but lets just say that where last year it was very much elbows out, teeth gritted, bike swinging kind of thing, this year shall we saw I looked rather more composed :-)

As for the ride itself, my memories are (in no particular order):

- All the hills are longer than I remembered.
- The top of Kirkstone was bleedin cold.
- I was very conservative on the descents, but after last year's near miss I felt I'd be quicker overall by not crashing.
- Some guys know the roads very well, or they simply have a death wish on the descents.
- The group I was in for about 20 miles along the A66 and to the bottom of Honister was fantastic.
- The bottom of Honister is horrible, very steep and straight up. At least Hardknott has switchbacks.
- I spent quite some time chatting to other riders on the climbs.
- Oddly Hardknott was not as bad as I remembered, and I got up this year in one go.
- Cycling is a dangerous sport, those bikes are just not built for stopping in a hurry, and if you do come off you're going to land on either rock hard road of sharp pointy bits of metal.
- I hope the guy who crashed in front of me on Honister (his rear tyre came off then the whole wheel folded) is ok.
- I was amazed (and very pleased) with my 1st Class time of 7hr 29min 41.

I guess all this bodes well for the main goal of the Marmotte, now less than 7 weeks away. It must be getting serious now as my weights sessions have changed style and my coach has even got me doing a 6 hour training ride next week!

Now I am off to enjoy the sun as its stunning outside. Can't even think of it as training on a day like this, just going out to enjoy the weather. Just happens to be on the bike!