Cape Epic 2008 Training Diary - 16 week 14h
|
|
This was our first block of training for the Cape
Epic 2008 and ran from September to December 2007. It was a 16
week program with a max week of 14 hours. In total we did
about 165 hours of training and covered around 4000km.
The training program follows the principles of
heart
rate based training and it was a
training program from Polar. We are now onto our second
program and you can keep track at our
training blog.
For a complete guide on preparing for a multi stage race
like the Cape Epic check out our
Epic Training Guide.
|
Alan
|
Albert
|
|
 |
 |
Week 16: 6-01-2008
16 weeks gone, 167 hours of training done and 3706km of riding
that is the biggest chunk of training finished for Cape Epic
2008. My goal hours were 162h, so I was slightly over which is
great. I am very happy with my progress. I followed the
program pretty closely and felt good through most of it. I
felt great at the training camp and have had a good 2 weeks of
rest. Only downside is that I have not succeeded with any real
weight loss. I was down about 3kgs, but now I am basically
back to where I was. I had two falls this last week because I
was riding some more fun technical trails. It is a good
reminder of the self-preservation motto for the Epic, so I
will put my cautious hat back on for a while. The next 12 week
16h program will be much tougher with longer hours and some
more intensity training to help with the fast start and burst
of speed to stick with groups of competitors. |
Well the 16 weeks is over. I ended it on a high note with a
short 35km race that went pretty ok. I think that I have
decided finally to ride the Full suspension for the Epic this
year. The bike performed well and the weight does not seem to
be a disadvantage. In the end I made all the hours for the
program.What is interesting is that when I include below zone
time, I actually did 186 hours for this 16 week stint. I am
looking forward to the 12 week program now. I feel pretty good
and I am really enjoying my riding at the moment which is a
good thing. |
Week 15: 30-12-07
Well this week was supposed to be an easy rest week, but it
turned out to be a bit larger than I had hoped for. I ended up
spending well over 12 hours on my bike. The best few hours
were riding some great singletrack at Jonkershoek and
revisiting some of the past epic route sections that went
through this little piece of paradise. I will rest next week
as my legs really felt tired this week after last weeks
training camp. I also just want to catch my breath before
diving in for the final 12 week program running up to the
Epic. Now for an arbitrary stat, for a second year in a row
now I have clocked over 10000km riding for the year. |
I took my rest week very seriously. I rode only 3 times and
then just for fun. I will still take it pretty easy this week
to be ready for the big 12 week program. I am recovering well
after the training camp and I am starting to feel good again. |
Week 14: 23-12-07
What a week of riding! The last time I rode like this was the
Epic itself. It was great and I felt good, although we did an
extra day before the training camp and I felt a bit tired
there but after that I was good to go. The new bike was also
impressive, I felt very comfortable on it from day 1. The two
bottle cages meant no sore back from a backpack and the active
suspension meant no fatigue on those long corrugated roads. We
did a massive ride on Day 2 and I felt good considering the
heat and time out, so it looks like the first base training
program has worked well. |
As you can see from the big spike, we had our training camp
this week. Everything seems on target. Alan and I are still
riding well together and I think that we are on track. I am
resting now for 2 weeks, I will only be doing light training
and then I will be ready to launch into the 12 week high
intensity program. |
Week 13: 16-12-07
This week I took it easy again in preparation for the
training camp next week. I
was about 2 hours short on the week. I did the annual
Breezathon, a paddle-cycle-run event, so I managed to get in a
bit of intensity which will make of for a few missed hours. I
am feeling good for the coming week and am look forward to put
in some hard back to back days of riding. It should focus the
mind and serve as a reminder as to how tough the epic will be
again. We will also be testing out our new 2009 prototype
Raleigh marathon bikes. |
I managed to make up a little bit of time this week. I felt
really good. I think I am ready for the training camp. We
should be putting in stacks of hours. I had quite a bad fall
riding the new prototype full suspension bike and it reminded
me how careful you have to be when training for the Cape Epic. |
Week 12: 9-12-07
Week 12 was a nice easy week after last two hard weeks. I was
a bit under with my hours, but some travelling made riding
difficult. Although I did manage to get on a bike while I was
away. I rode a Demo Intense Spyder XVP and was very impressed.
It would make a very good Epic bike in my opinion. This week I
will be doing some bike switching to prepare my Epic bike for
our upcoming training camp. I felt good riding this morning so
I think the easier week last week has done me good and I can
feel the training effect taking grip |
As you can see, I was hopelessly short this week. To be honest
I felt pretty tired. And since I was travelling I decided to
just relax. I am feeling much better already. The next 3 weeks
will be very hard and I think I am ready for it. |
Week 11: 2-12-07
This was a big week and I really felt it by the end. Today on
my big ride my legs felt quite flat. Probably because
yesterday I rode 3 hrs in the morning and then kiteboarding in
the afternoon. I spent a total of 17hrs on the bike this week,
but only had 14:47 in zone and clocked my first 300km plus
week for the program. I will be away next week so I need to
ride for the next 3 days, that will mean a 9 day stretch of
riding everyday. Tomorrow I will do an active recovery ride
though. Now it is just a bit of maintenance to our
training camp in 2 weeks time
where we will bank some big miles. |
I basically made my hours exactly. This week I was on the bike
for more than 16 hours, but a few slower rides meant I was not
in zone all the time. I felt the effects of the double century
this week, but strangely enough my legs felt good today
(Sunday). I have been reminded that stretching is important.
After I thought my knee was getting injured, after some
stretching it all seems fine now. |
Week 10: 24-11-07
This week went a bit pear shaped. I had big plans but the
sudden weather followed by some other arrangements meant that
I was short on my riding. I did however do my biggest ride so
far in the program, a long 136km in over 6 hours. These big
rides are critical at this stage so I am happy that my week
was actually success. Also I am not too tired for a really big
one next week at the peak of the program. I have been wearing
my new BBB kit on the big rides and it is really comfortable,
way better than my everyday training kit. The shorts
especially are great with a good fit and thick comfortable
padding. |
You will notice that I pulled up very short this week. I was
unable to ride due to some work travelling. I only had one
ride the whole week. The Double Century road race in
Swellendam. I felt pretty good and had a hard ride. This next
week is a big one. I have nothing to stand in the way of a
good training week, so I plan to go big! |
Week 9: 18-11-07
This rest week went well, I took it easy, had a few days off
and enjoyed the riding. I feel good and ready for the two
biggest weeks coming up. I am starting to feel the couple of
kgs that have come off, my climbing legs are stronger and I am
feeling more comfortable. In the next month I will make a
concerted effort to get down to race weight for the training
camp in December. |
I pulled up a little short this week, which is normally fine
for a rest week, but I did also do the 94.7 road race, which,
as you can see gave some serious lactate time. I suspect that
I will be short next week too, as I am travelling for work and
I need to rest a little for the double centaury next weekend.
I am feeling really good and the weeks of training are feeling
like they are paying off now. |
Week 8: 11-11-07
I had a good week, making all my hours and feeling good. My
long ride on the weekend went better than last week despite
being longer and having a headwind home. It just shows how
important these big rides are to get your mind right and body
used to the time on the bike. Eating and drinking was also
much better as I had energy all the way home. I still have
some sort of lower calf pain/injury, I don’t think it is bike
related because it actually feels better after riding. I’ll
have to keep an eye on it. |
This week was one of the turn around weeks that you experience
on these programs. From the worst ride ever last Saturday to 2
awesome rides this weekend. I really am starting to feel good.
Not yet top 50 good. But good! |
Week 7: 4-11-07
This week went a bit pear shaped and I ended up having to cram
in the hours on the weekend. I was over on my riding time, but
was a bit short on my zone hours. On Saturday I had a real
testing 100km ride, with a stiff headwind for the first 60km,
then a nice tail wind and some rain in the last 30km. Without
the tail wind I would have struggled home. This was my first
100km plus ride in this program so I should start to feel
better as I pile them on in the coming weeks. My on the bike
eating and drinking is a bit dodgy at the moment, I need to
get this sorted out. I am not eating like I used to so I need
to find a new system that works. |
had a good week in terms of hours. But I also had one of the worst long
rides I have had in years! I did 140km on Saturday and in the
last 30 km I had very bad leg cramps. Something which never
happens to me. I was not wearing my regular shoes, and I
suspect that this was the problem. The worst is that an old
injury seems to have reared its ugly head again. I am going to
have to monitor it for a while and try to take it easy. |
Week 6: 28-10-07
Week 6 was a nice rest week, I only rode for 4 days so I
enjoyed the other days off. I did a longish 3h20 ride on
Saturday and felt a little bit flat, but my speed and
everything was fine. Generally though I am feeling very good,
comfortable on the bike and enjoying the riding. There are a
few hard weeks ahead now with long hours and big rides
planned. It is time to do some serious mileage. |
I was an hour and a bit over the time this week. This mainly
due to a surprise 130km ride on Saturday. Even though I
thought I wasn’t really prepared for this, it went very well
and I felt great! We rode at a very mellow pace. I am going to
have to start doing big rides at a faster pace to test my legs
for our Epic goals. |
Week 5: 21-10-2007
This week I spent the full 11:34 hours on the bike, but only
managed 10:12 in zone, so strictly speaking I was a bit short.
I just had a quick look back at previous training, so far my
average training HR is exactly the same as it has always been
for the last 3 years, 118-119. My average training hours per
week for 2005 were 8:34, 2006 – 9:52 and 2007 – 10:14. This
year hopefully it will come out a bit higher again. |
As predicted I pulled up short this week. I must say that I
feel well rested now and I feel ready for the long weeks that
are coming up. Over the program as a whole I am now 1 hour
short, but there will be few distractions over the next few
weeks so I am looking forward to some good training. |
Week 4: 14-10-2007
This week went well and it was nice to have a good training
week with few disruptions. I have been riding mostly 2 hour
routes and had a longer 3+ hour ride on the weekend. This week
I planned my really long rides for the rest of the year, the
5h+ rides. These are the real testers and I look forward to
riding some cool long routes again. Until now I have managed
the hours by just riding regularly during the week , but soon
the long rides will be necessary to make up the hours. |
I did a little more this week than was required. I know that
next week I will not make all the hours. I am starting to feel
good; the heaviness seems to be out of my legs. I really made
an effort to ride at low intensity and it seems to be paying
off. On the program as a whole I am almost 2 hours over the
time, but I think I will loose all that next week as I have to
travel. |
Week 3: 7-10-2007
This was my first week on target for hours, but I was way over
for intensity. That’s because I rode Lourensford, it was as
good and tough as I remember it. My BBB Protector “makes bad
weather look good” yellow lens glasses did the trick again, as
I enjoyed the riding despite the grim weather and dark forest
light. I enjoyed the fewer hours rest week, managed my hours
and felt fine. |
I pulled up 1 hour short this week. I really wanted to rest my
legs after the first 2 weeks of hard riding. My legs really
felt heavy the whole week. Next week the hours increase again
and hopefully I will be on target. I am getting into the
rhythm of riding in my new surroundings, and I will ride when
ever the weather is good. I think mother nature will provide
the rest days naturally. |
Week 2:
1-10-2007
This week was a challenge again to make the hours. With social
and work traveling commitments that took me away from home. I
rode as much as I could when I could but came up over 90 min
short. I did however enjoy the riding and felt good. I am also
feeling very positive about the training this year and really
keen to do well. So I will be fine and should be hitting my
hours on target from next week. I am riding with and testing
some new BBB equipment on my bike like seat and seat post,
derailleur pulley wheels, bottle cage and new pedals. So far
it all looks and works great. |
As you can see I have well exceeded my hour this week. I
attended the Maxxis Marathon in Oudtshoorn which provided 3
days and 300km of offroad riding, the perfect start to this
program. I thought that I handled the 3 days pretty well
considering my current condition. The only problem with the 3
days is that I rode a little hard. Over the next few weeks I
will be consolidating and concentrating more on base. If I
carry on like this I will blow up before the 5th week! |
|
Week 1: 23-09-2007
This week I was actually on leave so training was not on top
of my agenda. But I did what I could, and was happy with the
result. Karoo to Coast was a good gauge of where we are
fitness wise and we both felt good I think, considering that
we have not started training properly. I will resume morning
rides as the weather has warmed and the sun is up earlier.
From now on there are no excuses, the truth serum will be
administered come race day. |
As you can see I pulled up a little short on hours and was in
the incorrect zones. This was because of the Karoo to Coast
race. I am pretty confident that I will make up this time as I
have started to commute to work on my bike and I have some
good riding lined up at the Maxxis Marathon in Oudshoorn. We
are also going to add a lot more intense training this year,
to achieve the goals that we have set for next year’s race. |
|
