Team Articles

Training & preparation

Bikes & Equipment

Video and photos

Cape Epic Pages

Check out links to our other Cape Epic pages for 2006 and 2007.
 

This last week was a real rest week and I only rode one day, but it was a tough ride. 

Well there it is the end of the first 12 week training program. Ended up just 5 hours short according to target zones which really isn’t much. Total riding time was 126 hours, which is 20 hours over plan and averages out to 10.5 hours a week.

All in all the program has been good. It had its ups and downs but in the end I ended up 6 hours over, and it was mostly in the green zone which is good. I took it real easy in this last week, and I am ready for the next 16 weeks. Seems like so far away now, but I know the time is going to fly!

The training camp last week went well for me. I felt quite comfortable except for the last hour of day one when I started to feel tired and wanted to get it finished. The long ride 150km to Magalies was very similar to how I rode the same route last year, but considering that the ride this time was more offroad and a bit more climbing I think we did ok. Riding the RDS 9 on back to back long days like this has definitely shown how full suspension reduces fatigue and results in you being able to conserve energy and go faster.

I am 7 hours off the original plan, I might make a little bit up next week depending if I feel like riding or not. I'll rather rest and be ready for the start of the new program in 2006.

I bought new cleats after the training camp and after 2 rides my knees felt 100% again. It has been more difficult to stay off the bike, I am feeling good and enjoying the riding. Next week I will have to force myself to take it easy, the next 16 weeks are going to be rough, but I can’t wait. Bring it on!

The 3 day training camp helped me catch up on the hours for the program. In fact, I am now over on time! The camp was a real eye opener. Going into it I thought it would be a breeze, but soon after the first day 150km ride I remembered how much hard work we put in last year! There is still a lot of work to be done before next year, but there is plenty of time too.

This week worked out better than I thought it would, but I was still under. I was really tired on Monday, but had to ride to get close to my hours. I also tried a more technical route with more ascents and descents, but it is not great for consistent training because your HR goes all over the place, but it is good for skills. I am pretty much sticking to my plan of min 2hr rides during the week and min  4hr rides on the weekend. I am very comfortable doing 4hrs and also fell fine doing 5hrs. 

I had a big week. I was 4:17 over. And I am now 5:00 under on the whole program. With all the rain that we have had, I decided to ride every morning when it wasn’t raining and it turned out to be every morning. I felt much better than last week and I think that the longer rides are starting to show benefits. I also felt better because I was able to spend less time in blue and managed most of the time in green.

I am ready for next weekend’s training camp!

This was a big week both in time and effort. What threw me over the edge was probably the fact that I did a triathlon (paddle, bike, run) on Saturday. I felt great and finished well, but the run killed me and made my legs sore and stiff, and then I also kited on Saturday and eventually stopped after my legs started cramping. My right knee is sore ITB like, after training on the hardtail, but I dunno if that is it. 

This coming week is going to be busy so I am not sure that I will make all my hours. I’ll see how it goes and may rest a bit if my legs don’t feel better.

Managed to make back 1 hour this week. Also did a good long ride, 104km. Legs feels tired, but I feel good.

This was a good week and I felt strong after the previous rest week. Although my legs are feeling a bit sore I don’t feel tired. I am pushing my legs a bit and doing at least 1 session of low cadence. I think it is working because standing used to be difficult but now it is becoming easier. 

This week was a total disaster. I am now 10:20 behind on the whole program! Had a race that I DNF’ed because of a technical problem so that messed up my time and in the week I felt tired after the 94.7 weekend. 

I am feeling better now, and I will take last week as a rest week, in preparation for some big base in December.

20/11/05

This week went a bit pear shaped, but then again I knew that would happen. So we will just take it as a really decent rest week. Problem is that I am now 10 hours behind on this program. 

Unfortunately visitors, racing, & travel for work don’t mix well with training. I will see if I can put an extra hour or two on this week.

Rested this week for the weekend’s racing. Racing hard for 2 days is not for sissies!! I am real tired, and plan to do another race this weekend. 

Heading for 3 hours behind on the overall program, but I will do some real long base in December.

13/11/05

This week I have fallen short on my hours, even though I rode 11:32 in total I only managed 9:32 in zone. I don’t actually think this is too big a deal seeing as my average HR is ok and I consciously try to be in zone during training rides. 

My legs felt tired this week, probably from the big ride and many hours from the week before and I had a stomach bug on Weds & Thurs which pushed my resting HR up and I felt very tired. 

The coming week is an easier week, but I think I will struggle to make my hours because I will be away and have the Red bull Capetownman event on the weekend. So I will use it as a rest week in preparation for the harder weeks coming up.

I had a good week, and managed to get back 14 minutes on last week where I was 15 short. I was tired though and at the end of the week my legs felt real tired. The last 3 days my RHR has been up and I am a bit worried that I might be getting sick or over doing it. I rode too much in blue zone and that may be why I am tired. I did a fast ride with the Fritz group on Wednesday and Saturday and that could explain the tiredness. 

I got 94.7 Mountain and road race next weekend, so I will take it easy in the week. I have done my planning and will also fall short for the hours, because I will need some rest days before the racing, but I am not too worried, I have had 2 good weeks! 

The new frame is awesome, with the shorter top tube the bike handles very well in tight fast single-track and I really had a blast riding it on the weekend. I have always been obsessed with long top tubes, but this 15mm seems to make an already awesome bike even better!

06/11/05

This week was wind, wind and more wind. The first 3 rides were in practically gale force northerlies and epic ride was strong southerly. 

Social commitments left me 15 minutes short on this week’s program. Proving once again that it is extremely difficult to maintain a good cycling regime and a standard social life!

I am now 2 hours short over the whole program. I am not too worried though as there are still many big weeks coming up to try to make it up. 

Heart rate percentages are moving into the correct areas now, with most/all of the riding happening at AE.

I actually did more than 8h, but I missed about 40 mins when I stopped my watch.

This new training schedule looks like it will work if I stick to it. I did decent distances, times and made sure I stayed in my zones when I could. Judging by how I feel after this week I know that I have not been training properly for the last few months.

I did one session just in the big chain ring, It was hard on the legs but I maintained a good speed and felt good.

I managed to claw back 58 minutes this week and I am now just under 2 hours short for the whole program.

I am trying not to make up my time on the rest weeks, so that I can still rest properly. This week I took it real easy, and I am feeling strong again.

Next week is biggish and it is also busy, but I am going to try some longer rides on the weekend!

24/10/2005
I need to get some dedicated training routes 2-3hrs each going and ride them regularly during the week. I’m also going to do 4-5 hr rides on the weekends. I’m going to try and ride fewer times but for longer, I think it will be more efficient training & time wise. So for the program it looks like this
 1 x 8hr             - 2+2+4
2 x 9hr             - 2+2+5
4 x 10hr             - 2+2+2+4
2 x 11hr            - 2+2+2+5
1 x 12hr            - 2+2+3+5
1 x 5hr              - 2+2+1
1 x 3hr              - 1+2
Total=108hrs
So now I am 6 hrs off target, but with 10 weeks to go, I can make it up with an additional 36 mins per week, which is basically 10-15 mins extra per session.