Trains, Travels

Another weekend, another opportunity to fall on my arse and bruise my elbow. Aptly timed to coincide with practising roping up when walking over tricky terrain. Technically the terrain wasn’t so tricky and it was just for practice, didn’t stop me giving it a go.

So that’s me obscuring some of the view of the Langdale valley halfway up a route on the crags there. Second from last climb of the weekend and the weather had turned nice, we no longer needed the waterproofs and gloves. In fact, occasionally I’d go so far as to say it felt warm.

My easy week was truly easy with a little training in the run up to the weekend, less than I’d planned. I headed up to Kendal on Friday and after struggling to entertain myself in the town during the afternoon I opted to go for a run. Perfectly timed to catch the worst of the days weather as I returned to the B&B. It proved to be a decent hill session though, hard to avoid up there.

Saturday and Sunday were then spent experiencing climbing outdoors for the first time. No more reassuring, colourful holds to guide me and a lot more time being damp. Saturday’s weather report had promised to be pretty bad, but to be honest I think I got off lightly. The first half of the day was spent getting used to following up some easy routes and the rope work involved in climbing outdoors. I was relieved that as I got higher I didn’t get more nervous, my focus remained at climbing the rock to hand ad not how high up I was. That said there were a couple of times over the weekend where the height helped me focus on getting past an awkward situation and avoiding falling.

I finished Saturday with a climb of Little Camonix in the rain and wind. Taking the positive view it gave me a chance to try out the waterproof layers I’d bought ready for the Alps later this year. I’m pleased to say they worked. From the whole of the weekend belaying my guide, Tim Lofthouse, sat astride a block of rock halfway up the route in the wind and pouring rain will stick in my mind the most. Despite the weather it was an enjoyable day and very satisfying to have managed to climb in those conditions. I’m assured if I’m happy to cope with that then I’ll be fine with Alpine conditions.

Sunday we headed to the Langdale region. The day started off a bit damp with some wet rock to struggle over at first. It made the climbing a little more exciting at times! I got to abseil for the first time and after overcoming the initial it’s just me holding the ropes tight on the belay plate stoppng me falling nerves I really enjoyed it. Would have liked another go!

We moved to the final area of the day and got a couple more climbs in, this time with sun. The rock was a bit drier, well except for a tiny waterfall halfway through one route. On the one hand it was kind of fun having a bit of water splash on you, on the other the wet holds were less fun. I created a bit of extra excitement for myself by traversing a section too low, removing some protection, realising my mistake and having to back track a little uncomfortably aware that I’d now be more likely to swing if I fell. It proved to be a good incentive to get me through, though my shoulder crunched in disapproval at some of the pulling my arm was doing.

It was at the top of this climb I demonstrated my skill at falling on my arse as we walked back down. More precisely as I took the first step of walking back down…

Despite some vaguely good intentions a combination of poor weather and fatigue from a day spent outdoors meant I never managed a run the rest of the weekend. Making a total of 0 hours tri training for the period. I got home today and spent an hour on the rollers doing a nice easy spin to get back into things and have bigger plans for the rest of the week. I can’t complain about the small break it’s been 3 full months of solid training building my volume and effort up and without any significant breaks. Climbing was a great way to take a break too, still active, still needing mental focus, but an entirely different discipline to my usual routine. I can’t wait to go for the Alps and hope to get back to the crags at the Lakes sooner.

At least at check-in for flights. I have taught some of the Toulouse check-in staff that you explain that bike tyres need to be flat by saying “your tyres must be deflated”. It’s a step up from miming the wheel and making a “pppsssshhhhttttt” noise. It has since been pointed out I missed the opportunity to teach an entirely inappropriate phrase instead, but I want to go through Toulouse airport in the future.

Back in the UK and things like work and normal life are having an affect. A bit less rest than I was getting over the weekend and the hassles of the commute mean I’m feeling quite tired today. So officially I make this a recovery week before I get back into my proper training.

At the start of the year I set myself a challenge of aiming to train 2 hours a day every day, not on average, but a genuine 2 hours. Of course it’s not always proven possible and whilst up to now I’ve averaged at least 2 hours a day week in week out I’ve had days with less in. So this week will now be the first where I won’t even average 2 a day. But the plan is to come back to the bigger volume next week and then it’s 3 months of building up to Ironman Switzerland.

The coming weekend gives me a change of focus as well. I’m heading to the Lake District for a weekend of climbing training. It’ll be my first time climbing outdoors and I’m looking forward to it. However I have to return to my usual complaint about the weather as it seems the schedule is high winds, cold and rain/snow. I really am getting fed up with it, I only hope we get a hot summer.

So my mini-training camp is done, just the flight home tomorrow morning. Bike is packed, kit isn’t yet, but that’s just a case of transferring the piles from the floor to the bag.

Training went pretty well, 4 big days and then 1 unplanned little day. I managed not to crash this time, though I did start the weekend by slipping on some stairs and bruising my arm! My descending has improved, which isn’t saying much.

I logged over 500km in around 21 hours of cycling despite the last day being cut short. I also ran about 40km in just over 3 hours. A pretty solid effort for 5 days, though I would have liked to have got in a bit more. To be honest I wimped out when bad weather meant indoor training on day 5!

Day 1

Arrived, built bike and then off for a short ride to start out. Opted for a 75k loop taking in the Col de Larrieu, the Col de Buret and the Col des Ares. I took it easy as it was my first day, but in retrospect I could have done a longer or tougher route. Weather is better than I feared and the ride is straight forward so things are looking good.

I throw in the first 10k run straight after the bike and am pleased to find I can remember the route now and don’t end up getting lost and running 18k like my first run here last year.

Day 2

Started the day with a pre-breakfast run, well more of a slog as it felt far tougher than the night before. Then a long ride taking in the Col de Peyresourde and the Col d’Aspin before heading back to base and then tacking on some extra distance to get to the 6 hour mark.

Following the route map and then tacking on at the end became a standard practice of this trip. My goal was 6 hours and I spent my ride starting and stopping my timer to ensure an accurate 6 hour ride time. Perhaps a little obsessive…

Then after dinner a swim that wasn’t originally on the plan. Ian and Julie took me along to their tri club’s Friday night swim session in Tarbes. It was interestingly disorganised, but nice to get some time in a 50m pool. I bashed out a pretty rough 3.4k I think, I got quite distracted and lost count during a 400 set at least once! Pretty tired by the end of all this.

Day 3

Second long ride as it looked like the weather would be getting worse in the coming days. A round trip to St Giron, going over the Ares and Buret again and then over the Col de Portet d’Aspet. The Aspet had some nasty 17% sections, fortunately very brief and then it’s a steady effort up snow lined roads to the top. The descent off the top was fantastic, a few tricky hairpins to start which I tackle awkwardly, but I remain on the road so it’s all good. Then it’s just long sweeping roads and high speeds. The compact cranks that make it easier to spin up the hills suddenly becomes a frustration as I lack the gears to pick up more speed.

The return journey is just rolling terrain and mostly distinguished itself by being wet and frustrating. Despite this and despite not being entirely focussed, once I arrive back at base I have to tack on to get that 6 hour mark again. This basically involves getting thoroughly soaked through. No doubt it’s obsessive this time…

I was so damp and cold I can’t face running outside and end up using a treadmill in the bike barn after dinner. It was set to an incline, but the number obsession means I set the pace to the same as an easy run on the flat and suffer for 50 minutes!

Day 4

My original plan before heading out was a short ride to start off, a couple of big rides and a couple of medium rides. To be honest I felt I could do another 6 hour ride, but with poor weather promised I stuck to the medium distance plan. The route this time went out to the west taking in just the Col de Coupe (so minor I can’t find a good website).

It’s a pretty easy route, the climb isn’t particularly tough and when the sun is out I reckon it’d be a great ride. In fact I did enjoy the bits when the sun was out, they were just brief and came at a time when I was a bit distracted by how cold my hands had got. The weather was largely as promised, flurries of snow and strong winds. My layering system did the job though and once I figured out that using the cheap woollen gloves under the big winter gloves would keep my hands just a bit warmer my mood improved.

Despite the suffering when I approached home with 35 minutes till 4 hours it was time for more tack on. By then I was fine with the light snow and besides, it’s all about the numbers.

After a couple of hours relaxing I notice it’s actually quite nice so that saves me from the treadmill. Somehow I go from having dead legs at the start of the run to turning in a slightly faster time for the 10k than day 1?

Day 5

Extensive checking of a number of different weather sites had done nothing to improve the outlook. Another cold and wet day, but I figured after yesterday this would be fine. The plan was to head down to Luchon and over the Col du Portillon, into Spain, back into France and then if I’m feeling good (and I intended to be) over the Col de Mente for a bit of tack on.

I set off in miserably wet and cold weather and as I head to Luchon things rapidly get worse, rain becomes snow, snow becomes a blizzard (ok not quite). Ice is settling on my sunglasses and the road is covered with slush. My back-up plan is to turn around at Luchon, but 5k out and it just seems silly. I stop and watch 2 snow ploughs clear the other lane of sludge, its obvious that I should take advantage of the clear road. So it’s straight back home a hard effort as my hands are pretty frozen now despite the cunning woollen glove/winter glove combo. I get back and spend 15 minutes warming the hands back up, though even now the finger tips are a little numb.

To put to rest any questions about the severity of the weather the ski slopes at Luchon were closed due to the winds and snow. It’s got to be bad if snow stops skiing! However whilst that’s a valid excuse I have none for the fact that I postponed a session on the rollers for the comfort of a warm living room. As it got later there seemed less point and in the end it just made more sense to pack the bike.

In conclusion, the obsessive, hours-fixated athlete in me feels bad that the last day didn’t keep the numbers up. On the other hand it was a good weekend’s training all things considered and the weather was out of my frozen hands. I’m pleased to find my recovery is better and I can ride several long days in a row. I do need to get a bit more mental focus on rolling terrain or in blustery conditions to keep a better power output going. I think it points to me being a stronger cyclist than this time last year, well I hope it does anyway!

I’d really appreciate it if environmental change could focus on the warming side of things. I head to Pyrenees Multisport tomorrow for 5 days of training and following the weather reports it looks like I can expect to be cold and wet. I’m not asking for full on summer weather, but warm spring weather would be nice. I’ll continue reloading 4 different weather reports hoping things get better.

Whatever happens the goals of the trip are lots of bike mileage a good amount of it hilly and a daily run of at least 10K. There’ll be no swimming, I’ll try and compensate for this when I return with a few trips to Masters sessions. The other aim is not to crash, last time I was there I did a lot of damage to my bike and I’d like to avoid that.

All being well I’ll work my bike endurance a bit, maintain my running and get a chance to practice my descending skills (as I clearly need it).

So after several years of generally criticising blogging I’m starting my own. The intention is to record what’s happening in my life over the next couple of years as I set about doing a little bit of travelling and a lot of training. I’m a little premature here as it’s another 139 days before I leave my job and actually take on the life of a full time athlete.

Still I have goals for the next 6 months - Ironman Switzerland this July. I’ve a pretty intensive amount of training planned right now with a number of trips to focus on it. I just have a job and a commute to deal with everyday too.

At the end of July I’ll leave my current job and after a couple of trips in Europe I’ll head to Australia for a year. I’ve got my tourist visa for the year, know where I’m heading and have a very rough outline of my plans. The objective is pretty simple, take advantage of the warm climate and the free time to focus on triathlon training and see how far I can take things. I train a lot now as it is, but if I’m not commuting for 3 hours a day and I’m not in an office from 9 till 5 (nearly) how much better can I be? Only way to find out is to go and do it.