Riding hard, going nowhere! Stationary mountain bike training #JoBerg2c

I have not moved an inch on my bike since falling on day 3 of the Sani2C. I have however clocked 280km with one arm while going nowhere. The view from my patio into the garden over my handlebars is always the same (see photo). To be honest I have enjoyed it. I find the trainer very effective. Doing intervals with wattage, cadence and heart rate in front of you with a computer controllable incline means that you can have a totally predictable workout. I would go as far as to say that if you only have an hour – it is better to train on a roller than to ride a bike. Not as fun but the stats and computations make it very manageable. I am thinking of venturing out on a gentle ride tomorrow… might be a bit early for my shoulder. Not sure?

Same view ... every day

Training summary : weeks 10 & 11

Indoor trainer: making movies to keep sane #Joberg2C

With my shoulder putting me out of action, I have set up my bike on an indoor trainer.  It works really well even though the scene is a bit ridiculous.  I am running a slick tyre on a 5.5 inch dual suspension trail bike while riding with one arm in a sling.  I am set up on the patio at home. The kids think it is great fun – they shot the move.  I edited it.

Scenic Delta MTB Training

Another fun day in the saddle. This time we took in a fairly gentle 43km’s around Delta Park, Emmerentia Dam and Albert’s Farm. Near the end, Mike’s back tyre literally exploded beyond repair – as a result he walked to Vida Cafe in Greenside while I rode home to fetch the retrieval vehicle and junior supports club (Tom (5) and Annabel (8)).

We have one week of training before the Sani2C. The hard thing to do right now is ease off the pace. We are both feeling pretty strong and we have to actively work at dropping our mileage to around 160km for the week. We are ready for race one of the year – by slowing down now, we save our legs. It doesn’t help to show up cooked and fatigued.

Mike Delta

Delta Park

Delta Park

Delta Park

Delta Park

Top of Delta Park

View of Johannesburg from Albert’s Farm

Spot the rider in camo gear

Post blow out portage

MTB training: rhythm at last … and great fun too.

We are definitely getting stronger.  We are meeting our training plan and clocking up decent mileage.  The fitter we get, the more fun we have.  On Friday morning I couldn’t resist filming Mike climbing through the single track’ forest’ at Emmerentia Dam.  The clip doesn’t capture the steepness of the hill.  Most people couldn’t walk it unless on all 4’s  – riding that section really does take special skill. It was like we were 12 again.  We even joked about going home to make an HTH chlorine bomb … I did that when I was 12.

Social ‘Swampdogs’

The Spruit has dried up a little and some of the ‘Swampdogs’ have come out to play. This morning we ran in a few of them … all stretching the legs before the Sani2C which is only a few weeks away.

Pictured: Craig Wapo (Sani2C Chief Organiser), Broom Dog, Pat the Dog, the back of Mike and … is that Johnty Rhodes?

We clocked a decent 2 hours with a number of vomit tough intervals this morning. Interval training is new to us. Basically every so often we burst out of our skins and race our heart rate up past 170 or so – the burn and pain is nasty and afterwards we feel like we need to puke. We can’t even talk to each other afterwards on account of the slow recovery – this is not good. We did about 6 of these today. It hurts so much it must be helping us.

Craig, ?, Mike

Pat and Andrew

Hekpoort – 62km’s :: 4 hours

We had to dig deep today.  We are not quite as strong as we would like.  Wind was also a problem – not the weather type.  I single handedly consumed 10 big scoops of Hammer Perpetium along with about 5 litres of liquid.  The only reason we didn’t do the 100km’s that we planned was because of my post flu recovery and we thought it wise to turn early – really!

6:30 am at Hekpoort garage

Mike right behind Rob (rare – it is usually the other way around)

About 75 minutes into a 4 hr ride

Signage at Hekpoort

Rob at turning point

Busy day – must have been 200 hindred riders at Hekpoort today

Weather rutted road

4 hours later – we made it

Ballet stretching after ride

Deeply frustrated

Flu is getting worse.  I almost never get sick.  So despite being highly motivated, it looks like I will do nothing on account of safety.  I don’t think that a 5 hour, 100km bike ride is a good idea with flu.  Speculation is that my muddy, misty ride on Wednesday is the route cause.  I am trying not to agree on account of it being such a blast.

Amazing muddy morning

I went out in the mist and drizzle this morning. The thought of more indoor training left me uninspired. Clearly the weather scared everyone away and I had Delta Park all to myself. I couldn’t resist snapping a few pictures to capture the flavour of the outing. I had a blast. I loved it. 90 minutes of slosh and slop before work – unbeatable. Sorry I didn’t call Mike.

Muddy view of Delta track

River bank near Fratelli’s

Waterfall near Fratelli’s

Half way up the Delta tree line

Self portrait

Stretching

Crack of dawn

One of the hardest things about training is getting up early.  Given the busyness of life, one doesn’t have a choice other than to get a jump on the day.  Whereas I used to get going at 6.30 – now it is 5am.  Unfortunately for me I don’t go to bed any earlier so the sleep deprivation starts building up. At this time of year it is barely light and soon it will be dark at that time.  This morning I could easily have not gotten up.  I really wanted to give up and go back to sleep.  I pushed through in the end and managed to enjoy a great spinning class.  Glad for the small victory.

Come early to get a parking spot - Melrose Arch very early

Heart rate steady

I think it is called a ‘green day’.  Steady riding in the endurance heart rate band.  For me that means between about 130 and 144 beats per minute.  This morning I clocked about 30km’s in 80 minutes – heart rate steady the whole way.  It is harder than you might imagine.  I find myself getting pumped and wanting to rev it right up, or losing concentration and letting it lag.

I never exercise without my Polar (625x).  If I don’t record the session then I feel like I haven’t done it.  Simply I take comfort from the fact that at least my watch know what I did in terms of exertion … even if no one else knows or cares.  What can I say, I value the recognition.

Spinning … bliss

Having said that gym work is boring.  Spinning is definitely not … providing you are under the spell of the right instructor.  This mornings 5.30 class at Melrose Arch Virgin Active was amazing.  Round and round 12 o’clock, 10 o’clock, go, go go 120 rpm – amazing LOUD music.  Very few aerobic activities could deliver a payload like that in 75 minutes.  Thank you Johnno.

Week 2 summary – (10 to 16 January 2010)

First proper week of training after the summer holidays.

9hrs37min

152km’s

Silvermine – amazing views, great track

This is the view from the top of Silvermine. Long Beach, Noordhoek and Kommetjie in the background.  The Silvermine loop is about 9km.  It is tougher than it sounds.  Great to do in conjunction with Tokai Forest.

Long Beach, Noordhoek, Kommetjie

Rob at Silvermine

Holiday riding – Cape Town

More fun riding than training.  Great environment (Cape Town Mountain Bike Trails).  Base miles clocked up – about 700km over a month.  I recommend Tokai Forest – especially the single track.  Silvermine – for the views and Table Mountain – for the record.  I know there is plenty more, but I didn’t want to drive and ride – so I stuck to the tracks I could ride to.

Rob with Table Bay in background

Table Mountain – see World Cup Soccer Stadium in background