The antibiotics are having no effect on the throat. I can pinpoint the exact spot which is sore with the tip of my finger and I've been trying to have a closer look at it in the mirror. Unfortunately, it is in a really awkward spot, which is not easily visible, so I have been like a contortionist, opening my mouth, pulling my tongue out of the way with my fingers, trying to angle my head towards the bathroom mirror so that the light illuminates the spot. It didn't work. So, I got the torch and repeated the process - daughter was most interested in this whole performance. As I was starting to suspect, I have a massive ulcer. It's on a bit of my mouth/throat which is opening and shutting every time I eat/talk/call the kids. I looked through my training diary and see that after most sportives or big rides, I develop an ulcer. Usually, they heal much more quickly than this and I think it may have something to do with the position of the ulcer as it is constantly being aggravated. I did a quick search on the internet and found that ulcers may be related to deficiency of iron/zinc/b vitamins so I added a multivitamin to my morning concoctions.
I've been feeling very lethargic and woozy these last few days but it's hard to know how much of that is due to the heat and humidity. Last night was cooler and I think that I only woke up once during the night. I certainly feel much better today and really want to go for a ride. I just text Joe to tell him the latest and he has asked me to do a 1hr 20min ride and see how I recover during the day.
So, that's where I'm up to. If it was the Etape tomorrow, I would definitely be riding. As it is just a training event, I don't mind if I miss it. We're only 16 days away from the big one and it's more important that I'm fit and well for that.
I'm taking the kids to the cinema today and then coming back to watch the opening stage in Monaco. Can't wait :-)
Friday, 3 July 2009
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
Lay Off
My sore throat persists and the antibiotics don't seem to have had much of an effect yet. I had a chat with Joe this morning about it and he scheduled me in for a few days rest. I'm not allowed to touch my bike until Saturday. On Saturday, I will see how I feel and if I'm feeling recovered and well, I will do a 30 minute ride to stretch the legs. After that, I'm going to contact Joe and we'll come to a decision about the Three Counties Challenge.
The most important thing right now is to recover, get rid of this sore throat and tiredness and get back to full health ready for July 20th. I've done all the training and I've put in some stonking sportive rides over the last few months - that is what is going to see me through the Etape, not the rides I do in these last few weeks. I explained to Joe that there is always a doubt in my head that the illness is imagined and the symptoms are somehow generated by my subconcious. For example, when my heart condition was undiagnosed and I was experiencing breathlessness and shaking on climbs, it did occur to me that the problem was in my head - that not being able to breath was somehow a problem of the mind and I just didn't have the mental strength to get up the climb, either that or I was just unfit. Obviously, this is a load of bollocks! I had a heart condition - the condition was physical and was real. Just as my sore throat now is actually there.
So, rest and recovery is the order of the next few days. Wednesday is normally my big ride day so instead I'm going to hit the sofa and try to have a sleep.
The most important thing right now is to recover, get rid of this sore throat and tiredness and get back to full health ready for July 20th. I've done all the training and I've put in some stonking sportive rides over the last few months - that is what is going to see me through the Etape, not the rides I do in these last few weeks. I explained to Joe that there is always a doubt in my head that the illness is imagined and the symptoms are somehow generated by my subconcious. For example, when my heart condition was undiagnosed and I was experiencing breathlessness and shaking on climbs, it did occur to me that the problem was in my head - that not being able to breath was somehow a problem of the mind and I just didn't have the mental strength to get up the climb, either that or I was just unfit. Obviously, this is a load of bollocks! I had a heart condition - the condition was physical and was real. Just as my sore throat now is actually there.
So, rest and recovery is the order of the next few days. Wednesday is normally my big ride day so instead I'm going to hit the sofa and try to have a sleep.
Monday, 29 June 2009
ECG Results
I went in to see the Cardiologist today for a check up ECG - it was perfectly normal! My resting HR is now 36 - pretty low - which he said was an indication of how fit I was. After what happened last year, I'm just so pleased that this will not be a barrier to me doing the Etape this time around. I need to go back again in 6 months but he said that the longer I stay in normal rhythm without going back into flutter, the less likely it is that I will go into flutter again.
Unfortunately, despite the good news, I still don't feel 100% and I'm not sure how much of it is physical and how much is psychological. The sore throat came back again and has been with me for about 5 days now. It's worse on waking and the nurse thought that it might be hayfever. She also prescribed antiobiotics for me as I had had it for 5 days with no sign of it going away. I still have a bit of an ache in my back/kidneys area but not sure if this is down to all the core work I was doing last week. Back extensions would certain work the muscles in the area where the ache is. I'm hot and a bit clammy but who isn't in this weather?
I spent most of Saturday trying to rest - Colin did a grand job of entertaining the kids so that I could get a sleep. On Sunday, I tried a short ride but I went out with a "I feel weak" mentality. Consequently, the first bit of the ride, my speed was pathetic. When I got into some busier traffic, I forgot all about feeling weak and my speed was right up as I cycled amongst cars. So was I really weak at all or was it just in my head?
Shortly before today's ride (another short loop) I had just been told that my heart was fine. My attitude was one of "yeh, I'm ok" and I felt much better on the ride.
I am definitely not 100% because this slight sore throat is not in my imagination. But I think I may be exaggerating these small ailments because I'm so afraid of not being able to compete in 3 WEEKS!!!! 3 WEEKS!!!!!
I have ordered a couple of sports psychology books from Amazon to do a bit of reading on the subject. I feel that once I'm in the event, I have some mental toughness to see it through - anyone who finished the 100mile polka dot has a fair bit of mental toughness. However, in the run up to events, I seem to become a bit worked up and start to think I'm about to fall ill. Plus, I still don't know how the hell I'm going to sleep the night before Etape - hopefully, these books will give me a few pointers.
On the weight front, I need to lose 3lb and I will be at target weight. COME ON WOMAN!! I have to do this. I was surprised at how low my weight was this week considering that Colin and I went out for his 40th birthday treat. I decided, for once, to completely forget about any restrictions and have a bit of whatever I fancied. The calories were sooooooo worth it - it was absolutely divine. So with 3 weeks to go I am 81.6kg. I know that in my final week I will increasing consumption of carbs so I have 2 weeks to get it done.
Next sportive on the horizon is the 3 Counties Challenge. I will be doing the 65 mile route as it will be only 15 days before the Etape. I have one new element to test during this event and that is breakfast - my usual breakfast of porridge will not be available in France so I'm going to try a tin of Rice Pudding and see how it goes. I suppose my other option is Pain au Chocolat :-) Should be plenty of that in France and much better than a cold tin of rice pudding.
Unfortunately, despite the good news, I still don't feel 100% and I'm not sure how much of it is physical and how much is psychological. The sore throat came back again and has been with me for about 5 days now. It's worse on waking and the nurse thought that it might be hayfever. She also prescribed antiobiotics for me as I had had it for 5 days with no sign of it going away. I still have a bit of an ache in my back/kidneys area but not sure if this is down to all the core work I was doing last week. Back extensions would certain work the muscles in the area where the ache is. I'm hot and a bit clammy but who isn't in this weather?
I spent most of Saturday trying to rest - Colin did a grand job of entertaining the kids so that I could get a sleep. On Sunday, I tried a short ride but I went out with a "I feel weak" mentality. Consequently, the first bit of the ride, my speed was pathetic. When I got into some busier traffic, I forgot all about feeling weak and my speed was right up as I cycled amongst cars. So was I really weak at all or was it just in my head?
Shortly before today's ride (another short loop) I had just been told that my heart was fine. My attitude was one of "yeh, I'm ok" and I felt much better on the ride.
I am definitely not 100% because this slight sore throat is not in my imagination. But I think I may be exaggerating these small ailments because I'm so afraid of not being able to compete in 3 WEEKS!!!! 3 WEEKS!!!!!
I have ordered a couple of sports psychology books from Amazon to do a bit of reading on the subject. I feel that once I'm in the event, I have some mental toughness to see it through - anyone who finished the 100mile polka dot has a fair bit of mental toughness. However, in the run up to events, I seem to become a bit worked up and start to think I'm about to fall ill. Plus, I still don't know how the hell I'm going to sleep the night before Etape - hopefully, these books will give me a few pointers.
On the weight front, I need to lose 3lb and I will be at target weight. COME ON WOMAN!! I have to do this. I was surprised at how low my weight was this week considering that Colin and I went out for his 40th birthday treat. I decided, for once, to completely forget about any restrictions and have a bit of whatever I fancied. The calories were sooooooo worth it - it was absolutely divine. So with 3 weeks to go I am 81.6kg. I know that in my final week I will increasing consumption of carbs so I have 2 weeks to get it done.
Next sportive on the horizon is the 3 Counties Challenge. I will be doing the 65 mile route as it will be only 15 days before the Etape. I have one new element to test during this event and that is breakfast - my usual breakfast of porridge will not be available in France so I'm going to try a tin of Rice Pudding and see how it goes. I suppose my other option is Pain au Chocolat :-) Should be plenty of that in France and much better than a cold tin of rice pudding.
Friday, 26 June 2009
Polka Dot Short Course
As planned I did the short Polka Dot Challenge course on Wednesday. I decided to get super organised, drive my daughter to nursery, come back with the other two, collect the bike, walk them to school with bike and then cycle straight from the school.
I plotted the route in bike hike and rather than rely on the automatically included course points, I added my own to the route so that I had confidence that the turnings would all be accurate. The route plotted out at 72 miles so I would have to maintain around 12.5 mph in order to make it back in time for school pick up at 3pm. Getting lost with so little time to spare was just not an option.
As forecast, the skies were clear and the sun was hot - perfect conditions to test out my Etape clothing. As I got going, I noticed that it was also a bit breezy. Things were going well - my regular climbs: Brickworks, Windgather & Derbyshire Bridge were all straight forward. The breeze meant that the heat wasn't too much of an issue although I could feel that my back was a little damp. Next came a fast descent to Allgreave - absolutely fantastic & really fast. The climb up to Flash was fine - I remembered it well from the first time I did it a few weeks ago when the conditions were much worse.
I had planned to refill my water bottles at the half way point around Longnor but when I came across Flash stores, a quiet shop which I felt comfortable leaving my bike outside, I decided to bring the refuel forward. I bought a very cold 2l bottle from the fridge and a piece of Lemon Drizzle cake. As I set off again, I started feeling a bit crap. It occurred to me that actually, I wasn't enjoying it all that much. The speed starting dropping a bit, my kidneys seemed to be aching - a similar feeling to that I experienced in the heat of the Bike Radar Sportive. I upped the drinking and had another gel and ploughed on. The countryside was absolutely beautiful but all I could think was that I *should* be enjoying this more. The wind was cooling but sapping, the heat was just sapping. I started to think that my silver dream goal was just a stupid idea as I obviously don't do heat very well and Derbyshire isn't going to be anywhere near as hot as Provence in July.
I plodded on, noting various points that had been memorable on the Polka Dot - the feed stop lay-by, the place I stopped to get a text from Colin which said he was dying, the grass where I had a wee, the wall where a 20miles to go sign had been hung, the quiet car racing track, which had been humming with motor activity early in the month. I got to the top of Axe Edge and knew that I'd done most of it now - over the Cat & Fiddle and only one more serious bit of climbing to go. My average speed was around 12mph but I knew that the last 20 miles or so can be polished off at around 18mph and so it turned out to be.
I arrived at school at around 2.45pm. Some of the mums asked if I had actually been out on my bike ALL DAY. Oh yes I have! When I saw people's reactions to the distance I'd just done, it did make me feel better, even if I'd felt rubbish at the time of actually doing it.
Here's my ride:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/7504538
Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s) 5:36:48 4:44 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 5:23:10 4:33 pace
Distance (mi ) 70.92
Moving Speed (mph) 13.2 avg. 41.3 max.
Total Speed (mph) 12.7 avg
Elevation Gain (ft) +6,835 / -7,024
Avg. Heart Rate 122 bpm Zone 0.9
Thursday morning I woke up with a sore throat with painful swallowing - it didn't go away during the day and I started to think that perhaps I might need to go to the docs. I forgot all about the diet and just concentrated on eating well and getting some rest. I also take quite a few various herbal remedies every day:
Cherry Active drink with 10 drops Plantago & 30 drops Pelargonium (to help the sore throat); 2 tablets of Echinacea; 2 tablets Vitamin C with Quercetin (antioxidants); 1 spoon Manuka honey.
I have to say, the sore throat has pretty much gone now and I'm feeling much better. I'm not sure why I felt so rubbish on Wednesday; my son was sick at night so perhaps I just had picked up a little bug from him. I also wonder if that cold, cold water was a bit too cold - can that be a bad thing? Anyway, I've had a couple of days off, I'm feeling much better and hoping to get out on the bike for a short ride tomorrow.
Ah, found this interesting article http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=15049 It looks like James Cracknell with be riding with us. I also checked the rider list and Alain Prost is also down to ride :-) He's number 5.
I plotted the route in bike hike and rather than rely on the automatically included course points, I added my own to the route so that I had confidence that the turnings would all be accurate. The route plotted out at 72 miles so I would have to maintain around 12.5 mph in order to make it back in time for school pick up at 3pm. Getting lost with so little time to spare was just not an option.
As forecast, the skies were clear and the sun was hot - perfect conditions to test out my Etape clothing. As I got going, I noticed that it was also a bit breezy. Things were going well - my regular climbs: Brickworks, Windgather & Derbyshire Bridge were all straight forward. The breeze meant that the heat wasn't too much of an issue although I could feel that my back was a little damp. Next came a fast descent to Allgreave - absolutely fantastic & really fast. The climb up to Flash was fine - I remembered it well from the first time I did it a few weeks ago when the conditions were much worse.
I had planned to refill my water bottles at the half way point around Longnor but when I came across Flash stores, a quiet shop which I felt comfortable leaving my bike outside, I decided to bring the refuel forward. I bought a very cold 2l bottle from the fridge and a piece of Lemon Drizzle cake. As I set off again, I started feeling a bit crap. It occurred to me that actually, I wasn't enjoying it all that much. The speed starting dropping a bit, my kidneys seemed to be aching - a similar feeling to that I experienced in the heat of the Bike Radar Sportive. I upped the drinking and had another gel and ploughed on. The countryside was absolutely beautiful but all I could think was that I *should* be enjoying this more. The wind was cooling but sapping, the heat was just sapping. I started to think that my silver dream goal was just a stupid idea as I obviously don't do heat very well and Derbyshire isn't going to be anywhere near as hot as Provence in July.
I plodded on, noting various points that had been memorable on the Polka Dot - the feed stop lay-by, the place I stopped to get a text from Colin which said he was dying, the grass where I had a wee, the wall where a 20miles to go sign had been hung, the quiet car racing track, which had been humming with motor activity early in the month. I got to the top of Axe Edge and knew that I'd done most of it now - over the Cat & Fiddle and only one more serious bit of climbing to go. My average speed was around 12mph but I knew that the last 20 miles or so can be polished off at around 18mph and so it turned out to be.
I arrived at school at around 2.45pm. Some of the mums asked if I had actually been out on my bike ALL DAY. Oh yes I have! When I saw people's reactions to the distance I'd just done, it did make me feel better, even if I'd felt rubbish at the time of actually doing it.
Here's my ride:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/7504538
Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s) 5:36:48 4:44 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 5:23:10 4:33 pace
Distance (mi ) 70.92
Moving Speed (mph) 13.2 avg. 41.3 max.
Total Speed (mph) 12.7 avg
Elevation Gain (ft) +6,835 / -7,024
Avg. Heart Rate 122 bpm Zone 0.9
Thursday morning I woke up with a sore throat with painful swallowing - it didn't go away during the day and I started to think that perhaps I might need to go to the docs. I forgot all about the diet and just concentrated on eating well and getting some rest. I also take quite a few various herbal remedies every day:
Cherry Active drink with 10 drops Plantago & 30 drops Pelargonium (to help the sore throat); 2 tablets of Echinacea; 2 tablets Vitamin C with Quercetin (antioxidants); 1 spoon Manuka honey.
I have to say, the sore throat has pretty much gone now and I'm feeling much better. I'm not sure why I felt so rubbish on Wednesday; my son was sick at night so perhaps I just had picked up a little bug from him. I also wonder if that cold, cold water was a bit too cold - can that be a bad thing? Anyway, I've had a couple of days off, I'm feeling much better and hoping to get out on the bike for a short ride tomorrow.
Ah, found this interesting article http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=15049 It looks like James Cracknell with be riding with us. I also checked the rider list and Alain Prost is also down to ride :-) He's number 5.
Monday, 22 June 2009
Solid Training Week
After the epic weather of the Polka Dot Challenge, I had a very light recovery week, with only 2 hours and 10 minutes of cycling! Come Monday last week, I was raring to get back into training and it turned out to be a good week. I had 5 shortish rides to build slowly back up - this ride from Sunday was my biggest of the week (48 miles and about 4000ft of climbing). It seems to have become my regular training loop.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/7436493
This week I'm hoping to up the mileage again and do the short course of the Polka Dot Challenge tomorrow. I may drive out to somewhere near the start of the course - I'd like to do a 60+mile ride for the day but I have to get back for 3pm to pick up the kids. The ride is 75 miles if I go from my house and that might be cutting it a little too fine for the school run. It looks like it's going to be a hot and humid day so could be a good test for my new jersey, which I finally took the plunge on. It's lovely and fits really well. However, it's bloody expensive so it'd better be good. I think I finally have all the kit I'm going to need for the Etape so NO MORE SPENDING.
My weight has come to a stop at 82kg - last week I was 81.6, the week before, 82.1 - it just seems to hover around that 82 mark. I'm starting to wonder if this is just the right weight for me and I won't get below 80kg before the Etape now? I'm not too concerned about this though as I've come a long way since Christmas already - 11kg & a good few inches lost and I feel so fit and well for it.
On Saturday, I decided to inflate the Swiss Ball to do a bit of core work as it's something that I tend to neglect. Unfortunately, and ironically, the act of inflating the ball did my back in and I've had twinges back ever since. A few nights of long stretching sessions and work on the ball - Colin finished the inflation job - have eased it considerably and I'm almost back to normal. I've now got a routine worked out for the ball and have been doing it in the evening. I see the osteopath one more time before July 20th, just to make sure that everything is nice and loose.
I just made an appointment with the Cardiologist. When I last saw him, he asked me to come back in June. I've been putting it off but it has to happen so I go in on Monday. I'm a little nervous. I don't want to be told that the Atrial Flutter has returned. On my rides, I see no indication of it and my heart rate stays nice and low with none of those huge spikes that I saw in the past. On a few occasions I have woken up with my heart pounding though. A 24hr ECG didn't pick anything up though so fingers crossed, all is still well......
Clive provided a list of medal times for last years Etape -
Catégories Distance Temps Médaille "Or" Médaille"Argent"
A 169,2 05:50:00 06:30:00
B 169,2 06:05:00 06:45:00
C 169,2 06:15:00 07:05:00
D 169,2 06:30:00 07:10:00
E 169,2 07:05:00 08:10:00
F 169,2 07:05:00 08:30:00
G 169,2 07:15:00 08:50:00
Assuming that this years average speeds are something similar, for me as an F, I would need to average 12.3mph to get silver. This will be my "dream goal" for the day. The dream goal for me is something that is slightly out of reach, a huge challenge but not completely beyond the realm of possibility. 12.3mph is going to be hard when you consider that the last 2 and a half hours or maybe more will be spent going up Ventoux at around 5mph, but who knows, perhaps if everything goes well, it might just happen. My success goal is definitely just to finish the event - if that happens, I will be completely overjoyed.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/7436493
This week I'm hoping to up the mileage again and do the short course of the Polka Dot Challenge tomorrow. I may drive out to somewhere near the start of the course - I'd like to do a 60+mile ride for the day but I have to get back for 3pm to pick up the kids. The ride is 75 miles if I go from my house and that might be cutting it a little too fine for the school run. It looks like it's going to be a hot and humid day so could be a good test for my new jersey, which I finally took the plunge on. It's lovely and fits really well. However, it's bloody expensive so it'd better be good. I think I finally have all the kit I'm going to need for the Etape so NO MORE SPENDING.
My weight has come to a stop at 82kg - last week I was 81.6, the week before, 82.1 - it just seems to hover around that 82 mark. I'm starting to wonder if this is just the right weight for me and I won't get below 80kg before the Etape now? I'm not too concerned about this though as I've come a long way since Christmas already - 11kg & a good few inches lost and I feel so fit and well for it.
On Saturday, I decided to inflate the Swiss Ball to do a bit of core work as it's something that I tend to neglect. Unfortunately, and ironically, the act of inflating the ball did my back in and I've had twinges back ever since. A few nights of long stretching sessions and work on the ball - Colin finished the inflation job - have eased it considerably and I'm almost back to normal. I've now got a routine worked out for the ball and have been doing it in the evening. I see the osteopath one more time before July 20th, just to make sure that everything is nice and loose.
I just made an appointment with the Cardiologist. When I last saw him, he asked me to come back in June. I've been putting it off but it has to happen so I go in on Monday. I'm a little nervous. I don't want to be told that the Atrial Flutter has returned. On my rides, I see no indication of it and my heart rate stays nice and low with none of those huge spikes that I saw in the past. On a few occasions I have woken up with my heart pounding though. A 24hr ECG didn't pick anything up though so fingers crossed, all is still well......
Clive provided a list of medal times for last years Etape -
Catégories Distance Temps Médaille "Or" Médaille"Argent"
A 169,2 05:50:00 06:30:00
B 169,2 06:05:00 06:45:00
C 169,2 06:15:00 07:05:00
D 169,2 06:30:00 07:10:00
E 169,2 07:05:00 08:10:00
F 169,2 07:05:00 08:30:00
G 169,2 07:15:00 08:50:00
Assuming that this years average speeds are something similar, for me as an F, I would need to average 12.3mph to get silver. This will be my "dream goal" for the day. The dream goal for me is something that is slightly out of reach, a huge challenge but not completely beyond the realm of possibility. 12.3mph is going to be hard when you consider that the last 2 and a half hours or maybe more will be spent going up Ventoux at around 5mph, but who knows, perhaps if everything goes well, it might just happen. My success goal is definitely just to finish the event - if that happens, I will be completely overjoyed.
Monday, 15 June 2009
5 weeks today
As I've glanced at my watch at various points in the day, I have thought to myself, "5 weeks from today I'll be.......". During the morning school run, I imagined that I would be hopefully over the first climb and on route to Nyons. During the afternoon school run, I imagined that I would be suffering on Ventoux. 5 weeks from now, I hope that I will have finished ahead of the broom wagon, will have my bike dismantled and into the box (something that worries me) and will be enjoying some delicious French food and maybe a glass of champagne. I'm going to get lots of those pain au chocolat stuffed with custard for the train back as well. As for Colin, I just hope he is still alive at the end of it. He's done less than 400 miles of training this year and is heading for a day of suffering. Just as last year, I really worry for him.
Here are some very interesting Etape course reviews:
http://www.kingstonwheelers.com/edt2009.shtml
and http://www.rapha.cc/the-elusive-prize
It's going to be brilllllliiiiiaaaannnnntttttt!
Here are some very interesting Etape course reviews:
http://www.kingstonwheelers.com/edt2009.shtml
and http://www.rapha.cc/the-elusive-prize
It's going to be brilllllliiiiiaaaannnnntttttt!
Friday, 12 June 2009
A bit of route analysis
Well, this time in five weeks, I'll have my bags packed, my bike packed, the car loaded and hopefully, will be all set to go. I still have a few more logistical tasks to take care of - I have hired one bike bag already but I still need a second. I'm thinking of buying the DHB one from wiggle - it seems quite reasonably priced. I also had a very kind offer of a loan of one so I feel that bike bag is covered one way or the other. I need to sort out hire car from Avignon - will just do that online. I need to check if there is any outstanding payment on the studio we are hiring - I think there may be a small balance to pay. I think everything else is sorted on the logistics front.
As for clothing, I think that everything is ready apart from my jersey - I've had my eye on a particular jersey for a while now. I feel that the etape is just such a huge event for me that I should just go for it and buy it. I still have a bit in my paypal account from my ebay sales so perhaps I will be buying from wiggle again this month.
My bike has a small problem in that the headset works itself loose. It goes in for another service on Monday where they are going to take out the fork and spend a bit of time looking into what is causing it to happen. It becomes loose within weeks of a service so there is definitely something wrong there.
Onto the route: last night I spent a bit of time looking at the route and came up with this little profile sheet, which I will be using on the day. I haven't checked it thoroughly for errors yet so will do this before I get it printed off and laminated.
It shows the profile, main towns, elimination points (the two solid lines on the profile towards the end of the event) and climbs and the times above are the cut off times for corresponding locations. There are four stops for either food or water. Craig Entwistle of veloventoux has a list of other water stops along the route - I will get these onto to back of my laminate as well http://www.veloventoux.com/pictures/waterstops.pdf.
I've also prepared a break down of speeds/distances/gradients along the course, which correspond to the profile sheet. Again, haven't had time to check thoroughly but it's my starting point. It's all metric - I will change over to metric sometime before the event I *think*. Not sure yet. Which ever way I do it, I'm going to be cycling along, working out the conversion to mph or kmph at some point on the event.
Here's the timings:
I'm hoping to use this data with my garmin on the day. I'm planning to create a workout which flashes up information about the distance I need to have reached by certain times - should give me confidence on the day that I am ahead of the broom wagon. I think I'll put in a few reminders of where I need to drink and eat etc.
Tonight I have a *big* night out. It doesn't happen very often so I'm looking forward to it although I think I shall try to restrict myself to the healthiest possibly curry I can get and will only have a couple of glasses of wine. Perhaps one cocktail. I'm having a really good week diet-wise and I really don't want to undo it all in one night.
For the last few days, I've been debating whether to squeeze in another sportive before my next planned event on the 5th of July. However, I felt an ulcer appearing last night so I've decided against it. I'm going to have a very easy week and then start to slowly build up again next week. Come July 20th, I want to be fit and healthy and raring to go.
As for clothing, I think that everything is ready apart from my jersey - I've had my eye on a particular jersey for a while now. I feel that the etape is just such a huge event for me that I should just go for it and buy it. I still have a bit in my paypal account from my ebay sales so perhaps I will be buying from wiggle again this month.
My bike has a small problem in that the headset works itself loose. It goes in for another service on Monday where they are going to take out the fork and spend a bit of time looking into what is causing it to happen. It becomes loose within weeks of a service so there is definitely something wrong there.
Onto the route: last night I spent a bit of time looking at the route and came up with this little profile sheet, which I will be using on the day. I haven't checked it thoroughly for errors yet so will do this before I get it printed off and laminated.
It shows the profile, main towns, elimination points (the two solid lines on the profile towards the end of the event) and climbs and the times above are the cut off times for corresponding locations. There are four stops for either food or water. Craig Entwistle of veloventoux has a list of other water stops along the route - I will get these onto to back of my laminate as well http://www.veloventoux.com/pictures/waterstops.pdf.
I've also prepared a break down of speeds/distances/gradients along the course, which correspond to the profile sheet. Again, haven't had time to check thoroughly but it's my starting point. It's all metric - I will change over to metric sometime before the event I *think*. Not sure yet. Which ever way I do it, I'm going to be cycling along, working out the conversion to mph or kmph at some point on the event.
Here's the timings:
I'm hoping to use this data with my garmin on the day. I'm planning to create a workout which flashes up information about the distance I need to have reached by certain times - should give me confidence on the day that I am ahead of the broom wagon. I think I'll put in a few reminders of where I need to drink and eat etc.
Tonight I have a *big* night out. It doesn't happen very often so I'm looking forward to it although I think I shall try to restrict myself to the healthiest possibly curry I can get and will only have a couple of glasses of wine. Perhaps one cocktail. I'm having a really good week diet-wise and I really don't want to undo it all in one night.
For the last few days, I've been debating whether to squeeze in another sportive before my next planned event on the 5th of July. However, I felt an ulcer appearing last night so I've decided against it. I'm going to have a very easy week and then start to slowly build up again next week. Come July 20th, I want to be fit and healthy and raring to go.
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