Week two - Tuesday

Cycling 1hr

Ride at a steady pace.  You should be able to chat while riding - don't get out of breath. Keep turning the pedals at 90-95rpm.

Consider how your riding compares with last week. 

Anyone that follows me on Twitter (@sadiebp) will know that today I've been feeling rather tired and not in the mood for training.  However, being the determined sort I went out for my hour of training after dinner regardless. 

I went out on a route that I know has a relatively nasty hill and incorporated the latter part of Saturday's ride.

    The locals were out to cheer me on

As you can see from today's instruction I'm supposed to be comparing myself to last week.  Well despite being not in the mood at all I still think I did pretty well.  I did better with the hill than Saturday (and I did it well on Saturday) and I didn't really struggle throughout the ride.  I'm also proud of the fact I got off my butt and went out.

I can't ascertain exactly how I did because my phone ran out of juice,  so Strava (which I normally use to record my progress) didn't work properly.

All in all I consider myself to be improving every day I go out even when my head's not there which is obviously a big positive. 

Rest day - so far so good.....

It’s a rest day today so I thought I’d take the opportunity to reflect on the first week of formal training.

I’m very happy with how it’s gone.  I can see a very clear difference in both my ability and attitude to cycling from a couple of weeks ago.  During the Easter holidays I commuted to work (about 10 miles) for three days and although I managed it each day I didn’t really enjoy it which left me in a bad place when thinking about tackling 100 miles in August.

As I mentioned yesterday I am not great at cycling in the mornings.  This means that I found the journey in to work at 8am very difficult.  Knowing this each morning did not make it easy to set out in a good frame of mind.  Knowing the husband and kid were snuggled up in their beds and off work and school also didn’t help!  

The journey home should have been better were it not for the nasty hill on the way home.  This hill really is my nemesis but I cannot figure out why.  I have done much worse hills successfully but for some reason I really struggle with this one.  It gets in my head and I worry about it for a mile or so beforehand which obviously makes it worse.

These two factors mean that commuting by bike was not for me and really made me doubt my ability to do the sportive.

However, the past week has really adjusted that mind-set.  I have had a brilliant week.  I’ve had no problem sticking to the training (with my tweaks) and doing all the cycling recommended with no trouble at all.  I have enjoyed my rides and feel really confident that I will get better and better through the next 11 weeks leading up to the sportive.

Now I just need to use my new found confidence and drive get that hill conquered!!

Week one - Sunday

Cycling 1hr

Another steady paced ride, as Saturday. Pedal at 90-95rpm.

Ride with a friend so that you can chat while cycling.  Try to involve someone of similar ability and ride together - don't race.

Due to having done our mega ride yesterday I decided to ignore the programme again today and just do a quick ride.

There's not a great deal to report. I did a quick 5 miles which took 25 mins and was an average speed of 12mph.  It's worth mentioning that this an improvement on the other times I've done this route which is great.  There is still a lot of room for improvement.  I did today's ride at 9:30am and for some reason I find riding in the morning REALLY hard work.  I don't know why this is.  I always eat before I go out but for some reason morning rides kill me!  Hopefully I'll have it sorted by August!

Week one - Saturday

Cycling 1 hr

Steady paced ride - try not to get out of breath. Pedal at 90-95rpm.

Introduce a few harder exertions so as to feel different levels. 

It's the weekend!

Today I basically ignored the training programme again and set out for a long ride.  For the first time in the programme I had company!

   The husband

We started off by doing the same route I did on Thursday.  The weather looked ominous and we'd had some torrential rain that morning but we got lucky and stayed dry throughout the whole ride.

Rather than head for home at the point I did on Thursday we detoured into Brackley for coffee and cake. I believe this is, in fact the law when doing long weekend rides.  The plan after this had been to head for home on a tried and tested route which would have been about 5 miles more on the 14 or so we'd done at that point.  However, when I returned with a strawberries and cream creamy cooler and a decaf skinny latte the husband had the sat nav open in his phone.  He suggested a different route to add on the miles.  I agreed and we set off again.  It added about 8 more on but took in some serious hills.  I really struggled on one of them but I made it.  

    Hills -Urgh....

The husband really struggled later on in the ride but by this point I seemed to have got a second wind and actually overtook him on the final hill.  We had a chat about this when we got home and I think our bodies react differently to snacks.  We'd had some energy flapjacks which kicked in for me pretty quickly but the husband didn't seem to get any benefit from them.  I've suggested on the next long one he tries to eat and drink more frequently.  He's going to give it a go.  He is training for the London to Brighton in June so needs the practice as much as me.

In the end we did about 23 miles in just over 2 hours.  We were pleased with this.  

I really enjoyed having company on my ride and I'm looking forward to the next time we can go out together.

Week one - Thursday

Cycling 1 hr

Steady paced ride - try not to get out of breath. Pedal at 90-95rpm.

Introduce a few harder exertions so as to feel different levels. 

Technically it's a rest day again today but again, it's better for me to have one tomorrow so I decided to go out tonight.

It is a beautiful evening and I decided to try a new route.  I found one on a website of cycling routes.  It's a good website with routes in most counties.  I'm so glad I did it as tonight was the best ride I have ever done.  

It was beautiful.  The roads we pretty much empty, the countryside breathtaking, and the villages I went through were georgeous.   There's also a lovely pub in one of the villages which I was very tempted to stop at!

   Sun beginning to set

I had to cross and ride along a fairly major road for a time but luck was on my side as there were no cars at all as I crossed.  I also had to go round a roundabout on a dual carriageway.  Again, luck was on my side as there was no traffic coming from the left and the traffic coming from the right actually stopped and gave way to me!  I have to say (at the risk of tempting fate) that on the whole I've found car drivers pretty considerate towards me.  I know this isn't the experience of many cyclists sadly.  Maybe I just live in a considerate county!

Today's ride was 13 miles and I did it in just over an hour which pleases me immensely.  

I enjoyed it so much that I'm going to ride it again tomorrow night with the husband and forego a rest day! 

Rest day - me and my bike....

So today is a rest day so I thought I'd take some time to tell you about my bike and some of the basic equipment I use.

My bike is a hybrid.  A hybrid is a cross between a mountain bike and a road bike.  They have a light frame, thinner tyres than a mountain bike but don't usually have drop handlebars like a classic road bike.  This makes them good all round bikes for beginners.  Mine is a Giant Escape 3, and I love it.  

There is a school of thought that says my hybrid isn't ideal for something as long as a 100 mile Sportive but I've been told by people that have done it that I will be fine.......

When you first start cycling it's normal to just go out in whatever clothes you have but as you start to rack up the miles you will find you need something padded around the undercarriage!! You can get padded shorts or leggings for a reasonable price to start with then increase the quality as you go.  I'm currently trying to choose a better standard of padded short and will report back on that when I've picked.

The other simple thing that can dramatically improve your performance is taking something other than water to drink.  Those that know me will be surprised to find out I don't mean wine!  My favourite performance drink at the moment are Hi Five Zero  and Zero Extreme tabs.  They turn water into a really nice electrolyte drink with or without caffeine and I'm yet to find a flavour I dislike.

So those are a few bits to get you started.  I'm off to get ready for Pilates*

*finish the Easter Eggs.

Week one - Tuesday

Cycling 1 hr

Steady ride without getting out of breath. Pedal at 85-90rpm.

Use the same route as Monday. Change to a lower gear if necessary to maintain rpm. Treat your pedals like a treadle, not a treadmill.

Today is supposed to be a rest day but to be honest it suits me much better to have tomorrow off so I can go to my Pilates class.

I didn't do the same route as Monday because I fancied a nice ride as opposed to the circuits.  I also didn't achieve flattish at all!

Not flat!

Hill in the distance

I think I have actually done more today than necessary but I consider that a positive.  To be honest I'm not 100% certain which of the training plans I should be following.  I'm not a beginner (which is the scheme I'm following) but I'm not convinced I am at intermediate level.  I guess that as long as I do the beginner programme as a minimum I can't go far wrong.

Ominous sky - I stayed dry though

Anyway, it was a good ride with a good mph.  My butt didn't hurt in the saddle which is fab and I don't ache.  No pain = happy me!!

I'm also trying to improve my eating habits after the Easter hols.  I weighed myself yesterday and it wasn't a pretty sight!! Obviously I now need to decide whether to a) scoff all the Easter eggs I have left in one sitting to get rid of them or b) treat myself to a little bit and have them hang around for months!  Which is best? Answers on a postcard please......

Week one - Monday

Cycling 1hr 

Ride at a steady pace, without getting out of breath. Pedal at 80-85rpm.  Work out a flattish route to use over the next few rides. Maintain a steady pedalling rhythm.

Flattish is a bit of an issue round here and one of the things I knew I would struggle with is figuring out routes for training.  However it was suggested to me by the husband that I ought to ride over to the next village where we used to live and do circuits of the sports field.  There is an all purpose track around the field and the route there is flattish so that's what I did.

Flattish!!

It's a lovely ride and the weather today is beautiful.

I did several circuits of the track which was a bit dull at first but I soon got into a sort of zone and enjoyed it.  I didn't actually do an hour as I overestimated how long it would take me to ride home.  I averaged a good mph rate but have no idea how to tell what rpm I am doing!  Any suggestions?    It was a really easy ride (especially compared to commuting to work) and it's left me feeling happy and positive about the programme.

Rest of the day will involve brunch then a visit to Stratford-upon-Avon.  Enjoy your Bank Holiday!

Easter Sunday - the day before the training programme

So, the official training programme for my 100 mile Sportive starts tomorrow so I'm blogging for the first time.

I'm hoping to keep you updated on my progress and inspire a few of you to get out there on your bikes.

Cycling doesn't have to be scary, although sitting here on Easter Sunday, stuffed full of chocolate watching the rain pour down it certainly doesn't seem like the most appealing past time!!

I've done a reasonable amount of cycling since finding out I have a place on the London 100, but not as much as I possibly ought to.  My motivation hasn't really been there if I'm honest.  I did commute to work last week for three days which is approximately 10 miles each way, with one vicious hill on the route home.  It wasn't too bad......

Anyway, I will be religiously following the training programme from tomorrow and will report back on how I do.  I'll also tell you a bit about me as a cyclist, my opinions on cycling clothing, equipment and nutrition as I go.  For now, however, I'm off to eat more chocolate!!