Week of Pain

This is the last week in our build phase so the pain has been ramped up to the maximum. I was listening today to the Fredcast with David bringing in Graeme Street about quality training over quantity. I'm in this mode of looking at the kilo's I do a week instead of the hours, I guess we're all a little to blame for this. I must say though that after the podcast I can happily say that my coach err's on the side of quality and pain over junk miles.
Today was no different as we entered a world of pain and blood letting from the ears. We warmed up the legs with some spinning excercises and then warmed them up even further with some tempo riding. This set us up for an interval session that build's on the pukers. We had to do six and a half minute intervals holding it at what we call zone 5. This is directly translated as blood hard work as each time the pace was slowing we had to stand a push on a bit to keep the heart rate up. This was a killer session and after three of these I just got off my bike and lay on my back in the dirt trying to get oxygen back to the limbs. I loved it. Nothing like an all out session of solid quality to get those edorphins flowing.
This evening I prepared the Binachi for her maiden voyage tomorrow and as per normal I've decided to jump in the deep end. Oren and I will spend four hours in the saddle and get some solid base training in. Looking forward to spending time on the road. The last time I went out I really could feel the legs coming on as the the kilometers melt under the slicks. I may just get the century under my belt, I've almost forgotten about it so will need to get it in this weekend.

Century Ride for March

Today was the day that I've been promising for the last three weeks. I went off this morning not really thinking about doing the full century but ended up seeing that I was almost there so made the extra loop to push myself over the line. I was supposed to be heading into the hills today with one of the Spider riders from Rosh Hanikra and then along the northern border. I must add that it was done on the road so I popped the road century cherry and I must say that I was just as pooped by the end of it as i would have been was I on a mountain bike. Well at seven my fellow rider canceled so I thought that I would head out and see what happens, seeing as with the financial situation as it is we are not working on a Thursday.

I headed up to misgav knowing that if I ran into any serious trouble I'd be closer to friends who could come to the rescue. After my puncture experience from last week my road cycling experience is already in safety mode. Well the climb on the bike with bigger gears made for interesting view as I huffed and puffed my way to the top. After thinking about it both my century's of the year were done on a similar route, one on dirt and the one of today done on the road. So after crawling to the top I did the same on the way down as my descending skills on the road are no where near my rocking hopping, tree bouncing mountain bike downhilling.

I was contemplating doing some further climbing to Ma'alot and then down but decided to rather go up to Rosh Ha'Nikra as I didn't want to overdo it and the fact that that route would take me near some of the villages. Something I don't want to do without some peleton backup or pepper spray. Seems like I'm riding through a gangsters paradise over here in Israel but actually 95% of the time everything goes smoothly, its that 5% percent though that seems to stick in the mind.

I made it up to to the Northern Border between Lebanon and Israel without any hassles and then came back through the chute of banana fields of Gesher Aziv. This is an awesome piece of road as it has a gate on either side but the road is smoothly paved so after spending the day with cars zipping past this was bliss. All of this changed though as I passed the hundred mark I went through the last intersection before getting back to the kibbutz. I was caught off and made it quite clear what I thought of his driving skills, after some heated shouting the guy pulls over further up the road waiting. Do I try and speed by risking him push me or stop and hear him out. Well I chose the latter unintelligently and he was waiting with a knife. I really couldn't believe it but luckily left unharmed. So another day of fun and games in a foreign country for me, sometimes I wonder what I'm doing here but then I realized what an awesome ride it had been. Don't let that 5% spoil it!

Training Camp Day 3 & 4

The second part of my training camp weekend was done mainly on the road bike. I went out on Friday morning for an easy zone 2 ride with the threatening clouds hanging overhead. I went out to Nahal Kziv. This time of the year the water is flowing and you venture in with the knowledge that you will have some seriously cold and soggy feet by the end of the ride. Opting out of the soaking I turned around at the start of the climb into the valley and headed towards Rosh Hanikra. Basically cutting straight across the banana fields and onto the coast. From here it was north and then turning around at the border, probably the closest I'd ever get to entering Lebanon.

My legs were feeling the kilometers by this stage so once I got home a can of tuna went down the gut before heading to the ancient town of Acco for some fresh humus. Said (pronounced Sah'id) is famous in Israel for him humus so we tucked into our bowl of with some freshly made pita, everyone packed like sardines as you enjoy the meal at the same table with complete strangers picking olives and pickles from a shared bowl. Probably not to everyone's liking but once you've experienced it it makes dining out seem tame.

The afternoon I had some of my natural luck come into play. My first ride on the open road was effected by a puncture. not just any type of puncture but rather a tired shredding screw type puncture that ended my ride prematurely and leaving me stranded on the side of the road waiting for Mirit to come to my rescue. Up until that point though i had been loving it. The iPod playing some great podcasts while the kilometers melted away under my big chain ring. Ended up putting in 60kms and may even have broken that century had I not been stopped in my tracks.

Saturday was the last ride and I managed to do this with the group of some Spider riders. Uriel, Oren, Eliran and Erez. We chugged along at a nice pace but nothing like what i was pushing the day before. Probably better that way but I felt a bit dissapointed that the guys weren't pushing a bit harder. Its like getting a new Ferrari and then going for the leisurely Sunday ride with some VW Beatles. I did manage to gain the theoretic polka dot of the day by out gunning Oren. I basically sat on his wheel as he spun the compact gears very easily, I had to work hard but by the time we were almost at the top i used the power and went for the dash. The feeling on the road is absolutely amazing and can see myself spending some serious time in the saddle getting out and enjoying the open roads.

I hope this makes up for my missed attempt at last months century. I feel great even though I am a bit tight from the hours spent in the saddle. I don't have much of a choice but to do the actual full century next week, leaving it again till the last minute.

Training Camp Day 1 & 2

So the session of pain started yesterday. The fact that the financial situation is looking rather dodgy at the moment we aren't working on Thursdays so I thought I would use this to get myself into some sort of shape for the year ahead seeing as I've been sitting on the tub of lard all winter. So yesterday was the first day of a four day mini training camp. Almost three hours on the bike with most of it base building. The whole point of the weekend is to get as much time in on the bike and not worry about the kilometers. So the century challenge seems like it may be put off for another week although yesterday and today i hit the half mark and seeing as tomorrow is the longest day i might just make it.

Above is Tamir my partner for the Volvo Challenge - Mishmar Ha-Emek. I've been looking for someone with some serious pace as well as marathon staying power. The pace department is set as he is the Israeli Champ for the Masters category and for stamina he did the 24 hour race last year.... solo!!! So I feel I'm going to the race for the first time with someone stronger that can push a bit when I get lazy. But back to the actual training camp.

I went up to Misgav with for training knowing that I would probably warm up with them and then move off in my own direction. WRONG. Ofir decided it would be a good idea to also do some sprint exercises with the guys and then I could continue. This was explosive and after a mini-bonk I quickly got some banana's into my system and carried on riding with Matti and Oren. Half an hour of Base riding was followed by an hour and a half of Zone 3. This was quite fun until at the end I needed to do some cruise intervals. I was feeling the legs but managed it in the end. Cool down back to the car and I was off to the shop to pick up the road bike for the weekend to test ride, and test ride I will with some serious hours.

The afternoon session was an easy ride up to Rosh Hanikra for about an hour and a half. I'm sure I could do this route blindfolded already but its such a perfect ride to get that basic low intensity ride in that I seem to turn to it more often than not. Also a great ride to get to other parts of the north that branch off. I was pedaling thorugh butter after the morning session so I just took it easy. By the time I was almost home I got so ravenously hungry I was going crazy. Got home and ate four peanut butter and banana sandwiches with some honey. Perfect to stave off that monster hiding in my belly. Tomorrow is the long day with six hours of saddle time planned.

Pool Time

Spent about half an hour at the pool today after work. Really being meaning to get some more flipper time in but I get home normally after work completely drained. This evening forced myself out after watching the closing stages of the Paris-Nice. Brilliant watching those machines make it look so easy, Chavenel was a beast as he tour the peleton apart. Be interesting tomorrow when they get into the hills.
The financial situation is hitting home as we have no work this Thursday. Looks like it may continue until the holidays are over. So I'll look on the bright side and see it as a chance to boost my fitness levels. I have plans in my head for a bit of a solo cycling camp. Starting tomorrow I will spend the next four days putting in some serious saddle time and even possibly get the century under my belt. More on this tomorrow as I give it some more thought.

100 to zero

Firstly I want to say that my attempt at the century came to a grinding holt today. As I mentioned yesterday there was some rain predicted but when they predict rain its normally a bit here and there so I reckoned I'd set off on the road. I woke up to chirping birds and the hallowed sound of thunder. This did me no good but I thought to persevere knowing that I would get a bit wet in anyway. Just before I left there was a little shower of rain but then it stopped after about ten minutes. I thought I could handle that for the day.

As you can see my wet weather gear included a PVC jacket I normally use in the garden when it threatens in winter. You may also notice the cobwebs as it does not rain that much and I work int he garden even less when it does. Mirit was a star by thinking about it, I'm sure without that bit of protection things may have ended very different from what they did. My bag full of yummy treats I set of. The plan was to climb Mt. Meron and then descend along the Lebanese border. I had calculated that this would be a 75km loop and would just have to zig zag on the way back to make up the kilo's.

I set off and basically because I stay at sea level started to climb immediately. This climbing was to be by my side for the next three hours as i made my way up. I have never climbed for this amount of time, although there was one respite where it descends a bit although the kicker on the other side made me wish for just a solid climb.Things were going well although my legs were hurting from this constant climbing but then what goes up must come down.

And down it came. As I made the turn towards the north things started to get a bit more chilly and the rain also increased. I had prepared for this but the hail that followed caught me off guard. the PVC jacket was doing its best but within five minutes I was soaked to the bone and freezing. The wind had picked up and the storm had blown in. Only this storm had tiny pellets that it was beating me with. With no covered bus stop to take refuge I had to continue till I could find cover. By this point all extremities had all but gone numb and braking was done by middle finger only, so some vengeance on the gods. The wind battered me around and I was truly afraid, I was cold and lighting was crashing down around me. As cold as I was I knew that one of those through me would make cremation a quick option. Finally a bus stop with some shelter came along and I colapsed into it. Shivering like crazy, hypothermia started to set on. The roads were iced over and I was drenched. I then realized I had left the cellphone at home, no good in this type of situation and I was really getting worried. By now I was shaking uncontrollably and there was no visibility through the downpour. A car passed by and I tried to get its attention but it just carried on going.

This is not a busy road so was not sure how many more idiots would be riding in these conditions in a car let alone bike. My faith in humanity was restored when about two minutes later the car appeared again, it had made a uturn and had come to see what was wrong. The gave me a lift to Mirit's kindergarten where she works. She was not sure whether to be angry or worried but i must say that with someone like me around I would have kicked my arse out long ago. She made me some tea and phoned her parents who came to pick me up. Thank goodness that her dad managed to get up there. So thank you to both of them, I seem to be using all my credits with the family on my crazy adventures. So unfortunately I did not make the century this month although hypothermia is as good an excuse as any. Lets hope next month I don't leave it till the last minute.

Heavy

Thats how my legs felt today. Was really just out to spin the legs to get them ready for tomorrow. Left the century challenge a bit late this month. The list includes weather, work and sickness but still not really anything of substance. So tomorrow I will attempt the century on my MTB but because of the rain and not wanting my bike looking like it did last week in the mud and the obvious reason that I want to finish the hundred I will do the ride on the road.

Today was beautiful and to tell you the truth riding the century today would have been perfect but some of us need to work. So snuck this afternoon for a quick ride just to loosten up the legs seeing as I've been desk bound the whole week becasue of a project that is going live next week.

There was a slight breeze helping me get there but the legs were pumping cement instead of blood so every turn felt like I was pedaling in water. Had the iPod in and listening to some podcasts so the distraction was welcome. All in all not a fantastic ride but at least got out for some saddle time. Been feeling super tired lately so that has also kept me second guessing whether I should go for a ride or sneak ina power nap. Normally the latter wins.

Was looking at lending a road bike for tomorrow from Erez but he said that those thin wheel and slick tires don't do to well in the wet. Thats the reason for choosing the MTB for the ride. So I will avoid mud and gain stability but in all likelyhood still get home drenched.

The January Century - Part 1

Yesterday's ride took a bit out of me and I would like to sit down and write something substantial for you to read and not rubbish. The ride itself was a fifty fifty decision but in the end I was super glad that I went. After three days of horrendous wind I was not planning on going out and attempting to ride a hundred kilo's into a head wind. I also didn't have a set route but rather a grand plan of how to go about things

I rolled out of bed at half five looked at the enveloping darkness and went straight back to bed. After wrestling with myself I eventually got out of bed to realize it was an amazing day with only the slightest of breezes and a sun filled sky. So I packed some lunch and took my sparkling stead off for a day outing. One thing I realized was that I should have packed some spare lube in the pack but after it weighed in at 5 and a half kg's I immediately decided to stop filling it up.

The trip took me south down the coast and then inland towards my training grounds in Misgav. I new the area from previous rides so the whole day I sort of just connected up pieces as I went along. Next time I hope to explore a bit and probably will put a bit more into the planning of the day. The first part of the journey was pretty uneventful and seeing as it was through fields of wheat other than being beautiful and green it was mostly flat and boring. Luckily I had the iPod plugged into the ears as this would have been a long day keeping myself company. More tomorrow on how things went slightly pear shaped and a bit scary.

Trio's Triple Digit Torture

Not sure how I got involved in this but I did the first century of the year. So one down and eleven to go. I must say I'm hurting a bit and hell of a tired. My fitness is down there somewhere and have never attempted a century other than at leisurely pace and definitely never all off road. The sense of accomplishment is amazing and will go over the ride tomorrow as soon as my crapping has stopped;) Thanks Trio for this challenge.

Trio Century Challenge

Trio has a new challenge going for 2009, pulling off a century ride within each month for the entire year. this sounds really interesting so I'm thinking about really giving it a go. My disadvantage is that I've only got the MTB so getting the 100 in will take some time as well as a bit of energy. I see this as a great way to get some long rides in and the fact that the challenge has people who's blogs I follow in anyway it just seems like an even better way to interact with these iriders. So good luck to all and looking forward to seeing how this develops.

This may be what I look like though after a ton so I'll need to get some serious time in on the saddle for this.