Maratona D'les Dolomites 2012

Well here we are once again in the blog zone......




Our 2 discovery 4 vehicles (kindly lent to us from JLR) were loaded up with the team kit/bikes etc & we 
regrouped at Warwick services. After many attempts by Mark - AKA David Bellamy to get a pre Italy team photo it was upto one of the other team to get his mobile out & take a quick snap instead. Mark did manage to get his camera working (eventually) for later on in the journey to take some great shots.

  Anyway we set off & with only a few satnav errors from both vehicle which split us up but travelling through France, Belgium, Germany, Austria & Italy gave us some breathe taking scenery which was just simply stunning, but at long last & many hours driving, sleeping getting lost etc we ended up in our destination after a grueling long haul drive.

    

We got there with just another time to take in the first trial run of one of the climbs we were to experience on Sunday, but first we collected our Maratona packs had a bite to eat too. I must admit after the small ride to go & collect our race packs i wasn't feeling great, the heat was getting to me a little to start with & I think the lack of proper food made me feel rather crap. The short ride into town was hard for me as my body was just not playing along & short climbs along the way hurt as my heart rate was 170bpm which made me think have I done the right thing here! Anyway we collected our packs & dropped them off at the apartment then set out to do the first climb the Campolongo.

We started to climb & as Steve was pacing the front we set out rather quicker than I could handle, my heart rate was getting worse until Steve said did we want to slow it down a little, which I was very happy to do. The team then pushed on which soon turned into an enjoyable climb & by the top my body was adjusting to the change in temperature & conditions. What goes up must come down & once at the top we then started the descent which was what I was very looking forward to, all I can say was it was an amazing experience to feel the speed while throwing the bike around bend after bend & even though it wasn't a closed road we all made mince meat of any traffic that got in our way. Nowhere before have I experienced such a thrill & being able to go faster on the road than a motor vehicle.

At the bottom we regrouped all with massive smiles on each & every face, I then thought to myself perhaps I have made the right decision.

We all went back & showered to go out & experience some real Italian food & meet up with some friends that were already out here. We briefly met up with Dave Lee & agreed to do dinner with his team the following day. Dave had suggested a place to eat that evening so we set off & got a table, the food was fantastic the pasta & pizza slipped down like we hadn't been fed for a week. 

The next day we continued to carbo load & what better way to do it than coffee & cake, lots of cake. Then it was time to get our Lowroaders tops on & meet up with the Cycling Weekly crew for a general get together plus photo/video shoot. We all introduced ourselves to Ian Parr who was organising the cycling weekly event. After the general shoots were done we did our raffle to see who would win the signed Team Sky jersey (kindly donated & signed by Team Sky after stage 17 of Giro D'Italia via JLR) 

                              

We did a short video of this event & the winner was Malcome Guy. When we announced the winner sadly he had to go but one of his team members was there to collect the shirt on his behalf. After a brief discussion with Malcome Guy's team member it had a rather fitting story behind his large donation which was great to see that the jersey was going to someone that would appreciate it, it turned out that another one of his team was unable to make it to the Maratona due to the fact he had put himself on the organ donation list & was giving away one of his kidneys. Malcome had said that if he won it that he would have it framed so that they could give it to him as he was unable to do the Maratona, the whole Lowroaders tam thought this was a very fitting story for where the shirt was to end up.

More carbo loading that night with Dave Lee & his group continued to a little later than we would of hoped but then that did take the nerves off the main event a little, well for me anyway. I was starting to doubt myself whether I could actually do what I set out to do. The team were great to one another & we all told each other that the training had been done & that the Maratona would be conquered by one & all. It was discussed a long time ago that the team would ride at our own pace, this way each member could concentrate on their own goal of finishing without pushing too hard just to stay in a group.

That evening in the apartment the tension was showing a little without anyone wanting to show it, you could just tell that everyone was showing signs of nervousness which was perfectly normal. The lights eventually went out but no-one really got a great night sleep, it was very humid that evening & was difficult to settle. The alarm went off nice & early & as we had all prepped our gear the night before we had breakfast & made our way to the start gate. Here we gathered for a little while before we were able to set off.

             

There were all sorts going on people on stilts, music playing people everywhere just anticipating the start. There were helicopters everywhere with film crews on as it was to be televised on Italian TV.

Then it was time, we started to move & slowly we started to pedal, within minutes I had lost all of the team as there were just so many riders, but I thought this is it, this is my race of not just physical but mental too.

The Campolongo was the first on the hit list & as there everyone was still very tightly packed it was to be slow going, mainly because there was just no room anywhere. There were people beside me very heavily breathing & I just kept looking at my gamin thinking this is ok I'm in my zone, breathing was normal & i'm feeling good. My nerves had more or less now dispersed & I was concentrating on the rest of the event.

There was one rider who lost his footing & hit the deck straight on his shoulder, I thought that's got to hurt. I managed to stay far enough away that I wasn't caught up in everyone around him needing to put their feet down.

The next few hills were ok & I was feeling good, I kept my HR down & thought I can do this, the hill climbing was hard & I new the worst was still to come. As the day went on the heat started to get hotter & hotter, but after each hill I new there was to be an awesome reward, the descent I was picking people off in the field like they were standing still, the other riders just didn't seem to want to take the correct lines so I was under/over cutting riders everywhere. I never actually seen any accidents on my descents but there were ambulances loading rider after rider into the back, plus on the descent of the Sella ( I think) there was a rider who was seriously hurt after he had wiped out as an air ambulance was just landing to load him into the back. Marshall's were waiving yellow flags & blowing whistles to warm me to slow for the corners but I could see the line of sight & new what speed I was capable of doing so carried on at my own pace.

The end of the short course came & went & I there was a slight thought in my head shall I stop, then I thought to myself briefly & thought that I can't let the team down so pushed on & more upward.......

The same went through my head for the medium route too but I made the cut to be able to carry on & tackle the dreaded Giau 9.9km long & average 9.3% gradient.

There were a few small sharpish hills prior to the Giau, I had stopped at the feed stations prior & took on-board my caffeine gels & electrolyte drinks then I hit it, I must admit I started climbing & thought I can do this in one without stopping, but I was wrong, the heat got to me & I started to feel a little light headed & really sick. I ended up stopping around 8 times the sweat was poring off of me, but I was determined not to walk any part of the any hill. I may have stopped but I did not take one single step as that would off just done it in for me psychologically. I'd reached the top of the Giau & started to feel a little emotional, the one thing that kept me going around all the hills was a mental picture of my fiance Emma plus when I found it really hard I remembered what she had told me prior to leaving. Emma had said to me remember it doesn't matter how hard it gets & how much pain your in, that to remember why your doing this event & that is for the children of Birmingham Children's Hospital & that they will be suffering a lot more & a lot longer than the few hours that I will be, plus that I was also doing the event to remember a friend & bother of one of the other riders 'Nick Rawlinson'. This thought really helped out & inspired me to finish no matter how bad I felt.

The final climb & I new at the top that this was it that I had reached the worst of what the Dolimites could throw at me, there was a feed station there & I looked down & thought no need to stop so pushed on. In minutes I looked up & didn't remember that there was another kick up till the end which was a killer, but I did it even though my legs had almost given up. The last section which felt like forever was slowly done & when I could see the 1000m banner the euphoria that I felt was so intense as I new I had done what I doubted that I could do, I crossed the line at an official time of 9hrs 6mins 58 secs (garmin time 8hrs 35mins 6secs which included the ride to the start).

I would like to thank all of the team for their support of the past months with training & all the emotional times that I had to endure, plus Garry Palmer from sportstest for the training programme that got me prepared for this. Also I could not of done any of this without the support of my family especially my fiance Emma, her words of wisdom, encouragement & just all the love she gave to me to help me with this incredible journey. 

One last note before I blog off & thats to the rest of  Team Lowroaders - WELL DONE ALL

  

Dragon's Sting

Well I'm back again with another blog to update my up's & down's that was the Dragon Ride. Early start meant getting up around 04.30am & try to get some breakfast down my neck, with the nerves running high as always this was not going to be pretty so a small bowl of cereal it was. Alan arrived at 05.00am followed a few minutes later by Gavin & Steve in vehicle 2. Mark had left prior so we thought we would meet up later on in the morning.

We arrived roughly on time but with the traffic queuing into the event itself we ended up starting slightly later than planned. We had lost Steve & Gavin as we entered the event car park due to Steve needing to water the plants as we queued. We parked up got our kit on my nerves was running high & the legs were just not feeling their best. Some days you just know you’re going to have a good ride & others you know it’s going to be tough & this was one of those days for me, I felt my legs were tight & new it was going to be a hard day, the weather had held fairly well considering the days leading up to the event. We got ourselves & bikes ready & made our way to the event village & down to the start area, upon brief discussion with Alan we decided to carry on just the two of us as we were unsure if the others had already set off or were still getting ready. 

As myself & Alan had decided to take the medium route out of the three that were on offer, this was made on a couple of reasons the first was that I didn't like the look at one of the hills on the longer section & with never doing a sportive of this calibre before thought it wise to do the shorter loop & finish than to stretch myself too much only three weeks prior to the main event. The other factor was I knew I could do the distance of the medium route as I had previous done this distance, whereas the longer I was just unsure that my legs would hold out for that time, plus with all the climbs added in as well.

Anyway as we were in the stands waiting to set off I noticed a few Kenilworth Wheelers around us & within a few minutes we were all aloud to be on our way. There were some slow riders which we soon took care of, then got onto a bunch which also seems to be going slower than we would of liked so we passed them & decided to sit on the back of the group which was going a little quicker (this was our first mistake). Well Alan seemed to be flying & in good form, me on the other hand was up into threshold territory & starting to feel it, this is where I should of just eased off & done my own ride (second mistake which I would pay for later).

It wasn't too long before the Dragon started to breath down our necks & throws a few little but sharp climbs in the mix, these were dusted off pretty well overtaking a few riders as we went. We then hit a slightly sharper climb 'Cimla' which had a much bigger gradient of around 17% which had us out the saddle attacking the hill a little too hard. We then had a decent into Neath which I managed to get stuck behind a car going too slow. We continued on up another climb before stopping into the first feed station. I refilled my bottle & decided to eat a energy bar but could only stomach half as it was just too dry. As we got back on the bikes my legs felt really bad, tight & uncooperative but as time passed they eased up. 

The route soon split from the longer Gran Fondo where we met the 'Coelbren' & for some unknown reason this was one of the few parts my legs felt ok, I hadn't realised that Alan had dropped back until I reached the top. Alan soon regrouped & we were on our way together once again. The routes soon rejoined & we hit the 'Glenneath Bank' this is where my troubles started, I felt my inner thighs start to cramp up & thought if I stopped I could stretch out the cramp. This was not to be & so climbed back on & road through the pain, I had to just grit my teeth & power through it & after which seemed a lifetime (more like 5-7mins) they passed or so I thought. The cramps soon returned alternating between the left & right leg.

The main climbs still lingered in the distance the 'Rhigos' & 'Bwlch' both of which I just got into a rhythm as with my legs cramping up meant that Alan had left me behind. The climbs just seemed to be never ending but soon they were out the way & then the fun of the descent started. I looked behind me & in front but there were no other riders to be seen, so I went for it with hands on the drops & was pedalling hard until I couldn't pedal any more. I tucked in my arms & tried to get as low as possible to get that extra mile an hour, the experience of descending down such a long way was just awesome. The one thing that did go through my mind near the bottom though was that as I hadn't seen any riders or signage had I made a wrong turn, I started to doubt myself & thought I would have to climb the descent I'd just come down, but then I say a yellow sign with an arrow pointing the way..... the relief was such a good feeling.

With around 12 miles to go Just after the main descent of the Bwlch I managed to meet up with another rider who upon discussion decided to ride together to try help each other out by slip streaming (I think I ended up tucking in behind him the most) but the general chit chat took our minds off of things & we soon reached our goal & the finish line.

I collected the goody bag & medal but felt a little disappointed in myself as I felt I could have done better if I hadn't got cramps in my legs. My overall place was 275 out of 1368 riders & official time was 05:28:57.

Even though I wasn't overall pleased with my effort after chatting with the team & looking at the overall results I have changed my opinion that I did pretty well, even though my legs cramped up I still finished with the top 20%.

The whole team did really well & I think Alan has done a fantastic turnaround from 9-10 months ago to how he is now as he was on fire throughout the Dragon.

After chatting with Dr Garry Palmer from Sportstest he gave me a recommendation where I could get a sports massage, which showed up that my quads & other leg muscles were extremely tight. 

I have learnt that going out too hard & having tight muscles in my legs were probably the main cause of the cramping, Hopefully with a follow up session & taking it easier when I start I shouldn't have the same problems in the main event in just over a week’s time.

Keep your eyes open for a final blog installment after the Maratona soon by the team.

  

Pre Dragon Blog.....

Well it’s been a while since my last update on here but the training has been going well after my little set back off being knocked off. I did think that I was never going to recover fully in time to do the Maratona, but all the team were behind me with plenty of encouragement. At first my training felt like I was back at day one, hills just seemed to sap all my energy & my heart rate was going through the roof, but as the weeks went on I could feel myself returning back to the form that I once had. I had had a few niggles with my right knee but that also seemed to pass with in a 2 week period & all is good once more, the only drawback seems to be I have put a couple of kilos back on.

One way I did cheer myself up with when I started to get back into the training was with buying myself a new bike, there was a deal I couldn't resist for a Cannondale CAAD 10 which is a superb bike even with the odd creak that seems to appear now & again (I think Nick seems to be getting his own back from all the times we took the p#@s when his bike made funny noises).

Anyway back on track & the team did a special fundraising day at work (which went really well as you may have read in the blogs made by the other team members) by cycling on the test track, the weather was fantastic apart from a hefty head wind in one direction & as it was a circuit you knew you were going to hit it time & time again. I had also noticed lately just prior to this event that my backside was getting a little sore, I still managed almost 45miles that day before stopping due to the bottom bracket making some rather funny noises on my new bike & also feeling quite sore where the sun doesn't shine. I road home thinking god my backside is tender & the other team members also commented that their sit bone area felt a little uncomfortable too, so I rested for a while but then noticed I had gained a lump on my left side & thought I needed to get it checked over. After a visit to the doctors a few days later & mentioning that I had some long haul rides impending soon & didn't want the amount of pain I had experienced lately. I was pleased to know that I had a cyst which is quite common apparently & was possibly caused by blocked pores. I was prescribed a course of antibiotics to reduce the swelling which has work pretty well so far. I also decided to get measured for a new saddle too, this is done by measuring the width of the sit bone area, to which I found out I needed one a little wider what I was currently using.

Now as the Dragon Ride is ever closer (as in a couple of days) my anxiety is getting a little higher, I'm the sort of person that always gets nervous doing things that I’m not used to doing or that I have never done before, but I’m sure this is just a natural feeling most people get. I felt the same when I did the Mad March Hare & I'm sure once I set off I will feel great as I did the last time. Even with the Dragon Ride being only days away, that in itself means that the main event is only weeks away. Now the nerves are flying all over the place with this event but I must admit I am definitely looking forward to it as well.

Let’s hope the weather improves for Sunday for our outing in Wales on the Dragon Ride as at the moment with the rain & the wind it’s not looking great, but I’m sure even if just the wind dies down & there is showers rather than a down poor it will be a great day.

We had a special delivery of the team jerseys which we’ll all be wearing hopefully for the Dragon Ride (weather permitting).

That’s it’s from me for now so keep an eye out for the next instalment from one of the Lowroaders team very soon......

New Year & The Bike Beckons

Its a new year & it's all good so far, after indulging the delights over the festive period the bike got somewhat of a back seat. So new year & new resolution to get back on track & back on the bike to resume my schedule, so far so good with this, even with the cold & wet weather.

These 2 pictures were taken on the way to work the sun was shining, even if it was on the cooler side. The ride home was even colder too at a steady -2deg C but still enjoyable.

There is nothing better than getting out on the bike in the countryside when the sun is shinning down & the roads are dry & clear (even if it is colder than usual), you just get completely lost within the greenery & peacefulness of the open expanse. It is fantastic!

A few days later & the sun is still full on & just look at the stunning places you can see when out on the bike, here I passed through Walton Hall, this has loads of history behind it but for me there are so many memories too, mostly good but one very sad but close to my heart. When my brother & me were younger we used to spend hours playing within the grounds of Walton Hall but sadly in 1990 my brother was involved in a road traffic accident & lost his life, but as I new we both loved the grounds I suggested that he was laid to rest there. So now I can ride through the grounds & past the small church situated just to the left of the great hall & pay my respects to someone that meant so much to me.

Lets move on & today Friday 20th I road into work again but knowing that I would be taking a grand tour home at the end of the day, I had uploaded a course from Steve Jefferies the night before to my garmin & headed out to the 'deep south' (as Steve calls it) it was light to start with but very dull & the daylight was decreasing rapidly, 35miles later after some fun & interesting undulating countryside plus a farmers dog that obviously doesn't like cyclists as he tried to eat me as I road passed, I made it home. I was very tired as I forgot to pack my energy gels from home in my work bag, plus I had had only a small amount of food all day due to leaving in a rush after doing the school run in the morning, but I was pleased with my effort not only for the day but in general for the year so far.

Here's to the next blog..........

Training On Hold

Well just a short update from me....

I have put the training on hold just for a weekend so that i could take my wonderful girlfriend away on a romantic & special weekend away. Emma had no knowledge of what was in store for her as it was all done on the QT. We went away to Coombe Abbey where i proposed to her (& yes she did say yes) so my training will be back on schedule from Monday.

I feel this is going to be a good year, a great year..... Emma his happy & so am i, plus i will be climbing the mountains in Italy with some great friends while raising money for a very worthwhile cause..... How fab is that, things will only get better on all fronts, happiness, better cyclist & money going where its needed :D

Happy New Year...

Well I had quite a bit of time off prior to Christmas with all intense purposes of getting out on the bike loads...... well didn't quite fully go to plan.

The first week I managed to get out on a few longer rides which was really fun, then the festivities kicked in & with having the kids around too it was all too easy to make excuses, like no time, too tired or bad weather. I tried to muster up getting on the turbo trainer but that failed miserably to. Christmas came & went with little training getting done but I could now feel those extra couple of pounds that I had gained, plus I was feeling more & more tired due to lack of exercise.

In between Christmas & New Year I managed to get out with Alan for a very wet ride, which was pretty fun actually & then again on New Years Day with Steve. The ride with Steve I suddenly was hit with stomach cramps just before the ride but I still managed to go out. We were planning on doing a 2 hour stint, but I had to cut it short half way through (but still managed 20 miles so it was not all bad).

I have ridden to work this week on one day with a 30 mile loop in which was fun & then a 10 mile return journey in some more rain & lots of wind which was not so fun.

So the plan is now to get back into full on training which will start Monday 9th & I will plan on trying to introduce some threshold training out on the road once a week too so I'll keep you posted.

I've also been having problems with my heart rate monitor readings, they just seem to spike all over the place (not sure why but I don't seem to generate enough moisture to keep a good contact with the sensor pad) so I have been given some conductivity gel which seems to have done the trick,so roll on Monday for some serious training.

It's Blog Time.....

Well it’s been a little while since my last post so here goes.....

One thing I need to admit to first is......well......I’m afraid I have.....it’s a little embarrassing I know but I am the proud owner of a white pair of shoes. They say with white shoes comes great responsibility & the wearer of these shoes must shoe extreme power at all times.......!!!

Well leaving the bling for the moment, I have been a little on & off with my training lately. My legs were showing some signs of a little fatigue so I decided to take a few extra rest days in between my schedule. Over the last couple of weeks my legs have recuperated nicely & I feel much better for it too, so today was a big day for me (even though I messed up with my Garmin & may need to do another visit to get more timings). I woke up this morning planning on a long ride today, opened up my facebook page to see an invite from the Master & The Dr to attempt 'Edge Hill' (x2 loops) now for those in the know Edge Hill is not for the faint hearted novice like myself...... but I took up the challenge & road into work to meet the guys guy's for our unstructured ride. We set off & started our first loop as we got closer I suddenly had a vision back to 2005 from when I last attempted Edge Hill (which was on a mountain bike & failed miserably), any we started to climb the base element & stayed with the guys until the gradient started to ascend & I could feel my heart starting to race higher & higher & my speed get slower & slower...!! The guys went on further into the distance but I was determined to do this, gritted my teeth & persevered. My lungs felt on fire & I was out of the saddle pushing forward, then back in the saddle this was the way it was going to be all the way up the ascent..... Finally at the top I had conquered my challenge, but turned to Steve & said that I wouldn't be doing a second loop as I was so tired, he assured me that by the time we got to the base again I would be in great shape to make a second go of it. I was starting to recover & decided to take on the demon hill again, (with much surprise to myself) found by the time I was at the top found the second run a little easier.

So not only did I conquer my demon of 'Edge Hill' but I climbed whipped its backside into the distant past..... Also twice in the same day plus in a short period of time too. Happy you bet I am :D

So it looks like my training is getting better & that I will be able to wear my white shoes with honour......

Overall my endurance training is paying off, I may be a little slower overall but can do much longer distance. I will incorporate some threshold phases back into my schedule now to inprove my top end limits again so I'll keep you posted.

That's me done for another blog see everyone here again soon :D

Training Update

Well its been a few weeks now following a structured training schedule & it definitely seems to be paying off.

I'm starting to see a small change in my overall performance & I've managed to increase my distance on the longer rides & also on a plus side with that I don't seem to be getting any back ache or very little, but I do need to set up my core exercise program to help with that side of things .

I still need to keep my focus though, as some days when i'm tired I really have to push myself to find the motivation to train, but I must admit as soon as I start I can feel myself feeling better almost instantaneously & when I have finished I feel great, the tiredness just seems to disappear completely.

I now need to do some more threshold training & increase my distance a little more but i'm also going to try to add some tougher climbs into the mix.

Unstructured Ride

Great ride today, being unstructured meant I didn't have to keep to a specific heart rate zone & could just go out & have fun on the bike.

This started out great until one exception which happened to be 'The Dreaded Car Driver' don't get me wrong most are very obliging to us cyclists but you do get the exception to the rule. On this one occasion I was turning right, I'd looked behind, signalled & was moving over to the centre of the road still checking behind me at random times.... OK so far so good, but just as I was going to turn the event happened, a vehicle came roaring up behind & was not going to wait so decided to overtake me (getting very very close) the vehicle had to go over the double white lines to manoeuvre around me, which was also on top of a hill on a blind bend, now that did send a chill up my spine, but I just composed myself & carried on (with maybe the odd hand gesture & a few verbal pleasantries added for self-satisfaction). The rest of the ride was very nice indeed even though the sun wasn’t shinning it was quite a nice day, slightly wet on the ground on occasions but was very peaceful out in the open country side.

Threshold training...

Just done another threshold training session..... Legs felt like they were on fire towards the end & had to dig deep, but completed the set so pleased with myself.

Simon's Training

This was my first longer ride out going solo, weather was great until just over half way round when it decided to absolutely chuck it down.

Garmin Data

Training Update

Training has been going well, mainly on the turbo trainer so far with a couple of exceptions where I managed to get out on the open road. The threshold training seems to take a little out of me but I do feel better for it afterwards & feel a sense of accomplishment. I must get used to doing the stretches straight afterwards & really need to start on my core exercises to strengthen my back.