Bmycharity blog

Putting in the miles, and getting to the church

My training programme is in full swing now - only 2 months to go before tackling the Etape du Tour's 102 miles with 10,000ft of climb in the Pyrenees.  I've still got 95kg to drag up the hills, but training's going well, so I'm beginning to look forward to it.  I've repaired the relationship with my heart rate monitor, and I'm enjoying tracking the steady improvement in my fitness that it is reporting...

So - now I've received an invitation to Will's wedding the day before the race - and I'm going to try to make it to that too.  It'll be tight - Al can register me in France on the Saturday while I toast the bride and groom in Surrey, then race for Gatwick and the last flight to Toulouse.  Not ideal race-prep, but at least I won't have to spend Saturday hanging around Pau with 7,000 other cyclists!

Overtraining

Two problems at the moment:

1. My new heart rate monitor is telling me I'm overdoing it
2. Hill training last weekend showed the value of losing some weight - maybe 10kg!

First of all the HRM - which by the way measures heart rate, breathing rate, VO2, altitude, speed and recovery rate - is telling me that I'm deep in "overtraining" territory.  On Sunday night I spent 1hr 40 on a turbo trainer and my HRM told me that I was in the red for the last 70 minutes - while I was reading (The Past is Myself, Christabel Bielenberg - excellent).  I talked to a friend who is training for 6 months in Helmand with 3 Commando Brigade, and he had a similar problem.  In fact his HRM had told him to run so slowly he'd got siatica!

Meanwhile my weekend outing to some hills near Oxford revealed another alarming truth.  I've got plenty of stamina and power on the flat, but my power to weight ratio ain't so hot!  Wobbling up a hill out of Wantage at walking pace I began to wonder if 10,000ft of Pyrenee will be feasible with 95kg of Brabyn to haul.

So should I overtrain or undereat?  Or both?

It's April fools day - but I got started early:

On Saturday I received a random text message which read "Hey simon its hugo, just wondering if tomorrow is still on as its a holiday?  Let me know on my number (...)".  I replied "Hi hugo - tomorrow still on but fancy dress (theme - pirates)."

I'm hoping that Hugo turned up to a cabinet meeting or job interview with parrot and patch!  If you know Hugo, please pass him my regards - and if you've any April fool stories to share and inspire, please comment below...