Cycling adventures

After a week of light training at least I finished with a bit of a spurt.

On Friday I attended a 1.5 hour special spin session at the Pedalstudio in Wimbledon. Coach MT took the class, which was a bit of a psychological rollercoaster! The theme was 'Myths and Legends' - Mont Ventoux and included video and great pictures on both the fantastic climb and legendary cyclists. Tom Simpson featured highly.

Coach MT wove a story around his presentation, displayed on large screens, and cleverly incorporated it within a tough spinning session and the Mont Ventoux climb. He vividly portrayed his own personal experience of the climb, including all the painful parts, which helped to bring the spin session to life. I really did feel I was on the climb.

During the ride a number of stats were displayed on TV screens including HR data and % of max HR for all to see.
For most of the session the entire class was at 85% plus of max HR. As there were over 20 riders in the relatively small studio the temperature soared and I lost a considerable amount of fluid from sweating - not pleasant. Despite the temperature and considerable pain (Coach MT encouraged 'mind over matter' techniques) it was an enjoyable experience and a novel way to conduct a spin class, which I would thoroughly recommend.

Saturday morning and I was back in the pool for a Club swim, which involved a bit of everything - individual medley sets, hypoxic breathing, pyramid sets and some speed work. There was not much time for chatting with the Club members in my lane, just simply down to the serious business of training.

Sunday morning was going to be a light run - I felt that my body had finally repaired itself following the bike crash. However, I was offered the opportunity to cycle with Chris and Graeme, which I jumped at - always enjoy a Club ride with the boys.

At my request Chris selected a very scenic route on some wonderful back roads around Chichester and Petworth.
We were out for just over 2 hours and kept a reasonably decent speed going throughout, albeit there was a fair amount of climbing and friendly chatter throughout.

Once I have downloaded the route and data to Training Peaks from my Garmin I will add the link to this blog for review - a great little ride for anyone cycling in the area.

The plan this week is to slowly incorporate the running back into the schedule - I am quite excited and looking forward to my first run (hopefully Tuesday morning) - let's hope the body holds up.