Monday 21 February 2011

Rain and pain....in Spain!

I've been in spain for 2 and a half weeks now and have just finished a pretty big week in the saddle. Here's a typical week in the saddle of a 'pretend pro'!

Monday- 5h15 mixed pace
On the road today so i ccould use my power meter to do some consistent tempo riding. I decided to the head up the mountain but was having a bad head day. I was scheduled to do 3h tempo but managed 1h before my head fell off. After a the descent i sorted my self out and as punishment for being week minded i did some hard efforts. In the end it turned into a mixed pace ride.

Tuesday- 6h z2
Today i woke up and it was pissing it down and blowing a gale. Luckily i brought all my winter kit with me just in case. After the breakfast of champions (fruit and fibre with yogurt and honey on, 2 slices of toast with jam, an orange and some orange juice!)i set out into the storm on the road bike. With in 15minutes i was soaked to the core but was determined to finish the 6h. Towards the end of the ride i went part way up the mountain and had to stop every 10mins and swing my arms around to stop my hand freezing. I made it though!


Wednesday- 5h30 mixed pace
The sky was a bit angry again today so i decided to stick to the road. I was down for a 6h z2 but as we dropped down towards the coast the weather closed in.

I was riding with Simon (freeride spain owner) so we decided to shelter in a coffee shop to let the storm pass. 2 coffes and tomato on bread later the storm cleared and we set off. With in 10mins it was raining again and freezing cold so we smashed it home to keep warm.


Thursday- 1h recovery
Just a spin on the road today. The wind was still strong and there were a few showers floating about but i got away with not getting wet....just!

Friday-5h tempo on climbs
Today the sun returned...YAY. I celebrated by doning shorts and shirt and rode the hilly coastal route on the road again. The legs felt great after the rest day and i smashed the climbs close to 300watts, a p.b for tempo riding. Today was a real break through day.


Saturday-6h15 z2
After a 5 days of road riding due to bad weather i was back on the mtb. The legs still felt strong and i was flying on the climbs again (all in z2 of course!). There was also plenty of techy singletrack to play on and sharpen the skills. All in all a good day.


Sunday- 6h15 mtb z2
After feeling strong for the first 3h i started to fade in the second half of the ride. My legs were finally getting tired after a massive week in the saddle. We rode some awesome trails today though right up in the snow line.


All in all i rode for 35h 15minutes.. i think its time for a rest!

1 comment:

Steve said...

If you're in Spain again and fancy some company riding then drop me a post, I can tap out 230W at Z2 for the best part of 4-5hrs.

Currently living in Jerez de la Frontera