Training, Planning and Running the DW Race

The weekend has left me pretty bushed.
Saturday it was early morning interval training with my dad. My dad is of the old school of training regimes. Whereas I like to try and find the latest scientifically proven techniques to get fitter, my dad quotes Roger Bannister’s training routine from the 1950’s. Basically it involves pain. We had a quick jog of about half a mile to the athletics track as a warm up, then ran 400m circuits in 90 seconds or less (which I think is about 9 – 10mph) which is pretty fast, not a sprint but close on. After a 400m circuit we had a couple minutes break, before doing it again. Sounds easy? I thought so.

400m is a horrible distance. Anaerobic respiration seems to kick in at about 200/300 metres so the final straight has everything hurting. Two minutes is enough to allow the breath and heart rate recover but the muscles don’t get back to 100%, so then the next circuit around is just that little bit harder, the thigh ache just increases each time round. It also doesn’t help that my dad seems to run faster than me, (and I also think we were racing each other a bit) so I was always pushing myself faster than I would have been comfortable with.

The plan was to do the same as Banister did when he was training to break the 4 minute mile (though he was doing his circuits in sub 60 seconds not 90s) which was ten circuits of the 400m track with a 2 minute break each lap. We managed four before we could take no more. I am going to do this again next weekend though (with five circuits in mind), it is something different to my usual training and everyone says that variety is the route to improvement.

Sunday I was going to go for a cycle but I had tickets to Silverstone so I cancelled. But then by the time I got back from the race track there was still plenty of light left in the day so I did take the bike out after all. I cycled to Nigel’s which is 21 miles away and it took me a couple of minutes over an hour and a half to get there which was a reasonable pace.

For old times sake I suggested we head to the Wrekin and then I had the intention of heading off home from there as it was a few miles in the right direction for me. (In the end, the day was running out and I feared some rain clouds that were forming so I got a lift back home leaving my bike at Nigel’s, with the intention of collecting it after work at some point this week).

There are some pretty cruel hills between Nigel’s house and the Wrekin. Slight gradients up for miles on end. I found it hard but glanced over my shoulder to see that Nigel was falling away. I hate having to re-start cycling uphill so I just carried onward to the top where I could stop, by the time Nigel caught up he was exhausted and the Wrekin was still miles away.

Heading up into a little village the road got so steep that we both had to dismount. Nigel was first to fail, but I didn’t make it much further before I could go no more. The thing was, in our youth we used to both be able to make it up to the top. Nigel blamed his advanced years, I blame lack of exercise. Getting to the top we were rewarded with some pretty exciting downhill sections though and this is why I love the Wrekin. Twisting technical tarmac roads all of which we sped at 30+ mph, exhilarating stuff.

The ride back to Nigel’s house was hard work, especially for Nigel. He had to stop a few times, and was complaining of pains down his legs that sound exactly like the Shin Splints I suffered with a while ago while running, he also complained about his thigh muscles hurting.

When I chose my bike I wanted it to be able to cover distances and maintain a high speed. These are things that Nigel’s bike isn’t designed to do. He has a mountain bike with high rolling resistance and little aerodynamic efficiency. Towards the end of the ride I did an experiment with both of us coasting downhill at the same speed, when I released my brakes I accelerated away while Nigel either was slowing down or at least not getting any faster.

To the Wrekin and back was 13 miles and I think it was a bit of a surprise to Nigel for how tough it was. It was always going to be harder for Nige on the mountain bike though. He did kindly drop me back off home and I have to admit that I was thankful for the save of the ride because my legs were tired too.

I also have a new injury. I’m going to sound like some kind of hypochondriac, checking online for any ache and pain and then coming back with some fancy name for my new injury but I don’t think I am one, I just sound like it.

This week it is ulnar neuritis at the wrist, or handlebar palsy. It is pain in my little finger and my ring finger. I was surprised to find that this injury is quite common. I thought I had knocked my hand or something and was going to find hundreds of different references when I did internet research on it. Instead I found quite a specific reference to pain caused by holding the outside of the drop handlebars of a bike (which is my favorite riding position). The fix seems pretty simple. Adjust my seating position, hold the bars differently, strengthen core muscles.