I went to bed quiet late last night and did not have my complete rest. Nevertheless my heart rate was 34 this morning, meaning that I am recovering.
Today I washed the bike and paid special attention to the drive train. I washed it completely with bio degradable liquid and used my girlfriends hairdryer to dry the spockets and chain (don't tell her ;-) though!!
I checked the tyres and they're not all too fresh, I saw some cuts in them but I do not change them...I'll take it as it comes.
No bike ride today as a rest day was planned. Tomorrow after work I'll get my race number and stuff and check if the gear change is smooth, a quick easy ride of half an hour on the rollers with one quick accelleration and then bed time early.
I started today to drink an extra bottle of water with Polase magnesium and potassium drink to avoid muscle cramps during the race. 200g of rice today with a bit of parmesan cheese, and the same tomorrow afternoon.
On raceday however 2 hours before 5g of carbohydrates per kg of bodyweight corresponding in my case of about 340g of race and/or pasta.
Tomorrow I will explain what I'll prepare exactly for the race.
venerdì 29 aprile 2011
giovedì 28 aprile 2011
28-04-2011 5th Taper day
Heart rate 36 this morning, going down again.
Due to rain I got the bike from the garage and put it on the rollers. 10 minutes of warming up and then 3 minutes high intensity with big gear. I was exhausted at the end and ended at 89% of maximum heart rate.
Tomorrow I clean the bike thorougly and fine tune the gears.
The forecast for raceday is better!!! They say very few clouds, PERFECT!!!!
Marc
Due to rain I got the bike from the garage and put it on the rollers. 10 minutes of warming up and then 3 minutes high intensity with big gear. I was exhausted at the end and ended at 89% of maximum heart rate.
Tomorrow I clean the bike thorougly and fine tune the gears.
The forecast for raceday is better!!! They say very few clouds, PERFECT!!!!
Marc
mercoledì 27 aprile 2011
27-04-2011 4th taper day
Heart rate this morning 37, due to yesterday's training.
Good weather today, I did a warm up of 15 minutes going to 80 beats/minute. Then 3 minutes all out at 90-92 beats/minute. It was hard to keep the 3 minutes going bit I managed. Afterwards at 70% towards the last hill which a did at maximum pace for one minute. Then easy spin home and half an hour on the mountainbike with my little daughter.
This afternoon I went to talk with the "team manager" Mario. I asked him about the refrehment along the course. Since this year, for ecological reasons, they don't give water bottles but plastic cups. For this reason it is the best to fill up both water bottles prepared with carbohydrates (9%) and bring them along from the start. It's a weight handicap for the first 2 hills but I'll take that for granted. Stopping is time wise bad, and racing without water even worse.
Saturday I'll take my race pack with numbers and gadgests and prepare the bike with it.
Ciao
Marc
Good weather today, I did a warm up of 15 minutes going to 80 beats/minute. Then 3 minutes all out at 90-92 beats/minute. It was hard to keep the 3 minutes going bit I managed. Afterwards at 70% towards the last hill which a did at maximum pace for one minute. Then easy spin home and half an hour on the mountainbike with my little daughter.
This afternoon I went to talk with the "team manager" Mario. I asked him about the refrehment along the course. Since this year, for ecological reasons, they don't give water bottles but plastic cups. For this reason it is the best to fill up both water bottles prepared with carbohydrates (9%) and bring them along from the start. It's a weight handicap for the first 2 hills but I'll take that for granted. Stopping is time wise bad, and racing without water even worse.
Saturday I'll take my race pack with numbers and gadgests and prepare the bike with it.
Ciao
Marc
martedì 26 aprile 2011
26-04-2011 3rd taper day
Rest heart rate this morning is 34. We're getting there!
Today I have a rest day planned, but I have to say that I am resisting against a desire to go out with the mtb in the woods...
Better to concentrate on sunday's race, especially since they predict rain. Important to keep my eyes wide open in the quick descends where the speed goes over 70km/hour...and the U shape corners where we need to brake hard. With these slick tires it will be tricky. And if you think that if you miss the turn you can fall a long way down it doesn't make me feel comforty. but after all that's for everyone the same.
UPDATE:
It was a beautiful and warm spring day and my friend Alessandro told me he went out for a spin...ofcourse I couldn't resist. We did 70 k's with an average of 30 km/hour. Absolutely no hard training but loose and easy.
Today I have a rest day planned, but I have to say that I am resisting against a desire to go out with the mtb in the woods...
Better to concentrate on sunday's race, especially since they predict rain. Important to keep my eyes wide open in the quick descends where the speed goes over 70km/hour...and the U shape corners where we need to brake hard. With these slick tires it will be tricky. And if you think that if you miss the turn you can fall a long way down it doesn't make me feel comforty. but after all that's for everyone the same.
UPDATE:
It was a beautiful and warm spring day and my friend Alessandro told me he went out for a spin...ofcourse I couldn't resist. We did 70 k's with an average of 30 km/hour. Absolutely no hard training but loose and easy.
lunedì 25 aprile 2011
25-04-2011 2nd taper day
This morning I had the same rest heart rate as yesterday, 35 beats/minute. I went on the bike at 08.00 for the 3 hill intervals. They all felt very good and especially the legs felt stronger.
Rest of the day relax and tomorrow a day off.
Rest of the day relax and tomorrow a day off.
domenica 24 aprile 2011
24-04-2011 Tapering before a race
Searching the web about the best taper for a race I found the following text to be the best. It was written by Greg Howther, a research scientist, and I would like to thank him for sharing. As I wrote yesterday I am following in these days a 7 day taper reducing the interval work gradually while approaching race day. Friday off, saturday half an hour on the bike with some sprint and Sunday race day.
Tapering for competition
[This article originally appeared in the April 2000 issue of Northwest Runner magazine.]
This month's topic is tapering, i.e., reducing one's training load in preparation for an important end-of-season race. It doesn't take an exercise scientist to determine that you should take it easy before a big race, but how exactly should you do this? Should you cruise through a few final "tune-up" intervals, limit yourself to slow jogs around the block, or just lie in bed for a few days? As we shall see, the best-designed studies tend to favor the first approach.
I refer to the "best-designed" studies because many investigations of tapering are poorly controlled and thus yield difficult-to-interpret results. A typically unenlightening study will test some athletes at mid-season and again at the end of the season and will report that, lo and behold, they're faster at the end. But is this due to the end-of-season taper itself, the high-quality training done just prior to the taper, a placebo effect (they think they're ready to perform better and therefore do), the superior competition offered by the end-of-season championships, or something else? It's hard to say for sure. In light of these issues, this article focuses on studies that compare different types of tapers (and thus minimize the influence of factors unrelated to the tapers themselves).
Mileage: less is more
Many runners, myself included, are hesitant to cut their weekly mileage by more than 25% prior to a race out of fear that they will lose some of their hard-earned fitness. Nevertheless, research indicates that drastic short-term reductions in training volume do not in and of themselves compromise performance. For instance, Shepley et al. (Journal of Applied Physiology 72: 706-711, 1992) and Houmard et al. (Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 26: 624-631, 1994) subjected veteran runners to treadmill tests before and after a one-week taper which reduced their mileage by 70-85%. Following the taper, these athletes performed significantly better on the treadmill tests (which were designed to simulate 1500- and 5000-meter races) than they had before the taper.
Studies of highly trained swimmers (Mujika et al., Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology 20: 395-406, 1995) and triathletes (Banister et al., European Journal of Applied Physiology 79: 182-191, 1999) also support the idea that "less is more." When the swimmers reduced their training volume by 10-40% for three weeks, a good correlation was found between the percentage reduction in volume and the percentage improvement in performance. That is, the swimmers who swam the least during the three-week period performed best in their post-taper races. Similarly, when two groups of tapering triathletes were compared, the group that trained less over a 13-day period performed better on an intense post-taper cycling test.
If a volume reduction of 40-85% is acceptable, how about a reduction of 100%? Shepley's subjects, as well as some of Houmard's, were subjected to this regimen as well. After seven days of no running, the subjects did about as well on the treadmill as they had prior to the taper.
The above results suggest that, while runners can take several days off without suffering greatly, a small training load is preferable to none at all. Additional studies on swimmers (Neufer et al., Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 19: 486-490, 1987) and weightlifters (Gibala et al., International Journal of Sports Medicine 15: 492-497, 1994) have reached similar conclusions.
Training intensity: more is more
Assuming that you cut lots of miles out of your schedule while tapering, how fast should you run those remaining miles? In the above-cited studies by Shepley et al. and Houmard et al., the low mileage subjects completed several brief-but-challenging interval workouts during their seven-day taper. These subjects performed better after the taper than beforehand, in contrast to subjects (in the Shepley study) whose taper consisted entirely of easy jogging. Thus, small doses of high-quality intervals appear to maximize the effectiveness of a pre-race taper.
Modeling a shapely taper
A final question one might ask about tapering is, should reductions in training volume be gradual or sudden? Based on a mathematical model of performance, Banister et al. hypothesized that an exponential reduction in training volume (in which daily mileage is gradually diminished over several days) would be superior to a step reduction (in which daily mileage is suddenly dropped and then held constant thereafter). They then conducted a ten-day taper with two groups of triathletes: an "exponential" group and a "step" group. Following the taper, the exponentially tapered group outperformed the step-tapered group on a stationary bicycle test, supporting the idea that training volume should be reduced gradually and progressively as race day approaches.
In conclusion, don't be afraid to try scaling your workouts way back in the final seven to 14 days before a major competition. Obviously, you can't do this before every race; that would prevent you from getting much training in. When you need to run your absolute best, however, an emphasis on high-quality workouts and extremely low mileage should help you fulfill your potential.
24-04-2011 First taper day
This morning I woke up at 07.15 and had a rest heart rate frequency of 35 beates/minute. Meaning I am not fully recovered from my long ride on Friday (rest heart rate should be around 33). I must be careful this week to taper well to be rested at 100% for Sunday's race. I went out with the bike for the first taper bike training. The weather was cloudy a temperature of about 12°C. Almost no wind.
After a warming up of about 15 minutes I arrived at the first very slight climb (the way from Bra to Pocapaglia) of about 1,75km. I managed to pace it at 35km/hour staying in the 92% of Mhf range. The second time I went up I arrived at 94%.
Going home I still had 2 very short climbs to do, both of them I did above 90% range with the last one at 95%.
Total time 45 minutes today, where I stayed inside the 3 minutes interval time for the climb and pedaling easy between the intervals to recover completely.
Note: I could feel in the legs that I am not fully recovered from Friday's training. They felt sour immediately after starting pedaling hard and I fatigued finishing the 3 minutes.
After a warming up of about 15 minutes I arrived at the first very slight climb (the way from Bra to Pocapaglia) of about 1,75km. I managed to pace it at 35km/hour staying in the 92% of Mhf range. The second time I went up I arrived at 94%.
Going home I still had 2 very short climbs to do, both of them I did above 90% range with the last one at 95%.
Total time 45 minutes today, where I stayed inside the 3 minutes interval time for the climb and pedaling easy between the intervals to recover completely.
Note: I could feel in the legs that I am not fully recovered from Friday's training. They felt sour immediately after starting pedaling hard and I fatigued finishing the 3 minutes.
sabato 23 aprile 2011
23-04-2011 Preparations for the medium fondo Bra-Bra
On Sunday the 1st of May 2011 the 19th edition of the Bra Bra, a competition race over 109 km takes place. Since it will be the first race in which I will participate I tried to train as wise and as good as possible.
For more info about the race please consult http://www.brabra.org/
This winter I started with a weekly course of spinning together with my friend Buzz and held by my good friend and collegue Davide and in dicembre I bought a rolling bench for the bike and a gym, so during the cold nights I exchanged muscle strenght training with some cycling on the rollers. Despite the presence of a TV and my MP3 training on the rollers in B-O-R-I-N-G!!!
When the temperature finally got up to plus 10°C I started to go outside in the weekends with the bike for some base training. The base training consisted of long rides within the 75% of Mhf (maximum heart rate) on a flat course (in my case I went from Bra to Cuneo through Savigliano). After a month or so I started with interval training and the last month have been full of hill climbing. It's a pity I started this blog only today but I am planning to update it after every training complete with data and a description of the training.
Yesterday I did my last heavy training, a "warm-up lap" of the course on race pace and I must say that I am not unsatisfied since my average speed was 30km/hour. If I can hook up with a group going at my pace I hope to get settled in the slip stream and end up with an average of 32k's.
As you can see in the image there will be a hill after only 10km, not a heavy one but one that will separate the fast guys from the normal ones. I suppose there will be a "time trial" towards the hill (La Morra) and then the fast guys will go up there at 30km/hour to cut the group. I got the advise to go up the hill as fast as I can to find the group that has the same pace as I have. After the first hill the situation will soon be stable and the group with which you are riding will normally be the one with who you will finish.
After "La Morra" the first hill there will be a vey fast descending and a second hill to Monforte, follwed by another descending to Dogliano. The third hill will be a long one and here it will be very important to settle in a stable speed at 90% of Mhf and stay seated. After the descend towards Serralunga there will be the fourth and last hill, "La Morra", the same as the first hill, but climbed up from the other side (L'annunziata). The legs will hurt here!!
Important to eat and drink sufficient during the race. I plan to eat 300g of pasta with honey 2,5 hours before the race and take a carbo-booster 10 miuntes before the start. Then during the race every hour 80 grams of carbohydrates in the form of sandwich with marmelate and/or energy gels.
Today, part from a quick spin with my doughter, I rested and recovered from yesterday's fatigue.
Tomorrow I will start my taper...or at least what I think could be the right taper, I reduce the quantity of km but keep the intensity up.
The plan:
Sunday 24 April: 4 times hill climbing at race pace (90-95% of Mhf)
Monday 25 April: 3 times hill climbing at race pace (90-95% of Mhf)
Tuesday 26 April: OFF
Wednesday 27 April: 2 times hill climbing at race pace (90-95% of Mhf)
Thursday 28 April: 1 time hill climbing at race pace (90-95% of Mhf)
Friday 29 April: OFF
Saturday 30 April: Light spin of 1/2 an hour with one accellaeration of 10sec's
Sunday 01 May: RACE DAY
For more info about the race please consult http://www.brabra.org/
This winter I started with a weekly course of spinning together with my friend Buzz and held by my good friend and collegue Davide and in dicembre I bought a rolling bench for the bike and a gym, so during the cold nights I exchanged muscle strenght training with some cycling on the rollers. Despite the presence of a TV and my MP3 training on the rollers in B-O-R-I-N-G!!!
When the temperature finally got up to plus 10°C I started to go outside in the weekends with the bike for some base training. The base training consisted of long rides within the 75% of Mhf (maximum heart rate) on a flat course (in my case I went from Bra to Cuneo through Savigliano). After a month or so I started with interval training and the last month have been full of hill climbing. It's a pity I started this blog only today but I am planning to update it after every training complete with data and a description of the training.
Yesterday I did my last heavy training, a "warm-up lap" of the course on race pace and I must say that I am not unsatisfied since my average speed was 30km/hour. If I can hook up with a group going at my pace I hope to get settled in the slip stream and end up with an average of 32k's.
As you can see in the image there will be a hill after only 10km, not a heavy one but one that will separate the fast guys from the normal ones. I suppose there will be a "time trial" towards the hill (La Morra) and then the fast guys will go up there at 30km/hour to cut the group. I got the advise to go up the hill as fast as I can to find the group that has the same pace as I have. After the first hill the situation will soon be stable and the group with which you are riding will normally be the one with who you will finish.
After "La Morra" the first hill there will be a vey fast descending and a second hill to Monforte, follwed by another descending to Dogliano. The third hill will be a long one and here it will be very important to settle in a stable speed at 90% of Mhf and stay seated. After the descend towards Serralunga there will be the fourth and last hill, "La Morra", the same as the first hill, but climbed up from the other side (L'annunziata). The legs will hurt here!!
Important to eat and drink sufficient during the race. I plan to eat 300g of pasta with honey 2,5 hours before the race and take a carbo-booster 10 miuntes before the start. Then during the race every hour 80 grams of carbohydrates in the form of sandwich with marmelate and/or energy gels.
Today, part from a quick spin with my doughter, I rested and recovered from yesterday's fatigue.
Tomorrow I will start my taper...or at least what I think could be the right taper, I reduce the quantity of km but keep the intensity up.
The plan:
Sunday 24 April: 4 times hill climbing at race pace (90-95% of Mhf)
Monday 25 April: 3 times hill climbing at race pace (90-95% of Mhf)
Tuesday 26 April: OFF
Wednesday 27 April: 2 times hill climbing at race pace (90-95% of Mhf)
Thursday 28 April: 1 time hill climbing at race pace (90-95% of Mhf)
Friday 29 April: OFF
Saturday 30 April: Light spin of 1/2 an hour with one accellaeration of 10sec's
Sunday 01 May: RACE DAY
23-04-2011 Introduction
My name is Marc Hollander, born and raised in Maastricht, a beautiful city in the Netherlands in '73. After my study at the University of Automotive engineering in Arnhem I went to Italy for my thesis in '99. After tasting the culture and the nice weather conditions I never went back to Holland.
I have always been a sports freak. After receiving my black belt in karate at the age of 16 years I have practiced a lot of fitness/ bodybuilding. Being indoor all the time and having muscles only for "esthetic" and without endurance did not give me satisfaction, that's why I started running, swimming and riding a road bike. Since 5 years now, after some try-outs in triathlon, I decided for physiological and family reasons to concentrate on riding a bike.
My first bike was a second hand Aluminum heavy old "Coppi" road bike with which I managed, besides several crashes, to get a 3rd place on a sprint triathlon race in Alba (Italy) in the amateur category.
Since 2 years now I have a Cannondale Synapse which is very comfortable and perfect for gran fondos. races.
Lately I also bought a Specialized HT Comp Stumpjumper mountain bike as I am planning to start doing some competition with the mtb as well. I am a member of the Tecnobike team Bra http://www.tecnobikebra.it/
I started this blog to share experience in training, racing and nutrition and hope to help all you guys that search the web like me to get info.
Cheers, Marc
I have always been a sports freak. After receiving my black belt in karate at the age of 16 years I have practiced a lot of fitness/ bodybuilding. Being indoor all the time and having muscles only for "esthetic" and without endurance did not give me satisfaction, that's why I started running, swimming and riding a road bike. Since 5 years now, after some try-outs in triathlon, I decided for physiological and family reasons to concentrate on riding a bike.
My first bike was a second hand Aluminum heavy old "Coppi" road bike with which I managed, besides several crashes, to get a 3rd place on a sprint triathlon race in Alba (Italy) in the amateur category.
Since 2 years now I have a Cannondale Synapse which is very comfortable and perfect for gran fondos. races.
I started this blog to share experience in training, racing and nutrition and hope to help all you guys that search the web like me to get info.
Cheers, Marc
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