I can count the days till I fly to San Diego for the start of the four man relay Race Across America. Training for it has been my sole race focus since January. It took me a long time to get into a set training regime and acquire the right kit. There was even a while when I was having nightmares about the race, but I now feel ‘in the zone’!
I have a new bike – an Orbea Orca M20 Pro (2017), and it feels great. I have a new Wahoo Kickr (version 1). I have a new Garmin cadence monitor. I have a new love – a piece of software called Trainer Road which works with the Wahoo and Garmin sensor. The results I am seeing are great!
Mmm, shiny new bike!
My training regime replicates what I’ll be doing during RAAM – alternating an hour on the bike and an hour off the bike. I’m working at percentages of my Functional Threshold Power (FTP) using Wahoo’s in-built power meter. At first it was hard work; even an hour indoors was monotonous, but Trainer Road has varied workouts that keep in interesting. I’ve positioned the bike and turbo trainer at a viewing angle of a 200 inch projector and have found that streaming videos of high speed cycling videos off Youtube keeps me motivated, whilst overlaying audio tracks through Spotify. I’ve even set up a second turbo trainer facing the screen and a friend who’s training for his first Ironman triathlon joins me for a session once a week. Between the video footage and the playlists that match the various effort levels, there’s enough distraction to keep me entertained for the hours I now spend on the bike indoors. I even take song requests whilst riding!
I never thought I’d say this, but the hardest bit is forcing myself to take rest days! Whatever you’re training for, keep challenging yourself and keep it interesting.
Keep riding
GeekintheHills
Geek in the Hills 