Counting down the days to a snowboarding holiday at the end of the week I’m putting some hours in at the pedal studio and enjoying the the fact that spring seems to have sprung, long may it last!
Monday 15th March
Spinning – Surprise Lactate Threshold Test!
Having still been out of action last Monday I missed Richard’s warning that this week’s session would entail a Lactate Threshold (LT) Test – meaning the point at which lactic acid is being produced more quickly than it can be metabolised. The test reveals the true boundary of when you move from working aerobically to anaerobically and so how long you can work at that level.
After a warm up it was 20 minutes of hard sustained effort, the objective being that you are broken when the time is up. And broken I was.
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Katie’s Uphill Battle – Week 5 – officially back in the saddle!
Katie’s Uphill Battle – Week 4 – on the mend…
Katie’s Uphill Battle – Week 3 – disaster strikes!
Katie’s Uphill Battle – Week 2 – a world of pain…
Katie’s Uphill Battle – Week 1
Katie’s Uphill Battle – Getting Started
Katie’s Uphill Battle – Programme 2 – post illness -Training Plan Etape Caledonia
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My figure of 168 BPM gives me a threshold (LT) of 160BPM (with LT set at 85% of MHR) and a Max Heart Rate of 188 BPM.
Through training we can improve our lactate threshold so it’ll be interested to see how I get on in about 5 weeks time when we give it another go. This week however I had a near Bridget Jones moment as I stepped off the bike – classy!
For some more really good in depth information about lactate threshold visit Joel Friel’s blog – he’s a bit of a guru on the topic
www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/rss.xml
Tuesday 16th March
Day of Rest
Amazing weather today, it seems spring has finally sprung in ernest! Spotted this optimist today though, cycling through my local area with a surf board in hand. I live in East London, not many breaks round here… so I applaud his optimism… (see above picture)
Wednesday 17th March
St Patrick’s Day and also day of peddling excess (Intervals)
I feel tired today but not overly spent so heading down to the studio again. I cycle down which adds another 7 miles of warm up on – it’s another really nice day so no hardship there.
We have a brilliant session today – really hard training with lots of variety.
5 minutes of warm up
5 sets of:
single leg – 30 seconds
alternate leg – 30 seconds
both legs – 30 seconds
Flat with resistance – 8 minutes
8 x sets of sprints:
15 seconds hardest resistance you can do at fastest speed you can manage!
45 seconds – resistance off – recover
Cool down while dying.
That’s enough for one day…
Friday 19th March
Ready for the off…
So, I’m heading to the alps in about 4 hours time for a week in the snow. I can’t wait! As I’m going on holiday I thought it was only fair that my Principia took a little holiday too so I dropped her off with Lawrence and the Fullcity boys, she is going to live in their basement for a few days before getting fitted out with a new groupset.
I am very excited about this but also concerned that I am not spending my money on shoes but on pieces of metal. Prior to January I did not know or care what a groupset was and now I’m spending an entire outfit’s worth on money on said item. This is a worry, where will it all end?
Katie Gormley, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
