Having felt quite smug at delivering my Q1 targets of averaging 100 miles per week in the first three months of the year, I have realised that there is no time to be smug. Maurice (new name for my trusty mood reflecting Marmotte) has been moving up and down the Alpine col’s a bit over the last couple of weeks.
The low point of the last fortnight was definitely a ride in my soon-to-be-new-stomping-ground of Wiltshire & Gloucestershire. Not knowing the area well I tracked out a course on my Garmin led only by what looked to be pretty countryside between Stroud, Gloucester and Cheltenham. While the elevation chart looked rather nice and bumpy I failed to appreciate how steep some of the inclines were. While I did manage to appreciate the spectacular views I also had a bit of a panic moment in that while the targets for Q1 were mileage driven I had quite frankly failed to include serious hill training in the next phase of my training plan. As I tried to catch my breath and forget about the burning thighs climbing to a measly 300m Maurice hit a low point and was positioned quite unhappily at the bottom of the Galibier ascent!
The mantra of “failing to plan is planning to fail” is one I often quote in jest, but at this point I think that my Q2 plan needs firming up. So I am going to have to add a bit more structure to my Q2 training plan that has so far consisted of doing a couple of sportives (big ones to be fair) and putting in plenty of miles between time.
So, here goes:-
April: 115 miles per week average, min 7 hours a week ride time, 2500m ascent per week, 2 big rides over the course of the month (>70miles, >2000 metres)
May: 125 miles per week average, min 8 hours a week ride time, 2500m ascent per week, Complete etape Du Dales Sportive (15th May) and don’t get off the bike (apart from to pee and refuel).
June: 135 miles per week average, min 8 hours a week ride time, 2500m ascent per week, Complete Peak 100 sportive (18th June)in reasonable time.
July: Rest.....
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