Training for a 600 m race

[NickF]

Keep up the effort, even if you don’t get that KOM, you’ll be improving your other aspects of riding.

I gave up on most KOMs a while ago. The only ones I have are a couple of strava art segments no one else has ridden and two that I smashed out with a very stiff tailwind (50km/h). I did have some fun with another local rider on a segment near home. We went leapfrogged each other several times before a local strong rider came in and spoiled the fun by cleaning up all the ‘obscure’ segments around the area. The scoundrel got them all in the one ride after taking a deliberate route to pick them up. .

I can't give up on my KOM, because I don't have any
That was a very stiff tailwind you've had there. I'd guess the wind we had today was maybe 10-15km/h or even less.
Shame on that cleaner-rider, to spoil the fun for all of you!

[Peter A]

Q "That's because I learnt how to avoid them "

Tactical awareness also Nick, a weapon in the
making.

What road bike did you get, you mention no training for many years, have you
trained on roadies before ?

4kg belly fat, I get that from breakfast LOL

[NickF]

Tactical awareness also Nick, a weapon in the
making.

What road bike did you get, you mention no training for many years, have you
trained on roadies before ?

4kg belly fat, I get that from breakfast LOL

Yes, technical awareness help mask other weaknesses, such as lack of strength or lack of training

I got a second hand Giant OCR Alliance (?) Sport or something like that, for $250. It is in excellent condition and the guy who sold it told me only the tires worth like $500. I am considering whether to purchase some clipless shoes and pedals for it. Never tried clippless shoes.

I still have a mountain bike which I bought around year 2000 and it's still in working condition - I actually used it recently until I bought the Giant. I used it perhaps 30 times, riding with a friend around Gosford, when I was living there. Then I tried to convince my wife biking is a pleasant activity - we were driving to some parks and doing maybe 5 or 10 km together. But now I can't convince her to even look at her bike She remembers some traumatic experiences during the time we rode together. I didn't teach her to adjust the bike seat during the first rides and for a while her seat was set too low. She got quite angry on me for that reason. Now she probably forgot the reason, but she is still angry on me

So I didn't really do much bike riding. I used to go to karate for about two years (I abandoned it because I could not remember the katas and I was ashamed of all the 7 y.o. who were much better than me ). Also went to the gym for a few months at a time. I was usually training with the empty lifting bar, but sometimes I was adding weights to impress the nearby ladies

I remember when I was a child, I had a bike and one of the parents organised a 2 x100 m race with other children, we were maybe ten of us. I came back first and he was disappointed it wasn't his child who won, so there was no prize After that, an older child explained to me I had an advantage because of the gear ratio of the cassette and the chainring on my bike was more optimal for short races.

I've been fighting with that belly fat of mine for quite a few years. Every year I promise I will start doing some crunches, but even the thought of it causes me pain Recently I read that crunches would not help with belly fat anyway (running would be better), so now I feel less guilty and more content

[Peter A]

Still laughing, thanks Nick

Q " She got quite angry on me for that reason. Now she probably forgot the reason, but she is still angry on me "

Just laughed off 2kg of gut, you should be a comedy writer Nick

On a more riding/KOM matter, getting up to speed earlier, ie in yr first 100+ metres would help yr time quite a bit.

(If you look at Analyze on the segment it will show the time/speed graph.)

Quite a few Giants in our ride groups, they go well. Found some online references to the OCR, good reviews.

[NickF]

On a more riding/KOM matter, getting up to speed earlier, ie in yr first 100+ metres would help yr time quite a bit.

(If you look at Analyze on the segment it will show the time/speed graph.)

Hi Peter,

If I analyze the speed graph, I see that in the first part of the race, I split in two (like the electrons in the double-slit experiment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-slit_experiment). The fast-me (let's call him Dr Jekyll) is waiting for the slow-me (Mr Hyde or perhaps Mini-Me) about 100 meters in the race. The app got confused somehow. Same happened on the 310 m segment, this time with the KOM. In the beginning of the race, he is moving in a totally different direction, perpendicular on the track, then he discovers the mistake and uses a temporal worm-hole to get ahead of me in an instant.

When time permits, I will do some more races on those segments and I will check the analysis again. I will also do some tests using different gears, maybe some of them give me more advantage than others.

NickF

[Peter A]

Given the slow start course, maybe a lower (easier to push) at the start you reckon, then one/two gear changes to try to hang on onto flat out.

On Friday mornings we wander over to Maffra for a relaxed 34km while over there, one segment BOBS BURN is the only sprint, its about 700M and usually change gear maybe three or four times, sometimes down one in the last 100 to maintain cadence/speed.

Whatever works for you, the best average though is getting up there ASAP and trying to hold it to the end - as previously recognised in yr posts.

Keep enjoying it, it was 0.4C here this morn' and 6.2C as I type. Might go out later, some of yr warmer weather would be welcome at the mo'.

[NickF]

Today I tried again the two segments (570m and 310m). I was a bit tired, I could feel some pain in my legs when walking or flexing my muscles. I was still curious what will happen. On the longer segment I achieved 1:08 and 1:04, which is 7 seconds and 3 seconds slower than my PR from yesterday. My highest speed today was improved compared to my PR (40.7km/h vs 38.5km/h). Also my lowest speed on the second half of the segment has improved compared to my PR. The letdown for me today was the slow start. I started the race by standing up and in the second highest gear (but the smaller chainring), which I never changed. Either I don't have enough experience for this kind of start, or I should start the race sitting, from a lower gear. Time will tell.

I completed the shorter segment in 35 seconds (one second slower compared with the PR from yesterday). I gave it just one go, because a family of cyclists with three children on the bike came on the segment and I didn't want to wait too long.
With this occasion I discovered I did not even know where this segment ends - I was slowing down about 10 meters from the end of the segment, thinking the segment already ended. Clearly I should pay more attention to the map. That segment ends about 20 meters after exiting from park. Today I had to break when I got out of the park, because there was a pedestrian on the path and the path is very narrow. On my PR from yesterday, I was slower by 4km/h at one point, near the segment end, which is an indication I slowed down too early. Yesterday I had better acceleration, in the beginning I was faster by 2.5km/h, but today I recorded a higher speed on this segment, of 37.8km/h.

I am pretty confident that in the next three months I will improve my results on both segments. I just need more km and trials to find the optimal start for me.

[NickF]

Today I have a day off work. I couldn't run the bike, because it was raining (that's my excuse and I stick with it). I'm reading a free e-book of Dan Pena. Yesterday I've been watching some videos with him on youtube and I was surprised to hear he's done marathons of 100 miles, although he hasn't been a professional athlete. He's tough as steel. And I realized that before fixing my body, I need to fix my spirit, because that's what holds me back in everything. But it's very easy to fix my spirit. As Mark Twain said: "Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times".

So I decided that my challenge of today will be to do as many sit-ups as I can (ideally one thousand). I remembered a quote of Muhammad Ali “I don't count my sit-ups; I only start counting when it starts hurting because they’re the only ones that count”. In my case, being the loser I am, I am counting my sit-ups. The most I can make in one go are 35 and I keep my feet under a cupboard (that's because my brain is much heavier than my feet). I'll see what number I can achieve by tonight. So far I've done 105, only 900 to go

[NickF]

Today I started the day doing sit-ups. After 260 (35, 35, 35, 35, 25, 15, 20, 15, 15, 15, 15), I've had enough. When I checked on the window, the road was pretty dry and the wind was blowing in the right direction. I found the sit-ups to be more unpleasant than cycling, so the choice was easy.

Damn! I just realized why some of my races on the 570m segment have very poor time. Today my third run was a pretty good run and despite this, my overall time was 1:22. The lowest speed on the segment was 31.7km/h and the highest was 37.1 km/h, so the time should have probably been better than 1:10. In my first run, I got 1:04 and this one was comparable in speed. The reason is that I was coming back from the opposite direction. When I reached the start point but in the wrong direction, Strava clock started ticking and when I reached the same point, this time going in the right direction, the clock didn't reset. Oh well, I will know better next time. I will ride until the end of the other segment (Dogs Alley), then return to start the race.

Today I also had two tries on the short segment (310 m). This time I achieved a time of 33 seconds and a shared second place. As Seinfeld mentioned (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAxsAO8Yzf8), that is the worst position for one to be in - you are in fact not the second winner, but the first loser

[Peter A]

Only a 1,000 Nick, that'd need at least a doz. soft boiled eggs.

They tell me core strength is good for cyclists, mines beyond saving, must be
why I'm slow.

[NickF]

Only a 1,000 Nick, that'd need at least a doz. soft boiled eggs

Hi Peter, I didn't have any that day. That may explain why I failed my target so badly. On the other hand, I was even more naive than usual to believe I could do 1000 sit-ups in one day, considering I knew I am bad at doing them. But still, this is the highest number I've ever done in my life in one day. As they say, shoot for the stars and you may reach the moon
A better strategy might be to do about five repetitions everyday. Start with 30 each and go up when the condition improves.

[NickF]

Just an update about my performance. On the 570 m segment (Twin Gums), I could not improve my time of 1:01 achieved during the windy day. Instead, I reached a few times 1:04 (or 32.1 km/h). Currently, it seems to be an unbreakable value, but my legs were quite tired most of the time when I went biking.

Today, after over 40+ km of riding, I matched my record of 0:33 on the 310m segment (Banks Reserve). I noticed that I was almost one second ahead in the first half, then I lost my strength on the second half.

I decided to try my luck on the Dog Alley segment (520 m). I am currently on position 28, with a time of 1:00 (I improved one second since yesterday). There is no way to become KOM, even in the future, since my average speed is 31.4 km/h and the KOM has 40.9 km/h (time of 0:46). I doubt I will ever reach an average speed of 40 km/h. I hope to improve my time to 0:58, so I can get on the first page of listings (position 20). I think I have a good chance of doing that in July (especially on a windy day).

I did some longer training on my exercise bike (2 sessions of 5 minute each) a few days ago and today I got a time of 4:47 on the segment Northcott 2 M7 segment (1.89 km). That puts me ahead of QOM, who has a time of 4:49. KOM has 3:38, unachievable for me. The final time depends heavily on the traffic, since there are three roads to be crossed. I am still deciding if a sex change operation is worthwhile, in order to get the title of QOM on that segment (which is not very popular anyway).

Today I came across a video where a weird doctor recommends to avoid eating not just meat, eggs and dairy products, but also vegetable oils and even oily nuts. No soft boiled eggs, what kind of life is that?

He wrote an easy to read book about it: https://www.drmcdougall.com/pdf/dr-mcdo ... nglish.pdf. It is very interesting (in case it is true), that gladiators were fed on a diet consisting mainly on barley, with little meat.

He also advises against taking any vitamins, except for B12. I stopped taking multivitamins over five years ago, after I discovered that after taking them, I was getting white spots on my fingernails (indicating lack of calcium). Anyway, I never took vitamins consistently - a good diet should provide most vitamins. Instead, I preferred chocolate

[Peter A]

quote="NickF"I could not improve my time of 1:01 achieved during the windy day. "

Therein lies the secret to a P.R. nirvana Nick, a tail wind.....lol

Most PR's on Strava are carried out with a tail wind, the only exception is on a circular or square
course where the best average speed, (IME anyway), is on a calm day.

Wouldn't get a cut n tuck for a QOM Nick, might be just a tad easier to change yr Strava name to Nichola and
ride on you think ??

1.01 is good time, in 12 months and 10,000km's you might surprise yourself.

[Peter A]

That diet is a little "boring", be hard to cut out milk.cheese.eggs etc.

https://www.drmcdougall.com/pdf/dr-mcdo ... nglish.pdf

[NickF]

Wouldn't get a cut n tuck for a QOM Nick, might be just a tad easier to change yr Strava name to Nichola and
ride on you think ??
1.01 is good time, in 12 months and 10,000km's you might surprise yourself.

You're very wise, why didn't this simple solution come to my mind?

I didn't expect I will reach fourth place on this segment.

I also noticed I am on adjacent positions with a guy called Adam Holding on two segments (on Dog Alley we have equal times and on Twin Gums I am a second faster, helped by the wind). On third segment (Banks Reserve), I am three seconds faster. And yet, he is a much better cyclist than me. Why? Because I approached all these segments individually, having a few minutes of rest for each one. When I did all segments together (Northcott 2 M7), my best time was 4:47 and his time was 4:06.

[bychosis]

The reason is that I was coming back from the opposite direction. When I reached the start point but in the wrong direction, Strava clock started ticking and when I reached the same point, this time going in the right direction, the clock didn't reset. Oh well, I will know better next time.

This is common. Strava is predominantly a social network site, not a performance athlete data logging site. It often adjusts your position to suit a segment. It will often affect the start and finish times and sometimes drop you in on a segment that you aren't actively riding. There is a local bush MTB track that runs alongside a major roadway. My times vary wildly on it depending on whether I've been riding bush on the MTB or taking the road on a road bike. The two routes are probably 20-50m apart.

I've also seen another segment where a hairpin is shortcut regularly as the GPS log is sporadic beneath the trees.

Still, keep trying at it and know you are doing your best, comparing against others that may have had electric or wind assist is often futile.

[NickF]

This is common. Strava is predominantly a social network site, not a performance athlete data logging site. It often adjusts your position to suit a segment. It will often affect the start and finish times and sometimes drop you in on a segment that you aren't actively riding. There is a local bush MTB track that runs alongside a major roadway. My times vary wildly on it depending on whether I've been riding bush on the MTB or taking the road on a road bike. The two routes are probably 20-50m apart.
I've also seen another segment where a hairpin is shortcut regularly as the GPS log is sporadic beneath the trees.
Still, keep trying at it and know you are doing your best, comparing against others that may have had electric or wind assist is often futile.

I can imagine that poor GPS signal could affect the tracking. I've also heard that the GPS watches are not very accurate. My phone seems to be tracking pretty close the trail. When comparing myself with another rider on a segment, it appeared that guy was leaving the track and going onto the motorway, then coming back again, which is impossible because of the fence and level difference.

For the Twin Gums segment, I believe I was stopping too close to the start of the segment (I assumed I will be safe if I rest on the pathway, just outside the entry in the park), but the start line is probably just a few meters away. Next time I will rest on the other side of the road.

The commercial GPS sensors are purposely made more inaccurate by introducing some additional uncertainties (a few meters), while their full accuracy is left for military purposes. Here's what I found: "The United States government currently claims 4 meter RMS (7.8 meter 95% Confidence Interval) horizontal accuracy for civilian (SPS) GPS"

[NickF]

I've had a week of holiday, but I didn't practice at all, because my legs were sore from last week. Yesterday it rained all day and this morning as well, but later it stopped raining. I took the bike out, to see if I can break any of my three PR of interest. And I improved only one, Dog Alley. From my previous time of 1:00, I got down to 0:54 (34.9 km/h) and I am now on 8/520 together with other three people. I got a time of 0:54 twice today. I also got on first page. The improvement is much better than expected. The alley is on a narrow passage and probably the wind was pretty strong in there. I tried to improve my PR on Twin Gums, but on my first try I forgot to turn Strava on and I slowed down half way to the finish. I usually turn Strava off after one or two races, because I am curious of my time. On second try today, on Twin Gums my time was 1:05, significantly worse than the PR of 1:01. On Banks Reserve (310 m), I've got 0:34 (my PR is 0:33).

[Peter A]

Kilometres, distance, time on bike, it'll all get faster and easier, just keep knocking 'em up.

Maybe try to set yourself a Km/month target, maybe 500km and see if it's achievable, usually is, just prioritising at the end of the day so to speak.

Going well with yr sprints

[NickF]

Kilometres, distance, time on bike, it'll all get faster and easier, just keep knocking 'em up.

Maybe try to set yourself a Km/month target, maybe 500km and see if it's achievable, usually is, just prioritising at the end of the day so to speak.

Going well with yr sprints

Yes, I am trying to get out in the weekends - I am too lazy to do more useful stuff, so I just take the bike for a spin

I am not sure I could achieve 500 km/month, even if I do 50 km Saturday and Sunday each, that will be just around the number and it can take a significant number of hours. For my goals (short distance races), I may start using the exercise bike more often during the week. Even if I have just three sessions of 5 minutes each twice per week, that would be very beneficial for me. When I go on long trips, I mostly rest on the bike

Today I had another go at the Twin Gums. On my first attempt, there were children on the pathway, so I had to stop. On second attempt, I did 1:06, well below my PR of 1:01.

Instead, I shaved another second of the Banks Reserve. My best time is now 0:32 and number 1 is 0:31. I am not sure if it was windy, otherwise I would have obtained a good time on the Twin Gums as well. What I've done was to run the bike in a pretty low gear. I was spinning faster and pretty consistently, If I change to a higher gear, I don't have enough power in my legs to push hard, especially that a significant portion of the track is slightly upwards. I was lucky, because a big branch just fell onto the path, less ten meters from me. It had about 15 kg I think, I cleared the alley. Another poor guy was not so lucky on the M7 cycle way, he fell while taking a turn and he suspected he broke his shoulder (maybe he was referring to his clavicle). The road was was pretty wet. It was a dark reminder of what could happen to me as well, although I ride quite cautiously.

I've also done a 74 km ride today and got 109 PR, although it was a slow ride (22.9 km/h). I wasn't too tired, but after I got home I suddenly felt I am tired. My bike also started squealing. I need to clean it and put some grease in some places and oil the chain. I am not too experienced with maintenance work, I hope I'll bring it back in good condition. Tomorrow I won't go anywhere, I'll have a rest.

[NickF]

Today I went to Myer in Blacktown to pick up a pair of Hush Puppies Torpedo shoes, which I bought for $97. I visited the store and the price was $149, but then I checked the price online and it was 50% cheaper. I bought them and I thought I got a good deal. Until I told my wife and she literally kicked my ass, after she informed me I should have checked if I have any spare shoes at home (which I did, three pairs ). I was surprised, I didn't think she can lift her foot so high!

In my aimless walking around the shopping center, I came across a booth where you could undress for free! They were offering various measurement - height, weight, BMI, and a full 3D body scan. As I later found out, for most of the measurements you have to pay (or at least start a free trial for $49.95 per year).

I was curious about my weight, since my scale shows different results, depending on where I place it, in the bathroom. I found out I am (still) 1m68 and I have 66.9 kg. My BMI is 23.7 (healthy, limits 18.5 - 25), waist to height of 0.51 (healthy, limits 0.43 - 0.53) but a horrible waist to hip ratio of 0.83 (considered high risk above 0.90), which places me at low risk (probably of dying of shame?).

I could also peak for about five seconds at a 3D image of my body, where I was shocked to see my big belly, considerable love handles and skinny legs. It reminded me of a grasshopper. On the positive side, having a small head, a big belly and thin legs makes me pretty aerodynamic... And I couldn't be prouder of my cyclist arms, it took me many years to develop them!

I can't see the other measurements, because they require payment. But anyway, the less I know, the less I worry

[NickF]

This evening I decided to test my running skills. I was never good at running, I remember in primary school struggling to keep pace with my colleagues and quickly falling behind. The last event where I remember running was in the army. I was 18 or 19 and they organized a competition between a few squads in a weekend. Most of my colleagues were not present (at the time they allowed some of us to get out of the base during the weekends), so I've been forced to participate. I had to carry a backpack (almost empty) and an AK47 rifle. Although I am not sure, I think the total distance was about 2 km. I remember my main concern was not to faint and to complete the race. Needless to say, my team ended on last place (but I completed the race). However, I noticed some guys from the other teams decided to hide in a bush for a lap or two and come back again, pretty fresh for the last lap.

After my recent bike rides, I started to gain confidence in my physical abilities and I was even wondering if I am not morphing into Superman. I remember that a few months ago I was getting tired when running 100 meters to catch a bus. I was curious to see if my condition has improved, considering I am using my bike since middle of May.

To cut it short, after running about 100 meters, I got so tired, I had to walk until I got some rest, then I started running again. It took me 14:56 to run/walk 2 km, with a pace of 7:26 / km (8.04 km/h). As I got more tired, my steps got smaller and smaller and it's possible I was even faster when walking than when running!

Conclusion: running is so much more difficult than riding! I'll probably try again tomorrow evening. If I improve my time, that will be exciting!

[Peter A]

[NickF]

Did my second run today. I didn't quite reach 2 km, overall it was just 1.99 km. Compared to yesterday, my time has improved from 14:56 to 13:23. The pace changed from 7:26 / km to 6.42 / km and the average speed from 8.04 km/h to 8.92 km/h. Lowest speed 6.22 km/h, highest speed 11.32 km/h.
I try to be modest, but let the facts speak - according to the database of world records https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half_marathon#Age_records, it took 50 world class athletes this many years to improve the half marathon time by a mere 5 minutes. And I, in only one day decreased my tenth marathon time by 1:33. I rest my case!

[NickF]

Did my third run today. I hesitated whether to run today, because my legs are sore. I've done 2.11 km. My time was 13:40 (I had to stop running on my way back earlier than yesterday and I expected my performance would be worse than yesterday). I found out I was wrong. My pace has improved to 6:28 / km. The average speed was 9.26 km/h, highest speed 12.41 km/h.

Today I got four PR:
Best estimated 1 mile effort (10:05)
Best estimated 1k effort (5:23)
Best estimated 1/2 mile effort (4:17)
Best estimated 400m effort (2:02)

Yesterday results:
Best estimated 1 mile effort (10:32)
Best estimated 1k effort (6:11)
Best estimated 1/2 mile effort (4:40)
Best estimated 400m effort (2:11)

Yesterday I found a nice presentation by a cardiologist about what amount of exercising is healthy or unhealthy. I was not surprised to hear that both too much or too little exercising have negative impact, but I still didn't expect to hear that many marathon runners develop heart disease because of too much running and their lifespan is shorter than people who do less exercising. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6U728AZnV0.