Training background
I am still not quite sure why Marco thought I might be a suitable team rider for the RAAM – I only bought my first road bike at the beginning of 2008, wouldn’t ride it on a wet road until the start of 2009 and don’t think I showed ambition or inclination to ride a bike further than a lunch stop in Brighton (100k return on the flat!). Still, ask he did, and I said no.
Clearly, as I am writing a blog on my training for the RAAM, I changed my mind but I am not sure when. I suspect it was sometime round about the Prostate Cancer Tour of Britain ride in Stoke. My longest ride (150km) which I completed and didn’t feel too bad during, or after. On the basis of this one ride – I decided the RAAM was doable – this was clearly more than a little naive and overconfident, but once committed and all that….
So what is the RAAM challenge?
• 3014 miles (about!) – 30% longer than the Tour de France
• 100,000ft of ascent (4 x Everest)
• Single stage race (24hr riding)
• Lowest point – 190ft,
• Highest point 10,857ft,
• Start : San Diego (Oceanside) California
• End: Annapolis Maryland
• Team of 4 – so ride _ distance or about 110 miles per day each
• Ride for 6 hours a day
• Target of 7 days (not sure where this came from!)
• Average speed 18.6 mph (30kph)
What is involved in training for the RAAM?
There are a number of different elements to the training – my mix of training is a bit weird because (1) I have a slightly dodgy back and (2) I after the RAAM I will go back to doing triathlon so I need to include a bit of swimming and running. The elements are:
Cycling: It probably isn’t a surprise that riding a bike is a big bit of training for the RAAM. To date this has been achieved by:
1) The Commute: As I commute into I get some mileage by riding to and from the station (30 minutes) and to the gym / office / station in London (another 30 minutes). I suspect this does me little good but, like many cyclists in London, I race buses through town so if I need to race a bus – do a track stand at a traffic light or dodge taxis on the RAAM I should be OK!
2) The weekend: The opportunity to spend lots of long hours riding round the countryside
3) The turbo trainer: a nasty invention that allows you to ride your bike inside your house. It redefines boredom – reduces you to a sweaty heap and makes you realise that riding outside in any weather is a preferable option
4) Spinning: a bit like turbo training but with someone shouting at you and better music
Weights: Allegedly good for me but I have always hated doing weights (and gyms). I do a few weights occasionally when I can’t find an excuse to do something (anything) else to do
Core strength / flexibility: Having not been able to touch my toes in living memory, I am reliably informed this is essential to avoid injury. I do Pilates once a week and stretch when I remember
Swimming: I am not sure it helps to ride your bike but for ‘active’ recovery it is great exercise and good for my back so is a small part of my overall training mix
Running: Apparently has absolutely no benefit to cyclists and massively increases the risk of injury, that said –it’s a far more intense way to pack in some aerobic exercise and I am a better runner than cyclist so it makes me feel good.
Organising a week
Almost as hard as actually training (well not really!) is working out how to organise a week so you can train enough – my ideal training week looks something like:
Monday – Swim in the morning for an hour before work. Stretch and Core work in the evening for an hour (this is really a ‘recovery’ day so all no hard sessions)
Tuesday – Weights session in the morning. Turbo train in the evening for an hour
Wednesday – Swim in the morning . Run at lunchtime for an hour.
Thursday – Pilates at lunchtime, Spinning in the evening (an hour)
Friday – Swim in the morning – eat in the evening and watch (crap) TV!
Saturday – ride a bike all day
Sunday – ride a bike for lots of the day. Stretch in the evening
This adds up to about 20 hours
In reality the best I end up managing is about 15 hours. It means getting out of bed at 05:30 and eating dinner at about 21:00 squeezing my working week and training in between.
Training to date
September:
• Month Training : 47.5 hours
• Monthly Road Miles : 367 miles
• Hours to date : 47.5 hours
• Mileage to date : 367 miles
Did the Prostate Cancer Tour of Britain ride in Stoke – 145k which took 5hr 40mins including stops. Rode with the Sharp4Protate team and a couple of Rapha Condor team riders (Kristian House and Ben Greenwood). This was my longest ride I had done (ever).
By the end of the month had done my first ‘200’k ride with Dan – it was hot – with punctures, drink stops, pee stops and generally dawdling took 9hrs – at this pace riding across America would take 9 and a half days so… work to do.
October
• Month Training : 79 hours (5 week month)
• Monthly Road Miles : 760km +8.5hrs on the mountain bike
• Hours to date : 126.5 hours
• Mileage to date : 1350 km
Did a couple of ‘200s’ one with Paul and one solo and a 150 – Karl joining the 150 as his first training ride (the first ride with all 4 ‘team’ rides out together). Solo ride was a highlight – 8hours 20 mins including stops out through the Surrey, Hampshire and West Sussex countryside on a beautiful day. Group rides are getting faster (still ‘only’ 27-28kmh) feeling strong. Weather changed – now wet…
November
• Month Training : 34 hours (trips to Hong Kong, China, Beirut, Barcelona)
• Monthly Road Miles : 380km
• Hours to date : 160.5 hours
• Mileage to date : 1750 km
Always going to be a poor training month with two work long trips out the country and a planned weekend break running a half marathon in Spain. Didn’t really settle into the month once the clocks changed – weather wet and fairly miserable and not quite set up for riding in the dark – mileages shorter and no real plus points. Had my worst ride in months (a 70k ride in gale force winds and rain) it hurt and I struggled. To make matters worse rode in an old pair of shorts that when wet chaffed badly – didn’t expect to list nappy rash as one of my injuries!
Bounced back with a great solo ride through the Surrey hills after getting off the plane from China. Ended the month with a 1:29 _ marathon off the back of limited training – the end of my legacy training plan for the middle distance triathlon in May….. It doesn’t feel like I made the most of the training ‘opportunities’ through the month – a little frustrated at my lack of discipline and focus.
December
• Month Training : 13.5 hours (Holiday to New Zealand)
• Monthly Road Miles : 180km
• Hours to date : 170 hours
• Mileage to date : 1930 km
Off to NZ for a 4 week holiday and tapered a little early! Also quite busy at work. Managed to get four runs in whilst in NZ before the new year as well as doing 3 long day walks. Rode a bike once in NZ but I am not sure cycling round the Marlborough vineyards counts as training ride –nice wine though!
30/12 ripped a calf muscle in left leg running 45 minutes into the run out of Wanaka and a long way from the motel at about 7:30pm – amazingly a mountain biker riding the track I was on leant me his bike so I could ride back into town (easier than hopping), he ran back and we met in the town. Even noting this down it doesn’t seem real hard to believe he just gave a complete stranger his bike (and helmet)
Checkpoint: 4 months in and I have managed to cover about 1/3 of the RAAM distance on a bike. I am feeling a little out of my depth and I am beginning to get a grasp of just how big a challenge this is going to be. Not quite reaching the point of blind panic but it is beginning to look a little scary and quite daunting. Guess the only option is to get my head down, put the mileage in and see what happens…….