Category: Training

Training Week In Review – Week 7

Posted on by Chad Dobbs

After a week spent (attempting) snowboarding I started Week 7 feeling very sore.  I had many small but painful bruises all over my limbs; and an extremely tender left shoulder.

Not one to do things by halves I jumped straight into my riding by commuting to and from work on Monday on Kate the XTC.  The week off the bike was quite evident with a heavy build up of lactic acid in my leg muscles and butt cheeks!

Tuesday was a slight sleep in and a shorter commute into work.  Ignoring my screaming quads I rode out to Mt Stromlo via Lake Burley Griffin and had a quick spin around some of the easier trails to get 21.1 km of dirt under the tyres.  The commute home was a painful 38.1km in the cold of Canberra’s night-time.

After a fairly intense 95.3km on Tuesday I took a rest day on Wednesday before taking the easy route to and from work on Thursday.  Even though I felt like I hate skimped out of some quality riding by taking it easy I did reach my goal of 200km in just three days of riding.

On Friday I decided to break out Sara the roadie for some easier commuting for my early start at work.  After a fairly long and tiring day at work the decision to take the short route home was an easy one… But I had to work hard for it.  Canberra decided to put on some incredibly strong wind gusts that almost blew me off the road and into the gutter several times.

With Round 4 of the CORC XC Series being held at Mt Stromlo on Sunday I intended to take some time on Saturday to service and ready Kate for the next days race.  Instead I took her out for a spin around Bruce Ridge with fellow Bermer Tony on his new Trek Superfly (which is sooo nice… pity it’s not a Giant!)  It was a very enjoyable 50.1km of riding but I still needed to prep my bike for the CORC race.

Race Wheels For Kate

I don’t warm up very quickly when I ride.  It’s generally around the 7-9km mark when on the mountain bike before I’m actually warmed up enough to take on the singletrack with speed and confidence.  Because of this I will either ride out to a race if it’s close to home or do a few laps of the course beforehand.  On Sunday morning I joined fellow Bermers Andy & Tony for a ride out to Mt Stromlo.

It wasn’t long before I was tearing off layers of clothing in the crisp Canberra morning; I was warming up very quickly.  We arrived with ample time to register and unfortunately enough time to get very cold in the chilly air, light rain and sweat drenched clothing.

Soon I was off riding Mt Stromlo’s western trails for some quick paced XC racing.  I hadn’t ridden the first part of the course before and was in for some technical and rocky trails.  I handled the course well on my first lap and made up a few places before deciding to attack the faster riders in front of me.  I took a few chances and was quickly passing the juniors and slower paced riders.  Fast fire-roads and different lines up the short but rocky climbs allowed me to use Kate for what she was designed to do; quick acceleration and powerful climbing.

After worrying about not riding the trails prior to the race I was really enjoying the experience on what I felt was a great course.  Halfway through my second lap I pulled up to see an injured rider laid out on the trail.  Young Pedal 4 Pierce rider Chris had taken a spill and was concussed from the fall.  A few of us diverted race traffic and helped out until an ambulance arrived to take Chris to hospital.  Thankfully he got the all clear and was sent home later in the day.

I finished my lap; came last in my grade and helped pack up the rego/event centre while enjoying a post race coffee.  When all the dust had settled I packed up my gear, rode down to the main car-park and headed off to lunch in the city.  After scoffing a pizza at Debacle I headed home slowly with a full stomach and 81.4km under the tyres for day.

At the end of the week I finished with 352.5km on the bike.  My biggest week of riding this year.  Although I’m a little sore in the legs I’m looking forward to another big week in the saddle with my first 12 Hour solo race this coming weekend at Dargle Farm.

CORC XC Rd 4 02

Training Week In Review – Week 6

Posted on by Chad Dobbs

Week 6 of my training regime was almost the week I went back to recovery mode.  The plan was simple; I go away for a week at the snow and last year’s snowboarding lessons and practice runs would instantly comeback to me.  But in reality I was barely able to get upright on the board 12 months after my first attempt.

Snow 005

After a couple of lessons and some really good weather at Perisher I was finally enjoying my time on the board.  Some aches and pains started creeping up on me and by midweek I had an inflamed elbow, sore hip flexors and was starting to feel that familiar pain in my shoulder and left pec.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

By Friday I was well and truly feeling some acute pain in my shoulder from my body meeting snow at high speed.  This was confirmed on Saturday morning when I was unable to raise my left arm past horizontal; but I was quick to the chemist for painkillers and anti-inflammatories.  When the girly and I got back home we unpacked, put a load of washing on and went to our first Wedding dance lesson.

I woke up early Sunday morning with the intention of attending my usual Sunday Morning Social & Breakfast with The Berm; but alas my shoulder was still tender so I set to housework instead.  I did however get a quick ride in during the afternoon to stretch out my legs and test my sore shoulder.

A brief 25.8km on the bike, a wash and quick service for Kate was all the cycling action I got in this week.

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Training Week In Review – Week 5

Posted on by Chad Dobbs

For the first time in a long time I was looking forward to tackling another week on the bike. After taking a few hits mentally during the past couple of weeks it felt really good to want to spend more time in the saddle. Thanks to the previous week’s 250.3km of fairly high intensity riding I started the new week quite tender and fatigued.

While I had grand plans of long commutes on the roadie, Canberra decided it was going to be a very wet week with lots of fog. It is a fact that skinny tyres and wet/icy asphalt don’t mix so I prepped Zooey the Anthem with some lights, higher pressure tyres and dragged out my waterproof jacket.

I wanted to ride at least 50km each day while commuting; a goal I achieved on both Monday and Tuesday while riding in some light rain each time. Even at this early stage of the week I was feeling a lot of muscle fatigue but was still making gains while getting very wet and muddy.

Wednesday was dry enough that I was able to ride the roadie, but the aforementioned muscle fatigue was now in the fully fledged DOMS stage and any aspirations of a massive road ride were halted before the wheels began to even turn. But I still reached my 50km/day goal with a short commute into work and a longer commute home. I even managed to wash both Zooey and Sara taking advantage of the break in rain and brief sunshine.

Thursday was another mild Canberra day so I decided to take Kate the XTC into work. After riding Zooey and the ultra stiff (in a good way) Sara, riding Kate felt amazing. By swapping out a few components I’ve managed to keep my carbon hardtail under 10kg. With the front forks locked out and a good tucked position I quite often overtake most road bikes on the commuting climbs; something I relish doing. There’s nothing worse than tackling a long and difficult climb and having someone pass you looking cool, calm and collected. I aim to be that person; especially on a 29er while my prey is on a road bike sporting aerobars.

…But anyway, I took Kate to work on a particularly foggy morning the longish way and managed to push out 31.1km prior to work. On the way home my quadriceps were incredibly sore; but I wanted some off road time. A quick spin around the more fun tracks at Bruce Ridge went down a treat and I then headed off home covered in mud.

Thursday was also the day an article about my fundraising for Soldier On was printed in the Australian Army News.

Army News Jpeg

Friday was a complete wash out for commuting and to be honest I don’t think my aching legs had much more than a slow roll left in them. My bikes stayed at home and instead of riding I signed up for the JetBlack WSMTB 12 Hour at Dargle Farm on 10 August 2013. This will my first 12 hour and I’m looking forward to pushing myself over an extended period of time to test my body and mind before October’s Battle Of The Beasts.

This will also be my last race before my Wedding in September; so in some roundabout way the race will be my Buck’s Ride and I’m looking forward to spending the weekend riding with some of my good friends from The Berm.

At the end if this week I managed to push out 215.3km in four days riding.

Next week will be a much smaller week for riding as I only intend to ride on Sunday due to spending some time on my board in the snow.
Snow Gear

Training Week In Review – Week 4

Posted on by Chad Dobbs

Week 4 was going to be a larger week for the numbers from the get go.  I needed to break past 150km; a weekly goal I had only achieved once in the past three weeks.

I had decided I was going to spend more time on the road bike, but also knew I didn’t have the endurance to smash out the long rides I wanted to do.  My fitness has improved dramatically over the past few weeks but my quads are constantly screaming at me for a rest.  The only option was for some good paced commuting to work.

Monday I took the roadie to work along the short commute racking up 18.6km in the chilly Canberra morning air.  On the ride home I took in a more scenic 30.1km around a bit of LBG and exploring some of the bike paths near my suburb.

Tuesday was the day my beloved Kate was booked in for her first service at Onya Bike Civic.  I had experienced a fair bit of gear skipping during the previous Sunday’s CORC XC race at Kowen Forest.  As always the service, both mechanical and customer, was first rate and I soon had a singletrack eating machine firing at 100%…. Well for a about 6km of Bruce Ridge actually!  I managed to clip a stray fallen branch and snapped a spoke on my Crank Brothers Cobalt 29er front wheel.  After cutting my ride short at 7.1km I managed to fix the spoke with a spare included with the wheels.

Wednesday was a short commute to and from work on Zooey my Giant Anthem X 29er…  Not a lot to say about this apart from riding a 29er dualie on the road is a lot harder than sub 10kg road bike running 110psi.  I earned those 38.6km!

Thursday’s commute to work was on the roadie in subzero temperatures.  I was relatively warm in my leg warmers and wind-stopper; but still had ice on my legs when I arrived at work.  The commute home was a shit-fight of epic proportions; twin punctures, spat at by a bogan and a small stack due to a moron who didn’t have her inbred dog on a leash. <end rant>

Friday saw a ride to work in subzero temps and some incredibly thick fog!  There was even plenty of ice on my legs and crotchular region!
Ice Crotch
The ride home was almost as big of a fail as the previous day.  The dirty little secret of Canberra cycling community is the abundance of glass littered in cycle lanes and cycle paths.  There is a stupidly large amount that never gets cleaned up because TAMS (Territory & Municipal Services) couldn’t give a rat’s arse!
TAMS Tweet

<end rant>
After copping my fifth puncture in two days I called the girly and got picked up 2km from home.

Saturday was supposed to be a few laps of Mt Stromlo with some of the guys and girls from The Berm, but alas due to an oversight in forgetting my front wheel thru-axle that plan was aborted and I ended up riding in the afternoon.
My ride around Bruce Ridge and to home pushed me over my 200km goal for the week.

The close of the week saw a ride into Bruce Ridge and a spin around the grippy singletrack before the usual breakfast at Edgar’s and a steady ride in the pouring rain to home.

By the time my all my bikes had been cleaned and stowed away, I had amassed 250.3km for the week.  All in all I didn’t push myself too had and despite a few mechanical issues with two of my bikes I was happy with the end result.

Stable

Training Week In Review – Week 3

Posted on by Chad Dobbs

Week 3 started off well.  I commuted to and from work on Monday; the short way and shortish way respectively.  Tuesday saw an early start at work and the need for me to drive in.  I put the XTC in the back of the car in the hope I’d be able to hit the trails after work.  Thanks to be oh-dark-hundred start I made my way out to Sparrow Hill for some quick fun on the immaculate trails.

I cheated on Wednesday and put the roadie in the back of the girly’s car for a quick commute home.  The ride itself was fairly standard except for the now infamous bike pump versus car bumper incident.

Thursday I strapped on the Shimano MTB shoes and took Kate in with the intention of taking her for a spin around Bruce Ridge on the way home.  The weather was a bit ordinary with 80km/hr wind-gusts that tried their best to knock me off the bike and into Lake Burley Griffin.  So I rode home via Belconnen and around Lake Ginninderra.

Friday was meant to be a medium length ride around Kowen Forest and Sparrow Hill on my Giant Anthem Zooey.  But alas it was not meant to be thanks to a single phone call.

Saturday was a rest day/bike maintenance day spent preparing my XTC for Sunday’s CORC XC Race.  I replaced the standard Shimano rear derailleur in favour of a Shimano XT Shadow to reduce the annoying chain slap.  This didn’t quite go to plan and I was left with about four non-slipping gears for the race the next day.

I wasn’t feeling the best before this race.  My heart wasn’t in it and my head definitely wasn’t.  I woke up early and decided I’d give it a go.  I’m glad I did.  I managed to pull in fifth place and pushed myself further than I had before on a short course race.  I went out fairly easy at the start and picked up the pace quite considerably for the second lap finishing almost 3 minutes faster than my first.

At the end of the race I was 149.9km for the week… 100m short of my 150km target.  So after my shower I took out my single speed flat bar and rode a quick 500m to reach my 150km goal.  At the end of Week 3, I had some ups, plenty of downs and one hell of a good time at Kowen Forest racing.

CORC XC Rd 3 #02 CORC XC Rd 3 #01

Training Week In Review – Week 2

Posted on by Chad Dobbs

Week 2 was never going to be a big week for the numbers.  The weather was very ordinary early in the week, work was fairly busy and I was interstate over the weekend.  I set a goal of 150km and achieved 121.4km for the week.

My first day on the bike was Wednesday afternoon.  I rode from work to Mt Stromlo and relished in the chance to push my Giant XTC up the switchback climbs.  I’m not the fastest rider downhill due to my aversion of death by bike; but I do enjoy being able to climb quickly with confidence and endurance.  As sunset approached I headed home and covered 65.1km with a vertical gain of 656m.

Lake G Sunset

Lake Ginninderra at sunset

Thursday afternoon I took the roadie home and was feeling a little bit of pain in my quads (more training needed).

Friday I took the XTC to work and managed to chase down a few roadies en route.  By lunch time I had packed Kate into the back of the car and was driving down to Melbourne for some wedding prep over the weekend.

Saturday I had the chance to ride Lysterfield Park with a good friend and although he suffered a flat and we had to walk back to the carpark it was a good ride.

Week 2 of my planned training regime didn’t go to plan, but with a few quality rides and a good catch up it wasn’t a total loss.

Training Week In Review – Week 1

Posted on by Chad Dobbs

Almost two and half months ago I crashed during Round 10 of the 2012/2013 CORC XC Series at Mt Stromlo.  Leading up to that race I was probably the most cycle fit and confident I had ever been.  This (over) confidence lead me to attempt a tail whip ride at the end of the race; a decision that ultimately ended in face full of gravel, blood and a grade-2 tear in my left pectoralis major (a torn muscle in my chest along with some ligaments).

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Over the past two and a bit months I have been riding with recovery in mind and doing my best not to aggravate a very touchy injury.  There were days I could barely get out of bed let alone ride a bicycle.  A poor sleeping position would mean I couldn’t move my neck and shoulder.  I still I have pain after waking up but surprisingly I’m very comfortable on a bike when wearing my chest brace.

The hardest part for me being off the bike was the disappointment at being injured and the boredom I was experiencing.  I was at a point in my riding where I was ready to step it up a notch; thus the CORC XC Races.

So after six weeks of recovery rides, including a couple of XC races, I decided to formulate and implement a gradual Training Program.  And this week was the first of many to come.

I aimed for 150km of good solid medium intensity riding for Week One.  I completed 120.6km with 58km of that being some quick singletrack at Kowen Forest/Sparrow Hill and Mt Stromlo.  Although I didn’t reach my target goal for the week I was very happy with the average speeds over the distances I rode and the Mt Stromlo climbs I completed with relative ease.

Plus the one and only David Blucher got a photo of me riding Kate in my Soldier On jersey on Duffy’s Decent on Mt Stromlo on Saturday afternoon.

Duffys!