END OF CAMP, START OF SEASON.........
So that's 6 weeks of carefully planned out and structure training under the belt. Calpe in spain was my base for the time spent there, its an extremely popular destination within the amateur and pro ranks that caters to everyone's needs of training.
From the flat lands along the scenic coast to the more dramatic mountains only 30minutes inland. It really does have a great variety that allows variety in training and gives you the chance to develop on your strengths and weaknesses.
At the start of this intense block focussing on base miles and specific efforts it was important to gage where my numbers were at/ Fitness. By doing this you set out on a simple but rather grim 20minute FTP test (Functional Threshold Power).
So after a couple of days to get over my plane legs I set out on my test weighing 73.8kg and height 6ft 1.5 inches. This was to be my first effort of winter at this pace, I wasn't looking forward to it but it had to be done so I could set down some more accurate zones to use over my time spent in Calpe. For the test I held a fairly average 351 watts. I wasn't overly happy with the numbers and knew there was more to give, so this only made me more hungry to train harder and come back stronger at the end of camp where I knew I would be re testing to see how things had developed over the weeks spent there.
So by the end of Camp I was feeling good and could see improvements across the board in weight, power in efforts and generally more sharp in training. The vibes were good and overall just felt more fit. So to test if I had improved I set out on another 20 minute FTP test this time weighing 70.8kg and same height. So even if I hit 351 watts again I would of made improvements due to my power to weight ratio. But I feel like I could do more.
So test day, For the first 10minutes of the test I set out strong holding 397 watts probably going off a bit to excited but I still managed to stay composed. For the last 8 minutes though I was starting to fade and the number slowly creeped down before finishing at 381 watts. For me I felt like this was a good stepping stone and showed some real progress in my training and overall fitness.
Hitting those numbers in my test gave me a real boost in confidence and training showing that sticking to a healthy diet, consistent training and getting in plenty of rest between sessions really does go along way.
Overall the camp couldn't of gone much better, a solid mix of long endurance miles, structured efforts and mixing with fellow cyclists who are world tour professionals really does motivate you to carry on pushing yourself and drive you to get stronger.
Thank you for reading and staying posted. I'm truly itching to get racing again and this has to be a good sign for the 2018 season. My first race will be held on the 25th February and is called Brussel Opwijck, its 150km and takes in 1250m of climbing (mainly cobbled bergs), a tasty course to blow the cobwebs out! My next post will talk about this race and how I have settled into Belgium life and New team bike/Kit.
Thanks for coming and let the season begin!
George Clark
From the flat lands along the scenic coast to the more dramatic mountains only 30minutes inland. It really does have a great variety that allows variety in training and gives you the chance to develop on your strengths and weaknesses.
At the start of this intense block focussing on base miles and specific efforts it was important to gage where my numbers were at/ Fitness. By doing this you set out on a simple but rather grim 20minute FTP test (Functional Threshold Power).
So after a couple of days to get over my plane legs I set out on my test weighing 73.8kg and height 6ft 1.5 inches. This was to be my first effort of winter at this pace, I wasn't looking forward to it but it had to be done so I could set down some more accurate zones to use over my time spent in Calpe. For the test I held a fairly average 351 watts. I wasn't overly happy with the numbers and knew there was more to give, so this only made me more hungry to train harder and come back stronger at the end of camp where I knew I would be re testing to see how things had developed over the weeks spent there.
So by the end of Camp I was feeling good and could see improvements across the board in weight, power in efforts and generally more sharp in training. The vibes were good and overall just felt more fit. So to test if I had improved I set out on another 20 minute FTP test this time weighing 70.8kg and same height. So even if I hit 351 watts again I would of made improvements due to my power to weight ratio. But I feel like I could do more.
So test day, For the first 10minutes of the test I set out strong holding 397 watts probably going off a bit to excited but I still managed to stay composed. For the last 8 minutes though I was starting to fade and the number slowly creeped down before finishing at 381 watts. For me I felt like this was a good stepping stone and showed some real progress in my training and overall fitness.
Hitting those numbers in my test gave me a real boost in confidence and training showing that sticking to a healthy diet, consistent training and getting in plenty of rest between sessions really does go along way.
Overall the camp couldn't of gone much better, a solid mix of long endurance miles, structured efforts and mixing with fellow cyclists who are world tour professionals really does motivate you to carry on pushing yourself and drive you to get stronger.
Thank you for reading and staying posted. I'm truly itching to get racing again and this has to be a good sign for the 2018 season. My first race will be held on the 25th February and is called Brussel Opwijck, its 150km and takes in 1250m of climbing (mainly cobbled bergs), a tasty course to blow the cobwebs out! My next post will talk about this race and how I have settled into Belgium life and New team bike/Kit.
Thanks for coming and let the season begin!
George Clark