Sub 50

Going fast in Wales
© Adele Would

Right, there's been more racing done at this end. No wins but a couple of good results worth reporting.

Firstly, the WTTA 100. I clocked 3:41:22 to finish second behind James Wall (3:40:15), who also beat me in the Bristol South 50 a few months ago. A slight disappointment, but it was still a very good time for my first outing over that distance.

It was tough, I'm telling ya. But I learned quite a lot about pacing and fuelling, which I have detailed in this blog on BikeRadar.

I'd love to go sub-3:40 for a 100 and I am seriously considering a 12 hour next year. But I'll see how much success I have with a new saddle...

Secondly, and this was an even bigger deal for me. I broke 50 minutes for 25 miles in the Hirwaun Wheelers 25 on Sunday. 49'58 for second behind the untouchable Michael Hutchinson (46'01), who nearly beat Chris Boardman's 16 year-old comp record of 45'57. That is seriously seriously quick and he was a bit annoyed with himself for not pushing it a bit more, because he didn't think it was possible. I wish he had because then I could have said I was second behind him on the day it happened. He is going to give Brad Wiggins a run for his money in the British champs in a couple of weeks time...

In the women's, juniors and overflow event (there were over 200 riders in total), Julia Shaw broke Yvonne McGregor's 13 year old comp record with a stunning time of 51'08. That was the 6th best time of the day too, meaning she beat most of the men. She's 44 and seems to be getting quicker each year. What an awesome rider.

I should explain that the course we raced on, the R25/3H is considered the fastest in the country. It's in Wales, near Glyn-neath, and you start at the top of a pretty sizeable hill (200m altitude) that you don't have to come back up. Reason being is that according to UK time trialling rules, the start and finish of a 25 have to be within 1.5 miles of each other. Just about all the fast courses have gift downhill starts, but this takes the cake.

Although it feels a bit like cheating, it is within the rules and everyone is in the same boat. But what I really enjoyed about it is that there was very little traffic, unlike a lot of other 'fast' courses. It's mostly on a dead straight dual carriageway down the Vale of Neath and back. Two roundabouts each way (plus a couple at the start) and just two sliproads. So it's very safe.

The weather had been looking a bit iffy all week but thankfully the forecast was correct and the front that hit west Wales stopped at the Black Mountains, right next to where we started. It was raining a little at the top but once we hit the main road it was nice and dry.

The start was surprisingly difficult. It was on a side road and at the bottom of a small hill. I found it hard to believe that this was the start of the fastest course in the country. In fact, because of the rain and the headwind, I averaged less than 40km/h (25mph) for the first 2.7km, until I hit the roundabout that led onto the main road.

Then it got fast. With the wind behind me, I picked up speed and was already close to 60km/h by the time the road started to dip down the bank. It got steeper and I wasn't getting a lot of use out of my 53x11, but that didn't matter. I found I could hit a certain speed (74km/h) before I'd get a bit of front wheel wobble, so I backed it off. But one of my regular TTing mates Stu Dodd said he hit 88km/h in a full tuck. Ouch that's quick.

I got to the bottom having now done the first 9km in just 10'30. Nice. The beauty of this course is that you keep descending gradually until the turnaround, so I kept it in the 12 and 13 the whole way.

I reached 15 miles (24.1km) in 28'30 - still nearly 51km/h (31.7mph) average. It meant I had to do the last 10 more uphill miles in 21'29 to break 50 minutes, although I didn't know it because I had the computer on distance rather than time.

On the way back, I realised that the wind wasn't going to push me back up the hill. In fact, it was against me because it was blowing down the valley. At least it wasn't too strong, otherwise I would have been sunk.

Fortunately I'd saved enough gas for the return leg and I really needed it. At times, when the road dipped, it was nice and fast and I could get into the 13 for a while. But I knew the last bit was uphill so I kept holding back.

I got to the 20 mile (32.2km) mark, which was just before the roundabout at Resolven, in 39'12. That meant I needed to do the last 5 miles in 10'47 - climbing 50m with a crosswind. The first two miles from the roundabout were nice and quick, completed in 4'05. But then the road kicked up and it got tougher.

I was still in control of things and it wasn't an agonising effort to get to the finish. It was just damned hard. The last 3 miles seemed to drag on and on, partly because I was going slower and partly because I was pushing it harder. In the end, I managed that stretch in 6'41 at 330W - well above average - so I did have the reserves to drive it home.

I crossed the line, sat up, pressed the button onto time and saw '49'57'. But I know the PowerTap takes a few seconds to get going at the start, so I had no idea whether I'd broken the magic 50 minute mark or not. I rode back up the hill, convinced that I'd probably just missed it. In 25 mile TTing, the difference between 50'00 and 49'59 is psychologically huge, even though it's nothing in speed terms. It represents a barrier that very few riders can break.

We had to wait a long time before the results were finalised, because someone had to bring them up from the finish to the HQ. I sat in the hall talking to Robin, Stu, Alan and Charles from Leisure Lakes, seeing how they'd done. Stu had done a 51'44, Alan a 51'50, and neither seemed particularly pleased although they did finish top 10. Charles had to be satisfied with a 53, while Robin thought he'd just dipped under 53 - he ended with 52'44, over 1'20 better than his previous best. I still had no idea.

Finally, they wrote the times down. Stu was first over to the board and he immediately turned around with a big smile and shook my hand. I was so relieved and happy! It's extremely rare that I get that, but this was a real barrier to break. I think I'd have to go back to the journo world's in 2006 to repeat that emotion.

I checked what Hutch had done and it was an amazing 46'01, just four seconds off Boardman's very impressive mark. Boardman set that in 1993 on a flatter course but with a hell of a lot of traffic on it. Even he commented on it at the time.

Then I realised I'd finished second behind the legendary Hutch, and was extremely satisfied. There were a lot of quick riders there and I'd beaten the rest of them. Only six other riders have gone under 50 minutes this year, so I've shot up the rankings a bit. If I had to do the national 25 again now, I'd likely finish top 15 or 20, rather than a disappointing 43rd (Hutch put over six minutes into me that day).

We left before Shaw's record ride was confirmed, but she's another talent who has gotten much faster this year. Do not underestimate the importance of being aero on a bike.

What next? Going up to Hull this weekend for a go on a fast 10 course, the V718. Then the British champs, where I stand an even chance of winning the masters 35-40 (would be awesome), then the journo worlds in Slovenia, where I would be very surprised if anyone beat me in the TT.

Finally, the beetroot didn't do a thing (I'm just as fast without it) but at least I didn't explode.

Moving forward and going the extra mile

Here's another dollop of bilge because it's Monday, I'm at the end of my holidays and I'm about to go out for pint(s).

Weather remains fine, 20+ degs and sunny with some rain. But this August is already better than last so I'm not complaining.

Thus it as a perfect morning for the Severn RC 25 on the U17 yesterday: a light northerly wind as opposed to a stiff southwester. This course is the latest incarnation of the U18C, which had to be truncated due to traffic lights being installed at Falfield. The U18C was theoretically a faster course, because a) it had a big ski-slope start that you didn't have to come back up at the finish, b) if it was a SW wind you had more tailwind than head and c) you only had to do one lap of the fun but slow Breadstone-Wanswell-Berkeley circuit.

Facts

Last August on the U18C, I did 56'00 to win this event. It was a pretty ordinary day - rain and a strong SW wind, and I probably lost 15-20sec by taking the corners extra slowly. I averaged 334W.

Yesterday on the U17, I did 53'44 to win on a much better day, averaging 323W. Course record by a long shot. Yes I'm riding a different frame and have tweaked my position a bit but my wheels and tyres were pretty much the same as I used last year (pic here). I'm still going to call it a two minute improvement, especially when I compare to other riders who have done both courses a few times.

It could be that the PowerTap is a bit off - I've changed the hub batteries but need to do some calibration tests to make sure. I've done one with a 2.5kg weight (a track pump of all things) hung off the pedals and the measured torque is 10% lower than it should be. But you're meant to use heavier weights to test it, so we'll see. I'm curious but it's not that important: I'll take speed improvements over power improvements any day.

Beetroot facts

According to the latest Scientific Facts, beetroot juice makes you go faster. By that I mean improves your endurance by up to* 16%. It's more effective than training, they say. Imagine if you did both? It goes without saying that I am now investing heavily in tins of beetroot for upcoming fixtures.

Caveat: I'm slightly wary of the fact they called it a double blind test and used blackcurrant juice as a placebo. OK so it's red but I'd hazard a guess that most people could tell the difference between it and beetroot juice.

The mechanism by which it works is not known, but the researchers took a stab at it and reckoned it might be something to do with the nitrates in beetroot juice forming nitric oxide in your body and reducing the oxygen cost of exercise. As some of you may recall, I did a PhD on coal combustion and nitric oxide is a nicht nicht, a big pollutant. So just ask yourself: is this vegetable powered performance enhancement worth the immense cost to the environment? Answer: yes, probably.

But bugger the beetroot, why not get the nitrate in some other form? Like nitric acid? It might burn your mouth a bit and you may well explode if it makes contact with any ammonia in your system, but think of all the extra energy you'll get!

*Clearly includes the number 0.

Tardiness

This latest bilgespot update is tardy, I know. It's that time of year again (July/August), and that is as good an excuse as any. To resume somewhere near where I left off:

XI) El Tour is done and the best man won by a mile. Actually it was closer to two miles. Enjoyed: Astana battling it out amongst themselves (is there a test for EGO yet?); Brad Wiggins in general; Mark Cavendish and Fabian Cancellara. Did not enjoy: the boredom of everything else, including several of the mountain stages.

Contador and Lance will at least be on different teams next year. And Cadel looks to have missed two of his best chances of winning the Tour ('07 and '08). He flaked this year.

XII) It's been a wet July: It rained 24 days out of 31, unlike June where it only rained on 12 days. Checking my records, that's actually worse than last year! August is looking a little better: last year it rained 26/31 days but given that the rest of this week is forecast to be dry, we should be OK. Break out the BBQs.

XIII) I did our club's open 25 mile TT on the U46B a couple of weeks ago. It was a bit of a blowy morning and I couldn't really get going in the first half, clocking 20'45 for the first 10 miles. But I got to the turnaround and remembered how to pedal properly (pull the pedals round, don't stomp on them) and managed the last 10 miles in 20'02 for a total time of 51'04. Only 15sec off my best, which was set on a perfect day in June.

It was also easily good enough to win, which was rather satisfying both from a personal and a club point of view. Julian Jenkinson was second in 51'46 and Ben Anstie third in 52'53. Robin did a 54'32 so we won the team prize quite comfortably.

I've now won two 25s on that course. Last year I only managed 5th (52'02 in June) and 3rd (53'46 in the Chippenham open on a tough day in July). So that is progress.

XIV) Last weekend I did a stint as part of the Triathlon Plus "A" team in the London Triathlon, which is reckoned to be the biggest in the world (10,000 participants). We dun good and beat 400 other teams to win the Olympic Team Relay by five minutes. The Triathlon Plus B team (Chris, Alistair and editor Liz) also did well and finished 30th. Result!

It was an Olympic distance event, so 1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run. The swim was in the crystal clear waters of the Thames. I pitied the swimmers. The run was only 9.4km and basically squiggled around the ExCel centre in Docklands.

The bike course started and finished in ExCel and was 4x10km laps on closed roads. Although it was just up and back along the same road, it was quite technical with 72 roundabouts, turns and turnarounds. Plus narrow bits and hundreds of other riders on the course. And a transition.

Our swimmer, Paul Button, who publishes T3 magazine, was third out of the water. He would have been first or second but he got lost. Yes, it is possible. Our transition wasn't bad - I had to get the timing chip from Paul, then run in cycling shoes(!) until I reached the timing mat, then hop on the bike and go. A couple more people dashed past me on the way out but couldn't clip in as fast as I could so it was pointless. I had passed everyone bar one (who had a really quick swimmer) at the bottom of the exit ramp. I got him before the first turnaround after 2.5km.

The first lap was nice because there weren't too many others from previous events on the course. But then it got busier as more riders from the team relay got out. Apart from the narrow sections, where there was only room for two side by side, I had a pretty good run. In fact, the motorcycle marshals (draft busters) slowed me up more than anything because they would pull out behind a group, I would catch them and have to thread my way past.

I was keeping tabs on the other leading riders and saw I was making fairly good time. But there was one guy who I saw towards the end of my first lap who was stopped on the median strip adjusting his front wheel. I remembered passing him so it meant he was at least 4km behind me. Then I saw him in exactly the same spot doing the same thing on the next lap. 'Poor lad, race is over for him' I thought. So I was shocked when he came in second, a few minutes behind me! But he was later DQ'd for outrageously cutting the course.

I finished my ride in 56'49, which is not particularly quick for 40km - even on closed roads - but the number of turns on the course knocked the edge off my speed. My power was quite good though.

I ran back into ExCel and got a massive and unexpected cheer as the first cyclist home. Then I nearly fell over in my cycling shoes and that was the end of that. Still, I had plenty of time to hand off to Phil Mosley, our runner and coaching editor on Triathlon Plus. He did the fourth fastest run split (31'37) but didn't really have to try because we were so far ahead. We finished in 1:55:27 to win by about five minutes! Definitely a buzz!

Tri Plus B had a solid performance too to come in 30th with 2:20:52. Jolly well done chaps and chapess. We will PR this to the max.

Results and pics (search for 10866 and 10867)

It would have been nice to do the course that the elites did on Sunday, which was shorter (38km) only two laps - one up to Westminster and one to Billingsgate - and involved far fewer turns. The best elite did 54'37, which is about the same speed as I averaged, and they could draft. Of course, they wouldn't have been going flat out like I was, because of the run afterwards. And there was no way I could have got out of the water in 18 minutes! Try an hour...

XV) The recent successes have had something to do with getting it right in training, and no longer being bothered by my torn muscle. During July I went back to my winter training plan (with a few races thrown in) and it's worked well. My power is back up, not quite to peak, but most importantly I'm consistently getting faster. As of this morning, I'm over three minutes quicker over the same 39km TT course as I was at the start of July, and five minutes faster than I was in February. Yes conditions are better now but it's still an improvement.

I've got plenty of races coming up where I can benefit from this - a couple of 25s, a 100, a very fast 10, the British champs, the journo worlds, Duo Normand and a few more after that. I should be getting a superfast bike to test as well...

(Swine flu permitting, of course)