51

Training Improvements

Things seem to be ticking along quite nicely at the moment. The improvement in weather and noticeably longer days are really making a difference. My motivation is high as I have my eyes on the UK 24hr Solo Championships, being held in May. It is a really big race for me as not only is it a chance to prove myself against the very best in the country it is also the best means of getting a ranking spot for the World Championships in Australia later in the year.

This year I have given myself several training goals, such as improving power and efficiency but also to reduce my body weight. I can’t say that I have been particularly heavy over the last few years, but there is some excess weight that could be shifted. This showed up on a DEXA body fat scan I had done last September at Aberystwyth University, who have state of the art Sports Science facilities. Back then I was at a peak weight and from then up until Christmas I just tried to maintain my weight and not gain too much over the holiday season.

Since the New Year I have made a real effort to bring my weight down and it is working well. I have done simple things like cutting a few foods out of my diet; alcohol, ice cream and little things like not adding sugar to hot drinks. I have also starting taking Torq raw L-Carnitine which is supposed to help burn extra fat when exercising. Everything is working well as I returned to Aberystwyth University this week to get another DEXA scan and retest my power output. The major news is that I have dropped 3.8kg and 4% body fat. The DEXA scan is really the ultimate when it comes to body analysis; a series of very low dose x-rays to measure bone, muscle and fat densities on the body.

The benefit is that you can see exactly where the weight is on the body and also make sure that no muscle loss is happening. I also had a ramp test with full breathe analysis and I have also seen an increase in my relative VO2 max, so its all good news. I’m now lighter and powerful than I was at Mountain Mayhem last year – a good sign of what is to come I hope.

This time of year is also very exiting as the new season products start coming through. This year I am extremely lucky as I have a number of companies who are supporting me. To help my training I have been provided with a Cyclops Powertap SL wheel system and PT300 indoor bike. Moving to train by power was a big learning curve but it has had a very positive impact and I really would not want to train any other way. Time will tell if it is making me quicker, but I think I know what the answer will be!

I have been using Crank Brothers eggbeater pedals for a number of years and really love the way they work predictably in all conditions. During 2010 I will be using Crank Brothers Eggbeater 4ti pedals on my Focus First Extreme race bike, Eggbeater SL on my Focus Raven training bike and Candy SL on my Verenti road bike.

Nutritional products are very important to me, especially at this time of year when the training loads are at their highest. I am very lucky to have support from both High5 and Torq. Certain products such as energy drink are very personal, so I am pleased that I can stick with something that really works well for me; High5 Energy Source 4:1.

Over the next few weeks the events season starts for me, although the early races will be used as training for the UK 24hr Champs. First up is a road sportive called the Daffodil Classic and the following weekend I will be entering the Mawddach Gold Rush, which is the first MTB race. Later in March I will be undertaking a charity ride for Sport relief, riding from Holyhead to Cardiff.

Anyone wanting to keep up to date on my day to day training and racing can follow me on Twitter.

50

Wales Cycle Challenge

Wales Cycle Challenge

On March 21st I will cycle solo and non-stop from Holyhead to Cardiff for Sport Relief. Riding the full length of Wales, a total of over 200 miles over hilly terrain. I have never cycled that far on the road before, so it will be a new experience for me.

Setting off very early on the Sunday morning from Holyhead I will head across the Menai Bridge before riding through Snowdonia and going on to cycle through the heart of the country, hopefully finishing in Cardiff while it is still daylight.

I have chosen to ride for Sport Relief because of the incredible work they do at both a local, national and international level.

If anyone would like to donate and support my ride, please visit my Sport Relief page.

Someone will also be updating my Twitter page through the ride, so to keep up to date, visit my Twitter.

49

A Busy Few Weeks

The last few weeks have been fairly busy, although I’ve not had any races my training has been improving and various other events have kept me occupied. The majority of the snow dumped around Christmas finally thawed out mid-January which meant I could finally get back on the road bike and start getting some serious training done. Up until the thaw all I was able to do was get on the Raven MTB with Schwalbe snow stud tyres and ride around the back roads. I wasn’t able to add any structure to the training which was very frustrating.

After such a long spell off the road bike I was seriously motivated and have put in a couple of big training weeks. One of the major benefits of the Powertap hub I am using is that you can keep a very close check on effort and the intensity of rides, which helps with future training plans and also should help prevent any possible over-training which is very possible as such an early point in the year.

We moved house (again!) and the change has been very positive. We have moved to a great house in a superb location, although not that far from where we were before. The Mountain Biking is not quite as close as before, but just 2 miles along the road gets me to the best local riding and much more on offer to create longer rides. The road riding however is the real gem, with quiet rural roads heading out in every direction offering plenty of harder and easier routes.

To allow us to complete the house move and also to get a big training week in I took a week off work and kept my fingers firmly crossed that the weather would hold out. Thankfully the weather played ball, and although it was cold all week it stayed dry on all but one day. I’ve not ridden many rides further than 40-50 miles recently, so I was keen to prove to myself that I still have the endurance to stay in the saddle for long periods. I planned my week to include 3 separate 100+ mile rides, which would hopefully be a big boost for both my fitness and my confidence. With the week now complete I am really pleased to have completed all 3 rides, each with over 2000m of climbing. The final ride was on a really windy day and really took it out of me, but I am very pleased with how it all went.

On Wednesday I attended the Carmarthenshire Sports Awards, as I was one of 3 people who had been short-listed in the Sports Personality award. I was very honoured to be nominated, especially against such prolific athletes: David Greene, International 400m hurdler and Mike Phillips, Wales and British Lions Rugby player. I didn’t win the award, but had a great night and enjoyed the experience.

To end a very busy week I travelled to Cannock on the weekend to meet and ride with DH legend Steve Peat, as the final part of the prize for winning the Garmin Academy competition way back at BikeRadar Live last May. Steve himself was a true gent and every bit as nice as people have said. He spent all day with us, doing some riding and a bit of technical coaching. I had a great weekend riding and came away a better rider.

Moving into the next few weeks I am hoping to mix a few more longer rides while also starting some more intensive sessions done. But as I am writing this we have a fresh dump of the white stuff which may cause a few more problems!

48

Winter Blues

After writing my last blog, mid-December things were all looking good. Training was going well and I had just won a round of the Welsh CX series, which was a surprise. But things never go smoothly do they!

The spell of cold weather we are having seems to have been going on for ages and living in rural Wales the temperature and conditions have been worse than many areas. Temperatures have been down to -8 and only the major roads are remotely safe to ride on. On a very cold early morning ride the week before Christmas I came off my road bike on the ice. Thankfully I didn’t hurt myself too much, but I did bruise my knee and hurt my thumb which is still sore! I took a few days off training to recover and also lost confidence in riding the smaller (and far more enjoyable!) roads around the area. Just as I was back training I had another slip on the ice when walking and strained the same knee I injured before. Another few days off the bike!

Christmas was really enjoyable, but the weather put a stop to any plans for festive road rides. I was really starting to get frustrated with the lack of training that was going on! To make things even worse I picked up a cold in the days after Christmas which made its way to my chest and again kept me from training!

I had pre-entered the Salisbury Winter Challenge, but after the rubbish weeks leading up to the event and still hanging onto a cough and bad chest I was undecided about entering. I finally decided to do it in the days before in the hope it would be a kick start to the new year and my training.
The journey to Erlestoke where the race starts meant an early morning start and with temperatures below zero I knew it was going to be a cold event. I had decided to race on my Focus Mares Cyclo-cross bike for a few different reasons. I had been riding it more than my MTBs recently, so I felt good riding it. I also knew that although there were technical sections on the whole it was an non-technical event with a fair amount of road, where I hoped the Mares would be an advantage. I wrapped up warm for the race, with dhb Merston tights, Earnley base layer and dhb Rogate top with the temperature just getting above freezing.

In the pre-race briefing we were warned of the icy conditions and this was immediately evident on the first climb after the start where the back roads were covered in a layer of frost and ice. I tried to ease myself into the pace at the start, but several quick riders were here and with a long climb I didn’t want to loose touch so had to push hard. I stayed within the top 10-15 on the first climb with a large group forming at the front. As soon as things turned off-road onto frozen grass and mud the advantages of a cyclo-cross bike were clear as I soon made up time and passed a few riders. It was a little different on the bumpy descents, but I didn’t loose too much time and managed to stick with the same group of riders. I had a small tumble on a section of frozen tank tracks and also stopped to take off my skull cap. The high intensity of the race meant I was overheating, both these lost me time and I had to work hard to try and get back in touch. On a very long section of road I was working well with another rider on a cyclo-cross bike and we managed to pass a few riders. Only one managed to stick our pace and that was Ant White, a rider who I am more than familiar with!

We stuck together as a group of 3 for a while, but on a short climb it was just down to myself and Ant. I was pushing hard on the front trying to catch 3 riders who were still ahead. After a while I caught a glimpse of a rider ahead and it didn’t take too long to catch him up and he tucked in behind. On another climb I put in an effort and managed to put a small gap onto the other 2, although this was wiped out as soon as we went off road where the MTBs had the advantage over the bumpy, ice strewn tracks. I managed to stay close and we push on together and soon glimpsed 2nd place rider ahead. Another climb, another big effort! I caught 2nd and gapped 3rd. It didn’t last too long as we came to a long downhill road where we were warned of the ice on the way down. I was still nervous of ice from my fall before Christmas and was taking it really easy. The rider in 4th was not easing up at all though and caught and passed us both – ballsy stuff!

Next came the final climb, which was a long one and the steepest climb of the course. The Mares was over-geared compared to the MTBs and although I got up OK I lost a heap of time and was caught and passed by Anthony White to put me in 5th. There was very little distance left to the finish and I knew a big part of it would be the final descent. It soon came and there was a gap of around 30 seconds to 2/3rd and 15 seconds to Ant. I pushed as hard as I dare, but in reality there was no chance as the descent was bumpy and steep in places making it a challenge to get down, let alone catch a skilled rider on a MTB. In the finish there was just over a minute separating 2nd to 6th and I kept hold of 5th position.

I’m pretty happy with that considering how bad the last few weeks have been. I certainly didn’t feel anywhere near my best, so hopefully I will be able to train well over the next weeks and months and really build upon my fitness. I’ve got no big races planned until March, so it will be a case of training hard and getting the miles in!

End of Season Lowdown with Team Wiggle

Our Team Wiggle athletes have had a cracking year, standing atop rostrums the world over in road racing, mountain biking and triathlon. Before they put their feet up for the festive break, we caught up with them all as they reflect on 2009 and look ahead to 2010. Pro mountain biker Matt Page had a dream year, winning his target race and proposing to his girlfriend on the finish line…

47

Team Wiggle 2009 Highlights

Q. Looking back on your 2009 season, are you pleased with how it went?

A. My major goal was to win Mountain Mayhem, so having won that race I am really happy with the season as a whole. I had a few disappointing races where I had niggling injuries or illness, but equally I won events that I didn’t even plan to enter which was a nice bonus.

Q. What was the highlight of your year?

A. Without a doubt, crossing the finishing line at Mountain Mayhem to win the event and propose to Nia.

Q. What was the funniest moment of your season?
Perhaps beating Steve Peat (Downhill World Champion) in a downhill race (of sorts) at BikeRadar LIVE. It bagged me a nice prize, part of which is a weekend riding with the man himself, scheduled for January.

Q. What was the most important lesson you learnt?

A. Not to put everything into a single event. Having won Mayhem in June, I struggled at times afterwards as I had already hit my season goals.

Q. What are your plans for winter training? How’s it going so far?
I always struggle through the winter and this year has been no different with some big ups and downs, but the past few weeks have been excellent and I have started racing cyclo-cross and have even won a round of the Welsh CX series.

Q. What does 2010 have in store for you? What are your major races going to be?

A. Next year I take my racing overseas for the first time in an attempt to take on the best riders in the world. My major races will be the 24hr UK Solo Championships in May and the 24hr Solo World Championships to be held in Canberra, Australia, in October. I will also be doing a number of UK marathon events including the Enduro 6, British Marathon Championships and the Kielder 100 mile.

Matt says:

“Both of these photos are from Mayhem. One reminds me of the pain while going up the dreaded “Kenda Climb”. It was taken at some point during the Sunday morning so the pain on my face is very real, having completed 20+ laps. The second picture was taken as I crossed the finish line in tears, half pain/half elation about winning and the thought of proposing!”

46

Cross Racing Success

The last few weeks have been quite busy for me in terms of training and also CX racing. A few weeks ago I entered the Welsh CX round at Pembrey on board the fantastic Focus Mares. I was just looking to get a little more experience and use it as a training session. To my amazement I was gridded on the front row in only my second ever race. In a way this was great as I knew I’d get a fairly good start, but I was rather nervous as I am still very new to it. The start was quick, but I stayed within my limits and soon settled into a battle for 4/5/6 position. The laps seemed to fly by and I was really enjoying it – if that’s possible when your in pain and near your limits! In our own mini battle we kept swapping positions throughout the race.

Towards the end, what I thought would be our penultimate lap I glanced back to see Lee storming through to lap us! I knew that if he passed us (which he did very soon after!) this would be our last lap, so made sure I got into a good position and made a sprint for the line to finish in 4th place overall (3rd Senior). I was really happy with the result and it was a nice step up from the 7th place at the previous race.

The next 2 weeks were spent training hard, almost all on the Kiron as I step up the mileage and hopefully start improving my overall fitness. Had I known how much I would enjoy racing cyclocross I would have entered the Welsh Champs, but the entry deadline was the day after my first race, so I didn’t really give it much thought. Instead I used the time to head up to North England for a weekend away and also paid a visit to Newcastleton in the Scottish Borders where the UK Solo 24hr Champs are to be held. It looks like it will be a fantastic venue and will be a great place to battle it out against the other top riders in the country. I honestly think it will be the best course used for any major UK 24hr to date, so anyone looking for a great event to race or just to challenge yourself then look no further!

This week started quite badly as I struggled to train hard as my daily routine was turned on its head and I went from training in the afternoon and evenings to having to get on the bike as soon as I got up at 7am. Apart from a slight lack in top end power it wasn’t too bad in the end, but I’d much rather go out later in the day.

Sunday 13th Dec 2009

This weekend I entered the Welsh CX round at Glanusk Estate. The course was totally different to Pembrey, with loads of tight and twisty corners and almost all on grass. Some sections were off-camber and really tricky. I am still very much a novice at CX and I didn’t think the course would suit me at all. I was slow and ponderous around the slower more technical corners, but at least there were not too many dismount sections, something I have never practiced.

With Lee racing at the British National Series I was hopeful of getting at least one place higher!. Once again I started on the front row, so I made sure I put in a good start and got into 2nd place really quickly.

It didn’t last long as I was pushed out on one of the first corners, lost some rhythm and dropped back several places. As the front few riders went ahead with a clear track I was stuck behind other riders and found it hard to make up the lost ground. Very slowly I picked up a few places, picking off one or two riders each lap I moved up to 4th or 5th and was holding ground on the leaders. As the race progressed the course became more cut up and I was struggling for grip on both wheels in several places. I was loosing time in some of the corners and also where I had a few slow dismounts/remounts, but able to pull some back on the flatter parts and the short uphill blasts.

I progressed well and could see that not only was I gaining on the riders ahead, but the time gap to the lead rider was also coming down. I made a big push and soon found myself in a 3-way battle for the lead. The gap kept changing, but it was only ever a few seconds and I was still feeling strong. With 2 laps remaining I made my move as riders behind were starting to close in. I got a small gap which started to grow ever so slowly. Going into the final lap I only had a lead of about 10 seconds, so I knew I couldn’t make any mistakes. I put the hammer down on easier parts and made sure I got around on the sketchy sections and was over the moon to cross the line and win the race!

The other major news on the training front is that I have found a coach to work with after a number of years of self-coaching. After plenty of thought I have been lucky to find someone that I trust and someone who really understands the needs of a 24hr soloist. I only ever considered 2 people, so to find someone willing to help me progress is very exciting stuff. Now that I have been using my Powertap for a couple of months I have been able to build up enough data to start using it to its full extent after an initial learning process.

Training by power certainly lives up to my expectations as you can go into a huge amount of detail on every single part of your ride. At the moment I am mainly looking at snapshots of rides, finding out how hard each ride is and using the data to slowly build my fitness and hopefully prevent and possible over training. As things move on and I learn more about what is possible then I will go into more detail and really start to analyse each training session. There are so many benefits to power training, but the main benefits I am finding at the moment are the extra motivation I get from hitting a certain level of “stress” or TSS each week and also watch in numbers as my aerobic fitness, or FTP (functional threshold power) increases.

Next week is the final round of the Welsh CX series and I hope to be there racing again. All being well Lee will be racing again, so that will certainly be a different type of race.

45

Training Ups And Downs

The past few weeks have been rather turbulent and chaotic at times as I attempted to restart my training in preparation for the 2010 racing season. The first week back was great and most training sessions went well, but things took a turn for the worse in the weeks after as I really struggled with motivation and went days without riding. I knew exactly what the problem was, but it wasn’t something that I found easy to correct. I was trying to do too much too soon and my mind and body were struggling to keep up.

With low motivation I needed something to give me a boost and some drive. What better way than confirming my entry to the 2010 24hr Solo World Championships, being held in Canberra next October! Flights have been booked and my entry in the Elite category confirmed. I want to be able to race and compete directly against the best riders in the world, but to stand a chance I know I need to train harder than I ever have before.

Luckily I have a few new bits of kit that are going to make a massive difference to my training. First of all is a CycleOps Powertap SL+ wheel system, which is something I have been contemplating for a while but now have decided that I needed to make the switch to training by power in order to make the fitness gains that will be needed. The powertap links seamlessly to the Garmin Edge 705 that I already have and now I can follow my training with far more scientific detail than before. I have only had the powertap for a few weeks, but I can see that it will be of benefit. When doing a fairly standard 2 x 20 minute threshold interval with Heart Rate my power is all over the place, going sky high and then really low, all while keeping my Heart Rate within the right zone. With power the efforts are far more controlled and you can gauge your efforts more accurately.

The next very nice kit I have had the pleasure getting very recently is a Focus Mares cyclocross bike. I’ve never ridden a cross bike or entered a cross race before, but it has always intrigued me and I decided it was time to give it a bash. The bike arrived on a Tuesday afternoon, just before a planned road ride. Plans changed and I took the Mares out on the forest trails in Brechfa instead, doing the blue and red waymarked MTB routes. It was dark and wet, so perhaps not the easiest of ways to test a new bike but I was immediately impressed and I felt very confident riding it on all terrain. I didn’t get a chance to ride it again during the week, but had already decided to enter the Welsh CX round at Margam.

I was quite nervous about the event simply because I didn’t have a clue what to expect. It was a wet and windy day and we turned up in time to watch the Youth race before hand so I could get an idea of what to expect. After meeting with Lee and picking his brains about racing and what to expect I set off for a quick practice lap. It was rather wet and very muddy with about 5 places each lap where I was off the bike and running. At the start of the race I put myself towards the back of the grid, not wanting to get in the way of other more experienced racers. With a fairly fast but congested start I was feeling fine, moving through the field fairly well. Towards the end of the first lap I was in 19th position. I was quite happy with that seeing as it was my first race and only the second time on the bike. I kept picking people off one at a time, trying to keep a solid tempo going.

Before I knew it someone shouted “Halfway through, not long left now”. It felt like I was only 5 minutes in! As the race went on I started to get involved with my own mini race with a few other riders around. I managed to get ahead, but the gap was very small. I would gain a small amount of time on certain areas but loose time on the technical sections where my lack of cross racing was evident. On my final lap I could see a rider charging up behind me on a climb, it was Lee who was lapping me! He was flying and I could not believe the speed he was carrying through. I held off the challenges of the riders behind to finish 7th, which I was very happy with. At the end I was covered in mud, as was the bike so I was really glad I decided to take my Mobi along to wash me and the bike down after before travelling home. I really enjoyed the race and I can’t wait to do it again next week. I’ve learnt several things and hopefully there is some room for improvement.

Race Results

www.cyclocrosswales.co.uk/leagueresults

The latest and final edition on ‘Chwa’ has now aired and features Matthew Page our sponsored Pro MTBer. This is the final episode of three programs filmed at Mountain Mayhem 09.

Each program is a short segment talking to Matthew about endurance racing, The final episode features Matthew winning Mountain Mayhem 2009 and proposing to his fiancee Nia.

Check out the 3rd program below.

The latest edition on ‘Chwa’ has now aired and features Matthew Page our sponsored Pro MTBer. This is the second of three programs filmed at Mountain Mayhem 09.

Each program is a short segment talking to Matthew about endurance racing, there will be 1 final program left to air and we’ll keep you posted when it’s available to watch.

Check out the 2nd program below.

“On Chwa! we’ll meet Matthew Page. Matthew is a professional mountain biker who specialises in endurance racing and he’s one of the best in Britain. There will also be Cliff Diving from the historical harbour of La Rochelle in France, and snowboarding from the Burton European Open. Last but certainly not least, the time has come for the world’s best B-Boy crews to battle it out at the Sony B-Boy Championships in London”

S4C Digidol can be viewed in Wales on

Freeview – 4
Virgin TV – 167
Freesat – 104
SKY – 104
SKY (without subscribing) – 134

S4C Digidol can be viewed outside Wales on

Freeview – not available
Virgin TV – not available
Freesat – 120
SKY – 134

44

One Closes, Another Begins

It has only been 3 weeks since Dusk ’til Dawn, which was my final race of the 2009 season but it honestly feels like much longer. Just like many other athletes I have taken some much needed time off training to refresh the body and mind. 2009 has been a great season for me and for the first time in my racing career I have achieved my major goal. I said at the beginning that I wanted to win Mountain Mayhem and that is exactly what I managed to do.

I’ve been keeping myself fairly busy though with a visit to the Cycle Show at Earl’s court which was a great opportunity to meet friends at Wiggle and check out what’s new in the world of cycling. I even caught my first glimpse of the frames I will be riding in 2010. Exiting stuff! This is the time of year where I do all the product testing and decide what kit I would like to run next year so being able to see the products and speak to the manufacturers at the Cycle Show was invaluable.

Although I have had 3 weeks off structured training I have not been completely idle. I’ve done several runs and a few MTB rides a week, but the main difference is that nothing was planned and I only went out if I felt like it and made sure I had fun. Sometimes when you are set on a training plan you forget to enjoy the rides which is not a situation I want to get into. If I am not enjoying my cycling then I wouldn’t see the point in carrying on. My timing for starting my new training year has been planned to coincide with the clocks going back. For as long as I remember I have suffered from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). This time of year when the nights draw in and especially when the clocks go back can be extremely difficult as I struggle with motivation. Some people will think this is another made up disorder, but I am sure that anyone else who suffers will be able to relate and understand.

I am doing everything I can to help things and by starting my training schedule now when I am totally fired up and incredibly motivated about the year ahead. Having a job where I am outside through most of the daylight is also a big help. The biggest help for the condition is exercise, so I have no problems doing that!

In due course I am going to change several things about my training, including moving to power for training sessions along with Heart Rate that I currently use. I will also be employing the use of a coach for the first time in quite a while. I feel that I have achieved a huge amount through self-coaching but someone with more knowledge and experience will hopefully be able to lift me to reach my full potential.

I have big aims and goals for the 2010 season, but hopefully I will be able to achieve them like I have done this year. The time off has worked a treat and I can’t wait to get back into serious training and make myself a faster and better rider!