Kvasshovden opp

This weekend we travelled to Norway for some siteseeing... and for me to participate in my first mountain race in almost a year. It was quite fun, but it was also extremely hot for Norway standards, more than 30C. The first part of the climb was 500m in 5km, which was done in a reasonable jog, even though the heat was oppressive. The second part was another 550m in 2.5km, and just hiking up it was quite difficult. Regulations also said that I had to carry a 2.5kg backpack uphill, which didn't help things. I only noticed it on the night before, and I had not packed my racing backpack and had to lug up a great big 2-day pack instead. Anyway, the time was 1:30, which is quite slow even for my standards. Next: 21km fell race at Bydalen! Should be a bit less steep, and hopefully a bit cooler.

Current speed and weight records

5k@22'
400m@72"
100m@15"

Bench Press DB: 3x5x72, 5x76
Military Press DB: 3x5x48
Back Pulley: 3x5x100, 5x103.5
Back Row: 3x8x88
Back Deadlifts: 3x12x70
Leg Squats: 3x12x70
Leg Quads: 2x10x80
Leg Tris: 2x10x70
Leg Calves DB: 3x15x70
Biceps S-Bar: 2x5x40
Triceps S-Bar: 2x5x40

Rest days

Taking up some rest days now, to let my toe tendon heal, as it's been complaining a bit in the last month.
I'll limit my running to easy stuff, moderate speedwork and hills. No more maximum-speed stuff.

In the meantime, I have finally had some progress in weight training.
After a few weeks of sticking to my 3x5 straight sets, I managed to hit a 3x5 progression at 10% more weight.
In addition, now that I've reduced my running to 3 days / week, my legs are feeling much more fresh.

During the next few weeks I'll be out and about, so I probably won't have much opportunity to weight train.
But I guess I need a bit of a rest period.

Race report: Zuidwolde 5k XC

I was feeling a bit iffy on Friday, and it was the first really bad
weather day after more than two weeks of uninterrupted sunshine, but I
still couldn't resist giving my legs an airing. So I went out while
it was pouring and did a few easy laps in the park, finishing off with
relaxed strides. The evening was weight training, with just a few
ba-only lunges and donkey calf raises for the legs.

Come race day, the weather had cleared up somewhat. I decided to do a
5-10min warmup at about race pace, with a short pickup at the end. My
calves were still not 100%, but nothing too bad.

The field was a bit sparser than last year, where the top man had done
18min something for the 5k. But that was OK, I don't like crowds :)
The place was Zuidwolde - almost 2 hours away from where I live - so
people there were excited that a greek would come all the way there
just for a run. In fact, I was really tired of running in Amsterdam's
forest and there aren't that many 5k events around (everybody seems to
be running the marathon these days). This felt like the right time to
do a 5k, so I had planned it way in advance.

The route was I guess a typical XC route for Holland. There was a
tiny hill (maybe 10-15m high?) with forest, criss-crossed with paths
going up and down. Most of the paths were wide enough for 2 people,
sometimes for even 3-4. I started at the back, thinking I'd use the
qpeople in front to pace myself. I would stick behind somebody, then
drop them as soon as I was feeling sufficiently confident. In the 3rd
km I was behind one guy going slightly slower than me on
the downs and ups but I restrained myself and only passed him at the
4th kilometer, which I did in 4:09. Here are the splits:
4:30, 4:25, 4:45, 4:37, 4:09... total time 22:25 (race time 22:28).
I came in 6/15... so at least above the middle of the pack. First was
18:56.

Full results here:

http://www.uitslagen.nl/uitslag?id=2008051700743

I guess my next target pace would be 4:20, as I felt quite fresh at
the end. I am not sure that in this particular race I could've
pushed the first few km more, but I could've definitely started
picking up the pace a bit earlier in the last km and/or done a faster
sprint for the last 400m. On the other hand, this was consistent with
the times in my long intervals (1-2k) last month of 4:36/km - and
somewhat better than my winter ~23min time trials.

Training week ending May 4 and Shimano Fiets Challenge race report

Week ending May 4
==================

Getting back into my weight training routine, plus a chance to bike a bit!
There was a great race scheduled for saturday, in pretty much the only hilly place in
Holland. Details at the end of the rerport.

In view of the bike race, I tapered the leg weights for the legs this week.
I eased slowly into my previous weights.


Time Type Volume Time Details
28 Apr ---- OFF ----------------- Travel
29 Apr AM Run 3.2 km @ 50 2.4k + 400m@84 + 2x(20,40,60)[2']
29 Apr PM Weights 15.4 Mg @ 60 3x5@90% Upper body, 3x8@90% Arms, 3x12@90% Legs
30 Apr ---- OFF ----------------- Queensday!
01 May AM Bike 20.0 km @ 60 Easy-medium rolling hills
02 May PM Weights 14.5 Mg @ 60 3x6RM Upper body, 3x10RM Arms
03 May AM Bike 40.0 km @ 219 MTB race, muddy, tough hills and paths
04 May PM Weights 5.8 Mg @ 45 3x5RM Lats, Shoulders

Totals
------
Weights: 35.7 Mg @ 165
Run: 3.2 km @ 50
Bike: 60.0 km @ 289
Total: 504 min

Details
-------

The race was fun. I was however quite unprepared. It was my first bike race, if that can be an excuse. However I was thinking all of the following beforehand.

a) Perhaps I should get mud tires rather than semi-slicks.
b) Perhaps I should get a couple of spare tubes.
c) Perhaps I should get a new portable pump since I lost my last one!

The reason I entered this race was that it was advertised as the 'hardest race in holland' and it took place in the hilly region near Maastricht. The highest point there is 330m. However, the race route goes up and down all the time, so the total climb must be at least 2000m (but there is no profile available, alas).

In any case, I thought I'd be able to handle the hills no problem. The weather was unusually warm and dry - fortunately! While I had gone riding out in Austria and Switzerland many times, it was usually dry there and thus there was not a lot of mud.
This race was short of a mud-fest, but there was much more slipperiness than I had been used to. My tyres were nowhere near up to the task.

After the first hill, everybody started going down at breakneck speed - another thing I was not really used to. I hit a stone and my hopes deflated along with my front tyre.
I walked back (up), only to find a mechanic at the top of the hill, who dutifully replaced my tube and gave me a spare. I did have an emergency re-fill capsule, though I had never used it.. so now I was fully equipped.

I went down the hill again - losing a total of around 30minutes, I guess.
The next section was horribly muddy and full of obstacles. I soon realised how mud can get in the way of things and how it can make your pedals too slippery to push against.
Oh well.

At some later point I missed a turn by following the road-bike signs - this fortunately was a slight shortcut and I ended up in the middle of the MTB pack. But in doing so I missed the middle checkpoint. I thought of re-climbing that section, but only briefly. I was already a bit tired.

Soon, it was 2 hours, my projected finish time and I was still at km 25 or so. The rest of the race was a mix of walking and hanging on to the bars for dear life in downhill sections.

Anyway, I made it. Next time I'll at least remember to bring a water bottle!

Current speed

Almost a year, a 10km mountain race, and a few injuries later:

5k: 22min
400m: 1:20
100m: 0:15

Getting faster?

After training consistently for two months, I managed to do 3200m in less than 17 minutes, with the first 1600 meter split at 8:18 and the second and 8:04 pretty comfortably and with a good, fluid, forefoot landing technique most of the way.