Cycling - troughs, plateaus and peaks.or maybe cycling is just like life.

There are those weeks when you are going ok, but your average is not as good as your effort the previous week. Those are the troughs.

Then there are those weeks when you have really been pushing hard, but you are not seeing any improvement, and at those times you wonder what is going on. Those are the plateaus.

Then there are those weeks when you really feel you've made upwards progress on your cycling graph of life. You finish riding a regular route and the first thing you do is check your computer for the average speed.a Leyton Hewitt arm pump and "oh yea.another personal best". Those are the peaks. We just love the peaks don't we?

Well here I am at week five of my criterium adventure/career. A lot has been learned over the previous four weeks. A lot of do's to do, and a lot of don'ts to not do too.  Along the way there have been a few troughs, plateaus and minor peaks.

So, armed with 5 months and 3000km of building strength, 4 weeks of racing knowledge, the invaluable advice of those more experienced and the supercharging gel and electrolytic juice, I confront my limitations once again. This week I am more prepared than in any week previous. As usual I am psyched to do my best, but without any unrealistic dreams or hopes of success, lest they become shattered by a poor result. A little emotional bubble wrap can't be a bad thing.

Once more I find myself queued on the now familiar white line across the track. I am aware of how much more relaxed I am this week, excited, but relaxed, as we all casually get under way. We jostle into a line, and this week I am using the brakes to keep behind the rider in front, and not lose my place in the line by drifting past. I am holding my line well and being more assertive in demanding my position. The new attitude is working because the other riders don't attempt to push me out, or if they do, I am not submitting, and I refuse to relinquish my ground.

The laps roll on with me always in the first handful of positions, my front wheel within a few centimetres of the rear wheel of the bike in front. I am feeling ok, and on each lap I am able to maintain my position up the rise. The strongest rider is doing a lot of work on the front and as he moves aside, I find myself with the wind in my face. Still feeling good, I put in a reasonably hard lap and stretch the field a little. I know, I know, don't lead unless you can get away or hurt the others, but I feel ok so what the hell. I am puffing by the end of that lap, but am pleased at how quickly I recover when I get in the draft, and soon I am feeling comfortable once again.

We are only five minutes from the bell and I am still with the leaders, still sucking wheel as they say, and still feeling good.

Once again the leading rider moves aside and I am in the lead. This is a bad time to lead but I do it anyway, and burn quite a bit of energy in the process. At the end of my lap, one rider does a solo breakaway and no-one has enough left to chase him down. The rest of the lead bunch also pass me and I struggle to latch on, but with head down and a hard push I find a rear wheel and like a leech, I suck it. I get only a few minutes to recover as we cruise around on the last lap before the bell. As predicted, the bell sounds and the bunch start playing cat and mouse, as each rider positions themselves to be in the ideal place for the inevitable final sprint.

The bunch trundles along to the last corner before the uphill finishing straight, with me at the back. At this point the bunch think I am all used up, but a rush of blood to the head (pity it wasn't to the legs) makes me sprint past them all as we round the corner.

The numerous exclamations of surprise, along the lines of "what the..!!!", from the bunch gives me a smile and extra impetus, as my bike rocks madly from side to side with me pounding on the pedals for all I am worth. I see the shadows of my competitors slip behind me.

As we approach the finish line I am still a bike length or more in front and can sense the others pushing as hard as they are able.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a shadow appear on the track beside me as I start to fade with the effort of the climb up the rise. I keep pushing with what little strength I have left, as three riders close on me and then pass me, just before the finish line. I am feeling absolutely wasted, but also elated by the unexpected sprint for second place.

I coast around the track on the cool down lap barely able to stay upright. Just enough energy left to check the average.34.5kph. At this point I want to do the Leyton arm pump but there's no arm pumps left in me, just an attempt at a smile.. I feel a little nauseous as I suck in as much air as I can, but it isn't really enough. I hope I don't collapse. Gradually I recover and slowly make my way back to the marshalling area in granny gear. I can't get off the bike and just stand with my head on the handlebars and pant.

One of my co competitors says "She's not going to be sick is she?" At that, I start to chuckle between pants and puffs, causing my body to shake and shudder in a no doubt amusing way. I feel a pat on the back and receive a "well done" from someone. Eventually I am able to be upright and can manage a big smile of satisfaction. I receive positive comments on my performance such as "you were strong today" and "you gave us a surprise". 

I was very pleased with the result of the race and the 34.5kph new pb, and even though it wasn't a win, it was a competitive ride. I feel I have now reached one of those peaks I mentioned. It hopefully won't be the last or the highest peak I will have the opportunity to test myself against.

This is the final report in the 'Emma goes critting' series. This won't be the end of my criterium racing however, and you are bound to hear news of any major successes if, or I should say when, they occur. Of course the road season isn't too far off either. Hmmmm, 'Emma on the road' has a ring to it doesn't it.

Emma Richardson

Carbs, protein and other Gu…

Took it easy on the training schedule this week after the tiring 250km of the previous week. Tuesday off, feeling only a little guilty. Fifteen kms on the rollers on Wednesday, dripping by the end. That’s the new home modified motion rollers by the way, which are much more fun to use largely due to the realism of the ride. Thursday was another day off, and feeling very guilty by this stage. Oh dear, if only feelings of guilt could build muscle. Friday another 15km.on the rollers but I had the floor fan on full speed, so was riding into headwind…hardly any guilt. Saturday the usual community ride of 37km with the traditional sprint for your life along the last couple of kilometres. Sunday 40km with the road group and then a quick trip out to meet up with the social group for some hills. By the time I caught up with them, they were on their way back so it was only a 10km ride through the hille. I had learned my latest lesson from the week before and avoided any strenuous rides on Monday, because Monday is race day.

I have been wondering why after 4 months on the road bike I am still not riding like a pro. So this week I decided to research the fascinating world of supplements. Surely it was this lack of additives that was holding me back. You would think at 55yo I would know everything, especially after learning so much about cycling in the recent months, but no, here was another whole subject in which to become expert.

I had little time before my next race to do my research, only a few hours in fact, so busied myself reading the labels on the products on the supermarket shelves. ‘Crikey, isn’t the printing small’, I muttered, as I quickly reminded myself to avoid talking to myself in the supermarket aisle. Energy %, Protein %, Fat - total/saturated, Carbohydrate - total/dextrose, Sodium, Potassium. Magnesium…and each product using a different serving size. The only thing saturated was my poor brain. This supplement research was going to be more than a thirty minute lesson, this was going to require a government research grant.

What I had learned though, was that I needed electrolytes to replace the ones lost from perspiring (ladies don’t sweat, we perspire), carbohydrates for energy, and protein to build and repair muscle. The previous week a cycling accomplice had given me some Gu sachets, and another had kindly given me a product called EM-PACT. With a name starting with EM it must be good, so I thought this must be a sign from the cycling gods.  I decided to employ both for the race that afternoon. Armed with Gu in my jersey pocket, and sloshing with Em-Pact in my stomach and water bottle I hit the track. I sucked a vanilla bean flavoured Gu…mmmm…had another swig of EmPact, and completed the obligatory warm up laps.

Being my fourth race day, I was feeling a lot more comfortable with the people and atmosphere, with many faces now familiar ones as I took my place on the start line,. This time I remembered to reset the computer which was already an improvement from the previous week. Hopefully that won’t be my only improvement I thought, as I mentally ran through my list of lessons supposedly learned. The command to go was given and we did. Don’t you just love the ‘chorus of clicking cleats’ as it reaches a crescendo and then fades as each one finds its rightful place on the pedal. Hey, maybe there’s a new song in there somewhere…

Click goes the cleats boys, click, click, click

We like to use the cleats because they make us go quick

Just remember to uncleat before you pull up on the grass

Or else you’ll find yourself landing flat on your arse…

Now, where was I…oh yea…critting of course…

The initial pace this week is much more to my liking. A bit like the social rides with time to have a quick dig at the rider nearest you…’You take the lead’…’No, you take it’. A few laps like this with me firmly ensconced in the middle of the pack. I eventually find myself near the front with the front most rider expecting me to take a turn. I do so, but in my own good time. The words from my advisors reminding me ‘to not go hard on the front unless you can hurt the others’. I do take my turn but at my pace. If the pace is too slow then ‘come on by’ is my thought.

The bunch wait until I make an effort up the rise and I hear a quick ‘lets go; from a couple behind me. With this signal, three riders sprint past and take a thirty metre lead. ‘Let them go’ is the yelled message from those behind me as I contemplate making the effort to catch the break away. It doesn’t take much to convince me to concede and I settle back into the seat. I continue with the bunch managing to stay mid pack, and getting some valuable experience riding in close quarters and responding to changes in pace.

At the halfway point, the break away is still maintaining a sixty metre or so lead and another rider from the bunch tests his mettle by trying to bridge the gap. A rider or two have dropped off the back leaving the bunch depleted. I find myself on the front more and more, and pushing in an effort to maintain or improve my weekly average. Two riders sprint past me but I soon catch them as I keep pushing hard. They decide to let me do the work as we countdown the minutes to the bell. Within 200 metres of the finish line these same two sprint past as I am just about all used up. I manage to get out of the saddle for a final push up the hill and keep ahead of the rest.

I managed to equal my best average speed of 33.3kph even though the early stages of the race were slow. Cadence was also improved to an average of 93. As usual, at the end I was puffing, panting and gasping for breath while my heart was trying to escape from my chest. But I was smiling because I had stayed on the lead lap. We had the usual post race banter with me sarcastically exclaiming to the leaders…‘oh, thanks for waiting!’.

Am feeling sure the Gu and EmPact helped me maintain my effort, and I did feel I completed the event in less distress than previously, and will be exploring the supplement avenue further.

Next time I am eating/drinking with the race winner I will say ‘I want what he’s having’.

Emma

Or when is too much training more than enough?

Feeling quite buoyed by my significant improvement in average speed and cadence in the previous week’s crit, I approached the next week with commitment, vigour and fervour to put in some tough training rides. Each day saw me heading out in the dim morning light to climb over my favourite hills. On the fifth day I tackled what for me was my longest ride yet, the seventy seven kilometres, all up and down route to Bellingen via the rough North Bank Road. Although the pace was generally leisurely, there were some steep hills to remind the muscles that there was a job to do.

At one point on the return journey, a riding companion generously offered to assist my training effort by challenging me to a race to the main road about six kilometres away. I was given a white roadside post’s head start and away we went. The first two kilometres or so were downhill and unbeknown (at that time) to the challenger, I am quite speedy on a tight and twisty descent (forty years of scraping pegs on motorbikes). This put me well in front by the bottom of the hill and spinning along the sometimes flat and sometimes undulating road, bouncing and shuddering over the rough surface. In the last kilometres, a brief glance behind showed my lead still intact with me down in an aero position, legs screaming, heart pounding, lungs sucking air with a shower of perspiration being pulled from my skin. I managed to maintain my lead and accept the imaginary cheers and adulation of the crowd as I crossed the finish line with arms outstretched and fingers displaying numero uno. I’m sure my red jersey took on a yellow hue for the rest of the journey.

Oh, back to reality…So yes, the satisfaction of winning the mini challenge was great, but there was the remainder of the return trip to complete and this was achieved without any further shenanigans.

Here is a profile of the days ride…

The next morning, the morning of the day the crit was to be run, another group of riders were heading out for an early morning forty kilometre ride, and never wanting to miss out on anything, I joined them. More hills of course, and my riding companions were mostly strong riders, so the desire to try that little bit harder to keep up was always present. (To be honest, I am nearly always going as hard as I can.)

Here is a profile of that ride…

With only a few hours to recover before facing the afternoon’s crit, I was feeling a little flat. Even some muffins and cream didn’t seem to be comfort me. (I know, amazing!!!)

Judgment time had arrived, as had I at the local track.  A few warm up laps to get the body ready and I took my place on the line. The flag dropped and away we went. The lessons I had learned in previous weeks were flashing through my mind…don’t be in the lead, don’t be on the back, keep the cadence up, keep aero…unfortunately during this busy mental moment I had forgotten to reset my computer on the line and so don’t have the accurate results for the race (Emma mentally slaps herself).

The first few laps were not too fast and I stayed with the bunch, not on the front, not on the back, just right!!!...funny things was, I kept finding myself next to other riders instead of tucked in behind. I found I would often corner faster that the rider in front and not wanting to waste energy by braking, I would drift alongside until our speeds equalised. By this time though, the rider behind had closed the gap and left me out in the wind. Ok, another lesson to learn, or maybe I just need to be more forceful. And hey, whatever happened to ‘ladies first’?

Eventually a couple of us did get dropped as the bunch sprinted up the rise. I managed though, to avoid getting lapped this time until right on the finish line.

So this week I was able to stay with the bunch much longer and I almost avoided getting lapped by the leaders. I estimate my time was about 31kph which is 2kph down from my previous but my cadence would have still been over 90.

I realised that I had done too much riding over the previous week, and had left myself wanting in the energy spurt department. I had done 250km over six days, with a few hard sessions on the day and on the day before. The hill riding on the morning of the crit was probably silly and I have now added that to my lessons learned list. It’s getting to be quite a long list…

Emma