Compression Clothing

I've been trying out some new compression clothing: calf, quad and full leg products from compressport. I've been using compression socks before competitions, after training and racing, and while travelling (air and road) for almost two years but this is the first time that I've used the 'footless' sleeves and I really like them. There are obvious advantages, such as being able to wear flip-flops (socks and flip-flops are a BIG no-no!) and repeated wear before washing (i.e. no smelly feet!). I also really like quad compression because it's my quads that get particularly sore after training and racing.

They're also doing a great job of keeping me warm during the Great British Freeze! We had heaps of snow yesterday and last night (well, at least by Dorset standards) and consequently I've been spending more time than normal on my rollers. It has just started raining and the snow is melting :-( Oddly I feel quite sad and I'd quite like it to stay until Christmas!

The simple pleasures

Last week I was feeling a little glum! Following a recent knee injury I've gradually been building up time on the rollers and I was ready to try a ride outside. I managed a couple of hours on the road last Friday and I was buzzing! I absolutely loved it. It made me realise how it really can be the simple things in life that are the most pleasurable. The next day I tried another road ride but alas I had to turn back after 15 minutes. Damn. I tried to stay positive over the weekend but I occasionally failed and had a few moments of despair!

On Monday I tried the rollers again and my knee felt fine. I had a brilliant 3 hour road ride yesterday; I really cannot explain how much I enjoyed it even though it was cold and grey! I wasn't sure whether to push my luck and try another ride today, but the thought of a swim wasn't quite as appealing! So I decided to give a ride a go and to turn back if things went pear-shaped. Fortunately they didn't and I've just got home from a successful 2 hour ride and I'm beaming from ear to ear :-D

Without wanting to tempt fate, it appears that my 2011 training might be about to start :-D  Fingers crossed!!!!

Staying positive. Just!

After a ride a couple of weeks ago my (normally) good left knee started to hurt. I put it down to the cold weather and/or some new eccentric knee exercises prescribed by a physiotherapist for my right knee. It wasn't so bad that I couldn't ride so I carried on riding for another week; however it got to the point where even walking was painful. As I'm writing this I realise how stupid this sounds and that I should have just stopped training as soon as the niggle started, but stopping isn't a quality that comes naturally to me. Perhaps this is a common trait shared by other athletes!?

Following advice from a knee specialist (who I seem to be consulting rather a lot this year!) I've been icing it, taking anti-inflammatory tablets and, remarkably, resting!

Since Monday I've been gradually building up time on the rollers and yesterday I managed 2 x 1 hour sessions. I've also started to become a regular at the local swimming pool!

Today is a perfect day for riding. The sun is shining and it's actually above freezing for the first time in over a week. I want to try a ride outside for the first time in 9 days, but I've got my sensible head on for a change and I'm fighting the urge. My rollers also remain untouched ;-)

A valuable lesson that I've been learning the hard way is simply knowing when to stop. Time off now is frustrating but it's still early and hopefully I'll be back into full training soon.

Whoooops, spoke too soon!

Last weekend I left The Peak District and headed off to South Wales to have some off-road fun with XC racer rider Mel Alexander. This, I thought, was a strategic move given that the weather forecast predicted snow in The Peaks and sun in South Wales. Hahaha, I chuckled to myself  :-D

The weatherman made a small boo boo!!!! Within an hour into our ride last Friday we found ourselves skiing rather than riding the trails as there was a massive dump of snow!!! Huge fluffy flakes of snow fell quickly :-) It was really good fun and the forest turned into a wintry wonderland. Lovely. The next day we kitted up and got back out onto the snowy trails. After a few hours and lots of drifting, giggling, a couple of crashes and suspected broken ribs, everyone gradually started to have a sense of humor failure!

Bobsleigh anyone?

The next day we woke up to discover that the temperature had dropped to -18 degrees! I decided not to return to The Peaks but instead to head back home to sunny Poole on the south coast of England where snow is scarcely seen. Although I wouldn't be donning my bikini at least I'd be able to ride. Another strategic move, or so I thought! Once I'd finally prised open my car door which had frozen solid I waved goodbye to Wales and took to the motorway. It wasn't long before I'd left the snow behind and I started to get amazed looks from other drivers wondering where I'd come from. The 3 inches of snow covering my car was causing rather a lot of rubber necking ;-) I could still see snow and ice bouncing down the motorway in my rear view mirror as I approached Poole!!!

On Monday I woke to sunny skies, 0 degrees and dry roads. Perfect. I headed out for a great two hour road ride. Lovely. The next day it was grey and raining. Waterproofs on and out of the door. A couple of hours in and the snow started to fall but the roads stayed clear and I was able to ride for 4.5 hours. Meanwhile the snow caused chaos across almost everywhere else in the UK.

Yesterday was a recovery day, AKA feet up and tea and cake day ;-) This morning I pulled back the curtains to discover, erm, a massive dump of snow!!!!! Arghhhh!!!! The whole country seems to be hiding under a huge blanket of the stuff. Even the airports are closed!!!!!! Noooooooo!!!!

Snow covered sand on the beach in Poole

So, I'm stranded in Poole while my turbo trainer is buried under 12 inches of snow 250 miles away in The Peak District. Bah Humbug!

Beach huts: home to sleighs not buckets and spades ;-)

I dug out my swimsuit and headed to the swimming pool. I've not been swimming for years and at first I must of looked really funny floundering around as I attempted to front crawl. A few lengths in and I swallowed a mouthful of water at the halfway point and had to resort to breast stroke until I caught my breath again. Eventually I got the hang of it again and before I knew it I'd knocked out 100 lengths of the pool. I didn't want to stop!

More snow is forecast tonight....... I never thought I'd be longing to see my turbo trainer!!!

Snow, ice and freezing feet. Brrrrrr!!!

I've finally wrapped things up at work and for the next 12 months I'll be living life as a full time mountain bike rider. Gulp!

Since my last race (Roc D'Azur) at the beginning of October, I had about two weeks off the bike and for the last 3 weeks I've been riding off road with friends and generally just playing around on my bike. Tea rooms have been a frequent feature of my social rides :-) The only road miles I've been putting in have been in the car while driving to lots of different places to ride. I've spent time in Wales (Cwmcarn, Llandegla, Machen Mountain), Forest of Dean, Cannock Chase, Dalby, and Eastridge. I've also spent an afternoon playing at the pump track at Lee Quarry, which was fun, fun, fun :-))) I found myself saying "one last time" until it got dark! It's very addictive ;-)

I'm temporarily based in The Peak District which is home to some well known trails including Jacob's Ladder, the Beast, and Cut Gate path, as well as some lesser known trails around Goyt Valley and Macclesfield Forest. The Peaks will provide the perfect playground for me for the next 6 weeks, providing the snow stays away!

This week marked my return to structured training (overseen by Matt Hart at Torq), which seems to have coincided perfectly with the cold snap. Yesterday the temperature barely got above freezing and despite wearing two pairs of socks and neoprene overshoes my feet froze. I spent an hour walking around like a penguin waiting for them to defrost before I could venture into the shower, and even then I still got chilblains.

Over the next few months I'll be spending a lot of time riding my MTB on the road (complete with knobbly tyres) in order to build up my endurance base. This will involve lots of easy to moderate pace 3-6 hour rides. I choose to ride my MTB on the road rather than a road bike because: 1. I am training in the position that I race in, 2. it makes it harder, 3. I don't go as far so I don't have to figure out even longer routes to ride, and 4. it means that Dave can ride his road bike and sometimes keep up ;-)

In addition to road riding, I'll also be spending time working on MTB skills, something that I want to focus on over the next year. This will be divided into low intensity sessions where I'll work on core skills e.g. manuals, pumping, bunny hops (flat pedals), and cornering etc. and higher intensity sessions where I'll put the core skills into practice (e.g. working on technical climbs).

As well as endurance and skills sessions on the bike, I'll also be spending time working on flexibility and core strength. Finally, and most importantly, I'll be able to spend time recovering, which is something that I’ve previously been unable to find time to do. So although I won't be going to the office for the next year, I certainly won't have time that needs filling!

At the moment my recovery time is spent in front of the computer (something I thought I'd largely escaped for the year!). It seems to take forever to plan training holidays, races, travel and accommodation. It's all exciting stuff though so I'm not complaining. One trip that I am particularly excited about is a race and training camp at Club La Santa in Lanzarote. I'll be racing in the two stage off-road MTB race on 29th and 30th January and I'll also be helping out with their Cape Epic training week (28th until 3rd February).
Ok, so now it’s back to planning flights!

Have fun,
Sal   

2010 Season Summary

The 2010 season has been a long one, beginning in March with the Cape Epic, South Africa, and finishing in October at the Roc D’Azur, France. The season didn’t quite go to plan and knee pain at the end of February meant that I had a shaky start. Although I managed to complete the Cape Epic with a third place finish together with team mate Nico Pfitzenmaier, I had to take the majority of April and May off the bike. This was really worrying and at the time I didn’t know if I would be able to race again in 2010.

Fortunately, I had excellent advice and help from a doctor who specialises in cycling related knee injuries. I followed his advice to the letter and after a few training rides at the end of May I decided to start the Trans Germany 4 day stage race. This marked my return to racing and at the beginning of August I finally started to feel strong again. This was a little too late for the European XCM Champs in July where I finished 7th, but it was perfect timing for the World XCM Champs in August. Some mechanical problems at the Worlds cost me time meaning that my 8th position didn’t reflect the finish that I feel I was capable of. However, I felt really encouraged by the strength that I had and it has helped me to start to believe in myself.

August through to October brought some great results: my third consecutive National XCM title; victory at the UCI Cat 1 Ischgl Ironbike in Austria; and a win at the Roc D’Azur marathon. During this time I also had a go at a couple of XCO races: First the Southern XC which I won and then the final round of the British XC Series which was a UCI Cat 1 event. To everyone’s surprise, including my own, I finished 3rd and 75 seconds behind the winner Gunn-Rita. Although I still passionately love marathon races, I can now understand the attraction of XCO racing and I will definitely take on the challenge of a few more next year……perhaps even a World Cup or two ;-)

For now however I am taking a few weeks off the bike. My knee still isn’t 100% and I want to use the next month or so to try and resolve the problem. This is a strange time of year for me. Towards the end of the season I look forward to time out of training, but once it arrives I struggle to stay away from my bike. Weird! Normally I would occupy myself by running, but given my knee this isn’t possible ☹ The swimming pool is calling……

I’m excited about next year, not least because I have taken a sabbatical from my lectureship at Bournemouth University where I research and lecture about Autism (a neuro-developmental disorder). My aim over the next year is to spend time working on MTB technical skills, something that has largely been sidelined until now due to time constraints. This is one aspect of my riding that needs improving and gains made here should, I hope, lead to better race results in the long term. It was a scary decision to take a year out of my academic career and I still wonder if it is the right one, but even if it isn’t then I believe that it is better to have tried than not to have tried at all.

As always I would like to thank everyone who has helped and supported me. My team Topeak-Ergon Racing Team are, in my opinion, simply the best team ever! A huge thanks goes to all of our sponsors for providing us with the best equipment for the job ☺ My boyfriend Dave never falters in the support that he gives and he’s also becoming a pretty handy mechanic thanks to excellent tuition from Jon and Andy at RideBike. Coach Matt Hart (Torq) knows exactly what I need to do to get strong and stop me from going off the rails! I would also like to thank James Towlson who played a monumental role in instigating my step up into International MTB’ing.

Bye for now,
Sally ☺

Interview with marathonMTB.com

I had an interview with Richard Tyler from marathonMTB.com, which is a great new website dedicated to MTB marathon, click here to check it out.