Firstly,
Happy New Year!
I'm not big on making new years resolutions but I have told myself that I need to give my blog a bit of tlc as I'm not writing or updating it as much as I used too. I guess coming to the end of 2012 I was going through a lot of stress with trying to sort my job out and certain things have fallen by the wayside as stress took over. Well my job is now secure and so life can go on once again. Obviously, my blog has also lacked content as I have neither been racing or training. I still don't have my mtb and my road bike is suffering from endless mechanicals which is putting me off long rides out.
Still this is all to change.
The Bike Build
How patient have I had to be for this? I am so close to getting this done. So close in fact it was due to have been finished this weekend but I was let down with an order on spokes and sent the wrong length. More delays....Arrggghhh. So maybe, just maybe it'll be next weekend and I'll be posting it up here as soon as I've got some pictures in place. Watch this space and expect many a report on my new 29er. In the mean time here is a little teaser shot to give you an idea....
Training
So it begins. I've kind of enjoyed not having to slug my guts through the wind and rain of autumn and part of the winter. The rain here has meant the ground is so muddy and it's going to take a lot of dry weather before it improves. My main target race which is an XC 100 miler in September has meant not having to rush into my training. However, some XC races are starting from March and I don't think I'll have any fitness by then, which is a shame but it'll not rule me out from trying them. I'll just see how I feel at the time.
I'm taking a whole new approach to my training this year which is something to do with having a mixed need of abilities. I want to do the really fast races in the summer which are only an hour long but also have a long race to aim for at the end of it all. I'm going to really concentrate on building strength this year, including core work and upper body strength to help with my rather poor technical abilities. I think people often neglect strength training too much in the fear of bulking muscle but the reality of it is you won't really gain muscle mass unless you eat the right diet to go with it. There is growing evidence against long hours in the saddle when building your foundations and I've always believed in being specific to what you train for. Long rides have never made me a better racer so I'm going to just try something different this year and see.
Back to trail running for me too. I miss running and it's time to get the shoes out and spend my January on the trails. Its a great work out building my leg strength which is good for out of saddle climbing on the bike. It also does a damn good job of strengthening my core. By February, it'll start to be much more about the bike.
The Blog
I've got a few things planned to write about in the next few up and coming weeks including my write up on Bjarne Riss book, some more want it Wednesdays but just as importantly giving my blog a little lift and updating some pictures and altering the layout. I also want to expand my audience so will be looking for more followers via blogger and twitter. I love making good connections with cyclists on here it often makes the whole thing worth while. I may never get to meet any of you in person but I love sharing and hearing your views and ideas on a hobby we all love and enjoy.
Here's to a fantastic 2013!
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7 Comments:
I wish you well with everything you hope to achieve this year Jez...rest assured that I will be following your blog with interest throughout the coming year....
-Trevor
Thanks Trevor, I'll be reading yours as always!
Happy New Year Jez and I'm glad that 2013 is looking positive for you and I wish you good luck with all of your plans!
Race into shape? I'm with you on avoiding the long rides, and am looking at some targeted interval training to build my endurance. Still, 100 miles...wow!
Good luck getting ready for your 100. I also don't really feel like long rides do a lot for me, either. It will be interesting for me to try endurance racing again this year, since traditional training formats didn't really work that well for me in the past. Hopefully this season I can find out what does work.
Just re followed you on Twit. So thought I'd look at your.blog. 2 interesting things: 1 your view on trail running as not a bad way of training when you can't ride. I've been trail running way more than cycling this winter, due to the weather, time & needs of my dog. I'm finding that for a 1 to 1.5 hour ride my bike pace hasn't dropped but my stamina for anything longer has.
Also your new bike. I haven't trawled your blog, but are you going rigid 29er? If so I'm interested to follow your progress with that.
Hi Justin, thanks for checking out my blog. I tend to do most of my trail running over Jan and February and I expect my stamina to drop but my rides get longer as the weather warms up from then on. I prefer to do that than get cold on a bike or spend time on the turbo. As far as distance goes for racing goes none of mine are over 1.5hrs so I'm not overly worried about stamina but strength and pace. I'll start my endurance training in a backward way from June in prep for my 100miler.
It's not the conventional method but my time is limited with family and work so its a case of what is going to be most beneficial.
Yes its going to be a rigid 29er. Honestly I'm just waiting on a front tyre from my LBS. It's been three weeks so I'm cheesed off.
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