1st Rudy Project - what have i done?!

Richie G

Entered the latest round of the Rudy Project series at Great Witley this weekend. Just got the startsheet (well, start-booklet!), suddenly feeling a bit overwhemed by the quality of the field. I'm used to regular open TT's where Juniors, Vets, Ladies and Seniors all compete together- finding myself in a very strong Senior field is gonna be nerve racking. The race to avoid coming last last may be hotter than usual for me! :shock: I'm still looking forward to it (the course should be good fun), just wish i'd realised what i might be letting myself in for!

Rich

PS: Fear is obviously a good motivator; my 2 hour ride in the pouring rain this evening flew by!

Richie G

Well, that was the worst i've ever felt on a bike! I think i under estimated how hard 2 laps of that course would be. I'm afraid about 5 miles from the finish i bonked - my first time and i won't forget it! Suddenly there was nothing left and i grovelled to the finish in a daze. At one point i was aware that all the road markings were bright pink :shock: ! I was really down on Saturday night, felt embarrassed to be so far behind everyone. However, riding into work today felt surprisingly good and i'm suddenly all enthusiastic again, so no harm done. Think i shall have to seek some advice for fuelling myself for longer TT's - i'm giving serious thought to getting some proper coaching during the winter too. Sorry, this has turned into a bit of a monologue - Mrs G has had to listen to this all weekend! The event itself was great - really well organised and the fast boys were amazing. I've never had to wear a brand new number before!

Rich

FSR_XC

Sounds like you need to be a little more prepared next time.

Well done for trying. There are plenty that wouldn't.

Bronzie

At least you had a go Richie - only 20 finishers in the mens/espoirs section of a major TT series competition - pretty poor turnout really.

Dangermouse won it with a 1-13-30 @ 26.9mph so a fairly heavy course by the sounds of it.

I'd say it's unlikely you "bonked" (ie ran out of muscle fuel) in 33 miles - more likely you went out too fast and blew up. Did you pace yourself with a HRM or just go by feel?

Richie G

I'd say it's unlikely you "bonked" (ie ran out of muscle fuel) in 33 miles - more likely you went out too fast and blew up. Did you pace yourself with a HRM or just go by feel?

That's interesting. I guess i assumed i'd bonked as i simply couldn't get any power into the pedals. No screaming pain in my legs or heaving for air, just sheer helplessness as my legs refused to do anything. I was certainly tiring halfway round the second lap. I don't use a HRM at the moment - a bit concerned that without proper guidance i might lead myself down a bit of blind alley. So at the moment i'm relying on judging pace based on rather limited experience! I've managed to do ok in 25's this year - i think i kidded myself that i could take a similar approach and hang on (lesson learned on that one!).

I was surprised at the low turnout. I guess people would rather chase quick times on DC's!

Cheers
Rich

BeaconRuth

Firstly, well done Rich for entering and taking part. You have my admiration for taking on a tough course and mixing it with the best in the country.

Bronzie wrote:

I'd say it's unlikely you "bonked" (ie ran out of muscle fuel) in 33 miles - more likely you went out too fast and blew up. Did you pace yourself with a HRM or just go by feel?

Without wishing to sound too argumentative my view is that you probably did bonk. What did you eat before the race and did you use an energy drink during it? (You could deplete your muscle and liver glycogen in the 1hr 40 or so it took you to finish - especially if those levels were not fully topped up at the outset.)

Also, FWIW, I wouldn't really recommend trying to pace a race with a HRM. The more you practise pacing on feel, the better IMO. (Sorry Bronzie )

I was surprised at the low turnout. I guess people would rather chase quick times on DC's!

Hm. Yes.

Ruth

ps. sorry not to say hi on Saturday, Rich - I was there, but mostly chin-wagging or washing up!

Jeff Jones

Richie G wrote:

Well, that was the worst i've ever felt on a bike! I think i under estimated how hard 2 laps of that course would be. I'm afraid about 5 miles from the finish i bonked - my first time and i won't forget it! Suddenly there was nothing left and i grovelled to the finish in a daze. At one point i was aware that all the road markings were bright pink :shock: ! I was really down on Saturday night, felt embarrassed to be so far behind everyone. However, riding into work today felt surprisingly good and i'm suddenly all enthusiastic again, so no harm done. Think i shall have to seek some advice for fuelling myself for longer TT's - i'm giving serious thought to getting some proper coaching during the winter too. Sorry, this has turned into a bit of a monologue - Mrs G has had to listen to this all weekend! The event itself was great - really well organised and the fast boys were amazing. I've never had to wear a brand new number before!

Well done Rich - the Rudy Projects may attract small fields but they're always high quality. That can be both humbling and inspiring, as you've no doubt found out, but everyone has to start from somewhere.

If you got the empty legs/light headed feeling, it sounds like you bonked. And given that it was a relatively short event, it's likely a pacing issue more than a pre-race feeding issue (as long as you didn't starve the night before!).

Pacing is harder than you think to get right, because you have to fight the urge to go flat out from the start. So if you go by feel, you have to start at what feels like a ridiculously easy pace (for a race) and gradually ramp up so that you are going flat out in the second half, then lift for the final few minutes. I was amazed to find out that getting it wrong can cost you a couple of minutes in a 25 mile TT.

Good luck with your next race!

Richie G

Thanks for the replies guys. Sounds like i'm gonna have keep practising my pacing then! In hindsight, maybe my race day preparations weren't ideal; i got to the HQ a lot earlier than i normally would (didn't want to get caught in traffic in the torrential rain!). Consequently, i probably had my lunch a little earlier than normal. Food on race day was: big bowl of Fruit n Fibre and 2 rounds of toast with jam for breakfast. Ham salad baguette and an apple for lunch. I had half an energy bar 15 mins before the start. Drink on the bike was blackcurrant squash (yes, i know..) and a pocket full of jelly babies. I've been finding it really difficult to swallow anything mid-race. Do you guys actually back off when feeding mid-race?

ps. sorry not to say hi on Saturday, Rich - I was there, but mostly chin-wagging or washing up!

Thought i'd seen you - doubt i'd have been making much sense anyway! Were you tempted to enter? How impressive was it to have the updated times being projected on the wall?

Cheers all,
Rich

billybiker

I would "feed" if the TT is longer than a 10. For a 25 I need about 500ml of isotonic drink and like you find it VERY tricky getting anything down. My technique, after about 3 longer TTs this year, is to drink regularly and aim to run out of juice about 3/4 of the way round. If there are hills or turns/junctions I use the rest on the downhill or the slow down for a turn to drink. Postpone the acceleration after a turn or whatever and get a few slurps of drink then you can accelerate back up to full speed! I tend not to eat or drink too much before the start.

BeaconRuth

Richie G wrote:

Do you guys actually back off when feeding mid-race?

Not if I can help it! But I'd only eat solids if I'm racing a 100. I can get away with just energy drink in a 50 as long as I've fuelled up properly beforehand. And I think I would struggle to get much down in shorter events anyway, because of the pace you try to maintain. Personally I find bananas the best for eating in 100's - they are moist so you don't have to have much saliva to chew and swallow and they don't need much chewing. Energy bars are pretty hopeless (OK for training, but I'd always prefer ordinary food) because they take so much chewing. I only use gels as a last resort - disgusting things - but I did down a couple in the closing stages of the National 100. I used one on a training ride beforehand and it made such a sticky mess I decided never again unless I'm desperate.

Thought i'd seen you - doubt i'd have been making much sense anyway! Were you tempted to enter? How impressive was it to have the updated times being projected on the wall?

Yes, I very nearly did enter, but I decided in the end not to. I had a break from the bike after the 100 and I decided I didn't want to get seriously back into training again so soon. I reckoned I deserved a bit of chill-out time before piling the pressure back on for the British TT Champs. Saying that, I am racing this weekend, but it's only local 25, so it's just for training rather than having the prestige of a round of the National Series. Dangerfield is off 4 mins behind me.

The Wyre Forest were quite proud of their technological innovation for the results - I confess that's the sort of thing I can't get very excited about. Sometimes I think I should have lived in the Dark Ages. :oops:

Ruth

SteveR_100Milers

Bronzie wrote:

At least you had a go Richie - only 20 finishers in the mens/espoirs section of a major TT series competition - pretty poor turnout really.

Dangermouse won it with a 1-13-30 @ 26.9mph so a fairly heavy course by the sounds of it.

I'd say it's unlikely you "bonked" (ie ran out of muscle fuel) in 33 miles - more likely you went out too fast and blew up. Did you pace yourself with a HRM or just go by feel?

like minds. Dont know why but it makes me tiitter even 15 years later...

Bronzie

BeaconRuth wrote:

Also, FWIW, I wouldn't really recommend trying to pace a race with a HRM. The more you practise pacing on feel, the better IMO. (Sorry Bronzie )

No need to apologise - you're the coach, not me! :oops:

Richie G

Well, plenty of food for thought (if you'll pardon the pun!). Think i shall be looking into energy drinks - hopefully there are some out there that aren't too sickly! Wasn't there a review in a recent Cycling Plus? (Not sure when, given the last 3 issues seem to have almost identical covers - is it just me?). I was watching the Olympic TT's today and taking particular interest in when they were taking fluids on board. As Biilybiker says i guess it's all about picking a point on the course where you can get a quick slurp in.

Dangerfield is off 4 mins behind me.

Well on Saturday he started 31 minutes after me - and crossed the line 2 minutes after i did! :oops: Need i say more?!

Rich