La Forme Rentre

We’ve had some fantastic weather the last few days and I’ve been able to push a few kilometres through the pedals. 80kms on Wednesday and 105 on the club ride today. To top things off I feel I’ve shaken off the chesty cough and hopefully the last of the flu symptoms which have severly hampered and setback my training over the last few weeks.

The flu really knocked the stuffing out of me. I’ve even lost a couple of kilos too. Unfortunately, I think the loss might be in the form of some muscle mass rather than body fat so no power to weight ratio gain!

Well the long awaited race season technically starts tomorrow. But for me it will be a couple of weeks time as I’m back in the UK for a week so probably wont get a race in until around the 14/15th of March. I feel my form is now returning so I’m just going to try and build on that with some more interval training.

I’ve not set any goals as yet, hopefully once back from the UK when I’ve had a look at the race calender I can begin setting a few. But, alas, I don’t think I’ll be on top form for this years club race, on the 22nd of March. It will probably end up being a preparation training race while I build my form, but I’ll give it a good go!  One of this years general goals will be to focus on races which are relatively short 1.5-2 hours rather than cyclosportives whichtendto be 4-5 hours in comparison. Last year I tried to do both and it didn’t work. There is an added benefit, races are abundant locally and relatively cheap compared to cyclosportives which aren’t.

Flu recovery not over yet

Today I had to pick my partner Helen up from the airport. As I had not been able to get out much the last fortnight as I either had or was recovering from flu, I decided I would cycle the circa 50Km route back from the airport. So after a quick hello and all the romantic stuff I leave her in the safe hands of my daughter who can remind the former what side of the road to drive on etc., well Claudia is only 11 but is already fully qualified and well versed in back seat driving!   

Leaving the airport is all down hill, my average speed was soon well above 30km/h and this speed that kind of motivates you to try and maintain the average. I headed down to ’Pont du Gabie’, an old bridge across the river Vienne and took the scenic river route back toward Saint Junien.

From the pont I started to struggle, although the Flu has gone It has left me with a chesty cough. I also seemed to lack any energy, despite being relatively motivated it just wasn’t happening. The average speed continued to fall until I reached home with an average speed below 25km/h.

It kind of got me concerned now, the last few months I’ve been following a training plan and I feel now its all blown out the water. Maybe it just means I’ve got to go back a few weeks in the training plan and build again from there. Oh well I guess that means I ain’t goin’ to be on form for the local club race, still theres a few weeks left!

Funny February and Les Grues!

I’m spinning a cadence of around a 100. In front of me goes the peloton, in near perfect formation against the wind. One in the front, then the followers evenly spaced forming a diagonal either side of the leader. There heading away from me, am I worried? Nah, I’ll just ride at my pace, these guys are flyin’. I just watch and wonder, there must be 50 in all, wearing the same colours and all in the same aerodynamic position. Amongst them young and old alike, male and female. There’s a change in the wind, those at the front slow down, others move forward, gaps become uneven, a couple go off the back you can see them all digging in. Soon the pace evens, but the 2 stragglers are falling further behind. In an act of solidarity the others slow down and they all regroup. The end of the day is nigh, why split up now?  They have got a long day infront of them tomorrow and probably the next day too, they must work as a team and conserve energy.

Yesterday I saw perhaps 200, the day before 100, tomorrow who knows. A few thousand pass my house each year. They passed here late in the autumn, going south. Oh no, its not cyclists I see, it’s ‘the cranes‘ or ‘les grues’ going north and returning home after the winters migration.

Les Grues - heading home

This year they return early, they did the same last year. Some of the French are concerned that this indicates bad weather for the year ahead, another friend suggests they are confused by the global temperature and weather changes, another of our cohabitants affected by our excesses.  Normally you hear them first, there distinct calling, once youve located them you just watch and enjoy! Meanwhile I just keep pedalling cause I’m going home too!

 

‘Crane’ is one of those words that has a couple of meanings as in the bird and the lifting device and the translation is the same for both in French.

Rest week or not?

Last Sunday I had just completed  a 3 week block of progressively harder interval training. The last session was really hard. I persevered, knowing that tomorrow was the start of a planned rest week. 

My sister was visiting from the UK with her boyfriend so the lighter training schedule fitted well with having guests.

I woke up on the first rest day, I didn’t feel right. Within a few hours I began to ache. Then I started getting hot and cold spells. The rest of the week I have been laid up in bed on and off not being a very sociable host. Every time I feel the flu like symptoms are being replaced by milder cold like symptoms, I’m soon struggling to control my body temperature again.

I havent been this ill for ages, I forgotten what its like. At least it fitted with the rest week - C’est la vie!