Field Test

This morning Linda and I completed the Field Test as suggested by Simon - a 6km ITT from SFP towards Uriarra and a Mt Stromlo rep. Maja was unable to join us but had predicted the weather to be cold and windy - and she wasn't wrong. The sky was deceptively blue and the sun had some warmth in it, but there was a very strong icy head and cross wind that added an extra challenge to this ride.

We were joined in our pursuits by the wonderful VMax boys Brad, Andrew, Paddy and Eric, who after completing their 2 1/2 hour ride in the very early frosty hours of this morning, kindly agreed to lend some support and encouragement.

We started with the ITT, Brad helping us with the standing start which was something I hadn't tried before. I hadn't ridden the course prior to today so it was good to have Andrew beside me to talk me through some of the hills - the first one in particular was nasty riding into the wind.

Next we tackled Stromlo. I had a goal to beat my previous time of 21:37 mins (very slow I know) which I had set on 23rd July. With the wind against me I wasn't sure how well I could do - even though I knew I was fitter and stronger on the hills since last time, thanks to some sprint training and rides out to Shingleback Hill.

Anyway, despite the crappy weather I managed to shave 2 minutes off my time - getting to the top in 19:29 mins. As well as this, I spent more time in a lower heart rate zone. My maximum heart rate (177) and average heart rate (165) were the same for each effort. Don't exactly know what this means, but anyway I didn't feel like I reached my maximum heart rate during the efforts as it was more fatigue in my legs that was the limiting factor. Maybe you can give me some tips Simon on what I need to focus on in training to improve this??

Although it was hard, I was glad to have gone out and done this today to set myself a baseline time for the ITT and to see a great improvement in my time on Stromlo. It has motivated me to keep getting out there and giving it a go. Thanks so much to Linda for braving the weather with me and Brad, Andrew, Paddy and Eric for spending over another 2 hours out at Stromlo with us. Your support was greatly appreciated.