Started a blog in Norwegian, for those understanding that language :)
http://big-man-changing-no.blogspot.no/
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Simple cod recipe
Thought I would share a simple cod recipe that has become the most used fish dish at home.
Ingredients for two portions:
- Cod filet, 400g
- 1 red onion
- 2 carrots
- 10 Amandine potatoes
- Sunflower (or other) oil
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
4x10 Intervals
So today was Tuesday yet again which means 4x10 min interval with Geir Iden at Sprek og Blid Åsane. I was not sure I would do this workout today as my legs was still sore from the workout with Truls Berntsen on Friday. However, Truls convinced me it would be ok :)
The first interval was terrible, and I had problems keeping HR just above 82% and it was much harder then normal. However, the remaining 3 intervals went good, well, as good as they can go :). I managed to keep HR at 85% and for the last interval we did a 3 minute sprint keeping HR at 89-90%
After the workout my legs felt better then before the workout so I am glad I went :)
Monday, November 26, 2012
Sone 1 on the TacX at home
My legs was still sore from my workout with Truls on Friday. However,
I really felt like having a workout today after the birthday party for
our daughter involving cake(s) :).
As Janicke was at the gym, going for a quick walk was not an option tonight, so I got the TacX back up from the storage room. Not a big problem as it takes no more then 2 minutes to set up :).
As you can see below, it is a bit tight at the moment living on 45sqm but we make it work :)
I am glad I am suppose to keep the majority of my workouts in HR zone 1 as that was more then hard enough for an hour today. However, after an hour on the bike I am glad I did a workout tonight, now I am ready for a the 4x10 interval session with Geir Iden at Sprek og Blid Åsane tomorrow :)
As Janicke was at the gym, going for a quick walk was not an option tonight, so I got the TacX back up from the storage room. Not a big problem as it takes no more then 2 minutes to set up :).
As you can see below, it is a bit tight at the moment living on 45sqm but we make it work :)
I am glad I am suppose to keep the majority of my workouts in HR zone 1 as that was more then hard enough for an hour today. However, after an hour on the bike I am glad I did a workout tonight, now I am ready for a the 4x10 interval session with Geir Iden at Sprek og Blid Åsane tomorrow :)
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Made it to Saturday spinning
After Yesterdays "boot camp" training with Truls I was not sure I would make it to his spinning class today, however, I did not feel to bad this morning I had a good workout.
The spinning class Truls leads each Saturday is an interval session, doing 4x12 min in the low end of zone 3, (82-85% of max heart rate). However, following the plan that Truls has laid out for me I should now only do one interval session a week and I will do that on Tuesdays with Terje in Åsane, following Geir Idens Bergen-Voss class.
So today I only followed the group through the 1st interval and then I did the usual slow and steady zone 1 pace for the rest of the class.
Now, sitting at home watching some TV in the evening, I can feel that tomorrow my legs and buttocks will be quite sore and apparently this is telling me that I pushed hard enough during the "boot camp" workout Yesterday.
No pain, no gain! Right?
The spinning class Truls leads each Saturday is an interval session, doing 4x12 min in the low end of zone 3, (82-85% of max heart rate). However, following the plan that Truls has laid out for me I should now only do one interval session a week and I will do that on Tuesdays with Terje in Åsane, following Geir Idens Bergen-Voss class.
So today I only followed the group through the 1st interval and then I did the usual slow and steady zone 1 pace for the rest of the class.
Now, sitting at home watching some TV in the evening, I can feel that tomorrow my legs and buttocks will be quite sore and apparently this is telling me that I pushed hard enough during the "boot camp" workout Yesterday.
No pain, no gain! Right?
Friday, November 23, 2012
Boot camp with Truls
So today I had my second PT session with Truls Berntsen at Studio nord Sprek og Blid Knarvik. As I was stepping up onto the treadmill for my warm up, he waved me off it an up to the second floor where we do some free weight lifting. As I got up he warned me that today would be though and I should be prepared to be exhausted, and man was he going to be right!!!
Truls had set up a workout with 10 exercises that I was to perform non stop as one set, then do 5 sets, seemed easy enough. The exercises was simple basic ones like push-ups, side lunges, sit ups with weights, side steps, high jumps, and burpee's. All put together in a workout to drain every ounce of energy from me!
After 4 sets I was not sure I could do another set, and without Truls there I would have called it the day! So I did do a final fifth set, well, at least I tried :) and before the final 10 burpee's I gave up, for about 10 seconds, and then I did them anyway, at least sort of and definitively NOT as graceful as it should have been :)
I finished the session with a 20 minute cool-down on the thread-mill.
I went straight home and made myself a nice smoothie to fill up a bit energy. Not sure I look forward to the spinning class tomorrow, I am afraid Truls will have to carry me from the car and in on to the bike :)
Anyway, thanks for a great workout and fantastic motivation Truls :)
Truls had set up a workout with 10 exercises that I was to perform non stop as one set, then do 5 sets, seemed easy enough. The exercises was simple basic ones like push-ups, side lunges, sit ups with weights, side steps, high jumps, and burpee's. All put together in a workout to drain every ounce of energy from me!
After 4 sets I was not sure I could do another set, and without Truls there I would have called it the day! So I did do a final fifth set, well, at least I tried :) and before the final 10 burpee's I gave up, for about 10 seconds, and then I did them anyway, at least sort of and definitively NOT as graceful as it should have been :)
I finished the session with a 20 minute cool-down on the thread-mill.
I went straight home and made myself a nice smoothie to fill up a bit energy. Not sure I look forward to the spinning class tomorrow, I am afraid Truls will have to carry me from the car and in on to the bike :)
Anyway, thanks for a great workout and fantastic motivation Truls :)
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| Just a coincident that I am a bit more read in the face compared to Truls :) |
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| Not sure he was impressed with my push-ups :) |
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Maki Sushi with salmon
Yesterday they had SALMA salmon, http://www.salma.no/, on sale at our local grocery store. This is perfect fresh salmon to use for sushi and I decided to try out making Maki Sushi for the first time, so I ended up buying Nori, wasabi, and sushi rice as well :)
I used a recipe I found on the SALMA home page:
http://www.salma.no/oppskrifter/ra/maki-sushi-med-salma,
and the results can be seen in the image below. I truly enjoyed preparing the sushi and it ended up tasting fantastic, amazing what good ingredients will do you you :).
I am already looking forward to having leftovers for lunch tomorrow and it is definitively not the last time we have sushi at home :)
I used a recipe I found on the SALMA home page:
http://www.salma.no/oppskrifter/ra/maki-sushi-med-salma,
and the results can be seen in the image below. I truly enjoyed preparing the sushi and it ended up tasting fantastic, amazing what good ingredients will do you you :).
I am already looking forward to having leftovers for lunch tomorrow and it is definitively not the last time we have sushi at home :)
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| Homemad Maki Sushi :) |
Saturday, October 27, 2012
The solution - hopefully :)
So, today I stepped up and got myself a membership at the gym,
Sprek og Blid in Knarvik. Maybe this is the solution to get through the winter!!!! Time will show :)
Friday, October 19, 2012
The inevitable
So, what I had decided should absolutely NOT happen this winter,
inevitable happened anyway! As soon as the summer/fall season passed and
evenings started to get cold I parked the bike and stopped exercising.
Well, I did not stop all together but had a few interval sessions using
the TacX Flow, however, as usual, getting out the door is the hardest
part of any exercise, and when I was suppose to do exercise inside the
house the sessions are getting longer and longer apart!
I still do not want to "throw the winter away" so I need to get my act together and figure out a way to get through the winter, as I do not want to start the spring season on the road in worse shape then I was this fall! One example: I have gained 6 kilos the last 5 weeks, which is terrible to think about knowing how hard I worked to loos them in the first place!
I still do not want to "throw the winter away" so I need to get my act together and figure out a way to get through the winter, as I do not want to start the spring season on the road in worse shape then I was this fall! One example: I have gained 6 kilos the last 5 weeks, which is terrible to think about knowing how hard I worked to loos them in the first place!
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
4x4 Intervals - Dalesvingene - Starting to hard
Despite the weather, rain and 9 degree Celsius, I decided to do
today's interval session outside. This would be the first ride starting
at the new apartment at Meland, and I wanted to see how the stretch from
the house to the main road would be as it is not asphalt.
I changed tire (I still had my indoor tire on the bike) and put a bit less air-pressure in the tire compared to what I normally do.The ride back and forth from the house was no problem at all, at least today. I am not sure it was necessary to use a lower air-pressure and I will try using my normal air pressure next time.
As the new apartment is at Meland, at the top of a hill, there are several route options for my interval workouts. Today I decided to do a 4x4min workout, and for that Dalesvingene is perfect.
Being very eager today, as it had been a while since I had my last outdoor ride, I started out why to hard during my warmup and first interval. As a consequence the lactat buildup was to high after the third interval up Dalesvingene and my legs were all out of juice. Next time I will make sure I keep cool during my warmup and hopefully finish 4 good intervals :)
I changed tire (I still had my indoor tire on the bike) and put a bit less air-pressure in the tire compared to what I normally do.The ride back and forth from the house was no problem at all, at least today. I am not sure it was necessary to use a lower air-pressure and I will try using my normal air pressure next time.
As the new apartment is at Meland, at the top of a hill, there are several route options for my interval workouts. Today I decided to do a 4x4min workout, and for that Dalesvingene is perfect.
Being very eager today, as it had been a while since I had my last outdoor ride, I started out why to hard during my warmup and first interval. As a consequence the lactat buildup was to high after the third interval up Dalesvingene and my legs were all out of juice. Next time I will make sure I keep cool during my warmup and hopefully finish 4 good intervals :)
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| Warmup was to hard on todays workout. |
| Interval | Time | Speed(km/h) | AVG HR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4:45 | 11.3 | 183 |
| 2 | 4:57 | 10.6 | 183 |
| 3 | 5:13 | 10.0 | 182 |
Good feeling when I see results from the workouts :)
I must say that it is nice when I see results from the workouts
I put in :) together with changes to the diet .
It also gives a tremendous energy boost to keep going :)
From the top at 150+ I have now reached the lowest weight I have been at for the last 20 years.
Not 150+
Not 140+
Not 130+
Not 120+
It also gives a tremendous energy boost to keep going :)
From the top at 150+ I have now reached the lowest weight I have been at for the last 20 years.
Not 150+
Not 140+
Not 130+
Not 120+
 |
| At one point the scale at home showed --:-- I was 150+ and the scale max was 150! |
Saturday, September 1, 2012
TacX Flow installed and tested :)
September is here and so is the wet and cold weather here in Bergen. I
have picked the TacX flow up from storage and set it up in the apartment
again. As long as I put it away under the stairs when not in use I have
my wife's blessing to use it in the living room :)
For the last 3 days I have had a couple of easy rides on the Flow and today I decided to do a 4x4 interval session. This felt much harder then the 4x4 sessions we did out on the road this season. I guess this is because on the flow I have to work harder throughout the whole session, no resting time while rolling down hill :)
Between each interval I stayed between 130 and 150 watt. Next week I will do a session to find my FTP (Functional Threshold Power) in order to get the most out of my sessions on the Flow.
Here is a good article in norwegian:
Sykkelmagasinet - Sykkelrulle guiden
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| Have permission to use it inside as longe as I store it away when not in use. |
For the last 3 days I have had a couple of easy rides on the Flow and today I decided to do a 4x4 interval session. This felt much harder then the 4x4 sessions we did out on the road this season. I guess this is because on the flow I have to work harder throughout the whole session, no resting time while rolling down hill :)
For the intervals I used the following watt settings:
- Interval - 300 watt
- Interval - 270 watt
- Interval - 270 watt
- Interval - 280 watt
Between each interval I stayed between 130 and 150 watt. Next week I will do a session to find my FTP (Functional Threshold Power) in order to get the most out of my sessions on the Flow.
Here is a good article in norwegian:
Sykkelmagasinet - Sykkelrulle guiden
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Hard day on the bike
Today was a hard day on the bike and I was still suffering from the though ride from Tuesday.
Kristoffer and I decided to try a new route today starting at Seim and going across an old small road towards Hjelmås. The road started out with brand new asphalt but that only lasted for a short distance. They where laying out new water pipes an thus had dug up the road and had not finished laying the asphalt. So for the next 3-4 km was quite bumpy. Once we got to Hjelmås I was amazed that I had not got a flat tire especially after my experience during Bergen – Voss 2012.
From Hjelmås we took mostly side roads for the rest of the trip and as we got back to the car I was glad we had chosen the shorter route of 38.5km instead of the longer 58km route we had considered.
Tomorrow I will try to recover a bit and not go out on the bike at all.
Ride stats from www.strava.com
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
New personal best around Bøvågen :)
Today I went for a ride with Kristoffer and as usual when riding
with him, I pushed harder then when I go out riding alone, to keep up with him :).
For today's ride we choose the 53km ride from Hilland around Noranger,Bøvågen and back.
I had a fantastic day on the bike and finished the 53km in 1h 51min giving an average speed of 28.6km/h.
Last time I did this ride was back in April, and back then I used 2h and 31min so I was a whole 40 minutes quicker today. I also felt like I could continue riding when we got back home while in April I was exhausted!
It is good to feel that all the effort on the bike is starting to pay off :)
Thanks for the ride Kristoffer :)
Ride stats at Strava.com
For today's ride we choose the 53km ride from Hilland around Noranger,Bøvågen and back.
I had a fantastic day on the bike and finished the 53km in 1h 51min giving an average speed of 28.6km/h.
Last time I did this ride was back in April, and back then I used 2h and 31min so I was a whole 40 minutes quicker today. I also felt like I could continue riding when we got back home while in April I was exhausted!
It is good to feel that all the effort on the bike is starting to pay off :)
Thanks for the ride Kristoffer :)
Ride stats at Strava.com
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Climb session - Kvamskogen
Early this week I decided to do a climb session from
Tysse to Kvamskogen. This is a 12km climb with a total elevation of
about 400m, see profile below:
As usual for my Sunday ride I got up early at 06:00 and had a good
breakfast of fresh pasta, ham, and cottage cheese. As I got in the
car to drive to Bjørkheim where I would start today’s ride it was
raining and foggy.
The climb up to Kvamskogen was just as long and hard as I remembered, however, this time I did not have to stop every 15 minutes because my legs was out of juice. I only made one stop to take a picture of the waterfall close to the top, and yes, the stop was to get the picture nothing else!
As the picture below shows the weather was improving as I was climbing and the nice scenery going up the valley almost gives an energy boost to get to the top.
At the top of Kvamskogen the sun was shining and it was getting warmer. I finished the climb in 54min 08s and I am recording this my personal best. The plan is to test myself against this time early in the spring to see how much I have improved during the winter. Hopefully having a couple of these tests lined up will keep me on my toes and help me push myself to work hard throughout the winter :)
Descending down towards Tysse again took my straight back into the rain. Going at 60km/h I quickly got cold. However, the rain was not to heavy and the ride down does not take to long so I knew I would warm up soon. As I reached Tysse I got caught up in the peloton of a mountain-bike race, “Sykkel Rett Vest”, and I stayed at the back of the peloton for 4-5km until they turned off my route.
I was on the bike for 1h and 53 min today and I know for sure it will not be the last time I drive to Bjørkheim for a climb session up to Kvamskogen.
Sykkel Rett Vest - PDF information
Sykkel Rett Vest - Resultater
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| Elevation profile: Bjørkheim - Kvamskogen - Bjørkheim |
The climb up to Kvamskogen was just as long and hard as I remembered, however, this time I did not have to stop every 15 minutes because my legs was out of juice. I only made one stop to take a picture of the waterfall close to the top, and yes, the stop was to get the picture nothing else!
As the picture below shows the weather was improving as I was climbing and the nice scenery going up the valley almost gives an energy boost to get to the top.
 |
| Weather was clearing up as I got up to the waterfall "Fossen bratte" |
At the top of Kvamskogen the sun was shining and it was getting warmer. I finished the climb in 54min 08s and I am recording this my personal best. The plan is to test myself against this time early in the spring to see how much I have improved during the winter. Hopefully having a couple of these tests lined up will keep me on my toes and help me push myself to work hard throughout the winter :)
Descending down towards Tysse again took my straight back into the rain. Going at 60km/h I quickly got cold. However, the rain was not to heavy and the ride down does not take to long so I knew I would warm up soon. As I reached Tysse I got caught up in the peloton of a mountain-bike race, “Sykkel Rett Vest”, and I stayed at the back of the peloton for 4-5km until they turned off my route.
I was on the bike for 1h and 53 min today and I know for sure it will not be the last time I drive to Bjørkheim for a climb session up to Kvamskogen.
Sykkel Rett Vest - PDF information
Sykkel Rett Vest - Resultater
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
4x8 Intervals at Trengereid
Terje and I are now back on schedule with our Tuesday night interval sessions and as usual we went to the climb in Trengereid.
We changed the session slightly today as instead of stopping at the roundabout in Trengereid we rode for a full 8 minutes taking us to the entrance of the short tunnel going towards Gullbotn.
For the first interval I had an average HB of 179 which I though was to high for me to manage to keep the same speed for the next two intervals. However I did not do to bad although I struggled during the 3rd interval :)
Back at the car this felt like one of my best interval session and I hope we manage to get in this ride every Tuesday for the next months.
We changed the session slightly today as instead of stopping at the roundabout in Trengereid we rode for a full 8 minutes taking us to the entrance of the short tunnel going towards Gullbotn.
For the first interval I had an average HB of 179 which I though was to high for me to manage to keep the same speed for the next two intervals. However I did not do to bad although I struggled during the 3rd interval :)
- First interval: 7min 58sec, average HB 179
- Second interval: 8min 05sec, average HB 181
- Third interval: 8min 32sec, average HB 183
Back at the car this felt like one of my best interval session and I hope we manage to get in this ride every Tuesday for the next months.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
"Nordhordland rundt" - for the first time
As I did not get out on the bike Yesterday as it simply got to
busy I decided to get in more km this morning and take the ride
around Nordhordland for the first time.
I had the alarm on at 05:15 and had a good breakfast and relaxed for about an hour before I got on the bike at 06:30.
The weather was fantastic, 14 degrees, still and clear sky. As I arrived at Straume bridge I had to stop and take a picture:
As
I passed Austrheim and turned southbound again it had started to get
a bit more windy and I got the wind head on, this is when it is a
huge disadvantage starting early and alone, there is a lot to gain
from having someone to "hide" behind so you do not need to fight the headwind alone.
Anyway, it did not get to windy so the ride back through Lindås went smoothly.
As I passed Seim after about 70km I had ran out of my energy drink and had no bananas left. Therefor, towards the end I started to run low on energy and thus my average pace declined. Even so I finished the 83.2km in 3h and 40 minutes with an average speed of about 23 km/h which I was quite happy with :)
As I parked the bike at home it felt good to have done “Nordhordland rundt” for the first time, and it will definitively not be the last.
Ride stats at www.strava.com:
http://app.strava.com/rides/10473626
I had the alarm on at 05:15 and had a good breakfast and relaxed for about an hour before I got on the bike at 06:30.
The weather was fantastic, 14 degrees, still and clear sky. As I arrived at Straume bridge I had to stop and take a picture:
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| 08:00 at Straume bridge |
Anyway, it did not get to windy so the ride back through Lindås went smoothly.
As I passed Seim after about 70km I had ran out of my energy drink and had no bananas left. Therefor, towards the end I started to run low on energy and thus my average pace declined. Even so I finished the 83.2km in 3h and 40 minutes with an average speed of about 23 km/h which I was quite happy with :)
As I parked the bike at home it felt good to have done “Nordhordland rundt” for the first time, and it will definitively not be the last.
Ride stats at www.strava.com:
http://app.strava.com/rides/10473626
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
4x4 Interval session
First ride on the bike after the Bergen - Voss attempt. Before going out I put a new tube in my tire and while doing so I might have figured out what went wrong on Saturday. If I am not careful while putting on the tire after changing the tube then the tube might get squeezed at the valve. At least that happened while i put in the tube in peace and quiet today and I can only imagine how I could have messed it up in all the stress on Saturday!
Anyway, today I had no problems!
It got a bit late before I had a chance to take a ride today, so instead of a long ride I decided to do a 4x4 interval session in the small climb up towards Sæbø.
This was one of my best 4x4 sessions so far. I managed to keep more or less the same speed through each interval which I was quite happy with. I now plan to make this session a 1 time a week event :)
Anyway, today I had no problems!
It got a bit late before I had a chance to take a ride today, so instead of a long ride I decided to do a 4x4 interval session in the small climb up towards Sæbø.
This was one of my best 4x4 sessions so far. I managed to keep more or less the same speed through each interval which I was quite happy with. I now plan to make this session a 1 time a week event :)
- 4 min 12 sec, 11.8 km/h, 169 bpm
- 4 min 09 sec, 11,9 km/h, 167 bpm
- 4 min 39 sec, 10,6 km/h, 163 bpm
- 4 min 06 sec, 12.0 km/h, 174 bpm
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| Elevation and Heart Rate |
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Hiking to the top of "Peparen"
I had plans for going out on the bike today to ride of some of the disappointment from Yesterday. However after a couple of meetings regarding the new house it was already passed 20:00 when I got home and I had decided to not do any training today after-all.
However, as i finished reading a goodnight story for Simen, Kristoffer, my neighbour called and asked if I wanted to join him on a hike to the top of "Peparen" and that was just enough of a "kick in the but" for me to put on my boots and join him.
The trip from home to the top and back is a 55 minute to 1 hours hike. However on the way down from "Peparen" we detoured and took a longer route back walking through the area where Kristoffer will be hunting deer in the fall.
We ended up with a nice 7.25km hike for 1 hour and 32 minutes, not to bad on a day where I had abandoned the though of getting any exercise done.
A big thanks to Kristoffer for inviting me out today. Today's hike has made me realize that I should do some hiking in addition to my bike riding in order to vary my training a bit.
However, as i finished reading a goodnight story for Simen, Kristoffer, my neighbour called and asked if I wanted to join him on a hike to the top of "Peparen" and that was just enough of a "kick in the but" for me to put on my boots and join him.
The trip from home to the top and back is a 55 minute to 1 hours hike. However on the way down from "Peparen" we detoured and took a longer route back walking through the area where Kristoffer will be hunting deer in the fall.
We ended up with a nice 7.25km hike for 1 hour and 32 minutes, not to bad on a day where I had abandoned the though of getting any exercise done.
A big thanks to Kristoffer for inviting me out today. Today's hike has made me realize that I should do some hiking in addition to my bike riding in order to vary my training a bit.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Bergen - Voss 2012
Finally the big day was here, and it was a perfect morning, sunny and 12-13 degrees. I had a good nights sleep and a good breakfast of ham and pasta at 06:30. At 07:25 we set of from home. Janicke and the kids were driving me downtown Bergen to the start area outside Grieghallen. We arrived at 08.00, 35 minutes before my group was starting.
I said goodbye to the family and they drove of to get to Gullbotn in order to cheer for me going up the climb from Trengereid.
I meet Terje 10 minutes before start and we both felt good and ready as we rolled out from the start area at 08:37.
The group we had signed up for was a 06:00 group from SPV. I knew as we started that I would not be able to keep up with them all the way to Voss, but was hoping to keep with them until we reached the climb from Trengereid to Gullbotn.
However, it quickly became clear that they started out in a much higher pace than I was prepared to, so Terje and I let them go already at Fjøsanger. As we where riding through the roundabout at Krambua I got to close to the edge of the roundabout and almost fell, but managed to keep up.
My legs felt very good and Terje and I got into a good rhythm, we agreed to ride alone up from Nestun to Midttun. At Midttun the group starting three minutes behind us would most likely catch up with us and we would than get into that group and ride with them towards Trengereid.
However, this is where my problems started!!!!
Midway in the climb towards Midttun I got a flat tire. I told Terje to go on and not wait for me, no reason for both of us being held back. I changed my tube and got on the bike again. Two groups passed me as I was changing the tube but I manged to join the next one as I got to Midttun.
Despite the disappointing start I now felt good and I had no problem keeping up with the group. However just before the Janus factory I got a second flat tire. I stopped and changed the tube again, using my second and last spare tube. As I got back on the bike a small group that had dropped off passed me and I joined them for the next 5 minutes but got a 3rd flat tire just before I got to the old Hjelle bakery shortly before coming down to Arna. I was all out of spare tubes, however, a guy stopped after 5-10 minutes and gave me one of his spare tubes.
I changed the tube again, got back on the bike again, for 2 minutes before the tire was flat, again!!!!
This time I called Janicke and asked her to pick me up. I had lost all hope getting to Voss. However as she picked me up she said there was a G-Sport shop down in Arna so we decided to go there to see if I could get a new tube and help to fix the tire there! As we got to the shop they had just opened, but with my luck they was all out of tubes! We then decided one more try and Janicke drove me to the first feeding station up at Gullbotn as BoA bike shop had a technician there that might be able to help.
At the BoA bike stand I got a new tube and the technician quickly checked my tire. And 5 minutes later I was back on the bike. I decided to still ride to Voss although all hope of a good time was now gone.
However, 10 minutes later I was more or less in tears, I had got another flat tire just before getting to Bjørkheim. Now all motivation was gone and all that was left was bitterness thinking about all the time and effort I had put in this spring preparing for this ride. I called Janicke and she picked me up at Bjørkheim. Before leaving we got some ice-cream for the kids and let them stand along the side of the road cheering the other riders passing. I will admit it was a bit hard to watch as I was thinking about them cheering at me when I arrived a t Voss :(
As we drove home we stopped at XXL and bought 2 new tubes and a new tire. Today's ride changed from being the height of the season to be the first training ride before Bergen - Voss 2013, so although I was very disappointed, I was very clear that I was going to go home and keep training for next years race.
Terje and Beathe:
Terje and Beathe both finished the race, Beathe did it in 6 hours and 21 minutes and Terje in 6 hours and 51 minutes which I think was impressive from both of them, congratulations :)
I said goodbye to the family and they drove of to get to Gullbotn in order to cheer for me going up the climb from Trengereid.
I meet Terje 10 minutes before start and we both felt good and ready as we rolled out from the start area at 08:37.
The group we had signed up for was a 06:00 group from SPV. I knew as we started that I would not be able to keep up with them all the way to Voss, but was hoping to keep with them until we reached the climb from Trengereid to Gullbotn.
However, it quickly became clear that they started out in a much higher pace than I was prepared to, so Terje and I let them go already at Fjøsanger. As we where riding through the roundabout at Krambua I got to close to the edge of the roundabout and almost fell, but managed to keep up.
My legs felt very good and Terje and I got into a good rhythm, we agreed to ride alone up from Nestun to Midttun. At Midttun the group starting three minutes behind us would most likely catch up with us and we would than get into that group and ride with them towards Trengereid.
However, this is where my problems started!!!!
Midway in the climb towards Midttun I got a flat tire. I told Terje to go on and not wait for me, no reason for both of us being held back. I changed my tube and got on the bike again. Two groups passed me as I was changing the tube but I manged to join the next one as I got to Midttun.
Despite the disappointing start I now felt good and I had no problem keeping up with the group. However just before the Janus factory I got a second flat tire. I stopped and changed the tube again, using my second and last spare tube. As I got back on the bike a small group that had dropped off passed me and I joined them for the next 5 minutes but got a 3rd flat tire just before I got to the old Hjelle bakery shortly before coming down to Arna. I was all out of spare tubes, however, a guy stopped after 5-10 minutes and gave me one of his spare tubes.
I changed the tube again, got back on the bike again, for 2 minutes before the tire was flat, again!!!!
This time I called Janicke and asked her to pick me up. I had lost all hope getting to Voss. However as she picked me up she said there was a G-Sport shop down in Arna so we decided to go there to see if I could get a new tube and help to fix the tire there! As we got to the shop they had just opened, but with my luck they was all out of tubes! We then decided one more try and Janicke drove me to the first feeding station up at Gullbotn as BoA bike shop had a technician there that might be able to help.
At the BoA bike stand I got a new tube and the technician quickly checked my tire. And 5 minutes later I was back on the bike. I decided to still ride to Voss although all hope of a good time was now gone.
However, 10 minutes later I was more or less in tears, I had got another flat tire just before getting to Bjørkheim. Now all motivation was gone and all that was left was bitterness thinking about all the time and effort I had put in this spring preparing for this ride. I called Janicke and she picked me up at Bjørkheim. Before leaving we got some ice-cream for the kids and let them stand along the side of the road cheering the other riders passing. I will admit it was a bit hard to watch as I was thinking about them cheering at me when I arrived a t Voss :(
As we drove home we stopped at XXL and bought 2 new tubes and a new tire. Today's ride changed from being the height of the season to be the first training ride before Bergen - Voss 2013, so although I was very disappointed, I was very clear that I was going to go home and keep training for next years race.
Terje and Beathe:
Terje and Beathe both finished the race, Beathe did it in 6 hours and 21 minutes and Terje in 6 hours and 51 minutes which I think was impressive from both of them, congratulations :)
Friday, June 1, 2012
Ready or not....... Bergen - Voss 2012 is here :)
Finally, the goal of the season is here, well, it will be tomorrow.
Yesterday I had a last easy ride around Sæbø where I was joined by my neighbor, Kristoffer. As always it is more fun to go on these easy rides together with someone rather than doing it alone :)
I feel much more ready and better prepared today than I did last year. According to the bathroom scale I have lost more or less 10kg the last 12 months and I have put in more kilometers on the bike this spring than I did last year.
Even so I still have this tingling almost scared feeling in my stomach, more so then I did last year. I believe this is mainly because this year I know what it feels like riding the bike for 7, 8, 9 hours, but also because this year I have a goal for my finishing time for the race compared to last years goal of simply finishing the race :)
The goal tomorrow is to get to Voss in 7 hours and 30 minutes which if I make it will be 1 hour and 30 minutes faster then last year. However I think this is an ambitious goal and it will depend very much on whether I get a group to ride with through Hardanger or not!
Anyway, there is not much more to do tonight then to wash and prepare the bike, eat some pasta and chicken and get a good nights sleep.
Starting time: June 2nd 2012, 08:37
Stats before Bergen - Voss 2012:
Time on the bike: 37 h 50 min
Km on the bike: 780 km
Weight: 129.8 kg
Yesterday I had a last easy ride around Sæbø where I was joined by my neighbor, Kristoffer. As always it is more fun to go on these easy rides together with someone rather than doing it alone :)
I feel much more ready and better prepared today than I did last year. According to the bathroom scale I have lost more or less 10kg the last 12 months and I have put in more kilometers on the bike this spring than I did last year.
Even so I still have this tingling almost scared feeling in my stomach, more so then I did last year. I believe this is mainly because this year I know what it feels like riding the bike for 7, 8, 9 hours, but also because this year I have a goal for my finishing time for the race compared to last years goal of simply finishing the race :)
The goal tomorrow is to get to Voss in 7 hours and 30 minutes which if I make it will be 1 hour and 30 minutes faster then last year. However I think this is an ambitious goal and it will depend very much on whether I get a group to ride with through Hardanger or not!
Anyway, there is not much more to do tonight then to wash and prepare the bike, eat some pasta and chicken and get a good nights sleep.
Starting time: June 2nd 2012, 08:37
Stats before Bergen - Voss 2012:
Time on the bike: 37 h 50 min
Km on the bike: 780 km
Weight: 129.8 kg
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Condolences
Tuesday afternoon a group from Bergen Cykleklubb was involved in a tragic accident where one of their riders died from her injuries.
My condolences goes out to her family, friends, and fellow members in Bergen Cykleklubb.
My thoughts are with you!
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Last long ride before Bergen - Voss
Today we did our last longer ride before Bergen - Voss 2012. We started out at Vågsbotn and rode to Gullbotn and back for a total of 58.8km.
I was going slightly to fast in the 10km before the climb from Trengereid to Gullbotn and my legs felt quite heavy as we started the climb. I decided to take it easy and so I let Terje and Beathe get away at their own speed and focused on keeping my heart-rate low, or as low as I could :), for the entire climb.
It took me 21 minutes to climb to the top of Gullbotn but as I arrived at the top I felt better then down at the beginning and I only lost 3-4 minutes compared to going closer to my maximum. This was a good reminder that I need to be careful during the race so that I do not push to hard in the climbs as I will not lose to much time anyway. I will most likely loos MUCH more time if I run out of juice halfway through Hardanger.
For the coming week I will only make one more short ride, Wednesday or Thursday, and I am now really looking forward to the race on Saturday :)
I was going slightly to fast in the 10km before the climb from Trengereid to Gullbotn and my legs felt quite heavy as we started the climb. I decided to take it easy and so I let Terje and Beathe get away at their own speed and focused on keeping my heart-rate low, or as low as I could :), for the entire climb.
It took me 21 minutes to climb to the top of Gullbotn but as I arrived at the top I felt better then down at the beginning and I only lost 3-4 minutes compared to going closer to my maximum. This was a good reminder that I need to be careful during the race so that I do not push to hard in the climbs as I will not lose to much time anyway. I will most likely loos MUCH more time if I run out of juice halfway through Hardanger.
For the coming week I will only make one more short ride, Wednesday or Thursday, and I am now really looking forward to the race on Saturday :)
Saturday, May 26, 2012
1 week left - New personal best on test ride around Manger
Today Beathe, Terje and myself set out trying to set a personal best on our test ride around Manger, starting at my house. My previous best was just prior to Bergen-Voss last year and was 1 hour 22 minutes giving an average speed of 24.3km/h on the 33.3 km ride. The weather was perfect today, slightly cloudy and 20 degree Celsius and no wind to talk about. Terje and Beathe arrived at 20:00 and all three were looking forward to the ride.
The three of us started out at a good pace but we where still caught up by another rider about 5km into the ride. He asked if he could join us and Beathe told him he could, but we might go to slow for him. However he decided to join us and with him taking the lead, the pace went up and it made it easier to keep an higher pace as well.
On the flats I can still out-ride Beathe but I stand no chance in the climbs, so in the climb up Lifjellet the three of them, Beathe, Terje and the rider with-no-name pulled ahead of me. Even So I set a new person best in the climb by 15 seconds doing it in 5:41.
Going down from Lifjellet towards Manger I was struggling to catch up on the trio ahead and did not catch up to them until we passed the gas station at Manger as they slowed down slightly to wait for me. Up from Manger we kept going at a much quicker pace then I though we would do, and although I was struggling to keep up with them in the small climbs I managed to get back to them in the descents.
As we got to the top of the last climb and only had the flats passing Austamarka left of the ride I knew I would set a very good personal best which gave me tons of extra energy and together with Terje and the rider-with-no-name taking the lead a third of the time each, we managed to keep a speed of 40+ km/h, which for me is maximum of what I can do on the flats at the moment.
As we turned off from the main road towards my house we waved goodbye to the rider-with-no-name and pulled up in front of the house with a finishing time of 1 hour 13 minutes and 30 seconds giving an average speed of 27.2km/h. This was 14 minutes and 30 second faster then my seasonal best and 8 minutes and 30 seconds faster then my personal best from last year and that was a VERY GOOD FEELING :)
Todays ride gave me a lot of confidence that I will be able to improve my finishing time for Bergen - Voss this year, and I am now really looking forward to the race on June 2nd. I will be crossing my fingers the we will get as good a weather as we did to day, and according to the forecast we might just get lucky :)
Today's ride also meant I passed 700km on the bike this season, which is 300km less then I hoped for but more then I did last season, so all in all I think I should still feel good about the amount of km I have managed to put in this spring.
Today's ride also meant I passed 700km on the bike this season, which is 300km less then I hoped for but more then I did last season, so all in all I think I should still feel good about the amount of km I have managed to put in this spring.
Stats of today's ride: www.strava.com
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Slow and steady
Today it is only 2 weeks left until the Bergen - Voss race and I am starting to look forward to it now. As Janicke is in London this weekend it looked like it would be hard to get in the hours on the bike that I should put in, however, my parents are babysitting the kids today and tomorrow allowing me to get in two long rides this weekend :)
Today I did a shorter ride of 54.8km with an average speed of 23.1 kph, and i was quite happy with the ride. My average HR was probably a bit to high but I felt quite ok after the ride so even though it was a bit harder then I planed fro it was still a good ride.
Tomorrow morning the plan is to do a long ride together with Terje.
Stats for today's ride: http://app.strava.com/rides/8860326
Today I did a shorter ride of 54.8km with an average speed of 23.1 kph, and i was quite happy with the ride. My average HR was probably a bit to high but I felt quite ok after the ride so even though it was a bit harder then I planed fro it was still a good ride.
Tomorrow morning the plan is to do a long ride together with Terje.
Stats for today's ride: http://app.strava.com/rides/8860326
Back in business - 4x8 interval session
It was good to be "back in business" after a week and a half being ill and then to busy to put in the time needed on the bike.
Today Terje and I drove to Takvam and did 4x8 min intervals in the climb up to the roundabout at Trengereid, starting from outside the last tunnel. We did 3 intervals in this climb and then the forth interval up the small hill back towards Takvam. As this is a small 2min climb we keep pushing for 6 minutes on the flat part after the climb. I like this combination as we get a higher pace and cadence on the last interval which I feel help the restitution after the interval session.
The goal is to do each of the 3 intervals at the same speed, however, Terje and I where as usual to competitive pushing each other on the first two intervals, I beat him on the first one and he beat me on the second. However, we burned to much energy on the first two intervals causing the last interval to go a bit to slow. Next time we will hold back on the first interval and try to keep the same speed on all 3.
Today Terje and I drove to Takvam and did 4x8 min intervals in the climb up to the roundabout at Trengereid, starting from outside the last tunnel. We did 3 intervals in this climb and then the forth interval up the small hill back towards Takvam. As this is a small 2min climb we keep pushing for 6 minutes on the flat part after the climb. I like this combination as we get a higher pace and cadence on the last interval which I feel help the restitution after the interval session.
The goal is to do each of the 3 intervals at the same speed, however, Terje and I where as usual to competitive pushing each other on the first two intervals, I beat him on the first one and he beat me on the second. However, we burned to much energy on the first two intervals causing the last interval to go a bit to slow. Next time we will hold back on the first interval and try to keep the same speed on all 3.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Setting up the TacX Flow
I have been sick for the past 3-4 days and as the weather is cold and rainy I will wait a couple of days to go outside on the bike. So to still get some training done on the bike I have picked up the TacX Flow from storage and changed the tire on the bike and will do interval sessions on the TacX Flow for the next days before hopefully get a long ride with Terje on Sunday.
It will be interesting to see if the Strava WEB site will recognize my indoor session. It would be good to log teh heart rate zones during my intervals.
It will be interesting to see if the Strava WEB site will recognize my indoor session. It would be good to log teh heart rate zones during my intervals.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Around Manger - Season best
Today I went for a ride around Manger and the goal was to set a personal best for the season.
This however, was before I checked out the weather! After the first 10km I was in the middle of a snowstorm and I was already 4-5 minutes behind with an average HB 10 beats higher so I realized it would be hard to beat my previous best time giving the bad head wind.
As the road turns away from the Fjord, I got more protected from the wind and things started to feel a lot better although it was still snowing and quite cold. Approaching the climb up Lifjellet my legs felt quite good so I started the climb at a higher speed then I usually do, and I managed to keep the speed through the climb resulting in a new personal best 1min and 15 seconds quicker then my previous best.
At this point I was a bit more optimistic regarding setting a new seasonal best on the course around Manger.
I past Manger after 47 minutes which was about 3 minutes behind schedule for a new best time. However, now I had the wind working in my favor and as I passed Lunde I had cached up and as I stopped outside at home the timer showed 1h 28min 40s almost 4 min quicker the my previous best.
I was hoping for a better time as I started out this morning, but given the windy weather I am happy with the time.
Hope it will not be as windy tomorrow when I plan to ride around Rolvsvågen with Terje.
Stats for the ride:
This however, was before I checked out the weather! After the first 10km I was in the middle of a snowstorm and I was already 4-5 minutes behind with an average HB 10 beats higher so I realized it would be hard to beat my previous best time giving the bad head wind.
As the road turns away from the Fjord, I got more protected from the wind and things started to feel a lot better although it was still snowing and quite cold. Approaching the climb up Lifjellet my legs felt quite good so I started the climb at a higher speed then I usually do, and I managed to keep the speed through the climb resulting in a new personal best 1min and 15 seconds quicker then my previous best.
At this point I was a bit more optimistic regarding setting a new seasonal best on the course around Manger.
I past Manger after 47 minutes which was about 3 minutes behind schedule for a new best time. However, now I had the wind working in my favor and as I passed Lunde I had cached up and as I stopped outside at home the timer showed 1h 28min 40s almost 4 min quicker the my previous best.
I was hoping for a better time as I started out this morning, but given the windy weather I am happy with the time.
Hope it will not be as windy tomorrow when I plan to ride around Rolvsvågen with Terje.
Stats for the ride:
Friday, May 4, 2012
New bike - Everest Racing Carbon Ultegra
After the crash last Sunday the costs for fixing the bike ended up being to high so I decided to buy a new bike. The old bike was 10 years old now so it might have been time for a change anyway.
One of Janickes coworkers suggested I should go to Sykkelsenteret downtown Bergen as they had a good offer for a full-carbon bike from Everest, their own brand. The carbon frame is built on the same factory as among others Hard Rocx and is virtually the same frame.
They set off plenty of time at Sykkelsenteret to go over the bike and to do a proper bike fitting. After just two short rides on the bike there is no doubt that my sitting position on the new bike felt much better then on the old bike. I will get back to this once I finish my first longer ride on the new bike.
I have just checked and the bike weighed in at 8.1kg fully equipped with bike computer, bottle cages, etc, which is a lot less then my old Cannondale. I am looking forward to my first longer ride on the new bike :)
Equipment:
One of Janickes coworkers suggested I should go to Sykkelsenteret downtown Bergen as they had a good offer for a full-carbon bike from Everest, their own brand. The carbon frame is built on the same factory as among others Hard Rocx and is virtually the same frame.
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| Everest Racing Carbon Ultegra |
The staff at Sykkelsenteret was as usual very friendly and helpful and it did not take long to convince me that the bike was a good buy especially as it was fully equipped with Shimano Ultegra 6700.
They set off plenty of time at Sykkelsenteret to go over the bike and to do a proper bike fitting. After just two short rides on the bike there is no doubt that my sitting position on the new bike felt much better then on the old bike. I will get back to this once I finish my first longer ride on the new bike.
I have just checked and the bike weighed in at 8.1kg fully equipped with bike computer, bottle cages, etc, which is a lot less then my old Cannondale. I am looking forward to my first longer ride on the new bike :)
Equipment:
| Frame | Everest Astro Carbon |
| Fork | Carbon Racing |
| Wheel-set | Mavic Aksium |
| Tires | Schwalbe Lugano 700x23c |
| Pedals | Not included (used my old pedals) |
| Crank | Shimano Ultegra 50-34 |
| Krans | Shimano Ultegra CS-6700 |
| Front Derailleur | Shimano Ultegra |
| Rear Derailleur | Shimano Ultegra |
| Bars | Ritchey Road Pro Logic II |
| Stem | Ritchey Road Pro 30D |
| Brakes | Shimano Ultegra |
| Break Levers | Shimano Ultegra |
| Seat | Ritchey Pro |
Sunday, April 29, 2012
85km and crash
As usual I was going out early in the morning for my long ride. Today the plan was to ride from Vågsbotn, over Gullbotn to Os and back to Vågsbotn together with Terje.
The ride is 108km and the plan was for us to do most of the ride in pulse zone 1. I knew I would go into zone 3 in the climbs in order to try to keep a good average speed for the ride. However, I forgot to put on the HR strap before leaving home so I do not have a record of HR for the ride :(
Starting out it was quite cold. Temperature showed 1 degree Celsius in the car just before we started out from Vågsbotn at 06:15 and I did not really get warm until we started the climb up to Gullbotn. As we got to the top the sun was finally starting to warm two cold riders :).
The climb up Gullboten went well and we did it at an average speed of 7.8 kph which was ok for the purpose of the ride. I hope to go a bit quicker when we get to Bergen - Voss in June and hopefully the Tuesday sessions climbing Gullbotten 2-3 times will help :).
As we started the decent down towards Samnager and the junction where we would take off towards Rolvsvåg and Os, I heard a bad ticking noise from my rear wheel. We stopped and I found that one of the spokes had broken. Bending it back and forth for a while, I managed to remove the broken spoke. However, as we continued I was a bit more careful in the descents because I was worried that my back wheel would collapse.
Going through Rolvsvåg was fantastic, the sun was up and there was hardly any wind to speak of.
We kept a nice and steady pace until we got to the climb up Hegglandalsvegen. The climb was harder then I thought it would be and I also started out to hard. I am glad Terje told me to calm down and go a bit slower as he had climbed this part the previous Sunday and knew how long it was.
We stopped at Os for 5 - 10 minutes, where Terje took a nice picture of me at the seaside, before continuing towards Nesttun climbing over Vallaheiane.
As I was crossing the old rail-rode a car was taking more then his share of the road forcing me to take a shortcut and by doing so hitting a hole hard with my rear tire, causing me to crash. I as the picture shows my back tire was in a bad shape and it was not possible for me to continue.
As Terje was slightly ahead of me he missed my crash and called me after 4-5 minutes as he did not see me following him anymore. When he heard what happened he offered to come back to pick me up after finishing the ride back at Vågsbotn, which was very nice of him considering he still had 20km back to the car! As Janicke was home alone with 4 kids she was not able to pick me up so I ended up sitting at the side of the road for about 75 minutes until Terje picked me up. Thank you for coming back!!
Hopefully it will be possible to get my rear tire fixed or changed and I need to contact Sykkelsenteret tomorrow to get it done.
Despite the crash shortening the ride it was at least good to get 85km and the longest ride of the season :)
Statistics of the ride can be seen here at Strava
The ride is 108km and the plan was for us to do most of the ride in pulse zone 1. I knew I would go into zone 3 in the climbs in order to try to keep a good average speed for the ride. However, I forgot to put on the HR strap before leaving home so I do not have a record of HR for the ride :(
Starting out it was quite cold. Temperature showed 1 degree Celsius in the car just before we started out from Vågsbotn at 06:15 and I did not really get warm until we started the climb up to Gullbotn. As we got to the top the sun was finally starting to warm two cold riders :).
The climb up Gullboten went well and we did it at an average speed of 7.8 kph which was ok for the purpose of the ride. I hope to go a bit quicker when we get to Bergen - Voss in June and hopefully the Tuesday sessions climbing Gullbotten 2-3 times will help :).
As we started the decent down towards Samnager and the junction where we would take off towards Rolvsvåg and Os, I heard a bad ticking noise from my rear wheel. We stopped and I found that one of the spokes had broken. Bending it back and forth for a while, I managed to remove the broken spoke. However, as we continued I was a bit more careful in the descents because I was worried that my back wheel would collapse.
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| At the beautiful seaside at Os |
We kept a nice and steady pace until we got to the climb up Hegglandalsvegen. The climb was harder then I thought it would be and I also started out to hard. I am glad Terje told me to calm down and go a bit slower as he had climbed this part the previous Sunday and knew how long it was.
We stopped at Os for 5 - 10 minutes, where Terje took a nice picture of me at the seaside, before continuing towards Nesttun climbing over Vallaheiane.
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| Rear tire in bad shape after the crash :( |
As Terje was slightly ahead of me he missed my crash and called me after 4-5 minutes as he did not see me following him anymore. When he heard what happened he offered to come back to pick me up after finishing the ride back at Vågsbotn, which was very nice of him considering he still had 20km back to the car! As Janicke was home alone with 4 kids she was not able to pick me up so I ended up sitting at the side of the road for about 75 minutes until Terje picked me up. Thank you for coming back!!
Hopefully it will be possible to get my rear tire fixed or changed and I need to contact Sykkelsenteret tomorrow to get it done.
Despite the crash shortening the ride it was at least good to get 85km and the longest ride of the season :)
Statistics of the ride can be seen here at Strava
Thursday, April 26, 2012
50+ km ride - "the right way"
Sunday I did the 53km ride around Bøvågen and I had one of my best days on the bike.
Preparations for the ride started Saturday evening. I collected all my biking gear and placed it all on the bathroom counter-top so that I did not have to go around looking for everything in the morning (everybody who knows me would agree this was a vice decision). Finally I prepared a pasta dish with sautéed mushrooms, carrots, onions, and source cream, which I placed in the fridge.
When we went to bed I put my alarm on at 05:00 in the morning.
I did indeed get up at 05:00, heated the pasta slightly in the microwave before eating. At 05:20 I was back in bed with the alarm reset for 06:15, and managed to get a bit more sleep before getting up again at 06:15. I got dressed as quietly as I could in order not to wake the kids, and was out the door at 06:45, starting the ride riding at 06:55.
It was a much better feeling starting this morning as I knew I had a good meal beforehand, in addition to bringing 2 bananas and some raisins to eat during the ride, so I was quite sure I would not run low on energy this time.
As this was the first longer ride after I got the Garmin Edge 500 the plan was to concentrate on keeping the HR in zone 1 as much as possible during the ride. Therefor, I had the Edge 500 set to show current HR, HR-zone, and climb grade only. I deliberately did not display any speed information as I knew that might trigger me to push harder then I should if I for example noticed my average speed being low.
As the below elevation profile of the ride shows, there are a couple of short climbs during the ride. In these climbs I am not able to stay in HR zone 1 (unless I get off the bike and start walking). Therefore, in these climbs I concentrated on keeping a steady pace instead of worrying to much about the HR.
As the below elevation profile of the ride shows, there are a couple of short climbs during the ride. In these climbs I am not able to stay in HR zone 1 (unless I get off the bike and start walking). Therefore, in these climbs I concentrated on keeping a steady pace instead of worrying to much about the HR.
Using the climb up "Bossrenneri" as an example the climb is 1 km at an average grade of 5.1%, I had an average HR of 168 and an average speed of 9.6km/h according to the statistics gather at app.strava.com after the ride.
When arriving at Manger after 36km I was 10 minutes behind compared to my previous ride around Bøvågen, however, my legs felt much better. It now became quite obvious that I had done things better this time around, as when I got home I was 1 minute ahead of my previous ride. So during the last 17km from Manger and home I was going 11 minutes quicker.
After a warm shower, I could enjoy a good breakfast that Janicke had prepared for me, finishing of a perfect morning on the bike :)
Statistics from the ride can be seen at app.strava.com
When arriving at Manger after 36km I was 10 minutes behind compared to my previous ride around Bøvågen, however, my legs felt much better. It now became quite obvious that I had done things better this time around, as when I got home I was 1 minute ahead of my previous ride. So during the last 17km from Manger and home I was going 11 minutes quicker.
After a warm shower, I could enjoy a good breakfast that Janicke had prepared for me, finishing of a perfect morning on the bike :)
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| Nice breakfast prepared with love :) |
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Trying to do things right
After the terrible feeling after my 50+km ride Hilland - Lindås - Hilland a week and a half ago I decided to take my workouts more serious and do a bit of research about how to do my workouts "correctly". Using Google there is an wast amount of information and opinions about how to get the best out of your workouts. For me it is important to be critical to the sources and then choose a training program that I know I can follow through, if not I will end up finding excuses NOT to follow the "program".
However, it quickly became quite clear that the majority of the information points towards 3 different sessions I should do:
However, it quickly became quite clear that the majority of the information points towards 3 different sessions I should do:
- Hill intervals
- Long steady rides (LSR)
- Tempo sessions
So here is my plan:
1. Hill intervals:
I will do two different hill interval sessions
1. Hill intervals:
I will do two different hill interval sessions
A) 4x4 min interval session in the short climb up towards Sæbø
B) 3x15-20 min session in the climb from Trengereid to Gullfjell
B) 3x15-20 min session in the climb from Trengereid to Gullfjell
Both session should put my HR way into zone 3
2. LSR:
For my long steady rides I will continue with my ride from home and around Bøvågen. What is important is to keep the HR in zone 1 as much as possible. I am not able to do it for the entire ride as my HR goes up into zone 3 during some of the climbs. These rides are important to improve endurance and to make my body used to being on the bike for hours at the time.
3. Tempo sessions:
A good tempo workout should, as all workouts, consist of a 10 to 20 minute warm.
For the tempo workout I will do 3 sessions 10 minutes long. After each 10-minute session I will pedal at an easy pace for 3 minutes. It is important to keep a high cadence throughout the 10 minute tempo sessions. I guess I need to buy a cadence sensor that I can attach to my Garmin Edge 500 to keep track of my performance in terms of cadence.
HR should be between 75%-85% of maxHR during the 10 minute sessions.
I will then finish with a cool down period of 15 - 20 minutes.
3. Tempo sessions:
A good tempo workout should, as all workouts, consist of a 10 to 20 minute warm.
For the tempo workout I will do 3 sessions 10 minutes long. After each 10-minute session I will pedal at an easy pace for 3 minutes. It is important to keep a high cadence throughout the 10 minute tempo sessions. I guess I need to buy a cadence sensor that I can attach to my Garmin Edge 500 to keep track of my performance in terms of cadence.
HR should be between 75%-85% of maxHR during the 10 minute sessions.
I will then finish with a cool down period of 15 - 20 minutes.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
2.5 times up to Gullbotn
Today the plan was for Terje and myself to do an interval session in the climb up to Falkanger in Åsane. However Terje suggested we drove to Takvam and did our interval session in the climb from Trengereid up to Gullbotn instead.
We started out at a very slow and controlled pace in order to keep the HR in zone 1 until we got to Trengereid which is a ride of about 7km.
The plan was to do 3 hard intervals of 15 minutes up the climb towards Gullbotn. However in the first interval we were so close to the top after 15 minutes that we decided to go all the way and stop at the top instead of limiting it to 15 minutes.
We did the the first interval in 18min 44s and the second interval in 19min 15s
When starting the 3rd interval it had turned late so we decided to do a "sprint" up to the roundabout halfway to the top instead. Of coarse being competitive we both started out to fast and my legs was all out of juice long before we reached the roundabout so the last couple of hundred meters was hard!
Terje beat me by 50-100 meters to the top on each of the 3 intervals, however I am much closer to keeping his speed now then I have been earlier. I think I am seeing some effect from my 4x4 interval sessions in the shorter hill up to Sæbø :)
Todays session felt extremely good and it was an energy boost to know I had climbed Gullbotn 2.5 times. Now, the plan is to do this interval session every Tuesday, however, we will start a bit earlier so that we can finish 3 intervals to the top without it getting to late.
Back at the car the SportsTrackLive app showed we had been riding 27.6 km in about 1h 45min.
http://www.sportstracklive.com/track/detail/BigManChanging/Cycling/bakke-trengereid/574449
There is no doubt this was my best day on the bike, at least this season. Already looking forward to next Tuesday :)
We started out at a very slow and controlled pace in order to keep the HR in zone 1 until we got to Trengereid which is a ride of about 7km.
The plan was to do 3 hard intervals of 15 minutes up the climb towards Gullbotn. However in the first interval we were so close to the top after 15 minutes that we decided to go all the way and stop at the top instead of limiting it to 15 minutes.
We did the the first interval in 18min 44s and the second interval in 19min 15s
When starting the 3rd interval it had turned late so we decided to do a "sprint" up to the roundabout halfway to the top instead. Of coarse being competitive we both started out to fast and my legs was all out of juice long before we reached the roundabout so the last couple of hundred meters was hard!
Terje beat me by 50-100 meters to the top on each of the 3 intervals, however I am much closer to keeping his speed now then I have been earlier. I think I am seeing some effect from my 4x4 interval sessions in the shorter hill up to Sæbø :)
Todays session felt extremely good and it was an energy boost to know I had climbed Gullbotn 2.5 times. Now, the plan is to do this interval session every Tuesday, however, we will start a bit earlier so that we can finish 3 intervals to the top without it getting to late.
Back at the car the SportsTrackLive app showed we had been riding 27.6 km in about 1h 45min.
http://www.sportstracklive.com/track/detail/BigManChanging/Cycling/bakke-trengereid/574449
There is no doubt this was my best day on the bike, at least this season. Already looking forward to next Tuesday :)
Thursday, April 12, 2012
First time riding in a Paceline
Today I was going out with the group that Terje has been riding with a couple of times, and I was looking forward to trying out riding in a paceline for the first time. However, first everything went south for me as I forgot my helmet at home. So while the others started from Vågsbotn I went to MX Sport and bought a new helmet. I needed one anyway as the paddings and straps on my old helmet was very loose, however, the timing was not good, but typical for me my wife would say :)
Once I had the new helmet I drove to Arna and parked there. As I expected, the group had already passed Arna so I got on the bike and started riding on my own towards Trengereid. Just before I got to the decent down to Trengereid I meet Terje and the rest of the group coming back.
I managed to turn around and get into the Paceline as they slowed down a bit waiting for me.
Getting into the Paceline at the back I was in the fast lane first and I had a bit of problem getting close enough to the rider in front of to take advantage of the drag, so I struggled quite a bit until I was finally at front. At the front did one of the many rookie mistakes, as soon as the guy in front of me switch to the slow lane I pressed down hard on the pedals and accelerated and stayed in front for to long. However, the other riders in the Paceline gave me constant hints to help me get the hang of it and finally I felt like I was doing ok and contributing to keep the rotation going.
This group is a group with a goal of 5h 30min for Bergen-Voss, and they are all in much better shape then both Terje and myself. The Paceline was doing 30-35kph on the flats and slightly slower in the small "hills", and according to SportsTrackLive statistics of the ride we had an average of 30.3kph over a distance of 10km which is impossible for me to do alone. Even though you save a lot of energy in a Paceline, going at 30-35kph and sometimes 40kph is to fast for me and I would not have been able to keep up with them for to long.
As I said this group of riders will do Bergen-Voss in 5h 30min and, therefore, in the first short real climb I was dropped and so I finished the ride back to Arna alone.
During the ride back to the car I realized that riding alone and riding in a group, that can for example do a double Pacline like we did, is incomparable and in two different worlds. I also realized that if I am to get a good finishing time in the Bergen-Voss race I need to sit in a group, especially riding through Hardanger. Therefor, I need to do more of these sessions to get used to it.
However, I do not think I will join this group again this season as they are going at a speed that is to hard for me to keep up with over time. Hopefully I can find group with a goal of finishing Bergen-Voss in between 6h 30min and 7h.
All in all this was good fun and a great experience, and I got myself a new helmet ;)
Once I had the new helmet I drove to Arna and parked there. As I expected, the group had already passed Arna so I got on the bike and started riding on my own towards Trengereid. Just before I got to the decent down to Trengereid I meet Terje and the rest of the group coming back.
I managed to turn around and get into the Paceline as they slowed down a bit waiting for me.
Getting into the Paceline at the back I was in the fast lane first and I had a bit of problem getting close enough to the rider in front of to take advantage of the drag, so I struggled quite a bit until I was finally at front. At the front did one of the many rookie mistakes, as soon as the guy in front of me switch to the slow lane I pressed down hard on the pedals and accelerated and stayed in front for to long. However, the other riders in the Paceline gave me constant hints to help me get the hang of it and finally I felt like I was doing ok and contributing to keep the rotation going.
This group is a group with a goal of 5h 30min for Bergen-Voss, and they are all in much better shape then both Terje and myself. The Paceline was doing 30-35kph on the flats and slightly slower in the small "hills", and according to SportsTrackLive statistics of the ride we had an average of 30.3kph over a distance of 10km which is impossible for me to do alone. Even though you save a lot of energy in a Paceline, going at 30-35kph and sometimes 40kph is to fast for me and I would not have been able to keep up with them for to long.
As I said this group of riders will do Bergen-Voss in 5h 30min and, therefore, in the first short real climb I was dropped and so I finished the ride back to Arna alone.
During the ride back to the car I realized that riding alone and riding in a group, that can for example do a double Pacline like we did, is incomparable and in two different worlds. I also realized that if I am to get a good finishing time in the Bergen-Voss race I need to sit in a group, especially riding through Hardanger. Therefor, I need to do more of these sessions to get used to it.
However, I do not think I will join this group again this season as they are going at a speed that is to hard for me to keep up with over time. Hopefully I can find group with a goal of finishing Bergen-Voss in between 6h 30min and 7h.
All in all this was good fun and a great experience, and I got myself a new helmet ;)
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Back after Easter
So, Easter is over and I did not do any rides during the holidays. We have been busy refurbishing the house and I have not had the energy to go out on the bike as well.
However, today I got back out on the bike and I did a 4x4 hill interval session in the hill up towards Sæbø.
During today's ride I held a 1.5kph higher speed compared to my last interval session before Easter. I will try to set up a way in which I can compare each hi-intensity interval in order to compare from ride to ride to see how I improve. So far it does not look like SportsTrackLive have good features to do this sort of comparisons.
Tomorrow I am going on a longer ride, about 55km, with a group of riders that Terje has introduced me to.
Looking forward to it :)
However, today I got back out on the bike and I did a 4x4 hill interval session in the hill up towards Sæbø.
During today's ride I held a 1.5kph higher speed compared to my last interval session before Easter. I will try to set up a way in which I can compare each hi-intensity interval in order to compare from ride to ride to see how I improve. So far it does not look like SportsTrackLive have good features to do this sort of comparisons.
Tomorrow I am going on a longer ride, about 55km, with a group of riders that Terje has introduced me to.
Looking forward to it :)
Friday, March 30, 2012
Hill intervals
Good to finally feel like I have my body back after been sick for 3 days. As I was to work on American time today I decided to do a short workout just after lunch instead of this afternoon and in order to still get a good workout I performed the first hill interval workout of the season.
Just 15 minutes from home there is a steep hill that I can climb in 4-5 minutes at max intensity. I will analyze the GPS data from http://www.sportstracklive.com/ later to see exactly how long I spend on each climb.
Now I understand why people say that hill intervals are painful. My legs was burning already at the top of the 3rd interval and by then I was considering not doing a 4th one. However I did finished 4 intervals and I managed to push myself substantially on the last ride up the hill so I feel quite good about today's workout.
As said, I will analyze the data to get a better view of each interval in order to compare them to each other and also to track improvements over time.
Today's workout can be seen here:
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
First semi-long ride of the season
Today I had planned my first semi-long ride of the season at 07:00 in the morning. However the morning started with my 5 year old boy throwing up and having fever so I postponed the ride until the afternoon. My wife got home an hour early as she was also not feeling to good. She insisted it was OK that I went on my ride so at 16:30 I was on my way.
For those familiar with the area, the route I was planing to take was Alversund - Sletta - Nordanger - Bøvågen - Manger - Alversund for a total of 53.5 km. I did this ride 3 times last year before Bergen-Voss 2011 with a personal best of 2h 26min.
Based on discussions and information I have found surfing different cycling forums on the Internet I have learned, at least that is what I am telling myself, that it is important not to push to hard on the longer rides but rather keep a steady pace (without going to slowly).
I think it is said very well on www.livestrong.com:
"The goal is to build endurance and condition your muscles to stay on the bike for a longer period of time."
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/16403-build-cycling-stamina/#ixzz1qRCZQZix
I did the ride in 2h and 33minutes including a total of 5 minutes stops check tires and eat a banana. So it was 5 minutes slower then my personal best from last 2011. For the last 20km my legs felt very tired and looking at the stats from SportsTrackLive today I see that the last 20km was much slower then I hoped. An hour after I got home I was in the same situation as my wife and son - I was throwing up non-stop. So this was probably not the optimal day for a 54km ride.
I had planned a hill interval session with Beathe tomorrow but I have to skip that until I feel better again, hopefully I will be ok for a hard session on Friday.
Details of the ride can be seen at SportsTrackLive:
http://www.sportstracklive.com/track/detail/BigManChanging/Cycling/Boevaagen/547259#/altitude
For those familiar with the area, the route I was planing to take was Alversund - Sletta - Nordanger - Bøvågen - Manger - Alversund for a total of 53.5 km. I did this ride 3 times last year before Bergen-Voss 2011 with a personal best of 2h 26min.
Based on discussions and information I have found surfing different cycling forums on the Internet I have learned, at least that is what I am telling myself, that it is important not to push to hard on the longer rides but rather keep a steady pace (without going to slowly).
I think it is said very well on www.livestrong.com:
"The goal is to build endurance and condition your muscles to stay on the bike for a longer period of time."
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/16403-build-cycling-stamina/#ixzz1qRCZQZix
I did the ride in 2h and 33minutes including a total of 5 minutes stops check tires and eat a banana. So it was 5 minutes slower then my personal best from last 2011. For the last 20km my legs felt very tired and looking at the stats from SportsTrackLive today I see that the last 20km was much slower then I hoped. An hour after I got home I was in the same situation as my wife and son - I was throwing up non-stop. So this was probably not the optimal day for a 54km ride.
I had planned a hill interval session with Beathe tomorrow but I have to skip that until I feel better again, hopefully I will be ok for a hard session on Friday.
Details of the ride can be seen at SportsTrackLive:
http://www.sportstracklive.com/track/detail/BigManChanging/Cycling/Boevaagen/547259#/altitude
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