A short post today. Mum has taken ill, so I need to pay her some attention. After all, she has been there for me these past four months, making life so much better for me while enduring the trials and tribulations of the hospital stay. Let's hope she improves soon.
But at least the good news is that the hospital sent me home earlier this week. I got home on Tuesday - it's been hard work since then as it takes quite a bit to get about on the crutches, up and down on chairs - all those one legged squats.
The community nurse visits each day to change the wound dressing. All going OK there. A visit to my local Doctor, the pharmacy and the bank (!) on Thursday wore me out but in a good way.
Anyway, pretty tired so that's all for now.
See you next time.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Home at Last
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Rehab Week 8: Homeward Bound
It seems that my long stay in hospital is finally coming to an end. Yesterday marked my four-month anniversary. Seems like I’ve been here a year. Of course I don’t remember much of the first eight weeks I was in so much of a drug-induced daze. But the dreams were amazing, mostly very dark and scary but amazingly real at the time. But back to now…
On Thursday, the wound was inspected again and revealed some more good progress. So much so that the Doc suggested I’ll be going home this coming week. But before I get too excited at that prospect, we decided to do another of those irradiated white cells gamma camera tests I talked about in this post.
I found out a little more about the test. For instance, the second blood extraction of 20 ml is used to separate out some extra plasma, which is then combined with the white cells extracted from the first blood sample before they are reinjected.
The other tidbit is the isotope used to irradiate the white cells, a metastable nuclear isomer of the element Technetium, 99mTc. OK, enough of today’s chemistry lesson.
The test was conducted on Friday afternoon, full results not known until Monday I’d say, although the technician did say the initial scan showed a much improved result over last time. Promising at least.
If the test comes up clear, then I’m heading home, possibly on Tuesday.
That’s pretty cool news, it will be great to be back home. Of course that just presents a few more challenges. My wound has not yet finished healing and so I’ll still need community nursing care for the dressings and it could still be 6-8 weeks before I get a prosthetic. So still quite a while getting about on crutches in front of me.
Keep safe out there guys.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Rehab Week 7: A Matter of Degrees
Honestly, this hospital stay is getting pretty tedious. But that’s good news really. I seem to have fought off the MSRA infection successfully. Latest swabs are not growing any cultures, blood tests are clear and the wound looks clean with no signs of inflammation.
The remaining wound is getting smaller, if only by millimeters per week. It’s about two centimetres deep now and pretty skinny now, so hopefully I’m on the home stretch with that.
On the rehab front, well there’s only so much arm work I can do and I’m basically fit and strong enough to go home, it’s just the medical issue with the wound to be cleared up. Walking around on the crutches is a bit tricky. I’m good on the crutches but as I’m still hooked up to the vacuum unit, it means someone has to carry it along behind me if I want to have a walk.
The main rehab issue now is the range of motion of the knee joint. Over the past few weeks I’ve been working to improve the amount I can straighten and bend it. Right now I’m getting to 10 degrees in the straightening motion and 82 degrees when bending. I’ll need a lot better than that for riding. The doc says that it’s the amount of scar tissue inside that’s restricting the motion and that once I have the prosthetic on I’ll have much more leverage to help improving. Let’s hope so.
That’s all folks!
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Rehab Week 6: Weighty Matters
Another week, with Room 12 being my home for these past three and a half months. For some reason I managed to score the exact same room position in both wards I’ve been in since leaving the High Dependency Unit.
The bright spot of the week was my surprise birthday party on Thursday evening. Of course it meant a couple of birthday cakes from friends and relatives. There was lots of cake so the nursing staff scored well and I got plenty of brownie points for sharing around. It was a fun night, thanks to Sam and Tanya for organizing and the rest for popping in to share.
Wound continues to do well, gradually getting smaller and staying nice and clean. Seemingly there’s no further sign of infection, so that’s good. If this keeps up I might be outta here in a few weeks. In the meantime I’m still on the vacuum dressing.
Since coming out of the dark days, I’ve put back on all my weight and some more. At the lowest point I had lost 14kg after entering hospital already in race trim having finished the Australian Masters championships a couple of weeks earlier. I was nearly as skinny as Rasmussen!
I’ve regained a lot of strength and now having a bit of fun wheeling myself about in the chair. I’m also about to have my first full day/night without any painkillers.
So a pretty good week.
Nice ride Cadel, we’re proud of you.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Rehab Week 5: Glowing in the Dark
Whatever you want,
whatever you need,
you pay your money you take your choice.
For those still wondering, that’s some lyrics from an old Status Quo song. Status Quo being the operative words. Not much change to report but a few things on the positive side, I mean I’m not sick nor has the wound got worse.
On Monday I had an irradiated white cell gamma radiation test. What the hell is that?
Well it goes like this: First withdraw 70ml of blood, two lots, 50ml and 20ml. The 20ml sample goes for a range of standard blood tests. The 50ml is then put through some processes to separate out the white blood cells (they’re the ones that attack foreign bodies and bugs inside your body).
The white blood cells are then irradiated using nuclear medicine products (probably produced at the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor in Sydney) to make them carry radionuclides. That means these white cells are now emitting gamma radiation. The cells are then reinjected into my blood stream.
White cells, being what they are, will congregate around infections. So a couple of hours later, I’m lying on a table with this big gamma camera slowly circling my leg picking up the gamma radiation emitting from my leg. The 360 degree gamma ray picture then matches to a CT scan to form a 3-D picture of where the white cells and possible infections lie.
So what did it find? Three clusters or “hot spots”. One around the wound, one at the top of the tibia and another around the screws in the metal plate just below my knee. However at the moment there aren’t the other markers (pain, inflammation, fever, blood test markers) to indicate these are serious. If the wound continues to heal, that’s means I’m in control and not the bug. So far so good on that front as at each change of the vacuum dressing has found a very clean and smaller wound. Let’s hope that trend continues. Otherwise they’ll have to open me up again. We don’t want that.
Also, no more IV antibiotic. The Vancomycin I was on is a powerful drug and two weeks is the maximum time the Docs would let me be on it, lest it do more damage than good.
So what about those radioactive white cells? Well the radiation doesn’t last long as the rarionuclides have a half life of six hours and the total radiation exposure was less than for a typical x-ray image. Just as well, otherwise I might have started to glow!
Catch you next time!
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Rehab Week 4: Waiting for Godot
Yep, another week in paradise! Still on the inside wondering if it will ever end. While I’m not a Beckett fan, nor profess to really get what his plays are about, I sometimes wonder if there is anything out that window…. (OK, so I’m getting my plays mixed up, call it poetic license).
This week marked my 3-month anniversary inside the hospital.
OK, it’s not all that bad. Last week I talked about the new hole in my leg and the infection. On Monday this week, a new dressing was fitted – a vacuum dressing. It’s a seal put over your wound and hooked up to a vacuum pump that keeps sucking away. Along with some special foam-like dressing inside and around the wound, it drags out the bad stuff and encourages new flesh to grow. The downside is I am now hooked up to a machine via a hose and mobility is much more limited again. I have been on vacuum dressing before but that was when I was far less cogent and when the docs were trying to save my leg.
My first progress check was on Thursday when the wound dressing was changed. Good news – the wound had halved in size since Monday (the previous week it had hardly changed at all). It was also nice and clean. Tick one to the vacuum dressing. It also enabled the nurse to shave a little more hair from the leg around the wound - ripping off the op-site dressings frm a hairy leg ain't fun! Yeah - that's right - my legs are hairy again. Yuk!!
Other signs, blood pressure, temperature, pain have all been steady and good and blood test infection markers are low, so it looks as though I have the infection in check at least, if not beaten. I’m still on the IV and oral antibiotics though, presumably until the wound heals. How long? Who knows.
Next check of wound is Monday, so will be really keen to see if progress has continued.
Otherwise all is OK and watching Le Tour is a great distraction.
Ride safe
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Rehab Week 3: I.V. League
No, not Yale or Harvard, I mean the intravenous kind. Yep, I’m back on an IV antibiotic drip this week along with some other oral antibiotics.
See I've had a bit of a set back this week – the one remaining patch of wound stubbornly wasn't healing so they dug it out leaving a half inch wide hole an inch and a half deep - and now I've picked up an MRSA infection or commonly known as Golden Staff. If it makes its way to my metal work or bone I'm in trouble.
I'm now being hit with big time antibiotics in a shock and awe campaign to try to knock this bug over (hence back on an IV drip) plus some other oral drugs (I've been through about half a dozen different antibiotics). I have to admit I am pretty worried about it. Hopefully it will all clear up but the downside is not worth thinking about (more surgery, possible further removal of leg).
Otherwise I'm going OK - getting stronger, crutch walking with confidence (up and down a couple of flights of fire stairs) and pushing myself around in the wheelchair when we go for trips out of the building.
At least le Tour has started although I’m not sure I’m gunna manage to stay up every night to watch!
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Rehab Week 2: Waiting for one patch
OK I made it through another week. Energy levels are up on last week and gym work/exercise is now regular although still not huge by my normal standards. On Friday I had my biggest day, with 6 minutes of pull downs, 9 minutes on the hand cycle ergo (3 x 3min “intervals”), climbing two flights of fire stairs (and down again!) along with the usual one-legged balancing and stretching exercises and a lap or so of the ward on the crutches.
On the weekend the ward gym is closed, so yesterday I made it a rest/recovery day (you know, let’s watch the footy kind a day) and today I simulated the effort by pushing myself in the wheelchair down to the ground floor cafeteria and outdoor eating area and back up to my ward/room again. For experienced chair users that’s barely a warm up but for me that was a big deal. Then I managed a couple of laps of the ward on the crutches.
One funny “exercise” is lying prone on a special bed/table, which has a hole in it so your face can look straight down and not ruin your neck with it jerked sideways (bit like a physio’s massage table, just a lot wider). The idea is that it helps to straighten out your knee and other muscles that have been lying the other way for a couple of months. Mine knee’s got to 13 degrees so far, I need it to get as close to zero as I can as that helps to fit the prosthetic and re-learn to walk.
Remembering I had smashed up my tibial plateau (the big round bit at the top of your shin bone) and fractured the top of my fibia (the smaller shin bone). There are a plate, rod and lots of screws in there, which went in on day 1. After all those weeks of being confined to bed, it’s no wonder the knee joint is a bit restricted in movement.
The leg closure wound that I’m waiting to heal up has progressed OK, although the stubborn patch is still there and will probably take some weeks to finally close up. That’s a bit disappointing as I was really hoping I’d be fitted with a prosthetic before I leave hospital but it looks like I’ll be home before that happens.
Nevermind, life on crutches for a while won’t be so bad. Each day I grow more confident but ever watchful that I remain careful, I don’t want any falls jeapordising my progress. One problem will be the house renovations going on at the moment, there are builders’ tools, materials and furniture everywhere apparently and I wouldn’t be able to go back until that is substantially completed. I’m hoping for some good news on progress this week. Fingers crossed.
Stay safe out there folks.
Catch you next time.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Rehab Week 1 / Dr William Tan
Well after finally making it up to the rehab ward, it’s been a case of hurry up and slow down. My large leg closure wound is all but healed, with one stubborn patch taking its time so I have to be patient, exercise needs to be moderate while I’m still healing.
Pain killers are still on the agenda too, although dosages have been wound right back, I still get plenty of reminders of the nerves in action. Think overactive pins and needles sensations and short little jolts that make you jump unintentionally. Not really painful, just weird. Occasional breakthrough painkillers are needed to settle down the “noise” which is enough to keep you awake. I reckon it’s just the leg’s nerves re-wiring themselves.
It’s probably just as well that exercise needs to be moderate, with all the changes recently, I found that even with the limited amount of exercise along with all the recent changes to medication and change of location really flattened me during the week and I spent a couple of days pretty well completely exhausted. Being very physically tired also lowered my emotional state for a while but this is just a bump along the way and I’m sure there will be a few more speed humps to drive over.
Anyway, I’ve had a few days of going easy, light gym sessions and short walks and extra sleeps during the day and have ended the week in reasonable shape.
On Friday I attended a talk by Dr William Tan. What an inspirational guy. Diagnosed with polio as a child and growing up in a poor family, Will fought against the odds to go on to become a Medical Doctor and an endurance wheelchair athlete, holding world records and competing at Paralympics. But the story he told was about his attempt to complete 10 marathons in 7 continents in 65 days, all part of a fundraising drive. The marathon on Antarctica and the non-continent at the North Pole was pretty amazing. Here’s a link for interest:
http://staff.science.nus.edu.sg/~sivasothi/cycling/rideforhope/williamtan.html
Nice work Dr Tan.
‘til next time.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Rehab - here I come
Today's the day. I move to the Rehab ward. Yahoo! Only took 10 weeks.
All my wound sutures were removed this morning although the wound still hasn't fully healed, it is a long way there and the Doctors are very happy with its progress. A couple of stubborn parts that need some time to close up properly.
Over last couple of days I've been exercising more, with longer walks on the crutches (like once round the ward, so not far) and some work in the gym on my leg balance, strength and flexibility. Yesterday I climbed a full flight of the fire stairs and back down again. Then up in the rehab ward I had a funny little obstacle course to negotiate on the crutches, bit like the show dogs and how they weave in and out between the poles. If I do that again I think I'll bark and ask for a biscuit.
Endurance is low but improving. Just like on the bike, I have to introduce progressive overload in order to promote the physiological adaptations I want. I do have a small dilemma in that the Docs want me to be a little conservative with the exercise as the wound is still delicate. Don't want it accidentally opening up again, do we?
The move upstairs will come with some logistical challenges, might need removallists for all the stuff I seem to have collected over the past weeks.
Anyway, I'll miss the staff here in the Orthopaedic ward, they have been fantastic. I'll be sure to leave behind some treats for them all to enjoy.
'til next time, keep riding
Alex
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Pumping Iron
Today I hit the gym for the first time. This is no ordinary gym, it's part of the hospital rehab unit and has all those things you see sometimes on TV, the hip high parallel bars for learning to stand, balance and walk, stairs to practice on and some basic weight equipment. So while starting rehab like activity, I'm not yet actually in rehab. Wound is still healing.
So being the first time in the gym, I was pretty conservative, really just doing enough to get a feel for the exercises set by the rehab physio. It comprises a set of leg balancing, stretch and strength work between the parallel bars, walking up/down the stairs on my crutches and some arm exercises with the ropes/pulleys, working mostly my triceps. A whopping 7.5lbs each side!! Apart from that I have a walk on the crutches, and try to gradually increase the distance each time.
Earlier I had some stitches removed from the stump wound, just a halfdozen that were looking like they were about to bury themselves. Doesn't hurt, just a little sting at most. Most of the rest will likely come out on Friday.
So now the gym is a daily part of the routine and I'm on my way. I'll be intrested to see how quickly/slowly I adapt to the training. After 9 weeks in bed I have lost a lot of condition and have a long way to go. Only way is up!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Nearly in Rehab
Just an update report on my progress:
I'm going OK, feeling much better and making progress. Walking on crutches (a short distance - still weak), reading books, watching TV, have a portable DVD player now to watch all sorts of stuff. Spending quite a bit of time on the laptop typing emails and chatting on my bike training forums. All stuff I couldn't do a few weeks ago.
The bad jokes/cartoons I send out to friends are a sign of boredom.
Unless Doc says otherwise, my sutures should come out this week and I move to rehab. I feel like I've been saying that for ever. 9 weeks now, tomorrow I start week 10. I have a few more yet to go before I can go home.
Anyway, that's basically where I'm at, still positive about the future but knowing I have a tough few months in front of me. I will get an interim prosthetic leg while in rehab and I should learn to walk while there. I can't wait to get back on the bike again - I'll need a special leg for that but they exist, just need to measure me up!
I'll be back, better than ever - just think Six Million Dollar Man.... we can rebuild him, better, stronger, faster.!!
lots a brotherly love
Alex
Saturday, May 26, 2007
A New Dawn
Well I've been very quiet lately. I trust by now most regular readers would understand the reason being my accident back in April and hospitalisation since then. I have unfortunately had to have my lower left leg amputated.
That is not of course an ideal prep for the world Masters Track Champs so I now have to completely reset my goals and aspirations for the bike. I fully intend to get back to riding and racing and will get there with some support from a lot people.
I will chart my progress and keep up the chat on the power meter in my training. I will be very interested to find out how strong I can get compared to my able bodied state.
Enough for now, not a lot of energy while confined to my bed.
Cheers and safe ridinng to all
Alex
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Season in Review
For those interested, here’s a pic of my PMC for the season:
Transition / mid season racing – all good and had some great form
Race prep phase – getting harder to continue CTL build with the lift in intensity. Some training/racing interruptions (mostly unavoidable) in latter stages of phase saw an unintended mini-peak for State Champs.
Final race prep (hard!), taper and competition yielding great results.
Recovery period now for a couple of weeks.
The end of the beginning...
I’m calling the National Masters Track Champs the end of my season. In reality there is no start/end of season any more, just a change of season. Focus now moves to road events and getting ready for the World Masters Track Championships in October.
So how did I go for the season?
- October 2006: Credible performances in State Masters Road race (7th place) & Criterium (4th place & big power PBs). Very pleased with form.
- March 2007 PB in Individual Pursuit at State/National Masters Track Championships (PB at both Championships by 2.2 seconds and > 6 seconds in competition). Nice work, especially at States!
- March 2007: Improve on 2006 Points Race performances of 4th at States and crash at Nationals (4th at States but took a lap on the field and Bronze medal at Nationals). Sensational!
- September 2006: 1st ever win in Div 1 Friday Night Track Racing
- October 2006: Member of Bronze medal winning team in State Team Time Trial Championships
- November 2007: Winner B Grade open Brindabella Crit
- December 2007: 1st B grader at Open Heffron Pudding Crit (only B grader left standing actually)
- January 2007: Member and Captain of winning team at State Masters Team Pursuit Championships – 1st ever State Championship win
- All summer: Multiple placing in track opens
Me on the podium with Stuart Vaughan (Left) and Graeme Albon (Centre):
Other items to note:
- MAP (+11%) & TT power (+17%) lifted nicely - as measured per tests although pre-comp numbers not tested so quite possibly better than that.
- Mental approach better, more positive than before.
- Training overall significantly more consistent than before.
- Training specifically tailored to event demands and personal power profile.
- CTL peak (100 TSS/day) much higher than previously attained.
What can I improve? Lots but that’s between coach and I at the moment ;)
Other activity:
- Cranking up the coaching business and becoming an RST Associate Coach.
- Guiding Tanya’s comeback. Seeing this cancer surgery comeback kid win two National championships, a silver & a bronze was pretty special.
- Performance Manager Beta tester and associated learning.
- Starting/maintaining blog.
Looking ahead:
I am convinced (for some reason) that continuing to improve my IP will make me a better all round rider (even though I’m not a naturally gifted IP talent). Around the same time as the Worlds are the State Road and Crit Championships. Also, making the #1 TTT squad for the State Club TTT Champs would be nice. And have a great time racing along the way.My racing goal(s) for remainder of 2007 remains the same:
Make the Points Race final at World Masters Track Championships
and
continue to improve on my IP performance.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Bailing Out
So what happened in my crit?
The orange shows the circuit used and arrows indicate direction. The double corner at the right (Grant St end) was the trickiest - not overly technical but with riders taking some interesting lines it made it a challenge. Certainly any race finishing in a bunch sprint would mean position exiting these corners would be critical.
Crit Nationals 31 March 2007:
TSB:________+23.8
Duration: ____42:38
Work: _______731 kJ
TSS: ________72.3 (intensity factor 1.009)
Norm Power: 313
VI: __________1.09
Distance: ___30.03 km
_________Min__Max__Avg
Power:____0__1190__286__ watts
Cadence:_23___128___95__ rpm (includes zeros)
Speed:___4.5__54.8__42.3_ kph
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Bronzed Aussie
Crikey!
(with apologies to the late Steve Irwin)
Well I did it. I made the podium at the National Master Track Champs in the MMAS 3 Points Race, finishing in third place behind the super pursuiters of Graeme Albon (NSW - Gold) and Stuart Vaughan (Victoria - Silver).
Having trouble with blogger, so quick report only, hopefully some piccies and a wko file to share next time I report in (we are not allowed to have computers on the bike's bars in mass start track events, so I wired up the PT CPU under the saddle). I will view the file with some interest when I get the chance to download it.
All my buddies had a great championships and they were fantastic in their encouragement and support for me. So a super result. I'm now told I'm entitled to wear the Aussie skinsuit at the worlds in the points race, so that's pretty cool (although it doesn't quite feel right yet I have to admit). Yikes, I better make that final in October!!
It was a pretty brutal race but no laps taken by anyone - no one could do it. Given the quality of the 3 top pursuiters, I was surprised. I picked up points in 5 or 6 of the sprints (finished on 12 I think) and needed to leap frog the 3rd placed rider (Anthony Bishop) in the final sprint, which I did with a good kick to the line and take the bronze.
Thanks to everyone for their help and support - not least of which Ric Stern who's coaching and training is taking me to new levels; but also to Peter Barnard, Tanya Bosch, Alan Townsend, David Willmott, Michelle Crawford and the "mechanic without a cause" - Anthony as well as all the others that cheered me on today. It really helped and I was pleased my result was a popular one.
Congrats also to the other guys in the race who made it a corker! Sluggo said it was the hardest points race he'd ever ridden. I'm not gunna disagree!
Still have a crit to ride but that will be a big unknown quantity.
Cheers
Alex
Monday, March 26, 2007
National Lampoon Pursuit
Ouch!
Wow - that hurt. Today was my Individual Pursuit qualifier. I rode a PB, which is good but I was hoping for a better time.
Time was 3:47.770 - about 1/4 second faster than Sydney a fews weeks ago. I set out to ride a 3:45 schedule and was on bang on target at the 1km and 2km marks but the last km got me I'm afraid.
But here's the rub....
Average power: 420W - that's 35+W more than Sydney. I'll have to check the atmospheric conditions but that's a whole lot more power for not much extra speed. Yikes, no wonder I was crawling on the floor looking for somewhere to be sick after that.
Leading riders in my Div were doing low 3:30s. Wow.
World and Australian Masters champs were getting knocked off their perches everywhere today.
Anyway, for the record - here the pursuit file with three second smoothing applied. Click to see a larger version.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Which Vector, Victor?
Shirley you can't be serious?
OK, Flying High (aka "Airplane!") jokes aside, not a lot to report today. It's rest day and travel day. The week so far has been all taper. My body usually hates recovery periods, I typically feel dead and sore for a 3-5 days and then come good again once the pressure goes back into the training. This week, apart from a bit of wooden legs while doing warm ups, the legs and body have been pretty good.
Come Monday, when I ride the Individual Pursuit, I'm expecting the legs to say: "We have clearance, Clarence"!
Wednesday will be the points race.
Saturday the Crit.
With any luck I'll be able to post the week's happenings as we go.
"Roger, Roger".
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
A Claytons Power Meter
Older Aussies will know what I mean, recalling that famous '80s TV ad campaign with Jack Thompson delivering the punchline of a joke to his mates at the pub and then asking for a Claytons - "the drink you have when you're not having a drink". The concept of a spirit-like drink without alcohol is strange, I mean if you're gunna consume something that taste like spirits but has no alcohol in it.....
But the term Claytons became part of the local vernacular and so when something isn't the real deal (fair dinkum) or a poor substitute, then it's a Claytons
So what am I talking about?
Well here's the power file from my first taper workout last night:
That's right, there isn't one. Huh? It was all recorded on my Claytons Power Meter.
Well I did the workout but the PT wiring harness decides that the last week before Championships is the right time to fail.
Now I had some specific efforts, specified by time and power, to do - so I ended up doing them by feel and that's probably OK. I mean we can't all sit there PM watching while rocking round the boards at 49km/h....
I was meant to do a large handful of 90 second efforts at around 320-330W. I figure that's about 4.5 laps or so. I find out later that I was circulating the kilo in around 73-74 seconds, so I think that was a little quick for the target power! Sans aero wheel/helmet - it'd be more like 360W I'd say. Oh well, I did them and wasn't trashed.
Fortunately I have another wiring harness on my road training bike, so it will be moved to the track machine. I have two new harness units on order. I like having spares....
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Sneaky Peaky
Peter Barnard on my wheel at the Bicisport Track Open last Saturday evening.Note the "team issue" bikes and PT power meters. We both had some results.
It's been a solid week.
Aerobic Power intervals (VO2 Max work), Lactate Tolerance intervals, high-end tempo and track racing amongst solid endurance workouts. Next up is an endurance ride with a Time Trial pace interval to finish off the week.
Then taper commences. Yay!! Pursuit is nine days away, points race 11 days.
Here's Wednesday night's track workout. APIs in pursuit position followed by some LTIs. Nice n jelly legs after that lot. 10 second smoothing applied to this chart.
Torque zero out again on #1, which you can see by the speed being high but power reading lower than it should. Ongoing issue that torque zero - hub is getting very sensitive ("poor widdle hub") and is changing its zero point way too regularly for my liking. Never used to, so not real sure what's going on there. Saris have no pointers for me unfortunately.
Efforts were not exactly smooth - hard to be perfectly smooth riding a bumpy older outdoor velodrome with variable winds and then there's the traffic to contend with, mostly juniors, so you have to keep your wits about you as they can be a little unpredictable. Best example was the 5th API where I simply had to wait for safe place to over take the motorpacer, while others were sprinting etc etc.
Anyway, just about at taper and looking forward to exploring some good form in the championships.
Here's Pete again, this time in the invitation motor pace sprint,
where he clocked a 10.74 second flying 200. That got him into the
"Irish Kierin" final with the likes of Ben Kersten, Danny Ellis & co.
Would liked to have had a pic of the finish of my wheelrace heat to show you, where I crossed the line with Danny Ellis but super photo man Dave Lane at Action Snaps didn't capture my brief moment of glory! So here he is chucking a wheelie at the finish line in the wheel v foot race challenge.
Danny Ellis throws his bike into the air on the line but comes up short against
the Ramsgate Sprinter Travis Clark in the Wheels vs Foot challenge.
'til next time, power on!
