I went for a 3 hours training this morning before work. The plan was to get a proper XC spin done one more time before the race on the weekend. After an early alarm and a quick breakfast I was ready to go.
The first thing I have to say: I don't remember to ride in such a strong wind like we've had this morning. I really had to stay focused just to keep the bike straigt until I get out of the busy town and from traffic. And I think the whole thing just got worst when I hit the climb up to Threerock. Luckily I got into the forest quick enough and there I have been in a good shelter of the trees. But every time I got back up to the top where the aireals are the wind hit me like I hit a wall or something. It was serious!
Elevation / speed graph of the spin
As you can see it on the graph I could get a lot of climbing done this morning. The total elevation gain was 1177m and the total distance was 42,6 km. I didn't stop during the spin unless it was necessery and because I've been pushing hard I did end up with a high, 1630 kcal burning hard training session.
After a quick shower and a nice second breakfast I have my day ahead of me and the planned training for the day is already done. I think I have done everything to be prepared for the first NPS race!
The next XC race of the season that I defenitelly will taking part in is the Irish XC NPS Round 1. on the 3rd of April in Bellurgan Pk. Co. Louth, hosted by Cuchulainn CC. This race is going to be the first one of the "more important" races for me because the result counts in the overall result in the end of the season, and possibly most of the racers will be there from all over the country creating nice and big fields in all categories. Luckily the journey is not too long from Dublin so it will be an easy race to get to.
For more information on the race, please clickhere.
Here is a nice preview video of the race course (recorded by Cuchulainn CC)
After the long months of winter training and the 3 races I have done so far this year I feel good on the bike, I am excited about racing and I can't wait for Sunday! It should be a great day! :)
My next race is just around the corner so we went up to Threerock this morning to get some sweet training done. The plan was to push the climbs hard but fit this into regular mountain bike spin rather than do interval training.
I generally like all type of downhill sections but I have to admit it: I do need to get even faster on the way down. So my other plan for the day was to increase the speed especially on the technical decends.
Based on these goals we have had a great spin this morning. I was pushing myself close to the limit on most of the long and steep climbs and tried my very best to get superfast on the downhill bits also. We have covered the distance of 34 km in 2 hours and 30 minutes on nice and warm day.
Elevation and speed graph
After the spin I was happy with the result and I am looking forward to race this Sunday. Bring it on! :)
We just got back this morning from our weekend trip that we have planned like forever. My wife Anett, our friends Csaba and his wife Dori and myself were guests for couple of days in this beautiful holiday house close to Ravensdale, Co. Louth. All of us would like to say thank you for Ros and Barry for letting us stay there for the weekend.
After only 1 hour drive we got to the house that was a barn originally beside the 250 years old irish cottage. The cottage has been refurbished in a way that follows the traditions while barn building has been converted to a very stylish and fully equipped, double level home. It is fantastic, the view from the living room is stunning!
After we got all of our stuff sorted we went for a short hillwalk just to get to the fresh air and explore the place near by. This was during the aftrenoon and because it was still bright when we got back I have decided to go for a short spin on the bike. I couldn't wait more, the massive climb was very tempting to try! :)
After the short bike ride we got the dinner ready and settled in for the rest of the evening. The nights are still pretty cold so we prepared the fire that kept the place nice and warm for the whole night. It was so relaxing to have a seat next to the fire place after dinner and just enjoy the music and have great conversations. We have listened the Nirvana CD about hundred times! :)
After the long evening we all got to sleep but before that we have checked the bikes and all the gear make sure everything is ok for tomorrow's spin. The plan was: get up early and leave early. There was so much to explore, we have never been around there on the bike before.
On Saturday morning we were on the go straight away after a quick breakfast and the usual coffe. The house is on the side of the mountain and because of that we have hit the long and steep climb right after we crossed the gate. This climb is 2,5km long and the gradient is not less than 10%, somewhere even as steep as 25% which was pretty intense for sure. This long climb leads up to the top of Black Mountain that is 516m high. From the top we could see the Dundalk Bay, Carlingford and Slieve Gullion as well. Luckily the weather was sunny and warm.
Quick stop just to check the excellent view
After we left from the top we have decended on tarmac road for a little while and after hit the Ring Of Gullion Way marked walking trail and cycled on that for a short distance. After this we got to some boarder of private lands and we hit the downhill section of the day. This decend was just simply crazy!
It was actually allright on the top, so I started to ride it but I have realized fast enough it wont work, it has turned into this supersteep "wall". The place was full of massive rocks and huge drops so we ended up to carry our bikes all the way to the bottom. It was interesting experience! :)
After the impossible decend we got back to the house and we kept rolling towards Ravensdale to be able to start the big climb up to the top of Black Mountain once again from a lower starting point. In the main time the weather got properly warm so the second climb was even more fun than the one in the morning. We have settled into a good pace and we got up to the top again. It was great to be there!
It's done, on the top!
Graph of Saturday's spin
After the super fast decend to the top we got back to the house where the lovely meal was already prepared by the ladies, thank you! You are great, it was a life saver! :)
After a quick bath and the best lunch ever we spend the rest of the afternoon and the evening together. We've had a great weekend, we really enjoyed the time up there. Family, friends, cycling, good meal, country side with sheep, fire, music, Monopoly and lots of laughing...what else could we ask for?! :)
Video of the best moments
Photos:
In front of the cottage
Csaba on the top
Anett & me on the mountain
Sniffing out the lunch after the bike ride :)
Relaxing in the sun
Best lunch ever: egg-fried home made noodles with salad and non-alcoholic beer
I've had my well deserved rest after the race on last Sunday so it was time to get moving again and get some serious training done. I finished work at 4pm today, just in time to still get out on the bike while the weather is good. Luckily this afternoon was great: nice and warm with lots of sunshine.
Kilmashogue Climb
I think one of the best place to do interval training is the Kilmashogue Lane. I allways pick this climb if I want to do long enough training with steep gradient. So I got to my starting point which is the gate of the St. Columba's College. The finishing point of the climb is the end of the road up on the mountain. I have decided to ride the tarmac climb all the way up to the top and back 4 times in a row as my interval training for the day. Beside the training my other goal was to get a new personal best time on the climb to be able to set my goals for the future. This allways gives me motivation, something to work for.
So off I went to get done what was planned. Up and back, up and back... four times. It was great! I got pretty tired but I know this session was very useful for the upcoming XC races.
Details of the climb:
lenght: 2.43 km
elevation gain: 230 m
max gradient: 24%
avarage gradient: 10.56%
personal best: 12 minutes 19 seconds (on the XC bike)
Graph of the full training
The total training took 1 hour and 47 minutes and I got 35km done with the total elevation of 1007m. It was short but intense, I have burned 1200kcal during the training.
After the training I was very happy to see that I did get a new best time. From now on this is the time I would like to beat!
