Blog About Sam's Thoughts And Riting Diary

Last week I wrote a  post  about my training from March to June and the races that I did in the run up to Q100. There's something special about the 100 mile TT. In endurance running, the marathon is the gold standard, marquee event. Every runner wants to run a good marathon. Obviously, there are events that go further than the marathon – and the 100 – but there's something intangible about these two similar events that holds a certain mysticism. Why? I dunno. Perhaps it's the physical limitations. Sure, you can run or ride further but in order to race these events – that is to complete them as fast as you possibly can as opposed to just finishing – you have to spend the majority of your race on the precipice of failure. That, for me, is why I'm so drawn to the distance. Not only is it a momentous physical challenge, but you've got to be willing to hold your nerve for the best part of four hours trusting that all of the training, the nutrition and hydration plans tha

 I wrote a post back in March about my winter training. This write up will look back on the three months since. When planning this season, I decided to opt for a 'twin peak' – one in June for the 100, the other in August/September for a 10 on the A21. I planned my season out on a macro level. It's a pretty standard way of doing things that gives you an overview of what kind of training to do and when. For example, between October and March the goal was to mainly ride steady – your classic zone two, around 70% max HR or 60-70% FTP base building. Having built a pretty good base by March, I then wanted to start getting ready to race. One mistake I've made in the past is to be firing on all cylinders in April which inevitably leads to a plateau and gradual decline in fitness; it's simply very, very hard to maintain that peak. So, by planning to peak in June – and scheduling my training accordingly – I would start racing in May with pretty average legs but, as the train