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Asides

Jan 09 - May 09

 

13 May 09 • Two Updates

Peak Power - 346 watts to go!

This morning in the sports science lab I had my peak power measured over two 10 second tests. �The first was roughly 1060 watts and the second 1156 watts. �This was 100 watts up on my last test in April. Victoria Pendelton, the world sprint champion, cranks out 1500 watts. �I have 346 to go!

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New Toy!

While I was racing in Tasmania my computer broke. I got some leppin stuck in the buttons and it just stopped working. �As I was off the bike for 8 weeks buying a new one was not high priority. �Once I got back into training I simply rode on "feel" for a while. No heart rate, no cadence and no speed. �I have one close friend who races and trains like this all the time!

When Wayne offered to sell me his Garmin I jumped at the chance. Now I have speed, distance, time, heart rate, cadence, metres climbed, gradient and GPS for my bike. �So much data! Which quite often simply tells you what you already know, either you feel crap or you feel great!

24 Apr 09 • Enthusiasts Unite

Cycling enthusiasts will be thrilled to see the news that despite heavy criticism the cycleway (in a much modified form) is due to be discussed by Cabinet this week. Economic analysis aside, this is great news for the cycling community.

There are parts of New Zealand that I would never have seen but for participating in bike races and the random places they take you. �The Tour of Northland showed me roads and coastlines I never knew existed and which literally took my breath away (when it wasn't lost suffering up the endless climbs).

I am sure I will be only one of many that will be looking forward to the cycleway becoming reality and who will leap at the opportunity to pedal these paths around New Zealand. �You only have to spend a Saturday morning at Woodhill, Whakarewarewa or even on Tamaki Drive to see the massive potential market for this sort of venture.

12 Apr 09 • Sabotage

In the minds of some, this must presumably have seemed like a good idea at the time.

Organisers of a national mountainbiking race are offering a reward to catch vandals who sabotaged the event on Sunday. They pulled arrows off trees and restapled them pointing in the wrong direction in Whakarewarewa Forest, near Rotorua. �That led to a competitor riding 75km, instead of the 45km race he entered, nearly sparking a search and rescue operation

An extra 30km mountain biking in a forest is a long way, it would feel like the equivalent of 60km on the road. �The competitor would not have had nearly enough food and would have been near exhaustion when he finished. �Even worse he could have got lost, had a crash (a highly likely occurrence when you've ridden 30km further than you planned and you're so tired you can't see straight) and no one would have known where he was. �I would have been so angry!

I hope they catch them. �

9 Apr 09 • Trying New Things

For the past two weeks I have been trying out CrossFit.

Opened in New Zealand by Tamaryn Ventner and Darren Ellis, CrossFit is said to be one of the most popular fitness crazes on the planet at the moment. �Like any new "fitness craze" I approached with scepticism but have been happily surprised at how much I have enjoyed it. As set out on CrossFit NZ's website...

"CrossFit New Zealand is a functional strength and conditioning facility where fancy machines and mirrors are avoided and 'real world' fitness is pursued. �Our training methods are designed to foster motivation, friendly competition, and results that are far above the average".

CrossFit's stated goal is to create "the quintessential athlete, equal parts gymnast, Olympic weightlifter and sprinter". Crossfit is not sport-specific and promotes broad and general overall physical fitness.

Following a session last Friday I will certainly never underestimate the humble burpee ever again, or how hard skipping can be! �The human body was made to move and CrossFit certainly encourages that.

1 Apr 09 • World Champion Alison Shanks

It took Sarah Ulmer 10 years to go from Junior World Pursuit Champion in 1994 to the awe-inspiring ride at Athens where the golden girl of New Zealand cycling took gold in what remains one of the most unforgettable performances by any New Zealand athlete. The long haul to glory for Ulmer is possibly why she is such a likeable and believable athlete. She had her ups and downs and was around for a long time before the ultimate prize was hers, an Olympic gold and world record to boot.

Ulmer's path throws light on the incredible and formidable rise of Alison Shanks, who last week became World Individual Pursuit Champion.

Shanks' path in no way resembles Ulmer's. She came into cycling from the sport of netball. Her first National Track Championships was in 2006 where she placed second in a time of 3.57.35, which by all accounts is not�fast. �But she was identified as having talent worth developing, and was selected that year for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games where she placed 7th in a time of 3.40.733. Ali has, from that moment, been New Zealand's top women's pursuiter, surrounded with the best possible support team, and dedicating herself to mastering the individual pursuit.

Ulmer grew up with cycling in the family (her grandfather Ron represented New Zealand in track cycling at the 1938 Empire Games in Sydney, and her father Gary held national road and track titles in the 1950's and 1960's) and started riding with her school team as a youngster. �Shanks jumped into cycling from netball in 2005, a little over four years ago. �She clearly breaks the mould of the 10,000 hour principle. The theory being that on average a world or Olympic champion takes 10,000 hours to develop. �This rule was certainly true for Ulmer and for many others. �Not Alison Shanks however. �Becoming a world champion within such a short time frame is enough to make any aspiring athlete jealous. �But she has also shown every aspiring athlete that the unachievable is indeed achievable.

She is clearly an incredible talent. �Bring on London 2012, and congratulations Ali.

18 Mar 09 • Wrong, Right

Wrong (before), Right (after)

5 Mar 09 • What Would Have Been

Today I should have been competing in the Points Race at the track nationals. Instead I am sitting at my desk looking at a windy wet day in Auckland with a shoulder which seems to be eerily more sore this week than it has been since I removed my sling over 4 weeks ago.

The 20km Points Race is the only race I have trained for over the past year. I have always been able to Scratch race (my other main event) but the Points Race was the one I really had to work on. �After my 6th place at last year's nationals I was aiming for a medal at the least. �Every cold, wet winter morning last year I motivated myself by goals of stamping my name all over the Points Race this year.

The race will happen tonight (with or without me!) and it will be interesting to see the results and will be hard to know how I would have fared. �That's not really the point though, because I would have been at my best (Amy would have ensured this) and would have done all I could. I always seem to perform under pressure when others seem to break. It certainly seems very strange not to be at the Nationals this week, one of only two I have missed since 1996.

27 Feb 09 • 5 Random Things

Random list of things I really like at the moment:

1. Kings of Leon - possibly my favourite band ever.

2. Mind Food Magazine - so much great reading and so little trash.

3. My membership with Fatso - 4 DVD's at a time - so many to choose from.

4. Brothers and Sisters - the only TV show I will religiously watch.

5. The fact that I still get asked for ID when buying wine!

23 Feb 09 • Butter Chicken Loop

It seems almost obligatory for any and every Auckland cyclist to complete the 'Butter Chicken Loop' at some stage. �The so called 'Butter Chicken Loop' is, legend has it, so named after a bunch ride a long time ago when a rather infamous Auckland cycling personality downed a butter chicken at the compulsory coffee stop in Titirangi. �The butter chicken was a particularly horrible looking dish but was inhaled with gusto by said cycling personality (perhaps I suspect regrettably on the ride home). �

Having never ridden the illustrious loop, Saturday seemed a great opportunity to tick it off the list and test the legs and shoulder (with company on fixies I thought I couldn't be that slow!). �The loop is excellent and is just hilly enough to be hilly, but not so hilly that a trackie like me gets disillusioned! All on beautiful carless roads and for the first time in a while I had no idea where we were, or where we were going. �It's great to be lost in your own city. It felt like we were in the wilderness. �A thoroughly enjoyable day out.

18 Feb 09 • Sights & Sounds

With the wind at my back and the sun on my face I ploughed my way along Tamaki Drive last night. Oh how I have missed the sights and sounds of that stretch of waterfront these last few weeks.

There are the runners of all abilities, the dogs of all sizes, the lovers out for an evening stroll and the children learning to ride their bikes without trainer wheels. Then, of course, there is one's fellow cyclist and those come in all shapes, sizes and attitudes as well.

Often on Tamaki Drive I see clusters of riders stopped on the side of the road fixing punctures. This in itself is not strange but there seems to be a new phenomenon striking these groups. �This is, of course, the upside down bicycle, tipped up so on its seat and handlebars, in order I can only presume, for the punctured wheel to be removed? This bemuses and amuses me somewhat given that it is actually harder to get a wheel out, and off, said bicycle in this manner than it is to take it off normally. �Do people do this to see how to get the wheel off? Or is it because they really have no idea what they are doing?

12 Feb 09 • Back on the Wagon

At 6� weeks I thought it was time to test the shoulder (and the legs) out and go for a ride around the block. �So I kitted myself up, slapped on the shoes and helmet, and off I went! �It was a very strange sensation at first having been on an indoor trainer for 6 weeks. �You forget how much downhill and tail wind there is, and also how rough the road feels through the handlebars. �It felt good though and after about 10 minutes I decided to go further afield. �Ahh the freedom! �Forty minutes later I decided that it was time to get back on the wagon proper. New programme to start next week.

28 Jan 09 • Adaptation

It doesn't take long to get used to a recently-acquired handicap. �The human mind is incredible at adaptation and I believe my Geminian duality has assisted me greatly with this challenge of a broken shoulder. I have taught myself to do almost all the things in the list below with one hand.

It is lucky in this instance (and in most instances other than wanting to train like a professional! ) that I have a day job, and by that I mean a proper day job. �Some people I met over Christmas and New Year tried to talk up their 15 hour a week part time jobs as hard work - hmmpphh. �The other lucky thing is that I really like my job. My life, minus cycling, is still challenging and exciting enough to bounce (or at the moment carefully roll) out of bed in the mornings. I would hate to think what an injury like this is like for a full time professional athlete like Tim Gudsell, who recently broke his collar bone and has to have two months out.

It also helps that I have a soft spot for red wine. It has helped anaesthetise my sleep many a night over the last few weeks. �I have spent the last few weeks doing just that �- drinking red wine (oh and summer ale) and having a real holiday. �This has been my other revelation. My first ever summer where I don't have to miss out on all the fun. �Thirteen track seasons will do that to you.

Whist this is all good I also for the first time in my life feel a pang of jealousy when I see a group of people out riding. The freedom and escapism of riding is what I crave but mainly the racing is what I miss, the sheer thrill of getting out there and hurting yourself to the point where lactic acid is making you crazy. �Which, if you're not an athlete you won't understand.

Four weeks down, four to go!

16 Jan 09 • 10% a week

Following my crash and broken humerus I was definitely down, but I was not out. �The doctor at the ER in Tasmania told me 4-6 weeks and it would be healed. �The optimist inside me heard 4 weeks, which would take me up to the first week in February, with the Nationals still a legitimate goal. �Upon arriving home I visited my physio for an assessment who consequently packed me off to see the sports doctors at Adidas sports medicine. That was when the news took a more depressing turn. �The doctor looked at my x-rays, did a few tests, and then sat me down for the whole truth.

Bones heal at 10% a week so riding at 4 weeks, or 40%, is out of the question. �At 6 weeks and 60%, yes it's my shoulder & my decision, but pain will dictate, and feeling pain means the healing of the bone is coming unstuck. 6 weeks takes me up to 9 February, with 3 weeks available track and road time. �I could still do it! �Then came more doom and gloom. If I race at 60% and crash then the damage will be a lot worse. Even if I don't crash, racing on it at 60% could mean I have an arthritic joint for the rest of my life. �But I still thought I could do it.

I then defer to wiser persons than I for their opinions. �Not unsurprisingly a resounding "don't do it" was heard from most. �The decision is still, however painstakingly, my own but�I have cajoled myself now into the�conclusion that I won't do it. �I would first have to be picked for Auckland, not having done Auckland champs. �I would also have to spend 4 weeks smashing myself on an indoor trainer without being able to lean on the bars. Once I got on the road and track I would have 3 weeks to find some racing legs. �I would go to Invercargill expecting people to cut me some slack for my performance, given I broke my shoulder, but the harsh reality is they won't. �Invercargill is also a $2000 exercise, which I can now put towards my epic comeback for next summer. �I am not finished yet!

 

Footnote: I would like to thank everyone for their messages of sympathy and support over the last few weeks. �It's only after a major crash like this that you realise what a broad and supportive network you've built around yourself as an athlete. It's only those closest to me who know how much work I have put in for this season and how much it meant to me. But everything happens for a reason and I believe this enforced time off the bike is only going to serve to put even more fire in my belly and provide more fuel for "getting angry"!.

6 Jan 09 • Testing My Patience

I have broken my right humerus bone at the shoulder joint so officially I have a broken shoulder. �I have to be in a sling all the time with my arm at 90 degrees. It's not like a normal arm break because unlike a normal arm break I effectively have no use of the hand. �My range of movement from the shoulder joint is practically nil. �This means that nearly all activities are done with one hand. �This is an extreme test of my patience, and for those who have to help me!

Here is a list of things that are hard to do with one hand or at least with the left hand (when you are right handed):

1. Type

2. Do up the buckles on my shoes

3. Wash my hair

4. Open anything with a lid

5. Fasten a bra...

6. Drive (impossible)

7. Sign for my credit card whilst smashing the Sydney shops

8. Eat (well mainly cutting my food, I am like a toddler again!)

9. Try on clothes, so many shops, so hard. �I can't lift my arm up so the only things I can really try on are skirts/pants and shoes, although that's not all bad

10. Take pictures on my camera

11. Apply mascara (ended up with mascara on my cheek at least twice)

3 Jan 09 • Recuperating

"Kate's recuperating well, but is pretty frustrated that she can't report directly: typing is very difficult at the moment, with her right arm in a sling. She is hoping to co-opt someone soon who can get her thoughts up on the screen for her." - Craig

1 Jan 09 • CyclingNews.com Excerpt

 

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