Research Subjects needed!

The Effect of Acute Sleep Deprivation on Cycling Performance.

The School of Health and Human Performance at DCU are conducting a research study to investigate the effects of acute sleep deprivation on physiological and psychological function of endurance trained cyclists. The purpose of this study is to investigate how sleep deprivation and quality of sleep affects endurance cyclists during longer duration cycling events such as the Race Across America, Race Around Ireland, and 24 hour mountain bike racing.

We are looking for healthy physically active male cyclists who have been training for a minimum of the past 6 months and have raced within the past year. The testing will involve a minimum of four trips to the Health and Human Performance laboratories’ based in Dublin City University. This will include an initial visit for maximal fitness testing (via a VO2max test), two over night stays, and a final visit to measure recovery. During one of the overnight stays participants will remain awake for 24 hours with intermittent monitoring of physiological and cognitive measures, the other overnight stay will involve the participants following normal sleep and diet patterns.

During these trips to the performance labs in DCU you will undergo monitoring of cycling performance via a 20 minute time trial (via a cycle ergometer), physiological performance (via heart rate, respiration, lactate and sleep quality measurement), cognitive performance (via four computerized cognitive function tests), and have blood taken via a venous blood sample for analysis in DCU laboratories. You will be tested in a similar fashion 4 times throughout the 24 hour period. For another of the visits you will be allowed to sleep for a maximum of 8 hours and will be tested 4 times (as above) over the 24 hour period.

After the tests have been performed you will be given information relating to your current level of fitness, as well as the influence of sleep deprivation on you. You will also receive feedback based your fitness during the VO2max trial which can be used to set training zones and targets for the summers racing.

If you would like to hear more about this study or would consider participating, please contact Gregory May (Ph: O1-7OO8214 (office) 10am- 5:30pm Mon-Fri, O87-9O83684 (mobile) or email: gregory.c.may(at)gmail.com).

Ups and downs along the way

Its been an odd week or two since i posted last. Pay cheque arrived, payments went out, another month of scrimping starts, and its still not to bad a thing. once i remember to actually buy food and cook dinners rather than reverting to the cheap and easy options it normally helps get back to race ish weight. Just need to start avoiding the cake and beer isle again.

February the last two years has been the month where i've been eager to get going again after a nice bit of time off from the cyclocross season. Sure i've never taken it anywhere as serious as i did this year, but the self imposed extension of the nationals has left me in a mental state of fatigue. A month off that i don't get to have would sort me out for some exploratory racing in Feb, but now i have to push back further. Thankfully i had already sort of scheduled March as a no racing month. It'll be good for me to get a hard block of work in, and still catch up on friends.

At this point i just want to get it over with. All the love, all the excitement i had for hosting a race at my home venue has gone. I just want Sunday to roll over, happen, then die so i can get back on with my life and not have to deal with everyone else's.

The last cross race i actually raced was in November,the final round of the Super-cross. 6 weeks ago. I have done lots of aerobic work, am lighter than i was, bike skills have been honed on the MTB. But i fear the top end is gone. Only racing will tell.

Why do i get worked up and stressed over training for a race that i will do average in, why do i stress over work, over every little facet of every little thing that i can control, yet if i mentally declare something that i cant control, i don't stress. I don't know why, if you do answers on a postcard please.

All i know is that i need to get some time off, time to myself, time with wheels under me and blue sky's above. Time to be solitary and hurt the daemons in my head. Once the CX nationals are over, and the dust (hangover) has settled this will happen.

Regression

There are a few things that work well when i have less money.

I train more, i eat less bad food, and i tend to get focused a bit better on what matters. I sort of regress to the place i should never leave as an 'athletic person'. However at the same time for some reason i tend to always want a new frame/computer/whatever when this happens.

That time of the year is approaching when the last of the pay cheque from December that arrived early due to the festive eating period is running out. Happens every year, and i know i'm not the only person it happens too. However for once i've really blown my budget.

Motorbike needs servicing, the car needs insuring/NCT/service and to top it off i have to think about what i'm going to do with both my race frames that are screwed (MTB and tri-bike). Not to mention the credit card .

February i fear will be a very frugal month. Good time to loose a kilo off me with less cake and beer, and a good time to get my training on. In a way its fun to regress back into a near cocooned state of work,training, and healthy eating, but at the same time its always my social connections that fail first. This time i'm going to try to keep them alive, but i still don't like going out on Fridays. Its my time.

Race ready?

Well its done, ive sat down and made my list of races for the year.

Nice mixture of XC, Running and Tri events. With two 24hour MTB races in there too. Wallet may be thin this year so most are in Ireland, only trips abroad are either conference based, or supporting Pauline at the Worlds. Should be a good summer i hope! But not giving everything away just yet on what i want to do in races.

Power meter is coming out of hibernation tonight for the first test of the season, will post up details later. Feeling confidant, but we will see how it goes. TT bike will be coming down as well for a make over, hopefully getting a long ride in this weekend will get be back in the triathlon grove.

Then a nice hill run and MTB brick on Sunday :)

Planning and preparing

It was a hard month, compounding the fact that im not one for the festive period and the pressure of trying to run a national championships it lead to a break down in training, focus and decision making.

On the plus side it has put some things into perspective for me as well.

1. Goals are important, just training for cross has put me no where after the supercross cup ended for me
2. Injuries repeat, i should know this by now.
3. Consistency, i have not been , need to get it drilled back into me again both in work and training

So to resolve this I've sat down, wrote a list, checked it twice, and found out which races looked naughty and nice. A mixture of the two have left me looking at A races in August with DCT and Kenmare featuring as well as two 24hour MTB races seperated by 6 weeks.

Not sure if i can afford Xterra racing this year, so I'm just going to stay close to home, race the XC circuit and hill runs when i can. I'll fit in two off road tri's anyway and if Xterra Uk happens....well we can wait and see.

So the way to overcome these points:

1. Race plan developed, emailed to Rich, training system is go now
2. First day back in gym yesterday, S&C program is back, access to high performance gym is sorted again. Shoulder, your mine again.
3. Week plans, going to get printed out with what is happening, using gCal more now, updates with what i need to do. No more getting into office at 11am

Lets see how it goes, and as ever, adapt or die.

Christmas makes me think of family

It also makes me think of all that i dislike about it. However, this festive eating period was different to others. First off i felt better going into it. Normaly i'm tired, sick of life, and not wanting to train. This year i was none.

I wanted to work, sure ive been under pressure but ive actually had some targets that ive wanted to hit

Life for once is good, i have allot going on that i love and more that i want to do.

Training has been good, at race weight before christmas, vo2 over 70ml, bring it.

But as per normal i lost the plot over christmas and managed to pretty much go on a two week bender, although i think technically i drank every day for 3 weeks. So weight has crept up.

Back to the grind is normaly Jan. Do the CX nationals, then back to base. This year im running the natioinals, and its been snowy, very very snowy. unreal.

Ive had to postpone it for 3 weeks min. This hurts me, more than you can imagine. I pride myself on few things, but one is not breaking a promise. I feel like i have.

Saying that, if i can get back to race weight... maybe i might get that team slot.

Half way to the middle of nowhere

Trail running. You either love it or hate it. It pretty much is Marmite both in consistency and the dread that people have over it.

Unlike Marmite, i love it. Nothing quite beats the feeling you get running downhill out of control just on the edge of balance in the middle of winter in t-shirt and shorts. A few months back Pauline suggested that we all go do a nice little run in Wales. As I've been more and more inclined to enjoy my running of late i decided what the hell lets go for it. Signed up and promptly forgot about the fact that i hadn't run a half marathon off road in a few years.

The tri season rolled on past and then the cross season rolled in. Running was put on a shelf bar a few short efforts with the bike on my shoulder during training. An early season max test on the lab treadmill showed i was running well about 2 weeks before the race (71ml/kg/min[5.45L/min] @ 14kph on 8% grade) so i knew at least i had the fitness to race.

What i didn't think of doing was any mileage...at all, i think i did maybe 2 20mins rungs in the lead up to it. Sod it, its the cross season, top end work will do me fine......ehhhh no.

Saying that the first 4.5km of the race were great, 23mins across a beach on sand, up and over some steep trails and down some narrow slithery boards. Felt great and was happy with my pace over that distance considering how bloody soft the beach was. Settled on it on the first climb at 5km as i had looked at the map and knew it was going to be a long one. Pauline drifted off ahead of me and i just sat on in with a group and breathed away to myself.

2.2km at an average of 8% takes it out of the leg, wasn't fast, but it was consistent. This lead onto a great 3km descent, let the legs open up, close up the jacket and just go for it. Caught Pauline about 2km in and talked for a while. Ran on together for a while and hit the next climb to a section of moorland where we got split up and ended up about 100m apart for the whole thing. Memories of TransWales came flooding back as we trudged across this section. Wet is one way to describe it ....just a tad.

Descent off the moor was a bit boring to be honest but led to a great section on the coast line of Gower out by Worm's Head. Just great rolling trail like the coastal path i ride and run on most weeks. However at this point (16km or so in) i started getting the initial twangs of my right calf starting to bunch when i went up onto my toes. I'd pretty much forgotten to drink much during the race, and at this point i started to regret that. Had to ease off for about 3km on the relative flat pace heading up to 6:15mins/km.

Thankfully as we hit the last climb i was getting my legs under control, heal running (shudder) and not going onto my toes on climbs were letting me stretch my calves on each step. The last climb is epic, 20% average gradient (sections @ 35%) but less than half a km long, with another little kicker about half way through. Was surprised how i felt when we hit it, kept the HR down and just went on up picking people off on the way up. One guy on my shoulder all the way up groaned as we hit the top and had to keep it going on the rolls top, personally i loved it, chance to pick it up and see what was left in the tank.

Not much as it turned out, got HR back up to 170's for a bit and just pushed it to see what would happen, what happened was i fell on my ass on the final descent :) 1km at 30% average. Just excellent.

2hrs 18mins, avg.HR 166bpm, pace avg. 6:23mins/km, 837m of total climbing over 21.1km.

Great race and well done to the folks at Endurancelife.com, i will be back for another one of your events. This time i might even train...