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Live tracking: see how I am doing it!

1,330 kms | 36 K vertical meters Tomorrow, August 10, start my sport challenge of the year. You can read all the details about it here .  Fo...

Plan for this week / Plano da Semana

Monday: Run 30 min. Heart Rate: 160bpm

Tuesday, Thursday: off

Wednesday, Friday:

20 min run

3x20reps lower back push – 75kg

3x15reps squats – 30kgs

3x20reps lat pull down – 40kg

3x15reps Leg press – 45kg

3x15reps Hamstring curl – 40kg

Lowerback floor and bridge

First week of Training

The first week of training started last Monday and it was a complete failure. I only managed to go once to the gym. A had a lot of work to do and on top of if my wife was sick and a had Jooker funeral on Friday that took my whole day. The worst part was that on that Monday I manage to do squats (3x15reps30kgs) and was sore for the rest of the week. Without any recovery training, the pain lasted way longer than it was supposed.

Training Plan ready

My training plan for the next year is ready. It starts in mid January and goes until the etape day. 450 hours of training that should bring me close to the 4 thousand kms. From last week until then, I will be doing a lot of gym work: running for warm-up, squats, leg extension, lat pull downs, lowerback works, etc. My aim is to be able to lift 80 kilos in squats (3x15reps). See below the plan.

Training Plan build using the book: The Cyclist Training Bible from Joel Friel

My impressions from the 2008 Etape

In 2008 I've done the Etape for the first time. It was around the same place: starting in PAU, going across Tourmalet and finishing in Hautacan. Although this year the pacour is different, the area is basically the same. In the 5 days we stayed in France then a couple of things got stuck in my memory: the beauty of the region, the unpredictability of the weather and how tough the climbs were.
We stayed in Aspin, a little village close to Lourdes and a very good spot for training. From there we could reach Col du Tourmalet from Bergeré side and we did half of the climb during the trainings. It is funny that we are going to do it again. But now the whole thing! The road has waterfalls, rocky hills and great visuals every couple of kilometers. It was also very cool to cross the city of Lourdes during the race day with all the people in the sidewalk cheering you up.
On the other hand the weather is something really to consider. In 2008 we have done 2 training rides before the race. The first one on the rain but not too cold. The second one on a beautiful sunny day with 20º C. The race day, though, gave us a rainy cold day: with average 12ºC and 3ºC on the top of Tourmalet. That was very challenging and one need to think carefully about the clothes to wear on the race.
And how hard it was to climb? Well, apart from being my first year on cycling and Tourmalet was my first real mountain to climb, it was very tough. It was also different because it was from La Mongie side. But for what I remember from the descent, it is full of hairspins but the last 2 kms are going to be hard, specially when you had already 172 kms in your legs.
So, to keep in mind: enjoy the food before, enjoy the views during and try to forget the pain. Pace yourself. Especially on the Marie Blanque climb. It is a very tough climb (more to talk on next posts) and you need to be careful not to blow up so early in the game.

Etape 2010 is announced


so, it is out. the etape du tour 2010 is out there with 3 huge climbs: col de marie-blanque (9.5kms) , col du soulor (22km) and col du tourmalet (19km). It is a killer stage for sure. it is a bit disappointing that they will go back to the col de tourmalet only 2 years after the last visit to the mountain. but, it is what it is and now is all about preparing yourself. I will be posting here the results of the training in the next 9 months until July 18th, when the rubber hits the road.

Etapa 2010 foi anunciada
pronto, foi anunciado. a etapa amadora do tour de france 2010 foi anunciada essa semana com 3 montanhas gigantes: col de marie-blanque (9.5kms) , col du soulor (22km) and col du tourmalet (19km). uma etapa matadora com certeza. é um pouco chato que eles tenham escolhido outra vez o tourmalet só dois anos depois da última visita a montanha. mas é o que é e agora é começar a treinar.
Eu vou publicar os resultados do meu treino nos próximos 9 meses at o dia 18 de julho, quando a corrida acontece.