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Injury / Recovery
Hi Mike, doing Le Etape d'Tour 19/7/15, just back on bike after a bout of pneumonia, building back up slowly. Planning a training camp (Mallorca or Gran Caneria) what would be (time off authorised permitting) the optimal time before event to maximise benefits of a week training camp? - Dave
Hi Dave, sorry to hear about the pneumonia! First things first you need to make sure that you are back to 100% health before hitting the training hard. Hopefully the weather in the UK is on the rise and you can get a solid month of May in the legs. I’d be inclined to look at a possible training camp around mid June, this should give you enough time to find your legs and will also mean that when you return you have enough time to fully recover (prep the bike, make any adjustments to your kit and finalise your fuelling strategy). Depending on how you cope with the heat, Gran Canaria will likely be hotter (it’s also more hilly) at this time of the year so could be a consideration. Best of luck!
When descending after long climbs my hands feel numb and I struggle to brake. I have good gloves and bar tape, any tips? Victoria.
Hi Victoria, that’s something I have suffered with too so I’m obviously in good company! I’ve found the cause to be the vibrations from the road, you may notice an improvement by running your tyres slightly softer. Try 10psi less than normal and see how you feel. A carbon handlebar may also eliminate more of the road buzz (although it’s an expensive upgrade) so I’d start with the tyre pressure. Fingers crossed! (sorry that was a bad pun I know)
Hi Guys! Hope you are doing well and thanks in advance for your kind attention! It's appreciated I'm currently preparing the Etape du Tour this summer and some other famous climbs as Tourmalet, Galibier and Alpe d'Huez. Unfortunately I'm feeling something like a tendonitis pain on my right thigh. I'm confused because I'm shared between (1) a full training stop which is mainly recommended by most of my friends (but with associated loose of condition) or (2) continue training and perhaps use an infiltration treatment which was not recommended by my friends. What do you think about it? What should I do? Many thanks in advance.
Really sorry to hear about your injury. It’s such a power struggle when your body is saying one thing and your mind the other. The reality is, if you train with an injury then there is a good chance you will do more damage and therefore a short break now could end up being a large break later. If you can I would seek professional advice so that you can get a good understanding of what is going on. One thing that I’ve found absolutely invaluable is a regular stretching routine. You may find that it’s something as simple as your IT band being tight. Taper back on the training and rest if you need to. With big mountains and events coming up a little time now to get it right will have you smiling much more come the summer. I put my daily stretching routine online here, hope it helps!
