We don’t just ride bikes…we also talk about riding bikes!  Sam Luccitti, one of the club’s rising stars, has done a write up of what went down at the recent Training Basics Presentation delivered by Tom Barratt.  It seems it wasn’t quite as tough as the LiveLighter Dardanup Tour the day before…

For a while now I have been considering the need to get a bit of structure around my training. With the Tour of Margaret River fast approaching, I’d begun to suspect my weekday and weekend group riding may not be enough to deliver me race-ready to the ToMR. So when an email from the SPR Race Sub-committee dropped into my inbox advertising an SPR Training Basics Presentation hosted by Tom Barrett, I jumped straight on to the SPR website and signed up.

Since Andrew ‘Collie-Donnybrook starts and finishes at a PUB!’ Ballam was doing the organising, it was no surprise the venue was The Vic Hotel in Subiaco. Some excellent racing in Dardanup the day before ensured many of us turned up with extra motivation for training that comes from the sweet taste of victory and SPR domination. After a few friendly greetings, we grabbed a beer, headed up stairs and took our seats; eager to soak up Tom’s training wisdom and some Pale Ale at the same time.

After a brief introduction from Andrew, the floor was passed over to Tom and we got underway. We had all received the presentation notes beforehand so knew the hour or two ahead would be quality.

Tom began by outlining the basic principles of training and improved performance: controlled stress on the body to improve muscle strength and teach the body to burn fuel more efficiently. Tom went on to explain the concept of adaptation and the need to be vigilant against ‘junk miles’ when training. The sound of pennies dropping filled the room as we all recognised these short-comings in our own ‘training’ regimes. I could have left after the first few presentation slides and still have received a great return on my $10 investment. But we were just getting started.

Tom went on to provide a great run-down of the different phases of training, why they were important and what the key objectives should be in each building block; Foundation, Preparation and Competition. There were a few moments of panic when I realised I was in the ‘Preparation’ phase for the ToMR, having apparently skipped the ‘Foundation’ phase. Oops! Tom did a great job of explaining the types of training required in each phase and we all appreciated the use of SPR club rides as benchmarks for different training intensities. The variety of interval regimes covered during this section was also useful and if you follow Dan, Phil or I on Strava, you will know they were incorporated into the weekly ride schedule quick smart.

The final part of the presentation was dedicated to managing training load and nutrition. By covering heart-rate and power meter-based systems in this section, Tom ensured the information was accessible to the entire audience. It was great to learn you can get a lot more from your HR monitor than just a jagged red line on Strava. It wasn’t so great to learn the standard pre-race pasta binge probably isn’t doing me as much good as I’d thought.

Tom wrapped up the evening by taking us through his ToMR training plan developed especially for the group. The training plan does a good job of balancing midweek interval pain and the more social weekend group riding. I’m looking forward to following the plan in the weeks ahead and hopefully to reaping the benefits come November.

A massive thank you to Tom for his time and effort putting the presentation and training plan together. Thanks also to Andrew and the rest of the SPR Committee for organising the night. It’s great to be part of a club that provides these types of opportunities to its members. Make sure you get along to the next one if you get the chance.