The Sub-7 Experiment

Tag: Cycling Training

  • Engine Ready, Mind Reset

    The countdown is on.  Less than two weeks until the big cycling event. I haven’t been posting much, but I’ve certainly been putting in the work.

    Friday was 14k on the rowing machine, with the intention of riding on Sunday. The weather shut that plan down, so instead I logged 21k on the rower — 35k total across the weekend. Monday was a rest day.

    Tuesday I finally got back out on the bike. Swapped my wheels over between bikes to see if it would help with road buzz, and it definitely does. They talk about marginal gains and with all the small upgrades I have made recently the bike have changed it into something that’s really nice to ride as well as being exciting and quite fast when needed.  I am happy with the setup now heading into the event.

    The ride itself yesterday was about 45 minutes in zone 2–3, steady and controlled without pushing too hard but on the way back I had a little dig and it felt great.

    Today (Wednesday) was another 10k on the rower. The engine’s there, the strength is there. I’m not going to win the event — but that was never the point. The point is to ride it, enjoy it, and share the day with friends.

    The gym serves as a bit of a mental reset this morning too, I walked into the gym cranky and walked out lighter, calmer, and ready to face the day. That’s a win too.

    This is The Sub-7 Experiment.

  • Ride, Rest, Row

    Quick training update today.
    Yesterday was a rest day after the 112k bike ride, and I still felt it in my legs this morning. I went to the gym for a recovery row, 7,000m at a slow stroke rate, strong pulls, and all about form over speed.

    Ride, rest, row. It works.

    It was exactly what I needed. I felt great afterwards and had the headspace to reflect on Sunday’s ride. I’ve cycled further before, and certainly faster, but doing that distance in bad weather and on a day when I wasn’t feeling it makes it all the more satisfying in hindsight.

    This is The Sub-7 Experiment.

  • Rebuilding From the Heels Up

    July is over, and it was great to take a proper break, from tracking, measuring, and pushing. I didn’t count calories. I didn’t obsess over numbers. I just moved, ate well, and let things settle for a bit. And honestly, it was exactly what I needed.

    One of the biggest gifts of that downtime was the space to finally listen to my body, specifically, my right knee.

    The Knee

    For the past couple of months, I’ve had a nagging pain at the front of my right knee, especially after big rowing sessions. And I’ve just been ignoring it. Powering through. But July gave me the breathing room to pay attention, and to realise that I’ve probably been rowing wrong.

    If you’ve ever looked at the footplate on a rowing machine, there’s a movable part to adjust for foot length, a strap that goes across the widest part of your foot (for me, that’s the ball), a heel strap, and a raised piece that runs from the ball to under the toes.

    Every book and coach will tell you: push through the heels.

    But I wasn’t. I was pushing through my toes, without realising it. And that toe-heavy drive has been putting way too much pressure on the front of my knee. Now it makes sense.

    Relearning the Stroke

    So now, I’m retraining. Rewiring. Rebuilding.

    I’ve added heel wedges to the footplate to help me stay connected through the back of the foot. It feels completely alien. Like trying to walk only on your heels without ever rolling through your toes. It’s weird, disconnected, and it robs you of power.

    But it’s also starting to feel more right.

    Over the last few sessions I’ve been rowing with the power curve on display, focusing purely on form. And I think I’m starting to feel a bit of a breakthrough. My stroke feels a bit more connected. A bit more glute-driven. Like I’m finally pushing through the right muscles.

    I’m nowhere near breaking the 7-minute barrier right now, but I’m not starting from zero either. I’ve got a solid engine under the hood. This is about tuning it, making it run better, stronger, and more efficiently.

    The Bike

    On the cycling front, things are going well. The distances are creeping up, and I managed a solid 86km ride at the weekend with over 1,200 metres of climbing. That’s all prep for the 150km ride coming up in seven weeks.

    So yeah, July gave me space.
    And now August gives me the opportunity to build again, smarter this time.

    It might look a little different from before.
    But different might just be the thing that gets me there.

    This is The Sub-7 Experiment.

  • From “Only Here” to “Already Here”

    I went for a ride on the bike yesterday—60km all in—and it felt great.
    What really struck me was the shift in mindset. I kept recognising where I was and thinking, “Oh, I’m here already” instead of “Oh, I’m only here.” Just a small difference in words and thoughts, but a massive one in terms of progress.

    I really gelled with the bike. Getting a proper bike fit and a new saddle was such a good call. Not just because I’m now physically connected to the bike, but because it actually saved me a load of cash.

    I’d been eyeing up new bikes—maybe a gravel bike, an “adventure” bike, or a racier road model. Something exciting.
    But the bike fit brought me back to the 11-year-old Giant I already own. And now? It feels like new. It’s as exciting to ride as I hoped it would be when I first bought it all those years ago.

    I probably could’ve gone further than 60km yesterday, but I surprised myself by deciding it was a good place to stop. I didn’t push past “great ride” into “slog”—and that feels like progress, too.

    I’ve got a 150km ride scheduled for September. In past long rides, I made rice cakes from a cycling nutrition book. To be honest, I couldn’t face them again. So before the ride, I asked ChatGPT for fuelling strategies and a few recipe ideas.

    I tried one of its banana oat bar suggestions, and aside from a few flavour tweaks and a more refined fuelling schedule, they worked really well.

    This is good.
    I’m pleased with how the bike is performing. I’m pleased with how I’m performing. And the rowing is complementing the cycling beautifully.

    It’s going to be a good summer—training to break the 7-minute rowing barrier and getting ready for that 150km.

    This is the Sub-7 Experiment.