Cycling Weekly — December 07, 2017

This is fi rst-cat racer Brian

Johnson’s diary: a week from

early March 1989, the year in

which he qualifi ed for the Peace

Race. Overleaf, a modern coach

analyses Johnson’s schedule

Friday, March 3

Resting HR: 46bpm

Weight: 63kg

Miles: 40

2.5 hours approx. Slightly hap-

hazard, as tyre blew and I had

to go to Hardisty’s [bike shop]

for a new one. Rode steadily;

nothing special but felt good and

strong. Drove down to Duncan

[Dollimore's] in the afternoon.

Saturday, March 4

Resting HR: 47

Notes: DIET; garlic tablets

Miles: 70

Steady 70-mile ride with Duncan

around the Bashall Eaves circuit

and Longridge. Steady, nothing

hard; 42x17 in dull, damp and

wet conditions. Cleared up after

a cafe stop, so we got a few

more miles in. Felt better in the

afternoon than morning.

Sunday, March 5

Resting HR: 46

Notes: DIET

Miles: 70

Kent Valley RR: 18th place.

Crashed on lap three when

Steve Joughin [1984 British

RR Champion] fell in front of

me. I was going well, attacking

a lot, although my lungs still

need to be ‘opened’ up. I think

if I’d fi nished in the main group,

I’d have got a placing. Still, I

can’t grumble, as my form is

extremely good for the time of

year. [Paul] Curran [1987 British

Amateur RR champion] won,

from Cooksy [Dave Cook, 1989

British Amateur RR champion].

Steady potter in the afternoon,

25 miles.

Monday, March 6

Resting HR: 48bpm

Notes: DIET

Miles: 35

Steady ride for two hours

around the lanes near Wetherby

and Otley. Tired, sore legs from

yesterday, but on the whole I felt

good and a lot fi tter. 42x16/17

all day.

Tuesday, March 7

Resting HR: 46

Notes: DIET

Miles: 100

Good ride today with the lads

up over Kettlewell and over the

Pennine Way to Settle. Still felt

tired out but I was climbing

better than normal. I kept the

gears down to 42x16. Returned

fast from Gargreave, 1.5hr using

42x15. I was struggling to hold

Phil Sheard’s pace but was

pleased that I got a good 5.5hr

in, with only a short stop.

Wednesday, March 8

Rest day

Notes: DIET

Drove down with Chris Young

and was introduced to our

sponsors and team photos

were taken. Received some new

brakes but my shoes were too

small for me.

Thursday, March 9

Resting HR: 45

Notes: DIET

Miles: 45

Wet and windy in the morning

but managed to get out during

the afternoon for 2.5hr; 75 per

cent of max for most of the day,

with some good climbing at

90 per cent of max, peaking at

191bpm over Langbar. Returned

at about 80 per cent of max,

42x15. Over Pool Bank at 80

per cent of max, peaking at

192bpm. Riding well, with

perhaps my best form of the

year. Spinning gears easily, fresh

and fi ghting fi t.

Example training diary from 1989

weather prevented road riding, I did a
half-hour run then 20 minutes on rollers.”
Racing started early, well before the
fi rst buds of spring.
“My fi rst race would be in February,
then I took a week off. I would gradually
increase my miles after that until I did
an overload of 1,400 to 1,600 miles in
two weeks, which promoted super-
compensation. Then I went back to 40
miles a day, a mid-week long ride, and
racing at weekends. Throw in some
motor pacing and three-minute intervals,
and that was it.”
Webster may have been winning
on monster mileage, but meanwhile
developments in understanding and a
technological breakthrough coincided to
revolutionise training. It was the start of
change that saw coaches, scientists and
doctors become much more important.

Many riders and coaches understood

intuitively that athletes could sustain a

constant, fairly hard pace for one hour,

and that training for shorter intervals

at that pace increased performance.

The pace was the anaerobic threshold,

and it was properly identifi ed in 1979

by an Italian professor, Francesco

Conconi, who related blood lactate levels

to performance and heart rate. The

technological breakthrough was portable

heart rate monitors, which enabled

coaches to quantify training intensities

by heart rate.

Monitoring progress

Aldo Sassi studied under Conconi and

later became a highly respected coach,

but for him heart rate monitors were

only a step in increasing the precision

of training. “Heart rate varies under

different circumstances, both in the

same person and in response to the same

exercise stimulus, so heart-rate monitors

helped, but accuracy only came with the

next breakthrough in technology, and

that was the power meter.”

The American coach Hunter Allen has

huge experience using power meters,

and with Andrew Coggan wrote the

seminal Training and Racing with a

Power Meter. Allen believes that power

meters made the biggest change ever

to training, and certainly to coaching.

“With power meters we can quantify

with total accuracy the training being

done. Consequently we understand

how training load impacts upon fi tness,

and can ensure that the individual is

improving in the physiological zone

targeted by a particular training session.

It means we can plan ‘form’ for athletes

46 | December 7, 2017 | Cycling Weekly