Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Dec 8, 2009, 7:19 am
Stage One - Sprint Points The reason I never mentioned sprint points in the Tour of Bright is simple: Never before have I been there to contest the sprints! Rosewhite Gap, the first climb in Stage On...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Dec 7, 2009, 5:35 am
Tonight I remembered a story in a cycling magazine that I read a while ago. The author, and I'm quoting very loosely here because I cannot remember, which magazine it was, wrote that 'it didn&...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Nov 29, 2009, 1:42 am
Sunday afternoon and I can hear fresh coffee brewing in the kitchen and a wonderful smell is starting to fill the house. I'm craving something sweet, something baked, a little treat to accompany t...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Nov 27, 2009, 7:11 pm
I'm proud to be German. Yes, a statement that often raises eyebrows because of Germany's history, but today I've got a good reason to be proud of Germany. They come up with good ideas. I r...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Nov 22, 2009, 4:10 am
Cycling is... ...when you keep pedalling anyway. Spanner in the wheel but I only took my eyes of the goal for a second to evaluate the damage. Sore neck, loss of range of movement, more pain further...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Nov 19, 2009, 4:41 am
Some days you win, some days you loose. Today I lost. The fight for the parking spot. At the shopping mall. When I was getting sushi for lunch. Before reversing into my spot I waited for the big blac...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Nov 15, 2009, 1:34 am
Last week Alberto got up with me every morning. I suspect he didn't trust that I wouldn't slip into the spare bedroom, which now has a bed in it, ready for my parent's visit in a few weeks...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Nov 13, 2009, 2:02 am
Last year's file! brown line = altitude, red line = heart rate, blue line = speed I can picture the café in Harrietville, where I plummeted into the chair after the descent of last year's M...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Nov 9, 2009, 5:06 am
I got attacked four times during a short two hour training ride to McAfees lookout. That was a week ago. Twice by busses on Waterworks Road and once by a magpie. The forth attack was something else, ...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Nov 6, 2009, 8:36 pm
Kim Flesser, one of the very experienced sprinters in the club who regards being called "sandbagger" an honour, was right next to me. We had just past the start/finish area of the Lakeside race circui...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Nov 6, 2009, 1:58 am
The 5 am support is invaluable. I couldn't have asked for anyone in a better position to give me that support right now. What coach would agree to come to your house at 5 am, wake you up, make you...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Nov 1, 2009, 6:22 am
My post frequency is down to one per week. My training volume is only between six and seven hours per week. I'm struggling to get more writing and saddle time, mainly because I'm either too ...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Oct 26, 2009, 6:13 am
It amazes me how he does this with his little paws, folding the corners over neatly in a concentrated effort, taking great care to cover up properly and making a cute little parcel, wrapping his poo i...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Oct 21, 2009, 4:39 am
Obviously, I don't hate Mr Friel. Not as a person anyway but as a personification of training pressure and training frustration. Did you read his post on peak performance predictors? I read it som...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Oct 18, 2009, 6:12 am
Five days since that phone call and I am slowly emerging from my daze. Even the cat was distraught. We are settling into a rhythm now. The bathroom mat gets washed in the mornings, hung outside in th...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Oct 15, 2009, 9:15 pm
The moment I walked back into my office my mobile phone started ringing. The phone on the desk showed a missed call. The mobile phone display also showed a missed call and a voice message. I had only ...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Oct 14, 2009, 4:21 am
Sitting in the coffee shop the other day, just talking and joking after an easy two hour ride with friends, my attention was drawn to this cyclist's knees. The bulging over-developed m.vastus me...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Oct 12, 2009, 6:16 am
The aim of the CycleSkill coaching course is to provide new coaches with the skills to teach novice riders the essential skills to be able to participate in non-competitive events and encourage more p...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Oct 11, 2009, 4:02 am
After a very enjoyable but long day at the Chandler Velodrome for the CycleSkills coaching course yesterday, Shane and I hit the road for an one hour long commute home. It was 5:30 pm, the sun was se...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Oct 10, 2009, 7:04 pm
After a very enjoyable but long day at the Chandler Velodrome for the CycleSkills coaching course yesterday, Shane and I hit the road for an one hour long commute home. It was 5:30 pm, the sun was se...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Oct 7, 2009, 2:29 pm
I meant to tell you for some time now: It was the equipment. After coming out with my embarrassing secret I received lots of sympathy, advice and invitations to test-drive pumps. Small pumps, big pum...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Oct 5, 2009, 3:39 pm
Colin commented on a recent blog post, in which I explored the qualities of a good coach, that I might want to also look into what sort of 'client of a coach' I am. Joe Friel helped unknowing...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Oct 3, 2009, 10:55 pm
Friday - 6:35 am - Coronation Drive, Brisbane: Cyclists Daniel (l) and Scott (r) practise offensive behaviour. I wonder if track standing at a traffic light would be perceived offensive if I did it? ...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Oct 1, 2009, 11:40 pm
The cycling community of Australia was outraged this week and rightly so. I'm a bit late in my social commentary. The post has been on my mind since Wednesday and haven't gotten around to type...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Oct 1, 2009, 8:57 pm
Scene I: Waiting room Late afternoon. An elderly woman is watching a young mother calming her baby. Toddlers running around. The room is full. Other people reading magazines. Female cyclist enters t...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Sep 30, 2009, 5:58 am
Tests as such don't suck unless they tell you that you suck. This of course didn't come completely unexpectedly. Yes, I'm still not completely over what happened on Sunday but I'm gett...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Sep 27, 2009, 3:48 am
I'm so proud of our Hamilton Pine River Wheeler girls who rocked the team time trial and won the gold medal. They are amazing girls and riders. This should be a happy post but I'm afraid it w...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Sep 25, 2009, 11:28 pm
There are signs of cycling everywhere in the house. There is Coggan's and Allen's book open on my desk and Orlick's In Pursuit of Excellence, there are (of course) Friel's Training Bib...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Sep 20, 2009, 3:23 am
Alberto sat me down in front of TV this morning. I was too unconcerned and blasé about the time trial championship. My attitude was "Whatever! I won't stand a chance anyway" because I had been si...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Sep 19, 2009, 2:05 am
The buckwheat pancakes were delicious! After breakfast I talked the 'boys' into a little ride. Toby, Alberto's son who is staying with us for a few days, is now big enough for my Trek 1500...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Sep 17, 2009, 4:40 am
Shane called yesterday. Because of personal commitments he can no longer coach. I understand but I'd lie if I said I wasn't disappointed. I felt stranded. It came without warning. Now that I h...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Sep 14, 2009, 4:12 pm
Should you get asked to be support for a rider in one of Australia's longest and most gruelling one-day-races, the Grafton to Inverell, then consider wisely. This is no job for the faint-hearted. ...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Sep 10, 2009, 4:04 am
I ran late. That's the story of my life. Clocks hate me. Time is always against me or there is never enough of it. I've got enough money, I had plenty of luck in my life, I'm even so lucky...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Sep 8, 2009, 2:13 pm
This post is prompted by my decision to become a cycling coach. Yes, I have signed up for the Cycle Skills course that will run in October and the club is paying for my fees in return for me to coach ...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Sep 7, 2009, 4:25 pm
Ouch! My head hurt all day yesterday. I knew it was self-inflicted and I felt bad for giving in at the end - and taking ibuprofen just before dinner, the left-over dinner. And it hadn't even been ...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Sep 4, 2009, 5:29 pm
Just a very brief update because I've got to go and prepare a big party: Alberto's Birthday Party. Thirty friends said they'd come. I love big parties! My week in short: After last week&#...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Aug 31, 2009, 4:07 pm
Reading Hunter Allen's and Andrew Coggan's book "Training and Racing with a Power Meter" has been a real revelation. Do yourself a favour and don't wait a whole year before getting the Tra...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Aug 29, 2009, 5:37 pm
Alberto always teases me for writing way-too-dramatic blog posts. It made me think: Am I a drama queen? You judge! After a much needed rest week, which saw me do two easy river rides during the week,...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Aug 26, 2009, 4:01 am
You are curious to know your true maximum heart rate? If you are like me then you have always just estimated your heart rate with one of the several formulas that calculate your maximum heart rate bas...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Aug 23, 2009, 5:21 am
After a rather mediocre training week I lined up twice this weekend to race my little untrained heart out. Why mediocre you might ask? Well, my Tuesday morning hill repeats left me feeling hugely depr...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Aug 21, 2009, 3:01 am
"FUCK" is an amazing word, you have to admit! It's so versatile. I'm wondering if it is not even the most versatile word in the English language. It can take almost any place in a sentence. It...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Aug 16, 2009, 4:22 am
When I do housework, my mind usually drifts off with the fairies into La La Land. It wasn’t any different on Friday while sweeping the floors. Then I passed Alberto in the hallway. “Are you alrig...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Aug 11, 2009, 11:11 pm
Ok, ok, ok! You can back off now, you knowledgeable, article-writing dieticians, coaches and health advisors! I get it! I really do. Breakfast is important! It's not like I'm a breakfast snob...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Aug 9, 2009, 3:49 pm
All weekend I felt like I tank. I wanted to feel like a Porsche but there wasn't any snap in my legs. Sluggish, steady and fat like a pack horse I moved when I wanted to dance like a thoroughbred....
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Aug 7, 2009, 2:58 am
Shane seemed very satisfied that the two hour windtrainer sessions that he had included in last month's training program did coerce me into agreeing to get up before dawn again. My new training pr...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Aug 3, 2009, 5:18 am
If you ever came across a really good massage therapist, especially as a cyclist, then you will probably agree: It takes time and dedication to find a good one! One that helps un-knotting the knotty h...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Jul 31, 2009, 10:32 pm
Donna was already waiting in front of her garage when I rolled into her driveway. She looked as rugged up and uncomfortable as I felt. It was 7 AM but not getting any warmer. Once we descended the oth...
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Sandra F. posted an article on Competitive Cycling - Goals and dreams and Hard Work! - Jul 26, 2009, 3:59 am
You know it's 'training', when - you spend two hours on the windtrainer doing intervals that hurt (what sane person would otherwise do that?), - you check your rest heart rate first thing...
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