Ya know, there are certain words that are fun to say, or even type. For example; Hoobastank. My new "fun" word is Fartlek.
That is all.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Stick a fork in me, I'm done
I've really pushed myself the last few days...probably pushed too hard, to be honest. On Tuesday I did some V02 max intervals. These are the same ones I attempted last week. This time they went much better. I completed 3 solid efforts. Still short of the prescribed 5-8, but all things considered, I wasn't upset over it. Wednesday I continued with yet another intense workout. This time I was doing a Tempo session that I turned into a Fartlek workout, that is to say that I randomly accelerated and increased my power within the Tempo range. The whole workout only lasted 1.5hrs, but because of the added Fartlek element I generated a hefty TSS and IF.
Today I was going to do some Threshold training. I should've known better than to go 3 days of intensity. I had to pull the plug on today's planned intervals, as I just couldn't generate the power necessary. Even after I'd thrown in the towel on the intervals, and just decided to ride for 2hrs, I couldn't even get my power up to the upper range of endurance pace.
The legs haven't been this worn out in a while. Tomorrow will be a recovery ride, and hopefully my legs will have some snap in them so that I can do some anaerobic work on Sat.
Today I was going to do some Threshold training. I should've known better than to go 3 days of intensity. I had to pull the plug on today's planned intervals, as I just couldn't generate the power necessary. Even after I'd thrown in the towel on the intervals, and just decided to ride for 2hrs, I couldn't even get my power up to the upper range of endurance pace.
The legs haven't been this worn out in a while. Tomorrow will be a recovery ride, and hopefully my legs will have some snap in them so that I can do some anaerobic work on Sat.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Like it or not
Changes happen whether you like it or not. Today started a new training week, and usually I like to get one of my intense days done on a Monday so I can recover on Tuesday for another hard day on Wednesday. I had every intention of riding... the weather was great, nothing was stopping me. I got home and was gonna get my gear on and it occurred to me that I was feeling a little worn out. Walking up and down the stairs confirmed that my legs were feeling like the rest of me...tired. At this point in my training, quality is more important than quantity, so I stayed home and chilled. Changes happen.
Next up, this coming weekend is the Knobscorcher in Bryson City at Tsali. This was to be my first race of the season, even if it was just a tune-up race. Due to circumstances beyond my control I won't be able to make that race. Changes happen.
The good news is, tomorrow I'll be back at my training, with only a minor adjustment to my weekly schedule, and I'm gonna shoot for a race up in Athens, Ga in mid April. I've learned one thing with all this training...you gotta be able to go with the flow and be willing to accept that stuff is gonna get in the way of your meticulously planned training/racing plan.
Next up, this coming weekend is the Knobscorcher in Bryson City at Tsali. This was to be my first race of the season, even if it was just a tune-up race. Due to circumstances beyond my control I won't be able to make that race. Changes happen.
The good news is, tomorrow I'll be back at my training, with only a minor adjustment to my weekly schedule, and I'm gonna shoot for a race up in Athens, Ga in mid April. I've learned one thing with all this training...you gotta be able to go with the flow and be willing to accept that stuff is gonna get in the way of your meticulously planned training/racing plan.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Mental Game
It's quite common for people to wax poetic about the physical demands of bike racing and training, but the physical aspect is only part of the story.
What I'm talking about is the "mental game", your attitude, if you will. Your attitude is what really enables you to push harder, or at least your desire to push harder. If you've raced more than once, then you've got that competitive spirit, and pushing yourself in a race takes care of itself. But what about training?
Training can be much tougher mentally than racing. You're by yourself, and when you're doing intense efforts you have nothing to focus on but the pain. At least in a race you have many things to focus on; fellow competitors, the terrain, just to name a few. With training though, it's just you and the hurt locker. It takes a supreme effort to ignore the pleadings of your mind to end the pain as you are 1.5 min into a 3 min V02 max interval.
I had such a moment yesterday. I was doing some great V02 max intervals, in addition to eliciting improvements in your V02 max, it also makes for an excellent neuromuscular workout as well. This specific workout mimics a race winning effort.
You start with a 30 sec sprint (15 sec out of the saddle) to establish a gap, then 3 min at your Functional Threshold Power to maintain the gap, and ending with a 10 sec burst to shoot for the finish line. The workout is as follows:
30 sec sprint (15 sec out of saddle)- Avg 200% FTP w/Max 300%
3 min- 100% FTP
10 sec burst- 200-250% FTP
Recover 5-6 min
Do that 5-8 times.
Now, going into yesterday's workout, I knew that going for 8 of those badboys was not very realistic, but I thought I could handle 5.
The first two go as planned. I hit all my wattage goals for the first two intervals, but by the end of the 2nd one I was beginning to feel the effects of the sprinting in my legs. The 3rd interval starts and I'm out of the saddle, and as I sit back down for the final 15 sec I'm not in the right gear and my power is dropping as I begin to "spin out". At this point my mind and body is already crying "uncle", but as my power drops off, the damned logical side of my brain starts using that as concrete proof that I have reached my limit and to cut my intervals short. I hate to admit it, but I listened to my brain. I could've easily clicked up a gear and finished that initial hard effort... I was only a few seconds away from the more manageable 3 min @ FTP. There's no telling if I would've been able to complete 5 of those intervals, but I definitely could've finished that 3rd interval. Unfortunately though, I didn't have my head on straight. I was already filling my head with self doubt as I contemplated being able to do 8 intervals, and as the 2nd interval was wrapping up, the 5 was coming into doubt.
I had given up before I even started.
I'd like to say that it will never happen again, but the mind isn't something you can turn off and on like a light switch. It looks like I've got another form of training to undertake between now and race season.
What I'm talking about is the "mental game", your attitude, if you will. Your attitude is what really enables you to push harder, or at least your desire to push harder. If you've raced more than once, then you've got that competitive spirit, and pushing yourself in a race takes care of itself. But what about training?
Training can be much tougher mentally than racing. You're by yourself, and when you're doing intense efforts you have nothing to focus on but the pain. At least in a race you have many things to focus on; fellow competitors, the terrain, just to name a few. With training though, it's just you and the hurt locker. It takes a supreme effort to ignore the pleadings of your mind to end the pain as you are 1.5 min into a 3 min V02 max interval.
I had such a moment yesterday. I was doing some great V02 max intervals, in addition to eliciting improvements in your V02 max, it also makes for an excellent neuromuscular workout as well. This specific workout mimics a race winning effort.
You start with a 30 sec sprint (15 sec out of the saddle) to establish a gap, then 3 min at your Functional Threshold Power to maintain the gap, and ending with a 10 sec burst to shoot for the finish line. The workout is as follows:
30 sec sprint (15 sec out of saddle)- Avg 200% FTP w/Max 300%
3 min- 100% FTP
10 sec burst- 200-250% FTP
Recover 5-6 min
Do that 5-8 times.
Now, going into yesterday's workout, I knew that going for 8 of those badboys was not very realistic, but I thought I could handle 5.
The first two go as planned. I hit all my wattage goals for the first two intervals, but by the end of the 2nd one I was beginning to feel the effects of the sprinting in my legs. The 3rd interval starts and I'm out of the saddle, and as I sit back down for the final 15 sec I'm not in the right gear and my power is dropping as I begin to "spin out". At this point my mind and body is already crying "uncle", but as my power drops off, the damned logical side of my brain starts using that as concrete proof that I have reached my limit and to cut my intervals short. I hate to admit it, but I listened to my brain. I could've easily clicked up a gear and finished that initial hard effort... I was only a few seconds away from the more manageable 3 min @ FTP. There's no telling if I would've been able to complete 5 of those intervals, but I definitely could've finished that 3rd interval. Unfortunately though, I didn't have my head on straight. I was already filling my head with self doubt as I contemplated being able to do 8 intervals, and as the 2nd interval was wrapping up, the 5 was coming into doubt.
I had given up before I even started.
I'd like to say that it will never happen again, but the mind isn't something you can turn off and on like a light switch. It looks like I've got another form of training to undertake between now and race season.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
It blows
The last two days have been unbelievably windy. On Friday there was a steady 20mph NNW wind, and Saturday graced us with a 15mph N wind. Riding in that is less than ideal. Call me a stick in the mud, but those kinds of conditions really take something away from your ride.
The only good thing about a 15-20mph headwind is the resulting 15-20mph tailwind.
I finished up my recovery week today. I was supposed to do some threshold testing, but between the damned wind and being kinda drowsy from all the friggin' pollen floating around, I just couldn't generate the kind of power needed for an FTP test.
Come Monday I should be ready for some more intensity, as that will be the start of my final Build period. Lots of vomit inducing intensity lies ahead. Lucky me.
The only good thing about a 15-20mph headwind is the resulting 15-20mph tailwind.
I finished up my recovery week today. I was supposed to do some threshold testing, but between the damned wind and being kinda drowsy from all the friggin' pollen floating around, I just couldn't generate the kind of power needed for an FTP test.
Come Monday I should be ready for some more intensity, as that will be the start of my final Build period. Lots of vomit inducing intensity lies ahead. Lucky me.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Time
Daylight savings has begun, and that can mean only one thing... the Tuesday World's have started back up.
Today was the first Tuesday ride of '07. I went into it with my legs feeling a little stale (I think it is leftover from Saturday's hammerfest), but I was mistakenly assuming that the first ride of the year would not be at full gas so I wasn't too concerned about my rather lifeless legs.
Here's something I learned. The Tuesday World's are ALWAYS full gas. Whether it's the first one of the year, or the last one...it doesn't matter.
I'd put the attendance at around 20-25 riders. As the pace quickened more and more riders were shot off the back. By the time the ride was done, there were only 8 or 9 riders.
Time- 1:18
Distance- 32 miles
Avg speed- 24.6 mph
And to think this was supposed to be a recovery week. I must be a retard for doing a high intensity ride like this on a recovery week. Right this minute I'm promising my legs I'm gonna take it easy for the rest of the week... no road TT on Thursday, or group ride on Sat.
Today was the first Tuesday ride of '07. I went into it with my legs feeling a little stale (I think it is leftover from Saturday's hammerfest), but I was mistakenly assuming that the first ride of the year would not be at full gas so I wasn't too concerned about my rather lifeless legs.
Here's something I learned. The Tuesday World's are ALWAYS full gas. Whether it's the first one of the year, or the last one...it doesn't matter.
I'd put the attendance at around 20-25 riders. As the pace quickened more and more riders were shot off the back. By the time the ride was done, there were only 8 or 9 riders.
Time- 1:18
Distance- 32 miles
Avg speed- 24.6 mph
And to think this was supposed to be a recovery week. I must be a retard for doing a high intensity ride like this on a recovery week. Right this minute I'm promising my legs I'm gonna take it easy for the rest of the week... no road TT on Thursday, or group ride on Sat.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Big Props
The US MTB team just wrapped up a successful continental Championships. We racked up a total of 8 medals. US elite women swept the podium, and Todd Wells almost had the gold medal. That's gotta suck...what a bummer.
If the US can keep this kind of surge thru the rest of the '07 season, then that will bode well for us to get the maximum number of rider slots for the Olympics.
Keep it up!
If the US can keep this kind of surge thru the rest of the '07 season, then that will bode well for us to get the maximum number of rider slots for the Olympics.
Keep it up!
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Another day, another mile
After next week's light 5hr recovery week, Build 1 will be in the history books. I wrapped up my 3rd week with the group ride. The route took us from Niceville, to Defuniak Springs and back to Niceville- a 70 mile loop. Even though I didn't feel super fresh on Saturday, it was a good thing I was feeling as good as I was. While most of the ride was fairly normal, albeit a slightly higher pace than usual, I had a couple of incidents that really pushed me to my limits.
We were on the homeward leg of the ride, and we'd already dropped a couple of riders. The group had just turned onto a military road that was gonna help us bypass some of the spring break traffic heading to the beaches. About a mile down the road and I slipped my chain. Maybe 15 seconds and I was back on my bike and moving, but that was plenty of time for a gap to develop...and a sizable gap at that. I was pushing hard to catch back on, as I didn't really want to spend the rest of the ride by myself. One of the group fell off the pace and after a few minutes I caught up to him. As I pulled along side of him I said "Let's see if we can't bridge up to the rest" and he said "ok". I continued with my pace, fully expecting him to sit on my wheel for a bit. After 2 or 3 minutes I look back and he was nowhere in sight. So much for getting some help.
The good news is I finally caught back up with them just as they were turning back onto the main road. About 10-12 miles down the road I get a flat tire, and after much fussing, fuming and creativeness I'm ready to go again. As I'm getting my crap back together the group goes ahead and takes off, and damn wouldn't you know it... another big gap to overcome. Another 20 min of pain and I catch back on. Now though I am toast. I have enough juice to stick on a wheel and that's it.
The upside to that whole thing is that my fitness has indeed come a long way. If that would've happened to me last year I never would've caught up, or at the very least I would've gotten dropped again because I wouldn't have been able to sustain the pace.
Because of my solo forays, my TSS for yesterday's ride was a whopping 193! That's the highest TSS I've recorded since I started using WKO.
Ohh, did I mention that I'm gonna have to get new tires? Whatever caused my flat tire put a nice big slice in it. I had to use the ole dollar bill trick to get home.
I only had this set of tires a month...ohh well. Considering that this is the first debris caused flat in 4000 miles, I shouldn't feel too bad.
The week, by the numbers:
Planned- 9hrs
Actual- 9:59
Miles- 203
We were on the homeward leg of the ride, and we'd already dropped a couple of riders. The group had just turned onto a military road that was gonna help us bypass some of the spring break traffic heading to the beaches. About a mile down the road and I slipped my chain. Maybe 15 seconds and I was back on my bike and moving, but that was plenty of time for a gap to develop...and a sizable gap at that. I was pushing hard to catch back on, as I didn't really want to spend the rest of the ride by myself. One of the group fell off the pace and after a few minutes I caught up to him. As I pulled along side of him I said "Let's see if we can't bridge up to the rest" and he said "ok". I continued with my pace, fully expecting him to sit on my wheel for a bit. After 2 or 3 minutes I look back and he was nowhere in sight. So much for getting some help.
The good news is I finally caught back up with them just as they were turning back onto the main road. About 10-12 miles down the road I get a flat tire, and after much fussing, fuming and creativeness I'm ready to go again. As I'm getting my crap back together the group goes ahead and takes off, and damn wouldn't you know it... another big gap to overcome. Another 20 min of pain and I catch back on. Now though I am toast. I have enough juice to stick on a wheel and that's it.
The upside to that whole thing is that my fitness has indeed come a long way. If that would've happened to me last year I never would've caught up, or at the very least I would've gotten dropped again because I wouldn't have been able to sustain the pace.
Because of my solo forays, my TSS for yesterday's ride was a whopping 193! That's the highest TSS I've recorded since I started using WKO.
Ohh, did I mention that I'm gonna have to get new tires? Whatever caused my flat tire put a nice big slice in it. I had to use the ole dollar bill trick to get home.
I only had this set of tires a month...ohh well. Considering that this is the first debris caused flat in 4000 miles, I shouldn't feel too bad.
The week, by the numbers:
Planned- 9hrs
Actual- 9:59
Miles- 203
Friday, March 09, 2007
I think I'm gonna hurl
I finally got around to those V02 max intervals, and I have to say that the '0' in V02 stands for "OW!" Damn, did those hurt. The interval session was, I admit, an overly aggressive one, but I thought I could pull it off. Unfortunately, I didn't complete the entire workout. The workout was scheduled as follows:
2hrs w/L5 workout
Warm up- 15 min <68% FTP
Blow out effort- 5 min 100%
Recover- 5 min 70%
Intervals, 3 min rest int. 6x3 min 117%
Recover- 10 min 70%
Intervals, 4 min, rest int. 4x2 min 113-120%
Cool-down- 15 min <68%
I needed to do those 3 minute intervals at any wattage over 410 watts. The first interval I averaged 412, and then the next one is what got me into trouble... I was now riding into the wind, and I really overcooked this one. The second interval I averaged 422 watts, with a sustained segment at almost 466 watts. The 3rd and 4th intervals topped out at 406 and 395 respectively. I bailed on the remainder of the intervals, after I couldn't get my wattage up.
On these short intervals there is a real trick to starting just hard enough and finishing strong. If you take too long to get your wattage up then you're not really getting the full effect of the interval, but if you go too hard too soon then you risk blowing up before the 3 minutes is up.
I'll try them again once I come off of next week's R&R week. I'll make sure I'm better rested, and I control my pacing a bit better.
2hrs w/L5 workout
Warm up- 15 min <68% FTP
Blow out effort- 5 min 100%
Recover- 5 min 70%
Intervals, 3 min rest int. 6x3 min 117%
Recover- 10 min 70%
Intervals, 4 min, rest int. 4x2 min 113-120%
Cool-down- 15 min <68%
I needed to do those 3 minute intervals at any wattage over 410 watts. The first interval I averaged 412, and then the next one is what got me into trouble... I was now riding into the wind, and I really overcooked this one. The second interval I averaged 422 watts, with a sustained segment at almost 466 watts. The 3rd and 4th intervals topped out at 406 and 395 respectively. I bailed on the remainder of the intervals, after I couldn't get my wattage up.
On these short intervals there is a real trick to starting just hard enough and finishing strong. If you take too long to get your wattage up then you're not really getting the full effect of the interval, but if you go too hard too soon then you risk blowing up before the 3 minutes is up.
I'll try them again once I come off of next week's R&R week. I'll make sure I'm better rested, and I control my pacing a bit better.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Pain in satisfaction
Completing a successful workout can be extremely satisfying, even if it hurt like a mofo while you were doing it. During the toughest intervals your body is saying "just stop and the pain will go away"...but you muscle thru them and in a perverted sort of way, feel great afterwards.
Tomorrow is my day for V02 max intervals, and while part of me is not looking forward to it, the other part is saying "bring it".
Whoever said, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," must've been referring to intervals.
Tomorrow is my day for V02 max intervals, and while part of me is not looking forward to it, the other part is saying "bring it".
Whoever said, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," must've been referring to intervals.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Toasty
A new training week began today, and being the glutton for punishment that I am, I kicked off the week with some sub threshold intervals. I would've normally held off on these till mid week, but I've got some V02 max intervals on the menu, so I was forced to do my sub threshold stuff today.
While the intervals were a success, I was struggling while doing them. I think I was still a little tired from the weekend. When I finished that second interval I was SO happy that I was done, because I was cooked. I'm really gonna appreciate the day off I have tomorrow. It'll give me some much needed recovery time, so that I'm ready for Wednesday, and what is sure to be my toughest workout so far.
I think I'll be needing the R&R that will be coming next week.
While the intervals were a success, I was struggling while doing them. I think I was still a little tired from the weekend. When I finished that second interval I was SO happy that I was done, because I was cooked. I'm really gonna appreciate the day off I have tomorrow. It'll give me some much needed recovery time, so that I'm ready for Wednesday, and what is sure to be my toughest workout so far.
I think I'll be needing the R&R that will be coming next week.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
It takes all kinds
Despite missing Thursday, I'm still on track for the week. Today was the usual Sat. group ride.
We had a small group, made up mostly of the usual suspects, and one fella that must be bi-polar or somethin'. The route we took had more than the usual amount of climbing (for Florida, that is), and so the weaker riders were really fighting to hang on. They were obviously right on the edge for most of the ride. One guy, who was the oldest in the bunch (around 60 or so) was really having a rough go towards the end. To make matters worse he started cramping. It was at this point that Mr Bi-Polar decided to attack on a climb. Needless to say, Larry got spit out the back. When it was discovered that he had gotten dropped we went back for Larry, but Mr. BP kept on going.
I'm still trying to figure out why he wanted to make that guy crack. While these group rides are done at a fast pace, the pace isn't gonna be set so high as to make someone intentionally crack.
The word on BP guy is that one day he can be totally laid back and pretty calm, other days he's like totally psycho...going so far as to cause the occasional crash. Fortunately I've not had too much interaction with the guy...and I'm happy to keep it that way.
What would our world be without drama, huh?
Tomorrow I finish up my week with a 1hr recovery ride. That'll give me 9hrs for the week. Next week I'll be doing some anaerobic intervals...I can feel the bile rising in my throat already.
We had a small group, made up mostly of the usual suspects, and one fella that must be bi-polar or somethin'. The route we took had more than the usual amount of climbing (for Florida, that is), and so the weaker riders were really fighting to hang on. They were obviously right on the edge for most of the ride. One guy, who was the oldest in the bunch (around 60 or so) was really having a rough go towards the end. To make matters worse he started cramping. It was at this point that Mr Bi-Polar decided to attack on a climb. Needless to say, Larry got spit out the back. When it was discovered that he had gotten dropped we went back for Larry, but Mr. BP kept on going.
I'm still trying to figure out why he wanted to make that guy crack. While these group rides are done at a fast pace, the pace isn't gonna be set so high as to make someone intentionally crack.
The word on BP guy is that one day he can be totally laid back and pretty calm, other days he's like totally psycho...going so far as to cause the occasional crash. Fortunately I've not had too much interaction with the guy...and I'm happy to keep it that way.
What would our world be without drama, huh?
Tomorrow I finish up my week with a 1hr recovery ride. That'll give me 9hrs for the week. Next week I'll be doing some anaerobic intervals...I can feel the bile rising in my throat already.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Thrashed
Last night I was wiped after my sub threshold intervals yesterday afternoon. I was out as soon as my head hit the pillow. I was feeling the lingering effects today. I wasn't sore, but I was tired...tired enough that I laid down and dozed off late this afternoon for 30-45 minutes.
I was supposed to get some saddle time in today, but the weather had other plans. It was supposed to rain like crazy... and while it never did rain we were subjected to a steady 20mph wind. Given my lethargic state, I just couldn't deal with a 20mph wind. Tomorrow I'll pick up where I left off.
I was supposed to get some saddle time in today, but the weather had other plans. It was supposed to rain like crazy... and while it never did rain we were subjected to a steady 20mph wind. Given my lethargic state, I just couldn't deal with a 20mph wind. Tomorrow I'll pick up where I left off.
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