G'ville #3

Today was the Fork Shoals race in a driving, torrential downpour. It rained the entire race but the temps were over 50˚ so it wasn't as miserable as it could have been. Driving up with LL and Jay I didn't feel all that great (bad stomach) but I was mentally ready to race.

They combined the 35 and 45's so there were about 60 riders lined up for a 45 mile race (shortened due to rain). 3 laps. Lots of attacking from the gun (first 30' were NP 290w). Jay gets away solo and gets 1:30. LL and I go into cover mode which can be pretty strenuous then LL and Jim Cunningham get away. I soon follow with another guy who was really strong but we're 30sec behind.

Once Jay, LL and JC got together they put a pretty big gap on the field and were about 1:30 head of me. I had about the same gap to the field with 15 miles to go.

LL and Jay worked JC over pretty good and got a well ridden first and second. I worked well with my guy trading hard pulls. He ended up sitting on for the last mile but I beat him pretty easily in the sprint for 4th. It was a nice ride home with #1, #2 & #4 in the car!

The rain/weather wasn't really that bad. I was always comfortable but was glad I was in a break most of the day so I could work and stay warm. Looking over my WKO... this was a damn hard race: 2 hrs with an IF of .96! No wonder I'm tired. I'm now leading the overall.

Calm before the storm

Took yesterday off and man did I need that...was completely spent but today I feel good. Gonna go ride an hour or so after work. I'm definitely going up for the races this weekend. Rain or shine...that's being optimistic. 100% chance of thunderstorms. What-evah... A minor reason I'm going is that I'm currently in 2nd place in the 35+ overall behind Dirk Pohlman and he's signed up for the P1,2 tomorrow so I'd like to take a shot at that. Should be epic.

VO2

On the way out today the legs didn't feel so good so I took an extended warmup with a few Level 6 openers to see if that would help. Once I got started things went well and I did 6x4' at around 115%. I then hammered on the way home and got another 15' at FTP to eek out a little more TSS. A Good day. I'm gonna chill the next two days to be ready for Fork Shoals.


I read this today:

One thing alot of riders do is they wake up tired, too tired to work really hard - but they go out and ride 2-3 hrs or whatever easier because you can pretty much always do that. For me it's binary - you can either ride hard intervals or you need to rest. No in between nonesence. At least not for me, not for the guys I coach. I can't remember any race that consisted of riding medium the whole time.

Good Bad Great

Tuesday is threshold day so I went out with a conservative plan of 2x15' at 280w. Riding over I knew my legs would be good today. The first interval went well and the watts came pretty easily so I did 20' and I contemplated not stopping. I averaged 286w and had to restrain myself a bit so I was going well.

I rested for a minute or so and started up again and was really having a hard time even holding 260w...PE was off the charts. I was getting frustrated and ended up saying screw it and heading home but at the last minute I decided to just roll around for another 10' then try another 15' interval and see what happens and if I still was "off" I would just roll home.

I was amazed that my legs felt good when starting the 15' and got better as I went on...I ended up with 288w without too much difficulty or suffering. Interesting day...dunno what happened but I was pleased to get that 2nd interval knocked out. I'm thinking I just overcooked it in the 1st interval and needed a bit more recovery. Riding home the legs felt great.

I've upped my FTP in WKO to 282w & I weigh 68.9kg today (I'll lose 4-5 lb in the next month or so).

Tomorrow VO2.

G'ville #2

I knew a selection would happen pretty early in today's race because of the howling crosswinds. There was very little head/tailwind. It was bad. I stayed near the front waiting for the attacks but being a bit more restrained than yesterday.

It happened at the beginning of lap #2 and I easily followed it. There were 7 of us and I knew if we could hold the small gap till the crosswinds then we'd be gone. Our lead went from 50sec to 3 minutes by the time we were at the start/finish. Sweet!

In those winds a small break can go a lot faster cuz we were all riding steady...not super hard just everyone pulling through in a full on echelon. It was pretty easy actually & we were all working really well together...not like the suffering in the gutter that was probably going on in the field. Getting the peleton to organize a chase today would have been impossible...it's the nature of bike racing.

On lap #4 (of 5) Pete Cannell attacked and basically rode away from us for the win...in the worst crosswind section. Ends up he was some monster TT specialist (Won 30-34 masters nats with a 48:34). More power to him, literally.

On the last lap we just cruised along till the finish. Of the 5 others with me I was only really worried about 2 guys. A Smith/Barney rider (Bob Wright) who I know is strong and especially Dirk Pohlman who was a former pro (who still wins P1,2 races) and masters nat'l champ etc.

Coming up to the last k I made sure I was behind the two riders I was watching. Smith/Barney attacked on the hill and Dirk pulls over and looks back which was my cue to attack and I went across easily and sat on. Smith/Barney was still driving it but he knew he was screwed at that point. I looked back and Dirk was working hard to cross the gap and when he got within 20' I attacked again. He caught me with 500m to go and I made him come through then sat on his wheel...he said: "I guess we're taking it to the line" ;-)

We start our sprint with 150m and he closed down the inside which forced me into the wind. I thought I was gonna get him but after the bike throw and photo he pipped me for 2nd. I wish I could sprint...

I was dreading today's race this morning but it turned out to be one of the coolest races I've done.

G'ville #1

Felt good, rode aggressively and near the front and was in every serious looking early break. Attacked on lap #3 and was off solo for half a lap. Lap 4 was hard...23' at NP 285w. 3 guys off the front near the end...missed that one. Ended up 10th but didn't have a clean sprint.

Results for all categories are HERE.

ez

Did an easy 60'

Legs are good & I'm excited to get the season started this weekend.

SST+

I went out to the crit course with the idea of doing an hour or so of SST but once there the legs felt great so I just went by feel and cruised. I was pretty surprised after 20' to see an ave of 270w so I tried to turn it back a bit but then I decided to do 4 x 30s sprints coming up the finishing straight (had a massive tailwind). These efforts felt great, easy in fact and put me back to 270w ave for the 40'. 97% is not SST! Oh well, it was an easy threshold workout then. Man my legs really felt good tonight (at -36 TSB).

There were 4-5 other riders out doing laps tonight and everyone eventually ended up on my wheel. That's always good for a 10-20w bump in ave power.

Leg flush

The rain stopped for a while today so I busted out of work and went to tank hill to knock out some VO2 efforts. Plan was 6x4' at just shy of 120%. I did em, I suffered as usual and the legs felt a lot better after I was done...maybe flushed some junk outta there.

The Nut was doing a loop so I rode at threshold for 10' to meet up with him...after riding at 325w it's pretty easy to go 280w, for a while at least. CTL's 72.5, TSB -28.

Level 3

The legs were still not that great today so I jumped on the velodyne and did about 75' at about 75%. Nothing too strenuous. I'm gonna do some intervals tomorrow...not sure exactly what but probably VO2 if I can get outside and it's not raining. If I'm on the trainer it will be a threshold workout.

I'm psyched to start racing this weekend and since it's just 2 donaldson days I'm planning on just doing my normal training with no real significant taper. I may also do the 35+ and 3's on sunday to rack up some TSS...we'll see how it goes.

transition

Not much to say about today, the legs were bad. I went out to do some SST.  I started out ok but the RPE rose as I went along.  I pulled the plug at 45' and 248w ave.  I'm sure I'll be better tomorrow.

race sim

Today the crew came to this side of town to mix it up. We started out on Dean's ride to socialize a bit then once out of the fort we ramped it up. My goal for the day was to ride hard and take short VO2 type pulls...sort of thing you do in a hard break. It worked. My legs were pretty trashed near the end...right when we all started attacking each other in the fort. For the "fast" 2 hrs and 48 miles my NP was 247w (IF .89) at 22.5 mph. Nice.

Aaron (btw the only cat 4 out of nine riders who made the selection...good job): just because someone says chase Jay down doesn't mean you have to do it. ;-)

For the record: I schooled Jay, Ward and LL in the chaingang sprint. I only say this because it's such a rare occurrence and that I probably won't be able to write it again this year. Gotta savor it.

Feeling good for Greenville...gonna do some more threshold work Monday or Tuesday then SST till the weekend. CTL's 73 and TSB's -23. Ba-da-bing.

1x40'

I felt good today.  I went out with the plan to do 2x20's at FTP and after the first 20' I didn't think I needed a break so I just kept going.  I was shooting for 280w and my average was 279w.  My PE was lower than normal, especially at the beginning and near the end I was hurting and was glad it was over...a good sign.

The crit course is an incredibly nice place to train...

Music update:  Kings of Leon...overrated, I didn't get into them.  New Coldplay...OK but not a great riding album.  Vampire Weekend...these guys are awesome and my new favorite band, check out the song A-Punk.

This sunday we're meeting at 9am with Dean at Outspokin' and some of us are splitting off to do 70-75 miles at 20+ mph (percival, screaming eagle, 601, leesberg, etc) if anyone's interested.  Plan on pretty hard riding for, oh...say 70-75 miles.  ;-)

Plan B

I was planning on doing some 2x20's but got a STAT message on facebook / twitter / sms /email from the coach who decided that I should go easier today and slay it tomorrow. The legs were a bit blocked on the ride over and I planned on 60' at around 90% of FTP. After 10' I was actually warmed up, felt a lot better and in a good rhythem and had to keep the wattage in check as it kept creeping up. I ended up with an average of 242w for the hour. A good workout.

Looking at my last 12 weeks...I'm pretty happy with a CTL of 67 and how this preseason is progressing

Oh...and here's yesterday's VO2 graph:

Vo2 intervals

Last year I started VO2 intervals on 2/5 so I figured it was about time to get em started.  Last year I eased into them...shortening the # and intensity and built up over a few weeks.  Tonight I just wanted to go for it so I shot for between 115% and 120% of FTP and did 6 intervals (5 1/2 actually).  These were 4' on/4' off.  I'll build up to 5' soon.

My legs still felt tired from this past weekend so it was a struggle to maintain the wattage at times...these intervals have a lot of ups and downs mentally.  If you're going poorly they can really suck.

The wind was howling with 30mph gusts so on tank hill I would round the corner and get killed by the cross wind.  It was hard to keep a rhythm so after 2.5 intervals I headed up to the last climb on Dixie where I had a cross tailwind which made it much better and I knocked out 3 more.  I don't have the download yet but I averaged around 325w for each of the intervals.  Considering the wind and my negative TSB I'm happy with that.

I'm looking to doing a couple days of 2x20's at the crit course this week starting tomorrow.

EasyGood

Yesterday my legs felt like dog crap...horrible.  It's amazing the difference a day makes.  I just did 90' of easy cruising in the fort.  Tried to keep it at 90% for the climbs but overall I just wanted to spin and listen to my iPod.

Tomorrow I'm riding with Ward and doing my first VO2 workouts of the year.  I'm shooting for 6x4' at 120%...I'm actually looking forward to this workout (so I still must be pretty motivated...these are hard intervals).  Let's see if the legs show up...

trifecta

Today I did the local group ride and decided that I was going to ignore how I "should" feel and just go with it.

It was typical group ride dynamics...mellow riding interspersed with hard efforts. The climb up Old Leesburg was 4' at around 340w so it was hard but not too out of control with the usual suspects left standing. The "chase" (& catch) down cabin creek was pretty fun with Karl and I rotating hard pulls in Vo2 land. I felt pretty strong today for some reason. It was a great ride.

Soooo where does that leave me? How about a TSB of -62 !!!

The last 3 days: 646 TSS, 10:30 hrs, 6915 Kj, 211 miles

Wow...

Faster 80

I wasn't sure how today was going to go...I was tired but felt pretty OK. LL and I headed out to the usual Wateree loop. I'd be lying if I said I felt good on the bike. It was a struggle and I suffered. 25% of the time I felt pretty good the other 75% like total shit. I went through a couple really bad spots.

I actually could do ok from 90% up to about FTP but once over that I would blow up. LL hurt me bad on some of the climbs...sortof like the selection in a hard race. Over and over again. Fun?

Again I got a second wind at about mile whatever and started feeling decent so I would drill it for short hard pulls (at 280w...). I felt good at the end but I did almost puke at one point. Don't know if that counts. If you subtract the 5 minutes on each side of the ride through the neighborhood we averaged 21 mph (LL gets a lot of credit for riding like a maniac). And the wind was fucking howling...flags out straight. Epic. Glad it's over.

Fast 75

I took off at noon from work and headed out from Blythewood with Jay and Ward. Ward's been racing P,1,2 in FLA since January so he's going pretty well right now...that's actually an understatement, he's a diesel. And you all know how Jay rides...

The weather was awesome and the roads out there are stellar. We motored. Simple as that. Eliminating the 15' roll out we averaged 21 mph for 75 miles. And it was hilly. And it was pretty damn windy. A hard day. I actually got a second (third?) wind in the last 45' and put in some hard efforts on the way home...that was a surprise for sure.

Tomorrow I think I'll do it again...

ps...columbia cycling is about to be rocked with new talent and a new team.  

SufferfestTV presents: 60 minutes

I did my "live" experiment on the trainer today and it was pretty hilarious...I ended up doing 40' of SST at around 246w then I rode easier for another 20'. The legs felt pretty good and my ave for the hour was 226w. I got some pretty good comments along the way...here are some:

03:39 ustreamer-10642 : You should get a better mic
04:52 ustreamer-3509 : did you say you'd up the wattage if more people watched?
04:53 ustreamer-3509 : haha
04:56 ustreamer-97245 : .......
04:58 ustreamer-14274 : take off your clothes!
04:58 ustreamer-14274 : say something in a scottish accent
04:59 ustreamer-14274 : that's more australian than scottish
04:59 ustreamer-14274 : aye laddie
04:59 ustreamer-3509 : this is more entertaining than reality tv
05:00 ustreamer-14274 : maybe we should stick with australian
05:01 ustreamer-14274 : what's that thing behind you?
05:01 ustreamer-14274 : is that a black widow?
05:01 ustreamer-14274 : made you look!
05:01 ustreamer-14274 : ha ha
05:01 ustreamer-97245 : they call those.....shelves
05:01 ustreamer-97245 : I thought it was a seven legged spider actually
05:02 ustreamer-3509 : is that an amputee spider?
05:02 ustreamer-14274 : i wish I could watch a webcam of someone watching this.
05:03 ustreamer-14274 : remember, if your erection lasts more than four hours, see a doctor
05:03 ustreamer-66903 : what is the workout?
05:03 ustreamer-3509 : a pint to the person who makes him laugh the hardest
05:03 ustreamer-66903 : I shit my pants at senior prom.
05:03 ustreamer-66903 : laugh
05:04 ustreamer-68618 : your seat's too low
05:05 ustreamer-68618 : see?
05:06 ustreamer-97245 : You have a smokin hot wife or girlfriend that could dance around in the background ?....For a little extra entertainemnt ?
05:07 ustreamer-66903 : this is about as boring as riding on a trainer.
05:07 ustreamer-66903 : done.
05:12 ustreamer-3509 : not as boring as filling out an excel spreadsheet
05:19 ustreamer-3509 : you should attach yourself and see if you can respond
05:19 ustreamer-3509 : attack*
05:19 ustreamer-34278 : big fat hairy jobbies
05:21 ustreamer-34278 : whats your heart rate
05:21 ustreamer-34278 : thats to make you laugh ha ha
05:23 ustreamer-34278 : this is great dude , i done two hours on the turbo today
05:26 ustreamer-3509 : bobble-head
05:28 ustreamer-12223 : what time is it in south carolina
05:29 ustreamer-12223 : ok its 22 30 pm here in uk
05:30 ustreamer-12223 : what kind of bike are you on
05:31 ustreamer-12223 : ok i've got a 2008 trek madone 5.2
05:32 ustreamer-12223 : keep up the good work and goodnight
05:34 ustreamer-69273 : aaaahhhhh come on mate you haven't even broken a sweat yet GET ON IT !
05:35 ustreamer-3509 : haha, my sister walked by and said you're "cute"
05:38 ustreamer-65462 : faster!!!!!
05:38 ustreamer-65462 : I just started watching......keep going!!!!
05:38 ustreamer-3509 : i have my own trainer hell in an hour
05:39 ustreamer-3509 : ill work on, maybe next time
05:39 ustreamer-3509 : 228 for an hour?
05:40 ustreamer-3509 : for a trainer, i think you're good
05:40 ustreamer-65462 : I got in 2 hours on the trainer today......It sux!
05:43 ustreamer-20270 : show's over...tune in next time.

Transition

Today was planned on being an easy day and it was...sort of. I did 60' with an average wattage of 226w (82% of FTP). I didn't see the worth of doing an hour at 150w so I went by feel using the PM to not go too hard.

Tomorrow I'm planning a similar workout...maybe a bit harder into the SST range. If you're bored at work check back in at 4:30ish and watch me live...the more people viewing the harder I'll go!

I've also scrapped the test idea for this week...I'm still a little congested and am planning a big fri/sat/sun block and I need to chill a bit this week.

mucus

Leaving work it was 50˚ and I felt ok so I jumped on the bike and headed to the crit course to do my SST workout. I did 40' at around 241w. The first 10' were pretty rough as my legs were very stiff and I was pedaling squares. Things got a lot better as I warmed up and I did the last 5' or so at threshold. It turned out to be a good workout.

I don't know if this head cold/bronchitis/allergy is gonna progress so we'll see how the rest of the week goes.

I figured out my hamstring issue from this weekend...my saddle was a cm too high after switching to a new seatpost. I kindof figured that was the problem.

Word on the street is that I was close to winning this via random drawing...damn.

the good stuff

Rest days kick ass.

I'm pretty fried from last week and in planning ahead I wanted to recharge a bit these next couple of days. Tomorrow: An hour of SST on the velodyne. Wed: 60' easy. Thursday I'd like to do at least 3.5 hours with the first hour being an FTP test.

I've never really felt the need to do any testing before because I usually can tell what my FTP is by doing intervals and hard rides and examining the data. This year my IF has been what seems a little on the high side so even though I have my FTP set to where I *think* it should be I may be off. Right now I have my FTP set at 278w in WKO. Without any racing going on testing is the only way to know for sure. Here's some more info on all this.

Alls you can do is alls you can do...

"recovery"

I was kindof dreading the ride today cuz it sucks to ride with shit legs but once on the bike I felt surprisingly good. The legs were a little heavy but I ended up cruising. I rode a lot harder than I thought I would and decided mid ride extend it by 30'.

I met up with Sam on the turn back down Hartsville...he was flying so I sat on his wheel. I remember when he first started riding as a junior...looked like a 12 year old on a huge bike. Now he's a Cat2 and a very strong rider.

I had a good solid week of training and probaby need some rest but since everyone around me is sick I figure it's inevitable for me too so I might as well keep hammering out the intervals while I still can. I wanna do a 60' FTP test this week...probably on Wednesday or Thursday.

I talked to some people who did the local shop group rides this weekend who said they were pretty tame. Those types of rides can be a good time to socialize but not if you're training for racing. Especially this time of year and a powermeter demonstrates this pretty well. If you're doing a structured training plan you're better off most of the time just skipping a lot of the group rides and doing your thing...this is talked about a lot on the wattage forums. It's like a box of chocolates...