ldesfor1@ithaca

exactly.

my "upper body work" is superfluous, agreed.... but it's my job to lift weights!! (personal trainer)

ldesfor1@ithaca

done. love domestiqiung more than winning.... typically. I'm just waiting on more teammates to race with me in the 3's.

mollusk

You live in Texas. I'd rather live in LA. And by that I mean Lower Alabama, which is what we call the panhandle of Florida. Florida should give LA to Alabama and improve both states.

OK, I will admit that Austin ain't Texas. In exactly the same way Gainesville ain't Florida. I have lived in both places. They are both "blue" dots in a sea of "red". The biggest advantage that Austin has is that west of town there are some small hills.

El Diablo Rojo

I live in Austin yes..but I'm a California Man (cue Cheap Trick). I'm here for my wife and kids but I'd be back in Cali in heartbeat given the chance.

But FL is a lot like TX....mostly a sh it hole with one or two bright spots.

ldesfor1@ithaca

me too.

this thread has inspired even more self loathing. I love it.

Time to eat.

Cause I eat when loathing.

MMmmmmmm.... loathing.

mollusk

Rockford, IL garage band.

And that is not a bad thing.

TheKillerPenguin

Stop it. You eat borscht only now. Borscht diet and 5hr rides.

ldesfor1@ithaca

seriously, though I know I'd be freaking flying at 180. I pretty sure I just dont want it that badly.

Also hope this didnt come off as a complaint, it is not. I made my own bed.

I'm just trying to reconcile with the fact that 190 is probably as light as I "want" (note that I didnt say cant, as I know it is possible to be lighter) to be and I'm finally realizing that even with FTP @ 400, that aint gonna cut it at the hilly SR's in new england.
shlt, 180 with ftp @ 400 still wont cut it. the dude that won the cat 3's at Connecticut SR did the same power in the TT"(387watts)... and weighs 160!

but yes, LTFU is also a valid answer.

pinky

Dude, having raced with you on more than a few occasions the engine ain't the issue, the application of that power...smarter not harder and such...that might be Threshold's biggest problem - no old men to teach all the little tricks (no offense to you guys, its awesome you've taken the program off the ground)

ldesfor1@ithaca

thanks, Pinky.

I do race stupidly, I know. It's so much fun, though!

johnybutts

It's more fun to win.

euphoria

Heh, I weighed 206 yesterday (and up a couple of BF% points). I for sure could use a ketogenic cycle, but overall I would question the wisdom of battling your genetics with this foolish notion of sustaining 6% for more than a week. For me, the strength at 200 is way better than the improved climbing ability of 190.

Think about this way. You regulate your diet better and exercise more intensely than 95% of the population and you still trend towards mass gain. Clearly your body likes being a little heavier. I eat like a diabetic should 80% of the time and I'm not sprouting any veins.

ridethecliche

Then start channeling your self loathing to remove the stupid. You have an awesome FTP. To boot, you also have a killer sprint. How many sprinters do you think will be able to stick with you if you go early with still enough juice to crank up a sprint at the end?

You thinkin' kilo+? I know I would be.

Do the stage races and Hilly RR's you love! But for hevens sekksss get your ass outta the 3's by doing a bunch of crits and winning them. Perhaps you would also be wise to see if there is any interest in a masters threshold for the old guys with the tons of experience who can help mentor you guys as well.

ldesfor1@ithaca

quite honestly I know this. Deep down I'm a bit afraid to win... really.

All my buddies are gonna be racing 3's and I dont want to upgrade really at all.

It is fun to win, but I'm not sure I ready to make the jump and as such... I race not to win, it seems.

but dang, it really is still fun.

still trying to figure out how bike racing fits into the big picture.

johnybutts

If you're not racing to win, my suggestion is this: for each race decide on a skill you want to develop during the race. Figure out what you need to accomplish during the race to develop that skill and do it. Then you can build up accomplishments from each race, feel good about yourself, and improve your skills. I've begun to suggest this strategy to cat 5s who are doing our weekly crit series. Whenever I race a category up (being a 4 in a 3/4 race) I always do this. Most of the time, my "skill" is something along the lines of hold a forward position so I don't get gapped. This weekly crit it was "make THE break" - didn't happen.

ldesfor1@ithaca

this is often how I race. and i friggin love racing.... so I guess it works for me.

lokerola

Try being 5'6" and 202lbs with an FTP of 180. Sigh. My goal by the end of summer is to be able to get to # 1 on the sticky list of how to race for newbies; i.e. ride with the fast group. Right now I'm riding fine with the 'B" group till we hit the hills. Then I'm dropped like a hot potato in a hot potato dropping contest.

And my FTP may be higher than 180, but I'm sure it's not much higher. I'm going to do the 20 min FTP test next Tuesday for the first time from Coggin's book.

And I'm eating less, and better. Damit.

Racer Ex 

I was 200 when I got back on the bike. I was 175 when I did my first road race. I got shelled so badly they sent search and rescue dogs out.

I lost weight. Then I lost some more. If you're willing to do this for some targeted races you (well, I) can manage to still eat and drink enough to not want to kill everyone around me.

Otherwise go Ekimov or Fabian for your team (which is a blast BTW...something I'm looking forward to doing more of), work on your sprint, and go crush souls on the flat stuff.

Just beware the skinny guys with motors.

kensuf

I don't know, I get a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction in beating the crap out of people.

lokerola

Ha! I laughed about the search and rescue. That's how I feel about the hills on the B ride now! Ah well. Good to hear someone else has lost a lot of weight and done some good racing. I think I can see myself doing that Eki/Fabian thing - next spring....

MDcatV

similar discussion asked differently

johnybutts

MDcatV: that discussion was right after my first race as a 5. Interesting to see how "success" changes. Now hanging on is a given in my races, and I'm "successful" if my team is on the podium.

MDcatV

i've found (recently) all you gotta do is upgrade to remedy this

johnybutts

I'm going to be on the ass end of the learning curve again shortly. ::wink:: so don't worry about me.

How do you do the smilies?

Yep

4.6 w/kg doesn't cut it? Jesus, maybe you should move. I would agree that it's hard to expect us to have sympathy for your power numbers. Sounds like you could be 180 if you wanted to, maybe lower, and retain that FTP. That's pushing 5 w/kg.

I've won a race and gotten 3 2nds and a 4th this season and I'm sitting around 4.0. These races were hilly and I see myself as a climber. What's you 5 minute power like? Maybe those really difficult sections of long climbs where the hammer really gets dropped are your problem.

I tend to think that you could be racing smarter and holding more in reserve for the right times during races. I'm no natural talent, but I do ok. I'm a scrooge when it comes to doling out effort in races though. I only go hard when I need to, and then I go REALLY hard.

The dude that won the 3's sounds like a freak.