Time Trial Results from Wednesday and other ramblings
 

We had our 4th of 9 Time Trial events this past Wednesday night. My times are getting worse!! It was a difficult night to ride as we had a good headwind on the frontstretch and most folks times were about 30-45 seconds higher. I had done the hilly century on Saturday and wasn't 100% recovered but a lot of my time increase was just sheer lack of effort....which I think is partly due to lack of recent speed training. It was really disappointing to see my heart rate so low during the ride and me not be able to respond but I have a plan to hopefully adjust that.

While it was a more difficult night to ride we had a new track record established by a whopping 16 secs. The previous record had stood for 4 years. The new record holder is our local legend and averaged right at 31 mph. While I had my excuses this fellow had finished first in the hilly century ride that I did on Saturday........and believe it or not rode away from a strong front group at the 10 mile mark Saturday and did the last 90 miles solo........and rode it in 4 hrs 45 mins. But hey, he's 20 younger than me!!!

Other items of interest:
1-Unfortunately track safety bit us again Wednesday night as we had 2 crashes. One involved a kid running across the track in front of cyclist just yards from the finish line......we have to fix that.
2-The second was a fellow that ran off the pavement near pit road and into the grass and then fell going back on the pavement. Unfortunately he sustained a broken collarbone.
3-We had a rider DQ'd for drafting-this was a first in the 6-7 years of the doing the events. We try to be lenient but this was just blatant.

The best thing that helps me improve my speed is to do high tempo work with faster riders. I went back out last night with my Tuesday/Thursday group and they worked me over really good. I intentionally attacked and tried to hang on when we hit the hills. While I was pooped when it was over it was a good feeling. I knew the faster/harder work would lay groundwork for better performances in the future.

The group is starting a summer solstice series each Saturday in July. They will be doing a 100 mile, pretty fast paced ride using the same route we used in December. I'm gullible enough to start with those guys there as well.......we have some really good riders and I'll hang on as long as I can. Hopefully I'll see improvements over the course of the month be able to hang with them deeper into the ride each week.

To be able to go faster you have to train, train, train, train and lots of rest. There is such a thing as overtraining. Not saying that this is your problem but you know your body and what it needs.

I mainly do events and rides that do not require speed, but LAST year- I went down the gym regularly. Same routine- same machines for the same length of time. After a few months I noticed a big improvement in times- speed- fitness - recovery time etc. Still got in the regular rides and noticed the gradual improvements to match the gym work. Then it all started to go off. Had a chat with a trainer and she thought that I had improved to a limit and getting over that limit was going to take a bit of work- Either work harder in each session- or cut back in effort but replace the Cardio side with a bit of strength training. Went for the strength training on the weights but it didn't work and I tried it for a month. Then I went back to the system I had started with and cut back on the strength training. 2 weeks later and I was back above my old level.

To keep top fitness you have to train- but my rest was to train just as hard but in a different way for 1 month. Worked for me

Getting better is never a linear progression. Two steps forward followed by one step back is a more common pattern. Don't be discouraged. On your next hard ride you just might get that "no chain" feeling.

Thanks for the feedback folks. I know I've been concentrating more on climbing recently but I need to get in some more of the higher cadence, higher speed stuff to get my heart rate elevated more. I know the only way I can elevate my performance is to get with some folks that are faster than me and stay with them "longer than" I feel like I can. This strategy really helped me over the winter so hopefully it will get me going again for a while. I'm just not able to get out and do that type of riding/training on my own. I'm just too prone to sit up and cruise.......not that there is anything wrong with that!!

Part of my issue is that I didn't really have a "plan" after my major ride back in May. I've still been riding but but I have not been trying to focus on anything in particular. We'll see how this works.

An I might just be ready for a little mental break as well....but with the Tour cranking up I bet the juices will be flowing!!

All the Carmichael books stress intervals to gain speed and push up your lactate levels, VO2 max, and your aerobic engine. I'm not the one to ask how well it works, but I am a touch quicker than I was last month. Last January's Bicycling magazine had training schedules for all facets, with time trials being first on the list. Worth checking out on one of your recovery days...