Allegheny Jet

Good luck ATR, just stay relaxed, look ahead when possible and close gaps smoothly. That is worth 5 bpm's. Keep in mind that you are learning along with many of your competitors.

AzTallRider

I've been told that the goals I set are fine for the second race, but I'm to use the first race for more of a warmup, dropping back to a slower group if I need to, so I can handle the pace of the second race. Coaches... they do like to control things, don't they? I guess if they didn't, they wouldn't be coaching.

Allegheny Jet

Using the 1st race as a good warm-up is an excellent idea since you are rushed to get to the venue, as stated in an earlier post. In our local spring circuit race series I've used the Cat 4 race as a warm-up just as you are intending to do. I sat in, used as little energy as possible, and then contested the finish sprint. 30 minutes later I was racing in the Master's 35+ and 45+ race against the studs and working for teammates. I’ll probably do the same again this year as it allows for about 1.5 hrs of racing on the day.

Hermes

AZ, Fast races with the field strung out are safer and slower speeds where the field promenades around the course are more dangerous. Know which way the wind is blowing and how it will affect the race. For example, when a section of the course is into the wind the front guys will slow and the pack will bunch up. This is where crashes may occur. Someone will have his head down and touch a wheel. Anticipate a crash and always have a plan where you will go. In two crits I did on the same course, there is always a crash right before the corner that changes from a head wind to a cross wind. A crash occurred right in front of me but I was ready and just went around. Good luck tonight!

Hermes

Track workout today with my friends. 40 lap warmup, 15 fast laps of z4 and group of intervals with my buddies designed for early season work for points race practice. Great weather and lots of fun.

Allegheny Jet

Recovery week for me! After last weeks 13 hrs with a lot of Z4 work I was ready. Yesterday was 45 minutes of easy spin on the rollers followed by one pass of core/resistance exercises of the usual Monday and Tuesday groups. Very light work the rest of the week and possibly a race on Saturday if the weather cooperates.

Allegheny Jet

Hermes, I bet this guy qualifies for the Track Cycling HTFU Hall of Fame. https://www.totalprosports.com/2011/0...h-his-leg-pic/

AzTallRider

I saw that one the other day. Egads. Rdefines the word 'splinter'.

Hermes

I saw the splinter pic as well. AZ, how was the racing?

AzTallRider

Last night was something of a mixed bag. There was no second group in either race, just individual stragglers. I had to bridge to the main group twice in the first race, once after a slow start (new pedal clip in issues) and once after letting a gap form in front of the guy I was behind. I then stayed with the group to the finish. I didn't chase the sprinters at the end.

After a 2 minute break, the C race started. I was again behind someone who let a gap form, and I wasn't aggressive in passing and bridging. Then it was too late, and I was with a couple of others who were really off the pace. I tried to stay protected, but the others slowed down so much I ended up on my own. This all resulted in being lapped. I was getting in the way as the pack stormed past and I was too blown up to stay with them, so after that I moved to the outside of the course and did easy laps the rest of the race.

Big difference in bike handling between the two races, the B race being much tighter with more aggressive riding. I'm learning each time out, but there is still a huge piece of the learning curve ahead. Wasn't sure I'd like crits, but I'm digging it.

AzTallRider

I emailed Quarq about my calibration readings being always less than the -500 bottom threshold, and the drift I'm seeing. Got a reply asking me to loosen and retorque the chainring. I did that this morning, and the calibration reading is now in the -100 range. No ride today. We'll see what it looks like on tomorrow's ride.

Hermes

AZ: I assume you used a torque wrench. The Cinqo I purchased for my TT bike did something similar. I checked the torque on the bolts but did not loosen and retighten. Quarq sent me another crankset / PM and when I received it, I returned the problem crankset and PM. That way I was not without a PM. When I received the return, I sent them the loaner back. I received an invoice for the additional PM and I was obligated to pay if I did not return it. It all worked out perfectly and the new PM works great. All PMs have their issues.

AzTallRider

Yep, I set them to 10 nM, and from what I understand, you only get precision from the torque wrench if you loosen bolts first, which is what they told me to do. I'm hopeful that it will settle in, and I can avoid sending it back. I switched my pedals back at the same time; going to use the old ones until I can get a fit appt.

Hermes

Weight this morning was 170.3 which I entered into an app on my iphone. I have a cold but I was feeling pretty good. We were supposed to get some snow which is very rare. It did not happen but the temps were in the low 40s. My wife and I waited until it warmed up a bit and then went out for a ride which was supposed to be some z5s. Well, since I had a cold and it was cold out, I did not want to suck in a lot of cold air into my lungs so I did one z5 and rolled around the rest of the time.

After the ride outside, I went to the gym for an upper body workout. I felt really good at the gym. I am getting into listening to music on my iPhone using Pandora while working out. Pandora is an app that streams music based upon a selection criteria I give it.

Allegheny Jet

Did my 15", 1 min and 5 min power test on the trainer yesterday. My lungs are sore puppies today. I can't generate any power on the trainer for the 15" test. I've cleared rollers with 350 more watts than I hit yesterday for the 15" test.

AzTallRider

Why is it so different, Jet?

Here is the workout I did on the way to work today. 3 minutes can seem like a very long time!

3 Minute Hills:

Warm up as you ride to a Hill of steady or varying grades which takes at least 3 minutes to climb - All repeats in zones 4+ , cadence 70-75 rpm unless otherwise restricted by gearing or grade!!! #1 Climb any way you like, #2 all seated, #3 alternate between in/out of the saddle every 15 -20 seconds. #4 seated for 2:30 standing last 30 seconds.

Recovery is 3 minutes between climbs. Descend a bit further than your starting point or descend and so a short out/back - take the entire 3 min recovery! Cool down at least 20 min, easy riding.

AzTallRider

Quarq update

Here is my log of calibration readings:

2/23: -569 to -581 = -12
2/24: -557 to -598 = -41
2/24: -578 to -591 = -13
Loosened and retorqued crank screws
2/26: -98 to -593 = -495 (5 hour ride)
2/28: -491 to -532 = -41 (60 minute ride)
2/28: -526 to -556 = -30 (30 minute ride)
3/01: -524 to -565 = -41 (70 minute ride)

Not settling in at this point. I'll retorque again, hopefully tonight, to see if that gets it back in the acceptable range (-500 to 500).

Allegheny Jet

I was instructed to do the 15 second interval OTS and do the 1' interval starting out OTS then seated with the interval beginning once back on the saddle.

I can't make the power when the bike is on the trainer. Outside when OTS the pedals come around and I can stay on top of the stroke just as if I was running. I only averaged a little over 900 watts for the 15" interval on the trainer. I looked at a recent outdoor ride where I hammered up a roller and averaged 1,090 watts for 30 seconds and had 5" power on the effort of 1,280. I wasn't trying to set any PR, rather just attacking the hill. The same is true for the 1' test. I have higher a 1min effort riding outside over what I accomplished on the test while on the trainer yesterday. During the warm-ups yesterday I was to do a 1' effort all out before the 5' interval to set up the hard effort. I rode it @ 120 rpm and ended up around 115 rpm with an average wattage that was only 4 watts under what my tested 1' interval was.

Even the rollers are easier to make power than the trainer. Last week I had to do 4 x 10 min Z4 intervals on the rollers with the first 2 min OTS. I rode all the intervals @ 310 watts or better which is above my 290 watt threshold and was not gassed. I know that If I would ride the next 20’ test on the rollers that I would have a significantly higher 20’ average.

I am still new to all this power testing and soon it will be just another tool and not that important as the race season will be underway. I really shouldn't be too concerned with higher numbers as my coach will just make the workouts harder.

Hermes

Each year, there is a significant discussion on power production on the road and trainer as well as outdoor terrain i.e. flat to rolling versus climbing on the road bike and but yet another set of power numbers on the TT bike. This year the verdict was do not worry about the trainer if the power is lower. Power differences on the roller v trainer v road have to do with the inertia in the system and the way the power meter measures power and mental focus. On the rollers there is probably more inertia due to having three rollers moving and two bicycle wheels. It tends to smooth out the power required. On the trainer the power may be spiked and harder on the legs. Universally, racers think it is easier to make power climbing. What does this all mean? FTP is a guide and used to determine TSS. What I have found is that on some days I can hit higher number easily and consistently. Other days a z3 feels like a z5.

Allegheny Jet

I totally agree with you Hermes. Comparing three Z3 rides that used the rollers, trainer and a fairly flat outdoor ride using power in lieu of HR was quite the eye opener. The outdoor ride had the power spiking up and down, the rollers looked smoother with rolling up and downs and the trainer showing flat lines. The trainer ride's graphics show the power, speed and cadence being constant with the HR slowly rising throughout the 1.5 hr effort. The only dips and bumps on the graph was when I would drop 2 gears, get OTS to stretch, then back on the saddle to the steady state effort. Last night’s Z3 outdoor ride seemed much easier than the trainer or rollers even though the average watts was nearly the same.

Allegheny Jet

Great workout last night. I had to do an extensive warm-up then 2 sets of 4 x L5 2 min intervals. It was around 28 degrees when I started at 5:15 PM. After the warm-up I was able to get the first interval set done while there was still some daylight. The 2nd set of 4 was completed in the dark. I use a clip-on reading light to illuminate the PT and watch. Went to get a drink during the 8 min recovery between sets and my bottles were frozen. It was 24degrees when I got home at 7:15 pm. I averaged 366 watts @ 4.25 watts/kilo for the intervals, a tad higher than the prescribed L5 but I'll take it.

AzTallRider

Yowza... great workout Jet.

AzTallRider

I'm just coming out of a perfect storm of simultaneous deadlines at work, which, by a quirk of the calendar coincided with the annual Mardi Gras party my wife and I hold. The party prep was compressed into a couple of 12 hour days doing setup and cooking. My nutrition went to hell for several days, as did my sleep, and I was on my feet non-stop. Net result was a total bust of a workout this past Sunday. I was supposed to do long tempo intervals: building from the bottom of Z3 (HR) to the top of Z4 and back down over a 20 minute period, with a 10 minute rest interval. 5 reps. I did easy miles for an hour getting to the area I had chosen for the workout. I started too fast the first rep, and abbreviated it as a result. Second rep I did better, but I had trouble managing the HR lag (HR changes clearly weren't 'normal'), and my 3 sec avg power was bouncing like a ping-pong ball in a lottery machine. By the 3rd rep, my body just wouldn't respond, and I ended up doing slow miles back home. I sent an S.O.S. to Coach, getting an email to her just as she was about to call me to task for the way the file looked.

Anyway, it was a real lesson for me. I messed up and paid the price. I knew I wasn't taking care of myself last week, but drastically underestimated the effect it would have. On Coach's recommendation, I did a one hour recovery ride last night, then the normally scheduled commute workout this morning (6 x 1' race pace intervals with 3 minute rests). I'm starting to feel almost normal, although my feet are still a little swollen from being on them for such long stretches.

Hard lesson - hope I don't repeat it any time soon.

macmccrady

I am not sure yet as to how to join in on training/racing subjects. I am 79 years-old. I started foot racing at age 50. Quite a few years later, I began doing some cycling. I have become a more serious cyclists over about the past 10 years. I do very low mileage cycling training. I try to build in sprints. This seems to be ample training for me to be a competitive time-trialer and duathlete. I have competed in a total of about 515 races, including running only, cycling only, and duathlons. I have nearly always placed in my age division, and I have usually won first place in the division. However, I am afraid I am in for a change. About nine weeks ago, I crashed my bike and suffered an intertrochanteric hip fracture, leaving me with implanted hardware consisting of a long rod down the center of my femur, accompanied by a compression screw into the neck and ball of the femur. Oh, well.

Allegheny Jet

Heal up quickly macmccrady. Are you allowed to ride yet? Your running is probably on hold for a while so you must be feeling trapped. My left ankle was screwed and plated a little over a year agorder in oto fuse it so I know how being off training feels.