caloso

Training status is Effed. Work, family, weather, and a general lack of HTFU has totally derailed me this week. We're on vacation to Idaho and Montana next week, so I'm hoping to get in some nice climbing and just easy riding around for the sake of riding around. Then I'll see if I have the legs and the will to prepare for the late season races.

Crash716

suck.. head wind on the way home last night of like 15kts...then another headwind today on the way in, 15 miles of straight 15kts headwind...

i was cursing mad about it....i would rather climb 5k than ride 15 miles into a head wind. i was turning myself inside out just trying to hold 20mph.

mike868y

another great night at the rent last night.

got to meet shovelhd, who was a real nice guy, super strong, and made me feel fat, lol.

was active in the first half of the B race. tried a couple solo attacks that burned all my matches, but none of them went anywhere. two of my teammates got in a break with one other guy so after that I just sat in and tried to set up well for the field sprint. felt good going into the final straight, but I was on the wrong side and missed the fast train to the line. legs felt good.

jumped in the a race. felt way more comfortable than last week, especially in the trickiest corner which was giving me trouble last week. i'm really glad my cornering is improving. still got dropped after about 20 minutes, but an improvement. i need to get better a picking good wheels to follow. but, after my experience in the ACCC i should have known hot to follow the navy guy hehe. hopefully I can stick it in that group for 30 or 40 minutes next week. one thing I learned is that for me, sitting in the pack is easier than tail gunning way in the back.

wow, that was an unnecessarily long post.

TheKillerPenguin

Rest week. Last 2 days off the bike (WTF!!!!)
Definitely didn't eat enough yesterday though, so I woke up and felt a wee bit like Mia Farrow. Will make up for that with DELICIOUS STEAK.

Today will be 1.5-2hrs z1/2.

bostongarden

Impressed with the changes you're making and doing it!

mike868y

super hard, fast, and strung out group ride plus the ride too and from. 3:39, 239 tss. I'm D E A D. tomorrow, I rest.

TheKillerPenguin

Officially back to the fastest I got to in Belgium. Knee injury negated. Swoon.

Now to get even faster.

shovelhd

Take care of that knee, KP.

TMonk

Looking forward to crit practice tonight.

I rode by last week on my fixed gear and just kicked back and watched for a bit as it was a rest week.

JohnKScott

Question...

Going to be doing some vacationy type stuff over the next couple of weeks and I have the opportunity to get some longer rides in than I usually do. Right now my training plan is in Base 3 after coming off a recent peak and getting ready to build again to a second peak. Sooo...this riding would be WAY above my typical volume (like possibly up to double). So I was thinking about doing some of these long rides 3-6 hours at lower intensity and maybe tossing some FTP intervals in once a week for the next couple of weeks just to keep the FTP pushing up. So basically ditching my regular plan for the next couple of weeks in favor of some volume and then getting back on plan and adding back intensity after that again. I figured this would give me some volume that I don't often get a chance to get and just enjoy some long rides on my bike. Plus there is a century I want to do well on at the end of the season (Labor day weekend).

You guys see any issues with this?

TheKillerPenguin

At this time of year, I'd focus more on quality than quantity, unless your endurance is suffering. If you don't have any races the next couple of weeks, why not keep doing what you normally do during the week but throw in a longer ride on the weekends? Do that and replace one of your mid week rides with a 2X20 workout, and I'd think you'd accomplish your stated goal. That said, if you've got your heart set on some base stuff:

Doubling volume without any buildup is generally not a good idea. Were you doing, say 10-11hrs/wk, I'd say you could realistically get away with 14-16hrs/wk without crashing and burning. If you're looking to do mostly z2, increase fat and protein, and decrease carbs. Good workouts to do during base are 2x20's @ LT, 1X45 @ tempo, and SFR intervals, as while these are stressful, they aren't the nutbuster type workouts that V02 or 1' power intervals are. I'll tend towards doing 2 hardish days in a row, one easy day, then 3 hard days. A typical 15hr week for me this winter looked sort of like the following:

mon: off
tues: 2.5hrs z2, with 4X3min SFR
wed: 2.5hrs z2, with 2x15 tempo
thurs: 1hr easy spin
fri: 2.5hrs z1/z2, 1x20min @ LT
sat: 3hrs z2, 1x30min @tempo
sun: 3.5-4hrs z1/2 (z2 if feeling good)

The majority of work is at endurance pace, and the intervals really aren't that stressful. I'm sure you've done 20min at LT before, it really doesn't hurt that bad at all, and so your body can recover and be ready for the next day, provided you make sure you're not going too hard.

Note that with this type of volume and even with the minimal intervals included, rest is extremely important, as is proper nutrition. Easy spin means eaaaasssssy, off day means spend the day on the couch if you can, get enough sleep. Otherwise you run the risk of digging too big a hole, which will negate the benefits of the increased volume.

Also note that I'm no coach, this is off personal experience.

miwoodar

No racing for me this weekend. I took the opportunity to ride to the top of Mount Evans today. This was the first time I've ever ridden it from the house. 145 miles of fun. 12,400 feet of climbing.

Can somebody tell me how my sprint at mile 140 was my best ever for 5-seconds and matched my best ever 10-second?

waterrockets 

I love that ride. I've only done it from Denver once, and it was epic. That was 19 years ago, and I think I'm still hungry from that ride.

Either you're crazy or you don't test well normally? Big truck was chasing you? Hot girl was in the car next to you? Help me out here.

pjcampbell

I went to the track yesterday and did a 3K that will embarrass me at masters nationals. My first few laps were (too) fast though... I wonder if i should be trying the kilo instead. (Did a 1:13 yesterday on my way to 3k?)

I am such a sucker for a power meter... have a real pathetic time pacing without it. Just don't have the time to get to the track enough to get it down pat.

Ordered up a 51t to go with the 15t to turn over the cranks a little easier than 49x14 but for all I know I was just spent from my first 1K and I don't need an easier gear.

miwoodar

I like the hot girl in the car idea.

PJC, that sounds really painful.

TMonk

crit practice was the usual: didn't have the legs for the attack that formed the succesfull break, won the field sprint.


the best part was when I was on the coast before hand after work., just spinnin' along in my 34t. it was like 75 degrees, no wind, bright and sunny.
all of the sudden, the initial drum beat from this pops in my head:


i'm grinning ear to ear.

echappist

my legs still don't have any zip after 4 days of rest after the last long ride of a three-week base 1. HR is still jacked, dammit.

mike868y

what are you peaking for?

echappist

nothing. Just building base, and it'd be foolish to drive myself into the ground while building base...

TheKillerPenguin

Rest periods tend to take some of the "zip" out of your legs. Proceed as usual, and in a week you should feel better than normal.

mike868y

today's workout was awesome. did some 4*4' intevals with 4' rest in between and 4*45" intervals with 4' "rest" at z2 in between. I did this set a lot in the spring. I lost all that data, but I'm pretty sure my numbers on the 4' intervals were very close to what they were in the spring, I'm super, super happy about that. my highest one was 291w. would love to hit 300w-315w for 4' before tokeneke...I'm going to need it.

bostongarden

I had some frustration to work out after last night's race. Rode for 57' at perceived-sst (i.e., I was pushing pretty hard the whole way, but, made sure I did not blow up -- that's sst, right?) on my bread-and-butter course with the last 30" in 609ap.

ridethecliche

Powerclimb training.

Noice. Very Noice.

In other news, my right knee is still super cranky. It's been clicking like a mofo the last few days and it was painful to bend the other day when I was at a concert.

Eff Mai lyfe.

mollusk

For the last two weeks I have done almost no riding except for commuting and the Sunday team ride. Instead I have been doing a lot of work around the house involving climbing up and down ladders in constricted spaces that got really hot. My hamstrings are KILLING me.

It will be a joy to ride my bike to the beach tomorrow (about 80 miles into a 10 mph headwind). I hope that the winds prevail so that I have a tailwind on Tuesday riding home.

bostongarden

A new type of Mollusk interval? Dang, just as I was getting the yardwork one down -- I was weeding tonight -- you come up with another one!