valygrl

Glad your progress is so good, shovelhd!

When you say "pace" - what do you mean?

shovelhd

Thanks.

Pace is a tempo or zone 3-4 range. It touches SST. This is average power, peaks will go into threshold and above. However, when you ride pace intervals, you do everything you can to keep the power at whatever target in the range is working for you, no matter what the terrain dictates. If I'm fresh, this is above the midpoint and knocking at the door of the top of the range for an hour or more. Tonight I only did 1/2 hour but I was 2w over the top of the range and had a lot more gas in the tank. This is a rest week so I have to be disciplined.

revchuck 

shovel - Glad to hear your rehab is going so well! And we're both looking for work; it's out there, just hard to find.

This was a strange week for me, training-wise. Monday's workout was supposed to be 1-1/2 hours at endurance pace including a half hour at tempo (92% of FTP under Carmichael's program), and I couldn't quite hold the watts I needed. A big part of that was heat - 95* heat index and humid. I was friggin' livid at myself, since that's usually fairly easy to do. (And when I calmed down, I found that I had missed that goal by one watt.) Tuesday was a recovery ride; I did it before work, and it was a lovely ride - started right at sunrise. Today was 1-1/2 hours endurance pace, but included the 1:02 warmup I'll be doing for the three mile TT this weekend (Tour de Louisiane stage race). That warmup starts with 30 minutes at endurance pace, then progresses to higher power outputs with recovery between them, ending with a few short VO2 max intervals. The peak hour of the warmup ended up with a TSS of 79 (102 for the entire workout), with 627 kj burned, in about 90 degree weather - and I felt great. Go figure.

I peaked a couple of weeks ago, and have been having a hard time trying to hold onto what fitness I have. After the race, my coach is switching me to less intensity and more volume for a while. Need to find a century or two.

shovelhd

Best of luck to you, revchuck. I've applied for a few jobs so far. I have a meeting with a recruiter tomorrow, and I have another job to apply for as well. Almost all of these opportunities mean driving, which is going to screw my training. We will work it out. In the meantime I will put in 20 hours consulting this week.

Cleave

revchuck and shovelhd, glad to hear that your training is progressing well. Lately I'm in the racing is training mode.

Hope both of you find what you want for employment quickly.

chasm54

OK, postscript on the volume vs intensity debate. This is where you all get to shout, in unison, "we told you so!"

I've raced three times in the last seven days. I was going to experiment with, effectively, using the races to replace my interval sessions and putting in longish low-intensity rides on the intervening days. Already quite clear that I can't do it: or, at least, that I can do it but only at the cost of leaving myself absolutely on the floor tiredness-wise. Woke up this morning feeling fine, resting HR nice and low, but with my body telling me quite clearly that what it needed to do was remain in a supine position for as long as possible.

So, memo to self: think less, listen more, and confine experimenting to the less congested parts of the season...

revchuck 

1:20 at endurance pace, including three each 30 second fast pedals and six minute tempo intervals, done alternately, with three minutes RBI. TSS 95, IF .84, 828 kj. I've apparently pulled myself out of whatever funk I was in on Monday.

50% chance of rain when I started out, with lots of cloud cover. About 20 minutes into the ride, the thunder started, soon followed by huge raindrops...but not many. I got about a minute of rain and then it stopped. I finished the intervals and headed back to the apartment, straight into a wall of wind and deep purple clouds. I picked up the pace and ended up doing about ten minutes of FTP + at least 10%. I almost beat the rain, had about a minute of it before I got back to the apartment.

Tomorrow - clean and lube bike. Tour de Louisiane this weekend; RR and TT Saturday, crit Sunday. I know I'll do better than my last race.

VanceMac

Taper-ish week leading into 2-day track event this weekend. Low volume with some intensity both Tue and Thu. Felt flat. I'm told people often feel that way in taper? Sounds dubious, but I'll go with it.

sarals 

Got home at midnight last night from SoCal. Slept until, ahhh, 10....(wow, do I feel guilty). Did cleaning and putting away, and will do a recovery ride at about 6:30 this evening.

Racer Ex 

If you want to know how to make your legs hurt for two months, say the word and I'll pass on my 2008 racing season schedule.

Racer Ex 

Most do, some don't. Depends on a lot of stuff, but dropping duration and taking time off shifts the body into recovery mode. Can take a day of two to snap out of that. I feel like dog poop coming off a day off, a good opener tends to clear out the muck and I'm often even better after the first race day. Which is nice for stage racing.

I felt like I was walking in the park yesterday in the 20k.

sarals 

And you looked like it, too. So did Marvin!

caloso

Off the bike today (well other than a very mellow commute ride). Ran, burpees, plyo jumps, mat work.

Cleave

One person's walk in the park is another person's...

Didn't touch the bike yesterday. Rode 30 miles this morning with some clubmates. TSS on the Garmin was <100. Another club ride tomorrow. 2-3 races on Sunday.

VancMac and Racer Ex, have fun and win some more medals tomorrow and Sunday.

revchuck 

Hadn't planned to do it, but my coach emailed me and one of the things she told me was to do a ~30 minute spin this afternoon. I went out and did 43 minutes and didn't want to stop since it was so nice. Rode the Ironman, hrTSS 31, IF .63, 326 kj - which means the bottle of Gatorade and the after-ride beer have already made up the calories I've burned.

Prior to my last race I did a 5 hour drive from NOLA to home after a full day of work rather than a short ride. I'm wondering how/if that will affect tomorrow's race.

Allegheny Jet

Two hours on the bike trail today with my wife. Was feeling strong today, could have dropped her anytime but didn't. Average speed was 12+ mph.

sarals 

You're a gentleman!!

pace ride before work this morning on the Bianchi. Broke a chainring bolt...all that racing has made me too strong, I guess. Silly thing wouldn't shift up to the big ring on the front, and when it finally did I stood to accelerate and "BANG". Ooops. I did get part of the ride in, and I didn't have to walk home.

AzTallRider

I did a recovery ride with TallWife Friday, and I think we hit 16mph once. I was drafting her, of course.

TT Opener today, for a 40K tomorrow. Heat management will be key... targeting a PR, and my goal for the TT season is to break the 60' mark.

sarals 

Of course! I know how much you need that draft!

I have a feeling you'll break that 60' mark. Good luck tomorrow!

Allegheny Jet

2.25 hrs on the great roads in Western PA. Ride consisted of hill then roller, roller, roller, hill, roller, roller... Final beat down leading to recovery week. The river is high and muddy so the boat stays out this weekend. I plan to spend this afternoon sitting at river edge drinking beer and fishing for catfish.

Hermes

2:50 endurance ride with tempo and threshold focus. I climbed Kings Mountain for some z4 climbing effort. There was a small chance of rain but what was interesting was the wind was out of the S to SW versus the normal W to NW wind. That meant that I would be into the wind on my way to Kings. What I was hoping that the wind would not shift to the normal direction halfway through the ride and get a headwind on the way back as well. On the way back, I had an AZT section where my average speed was 31 mph for a couple of miles on the TT course. (wind at my back slightly downhill).

shovelhd

Did a double shot of over-unders, the first time since tearing up my shoulder. I hit all the high numbers but missed with the low. Power is good, recovery needs work. That is to be expected. PT today.

sarals 

I'm doing a "mock race" with the Team this afternoon on a really tough course. Of course I'll be off the back, they know that and I sure do, but it'll be fun! I need the reps.

Had a seven, yes seven, spots "frozen" on my face this morning. Nothing serious, even though the doc did say that "pre-cancerous" phrase, but he qualified it by following with "it's not the bad kind". I asked if I could still go out in the sun - "don't change a thing". Whew.

sarals 

Crap! The MBRT guys were late for the mock race, which was good for me because I had to go to work and my legs were just mush. I felt really good in the warmup, and the first lap went well through the first climb. Then, when I hit the rollers, things just fell apart. By the time I got to the start-finish, I was just toast. Even now, two hours later, I have that deep ache in both legs, like I'd just raced and was lacking protein. Crap! Well...tomorrow is another day. Maybe I am lacking protein. Bacon, I need bacon!

shovelhd

Protein shake, stat.