Wednesday, September 29, 2010

One Day Too Many

Spin tonight... this was originally planned for Monday. I attempted it. And was just too fatigued. Tuesday I got back on plan, which was a core day. Back in the saddle tonight... The plan 4x14min. Simple. The first interval is cake. Super easy. This is going to be an easy night. Recover repeat. A bit harder. And my legs are really tight. Almost achy. Third interval is tough. Soo much for super easy night. But I burn through anyway.

I think if I had things to do over I'd have ridden last night. It would have been a great balance. This was one day too many. The body sometimes likes continuity. This was one of those times.

Not a big deal. And the remainder of the week looks to be great. Fun to come!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

A Return to HSP

An early start. A beautiful morning as the sun rises...



I'm not alone on the trail today. The deer are out, too.





Today's pace is fast-tempo, with one lap full-gas. A good ride. A good day.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

T- is for Threshold


Threshold Thursday! Pretty excited as I leave the house this evening. I'm tired, but still putting in my work for the day. The plan... 2 by 20's at ++100%FTP with a 30sec sprint every 2min. I'm determined to do these at a truly maximal pace. I run into the West End ride on the way to the Froot Loop. I consider ditching my plan and jumping on, but decide riding in a pack isn't my plan for today. This would be a mistake.

Tons of folks out in the fall weather today. The squirrels and pathletes were out in full force. It's crowded. I ramp up for the first interval and run into a huge pack. This is OK, but it's harder to pace in a pack. I don't want to mess my interval up by sprinting away. Don't want to slow down either. The periodic sprint means I'm surging in and out of folks. I do the best I can. Hmmm... I came here to escape traffic.

The crowd clears out for the second interval. And the pacing is much, much better. I realize after a sprint or two... I'm running out of gas. If I continue them, I'll not see the end of this interval. I ditch them. The threshold work is more important, and I hold it as designed. I try to kick it up for the last minute, but there's not much there. My pacing is pretty close.

A full harvest moon comes out for the easy paced ride back to the house. Nice. Fall is here.

Hard Core

Wednesday night core work. Difficulty level -high. Tried some new motions on the physio ball. They must be great exercises, because I'm sore in places I'm not accustomed to. Other good development, my elbow is at last strong enough to do planks and full pull ups.

Tonight's ride is a challange. I'm both excited and apprehensive. And expect to collapse into an early sleep upon my return...

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Threshold Tuesday

Back to it tonight after a day of rest. Glorious rest. Tonight's menu is four (4x) 12'00" intervals at ++FTP. Six minutes (half of the work interval) of recovery between. This is a progression from last week's 4x10'00" interval. The added work duration was about perfect. Next week... it bumps to 14'00".

I refueled with roundsteak, rice & gravy. Accompanied with friends corn and a cucumber and tomato salad.



Bon appetite.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Ya. I Spent Some Time in Huntsville



Saturday. Just short of 3h00 around Huntsville. Haven't been here in almost a year. First time since the broken arm, too. Fun ride. The temperatures were warm, but nothing like we've seen the last few months. Even as I was wrapping up at near noon, the temps were tolerable.

HSP is fun for everyone. Jane came along, and ran the trail while I rode.



Fun riding. Sandy trails. Had one near biff. So close, I'm not sure how I saved it. My body just reacted the right way instinctually. Reassuring.

Sunday brought a recovery-endurance paced. Ride. 2h00 around town, just enjoying the weather and sights.

It's been a good week. With more to come next!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Late Night Flop

Not a thread about Conan Obrien. A late start to the eve's training. Ride in the dark? Or ride the trainer? I chose trainer. It took only a few moments to discover I'm too washed out for for the work planned. Too late, too tired, too hungry. I hang it up, and ride some tempo just to stretch the legs. Try again tomorrow.

Interesting....

Had a cold last week. I've been feeling better. But clearly I'm not completely recovered. I've pointed this effect out before...



On the right is my heart rate collected into zones from tonight's ride. On the left my power is collected into zones. Usually, these two graphs have the same shape. But tonight... the majority of my heart rate was a zone higher than the majority of my power.

Same effect last night:



... two zones higher. Physiology is cool!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Temporary Injunction

Planned to leave for Palo Duro Canyon on Friday. Not going. The elixer of job stress, a head cold, and doubts about my fitness proves toxic to racing fun. Need to spend the week catching up on life's tasks. Fall season is jumbled up; but still have some good opportunities for fun. Look to be back for HSV and Ruston.

Completely inappropriate. I make chicken soup tonight. It is too early in the fall, and not cold enough. But I had a craving. Diced chicken, diced yams, whole wheat penne pasta, spices. What could be simpler? Keeps well, so the majority of my cooking is done for the week.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Weekend Capsule

Fall weather is finally arriving in small doses. Friday I arrived in Austin. My anticipation level for a great ride was running high for an early Saturday morning ride in the cool temperatures. I prepared my nutrition, and gathered all my gear for Saturday's ride... then... I realize... I've forgotten my shoes! Far from the first time I've done this, and determined to ride, we head over to the bike shop to purchase a spare set to keep in the truck. Thus, I will always have a pair of shoes at hand.



Having to wait for the bike shop to open, we start a bit late. But with the lower temperatures this isn't a swealter fest. In fact, it's downright nice. Indeed fall is here. My riding partner Jane dressed appropriately for the kickoff of football season! Parmer Road provided a great route with small rolling hills and nice wide shoulders.

Unfortunately there were a few hiccups. I had a soft tire. And quickly replaced the tube, hit it with the CO2 and remounted the wheel. I took a couple of pics, and we jumped back on the bikes instantly realizing, the new tube was flat. Uh-oh. I patched that tube. But... that failed, and there was apparently another hole. Being a bit concerned, we accepted a tube from some fellow cyclists, which worked out. Jane's bike suffered from shifting problems. We both have some maintenance bugs to work through.



Sunday provided another glorious day. We skipped over to spectate for the Tour de Austin crits. This was a fun time.




Watching the races reignited the bug to race. I forgot just how exciting crit racing is. But... that season's almost over. Something to keep in mind to integrate into next spring. For now mountain bike season is almost here. Ready or not!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Mixed Results

I had an entire post in my head before I finished tonight's ride. But after looking over the power file... those ideas don't fit the results. This is off the top of my head.




The plan was 2h00 fast tempo with a 10sec maximal spin every 5th minute. The warm up is difficult. For some reason my stomach is burning. And I feel sloshy. But I get through it. When the time comes, it is clear from the way the legs feel the spins aren't going to be a good idea. As the power comes up much above FTP the legs just lactate up and start burning. Cool! They match my stomach, which is still burning and feeling turmoiled. I keep going without the spins, this may be a long afternoon. Keep the fast tempo. The stomach settles down after about 45'00 in. As long as I'm in my tempo zone... all is well. Any effort above starts burning. Hmmm...

I bypass my water stop today. I've brought enough. This is cool. I've never done this route non-stop. I'm feeling better. I think I cought every single light red between Hermann Park and River Oaks. Finally, as I enter I realize I'm free for a while. I decide to spin this hard. At this point I'm feeling great. I rip off a great 10'00 uninterrupted spin. It feels good, and I think I may want to look at this when I get home. The rest of the ride is fairly uneventful, except I feel better at the end than when I started.

Given the way I felt starting out, I didn't expect good results. But the power file says otherwise. My average was right on target. The normalized power was higher than expected (the starts and stops factor into this). And my 10'00 "time trial" through River Oaks looks darn good! Looking at it, and considering how I felt riding it, I've got a good idea what my FTP is. Improvements continue.

Sometimes it's not as bad as it seems. Good reason to never give up. Store that in the memory bank...