Wednesday early morning fail, along with a Thursday missed workout, things were looking kinda bleak. But some salvage work brought the week back.
Friday I attempted Wednesday's ride. And I completed it properly this time without the struggles of my early morning adventure. A relief. There was some worry I just wasn't up to form. Happily all is well.
Sunday brought absolutely perfect weather! Ideal in fact. I put it to use with a nice long ride. A couple of 20'min sub-threshold intervals and the remainder done at endurance pace.
My riding partner today...
New saddle. I picked it up at a serious discount, with eyes to put it on the still non-existant new mountain-bike. Like a kid with on Christmas morning... I had to give it a whirl. Mounted on the froufrou bike...
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I'm not a morning person. Never have been. But... riding in the morning would mesh into my schedule this week. Why not give it a shot.
I awake feeling okay. Early bed made this part easy. I gobble some homemade oatmeal bars for a quick nutrition boost. Dear doG it's an early start...
Paying the price for a couple of training errors. Error #1... inadequate sleep. In total I've gotten enough, but it's been broken into shorter sessions rather than a solid night-long slumber. Error #2... not enough water. I was thirsty all weekend. Travels, dry weather, and lots of time outdoors. Not a lot of water, though. Error #3... not enough food.
As one could possibly tell from yesterday's rant... there's a supply issue with the new mountain bike. Not going to get it in time for the spring season. Considered a few options. Riding the old bike, that I'm frustrated to tears with. I could tootle through at a leisurely pace for spring races on it. If I'm not going to put in my best effort... why race?
Spent an entire day being lost. Without a spring season... the next logical goal would be the fall season? Too far away. Too big of a gap. It was a trusted friend that came up with the best solution. Road race. Roadies race through the summer. I can do some spring racing. And it can fit into my schedule pretty good. Never intended to be a roadie. But I also have no intention of being a couch rider either.
Training wise... time to step back and assess. I've been building to mountain bike fitness. Most closely resembles crit racing demands. Short but intense efforts with relative easy parts between. But I'm also considering more challenging goals. Ft.Davis stage race maybe? Don't know if I can get climbing legs by then? A lot to consider. Must keep an open mind...
It just shouldn't be this difficult. Buying a bike ranks up there with having a rectal exam. It is actually worse than buying a car.
Bike manufacturers and shops do themselves no favors. Some of my pet peeves...
Shops have no stock. If you want a high end bike, you almost have to guess what you want. No one keeps any stock. "I can order that for you" say the local shops. But what if you it doesn't fit? Or you simply don't like it? Not to mention the wait, along with undeterminable deliveries from manufacturers. Might be five days, might be two weeks, might be three months. How about we'll get around to it whenever we feel like it.
Depsite having limited inventory... some local shops will only sell from stock. I know no one wants to sell you a bike when they have one already paid for on the floor. But that floor model isn't what I want. Gawd help you if you are an unusual size. One local shop acted as if they "might let me" order a bike. I "might" take my business elsewhere. Thanks.
Dealers trying the switcheroo. I went to one area dealer looking for a carbon-framed, high-end component bike. Knew exactly what I wanted. Just needed a dealer to order it. The sales manager said they didn't have that bike in stock (see above). Then suggested an aluminum, alivio and acera equiped, hard-tail that weighs over 35-lbs instead. The infamous "It's the bike I ride" line really put it over the top. Nothing wrong with the suggested bike. It was a bargain and good value. But it wasn't anything near what I was looking for. Not even in the same parish.
Manufacturers that put crappy components on high-end frames, and don't sell framesets. This has become a trend since my last bike purchase. Bad economy = keep the price-point down. I get it. But really... who wants $4,500 bike with SRAM X.3 shifters, and no-label brakes on it? Nothing wrong with those components. They work. But they are $450 price point, not $4,500. One can't help but feel they're not getting their $'s worth. The option is buy the bike and take it apart, rebuild it with new components, and throw away or fleabay the take-offs. This option is far more expensive and a huge headache. Ugg.
In all, the process is devoid of the expected joys and anticipation of making a major purchase. It is no wonder so many people are turned off to cycling. I can't say I blame them. For a newcomer to cycling... it must be a harrowing experience. It takes almost as much personal investment, dedication, and determination to buy a bike as ride a bike. As my friend Ted (not his real name), who reps a bike manufacturer, says: "I'm just glad I don't have to buy my bikes anymore."
Good saddle time this past week. Long threshold intervals on Friday were very tough, but knocked out. As I neared home I realize what I thought was CO2 carts rattling in my seatbag, was actually my saddle coming loose from the seat post. Luckily it didn't fall off. Potential for very painful accident. Luckily it all stayed together and got me home. Nothing broken on the saddle nor post. Checked carefully for cracks or defect. Apparently someone *cough* didn't apply the proper torque to the bolts.
Timing when you reach peak fitness is part part science, part planning, part luck, and part voodoo. At some point you have to transition from aerobic-level training to "go fast" training. The tough decision is timing the introduction of intensity. Do it too soon, and you can't maintain the fitness and burn out. Too late and you aren't ready for the "thrill" of racing. Throw on the cumulative fatigue of base training and... it's tough to sort out the transition. Every season I swear I'm going to get it right. Sickness, work interruptions, or just burnout... I'm not sure what I'd do if I ever did actually get it right! ;-)
Right now I'm overdue for a rest period. Yet... I think there are some gains left to wring out of the base-training. Think I'm going to push my boundaries a bit and finish off this bloc with a bang. Next weeks weather and travel schedule look to be ideal for minimal time on the tightened saddle.
Nearing the end of my base bloc. The training fatigue is accumulating rapidly. For power geeks... last week was +12pts CTL. This week similar. More than I'd normally plan or recommend. But it's all threshold-zone and below. So the body tolerates it pretty well. Couldn't do these types of gains if the intensity were higher.
The training is working. Every ride I'm spending more time at or slightly above threshold. And it's easier and easier to keep it pinned there. Exactly what I wanted. I can't say I'm stronger, or my FTP is drastically higher. But I can use what I've got far more effectively.
Next bloc builds the strength and develops the super-threshold fitness. The return of tasting-my-lunch intensity will be welcome. After a bit of rest, of course...
On an out-and-back ride, the magnitude of anomalously easy the ride outbound portion seems, will become twice the magnitude of anamalously hard the inbound portion seems.
A windy Sunday endurance ride along Parmer Ln in Austin put me in the weeds for a bit. It was dreary and misting. Solid overcast. Low ceiling. I roll out noticing a significant wind. Remind myself... take it easy! All is fine. Then the U-turn...
I nearly sag out of this ride. The sun comes out. The wind batters and blows. Patience required. I hate going this slow, but one can't utilize speed for gauging effort on a day like this. The Jeffy Pants wind indicator works though.
This season's plan was built with a sharply progressive increase in workload. January's setback put me behind. Missing several weeks meant starting over at Week 1. Remember what those teachers told you? Cramming doesn't work. True for training, too. After spending most of January sick, the temptation to cram is strong. I haven't crammed. But I've added just a bit more workload over the last few weeks. Not a lot. Not if I was too tired. Just a bit more on the threshold intervals. Just a little extension of the endurance rides. Gentle additions.
The gentile additions have added up. Now I'm in reach of catching up to my oringinal pre-sickness plan. This week was supposed to be an easy week leading into a "C" race, then recovery week. I'm not interrupting my progress. I have more important races later in the season. And I don't need the rest. This week and next the progressive addition of workload continues. Bit-by-bit loading of training stress into the legs. Tonight... some intense 6x 10'min intervals... that'll keep the heart pounding!
| Today I'm capping off a solid week of training. A lengthy endurance ride to set the fitness gains of the week. Welcome to my office. |  |
 | My goal is 2-1/2 to 3 hours, endurance pace, but some intensity in self- selected spots adding up to an hour of accumulated time at or above threshold. The route is an in-town loop, because I don't feel like spending any time in the car today. Out the door, jump on bike, ride. Simple. |
With temperatures in the 70°s... today's ride was a joy. Two 30'minute threshold intervals to test the legs with. I roll out a bit uneasy. My legs are sore. Previous day's strength training was a tad too aggressive. There really is no alternative. The weather is too beautiful. I'm riding. It's just a question of whether I can do my planned intervals, or will I need to back off into L2 territory.
I ramp into the first interval. After about 3'minutes the soreness is actually abating. Went well. The last 5'minutes were very tough. The second interval is harder. Especially the first 10'minutes and the last 10'minutes. At 6'minutes into the interval, I think of bailing at halfway. But I forget to look at the Garmin until there are only 8'minutes left. Why quit now? I don't. Legs cooked. But looser than when I started. Satisfying.
Heartrate was perfect today, exactly as expected. My fitness is nearing my pre-sickness level. I'm catching up on the season. I'm plowing through the planned rest/race week next week. I don't want to break stride on gaining fitness. No signs of overtraining *smile*.
A poor carpenter blames his tools. I've always been hesitant to. But I can also recognize the limitations of my tools. Saturday I reached that point.
Rollers were my best cycling purchase last year. They are getting a lot of use with more freezing weather. The indoor and bundled up training fades the tan lines. Fellow blogger Matt calls it 'albino training'. Being fair skinned already, I'm on my way to the land of the pale.
This weekend I'm choosing the next bike. It is time to move away from the Stumpjumper. It has and continues to be a great and superbly reliable bike. But I find myself needing something racier and something more comfortable. May take two bikes to accomplish this. The Stumpy is a perfect example if a bike trying to do a bit of everything. Time to try something different.
Weatherman says 70°F temps next week. Hope so. This albino training is gettin' old.
Continuing cold put me on the aluminium road again. Threshold intervals are the plan. This turns into the best ride I've had in weeks. My heartrate, perceived exertion, power levels were all in agreement. My HR was more than 10 beats per minute lower than the same effort last week. And instead of consistantly climbing through the effort, it leveled off and stabilized as I'd expect to see.
Despite this ride going very well physically, at one point I just wanted to give up. No good reason. Physically, I felt fine. There was just the overwhelming desire to not be on the bike. 100% mental. I worked through it, and glad I did. But, it was mentally taxing during a ride that should have been completely enjoyable. I've ran into this road block before. I wonder if it's common? I'd guess that it is, but never heard it discussed.
Despite the attitudinal hiccup, the week is off to a great start.
Planned to race the Texas Super Six on Saturday. My plan was simply to use the time as training. Six hours is what the training plan calls for, so why not do it at a race? But my recent training hasn't been up to my planned level. Ready for six hours? Probably not. Strike One.
We've also had record cold and an ice storm on Friday. Would the weather clear? How cold would Saturday be? Yes... I'm a cold wimp. Strike Two.
I hadn't prepared my nutrition, my bike, nothing really and it was getting late. Cram it? No. Strike Three. I'm out.
Instead of a long trail riding adventure I settled for a long session on the rollers. The aluminium road that leads no where. Not so bad. Because the complete lack of coasting, constant effort, the rollers are much more efficient. I meet my TSS and caloric goals in about half of the time it would take on the trail.
Not as much fun, but it fit into my weekend needs much better. I didn't have to deal with snow and ice up Palisades. I got an equivalent amount of 'work' into the legs.
The next two weeks are critical. It's gettin' late in the "off-season" to get ready for the "on-season". Focus, focus, focus is the plan.
Hard to believe it, but the effects of my flu are still lingering. Though, I'm starting to blame detraining more than actual lingering illness. Things are improving. Tonight's ride plan was very similar to Jan 25's. Same wattage target, but longer work intervals. Again tonight, it was harder than expected. But two things stick out from the data. First, I was able to reach my expected wattage. Barely, but I made it. I was unable to do that last week. While I'm still getting some cardiac drift... it's much better.
I've had the flu before, but this one seems to have incredible staying power. Maybe the power tap just makes it easier to quantify? Either way, I'm back to a full-time training schedule. And playing a bit of 'catch up' at this point.
