This week, I made a rookie training mistake: I did WAY too much intensity.
Last Saturday, I did the West River Time Trial
Sunday, I did the Lower Providence Crit (got dropped, but still had some serious power numbers).
Tuesday morning, field test on the Computrainer.
Tuesday at lunch, went riding with coworkers.
Tuesday night, gym.
Thursday morning, tempo workout, forgot to calibrate trainer to the resistance was WAY high.
Thursday night, Green Tree crit until it rained.
Saturday, West River Time Trial.
Did I mention that I'm working almost non-stop lately and have an hour+ commute to work each way?
When I got on the trainer this morning , I couldn't figure out why I felt like crap. I looked over my training log for the last week and it was suddenly really clear: I'm doing too much at high intensity. To make matters worse, I'm not eating right or resting in between, so my body never refuels and recovers from the effort.
I've got to say, with my frustrations at the crit last week and annoyances like this, I've seriously thought about moving my training back to "weight loss" mode for the next few months until I lost the weight I gained back and get to a decent racing weight. Between gaining weight and seeing less-than-ideal performances, I'm not so sure that trying to race and lose weight at the same time is such a good idea.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Like One isn't Enough
In case you haven't noticed, I have a lot of fun blogging. Now I get to do it at work, too.
My first post just went up this week. I doubt I'll mention it much here, but wanted to at least tell you all that it's out there!
My first post just went up this week. I doubt I'll mention it much here, but wanted to at least tell you all that it's out there!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Not So Bad for a Comeback Race
Today was my first pack race since April 2005. Ironically, that was the race that got me my upgrade to Cat 4. I hadn't ever raced in a pack as a Cat 4. I've done several time trials, but nothing in a group.
The Blueberry Circuit Race is 5 laps of a 6.3 mile course, for 31.5 miles of racing. It's almost completely flat and had just 4 corners (one of them pretty sharp).
All week, I've been bugging my teammates about "who wants to go in the breakaway with me?" Everyone said the same thing, "no breakaway ever succeeds in this race." I was determined to make one happen.
Luckily, my teammate Aaron started it. We were only about a mile or so into the race when he made a move. I waited for someone else to try to catch him, then jumped on his wheel. As we came out the next turn, there were six of us together.... and we had probably 50 yards on the group. We quickly formed a rotating paceline and kept the pace at 22 to 24 mph for the next 30 miles.
Back in the pack, the 20 other riders from QCW Cycling/breakawaybikes.com did everything they could to stop anyone from chasing us. They rode four across at a slow pace. They chased every breakaway attempt and messed with their rhythm. Basically, they did what good teammates did: keep the pack off us. I heard some rumblings that our pack got as much as five minutes ahead of the pack.
The six of us worked pretty smoothly together. With a mile left, we had a round of congratulations to each other for working together so well, exchanged a few pats on the back, then gunned it. I pulled alongside Aaron, tapped him to get his attention, and then took off with him on my wheel. My download showed us at 32.6 mph. Hardly a great sprint, but certainly hard to catch. I held the pace as long as I could, then moved off the front. Aaron shot past me going for the win.
About 10 feet back were three more riders. I got on their wheel, caught my breath for a second, then attacked again. Another rider countered and got in front of me. I was sure I had third when another rider flew by me and the rider in front of me to catch second.
I want to be upset about not seeing him coming and doing anything about it (I could have gotten on his wheel and caught the other guy for third), but I'm absolutely thrilled with a 4th place finish in an event of this caliber.
A few stats:
Distance: 31.5 miles
Finishing Time: 1:20:38
Avg Speed: 23.4 mph
Max Speed: 32.6 mph
Normalized Power: 256 watts
Max Power: 1057 watts
I know I was lucky to have a huge team presence this day and I was in the right place when the break happened. I didn't have any control over the team presence, but I did have control over my location in the pack.
Now I just have to live up to the results from today for the rest of the summer!
Lastly, my thoughts are with my teammates and fellow riders who crashed today, some of whom were seriously hurt.
The Blueberry Circuit Race is 5 laps of a 6.3 mile course, for 31.5 miles of racing. It's almost completely flat and had just 4 corners (one of them pretty sharp).
All week, I've been bugging my teammates about "who wants to go in the breakaway with me?" Everyone said the same thing, "no breakaway ever succeeds in this race." I was determined to make one happen.
Luckily, my teammate Aaron started it. We were only about a mile or so into the race when he made a move. I waited for someone else to try to catch him, then jumped on his wheel. As we came out the next turn, there were six of us together.... and we had probably 50 yards on the group. We quickly formed a rotating paceline and kept the pace at 22 to 24 mph for the next 30 miles.
Back in the pack, the 20 other riders from QCW Cycling/breakawaybikes.com did everything they could to stop anyone from chasing us. They rode four across at a slow pace. They chased every breakaway attempt and messed with their rhythm. Basically, they did what good teammates did: keep the pack off us. I heard some rumblings that our pack got as much as five minutes ahead of the pack.
The six of us worked pretty smoothly together. With a mile left, we had a round of congratulations to each other for working together so well, exchanged a few pats on the back, then gunned it. I pulled alongside Aaron, tapped him to get his attention, and then took off with him on my wheel. My download showed us at 32.6 mph. Hardly a great sprint, but certainly hard to catch. I held the pace as long as I could, then moved off the front. Aaron shot past me going for the win.
About 10 feet back were three more riders. I got on their wheel, caught my breath for a second, then attacked again. Another rider countered and got in front of me. I was sure I had third when another rider flew by me and the rider in front of me to catch second.
I want to be upset about not seeing him coming and doing anything about it (I could have gotten on his wheel and caught the other guy for third), but I'm absolutely thrilled with a 4th place finish in an event of this caliber.
A few stats:
Distance: 31.5 miles
Finishing Time: 1:20:38
Avg Speed: 23.4 mph
Max Speed: 32.6 mph
Normalized Power: 256 watts
Max Power: 1057 watts
I know I was lucky to have a huge team presence this day and I was in the right place when the break happened. I didn't have any control over the team presence, but I did have control over my location in the pack.
Now I just have to live up to the results from today for the rest of the summer!
Lastly, my thoughts are with my teammates and fellow riders who crashed today, some of whom were seriously hurt.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Back in the Saddle Again
This week marked a major return to outdoor cycling for me. While I've been regularly riding the trainer all winter long, both at home and in the RPM classes, I have not been outside in quite a while. I had to look it up: my last ride outdoors was in November, when I did a 45 mile team ride. It had been almost a month before that since I had ridden outside then.
So I'm a little out of practice. I really wanted to get some mileage before the race next weekend.
This week, on Wednesday and Thursday, I went on a bike ride at lunch with a few guys from my new job. There are some decent roads for cycling and we did about 15 to 20 miles on both days. It also means I have to eat fast, so I'm not going for super-high-calorie meals at a sit down restaurant either. It's nice getting out at lunch. It definitely makes it easier to work on a nice day!
Friday, I rode about 45 miles out to Valley Forge. It was really great to be out for a long ride, but I was hurting. My hands, shoulders, back, and crotch were not used to the vibrations from the road. They were somewhere between numb and sore after about 20 miles.
Saturday, I was a bit of a space cadet. For some reason I thought the West River Time Trials started this week, so I was up and on the drive at 6:30 to warm up. Only after I was there did I realize that it's not for two more weeks. Oops....
I warmed up and did a time trial anyway. It was less than idea conditions, being about 47 degrees, windy (about 18 mph winds), and foggy. Still, my average power was the best it's ever been (250 watts) and my time was not that bad (21:53, about 22.6 mph). If I can do that same power on a nicer day, it should be a really good time (I'd guess right around 20:00, 24.8 mph). By comparison, my all time best out there is 19:42. I just might be getting close!
Today I was running late and missed the VV ride. I decided instead to just do laps around the West River Drive. I did 6 of them, keeping each lap around 220 watts . The wind was pretty harsh, really making me work. I totaled about 50 miles for the day in 2:32:00.
So, in classic "Tom style", I barely ride for 6 months and then do 155 miles in 5 days and seemed to just get stronger each day.
So I'm a little out of practice. I really wanted to get some mileage before the race next weekend.
This week, on Wednesday and Thursday, I went on a bike ride at lunch with a few guys from my new job. There are some decent roads for cycling and we did about 15 to 20 miles on both days. It also means I have to eat fast, so I'm not going for super-high-calorie meals at a sit down restaurant either. It's nice getting out at lunch. It definitely makes it easier to work on a nice day!
Friday, I rode about 45 miles out to Valley Forge. It was really great to be out for a long ride, but I was hurting. My hands, shoulders, back, and crotch were not used to the vibrations from the road. They were somewhere between numb and sore after about 20 miles.
Saturday, I was a bit of a space cadet. For some reason I thought the West River Time Trials started this week, so I was up and on the drive at 6:30 to warm up. Only after I was there did I realize that it's not for two more weeks. Oops....
I warmed up and did a time trial anyway. It was less than idea conditions, being about 47 degrees, windy (about 18 mph winds), and foggy. Still, my average power was the best it's ever been (250 watts) and my time was not that bad (21:53, about 22.6 mph). If I can do that same power on a nicer day, it should be a really good time (I'd guess right around 20:00, 24.8 mph). By comparison, my all time best out there is 19:42. I just might be getting close!
Today I was running late and missed the VV ride. I decided instead to just do laps around the West River Drive. I did 6 of them, keeping each lap around 220 watts . The wind was pretty harsh, really making me work. I totaled about 50 miles for the day in 2:32:00.
So, in classic "Tom style", I barely ride for 6 months and then do 155 miles in 5 days and seemed to just get stronger each day.
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