On Track New School

My weight loss project is very much on track. When I left for vacation, I was at 183. When I got back two weeks ago, I was at 184.6. Today I am at 182 pounds (and 20.3% body fat).

At the rate I'm going, I could be as low as 177 before I go to the conference at the end of November.

I'm also trying something new in my training program. For ages, cyclists have spent this time of year doing "base" training, just riding long miles at an easy pace. I'm taking a new approach advocated by cycling coach Hunter Allen. I'm doing VO2 max training, which is far from easy.

The theory is that functional threshold power (FTP) is a percentage of VO2 power. If I can raise my VO2 power, then I can also increase my FTP.

The workouts go something like this:

• 8 minute intervals at the highest pace that I can sustain for the entire time 
• I use 90% of my 8-minute best. My 8-minute best power is 311 watts, so I'm aiming for around 280 to 290 watts.
• 7 minutes easy pedaling (which gives me a nice 15-minute block)
• repeat until I cannot maintain the power anymore

 Today, I could do it 4 times, which is about what I was hoping for.

I also like that in a single 8-minute interval, I can burn 160 calories (plus more in the recovery, warmup, and cool down). 

It's kind of an experiment to see how things go. Hopefully it will go well.

The Next Six

Now that I'm back from vacation, I have six weeks before I have a week-long conference for work.

I'm starting off the new season a couple pounds heavier since I are pretty much everything in sight while I was in Rhode Island, and there were two fudge shops and a cupcake store within a few blocks of the hotel.

My goals for the next six weeks are pretty simple:

1. Lose six more pounds. That should put me at 179 pounds before I leave for the conference.
2. Keep my functional threshold power up. I'm at 250 watts right now and I don't want to lose any of it.

That's it. As long as I keep my training up and keep logging my foods, I should be able to do them pretty easily.

The bigger challenge will probably be the training. As it gets colder out, I struggle more with getting out of bed when it's cold in the apartment and completely dark out and with riding outside when it's colder. I did pretty well last fall, so I'm hoping I can do it again this year.

Looking Back

Numerically, 2012 was a good season.

I lost 10 pounds. I set several new power records for myself. My 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 8:00 and 20:00 power numbers are all 10% higher than they ever were before. I started training with GPS and set a few course bests.

The weird part is that I did all of that in just the last 12 weeks.Up until then, the year had its highs and lows.

The first 4 months of the "off season" went pretty well. I was training regularly, maintaining my threshold power, and building up my leg strength and pedaling efficiency. I was starting to see signs of my threshold improving and I was getting close to my best sprint power.

Then I broke my nose. I couldn't really train for a week until the swelling went down, and then I got a sinus infection that kept my training to a minimum. After nearly a month off, I started rebuilding.

A month after that, I wrenched my back. I took a few weeks off, let myself heal a bit, then started up too hard and hurt my back again.

This time I took a month or two of nothing but easy riding. My motivation was gone and I just had no desire to train at all.

In June, my motivation came back as mysteriously as as it had gone. I was training seriously, with both a plan and a purpose.

I think next season I'm going to plan my training and goals in smaller blocks, probably of 8 to 12 weeks. That might mean not even picking my "A" races until the spring, when I can say what skills and strengths I've cultivated over the winter.

We'll see how it goes!