One of the frustrating things about coming back from a break in training is that you don't fully grasp that you're riding is different.
When I see someone make a move on a training ride, my first instincts are that (1) I can catch them and (2) I have enough fitness to do so repeatedly.
These days, on a good day, the first one might be true. The second one is a long way off.
On the plus side, my training partners are quite enjoying being able to drop me at will.
To help me rebuild, I reset all my training numbers for this spring, so my records all start in April and help me to see my progress since then, not my progress since last September (with a lot of ups and downs).
I'm making progress and slowly regaining fitness. It will just take a while!
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Reboot
Starting over. Back to the beginning. Reboot.
There are lots of ways to describe where I'm at on the bike right now, but all of them boil down to me not being anywhere near racing shape right now.
To give it some numbers:
Racing weight: 164 pounds
Current weight: 180 pounds
Racing Threshold Power: 290 watts (on the road bike)
Current Threshold Power: 220 watts
Racing Weekly Training Volume: 10 to 12 hours (up to 15 hours on some weeks)
Current Weekly Training Volume: 5 to 6 hours
For those who train with power.... my ATL was at a low of 5... yes, five. My CTL is usually 105 to 110 when I'm building up to a race. It was down to 31.
So.... I'm not racing this year :-)
About two weeks ago, I was able to get back on the bike with some regularity, getting a little time on the trainer before work a couple days and riding at lunch a couple days each week. The guys at work are really enjoying beating me on almost every climb we hit. Even just riding 6 hours a week completely wiped me out, so I've got a long way to go.
On the plus side, at least I'm back on the bike now. For the next few months, I'll be gradually building up my training volume, trying to get into the 8 to 10 hour range so I can get a decent foundation and start to burn off some of the weight I've gained.
I don't have any real performance targets for this year, at least not yet. With the races I'd be interested in ending in late July, there's no chance that I'll have enough fitness to bother going to them. That's 10 weeks and there are limits to how fast you can gain fitness.
I'm considering doing a doing something like I did in my 2012 year, where I didn't start training seriously until really late in the year (that year was July when I started). That led into my 2013 season, which is the best performance I've ever had.
So, we'll see how it goes!
There are lots of ways to describe where I'm at on the bike right now, but all of them boil down to me not being anywhere near racing shape right now.
To give it some numbers:
Racing weight: 164 pounds
Current weight: 180 pounds
Racing Threshold Power: 290 watts (on the road bike)
Current Threshold Power: 220 watts
Racing Weekly Training Volume: 10 to 12 hours (up to 15 hours on some weeks)
Current Weekly Training Volume: 5 to 6 hours
For those who train with power.... my ATL was at a low of 5... yes, five. My CTL is usually 105 to 110 when I'm building up to a race. It was down to 31.
So.... I'm not racing this year :-)
About two weeks ago, I was able to get back on the bike with some regularity, getting a little time on the trainer before work a couple days and riding at lunch a couple days each week. The guys at work are really enjoying beating me on almost every climb we hit. Even just riding 6 hours a week completely wiped me out, so I've got a long way to go.
On the plus side, at least I'm back on the bike now. For the next few months, I'll be gradually building up my training volume, trying to get into the 8 to 10 hour range so I can get a decent foundation and start to burn off some of the weight I've gained.
I don't have any real performance targets for this year, at least not yet. With the races I'd be interested in ending in late July, there's no chance that I'll have enough fitness to bother going to them. That's 10 weeks and there are limits to how fast you can gain fitness.
I'm considering doing a doing something like I did in my 2012 year, where I didn't start training seriously until really late in the year (that year was July when I started). That led into my 2013 season, which is the best performance I've ever had.
So, we'll see how it goes!
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