The racing season is just two weeks away and I'm doing my final preparations for it.
Looking at the first four races, all four are completely flat. The first three are short, around 17 to 18 minutes. The fourth is a little longer, probably around 30 to 32 minutes. Give the time of year and the proximity to the ocean, I expect all four to be cool and windy.
The courses for the second group of four are much harder. The first one is a 5.5 mile hill climb with grades up to 18%. The next one is a technical 9.9 mile course with steeply rolling hills. After that is a17.8 mile course that is completely flat and straight, and just focusing to maintain speed is the challenge. Wrapping it up is another steeply rolling 11-mile course.
My fitness is coming along nicely. I've corrected the mistakes in my training that I mentioned last time, but I'm only beginning to see a change. It takes time to change performance!!
My weight is a little high. I'm currently 4 pounds over my target weight (currently 171, with a target of 167). My weight has been slowly drifting downward, at about a pound a month instead of my targeted 3 pounds a month. Once the racing starts, I don't know that I'll be able to lose more weight since I'll be training very intensely and need to maintain the incoming fuel.
My motivation and confidence are not at their best. I missed the power targets in my last two tests. I'm struggling to finish long intervals more due to mental focus and drive issues than problems with my legs and lungs. I think the problem stems from the pressure of doing so well last season and feeling the need to live up to that.
My biggest concern is going to be continuing to improve my fitness once the season starts. With races on 8 weekends in a row, all of them part of the series, I need to race as well or better on the later races as I do on the early ones. While I've spent a lot of time figuring out how to make that training as efficient and effective as possible, the time to put it into practice is almost here.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Sunday, March 2, 2014
4 Week Checkup
With 4 weeks to go until the first race of the year, I did a little bit of testing today.
I've got a strong foundation and I've been seeing for very good numbers for my 8:00 and 5:00 power, but I have not tested my 20-minute power in quite some time. It's probably a mistake to have gone so long without it since I have several races that will be right around 20 minutes in length.
To put it simply: the results were terrible.
I was shocked when I cracked about 14 minutes into the test at what I expected to be a power I should be able to maintain. Boy, was I wrong!
Looking back over my training data for the last few months, I can see exactly where I went wrong and I think I have some ideas about how to fix it. I'm just a little annoyed that I didn't notice these problems earlier. With all the training data that I have, the mistakes were really obvious in the charts and graphs, almost at first glance.
The big question is whether four weeks is long enough to correct the mistakes I've made.
I've got a strong foundation and I've been seeing for very good numbers for my 8:00 and 5:00 power, but I have not tested my 20-minute power in quite some time. It's probably a mistake to have gone so long without it since I have several races that will be right around 20 minutes in length.
To put it simply: the results were terrible.
I was shocked when I cracked about 14 minutes into the test at what I expected to be a power I should be able to maintain. Boy, was I wrong!
Looking back over my training data for the last few months, I can see exactly where I went wrong and I think I have some ideas about how to fix it. I'm just a little annoyed that I didn't notice these problems earlier. With all the training data that I have, the mistakes were really obvious in the charts and graphs, almost at first glance.
The big question is whether four weeks is long enough to correct the mistakes I've made.
Sunday, February 9, 2014
The Inner Limits
Over the last few weeks, I've been struggling with my motivation on the bike. I get on the trainer and... hmm... maybe that's the problem.
This winter has been so snowy and cold that I haven't been able to get outside much. In fact, I've ridden a total of 100 miles outdoors in the last 3 months (not even twice each month). Meanwhile, I've been riding 8 to 10 hours a week on the trainer.
By comparison, last year I was riding about the same number of hours each week but was getting outside at least once every other week or so. By this time, I had ridden almost 300 miles outdoors.
I'm definitely fit, exceeding the numbers from this time last year. I'm just having a hard time getting on the trainer for long enough to keep it going.
Making it even harder, I've been taking more risks in training. Last year, I gradually increased my intensity over the winter, increasing my targets just a couple of watts per week. As a result, I was able to hit my targets every workout all winter long. This year, I occasionally try to go a little higher, maybe 10 or 15 watts higher than I know that I can, intentionally going too hard to see how long I can hold onto it.
Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't, leaving me gasping for air and feeling a strong sense of failure. The times when I succeed, it feels amazing. The times I don't, it can mess with me for a few days.
Hopefully it will all pay off when racing season starts in 7 weeks!!
This winter has been so snowy and cold that I haven't been able to get outside much. In fact, I've ridden a total of 100 miles outdoors in the last 3 months (not even twice each month). Meanwhile, I've been riding 8 to 10 hours a week on the trainer.
By comparison, last year I was riding about the same number of hours each week but was getting outside at least once every other week or so. By this time, I had ridden almost 300 miles outdoors.
I'm definitely fit, exceeding the numbers from this time last year. I'm just having a hard time getting on the trainer for long enough to keep it going.
Making it even harder, I've been taking more risks in training. Last year, I gradually increased my intensity over the winter, increasing my targets just a couple of watts per week. As a result, I was able to hit my targets every workout all winter long. This year, I occasionally try to go a little higher, maybe 10 or 15 watts higher than I know that I can, intentionally going too hard to see how long I can hold onto it.
Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't, leaving me gasping for air and feeling a strong sense of failure. The times when I succeed, it feels amazing. The times I don't, it can mess with me for a few days.
Hopefully it will all pay off when racing season starts in 7 weeks!!
Friday, January 31, 2014
Patterns
OK, I have to correct myself.
This racing season is not 9 weeks in a row. It goes something like this:
8 weekends in a row of races (1 race each weekend)
2 weekends off
2 weekends of races (10 races in 12 weekends)
4 weekends off (break time to recharge and build a bit of fitness)
2 weekends of races
1 weekend off
2 weekends of races (4 races in 5 weekends)
It won't be an easy summer!
This racing season is not 9 weeks in a row. It goes something like this:
8 weekends in a row of races (1 race each weekend)
2 weekends off
2 weekends of races (10 races in 12 weekends)
4 weekends off (break time to recharge and build a bit of fitness)
2 weekends of races
1 weekend off
2 weekends of races (4 races in 5 weekends)
It won't be an easy summer!
Saturday, January 18, 2014
The Main Ingredient
Last year at this time, my training outlook was very different.
My weight was on a long slide down, having lost about 25 pounds from where I started. My power numbers were constantly climbing. My major goal for the year was not until July, with a backup plan for August. Most of the other races that I was planning were just tune ups to help me reach the one major goal.I was trying some new ideas in planning my training and really know if they would work.
It's hard to believe that starting point led to the most successful racing year I've ever had. It was by far my best year on the bike. I had two very good years on skates, finishing on the podium several times in 2001 and 2002, but those were a long time ago. I switched to cycling in 2004 and my winning results pretty disappeared until last year. The one thing that 2013 had in common with those years was a massive increase in training volume. In 2001 and 2002, I trained 425 hours each year. In 2013, I trained 525 hours. Not only did I train a lot, I put a lot of intensity into that training and it was all aimed at a concrete goal.
For comparison, in 2011 (another year when I raced a lot but had no real results), I trained 430 hours but most "just rode around", doing lots of mileage but not getting much out of it. I had no structure and very little intensity in my training. My goals shifted almost every week, especially when I switched from crits back to TTs (again).
I spent several years doing the West River Time Trial in Philly. I loved doing that event, but I had no idea what I was doing with regards to training for it. My training volume for many of those years was in the 250 to 325 hour range but, again, I was riding a lot with little intensity or structure, even though I had a very clear goal (which was to get under 20 minutes in the TT)
I was pretty sure that it took all 3 ingredients, solid goals, a large volume of training, and focused intensity to make a season successful. I've been racing in some form or another since 1995 and only three years had all three ingredients.
For me, the intensity is the ones that's hardest to keep in the mix. It's so easy to back off on a day that's supposed to be hard and say "it's just for today." It's really easy to just do a long easy ride and say "it's building foundation!!"
But it's all an excuse. Without the intensity, I can be fit (very fit, even) but I won't be race-ready. No matter how much easy riding I do, I need that harder tempo, threshold, and VO2 work to get as good as I want to be.
I have to remind myself of that almost everyday.
My weight was on a long slide down, having lost about 25 pounds from where I started. My power numbers were constantly climbing. My major goal for the year was not until July, with a backup plan for August. Most of the other races that I was planning were just tune ups to help me reach the one major goal.I was trying some new ideas in planning my training and really know if they would work.
It's hard to believe that starting point led to the most successful racing year I've ever had. It was by far my best year on the bike. I had two very good years on skates, finishing on the podium several times in 2001 and 2002, but those were a long time ago. I switched to cycling in 2004 and my winning results pretty disappeared until last year. The one thing that 2013 had in common with those years was a massive increase in training volume. In 2001 and 2002, I trained 425 hours each year. In 2013, I trained 525 hours. Not only did I train a lot, I put a lot of intensity into that training and it was all aimed at a concrete goal.
For comparison, in 2011 (another year when I raced a lot but had no real results), I trained 430 hours but most "just rode around", doing lots of mileage but not getting much out of it. I had no structure and very little intensity in my training. My goals shifted almost every week, especially when I switched from crits back to TTs (again).
I spent several years doing the West River Time Trial in Philly. I loved doing that event, but I had no idea what I was doing with regards to training for it. My training volume for many of those years was in the 250 to 325 hour range but, again, I was riding a lot with little intensity or structure, even though I had a very clear goal (which was to get under 20 minutes in the TT)
I was pretty sure that it took all 3 ingredients, solid goals, a large volume of training, and focused intensity to make a season successful. I've been racing in some form or another since 1995 and only three years had all three ingredients.
For me, the intensity is the ones that's hardest to keep in the mix. It's so easy to back off on a day that's supposed to be hard and say "it's just for today." It's really easy to just do a long easy ride and say "it's building foundation!!"
But it's all an excuse. Without the intensity, I can be fit (very fit, even) but I won't be race-ready. No matter how much easy riding I do, I need that harder tempo, threshold, and VO2 work to get as good as I want to be.
I have to remind myself of that almost everyday.
Monday, December 30, 2013
12 Weeks and Counting
I'm back from Christmas, fully rested, and very well fed... so much so that I gained a few pounds from eating so many candies and cookies while just sitting on the couch (and driving 1200 miles!!)
I have 12 weeks until the start of racing season. In that time I need to lose 12 pounds (I am at 176 and need to be 164), get used to riding my time trial bike again (I have not ridden it since August), and build up my fitness to where it needs to be (I need to gain about 15 watts on my threshold).
I really set the bar high last year, being on the podium for 7 out of 11 races (and winning 3). I'd love to improve upon that.
Time to get to work!!
I have 12 weeks until the start of racing season. In that time I need to lose 12 pounds (I am at 176 and need to be 164), get used to riding my time trial bike again (I have not ridden it since August), and build up my fitness to where it needs to be (I need to gain about 15 watts on my threshold).
I really set the bar high last year, being on the podium for 7 out of 11 races (and winning 3). I'd love to improve upon that.
Time to get to work!!
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Winter Boot Camp
From the time we got back from Vegas to the time we leave for Christmas, I had 14 days to train. Since I was well rested after several days of not riding and am going to have several more days off, I decided to absolutely floor it for those two weeks.
I have not taken a single rest day or a single easy day and trained twice on some days. While pushing this hard I hit some surprising numbers, many of which slightly better than what I was doing last February. I have gone from worrying about being behind and not hitting the results I needed to being right on schedule. I wanted to hit the Christmas break absolutely exhausted and in desperate need of a recovery week. It's safe to say that I've hit that goal.
When I get back, I will have 12 weeks until my first race.
I will be starting to ride my time trial bike more, getting used to a position I have not been in since August. From then on, I'll be doing all my hard training and test days on the TT bike to give me better data for my races. I'll also be fixing a few mistakes that I made in last year's training and gradually building up to the hell-on-Earth schedule that Hunter and I worked out so I can gain fitness during my insane 9-weeks straight of racing in the spring (yes, I'm more worried about surviving the workouts than I am the races!!).
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Holidays!!
I have not taken a single rest day or a single easy day and trained twice on some days. While pushing this hard I hit some surprising numbers, many of which slightly better than what I was doing last February. I have gone from worrying about being behind and not hitting the results I needed to being right on schedule. I wanted to hit the Christmas break absolutely exhausted and in desperate need of a recovery week. It's safe to say that I've hit that goal.
When I get back, I will have 12 weeks until my first race.
I will be starting to ride my time trial bike more, getting used to a position I have not been in since August. From then on, I'll be doing all my hard training and test days on the TT bike to give me better data for my races. I'll also be fixing a few mistakes that I made in last year's training and gradually building up to the hell-on-Earth schedule that Hunter and I worked out so I can gain fitness during my insane 9-weeks straight of racing in the spring (yes, I'm more worried about surviving the workouts than I am the races!!).
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Holidays!!
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Season Plans
(Just a quick note: this is my 150th blog post!!)
This week, the schedule for the NJ TT series was posted. Since doing well in (or even winning) that series is my goal for next year, I was eagerly waiting for that information.
The schedule contains 14 races running from the last week or March until mid August, with events from 6 miles to 24 miles. It won't be easy to do consistently well in that range of races over that period of time, so the goal will carry even that much more weight with me.
Making matters even more difficult, over a 12-week span there are 10 races. It will be really difficult to increase my fitness for the longer races later in the season while racing every week (and every race matters for points in the series, so I can't just take it easy for a few).
With so many issues, I was really starting to struggle with planning it all out.
My wonderful wife had heard me mention some various coaching options that I'd considered before but hadn't ever pursued before... so she got me one for Christmas. She bought me consulting time with power training expert, Hunter Allen.
She gave it to me early and we were able to set it all up this week.
Hunter and I spoke this week and it was amazing.
It felt like most of the call was me talking and explaining. Hunter was asking me questions and guiding the discussion, but ever for me, I felt like I was talking a lot, but that really makes sense. In order for him to give me the best recommendations, he needs to understand my goals, my abilities and limitations, and how I performed in previous races.
He made some great recommendations and gave me a few different options to try out. This season won't be easy, but that's part of why I'm looking forward to it.
While my goal was primarily looking forward to next year, I also got a great secondary value: he validated what I was already doing. There's nothing quite as great as hearing an expert you admire tell you that the training plans I had come up with on my own were good ones.
I didn't just get great ideas for next year. I also found a little more motivation in training.
This week, the schedule for the NJ TT series was posted. Since doing well in (or even winning) that series is my goal for next year, I was eagerly waiting for that information.
The schedule contains 14 races running from the last week or March until mid August, with events from 6 miles to 24 miles. It won't be easy to do consistently well in that range of races over that period of time, so the goal will carry even that much more weight with me.
Making matters even more difficult, over a 12-week span there are 10 races. It will be really difficult to increase my fitness for the longer races later in the season while racing every week (and every race matters for points in the series, so I can't just take it easy for a few).
With so many issues, I was really starting to struggle with planning it all out.
My wonderful wife had heard me mention some various coaching options that I'd considered before but hadn't ever pursued before... so she got me one for Christmas. She bought me consulting time with power training expert, Hunter Allen.
She gave it to me early and we were able to set it all up this week.
Hunter and I spoke this week and it was amazing.
It felt like most of the call was me talking and explaining. Hunter was asking me questions and guiding the discussion, but ever for me, I felt like I was talking a lot, but that really makes sense. In order for him to give me the best recommendations, he needs to understand my goals, my abilities and limitations, and how I performed in previous races.
He made some great recommendations and gave me a few different options to try out. This season won't be easy, but that's part of why I'm looking forward to it.
While my goal was primarily looking forward to next year, I also got a great secondary value: he validated what I was already doing. There's nothing quite as great as hearing an expert you admire tell you that the training plans I had come up with on my own were good ones.
I didn't just get great ideas for next year. I also found a little more motivation in training.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Back in the Groove
After the disruptions I complained about in my last post, I'm starting to get back into the rhythm of things.
I'm getting in all my scheduled workouts, working hard to build an aerobic foundation for the harder workouts to come later in the winter. For the last three weeks, I've been able to get in 11 hour weeks, which I'm really happy about. (and yes, most of that is on the trainer)
Looking at my heart rate and power numbers from last year, I'm definitely not in the same place as I was last November. My numbers are good but not AS good... but I'm also taking a different approach, so that's not really a surprise. Last year I was mixing in some higher intensity workouts (5 and 8 minutes at VO2 max, to be specific) almost every week. This year I'm focusing more on lower intensity, focusing on longer tempo and sweet spot efforts. I'm also experimenting with some of Joe Friel's aerobic decoupling concepts on my longer rides.
I have to remember that most of the races I'm doing next year are in the 20 to 40 minute range. I only have one race that will be longer than 45 minutes and another one less than 15 minutes. I'm looking for that "Goldilocks zone", with efforts that will improve my performance primarily in events of that time duration, not for shorter efforts and not for longer efforts.
Adding to the strangeness for this season, due to my travel schedule over the next month I decided not to do any testing until the new year. If I test now, I'll need to take several days to rest up for it so that I do my best and then the test numbers would be wrecked by the week of travel right after it when my fitness will drop. There's just no benefit to doing a test right now and the cost of losing another week of improvement is more than I'm willing to lose.
I haven't focused on weight loss nearly as much as I was last year. Of course, last year I was in the middle of a huge weight loss project, losing 30 pounds in the end. I regained 7 of those pounds and I'm hovering around 171 pounds.
While I'm planning to lose 9 pounds before racing season (to start the season in April at 162 pounds), I'm just not worried about that right now. After the new year, I should have 14 weeks of dedicated training when I can easily lose that much weight without feeling like I'm rushing it. One of my big concerns is the 5.5 mile hill climb in April, where weight will definitely be a factor.
I'm starting to plan out my races for next year. The schedule is rough because none of the races ae officially scheduled yet, but I'm using the calendar from last year to get an idea of what to expect.
It looks like I'll have 14 races total. There are 9 races from mid-April through early June (with 3 weekends that have races both Saturday and Sunday). After that there is a 5 week break when I can get some quality training in. Then there are 5 more races from mid-July to mid-August. I will probably end my season in mid-August again. I really liked having the late summer/fall to just ride for fun and the races in September are just ones that fit my strengths.
For comparison, I did 11 races this year with 3 that I'd planned to do but missed for some reason or another, so it's about the same.
I think the big challenge will be maintaining or even gaining fitness with so many races so close together.
I'm getting in all my scheduled workouts, working hard to build an aerobic foundation for the harder workouts to come later in the winter. For the last three weeks, I've been able to get in 11 hour weeks, which I'm really happy about. (and yes, most of that is on the trainer)
Looking at my heart rate and power numbers from last year, I'm definitely not in the same place as I was last November. My numbers are good but not AS good... but I'm also taking a different approach, so that's not really a surprise. Last year I was mixing in some higher intensity workouts (5 and 8 minutes at VO2 max, to be specific) almost every week. This year I'm focusing more on lower intensity, focusing on longer tempo and sweet spot efforts. I'm also experimenting with some of Joe Friel's aerobic decoupling concepts on my longer rides.
I have to remember that most of the races I'm doing next year are in the 20 to 40 minute range. I only have one race that will be longer than 45 minutes and another one less than 15 minutes. I'm looking for that "Goldilocks zone", with efforts that will improve my performance primarily in events of that time duration, not for shorter efforts and not for longer efforts.
Adding to the strangeness for this season, due to my travel schedule over the next month I decided not to do any testing until the new year. If I test now, I'll need to take several days to rest up for it so that I do my best and then the test numbers would be wrecked by the week of travel right after it when my fitness will drop. There's just no benefit to doing a test right now and the cost of losing another week of improvement is more than I'm willing to lose.
I haven't focused on weight loss nearly as much as I was last year. Of course, last year I was in the middle of a huge weight loss project, losing 30 pounds in the end. I regained 7 of those pounds and I'm hovering around 171 pounds.
While I'm planning to lose 9 pounds before racing season (to start the season in April at 162 pounds), I'm just not worried about that right now. After the new year, I should have 14 weeks of dedicated training when I can easily lose that much weight without feeling like I'm rushing it. One of my big concerns is the 5.5 mile hill climb in April, where weight will definitely be a factor.
I'm starting to plan out my races for next year. The schedule is rough because none of the races ae officially scheduled yet, but I'm using the calendar from last year to get an idea of what to expect.
It looks like I'll have 14 races total. There are 9 races from mid-April through early June (with 3 weekends that have races both Saturday and Sunday). After that there is a 5 week break when I can get some quality training in. Then there are 5 more races from mid-July to mid-August. I will probably end my season in mid-August again. I really liked having the late summer/fall to just ride for fun and the races in September are just ones that fit my strengths.
For comparison, I did 11 races this year with 3 that I'd planned to do but missed for some reason or another, so it's about the same.
I think the big challenge will be maintaining or even gaining fitness with so many races so close together.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Behind Schedule
The chaos continues!! Many of you know that our trip in October was one of the worst, most chaotic weeks of our lives with just one hit coming after the other. As soon as we got back, I was on doctor's orders to stay off the bike and doing nothing but lying on the couch for 5 days.
It put a huge dent in my fitness. I've been gradually getting back on the bike over the last few days, with my heart rate dramatically higher at lower power numbers. I'm hoping that my fitness comes back quickly but I will definitely not be ready for the threshold test I'd planned next week.
Looking over my training plan, I'm about 3 weeks behind. Making matters works, I have a business trip and a family trip in December which only leaves me about 2 weeks to train in December and the other two weeks just losing fitness.
This winter training season is definitely not going as planned...
It put a huge dent in my fitness. I've been gradually getting back on the bike over the last few days, with my heart rate dramatically higher at lower power numbers. I'm hoping that my fitness comes back quickly but I will definitely not be ready for the threshold test I'd planned next week.
Looking over my training plan, I'm about 3 weeks behind. Making matters works, I have a business trip and a family trip in December which only leaves me about 2 weeks to train in December and the other two weeks just losing fitness.
This winter training season is definitely not going as planned...
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