"I Will Not Say I Failed 1000 Times , I Will Say That I Discovered There Are 1000 Ways That Can Cause Failure"
--Thomas Edison
Been following the Hunter Allen Spring Trainingpeaks.com plan since mid Feb with great success until I veered off course about 2 weeks ago doing workouts harder than he suggested...... And I paid for it in full.
Leading up to Brookhaven I felt great until the Sunday before the race. My 5 second to 1 hour power numbers went up each week while keeping a steady diet of 12-17 hours a week on the bike. Then it happened.. Deep muscle soreness that got so intense I couldnt push on the pedals. I was a little overcooked and had to pull out of Brookhaven during the road race. I also developed a deep pain in my right knee.
I spent this week taking it easy for 4 days (two days off and two days very easy) and gave myself a little "test" last night. My legs now feel great and I set a new 1 minute power record. Plan for this weekend is a 90-100 miler (possible 62 miles of hard efforts) followed by 60-70 miles on Sunday at medium/easy pace.
Still trying to find the balance between hard workouts and aerobic efforts.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
One more T..... Tapering
Pretty good weekend with a 120 mile (350 TSS) on Saturday and a 60 miler on Sunday. This got my CTL right shy of 80 and my TSB almost to -40... All according to plan as I attempt to taper before MS Grand Prix in 11 days.
Cool thing about TrainingPeaks is you can forecast your upcoming workouts and determine where your numbers will be. This method is tricky because things typically do not go according to plan but it can give you a good idea of where you will stand.
This week I will cut my volume by 20-30% but keeping the intensity up. Next week I will make the same 20-30% cut. So this week I will train around 10 hours (instead of 12-13) and next week I will train 8. Biggest mistakes I see others make with tapering is they train less frequently and cut out too much intensity. Their bodies regenerate and rest but their muscles forget how to "go hard". Fast riding primes your muscles to fire when they need to and if you dont use it you lose it..... and fast.
Next weekend is the Ride to Live races. Short crit like events that will give me a little more race mileage in the legs. You can go hard events like this during a taper long as you have good base. In fact it can help.
Cool thing about TrainingPeaks is you can forecast your upcoming workouts and determine where your numbers will be. This method is tricky because things typically do not go according to plan but it can give you a good idea of where you will stand.
This week I will cut my volume by 20-30% but keeping the intensity up. Next week I will make the same 20-30% cut. So this week I will train around 10 hours (instead of 12-13) and next week I will train 8. Biggest mistakes I see others make with tapering is they train less frequently and cut out too much intensity. Their bodies regenerate and rest but their muscles forget how to "go hard". Fast riding primes your muscles to fire when they need to and if you dont use it you lose it..... and fast.
Next weekend is the Ride to Live races. Short crit like events that will give me a little more race mileage in the legs. You can go hard events like this during a taper long as you have good base. In fact it can help.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Tuscaloosa, Training, and Tired
My results in Tuscaloosa are as expected. Pack finish for the crit and got popped on the road race. The road race was my better event though because after the pop I could see the field for the entire last lap. At least I got a good solo TT workout for the day.
CTL is on track to be around 85 by Brookhaven in two weeks but that comes at a price. My TSB is in the -30 range.. Heres a good description of what TSB is and how to read it.
http://blog.trainingpeaks.com/2008/09/managing-your-training-stress-balance.html
For me personally if I hit in the -40 range im toast, -30 im really fatigued with muscle soreness, and -15 to +5 im ready to race. This number is subjective per individual and the only way to find your optimum ranges is trial and error.
I will either race the Hoover crit, Chattanooga, or have an epic 110+ mile ride on Saturday using the RB's spring ride (ride from my house to Rod's, do his ride, then ride back home). This would give me one last epic ride before racing kicks into high gear but there is nothing better than racing IMHO... Ill figure this one out at the last minute :)
CTL is on track to be around 85 by Brookhaven in two weeks but that comes at a price. My TSB is in the -30 range.. Heres a good description of what TSB is and how to read it.
http://blog.trainingpeaks.com/2008/09/managing-your-training-stress-balance.html
For me personally if I hit in the -40 range im toast, -30 im really fatigued with muscle soreness, and -15 to +5 im ready to race. This number is subjective per individual and the only way to find your optimum ranges is trial and error.
I will either race the Hoover crit, Chattanooga, or have an epic 110+ mile ride on Saturday using the RB's spring ride (ride from my house to Rod's, do his ride, then ride back home). This would give me one last epic ride before racing kicks into high gear but there is nothing better than racing IMHO... Ill figure this one out at the last minute :)
Monday, March 16, 2009
Chaos training 101
The weather and family really hurt me last week as I missed a long training session on Saturday. This after I took two planned days off in a row hoping for a hard weekend.
Should have known better.. :)
This on top of a semi peak for Rouge two weeks ago where I cut my intensity down a notch only to have a mechanical 40 miles into the race. A month ago my plan was to do another semi-peak for Tuscaloosa *3-28th-29th* but thats changed now. Plan "B" is to train hard this week as planned and next week as well. No taper and no race prep except for mixing in some short burst crit efforts to get the legs moving.
This shows that no matter how great a plan is you must be on your toes and ready to adapt when life throws you a curve ball. When you miss a workout here or there dont panic and try to "make up" the effort. Whats done is done and all you can do is adjust and move forward. My main race season dosent start until May so going into the next weekend a little fatigued is no biggie.
Big picutre... eyes... dont take off of :)
Should have known better.. :)
This on top of a semi peak for Rouge two weeks ago where I cut my intensity down a notch only to have a mechanical 40 miles into the race. A month ago my plan was to do another semi-peak for Tuscaloosa *3-28th-29th* but thats changed now. Plan "B" is to train hard this week as planned and next week as well. No taper and no race prep except for mixing in some short burst crit efforts to get the legs moving.
This shows that no matter how great a plan is you must be on your toes and ready to adapt when life throws you a curve ball. When you miss a workout here or there dont panic and try to "make up" the effort. Whats done is done and all you can do is adjust and move forward. My main race season dosent start until May so going into the next weekend a little fatigued is no biggie.
Big picutre... eyes... dont take off of :)
Thursday, March 12, 2009
RR Report
Had a mechanical that I discovered around mile 40 and had to pull out. Not much more to report than that.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Joined the 4.0 w/kg club!
Came off a semi rest week and got in some 2x20 workouts on the trainer with no fatigue in the legs. Ran several 285+ 20 min efforts back to back with no issues other than the typical indoor overheating. Its typical that my 20 minute wattage numbers are around 20 less indoors due to heat, type of resistance, and having a bike that cannot move.
Using this weeks numbers along with the power profile from the 20k TT I did a few weeks back (and some other training rides) puts my FTP estimate right around 300 give or take 10 watts. With 12 more weeks to build I should gain a few more points on the e-wang chart this year.
Using this weeks numbers along with the power profile from the 20k TT I did a few weeks back (and some other training rides) puts my FTP estimate right around 300 give or take 10 watts. With 12 more weeks to build I should gain a few more points on the e-wang chart this year.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Rogue Roubaix race this weekend!
Rogue Roubaix This aint no sissy race!
I dont really know what to expect other than a really hard day on the bike. 100 miles with 1/3 of that over gravel roads. Was really hoping for an epic weather day of freezing temps and cold ran but no luck this year.... Hey if im going to do this thing might as well do it right huh... Temps look to be in the low 50s at start hitting around 70 by the time were done.
Pre race prep:
I am running the new Continental GP 24mm tires. They have ditched the Vectran belt and gone to a lighter material. On the road these dont feel any slower than the GP 4000s but defiantly feel better than gatorskins. For tubes im running the thickest Kenda's I could find. Have always had good luck with their rubber so lets hope that trend keeps up through the weekend. Got 3 extra tubes but need to get a few more CO2's before I head out Saturday.
I am waiting for my new CamelBak RaceBak to arrive. This thing works as a base layer and gives me plenty of fluid. Will be taking two bottles as well just in case I need to "shower" off any gravel dust. Other than that its a pretty normal race. Will be bringing plenty of gel packs and solid food to eat along the way.
I dont really know what to expect other than a really hard day on the bike. 100 miles with 1/3 of that over gravel roads. Was really hoping for an epic weather day of freezing temps and cold ran but no luck this year.... Hey if im going to do this thing might as well do it right huh... Temps look to be in the low 50s at start hitting around 70 by the time were done.
Pre race prep:
I am running the new Continental GP 24mm tires. They have ditched the Vectran belt and gone to a lighter material. On the road these dont feel any slower than the GP 4000s but defiantly feel better than gatorskins. For tubes im running the thickest Kenda's I could find. Have always had good luck with their rubber so lets hope that trend keeps up through the weekend. Got 3 extra tubes but need to get a few more CO2's before I head out Saturday.
I am waiting for my new CamelBak RaceBak to arrive. This thing works as a base layer and gives me plenty of fluid. Will be taking two bottles as well just in case I need to "shower" off any gravel dust. Other than that its a pretty normal race. Will be bringing plenty of gel packs and solid food to eat along the way.
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