Happy New Year!

The holiday period proved to be tough on my training regimen. Between the added stress, work hours, and winter weather, I only rode about twice a week (mostly on the trainer), but I was in the gym a decent bit. Kettlebells have been my staple workout tools recently. I was able hit the road a few days ago, and I must say, the legs felt STRONG!! I should be able to resume a full schedule beginning next week. I'm looking forward to it. Everyone has small lapses in their training, right?

I'm waiting for my new front derailleur to arrive, so I can officially convert my bike from a triple to a double. I've also added a set of 50mm carbon tubular wheels to the arsenal, so I'm eager to try them out. I can't wait to race this bike!

Happy New Year to all...happy training!

This week's schedule

Monday- Rest

Tuesday- 2hr. EM (Endurance Miles) with 4x5min MT (Muscle Tension) intervals

Wednesday- 1.5 hr EM

Thursday-2hr EM (Endurance Miles) with 4x5min MT...Lifted legs at the gym, due to WIND!!

Friday- Rest

Saturday- 2.5hr EM (Endurance Miles) with 20min T (Tempo)

Sunday- 2hr EM (Endurance Miles)

Once again, it's been a while...but I'm still training!

With daily life, it's not always easy to blog everyday, and I'm not very good with consistency anyways. I am still training, though. In fact, my training schedule just switched from my "foundation" period, to my "preparation" period. My workouts have become more intense, with a higher heart rate, as well as adding a bigger focus on muscle building. For example, in one of my workouts this week, I climbed a hill with 8% grade in 52x17 gearing (about 4 minutes to complete). Repeated x 4, in the middle of a 2 hr. ride.  Normally, I'd probably be in 42x15 or so...and who knows how low I'd go if it was an extended effort.

I just got a set of 50mm deep Carbon Fiber race wheels, with bladed spokes. Not only are they super aerodynamic, but I also shaved about a pound of weight from my current wheels. They're tubulars, instead of clinchers, so they'll be reserved for race day, but I'm waaaayyy excited to have them.

Some other changes I hope to make soon:

Double crankset (53/39)
New seatpost
New pedals

This week, I also got to ride with another teammate from the CRFP team. I was excited for a couple reasons. First of all, I think it's important for the team to ride together as much as possible, to learn each others styles and strengths. Secondly, Dennis has a reputation as being a STRONG rider, and I love pushing myself. It turns out, he's been sick recently and still hasn't recovered fully, but it was good to ride with him, nonetheless.

Hip/Knee Pain Info

Recently, I've been having some pain in my hips (bilaterally, although worse on the right). I know my flexibility is horrible, so I've started stretching more than usual, but probably still not enough. I did some digging around on the internet, and found that oversized crank length can lead to knee and hip pain. This is interesting, because when I built my bike, I initially had 175mm arms (WAY too long), which I downsized to 172.5mm. For the race season, I'd like to switch my setup from a triple ring to a double, so I'm faced with the issue of deciding crank length once again. I stumbled across an interesting read....here it is:
http://www.cptips.com/crnklth.htm
According to the author, at 5'10" I'm exactly borderline between 170mm and 172.5mm proper crank arm length. It does say, however, that too short can be inefficient unless you spin at higher cadence. This still doesn't help my decision, as I'm comfortable around 90 rpm. Why can't the technical stuff ever be easy?

The past couple weeks

It's been a few weeks since I've updated, but I'm still training frequently. In 3 weeks, I will switch from my "Foundation" period, to my "Preparation" period. Basically, my intensity will increase, and my training hours will decrease slightly. I recently had ANOTHER cycling computer take a dump on me, so hopefully I will be able to replace it soon. If anyone can recommend a reliable computer with HR and cadence, I'm all ears. And don't say the Garmin 305....that's what just broke. On the indoor trainer, I've continued to combine workouts #1 and #3. This has been amazing. The past few days, the weather has been great, so I've gotten out and put in some good "hammer" miles, too.

Recently, I've been working on getting my nutrition squared away. I've managed to put together one hell of a workbook to help me track my intake (ok, so a couple of my computer savvy friends helped a little).  If you've ever worked with syntax in MS Excel, you'd appreciate how tedious this has been! I also received some info and recommendations from my nutritionist, so I'll be putting her stuff to the test. Hopefully, this keeps me from overtraining (underfueling, actually).

I also recently started working with a sports psychologist to work on eliminating competition anxiety, and maximizing mental performance. Y'know, David Goggins says that once your mind makes you want to quit, your body is only 10% finished. So far, we've talked about things like visualization, positive "self speak", focused thought, and eliminating comparison-based evaluations of performance. It's pretty interesting stuff.

Trainer Workouts

Recently, I've been riding my stationary trainer a lot. The weather has been difficult, and my schedule got kinda hectic for a while. From the workouts that I posted previously, I've been combining #1 and #3 in the same workout, and it's awesome. I simply go all the way through workout #1, and use the "cool down" as the warm up for #3, and then roll right into the next workout. A word of advice if you do this: Make sure you have both water bottles full!

Cold Weather Training

A good portion of the country is either already experiencing a taste of what's to come this winter, or soon will be. We have 2 choices: go out and ride in it, or workout on the indoor stationary trainer. I'll be doing a good portion of both. I found a great couple of workouts, and will probably be referring to some of them during my winter blogging. It's in pdf form, and from what I can see, it's free for all to use. Here's a link:
http://www.purpleextreme.com/Info/Trainer%20Workouts%20Complete%20Series.pdf

Enjoy!

Interesting article on endurance physiology

Ok science nerds, in my quest to wholly understand VO2 consumption, I read an interesting article the other day. It basically stated that through endurance training, the majority of change in tolerance to exercise (in athletes) takes place systemically, rather than centrally. Instead of changing lung function, the body increases the amount of mitochondria in your cells, as well as the density of your capillary beds. Increased mitochondria production leads to faster, more efficient oxygen uptake (requiring less energy for the same amount of glycolysis or ATP production). Increased density at the capillary beds apparently has a few effects. First, it allows blood to pass through slower, which increases the amount of time for oxygen/nutrient transfer. And second, it provides a larger surface contact area, which also allows for a greater uptake of nutrients.

Another interesting point of the article stated that after a significant endurance training program, vasoconstriction (and the subsequent shunting of blood) to organs such as the liver, kidneys, stomach, and GI tract lessens. Thus allowing for a greater removal of cellular waste products, delaying the build up of lactic acid in the system. It is also theorized that the reduction of build up and stress in these areas lessens the activity of baroreceptors that trigger the sympathetic nervous system in regards to HR, BP, respiration, etc.

The studies were illustrated by training an athlete's 2 legs separately. When excercised, the better conditioned leg provoked less stress on the body (less sympathetic response) than the less conditioned leg, using the same testing criteria.

It's a very interesting study that is worth reading (if you're into that sort of thing). I have it in pdf form, but can't figure out how to upload it to the blog, so if you know how, contact me, and let me know!

It's been a few days since I posted, but I'm still training nearly every day that I'm not at work. Recently, the weather hasn't been cooperative, so I've had to bring it indoors and ride the trainer sometimes. I've been rockin' the gym with some good old fashioned weight resistance workouts, as well. Even though it's counter-productive for a cyclist to have a big upper body, it sure feels good to have at least a little muscle up there! Tomorrow it's supposed to rain all day (again), with temps in the low 40's.  I guess it's gonna be another indoor day...

My Caffeine Study Trials Are Complete!

Today I rode my final TT for the JMU caffeine study. I was only privy to some of my results, since the trial is still being conducted. I don't know yet for which trials I received caffeine, and at which dose, but I got my times and isometric power test results back. It's going to be interesting to see when the caffeine doses were given, because by my perception, I would have guessed that my fastest to slowest trials would have been #1, #3, #2, in that order. It turns out that it was actually #3, #1, #2. Also, my strongest isometric test was AFTER my first TT...(not even my fastest day)...interesting. I would have guessed that it would have been before one of the TT's.

On TT days, I had to fast for 10 hrs (except for water), drive 90 minutes to JMU, take a pill (maybe caffeine, maybe no), warm up, blood test, 6 isometric strength tests, 40k TT (with interval VO2 tests throughout), cool down, then 6 more isometric tests. WHEW....science is awesome, but I'm ready for a break!!

I'm working tomorrow, then hopefully back on the bike on Saturday and Sunday.

This week has been pretty good training so far. 2 days ago, I was able to hit the gym and lift my legs pretty hard, which was nice. I focused alot on calves, so they're still pretty sore. Today, (since I have a JMU TT tomorrow), I opted for a short, but intense ride. I have a local ride that I do, that is roughly 18 miles with around 1100' of climbing, but I use it to test myself from time to time. Today, I was able to do it for a personal best record...gaining one whole mph on my average! It was even windy today, so I'm satisfied with my results.

After my ride today, I sat down and ate the 2 "fruit pizzas" that are pictured above. An awesome recipe, and has a good bunch of carbs...exactly what I need!

The past week or so...

Well, I was "hurting" for a few days, so I went very light on riding for a week. My IT band (presumably) was hurting in my right hip, I didn't have much energy, and I think I was grossly undereating. Last week, I rode a 40k TT with JMU for the caffeine study, and that was about it. This week, feels much better, so I rode about 40 miles on Saturday, then about 30 miles today. Still feeling pretty good. I did, however, GORGE myself with all kinds of food the past 3 days, so my carbs are obviously at a good level!
Hopefully everything is back on schedule now, and I plan to still put in a good amount of training this week.

9/28/09

It's Monday, and I've taken a few days off from the bike. We had some friends from Cali stay with us for a few days, and today there's 30 mph winds. I did manage to squeeze in a good kettlebell workout yesterday which left me a little sore. Hopefully I can get out early enough tomorrow morning before the winds starts blowing again.

9/24/09

Yesterday, a couple friends and I rode 64 miles, with around 5500' of climbing. What a great day! For me, it was one of those days that felt like I could push as hard as I want to, for as long as I want to. Ahhhhh...I love days like that.

JMU TT #2

Today, I had another TT Test @ JMU. It was the strongest I've ridden since my race last week, which was nice. The above picture is part of the 1200 calorie meal that I consumed on the way home! Yep, that's a 500 calorie cheese danish...
This afternoon, I started having pain in my right hip and lateral knee. I'm fearing some IT band irritation. Tomorrow's a rest day, so hopefully it calms down a bit.

9/21/09

This post is late, but I did train yesterday. I only managed about 30 miles, before becoming discouraged and calling it a day. I felt like I had no strength/endurance, and the wind was brutal. I'm beginning to think that I'm under-eating. I have never been good at consistently eating large amounts, and now that my activity has increased exponentially, I haven't begun to eat that much more than I have in the past. For a few weeks while I was monitoring my intake, everything seemed ok, but I have been lazy recently, and haven't been writing stuff down.
My wife mentioned finding a nutritionist, which sure would be nice, but we'll see.

Puttin' in some more miles...

Well, it literally rained ALL day yesterday, so I scrapped my ride. Instead, I hit the gym and lifted some weights. So today, I did a 3 hr. ride which was great! I love it when I need to carry 3 GU's with me (every 45 min.), so I decided to have a little fun with Photoshop when I got home. Today, of course, was more "Foundation Miles", as will be for the next 2 months. I work tomorrow, so if I have enough discipline, I'll wake up at 3am and get a kettlebell workout in before I leave.

Tuesday ride = still tired!

Today, I rode 1.5 hrs. of "Foundation Miles". Also, lifted some weights in the gym...some good ole' upper body work! I'm still feeling a little fatigued from this past weekend. Tomorrow's a rest day, so maybe Thursday will be business as usual...

Back into the swing of things

 

I finally unloaded my bike from race weekend this afternoon...when I lifted it out of the back of the truck to put the back wheel on the ground, a HUGE amount of water came rushing out of the chainstay tubes!! I guess that proves how much rain we raced in. I took a picture of my dirty head tube...yeah, my drive train was dirtier, but I like the head tube pic (photoshopped, of course).
Today, I had a 2 hr. "Foundation Mile" training ride with 7x10 sec. "Power Stomps" included. I found that I'm still not recovered from the blistering race-pace from 2 days ago. My muscles are still fatigued. Once I got home, I also did about 40 minutes worth of kettlebell training. After that, I did a double shot of protein powder, showered, and took a quick nap. This evening will be full of carbs!

Race Day!

I raced the Milton Harvest Festival road race today. Here's my little wrap-up:

I started middle of the pack, then worked my way up to the top 10 within about 2 miles, then hung on there for about 5 miles. It wasn't until a big "separator" hill that I fell back to about 15th. The lead group took off, and I found myself in the second chase group, but still ahead of the peloton. We all took turns pulling, and reeled in the first chase group, making it a 6 man chase. I was hurting after catching them so I took a break for a mile or so, and sat "back wheel" in our group. The pace quickened, and I re-entered the rotation, making sure that I pulled my fair share. We had the lead group in sight, about 300 yards or so up the road, when I FLATTED!!! DAMMIT!!! I stood on the side of the road for about 40 minutes waiting for the SAG wagon, until one of the last guys on the road offered me a tube. I guess I'll be carrying my own shit in races from now on...

Oh, and the above picture was from the rankings board at the end of the race. My friend (and teammate) decided not to race because it was supposed to rain, so another friend of mine decided to have a little fun with it!

JMU TT #1

 

 

I had a 40k Time Trial Test today, for the JMU caffeine study. I had to completely fast for 10 hrs prior to the test, woke up at 3am, arrived at JMU at 5:30am, went through blood draws, the TT, plus VO2 tests all by 8:30am. So, needless to say, the drive home was pretty much non-stop carb replacement therapy! In the first 30 minutes of the drive home, I drank a Coke, a bottle of Gatorade, ate a blueberry bagel, a cereal bar, and an apple pie. Halfway home, I stopped for a Starbucks grande white chocolate mocha....got home and PASSED OUT for 30 min!
Tomorrow's a rest day, getting ready for Saturday's race.

Good Training Ride!

Today I rode with another member of my club/team. I had originally intended to stay aerobic throughout the duration of the ride, but it didn't turn out that way! Also, it's very frustrating to watch somebody who weighs 65 lbs. more that you, pull away! Especially on a climb. I'm cooked.
Here's today's stats:

46.3 mi.
2000' of climbing
18.5 mph average

Tonight, I need to eat, eat, eat...I have to fast for 10 hrs starting @ 7p tonight. I have a TT test in the morning for the caffeine study @ JMU. I'm hoping for a good effort tomorrow.

CTS Training Regimen

Today, I did some resistance training at the gym. Included legs, chest, back, and abs. I'm trying to taper my riding a little bit to prepare for a small race this weekend. It's a fairly short race, at 29 miles, on relatively flat terrain. I think the total elevation gain doesn't exceed 1100 miles. Should be a good test of my conditioning this far, and give me a decent indication as to where I stand, preparing for a full season in the Spring.

For the next 12 months, I will follow a workout that is outlined and described by Chris Carmichael in his book, "The Ultimate Ride". There's a ton of great info in the book, I highly recommend it.

Here's my periodization schedule:
Sept., Oct., and Nov. will be "Foundation" months. This will basically be a period for building a solid aerobic system. There won't be a lot of anaerobic work, just a bunch of solid work to build a foundation to build upon. I suspect (as confirmed by my VO2 Max test the other day) that I've got a decent base already, but might as well be sure!
Dec., Jan., and Feb. will be "Preparation" months. During this time, the length of workouts may shorten, but the intensity will start to increase, as I begin to push my lactate threshold a little more. Hopefully, this will start to build some good pedal force, and give me some good power both in and out of the anaerobic zone.
Mar. and April will be for "Specialization". This is where my cycling will hopefully begin to really take form, as I continue to build specific skills needed to successfully race. Some of these workouts will also be pretty intense.
May, hopefully, will be a peak month for me. This should be when I am  at my peak performance/conditioning. The schedules aren't out yet, but hopefully there will be a few races during this month to allow me to capitalize on this!
June goes back to a "Preparation" period to begin rebuilding after my peak.
July is another "Specialized" period.
In Aug., hopefully, I will Peak again.

New Tires!

I finally got some new tires on my bike (my previous pair had about 2000 miles on them). I decided to go with the Continental GP4000 (yellow) set (I have to admit, they look good!). I wanted to check out the Michelin Pro Race3's as well, but nobody locally had them in stock. I got the Conti's mounted, and headed out to try to squeeze in a ride before a rain storm. They ride VERY well in comparison to the Conti Ultra Sport's the I just took off. Unfortunately, I flatted about 15 miles into my ride! No big deal, just changed out the tube and everything was fine. Maybe it was because I used my old tubes in my new tires...
I did manage to squeeze in almost 25 foundation miles before the sky got ugly and convinced me to head home. I'm following a training program that Chris Carmichael outlines and describes in his book "The Ultimate Ride". More on that later~

VO2 Max Study @ JMU

This week, I began the preliminary steps of a "caffeine trial" that JMU is conducting. This study will determine which caffeine-sensitive gene the test subject's liver has, and how that gene is effected by caffeine. The aim is to find which athletes do or don't respond to caffeine. (I think). Anyhow, I completed the VO2 Max test, which is a scientific way to say that you're curious about how efficiently your lungs use the oxygen that is in them. The test consisted of strapping a tube to my face (to monitor the air movement), wearing a heart rate monitor, and putting a computer in front of me (to record all the numbers), while riding a stationary trainer bike.
I found out the my VO2 Max is 59. Not too shabby considering 1) My age (32), and 2) The fact that I could probably train a little harder. In case you're wondering....Lance Armstrong's is 84!