Yesterday was just pure gold. High temps in the upper 60's, sunny and light winds.
My goal for the day was to get in four hours of base training with some zone 4-5 work in there somewhere. I rode south out of Saline to Willow Rd. then east past I-275 to Willow Metro Park. This is the location of the TT that will take place on Sunday. I met two of my athletes there, (John and Mike), for a workout and familiarization for Mike. This will be his first TT so I wanted to give him an overview of the race and also some coaching on starting, etc..
The ride out to the park was really nice since it was just after rush hour. Willow Rd. was very quiet. I only saw a few cars which was very nice. This was one of the few rides I have had in my life when I didn't have a single motorist pass too close to me or do some other nutty thing. It took about an hour and a half to get down to the park and I found John and Mike setting up their gear. We spun around the course for a few miles then practiced starts. Since Mike is on a recovery week, I didn't want him to hammer away. John and I, however, are on build weeks so we did the full six laps. John improved his time over last year by over 40 seconds! I was low tech using my cell phone as a chronometer and rode somewhere between 31 and32 minutes which knocks almost 3 minutes off last years time. What a difference a year makes. My goal for Saturday is to ride a 31 minute TT. This will be hard but I think it is a a reasonable goal.
After the TT workout I rode back to Saline enjoying the bright sunshine. That's good too because as I write this Wednesday morning, the rain is pouring down.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
STS #3 Recap
Ooh baby this one hurt! The race organizer upped the laps to 50 due to the perfect weather in SE lower MI yesterday. I showed about 1045 am for the 1130 am start with James. We went to the 9 am worship service.
We went through the usual chaos of getting bikes out and getting rigged for the race. Plenty of time though for a decent warm up followed by an inspiring team briefing.
The race started the way they all do with a pretty easy first lap then someone tries to stir things up early. I jumped with this early break of five or six riders just in case it developed into something which it didn't. Some time after this two riders got off the front. Josh Tarrant and I am not sure who the other rider was. We never saw them again. Josh is in awesome form. They managed to get themselves as much as 40 seconds. I was told that we had brought them back to about 20 seconds inside of 10 laps to go but I think the strong men figured it was pointless to continue to chase without a chance to reel them in.
I have to say this one hurt a lot. After those early efforts I was pretty gassed with many, many laps to go. Judging by the number of folks who where watching from the roadside I think everyone was hurting. The field was 69 strong today! I don't know how many were left at the end who didn't take a few laps off but my guess is it was less than 30. It just flat out hurt. I did get a chance or two to recover along the way but sure enough someone would throw down another attack and we got all strung out again. There was this steady winnowing effect as tempo increased and riders got shelled off the back.
A little comic relief was provided by my howling freehub. When I coasted this thing just screamed! It got everyone's attention. At one point I just looked back and told the riders behind me that I didn't know what was going to happen...it could blow up an any second. The problem is a rubber seal that sits between the freehub and the wheel. I need to take it apart and re-seat it. People where coming up to me after the race asking me what in the heck that sound was.
Anyway, along the way I began to notice a lot of the folk on the side where wearing our kit! Like I said, this was a tough one. Let me pay homage to one of my own athletes, Mr. Rune Duke who not only hung on but was driving the action throughout. He is going to be good this year! Cat 3 riders had better take notice because the man we now call "RUIN" IS GOING TO RUIN A WHOLE BUNCH OF FOLK in the cat 3 field this year. He is on his way to a 300 watt ftp by season end and he doesn't weigh 150 lbs and almost 6 feet tall! I couldn't be any prouder of his efforts. After the race I told him all those four hour rides were paying off!!
John Rigdon raced like a demon today. He was going up the road late in the race attacking the field! These are the best riders in Michigan and, I think, they were all hurting and he was inflicting pain! Not bad at all! Rob Iser was still in there kicking at the end with John handing out the pain. Joey was there at the end also.
With under 10 laps to go the field slowed some as it tried to sort out the finish. With less than five laps remaining a couple of riders made a break for it and got away. No one wanted to seriously chase them. Like I said, I think the field was suffering and at the end, anyone who had a little more gas was in a good position.
I was pack fill sitting too far back on the last lap. I hit the sprint up the right while Ruin took off up the left side. I was told we were in the top 15 somewhere.
Our team didn't have the greatest day out but this was a training race. We were exposed a little but it is very early in the season. On the upside I was able to hang in there the entire race. It doesn't sound like a lofty goal but given my numbers, age and experience I call it a success. Many fell by the wayside this day.
Once Doug gets his pics up I will take another look at things and revise the post if things look a lot different.
On another note, one of my athletes, Mike Sackett, raced his first two races today taking second in the C-race and and sitting in the B's. Cat 4's and masters take note. This guy is going to be very, very good this year with an FTP of 290 watts.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
The Valley of Fatigue
Tomorrow will mark the end of my first build week. What a week it has been. I am really feeling the effects of all the efforts I have put my body through this week. One of the authors I have read recently said he tells his athletes he is going to take them through the "valley of fatigue." What he meant was that during the build period, the athlete will be forced to overreach. This is fine. The goal of the coach is to prescribe the just the right dosage of intensity to overreach but not overtrain the athlete. So at the end of the build week the athlete will feel tired and ready for a break. The trick is to drive the athlete as close as you can to overtraining without actually going over the edge. Then comes recovery when fitness soars.
I just feel really tired and sore right now. I did a 2.5 hour ride today and had no problem staying in zone 2. There was no "go" in my legs at all. It was beautiful here today though. Wonderful riding and tons of other riders out. I always like to see other people enjoying bike riding. It doesn't matter if they are rec riders or racers. I rode out of Saline through AA onto HRD to Dexter, Parker Rd., Scio Church back to Saline.
Riding around Saline is getting too crazy. Drivers are not bike friendly often times. I am getting honked at and having fingers waved and pointed at me. Why does everyone think they know the motor vehicle code for the state of Michigan? Drivers tell me that we must ride single file. They tell me I have no right to be on the road. Neither is in the code. There are times when I goof up for sure but I really try to obey stop signs, traffic lights, etc.. Oh well. I am going to bed in the hope that my legs will return to me by morning. Good night.
I just feel really tired and sore right now. I did a 2.5 hour ride today and had no problem staying in zone 2. There was no "go" in my legs at all. It was beautiful here today though. Wonderful riding and tons of other riders out. I always like to see other people enjoying bike riding. It doesn't matter if they are rec riders or racers. I rode out of Saline through AA onto HRD to Dexter, Parker Rd., Scio Church back to Saline.
Riding around Saline is getting too crazy. Drivers are not bike friendly often times. I am getting honked at and having fingers waved and pointed at me. Why does everyone think they know the motor vehicle code for the state of Michigan? Drivers tell me that we must ride single file. They tell me I have no right to be on the road. Neither is in the code. There are times when I goof up for sure but I really try to obey stop signs, traffic lights, etc.. Oh well. I am going to bed in the hope that my legs will return to me by morning. Good night.
Friday, April 20, 2007
A Glorious Day
Today called for 3 hours of zone 2 work. I met Josh out at Barton around 830am and we launched at around 9am. Man what a day! It warmed up to 65F with nary a cloud in the sky.
We ended up riding 57 miles via Island Lakes, Dexter Townhall, North T, Werkner, M52 and the rest of the Waterloo loop back to Chelsea. We pretty much shelved the E2 stuff and did zone 4 intervals with a long zone 3 cruise interval from Mt. Hope Rd to the train tracks in Chelsea. Josh is really improving pushing more watts than he thought possible. The workout was considered over once we finished that cruise interval so we lunched at Zou's before riding back to Barton.
We ended up riding 57 miles via Island Lakes, Dexter Townhall, North T, Werkner, M52 and the rest of the Waterloo loop back to Chelsea. We pretty much shelved the E2 stuff and did zone 4 intervals with a long zone 3 cruise interval from Mt. Hope Rd to the train tracks in Chelsea. Josh is really improving pushing more watts than he thought possible. The workout was considered over once we finished that cruise interval so we lunched at Zou's before riding back to Barton.
A Great Honor
For a few days now, I have delayed mentioning the award I was given at the club meeting last Saturday. I was absent of course, but my wife called me to tell me that I had been awarded the club "Most Improved Rider" for 2006. This is a tremendous honor when one considers the kind of year many had. My vote was for Julie Bellerose. She just continues to improve week over week. She slapped aerobars on her bike at Hines Park and beat Kathy Kirk who I thought to be unbeatable at that distance. Then there is the continued improvement of Rich Stark as he upgrades from Cat 3 to Cat 2. Think about where he started in the 2005 season. The guy is just in phenomenal form.
Anyway, I am honored to receive the award and want to thank all who made me work harder than I ever have in my life!! I remember my first cross country race in high school. I was thinking how hard that was. I know now that was nothing! There were some nights out there at Runway last year when my eyes were just rolling back in my head and I was forced to try just a little harder for a little longer. Many thanks to all the AAVC riders and coaches who have helped me so very much. You all have me deepest respect and admiration.
Anyway, I am honored to receive the award and want to thank all who made me work harder than I ever have in my life!! I remember my first cross country race in high school. I was thinking how hard that was. I know now that was nothing! There were some nights out there at Runway last year when my eyes were just rolling back in my head and I was forced to try just a little harder for a little longer. Many thanks to all the AAVC riders and coaches who have helped me so very much. You all have me deepest respect and admiration.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Festival of Pain...The ITT
Fearing rain in the afternoon, I hit the road for 2.5 hours yesterday. What a beautiful morning for a ride. It was a little cold at the begininning but I bundled up and before long I had a good sweat going.
This was TT day as our club was sponsoring a TT practice in the evening. Since rain seemed like a real possibility, I wanted to put in some zone4-5 efforts on my morning ride. So, out of Barton through Dexter then I hit it from there all the way to Chelsea. I have been riding old school lately with absolutely no technology whatsoever so I had to look at my cell phone for times. (Even my wrist watch is on the fritz.) I recovered riding through Chelsea up to Waterloo Rd then hit it again all the way to Waterloo, recovered down to Cavanaugh Lake Rd. then floored it into Chelsea.
After that effort, I needed a b-room and a coffee so I stopped at Zou's before cruising back to Barton. The bike is making these efforts so fun.
Well, the rain never came and James was just primed for some pain so we apologized to Jean and drove to Willow Metro Park. The juniors worked out first and did three laps or about 6.7 miles. James did well as did Alexi and his little bro' Rem. James is still riding that little Cannondale witht he 650 wheels. He has outgrown it and, I think, is slowed by the fit and size of the wheels.
After these guys were done, a bunch of us did five fun filled laps or 11.?? miles. I was not thrilled with my time, (26:50), but considering the morning efforts and total lack of data, I didn't fret a whole lot. Seeing my power output would have been nice. I didn't hold back but my suspicion is I wasn't getting the wattage that I got on my last test.
Today, I drive my trusty truck to Cincinnati for a meeting. A little one hour spin is in order tonight.
This was TT day as our club was sponsoring a TT practice in the evening. Since rain seemed like a real possibility, I wanted to put in some zone4-5 efforts on my morning ride. So, out of Barton through Dexter then I hit it from there all the way to Chelsea. I have been riding old school lately with absolutely no technology whatsoever so I had to look at my cell phone for times. (Even my wrist watch is on the fritz.) I recovered riding through Chelsea up to Waterloo Rd then hit it again all the way to Waterloo, recovered down to Cavanaugh Lake Rd. then floored it into Chelsea.
After that effort, I needed a b-room and a coffee so I stopped at Zou's before cruising back to Barton. The bike is making these efforts so fun.
Well, the rain never came and James was just primed for some pain so we apologized to Jean and drove to Willow Metro Park. The juniors worked out first and did three laps or about 6.7 miles. James did well as did Alexi and his little bro' Rem. James is still riding that little Cannondale witht he 650 wheels. He has outgrown it and, I think, is slowed by the fit and size of the wheels.
After these guys were done, a bunch of us did five fun filled laps or 11.?? miles. I was not thrilled with my time, (26:50), but considering the morning efforts and total lack of data, I didn't fret a whole lot. Seeing my power output would have been nice. I didn't hold back but my suspicion is I wasn't getting the wattage that I got on my last test.
Today, I drive my trusty truck to Cincinnati for a meeting. A little one hour spin is in order tonight.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Blue Tuesday
Back in town. Last week was epic desert riding but yesterday was great in its own rite. Josh and I hit the road for 4 hours of base training and the significance of this ride was that it was my first ride on the new bike. I had some lingering concerns about bike fit but they vaporized after the first mile. All I can say is THIS BIKE IS AWESOME!!! It was smooth, responsive and quick!
Riding out of Barton Park, we rode to Chelsea and made a stop at Zou Zou's. Paul Almand was just walking out so I introduced him to the new ride. He brought me up to speed on Sunday's race which he said was fast, fast, fast.
Next, we rode out to Munith and made a stop at that raceway diner. Blueberry pancakes. Hey, we didn't screw around the whole time! There were intervals and efforts thrown in there!
After bfast, we rode through Waterloo to M52 then up to North "T", Werkner, back to M52, Chelsea, Dexter...you know the drill.
After 4 + hours on this bike I felt fantastic. In fact, I drove home got the bike back out and rode another 1.5 hours with James and still felt great. The fit is just perfect and ride is incredible. Carbon is quite the material.
Riding around, I kept thinking about my wife. I am married to a patient and kind woman. She puts up with this biking stuff even though she doesn't quite understand the whole thing. I called her from the road and told her we were going out for a date tonight! We left the kids with older sister and went to the Prickly Pear for dinner.
Riding out of Barton Park, we rode to Chelsea and made a stop at Zou Zou's. Paul Almand was just walking out so I introduced him to the new ride. He brought me up to speed on Sunday's race which he said was fast, fast, fast.
Next, we rode out to Munith and made a stop at that raceway diner. Blueberry pancakes. Hey, we didn't screw around the whole time! There were intervals and efforts thrown in there!
After bfast, we rode through Waterloo to M52 then up to North "T", Werkner, back to M52, Chelsea, Dexter...you know the drill.
After 4 + hours on this bike I felt fantastic. In fact, I drove home got the bike back out and rode another 1.5 hours with James and still felt great. The fit is just perfect and ride is incredible. Carbon is quite the material.
Riding around, I kept thinking about my wife. I am married to a patient and kind woman. She puts up with this biking stuff even though she doesn't quite understand the whole thing. I called her from the road and told her we were going out for a date tonight! We left the kids with older sister and went to the Prickly Pear for dinner.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Killer Group Ride
Last day of the trip so I thought I would try and hook up with the Desert Bike Club
for their group ride. The start point was about 15 miles from my hotel so I hit the road around 630am to get their in time for the 730am ride out. Coffee was a struggle because every place I stopped at had long lines. I finally found a Starbucks that had no line so I nabbed a dopio and hit the road again.
When I found the meeting place I was pleased to see at least 100 riders! The club president was giving a spiel about the ride and the club. It was very nice. They welcomed all the guests, (there were a few including a master from Toronto who rides with Darko Fiko). We were told that there would be an A group, a B group and "pokey peddlers". I wanted to be with the A folk. The B folks were going to remain in town and the A folk were heading out into the desert.
Our group was pretty diverse with about 10 women. There was one guy there who was an amputee. He had a carbon fiber prosthetic!!! I am not kidding. He was no poser.
Everything was pretty tame until we hit that long 2-3 mile hill that I rode earlier in the week then all heck broke loose. Riders started falling off one by one. The group got whittled down to six when the rider in front of me lost the wheel he was riding. He pulled off and I tried to close the gap and just couldn't. That was it for me. It was a solo climb for the remainder of the hill. I was sixth to the top and was grateful to be there. It became apparent to me that I could ride with these guys just fine until we hit these long hills. Their top guys just absolute fly up them with such ease it was sickening.
There was no waiting at the top for the stragglers. I caught back up to the leaders and they threw down the hammer big time. Darko Fiko's friend from Toronto lost his computer and me and another rider stopped to help pace him back up to the group. The three guys up front didn't wait and the three of us worked very, very hard for the next 10-15 miles chasing them. They were like gazelles! Cheetahs maybe. They never seemed to pull away but we just couldn't close them down. Two of the three of us were out of towner's so we were getting some coaching on the course from the local guy. He told us about the top of the hills and what was after so we would mash the accelerator over the top and the descend like madmen. I have never descended like this! To close the gap we were putting in huge watts downhill and rotating like it was flat. I didn't have a computer but my guess is we were topping 40 mph. It was a total rush flying down the hills inches away from the wheel in front of you!!
We never caught those guys until we stopped to regroup at a truck stop. I was totally bug-eyed pulling in and didn't notice the very tiny yellow lip on the sidewalk and wham over I went!! It was a slow-mo' endo right in front of these guys that had just ripped my legs off. I reached up as I went over, placed my hand on the ground and landed the rear end of the bike. It must have looked really bad given what some people said. I can't repeat their words exactly but they were expressions of amazement utilizing the word "holy" and a descriptive term for excrement.
After tanking up on water we rode through the city to a pretty cool bagel place. The club provided bagels and cream cheese for members. I thought this was a nice touch. Kind of a party atmosphere.
One of the hammer-time guys up front had a Team Slipstream kit on. I saw another guy who fell off the back with the same kit so I wasn't sure what was going on. Well, I got back to the hotel and went to the Team Slipstream website just to see if this guy was one of them. This is the guy who tore us all apart:
His name, Francois Parisien. I spoke with him early on in the ride and he was super cool. Someone was giving him some friendly grief for not waiting for us but he replied that the race was on!! No kidding. I didn't plan on this when I started my day. The cool thing was he didn't totally destroy us. He maimed us pretty bad but we were still swinging way.
for their group ride. The start point was about 15 miles from my hotel so I hit the road around 630am to get their in time for the 730am ride out. Coffee was a struggle because every place I stopped at had long lines. I finally found a Starbucks that had no line so I nabbed a dopio and hit the road again.
When I found the meeting place I was pleased to see at least 100 riders! The club president was giving a spiel about the ride and the club. It was very nice. They welcomed all the guests, (there were a few including a master from Toronto who rides with Darko Fiko). We were told that there would be an A group, a B group and "pokey peddlers". I wanted to be with the A folk. The B folks were going to remain in town and the A folk were heading out into the desert.
Our group was pretty diverse with about 10 women. There was one guy there who was an amputee. He had a carbon fiber prosthetic!!! I am not kidding. He was no poser.
Everything was pretty tame until we hit that long 2-3 mile hill that I rode earlier in the week then all heck broke loose. Riders started falling off one by one. The group got whittled down to six when the rider in front of me lost the wheel he was riding. He pulled off and I tried to close the gap and just couldn't. That was it for me. It was a solo climb for the remainder of the hill. I was sixth to the top and was grateful to be there. It became apparent to me that I could ride with these guys just fine until we hit these long hills. Their top guys just absolute fly up them with such ease it was sickening.
There was no waiting at the top for the stragglers. I caught back up to the leaders and they threw down the hammer big time. Darko Fiko's friend from Toronto lost his computer and me and another rider stopped to help pace him back up to the group. The three guys up front didn't wait and the three of us worked very, very hard for the next 10-15 miles chasing them. They were like gazelles! Cheetahs maybe. They never seemed to pull away but we just couldn't close them down. Two of the three of us were out of towner's so we were getting some coaching on the course from the local guy. He told us about the top of the hills and what was after so we would mash the accelerator over the top and the descend like madmen. I have never descended like this! To close the gap we were putting in huge watts downhill and rotating like it was flat. I didn't have a computer but my guess is we were topping 40 mph. It was a total rush flying down the hills inches away from the wheel in front of you!!
We never caught those guys until we stopped to regroup at a truck stop. I was totally bug-eyed pulling in and didn't notice the very tiny yellow lip on the sidewalk and wham over I went!! It was a slow-mo' endo right in front of these guys that had just ripped my legs off. I reached up as I went over, placed my hand on the ground and landed the rear end of the bike. It must have looked really bad given what some people said. I can't repeat their words exactly but they were expressions of amazement utilizing the word "holy" and a descriptive term for excrement.
After tanking up on water we rode through the city to a pretty cool bagel place. The club provided bagels and cream cheese for members. I thought this was a nice touch. Kind of a party atmosphere.
One of the hammer-time guys up front had a Team Slipstream kit on. I saw another guy who fell off the back with the same kit so I wasn't sure what was going on. Well, I got back to the hotel and went to the Team Slipstream website just to see if this guy was one of them. This is the guy who tore us all apart:
His name, Francois Parisien. I spoke with him early on in the ride and he was super cool. Someone was giving him some friendly grief for not waiting for us but he replied that the race was on!! No kidding. I didn't plan on this when I started my day. The cool thing was he didn't totally destroy us. He maimed us pretty bad but we were still swinging way.
Just In Case Yesterday's Offering Wasn't Enough
Notice Stumpy is no longer with the band having died in that tragic gardening accident.
Climb
Rode an hour and a half around the city before heading out to climb 2000' in 3 miles. It was just a great day for a bike ride and what can I say about the climb. It was just a riot. The only downer was that the climb I selected was heavily traveled by dump trucks carrying away ripped up asphalt. I hit this stretch of road at about the 2000 ft elevation. It was that shaved off blacktop. You could ride on it and it really wasn't bad at low speed during the climb. I asked a passing hiker who was descending how far this went and he told me "all the way to the top." That was it for me. I looked behind me at how steep the descent was going to be and made the decision to call it quits. I am glad I did because the half mile or so I had to control my speed on this ripped up stuff was pretty rugged. Once I cleared this stretch the descent was a gas.
Last ride before leaving tomorrow. I am going to try and hook up with the local race club for their group ride. I will need to ride 15 miles to their meeting point by 7:30am. It could be a high mile day by the time I roll in the 30 miles to and from the ride out but I will just play it all by ear.
Last ride before leaving tomorrow. I am going to try and hook up with the local race club for their group ride. I will need to ride 15 miles to their meeting point by 7:30am. It could be a high mile day by the time I roll in the 30 miles to and from the ride out but I will just play it all by ear.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Death Ride
Rode out into the desert again today and had the worst and hardest day of the season. Because of the mountains here, it can be windy in an area and just five miles away perfectly still. When I started the ride it was calm. I rode like for almost two hours through city and then into the desert. I climbed two or three miles up out of the city through a little mountain range. Felt absolutely fantastic. When I got to the top of that hill I had to head west and got hit with a tremendous headwind. It seemed wise to keep going because the day before on this road the winds changed routinely. Not this way today though as the winds just got stronger and stronger. My guess is that the winds were hitting 40 mph. It was 20 miles into this. If I stopped peddling, the bike stopped right now even coming down hill. Sand was being blown up into my face. I really wasn't sure I was going to be able to complete this thing. I did though and ended up riding with the wind for a few miles after making some turns. The trucks were on the interstate right next to me and they weren't going much faster than I was! I figure I was in the 45-50 mph range. The next leg back into town was all crosswind and then the sandblaster dust storm hit me. This hurt pretty bad and sand got into my right eye and I couldn't clear it.
I finished after 56 miles and 4 hours dead tired and feeling a bit, well, stupid. This is supposed to be a recovery week and I turned it into a very, very intense effort. When I looked in the mirror I was shocked. The person looking back at me
looked like he just race Paris-Roubaix. Sand and road grime all over the place. I had sand in my right ear canal. Geez it was ugly.
Recovery is going well after getting a big pasta lunch. Tomorrow will be different fo' sho'.
My bike is an aluminum Giant TCR with full Dura Ace. Not bad for a rental.
I finished after 56 miles and 4 hours dead tired and feeling a bit, well, stupid. This is supposed to be a recovery week and I turned it into a very, very intense effort. When I looked in the mirror I was shocked. The person looking back at me
looked like he just race Paris-Roubaix. Sand and road grime all over the place. I had sand in my right ear canal. Geez it was ugly.Recovery is going well after getting a big pasta lunch. Tomorrow will be different fo' sho'.
My bike is an aluminum Giant TCR with full Dura Ace. Not bad for a rental.
On The Road...
Well, I am once again out on the road plying my trade as a corporate pilot hunkered down at an undisclosed location in great southwestern United States. I am not really at liberty to say where I am at but I think I can tell you that it is warm and sandy. How's that?
I rented a road bike and it is a pretty good bike really. It's a yellow Giant TCR aluminum frame with an incredibly uncomfortable saddle. As I road along today I thought about all the blogging titles I could use. One was, "In Praise of the Arionne". After three hours on this Specialized Alias 130 saddle, it seemed like a fitting title. After riding the last 10000 or so miles on the Arionne I am a little spoiled. There just wasn't enough surface area on this thing!
Here are some shots of the flora and fauna:
The weather was beautiful with 80F temps and clear desert skies. The desert has this smell that I remember from my days living in Tucson. I can't describe it but it is a smell that is clean and fresh and I love it. It is the desert version of the pine forest smell. I saw a road runner but other than that it was all Chevy, Ford and Toyota. If can guess where I am at go ahead and take a stab but don't count on me affirming your answer!
I rented a road bike and it is a pretty good bike really. It's a yellow Giant TCR aluminum frame with an incredibly uncomfortable saddle. As I road along today I thought about all the blogging titles I could use. One was, "In Praise of the Arionne". After three hours on this Specialized Alias 130 saddle, it seemed like a fitting title. After riding the last 10000 or so miles on the Arionne I am a little spoiled. There just wasn't enough surface area on this thing!
Here are some shots of the flora and fauna:
The weather was beautiful with 80F temps and clear desert skies. The desert has this smell that I remember from my days living in Tucson. I can't describe it but it is a smell that is clean and fresh and I love it. It is the desert version of the pine forest smell. I saw a road runner but other than that it was all Chevy, Ford and Toyota. If can guess where I am at go ahead and take a stab but don't count on me affirming your answer!
Sunday, April 08, 2007
What Science Says About Warming Up
(Excerpted from the USCF Level 2 Coaches Manual)
This article might just give you the edge you need next time out!!
What science says about designing a warm up protocol
One of the qualities that science brings to coaching is the control science seeks when studying events and interventions to see what works. In order to determine what intervention or technique works, the science does everything the same each time and changes only one factor. This allows for the scientist to determine what one change (or potentially combination of changes) impacts performance and by how much.
One consideration in putting together a warm up protocol for different athletes is their physical capabilities. Two athletes of different abilities can use the same warm up protocol with varying effects. For the less trained athlete, the warm up itself might create a state of fatigue before the competition even begins. Well-trained athletes also tend to have better developed thermoregulatory systems such that a longer or higher intensity warm up might be needed to increase muscle temperature.
Passive warm up techniques such as warming blankets may be necessary to maintain the elevated temperature in cases where a long delay might be necessary between the warm up and competition, especially if the ambient temperature is cool or cold.
Intensity
A warm up at an intensity of 60% VO2max has been shown to deplete high-energy phosphate concentrations; if there is not an adequate recovery period (5 minutes), the concentrations cannot be sufficiently restored. If the warm up intensity is too intense and the recovery period too short, the performance may be impaired as a result of depleted high-energy phosphate and/or increased hydrogen ion concentration. For trained athletes a warm up intensity of 70% VO2max, may be optimal. When considering the warm up for an aerobic event (lasting
>30 minutes) where core temperature may be a limiting factor the optimal warm up intensity might need to be lower such that core temperature is not elevated too much above resting levels.
Duration
For short-term performance, the duration of the warm up needs to be sufficient to raise Tm. With the onset of exercise, Tm increases quickly in the first three to five minutes and levels off after ten to twenty minutes of exercise. Since, as noted above, a warm up at an intensity of <60%>VO2max does not deplete high energy phosphates, but that intensity can increase Tm if exercise is performed for 10 to 20 minutes.
For moderate to long duration events, the warm up needs to be long enough to elevate V02 while being short enough not to cause a great deal of fatigue. If the intensity is moderate to heavy, VO2 will reach a steady state in 5 to 10 minutes. Studies show that a warm up of ≥ 10 minutes at 60 to 80% VO2max can lead to improved performance. Bishop mentions that one study using a warm up of 25 minutes improved performance for a long duration event; however, the potential loss of muscle glycogen or decrease in heat storage capacity (depending on the ambient conditions) might make the longer warm up less than ideal.
Recovery Duration
How long should the athlete wait between the end of the warm up and the start of the competition? In some cases, this might be beyond your control. At some events, the start time will be the time the introductions or other pre-race activities occur that could the athlete to standing around for a period of time. As much as possible, the warm up should take these factors into consideration.
For short-term performance, a moderate to high intensity warm up followed by no recovery period seems to lead to a sharp decline in performance.. This decline is likely due to a
shortened period of time to restore high-energy phosphates. If for some reason, the recovery time between the end of the warm up and the start of the competition is short, the warm up should be as brief as possible.
Bishop proposes that the recovery duration (the period between the end of the warm up and the start of competition) may play a role in performance. Since resynthesis of
phosphocreatine (PCr) takes about 5 minutes, it would make sense that the warm up end 5 minutes before the start of a short duration event where the high energy phosphates are critical to performance. It should be noted that complete resynthesis of PCr is not complete after 5 minutes, but waiting for complete resynthesis, which can take up to 20 minutes, could compromise Tm.
For short duration competitions, the recovery period that seems to work best is 5 to 15 minutes. This period allows for PCr resynthesis and for Tm to remain elevated.
For longer duration competition, the key factors are Tm and V02. V02 will return to baseline within about 5 minutes of the cessation of moderate to high intensity exercise. Studies show that when the recovery period is ≥ 5 minutes performance is not improved. The recommendation from the literature is that for moderate and long duration competition that the recovery period be ~5 minutes or less.
Specificity
Coaches are fond of saying that the three most important things in training are “specificity, specificity, specificity”. When it comes to warm up, the principle can be applied. First, the warm up should focus on the sport to be performed rather than a general warm up like calisthenics.
The addition of some intensity specific to the task to be performed seems to improve performance. Kayak athletes who included short duration, high intensity efforts during the warm performed better than those who merely warmed up at a lower intensity. In the kayak example, the athletes warmed up at ~65% VO2max with 5 sprints of 10 seconds duration at 200% separated by 50 seconds at ~55% VO2max. The mechanism for improvement using the sprints might lie in increased neuromuscular activation. Caution needs to be taken that the intensity is not too high that it leads to fatigue or that the recovery period is too short for high phosphate resynthesis.
What The Research Says...
An optimal warm up depends on many factors such as the weather, the course, tactics, is critical to keep good records to see what works and what does not work for each athlete. Two athletes of similar ability may warm up very differently.
The research suggests that for short term performance, a warm up of 40 to 60% VO2max for 5 to
10 minutes with a 5 minute recovery before competition will improve performance. The
addition of higher intensity efforts may be beneficial as noted above. The 5 minute break allows
resynthesis of a majority of phosphate energy stores.
For longer term efforts (intermediate and long term performance), research suggests that a specific warm up of 5 to 10 minutes at 60 to 70% VO2maxax with a 5 minute or less recovery. Adding short, high intensity bursts should be beneficial. The research suggests that warming up for longer than 20 minutes does not have physiological benefits associated with warming up (increase muscle temperature). In addition, an extensive warm up can increase core temperature; if the conditions are hot, this reduction in heat storage capacity could be detrimental to performance.
Psychological Considerations
The warm up routine can and should include a psychological component. Many athletes performance some sort of mental preparation during the warm up: the athlete should monitor what he she does for mental preparation to adjust it just as one would do for the physical preparation. Some of the psychological components can be done prior to the physical warm up. Below are some tips for a pre-competition sport psychology protocol:
• Visualize the course or demands of the event. If the athlete could ride the course and know it, the athlete can picture him/herself successfully negotiating tricky sections of the course, for instance. The athlete can also visualize being successful.
• The athlete can focus on past successful races. If the athlete has competed successfully over the course before, he/she can draw on that success.
• Reduce the negative talk. If the athlete has competed on the course but has not been successful, the athlete’s task will be to cease negative thoughts from entering the mind.
• The athlete needs to manage his/her energy properly. Does the event require the athlete to get “pumped up” or to be calm? During the warm up, the athlete will need to begin that preparation accordingly.
• Build confidence. One method for building confidence is to review the training log. Just flipping through a training log (thus another important reason to keep a training log) and looking at all the excellent workouts done in the preceding weeks can be a confidence booster.
For more information, review the chapters on sport psychology in the Level 3 and Level 2 manuals.
Real Life Considerations
Many factors, some of which do not relate to physiology, will determine the necessary warm up. While this section has focused on the physiology of warming up, real life considerations and personal preferences need to be considered and integrated. To some extent the guidelines and examples in this section should be used as a starting point and adapted from experience. It is critical that good records of warm up protocols and ensuing performance be collected so that changes can be assessed.
It is not unusual for cyclists to warm up far longer than athletes in other sports. Some of this protocol could be because of tradition (a very strong influence in cycling); cycling is not a high impact sport so warming up on a bike will not induce muscle damage like running will, for instance. Some cyclists will also feel the need to ride a lot even if the event is going to be short. In the Grand Tours, athletes will often ride the morning of a time trial and have an extended warm up since they have become accustomed to being on the bike for a long period and do not want to “stiffen up” or lose an edge.
Psychologically, some riders will want to warm up for an extended period of time to allow themselves the chance to prepare mentally for the competition. The intensity at the start might be very low; it could be argued that exercise of such a low intensity might not even perform a physiological function.
The use of a trainer as a tool might peak during a warm up protocol. The trainer allows for the rider to control the intensity and duration of the warm up far better than riding on roads. It allows the rider to avoid dangers that exist on the road from cars and debris (who wants to flat in the time leading up to a time trial?); warming up on the trainer also allows the rider to avoid having to slow or stop for traffic just when the athlete is to do a higher intensity effort. On the trainer, the rider can control with reasonable precision the duration of the warm up and the intensity. Riders have wrecked while out on the roads warming up. Incidents of wrecking on a trainer are far less common!
The athlete will also need to consider real life situations. For instance, in domestic mountain bike racing. start positions are determined by a first come, first serve at the start line. For this reason the “free range” warm up on the road is not practical, but the use of a trainer set at the start line is a wise tactic.
Cooling Down
The cool down is not as widely practiced as the warm up, but it is no less important. A cool down involves a period of time where light exercise helps your circulatory, respiratory and metabolic functions return to normal. An active cool down can also help prepare you for the next
session.
Slowly taper the intensity of the exercise. Mild exercise (4O% V O2max) enhances the clearing of lactic acid and lactate by maintaining high respiratory and heart rates that increases the removal of lactate from the blood. Mild exercise also maintains the blood flow from the muscles so that the contracting and relaxing of muscles improve blood circulation. Stopping exercise suddenly can also cause blood to pool in the legs.
At the end of a training session, the cyclist should add some stretching to increase flexibility and reduce the risk of muscle soreness. During the cool down, the athlete should also be focusing on beginning the replacement of fluids lost during training along with carbohydrate and perhaps protein.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Easter Weekend In Michigan
We have had some great weather already this spring. Whenever that happens, we Michiganders fool ourselves into thinking winter's frosty grip has subsided. At the ripe old age of 44, I have learned to guard myself against such wishful thinking. At the moment, we are in the midst of a wicked cold spell complete with snow. This is the view just to my right at this very moment:
It is snowing with a temperature of 27 F. Everyone is riding indoors. The training race scheduled for today has been cancelled.
This state is beautiful but in the spring you just can't count winter out until mid-May.
This state is beautiful but in the spring you just can't count winter out until mid-May.
Friday, April 06, 2007
New Bike
Big day 'round here...I picked up my new Blue RC-4 today! Check it out:
I will use these Easton wheels to train with and race on SL's.
I want to honor my dear wife for patiently enduring my passion for this sport. She endorsed this purchase and is my biggest cheerleader. I love to have her at the races and always notice her enthusiasm and support. Thank you Jeanne!!!
I will use these Easton wheels to train with and race on SL's.
I want to honor my dear wife for patiently enduring my passion for this sport. She endorsed this purchase and is my biggest cheerleader. I love to have her at the races and always notice her enthusiasm and support. Thank you Jeanne!!!
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Joe L. Is Really Jens
My son came to me a few weeks ago and he said, "Dad, don't you think Mr. Lekovish looks like Jens Voigt." I shrugged and said, "I dunno." Well since then whenever I see pictures of Jens I am more and more floored with the similarity. We recently received three copies of a new mag called Road Bike Action Magazine, (very cool btw), and guess who is on the cover? This was just too much. I had to do a side by side:
I just want to know how he hides the German accent! It's true...he is the nicest rider in the peloton.
I just want to know how he hides the German accent! It's true...he is the nicest rider in the peloton.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
New Test Results
I felt today was a good day to do some testing. When I did my last test back in December I skewed the results some by doing all the time trial tests in one day. A 1, 6, 12 and 30 minute in one day plus graduated exercise test. The last test was the 30 minute TT. Well, can you imagine how depleted I was when I got to that test? Rune Duke correctly observed that the TT tests should be spread out over several days! This is why these people don't pay me. I have so much to learn.
My 30 minute power on that first test was 240 watts giving me an FTP of 230 watts. Today was different by a fairly large degree. I warmed up for a half hour or so riding over to a development here call "Stonebridge". This is a nice place to do TT work because:
A. It is close by...only 3 miles from my house
B. It has a circular drive with two three way stops and very little traffic
C. The course length is about 2.75 miles.
The results:
Power-Tap #1:
Duration: 29:57
Work: 491 kJ
TSS: 54.8 (intensity factor 1.048)
Norm Power: 275
VI: 1
Distance: 11.834 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 178 460 273 watts
Heart rate: 147 200 176 bpm
Cadence: 79 103 89 rpm
Speed: 20.2 27.5 23.7 mph
Pace 2:11 2:58 2:32 min/mi
Looks like I zeroed in on 275 watts. The improvement over December is hard to measure because of the flawed testing. I think there has been some improvement though. I did another 20 minute TT after some recovery and here's how it looked:
Power-Tap #4:
Duration: 20:00
Work: 298 kJ
TSS: 30.6 (intensity factor 0.959)
Norm Power: 251
VI: 1.01
Distance: 7.703 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 698 248 watts
Heart rate: 130 192 172 bpm
Cadence: 72 100 90 rpm
Speed: 18.1 27.3 23.1 mph
There was some fall off suggesting again that doing the testing the way I did in December fouled up the test data. Check out how much speed I lost by averaging 25 less watts.... .6 mph. Interesting stuff. I wasn't paying any attention to these speeds because my set up was definitely not for max speed. I used my standard road bike set up with my heavy rear wheel and power tap. A fun experiment might be to slap on the aerobars and see what kind of difference they make. Could I develop more power by moving forward on the bike? How much speed improvement would I see. What if I pumped my tires up to 140 psi like I do for TT's?
My 30 minute power on that first test was 240 watts giving me an FTP of 230 watts. Today was different by a fairly large degree. I warmed up for a half hour or so riding over to a development here call "Stonebridge". This is a nice place to do TT work because:
A. It is close by...only 3 miles from my house
B. It has a circular drive with two three way stops and very little traffic
C. The course length is about 2.75 miles.
The results:
Power-Tap #1:
Duration: 29:57
Work: 491 kJ
TSS: 54.8 (intensity factor 1.048)
Norm Power: 275
VI: 1
Distance: 11.834 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 178 460 273 watts
Heart rate: 147 200 176 bpm
Cadence: 79 103 89 rpm
Speed: 20.2 27.5 23.7 mph
Pace 2:11 2:58 2:32 min/mi
Looks like I zeroed in on 275 watts. The improvement over December is hard to measure because of the flawed testing. I think there has been some improvement though. I did another 20 minute TT after some recovery and here's how it looked:
Power-Tap #4:
Duration: 20:00
Work: 298 kJ
TSS: 30.6 (intensity factor 0.959)
Norm Power: 251
VI: 1.01
Distance: 7.703 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 698 248 watts
Heart rate: 130 192 172 bpm
Cadence: 72 100 90 rpm
Speed: 18.1 27.3 23.1 mph
There was some fall off suggesting again that doing the testing the way I did in December fouled up the test data. Check out how much speed I lost by averaging 25 less watts.... .6 mph. Interesting stuff. I wasn't paying any attention to these speeds because my set up was definitely not for max speed. I used my standard road bike set up with my heavy rear wheel and power tap. A fun experiment might be to slap on the aerobars and see what kind of difference they make. Could I develop more power by moving forward on the bike? How much speed improvement would I see. What if I pumped my tires up to 140 psi like I do for TT's?
Sunday, April 01, 2007
STS #1 Recap
What a day for the first race of the year. I know a lot of folks were out at Waterford yesterday but this was the first for me. We started out with wet pavement and fog. Some kind of worm get together was going on all over Ann Arbor today as the slimy creatures slithered all over the course. You couldn't miss them. Everyone had worm bits all over their bikes and kits. My son James did the C-race which was far wetter than the others and he really got creamed...er' I mean, wormed. I couldn't get to the clean up today which means hardened dead worm all over my bike will require a Herculean type effort with a scrub brush tomorrow.
Riders warming up for the C-race
James had a great day as he didn't get dropped in a mixed field!!! I was so proud of him. There were a couple of laps where it looked like he was in danger of falling off but he hung on and actually moved up!
My race was a blur really. 35 laps with all the big dogs including former Tour de France participant Frankie Andreu. Geez, talk about an intimidation factor! James got an autograph on his Team Discovery cycling cap! Somewhere in the first ten laps, Blair Dudley, Max Finkbiener and Vince Roberge got away and stayed away for the entire race. Blair won the sprint to take the race. Blair is really tough and especially so on this course. The pace wasn't blinding but it was fast. I tried to be a good observer of the race around me but it is something that needs improvement. I think I can learn to be a better bike racer but I am not there yet. Cat 4 was all about brute strength. This is different. You have to know which break to knock yourself out to get into and which breaks you need to try and bring back or let go. Where are your team mates at any given time?
Winning break gets away early
Second break sprinting to the finish. Note Joey in the white helmet right in front of the stop sign.
I finished somewhere in the top 15 riders according to some...I dunno for sure. I don't know how big the field was but it had to be over 40. The good news is that my fitness is pretty good considering I just finished my first build week. I found that I could recover really well in the group and felt over and over that I could put forth another big effort after a few minutes in the group.
A couple of seconds later. That's Joey on the front. I am in the blue helmet right behind the rider in the all black kit on the left.
Our team did pretty well with the one exception. We let a second break go without getting someone into it. James Knight jumped and tried to close the gap hoping to get some help. I jumped and went after him. By the time I got there I was just shot. James said he needed a wheel for just a few seconds to recover and then he would be able to go again but I couldn't help. It was just too much. We went back to the peloton to re-think our next moves.
On the last lap, Rune was on my right in the gutter and I was completely blocked by riders. I looked up and saw Joey Schaard right at the front of the group. I yelled to Rune that Joey was right up there and we needed to get to him. We both made moves to get free and get there. When I did we were on the downhill stretch and really flying. Mark Caswell was already there leading Joey out. At that point jumping in front of Joey would have been blocking and not leading out since the pace was so high and I had just put the effort in to get free and join up with them. I went wide on the last turn to get the wind block for the sprint. BTW, the wind was a big factor today blowing out of the southwest at 15-20 mph. Every time you made the last turn into the finishing stretch you got hit with a strong right crosswind. If you took an inside line through the last turn you ended up stuck out in the wind. So, I went wide and the rider on my right overcooked the turn some and forced me into the gutter, (and nearly into the curb), forcing me to use some brakes. That slowed me down and cost me in the sprint. I lost sight of Rune at that point. I know Joey was in front of me and I think Mark had pulled off after leading him out.
(Later edit: Gatto Racing just posted up some pics and it brought some clarity with regards to the last lap. Mark had pulled off after giving Joey a great lead-out. Joey had opened up a two bike length lead prior to crossing the line.)
If these thoughts seem scrambled it is fitting because that is how I felt in the race. Reading that race was like reading a quantum physics text book. Some things were making sense but a whole lot was just unintelligible. Thanks be to God there will be a next time!
Riders warming up for the C-race
James had a great day as he didn't get dropped in a mixed field!!! I was so proud of him. There were a couple of laps where it looked like he was in danger of falling off but he hung on and actually moved up!
My race was a blur really. 35 laps with all the big dogs including former Tour de France participant Frankie Andreu. Geez, talk about an intimidation factor! James got an autograph on his Team Discovery cycling cap! Somewhere in the first ten laps, Blair Dudley, Max Finkbiener and Vince Roberge got away and stayed away for the entire race. Blair won the sprint to take the race. Blair is really tough and especially so on this course. The pace wasn't blinding but it was fast. I tried to be a good observer of the race around me but it is something that needs improvement. I think I can learn to be a better bike racer but I am not there yet. Cat 4 was all about brute strength. This is different. You have to know which break to knock yourself out to get into and which breaks you need to try and bring back or let go. Where are your team mates at any given time?
Winning break gets away early
Second break sprinting to the finish. Note Joey in the white helmet right in front of the stop sign.
I finished somewhere in the top 15 riders according to some...I dunno for sure. I don't know how big the field was but it had to be over 40. The good news is that my fitness is pretty good considering I just finished my first build week. I found that I could recover really well in the group and felt over and over that I could put forth another big effort after a few minutes in the group.
A couple of seconds later. That's Joey on the front. I am in the blue helmet right behind the rider in the all black kit on the left.
Our team did pretty well with the one exception. We let a second break go without getting someone into it. James Knight jumped and tried to close the gap hoping to get some help. I jumped and went after him. By the time I got there I was just shot. James said he needed a wheel for just a few seconds to recover and then he would be able to go again but I couldn't help. It was just too much. We went back to the peloton to re-think our next moves.
On the last lap, Rune was on my right in the gutter and I was completely blocked by riders. I looked up and saw Joey Schaard right at the front of the group. I yelled to Rune that Joey was right up there and we needed to get to him. We both made moves to get free and get there. When I did we were on the downhill stretch and really flying. Mark Caswell was already there leading Joey out. At that point jumping in front of Joey would have been blocking and not leading out since the pace was so high and I had just put the effort in to get free and join up with them. I went wide on the last turn to get the wind block for the sprint. BTW, the wind was a big factor today blowing out of the southwest at 15-20 mph. Every time you made the last turn into the finishing stretch you got hit with a strong right crosswind. If you took an inside line through the last turn you ended up stuck out in the wind. So, I went wide and the rider on my right overcooked the turn some and forced me into the gutter, (and nearly into the curb), forcing me to use some brakes. That slowed me down and cost me in the sprint. I lost sight of Rune at that point. I know Joey was in front of me and I think Mark had pulled off after leading him out.
(Later edit: Gatto Racing just posted up some pics and it brought some clarity with regards to the last lap. Mark had pulled off after giving Joey a great lead-out. Joey had opened up a two bike length lead prior to crossing the line.)
If these thoughts seem scrambled it is fitting because that is how I felt in the race. Reading that race was like reading a quantum physics text book. Some things were making sense but a whole lot was just unintelligible. Thanks be to God there will be a next time!
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