Writing it off

I pretty much fell off the wagon last week. I only got 7hrs of training. Way below that of even a rest week. "Not good Maverick"!!

There were some highlights. I dropped another pound or so. I was able to do a solid 60 minute tempo ride and get in two weight lifting sessions. So the week won't be a total loss.

I had plans of digging into Base3 this week right away but I am going to keep on schedule with a rest week. That will be at least 10hrs training. I may take a day to extend my tempo time out to 90min.

I think I would be setting myself up for failure if I started base 3. I need a mini break to recharge/refocus. Also, I need the weather to warm up a bit so I can do more miles outside. Sitting on the trainer really sucks!!

Time out

I climbed on my bike yesterday morning not feeling the best but I still attempted a tempo workout. I had to stop. I had no energy and felt nauseous. I went to work but had to leave early.

After a couple naps, I felt better... guess my body needed a time out. I still feel a little week, but I was able to teach spinning this morning.

So, I missed one of my weight workouts and a Tempo workout. I am not going to worry about it. I may substitute the tempo workout tomorrow morning instead of my single leg drill. I have one more weight workout scheduled for Saturday.

As far as trying to get 18.5 hours this week? Forget about that too. I will just take the rest of today off and pick up with schedule tomorrow.

Taking it to the Streets

Friday night according to schedule I did some hill work on the trainer. I did about 10 sets of 3min hills with 3min rest in between. For each hill I allowed my HR to climb up to zone4.

Saturday, I took a little break to get some housework done. I still was able to workout for an hour in spin class. I needed some rest/recovery from the hill work.

Sunday, I was able to get back outside again and I took full advantage of it. I knew that I was going to get at least 4hrs of riding. The neighborhood street were still snowy so I decided to take out the SS(Single Speed). From my house I headed North on Radial Hwy and then 75 to Blair. The hills were a struggle with the SS but I tried to stay seated for all. I felt pretty good into Blair so I kept going North toward Herman. To make a long story short, I was able to get 5:30hrs of riding time. I had good power for about 4:00hrs. After that I was in the "just get it done" mode.

It was another good week. I was able to get all my BT (breakthrough) workouts done.
BT 1) Tempo 35min 2) Hills 10x 3min x 3min 3) Long Ride 5:30hrs
On the downside I only lifted weights one day.

I have one more work week of 18.5hrs then it is a recovery week. It will be tough to get all the hours. I am going to try but my main focus will be on the BT workouts. I need to get a 50min tempo ride, more hills and a 4:30hr Long ride.

Speed work Thursdays

I was schedule for 90min but didn't drag myself out of bed 'till 5:30. I considered skipping the workout entirely but I knew how much I would regret it.

I climbed on the bike for a hour. I did 3 sets of isolated leg drills. Each rep included pedaling with one leg for a minute then switching to the other leg for a minute. Times 3. I could keep my pedal action smooth for about 40 sec. After that it got sloppy. Also, I could only get my cadence up to about 83rpm. So there are a couple things I can improve.

Tonight I am going to do more speed work with Spin ups. Another 90min. UGH!! Tomorrow will be nice because I only have to spend an hour in the saddle. I hope I have the energy to get an effective hill workout.

Janurary - This is it

the month I have been dreading since picking up my training again. Mother nature is keeping up her end of the bargain. Then there are the long hours on the trainer. Check...got that too. I can handle another couple of weeks on the trainer but I need to get outside soon.

Last night I lifted. I think I am done with Muscle strength training. I am going to keep all the weights the same from here on out but shoot for higher reps.

Got up Uber early this morning to get 2hrs of training. Tonight is another 2hr.

Tempo Zone

It was pretty easy rolling out of bed this morning. After a day rest I was ready to get back on the saddle. I was schedule for tempo ride... Zone 3(approx 153 - 163) for 35min.

This time anything less than 35min was unacceptable. After about 8minutes of spinning easy, I forced my HR up with some 30sec hard efforts. 15min into ride I was firmly into my zone 2. After 18min, I was up to 150bpm. So, I started my tempo work 19min into my workout. I still struggled with the first 10min in zone 3. I think I will just have to get use to it. My HR leveled at 160bpm and for the last 10min in zone 3 I had to concentrate to keep my HR below 163. It was easy for the last 10min.

For the rest of the workout I just soft pedaled and kept my cadence up around 105. I finally climbed off my bike after 1:15hr. My new mantra is "No Junk Miles" or in this case "No Junk Minutes". Coach Troy said this on one of his Spinerval DVDs. If I am not being productive on the bike then I am done with the workout. No sitting on the bike "Doing Time".

Pretty Good Week

Last week I accomplished all my goals. Reduced weight by a pound, do a 30min tempo workout, and ride for at least 3hrs straight. Not very lofty goals but I checked them all off. With a last burst of energy Sunday, I was able to get 14 of the scheduled 14.5hrs.

Saturday was my only low point. In spin class I ran a fitness test so I was off the bike helping people to stay motivated. I lifted after class and did a 2hr ride in the afternoon. That was not pretty. I was very tired and I probably should of taken the time off. Anyway, I burned some calories.

Today is a welcomed day off but then I start Base2 week 2 - 17.5hrs. Most of the time will be spent on the trainer. It is going to be a lot of early mornings.

Getting use to the Trainer

I didn't have any trouble climbing on the trainer for either my morning workout or my evening workout. I just climbed about and did it with no preconceived notions of the upcoming boredom. It IS nice not to spend the extra time bundling up for the outside.

Anyway...
Morning workout - 1:30hrs, HRavg 139, Cad 89, zone 2 time ~1:20min
Evening workout - 1:30hrs, HRavg 137, Cad 93, zone 2 time 52min

Short and Sweet

Last night I skipped the Evening workout. I was eager to go this morning. I will do another 90min tonight. Lifting and a force workout tomorrow.

1:30hr E2 workout, 1:12min in zone 2, avg cad 92, avg hr 139

Tweaking Zones - Still

Since I don't have the luxury of a power meter I have to deal with HR. It is really important to get my HR zones right. Right? I don't know.

Lets look at zone 2. If you follow the Friel plan, most of your riding is in zone 2.

If I go by my first power test(with LT set at 167) my zone 2 range is 137 - 148bpm. In practice, I usually keep my HR in the Upper part of that range sometimes going over when I feel good. After about 1:30hr of riding it is really easy for me to stay around 148. This is a solid aerobic effort for me but not tough. I can do 2:00hrs riding in this zone and do another two then next day.

Using my second power test(LT @ 179) my zone 2 is quite a bit higher 145 - 155bpm. Since this is new I don't have much experience using this range as my zone 2. I think keeping my HR in this range, I would not be so eager to get on the bike again the next day.

I stay motivated with setting my zones according to the lower LT but is that challenging enough? Should I challenge myself more with the higher zone.

What to do? There is one big smudge in my log book where I keep erasing and changing my training zones.

1st Tempo Workout

I hate to admit that I struggled with this one. This 1st Tempo (M1) workout was suppose to be 20-30min in zone 3. For the past couple of months almost all of my workout have been in the upper end of zone 2. I can ride with my HR at 148 for at least 2hrs. I figured no problem, I can do 30min in zone 3. That's just another 10bpm more.

After a 20min warmup, I started forcing my HR up to the 150s and topping out in the lower 160s. I started having doubts 5min into the workout. Then at the 10min mark I started changing my mind about doing 30min. Luckily I started getting into a groove. I settled down to a HR of 159 for the last 5 minutes. I stopped the workout at with 20min in my zone 3.

It was shocking to me at how much harder I had to work to stay in zone3. One of my goals for this week is to do a 30min tempo ride so I am going to try again. Probably in one of my Thursday workouts.

HR Zone Tweaking

UnScientifically speaking this is how I figure my HRZones based on my VAST :p experience, testing and racing.

Zone 5c(187bpm or higher) I haven't seen any effort higher than that... but it is possible

Zone 5b(186 - 182bpm) Can get there on a tough hill or sprint efforts of less than 2-3min. Could keep pedaling but would quickly drop down to zone 2

Zone 5a(182 - 179bpm) 5 - 10min effort like at the end of a TT

Zone 4 (178 - 165) One hour to 90min effort Crit speed

Zone 3 (164 - 155) Could do 2 - 3hrs if racing but not every day

Zone 2 (142 - 154) Longer rides - cruizing speed

Zone 1 (141 and below) recovery

Base 2 begins

Although I only got 8hrs training in last week I accomplished all of my goals.

I did my power test. Not happy with that. I had the lowest power numbers of all the guys on the team here in Omaha. 3.63 watts/kg. Bill, who did the test, says that my LT is 179. I not sure that is accurate. With that new info I adjusted my training zones up a little. When I did my power test in Oct with Marc Walters of he told me my LT is 167. So, I moved my training LT up to 171... splitting the difference. There is a lot of overlap in the Friel zones so I should be ok.

Did a 3hr training ride yesterday. Used the new HR zone 2 and felt good. Spent 1:25min in that zone.

Shaved a pound off my weight. I am at 197now... survived the Holidays

This week Base 2 begins. I get to add more intensity with a tempo and a force workout.

Happy New Year

Not much to report. I did a spin class Weds. morning for about 1:15 and nothing Thursday. I've had been re-reading my Paleo Diet for Athletes book and actually started following that but it was preempted by Dad's new years dinner. So I am starting today.

Spin class tonight and tomorrow with a power test after the spin class. Should be fun!!