Pat

6 weeks down, 2 to go

After 6 weeks of the “Time Crunched Cyclist” the one thing that strikes me is how hard the workouts are. Not just that the specific intensity is high, but in nearly every workout when I start my last interval I have no idea if I'll be able to finish it.  Nine times out of Ten I do finish, if just barely.  You see, the goal of these particular intervals is to go at “max intensity” and the only guidance given in the book is 101%+ of your CTS Test and that some athletes go 110 to 130%. After a little trial and err I found out I can go 105-107% of my CTS Test, any higher and I can't finish.  Once you've figured what your achievable goal numbers are, the program is fairly straight forward. I do keep finding myself wanting to increase my goal wattage numbers, but each workout has increased difficulty built into it and it's everything I can do to finish the last interval at my goal wattage.

So for now I’ll keep plodding along, doing the workouts and looking forward to when I can retake the tests and see how the program has worked for me.

Until then,

Train Hard and Smart,

Pat

 

Weeks 2 & 3 Time Crunched

I finished up weeks 2 and 3 of the experienced competitor plan from "The Time Crunched Cyclist" and everything is pretty much going as planned. The intervals in weeks 2 & 3 get progressively shorter and more intense. But, the time required to accomplish the workouts stays right at 6 hours. The one thing that strikes me is that I keep wanting to do more. Don't get me wrong, every time I try and walk up a flight of stairs I'm instantaneously reminded of my last set of intervals. It just doesn't feel like I'm spending that much time on the bike. Which, of course, is the point of the plan.

 

On the nutrition side of things I've been following the books recommendations very closely; with one small change. I've been using the recommendations for a 165lb rider, not a 190lb rider.  You see the formula doesn't know what your lean body mass is and doesn't differentiate between a  200lb rider with  5% body fat and one with 25% body fat. Metabolically, there is a huge difference between those two riders. On the flip side, a 165lb rider with 7% body fat and a 190lb rider with 19% body fat both have about 154lbs of lean body mass and metabolically are very similar.  And seeing that my goal is to be the former not the latter I decided to use the recommendations for a 165lb rider.  So far, I haven't had any fueling problems finishing my workouts and after three weeks using the TCC plan my weight is unchanged. So, I figure I'm fairly close to where I need to be nutritionally.

 

Week 4 is a "rest" week, which is to say there is one less hard work out than last week.  After that, it's four more weeks of work before a final test to quantify how well the Time Crunched Cyclist works for me.

 

Train Hard and Smart

Pat

Week 1 Time Crunched Training

Week One of my Time Crunched program is in the bag.

It started off with testing down at Saltair near the SLC airport. I know testing at 4200ft and training at 6500ft isn't ideal but I decided to do it that way for a couple of reasons. First of all, I have no idea if my local roads will be safe for doing an all-out test in 8 weeks as it'll be getting close to snow season. Secondly, almost all of my significant testing and/or racing for the last year has been down in the Salt Lake valley and I'd like to keep things consistent. On my first 8 minute test I averaged 295w which was very high for me. The second test I was blown and didn't go well, but it was 95 degrees so I let it go. According to the Time Crunched Cyclist, Threshold power equates to approximately 90% of average power of this 8 minute test. That would put me at 265w threshold power which is way above the 245w I've been using in Salt Lake. But, the workouts are based on this test so I happily took my 295w and went to work.

The first week of workouts are a combination of longer intervals at or just below threshold (prescribed percentages of the test) and endurance miles also at intensity derived from the test. My first set of intervals went fairly well except I fell about 10w short of my target wattage on each interval and totally blew up by the end of the last one. I figured I'd take some of the outdoor variables out of the equation by doing the next workout on the trainer. By 5 minutes into my first interval I knew I was in trouble. I was using an altitude adjusted 254w and my heart rate was already 178 bpm or 7 bpm over my LT. I finished the first interval, mangled my way through the second and stumbled through about 3/4 of the third before falling off my bike. For the third interval workout I used 235w and everything went OK. The endurance ride was a non-event as it was at a much lower intensity.

It's hard (and really unfair) to try and characterize a program when you've only gotten 1/8^th of the way into it. One thing I can tell you is that if the weeks to come are anything like last week, I'll need to pay very close attention to nutrition and rest. Because, this program is intense and the better I focus on doing everything exactly as prescribed the better my results will be.

As far as the test results go, I'll try and get back out to do the 8 minute test again. I'll also try and do a 20 test just for a basis of comparison. And maybe a hill climb....how many workouts is that?

Train Hard and Smart

Pat

The Next Step

Leadville was the last event I had scheduled for 2009 and now that it’s over the question is, “where does my training go from here, what’s my next step?”

Over the last couple of weeks I had a chance to sit down and reflect on 2009 and do some goal setting for 2010. I really enjoyed my focused bike training for the State TT and felt I made great progress. My training for Leadville was less focused and I floundered a bit. I’d like to take that same focused, power based, training I had for the TT and turn it towards being a competitive Cat4 Road bike racer and maybe even start picking up some upgrade points by the end of the 2010 season.  Of course, if I have the training time available, I want to go back to Leadville and kick some butt there too!  The problem is, training for the 2010 season here in Utah won’t really start till December and that’s 13 weeks away, so what do I do in the interim?

I mentioned in my Leadville postmortem that I had been reading Chris Carmichael’s new book “The Time Crunched Cyclist”. It’s a great book for cyclists like me who find themselves on extremely tight schedules, but still want to ride competitively. The book has an eight week power based training program that is designed to bring you to peak fitness for 4 to 8 weeks of racing. According to the book, the program increased the CTS athletes Threshold Power by more than 10% over the eight week program and they were able to maintain that fitness for several weeks of racing. If the program works for me, that would be exactly what I’m looking for. But, before I base my whole 2010 season on a training program, it’s probably a good idea to make sure it will actually work for me.

So, there’s my next eight weeks. In the next couple of days I’ll do some testing to establish a baseline and figure out my current power levels. While I won’t post the training plan, that belongs to Chris Carmichael and CTS, I’ll try and post my weekly progress along with my before and after power numbers.

Train Hard and Smart,

Pat

Testing, Testing

As we approach three weeks till the Utah State Time Trial my training plan has gotten very focused on race specific efforts both in power and duration. Yesterday was scheduled as a testing day. To get a handle on where my power was along with bike setup in “real world” conditions I decided to head out to the local Time Trial series in Saltaire. The course is a dead flat 6.75mi out and back on an access road next to I-80 that sees little or no traffic.

The wind was fairly light at 5-7mph out of the east, so I decided to push the pace some on the way out (into the wind) and take it “easier” on the way back. I was hoping to average around 250-260 watts and close to 25mph. But truthfully, I had no idea what kind of speed I'd be able to maintain, that's why I was testing!

I started out way too hard averaging 360 watts for the first minute and then settled down averaging 256 watts from there till the turn around. This gave me an average power of 267 watts for the first half with and average speed of 23.2mph. On the way back I averaged 247 watts and 25.8mph. Over all I averaged 258 watts and 24.44mph, fairly close to what I was hoping to do.

So what did I learn from this testing?-

1- I have a fairly good idea of where my power is both in Park City at 6800ft and Salt Lake at 4200ft. Depending on where the Time Trial is, the course still hasn't been announced, I'll be able to adjust my power accordingly.

2- My aero setup seems to be pretty good, but could use some further refinement. I'll be dropping my aerobars one more spacer and check to see how that effects my breathing and power.

3- I'm not quite there yet. If I want to be able to go sub 60min in a 40k TT, I need to go 24.8mph for an hour. Even with a better aero-position, better pavement, no wind and a perfect taper I'm not quite there yet.

So I work. 3 weeks to go, 12 workouts to finish and then I race!

Train Hard and Smart,

Pat

Indoor Vs. Outdoor intervals.

 OK, I think we all have a love / hate relationship with the trainer. Living in snow bound country, the trainer is a necessary evil for a big chunk of the year. But once the sun comes out the trainer isn't necessary any more, it's just evil. But I have to admit, after spending over 70 hours on the trainer this season I've gotten pretty good at doing interval at a specific wattage. And I had no idea if I'd be able to hold a specific wattage stable outdoors while dodging cars and trying to keep the bike on the pavement .

On Wednesday I decided to give it a try. My prescribed workout was 4x9 minute intervals at 102% of threshold or ~230w on my TT bike. I headed out to a nearby climb called “Big Mountain” that is closed seasonally to car traffic do to snow. It was the perfect road with a continuous climb and no cars to deal with, just other bikes. I decided to warm up on the first part of the climb and then do four ten minute intervals keeping my power in the 230-240 range. It turns out maintaining a power range wasn't difficult at all, even if it did hurt a bit. I ended up with average powers of 237w, 234w, 229w, and 236w. Right where I wanted them. I did run out of hill before I finished the final interval, but I ended up with 34minutes at 103% FT and the workout called for 36 minutes at 102%. So, pretty darn close.

The moral to the story, weather permitting, I'm outside!

Train Hard and Smart,

Pat

Spring is here! Or maybe not!

Two weeks ago you would have thought spring was here. The snow was melting, the birds were singing and I was riding outside. It was beautiful a beautiful thing. After several months on the trainer riding outside was a welcome change. But then, as often happens, the weather changed and the snow came back with a vengeance.

Looking on the bright side, I did get to put on my finest spandex and do some testing outdoors while the weather was still nice. The results? In a 20min TT my average wattage went from 227 watts to 252 watts. Same road, same bike, about a 10% improvement in 3 months. I guess all that time spent on the trainer is paying off. Which is good because I'm going to need the motivation to get back on the trainer and keep working. Only 63 days till the State Time Trial and I need more watts!

In other news, I've started running again. It turns out I got in to the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon this year. Which is precisely 8 days after the State Time Trial. I can run while I'm on layovers with work, but I'll have to shoehorn some swimming into my training schedule while I'm at home.

Then once the Time Trial and Alcatraz are over, training changes again as I start stretching my endurance to get ready for the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike race in mid August.

So, it should be a fun year. I know the snow wont last forever. And once all the skiers are gone, I'll have over a hundred miles of some of the best mountain biking there is, just out my back door. I wonder if my tax refund will cover a PowerTap for the mountain bike?

Any way, for now it's back on the trainer on the TT bike.

Train Hard and Smart

Pat

How not to prepare for a crit...

The greatest benefit of having a Power Meter is being able to workout at a prescribed intensity for a specific amount of time. There is no subjective, wishy-washy, this feels about right. You can look down and see exactly how hard you are working at any given moment. It's great. And if there's a recurring theme from coaches it's that most people go too easy on hard days and too hard on easy days. So why when I looked down at my Power Tap on Thursday and saw I was going way too hard didn't I ease off? It was a beautiful day, I was riding outdoors, and I hooked up with another local rider, and you know the rest. What should have been a Zone 2 ride became a “don't mind me, I always wheeze like this when I ride” kind of ride. Then Friday I did my intervals as planned. So by the time the crit started on Saturday any snap that I once had was throughly driven from my legs.

The race was fun none the less. The wind was out of the south at 21mph gusting to 25mph. I started in the back and worked on moving forward for three laps till I was about half way up the pack. I was really pushing myself to move forward so I figured I'd sit in for a couple of laps and recover. I checked to see how big the pack was behind me and found out I was the tail end. Apparently, those people I had worked so hard to pass had either passed me back or fallen off the back. Two laps later it was my turn to get dropped, as we came around a 90 degree turn straight into the wind I lost the wheel in front of me and that was it. A few of us worked together to get to the end but I never saw the lead group again.

The good news is, I learned a lot about how hard I can actually push if I need to to stay with the pack. I also got a lot of great data which will help me with pacing in the future.

This week I'll be doing some testing on the Time Trial bike this to figure out where my Functional Threshold is and where I need to get to over the next 74 days.

Train Hard and Smart

Pat

Some times it's harder not to train.

I'm not talking about taking it easy to recover from a workout, or letting your body heal after an injury. I'm healthy, recovered and have a brand new set of wheels, Power Tap and all, sitting at home.

Let me back up for a minute. I received my new Power Tap wheels from WheelBuilder.com last Thursday. After putting the girls to bed that night I had just enough time to mount some tires and drool over them before leaving on a trip the next morning. I'm an airline pilot and it is without a doubt the best job in the world, at least for me. But the downside is, I'm away from home, and my bike, for several days at a time.

So here I sit, 2000+ miles from my bike, trying to move forward on my training for the Utah State Time Trials in 86days. When all I really want to do is go ride on my new wheels.

In an effort to make my time on the road productive, I've been plugging my weekly workouts into the off days of my schedule and trying to figure out how this will all work. In essence I have four workouts I want to accomplish on a weekly basis.

1. Threshold Intervals- Done at 100% of Functional Threshold for 20min (2x20 or 3x20 as the race gets closer)

2. Supra Threshold Intervals- 105%-107% of FT for 5 to 9 minutes (5x5@107% or 4x9@105%)

3. Z2 Long Ride- On the Road Bike hopefully outdoors 2 to 3 hours, below 80% FT

4. Training Crit- 30min local crit on Road bike.

I have enough time before the Time Trial to get in two 4-week cycles before my training gets race specific. The local training crits will solely be for training, trying to get some hard efforts into my legs and having some fun.

That's about it, all I have to do is plug the workouts and testing into my days off, make sure I can recover between efforts, and get the power progression right and I should be set. And save some time for my wife and the twins...and my in-laws are coming to town for a week...and...oh yeah, I need to start running and swimming again next week.

But more on that later (think sharks)

Train Hard and Smart,

Pat