Larry's Cycling Log

Warm, Dry, Windy January

2012-02-02T14:57:00.003-07:00

January was warm, dry and windy. Some days the wind was just too much to handle with gusts over 40 mph and on some days the sustained winds were that high. But overall the month was very favorable for cycling and I was able to take advantage.

January Summary: 50 hours training (includes pilates, yoga and lifting), 460 miles cycling, and TSS=2179. It was the most TSS since May and tells me that I am increasing my intensity as planned.

Beginning last week I moved to my build training plan. The first two weeks are below.

Easy: Core + Yoga, Lift, EM Hygene (25 miles) 0-2k' Mon
Hard: TP 1.5 + TH 3x8x4, 1-3k' or PI 2*3x3x3 6 min RBS Tue
Rest Wed
Hard: TP 1.5 + TH 3x8x4, 1-3k' or PI 2*3x3x3 6 min RBS Thu
Easy: Core + Yoga, Lift, EM Hygene (25 miles) 0-2k' Fri
Long: 3.0 hr+ 2-4k' or TP 2x30x5 Sat
Easy: EM Hygene or EM 1.0 Sun
Easy: Core + Yoga, Lift, EM Hygene (25 miles) 0-2k' Mon
Hard: TP 1.5 + TH 3x10x5, 1-3k' or PI 6x3x3 Tue
Rest Wed
Hard: TP 1.5 + TH 3x10x5, 2-4k' or PI 6x3x3 Thu
Easy: Core + Yoga, Lift, EM Hygene (25 miles) 0-2k' Fri
Long: 3.0 hr+ 3-4k' or TH 3x10x5 Sat
Easy: EM Hygene or EM 1.0 Sun

Probably everyone understands it but a quick reminder on some of the notation. Hygene just happens to be a loop I ride. EM=endurance miles, level 2, TP=tempo, level 3, TH=threshold, level 4, PI=power intervals=anaerobic, level 6. The "or" is where I have an option to ride outside or inside on a trainer.

The first week plan is to ride 120 miles and do 6k' climbs. Week two is 140 miles and 6k'. By June the weekly mileage is more than 300 miles and the weekly climb total is over 25k'. My long ride in February is 5 hours by June it is 12 hours. I will need good weather in March and April to hit this aggressive training plan.

Only 24 weeks until the Double Triple Bypass and only 32 weeks until the Eastern Mountain ride.

Summer Rides

2012-01-09T15:53:00.003-07:00

Amazingly it is only early January and my major event schedule for the summer is set.

The first event will be the MS Ride in Orlando in April. This is just a fun ride with a century first day and 75-mile ride second. I will be riding with friends so the pace will be easy. The elevation gained will be very minimal.

The second event is the Buena Vista Bike Fest on May 19th. I will ride one of the many passes in the area on the 18th (e.g. Monarch—11,312 or Cottonwood—12, 126), ride the century on the 19th, and then ride up Fremont Pass (11,318) on Sunday. The century climbs up to 10,600’ twice but overall I don’t think it has more than 7,000’ of total climbs. Great May workout.

The first peak of the season is planned for the Double Triple Bypass July 14-15. This is a two-day, two hundred forty-mile, twenty-thousand-feet climb monster over three passes (Juniper Pass—10,600, Loveland Pass—11,992, and Vail Pass—10,660) one way on Saturday and then back on Sunday.

After the Double Triple Bypass I plan to back off and then aim for a second peak in September. Along the way I will ride the Deer Creek Century on August 19 which has an elevation gain of 12,700’.

Then comes the big ride. The Eastern Mountain ride with PAC Tours is September 9-26 and then I hope to ride a few days more to reach Canada. Total distance about is about 2,000 miles in 20 days with about 130,000’ of climbs.

Changing topics. This last week was unusually warm so I shifted to more long rides. Total training time: 15:04 hours, total miles 130.5, TSS = 619 and Kcal=5516.

Pulled an adductor playing with my granddaughter this week. Babying it hoping it doesn’t affect my training much.

2011 Summary

2011-12-31T14:30:00.002-07:00

Overall 2011 wasn't the best cycling year because of the truck/bike accident. BTW, nothing has happened on the legal/insurance issues since the driver plead guilty. I tried to talk to my lawyer just before Christmas but got the runaround from his assistant. I am concerned that this is going to turn out badly.

At the peak of training I had an FTP of 230 and a CTL of 90 with five weeks to go before the ride along the Rockies. Now I have an FTP of 190 and a CTL of 60. While my FTP is about what it was last year at this time, nothing else is the same. The maximal power chart shows that almost all power levels were higher at this time in 2010 than now.

Next week the Triple Bypass registration opens. I am signing up for the Double Triple Bypass (240 miles, 20,000 feet of climbs on July 14 and 15). But it is a lottery and the odds are long (only taking 1,000 riders--this is Colorado after all). If I am not selected for the Double, at least I hope to get to ride one way or the other. It is still a lottery and only 5,000 riders are selected.

All that means is that I have to keep focused and working hard to regain my climbing strength. The question is how fast will my soon-to-be 64 year old body absorb the training. My intention is to peak for the Double Triple Bypass, recovery, and then peak again for the Eastern Mountain ride in September.

Data for 2011: Total hours training 456. But only 189 hours since August as my endurance was shot. I was aiming for a 550-600 hr year not counting the Rockies ride. For comparison, in 2010 my total training was 463.

Total miles 5537. About a 1,000 miles short of planned training miles. Since August 2216. For comparison 2010 I rode 5460 and in 2009, 4799.

Total TSS 23,769. Since August, 10,054 which shows that I have been working hard. For comparison, total TSS in 2010 was 20,850 and from August thru December 8,500.

My summary. I have to keep pushing, getting rest, eat better and trust that the training will have the desired impact.

Good-News/Bad-News

2011-12-19T21:33:00.002-07:00

I just finished my second base phase and it is a good-news/bad-news story.

Every year my FTP declines from a high in the summer and bottom outs in December. This seems reasonable to me. But since I am rebuilding from the truck/bike accident I thought I needed to keep building strength this year.

It didn’t happen.

Even thought I worked pretty hard and added some level 4 and 5 work (TH and VM) and held steady at about 10 hours of training a week for the six weeks of base 2 my FTP fell from October’s test. It fell from 209 (CP-20 * .95) to 193 during base 2.
In doing the FTP test this week my goal was to increase from the 209 (remember I am trying to rebuild to the 230 I had last May). But I absolutely could not do it. I tried on three separate days and the best I could do was 193. Horrible. How could I have an 8% decline in FTP after all that work.

Frankly, I don’t know.

So that is the bad news.

Then I began to take a much closer look at my performance over three years and in especially 2010. 2010 is most important because, besides being just last year, it was the first year I planned a reverse periodization doing high intensity work during the winter and build climbing endurance as soon as I could in the spring. Also, it was a rebuilding year after a tough 2009. Finally, it was cut short just as I was going into the last build phase and I was feeling strong.
I figure if I can keep or exceed my 2010 progress I will be in great shape by the end of the summer for the Eastern Mountain ride.

So what was my FTP in December 2010? It was 192 which I would then build to 230 by May 2011 and then the accident. In December 2009 my FTP was 188 after reaching a high of 240 in September.

So the good news is I am exactly where I was last year at this time and in 2009. I had hoped to reach this position at least a month earlier and I had expected to match last year by improving and not by declining less during base 2. But I am happy to be where I am.

Training Summary Week Ending Dec 18: Training time 11:27, Mileage 143, TSS 599, Kcal 5015.

Next week I will lay out my plan for the next 6 to 8 weeks.

November Summary

2011-11-29T19:32:00.003-07:00

Well I am deep into my Base 2 training plan and am fighting discouragement. My improvements always come in step functions a week or more after I think I should have improved. I am now four weeks into Base 2 and I don't see any improvement in power and I think I should have.

Base 2 is a mixture of long rides, at least one a week of 3 or more hours or a 60 minute tempo ride on a trainer; a set of VO2Max intervals of short duration with an even shorter recovery; and a set of threshold intervals.

Some time during the week of Dec 12th I will do another functional power test and it had better have moved up a few watts. The week of Dec 17th begins Base 3 and for me that means six hard weeks of power building intervals. At least six weeks because I won't build much power in the build phase and it will still be winter.

Summary: Training time 35:30, miles 366, TSS 1585 KCal 14700.

October Summary

2011-11-03T09:16:00.003-06:00

October went well.

First, real news on the legal front from the accident. The driver plead guilty. That is a big deal since it takes away one argument from the insurance company (e.g. "the driver wasn't at fault"). I am sure they have other silly arguments and I expect to hear some of them in November.

Second, at the end of October and the end of my Base 1 training plan I did a field test to determine my FTP. I increased it 14 watts which is basically half of what I had lost. I am still 12 watts below where I was last November but I am feeling pretty good about regaining that 12 watts, too. I really didn't push up to 230 FTP until late May so I have all winter to rebuild.

Third, my CTL remains about 10 points above where I was last October. I don't know if I can hold that level or whether I should even care. Add to that my power profile is looking very close to where it was last October which all makes me feel that I am on the right plan.

Fourth, I started a core training program and it really is demonstrating how weak my deep core is. Mostly it is low chair pilates. I will continue to combine this with heavy weight lifting (low reps).

The weather has turned in Colorado just as I expected so I will be doing a lot more trainer work and trying to get a 2.5-3.5 hour ride in once a week when the roads are dry and the wind is tolerable. Trainer work will continue to be 20 minute intervals at level 3 and some 5 minute intervals at level 4.

October Summary: 40 hours training, 500 and change cycling, TSS=2157.

Base 1 Continues with a Small Setback

2011-10-20T11:14:00.004-06:00

Tom Hardman had a crash a few weeks ago but reports he is healing well. That is good news.

I have been following my base 1 plan which basically is increasing my time at level 3. Started with three ten minutes intervals with five minutes between but that turned out to be too easy. So last week I increased it to three twenty minutes intervals with seven minutes rest. I did these at the top of the level 3 power.

Not to get too excited, the top of level 3 is still about 20 watts below what it was this time last year. Still I was feeling pretty good.

Then last Saturday I did a two hour endurance ride and it was harder than it should have been. And then Sunday I am sick. Undoubtedly something that my granddaughter carried from her daycare. It knocked me down Sunday through Tuesday, Wednesday I spend with my granddaughter as my standard day off. Today is Thursday and I still am weak but plan on going to the gym for the first time since last Friday. Hopefully I am back on the bike tomorrow. The weather looks good for the next few days.

September Summary

2011-10-01T06:38:00.000-06:00

I tried to do a century this week and couldn't do it. The endurance just isn't there yet. At about mile 65 my heart rate had drifted up to 150 and as I lowered my effort to keep my HR from going higher it was apparent that I was in for a miserable time. So I called 75 miles good.

Over the three months of July, August and September which I called my pre-base phase I progressed from zero in June to 177, 349, 558 miles; 18:30, 32:50, 40:00 hours training; 1200, 2130, 2260 TSS; and 5400, 11,400, 16,000 KJ. Most important is that my TSS went from a low of 25 on 7-17 to 65 on 9-30.

All to say I am ready to start building endurance and power. In my last entry I gave some wrong numbers on FTP. I actually lost 60 watts from my peak FTP of 230. I come into October at 191 having climbed back a little from the FTP of 170 in early July. Increasing FTP 39 watts is hugely challenging. It took me months to push it from 217 to 230. Hard, hard work ahead.

As an aside, Joe Freil writes that you can calculate your potential FTP by taking your weight, doubling it, and subtracting half a percent for every year over 35 you are. So for someone weighing 170 pounds and, call it, 64. FTP = 340 - 14.5%*340 = 290.

No.
Way.

End of Pre-Base

2011-09-25T17:15:00.000-06:00

September is nearing an end and I have accomplished most of what I wanted to do. With three days of major riding left, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9-27/29/30, the only thing left on my pre-base recovery plan is to see if I can struggle through a century.

I had three major goals for this pre-base phase. One was the century. Another was to raise my TSS to the same level on 10-1-11 as it was on 10-1-10. That is accomplished. Today, 9-26-10, it is 62.8. On 10-1-10 it was 53.3. So I will probably be at 63 or 64 on 10-1-11. A good comeback from a low of 31.0 in mid-July after hitting 88 at the time of the accident on 5-28-11.

The second goal was to recover half the power I had lost. I did a CP-30 in July and found that I had lost 47 watts off my FTP! Last week I did another CP-30. I have recovered 25 watts of the 47 which is just half.

Three other important areas are running, strength and weight. I have not done much running this summer which is pretty standard for me. Nevertheless, comparing my speed at ever distance with last September shows that I am perhaps even more behind running than cycling.

Strength-wise, for some reason perhaps a professional coach can tell me, I am actually stronger now than last year. Probably it says more about my lack of strength last year than it says about this year and that I have been in the gym some this year. Normally at the end of the cycling year I am just heading for the gym.

As for weight, I gained ten pounds since the accident but that still puts me below where I was last October. Still, I have got to get that 10 pounds off and more this winter.

All this to say that starting October 1st a new plan is in order. Similar to last year’s plan, volume starts to decline and intensity starts to increase. Running gets more serious and I have to get that ten pounds off—at the very least. Strength has to continue to increase and I have to get my FTP up to 230.

The only thing to report on the accident is that I have my replacement bike. It is more or less identical to the one destroyed.

August Summary--Prebase

2011-09-05T15:35:00.000-06:00

August is definitely an improvement over July but it also shows how far I have to go to recover my endurance and power. In August I rode 350 miles and trained 33 hours. July I rode 177 miles and trained 18 1/2 hours. June, of course, was basically nothing. But May was 850 miles heading for 1,000 and training time was 56 hours heading for 65. (Remember, ride on the 28th was just starting when I was hit and I had three more weekend days of heavy riding planned).

More revealing is that in August I had total TSS of 2130 and KCal of 11,400. The TSS is a winter load when most of my rides are short, intense and on a trainer. To get close to 11,000 Kcal I have to go back to the winter of '09/'10 when I was buried in work. In short, my body can't take much load yet.

So I will keep up my pre-base work load of long and slow rides trying to build enough strength so that I can take a harder base building program starting in October.

Making Some Progress

2011-08-28T10:12:00.000-06:00

At least on the fitness front, I am starting to see some improvement. Not to be mistaken for back to form. I did two fifty mile rides this week and one twenty mile ride. The fifty mile rides were slow, about 3:20 elapsed time, which is a good 20-30 minutes slower than my standard pace. And I was pretty wiped out and took the following day completely off. Still, I consider 3 1/2 hour rides progress.

I am also doing more running albeit my running pace consists of a lot of walking and a little jogging and no outright running. But my outer gluts were weak to start with and after laying around most of the summer they are nothing. Need some impact work and some side-to-side work to strengthen me.

Nothing on the legal front. My new bike should be in soon and I will just have to pay for it and plan on getting reimbursed by the insurance company.

On Labor Day weekend we are having a cookout for everyone that helped while I was recovering. Some people obviously can't come but we want to thank everyone that did everything from mow my yard to sending a get well card. Having never been sick or injured before, I didn't really understand how much those things, big and little, help.

Thanks.
Weekly Summary: Total training hours 10:45, miles cycling 120, TSS=606 Kcal=4560

Parallel Efforts

2011-08-07T11:22:00.000-06:00

Two things are going on now in parallel--as in non-intersecting.

One is my recovery and rebuilding. This is the third week of increasing activity. I consider this phase a pre-base phase. Just trying to get enough endurance to be able to start doing some serious riding. This week I ran and cycled 111 miles and total training was 9.5 hours. I will continue to work pretty hard through this next week and then take a week off (mostly) for a family vacation.

The second track is settling with the insurance company. My lawyer is preparing a "Demand"--really that is what it is called--to the other insurance company to cover costs, medical bills, etc. That won't be ready for at least a month. Then we will see how the process goes. I hope to be able to document it here.

To remind everyone of the accident I am including my wife's email she sent out shortly after the accident.

"Larry was biking in Lefthand Canyon May 28th and was hit by a truck pulling a trailer. He was hit from behind, and there were many witnesses, so we know what happened. He doesn't remember anything but thinking that the truck was too close while passing him. The next thing he remembers is the EMT asking him how to remove his biking shoes. I got the call from the ER and got there about 12:30. By then, they had done a CT scan and some x-rays. Over the next 8 hours, they did another chest x-ray and an MRI, cleaned his abrasions, and kept checking his left arm for muscle strength. He was released at 9 or so. He had bruises, abrasions, a concussion, and pain plus weakness and numbness in his left arm/hand. No broken bones, amazingly! He developed an infection a couple of days later and had two IV antibiotics plus oral antibiotics. He was pretty miserable until the last couple of days. He's still not able to do much. He still has numbness in his left hand and pain in the left shoulder from his neck injury. They did find a cervical problem with the MRI, and the trauma doctor we saw later said that he has whiplash plus cervical radiculopathy. His still has dizziness/nausea from the concussion. He starts PT this Thursday. We're just very thankful that he's alive. It could have been a lot worse.

All of his gear and his custom FedEx bike were ruined, but we're not upset by that. The main concern that we have is that his cervical injury will impact biking in the future. He had to cancel his bike tour this July, but he's already looking ahead to next summer to see what is available. Robin says that he should just do garage biking on his power wheel from now on. Ginger came from Chicago to help us out which is a great blessing."

Really Long Road to Recovery

2011-07-12T11:09:00.000-06:00

On Thursday July 7th I was cleared to start cycling and not just a trainer. David Twynam was in Boulder that afternoon so we went bicycle window shopping. He needs a new road racing bike and I need a replacement for my Madone. We hit three stores including University Bike, which I think is the top shop in town but more on that later. I bought a helmet so I can ride.

Saturday I rode over to the gym on bike paths to make sure I was steady. It went well.

Sunday I wanted to push the intensity up and do a CP-30 to reset my training Functional Threshold Power. Disaster! I set my early pace at down 25% from my previous mark. That was way too high and I had to abandon the test.

Monday I took my broken Madone to the Trek shop. As I researched warranties I discovered that Trek has a loyalty program where they will replace crashed bikes at a discount. The store manager says the discount is at cost. So I am definitely replacing the bike with a new Trek. Stay tuned.

Tuesday I am having a substantial relapse. If I move my head fast or forward I get very dizzy. Just when I had hoped I was well my head is clearly signaling it isn't.

As for University Bikes, I still think it is the best and most complete shop in Boulder but it no longer handles Trek bikes. That is a big problem for me since all my bikes are Treks and the Trek store is working with me to replace the broken one. I guess it is because Trek has opened its own store in town. Too bad. I didn't like parking there anyway.

Feeling Much Better

2011-06-22T13:46:00.000-06:00

A quick up date. I started to improve rapidly about 5 days ago and feel pretty good. The dizziness from the concussion is less. The numbness in my left arm and hand is also resolving. Both of these injuries take a long time to resolve, I am being told, so it could be months before I know if they are permanent. But for now I feel a lot better.

I have had a chance to look at my bike and it is definitely dead. The rear dropouts were torn out of the frame and broken. And one of the seat stays is crushed--I can squeeze it with my hand.

Thanks for all the best wishes. And for my wife and daughter who took great care of me for the first three weeks when I was pretty much out of it.

Two Weeks After Getting Squished

2011-06-12T13:57:00.000-06:00

Two weeks after being hit I still feel terrible. Everyone is telling me that the insurance company of the truck driver will not be fair but will try to limit their liability so I have to be careful about what I say to avoid it being misused.

But as an update for all everyone that have sent their best wishes first of all thanks. It does mean a lot to me. Second, I am getting better but am far from well.

I knew from the eight hours I was in the ER that is was going to take a while to recover but now I am starting to worry that some of these injuries are permanent and that would suck.

Smashed

2011-06-02T14:19:00.000-06:00

This will be my last post for a while. Saturday I was hit by a truck on Lefthand Canyon. My injuries are not life threatening but it is going to take a while to recover. My new bike is broken. All my equipment did its job especially the helmet.

I am extremely lucky.

Rainy Season in Colorado

2011-05-23T08:41:00.000-06:00

This is going to be one of the wettest Mays in history in Colorado and this last week certainly helped. And when it isn't raining it is windy. Nevertheless last week was planned as a high volume week and I have to live with the weather.

I am getting really concerned about getting practice climbs on the key Colorado mountain passes before the July ride. But even this week there were two different winter storms along the route dropping more than a foot of snow.

The Bicycle Tour of Colorado starts June 19th and the second day is Trail Ridge Road. They are still trying to plow it open before Memorial Day and it has 20 feet of snow on it!

I opted out of the Buena Vista century this last weekend. The weather was just too cold there to make the two day trip worthwhile. I was able to get better climbing in here.

Week Totals: Total cycling 18:40 hrs, 274 miles, TSS=942 and KCal=8469.

There are now six weeks to go and this will be another heavy week. I plan on doing a 10,000' climb/100 mile ride this week. But I will wait for a nice day.

Seven Weeks of Training Left and a Little Panic

2011-05-16T13:04:00.000-06:00

Everything is set for the Ridge of the Rockies ride in July. Now to finish training.

As expected last week was a low volume week. The weather was terrible for several days with rain, wind and even some snow. Even the days when it wasn’t raining it was cold. I rode Saturday when it was 38 and damp and just froze descending Lefthand Canyon.

But now I am starting to panic. I only have seven weeks of training left and even though I am where I expected to be I am worried that I won’t make the progress the last seven weeks I need. Snow and weather are big concerns.

I have two three-week training blocks planned with one week of rest between then and one week of tapering. The first block will stay focused on increasing my long ride to ten hours, 120 miles and 10,000 feet of climb. The last three will be focused on making the major climbs (Grand Mesa, Red Mountain, Wolf Creek, and Slumgullon) of the ride in Colorado. All are difficult but except for Red Mountain I have climbed them once. There is a lot of snow in the mountains. Hopefully it will be mostly melted by then.

No time to panic but I am. Must keep to the plan and not over train at this point.

Weekly summary: Hours training 9:45, miles=157, TSS=576, Kcal=4710 climb=7500’.

Great Weather, Big Week

2011-05-08T20:56:00.000-06:00

Outstanding warm, dry weather allowed me to get some serious work in. I did some 20 minute tempos with 5 minutes RPI and two long climbing rides of 6000' climbs and 70 plus miles and some lesser rides.

Totals for the week: 14:45 hrs riding, 208 miles, TSS 773, 6650 KCal and 14,800' climbs.

Next week the weather won't be as good for riding and family conflicts abound. Will rest on Monday and then do trainer intervals Tues and Wed and hope to get some long climbs in Thur, Fri and/or Sat. Sunday is lost.

April Summary

2011-04-30T15:45:00.000-06:00

April has been a very good month. I got from my training plan just what I wanted. My average power at all important time points (5, 20 and 60 minute) all went up substantially. I have pretty much matched my 2008 power. My CTl climbed 12 points. I lost six pounds.

April summary: Hours training 51:50, miles 723, TSS 2544, Kcal 22,807.

Now my concern is May. I enter May with nine weeks of training left. My main goal for May is to increase my long ride to ten hours plus, 120 miles and 10,000 feet of climbs. My long ride right now is only 5 hours, 70 miles and 5,000 feet. The plan to get there has even more days doing climbs with Z2 and Z3 work. The main obstacle is weather. We are in a pattern of cold followed by warm but really windy (20+ with gusts higher).

And June is also concerning. I plan on riding in June all the Colorado passes on the Ridge of the Rockies route but the mountains are still getting lots and lots of new snow.

I can't let the weather stop me from training but the weather sure can affect the effectiveness of that training.

Week 10--Zone 3 Work

2011-04-26T19:19:00.000-06:00

The weather the week before Easter forced me to move inside a lot more and decrease my volume. It worked out well. The previous week had been a very volume week and I wanted to start focusing on long TP (Zone 3) intervals. I was able to do a 60-minute TP climb outside before the weather got wet. Then I followed up with 3 twenty-minute intervals with 5 minutes RIB. The first two were in Zone 3 and the last in Zone 4. The next day I did four fifteen minute TPs with 5 minutes RIB. I took Easter off to preserve the good feelings my wife has for my cycling.

On Monday 4-25 I got another physical evaluation and bike fit at Boulder Sports Medicine. I see the physical therapists but you might know the place because it is ran by Dr. Andy Pruitt who is constantly quoted in cycling literature and who designs the Specialized S-Works shoes. He is way out of my price range.

Anyway, I went because I continue to have abductor issues on my right leg and IT band and hamstring on my left. I still have flexibility issues deep in my gluts especially on my right side. That inflexibility in my right glut, especially internal rotation, causes several bad things to happen including my right knee to kick out under load which has to be pulled back in line by the abductor. I have more mechanical problems than I want to think about. I am back in PT.

Ten weeks of training to go and volume and climbing will continue to grow—pretty much regardless of the weather now. I like where I am and think I will be ready for the ride.

Weekly Summary: 7.5 hours training (6.5 cycling), 114 miles, 411 TSS, 3378 Kcal and climbed 2,500’.

Eleven Weeks to Go

2011-04-18T08:32:00.000-06:00

Lefthand Canyon at mile 15, about 8,500' Peak-to-Peak Highway view of Continental Divide

The week ending 4-17-11 was the 12th week to go (meaning I have 11 training weeks left). It was the first real high volume, high climb week with sixty minute tempos, twenty minute SS intervals, and climbing repeats (CR at upper end of VO2max) intervals. I am happy about the week. The long ride was only 65 miles but included 5,000 feet of climbing. CTL increased 4 points. The 60-minute tempos are getting stronger.

I am not happy with my twenty-minute SS or with the CR intervals. My endurance at threshold is not good enough as the last 1.5 mile climb up LHC proved. Ugh. 10-14 degrees at 9,000 feet hurt.

Weekly summary: Total training time 13:15 hrs (all cycling), 192 miles, TSS=698, Kcal=6096, total climb = 12,000’ (I was aiming for 12k and it just happened to come out exact to the nearest 100’. Just luck).

Twelve Weeks of Training to Go

2011-04-10T14:56:00.000-06:00

Thirteen weeks from Monday 4-11 at 3pm the rider meeting happens in Kalispell MT for the Ridge of the Rockies. That gives me twelve more weeks of training and a week to taper. I had heard before I rode the Southern Transcontinental that it was best to arrive rested and that is my plan for this ride. With the first two days covering 278 miles and some brutal days starting on day 9 I can't afford to be either tired or not strong enough.

I am on plan at this point with the hardest work still to come. In the winter I held my long rides to 2:30 when I could get outside. I just wanted to keep my endurance up. Now my standard ride is 3 hours with one hour a TP-paced climb up Lefthand Canyon to about 8500'. My long ride is still just 6 hours but I keep increasing the degree of difficulty. I intend to get my long ride to 10-12 hours, 120+ miles and 10,000' of climb. I plan to be there around June 1.

Weekly Summary: 12:30 hours training (10 hours cycling), 153 miles, TSS=508, KCal=5050 and 7,500' climbing.

Spring Training

2011-04-03T16:08:00.000-06:00

I received notice Saturday night that there were only two slots left for the Ridge of the Rockies ride in July. Caught me completely by surprise as I expected Lon and Susan would take at least forty riders and there were only 30 registered riders on the website. Nevertheless, I quickly signed up for the $500 nonrefundable registration fee. I really think I will be in condition for the ride. It is just a matter of how fast I climb and how much pain I want to suffer.

The weather is Colorado-spring crazy. Saturday is was 80 degrees all the way up Lefthand Canyon to Ward. It wasn't even that cold riding down at 40mph. The wind was strong and has been all spring but more on that in a moment. Sunday it is snowing and the low will be about 26. Chased me into the garage for some interval work which I needed.

Breezy around here is under 20mph with windy being above 20. Wind is clearly your enemy on a bike but I have adopted a more accepting strategy. As long as it is not windy or the gusts are not above 20mph I ride. I can go north, west (up the mountain)or east on to the prairie but not easily south. I adjust my route so that I can use the wind as added training resistance. Since miles cycled isn't very important to me it works out for me no matter from what direction the wind is coming. Although strong west gusts can sure push me around when I am heading south going home.

Weekly Summary: Training time: 10:35, miles cycled 139, feet climbed 8,000, TSS 483, KCal 4480.

March Progress

2011-03-31T10:56:00.000-06:00

Much progress in March. All mean maximal power measures moved up several watts, CTL improved by 7 points, and my long ride reached six hours.

Progress needs to continue in April even as I find myself tired on 3-31 and taking a day off. By May 1st I need to decide if I am going to commit to the Ridge of the Rockies ride.

March summary: Total training hours 54:20, cycling miles 603, TSS=2049 and Kcal=21135.

For the first quarter training hours= 138:15, cycling miles 1566 and TSS= 5283.

Analyzing Five Years of Data (part 1)

2011-03-27T20:41:00.000-06:00

March 2011 is the first month when I have reliable data for the last five years of training. So I decided to study how my power has, or has not, changed over the last five years at 1, 5, 20 and 60 minutes using the Mean Maximal Power.

First I ran the data through using various time frames such as 7, 14, 30 and 90 days. I settled on 30 days. But even 30 days left the plot lines too erratic to analyze so I used moved the data to Excel and tried various trend functions.

A straight line function was clearly misleading. The data trends up and down over five years. That is apparent even in the noisy data of 30-day groupings.

A moving average trend line was somewhat better but still too noisy to be of use.

I settled on a three-period polynomial fit that gives smooth curves that can be analyzed.

But to provide a fair comparison I adjusted the 1, 5 and 20 minutes mean maximum power down by 5% through April 2010. Remember that I was doing my high intensity work in Memphis until April 2010 so I reduced the numbers for altitude by 5%. The 60 minute power numbers were primarily from work in Colorado so those were not adjusted.

That is the chart shown.

It is no surprise that my 60 minute power has been declining since 9-08. I was in my best endurance condition going into the southern transcontinental and did not have a reason or opportunity to get back in that shape during the summers of 09 and 10. That the 60-min trend line is turning up slightly is also no surprise now that I am moving to longer rides and the 60-min, 14-day MMP is also climbing. The 60-min trend and actual MMP should increase into June.
******************************************************************
Another strong week with season and windy weather. I will summarize March by the end of the week but it has been an excellent training month.

Weekly totals: 11:18 hours workouts, 174 miles cycling, 545 TSS and 5150 Kcal.

Big Week but Miles "Doesn't Matter"

2011-03-13T20:55:00.000-06:00

Great week except that there was another fire on Lefthand Canyon closing it for now. The weather was excellent in the 50's and 60's most of the week and except for Friday when the wind was gusting to 60 and pushing the fire in Lefthand Canyon it was excellent cycling weather. I rode on four days, twice one day doing a set of power intervals in the morning and a 25 mile endurance ride in the afternoon, rested two days and skied one.

What I mean by miles doesn't matter (I know the English is incorrect but if I use correct English the weak joke is totally gone) is that at this point, and probably always, miles cycling isn't very important. Time and intensity are important.

Time is easy to measure. Intensity is a lot harder. So I use a variety of charts from TrainingPeaks software and Kcals. The priniciple charts are the Performance Management and the Mean Maximal charts. I have these set up to compare 2008 with current performance. Volume will drive the Performance Management numbers. A two hour endurance ride will produce more TSS than an hour of high intensity intervals. But the Mean Maximal charts will not show improvement in key time maximal power. For what I want to do 5, 20 and 60 min are the key times.

I continue to keep a four day ride schedule with two days off completely and the seventh a reserve day/ski day. Two of those ride days are focused completely on intensity doing power intervals or steady state. One day is a long ride which I am increasing by an hour a week. The fourth day is just straight climbing as I am increasing the amount I climb by 2000' a week.

So it isn't miles. It is time climbing and time doing high intensity intervals.

Weekly totals: Total training time 15:00 hours (11 hours cycling), 177 miles, TSS 637, Kcal 6170 and 6300' climbs.

February Summary and Comparing Progress with 2008

2011-02-27T15:48:00.000-07:00

This week I began the first phase of build. The weather was good for February so I was able to get on the road several days. In fact I rode six days this week and on one day I did a garage high intensity ride and then another ride outside.

I am starting to climb, lengthen my average ride, and add in longer tempos. If forced inside, then I am doing as much threshold work as I can.

I keep looking at my '08 data and comparing it with where I am. Making comparisons is hard since I was at sea level 3-4 workouts a week in '08 but those workouts hardly ever went longer than an hour. So I assume the '08 power numbers up to 60 minutes are about 5% higher than they would have been in Boulder.

With that assumption my mean maximal power in '11 is greater than '08 up to 20 minutes then '11 power falls behind by about 15% for 60 and 120 minutes.

Even the CTL through 2-28 is close but favors '08 58.3 vs. 55. But the CTL climbed a great deal in March '08 to 71.3. Clearly Mike Durner, my Carmichael Training Systems coach at the time, was pushing me hard. The TSB shows the two symmetrical periods with the TSB hitting -35 twice!

My power increased from Feb '08 to Aug '08 at 60 and 120 minutes by another 10% over February which means I need to increase my 60 and 120 minute power by 25% to be where I was in September 1,'08. And I have to do it by July 1, 60 days faster.
Actually I think it is quite possible although it will require hard work. I have three more years of serious riding in my legs so I believe my base is far better and I have more time to train. If the weather gives me a break March should see that power-gap decrease.

Weekly Summary: Total training 11 hours (10:40 cycling), 162 miles riding, TSS=551 and 5035 Kcal.

February Summary: Total Training 38:40 (including skiing), 432 miles cycling, TSS=1439 and 14200 Kcal. Not an especially productive month.

About as Planned

2011-02-20T20:32:00.001-07:00

I got more riding and less skiing in this week than planned. The weather in Boulder was a little better than planned so I managed two long rides (greater than 3 hours) and one trainer session. Instead of three days skiing the weather held me to two.

It will be cool this week going to nasty by the weekend. I may ski on Wednesday which is the only day that the weather looks decent. My legs are tired from a lot of skiing so I probably won't be able to do much more than a recovery ride Monday and then trainer sessions the rest of the days next week.

Totals for the week: Total training time 14 hours, 107 miles cycling, TSS=360 and 4285 KCal.

Halfway Through February

2011-02-14T10:36:00.000-07:00

The significance of being halfway through February is that March is only two weeks away. And March is when I hope to begin a lot more outdoor rides (meaning getting off the #*!@^ trainer). I had also wanted to be able to commit based on conditioning and weight to doing the Ridge of the Rockies with PAC in July but it is too soon. I need to see how all the intervals translate into climbing.

Of course March is the snowiest month east of the continental divide so I expect to lose some days. And intervals are an integrated part of my climbing and long rides. I will be equipping my fat-tired touring bike so that it is ready for training when the roads are a little iffy and as soon as the roads a clear of rock I will start using my new bike FedEx was so wonderful to give me.

Last week I trained 8:15, rode 109 miles (all trainer), did an hour of threshold work, TSS=343 and KCal=3341.

This week will be very light on cycling and heavy on skiing. It is the last heavy ski week planned this year.

January Summary--February Overview

2011-01-31T19:00:00.000-07:00

January was a strong month even if the pipes in my basement broke costing me several days of riding. There were several warm days and a couple of 60ish days when I was able to get in some three hour and three and a half hour rides.

But February is seldom so good as to provide 60 degree days and it is starting out way below zero with snow and ice. I expect most of February to be on a trainer and in the gym doing weights. It was always the plan to focus on threshold and power workouts on a trainer in February and into March until the weather is good enough to start building climbing endurance.

Overall I am pleased with where I am. My strength has returned and my endurance is where it was in 2008 at this time. The next 22 weeks are planned although not day by day.

January Summary: Total hours exercising: 45:30, Distance 503 miles, TSS 1700 KCal 18069.

Strong Week and the Packers Win

2011-01-23T18:41:00.000-07:00

After the real-life interruptions of last week I needed a strong week and I got it. It helped that it was not a good ski week because of the cold and snow in the mountains. It is ironic that sometimes there is too much snow falling to go skiing.

Weekly totals: Total workout hours 11.0, Total miles 144, TSS 477 and 5229 Kcal.

This next week the weather is supposed to be quite good. If so, I will take advantage of the warm days and get more endurance rides in. There will be plenty of days when I can't get out and am forced to do intervals in the garage.

A Week Gone to Hell

2011-01-16T19:33:00.001-07:00

This week started promising and finished badly. Badly in the sense that my good training intentions fell extra short.

Tuesday was a good day with a set of SS intervals at the best power I have had this year. Wednesday was a recovery ride day. Thursday I set out to do another set of SS intervals and just didn't have the power. OK, I told myself, the recovery ride was too hard. No doubt about that. Friday I'll try again.

Did I mention that I am sitting my 4-month old granddaughter. That is a lot more work than it would seem. Friday I am solo with her and there never turns out to be time.

Saturday I plan on going skiing with Sven, a friend and great skier. We know the traffic will be awful and the crowd will eventually chase us away. We ski three hours and retreat back to Boulder. But a trip to the gym is trumped by a trip to the grocery store and a return at REI. All OK because it will be 50 Sunday and there is nothing planned. A three hour EM is the plan.

Then I go to get a water bottle out of my TV room fridge and I step onto a wet carpet. I quickly determine that there is a leak in the wall. Did a pipe freeze and break? I doubt it. We have house rules on how to handle cold weather. Nevertheless I have to get a plumber in. He tears out a wall of drywall in my professionally finished basement with the in-wall 50 in. plasma and in-wall speakers and finds a drain pipe broken. A drain pipe? It doesn't hold water. It isn't under pressure. It goes straight down from the kitchen sink and out of the house. Nevertheless, it is broken and since it is waste water everything wet has to go. So in come the reclamation guys to tear out wall, carpet, padding, etc and put in dehumidifiers and fans.

So instead of getting a three hour long ride, my wife and I, stressed by the day and the work to come, go eat ribs and ice cream.

Weekly Totals: Total workouts 6:20 (3:00 skiing), 55 miles cycling, TSS=221 and Kcal=2300.

Finally Catching Up

2011-01-09T20:18:00.000-07:00

My confidence continues to grow that I will be in condition for the Ridge of the Rockies ride. This week I am able to compare with confidence my power and fitness with where I was in January 2008. The data I have from 2008 is much more reliable than the 2007 data. Power, fitness (CTL), and endurance all are about the same now as in 2008.

Of course I gained a lot of fitness and endurance over the next six months through hard training but at least I am no longer behind.

I had a very strong week. Next week I begin six weeks of high intensity training using Carmichael Training Systems Climbing Strength and Climbing Power DVDs for my trainer sessions. It is snowing and very cold and that is likely to continue for weeks.

Weekly Totals: 11:30 hrs total workout, 134 miles cycling, TSS=450 and Kcal=4420

Reviewing 2010 and High Level Plan 2011

2010-12-31T16:36:00.000-07:00

2010 really was a year with three parts. The first four months I was preoccupied with finishing my work at FedEx and didn’t get enough riding. The next four months—through the summer—I did a lot of riding but also took several vacations so while I did build strength and endurance it wasn’t as much as I had planned. Then the last four months I have concentrated on strength and maintaining endurance and while I have struggled to get enough rest at times, I have made the progress I planned.

The last six months of 2010 set the baseline for what I expect to do in the first three months of 2011.

Summary of 2010: Total miles 5458, Total hours training (all forms) 464, Total TSS 20,865 and Total Kcal 167,292. In the last six months: miles=2936, hours=254, TSS=10,780 and Kcal=92642.

There are twenty-six weeks of training left (not counting tapering) before the Ridge of the Rockies ride. I expect those twenty-six weeks to divide into two equal phases primarily driven by the Colorado weather. The next thirteen weeks will probably see a lot of winter and snow forcing me to do a lot of trainer work and slip off frequently for skiing. So for the next thirteen weeks I expect do to three 90 minute trainer rides plus one 2.5 hour endurance ride outside or something shorter but with long tempos if forced indoors. Add skiing, lifting, stretching, and core work and the total hours exercising is fourteen hours a week.

By April I need to be outside climbing but April is notorious for late spring snows. So is May for that matter. I need some decent weather because I need to get in a lot of outside climbing. I have a fairly detailed plan including climbing in June all the passes in Colorado on the Ridge of the Rockies ride. But snow can really destroy that plan. All in all I expect to be on my bike twenty hours a week by June doing nothing but climbing doing several 100 miles/10,000 feet of climbing days per week.

Strong Week

2010-12-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

Colorado weather is perfect right now for me. Granted it is very dry in Boulder and I expect the farmers will be hurt if there isn't some snow on the plains soon. But as far as skiing and cycling goes, it is a perfect combination.

I skied twice this week at Copper. The snow is great; some of the best ever seen in December. I have now skied four times in bright sun and warm, for skiing, temps.

I also cycled three times all hard workouts. My confidence that I will be in condition to do the planned ride increased a lot with these successful workouts. Two of the rides were longish rides of about three hours. One ride was mostly climbing and one ride was a fast 50 miles. The third was a trainer doing long steady state intervals. I felt strong on all--getting my saddle at the right height makes a huge difference.

Totals for the week: 14:40 hrs workouts, 115 miles cycling, 456 TSS and 5030 KCal.

The next ten days will be challenging to get enough exercise time. Family comes in for the holidays, lots of food to prepare, movies to see, games to play with most of the day taken. So it will be up early for tour de garage (TdG) even if the weather is 50. Oh well, come January I will have about 6 months to go and I will spend January and February concentrating on strength and threshold power.

Talk about not Paying Attention

2010-12-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

I have been struggling to hit my target power on my threshold work. No problem hitting my heart rate--in fact to hit my target power I am much at much too high a heart rate. It was very discouraging--and tiring.

Then last weekend the weather was good for a long ride outside so off I go. And I am having the same problem. I am not generating the right power for the level of effort. I am starting to think I have a problem. I am slogging along with my quads burning when I realize my saddle is too low.

I get home and measure my saddle height. It is 62cm. It is supposed to be 73cm. Basically my saddle had fallen all the way down and I hadn't noticed. Jeez!

Needless to say having my saddle at the right height makes a world of difference.

Weekly totals: 10:30 total workouts, 103 cycling miles, TSS=381 and 3600 kcal.

November Summary--Settling into a Training Pace

2010-11-30T16:53:00.000-07:00

I am well into my block 3 plan and it is going pretty well. Probably the core exercise plan is a little too aggressive as I am not making all the planned sessions. But the cycling components are progressing per plan. I need to get 60 minutes of threshold work, a session of fast pedaling, and a long ride of around 2.5 hours in each week and at least a few strength sessions each week during this block.

Balancing rest is also getting better. I haven’t been skiing yet so I don’t know how that will affect cycling. I have tried to go three times in November and each time the weather in the mountains was bad. Maybe Thursday.

Totals for November: Total workout 42 hrs, miles cycling 445, TSS=1585 and Kcal=14800.

It is hard to compare my workouts now with what I was doing in 2007/2008. I was in Memphis a lot working at sea level and I wasn’t recording anything but cycling (although I wasn’t doing much at the gym). But still there is some value in comparing.

Totals for Nov 07: Total workout 28:30, miles cycling 471, TSS= 1904 and Kcal=14328.

Based on these numbers I continue to think I am behind where I was in 2007. It is going to be hard to catch up and exceed that level of fitness but there is time. The first quarter of 2008 I was not pressing hard because I had an extra quarter to get ready (September transcontinental versus July border-to-border) so I didn’t hit numbers like these again until March 08.

And March is the month I decide if I am going to be ready.

More Rest

2010-11-22T15:48:00.000-07:00

I took Monday and Tuesday off intending to ski on Tuesday. But the weather Tuesday was awful in the mountains with wind gusts above 100mph and I-70 closed with blowing snow so skiing was impossible.

The result Wednesday was one of the best days of interval training I have ever had. I did three threshold intervals of ten minutes at the planned power while maintaining the proper heart rate. My lactic threshold HR is 158 and my HR for these intervals averaged 160. Before I took a break I was struggling to get within 10 watts of intended power and my HR was at about 165.

I also did one set of four one-minute power intervals (AC level in Coggan Power Levels) in the same workout.

I took Thursday off. My TSB on Wednesday was a +11 and on Thursday it was a +3. Those are the first positive readings I have had for a while. I continued to take it easy through the weekend so that I can start this week with a very positive TSB.

I have been studying Joe Friel’s The Cyclist’s Training Bible and trading e-mails with him, studying Tom Chapple’s Base Building for Cyclists, and looking very closely at what Mike Durner had me doing this time of year in 2007. Joe Friel doesn’t explicitly write about ultra-distance cycling and doesn’t coach it (although I know he has a lot of experience with his tri people). Chapple’s book has a lot of ideas for ultra-distance training and it aligns very well with what Mike of Carmichael Training Systems had me doing. All that to say that I have reworked my next four week block based on what Mike had me doing in 2007.

Summary for rest week: Total hours 6.5, 54 miles cycling, TSS=232 and Kcal=2280.

I have posted my training plan for the next four weeks at:
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5sTH0-wP2jsNDc1OTI3YzktYzIxZi00Y2I4LWIzMDItNDQ4OTk0NDgzMjA2&hl=en&authkey=CN7CkvYG

If that doesn't work and you want a copy let me know through the Comments.

Getting More Rest

2010-11-18T12:06:00.000-07:00

I took Monday and Tuesday off intending to ski on Tuesday. But the weather Tuesday was awful in the mountains with wind gusts above 200mph and I-70 closed with blowing snow so skiing was impossible.

The result Wednesday was one of the best days of interval training I have ever had. I did three threshold intervals of ten minutes at the planned power while maintaining the proper heart rate. My lactic threshold HR is 158 and my HR for these intervals averaged 160. Before I took a break I was struggling to get within 10 watts of intended power and my HR was at about 165.

I also did one set of four one-minute power intervals (AC level in Coggan Power Levels) in the same workout.

Today is Thursday and I am taking today off. My TSB on Wednesday was a +11 and today it is a +3. Those are the first positive readings I have had for a while. I am going to try and repeat the drill tomorrow when my TSB will be back at 9. I need to figure out how much rest I need here in the early base phase so I can get more out of the high intensity drills.

I Need More Rest

2010-11-15T14:57:00.000-07:00

I am going to have to restructure my training plan to get more rest. I have had a negative TSB for more than two weeks as I executed my second block and by Sunday I was very tired and could not get the second threshold set in for the week. So I went to bed early and slept nine hours.

Given all that I am packing in these days I think I need to go to something like a seventeen day hard schedule and then three or four very easy days—a lot being weather driven. I can’t afford to miss nice days now that winter has arrived in Colorado. So, for instance, I am not riding hard Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday this week which matches cold and/or windy days but I will be pushing it Thursday through Sunday when the weather is supposed to be warm (50ish).

I will publish more of a “what-I-did” plan than what I plan on doing in a few days as I start the power intervals and see what they do to me.

Totals for the week: Total exercise 11:30 hrs, miles cycling 96, TSS 359, Kcal 3100.

Warm Fall Riding

2010-11-09T16:13:00.000-07:00

The weather in Colorado last week was fantastic for cycling. Most of the week of was in the 60’s and 70’s with little wind. So I changed plans and got some longish rides in while the good weather holds.

Wednesday I rode with a group. Usually I ride solo but I want to add in some group rides that will push me. This group really did. I usually cruise at about 17-18 mph and this group was advertised above 16. Yea, right. Closer to 19-20 mph but with a lot of breaks. Wore me out good. Loved it and will try to ride with them every week.

Had to take a rest day on Thursday to recover and a recover ride on Friday to get ready for a weekend of fine weather.

PAC Tours posted the outline of the route for the Ridge of the Rockies. It starts in Kalispell, MT and goes 1943 miles and 88,000 feet of climbs in 18 days to Albuquerque, NM.
The Colorado section is described this way, “As we enter Colorado the mountains are taller and the passes are higher. We will average at least one major climb over 10,000 feet elevation for the each of the next six days. Some riders consider these days the best cycling of the tour. The climb over Grand Mesa heading toward Montrose is a classic ride with a good mix of mountains and farms. Equally spectacular are the passes near Ouray, Silverton and Durango. These are the heart of the Rocky Mountains with constant steep climbs and fast descents.
On Day 14 we arrive in South Fork, Colorado after climbing over 10,800' Wolf Creek Pass. The next day is an optional day of either riding up and back 11,361' Slumgullion Pass or riding a loop route through the valley before returning to our base motel in South Fork. On Day 15 we retrace our route over Wolf Creek Pass and then head south to Chama, New Mexico.”

Given that information and access to past rider blogs I believe the more detailed route through Colorado is:
Day 11 Rangely to Grand Junction over Douglas Pass (8,268’ with 4 miles of 8-10% climb).
Day 12 Grand Junction to Montrose over Grand Mesa 10,839’)
Day 13 Montrose to Durango over Red Mountain Pass (11,018), Molas Pass (10.910) and Coal Bank Pass (10,640).
Day 14 Durango to South Fork over Wolf Creek Pass (10,850).
Day 15 Loop over Spring Creek Pass (10,901) and Slumgullion Pass (11,361)
Day 16 back over Wolf Creek.
I need to keep working hard. These six days plus day 9 in Utah are going to be hard.
Weekly summary: Total workout time: 12:20, 158 miles, TSS=575 and 5076 Kcal.

October Summary--November Plan

2010-11-01T12:39:00.000-06:00

October had a lot more volume than I expected and maybe more than I should have had. Total training hours 45, 514 miles cycling, 1844 TSS and 15,900 KCal. To put these numbers in perspective, I have had only one month with a higher TSS since the summer of 2009 and only a few more months with more KCal--and those months had lots more miles. My CTL is just where is was in 2009 but it is climbing now and was falling then. And my training rides feel good. The SS are hard but not impossible and right around my VO2 Max HR of 158.

I have posted my November training plan at
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B5sTH0-wP2jsYTM2MWQwZWEtMGU1My00Yjk4LThlNzEtYTcyN2FmZThhZDE5&authkey=COrsg_ID&hl=en

and it should be accessible. I think I accidentally left the last training plan "unshared". Sorry if anyone actually tried to access it.

November is planned to be a hard, hard month. I want to get as much threshold work in as I can while the weather in Boulder typically stays dry. I don't know if I can pull this off. I had to insert a rest week in October after two weeks of crunch.

Training Plan--Suggestions Welcome

2010-10-25T08:47:00.000-06:00

I want to explain my training plan covering the next several weeks and my overall plan. If you have suggestions or comments I would appreciate them. I am not using a coach to get ready for the PAC Tour Ridge of the Rockies ride next summer so I can use all the help I can get.

The first three week block is posted at:

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B5sTH0-wP2jsMzNkYWQ0MjctZDVhNy00NGUzLTk4OGEtNGRlMDZlNjY1MzVj&hl=en

Sorry if this is hard to read on Google Apps. Download it if you want.

My basic approach is to first work on building strength and power while maintaining endurance then focus on increasing climbing endurance. The first two blocks will focus on threshold work using steady state intervals. The first block of three weeks increased the time at SS from 3x5x3 to 3x8x5 twice a week and the second block of four weeks will increase it to 3x10x5 and then 3x12x6.

Also in the first two blocks I am doing two to three strength sessions. I do one light rep of 10 on each exercise and then 3 reps of 5 with as much weight as I can handle. As I strengthen I go to 3 reps of 7 and then I increase the weight. In January, when I start focusing on endurance, I will decrease the weight and go to 3 reps of 15. Although I admit I am still looking into how to add weights to an endurance cycling training plan.

Everyday I work on core at least once or twice. Flexibility is an issue for me so almost every day I do a routine of stretches. I am also building two sets of core strengthening exercises.

I am also running two to three times a week to build aerobic endurance.

So far block 1 pushes my total exercise time to twelve hours a week. I am challenged to keep from getting too fatigued. This week the last SS on Saturday left my legs in pain so I didn’t do a planned long ride on Sunday running instead.

My third block will start working on increasing power using Power Intervals (PI). I would have started block 1 with PIs but I wanted to make sure I had enough endurance at threshold to sustain the PI training.

My training goals for this strength building phase are: PI 3x7x3, SS 2x15x5 and TP 2x30x5. Rough.

Next field test is the week of 12-27.

While the weather holds in Colorado I will do as much as I can outdoors although the PI will always be on a trainer. There will be at least two EM rides per week although some of these will be TP on a trainer. Last year I was forced to use the trainer by the first of December and stayed on it until March. By late December and through February the weather will drive me inside a lot. Also downhill skiing will become a priority as I try to keep fresh for cycling while maintaining the strength gains.

Starting the first of January I will begin doing SS and climbing repeats (work between SS and PI) exercises on a trainer using two trainer blocks. I expect to have about eight weeks of bad weather and roads and will use this time to build more endurance at threshold. Once the weather breaks it will be long climbs at TP pace.

Weekly summary: TT=12 hours, 101 miles, TSS=377 and 3235 Kcal.

Breaking a Plateau

2010-10-19T20:31:00.000-06:00

I seem to have broken through a plateau the last ten days. All my rides are stronger and the threshold work comes at about a 7 of 10 instead of an 8. I have also made some progress, albeit small, in moving my CTL up after several weeks of no improvement. Overall I am encouraged by the progress.

I don't know why I am surprised. This was how it was when I was training with Mike Durner at Carmichael. I would get discouraged because I wasn't making progress and then one day I would make a jump.

My plan over the next, now, 3 weeks is to concentrate on threshold work with at least one 2.5 hour or greater ride to keep endurance moderately up.

I had breakfast this morning with Fred Flanders. Fred just retired from the MS Society where he was instrumental in organizing the cycling teams. He is riding again and he and I will ride together soon.

Also was forwarded information on a group of senior riders here in Boulder. Looks like they do pretty nice rides Wednesday and Friday. I am going to ride with them as often as I can. I am making changes to my training plan to accommodate those rides.

I will post my training plan next week. I need to get it more understandable (e.g. explain what some of the different exercises are) and add the senior rides to the plan.

Weekly summary: 12 hours exercise, 144 miles cycling, 4432 KCal and TSS of 526.

Field Test Week

2010-10-10T14:29:00.000-06:00

This week I concentrated on doing the Carmichael field test and the functional power test. The good news is that in both tests power was up—a whopping 1%. I am sure that is within the expected error of both tests.

Whether it was actually an improvement in power or just noise, it changes my training for the next several weeks. Instead of jumping into power intervals I will continue to do threshold work for the next month before starting power intervals. I will post my training plan for October and November next week assuming I figure out how.

Other than doing power tests this was a rest week still I finish it with a negative TSB.

Totals for the week: Total workout 9.0 hrs, 113 miles, 3170 Kcal and TSS of 387.

Some Corrections and 3Q Summary

2010-09-30T16:34:00.000-06:00

First let me correct an error I made in my last update. The intervals I am doing are at level 4, threshold, and not at VO2 Max, level 5. I start the level 5 stuff after I complete the Field Test and FTP test next week.

The mistake occurred because I really train using Carmichael's system which has different naming conventions and power ranges than Coggin. The Carmichael Training System is based on an 8-minute max effort and of course the FTP is based on a 1-hour max effort. Anyway, I was reading Joe Friel's blog and he was writing about VO2 Max and old(er) cyclists saying that is was very difficult to hold that pace for 6-8 minutes. Since I was about to increase my interval length to 10 minutes I knew I had a mistake.

3Q Summary

I really can't say if I made much progress in the third quarter until I do the performance tests next week. If I compare where I am now using CTL as the measure I have actually come down a little over the quarter. That isn't a concern since I had tripled (yes, 3 times) my CTL in May and June. There needed to be a period of consolidation. If I compare where I am now with my 2007 CTL I am about 20% lower right now. Again, I don't know if I should be concerned. Remember, I am using 2007/2008 as my benchmarks because that is the training program I used to get ready for the Southern Transcontinental which I believe is not good enough for the Ridge of the Rockies ride.

Back to why I don't know whether to be concerned. I am not totally confident in my 2007 numbers per se and then the 2007/2008 numbers are based on a lot of sea level work. Second, in 2007 my CTL peaked in October and fell 22% in the fourth quarter.

Just have to keep my head down and execute the plan.

3Q numbers: 1580 miles, 120 hours and 46,000 KCal. For the year 4140 miles, 329 hours and 120,620 Kcal.

September Summary

2010-09-28T14:43:00.000-06:00

It isn’t quite the end of September calendar-wise but workout-wise it is very close. I wanted to get this posted since I might not have another opportunity until Sunday, October 3rd to update things.

Training is starting to turn around. I am doing 6, 5-min, level-5 (Coggin’s scale, VO2 Max) intervals with 3 minutes between them, I am comfortably in zone 5 with room to move up. My objective was to get to 30 minutes in zone 5 each workout and do two workouts per week. Other days of the week are either recovery rides or a 2-3 hour endurance ride at the upper end of zone 2, endurance.

The last few days I have been trying to drive my TSB below -20 which I accomplished today (9-28). I will do a recovery ride Wednesday and then see what I can do Thursday and Friday. Next week is test week (e.g. CP30 to determine FTP and a Carmichael Field Test). I don’t expect much change over the August results. I just want to validate the training zones.

In October I plan to continue to step up the intensity. Now that I have the zone 5 to the volume I want it, I will increase the length of the intervals going from 6x5x3—six, five-minutes intervals with 3 minutes between intervals—to 5x6x3 to 4x8x4 to 3x10x5 to 3x12x5 to 2x15x5 to 1x30. I will also add one day a week of power intervals (PI) to try to increase my power working toward 7x3x3. When I first stated with Carmichael the coach (Mike Durner) used PI's to increase my power 40% (granted from a low base) in eighteen months. I won't get this all done even through November.

With all the things that have happened in September I am happy just to get these numbers.

Totals for September through the 28th: 35 hours of workouts, 450 miles of cycling, TSS=1948 and 13,240 Kcal.

Refining the Training Plan

2010-09-21T09:27:00.000-06:00

I have been doing a lot of research into how to train at 62 for 2000 miles of climbs in 20 days. There aren’t a lot of old-man specific training guides out there but what is available is consistent. The training is centered on high intensity intervals to maintain VO2 Max.

The problem with just high intensity intervals and a 2000 mile ride objective is the need to have a high level of endurance. Endurance is a challenge to rebuild if lost as I am fighting through right now. The fitness hole I am in is proving to be exceptional difficult to escape.

What else is needed besides high intensity and endurance training? Of course core strength is needed and I have always been very inflexible so flexibility work is needed every day. And of course I need to be as light as possible and right now I am far from light.

So I pretty much need to do everything: high intensity intervals, long, hard endurance rides, strength and flexibility training, and starvation-like dieting. It all has to be balanced otherwise I fatigue too much and get nowhere.

I have done four things to my training plan starting last week. First I decided on a reverse periodization plan. The term can be debated but basically it means I am doing high intensity intervals starting the training program working toward longer distances later. I am building my base first with intervals with a secondary emphasis on long rides.

Standard Approach

Inverse Training Program

Second, I have divided the week into 14 training periods and am laying out what I want to do, including rest, by the half day. I have been doing gym work a few times a week for a while but not with the focused training I am laying out now. This also lets me test how close I can do interval and endurance work. For example, how much time is needed between interval workouts and what can be done between them (e.g. running?).

Third, everything is about climbing. Intervals are done climbing. Trainer work is done with the front wheel high (going to add a second block soon). Endurance rides include long (hour or longer) climbs.

Finding the balance is the challenge. I dropped my TSB 18 points with just one ride last week.

Weekly summary: Total workouts 10:30 hrs, 145 miles, 4300 Kcal, and 639 TSS.

Family, Friends, Fire, Florida and Fire Again

2010-09-12T21:16:00.000-06:00

We ended up with three families staying with us Labor Day night that had been evacuated. One family went to another friends empty house Tuesday and two families stayed with us until Friday. I left for Orlando Tuesday to join my daughter Ginger and her husband Chris doing Walt Disney World for a day and a day at Universal Studios enjoying the new Harry Potter park. It was really hot.

I had hoped to ride Friday when I got back but when I got home I was tired (having gotten up at 4:30 am Colorado time) and my wife needed a lot of help with the house. I did ride Saturday and ran on Sunday with some good weight work but the week of overeating and travel is a big set back for a plan that isn't going all that well to begin with.

And another fire has broken out on my northern route at Carter Lake. Fortunately it isn't as populated and I don't know anyone that lives up there. But my favorite routes have taken a real hit.

A Surprise Change of Plans

2010-09-06T15:08:00.000-06:00

My granddaughter, Sawyer Madison Taschler, was born early Friday morning a month early and as you would expect that altered everything. I had planned on doing a recover ride on Friday and then climbing Berthoud Pass Saturday after seeing my old friend Mike Hmel. Mike was in Fraser for a wedding. I had also planned on going to Estes Park and doing some hiking with an even older friend Steve Day with whom I went to high school. Obviously all plans changed. Everyone is doing great and baby and Mom went home Sunday.

Monday, Labor Day, I rode up Lefthand Canyon early as far as Lee Hill. It was very windy. When I got back to Boulder I could see a big wildfire had broken out somewhere up near Gold Hill. As I hurriedly write this we are preparing to house friends who have been evacuated. The winds were gusting above 60mph and there is no water up there. A real mess. I hope my friends homes are spared.

So with a house full of evacuees, a planned trip to Orlando Tuesday thru Friday, and with a new baby my riding plan is shot. BTW, my rides have sucked.

August Summary--Struggle and Adjust

2010-08-31T19:35:00.000-06:00

The above PMC represents a my current effort to set a FTP. After the 200K on the 12th, I rested up and did a performance week with the intentions of increasing intensity. It is pretty easy to see that as soon as I really increased the intensity of the rides my TSB fell negative.

Researching the blogs it appears that I shouldn't let my TSB go below -10 more than once a week and I keep dropping below that. Of course I am mixing two systems using the Carmichael system for setting my training plans and Coggan and FTP to calculate TSB. I set the my FTP on a trainer and a 30-minute ride then took 95% of that average power. But then I looked at my actual 1-hour best average powers and there was quite a difference. And using the FTP from the test I was far more tired than the chart indicated. But if I took the average of my last 5 best 1-hour rides the TSB is far too negative. So I have played around with the FTP to get my TSB to more closely represent how I feel. I have a week before I take a mini-vacation so I'll see how the TSB matches how my body really feels.

Summary for August 489 miles, TSS=1952 KCal=14846

Test Week

2010-08-22T19:02:00.000-06:00

As planned, I took this week to rest and do performance testing. The testing went quite well and while I have a long way to go to get to my objectives for next summer, I have recovered the power lost during the "fitness hole" I dug for myself.

I first did the Carmichael field test (FT) which is two eight minute full out efforts separated by a ten minute rest. Take the highest average power for eight minutes and that is base for other calculations. My FT was 255 W which is as high as I have ever done. My other FTs were at sea level so a little conversion is necessary but 255 is within the 5-7% decline expected. Using the Carmichael nomenclature my key training zones are: Power Intervals (PI) 255-up, Steady States (SS) 220-230, and Tempos (TP) 207-217.

I also did a functional threshold power test for reference. FTP of 217.

BTW, my HR on both averaged 170 bpm and maxed out at 184 so clearly I was going as hard as I could.

By way of comparison between the two systems using Coggan calculations anaerobic capacity 263-up which I take to be equivalent to SS at 255-up. lactate threshold 197-229 which I equate with SS at 220-230, and tempo 165-196 which I equate to TP at 207-217. Obviously the two systems don't quite agree. Since I am much more schooled in the Carmichael approach that is what I will continue.

Next week I will start SS intervals. I will start Tuesday with 3 eight minute intervals with 4 minutes rest (1x3x8x4) to gage my ability to do more. I am definitely going to ride less with the plan for the next 7 weeks to do 3 SS sessions and one long a week for two weeks, have a rest week, then do the SS/Long ride plan for three more weeks before doing another FT.

For this week 6 hours of riding, 98 miles, TSS=344 and 2880 Kcal.

A Week of Tappering

2010-08-15T18:58:00.000-06:00

Before I forget again, I want to recognize Matt Lumm of Memphis and David Twynam of Colorado Springs. They both did the race up Mt. Evans. David has done the race several years in a row and always amazes me on his climbing and racing abilities. But Matt has my admiration. Coming from Memphis and climbing Mt. Evans is indeed a triumph. Read his blog at http://itsclimbtime.blogspot.com/

Last week I showed some performance management charts from WKO+ which showed that I was fatigued. The question I had was could I tapper enough in a week to get fresh for a long ride with lots of climbing this Sunday and not lose much conditioning.

The above chart shows that I was able to bring my TSB (training stress balance)--the yellow--up above zero with only a small decline in fitness (the blue line). But the proof was the ride. I rode 85 miles climbing 5500 ft to above 9000 feet and felt quite good all day. Now I don't know how much above zero I need to get the TSB to give top performance but clearly the charts do work.

Training for the week: 11:20 hours training, 150 miles cycling, TSS=540 and 4682 KCal.

Next week is test week. I will do a field test and a 30 minute test to establish my training zones going forward. My plan is to shift to a high intensity program of steady states or climbing repeats and get plenty of rest. Overall the plan for the fall is focus on strength, core, flexibility, and balance.

Performance Management Chart and Rest

2010-08-10T11:35:00.001-06:00

I have not been making the progress I wanted this summer and with the last big ride of the year coming Sunday, 8-15, I have been concerned about my fitness. I knew from discussions with Dave Twynam and some other readings that my WKO+ software had functions to help but I had never used them. The function is the Performance Management Chart (PMC).

I had to do several days of clean up with my data going back to January 2007 to get the data right. The chart above is the PMC chart from 1-1-09 through 8-10-10. The pink line is the ATL or the short term stress from training. The blue line is the CTL or long term effects of training. And the yellow bar is the TSB or training stress balance which is the combination of training stress and rest.

The important thing to see on this chart is that for most of the time since 1-1-09 (and in fact from 1-1-07) the TSB was very near or above zero (dark line). But starting in May 2010 when I was no longer working I was able to do a lot more riding and really stresed myself without getting enough rest.

Also note the red and black dotted lines. These are the top 10 60-minute and 20-minute power rides. Notice that there are none past late 2009.

So what am I doing? First, I m trying to bring the TSB back above zero by getting more rest and tapering for the Sunday ride.

This chart is a blowup of the other chart from the arrow to 8-10. Notice that I am bringing the short term stress down and the TSB up. Only at the very end of the chart is the TSB around zero. I will work on tapering this week, see what it does to the chart, and write up how it worked out on the ride.

The ride Sunday 8-15 is a 200k, 10k climb (Span the Rockies) from Boulder to Estes Park and back. I won't decide whether I am going to ride the entire 200k until I have finished the first 5k climb and see how the traffic is. I don't like the climb out of Estes Park. It is 1500 feet of steep climb with no shoulder at all and heavy RV traffic both ways. Not my idea of fun.

Second thing I am doing is laying out a more careful training plan. I'll start sharing that next week. The big thing is that PAC Tours (http://www.pactour.com/) has posted their 2011 expected rides the the Ridge of the Rockies (my Canada-to-Mexico border-to-border) is there. I am really excited about another big, big ride but know I have a lot of conditioning to do the get ready.

July Summary

2010-08-04T21:29:00.000-06:00

Maybe I am over training or maybe I am being lazy. Whichever, my power and endurance aren't building like I had hoped. More on that in a bit.

My plan for July was always to take a midsummer break from training. I took a few days off around the 4th and just returned from Comic-Con on the 25th and a full week off the bike. I prompty started riding again on Tuesday and rode 204 miles the last five days of July.

July totals 45 hours of training, 622 miles cycling, 2239 TSS and 17400 KCal.

That doesn't feel like a rest break. Adding to my concern my peak 20 and 60 minute power was at the first of the month. This week when I tried to push power I was quite short of those peaks.

At the same time last Sunday I rode 85 miles as hard as I could hitting the 50 mile mark in 2:54 elapsed and 75 miles in 4:38 elapsed. But I was tiring quickly at 70 miles and finished the ride averaging 17.4 mph. All these are very good times and speed for me but I was also wasted for two days.

So am I getting stronger or just getting more tired? I am learning how to use the Performance Management Charts in my WKO+ software and next week I will post the chart and my conclusions. Regardless, on the 15th I have my last organized ride of the year and after that I need to decide on a training program to get my power and endurance up to at least where it was in 2008.

Climbing Begins

2010-07-19T11:09:00.000-06:00

Large volume and lots of climbing this week. The first few days of the week I climbed 55 miles always at about lactic threshold. Exhausting. Toward the end of the week my legs were tired so I rode my new bike on some climbs and for miles.

The new bike is great. I haven't quite adjusted to the new saddle but otherwise there isn't much of a transition. And it does pop when asked. A few riders actually commented on the bike and paint job.

The totals for the week are going to be less precise from here on. My new bike does not have a powertap so I don't get a direct reading of watts. So I am using similar rides on my old bike to estimate the power. It should be close enough.

Totals for the week: Total workout 14:20, cycling miles 204, TSS 670, KCal 5835.

I am out most of this week per plan so my legs will get a good midsummer rest. I will test the theory that a break in midsummer is good for you.

More Data and a New Bike!

2010-07-13T15:15:00.000-06:00

Power Data 5, 20 and 60 Minutes

Last week I posted some numbers showing the fitness hole I had dug for myself and just the beginning of the long road out. This week I did some more research, corrected some data errors, and added data going back to April 08. The summer of 08 is especially important because that was the summer I prepared for the PAC Southern Transcontinental. I am using that as my baseline. If I can't be that fit then I probably am not fit enough for another PAC tour.

BTW, I tried to make this chart bigger but then the numbers get cut off. Probably a good thing for my ego but makes the chart less useful.

Anyone that has an interpretation of the data is welcome to post it as a comment. I don't know what to do with it other than try and exceed the 08 numbers.

Retirement Gift from FedEx

My new bike arrived this week. FedEx, as a retirement present, gave me a custom painted Madone 6.5 (Trek Project One). Originally it was planned to be in purple, silver and orange but the purple turned out to be more violet and the whole paint scheme ended up getting changed. The bike is beautiful. Ready to ride it weighs 16.6 pounds. It really snaps forward when I push. Sweet. Thank you FedEx.

Fitting the bike was no easy task and it isn't over yet. I ordered the bike through University Bikes in Boulder which I happen to think is the best bike shop in Boulder which makes it very, very good. Jeff there spent more than two hours fitting the bike using some pretty snazzy software. The problem is my hips and right leg/foot just don't have smooth mechanics and it takes a lot of shims and cleat positioning to try and make my body work right. Still don't have it.

To help I have moved the cleats back another 0.5 inches beyond where the shoes normally let you go. I followed Lon Haldeman of PAC Tours instructions (he has done hundreds for RAAM riders and people on his tours) on drilling new holes and attaching the cleats. Of course I did it in an old pair of shoes. When I go back to University Bikes for more fitting we will check to see if that makes a difference.

And of course I rode last week although it was a shortened week because of the July 4th family events. I did ride an 80 training ride with a group getting ready for the Span the Rockies 200K ride in August. More on that next week.

Totals for the week: 13 hours of workouts, 170 miles cycling, TSS 697 and 4800 KCal.

This week and until 7-21 (when I have the second 5-day no-bike break in July) is all about climbing--up and up LHC.

Wrapping Up June

2010-07-06T10:23:00.000-06:00

The chart clearly shows the fitness hole I have been digging for myself. I have great excuses. Work became very intense in October when I decided to retire and I needed to finish several very complicated projects. Winter was terrible for riding forcing me on to a trainer in November until March.--I got really tired of that. And then there was the lack of any big rides planned for this year. All mistakes I will not make again. BTW, my weight is pretty much the inverse of this chart.

June was a big month. Total miles at 715, total workout hours of 54:20, TSS of 2886 and 20,700 KCal. The second quarter totals were 1,512 miles, 115 hours and 43,600 Kcal. This is slightly less than I had hoped planning on 118 hours and 1750 miles. April was too weak.

It is the 6th of July and I have just finished the first of two five-day family breaks from training in July so July really hasn't even began. Third quarter plan is to concentrate on climbing, strength and endurance with several long climbs (two to three hours). Totals planned for the quarter are 195 hours and 2925 miles. I am not sure that is reasonable since I want to do a lot more high intensity work.

June Summary with Three Days to Go

2010-06-27T16:37:00.000-06:00

June has been a big training month with most of the concentration on endurance. It may have been too big a month. More on that later.

Saturday I rode most of the MS Ride (110 miles of it). The route passes near my house and I had obligations Saturday night, no place to stay in Ft. Collins Saturday night, and no real desire to be in a hotel on a Saturday night alone. So I headed out early (6:15am) taking it easy--it would be a long day.

The weather was excellent. Little wind. Not too hot (in the upper 80's). And a little overcast most of the time which kept the strong Colorado sun off me. At about mile 80 it started to storm and I alternatively got soaked and then baked as the thundershowers moved by. By the time I finished I was tired. Ride total. 110 miles, 3300 feet of climbs, and 2800 Kcal. Not even an average PAC (www.pactour.com) day.

For the week 183 miles, 13 hours of workouts, 4950 KCal and a TSS of 689.

As I said June was a big month. In fact in all distance and time respects it is the highest volume month since September 2008 when I rode transcontinental. Total hours 49.0, 650 miles, 18,800 KCal, and TSS of 2600. And I also said it might have been too big a month. I got up Sunday and didn't feel well. I certainly didn't feel like riding. To put that in perspective, in 2008 I rode the MS Ride doing a century on Saturday going up Rist Canyon and another century on Sunday.

So whether it was the wine Saturday night, too much coffee Sunday morning, or too much riding in June trying to catch up, I didn't ride Sunday and basically felt like crud all day.

Now I change emphasis. For the next two months I focus on climbing and building power ending up in late August with a double metric century with 7,000 feet of climbs. In July I have lots of family events which will take eliminate about eight days of riding which works out well since I will punch up the intensity and will need more time to recover.

Great Week

2010-06-20T17:12:00.000-06:00

The weather finally was good for an entire week and I executed my training plan just as--well planned. Did several days of tempos and those are getting stronger. Then some long rides at a hard pace. All in all strength and endurance are building.

This week was between century rides. Next Saturday I will ride about 110 miles as I ride most of the MS Ride to Ft. Collins both ways. So this week was focused on getting stronger and next week will be start out pushing tempos and then getting fresh for the long ride Saturday.

Weekly totals: 13:30 hours training, 203 miles cycling, 883 TSS and 5834 KCal.

Halfway Through June--a Rest Week

2010-06-14T14:56:00.000-06:00

Last week was planned as a rest week with riding cut far back. But it rained all weekend and that cut riding back even further than I planned. Countered with gym work and running on a treadmill. I keep telling myself that you don't get stronger without resting.

The week of 6-14 I pick up the intensity another notch. My goal this month was to increase everything by 15% and with two days to go I am close to that goal. To lock it down, the goal is to exercise 51.75 hours, 674 miles, TSS of 2773 and 18,910 KC. And on the 26th increase my longest ride of the year to 110+ miles.

So far so good. And the weather for the next week looks good.

Weekly total: 9 hours, 82 miles, 2620 KC, and 337 TSS.

Strength and Endurance Slowly Building

2010-06-07T19:04:00.000-06:00

Progress continues. Time on the five mile climb up Lefthand Canyon was 2:30 faster than a couple weeks ago. My 15 minute tempos were at the low range of my early 208 range. And I rode my first long ride going 102 miles on June 6 in 6:28. Slow and the last 15 miles were a hard slog.

For the week 13:40 of workouts, 181 miles cycled, 5400 KC and 719 TSS. All best for the year.

Good May

2010-05-31T07:32:00.000-06:00

Granted I am still closer to where I started then where I want to be fitness-wise, but at least May was a good start. Even I chuckle at these numbers but again I am in a fitness hole from which I need to dig out.

May totals: Total Exercise 45:30 hrs, distance 586 miles, TSS 2411 and KCal 16,466.

And I lost five pounds--which is really throwing deck chairs off the Titanic. As I said, I ate myself into a fitness hole and I am working my way out. Maybe 20 pounds to go. Ugh.

I would have broken 600 miles if I weren't so deep into a home improvement project. My wife wants her kitchen shelves changed into drawers. I am slow and now I have the kitchen torn up so I have to really keep at it.

Still, these are the best numbers I have had since August 2009 and then it goes all the way back to September 2008 and the transcontinental.

June should be a huge month. I expect to move the TSS and KCal numbers up by 15% and loss another four pounds. Mileage isn't so important but increasing the intensity is. The Colorado MS ride is the last weekend and I can't stay the night so my plan is to ride early and ride most of the route both ways on Saturday.

2010-05-24T08:59:00.000-06:00

This was what it looked like off my front porch two weeks ago in Boulder CO. The weather here is always dynamic in the spring. Saturday, May 22, the wind was steady at 20mph gusting to 40 mph. I don't ride in wind like that if I won't be left behind.

Left Hand Canyon in Early May

Streams are Up

But earlier in the week it began to warm up and green up and the riding weather has been improving quickly.

Sunday was long-ride day and per plan I increased the distance another 10-15% to 85 miles with 2600 feet of climbs. The wind was against me the last forty miles so I was quite tried when I finished. 85 miles was the right amount. Next week I will push the distance and difficult of the ride. I don't know if I will increase the distance but I will definitely increase the amount of climbs. I also rode the first fifty miles without pushing the pace--expecting the last forty miles to be hard. If the winds are favorable, I will push the pace somewhat.

Continental Divide

Also will increase the number of tempo rides and climbs during the week trying to increase everything 10-15% . I am not so focused on total miles during the week but on the total amount of training stress (TSS) and calories burned. Those I have been increasing 10-15% a week over the last three weeks.

So, overall, I am on the LONG road to returning to ultra-distance shape allbeit I can still see the starting line.

Weekly totals: 167 miles (10 running), 14 hours of exercise, 5036 KCal cycling.

Routine Week

2010-05-16T15:19:00.000-06:00

It rained a lot this week but I still hit my training goals. Did a day of tempos and the power is returning. Only ran one day and that was on a treadmill--rain. Sunday was a great day with sun and in the 60's. My long ride was 72 miles and I held greater than 17mph for the entire ride. Climbed about 1600 feet so this was my flat ride. No wind.

Next week I will increase the time, total mileage and long ride time by at least 10% and get two days of tempo's in (3x10).

Total for the week 152 cycling miles, 4160 cycling KCal, and 11 hours of workouts.

Today is the first day of the Elite PAC ride. It is unbelievable what these riders are doing. 3000 miles in 19 days from San Diego to Williamsburg VA. Follow along. www.pactour.com

The Long Road Back Begins

2010-05-09T15:34:00.000-06:00

I'm retired now, at least for the summer, so I should have time to get back into ultra-distance shape. It is going to take some time. Right now I am13 pounds heavier than I was at this time in 2008 when I was getting ready for the southern transcontinental in September. I am also about 25% less strong.

First week in May was a good start. Began to do some tempos and climbs with one long ride Sunday. Also mixing in some running (ha, slow jogging) and lots more weight training.

Total workout: 11:45 minutes, 118 miles cycled, 3450 Kcal cycling, 3000 feet of climbs, and 8 miles ran.

Want to acknowledge Seith Regenold and Steve Mosakowski. Seith ran a 3:03 and Steve a 3:13 marathon in Vancouver last weekend to qualify for Boston. Steve had qualified earlier but I think this was his best time by about 5 minutes. Way to go!

April Snows Bring Cycling Woos

2010-04-25T16:01:00.000-06:00

As predicted this has been a terrible month for riding. Only 211 miles for the entire month. Last year, for some reason, April was equally terrible with only 191 miles. And most of the 211 miles were endurance miles and modest intensity. And it keeps snowing!

And I won't ride again until May 2nd at the earliest.

But I do expect May to be great. Having retired, I will have a lot more time to ride and I very much intend to ride more. No big events this year but I have my thoughts about a big 2011 to motivate me to lay down a substantial base and loss the weight gained at all these retirement parties.

As a retirement gift FedEx is giving me a custom Madone 6.5. Sweet.

Holding My Own--For Now

2010-04-11T19:39:00.000-06:00

A decent week with three good rides and three short rides and a total of seven hours on a bike and 102 miles. Quite good considering all that I had to accomplish in Memphis. But for the rest of the month it gets very tough. I might get three high intensity rides in this week but definitely no long rides. Next week looks better and then the last week of April and the first few days of May there will be no riding at all.

I can't help thinking that if I can get to May and don't have much to do, that in eight or nine weeks I can be ready for another transcontinental. That is how I feel. But the reality is that I doubt I can make up the conditioning needed to go 3500 miles in 30 days by mid July. At 62 I suspect my body won't standup to that kind of training and if it did, it would probably fail me on the ride.

Still, I loved the Southern Transcontinental with PAC and just keep wanting to find a way to do another.

April is Going to be a Challenge

2010-04-05T13:43:00.000-06:00

I retire from FedEx at the end of April and that is leading to a lot of extra activities. Most of these activities are not good for cycling because they often include dinners and drinks. I have a lot of friends that want to wish me well and I am not going to be a party-pooper. So the fitness hole I am in will just get deeper.

I will live with it.

Still I have been able to increase my steady state interval time to 12 minutes (2x12x6) which is my plan so my strength isn't suffering. But my weight and endurance are.

I will just have to work on it in May.

End of First Quarter--Ate My First Bug of 2010

2010-03-28T18:24:00.000-06:00

The first 13 weeks of 2010 has ended and the training news is mostly bad with some good. The weather has been miserable as everyone everywhere agrees. My cycling training has suffered from too many weeks of trainer work and the boredom that comes from that. Yet my overall strength for short distances/time is as high as ever. But sustained power for say fifteen minutes is definitely not where it was in 2008 (my benchmark year). Yet I am riding 50 miles at about the pace I did in 2008 but I couldn't do a century at a 2008 pace.

As far as training/exercise goes I am on target. I plan on training 550 hours this year and the first 13 week plan was just an hour a day (e.g. 91 hours). I plan on riding 6500 miles this year and 1000 in the first 13 weeks. I did almost 95 hours and 1005 miles. But some of that time was skiing per plan. April keeps the hour-a-day pace because of workload but the amount of cycling increases as does the intensity of the training. Then I ramp up the cycling a lot in May and June.

Sunday was a great day with light winds and a temperature of 60 degrees. I rode 50 miles in exactly 3 hours (3:10 elapsed). I also sucked down my first bug of the year.

Weekly totals: 13:30 hours, 104 miles, 3057 Kcal.

Winter Returns

2010-03-21T15:22:00.001-06:00

We are in that Colorado March weather pattern of a couple days of storms, then it warms up nicely usually with winds, and then another round of storms. This week I started in Memphis doing steady states at 230 3x8x4 and that went pretty well. But only got three days in. Lost Thursday to travel and the snow came Friday and Saturday. Did another round of SS (Tour de Garage) at 220 (my high elevation target) and that went very well. Sunday I went to the gym early for weights and then an moderate 25 mile loop.

That breaks my streak of 100 mile weeks at 3. Look to get a long ride in on Monday with the temperature forecast to be in the 60's and then Tuesday and Wednesday is the next storm.

I keep looking at the PAC website and looking at Susan's pictures. I wish I were there riding or in better position to ride the Northern Transcontinental but I can't see that happening.

Totals for the week: 72 miles, 5:30 workouts and 2400 KCal riding. Not a strong week.

Good Weather Continues

2010-03-14T12:38:00.000-06:00

A great week. Went skiing Tuesday and Friday. Tuesday I fell and smacked my calf with a ski which left the calf bruised. I iced it Wednesday and kept off it and by Thursday it was fine--just blue.

Went skiing again on Friday and it was a beautiful day. The sun was bright and the slops at Keystone were groomed just right for me. Tuesday had a lot of powder at Copper and powder always makes me work hard.

Snow Covering Long'speak

Cycled Thursday, Saturday and Sunday a total of 112 miles. The long ride on Saturday was 4 hours and change and went 66 miles. I will back off increases distance for the next week and return to trainer work at steady state levels.

Keep hoping to do the northern transcontinental with PAC but the odds of that are long.

Weekly totals: 12 hours (5 skiing), 112 miles cycling, 3300 kcal.

March Comes in Like a Lamb

2010-03-07T15:17:00.000-07:00

A great first week of March. After a miserable February having a little sun and 50 degrees to ride in is a treat. While I much prefer 80, 50 will do nicely over 20.

With the warmer week I managed to ski one day, run one day, and ride three days. Total ride distance was 103 miles (first time in a long time that I have back-to-back hundred mile weeks). Total work out time just over 10 hours (3 skiing) and burned through 2980 KCal riding.

Joined 24-Hour Fitness. Found a great deal at Costco. Two years for about $12/month. I'll start strength training there Monday.

This coming week should be similar. If the weather holds I will ski once or twice and ride two or three times. If feasible I will increase my long ride time to 4 hours.

A Slow February Ends--Thankfully

2010-02-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

Everyone is complaining about the weather and with good reason. I read in Ed Pavelka's newsletter about the snow in Pennsylvania and that Lon Haldeman had been stuck for a few days trying to get to Tucson to start the PAC Desert Camps. If you don't know about Ed you should start reading his newsletter at www.roadbikerider.com. Also in a recent newsletter Scott described various kinds of cyclist. I though his description of ultra distance riders was spot on.

Ultra distance Rider

Body type: Lung on a stick, quads the size of beer kegs, elbows sharper than a stiletto, multiple road-rash scars, flexible enough to join Chinese acrobat troupe,

Distinguishing bike characteristic:
lights, handlebar bag and/or large seat bag, comfy saddle

If not a cyclist, would be:
institutionalized

Favorite conversation topics:
food, miles/kilometers ridden, food, extreme weather experiences, food

In the peloton, likes to:
"Peloton?"

http://www.roadbikerider.com/

February was a weak month for me although I did get one ride outside this week of 50 miles and felt really good. I rode the 50 miles in just under 3 hours which is right on pace. I have had to back off the power intervals. I wasn't making any progress and I was getting hip and lower back pain. Generally a sign for me that I need to back off.

For the month only 233 miles, 17 hours of work outs, and only 7300 kcal. February is always a slow month for me. Spring must be close.

Another Snowy Weekend

2010-02-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

It is snowing in Boulder again and snowed all weekend. Talked to one of my neighbors who is a mountain bike racer and he, too, is getting really tired of riding a trainer.

I continued to increase the number of power intervals although I am still short of my goals. This week I continued to do a set of 5 2-minute power intervals followed by a set of 5 1-minute intervals. This week I will increase that to two sets of 4 2-minute PI's.

Just for your laughs, I am doing the PI's at 280 watts with my HR averaging 165.

It is now clear I won't be able to do any riding in Tucson with PAC. With only a month before Century week I have only been outside 1 or 2 times since the first of December. It actually is looking like I won't be in shape to do a northern transcontinental either.

I like skiing but I don't like winter.

Unplanned Rest Week

2010-02-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

I can't remember the last time I have not cycled, run or worked with weights for five straight days but it happened this week. My rule is do the workout early in the day in case the day doesn't go to plan. Didn't follow that rule this week and it forced me to rest.

I could go into the details but who cares. Late flights. Late work. Too tired and suddenly I haven't done anything Monday though Friday. Really that is OK. I am pounding my legs with PI's and a break is OK. Just can't let this be a habit.

Saturday I did 5 2-minute PI followed by 5 1-minute PI's. As I said, my goal is to work up to 2 sets of 5 2-minute. Maybe by the end of the week but probably next week. Read on Chris Carmichael's blog that he does 2 sets of 7 2-minute PI (28 minutes). I'll think about it.

Sunday I was going to go skiing but the drive looked awful. Did an easy ride with a set of fast pedals.

Power Intervals cont

2010-02-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

Not a very exciting week but was to plan. Only three rides this week. All were on a trainer and all were doing power intervals. Three sessions is all my legs can take. I have to put a rest day in between. The plan this week was to get to 20 minutes of PI's and I did that Sunday with 2 sets of 5 1.5-minute intervals plus 1 set of 5 one-minute intervals. Weights and core workouts on the off days.

Next week I extend the interval time to 2 minutes. I doubt that I can get to 2 sets of 5 2-minute intervals next week but that is the goal.

Had to tell PAC that I can't come to desert camps weeks 1 or 2. Maybe week 5 but even that is unlikely. Sad because it is cold and snowy here in Boulder and I could use some warm weather riding.

January Summary--February Plans

2010-01-31T17:23:00.000-07:00

I am increasing intensity and volume as January ends. Rode 50 miles on Saturday in 3:03 elapsed and 2:57 ride time. That is consistent with my normal pace but I could not have gone another 50--probably not another 25 miles. But all in all happy with the ride. Kept up the PI doing two sets of 5 on Wednesday. Next week I lengthen the PI's by 30 seconds.

For the week: 108 miles, 11:25 hours of workouts (4 skiing), and 3200 kc.
For January: 380 miles, 36.32 hours of workouts (8 ski) and 11,850 kc.

February will be pushing intensity for the first two weeks doing power intervals on Tuesday and Steady States on Wed (or Thur), with as long a rides as the weather permits on weekends. The third week (2-15) is depends on what I plan to do for the 4th week. Right now I want to go to Tucson and do a desert camp with PAC starting 2-20. That would be about 400 miles of good endurance miles with maybe some tempos. If I do that--and I have to commit by next weekend--then the third week will be light. Otherwise, it will be more power building.

And Winter Continues

2010-01-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

I got outside Friday for the first time in weeks. Rode over to Lefthand Canyon and did a couple of tempos then raced the cold and wind back home. The weather for cycling just sucks. Talked to JP at Excel Sports today about getting my bike overhauled and we were joking that the weather looks good for Friday--back into the 40's. Yuck. I am not a cold weather cyclist.

Took the weekend off. My legs were tired. I did some walking Saturday. I wanted to run but it was really windy and the trails are still filled with ice and mud. So I hiked and nearly froze. Sunday was all about football and resting--and eating.

Monday, today, my legs are back and I did 15 1-minute power intervals. Excellent power but I was spreading out the PI's and 1-minute PI's aren't very long. This is the start of power building for the next three weeks. Then I hope to have a light week and then go to the first PAC camps in Tucson. BTW, it was in the 30's today and the wind gusts were in 40's mph.

Skiing the next three days.

Weekly totals: 7 hours, 82 miles, 2500 kc.

Yet Another Week on the Trainer

2010-01-18T07:40:00.000-07:00

The weather and roads remain poor for riding and then when the few nice days come by my schedule doesn't work. Still, I am making progress on the trainer--if not with my weight. I continue to increase the time at tempo pace logging 78 minutes. Trivial compared to where I will be in a couple of months but I am satisfied for now.

Went skiing on Saturday at Vail with friends. Terrific time even if the skiing is just so so. The mountains need three feet of snow really badly.

Sunday went to see Avatar with my wife and friends. Killed the day but so worth it. What a great movie experience.

Got to move forward but keep fresh.

Light week: Cycling 4 hours, 55 miles, and 1911 kj. Skied from 9 to 3.

Another Week of Cold and Snow

2010-01-11T06:37:00.000-07:00

I am not sure when the last time I cycled outside was but it has to have been over a month ago. Another week of trainers doing interval tempos. For a while I just couldn't make myself do them but this week was a breakthrough. While no where close to what I was doing in the past, it was a good week for trainers. Not good for strength and weight. Did not do a single strength session and my weight is still WAY to high from the holidays and the fall. Weight is coming down but is embarrassingly high.

Totals for the week: Hours 6:01 Miles (on trainer) 83.9 KCal 2659.

Wrapping up 2009

2010-01-01T21:23:00.000-07:00

I end 2009 not as fit as I entered it. Lots and lots happened this year to take some of my focus away from hard training. Certainly some of that was family and some more was work. And then there was the lack of any specific ride for which to train.

Not so in 2010. While I can't predict what family or personal things could distract, I enter 2010 with definite cycling objectives.

The first objective will probably be doing Century Week with the PAC group in Tucson (http://www.pactour.com/ ) which is week 5 of their Desert Training Camp. This looks good because it is at the end of March and will give me a boost for the rest of the summer. Plus, if I am going to ride a week I would rather do it with them and 50 other riders than do a tour in Colorado with 1500 other riders.

The second thing I am going to do is climb some passes. I have a list of the passes in Colorado and I am going to plan some climbs over ones I have not done and some of my favorites. For sure I will climb Loveland Pass and Berthoud Pass.

I have decided not to do the Triple Bypass or any of the Colorado Rockie Mountain rides.

But I may do the Northern Transcontinental with PAC. Probably not because I don't expect to have the time but I also expect this will be my last chance. So I will train as if I am going to do it and decide as late as possible that I cannot.

I also think I will do some distance kind of clubs. I read about some in the RoadBikeRider newsletter. Sounds like something to keep me motivated. With my retirement at the end of April and my new consulting business not even announced yet, I may have a lot of time to train but if I get some business I will take it.

Finally, a quick summary of my riding in 2009:

Total Miles: 4835. Total time: 298 hours.

In 2008 I rode 5565 miles training before and after the Southern Transcontinental which was an additional 2914 miles. I doubt that I ever hit 8749 miles in a year again but if I am, it will be 2010.

Winter Break

2009-12-22T12:48:00.000-07:00

December is the month I usually reduce my cycling both to take a break from cycling and to do other things. This year is no different. I probably won't ride 300 miles this month bringing my total mileage for the year to about 5,000. Will do a full accounting next month.

One goal I did pass recently is that my main bike passed 25,000 miles. My other bike has almost 20,000.

I have been skiing three times in the last five days and expect to get two more days in during the holidays. Besides skiing I find my self at too many parties (my wife is the popular one) eating myself into a fitness hole.

That too is pretty much how my Decembers go.

2010 will definitely be different. I have decided to retire from FedEx in April and start a new career with more control over my time. I am training for the PAC Northern Transcontinental and to do the Bolder Boulder 10K under 60 minutes. Since I have not ran in years I have a long way to go. Whether I can be gone for a month for the transcontinental is an unanswered question.

Actually on both challenges I have a long way to go. And that is how I usually think about January in December. Rested and fattened up, time to lay down some goals for next year.

Thanksgiving and Birthday Parties

2009-12-06T20:15:00.000-07:00

Last two weeks have been huge personally but with some training setbacks. Thanksgiving was a larger event than usual with my wife also turning 60. My daughters and their husbands were here a lot and there were parties, parties and more parties for my wife. She is deservedly popular.

My November riding was just average. I wrote 405 miles and burned about 12,000 KCal but the rides were pretty easy. It was until today that I finally managed to push myself to do tempos and then they weren't very strong. But at least I hope to have turned the corner and am going to be able to increase the intensity.

I did pass a milestone on my regular road bike passing 25,000 miles this weekend.

November Transitioning

2009-11-23T08:25:00.000-07:00

For some reason this week a lot of people are asking about my next "big ride". Since I doubt most of them are following this blog it seems pretty curious. My answer is always the same. I'd like to do the northern transcontinental but will not decide until at earliest March. But if I want to do it I have to be training now although my training now is no different than normal late fall training.

That is true. This week was pretty much to plan. Ran 7 miles (wanted to do 8) but did pick up the pace a little. Cycling was good at seven hours of moderate intensity. Strength training is OK but I haven't gotten enough core work in.

My weight is a concern as I have made no real progress there and have lost some ground over the last sixty days. With the holidays beginning this week I am at big risk of digging myself a big hole. My plan was to lose ten pounds. Now that is eleven pounds. Oh boy.

The weather in Colorado this week is supposed to be pretty good. One of my daughters and her husband will be visiting for a week and that will cause some training challenges but I should still be able to hit my overall goal of nine hours of training and seven of that being running and cycling.

Still haven't finished any of those books.

November and My Ambitions are High

2009-11-15T09:35:00.000-07:00

My wife is harassing me this morning to get out and ride or at least do some drills in the garage. Of course it has snowed 7 inches overnight and it is cold, cold but that is her way of supporting my obsession--I think. As she likes to say, "You are smarter and fitter than you look. Thank God."

Still, even as I plan my first ski trip of the season and as I gain weight from a lack of long rides and self discipline, my future ride ambitions are growing. I really never planned a second transcontinental but now I think I want to do the PAC northern next summer. I might have the time. I don't know if I'll have the conditioning. It will be tough to get my wife to fund it. (PAC rides are supported excellently and I want my own room--that doesn't come cheap).

And then there is the border-to-border ride which I really want to do just to have crossed the country north/south and west/east. That won't happen until at least 2011 and that is a long, long ways away.

Structured training is underway with all emphasis on strength and flexibility. I have scanned through the books I purchased and am studying the Doyle and Schmitz book on weight training for cyclists. Maybe next week I'll have an opinion to post.

Now I need to decide whether I am going to ride in the garage for a while. Probably will.

October Training

2009-11-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

I planned October as a relatively easy month and it was. I cycled only 21 hours and 312 miles. That is the least hours and miles since last winter when I was skiing. I have started jogging some to give my legs some side to side action and I am getting a lot more weight work in.

With two months to go I will probably only get 5,000 miles in this year.

I have purchased a three new books which I have not yet read: Weight Training for Cyclists by Doyle and Schmitz, Base Building for Cyclists by Chapple and the 4th edition of The Cyclist's Training Bible by Friel. I had the 3rd edition and it was good but didn't have anything to say about power training. I'll provide my own reviews as I get them carefully read.

My training is going to pick up. I have decided to train for the PAC Tour Northern Transcontinental next summer. I don't know if I will have time--I actually might--but I had better get started. It is a 30-day ride with over 100K of climbs and 3500 miles.

As I develop my training program I'll post it for comment. Anyone have a suggest of a better way to post it than in this blog?

Coming Back to Speed

2009-10-20T07:50:00.000-06:00

The last month has been a struggle. My mother-in-law has been in the hospital and consequently has required a lot of my wife's time with an understandable side effect on me. Work has been a grind. And my travel is at an all time high--I hit 100,000 EQM on NWA this month without any international travel. If you don't know what that means good for you but it just means I am flying all the time.

So with that whining out of the way, I seem to have turned it around last week. I hit plan with 8 hours of riding (122 miles, 4600 Kcal), 50 minutes at steady state pace, and a couple of resistance sessions. The weekend weather was great with Saturday in the 70's and Sunday in the 80's. I just rode and enjoyed the weather getting in about 75 miles.

This week's plan is similar. I will try and increase the amount of steady state time to over an hour, get in two resistance workouts, and get seven or more hours of riding in.

Goodbye Mike

2009-09-26T23:10:00.000-06:00

What a great guy and coach Mike Durner at Carmichael Training Systems is. This was my last week working with him and I wish him well. He has done great things for me.

Still, I haven't been holding up my end of the bargain for the last two weeks and this last one was the worse. All kinds of things have been interfering with my cycling. Especially time consuming is my sick mother-in-law. Cycling is important to me but sick family has priority.

Hopefully by next weekend she will be much better and I can do some serious riding. The colors on the Peak-to-Peak highway are supposed to be spectacular.

The Writer Strike is Over

2009-09-18T21:43:00.000-06:00

Yes, the writer strike is over. It is past mid-September, the weather is definitely getting cool in Colorado (it might snow above 8,000 feet Monday), and my last big ride of the year is over.

The FedEx MS Rock 'n Roll Ride was last weekend and as usual it was a fun ride. There were some changes this year. The route was a little different I think to catch some better roads. The roads were very nice. A side effect was that the route was a little harder than in the past which isn't so good for the majority of Memphis riders. And there was a century loop at the end which wrapped around and rejoined the route. More on that in a second. That made day one 100 miles and just under 3,000 feet of climbs. That is a good ride any day.

Because the route looped I caught up with some riders struggling to finish the first 75. As best I could I rode with them for a while talking to them and pulling those that could. It is pretty lonely when you are all alone, 20 miles from finishing, and you are shot. Having some company helps.

The second day was rainy. It is a warm rain in Mississippi and it was a kissy-spity-showery rain that never got heavy. Just enough to make the roads slick and get you covered with road dirt. Still it was a nice ride.

This next week is my last week with Mike and Carmichael Training Systems. I am not sure I will even do the drills Mike has laid out. I am tired and have been for a couple of months. I have been training hard since December with a few breaks (like the Hawaii vacation!!!) so I probably need to slow down on the hard stuff, do some easy rides, and do some hard cross training. Right now I don't even want to do a Ride-the-Rockies, a Bicycle Tour of Colorado, or even a PAC Arizona week. Positive proof that I need some time off the bike.

So the writers strike is over but I doubt I have much interesting cycling to write about. It is all going to be about getting ready to ride again.

Span the Rockies

2009-08-17T09:26:00.000-06:00

A couple of big events this week.

I informed Mike Durner and Carmichael Training Systems that I would not renew my contract in September. It wasn't easy but after nearly three years of working with Mike and without a major ride at least through 2010 I decided it was time to push myself forward on my own. I'll see if I have the discipline to do that.

I totally endorse Mike and Carmichael if you have a goal and need (and you probably do) some help.

I rode the Span the Rockies charity ride Sunday, more or less.

The ride started at 6am and it was cold! Who would not imagined that an August ride would require arm and leg warmers. In Boulder it was 50 when the ride started and 33 in Ward. The climb up Left Hand Canyon was cold and into a cold wind. I didn't take my arm and leg warmers off until 11am.

I saw lots of wild life. There were lots of deer along hwy 36. I saw a golden eagle. There were beavers on Left Hand Canyon. Pheasants along the Peak-to-Peak highway. And Elk in Estes Park.

The ride along the Peak-to-Peak was spectacular as usual.

Long's Peak

The Span the Rockies ride was planned as a 200K ride with 9,000 feet of climbs. The route was basically up Left Hand Canyon to Ward, along Peak-to-Peak to Estes Park, back up to Peak-to-Peak to hwy 7 and down into Lyons. I really like the idea of the route. Normally I won't ride into Estes Park because there is no where to really go once there. But this event seemed to offer a chance to climb back out on the Peak-to-Peak.

Climbing out of Estes Park is a big challenge. The road is very steep with no shoulder. The climb is about 1,500 feet in 10 miles with some steep parts. But the real problem is the complete lack of a shoulder and the very heavy traffic. You have to ride in traffic for a long time taking your chances with RVs and 5th wheelers driven by tourist.

I expected some police support to help manage traffic on the climb. There wasn't any. So I decided not to ride that section and instead went down hwy 34 along the Big Thompson. In the end I only rode 109 miles and climbed 7,000 feet.

The Span the Rockies event was a great thought but the execution was weak. It was there first effort so they have a lot to learn. They were lucky that only 200 riders showed up. If it had been a 1,000 it would have been a disaster.

Overall a good week riding 171 miles, climbing more than 8,000 feet, for eleven hours, and burning 5486 kcal. Total workouts for the week was 14 hour.

Decent Training Week

2009-08-09T20:11:00.000-06:00

Nothing exciting this week. Continued to make good progress on the tempo rides completing the planned drills except on Sunday. Sunday I was tired from too little sleep, pressed for time because of some family obligations (with which I was delighted to oblige), and a little worn out from being on the road for six days.

Week totals were 7:35 hrs cycling, 1:35 cross training, and 1:45 resistance training for a total of 10:55 hours. Climbed 4450 feet almost all of it on Saturday.

Next week is less intense as I head toward a major ride on Sunday the 16th.

Six Weeks Until the FedEx MS Ride

2009-07-31T16:16:00.000-06:00

It's the first of August and I am glad to see July go. The weather was fine; even cool. The big fuss with the residents on Left Hand Canyon didn't materialize. I am glad cooler heads--and maybe a swarm of deputy sheriffs--made a difference.

For those of you outside Colorado the residents along LHC via a flier distributed along the road were being encouraged to drive slow and breakdown during one of the many cycling events held on this famous road. It didn't happen. Nevertheless, I was far away from LHC that day.

There were some other nice things about July.

It is still really green for Colorado

The Blad Eagles are Nesting

And you get some interesting signs on the Tri routes

Still where I started July thinking I would do a border-to-border ride next year I start August knowing the PAC Tours has changed their mind and will not have that tour. Combined with a lack of energy and little nagging injuries, July pretty much sucked.

But August will be better. I am looking forward to the FedEx Rock 'n Roll MS ride in Memphis in September. It is my favorite MS ride. And this year they have added a century. Sweet. On August 16 I am riding a new event in Boulder, the Span the Rockies, which is a double metric century (125 miles) and 9,000 feet of climbs. Should be a challenging day.

Finally, my rides the last week were excellent and I hit almost every target with over two hours of tempo rides. So for the next six weeks I will keep up my training as if I were going to climb the Rockies from end-to-end and look forward to the MS ride in Memphis.

Overtrained or Overtired

2009-07-19T15:47:00.000-06:00

July has been a struggle. No sooner than I know the Border-to-border (B2B) is on for next year then I go into a training slump. Ugh. Because I chart my weight, heart rate, and exercises I can pretty much tell when my training performance fell off. Getting it back on track is not going well.

What is happening is that my power at the high end isn't there or isn't there without too much effort. So tempo rides that I should be doing on a trainer in Memphis at 235 watts for 30 minutes I can't do for more than 20. Or tempos in Colorado which I should do at 220 I just can't get my power up that high--more like 205.

And I get tired. I noticed on the CO MS that after mile 80 I was really tired and struggled the next 30 miles (remember, I rode it mostly both ways on Saturday).

To try and recover I took two weeks of reduced intensity and volume and then began ramping up slowly. The ramp up was last week and it went fair. This week I hit my numbers through Friday but Saturday fell off.

Instead of doing two 15 minute tempos and three hours of riding, I did two hours of riding at a relaxed pace. Today, I tried to get the tempos and a 5 hour ride. I gave up ten minutes into the first tempo averaging 202 (I should have been close to 220). I rode 4 hours instead of 5 with the first 2 hours up LHC.

One thing I am not doing right is eating and I will correct that immediately. I am not concentrating enough on eating carbs and the right kind of carbs. Even though I didn't do everything planned this week, it was still a big week (175 miles and 5500 Kcals burned in cycling). At my age you have to pay attention to everything if you want to do that much work.

Next week is an easy week and I will take advantage of it to rest and get my diet right. The B2B is harder than the coast-to-coast ride and I will be two years older. BTW, on the current PAC ride from Portland Oregon to Savannah there are only 3 people over 60. I need to be in exceptional condition for a 60ish man to have a successful ride.

Colorado MS Ride and the 2010 Border-to-border

2009-06-30T20:44:00.000-06:00

Colorado MS Ride
I rode the Colorado MS ride on the 27th. The route this year was the same as last but instead of riding from the start and staying the night, I started from my home in Boulder and joined the ride at about mile 25. I rode a fast pace at the front until the top of the second climb around Horsetooth Lake (about the 60 mile mark) and then returned the same route against the other riders.

I was surprised by how many people were so far back. I had cycled past the lunch stop at 9:30 at mile 40 and returned to it at 11:30 (the ride began at 6am). A very large number of people were still at lunch at 11:30 with 35 miles to go. I talked to one couple and asked them how they liked the ride. They said it was a beautiful day, which is sure was, and they were enjoying the ride as long as it didn't get any harder. Glup, sorry to tell them that the climbs hadn't even started.

Anyway the lunch was hosted by the Sugar Bees, one of the really large and active teams. and they do a spectacular job. Had a turkey sandwich and chips and grabbed a couple of cookies for the return ride. I added a couple of long loops and ended up riding 111 miles.

BTW, the ride was capped at 2900 riders.

BIG NEWS.

The company that did the coast-to-coast ride last year is doing the Ridge of the Rockies ride in 2010. That is my next big ride and I didn't think it would be offered until 2011. Now I have exactly a year to get ready for 18 days of 100 mile days in the mountains. I got a lot of work to do.

Summer Riding Arrives--I Hope

2009-06-21T13:07:00.001-06:00

It is finally warm in Colorado in the 70's and 80's this weekend. Everything is so green with all the rain we have had over the last two weeks.

It is hard for me to tell whether my training is on plan or not. My next big goal ride is still at least a year away and building strength and base remains my goal for now.

Next weekend is the Colorado MS Ride. I will ride most of the entire route on Saturday. Maybe 110 to 120 miles. Sunday my brother will be in Colorado and I want to see him.

Workload for the week is starting to increase. 9 hours cycling with 3212 feet of climbs and 151 miles burning 4645 calories. An hour of cross training. 30 minutes of lifting.

Goals continued and climbing

2009-06-12T21:50:00.000-06:00

I would like my next major ride to be a border-to-border along the Rockies. PAC does this tour occasionally and as far as I know they are the only ones who do it at the pace I need. It is unlike to happen in 2010 and maybe not in 2011. Whether I will wait that long for another major ride is still open. But I really want to ride border-to-border down the Rockies.

That ride has a some long days and some very long, steep climbs. This year I am focused on gaining strength, gain flexibility and losing weight. Weight is always a fascination with cyclists especially when climbing a lot is involved.

The basic formula for success in climbing is the ratio of power in watts/weight in kg. You can get crazy focusing on weight and not realize that unless you are racing and are very strong it just doesn't make that much difference.

Let's take climbing Lefthand Canyon (LHC) which is 16.5 miles long, an average grade of 4.2% and a climb of 3573 feet. If you generate 170 watt average, have a 20 lb bike (including water bottles, seat bag, etc) and you weigh 175 lbs you will climb LHC in 1 hr and 56 mins (to the nearest minute). At 165 lbs, 1 hr and 51 minutes and at 155, 1 hr and 46 min. So the difference in weighing 20 lbs is 10 minutes longer in the climb.

However, if you generate 200 watt average then 175 lbs=1:41; 165=137; and 155=1:33. So increasing your power 17% drops the time 15 minutes. That is 5 minutes faster than if you lost 20 lbs (11%) of body weight.

If you generate 210 watts (my goal for 2 hours) then at 175 lbs=1:37; 165=1:33; and 155=1:29.

So if you weigh 175 lbs increasing your power by 24% (40/170) will reduce your climb on LHC by 19 minutes. If you were able to lose 20 lbs, 11% (20/175) body weight, and kept your power the same you would only reduce your climb by 10 minutes. In my mind power comes first. While hard as the devil, increasing power by 24% is easier than losing 20 lbs. In the first year with Mike I increased my maximum power 40% although certainly not my 2 hr average power.

Where this really gets silly is looking for the lightest possible bike. I wanted to replace my Ultegra 10 speed, triple drive chain and shifters with a Dura Ace Compact 10 speed set saving over a pound but at a cost greater than $1,000. I calculated out the gear ratios to see what I lost on the lowest gear and it wasn't too much. I figured with that pound saving I would be flying over the mountains. Then I calculated the time up LHC at a pound lighter and found it saved only 33 seconds. What the hell. On nearly a two hour climb a $1,000+ of new equipment would save me 33 seconds.

I'd way rather have that $1,000 to spend on food going from Canada to Mexico than saving 33 second every couple of hours of climbing.

Training Plan Change

2009-06-05T15:24:00.000-06:00

This week my training plan changed. For a few months now I have been primarily doing Climbing Repeats (CR) intervals on the bike, a lot of stretching, and twice a week work with heavy weights.

CR's are indeed intense workouts. CR's increase your climbing lactate threshold by training at the edge of your aerobic/anerobic threshold. Mike set my goals right at my maximum power. Maximum power at Carmichael Training System is the average of two, eight minute truly maximum efforts (nearly blacking out at the end of each). My maximum power is 280. Typically then I would do 4 five minute CR's on Tuesday and 5, four minute CR's on Wednesday. The weekend rides would be tempos.

For those of you without much experience with power meters I can make a rough comparison using heart rate. My lactate threshold is 159 bpm and my maximum heart rate is in the low 180's. On the fourth of five CR intervals, when I am just about wiped out, my HR averages about 172 and is peaking at 182. CR's hurt a lot.

As I said, starting this week Mike changed the training plan. As a special bonus he decided I had increased my power doing those CR's so he raised by maximum and reset all my training targets.

Now I am focused on tempo (TP) intervals. TP's are really the bread and butter of long distance riding. They do so much for you. I recommend you Google cycling tempos to learn more. Maybe next time I'll put some links in. To me the easy summary is that TP's build long distance endurance and set you up for harder interval training.

So now my training week is:
Monday-rest
Tuesday-1 hour trainer with a 15 minute TP at 230 watts.
Wednesday-1 hour trainer with three 10 minutes TP at 230
Thursday-stretch and weights
Friday-hour of cross training
Saturday-3.5 hours of riding with 2 15 minute TP
Sunday-2.0 hours of riding with 2 15 minute TP.

Goals, continued

2009-05-29T17:54:00.001-06:00

In my last update I suggested a goal would be to race me at the Memphis MS Ride. Bad Larry. I really chose a bad word. I don't want to turn the MS Ride into a competition. A better idea for a goal is to ride with me and we will pace ourselves to complete the ride under 5 hours; maybe even in 4:30.

Today was a beautiful day for riding in Boulder so I headed out very early for some climbing. As always I start by heading up Left Hand Canyon. Even before 8 on a Friday you can see riders gathering. Most actually just ride the 7-10 miles from Boulder instead of driving.

LHC at 8am

See those mountains. Those are just warmups for todays ride. I climb 1000 feet and 5.25 miles to the Ward/Jamestown intersection. Both are interesting climbs but Ward is longer and higher.

Ward/Jamestown Intersection. 1,000 ft climb up LHC

11 Miles up LHC and 2,300 ft climb
If you look close you can see the snow further up. That is where I am going.

The facilities at Ward
The climb to Ward is 24 miles and 380o feet of climbs from my house.

This is the view along the Peak to Peak Highway. Sweet, if you don't mind climbing two hours to get here.

All together the ride was 76 miles, 4800 feet of climbs, took 5:15 and burned 2800 calories (real, not calculated. If you want to know how, let me know).