Some Steady States

Did 32 minutes today at 330 watts, broken into 4 x 8 minute efforts with just a minute between each. Used Riverside Drive from Delta to The Boathouse, 8 minutes in each direction. Rounded out the day with one hour circuit class late in the day.

TT Bike Position

Had my bike fit today with Kathy at Oakley Cycles. Made no changes to the tt bike position and on the road bike installed some shorter reach bars and flipped the stem from level to 3 degrees up. Need to work on hamstring flexibility which was expected.

More TT efforts

Did 10x1 minute at 370 each, one minute between and then 5 x 2 minutes at 350. Just using these to get some time at tt power while still riding inside. Hopefully will get the tt bike out on Saturday to test the Stages.

Time Trial Intervals

Still cold so still training indoors. Did some time trial efforts yesterday where I went 1, 2, 3, and 4 minutes at 350 watts with one minute between each and then repeated that. Had 20 minutes at 350 and actually the one minute breaks were more of a nuisance than rest period. Would have been easier to keep going but that is the idea. Still haven't synced up the new Joule to the Stages but will do that in the next day or so. Had two good one hour circuit classes this week. Lots of core/foundation work, plenty of full body lifting and some plyometrics. feeling ready for that first time trial at Wright-Patt in two weeks.

Ride to Clingmans Dome

Rode the 26 miles from the chalet to the top of Clingmans Dome today. Went all the way up the path to the observation deck as the road from Newfound Gap is still closed so there is no foot traffic on the trail and no rangers/volunteers to stop me. Warm in Gatlinburg when I left at 9:15 (low 50's) but pretty cold at the top, probably low 40's. Hauled my Nikon in the rear bag (hadn't used this in years) and had the Polaroid XS100i mounted on the bars. In general, I looked like a real dork. Fortunately no one here knows me. It was nice having the year bag o store the clothes I didn't need on the way up but did need on the way down. Took about 2:20 from the chalet or a little under 2 hours from Sugarland Visitor Center. That included one stop to shed some clothes. Avg power on the way up was 238.

Hiking and Riding

In the last two days I've hiked about 18 miles and ridden about 80 here in TN. Great weather with highs in the 60's. typically hiking in the am and riding in the pm. Did some intervals today that totaled up to about an hour at 310. Normalized power for 38 miles or 2:15 was 258. Had about 3800' of climbing. On the hikes did Grapeyard Ridge yesterday and Maddron Bald to Albright Grove today.

Tempo/Steady State/Time Trial

Did 4 efforts of 2 minutes at Tempo (avg 280 watts), 2 at steady state (avg 330 watts) and then one minute time trial pace at around 380 watts. Lifted last night for an hour with the circuit class and will do that again tomorrow along with riding the 8am spin. Will be riding in the mountains of TN/NC later in the week. have the Franklin back after a winter away being re-chromed. The best riding bike I've ever owned. Not as light as carbon but the steel on the 100 mile plus rides is so comfortable.

Tempo/Steady State/ Time Trial, graph

Saturday Century

Had four hours on the schedule so I went for the Ripley Century. Had the wind at my back on the way out and averaged about 21 mph riding at just 217 watts avg or about 2:24. Paid for it on the way back with the headwind. Took 3 hours to get back. Ended up with 5:24, normalized power at 210, cadence at 89 and TSS at 248. Used my middle chainring on the way back to keep cadence up and power reasonable. Its very easy to try to push too hard into the wind at a low cadence. Just settled in and knew it was going to be a long ride back. Good training for upcoming 20 mile climbs in the contains. Today is an off day.

Beta Alanine

I've been using the Power Bar version for a couple of years. It basically buffers your muscles against the burn caused by the release of that hydrogen ion when the muscle contracts. Does it work? Seems to. As with anything like this its not like one day you find that you can ride way over your FTP and not notice your heart coming out of your chest but I do think there is some legit science behind it as backed up by my sports dietician and her research into it.

Long Tempo's comments

Warmed up for 20 minutes at 180-190 and then did 7 minutes at 280, 1 at 300, 7 at 280 and 5 minutes at 190. This was repeated three times so I ended up with about 90 minutes at 250 normalized power. Felt fine on these and really could have held the 280 for a longer time with no problem. Long ride tomorrow, 4+ hours. And ideally pick up the tt bike with the new Stages power meter. Its ready.

Long Tempo's

The Athletes Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train and Thrive

I'm only a few chapters into this book but it is really interesting. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1623361486/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Training Calendars Have to Flexible

This is the post I made to my calendar for my coach just this morning. This is why schedules have to be flexible and why its always good to feel like you've done all of your training and a few days off schedule won't matter. The last 48 hours has been pretty much a disaster. Spent Tuesday evening with my mom in the emergency room then spent the night on the couch at their house so my dad wouldn't be alone. Only had about four hours sleep before he was up and then I was off to teach my classes. Did get those in and rode hard in spin and then put 45 women through some tortuous lifting for an hour. Then back to the hospital to see mom and then back to the house to see dad. Then a board meeting last night. I did have about 30 minutes late in the day some I did 8x1 minute power intervals at around 400 watts (high of 410 and a low of 394). Given the limited time they seemed like a good alternative. I will take today off. have meetings all day and more visits to my parents. Getting old is gonna suck!

Stages Power Meter

Its finally on its way to Montgomery Cyclery. Should have it and my TT bike back next week. Was also waiting for a new cog set to I'm not dealing with that missing 16t. Drove me just last year s the 15 and 17 didn't always meet my cadence goal.

Indoor Tt Efforts

Yesterday I did 1 minute, 5 minute and 20 minute time trial efforts on the Cycle Ops. One minute, easy at 360. Five minutes, no problem at 353. Twenty minutes inside, miserable at 345. Well off my indoor tt efforts under competition but still had HR going at 95% of max or 107% of LT HR. Good to get that effort in this time of year. Looking ahead have more of the endurance/tempo/steady state/power interval medleys tomorrow.

Indoor Time Trial Effort

Food on the bike

Some of the food I carry on long rides: Clik Blok Shots; PowerBars; Clif Bars (but not my favorite…too dry); one or two per hour drink of choice is Gatorade and later in the ride sometimes just water and I try to go through 2 bottles per hours on hot days pre-race: always staying hydrated with water or Gatorade and have a meal 2-3 hours from my start time and then use the same bars above until race time, one per hour or so not too scientific but it works for me