Field Test Results

Hadn't done the 2x8 minute field test since last fall so today was the day. Used SR 52 starting at River Downs heading out and then starting at Ten Mile heading back with 8 minutes recovery between. Held 396 and 394 respectively. HR averages were in the mid to upper 160's with max HR at 173 and 175. Hr was back to 120 within 2:30 during the recovery between the efforts. Cadence averaged 90 in each. These results are pretty close to the test from last fall. Just shows that a winter of structured intervals and plenty of recovery will bring results. Ready for the first time trial next Wednesday in Dayton. zones based on these results: recovery, less than 177.75 endurance between 177.75 296.25 tempo between 316 331.8 steady state between 335.75 355.5 time trial between 375.25 395 power intervals above 434.5

ACE Tips on Leg Exercises to Avoid and Which to Include

http://www.acefitness.org/blog/5351/train-this-not-that-the-leg-edition/

Weekend and Todays Intervals

Rode 113 on Saturday, 10 in early in the morning and then 103 starting around 10:30 going to Ripley and back. Averaged 226 watts on that effort. Also saw the bald eagles near Ripley. Did 13x1 power intervals today on the tt bike at Ault Park holding 493, 474, 472, 472, 450, 495, 495, 478, 455, 445, 449,465 and 443. Staying seated on the tt bike and not having the leverage of the road bike keeps these a little lower than on the road bike although avg speed is higher on these. Also on these, the power is typically increasing from the start as opposed to peaking at the start when on the road bike. First tt in a little over two weeks.

15x1 power intervals

I wanted to ride the Cervelo P2 so I went to the local crit course and did some 1 min on/off power intervals. I'm trying a lower bar position, about 1.25 centimeters lower than my Giant TT bike. One problem I had was the I left the bars too long so I really had to reach to get to the bar end shifters. Corrected that after the ride. Have to admit that I've never really done any training on a tt bike. I usually just show up at the first tt maybe having ridden the tt bike a couple of time prior. I definitely don;t get that big burst of power that I can on the road bike. The numbers weren't great but neither was my position. I'll work on it some more. Power was mid to upper 400's as opposed to 520 avg on the road bike.

Century in Tennessee

Nice day in TN so I rode 101 miles. Took 5:50 to cover Gatlinburg to Cades Cove, three times around the 11 mike loop, and side trips to Tremont and Elkmont on the way back. Did two 24 minute tempo efforts in the first hour at 322 and 312 and then settled into an avg power of 240. Had about 7500' of climbing. Its a long ride to do solo but it was great to remove the arm and leg warmers by 10am.

4x12 steady state

Did a modified version of the 4x12 steady state with 11 min at 347, 11 at 339, 11 at 347, 11 at 339 and then 4 at 342. I took about a 60-90 seconds between efforts so this was a pretty continuous 48 minute steady state. Felt very good. USed Riverside Drive from Delta to Adams Landing out and back. Very little traffic around 1-2:00pm. Kind of wet from the snow melt in some areas and lots of old road salt, gravel, and other winter debris in the bike lane. Projected FTP is 350 so going 48 minutes in the low 340's at 150-155 hr avg, well below LT HR, would seem about right.

5x6 minute steady state (or closer to TT power)

rode inside in the morning, then went out for the 5x6 minutes using the crit course at Ault Park, and then back in to round it out to 50 miles; power outside: 361, 367, 372, 366 and 370; even with the Stages registering a little higher than the indoor, these would still be the equivalent of upper 350's to low 360's inside; felt very good on these even though temps just in the upper 30's

another set of 4x10's

I made some changes when compared to Mondays 4x10's. I wanted to keep my cadence in the 90's as opposed to the low 80's and I reduced the goal wattage by about 10. Power was around 323 for each. Looking at 5x6 tomorrow and might get outside. Temps may be going to 40. Overall a good week of strength and interval training with two off days, Tuesday and Thursday. Hoping to get in a century next week if the weather warms up as expected.

Indoor TT History

Fortunate to win the 50-59 for the 2014-15 event. Actually tied my PR with the November ride. Overall power has been holding pretty steady. Racer Category Race Date MM:SS Avg MPH Peak MPH Avg Watts Peak Watts AvgWatts/KG Location Peter Wimberg M40-49 2012-2-12 14:35 25.49 31.48 390.14 529 5.00 Dayton,OH Peter Wimberg M50-59 2014-11-16 14:35 25.50 33.34 379.60 544 4.87 Dayton,OH Peter Wimberg M50-59 2014-2-09 14:36 25.48 32.32 386.15 594 4.95 Dayton,OH Peter Wimberg M40-49 2011-2-13 14:39 25.39 32.96 379.72 487 4.87 Dayton,OH Peter Wimberg M50-59 2015-1-11 14:40 25.34 33.28 376.08 466 4.82 Dayton,OH Peter Wimberg M40-49 2012-1-15 14:41 25.31 32.62 376.33 478 4.82 Dayton,OH Peter Wimberg M50-59 2012-12-16 14:45 25.22 33.10 372.16 454 4.77 Dayton,OH Peter Wimberg M50-59 2015-2-08 14:45 25.22 31.38 376.42 480 4.82 Dayton,OH Peter Wimberg M40-49 2011-1-16 14:46 25.17 31.16 382.90 501 4.91 Dayton,OH Peter Wimberg M50-59 2014-1-12 14:46 25.19 31.18 376.13 520 4.82 Dayton,OH Peter Wimberg M40-49 2011-11-13 14:54 24.95 30.06 383.26 518 4.91 Dayton,OH Peter Wimberg M40-49 2011-12-11 14:57 24.87 30.88 382.38 518 4.90 Dayton,OH Peter Wimberg M40-49 2010-12-12 14:57 24.87 32.00 364.82 571 4.68 Dayton,OH Peter Wimberg M50-59 2013-12-15 14:57 24.88 32.42 359.85 506 4.61 Dayton,OH Peter Wimberg M40-49 2010-11-21 15:02 24.73 32.22 356.38 524 4.57 Dayton,OH Peter Wimberg M50-59 2012-11-11 15:04 24.70 32.22 352.78 462 4.52 Dayton,OH Peter Wimberg M50-59 2013-1-20 15:22 24.19 31.24 344.84 447 4.42 Dayton,OH

Cramping: Causes and Cures

from the latest CTS newsletter, March 5, 2015 Causes, Prevention, and Treatment of Cramping cramp By Chris Carmichael Endurance sports are all about pushing yourself and testing your limits. Sometimes your brain has to step in and protect you from yourself, like when you bonk and your brain conjures up nausea in an effort to get you to slow down and address the problem. Other times your body skips protection and moves straight to kicking the crap out of you in a creative and painful way, otherwise known as cramping. FirstOffice_462x462Coaching Special: FIRST MONTH FOR $15! CTS is 15 years old! To celebrate, your first month of coaching is just $15! Offer is valid on all coaching package levels for new coaching signups through March 16! Muscle cramping is something cyclists deal with at all levels of the sport, yet they’re often talked about with a sense of mysticism, like there’s a cramp fairy who magically appears and zaps your hamstring just as you get up to sprint. Science offers a number of theories for the cause of cramps, two of which are particularly interesting for cyclists: Neuromuscular Theory As you pedal, the muscles in your legs contract and relax over and over again in rapid succession. At some point, those muscles start to fatigue and this theory of cramping says that the muscle spindles that stimulate contraction stay or become more excited, while the inhibitory feedback from the Golgi tendon organ (a structure that signals the brain about the force of muscle contractions) becomes suppressed. In other words, the horses start to stampede and the guy holding the reins lets go. The result is a long and incredibly powerful muscle contraction that’s completely involuntary. Overload cramps may be fitness related, meaning you may be more vulnerable to them when you are less fit. Anecdotally, novice athletes tend to experience them more than veteran athletes, and longtime athletes often get them more frequently in the early season. Exertion Theory For a long time, athletes have defaulted to the exertion theory of cramping, which cites electrolyte depletion, dehydration, and/or heat stress as the cause of muscle cramps. There’s a lot of anecdotal evidence to support the theory, it generally seems to make sense, and cooling down and replenishing fluids and electrolytes tends to make the cramps go away; so the theory seems like a winner. Unfortunately, the science is problematic because it’s difficult to pinpoint a consistent cause-and-effect mechanism directly related to fluid loss, electrolyte imbalance, or core temperature. More likely, exertion cramps are caused by a combination of factors arising from fluid loss, electrolyte imbalance, and heat stress. Though the exact mechanism for exertion cramps is inconclusive, there do seem to be some distinct differences between the characteristics of these cramps compared to neuromuscular cramps. Exertion cramps provide a little warning in the form of fasciculations, those small muscle twitches you can see and feel at the skin level. Once the cramping begins in earnest, however, it can spread to muscles that are not being directly stressed. In contrast, neuromuscular cramps are localized to the muscle that’s overloaded and provide no warning. Tour of California Race Experience The Tour of California route has been announced! Check out the video and then come and ride every stage with me, experience VIP access to the course and the finish areas, and share your meals with the pro teams. Space is getting very limited for this trip but you can still get in on this Bucket List event if you act now! Prevention The big question is what to do about cramping, and this is where science collides with the real world. In the real world, the pragmatic view is that cramps are caused by a combination of stresses from heat, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and neuromuscular fatigue. They each contribute to varying degrees, depending on the conditions and how hard you’re pushing yourself. The reason I take an “all of the above” approach is because it works: when you minimize these stresses you experience fewer cramps. Training and Pacing: When you’re more fit and you set a pace you can sustain, you’ll delay the onset of neuromuscular cramps, and you’ll also lower the heat stress you’re placing on yourself. Nutrition/hydration strategy: Aim to replenish at least 80% of the fluid you lose per hour, and separate your nutrition from your hydration by drinking water and electrolyte drinks while getting calories from the food in your pockets. This allows you to increase fluid/electrolyte consumption with increased heat stress, without overloading the stomach with calories, which would lead to nausea, which would then reduce your fluid/electrolyte intake. Temperature strategy: Overheating kills performance, puts tremendous stress on your body, and accelerates the loss of fluids and electrolytes. Ice socks, dousing yourself with water, and even slushy drinks can help reduce this stress. Treatment When cramping starts, it’s time to go to war. The cramps are caused by multiple factors, so you hit them all. As one of my coaches puts it, you don’t call in a sniper to find the one, you call in the bombers to level them all. Across the spectrum of events and athletes, the steps are the same: Reduce intensity: Hide in the pack, stop taking pulls. This will reduce neuromuscular fatigue as well as the heat your producing through muscular work. If you’re by yourself, slow down. It’s better to slow down and avoid a cramp than cramp and stop altogether. Cool down: Douse yourself with water, get into a cooler environment, or go sit in the creek. But if you have to make a choice, put water in you instead of on you. Get more fluids: If you’re drinking sports drinks and/or eating regularly during your ride, you’re risks for hyponatremia are very low. It’s far more likely that additional fluids will help alleviate heat stress. Get more electrolytes: Aim for 700-1000mg but be sure to consume at least 20 ounces of fluid (one water bottle) with it. For a quick fix at a convenience store, a bottle of V8 will do the trick. Get more calories: Although caloric deficiency doesn’t seem to be directly related to muscle cramps, this is a good opportunity to achieve balanced replenishment. Massage: If cramps have you sitting (writhing) by the side of the road, rubbing the affected muscle has been shown to be an effective way to get the involuntary contractions to stop. The treatment for cramping is imprecise, but so is the reality of what’s causing them. And pragmatically we know that reducing the overall stress from exertion, heat, dehydration, and electrolyte imbalance is what gets athletes moving in the right direction, which is forward. References: Bergeron, Michael F. Current Sports Medicine Reports. 7(4):S50-S55, July/August 2008. Miller KC, Stone MS, Huxel KC, Edwards JE. Sports Health. 2010 Jul;2(4):279-83. (Article originally published in Road Bike Action Magazine)

4x10 steady state

Another day inside working on 4x10 steady states at 337, 336, 33 and 334. Heart rate right at 88% of max or right at LT. Power at 96% of FTP.