Oh, right, tonight is Tuesday? That means 90mns of high intensity intervals including 5 x 2mns of fast pedaling and 3 x 8 minutes just below FTP (my threshold).
And... I'm feeling a little bit under the weather. Not really sick. Just overtired from too little sleep, and maybe some exposure to sick people over the weekend. But, still, I hardly ate anything today. That alone is a sign that I'm not quite myself... I'm usually ravenous, all the time. Seriously, I'm hungry all the time.
Anyway, so I ate a small dinner, drank some electrolyte mix before getting on the bike, and then after a brief facebook-based check-in with coach about the coming week, it was trainer time.
Today I added some planks and extra stretching to the beginning of my workout. Front planks are HARD when you have a hole punched in your abdominal muscles! More about core strength training another time...
Training under the weather is rough. It wasn't impossible, I just started feeling tired - as expected - and ended each interval feeling a lot more tired.
Training mildly tired/sick takes more mental stamina than anything else. Maybe you're starting a little dehydrated from too much coffee or cold medication, and your heart rate is higher than you want it to be in your warmup, or you find that you need more than just the terry cloth on your gloves to wipe your snot today.
And then, you look down at your index card and see another hour of pain!
I start bargaining with myself. "What if I just cut off the last interval?" "What if I do only a 7.5 instead of an 8 on the perceived effort scale" "Do these last 30 seconds really matter?".
And then I kick that part of my brain and shut it off. Partially because I know it is a slippery slope, and partially because I want to be proud of my effort and training slightly under the weather gives me more of a chance to be proud of my sweat.
So, I do the intervals. On time and on target. And, it hurts. And I suffer through those grueling last 30 seconds of each interval. And, I remember that much quoted Lance Armstrong line "All pain is temporary" and take comfort.
And, then, I'm done. I'm on the last 10 minutes of cooldown and my dog is wagging at me because she somehow knows that this means I will now detach myself from my bike, and pet her while I stretch.
Time for a hot shower!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Sleep. And, revamping this blog.
Working on revamping this blog... it might be ugly for a while.
Trainer time tonight! And, then sleep.
I've been feeling unusually sleep deprived and super cranky for the past week. It is true that I haven't been getting enough sleep (~6hrs/night), but that's not unusual for me. Maybe I've been coming down with something... there seems to be a lingering cough going around Pittsburgh. Or, maybe it's the increase in intensity of bicycling.
Perhaps I should try to address this issue. My goal is to get to bed before 10pm tonight. We will see how that goes.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Bicycle dreams
Also, I am super excited that this movie is coming to Pittsburgh!
Danny Chew, the masochist who invented the Pittsburgh Dirty Dozen Race and two time winner of the race across america, is giving a talk afterwards.
Enjoy the trailer! And, if you live somewhere it's being shown, go see it in theaters!
Danny Chew, the masochist who invented the Pittsburgh Dirty Dozen Race and two time winner of the race across america, is giving a talk afterwards.
Enjoy the trailer! And, if you live somewhere it's being shown, go see it in theaters!
FTP testing. Lousy numbers, but a place to start!
So, today about 10 people from the Pitt cycling team (self included) did FTP testing at an indoor studio with cyclops spin bikes with power wheels!
I haven't ridden with a power-meter before so it was really interesting to see how even slight changes can have a huge impact on how many watts you are putting out. Besides cadence and resistance, slight changes in form made my watts jump or fall. I can see how useful riding with a power meter would be for refining my budgetting of energy, setting goals, and working on making my pedaling more efficient.
I do confess to having been nervous about seeing my first numbers... and failing in front of the other guys in the group.
The results were unimpressive, but not terrible terrible terrible either. My max watts were somewhere in the mid 240's. And, I was able to sustain ~200 watts for an 8 minute interval riding just below threshold, at a fairly reasonable 8/10 on a scale of perceived effort.
This puts my current max watts (the unofficial numbers) at around 4.06 watts/kilogram. And, 200 watts puts my effort during the SSI (sustained effort at ) 85-95 cadence) at 3.39 watts/kilogram. This puts me in "not terrible, but not great" territory.
We are retesting in 2 weeks, and I'm hoping for better numbers. I'm going to ask our coach about changing around my training block schedule so that I'm not testing on the third of a series of 3 consecutive training days. And, I will make sure I am better rested and adequately hydrated before next time - both things that were lacking today.
I haven't ridden with a power-meter before so it was really interesting to see how even slight changes can have a huge impact on how many watts you are putting out. Besides cadence and resistance, slight changes in form made my watts jump or fall. I can see how useful riding with a power meter would be for refining my budgetting of energy, setting goals, and working on making my pedaling more efficient.
I do confess to having been nervous about seeing my first numbers... and failing in front of the other guys in the group.
The results were unimpressive, but not terrible terrible terrible either. My max watts were somewhere in the mid 240's. And, I was able to sustain ~200 watts for an 8 minute interval riding just below threshold, at a fairly reasonable 8/10 on a scale of perceived effort.
This puts my current max watts (the unofficial numbers) at around 4.06 watts/kilogram. And, 200 watts puts my effort during the SSI (sustained effort at ) 85-95 cadence) at 3.39 watts/kilogram. This puts me in "not terrible, but not great" territory.
We are retesting in 2 weeks, and I'm hoping for better numbers. I'm going to ask our coach about changing around my training block schedule so that I'm not testing on the third of a series of 3 consecutive training days. And, I will make sure I am better rested and adequately hydrated before next time - both things that were lacking today.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Great data on bicycle commuting trends in the USA
Check this out!
Awesome work on bicycle commuting trends, and some very sad statistics about bicyclist deaths in the USA.
Awesome work on bicycle commuting trends, and some very sad statistics about bicyclist deaths in the USA.
Why do people hate on spandex?!
I was just on the local bicycle commuter message board and, suprise suprise, yet again the conversation has turned towards the problem with those hammerheads wearing spandex. Does wearing jeans on your bike grant you moral highground? Or some other sort of merit award?
Maybe it does. I sure as heck couldn't bike for any real distance wearing jeans - at least not a pair that fit properly!
1. Totally unrelated to having an ostomy, it is just downright unpleasant! When I bike, even just up the huge hill to work, I sweat. Sweaty jeans are gross. They stick to you, make your crotch feel damp for the next couple of hours, etc. Also, I have big quads and find jeans that fit my waist to have legs that are too tight if I'm doing more than standing or sitting around. Yes, I can bike slowly on flat ground in jeans, or even some fancier clothing. And, I do it on occasion. No, it is not my idea of a good time, and usually I'm going to encounter a hill or want to get to my destination faster than a sweatless pace.
2. I do have an ileostomy! This means that I have an appliance stuck to my abdomen just above the waistline of a pair of modern (fairly low waisted) jeans. When I bend forward on a bike wearing jeans or other pants with a hard waistband it starts to get into the dangerous territory of messing up my ostomy appliance. It's also uncomfortable to wear a waistband that compresses my abdomen in that sort of way. Disrupting my ostomy appliance is generally not a risk I'm willing to take. So I don't do it. Even on my commutes, I wear bike shorts. I am comfortable and get to work on time.
Maybe those people who think that biking wearing spandex reflects poorly on a person's charactor should realize that for some people bicycling clothing is not about fashion. There may actually be a physical reason for wearing bike shorts even when just commuting.
Don't shame me! I make a point of not shaming less serious cyclists for their lower yearly milages or higher resting heart rate. Just imagine how silly that would be! And, how much of a jerk would I be?! A big one. So, let's all respect each other and stop the judgement.
Spandex wearing and proud of it,
t.
Maybe it does. I sure as heck couldn't bike for any real distance wearing jeans - at least not a pair that fit properly!
1. Totally unrelated to having an ostomy, it is just downright unpleasant! When I bike, even just up the huge hill to work, I sweat. Sweaty jeans are gross. They stick to you, make your crotch feel damp for the next couple of hours, etc. Also, I have big quads and find jeans that fit my waist to have legs that are too tight if I'm doing more than standing or sitting around. Yes, I can bike slowly on flat ground in jeans, or even some fancier clothing. And, I do it on occasion. No, it is not my idea of a good time, and usually I'm going to encounter a hill or want to get to my destination faster than a sweatless pace.
2. I do have an ileostomy! This means that I have an appliance stuck to my abdomen just above the waistline of a pair of modern (fairly low waisted) jeans. When I bend forward on a bike wearing jeans or other pants with a hard waistband it starts to get into the dangerous territory of messing up my ostomy appliance. It's also uncomfortable to wear a waistband that compresses my abdomen in that sort of way. Disrupting my ostomy appliance is generally not a risk I'm willing to take. So I don't do it. Even on my commutes, I wear bike shorts. I am comfortable and get to work on time.
Maybe those people who think that biking wearing spandex reflects poorly on a person's charactor should realize that for some people bicycling clothing is not about fashion. There may actually be a physical reason for wearing bike shorts even when just commuting.
Don't shame me! I make a point of not shaming less serious cyclists for their lower yearly milages or higher resting heart rate. Just imagine how silly that would be! And, how much of a jerk would I be?! A big one. So, let's all respect each other and stop the judgement.
Spandex wearing and proud of it,
t.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)