Goals Galore, v2.008

NomadVW

At least for me, the 2007 season is basically over. There are a few minor races I'll do and some group rides, but I've moved off my 2007 planners and logs and am working inside the structure of the 2008 "season."

Hopefully some of you are also planning out your goals. For me, the last week or two have been a lot of thinking about where I want to get in 2008. This is what I've come up with so far. Feel free to share what's on your plate!

1. Race a lot more. I had 11 races in 2007. I hope to have that many under the belt really early in the year.

2. FTP up to 5 w/kg, and a 30 watt increase in MAP. With a stable weight after the last year, I hope to make the bulk of these gains before spring racing.

3. Cat 3 by June. Never having raced in the states, but having done pretty well where I'm at, this may be an "under shoot." That being said, never having raced in the states, there's some unknowns.

4. Only one "A" priority race for me on the calendar until #3 is a little more realized. Jefferson Cup RR, March 30th.

5. Learn to love the trainer. I'm moving to a place with significantly worse weather than I had last year and there's likely to be much more trainer time in my future come January.

Sorry if this is catching a lot of you early before 2007 ends, but c'mon! I can't wait for 2008.

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Cycling in Iwakuni Blog

PaulMD

It's always good to post goals on the internet. Then you have to!

0.) Drop weight again to 70.0 kg.

1.) FTP 315 watt @ 70.0 kg (4.5w/kg)

2.) 20MP 350 watt @ 70.0 kg (5.0w/kg)

3.) Run a 10km < 40 minutes.

4.) 10 full squats with 70kg.

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My latest power profile: 5SP: 16.3w/kg | 1MP: 7.7w/kg | 5MP 5.8w/kg | FTP 4.7w/kg
Cycling Forum.info

Roadie_scum

OK... some accountability is good... I have been afraid to put goals up because I always doubt myself... but lets just sack up and do it huh?

1. Top 20 Australian Nationals Elite TT, January.
Time faster than 56:00

2. Rest of athletic goals pending!

3. Ride consistently and enjoy it.

4. Find a coach... work intelligently with a coach... including on goal selection.

5. Be physically and mentally robust and healthy.

Roadie_scum

I feel like I have been following your posts for long enough to say this will absolutely not be a problem for you as long as you race even vaguely intelligently. Just do some early season races after everyone has been doing LSD and ride off at the end. You will get your upgrade in a couple of race weekends and it will be appropriate tempo/threshold training too. The real question is, are you a smart enough racer to make it to 2's by June? Or 1's by the end of the year? I would say yes to the first question, but 1's is a hard upgrade to get...

Good luck!

Alex Simmons

I was thinking about putting this one up again soon Nomad - you beat me to it!

My 2008 cycling goals are pretty simple at this stage:

1. Turn a crank on a bicycle on a trainer and rack up my first TSS point for a long time.
2. Ride outdoors.
3. Start racing again, especially on the track.

I can't really put dates to those as so much depends on how my leg progresses (and when I can get a suitable bike leg made and fitted). Once I have a feel of how I am progressing, I might be a bit more specific with the goals.

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fleshbroiler

This looks interesting. For 2008 my goals are;

[1] Lose 40 lbs. Already down 65 since the end of January.
[2] Learn how to train with and interpret power data.
[3] Increase FTP by 20%, currently 228.
[4] Climb Whiteface Mtn.http://www.northeastcycling.com/Mtn_Climbs.html
No idea how much time this will take. Currently the longest climb on any of my regular routes is 800 ft.
[5] Complete a leg (138) miles of the Adirondack 540. http://www.adkultracycling.com/adk540/index.htm

stilesiii

Sub hour 20 mile TT.

Put 50 miles in the saddle a week.

See 30 mph on the speedo in a flat sprint.

No clipout falls.

NomadVW

Thanks man! My unofficial goal is 2 by the end of the year. I'd like to work Cat 1 into the 2009 season and take the plunge on the US Armed Forces team. Still young enough, still strong enough. Just need time on the bike, and lots of racing.

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Cycling in Iwakuni Blog

Roadie_scum

I think you are coached? So this may be something you already have a handle on... but I think it is important to manage your racing carefully. Not race 'a lot' blindly. I have made that mistake before, ended up with some of the best form of my life but completely mentally burnt out and unable to capitalise on it. Was in the last 5 of a break that was once 15 in a pro road race with 30km to go and not able to execute at all. So one thing I've learnt is to race in blocks not longer than three weeks and to avoid racing for training at all costs. But this is highly personal. Some people respond very well to racing a lot. I'm just saying, if you plan to race a lot, the next year will be a new challenge and it behooves you to listen very attentively to body and mind!

RS

Sillyoldtwit

I know it's not just about increasing one's power for the sake of it, but to put tne new found power into good use on the road, be it racing or group rides with your buddies.

However, first I want to smash that 300watt FTP psychological barrier, then think about putting it to practical use. Tyson

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daveryanwyoming

O.K. I'm just coming off my post season R&R with weekly winter training getting into full swing Nov. 1. I figure broadcasting these to the world may help make them real and keep me on track over the winter:

Racing goals:

• Race a sub 55 minute 40 km TT(58:31 pb in aug 2007 on stormy day & road bike)
• Upgrade back to the 3's on race points(hard to do in open category races)
• Top 5 GC placing in open masters stage race
• Race 15 or more events in 2008

Training goals to get there:

• Train at least 10 hours per week all winter
• At least 6 of those on computrainer as SST/L4 work + ski skating till weather warms up
• At least one day a week on TT bike in aero bars to work flexibility and power from that position
• Bring FTP to at least 4.5 W/Kg by April (~4.3 w/kg high point this season)
• Bring CTL to at least 90 by March(~70 in march 2007, 105 high point in Aug)

I've got some other goals related to 5 minute power, 5 second power, etc. But that's good enough to get going and to keep me honest this winter.

-Dave

hammonjj

So, this is my first season of real training so I'm trying to set my goals for the year:

• Train atleast 10 hours a week during the winter on the trainer....ugh
• Increase FTP to 3 watts/kg, currently at 2 watts/kg
• Finish in the top 5 25% of the time during cat 5 races
• Be "ready" when I upgrade to cat 4
• Particpate in a stage race

I know the second goal is huge, but I'm pretty sure that going from no training plan to some training plan as well as learning proper pacing will make that a realistic goal.

Good luck with all your goals! I know I'm going to need it!

Best
James

strader

I don't think your second goal is huge, but your first one is. Going from no training plan to 10 hours a week on a trainer sounds like a sure fire way to burn out. Dave who posted above you is training and racing at a much higher level, and was targetting only 6 hours a week. Maybe consider working your way up to that volume. If you really have no training plan now I bet you will see big gains doing just a few hours of SST/L4 workouts a week.

Anyway, back on topic here are mine:
1. Get two more podium finishes in sport class MTB and move up to expert
2. Enter my first road race in February, and finish with the lead pack
3. Increase FTP to at least 4.6 w/kg and 300+ watts before first road race series(tested 4.5 w/kg, 296 watts in sept)
4. Buy a real road bike with a powertap (using a KK trainer now with a cyclocross bike)
5. Finish in top 50% of finishers in expert class mtb race
6. For end of '07 get at least one top 5 finish in regional cyclocross race series. (Field size for this race is 90 to 140 racers). Upgrade to B class in '08 and finish in top 50%.

hammonjj

I've been averaging riding between 8-10 hours a week over the summer, but it was just "riding". Now I'll just be riding with a plan! I think I should be ok for the winter and if I feel like I'm gonna crash then I'll just have to back off a bit.

I should also rephrase, train 10 hours a week even if I HAVE to use the trainer. In Colorado, if you don't mind being a little cold you can train *almost* year round.

James