It's killing me but..........

[jsirabella]

felt, Know what you mean about antsy. Lots of drama here at the company but somehow have to put it all on the side and get on the bike and focus on the training I hope to do that morning. Today was really fun where I was outside the Lincoln Tunnel at 5am and no one can get through. Sit there for 30 minutes before they opened it again. I can not believe at 5am I have to deal with this ****. Most guys are already in holiday mode but I am still editing...Maybe a 3 hour ride this Sunday may be the answer for me too!

swampy, seems like you are getting ready for a big season. For myself I reached just about 70 on the CTL and still doing my typical routine right now.

M-off
Tu - 3 x 25 or 2 x 40 with a slightly higher than last week number (hardest day)
We - 2 x 45 about 10 watts lower than Tu
Th - 1 x 60 either equal or 5-10 watts lower than we
F - Off
Sa - Try yo repeat Tu or I repeat We
Su - Try to just log as much time as I can at a moderate pace usually means 180 - 200 depending on the amount of energy and how long I want to stay in the saddle and life issues

Almost forgot all my rides are total 2 hours with the exception of Th being 90 minutes.

I am finding out like an old car an old person like myself needs more time to warm up. The best story of that was on We I wanted to do a 2 x 45 so instead of doing 20 minutes of warm up with my 5 minute at 240 I cut it down to 10 minutes and 5 minutes of 240. I thought that 5 minutes at the lame 240 was going to kill me. I literally started to breath really heavy. The funny thing is I get to the last 10 minutes of the 2nd interval and nail the first 5 minutes at 220 and the very last 5 minutes at 240 and the 240 was not tough at all. Makes no sense....I guess a crit will not be for me given my engine status unless they let me start an hour ahead of them...lawl.

300 watts for 2 hours...wow! For me I could pretty much call 220 anytime I wanted for 2 hours. I believe I overstated my ftp when I did my first test many moons ago with the 20 minute test, It gives you a starting point but I believe even at my best I was about 240-250 which means I could call it up upon request pretty much. So if I can do 220 for 2 hours and than 260 for one hour I would be pretty happy in 2014.

-js

 

[swampy1970]

300 watts for 2 hours. Did that today...

... but only because my updated PowerTap wasn't zeroing correctly and I got 22in/lbs for free! I turned auto-zeroing on the torque off when I got home (couldn't remember where it was in the setup menu without the manual) and things seem to be better. Will most likely do a stomp test in the morning before I go out and give Saris a call on Monday. I remember reading somewhere that the non-ANT+ 2.4SL's didn't like auto-zero turned on after being upgraded to ANT+ capability.

Sadly the adjustable width Bontrager saddle just wasn't working on the funky Ridley seat post and ungainly top bolt. There was only 1/3" of space between the bolt and saddle before I got on it and when I did sh1t bottomed out fast. What was a very comfy saddle on my other bikes became hell on wheels on this one. The SMP is back on and despite not being the comfiest saddle ever, the taller saddle rails gives enough clearance for the bolt and by is leaps and bounds more comfortable.

JS,

Big season, maybe, but I have a whopping CTL of 34 right now. LOL. That will change soon but I'm more concerned with speed and endurance than my WKO graphs. It'd be nice to really get to grips with a full 12 months of structured training beyond just riding lots of "emergency" L2/L3 like I have in past years in order to be able to get through some of the longer rides and see how I react to given training types on a given amount of CTL over the next few seasons. Despite eyeballing a 1200km event and possibly a 24hr TT in November, I feel the need to get a full 6 to 9 weeks of mixed interval training and L3/L4 in spring. I miss that near carnal pleasure of just smashing small hills (sub 8 minutes), pulling my guts out and recovering in fairly short order afterwards on the way down the other side...

Sadly, the Death Valley Spring Double has been cancelled due to Death Valley National Park being buttholes and cancelling all cycling and running events until a further review of safety has been conducted. Given that world class events like the Badwater Ultra Marathon (135 miles running from Badwater, CA at -282ft to the end of the road at Mt Whitney 8,000ish ft) and the Furnace Creek 508 haven't left people dying or dead, one has to wonder what "safety" they're concerned about. That the organizer actually went out of his way to give some preference to those that supported local charities, community groups and utilized eco friendly support vehicles should have been applauded, not punished. Whether or not I actually do get in a position to ride the Furnace Creek 508 or not, I wish Adventure Corps all the best will being able to run their events.

 

[danfoz]

Originally Posted by jsirabella
Su - Try to just log as much time as I can at a moderate pace usually means 180 - 200 depending on the amount of energy and how long I want to stay in the saddle and life issues

You wont have any problem logging time today, 70 degrees in NYC!!!

 

[jsirabella]

df, So right dude I was so excited so rode home from Belleville yesterday and woke up at was out side by 715 and just got back to Belleville as I took the long route. Do not be too fooled by the 70 degree weather. There were some patches of showers but the real killer are the puddles and mud. It took me 20 minutes to clean all the mid off the Surly.

The skunk tail went all the way up to my neck and I was a bit over dressed so my long legged bib and cannon jacket were pretty much drenched. The wind was killer today all the way out to Newark. It seemed no matter which direction I tuned the head wind turned with me. I should have gotten breaks in moonachie or rutherford but was not the deal today. It was great fun though and theCTL jumped like 4 points in the last couple of days.

swampy, sorry to hear about Death Valley being cancelled. That ride seemed to be one of your favs. I always find when it comes to canceling an event like they used to do TT rides here is when a bystander gets hurt or the event is sued for one reason or another. I heard before my time they did TT races in CP til a homeless person was crossing the road and he would not stop and was nailed by the rider. The rider was hurt but the homeless person died at the hospital.

I am sure you will find another event to challenge you. I like you am looking forward to getting the time and miles into the bike. My big worry is that I know as the conventions starts up again and shooting goes into a heavier gear and not to mention the endless fight of keeping my company above water, I am just not sure if I could put in the time needed but I know I can get fitter and skinner for sure!

-js

 

[swampy1970]

If you have a surly, get some mudguards on it for winter! When I did a brevet series in 2012, I threw some mudguards on the bike and was thankful for them on the 300km ride - it ****** down all day and shoes were reasonably dry and no skunk tail in sight.

 

[jsirabella]

Originally Posted by swampy1970

If you have a surly, get some mudguards on it for winter!

I have to say that I do love this surly. I still have my breakaway for road but this surly is truly the perfect all around bike for city, touring and even some CX off-road. I will never give up this frame. It will not win any races (well because I am riding it) but it is by far the perfect all around bike that you can change into just about anything. The ride is so smooth...

-js

 

[Bigpikle]

Happy Christmas all....

Heading out finally today after 9 days off due to travel, bad weather stinking cold and general lethargy Need to get back into the swing again and get a couple of hours under my belt. Destroyed my CTL which is frustrating but I'll look at it as resting and recharging! Trouble is I'm off to the family again later for 2 days but hopefully I'll get a short ride Saturday before restarting the regular rides again.

Hope everyone is well and looking forward to 2014!

 

[jsirabella]

bp, thanks for the well wishes for 2014! I hope your training goes well also. Your story is so similar to mine and many others here, life gets in the way constantly in our effort to building the CTL/fitness. I will have the time right now for another month or 2 and than once most are going into race season I am no where to be found.

But as for now I had a really good ride today on the trainer and getting closer and closer to 205-210 for 2 hours. I nailed a 2 x 30 for 210 and was able to nail a 230 for 5 minutes at the end of the ride. Lets hope I can hit my goals before my time runs out!

-js

 

[Felt_Rider]

Maybe these distractions and hurdles are providing us with a good physical and mental break?
I am ready to get into the New Year with hope to get back into a consistent training schedule.

Best wishes for you guys New Year plans.

 

[jsirabella]

Figure an update may be in order. As usual this time of the year for me I have buckets of time to put in on the bike especially on the trainer as a very light crew and I can ride in the factory as I please barring any big jobs which are all being handled. With the Xmas day off I was able to ride Th, Fr and Saturday and was tossed about putting in another day. I usually find putting in a 4th day does not give me the benefit as giving myself the day off so I am home now and not at the factory which feels very weird indeed.

The good news though was I was able to get 2 1/2 hours on the trainer and was able to basically plod through 190 for 2 hours after the 30 minute warmup. The avg was a 193 and Friday I tried an HOP at 210 and was not bad at all. So I am hoping tomorrow I will start to put in a couple 220's in there starting at 20 minutes each. If I can atleast get in one I will be pretty happy while still getting 2 hours in and trying to keep that 2 hour average pretty high. CTL is at 75 now but will drop a point or so by tomorrow.

Anyway, hope you folks are able to make the time and enjoy some riding in or out doors.

-js

 

[bgoetz]

Got my long hard block of aerobic finished up on Xmas eve. Managed something like 70hrs in 25 days, all around 60%. Finished up on Xmas eve with 85 miles into a nasty cross wind and 10 deg temps, I had a few "moments" during that ride, mostly due to frozen bottles and not easily accessible food, which caused me to kinda fall off the edge during the last 25 miles. Took/taking a bit of a breather, but have been increasing the intensity a bit to kinda prepare the legs to test on Tuesday. Managed a couple decent efforts, but I can tell my 20min will be way low, especially since I will be indoors, but who knows maybe I will be surprised.

 

[jsirabella]

bg, Good luck with the test on Tuesday.

For myself I guess you could call today a test. I really have not just plugged in 220 on the CT and tried to knock out two intervals. Based upon how I felt I thought they would not be too hard. The first one was tough but even when I reached the 20 minute mark I wanted to add an extra 5 minutes to give me 50 minutes when I finished the 2nd one. The second one after about 15 minutes, the legs were screaming like I had not felt in a long time. Anyway I finished the 2nd interval with 20 minutes but could not get in that last 5. I did start the session only wanting a min of 1 x 20 @ 220 but set myself up for failure and should have been happy with a 2 x 20 @ 220. Oh well...I am happy though cause I nailed that first 25 actually for a 225. 230's for 5 minutes were killing me in October so I am definitely getting better but when I look at my average I was at like 190 for the 90 minutes I did today and yet last week I did 2 hours for 193 and did not feel half as hard....loool.

-js

 

[bgoetz]

One thing I continue to notice is that during extreme blocks of training I gain/retain weight, bad. I will carry an extra 5-10lbs, sometimes I will get a extreme drop, but it is really inconsistent and typically high. It is to the point where I can see/feel the weight gain (face, legs, mid-section). A few rest days and my weight plummets, many times it is lower than previous. I don't get it, it has to be water/glycogen, but why? One of my goals is to better manage weight fluctuation, but this makes it hard.

 

[maxroadrash]

Originally Posted by bgoetz

One thing I continue to notice is that during extreme blocks of training I gain/retain weight, bad. I will carry an extra 5-10lbs, sometimes I will get a extreme drop, but it is really inconsistent and typically high. It is to the point where I can see/feel the weight gain (face, legs, mid-section). A few rest days and my weight plummets, many times it is lower than previous.

I don't get it, it has to be water/glycogen, but why? One of my goals is to better manage weight fluctuation, but this makes it hard.

I'm not saying this is necessarily the problem but I've read when your endocrine system gets stressed (as in over training scenarios) it can cause weight gain. This Summer I kept my CTL at the highest it's ever been for about 5 weeks and I started to gain weight like crazy. As soon as I backed off the weight melted.
Good Luck!

 

[swampy1970]

BG, It might be due to added stress. Remember, training not straining.

 

[jsirabella]

Bad way to end the year but that is life and not much can do about it. I wanted to get in 2 hours today and was hoping to do a 1 x 90 @ 195-200. I thought I was not going to have any issues but I just could not get comfortable in the saddle which I knew @ about 90 minutes in would become an issue. The legs definitely had it in them as opposed to yesterday but the discomfort was getting too much that made the sciatica act up. I did get in a 1 x 40 @ 205 but just finished the ride @ 90 minutes cause the 2nd 40 minute interval in the hope of breaking up the 90 minutes would help was not in the cards. the damage was done. Atleast the CTL went up back to 75 again.

Than the cherry on top was I am in a tight spot to keep warm and my boot got tangled into one one of the CT cables and when I pulled my boot back it ripped the cable out but left part of it in the CT generator. Cable destroyed but luckily I have another one sitting around here.

Not a great way to end the year but yesterday I did get in a couple good 225 intervals atleast. Hope all a good 2014...

-john

 

[bgoetz]

Max/Swampy, yeah I am thinking that is the main cause. I am really trying to train how I WANT to train this season and not how I NEED to train. I struggle with this though, because if I feel I am not doing enough then I stress over that too!! This season though I am hell bent on doing less. I guess if this is the case my weight may be one of the best indicators of how my training is going.

 

[Felt_Rider]

Originally Posted by bgoetz

Got my long hard block of aerobic finished up on Xmas eve. Managed something like 70hrs in 25 days, all around 60%. Finished up on Xmas eve with 85 miles into a nasty cross wind and 10 deg temps, I had a few "moments" during that ride, mostly due to frozen bottles and not easily accessible food, which caused me to kinda fall off the edge during the last 25 miles.

Took/taking a bit of a breather, but have been increasing the intensity a bit to kinda prepare the legs to test on Tuesday. Managed a couple decent efforts, but I can tell my 20min will be way low, especially since I will be indoors, but who knows maybe I will be surprised.

Ugh......that sounds brutal. I was thinking of using the word "frigid" a few rides ago when starting temperature was in the high 20's (F) and then I got to thinking of what quantifies a cyclist using frigid in describing a ride. I think from now on I will limit my use of frigid to rides where fluid in the bottles start turning to ice.

Can't say I have been on too many of those living in the south.
Nice dedication though to finish out your schedule and to put in an 85 mile ride in cold temperature with wind to boot.

_______________

Next Monday is when I officially kick off my training structure and this year I hope to focus in just a touch more on the quality side (increasing the intensity) during my weekday indoor training and then keep the bigger volume rides on the weekends, but I probably won't be doing my 80+ mile route until a little later in the winter. I am getting excited about getting back in the structured training. The last several days of just riding sort of recreational has been a nice break and an opportunity to reset physically and mentally.


Happy New Year to you guys and safe miles ahead.

 

[jsirabella]

felt, I wish you luck cause all mine has been bad so far in 2014. I took off yesterday with the new year and was really looking forward to a solid 2 hour ride today. We are going to get whacked really hard with a snow storm in a few hours here so woke up even a bit earlier like 4 to get the ride in and enough work.

Get on the trainer, plug it in and do the initial setup and it just will not set up. All the numbers reading right and I can speed up, it goes to CC and than LL and than never stops and gives me a number. Instead it gives me 99.99. I can not find another replacement cable as I had 2 backups I had bought a while ago but doubt it is the cable but more than likely the yanking out of the cable on Tuesday messed up something inside the unit. So about to spit blood...I think about it and figure I could use it by simply applying a bit more pressure to the wheel like a manual trainer.

It seems to working great. I actually enjoy the change up, using gears to add the watts or change up the cadence for the same effect. Anyway about an hour in, no pressure on back tire. Look back and flat, not juts flat, it completely ripped through the tire and put a whole in the tube.

That is when my day started to go bad....loool....

I was kind of happy and was going to try some of the techniques mentioned n danfoz video. Maybe someone is telling me something cause was thinking of going back to weights. Not sure yet and just have to see if I can beat the snow.

I spent about $300 or so to fix the CT and now it is busted, need another tire and tube and .... well you get the idea.

-js

 

[danfoz]

The weather is brutal in NY right now and it's only going to get colder. Sunday promises to be a little warmer but wet and messy. I still don't have the mental fortitude for more than 2 hours indoors so I'm aiming to get up 9W a ways before I turn around to add some extra base, but the bike will probably need a good hosing down after.

I began my threshoId work yesterday for Battenkill but without a PM started too hard and by the end of the first set was doubtful I'd complete the second. I thought about the tactics from the sports psychology vid but in the end it was a combo of tapping into my inner William Lithgow (not the actor, but the traveling Scotsman who was tortured for days in the most despicable ways imaginable, somehow miraculously living to tell the tale describing it by his own account in the Rare Adventures and Painful Peregrination, and something I occasionally wish could be un-read) as well as something Cancellara quoted Stewart O'Grady as saying: pain is temporary, memory is forever. The last minutes were a real challenge but I made it and I'm sure my downstairs neighbors upon hearing my exuberance through the floor were probably saying WTF is that guy doing up there?

Now if only I hadn't bought that huge box of super delicious oatmeal raisin cookies. A serving size of 1, in a box of 30 cookies? What the hell kinda thing is that!?