Cycling & Track Racing, Vegan-Style!: Call My Quads "Jack Bauer"

Call my quads "Jack Bauer", because they're gonna resist whatever torture i put them through...haha ;)

Part two of my recent updates here. I should also highlight that i've started an email list/discussion group called Vegan Power: http://groups.google.ca/group/veganpower

It's aimed at vegans who train with power, for inspiration and discussion, both about training with power, and vegan nutrition. It also features a spreadsheet that highlights all the power peaks of list members - we've got some really strong peeps on board, here's a direct link to the spreadsheet: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=ptted2SfCAQ7-eg99loC-Kg

If you're a vegan who trains with power, please join us!! Doesn't matter if you're particularly strong, or particularly weak like me - everyone is welcome, and hopefully this will help inspire you to continue progressing. =)

Anyway, to continue with the regularly scheduled blog updates:

Sat (Jan 30th) - OBB Ride

It was a wet day, my Ridley streak was broken...a record of six consecutive rides!

I sold my 170mm Campy Chorus cranks to Emile, and finally swapped my winter bike over to 165mm Red cranks (why don't Force come in 165mm..??) I have had a lot of bad experiences with FSA, so they're out of the question. Nothing wrong with Red tho. =)

There's all the bits.....

And the bike is ready for them.

The new BB systems are so easy to install..love it!

Looks great!

Felt even better...the winter bike now feels 'right' when riding it. Why 165mm cranks you might ask? Stems from the track for me...that's the length most sprinters use, and it makes for a very smooth, efficient spin. On 175's, i feel like my legs are flailing around in circles. 170's aren't too bad, but still not 'right'. 165's also work nicely in crits, as you're much less likely to scrap the pedals in corners. And finally, they're great for your TT position, as you can get lower because your knees aren't coming up as high.

Anyway..enough about the cranks... Wet OBB ride, the regular mashers were out:

Just a little damp..

Good steady pace out to Sidney, and then we carried it through Land's End and back down the peninsula. Pretty tame past the Observatory, the group kept together for the most part.

Despite feeling good, i opted not to sprint: the chain on the winter bike felt pretty slack on the cranks..and i was worried that it might slip under power.. (I replaced the chain this week, it was quite stretched.) ProCity Tom was doing a strong pull up by Interurban Camosun, i was on his wheel...he was slowing up a bit, so i took over, and started picking up the pace. My target was the base of the final hill...blow myself up by that spot...

I put down my head and jam it...i crest the first hill, carry the speed over and barrel down..speed is great, up over 60kph. I get close to the bottom of the hill and pull over to let the sprint go... I sit up... No one's there...??!! I wait another few seconds, bracing...finally i look back, and the rest are just starting to reach me!! WTF!!

Turns out when i took over the front of the pack, there were a few people on my wheel that apparently just got dropped! That created a fairly significant gap that no-one wanted to close...so i just wheeled off totally solo..hahahaha!

Lesson: look back! Had i looked back fairly on, i could have stretched out my effort, and gone for the 'long bomb'....that day i might have actually succeeded..

Ahh well. Continued back into town. Scott challenged me for the King of the Overpass, but he was in too light a gear, and i managed to hold him off. ;) Which reminds me - the previous week Mike Elkink raced me for the KotO, and took it. That gave him 2nd in the sprint, and 1st there..hehe

Kept the pace up back into town with Tom Skinner and Scotty, and went out to Estevan again. Here's the finer details:

Entire workout (188 watts):

Duration: 3:18:18 (3:26:49)

Work: 2224 kJ

TSS: 255.1 (intensity factor 0.88)

Norm Power: 233

VI: 1.24

Distance: 104.458 km

Min Max Avg

Power: 0 1195 188 watts

Heart Rate: 93 182 153 bpm

Cadence: 26 222 93 rpm

Speed: 3.7 64.6 31.7 kph

TSS a bit short from last week's OBB ride, but still a pretty fast ride considering the weather!

Sunday - 2hr EM w/Kevin

Was planning to MTB, but plans fell through, so hit the road instead.! Kevin and i went out to the Observatory. I was happy to get in another out-of-saddle effort up an extended climb.

Kevin went back down for a second go on the last portion.

The weather was pretty good...and the roads were dry..

But i brought out the winter bike instead...i was expecting wet roads. Ahh well, i'm enjoying riding this bike much more with the shorter cranks.

Entire workout (192 watts):

Duration: 2:04:22 (2:35:01)

Work: 1415 kJ

TSS: 147.3 (intensity factor 0.847)

Norm Power: 225

VI: 1.17

Distance: 58.079 km

Min Max Avg

Power: 0 743 192 watts

Heart Rate: 90 191 148 bpm

Cadence: 52 149 95 rpm

Speed: 3.7 63.2 28.3 kph

And that concludes my 'easy-ish' week; back at it!

Tuesday - EM w/35m Tempo

Felt good, and thought i did a good job on the Tempo workout, but unfortunately the numbers weren't so good:

Ave Wts: 257

Ave HR: 167

Ave Cad: 71

Ave Spd: 33.9kph

Only 257w!! I tried something a bit different: i braked when the speed picked up, to ensure i kept under 75rpm..

Funnily, i don't think i can sustain power on the pedals and brake at the same time...i'd start to brake, and the power would just drop... Ahh well...

Good effort for the ride overall tho:

Entire workout (220 watts):

Duration: 2:32:09 (2:36:03)

Work: 1992 kJ

TSS: 194.9 (intensity factor 0.88)

Norm Power: 233

VI: 1.06

Distance: 79.431 km

Min Max Avg

Power: 0 840 220 watts

Heart Rate: 94 182 160 bpm

Cadence: 27 122 86 rpm

Speed: 4.1 59.9 31.5 kph

Thu - EM w/40m Tempo with Chad

Chad made it out again, and i seem to have better Tempo sessions with someone in front of me, so especially happy to have him along. He motored off to do his own effort for the 40mins, but took a while to get out of my line-of-sight, so he was a carrot in front.

This time i didn't brake, and if my cadence got over 75rpm, so be it. I'd just maintain the intensity (trying to hold 270-280w.) And the result:

Ave Wts: 269

Ave HR: 177

Ave Cad: 75

Ave Spd: 36.4kph

Cadence was a tad high, but the power was AMAZING. That's the most watts i've held for one 'effort', that's for sure! (I've done 'harder' workouts, holding 300w for over 30mins, but there were a few 1min rests in there too.)

Pretty pleased with that. It was interesting to note that when my cadence got below 70rpm, my power just dropped.. As expected, lower cadences are killer for me.. I'm much better, but still not great. Also neat to note that Peak 20min was 270w, and Peak 30min was 269w, so it was pretty consistent.

Let's hope i can keep this up for a few more weeks...i was pretty smashed after this, and it'd be nice to get a few more solid efforts like this in. Will be aiming for 45mins after this...

Entire workout (210 watts):

Duration: 2:43:09 (2:46:48)

Work: 2047 kJ

TSS: 204.9 (intensity factor 0.871)

Norm Power: 231

VI: 1.1

Distance: 85.126 km

Min Max Avg

Power: 0 752 210 watts

Heart Rate: 74 182 158 bpm

Cadence: 27 124 86 rpm

Speed: 3.7 61.4 31.5 kph