Welcome!
This blog/site is a collection of my thoughts, articles and
other general excitement tied into cycling, training and competing
as a vegan bike racer and athlete.
Articles of Interest:
|
|
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
That's for tonight, gonna hit the hay, group ride tomorrow! Hoping the roads are dry and will get back on the Ridley. =)
=============
=============Labels: tempo, training
|
|
Ensuring A Dry and Warm Winter
I think i figured how to make the winter dry and warm in your area - load up on new cold weather gear, and grow a beard.
Well, that's about all that's different this year, yet it's been remarkably dry and warm! I've taken out my new Ridley Noah a record six consecutive rides before last Saturday..and twice this week so far. Got a ton of riding in through January as well - nearly 44hrs spent on the bike! That may actually top what i was riding some months last summer...feeling really great regardless.
Also made a new home for the Ridley, running out of potential spots to hang bikes in my pad:
Got some catching up to do, last week was an 'easy-ish' week, just did a few 'steady' EM-paced rides with no big efforts... Let's see where we left off - this will be a two-part blog.
Wed (Jan 20th) - Climb
Will just do just one summary for the climbing: had a couple 'rough' weeks, didn't seem to be progressing much...hands not feeling like they're really recovering.. Keeping at it, working on easier routes and doing some laps and climb-downs to try and increase strength. Still working mainly on 10c's & d's.
Thu - EM w/30min Tempo and Mt Doug
Went up Mt Doug again, did it standing up the entire way...seems like it's the way to do it....i went at it pretty hard, averaged 310w and got to the top in 8min flat. Cadence was so low, ~56rpm..i think standing is required. As far as what might be my potential fastest time... I should be able to average 340w, and that ought to get me closer to the 7min timeframe, but i doubt i'll be cracking 7mins.
Chad and i atop Mt Doug (actually that was on Tuesday, previous blog entry, d'oh!), continued out to Sidney, and did a 30min Tempo interval:
Ave Wts: 257 Ave HR: 169 Ave Cad: 72 Ave Spd: 35.5kph
HR was quite high for that wattage...so i suspected i'm in need of some rest, which prompted my easy-ish week.
Deets for the rest of the ride:
Entire workout (211 watts): Duration: 2:29:03 (2:36:01) Work: 1870 kJ TSS: 189 (intensity factor 0.875) Norm Power: 232 VI: 1.1 Distance: 74.281 km
Min Max Avg Power: 0 951 211 watts Heart Rate: 74 189 158 bpm Cadence: 28 122 82 rpm Speed: 3.8 58.1 30.1 kph
Sat - OBB Ride
Good solid pace from Land's End to Interurban, i somehow ended up on the front of the group on the climb past the Observatory....weird being on the front, but pretty much ensures i'll be in there for the end!
The sprint was a big group, and i was near the back in the final stretch...pulled out to move up just before the hill and then it exploded! Dan Skinner, Craig, Scotty and Mike E launch, and i'm hot on their heels, but can't make up the ground...still, 5th in that company isn't shabby.
Been riding a bit further as well, i normally turn off at Richmond, but instead continue around the water to Estevan. If i turn off closer, it's usually around 98km. This way i'm doing over 100. ;)
Entire workout (187 watts): Duration: 3:15:52 (3:37:35) Work: 2187 kJ TSS: 261.5 (intensity factor 0.898) Norm Power: 238 VI: 1.27 Pw:HR: -1.9% Pa:HR: 4.32% Distance: 105.65 km Min Max Avg Power: 0 1221 187 watts Heart Rate: 78 188 151 bpm Cadence: 24 128 89 rpm Speed: 3.7 66.3 32.5 kph
I think that's the highest TSS i've gotten for a Sat ride so far...we've really been moving. An NP of 238w over 3.25hrs is also HUGE for me. I'm feeling much stronger later on in rides, which is a big change for me. Normally i get progressively weaker and weaker through a ride...i seem to be gaining some 'depth'.
Monday (Jan 25th) - 1hr Ride w/Chad
Skipped riding on Sunday, pooped and rainy to boot. Talked Chad into joining me, and just did my 1hr Power Hour loop. Nothing too crazy, obviously went fairly easily, good way to start my 'easy-ish' week. ;)
Entire workout (160 watts): Duration: 1:17:55 (1:22:15) Work: 744 kJ TSS: 55.4 (intensity factor 0.656) Norm Power: 174 VI: 1.08 Distance: 34.926 km Min Max Avg Power: 0 496 160 watts Heart Rate: 67 152 121 bpm Cadence: 28 114 84 rpm Speed: 3.8 57.2 27.1 kph
Max of 496w - i meant business! ;)
We stopped at the top of King George Terrace:
Yep, it's teh suck to be in Victoria in January.
Tuesday - 1.5hr EM
A weird day....it was totally dry as i was getting ready to head out. Hop on my bike, the sun is shining, and it starts to sprinkle!! Drat!
Plan was to ride out the Goose to Lagoon Rd, and do that loop, but the further i got out of town, the wetter the trail...gah..so turned around by the hospital and took the water back in..just a steady pace.
Entire workout (199 watts): Duration: 1:38:57 (1:41:48) Work: 1172 kJ TSS: 103.6 (intensity factor 0.795) Norm Power: 211 VI: 1.06 Distance: 48.392 km
Min Max Avg Power: 0 589 199 watts Heart Rate: 79 171 143 bpm Cadence: 20 126 93 rpm Speed: 3.7 51.4 29.5 kph
Thursday - 2hr EM w/Kevin
Kevin was able to make it out, and we headed out along the water, and did the Lagoon loop. It's actually pretty nice, and we're taking the new paved Goose out to Colwood. I think this'll be a fairly regular ride for me if i'm not doing any intervals...nice change of pace.
Entire workout (197 watts): Duration: 2:04:47 (2:08:43) Work: 1465 kJ TSS: 133.1 (intensity factor 0.803) Norm Power: 213 VI: 1.08 Distance: 59.751 km
Min Max Avg Power: 0 890 197 watts Heart Rate: 74 173 146 bpm Cadence: 24 126 92 rpm Speed: 3.8 67.2 28.9 kph
Will pick up last weekend's OBB ride in the next post. =)
Happy February!
=============
=============Labels: tempo, training
|
|
Four Rides in Five Days
*phew*
Been a solid few days of riding! Got a little catch-up:
Monday (Jan 11) - Climb
Been slacking off in keeping track of my climbing...mainly working on the tougher 10c's and d's.
Tue - Ride w/30min Tempo
Just out of interest, looked back to last Feb/Mar to see what i was doing for my Tempo workouts, and i was holding ~255w. So up 10w a year later, not too bad!
Tuesday was MISERABLE - it held off until i got to Martindale, but when i began my interval, it just started to dump..it was weird, the rain splashing in my face was REALLY distracting!
I've managed to find a good 'loop' tho..basically following in the OBB route to the stop sign in Sidney, then turn around there and head back out Lockside, up through part of the old TT course, then turn around at the stop sign there. At my Tempo pace, it takes 20min to do a full loop...not ideal, but it works.
The Tempo effort this day was a bit lacklustre:
Ave Wts: 255
Ave HR: 163
Ave Cad: 70
Ave Spd: 35.4kph
Full ride:
Entire workout (218 watts):
Duration: 2:23:20 (2:35:01)
Work: 1859 kJ
TSS: 189.3 (intensity factor 0.894)
Norm Power: 233
VI: 1.07
Distance: 75.242 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 721 218 watts
Heart Rate: 67 175 155 bpm
Cadence: 30 120 86 rpm
Speed: 0 56.7 31.7 kph
Kinda strange, but it was a pretty fast ride, averaging nearly 32kph..
Wed - Rest Day
Opted to take the day off, climbing didn't work out. OA meeting in the evening too. Rest days are good.
Thu - Climb
Got in 2.5hrs, felt pretty good, improving on the climbs i'm working on.
Fri - 1hr Ride
Well, under an hour really... Day started awful, full rain, etc.. Afternoon got pretty nice. Didn't have a lot of time, but knew i'd feel gross on Sat if i didn't get out and work the legs a bit, so did a short ride when it was pretty nice:
Entire workout (204 watts):
Duration: 50:39
Work: 618 kJ
TSS: 68.5 (intensity factor 0.902)
Norm Power: 234
VI: 1.15
Distance: 25.029 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 1253 204 watts
Heart Rate: 73 189 158 bpm
Cadence: 36 222 93 rpm
Speed: 3.9 54.5 29.7 kph
Worth noting: did a couple short sprints, and nearly topped my 1sec and 5sec PB's!! I have no idea why my legs are still able to turn over this kind of wattage, but they're able to pull it off for some reason...i'm not gonna complain! ;)
Sat - OBB Ride
Bit of an odd day, it was pretty dry, so took out the Ridley on a group ride for the first time. Lots of peeps from the Burnside group turned out, kinda odd. I rode with many of them out to Sidney, a few good efforts in there. They didn't want to wait for the rest of the groups to turn up, so left..i opted to stay. Formed a 'firm' group to ride with, and continued on.
Oddly, when we got around the airport, we caught the BSiders, and there had been a crash.. Turns out Anatolli dislocated a hip...ouch..hope he heals up quick.
Our group continued on, and we were then in the 'front', so the sprint was our..haha.. Did a fair bit of work along W. Saanich to try and break things up a bit, and on Interurban...solo'd for a bit, as did Mike Elkink, although Scotty shut him down just before Camosun. Group was together for the sprint..
There were a couple peeps in front of me, leading the charge, i felt them slowing down as we hit the hill, so i swung out wide, got out of the saddle for a few pedal strokes to jam up the speed, and sat to get up the hill..crested the top, no one near me, so got out of the saddle and continued to huck it..odd being out there alone!! Line was closing, but then Mike and Scotty flew by w/15m to go...no was i was going to be able to pick up any more speed...bleh.... '3rd'.
Apparently i split away and launched pretty quickly..but couldn't hold those two smaller guys off, who have much favorable power-to-weight ratios going up that hill... Worth noting that i held 900+w pretty steady, for nearly 20 seconds...so i did *something*! haha
Turns out my 3rd was really 6th tho, as there was another small group that had taken off ahead of the BSiders before their crash. D'oh.
Entire workout (180 watts):
Duration: 3:08:52 (3:28:37)
Work: 2016 kJ
TSS: 242.4 (intensity factor 0.882)
Norm Power: 229
VI: 1.28
Distance: 98.904 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 1086 180 watts
Heart Rate: 79 190 147 bpm
Speed: 0 63.5 31.6 kph
Cadence magnet got bumped at start, so no readings. Peak hour NP was 253w, about normal.. I did a fair bit of work in our group.
Sunday - Hilly Ride w/Kevin
Managed to catch him before he headed out! Was supposed to go for a MTB ride, but it didn't materialize.. Kevin wanted to do the Up'n'Over (Ross-Durrance) so we headed out towards Saanich. Felt a hilly ride was appropriate if skipping the usual MTB ride. ;)
Roads were dryish, so took out the Ridley again. =)
Fun to do the U'n'O, it's been a long time since i last rode it, and it seemed much shorter and easier...how odd. Kevin started with a pretty firm pace, so i just stuck to his wheel...but as we were getting to the top his lack of time on the bike was oozing out, and i found myself powering away...unexpected, but it will likely be one of the few times this occurs!
Love that section tho, beautiful road and nicely enclosed in the forest. =)
Ripped back into town along Millstream and back on the Goose near Colwood (it's paved out there now, surprisingly!) Rode back in and around the water. Great day, and fun to spend it with Kevin.
Entire workout (194 watts):
Duration: 2:32:43 (2:46:41)
Work: 1772 kJ
TSS: 211.1 (intensity factor 0.913)
Norm Power: 237
VI: 1.22
Distance: 71.458 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 1191 194 watts
Heart Rate: 85 184 144 bpm
Cadence: 23 136 87 rpm
Speed: 3.7 52.9 28.2 kph
Interesting to note that my Peak 60min Normalized Power was 265w, which is actually higher than what i've got for my 1hr Threshold... I've suspected it's gone up, and of course Normalized Power isn't a perfect calculation...but i'm going to bump it from 260w to 265w...i think that's a safe bet.
Monday (Jan 18) - Climb
Rough night at the climbing gym...pretty knackered from the riding...hands just hadn't recovered...made the most of it, 2hrs out...
Tuesday - Ride w/35m Tempo with Chad
Gotta keep bumping my Tempo workouts up! Today Chad joined me. He pedalled on ahead to do his own workout, which was nice as i had a carrot in front of me to chase. We also rode up Mt Doug - i've been curious to see how much of it had been repaved...the descent is much improved, but near the bottom is still like a battlefield, having to dodge numerous potholes.
Solid effort today, managed over 34:56:
Ave Wts: 264
Ave HR: 167
Ave Cad: 72
Ave Spd: 35.9kph
Happy with that! It's such a weird workout, pedalling at 70-75rpm..legs get maxed out, but i'm hardly breathing any heavier despite the bigger watts.. It's funny because as i'm going, it looks like i'm in the 280-300w range a lot, but when you get it home and download it, it's another story.. Still, i'm holding 10w more over 35mins that i could last year in late Feb. That's pretty solid.
It was such a nice day, there was a steady breeze, but it felt WARM. 13C out, had leg warmers on, but just arm warmers, a jersey and vest. Very unusual for this time of the year.
Legs feel shot right now...mission accomplished!
Entire workout (211 watts):
Duration: 2:47:49 (2:57:50)
Work: 2109 kJ
TSS: 218.1 (intensity factor 0.886)
Norm Power: 230
VI: 1.09
Distance: 83.138 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 683 211 watts
Heart Rate: 81 176 151 bpm
Cadence: 32 122 82 rpm
Speed: 0 63.2 29.9 kph
That's a pretty long ride for me for a weekday! As i was riding home along the water, i actually felt like extending my ride...very unusual.. After 2hrs, i'm usually itching to get off the bike. I'm insanely happy with my Ridley Noah! It's really something else to ride. =)
So, that's four rides in five days...TSS is getting up there - hopefully i can sustain this, and when it comes to doing even harder workouts, i can maintain the through the summer...
Tomorrow, prolly a rest day. Thursday will be another Tempo session, maybe 40mins. Climb Fri, OBB Sat, and hopefully MTB on Sunday. Yip!
Have a great week! =)
=============
=============Labels: tempo, training
|
|
2010 Training Has Begun
Just rolled through a solid patch of training, and i can now say that my training plan for 2010 has officially begun!
I'm happy to say that i've managed to carry a lot of my fitness over from the fall/winter, although it wasn't really 'intentional'... Through December, my plan was to ride when i felt like it...i didn't do any intervals, or any big efforts besides a few Saturday rides, but whatever i did, i'm feeling pretty solid right now...hopefully that's a good thing!
Here's how the last few days played out:
Wednesday - Climbing Gym
Another session with Kelly, felt surprisingly good! Started working on the 10d's....owie.
Thursday - 25min Tempo
So this is the 'beginning'...i dipped my toe into the water with a 25mins Tempo session (in the CTS training program, Tempo workouts are lower-cadence, long efforts. 70-75rpm, and go from 25-60mins, 80-85% of Field Test power.)
It's a good workout for building up leg strength, muscular endurance, sustained power, etc.. The power range i'm aiming for is 270-280w. It might be a little high for me, i haven't done a field test in ages, but i've got a pretty good idea where i'm at. It's hard to do as subscribed, not because of the workout itself, but finding a long stretch of flat or uphill terrain. Once you're going downhill, your cadence goes up too much.
Typically i start these at the bottom of the hill on Martindale (takes me ~40mins to get there, good warm-up), and then ride out to Sidney. Unfortunately, i usually have to stop at the lights passing through Sidney, but that's about 20-25mins of the interval, and quality ride-time there. Once across the highway, will continue either out and around, or up towards Panarama, depending on how long i need to go for. I can get a full hour in somewhere around Brentwood.
Anyway, my 26mins Tempo interval looked something like this in the end:
Ave Wts: 265
Ave HR: 169
Ave Cad: 71
Ave Spd: 33kph
And the full ride:
Entire workout (227 watts):
Duration: 2:17:54 (2:20:34)
Work: 1863 kJ
TSS: 194.9 (intensity factor 0.925)
Norm Power: 240
VI: 1.06
Distance: 70.951 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 812 227 watts
Heart Rate: 87 182 160 bpm
Cadence: 27 126 89 rpm
Speed: 0 59 31.0 kph
Felt really solid riding, got out on the Ridley as well...it's feeling REALLY good to ride. I was pretty happy with these numbers. Damn fine bike.
Note that i got a new PB! My 2hr PB has gone up from 233w (on July 1st) to 236w.
Friday - Rest Day!
Opted to take it off completely...phew!
Saturday - Brain Train and Partial OBB
Sat morning the PCC offered a free seminar on training with power, it was pretty rudimentary, but i was keen to see what they had to say. As i suspected, i was already familiar with virtually the entire presentation, but i did get a few tips, including one that i've already been doing: keeping the HR strap on...it's a good idea to check to see if the HR is too low (or high!), as indications of under-training, or over-training. Watts are amazing of course, but sometimes it's helpful to keep an eye on the other data too.
So i rode out to the PCC, which was ~35mins, and from there at 11am cut back across to Interurban and rode the route 'backwards' to meet up with the OBB ride.
Caught the first smaller group that had taken Wain Rd in Sidney, rode with them a few min, then turned around, and went back to ride with the 'main' group, and it was big with lotsa strong peeps! Nice to see!
I was feeling pretty darn fresh, so i discounted myself from contending for the sprint...
When we got up around Hartland, Emile took off of course.. Steve Bachup was sort of floating in the middle...i was several bikes back so i watched him launch off...no one else was responding, so i figured i'd give it a go. Sprinted away, and quickly found myself on Emile's wheel. Sat there for a moment, noticed he wasn't moving *too* fast, and i was still feeling peppy, so i pulled up past him and led him (and Steve, who had also bridged) up the hills past the Observatory. We had a sizeable gap, tho Mike Elkink was chasing and obviously wanted to play.
At the top Emile took over again, and i pulled off, and onto Steve's wheel...blech! No fender extender!! I hung back a few feet to avoid the spray at 50+kph down the hill. We turned onto Interurban, and i believe Mike had bridged up by then, the group was a ways back.
We worked around a bit more, but i was getting grossed out by the spray (Mike was another guilty party!), and so pulled out of the group and eased off to wait for the main pack. By Camosun Interurban, they were caught up, and so i began another pull, to bridge them up to the leaders.
We hit the corner leading into the first hump, and i look back, and no one's there!!! The group is charging towards me ~50m back! WTF? I did a pull for nothing..hahaha.. I just kept riding, and they all bomb past... Didn't see who won the sprint, but i'd guess it were Mike, he's a very strong sprinter.
Continued in and around the water, and up to the Uplands to try and get a few more miles in for the day. A fair bit shorter, km-wise, but the TSS for the day was up there with an easier OBB ride:
Entire workout (203 watts):
Duration: 2:24:59 (4:32:27)
Work: 1749 kJ
TSS: 199.5 (intensity factor 0.913)
Norm Power: 237
VI: 1.17
Distance: 72.036 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 1132 203 watts
Cadence: 25 131 90 rpm
Speed: 0 62.7 30.0 kph
Sunday - 3.5hr EM w/Kevin
Kevin Park's back in Vic, yay! Got out for a great ride with him, nice to catch up. Also got to show off the Ridley..hehe.. Rode the main 'Burnside' loop, cutting early onto Wain Rd to keep it from getting too long. Looking forward to more rides with Kev. =)
This was also the first 'metric century' ride on the Ridley, over 100km. Felt great!! Legs starting to feel tired in the final hour, but that's to be expected (and somehow held solid watts..peak hour was actually the final hour! Averaged 222w for that period.)
Entire workout (194 watts): Duration: 3:33:08 (3:48:52) Work: 2475 kJ TSS: 245.6 (intensity factor 0.833) Norm Power: 217 VI: 1.11 Distance: 104.318 km Min Max Avg Power: 0 922 194 watts Heart Rate: 88 176 145 bpm Cadence: 25 126 91 rpm Speed: 3.7 58.1 29.5 kph
It's amazing how much doing a 10min cool-down does to drop the numbers! If i select the 100km before i end the ride, the numbers look like: 3:21, ave 199w (219w NP), 29.9kph. 10mins can really drop the #'s!
Anyway, nice to get a long ride in on the bike! It's gonna be a wicked summer.
Planning to climb this afternoon, another Tempo session tomorrow, maybe 30mins, climb on Wed, 35min T on Thursday, and then prolly rest...
Oh, i've also had my PowerTap (SL wired) for over 3yrs now! The rim has held up amazingly well, i got a ceramic-coated Mavic OpenPro. The ceramic is wearing off a bit in one spot, but otherwise that's 3yrs of solid training and racing...not too shabby.
I was thinking that they could *easily* devise a way to turn a wired PT into a wireless.. All you'd need is a transmitter that has a 'fin' (that reads the hub) and a cadence sensor, both could sit on the non-drive chainstay, and that could take the signal and transmit it via ANT+. A little unit like that could turn any wired PT into a wireless...i'd *totally* buy one or two of those things.... Anyway..
Keep it rolling!!
=============
=============Labels: PB, training
|
|
A Week And The First Ride
*phew* Busy week! Took the Noah out yesterday, here's some catch-up reporting:
Tuesday (15th) - Climb
Climbed 3hrs w/Kelly, started work on some 10b's. Feeling pretty good!
Wednesday (16th) - Rest Day...plus..
I was actually planning to get out for an MTB ride, but Alyssa was keen on riding out, and i didn't want to on the cold, rainy day that it was...so i lingered around the house....good thing, as early in the afternoon an email from Scotty at OBB popped up in my inbox, with a photo attachment....i'll give you one guess which frame i've been waiting 9 months for that had arrived. ;)
I was actually half-naked, about to get in the shower (bet you appreciate that detail), but threw on some clothes and hoofed it over to the shop. WOOT! I was very excited. Drooled over it for a while, compared the sizing to the Blue, matched-up nicely.
That was pretty much the day there. =)
Thursday (17th) - Ride w/Emile
Decent day, made it out 2+hrs with Emile. I was worried he'd crush me, but near the Wallace Rd turn-off (heading away from town) i'm motoring along and look back, and i'd dropped him! When he catches up he says "you're going too fast!" HAHA! One of the only times i'll ever hear that from Emile. He wasn't feeling great and had a head cold the next day, but we eased off a bit, and he also just drafted a while. 2nd half of the ride was a bit slower, good start tho.
PowerTap details:
Entire workout (195 watts):
Duration: 2:14:38 (2:29:55)
Work: 1556 kJ
TSS: 150.2 (intensity factor 0.822)
Norm Power: 214
VI: 1.1
Distance: 64.681 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 853 195 watts
Heart Rate: 77 183 153 bpm
Cadence: 26 120 91 rpm
Speed: 3.7 60.4 29.1 kph
Friday - Climb
Headed to the gym with Mical Dyck, who had an awesome session, matching me route for route for several climbs. Impressive as she has only been climbing a couple times in Oct, and not since the spring before that..i'd been back on the wall five times over the last three weeks, building up. She's an excellent climber, very strong and smart, picking up the routes very quickly. Nice to have another great climbing partner, she'd get back up to working on 11a's in no time if she weren't to be taking off for work!
My session was good, the main goal was to complete the final two 10a's that had stumped me, and i did it! What that means: NEW SHOES! Next visit i get to break out my FiveTen Jet7 kick-ass climbing shoes. =)
Saturday - OBB Ride
Decent number of people out, maybe 30. It was the first ride that was a fair bit slower! Even through Land's End we hardly picked it up (although just enough to drop Alex - sorry buddy!)
Much bigger group for the sprint.. Emile took off the front just before Camosun. No one responded...i was a few bikes back, and i believe blocked in a bit, and had taken a recent pull... A few people pulled off the front and Dave MacLeod decided to give chase, and he did a spectacular pull, bringing us within striking distance of Emile at the hill at the bottom of the sprint.
I was actually feeling pretty good, and Dave was starting to blow up, so i jammed out to the left and started up the hill, seated. Craig Richey had been in front of me (and behind Dave) and he stood up as i was passing him, he started to crank it and WHAM! I looked back and he was sitting on his top tube!! The rest of the sprint wasn't much, i basically coasted up to the line, Emile had slowed quite a bit, so i 'won', although we were all looking back to make sure Craig was okay, which he was..chain had fallen off the big ring. He also broke a cleat in the process, but fine otherwise.
I also took the King of the Overpass, not even challenged..so a double-crown ride for me. ;)
The numbers, as you can see, an easier ride, measly TSS of only 222. ;)
Entire workout (166 watts):
Duration: 3:12:51 (3:31:22)
Work: 1909 kJ
TSS: 222.6 (intensity factor 0.835)
Norm Power: 217
VI: 1.31
Distance: 98.293 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 1027 166 watts
Heart Rate: 81 188 144 bpm
Cadence: 20 131 88 rpm
Speed: 0 65.2 30.7 kph
Sunday - MTB
Got picked up by Alex (thanks again!!), and met with Jamie and Alyssa at the parking lot (they rode out, i didn't want to with the rain!)
Fun day of riding, did my regular loop, rode pretty well overall but we were taking it pretty easy. Noticed that i was still pretty sore from the climb on Friday - it really takes it out of my arms and back!! At the end of the day, it looked something like this - surprised by the difference from AP and NP:
Entire workout (163 watts):
Duration: 1:32:16 (2:43:39)
Work: 901 kJ
TSS: 113.7 (intensity factor 0.86)
Norm Power: 224
VI: 1.37
Distance: 15.386 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 1023 163 watts
Heart Rate: 70 178 145 bpm
Cadence: 30 201 77 rpm
Speed: 3.8 34.4 10.3 kph
Monday - Climb
2.5hrs with Kelly, first day back in the Jet7 shoes - they feel SO AWESOME. I didn't want to start wearing them right away because the soles have very sharp edges, and i didn't want to wear them down floundering around as i got my form back..so i set the rule of having to clean all the 10a's before wearing them.
Good session, worked more on the 10b's, and started working on a couple of the c's.
Tuesday - Ride - RIDLEY RIDE!
Oh wow. First thing i can say: it was worth the wait. This bike is freaking AMAZING.
First thing i noticed as i'm headed to the Switch Bridge to meet Chad is that when the bike gets around 40kph, it just wants to go faster. It really flows through the air...
Getting out of the saddle uphill feels SOLID. I'm noticing how sloppy other parts are, like my front wheel.
The Lizard Skins bar tape is AMAZING. Very comfortable, and the tactile sensation is PRIMO. LOVE IT! I'm buying boxes of this stuff. And the orange looks hot, esp. now that i've swapped in a black Conti GP4000. And nice matching bar plugs too. Stylin'!
Over the jittery stuff the bike surprised me - it actually soaked it up, and i was pretty comfortable! I was expecting the stiffness to be too much, but the high-frequencies are nullified nicely.
Final 'a-ha' moment was riding up Ash Hill, i kept seated, and amazingly i could feel each pedal stroke going straight to the wheel. Normally it feels like energy is going into the cranks and BB and perhaps the chainstays or seatstays are flexing, but this just felt SOLID. All my work was going into making the wheel spin. Very nice.
The fit is great, i'm going to try raising the seat a hair, and slide it forward a wee bit, but otherwise i'm pretty freaking happy with it!!! I can't wait for the summer to race this thing!!
Otherwise a good ride with Chad, hope i didn't bore him with all my surprised expressions and fawning over the bike..hehe..
Entire workout (201 watts):
Duration: 1:57:07 (2:03:06)
Work: 1403 kJ
TSS: 152 (intensity factor 0.886)
Norm Power: 230
VI: 1.14
Distance: 57.035 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 875 201 watts
Cadence: 29 136 90 rpm
Speed: 3.7 64.6 29.4 kph
Didn't put on the HR strap, was in a hurry, running late!
Wed (today) - Climb
Felt pretty good, got out for 3hrs w/Kelly and Mical. Made more progress on the 10b's and c's i've been working on...should be able to clean some of them in the next session or two...figuring out the tougher bits, and letting my fingers catch up.
Pretty fried again, my back and fingers still ache as i type!
That's the last few days, it's been an exciting week!! Looks like tomorrow will be another dry day, so hoping to spend some more time on the Ridley, might do my 'Hour of Power' route to compare numbers.
Friday, got an easy/fun/social MTB ride planned, aiming to hit all the trails we normally pass on (Green Ribbon, Sofa King, etc). 'Big Bike' day as some say.
Saturday is the annual Boxing Day TT - again, if it's dry, i'm hoping to ride the Noah out! First race! Eeep!
And Sunday ought to be another MTB ride.
Happy Winter Salsa everyone!
=============
=============Labels: climbing, new bike, training
|
|
Falling From Fourth
Ahh...'cross on the island is over..went out with a high and low. The course we designs for CrossVega was AWESOME. People raved about it. Low was that i went into the race sitting 4th overall in Intermediate, and after being unable to perform, plus a flat, i've probably dropped to 10th or so...nuts. Anyway, catching up on the week:
Saturday - OBB Ride
Still wasn't feeling very great, cold still lingering. Headed out on the OBB ride, planning to ride an hour and a bit. Funny group, rather small, and we had *two* flats before leaving Oak Bay!! I realized i was still feeling like crap. Fraaaack..not looking good for Sunday. I stuck with the group to Mt. Doug, then turned left on Shelbourne and cruised back home. Power deets:
Entire workout (166 watts):
Duration: 1:03:14 (1:11:33)
Work: 622 kJ
TSS: 64.1 (intensity factor 0.784)
Norm Power: 204
VI: 1.23
Distance: 27.911 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 590 166 watts
Heart Rate: 82 180 148 bpm
Cadence: 32 138 91 rpm
Speed: 3.9 66 26.7 kph
Not much power, and even this was draining.
At noon headed up to Shawnigan Lake School with Jen, Roland and Katie, and met up with Norm, Chris, Dan and Ian Craib to set up the course. Below is the 'general' map.
There was some wiggling in the whiteish bit in the middle, and the field on the lower right was my domain...and i turned it into an epic, challenging sequence, features some tight turns off the top, up a small rise, which drops into a mud pit, then back up immediately (which got quite slick) and then a short straight into 'The Flush', basically a mini whirly-whirl. Another short stretch on a trail to the three off-camber V's. The first most rode, the second was a challenge, and very few could ride the third. Then another short straight, a tab more elevation, and then a drop in an S bend corner that was also very challenging, with riders slipping out and unclipping with great frequency...the goal there was to slow riders before the chute into the woods, which was a fast downhill - it woulda been a bit nuts to have riders hit that with speed!
From there was the downhill, which became a river overnight (it was mostly dry Saturday, i swear!) That river hid many sharp rocks which caused most to flat...myself included. In the woods was a short 'singletrack' technical section, and then out onto a road section that continued downhill. From there, back to a trail which had a very technical riser/berm, and tight turn back to the main trail, that led to the stairs. Best placement for stairs, imo as well, as you were fully recovered by the time you hit them. Long set too, but i actually managed okay on them.
That continued with the uphill..up a road, then a short cross over to more wooded, rocky trails, and up and up and up...into the bottom of the rugby field, some more climbing getting ABOVE the rugby field, and then around it..ugh! Once back nearly where we started circumnavigating the field was the real mud...it just got worse each lap, real wheel-sucking stuff..haha.. A 5 meter drop and short stretch before the barriers (just two), another downhill on the road, and then back up to the lap/finish point. From there a long uphill road to the grassy field. It was a LONG freaking course, nearly 3.5km by my estimates. Awesome to ride tho.
Sunday - CrossVega!
Ahh.. The Island Championships...double-points for the series too, and i'm flattened by a cold. I had a decent first lap, stuck with the front through the grass:
I think one person might have snuck by on the stairs:
After that it went downhill on the uphill. Several people eased by as i had no high-end to power up the climb...so sad..trailed the group around the field and then lost contact on the road..
(Thanks to Mical and Danielle for these shots!)
And basically kept moving backwards from there all race.. The grassy field allowed me to bridge up to a rider a time or two, but that was about the only momentum i could manage.. And then i flatted to boot..haha..
Other riders had good races tho, Geoff Pendral won our race, Roland pulled off another impressive 4th place finish, securing his victory of taking the entire series! (And then he raced Expert later on too, what a maniac!)
Teammate Jen had a rough race too. Battling it out with Glenowyn for a couple laps, but then flatting as well as a few mechanicals. Still, she managed to hold onto 3rd for the Open Women's field, awesome work Jen, nice job representing! =)
The event finale was pretty swell, with TONS of awesome prizes for the draws, and nearly everyone must have walked away with something. Gotta thank Vega, Green Cuisine (vegan chili and corn bread for racers!) and Pink Sugar for helping with prizing for OA. =)
It was bittersweet as well, as the series was finished...wouldn't be seeing so many faces, especially Normon and Wendy, who have done SO much work to make the series happen. Norm won the Top Organizer's award from CyclingBC this year, and rightly so! Cross on the Rock is a golden, magical event, thanks to these two!
My own pics of the Masters/Womens and Elite race, plus details on course features can be found here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/davenoisy1/20091122CrossOnTheRock6CrossVega
Tuesday - Training, 350w/5min Effort
Wasn't sure how i'd feel, or if i'd be able to do anything on the bike. Plan was to head out to the Observatory, do a short effort on the way, and see how that felt and go from there..
Off the top i didn't feel too great, legs a bit achy, but a few minutes in it started coming together, and by the time i was on Interurban, i felt mostly "normal"! Legs were pushing the watts they should, and felt lively. YAY! A little late, but glad to feel good.
Around Camosun i put some pressure to the pedals for a minute, and it felt fine. HR and breathing increased at a normal rate. Okay, on to the Observatory for a 350 watts and 5min test (hopefully one and the same!)
I've been curious to see how my power compared to when i started doing my 350w intervals. My first test saw me holding 350w up to the first switchback in under 4mins, but failure at that point. Wasn't able to carry on. Also, my 5min PB was 341w, although that was from a year ago...i never have a reason to give my all for 5mins! It's either much shorter (5-30seconds) or 20mins+. (Were i racing track, my 5mins would be much more relative..) Anyway, i had my recent benchmark of ~4mins.
Started off, felt pretty good. Held the watts with relative ease...and managed to feel this way until the steep bit before the switchback...by then was breathing fairly heavily, but far from done. Upon looking at my data, i had actually hit that point around 3'30, and had been holding 360w!
I powered as much as i could while corning the switchback and then back uphill...close to the top of the first stretch i could feel myself beginning to fade, but i wasn't going to give up. Got out of the saddle and maintained as much as i could sustain...i was going to get myself to the buildings..... Still 20m to go, and i was DYING. Breathing so hard, legs very unhappy, i crested the section, sat down and tried to continue pedalling, and there was nothing. That was all i had....
I didn't know what i'd done, i didn't switch over to the timer, so i wasn't sure i'd even ridden 5mins. I cooled down for a minute up there, breathing heavily (a worker there commented!), and then pointed downhill, and made tracks back for home.
So turned out i HAD ridden 5mins, so there was a chance to break my previous PB...and i did, yeah! I managed to average 350w - woohoo! I'm pretty happy to be hitting a PB this late in the season, and esp. after a crappy weak of non-training and illness.. I suspect i'm capable of more, but i think this was the one timeframe i hadn't gotten a PB in this year, so nice to complete that. ;)
Here's the full session details:
Entire workout (201 watts):
Duration: 1:31:44 (1:34:54)
Work: 1096 kJ
TSS: 118.2 (intensity factor 0.882)
Norm Power: 229
VI: 1.14
Distance: 44.426 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 863 201 watts
Heart Rate: 78 190 159 bpm
Cadence: 25 124 94 rpm
Speed: 3.9 56.1 29.3 kph
And here's the 5mins breakdown for shits'n'giggles:
Peak 5min (350 watts):
Duration: 5:01
Work: 105 kJ
TSS: 15.2 (intensity factor 1.347)
Norm Power: 350
VI: 1
Distance: 1.668 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 106 492 350 watts
Heart Rate: 133 190 183 bpm
Cadence: 52 99 82 rpm
Speed: 12.5 26.9 19.9 kph
Funny to think i burned up a banana doing that. =P
I had also pinned 190bpm for the final 30 seconds..owwie.. Funny to think that in previous years i'd spend quite a bit of time in that range...much less this year, doing more TT stuff, etc.. I think if i could maintain this effort to the top, i would finish around 6'15..far from any record, but i'd be happy with that! Holding 350w for another minute+ would be quite an achievement...i was DONE at 5mins.
Coming Up
Will jump on the bike for a short ride tomorrow. Planning to head to the mainland for Saturday and Sunday which feature the final BC Cup and Provincial Championships for cyclocross, it'd be fun to see what the events over there are like. For the Provincials, i'd have to race Elite, which will be hilarious, i'll be lapped by most of the field, but hey..heheh
After that my season is FINISHED!! December will feature less time on the bike, and more fun-oriented, including lots of trail time on the RIP9. Also, will be heading back to Crag X to climb - really, really looking forward to that!
A few quick links:
CYCLOCROSS WORKOUT
US Cyclocross Champ Ryan Trebon's Workout - Adjusted for You
http://www.trainright.com/articles.asp?uid=4700&p=4694
Funny to see that a pro is doing pretty much the same workouts as myself! Although i was doing mine a bit harder, spending time quite a bit above my Fieldtest output, but slightly below SS for the 'under' (260w v 270w).
VeloNews: Clinchers for Cross
http://velonews.competitor.com/2009/11/bikes-tech/clinchers-for-cross-three-good-choices_101423
I'm of course a huge fan of the Mud tire (esp the original green Mud). The Wolf is also pretty solid for racing in these parts.
And more pics from Sunday:
Rita's Pics:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Missdragonfly1/CyclocrossShawniganLake
Jamie's pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jam1ec/sets/72157622868380514
Regan's CrossVega Photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/reganpringleshoots/sets/72157622859138448/
Happy Thanksgiving to the US readers!
=============
=============Labels: cyclocross, PB, racing, training
|
|
It's Not Too Late To Give This a Title
Oi, that's been a rainy week.. Catching up:
Saturday
Went out on the OBB group ride (meets at Oak Bay Bikes at 9am, be fendered and extendered if wet!) Felt good until Land's End, took a long, strong pull, 375-400 watts for a minute, pulled off as it went uphill, ended up at the back of the big pack, and tried to recover a bit...another brief downhill, moved up mid-pack, then up again, and worked back near the front....a stop and left turn, and someone (Craig Richey i believe - not this one) got on the front and "turns the screws" putting the hurt on.
I could bridge up, still wiped from the earlier pull..there was a small group (4) of us that chased until the airport, no dice.. Another much bigger group caught us, but it wasn't terribly cohesive, and ended up being a lot of work to stay in, with people not at all working as a group. At the Interurban sprint, i went really early, and gave several peeps a wicked lead-out.
Legs felt like lead, i attributed it to the weather - it was the first real cold ride i've done, with temps in the 3-5 Celibate range. Turns out that i'd just been really given'er! Highest TSS on an OBB ride since i got WKO+ in May. Here's the data:
Entire workout (184 watts):
Duration: 3:13:13 (3:34:22)
Work: 2124 kJ
TSS: 256.6 (intensity factor 0.896)
Norm Power: 233
VI: 1.26
Distance: 99.424 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 1222 184 watts
Heart Rate: 79 186 151 bpm
Cadence: 33 128 90 rpm
Speed: 0 61.1 31.0 kph
NP of 233 over 3.25hrs, and the TSS of 257 is a big jump from my previous hardest effort of just over 240. Normally they're in the 220-240 range. The cold and fenders are slowing things down a bit too, but 31kph is a pretty fast average speed..for the peak hour we were averaging just under 35kph.
Also got some new gear, needed some new shorts, and figured i'd chop two carrots with one swipe, and got full leggings. The Sugoi RS Zero Bib Tights are pretty sweet, although it's a little material-heavy over the belly which got a big sweaty, but otherwise a winner! I'd say good in temps 1-9C, or 3-12C if raining.
Sunday
Headed out to the Dump for this rainy day! Got a lift out with Laura and met up with a bunch of my favorite MTB buddies. Wanted a relatively short ride, no need to push it before next weekend, which is the Island Championships for cyclocross, CrossVega!
Jamie and Steve (left) had ridden out and already spent an hour on the trails. (They got in ~5hrs by day's end!) Matt, John, Laura and Alex rounded out the bunch. We headed out, and bee-lined it to the bottom of the new Fun Trail extension - nice work SIMBS! At the top i think we made a wrong turn as we ended up hiking up parts of Hot Cherry..but soon enough were on Dave's Line working our way up to the top.
I hadn't been on the MTB for over a month, but for some reason i was having an awesome day, no tumbles and riding most everything, sweet! Grip felt surprisingly good, i'd switched my front tire over to the WTB Weirwolf, which is a 2.55" monster, but surprisingly light at ~750g. On the rear i had the Victoria Standard, the WTB Nano Raptor (~650g). I bet OBB orders more of the Nano's than any other shop on the planet... Both are Stan'sd, and down in the 20psi range. I was sticking to everything and felt supremely confident, and had an awesome day out with these peeps. Fun doing the trails i normally do backwards, and threw in Snakes'n'Ladders we well.
Here's my power summary (yep, i have an MTB PowerTap!)
Entire workout (158 watts):
Duration: 1:05:24 (1:55:47)
Work: 619 kJ
TSS: 87 (intensity factor 0.893)
Norm Power: 232
VI: 1.47
Distance: 10.866 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 1003 158 watts
Cadence: 34 201 80 rpm
Speed: 3.8 37.9 10.3 kph
Fun day, looking forward to spending more time on the trails once 'cross is over!
Wednesday
Nothing too fancy here, intended to go out Tuesday, but was feeling a bit under the weather.. Kept it short, got out for an hour and a half, took the Goose out to Interurban, W. Saanich and then Prospect Lk, back in town along the Goose and the waterfront. Stayed dry!
Entire workout (207 watts):
Duration: 1:30:07 (1:32:53)
Work: 1108 kJ
TSS: 108.8 (intensity factor 0.855)
Norm Power: 222
VI: 1.08
Pw:HR: 5.47%
Pa:HR: 11.23%
Distance: 40.942 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 782 207 watts
Heart Rate: 78 185 162 bpm
Cadence: 27 141 94 rpm
Speed: 4 63 27.5 kph
Didn't feel too great tho - i should have been feeling really peppy with the time off, but i've got some low-level cold...nose getting running, and feeling gross when going above threshold power. Speed was slow because on the ride back in the wind picked-up BIG TIME. I was brought nearly to a standstill at 300w in a gust!!
Took today off as well, still not feeling great..will likely chill tomorrow (with some commuting thrown in), a small effort on Saturday and then:
Cross on the Rock Island Championships: CrossVega!
That's right - CrossVega - i got them to sponsor the event..haha.. It's out at Shawnigan Lake School on Sunday, racing goes from 11am until after 4pm, and i'll be starting at noon. Come on out! Details here and here.
Final race of the year on the island, double points! The course isn't really my cup of tea, i prefer much more technical, this will be a pretty fast course...but the climbs are relatively mild, so it might go alright.... Saturday will be heading up to set it up, yip!
RideCam #25
For the uninitiated, i almost always have my camera (one of them waterproof ones from Olympus) in my jersey pocket, and pull it out on occasion while out and about, my latest series is here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/davenoisy1/20091115RideCam25
Some highlights:
Jon Taylor leads one of our 'Cross Clinics.
An arbutus tree at Hartland.
Ran into Liz in a matching jersey!
A rainbow ruins an otherwise beautiful pic, Roland, Mike and i are headed to a VCX session.
Alison Sydor also lead one of our 'Cross Clinics, she had some really useful tips, and people loved it despite there being a rainfall warning that day!
So, i've got Shawnigan this weekend, and next weekend i'm planning to head over to the mainland for the final two 'cross races in the province - a BC Cup on Sat, and Provincial Championships on Sunday. I won't be a factor at all on Sunday (i have to race Elite..d'oh..) I'll try to keep from getting lapped by too many peeps..haha...
It's getting late, so i'll cut it short there. G'nite!
=============
=============Labels: MTB, PowerTap, ridecam, training
|
|
Fifteen and Four
An epic weekend of racing!
Saturday - Children of the Corn Cross at Sluggett Farm
What an epic affair! This was the most 'authentic' cyclocross i think we've ever seen on the island.
Mud. So much mud. Rain. Cold.
It also started very poorly for me - i did a pre-ride lap (damn thing too nearly 15 minutes!) After, went back to the car to put on my race shoes and fresh socks (soaked).
I'm geared up, heading back, a few other riders are changing as well.. I am just about to the course, and i hear the siren go - the START siren! Gah!
The race started about 200m up from the lap/finish point, which is about where i was...shit!! I get on the course and immediately start chasing - this sucks!! The course starts in the grass with a long straight stretch and a smooth, wide corner, some twists and barriers. I'm about 500m in and i'm starting to catch the trailers..well, that's two down out of almost 30! After the barriers is a short, very twisty wooded section, i'm just about on the back of the pack, and am there as we come out to a muddy section that leads back to the grass....i get by another person struggling.
Once on the grass, it's the longest straight on the course, i gun it, pass another 3-4 riders, and then we turn and hit thicker mud...it's rideable the first lap, but not after.. This leads to the creek crossing - it's over a foot deep, and over a meter wide!! Feet wet again. Yip.
It's a pretty steep scramble to the top in slippery mud...then an uphill stretch with several more shallow crossings...one seems perfect for sucking in a 'cross wheel... I've maybe caught another rider, they're all moving a bit faster now.
From the top of this section we weave through a few backyards, and then into another slick muddy section with a couple short sprints off the bike up steep embankments. And then, into the dreaded cornfield.
On my pre-ride, there were several rideable sections, at least the first 100m into it. It was already churned up waaay too much, and spots were getting deeper..by the end of the race i was frequently stepping in mud up to my knees!!
This was an awful, long section. Maybe 300m in this stuff. So slow-going for me. Here's a shot heading into this mess, one of the only ones from this race from Katie, oddly!
After the mud was this human-made 'hill', basically a stand they made that we have to ride up and over! Right after that is the lap/finish point...gaaah...one lap down, three more to go. It was a very slow course!
I picked off several more riders, and was in a small group duking it out for a while, but i couldn't really sustain a lot of power, and the cornfield was sucking the life out of me...
I ended up 15th, over 7mins behind the leaders, which included Roland. The farthest i've finished behind him! Ugh..
For lotsa entertaining pics, visit here:
http://photos.rabien.com/Cyclocross/Chilren-of-the-Corn-Cross/10241988_4wha9#P-3-16
I'm definitely not an 'authentic' 'cross racer!! The more i'm off my bike, the worse i'm going to do sadly..i'm a bike racer, first and fore-most! Short sprints are manageable, but beyond that...eeep!
Wendy Simms race report has been posted on Island Sports News.
Sunday - Cameron Cross at Juan de Fuca
Entirely different day! Sunny, warm, relatively dry. The course was significantly different as well! I had no idea what to expect, although with a long climb, i suspected that i would not fare too well.
The race started on a paved stretch, we went 200m and then a sharp left into a narrow gateway, and then singletrack uphill. I was in the 2nd row for call-up (yay!).
I kept up front going into the singletrack. We started uphill, which went for maybe 350m. None of it was steep, just a gradual climb. Near the top, i looked back, and i was in a lead group of about 6 riders, and ~20m behind was another smaller pack, an no sign of anyone else.. Kevin Knock was riding at a crazy pace, gapping the rest of us.
At the top of the climb was the only section that i'd have to run - but it was a long, windy section up a steep rocky section. I feared this would be the end of me... I kept up for the first lap, and the group of us began the long descent.
This was the redeeming part of the course for me. It was a very long 'descent', in a Super-D way. Basically, working our way downhill with a number of short power climbs into tight technical corners. And most of it was on the hillside, so it was perhaps 80% off-camber grass. As the lap progressed i passed one or two riders who were either slow moving, or wiped out.
At the bottom was a long stretch through boggy grass (that got worse and more sloggy each lap), into the barriers, around a corner, and into the lap-point and finish line. After that was a couple twists into the 'alley', which had two big stair drops, covered by plywood. The second one was particularly steep, and i nearly bit it a couple times coming down!
After that, were a couple more twists, and then onto the grass and back to the climb. Behind me in the above pic was Guy Gensey, who was on my wheel for much of the race, keeping me honest!
So it turned out that the climb wasn't too bad for me - i was careful to maintain a steady pace, and conserve some energy for the run-up at the end....i would pace myself so by the time i reached the top i would be DEAD, as at the top there was a short 20m boggy flat, but then the downhill hit, and i could recover there. I think that was one of the key elements for me: plenty of potential recovery on this course. There were a number of spots where pedaling hard weren't terribly beneficial, as you'd be hitting a corner quickly, and have to slow down into it...so i carefully maintained a steady pace through each section, and would power out of each corner to get my speed up (and then ease off on the pedaling a bit).
As the laps progressed, i worried that i'd not be able to maintain my pace...i was really hovering above my redline. I'd passed a few more riders, and only one rider had gotten by me: the young (16) Michael Brinton who's proving to be a diverse and strong rider!! This isn't our first encounter. ;)
With a couple laps to go, i knew it was only Roland ahead of me, and Geoff Pendrel (former pro downhiller!) was in sight (couldn't close the gap tho), along with Michael. Not far behind was Guy...on the final lap i was pretty worried he might catch me...but i kept a level head. Steady up the climb, and as fast as i could manage on the run-up. He was right on my heels by the top!! I jumped on my Salsa and powered away into the downhill - it started off with a nice fast drop into a long grassy stretch. I opened 20m immediately, and as we wound our way down, i continued to increase it. Getting to the bottom, i knew that i was safe, and eased off a bit.. I could also see Haldor was maybe 100m further back -- pretty impressive considering he's riding single-speed!!
Nearly tripped on the final barriers, and eased across the finish line. 4th!!!! Yeah!!!
Hanging out with the other top finishers Geoff and Roland, chatting about the race. Roland has been having a stellar season, and collected his first win as well, but it was by the smallest margin yet: just over a minute from me.
I'm pretty happy with that effort, nice to ride a course that suited me pretty well. Would probably have fared even better without that final run-up, but hey! Also, i think it worked for me being the 2nd day of racing -- i'm pretty used to this from the track, where we commonly race 2-4 days consecutively.
Another two amazing race days, thanks to Normon and Wendy, and the other organizers. =)
More pics from Katie here:
http://photos.rabien.com/Cyclocross/Cameron-Cross-1/
And Wendy's race report on ISN. Check the links below for a few more related items!
Training
A bit pooped from the weekend, i thought i'd mix it up, and hopped on my MTB on this grey, near-rainy day. If i was feeling spunky, i might have gone around and up Durrance Rd, and in the 'back' way to the Dump, and then downhill out (Who's Yer Daddy, Nightshift, Skull, Shock Treatment and Executive to Meadowbrook Rd).
That didn't really materialize, but instead i went and investigated a bunch of singletrack trails off the Colquitz trail system, which i ride to get out to the Dump (from downtown you can avoid roads almost entirely to Prospect Lake Rd.) Found some fun alternative sections, and also checked out some of the trails up around Camosun Interurban/PISE, which were pretty fun. A few fun options to liven up the ride out.
Here's my PowerTap data:
Entire workout (180 watts):
Duration: 1:55:55 (2:01:55)
Work: 1255 kJ
TSS: 135.7 (intensity factor 0.838)
Norm Power: 218
VI: 1.21
Distance: 41.359 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 869 180 watts
Heart Rate: 71 179 145 bpm
Cadence: 32 212 84 rpm
Speed: 3.9 45.4 21.5 kph
heh - the cadence isn't 'real' on there, just guessed by the software. I'm pretty sure i didn't hit 212rpm. ;)
Wednesday VCX
Final event of the season! Over at Topaz Park under the lights. Funny as we're encircling the soccer field as kids are playing there, we're racing around on the grass. =)
Felt pretty good, and got in a good workout. Had a great first four laps, leading a group of four riders, but by the time the final lap came around, i faded and fell back. Roland and i were maintaining the same pace, except he took off at the start and was maybe 200m ahead. ;)
30mins solid race workout, over an hour on the bike total.
CrossVega - November 22nd!!
Details are still being sorted out, but the final Cross on the Rock event is likely to be called CrossVega, and i have the pleasure of designing much of the course! OA and OBB will be the primary sponsors, and we're going to design an awesome Island Championship race course at Shawnigan Lake School. More details to come, we're heading out tomorrow morning to scout out the grounds... The date will be November 22nd, plan to come out and race or cheer!! Food will be all vegan, aiming for chili and corn bread, cupcakes and more!
Links'n'Stuff
As usual, lotsa stuff i've come across:
The Fiery Tumble
http://picasaweb.google.ca/cycletouringcanada.com/NutcaseSingleSpeedChampionshipOfTheUniverse?feat=directlink#5398934088619199378
haha - it was caught on film!! You might recall me highlighting how i nearly fell into the fire trenches, here's the evidence, click through the sequence as i nearly get torched!!
The Lightest Bike in the World
http://photo.mpora.com/photo/5Qr6Tvg1cD
Title says it all. ;)
Roland Spills, Still by Still
http://i.imgur.com/ZSLMJ.jpg
Another great photo sequence as Rollie narrowly avoids biting it on Sunday!!
Cameron Cross Pics
http://picasaweb.google.com/davenoisy1/20091108CrossOnTheRock5Colwood
A bunch more pics from me of the Masters, Women's and Expert races from the Sunday, good overview of the course.
Northerners Steal SSCXWC09: Drew MacKenzie and Kari Studley Golden in the Mud, Seattle Crowned 2010 Host
http://cxmagazine.com/northerners-steal-sscxwc09-drew-mackenzie-and-kari-studley-golden-seattle-crowned-host
My 'cross buddy Drew took his second SingleSpeed World Championship title - nicely done, earning the coveted golden speedo!!!
That's it for now! This weekend i'm planning to return to the OBB group ride on Saturday, and Sunday might see a MTB ride...happy trails!
=============
=============Labels: cyclocross, mud, racing, training
|
|
A Moderate Week
A fairly easy week training-wise, just a couple 2hr EM rides, partially due to feeling a bit under-the-weather on Tuesday, and a double-header race weekend about to esplode!
Tomorrow is a flat but muddy course at Slugget Farm in Saanich, and Sunday is a hilly and grassy course at the Juan de Fuca Rec Center (home of our beloved velodrome that we've been locked out of: screw you Dave Saunders you gurgling idiot!!)
My two rides looked a little something like this:
Tuesday
Entire workout (208 watts):
Duration: 2:01:09 (2:04:49)
Work: 1502 kJ
TSS: 146.9 (intensity factor 0.856)
Norm Power: 223
VI: 1.07
Distance: 61.235 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 833 208 watts
Heart Rate: 79 180 157 bpm
Cadence: 21 118 95 rpm
Speed: 3.8 59.4 30.5 kph
Thursday
Entire workout (208 watts):
Duration: 2:11:45 (2:16:55)
Work: 1632 kJ
TSS: 160.4 (intensity factor 0.858)
Norm Power: 223
VI: 1.07
Distance: 66.168 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 711 208 watts
Heart Rate: 70 179 157 bpm
Cadence: 29 122 95 rpm
Speed: 4 55.5 30.4 kph
If i'm anything, i'm consistent, apparently! Similar but different routes.. I lucked out Thursday, it was raining all morning, and for the 2-4pm window that i snuck out, it was dry, and we actually had a few sunny breaks! Also, thanks for the company from Lysanne.
Wish me luck this weekend!
Links Of Interest
Al Gore on ABC News, talks a bit about diet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrfAW1NvWV4
Some comments:
Methane is 20x more damaging than CO2.
"I'm not a vegetarian, don't plan to become one."
"But the biggest issue, by far, is CO2. And methane comes from a lot of sources...natural gas, coal mines, rice, a lot of sources."
Good job, Al Gore. Way to ignore this "inconvenient truth".
No Need for Vegans to Give Up Fat, Gluten, Soy or Cooked Foods
http://veggiedietitian.blogspot.com/2009/11/no-need-for-vegans-to-give-up-fat.html
Amen to that, Ginny! Veganism is not a deprivation diet, but should actually expand one's dietary horizon! Follow her on Twitter as well: http://twitter.com/TheVeganRD/
MEC Reveals their New Line of Bikes
http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_listing.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302886456&bmLocale=en
I'm not really impressed...these don't seem like very good values. I don't think bike shops have much to worry about.
Number of Animals Killed to Produce 1 Million Calories in Eight Food Categories
http://www.animalvisuals.org/data/1mc/
An interesting visual.
Vegetari-what?
http://bit.ly/2rm26j
Beeb article on the confusing 'levels' of vegetarianism...let's not let this happen to veganism!
NISSCCOTU Race Report by Wendy Simms
http://islandsportsnews.net/?p=3792
Hilarious race report from Wendy from last weekend's Single Speed Championships, check it if you haven't already!
Plus Some NISSCCOTU Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcgtXPn_UBE
Some fun footage, plus i'm in there:
* 3:05 - Air Vegan!
* 5:35 - In the mud..
NISSCCOTU GPS - Roland's Garmin Data
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/17648271
Kind of cool to check out, Roland's GPS data from the race.
Another Vegan Cycling Blog: Chronicals of the mtbVegan
http://mtbvegan.wordpress.com/
Twitter friend Regina's postings, a strong SS rider from Milwaukee, WI.
All Things Cyclocross on the Island
http://victoria.organicathlete.org/cyclocross
From the OA Victoria site, this link connects to most all the cyclocross stuff on the island. =)
Alright, gotta keep on the prep for tomorrow, wish me luck!
=============
=============Labels: cyclocross, training
|
|
NISSCCOTU-WTF?!
Survived the weekend! Saturday was the Nutcase Intercontinental Single-Speed Cyclocross Championships of the Universe, aka NISSCCOTU, and Sunday was World Vegan Day. A report on what we did is here.
Training-wise, last week i rested up on Thursday and Friday, and then Saturday:
NISSCCOTU
Okay, is it me, or does this sound like some sinister beast, perhaps a North American relative of the chupicabra?!
Anyway, the Errington (just outside of Parksville) race on Fletcher's Farm was a hoot, with an astounding number of ways to injure and maim yourself. =)
It started off with a Leman's-style 500m foot-sprint...and it was not unlike Braveheart.
I yelled FOR FREEDOM!!!!
There were some chuckles..
We were awaiting some fireworks to go off as a start signal. More moments passed. Norm's waving his pink arms.
FOR MORE FREEDOM!!
More laughter...and Norm just tells us to go:
We're off - dodging cow patties in the process!
And did i mention that we all removed our front wheels, and had to pick them up at the 250m mark, and then remount our wheels when we got to our bikes at the 500m mark?
There i am off behind the Pink Normon. Drew, on the left, lived up to his costume, and is the reigning 2008 World Single Speed Champion. I'm back in the game, there between the pink princess and cow:
The ride was short, as we immediately hit the 10 PACK set of barriers. Yes - 10 sets of barriers:
I think i was lapped a few times whilst in the barriers..
Luckily speed was picked up quickly out of the barriers as it was a bit of a downhill on the field, and a short curvy road and then the lap-point and Finish. From there, some more twists and turns, and into the wooded section, which had a loads of roots and tight twists. That spit us out on the descent over the fire trenches.
Yes - FIRE TRENCHES!!
They dug out two pits and filled them with wood, and lit it on fire, AIR VEGAN!
Not everyone jumped the trenches, like my teammate Jen:
Or ROLAND!! (Dishonoring Wendy Simms, who he's dressed up as!)
Of course, i was the only person to take a tumble, very nearly rolling into the pit itself!!
That was pretty much the end of my race there..chain was off, put it back on. I hopped back on my bike, and then it clicked what people were yelling to me "straighten your bars!". Gah. Hop off, rotate my bars back straight.
Foolishly, i'd been trying to fully bunny-hop the trenches, but turns out (i learned the next lap) all you had to do was ride over them, you ought to have enough momentum to carry you over..haha.. It doesn't help my bars are pretty low, and the lower tire pressure also threw me off, literally, as it squished a lot when i landed! I'm no aerial artist at my best...
Several people passed as i fumbled on the pits, and got going again, chasing down those i could. It mainly ended up to be dualing match between Tom and myself..i'd catch and pass him on the flats, and then he'd get by me on the climbs and barriers (you can see him in front of me in the 10packs above).
There was a short flat across a grassy field, then up a short hill, some more wooded twists, then back down and into a cornfield:
There were still stalks of corn sticking up, so it was like 'thuk thuk thuk thuk' as you rode through. That lead up to a short run-up, and into the mud. It started off with thick, boggy mud (with 'islands' of hard grass), and then onto a trail which was literally like riding on chocolate pudding. Luckily, the deep puddle that was there last year was quite a bit more shallow this year:
That spit us back out onto the cornfield, and back up to the grassy field, another short uphill in the grass to the barriers, and then around the lap-point.
On the final lap, Tom was having trouble with his saddle, which enabled me to get by and stay away.. There was another rider 50m ahead at that point, and so i gunned it! He had a big lead going into the barriers, but i was motoring through for once..helps having a little motivation!
I actually manage to get out of the barriers just as he was about to hop back on his bike - YES!! I remount, and DAMN! CHAINS OFF!! Gaaaah.. I fumble with it, and look back, and my buddy Jamie is in hot pursuit too, trying to lap me! I get back on the bike, but with the 400m or so to go, it's not really much of a concern. I ease up to make it fairly close. ;)
Thanks to Katie for all these pics! I finished 23rd (out of 33), it was only one category. Single-speed racing is not my cup of tea! I picked a pretty good gear for me (something like 34x19), it felt okay for the first half, and then a bit big in the 2nd half. It was such a rolly course that cadence was changing constantly, from 60-110rpm. I'll stick to the geared riding! Big thanks to our team sponsor Eatmore Sprouts, who gave us a good dose of healthy deliciousness to bring home. =)
All of Roland and Katie's pics are here, and Dave Silver also has an excellent gallery here. Normon and Wendy's race report is a hoot too, and be sure to check out the pics - i don't know if the one of the two OBB fairy's jumping over the firepit was coordinated, but it's a hilarious shot either way. =)
This weekend is the double-header around Victoria, with one race in Saanich (Slugget Farm) and the other in Colwood at the Juan de Fuca grounds (site of our poor velodrome.)
Keeping the training fairly tame this week. I meant to get out yesterday, but was feeling a bit under the weather (my Sunday - World Vegan Day - was uber-busy, from 11am-9:30pm), and Saturday was also a lot of time out (left at 9am, got home at 8pm), and was pretty stessed-out planning for both activities in the day leading up. I'm a little more accustomed to a slower pace. ;)
Today (looks nice out!), will head out and see what the legs feel like, might just be a 2hr EM, considering some 'Hard/Harder' intervals that Normon and Wendy suggested..that'd be 4mins @ 300w, then 2mins harder, say 350w. Prolly chill Wed, and another 2hrs EM Thu, and then race the weekend!
If anyone reading this is interested in helping out with the Velodrome Association, our AGM is on Thursday, details here.
It also turns out that i'm going to be designing the final race course for the Cross on the Rock series, on Nov 22nd out at Shawnigan Lake School, this should be interesting.....! Will be heading out on Friday to scope out the terrain and basic course.
Links & Such
A few items that might be of interest to readers:
Another Vegan Cycling & Cyclocross Blog
http://theveganvagabond.blogspot.com/
My friend Tanya (aka Vegan Vegabond) maintains an entertaining blog, check it out!
Pure Sweet Hell "Cyclocross Film" (Three Minute Trailer)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkOhzvv-4vA
Very authentic trailer, check it out!
Alcohol Stunts ATP Production
http://cyclingnutrition.blogspot.com/2009/10/alcohol-blunts-atp-production.html
Interesting piece, i'm already aware that alcohol inhibits testosterone production (so not a great idea to drink after a workout), also turns out that it stunts ATP production, which sprinters rely on to fuel their muscles.
A Vegan Feminist Lament
http://caroljadams.blogspot.com/2009/10/vegan-feminist-lament.html
A blog entry from Carol Adams (author of The Sexual Politics of Meat) - really great piece, here's a quote:
"When vegans eat with meat eaters, many of us don’t see “meat.” We see the remains of a morally abandoned being, at the center of the table, being buried into the stomachs of those around us. We are not just supposed to be quiet, we are supposed to be polite."
That's it for now, keep on riding!
=============
=============Labels: cyclocross, racing, training
|
|
A Gov'ner of Giv'ner
Training updates, easy conversion of your bike to a single-speed and some interesting news items!
Training
I think my training session on Tuesday (Monday was a rest day) might have been one of the hardest i've ever done..!
Much like my previous effort, i did more of the 8min Over/Under intervals at the Observatory. This time, i succeeded in doing five, 3x 'hard' and 2x 'easy'. Hard and easy are relative of course, 'hard' just means i start off with the 'over' and do them all earlier.. 'Easy' means i ease into it, but in the end i'm doing the same thing. No matter the order, there's 5mins at ~260w (my 1hr Lactic Threshold/Functional Threshold Power) and 3mins above 350w, which is definitely an anaerobic effort for me. I can sustain that for perhaps 5mins, so doing 3mins mixed in with virtually no recovery at 260w means it's hurt time.
So my intervals looked something like this, unfortunately my HR strap wasn't picking up, i'm sure i was well above 190bpm for most of these. Also, rested 5mins between each effort (mainly descending the hill):
#1 1O/1U/1O/2U/1O/2U
Watts: 303 (feeling good)
#2 1O/1U/1O/2U/1O/2U
Watts: 301 (feeling it)
#3 1O/1U/1O/2U/1O/2U
Watts: 299 (seriously - owwie)
#4 2U/1O/2U/1O/1U/1O
Watts: 303 (booya!)
#5 2U/1O/2U/1O/1U/1O
Watts: 299 (holy crap)
I'm pretty pleased with myself, there's some real improvement! A couple weeks ago i was barely holding 293w on the 4th effort, and didn't even try a 5th! For the 1hr my Normalized Power was 276w, which is WAY above my actual FTP (260w.) I also got a TSS score of 113 in that hour. Scary when 40mins was actual 'work'. So in summary, there was 40mins averaging ~300w, and 15mins of that was above 350w. Earlier in the summer my *hard* workouts had me achieving maybe 32mins @300w (steady, TT effort). I'm pretty sure that's a new high for me!
TrainingPeaks WKO+ summary for the entire ride:
Entire workout (193 watts):
Duration: 2:35:03 (2:50:48)
Work: 1772 kJ
TSS: 224.4 (intensity factor 0.937)
Norm Power: 244
VI: 1.26
Distance: 66.062 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 896 193 watts
Heart Rate: 86 174 152 bpm (incomplete)
Cadence: 23 149 87 rpm
Speed: 3.7 63.8 25.8 kph
The rest of the ride was pretty straight-forward, from Oak Bay took Richardson across through downtown, onto the Goose, met training buddy Lysanne at the Trestle, rode out along the Goose and Interurban. (EM pace, 220-240w). Did intervals, suffered, thanks to the cheering and encouragement of Lysanne and friend Mark who also came out. EM ride back continued along W.Saanich to the rolly Sparton/Oldfield/Brookleigh, across the highway and Santa Clara/Claremont/Blenkinsop/MacKenzie/Henderson/Foul Bay. Nice day for it too, btw.
VCX practice race tonight, and it was WET!! Much smaller group out, maybe 25 of us. (There have been upwards of 70 some nights!) It was nice to get some practice in the rain tho, and slipping around in the mud, since it's been sooo dry!! The green Michelin Mud tires (original tread) are amazing. The Mud2's are pretty much the standard tire around here, but the originals are even better...will definitely be nabbing any more i ever see. Apparently there's a petition out there to get Michelin to produce them again, i totally understand why. Here's a shot of me from tonight:
It's not too clear in the shot, but i was pretty covered in mud. =)
Got in about 28mins of racing, my first few laps were great! I started off at the back, and moved up a bunch of positions, catching the group my main rival Roland was in, and managed to work my way up to the front of that! Cleared the group and had a pretty solid gap (wtf?!) but the climb became REALLY slick, and my tire slid and i came to an utter halt. I was pushing it pretty good, and so just stalled there...everyone caught and passed me, and i took a moment to get my momentum up again..haha.. Chased again after that, but i was pretty wiped by then...maybe 28mins of racing? I also basically TT'd it to get there, since i was running late. =P
For the rest of my week, i'll prolly just chill, maybe head out for an hour on Friday. Saturday is the SingleSpeed Championships of the Universe in Errington (near Parksville), part of the Cross on the Rock series! I'm looking forward to this mostly..will be interesting to see what gear i'll want...
Elegant, Simple Way to Convert Your Bike to SingleSpeed
And how will i be making my Campy drivetrain a single-speed? It's easy: three zipties. One on each lever, preventing the upshift (around the brake and shift lever.) To prevent downshifting, a third ziptie goes around the down or toptube over the shift cables (don't cover the brake!) If you hit the thumb lever on the shifter, the cable goes lax, but if the ziptie is tight, it won't drop.
SRAM is the easiest, two zip ties on the levers. No more shifting. Do it to your buddies on the road. =P
Shimano is annoying, and takes a bit more. Zip ties on levers prevents downshifting. Two small bolt'n'nuts are needed directly on the cables where they first come out (on the toptube or downtube right at the headtube.) Bolt 'em on nice and close to the housing stop, and you're good as gold.
Post any other tips in the comments section!
News of Interest
A few news stories that have crossed my way that are of interest to the cycling and vegan world.
Worldwatch Institute: "Livestock and Climate Change"
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6294
WW challenges the claims of the UN's FAO report "Livestock's Long Shadow", which asserts that ~18% of all greenhouse emissions come from animal agriculture. (Which is higher than the entire transportation sector: cars, trains, planes, boats, etc..) WW insists that the FAO is off significantly, and the actual number is in the range of 51% of all global emissions. The article even encourages getting kids to eat 'analogs' like veggie burgers and soy milk. Amazing. Note that this hasn't gone unchallenged, and i've noticed many claiming that respiration, which wasn't factored into the FAO report, shouldn't be included. WW says it should be included, and if i understood the report, it's based on the fact that we're adding ~50 billion breathing creatures, and at the loss of carbon-sequestering forests and plains, for both the animals themselves, and the fields for all the food they need. One critique is here from Stephen Walsh of the Vegan Society.
NYTimes: "To Cut Global Warming, Swedes Study Their Plates"
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/world/europe/23degrees.html?_r=1
Tied in with the above piece, foods in Sweden are being labeled with their carbon emissions.
NYTimes: "The Sex of Athletes: One Issue, Many Variables"
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/25/sports/25intersex.html?_r=3&ref=global
A thoughtful piece on gender in sports.
Cyclingnews.com: Katie Compton's 'Cross Bike
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/katie-comptons-planet-bike-stevens-cyclocross-carbon-team
A few interesting tweaks and parts on the bike. I agree that the Crank Bros pedals are pretty slick if you're not clipped in!
Velonation: Bruyneel: Armstrong close to quitting after collarbone mishap
http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/2066/Bruyneel-Armstrong-close-to-quitting-after-collarbone-mishap.aspx
Subject says it all..a bit on the team tension with Contador as well.
And that's it for tonight, safe riding! =)
=============
=============Labels: cyclocross, news stories, training
|
|
Cyclocross is a Go!
Allo allo! Lot's going on to blog about, you can follow along on this blog - you will know it is time to turn the page when you hear R2D2 beep like this: "do do-do do do...ba-baaaah". Let's begin..
OA
The OA Victoria Chapter has been busy, we organized Learn to Race Cyclocross clinics the last 8 Saturday mornings ( and we're grateful for all our guest instructors: Craig Richey, Tom Skinner, Geoff Pendrel, Drew MacKenzie, Jon Taylor and 2009 Canadian National Cyclocross Champ Alison Sydor!), and our members have been showing up at the Cross on the Rock race series and putting on a good show! More on that below. We also organized what we called the Mini 'Cross Comps, short competitions focusing on specific 'cross skills. The events were the Sand Pit Invitational, Whirly Whirl World Championships and the Short Track Sprint Showdown. Unfortunately we never got around to the Shoulder & Run Hill Climb Hustle. No one seemed very eager for that one. ;)
Congratulations to Emile DeRosnay as well, who won 2 Bronze Medals at the Canadian National Track Championships in the Points Race and Madison - he had a banner season, and we're looking forward to seeing him tear it up next year! Hopefully we have a track here..
We've also got links to all things cyclocross-related in Victoria, including the results from the Mini 'Cross Comps, click here!
Training
The general lack of racing had resulted in an insane amount of very specific training for me! My summer (basically starting in June) was focused on 300w. My overall goal was to train myself to be able to ride the Sidney TT at 300w. (Figure a sub-25min time with that.) It was over-ambitious...my max wattage was in the 270w range (and my 1hr LT around 255w), but i figured go big or go home!
I devised a training program that essentially had me spending a lot of time at my target wattage, the basic theory is adapting my body to that kind of effort/intensity. And you know what: it was working!
Now, my max wattage for the TT come the end of Aug was 288w (~25:30 time) - it's not 300w, but it's a SIGNIFICANT jump over my previous wattage. The way it was increasing, i might have gotten quite a bit closer to my goal in another month or two.. So, pretty happy with that. 300w and more will be mine in 2010!
Now that it's 'cross season, and i've got the most solid TT base i've ever had, i'm now focused on what CX demands, and my main training has been the lovely Over/Under intervals. For this, my 'Under' wattage is my 1hr LT threshold: ~260w. My 'Over' is 350w. These things are pretty tough, and go something like this:
The entire effort is 8mins, alternating at O/U efforts. Normally something like: 2mins U, 1min O, 2min U, 1min O, 2min U. The goal is to be able to go hard, then return to a steady pace, and then hard again, and repeat this and be able to recover at threshold. Rest between efforts is 5mins.
I've been making them harder, my goal is to spend more time at 350w, so there's an extra O in there. My 'easy' repeat looks like: 2minU, 1minO, 2minU, 1minO, 1minU, 1minO. I call it 'easy' because you ease into it, there are big recovery sections, and the last O is at the end. It's always easier to go hard when the end is in sight!
I do these at the Observatory, and i find it takes me exactly 8mins doing these to get to the top. Funny that. ;)
The 'tougher' ones start off more intense, and have shorter O's off the start, so something like 1O/1U/1O/2U/1O/2U. So i'm much closer to the 'red zone' the entire effort. I don't know if this is *actually* any harder, by my HR might suggest this is the case: it's several BPM lower on the 'easier' effort.
All these efforts average out to ~300w and 8mins, plus each one include 3mins@350w. (Note that my stats show i can hold 350w for around 5mins max.) Today, i did four - i was hoping for five, but figured that was pretty good, considering i'd taken the last week off. Going into the ride, my legs felt like crap, and my EM wattage (220-240w) was feeling like a bit of a challenge, but when i got to the hill, the legs and lungs kicked in, and i actually felt pretty good!
My rest week was literally that! Raced last Sunday, no bike Mon, Tue, did the Wed night practice race in spurts, mainly following speedy peeps to check out their lines in technical sections, then cutting out the longer straights/hills, and catching back on. Thu & Fri were entirely off-bike too, then on Sat i put in some good efforts at the clinic.
Out on a Wed Night VCX Practice Race
Here's the general #'s from my four efforts. I mixed up the timing on my first one:
#1: 1O/1U/1O/1U/1O/3U ( kind of went hard for the last 30sec)
Watts: 302 HR: 180
#2: 1O/1U/1O/2U/1O/2U
Watts: 300 HR: 178
#3: 1O/1U/1O/2U/1O/2U
Watts: 297 HR: 178
#4: 2U/1O/2U/1O/1U/1O ( easier)
Watts: 298 HR: 175
Intervals Completed.. Owie. Lovely day too. ;)
The last time i did these (Tue, Oct 13th) the wattage was something like: 303, 297, 290 & 293. The first two were 'middle' difficulty: 1U/1O/2U/1O/1U/1O, and the last two were progressively 'easier', the final being the 'standard'. No HR data on those. They felt like big efforts tho, but i'd been going hard for several weeks without any real breaks. I think the week off helped. Happy with the improvements tho!
So, summary from today: 32mins averaging 300w, and 12mins of it at 350w. That's a pretty solid workout, and should help me move up in the racing.. I'm feeling quite good right now ( normally would be burnt out by now!) and i'm thinking that i'll just keep getting stronger until the end of the season.
The rest of my ride was basically 40mins EM ride to the Observatory, the intervals, and 40+mins back, rode the waterfront home. Full stats for the day:
2h14, 1568kJ
Duration: 2:14:10 (2:29:07)
Work: 1568 kJ
TSS: 188.5 (intensity factor 0.921)
Norm Power: 240
VI: 1.22
Distance: 60.35 km
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 770 196 watts
Cadence: 26 118 88 rpm
Speed: 3.7 57.6 27.2 kph
I've also gotten Training Peaks WKO+ which is fantastic for this stuff...i'm such a numbers geek. =)
The rest of the week is looking something like:
* Mon - rest
* Tue - likely more O/U, 4x, maybe 5x if holding up at the end of #4.
* Wed - practice VCX race
* Thu - rest
* Fri - rest or 1hr EM if feeling peppy
* Sat - Race! Heading up to Errington for the Single Speed Championships!
* Sun - World Vegan Day!! Got a bunch of events lined up in the city, see The Victoria Vegan for more. =)
Cross on the Rock
We're super-lucky to have Normon and Wendy organizing this series for us, and it's probably one of the best CX race events in the world! Super-fun, a huge variety of courses, and amazing atmosphere. Why, at the last event, they had vegan Tofurkey Beer Brat sausages for us to celebrate Crosstoberfest! It was fantastic, site page here, four more events coming up, with the final three around Victoria!
My racing has been going quite well, although i was hoping for better results... Still, i'm certainly vastly improved from previous years. I still suffer from the same track specificity - i can go freaking hard/fast for 2-3 laps, but then i explode catastrophically. So, i've been pacing myself a bit better. I get a good start position, roll with the bunch for the first lap, and then settle into a manageable pace. I got my lap splits from the last race, and i was amazed at how consistent i was:
Lap 1: 8:44
Lap 2: 17:43 (so 8:59)
Lap 3: 26:57 (so 9:14)
Lap 4: 36:08 (so 9:11)
Lap 5: 45:01 (so 8:53)
It was a course that suited me fairly well, with three main sections: climbing & descending, twisty forest paths and twisty field. The climbing was miserable as usual, around lap 3 i found myself in a small group with two other riders ("red" & "green"). On the climb, they would peel away. Buh-bye!
Luckily, the decent was fairly long, and a bit technical. I was able to fly, but these two guys weren't moving quite as fast, so i'd recover and catch them at the end, and we'd muddle through the forest and field together, and then they'd be off on the climb again. Final lap, they seemed to get even more of a gap on me on the climb - how demoralizing! I pushed it uphill tho! Descended like a demon, mastered the one slippy corner, and hit the woods full tilt - Green was just ahead, and Red was significantly further ahead..
The barriers - just before the finish line..
I latched onto Green, waiting for a moment to strike and pass.. There wasn't much opportunity in this section, tight twisty trails with lots of roots, rocks and loose soil if you strayed off the beaten path..
There was a big log across the trail near the end of the wooded section, and while many riders in Intermediate were getting off their bikes to run over (and then up a slight incline) i was riding the log without issue. Green hopped off, and ran up the trail. I rode the log, and got on his heels...this would be the time.. As he was remounting in the corner, i took it wide, and snuck past - yes!! He made an effort to get by on the following short downhill, but i kept him at bay..my sprinter legs and keirin experience lended themselves to this.
Next was red, who was barely in sight.. We cleared the woods and up the short climb into the field, and there was Red over 20m ahead powering away in the straight-away... I went into chase mode and kept the pace up. I could still feel Green on my wheel. This was the section that was working well for me however -- i found i was able to recover in there while following Red & Green in the preceding laps... So i rode hard and smooth, and i was reeling Red in. Green was keeping close, but i could tell he was working hard - every tight corner he'd fall back, but would sprint back up. He was doing more work than me.
There were a few final twists, the barriers, and then what would likely be a foot-sprint finish to the line..the line was just past the barriers, no point in trying to remount!
By the time we hit the barriers, i had caught Red!! I was hurting tho, and Green was right there behind me. (He'd tried to pass at one point, but it was easy to block in that section.) We hit the barriers, and Red made it through without issue, as did i and Green. We sprinted for the finish, Red had it - no chance to get by. Green was so close i could feel his front wheel on my hells - i pushed and kept my lead, and finished ahead - woohoo!! The battle for 7th thru 9th was completed...
It was pretty awesome, that's the closest i've been to actual 'racing' in an event -- usually we're all split up much more..which is pretty amazing, considering that there are about 30 people in the category, and only 2 were lapped.
I finished about 1.5mins down from Roland, my main nemesis in the series. ;)
I've been doing well to reel him in. The first race, at Beban Park, was a tough one. Lots of straight-aways, and hardly any technical or recovery sections. About the only place i could recover was the Whirly Whirl! It was brutal. Rollie finished ~3mins ahead there. I finished 10th.
In the Whirly Whirl
The second race was at Bowen Park, and had a very long road section, lot of short, sharp climbs, not so twisty, and a huge sand-pit that you went through TWICE! There was also a HUGE staircase, but for some reason i actually moved pretty fast up it (after watching the following races, where many were barely moving up it!) I had my first ever technical in a CX race - a flat on my front! It happened about 4mins away from the pit, so i rode gingerly and managed to stay upright. It was right at the final lap, and as i was changing my wheel, four riders went by. I managed to catch three of them right away, but the 4th stayed away. I finished 12th there. I figure if it weren't for the flat, i would have been about 2.5mins behind Roland..
At the top of the Apex about to hit the main Sand Pit
Oh yes, i love running in the sand..
The Sprint Finish vs "Green"
At Providence, i finished 8th, and only 1.5mins down - yip! The times are shrinking.... In the series, i'm sitting in 6th overall in Intermediate. Quite a gap between me and 5th, so not sure if i'll be moving up much more...i'll continue to giver tho. ;)
Alright, that's enough of an update! I'm planning to post here regularly on my training and racing, so keep an eye out.
Peas out!
- Dave
=============
=============Labels: cyclocross, training
|
|
Winter Updates
Hey there sports fans, it's been a bit slow on the posting front, but i'm alive and well! After the last BC Cup, i took a few weeks off the bike (pretty much completely, and a nightmare 'adventure' to Oakland, CA), then started to get back into training mode. Come December, i'm back to doing my Muscle Tension intervals (50rpm, uphill, started with 5x5min, work up every session.) Marty's been joining me, as did Kevin until he grew up and got a job. ;) We got in a couple weeks before xmas, then took a week and a half off, and are back at it for another three weeks, Thursday we'll be doing 6x8mins repeats. Really starting to feel it in my legs, which appear to be putting on some mass again...! The long-term forecast will be to switch over to CTS Tempo intervals (30+ mins riding 70rpm) to further build muscle strength and endurance. Then, in late Feb is the OrganicAthlete training camp in California, and a bunch of us will be heading down -- ROAD TRIP! I've also been back to the gym, mainly working out my upper-body to balance things out a wee bit. Mainly focusing on core, chest and back. I'm surprised at how quickly strength returns, i'm practically back where i left off last year.. Also throwing in the occasion high-rep squat session. That does something awful to the legs..tho the next day, when i'm on the bike, it seemed like it really only 'hits' muscles i use while out of the saddle sprinting, so i have to question how useful squats are for me, at the moment...they don't seem specific enough...but i don't know, i'm certainly no expert! I've also been doing weekly climbing sessions at the local gym, Crag X. We've got a little OA crew that's turning up (Ian, Tashie and Marty), more photos here. Last week did a marathon 2.5hr session with my main climbing mate Ian, tried the 5.9 overhang, but only made it 2/3rds of the way up, my grip just isn't up to the job yet.... Still, did a bunch of straight-up 5.9's and 5.8's with relative ease. I'm liking the climbing. Ian did a great job battling up a 10a overhang..holy crap it looked tough! Other than that, not too much exciting going on. I've been experimenting with a 'low protein diet', literally trying to cut out bigger sources of protein, and sticking to my whole foods diet, and it's been going remarkably well! I've been reading up on the issue, and i'm pretty confident that we need very little protein. Certainly not more than 1g/kg, and likely half that. I'm writing an article on it, and will post it in detail when published. On the supplements front, i've switched things up a bit. I'm totally off Vega now -- i just don't need the protein!! I'm using two of the main ingredients independently however: maca and chlorella. I'm also still taking cordyceps and have added in Siberian ginseng. I'm feeling this to be a good mix, i've been on these for perhaps three months now. Got some more pics to post, one set from a hike, and another Ride Cam. I've also picked up a new camera, an Olympus Stylus 790SW. It's a small unit, 7.1 mega-pixels, and is shock and waterproof, which is perfect for toting in my jersey pocket. Don't have to worry about all the sweat ruining it. (YUM!) I've also been quite happy with the photographs it's been taking, and remarkably long battery life. Oh, and it comes in orange..haha! Anyway, here are the two full galleries, and some selections. Stay dry!
http://picasaweb.google.com/davenoisy/20071215Hikehttp://picasaweb.google.com/davenoisy/20080104RideCam09Marty and Dana on a hike at Goldstream.
Love the macro shots of mushrooms..my favorite 'subject'..hehe
Pretty moss on a tree.
A very soaked Dave Noisy.
I don't think it's been quite as rainy as last year, thank goodness, but most days have to
bring along the rain jacket.. This is out on an OBB group ride.
Robert Cheeke of Vegan Body Building was in town visiting (along with Jessi!) and the OA crew met up with them, here's Rob, Tashie and Marty. Akk...it burns....
We've also been holding Victoria's Vegan Poker Championships, fun times! Labels: log, training
|
|
|
 About
Me
Name:
Dave Shishkoff
aka Dave Noisy
Location:
Victoria, BC
Canada
Click for more!
|
|
Contact me and let me know if you're a vegan cyclist with a blog!
|
|
|
