BBW Thoughts/Experiences/Questions/etc
[EDIT: Changing the purpose to include all things BBW, me and you, at anytime in the season]
original post was on Day 2, I'll recap my BBW down below.
I'm in the middle of a BBW.
Assuming all goes as planned, I'll finish up on Saturday with some big miles/TSS.
How did you guys recover from this kind of week? Knowing myself, I do think I'll need a couple of days. I'm not one of the Terminator Robots around here that will go right into FTP/TP intervals the very next day.
I was thinking Sunday off, feet up, relaxing. Mon & Tues with light activity. Wednesday determined by feel.
Any thoughts?
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Your plan is good. Maybe swim Mon and Tues, see how you feel about resuming a normal schedule on Wed
-afternoon nap (1 hr tops, no later than 6pm) for Monday and Tuesday
-hydrate more than normal Monday and Tuesday
-dedicated stretch sessions Monday and Tuesday, then alternate days for the rest of the week
-Don't worry about weight gain / loss for the few weeks following bbw (I came back from epic week last weekend, and I was a full 10 pounds heavier than when I weighed in this morning)
-Massage maybe Wednesday (only because it feels good; don't expect any healing or recovery qualities)
Advanced
-do the biggest, baddest cleaning of your bike so it's minty and fresh when you return
-check chain, cables and cassette; replace as necessary to get rolling again (I put on new tires and tubes ... it's just my thing)
-make sure any aches, pains, sores, etc are all healed before getting back on the bike. Treat BBW injuries as if you have your A race next week. Saddle sores in particular.
-do a few "wow, I rode the distance from (insert home city) to (insert far away place/planet) observations of just how much mileage you did in your BBW. Definitely take time to pat yourself on the back.
Keep it up ... and remember ... miles build champions.
Dave - I'm on the same page.
I have a tendency to go into big calorie holes on days like this. So, putting together a string of them means that HAVE to (GET to) eat...alot. Mostly high quality stuff but I'm treating myself to some extra cals in the evenings....think milkshakes! I'll still be in a hole by the end of the week. I just want to come close to breaking even.
I am throwing down extra chamois lube every 2-2.5hrs. This is helping alot. At this point, 215miles in, no sign of taint wear & tear.
Making sure I'm in bed by 10 during the BBW but I'll add that focus in the week that follows. Good idea. Afternoon naps are a pipe dream.
I've had some crappy weather to do my BBW in so far. But, that has forced me to do a good cleaning of the bike IMMEDIATELY after I get home. Done! Put the bike away so it is ready to roll that evening or the next day. (I can't ride a nasty rig anyways. It's about style!)
Thanks for the ideas!
OK, I'm a newby. What does BBW stand for? Big Bad Wolf workout? Guess that would be BBWW. Bruised Bottom Workout?
If I had to make an educated guess, I would shoot at Big Build Week, or BIg BIke Weekend?
I would NOT recommend Googling BBW, by the way!! I learned that one the hard way.
Form follows function. It's a grind. But, the payoff is huge.
But, if you're still unclear, just ask JB to google it again.
Thanks, I googled it in my own mind and came up with all kind of ideas that I thought I better not share. I will study it in the wiki
Chris,
Post your PMC in the PMC thread when you're done. Would especially like to see Bike Only and Combined PMC's. I'd like to capture the bump in your CTL.
Rich - I'll do my best. Been having lots of trouble with WKO+ over the last year. Driver issue since I fired up GarminExpress. I have bit of time today, shorter ride, so I'll see if I can get some 1-800 help and get this straightened. If WKO+ can't recover my wko's from TrainingPeaks, I'll use their premium which will keep all the data.
No need to create more work for yourself. I'm sure we'll have lots of opportunity to capture other peoples' data across the summer
Rich-
very random. I apologize.
Finished the OS healthier than ever before. Very pleased. Main thing was my commitment to saying NO to extra workout opportunities that may arise.
Was supposed to do 2 weeks of Run Durability before this vacay week that would be BBW. I had low Honey Do list and I wanted most of the riding done while Sheri and the kids were at school. If I was going to do this, I would not cry tired at all. Life goes on....spring time yard work, dinner stuff, hauling kids to tumbling, etc.
The week leading in was a bust. Super busy at work. Too many hours. And, I got super sick for the whole week. Chest cold, lots of phlegm. I had time for only a handful of workouts that week and I kept them lo intensity b/c of the chest cold. I wanted to be healthy for BBW. I have been focusing on the run durability for 6months and have been waiting for BBW for a while. Didn't want to lose this opportunity. I've read about how valuable this bump can be. It's a great challenge but I'm hoping the rewards really pop up in summer races and a late fall HIM.
500 miles in 7 days. Rolling terrain with everything from false flats to 1/4 mile 8-10%ers. 19k+ climbing for the week.
1) 78.3 miles, ez steady, very windy and very wet with heavy rains. Road bike2) 45.1 miles, ez steady, same conditions as the day before. Road bike
3) 90.5 miles, ez steady, HUGE winds, tornado sighting, and 30' of heavy (painful) hail. Road bike
4.Ride1) 53 miles, ez steady, really getting frustrated with these winds. Road bike
4.Ride2) 35 miles, hard efforts in group ride. This was tough but I really think it helped having to rev the engine, a little speed pop. This was the only time I'd have company.
5) 60.7 miles of soft pedaling. Hills/wind were still taxing but I refused to increase effort. Very ez ride for 3.5hrs. Road bike. Decided I'd break out tri bike from here on.
6) 101.3 miles, neg split my 32mi laps, slight push on last, earning it, tri bike helped a ton both mentally and physically.
7) 36.3 miles, 8' PR on my 32mi lap, no victory lap, wanted to punch it out. tri bike.
'ez steady' was a feel. Slight Press, stay smooth. Quit watching watts after day 2. Think momentum.
April has always been a tough time to ride around here. Looks pretty and springish but the winds are always tough, gusty, swirling.
Thurs and Fri were in my mind on Sat/Sun/Mon in regards to pacing.
The really bad rain days forced me to give my bike a good cleaning immediately upon finishing the ride. I wanted the rig to be ready to go on a moment's notice.
And, not just the bike. Made sure I was showered and very cleaned up as soon as I got inside. This really helped my head and allowed me to get on with the day.
Recovery treat on several of the days, a tall soy latte and big slice of banana nut bread. Starbucks stop on the way out to do errands.
Being a strong cycling advocate, I did standing stops at ~8/10 Stop signs and waited on most of the Red lights. Thurs and Fri were a bit less b/c I was chasing some time, and I felt guilty. a little.
Though most of the week was zn1/zn2 effort, the hard stretches with the roadies on Day4 really helped my psyche, and woke my legs up, IMO.
That group ride on Day4 was the only 35 miles of the 500 that I had any company. So, 465 miles solo, see note just above ^ regarding the fookin' April winds. This will grow hair on your chest!
That 35 mile group ride on Day4 was the only ride time that didn't take place while my kids and wife were off at school.
The century on Day6 was my first time back in the aero position all year. Super surprised that I never felt out of place. And, power actually improved.
I used a 32-40 mile out and back ALOT. This allowed me to reload bottles and chamois cream every 2-2.5hrs. Imperative to get in and out, don't sit still or get comfy.
RoadId ecrumb app is the best. Sheri knew where I was all the time. And, that I was moving, moving safely.
Friends and Teammates on Strava was a HUGE help, accountability is legit. But, the good mojo was even bigger. Thanks to all of you guys.
more odds & ends....
Number of flats- 0
Number of saddle sores- 0
Number of commercial sports drinks- 0*
Number of gels or bars- 0
Number of angry hostile motorists over 500miles- 2
Number of near miss car/bike collisions- 2
Number of near miss me v road due to lack of concentration- 2
Number of minutes in aero position before Thurs century- 0
Number of brakes on tri bike- 1
Number of chain rings on tri bike- 1 (50t)
Number of Tylenol or Ibuprofen- 0
Most breakfasts were simple smoothies or oatmeal with nuts/banana/almond butter or an egg burrito or brown rice/eggs/amino acids and guac.
*Go to drink bottle: homemade, H20 + coconut oil + dates + lemon + lime + agave + ~900mg sea salt. One bottle per hour, roughly.
Combined with a bottle of coconut water. (But, on the century I tried Aloe Gloe instead and it worked very well. Thanks, Dino)
Snacks along the way: a couple of snack sized bags of nut/dried fruit. a couple of small palm sized almond butter & agave sandwiches. 2 half burrito of alm butter/banana/agave. 2 small peppermint patties.
^^total for the week, not per ride^^
Now, maybe the hardest thing, to stand down and recover. To absorb that stress to the system. To allow the changes to happen.
I feel good now, but I know I need a few days.
Off both days this weekend, a couple of days of just swimming early next week, then I'll start asking around about whether or not it's time to get the legs moving again.
Maybe some light leg activity by mid to end of next week but I'll consult coaches and teammates first.
So, if I can do this, trust me....you can. This kind of challenge, no medal or t-shirt, is a ton of fun to me. The planets were lined up in my favor this week to pull it off (despite the storms early in the week!).
Just keep it simple, don't overcomplicate it, don't overthink it, use what resources you have, and get out of your own way.
I post this recap b/c I want to revisit it as the year progresses. Hoping this will be a beneficial bump to the system that will be ez to pinpoint at a later date.
Thanks for reading.
EDIT for adding the the recovery week after:
Finished on Friday and felt great. Sat and Sun completely off and glad I did. The tired didn't hit me until 24-48hrs after. Very tired. Then, Mon and Tues were swim drills with light kicking to get loose. Wed was a very ez bike for an hour and a very ez brick run. Legs felt tight but not overly fatigued. Thurs was busy day at work so I did a short swim like Mon & Tues and a short ez treadmill run with a couple of strides thrown in. Fri was very much like the Wed wko but I added a little time to the bike, 32 miles ez. Saturday back at it.
Each time, the warmup felt horrible but the meat of the workouts went better (and felt easier) than I expected. Now, I'm in the start of the second week and there is no reason to think it's not full speed ahead.
I feel this was an appropriate recovery and we'll see how it plays out over the course of the year.
Chris....thanks for sharing. I'm jealous of a whole week, but I'm planning a three day weekend (friday off) dealio in June for IM Canada. That's a nice week and suffering through all that rain and wind will make race day all the "easier"!
3 days, a long weekend, is plenty. Just go long and don't cut it short b/c of the 'That's enough for today' thought that pops into your head long before you really have had enough.
Take your 3 days and make the most of it.