Ugh. Spent way more time and money getting my car serviced tonight and as I'm paying, on of my colleagues calls me to ask if I meant to send an email to him and the rest of our group from my hotmail account. Someone hacked into my hotmail account and sent bogus solicitation emails to all my contacts. Nice. I can't even respond to people because my account has reached the maximum sent messages for a 24 hour period. I know, this has nothing to do with the bike, but I had to vent.
After trying to sort that out when I got home, I had less than zero motivation to get on the bike. I did it anyway and punched the clock.
3x12' @ 318, 318, and 320, then 8' @ 281.
I think my basement foundation walls have indentations in them from my constant gaze.
After the Tuesday 2 x 20 session I was a bit concerned but got the 3 x 10s done earlier today:
97.5%
96.6%
96%
I finished up with a 1 x 10 at:
86.1%
Lately I have been doing an old Coach Troy/Spinervals type workout. For example during each of the 10 minute sessions I shift gears every minute. Sometimes I just rotate between one minute each of two different cog selections and other times I will work my way down to the small cog, changing every minute and then back up.
It really helps break the session up and before I know it I am through with that particular interval.
I'm back at it. Thanks for all the notes about my mother-in-laws untimely death. I did almost nothing since last Tuesday, so essentially a full week off. I did go out for a short run on Sunday, but other than that it was all family all the time. Lots of tears, lots of sadness, and I think we're just at the beginning of the hard times for a while. As for the workouts this week, not sure whether it's the time off, but I've had a pretty darn good week. Here's the rundown:
Tuesday - hit the 2x20 @ 101% and 100%, wanted to quit after that, but somehow got my mojo going and put in a full 30 minutes @ 86%
Wednesday run - worked late on Tuesday night, and couldn't get out of bed to get the run done in the morning. Went out Wednesday night planning to just put in 5 miles with some @ Z3. Was supposed to do 4 x .5 miles and 2 x 1 mile @ z4 (7:15 for me). We've finally had some melting, so for the first time in months the trails were actually dry. Went out on the first mile at 6:52!!! It didn't feel nearly as hard as the 7:10s I'd been running a couple of weeks ago on the slippery trails, so I just let it go. Needed to get home to do work, so I only did 2 minutes of rest then popped off another mile at 6:54. Thought about bagging it, but I was feeling so good that I decided to squeeze in 1 more mile...knocked that one down at 6:44!! I'm starting to feel much more optimistic about making progress on my VDOT...have a 5K around "my" lake next Saturday, so we'll see.
Thursday - did the first 10' @ 101% and it felt pretty easy. Dropped it down 1 gear for the second and rocked that one at 106%. I was feeling pretty good, but somehow on the 3rd, I was really struggling only 2 minutes in. I stopped once and thought about quitting...fought through the bad juju and got it going again. Another minute in I stopped again...that's when the team came to my rescue. At 5 minutes I was at 215 watts w/target 232. For some reason I started thinking about all of you out there going through the same pain. Then I imaged 1 step further...over my left shoulder was Halligan shouting encouragement...then Carrie, then Noodle, etc. Before I knew I was totally cranking...240, 250, 260 watts. By the time there was a minute to go, I'm pretty sure most of the team was crowding into my pain cave, and I was doing my best to get the AP to 232 before I ran out of time! I was hitting 260, 270, then the last 30 seconds at 300+. As the clock ticked over to 10 minutes, the AvPower hit 232 on the button!!! It was actually an emotional moment. This has been a really tough week for our family, and for some reason it felt really incredibly good to have fought through the "I just want to quit the whole damn thing" demons and hit the number. I really felt like I was drawing on the power of the Nation, so thanks to all of you who sent positive energy my way over the last week...it must have worked. Oh yeah, and then I did 20 minutes at 90% to top it off. I'm thinking there's an FT bump coming soon.
Hang in there everyone...you can do it...just dig deep and lean on the team if you need a boost!
Ugh. Spent way more time and money getting my car serviced tonight and as I'm paying, on of my colleagues calls me to ask if I meant to send an email to him and the rest of our group from my hotmail account. Someone hacked into my hotmail account and sent bogus solicitation emails to all my contacts. Nice. I can't even respond to people because my account has reached the maximum sent messages for a 24 hour period. I know, this has nothing to do with the bike, but I had to vent.
After trying to sort that out when I got home, I had less than zero motivation to get on the bike. I did it anyway and punched the clock.
3x12' @ 318, 318, and 320, then 8' @ 281.
I think my basement foundation walls have indentations in them from my constant gaze.
Dave
Sucks about the hotmail account but can you at least get some good deals on Viagra and Vicodin?
Way to get the intervals done, you are laying down some serious power these days. I managed to actually get on my bike this morning. Was a 5 minunte warmup and then 2x10. They were each a touch over 300, gotta start somewhere. Tomorrow is suppoda be in the mid 40's so I think that riding outside for the first time since November is in order.
A week from Monday the season starts for me in earnest so I tyring to muddle through until then and arrive at the starting line relaxed and ready to bring the pain.
Exactly what i needed for Mojo Sake! 70 degrees and sunny! but there was gusting 27 mph winds trying to blow me off the bike... 50min at 100%!!! I just needed a little scenery to get my juices flowing! Set a personal by about 3 minutes on a 17 mile course me and my dad ride. than just meandered around on the bike through the city for about minutes. GREAT DAY!
Looking like an outdoor ride this afternoon. Will be the first in months!
Sticking my head back in the forum. Sorry for my disappearing act. Have occasionally been tweeting workouts 'cause I'm in that space for work. I've managed consistent training despite a rocky road this winter, which included the recent passing of my mom... ugh. Training has been my outlet and I've seen some really nice gains.
Good morning all! I did a 8 X 1.5'(1.5') 3 X 1' (1.5') 4 X 30"(30") and ended up completely hammered with 17' total of 1.25 and above. Finished off struggling to average 85% for the remainder. Legs were still feeling some fatigue. Good luck!
WOW an outside ride today finally!!! 45* and sunny here Seriously helped get some MOJO back.
Had an awesome ride and did the 30/30's and a bunch of 85% to 88% stuff. Total of almost 2 hours and 40 miles followed by I think the best run after a .90 2 hour ride ever. I did a 3.1 mile loop around my neighborhood in 18:39. Holly Crap I think i pr'd a 5k after any bike even sprints i've did in the past.
Chris G. I think it is my new Asics Piranhas and yes I'm cheating with 3.6oz. shoes and love it!!
I can't get the Mr. Rogers' song "It's Such a Good Feeling" out of my head. I had my first ride outside in two months, my second ride outside on the new bike I bought in December. It was 50 and not a cloud in the sky. I got the 30/30s done, and then wandered around the hills of Great Falls, Va., for 1:50 minutes total. This is where I rode as a teenager quite a bit. The highlight was riding my bike on the same road over a small hill in the road where I caught air in the car as a teenager and flew my dad's Acura 104' through the air. (Yes, I measured from the crest of the hill to the scrapes in the road where the front end hit.)
I certainly didn't do this ride EN style and maintain a constant power. I was charging up the hills, recovering on the downhills, and just plain having fun. I did make sure I could ride in the aerobars 95% of the time, though. I've got a bike fitting Wednesday and wanted to make sure I had a decent starting point and know what the starting point feels like on a long ride.
WOW what a difference this makes to the head.I had been in a serious blue funk the last two weeks.Work was at a crazy stress level.My head was still trying to deal with poor bike performance in the last few weeks.Work schedule demands and the voice in the back of my head saying you need more rest, resulte in me taking Monday – Wednesday OFF.That is a first for me and I had to manage the head guilt game.Thursday did a solid bike and brick. Took Friday off with the weather forecast for the weekend in ST Louis to be 50+ and sunny!!Time to go RIDE this weekend.
Changed out the trainer tire and put on a new chain (needed it) and hit the road.Oh to ride in the sun and wind again!!! A great ride followed.After a warm up, I said lets go solid for 20 and see how we do. That was great so went into an impromptu FTP test.The route was on was not the best for this with multiple turns and a turnaround required.
A new FTP best for me of 254, up from 248 last best and 232 at OS start.This was with a poor course and leaving a bunch on the table, I keep expecting to die at these levels and did not. My HR was 6-8 beets below prior FTP efforts and the legs still had more.I think 260 is within reach.
After that effort in the first hour I proceeded to ride strong for a total of 2:15 and hit a TSS of 190 and an IF of .914.Bricked into a 30 min run at Z2 and was good.Big Smile for the day!!!
Wow what some rest and sun and being out of the pain cave can do for a person.Mentally this solidified my view that the out season and Power Clinic efforts have produced results. I can now go back into the pain cave for another month if weather dictates and push again!
I have learned to discount the bad days, but Boy it is wonderful to have one of those good days again!!
Ah, the magic of riding outside again! Like many of you, hit the roads yesterday morning and it was just what I needed to recharge the mojo. Did my favorite 40-mile out-and-back route and enjoyed every minute. Didn't worry too much about specific intervals. Just pushed hard on the hills and TT'd the last 13 miles home. Just felt great to be out in fresh air and sunshine again. Interestingly I didn't feel as "fast" as I thought I would coming off of all those weeks of indoor suffer-fests but definitely noticed a lack of lactic acid build-up during the usual "burn" sections of the ride so it's all good. Knocked out a nice 30' Z2/Z3 brick after. I think that's just what I needed to get across the OS finish line.
And I'd forgotten how different an outdoor power file looks from an indoor one. Jagged lines all over the place!
Not quite outside riding weather for me, well it could be done but I'd prefer that the ice and snow are off the roads unless I am on a mountain bike. So a 4 5X30/30 for me along with 28' @ .84 in 3 sets (2X10 and 1X8).
I went outside for 3:20. Hills and headwinds, a closed low water bridge over the Shenandoah River so I flipped it and found some more hills. Two stretches on the way home I averaged under 200 watts and over 23 mph. Work works, but tailwinds really work. Sort of trashes the power file but the work is in there. Felt good to put in some volume; probably my longest ride since October.
Comments
Ugh. Spent way more time and money getting my car serviced tonight and as I'm paying, on of my colleagues calls me to ask if I meant to send an email to him and the rest of our group from my hotmail account. Someone hacked into my hotmail account and sent bogus solicitation emails to all my contacts. Nice. I can't even respond to people because my account has reached the maximum sent messages for a 24 hour period. I know, this has nothing to do with the bike, but I had to vent.
After trying to sort that out when I got home, I had less than zero motivation to get on the bike. I did it anyway and punched the clock.
3x12' @ 318, 318, and 320, then 8' @ 281.
I think my basement foundation walls have indentations in them from my constant gaze.
Dave
After the Tuesday 2 x 20 session I was a bit concerned but got the 3 x 10s done earlier today:
97.5%
96.6%
96%
I finished up with a 1 x 10 at:
86.1%
Lately I have been doing an old Coach Troy/Spinervals type workout. For example during each of the 10 minute sessions I shift gears every minute. Sometimes I just rotate between one minute each of two different cog selections and other times I will work my way down to the small cog, changing every minute and then back up.
It really helps break the session up and before I know it I am through with that particular interval.
Tuesday - hit the 2x20 @ 101% and 100%, wanted to quit after that, but somehow got my mojo going and put in a full 30 minutes @ 86%
Wednesday run - worked late on Tuesday night, and couldn't get out of bed to get the run done in the morning. Went out Wednesday night planning to just put in 5 miles with some @ Z3. Was supposed to do 4 x .5 miles and 2 x 1 mile @ z4 (7:15 for me). We've finally had some melting, so for the first time in months the trails were actually dry. Went out on the first mile at 6:52!!! It didn't feel nearly as hard as the 7:10s I'd been running a couple of weeks ago on the slippery trails, so I just let it go. Needed to get home to do work, so I only did 2 minutes of rest then popped off another mile at 6:54. Thought about bagging it, but I was feeling so good that I decided to squeeze in 1 more mile...knocked that one down at 6:44!! I'm starting to feel much more optimistic about making progress on my VDOT...have a 5K around "my" lake next Saturday, so we'll see.
Thursday - did the first 10' @ 101% and it felt pretty easy. Dropped it down 1 gear for the second and rocked that one at 106%. I was feeling pretty good, but somehow on the 3rd, I was really struggling only 2 minutes in. I stopped once and thought about quitting...fought through the bad juju and got it going again. Another minute in I stopped again...that's when the team came to my rescue. At 5 minutes I was at 215 watts w/target 232. For some reason I started thinking about all of you out there going through the same pain. Then I imaged 1 step further...over my left shoulder was Halligan shouting encouragement...then Carrie, then Noodle, etc. Before I knew I was totally cranking...240, 250, 260 watts. By the time there was a minute to go, I'm pretty sure most of the team was crowding into my pain cave, and I was doing my best to get the AP to 232 before I ran out of time! I was hitting 260, 270, then the last 30 seconds at 300+. As the clock ticked over to 10 minutes, the AvPower hit 232 on the button!!! It was actually an emotional moment. This has been a really tough week for our family, and for some reason it felt really incredibly good to have fought through the "I just want to quit the whole damn thing" demons and hit the number. I really felt like I was drawing on the power of the Nation, so thanks to all of you who sent positive energy my way over the last week...it must have worked. Oh yeah, and then I did 20 minutes at 90% to top it off. I'm thinking there's an FT bump coming soon.
Hang in there everyone...you can do it...just dig deep and lean on the team if you need a boost!
I hope the training provides some sanctuary and release for you during the tough times.
cm
Sucks about the hotmail account but can you at least get some good deals on Viagra and Vicodin?
Way to get the intervals done, you are laying down some serious power these days. I managed to actually get on my bike this morning. Was a 5 minunte warmup and then 2x10. They were each a touch over 300, gotta start somewhere. Tomorrow is suppoda be in the mid 40's so I think that riding outside for the first time since November is in order.
A week from Monday the season starts for me in earnest so I tyring to muddle through until then and arrive at the starting line relaxed and ready to bring the pain.
50min at 100%!!! I just needed a little scenery to get my juices flowing! Set a personal by about 3 minutes on a 17 mile course me and my dad ride. than just meandered around on the bike through the city for about minutes. GREAT DAY!
Looking like an outdoor ride this afternoon. Will be the first in months!
Sticking my head back in the forum. Sorry for my disappearing act. Have occasionally been tweeting workouts 'cause I'm in that space for work. I've managed consistent training despite a rocky road this winter, which included the recent passing of my mom... ugh. Training has been my outlet and I've seen some really nice gains.
Good morning all! I did a 8 X 1.5'(1.5') 3 X 1' (1.5') 4 X 30"(30") and ended up completely hammered with 17' total of 1.25 and above. Finished off struggling to average 85% for the remainder. Legs were still feeling some fatigue. Good luck!
Entire workout (227 watts):
Duration: 1:12:12
TSS: 99.2 (intensity factor 0.909)
Norm Power: 268
Distance: 25.193 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 471 227 watts
Heart Rate: 48 171 117 bpm
Cadence: 28 108 82 rpm
Speed: 0 31.7 21.0 mph
Duration: 29:41
NGP: 6:43 (239.7 m/min)
Distance: 4.251 mi
Elevation Gain: 427 ft
Elevation Loss: 384 ft
Grade: 0.2 % (43 ft)
Min Max Avg
Heart Rate: 54 164 142 bpm
Speed: 3:05 0:00 7:00 min/mi
Altitude: 743 797 766 ft
This progressive overload stuff is really working. This was my best interval set since week 10. Did 10x1' intervals and then remainder in z3
Entire workout (184 watts):
Duration: 1:05:46
Work: 726 kJ
TSS: 111.6 (intensity factor 1.009)
Norm Power: 210
VI: 1.14
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 23.836 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 493 184 watts
Cadence: 37 127 81 rpm
Speed: 0 33.8 21.7 mph
Pace 1:47 0:00 2:46 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 103 55 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 421 189 lb-in
Also since I started in Nov, I am down 22lbs and still counting, shooting for 200 by mid april, 10 more lbs to go. Progress, progress, progress.
WOW an outside ride today finally!!!
45* and sunny here
Seriously helped get some MOJO back.
Had an awesome ride and did the 30/30's and a bunch of 85% to 88% stuff. Total of almost 2 hours and 40 miles followed by I think the best run after a .90 2 hour ride ever. I did a 3.1 mile loop around my neighborhood in 18:39. Holly Crap I think i pr'd a 5k after any bike even sprints i've did in the past.
Chris G. I think it is my new Asics Piranhas and yes I'm cheating with 3.6oz. shoes and love it!!
I can't get the Mr. Rogers' song "It's Such a Good Feeling" out of my head. I had my first ride outside in two months, my second ride outside on the new bike I bought in December. It was 50 and not a cloud in the sky. I got the 30/30s done, and then wandered around the hills of Great Falls, Va., for 1:50 minutes total. This is where I rode as a teenager quite a bit. The highlight was riding my bike on the same road over a small hill in the road where I caught air in the car as a teenager and flew my dad's Acura 104' through the air. (Yes, I measured from the crest of the hill to the scrapes in the road where the front end hit.)
I certainly didn't do this ride EN style and maintain a constant power. I was charging up the hills, recovering on the downhills, and just plain having fun. I did make sure I could ride in the aerobars 95% of the time, though. I've got a bike fitting Wednesday and wanted to make sure I had a decent starting point and know what the starting point feels like on a long ride.
Entire workout (201 watts):
Duration: 1:56:54
Work: 1065 kJ
TSS: 137.5 (intensity factor 0.974)
Norm Power: 229
VI: 1.14
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 33.424 mi
Elevation Gain: 1316 ft
Elevation Loss: 1348 ft
Grade: -0.0 % (-38 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 647 201 watts
Cadence: 32 150 88 rpm
Speed: 0 39.6 17.8 mph
Pace 1:31 0:00 3:22 min/mi
Altitude: 226 592 343 ft
Crank Torque: 0 1352 199 lb-in
No plan. No intervals. Just turned on the game and went to work.....
Entire workout (230 watts):
Duration: 1:00:13
Work: 831 kJ
TSS: 81.2 (intensity factor 0.899)
Norm Power: 234
VI: 1.02
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 20.172 mi
Trent I’m With You!!!!
SUNSHINE and a RIDE OUTSIDE!!!
WOW what a difference this makes to the head. I had been in a serious blue funk the last two weeks. Work was at a crazy stress level. My head was still trying to deal with poor bike performance in the last few weeks. Work schedule demands and the voice in the back of my head saying you need more rest, resulte in me taking Monday – Wednesday OFF. That is a first for me and I had to manage the head guilt game. Thursday did a solid bike and brick. Took Friday off with the weather forecast for the weekend in ST Louis to be 50+ and sunny!! Time to go RIDE this weekend.
Changed out the trainer tire and put on a new chain (needed it) and hit the road. Oh to ride in the sun and wind again!!! A great ride followed. After a warm up, I said lets go solid for 20 and see how we do. That was great so went into an impromptu FTP test. The route was on was not the best for this with multiple turns and a turnaround required.
A new FTP best for me of 254, up from 248 last best and 232 at OS start. This was with a poor course and leaving a bunch on the table, I keep expecting to die at these levels and did not. My HR was 6-8 beets below prior FTP efforts and the legs still had more. I think 260 is within reach.
After that effort in the first hour I proceeded to ride strong for a total of 2:15 and hit a TSS of 190 and an IF of .914. Bricked into a 30 min run at Z2 and was good. Big Smile for the day!!!
Wow what some rest and sun and being out of the pain cave can do for a person. Mentally this solidified my view that the out season and Power Clinic efforts have produced results. I can now go back into the pain cave for another month if weather dictates and push again!
I have learned to discount the bad days, but Boy it is wonderful to have one of those good days again!!
Matt
Ah, the magic of riding outside again! Like many of you, hit the roads yesterday morning and it was just what I needed to recharge the mojo. Did my favorite 40-mile out-and-back route and enjoyed every minute. Didn't worry too much about specific intervals. Just pushed hard on the hills and TT'd the last 13 miles home. Just felt great to be out in fresh air and sunshine again. Interestingly I didn't feel as "fast" as I thought I would coming off of all those weeks of indoor suffer-fests but definitely noticed a lack of lactic acid build-up during the usual "burn" sections of the ride so it's all good. Knocked out a nice 30' Z2/Z3 brick after. I think that's just what I needed to get across the OS finish line.
And I'd forgotten how different an outdoor power file looks from an indoor one. Jagged lines all over the place!
Not quite outside riding weather for me, well it could be done but I'd prefer that the ice and snow are off the roads unless I am on a mountain bike. So a 4 5X30/30 for me along with 28' @ .84 in 3 sets (2X10 and 1X8).
On to week 19.
Gordon
Felt good to put in some volume; probably my longest ride since October.