F2 (Big Gear Climbs)

The things you have to do when you live in Minnesota and the weather will not cooperate. In order to do many of the workouts I need to simultate them indoors on the trainer. Acutally I don't mind all that much because I can carefully control the conditions and accurately monitor my output (via the HR monitor and Kurt Kinetic Trainer). These primary objective of this workout is to strengthen the "slow twitch" muscle fibers allowing them to carry more of the load during higher efforts such as climbing. The intervals are typically 1-2 minutes in length with a 3 to 5 minute recovery period between intervals.

Schedule
0 - 10 min warm up (13 -> 18 mph)
0:10 - 0:20 E2 warm up (18 mph, 210 Watts)
0:20 - 0:22 Interval #1 (24 mph, 400 Watts)
0:22 - 0:26 Recovery (12.5 mph, 100 Watts)
0:26 - 0:28 Interval #2 (24 mph, 400 Watts)
0:28 - 0:32 Recovery (12.5 mph, 100 Watts)
0:32 - 0:34 Interval #3 (24 mph, 400 Watts)
0:34 - 0:38 Recovery (12.5 mph, 100 Watts)
0:37 - 0:40 Interval #4 (24 mph, 400 Watts)
0:40 - 0:44 Recovery (12.5 mph, 100 Watts)
0:44 - 0:46 Interval #5 (24 mph, 400 Watts)
0:46 - 0:48 Recovery (12.5 mph, 100 Watts)
0:48 - 0:50 Interval #6 (24 mph, 400 Watts)
0:50 - 0:54 Recovery (12.5 mph, 100 Watts)
0:54 - 1:30 E2 (18.5 mph, 220 Watts)

The intervals went fairly well despite the fact that my stomach was very upset and I didn't feel very well all day. Once on the bike, however, I quickly got in the grove and the warm-up went well. The goal was to hold near 24 mph (400 watts) for each interval. The first 4 intervals went well although they were very intense and difficult to finish strong with the average speed around 23.5 (375 watts). I wasn't able to complete the fifth interval; stopping about 15 seconds short. For the final interval I reduced the speed down to 23 mph and had no problem completing it.

A2 (Hill Sprints)

Outside (One Word Cold!)

Since I switched Tuesdays and Wednesdays workouts, today it was time to perform hill sprints outside. I think I underestimated the temperature. After yesterdays record breaking 66 deg today was a chilly 36 deg at noon. I obviously did not dress warm enough for the weather. I chose my half-finger gloves and that was a big mistake, my finger were froze instantly. Although I was uncomfortable during the entire ride, I was able to focus and complete 7 of 8 hill sprints. Living in this part of the country it is difficult to find decent hills, but the sprints only last 15-25 seconds so that was not a problem. The hill I chose was a nice 10 minute ride from work and by that time the legs were warm, but nothing else was. As I completed each sprint I could feel the power in my legs starting to diminish and by the last one I was definitely tired. That is not to say that I couldn't have done a couple more, but it was a good workout and now it is time to let the legs recover.

Time: 1 Hour
HR: NA
Power: CP 0.2 (Max Power)
# Sprints: 7
Sprint Duration: 10-20 seconds

E2 (Endurance)

So Far So Good

Tuesdays workout went really well. My legs felt good and my heart rate stayed low considering the power output. Before the workout I made the decision to switch Tuesdays P2 (hill sprints) to a 2 hour E2 (Endurance) workout, which was scheduled for Wednesday. I wasn't able to ride outside on Tuesday because the bike was still set up for the trainer and sprints are somewhat difficult to do inside. During the warm-up the legs felt good and the HR was lower than it has been. During the ride I was able to maintain speeds a little over 19 mph (230 watts). The workout finished strong and the stats are listed below.

Time: 2.0 hours
Ave Speed: 19.0 mph (235 watts)
AVe HR: 158 bpm

E2 (Endurance)

I decided to take a break

I woke up early Sunday morning (something I hate to do) to get on the bike for a relatively easy but long endurance ride. My body was not liking the fact that it received 1 hour less sleep due to daylight savings time. I grabbed a few things to eat quickly and a stash of food for the ride and headed downstairs. During the warm-up I kept asking myself if this was beneficial to my training or would I be better off going back to sleep. The legs felt good and as I continued to push to a higher speeds my heart rate remained fairly low (similar to past efforts). After about 10 minutes I made the decision to stop the ride and go back to bed.

In general the training has been disjointed since the race in Tucson and trip (not unexpected). This week is the second week of build 1 with nearly 9 weeks before the start of the race season. The primary goal now is to get the training back on track, which I don't think will be a problem. The weather is getting warmer and the snow is quickly melting. Andrea and I will need to make changes in our schedule to start riding outdoors.

A1 (Anearobic VO2 Max Intervals)

First Round of Anearobic Intervals

Lets just say that it's much easier said (written) than done. I had originally planned on performing four 4 minute intervals with an equal rest time between. The intervals would take about 1 hour and the remaining 1.5 hours would be filled with an E2 (18 mph) ride. Based on previous testing I figured that the intensity for the intervals should be somewhere between 23 and 24 mph (360 - 400 watts). Even before the ride I had revised the plan so the intervals were done at 23 and not 24 to be on the conservative side.

During the warm-up the legs felt good, but my heart rate seemed abmormally high for the low effort. During the lead-in E2 part of the warm-up my HR was at least 10 bpm higher than normal. It probably had something to do with eating just before the workout; it have made a mental note. The first inteval started well and I was able to hit the desired speed and started to get settled in to a rythem, but at about 1.5 minutes I was laboring to hold the speed. I decided to go 2 minutes on the first interval and recover for 2 minutes, hoping it was a result of an insufficient warm-up. The second interal went about as good as the first, but this time I allowed a 3 minute recovery to hopefully be ready for a 3 minute interval. I was only able to go 2 minutes on the third interval as well and decided to finish off the intervals with one more 2 minute interval.

The remainer of the ride went really well I was able to hold 18 mph easily, although my HR was still above what it normally is for that intensity.

In the future I will need to make sure I am both physically and mentally ready for the intensity of these workouts. These efforts are fairly painful (if done correctly), but in my opinion the most critical to developing race specific skills.

M2 (Cruize Intervals)

Getting into the Build Phase

Last night was the first time this traing season performing cruize intervals. Overall they went quite well, but were slightly more intense than previous training. The duration was supposed to be 2 hours but mentally I was only able to manage 1.5 hours. The intervals were structures as follows.

Schedule
0 - 10 min warm up (13 -> 18 mph)
0:10 - 0:20 E2 warm up (18 mph, 210 Watts)
0:20 - 0:28 Interval #1 (21 mph, 290 Watts)
0:28 - 0:31 Recovery (13 - 14 mph, 120 Watts)
0:31 - 0:39 Interval #2 (21 mph, 290 Watts)
0:39 - 0:42 Recovery (13 - 14 mph, 120 Watts)
0:42 - 0:50 Interval #3 (21 mph, 290 Watts)
0:50 - 0:53 Recovery (13 - 14 mph, 120 Watts)
0:53 - 1:01 Interval #4 (21 mph, 290 Watts)
1:01 - 1:04 Recovery (13 - 14 mph, 120 Watts)
1:04 - 1:12 Interval #5 (21 mph, 290 Watts)
1:12 - 1:30 E2 (18 mph, 210 Watts)

The first interval went well, however, it took my legs the entire duration of the interval to adapt to the intensity. The second and Third intervals were good, but by the fourth interval the legs were starting to slow slightly. I was able to push through the final interval, but the legs were feeling really tired. The original plan called for a 2 hour ride, but I stopped short because I felt I wasn't getting any physical benefit and mentally I was drained from all the rides on the trainer. I can't wait for the snow to melt and the weather to turn warm. Also, I think I am spoiled from the rides down in Arizona, it was SO much fun!

This weekend should be challenging. I have to find a way to fit in a 2.5 hour ride on Saturday and a 3.5 hour ride on Sunday, while at the in laws for a baby shower. I will see how it goes, but I might cut these rides a little short.

Note: This workout was performed on a Kurt Kinetic trainer and recorded with a Polar S-720i HR monitor. The data was downloaded and evaluated for HR and power based on an established speed vs power relationship.

Scaleing Back the Training

I have made the decision to scale back my training volume from 600 hours annually to 500 hours annually starting the week of March 4th. I have found it increasingly difficult to complete the longer endurance workouts primarily due to boredome. Although I find it much easier than most people to spend endless hours on the indoor trainer, the 4 hour rides seem to take an eternity. Do to this boredome and subsequent lack of motivation I feel the quality of my training rides are suffering. Therefore, by changing the annual hours from 600 to 500 makes my longest endurance rides typically 3 hours. Possibly after the snow melts and I am able to ride outside I will push a few longer enduranc rides.