I did my usual Tuesday (at least it's become usual for the last several weeks) workout today: 1:30 on the bike as:
WU: 15' Easy, include 3-4 x 30" spinups. MS: 8 x 30/30's, then 3 x 8' (2') @ best effort (benchmark previous sessions), 5' Easy, then go into 85-90% for all but the last 5-10' of the ride. CD: 5' Easy
followed by a :30 brick run, Easy out, Steady back (or however I can run!).
Last week I had the turbo charger going on the bike, and hit some wattages I had never seen on the "best effort" intervals. Frankly, I didn't expect to see the same wattages today, as I am still in somewhat recovery mode from Saturday's 9-hour riding festival.
My coach had scheduled this workout for tomorrow, but since I feel more recovered from Saturday than I expected (especially since I did less mileage than I thought I would), I figured I'd try it today and see how it would go, and then decide which workouts to do which day for the rest of the week based on today's trial. Recovery can be a dicey proposition--you can think you are good to go, and maybe you can even do one more workout at a good performance--but then you might just be digging yourself a hole.
I've been feeling pretty strong lately, and although that statement might sound a bit smug, ultimately I have to be the judge of how I'm doing. Plus, I do have some play in my schedule right now, since I'm not *really* training for anything. Sure, sure, I have an A race in early November, but I am not worried about it one iota. My priority right now is to do a lot of biking. 'Tis the season! Daylight hours are shortening noticeably, the weather is cooling off, and before you know it (gotta put a big OH FUCK here), I will be back on the trainer. So I am trying to milk the remaining weather for what it's worth.
Well, I took off on my bike around 1:30, and right away I could tell I was a bit stiff/sore. Whether it was from Saturday or from lifting weights yesterday, it really didn't matter. I didn't feel badly enough to bag the workout--just not too "peppy." But I've learned, hey, that's what warmups are for, and this is another place where a power meter really comes in handy. If I am able to generate respectable watts for a warmup, I am generally good to go. So things felt like the workout was a go, and I headed to my interval loop, which I measured today, and it's almost dead-on 3 miles around. Which is good, since when I do my Soloman 1/2 Ironman on 9/9, to make it even more mind-numblingly challenging, I am going to do the 56 miles around this loop! I haven't yet decided whether the run will be on the same course or whether I will do my hilly out and back from home. Decisions, decisions...
The weather was beautiful today--mid-80's, a perfectly clear sky, and little to no wind. Which meant I was 100% on my own power to be motivated to hit the numbers without any particular resistance.
The 30/30's felt fine, but my quads weren't burning, so I instinctively knew that I was just a tad low on power today, probably from the Saturday ride, but it was no big deal. I just hoped that I could still put out respectable watts--not as much as last week's picture-perfect ride, but still something that would show me that my FTP is up.
I didn't really look at the watts I was putting out, I just did the workout and let myself feel the effort. I worked hard, and I smiled while doing it most of the time, except when cars would get too close or fail to use turn signals (I always yell at people who "forget"). I could feel the effort in my legs, and as I neared the end of the ride, I considered how I might be able to run today. Oh--the watts I hit today on the 3 best effort intervals were 201, 187 and 187. Last week's numbers were 198, 205 and 197, so this week about 5% lower, no big deal. My guess is my FTP when I next do a test will be somewhere around 183-185, so all of these numbers are good.
The run went just fine--I was about 10"/mile slower than when I did the same workout last week, but still a solid effort, and I felt like I am probably recovered enough to proceed with the rest of my week as if Saturday never happened. That means tomorrow will be a long-ass swim and a hard-ass run (5K intervals again!), but I'm looking forward to it, because it's weeks like this that make me feel tough and strong, and if that's all I get out of all of this training, then that is enough for me! Races are just bonus. Hell I am practically racing several days out of every week in training anyway. If by racing I mean trying to improve on my last execution, then yes, I am racing.
I was a little tired after today's workout, and I made sure to do some more stretching this evening so that I am good to go early tomorrow for a big swim (3800 yards).
I am still getting a good chuckle daily that I am not training for an Ironman right now. If I could drop in on, say, Ironman Wisconsin, I'm pretty sure I'd be good to go. Anybody know anyone who can pull strings? Nah, the recovery from that would be too long, and I am on a different mission right now. Get ready for 2007!
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Monday, August 14, 2006
Nothing Special to Report
I was only able to finish 200K of riding on Saturday at the first annual Dairyland Dare. I was on pace to finish 266K, but my left knee (probably actually my LCL right above the knee) was telling me to stop. I had a great time, though, and rode with a friend Dino (Bikini Model) for awhile. Dino finished all 300K--he's a total monster! Especially since he did the ride on his tri bike! The course was hard, and in retrospect, I should have put in a lot more bike miles 2 weeks before this event to be fully prepared for over 200K. On the bright side, though, the miles I did last week will show up in my fitness this weekend.
I also spent a lot of time riding with 2 gentlemen from the Madison area, Dennis and Bob. They helped push me along with conversation and encouragement. I hope I run into them again someday. You meet some of the nicest people during these events! Dennis and Bob ended up finishing 266K. I was on the edge of continuing when the 3 of us stopped at an aid station, but what sealed the deal for me was that we would have to climb this one hill again.
The climb is called Shop Hill, that was a 25% grade for a bit, but mostly 20%, and the entire climb was about 1 mile. I thought I was going to die going up it, but I made it. It is a little unnerving when you can see the tilt of the road and vegetation on the side. This climb dropped off on the right into some valley, and there was someone down there playing music. When we reached the top, literally we were almost touching some clouds!
The ride went through beautiful countryside--we saw the Wisconsin River, went right by Taliesin and near House on the Rock, and countless farms. I was a little angry when I felt my knee bothering me, but in retrospect, I'm good with what I did. I rode 200K with 15,000 feet of climbing in 9 hours. Not bad. That is faster than I've ever done Horribly Hilly 200K, which only climbs 10,000 feet in the same distance. And the great part is that I didn't feel as bad afterwards as HHH 200K. I mean, I didn't feel like I was going to die, and I was walking normally. I am still a bit tired today, but I already swam and think I can run today. And since I didn't ride for 13 hours, I think that I am going to ride 100 miles on Sunday. I am sure my legs will be up to it, as I am doing another 200K ride (much flatter!!!!) the week after. So my record stands at 200K of riding in one day, although extremely hilly. Maybe at the Bike Psychos 200K I will ride some extra just to get to 130 miles or something silly.
I am very happy with my fitness level at this point. I am still going to keep up the riding and see if I can get those 1,000 miles in for August. Why? Why not.
I also spent a lot of time riding with 2 gentlemen from the Madison area, Dennis and Bob. They helped push me along with conversation and encouragement. I hope I run into them again someday. You meet some of the nicest people during these events! Dennis and Bob ended up finishing 266K. I was on the edge of continuing when the 3 of us stopped at an aid station, but what sealed the deal for me was that we would have to climb this one hill again.
The climb is called Shop Hill, that was a 25% grade for a bit, but mostly 20%, and the entire climb was about 1 mile. I thought I was going to die going up it, but I made it. It is a little unnerving when you can see the tilt of the road and vegetation on the side. This climb dropped off on the right into some valley, and there was someone down there playing music. When we reached the top, literally we were almost touching some clouds!
The ride went through beautiful countryside--we saw the Wisconsin River, went right by Taliesin and near House on the Rock, and countless farms. I was a little angry when I felt my knee bothering me, but in retrospect, I'm good with what I did. I rode 200K with 15,000 feet of climbing in 9 hours. Not bad. That is faster than I've ever done Horribly Hilly 200K, which only climbs 10,000 feet in the same distance. And the great part is that I didn't feel as bad afterwards as HHH 200K. I mean, I didn't feel like I was going to die, and I was walking normally. I am still a bit tired today, but I already swam and think I can run today. And since I didn't ride for 13 hours, I think that I am going to ride 100 miles on Sunday. I am sure my legs will be up to it, as I am doing another 200K ride (much flatter!!!!) the week after. So my record stands at 200K of riding in one day, although extremely hilly. Maybe at the Bike Psychos 200K I will ride some extra just to get to 130 miles or something silly.
I am very happy with my fitness level at this point. I am still going to keep up the riding and see if I can get those 1,000 miles in for August. Why? Why not.
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