Training in AZ #7

Before I get down to actual 'training talk', I need to share my goals.  Teenie & Co. have taught me that these goals are the starting point of action.  They guide and direct preparation.

Of course, I have life goals, financial goals, TEAM goals......for this post, I am sticking to individual cycling goals.  In my case, RACE GOALS:

*   Tour of Battenkill - 4/14 - Cambridge, NY.  65 mile RR - 5000 ft of climbing - Paris Rubiaux of US...The Hell of the North.  This is the largest amateur bike race in the US.  Over 3000 racers.   Last year there were 65 men in the 60+ field.  GOAL IS TOP 10 FINISH.

*  Tour de Moore - 4/28 - Southern Pines, NC. -  One of the oldest RR's in the US.  I am going to race the 60+ and then race the 50+ same day.  GOAL IS TO WIN THE 60+/ TOP 10 IN THE 50.

*  3 Endurance MTB races - GOAL IS TO PARTICIPATE SAFELY AND HAVE FUN.
-  Dawn to Dusk - 12/1/2013 - Raced duo with Teenie.  Finished 12th.  DONE!!
-  12 Hours at Tsali - 5/10 - Race with TEAM.
-  TBA - Fall of 2013

*  Barouse de Bales - 8/10 - Cyclosportive in the Pyrenees.  70 miles with huge climbing including Port de Bales(TdF HC rated climb).  Hundreds of participants.  GOAL IS PODIUM FINISH AND GOLD AWARD IN 60+.

You can see these goals are specific and measurable.....not a lot of wiggle room in these.   I have been working on these for months.

Once in my business life, our company created a 'new business'.   We set goals and reached them but almost went bankrupt.   One of our partners said, " Chief, we really need to be careful about the goals we set, because we are pretty good at reaching them".   Henceforth, I have been more thoughtful.

As Teenie will tell you, sharing these goals can be risky but the payoff can be great.

My next post will cover, what we call, 'misstep goals'.........the little goals that support the big goals.   After, I will get to the preparation going on out here in AZ and it will make more sense!

Hopefully, as a reader of these BLOGS, you will take away things that will help you in your journey, on and off the bike.  

Training in AZ #6

The best kind of training is racing.   We started this weekend with the first TT of the season, Race Against Time at Picacho Peak, AZ.

Picacho Peak.

Sunday is TT day out here and we braved threats of rain and strong winds out of the South.

These TT's are kind of amazing in AZ as this one drew about 300 people.....more than our SC State TT Championship.

There were 12 men in my 60-64 MM age group.   You couldn't get that many old guys together in SC if you paid $100 each in 'show money'.

We made the mistake of signing up late and getting a late start time.   We got to sleep later but in AZ, the wind blows harder and harder as the day progresses.   None the less, our goal was training and it was great for that.

The road was newly paved..........after 53 years, according to Bake, AZ does this whether needed or not.   We went out slightly down hill and with the wind.......the 10K out for me was achieved in 12:30....nearly 30mph.   The fun started at the turn and was over almost 19 minutes later.   I failed to hold 20mph coming back.   Sixth in my AG...pretty normal for me.   My power file looked identical to half a dozen more I have archived from past years.

Feedback:  All improvement in my cycling has come from loss of weight.....little help on a flat TT.  Even though I am aging (a brilliant statement), I am not losing power....yet.

Teenie was rolling in better form.   She turned in a 33:19 for 1st in her AG.........looking at the results on a bigger scale, she was 3rd against all Master Women.   She would have been 2nd in the Cat 3 and 3rd in the Cat 1/2 Women........a good day for her.

Our aerobic fitness looked strong.   We had NO decoupling......that is our power:HR ratio was less than 5% meaning we had almost no HR drift.

Our pacing was good....we each held the same power output coming in as going out.   It is very common for the power output to fall as the time ticks off. This was not the case for us.

This type of racing is great for this part of our training cycle, as we work on increasing our 60 minute power threshold.   We do 'cruise intervals' when training but racing brings out the ultimate effort.

We were both very tired last night....interesting how taxing a 30 minute 'all out' effort can be!

We have Flap Jack Flats next Sunday.....a 30K TT.  It is anything but flat.  We do eat pancakes after, hence the Flap Jack name.   Teenie is considering the UofA Crit Saturday as a bunch of her pals are doing it.   I am not likely a player as my CAT goes off at 7:30.   It gets light about that time.   I will cheer her on if she races.  Crits are of little training value in this part of our cycle.  Sometimes though, it is worth doing something just FOR FUN.  Ask the Linzanator about her Short Track MTB race........a crit on dirt.

Train hard, CAMP is just around the corner!

  

Training in AZ #5

Now is the time to get your equipment right.   Equipment includes clothing, shoes, helmet and bike.  I am going to concentrate on the bike in this BLOG.

I suppose most of you are like me.  At this point, we have the bike/bikes we are going to ride in training and racing.  We are not in the market for a bike so what's the deal??

There are four main areas of opportunity!   

Maintenance is the easiest to cover.   It starts with washing your bike.   You didn't have to read this blog to know to wash your bike, but washing is the time when you can look over your steed with " a fine tooth comb".   Tires, chain, cables, chain, brake pads and adjustments of these are some of the areas for scrutiny.   Check your frame for cracks.   My SL4 wrecked at TdeT,  is gone.   A crack in the chain stay has run (over the last two months) and I am having to procure a replacement frame. 

Wheels are another issue.   You should have set your goals for the season by now.   Do you have the best wheels for the job?   Boyd Cycling has great prices for the TEAM and a wide line of specialty wheels.   Having the correct wheel/tire combo can be a big deal.

Bike fit is one of the most important issues.  You are going to be putting a lot of miles on your bike.   Comfort is not the main thing.  You can feel comfortable and not be efficient.   You can feel comfortable and end up with a repetitive use injury.   Go to a pro......I like Retul Fit Systems.  We have local providers.

The best I saved for last....GEARING.  You need the right gearing for you and what you are doing.   This includes the front gears where we now have 3 choices:  53/39 (traditional), 50/34 (compact) and 52/36 (new mid compact).   Our terrain favors the latter 2 for most riders on our team.   The back cassette offers many more options.   It is likely that you might need a couple of cassettes for different terrain and races.   You can buy the tools to change these for less than $50 and quickly learn to do so.  A cassette change is 5 minutes once you have mastered it.  

Teenie and I each use different combos:

Teenie:  52/36 mid compact and 11/28 rear (climbing) and 11/26 (all other terrain-crits and RR's).

DS:  50/34 compact and 11/28 rear (climbing) and 11/23 (all other terrain).    I have a second bike with at 53/39 - 12/25 and I love it for crits and rolling RR's.  I always leave it in 'the barn' when climbing.   It will NOT go to the Pyrenees this summer. 

You can check with one of your team mates....Bird, Hoodster just to name a couple.  If they know your riding style, strength and your goals, they can help.   Carolina Tri, our sponsor, has knowledge......in the end, you should make your own choices.   I will always help.

One note on the importance of gearing.  I know one rider who moved to this area from a very flat region.  The rider kept riding big gears and had poor results.   Today,  this rider BELIEVES that he/she can not climb.  

Of course, you still have to pedal the bike........we'll talk more about this next time.

     

    

G'ville Training

We may not be riding in short sleeves and bare legs but the TEAM headstrong EAST has been putting the miles.... Dan led the UWBL B ride with Jill, Brian, Emily, Mel, Debi, and I joining about 20 other riders for a beautiful day riding out to Possum Kingdom and back..  We (Brandon actually) has set up a TEAM headstrong on Strava, so if you are game, you can upload your workout files and join the Strava headstrong team.



We all stopped by Sam's grand opening after the ride with a show of support and best wishes for great success in 2013 in her new endeavor.

Oh and Randall.... Brandon is at the top of his game, the Hoods are training like they are heading to Europe for the spring classics, Bake doesn't even break a sweat going up the watershed, Emily is flying, Kendra has the spin working, Brian is already sprinting, and Sam has her game face on........ 2 weeks and counting...... East comes West....

Training in AZ #4

Feedback is a very important part of training and life.   We set out to reach goals and it is feedback that tells us if we are on/off course.   There are different forms of feedback:

RPE - Rate of Perceived Exertion - how does a work out or effort FEEL.   There is other similar feedback types...Rate of Perceived Fatigue.....you get the idea.   How does it feel?

HR - Easily measured with cheap devices......tells us our HR response to various efforts.

Power - You need about a $1500 device.   Measure the absolute work rate and cumulation.  You can measure Training Stress, Intensity, Power Threshold.....lots of cool stuff.  You need an education or a coach to know what the heck this means.

Speed on known stretch of road or climb -  Cool new App called Strava can help you on this but it is pretty easy.....like how fast am climbing Paris MT today vs last year.

Results on ride or in race against known riders - This is sort of like:  How did I do on SCTAC A group this year compared to 2 years ago?  How am riding compare to.............??

All these are viable and can/should be used simultaneously to measure gain or lack of gain.   One can then assess if there is movement toward the goals or NOT?

This week, Teenie and I rode out through Gates Pass......a ride we do often.   I made the climb through the Pass in Zone 4...near threshold but certainly not at race pace or TT pace.   I looked back about 2 years to climb a did at a described pace as 'race' and the HR response indicates it was all out.

So here ya go:

                                       2/4/11                                      1/16/13

Duration:                        12:14                                         11:45

Watts:                             287                                            283

HR avg BPM                 166                                            146

HR max BPM                171                                            158

Speed mph                     12.4                                           12.7

Cadence                         83                                              77

How would you analyze this comparison.    Gain/no gain???   More important.....what has changed and why??   This, of course, is only one piece of data but maybe an important one?

Train hard.

Training in AZ #3

We lost paradise the last few days here in AZ.  We experienced record temps and hard freezes the last two nights.

Teenie and I had a hard 3-4 hour ride scheduled yesterday but I never got going.   The wind was out of the north and biting.   No doubt, at ride time, the wind chill factor was in the low 30's.   All I had in me was 'QUIT'.........when I ask Teenie to abort, she was not surprised.   She said I am on 999x so she would let me off once..........somebody needs to check her math!

When I woke up this AM, I pushed the Miele for '2 Randall's' and then hit the iPhone for the WEATHER.  NOW it was 18 and 'feels like' 11........oh my!

A hike was a fall back but I was really concerned about my attitude and I wanted an adjustment.  At 1 PM,  the Stumpjumper and I rolled out headed north into the wind.   At one point, going slightly up hill along a smooth walking path, I might have been going 3mph?  Just no guts in my pedal stroke.   I kept wanting to turn around but some extraterrestial force kept the bike headed toward the desert.   Fifty minutes into the ride, I reach the rugged dirt road that leads into the desert valley east of the Tortolita Mountains and west of the Catalinas.   To give you and idea, I usually get to this point in less than 40 minutes.

Five to ten minutes later, I was on single track.   The cold went away!  I am not sure if it warmed up, I was working harder, going slower or the desert bush was giving me some cover.  Without thinking, I was riding much more aggressively.

I was getting my mojo back and not even realizing it.   After a long time(not sure how long?),  I found a new trail in this pic. It was not only new to me, but newly cut.  Stoked, I took off in the opposite direction of home.  After a couple of miles, shadows began to grow and I realized the day was getting away.  To my left, I spotted a road and after a quick bite, decided to leave the rest of the discovery for another day.......how far did this trail go??   Maybe to Utah??

Back on the road, I felt like I had wings........at least until it turned right in a deep sandy area and my bike flew out from under me.  I catapulted into a huge bush(the only one in the entire region without thorns!). 

As I reached civilization, my phone rang.   It had to be Teenie as I had been gone for 3+ hours and I was 45 minutes from home still.  No search party needed.

The weather looks good for the upcoming days and most importantly, I feel more motivated.   I realize you guys face these type issues in SC....even more so.   How are YOU keeping it going?

  

 

TRAINING IN AZ #2

Prior to coming out to AZ this year, I made a personal commitment to cross train.   I felt like I had made gains in Sam's class and more recently in yoga in Greenville.  I had been regularly mountain biking, enjoying the full body workout it provides.

As I set here tonight, I am convinced that mountain biking, hiking, yoga, core class with Sam and other forms of cross training can add to my overall fitness, wellness,  and cycling performance.  

Last week, I got started on my commitment.  I have had 3 MTB outings in the last days.  This week, I downloaded a yoga video on iTunes and knocked out a couple of sessions but today, Teenie helped me raise the bar.

During dinner Thursday, she committed us to hike this morning as we stared at a predicted low of 25F.  Mary and Doug Martin, our neighbors would lead the way.    I told them I felt Pusch Ridge was bold for our first hike.   They thought I meant our first hike in AZ this year.   I meant our FIRST HIKE.....ever.   We collected them at 9:00 and made the full 8 minute ride to the trailhead.  

Off we went following Doug as he scampered up a pretty smooth trail with about a 5% incline.  Before long, we are headed up,up, up over boulders and loose rocks.   Working, at times, on our hands.   I picked up some cactus along the way but it wouldn't be a real AZ hike if someone didn't get stuck a few times!

After 50 hard working minutes we reached the apex and shot a pic of Oro Valley as it stretched out below.

We chatted, congratulated each other and after about 15 minutes, we headed back down.   AZ is a rocky place and I slipped once, landing on my bum.   There were a couple of hair raising moments.   I guess the thrill is part of why we do this stuff.

Back at the car, our leaders realized it was our FIRST HIKE.....they said, "Wow, if we had known this was your first hike, we would have never taken you up there!".......Well, I am telling about it so I guess it was OK.   On the way home, I extracted a commitment from them for Feb 16 so we could take Bird and Anne up Pusch Ridge.   They are pros, so we will extend the hike with about a 2 mile loop.  And Teenie?  She was born ready.

We are also planning to take Anne/Bird on a 4 hour route to Romero Pools in the Catalinas.

Next week, will certainly find us back out on foot somewhere.

CROSS TRAINING......DO YOU HAVE IT IN YOUR PLAN?

Hey, this crazy stuff is FUN!  and it is a lot warmer than road biking.

Saturday's Hoodster "roll"

Let me start by saying what a great turnout....19 riders 16 TEAM headstrong........ Hoodster led the citroen train out in the brisk, I mean brisk morning chill for our inaugural 2013 team training ride with a focus on our upcoming Tucson Camp.  As with any Hoodster ride, point A to B is never simple.... more turns and dips than a Coney Island roller coaster.

And not a mile out we "juked" to the right on a quick dip and rise up through a chicane that had the riders scrambling for the right gear.......



As with any early winter ride you have your share of mechanicals, trying to get the right combination of clothes to work, and in sizing up the ride, the riders and your efforts.

On a whole the ride was perfect for me.... a few efforts to generate some heat, test the legs, and lungs.. but largely just a "paced" ride..

That said, everyone is in a different state at this time of year.  Some have the luxury of training in warm, dry climates, some have ample free time while others are challenged by work, family, and/or daylight.   It is important to put all this in perspective as you start a new season.  

Ride accordingly to what you need... Sit in.... Take a pull.... Let 'em go..... test the legs if you want, but let it come back or wait........ and speak up... communicate...

Enjoy the ride and then reflect on where you are at in your fitness and what YOU need to be doing... it is a long season..

Thanks John for hosting the ride.... see you Saturday..

Training in AZ - #1

I hope to write a series of Blogs in the weeks to come about our training experience here in AZ.   My goal is to communicate information that I hope the readers of this BLOG can use to improve their efforts and results this winter.

The important thing to remember is we are NOT working, taking care of kids or...........we lead pretty low stress lives with 8-9 hours of sleep a night.   We have day after day of great weather.  So, trying to follow our program, could be a train wreck!   However, this could be source of ideas and info for you. 

We had a sound week(our first week here) of volume with some Z3 intervals which represented our first week with any real intensity.   Teenie was almost 15 hours in the saddle and I was close to 17.

Above is Teenie's file from some short climbing intervals(20 mins ea) on Mt Lemmon on 1/6/2013.   This was a really short workout on very tired legs.   Good speed, Teenie!  9.2 mph!  She is in a very good place as far as fitness for this time of year.

We encountered road side snow at the 6 mile marker and this pic was taken near the 7 mile marker.

We were able to climb in short sleeves and Teenie was bare legs as the temp was very warm.   Of course, when we head down, armies, leggies and vests were needed.

The wind was high and Sunday brought a lot of traffic to the mountain.   We were told that a lot of people were going up to sled where the snow was still heavy.  We took it very slowly going down.

Training plans and activities need a framework that consists of season goals, training/midstep goals, a race schedule, assessment of limiters and opportunities and other items.   In the weeks to come, I will touch on these as Teenie and I have addressed them.

Meantime, I hope you had a great holiday season and that you are having some time to mentally and physically prepare for the season ahead!