New Kits are in!

Take a very close look.   Teenie and I actually wore our kits to bed last night.   Unable to ride in them until Saturday, we were so excited that this looked like a close second.

See ya Friday at 7 PM at HQ!   We have your stuff ready for you!

TEAM ride on Saturday morning - 10:00 AM at HQ.  3-3.5 hours.  Endurance pace.

Oh, the helmets?  Teenie told me tell you that we were putting new meaning in the term, 'Safe sex'!

Doin' It In the Dark

I left work yesterday determined to get in a training ride outdoors. I didn’t call anyone, didn’t tell anyone, didn’t invite anyone because honestly, I was a little concerned about the state of my fitness. The holidays, vacation, and a cold were all conspirators in a chain of events that had kept me off my bike for over two weeks. This would be a secret training ride....just me, my bike, and my headlamp on the swamp rabbit...incognito.

I saddled up and headed for the Swamp Rabbit Trail from my house. I felt surprisingly good as I crested the hill into town and descended towards the trail head. As I turned into Linkeystone Park, I spotted a grey sedan with Maine plates and immediately knew that my cover was blown; I would be seeing Brian Thompson out on the trail somewhere.

I entered the trail and settled into my planned pace. Upper Zone 2 all the way to TR and back. Steady as she goes. Within a few minutes, I spot another headlamp ahead of me on the trail....it’s Brian....he’s doing basically the same ride that I am, only he’s on his second lap up to TR. We link up and ride side by side all the way up to Furman. It’s good to have someone to talk to. We have to remember not to turn our heads towards each other when we talk to keep from blinding each other with our headlamps. I realized that the state of my fitness is not quite as bad as I thought it was. It ended up being a nice ride and good to have some company on the trail.

I recently purchased a Nightrider headlamp. I use the MiNewt 600. I have used other headlamps in the past, and can’t say enough about how amazing this little gadget is. It’s rechargeable, bright, easy to use, comes with helmet and handlebar mounts. If you haven’t experienced riding at night, you are missing out. Road biking in the dark is cool, Mountain Biking in the dark....that’s a story for another post....but it takes the adventure to another level.

Here’s a link to the gadget.

Video Fun

OK, at the risk of wearing out my welcome with video posting, I thought I would share the newest test video I made. I wanted to experiment with more of the functionality of the Windows Live Movie Maker, so I did another video from some footage I captured last week. Hope you like it.

Team Headstrong Test Video from Steve Baker on Vimeo.

MTB Riding at DuPont

Sam and I did some fun riding on Saturday in the DuPont State Forest. I was using Randall's Drift Innovation Stealth 170 helmet camera to capture the action. I did a crude test video to check out the camera and all associated activities. Check it out:

MTB Fun @ DuPont from Steve Baker on Vimeo.

Computrainer Fun

As I’ve shared with you before, I’m not a huge fan of riding in the rain. Sure, I’ll keep pedaling on a summer spin when it’s 85 degrees and it starts raining on the other side of the mountain. But, I’m not into suiting up and braving the 45 degree rain we get in the winter. That’s what they make indoor trainers for.

Yesterday’s weather made our training decision much easier. Rainy, cold Sundays are made for indoor training. Sam and I decided we would get our saddle time on the Computrainers at the Edge Endurance Training Center. It’s not as fun as riding outside, but it is more interesting than the standard trainer workout.

Computrainers are basically indoor trainers that are managed by a computer to follow a specific workout. The computer varies your tension to make it harder and easier to pedal based on the simulated terrain that is projected on the big screen TV in front of you. It’s a pretty slick way for all of us to do the same workout without having to vary your own tension. Plus sweating together is always more fun than going it alone.

We were joined by Brian and a couple other friends, and we chose to do a 2 hour steady ride. The work was primarily Zone 2 stuff with some shorter “fun” intervals thrown in to make things interesting. I say fun because that’s how the workout is described in the database. “Primarily Z2 with fun stuff.” All we do is pedal and the computer varies the tension on the trainer as you ride.

If you haven’t tried a computrainer class, you should check them out at the Edge (or another facility near you). They are very effective tools to use and I find them more fun than cranking out an hour by myself in the garage. The Edge Endurance TC has several classes that are put on by the Greenville Cycling Center. You can sign up for classes at Go-Green Events, and GCC has even offered Team Headstrong members a discount (contact Sam for details). If you want to jump in on a weeknight class, just give Jim Cunningham a call and he’ll let you fill a vacant spot as people can’t show up for classes. Like all good dealers, the first one’s free.

View from the back....

My winter training.... some riding and hiking in Napa (visiting Lauren) .with no electronics..... great roads, great trails, some great climbs.... incredible food AND some awesome wine........

Happy New Year..... Here's to a great 2012......

Jet Fuel or Kerosene

So, you say you want to ride as fast and far?
Breakfast is the best meal to energize you:
1/2 Chicken sausage link
1/2 Sliced tomato
1 Orange
1/2 avacado
1 Hard boiled egg
3 Sliced strawberry
1 Power cookie
Followed by:
3 hour steady state Z2/Z3 ride!

DS's POWER BARBECUE SAUCE

I love to grill and standard store bought barbecue sauce is crap.   It is most likely high in HFCS........High Fructose Corn Syrup.   Some people (Teenie) think HFCS is only slightly better than nuclear waste.

Innovation has long been a key to success for me.   Invention always eluded me.   Some years ago, Melanie Hincapie (from Dijon, Fr) proudly introduced Teenie and I to Maille Fine de Dijon (mustard).  Later, we found that it was available at Fresh Market and other Greenville grocers.  it is delicious.

Teenie soon perfected a salad dressing that was Maille, olive oil (or grape seed oil) and balsamic vinaigrette.   It was was only by adding Tony Chachere's Original Creole seasoning and salt that I came up with the best darn healthy sauce you can imagine:

1 part balsamic
4 parts olive oil

Add/blend in Maille until you get a viscosity just less than catchup (lighter).  
Add Tony's depending on how spicy you like your food (Tony's is really mild).
Add/or not add Salt per your taste and needs

During grilling, garnish the meat as you would with any other barbecue sauce.

Should work on chicken, beef and fish!

Substituting something healthy for something unhealthy.   #3 on my way to 63 marginal gains.

From DS... Winter training...

I hope you will study these.   There is time for each of these type rides.
  
The time for the lower chart is now and the upper one much later in the year.  Nobody likes a spirited group ride more than me.   However, we should ask ourselves, " Are we riders or racers?"  Hopefully, the answer will drive our decisions on what we do with our time.

Power Cookies (Gluten Free)

Randall referenced our daughter's success in following the 17 Day Diet from the book by Dr. Moreno. Below is a slightly modified version of a Power Cookie from the book. A great after bike ride snack. Enjoy!

Power Cookie, Gluten Free

Modified from original recipe from 17 Day Diet, Dr. Mike Moreno

1/3 cup applesauce, unsweetened 2 Tbsp Almond paste 1 Tbsp Flaxseed oil 10 packets Truvia sweetener 1/4 cup agave nectar 1 large egg 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 3/4 cup Bisquick Gluten Free Baking Mix 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup soy protein powder, unsweetened 2 cups oatmeal, Gluten Free, quick oats 1 cup dried cranberries 1/2 cup sliced almonds

1 Heat oven to 350 degrees. 2 Beat applesauce, almond paste, flaxseed oil, Truvia and agave nectar. 3 Beat in egg and vanilla. Mix well. 4 Add oats, Bisquick Gluten Free Mix, baking soda, salt and protein powder (I like soy or whey). Beat thoroughly. 5 Stir in cranberries (or cherries) and almonds. Mix well. 6 Separate dough so that it makes 18 cookies. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet that has been sprayed with vegetable cooking spray. 7 Flatten with a spoon. Bake 16 - 18 minutes or until brown.

Servings: 18

Degree of Difficulty Degree of Difficulty: Easy

Nutrition Facts Serving size: 1/18 of a recipe (4.1 ounces). Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet. Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients. One of the recipe's ingredients was not linked. This ingredient is not included in the recipe nutrition data. Amount Per Serving Calories 178.04 Calories From Fat (19%) 34.14 % Daily Value Total Fat 4.11g 6% Saturated Fat 0.38g 2% Cholesterol 10.33mg 3% Sodium 147.58mg 6% Potassium 55.52mg 2% Total Carbohydrates 35.52g 12% Fiber 2.77g 11% Sugar 1.61g Protein 1.74g 3%

Recipe Type: Snack

Source Author: Teenie Source: Teenie's Treats

Final Fifty Fun

Many people like to do something special on the last day of the year. Some of us did what we most love to do…ride our bike. Brian T., Linz, Sam, Mel, Brian M., Debbie S. and I participated in the Greenville Spinners Final Fifty and we all had a great time. Since this was a hometown event, most of us knew quite a few of the 250+ riders that showed up to enjoy the 63 degree SC sunshine. Truly amazing weather for December 31.

Being that it’s December and most of us are still trying to build our base, you would expect this to be a casual spin into the hills. But you know how cookie rides go, and this one started out at a pretty good clip. Some of us stayed with the front group for a while, exerting more effort than our coaches would prescribe, but it never hurts to do a few efforts on a group ride to gauge where you are with your fitness.

I was pleased with my fitness test and timed my efforts well. Many of us regrouped at the 27 mile mark and spun back together. It was an awesome day to be on a bike no matter how fast you were going.

Happy New Year to everyone and I look forward to seeing you in the saddle soon.

Periodization of Nutrition

Between Teenie and I, we read a ton on nutrition.   Our kids call us the Food Police and Teenie is the Chief of Police.

Reshaping myself for cycling, after years of strength and quickness sports, has been interesting.   While at least 40 pounds have been peeled off, I have not really gotten down to RACE WEIGHT.   This is the weight at which I would perform optimally.   In addition to excess body weight,  I have continued to struggle with daily bouts of low blood sugar, that cause me to be really lethargic.

Recently, our daughter introduced us to the THE 17 Day Diet.  I would have dismissed it as just another 'fad diet' if it had not been for her 60 pound weight loss.   Initially, we picked up the book in order to see what she was doing.   It sat around a few days before I jumped into it (Teenie had already read it cover to cover).  There were several pearls.

Periodization has been a mainstream concept in training since introduced by Tudor Bumpa (hope I spelled that right).  It was first utilized in strength and later endurance training.   As I read The 17 Day Diet, I decided Periodization was worth a try in the nutritional arena.   This is a deviation for me since I have resisted following any regimen that was unsustainable for the longterm.

After talking with Teenie, we started a Block on the 29th, our first full day here in Tucson.   We are planning on the Block running through the 15th of January.   Don't pick up a copy of the book and think we are following the diet as spelled out by Dr. Moreno.   This diet, by Dr. Moreno's admission, does not work for folks like us.........too much cardio and calorie burn.   We are still eating about 6x per day, but we have made made major changes to our past diet.  The Block is a hybrid.

What we are not eating is as important as what we are eating.  No red meat, bread, pasta, dairy (except for cottage cheese and yogurt), peanut butter, nuts, deserts, or sugars.   We are only having complex carbs the meal after our cycling workout.  The diet is heavy in non-red meat, veggies and fruit (we all know the value of these).

We will likely run a second cycle, with a different regimen, after this one.  Dr. Moreno has utilized another long time training concept, Confusion.  The body quickly adapts.  Changes that show improvement for a while, lose their charm and plateaus are experienced.  In the second cycle, we will follow his suggestion with alternate day menus.  Perhaps, even days will be like this Block and odd days will have more calories and more carbs?   We will determine the exact make up of Block 2, using our experience/results from this Block to guide us.

I will report back on our progress with Periodization and Confusion......this is #2 of the 63 ways I will marginally improve in 2012.


If you would like more info on what we are doing nutritionally, there is a written outline.   Just comment to this BLOG for a copy.

Aggregation of Marginal Gains

In the last few years, I have focused on a few limiters and worked hard for large improvements.   It has helped me get better but I am feeling like the strategy is less effective for where I am now.  Team Sky has put a new name on an old idea and adapted it to cycle racing.  Aggregation of Marginal Gains is 'Harvard Speak' for doing a whole lot of things a little better.

The Japanese refer to this concept as Kaizen and they almost took over the world of manufacturing before their competition caught on to the concept.  In American business, we called it CI (continuous Improvement).

Big gains in a few areas may work well for beginners but many of us have been doing this a long time and some of us are hitting a plateau of improvement.

Teenie has taught us how to use the BALANCE WHEEL for our cycle racing.   In that exercise, we list 8-10 spokes of the wheel that constitute our efforts.   You know.......training, nutrition, recovery, skills, etc.   My plan is to make 63 (my race age this year) small improvements of 1% or more in elements of my balance wheel spokes.

Nutrition is one I am working right now and I will BLOG on it tomorrow.

63 small improvements may add up? I am counting on it!

What does it take to be GREAT?

I came across this cleaning out my email.  So the story goes:  

Three of these guys went on to greatness.  I know you know the name of two of them....how about the 3rd guy?   The forth guy beat the other 3 up every climb.  He won every training ride but when the chips were down....well let's see if anybody knows his name? What does it take to be GREAT?

Oh, and how do like the hair?

updated by Bird (01/02/2012)

Bicycling magazine - Jan/Feb 2012

I tried to get the links on line but there are 2 items of real interest:

Page 56 - REINVENT YOURSELF - Highlights and quotes from our own Catherine James.  How cool is that?   (try clicking here)

Page 92 - POWER: WORKING AT YOUR SPEED - All about power meter options......darn good information if you are moving that way.

You might want to pick up a copy if you do not subscribe?

Good stuff, Catherine.

Podium Shoes

Bake has nothing on me.   Teenie suggests when one sets a goal to 'act as if and prepare for.'

So, I got some PODIUM SHOES!  See what I am goal setting for?

Clip in.....

Getting ready for winter training....

1 hour trainer workout... High HR/Power...... (click here for copy)

Great article on MAP testing by Ric Sterns... Click Here  you will have to DOWNLOAD it after you get to Google Docs...

DOGS

The DS got a lesson today.   I am not sure what DOGS stands for but for me, today, it was Dangerous Old Guy.   It was my second ride with the DOGS and I was hoping for a good one.   In the first ride, I had spotted some terrific masters who ride 5-6 days a week.........some guys with time and ability.

It was a Starbucks ride slated for 55 miles and Reg, the leader, had told me it would be fast.  He was no liar.   A guy, who looked to be mid to late 30's, jumped on the front and pulled for the whole 55 miles.  I would later learn he was Darien Newman (I think I have this right?), the Mt Graham Overall State Hill Climb Champion.  Funny they call it a 'hill', when it is 6000 feet of climbing!

About 8-10 miles in, one of those serious masters guys, Greg Howard, reintroduced himself to me.   About 2 minutes later, I put him on the pavement.   Of course, I was down also.........not really even sure what happened?  I stood out of a turn.  My left foot came unclipped and struck the pavement.   At 18-20 miles per hour, this was devastating.   Greg rode back bruised and cut.

I continued, thinking he was still in the ride.   "Maybe, I can save a little face if I can ride well?"  That was about the most positive self talk I could come up with at the time.  New guy takes our regular ride stalwart.  It's gotta suck to be leper!


Here is how it unfolded:

*  First selection climb - I was off the front 3-4 guys but they let us regroup.
*  After the turn around - We headed up Twin Peaks (3.5 miles/2%) - I barely hungg on the second little 3 man grupetto and couldn't pull, AT ALL.
*  We were in a paceline on Moore for about 4 miles - Darien paced so fast I was redlining in the draft.
*  Last little climb on La Canada - I did 480 watts for more than 1 minute.  Hello Hurt Locker, but there's more.
*  The run in on Ina - We caught the 3rd or 4th light as my prayers are answered.  I was seconds from snapping if it stayed green.
*  I stumbled in with Darien, Reg and a guy from SW Hand TEAM.  A couple of other guys had pulled off in the last few blocks.
*  I did not pull one second of the 55 miles.

The rest of the group ...............??

It would be nice if my road rash had limited me but that would be a thin excuse.  I got my Starbucks,  hoping someone would talk to me.   They did, as the rest of the folks straggled in......... I tried to mostly listen and ask questions even though I was still very anxious.  Reg took me to CVS and turned me onto J&J Tough Pads for my road rash.  This is a great invention...I hope somebody got a raise!

Sent Greg an email tonight to make sure he was OK.  He was very gracious.


Miss you guys a lot.........I am headed back to Greenville tomorrow but first, I am going to have some dessert, HUMBLE PIE (a large piece).  Then I gotta look at the calendar to see when I can make my next DOGS ride.

Decoupling Graph

per DS's lesson below...my steady state wind trainer workout...this is using speed/cadence/HR as my parameters.... WKO+ (warm up .. get HR up then hold pace.. the spike is standing up ... or I will go crazy)

AET Followup

After a big winter storm kept me off the bike for 2 days, I was ready to go today.   Under still ominous skies,  I decided to use my rested legs to do a 2:30 AET Test.   This Test was described in yesterday's post.   Below is my HR distribution:


I was able to stay in Z2 for 2:21 of the 2:30.  My HR avg (130 bpm) and Power avg (210 normalized watts) were both in the middle of Z2 for me.

Key point, addressed in the previous post, was the decoupling:  0%..... zero %.   Good news.

These test results provide me with confidence during this period of 'final preparation', that is preparation for training.

When I resume training in January, I will be able to focus on Strength (force) and Muscular Endurance.   My limiters are 1 minute CP (Critical Power) and my FPT (Functional Power Threshold).   My FPT is now 300 which seems pretty good, but I am big guy.   Joe estimated in some recent discussions, that I need a 20-30 watt increase to meet my goals.   I will address the CP1 much later but January and February will the time to address my FPT.

See ya out there soon.