Cycle U CompuTrainer | core

One more hard day? Okay, but let's make it a short one. Hello 10 km TT. Done.

In hindsight, this TT was sort of like an 'opener', just a bit longer and harder than I would normally do. Okay, a lot longer and harder. :) All I'm trying to say is I don't think I overdid it. I actually had a tiny bit 'left in the tank' as they say and had anyone been right on my ass or right in front of me I think I could have eeked out a slightly faster time.

Even so, I think that I posted my fastest time EVER for this course today with my previous best being (I believe) 14:45 or thereabouts. Hooray for me. Obviously this show-up-well-rested concept has some merit.

We practically had a full house today with just one trainer empty. Ryan D was kind enough to start us off and since I had a running start and he did not I was out in front at the beginning. But I gotta say, it seemed like just seconds went by before Ryan was only 100 (feet? meters? I'm honestly not sure what the CompuTrainer unity of distance is…) behind me. Nice job!

In spite of the easy spinning up front this effort is always a shock to the system and it took me perhaps 3-5 minutes to feel like I was in race pace mode. In the beginning your body is just playing catch-up with what your brain is telling it to do. :(

I watched my watts and any time they went over 400 I would shift to an easier gear in hopes of not blowing up and it worked. I also recall using the 53x12 at least twice (three times?) and saw that my watts did not fall off so much on the descents which means I was doing a good job of pushing through and not easing up when the climb was over.

I was able to blow my nose once during the TT and take one drink so I must not have been so totally maxed out. Both were required as my nose was running and my mouth was getting super dry from my panting and the fan pointed right at my face. I wanted it that way mind you, it just dries you out.

Greg K put in a great slow surge to finish really strong and everyone else looked super steady although I must admit my attention was diverted… After we finished the effort I spun and that cool down felt like exactly what I needed to not get that my-legs-are-full-of-lead feeling all day long at the office.

Here is the CompuTrainer summary.

Name: CRIMINALE, MARTIN
Gender: Male
Athlete Type: Recreationa
Date of Birth: 0/0/1900
Weigh-in: 200
Track Position: 6
Rolling Resistance after 5 Minute Warmup: 1.55 Pounds
Finish Time: 14:40.18 Seconds
Finish Place: 1
Average Speed: 25.36 MPH
Peak Speed: 32.50 MPH
Average Power: 373.26 Watts
Peak Power: 508.00 Watts
Average HR: 0 BPM
Peak HR: 0 BPM
Average RPM: 0.0
Peak RPM: 0.0
Average PP: 0.0
Peak PP: 0.0
Average WPKG: 4.1
Peak WPKG: 5.6
Average SS: 0.0
Calories: 421.0

And here is my PowerTap data. I noted the following things.

• My heart rate kept climbing, I did not let off at all. And I finally topped 160 bpm!
• On the last incline I could tell I was on a good ride so did not shift down as much as I might normally and kept the power up around 450 watts peaking at over 500. Nice.
• My cadence was rock solid, right in the mid 90s all the way. That means I was able to stay on top of my gear the entire time which I think is key to a good time. If you bog down, you (read: I) usually slow down.

I managed to get in a quick core session at lunch, no stretching or sauna like I wanted but work is super busy right now. Walking back and forth from the IMA my legs felt fine so I am starting to get excited about Saturday! [massive understatement]

Sleep	6
Waking HR
Body Weight	12:00 PM - 182 lb.
Body Fat
Breakfast	5:00 AM - banana, 1 Perpetuem Solids
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	trainer - large bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 1 scoop HEED
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day	trainer - 6:00 AM core - 12:00 PM
Workout Type
Weather
Course	trainer - warm up, 10 km TT, cool down plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/2 x 20 sec leg lifts on each side back extensions 3 x 40 clam knee lifts 100 each leg side leg lifts 100 each leg leg scissors 100 twisters 50 each side - 12 lb. push-ups 20 hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results
Time	TT - 14:40
Distance	TT - 10 km
Pace	TT - 373 average watts
Equipment	Road Bike
Clothing

Thank you Cycle University for providing this great facility!

Technorati Tags: Cycle University,CompuTrainer,FareStart Cycling Team,Thumbprint Racing

treadmill run

Nothing spectacular today, just a little acceleration to keep the leg speed up.

It felt pretty good which I think means that I did the right thing by not going really hard on my Sunday ride.

I also got in some more stretching at lunch and a nice, long sauna with no weirdo's - what a relief.

Sleep	7
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	water
Injuries
Therapy	12:00 PM - 30 min stretching
Time of Day	run - 5:30 AM
Workout Type	tempo
Weather
Course	treadmill - 1% incline, 10 min at 7:30, 20 min at 7:00, .2 mph increase each of the next 8 min with the last 2 at 6:00, 2 min at 7:30
Results
Time	40 min
Distance	5.7 miles
Pace
Equipment	Hoka Combo XT
Clothing

core

Rest day! Starting the taper now!

ASIDE - I'm not sure I have actually ever tapered properly for any event before… unless you count three easy days in a row as a taper. I am learning that rest and tapering are valuable skills. Note to self, figure it out.

Q: What is one of the most important things for recovery?
A: Sleep.

Did I get much last night? Nope. On the upside, after tossing and turning for a while I picked up a book, read some and was able to fall back asleep. That's worth something in my book.

Another crucial part to recovery is stretching. I resolve to do more this year. Today I got in some.

Sleep	5
Waking HR
Body Weight	12:00 PM - 180 lb.
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	water
Injuries
Therapy	stretching - 30 min
Time of Day	core - 5:30 AM stretching - 12:00 PM
Workout Type	rest
Weather
Course	plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/2 x 20 sec leg lifts on each side back extensions 3 x 40 clam knee lifts 100 each leg side leg lifts 100 each leg leg scissors 100 twisters 50 each side - 10 lb. push-ups 22 hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results
Time
Distance
Pace
Equipment
Clothing

ride around Lake WA

The rest of my team was either racing or going on a hard/hilly training ride today so I struck out solo. Yesterday was a fairly (read: very!) fast run for me and I did not want to obliterate myself this weekend in hopes of getting in another shorter fast run later in the week, in order to do that I needed to stay pretty fresh.

On the technology front I just spoiled myself with the purchase of an iPod Shuffle.

MP3 players really are the bomb. I mean, who doesn't have one? I thought so.

I seem to be hard on mine or I just have bad luck. My original iPod Nano died ages ago, my replacement only puts out sound via the left channel and my newest one suddenly only plays songs a super low volume. Yes, I have tried selecting my entire music collection and restoring the volume level but no dice. So I splurged, spent the $50 and got one of these. Talk about portable… I love it.

Armed with music on the bike again (finally!) I headed out.

It was cold and windy and rain was forecast for later but I had music! Yes.

Earlier in the day I had considered joining teammate Greg K for some hill repeats. After five miles I realized it was a good thing I didn't. I wasn't beat but if I had chased Greg up Squak Mt a few times I would have been. And it would have been hard to recover fully from that. Another lesson learned.

So today turned into one of those blissful rides where I could go whatever speed I wanted. Nice.

On my way south I caught two racers climbing up from Seward and then slowly rode away from the going down Rainier. At the airport I had to stop to put on my raincoat for a squall and then riding past Gene Coulon Park I stopped to take it off again as the sun was coming out. One of the racers passed me as I was just getting rolling again and then the next couple of miles were kind of funny.

I was wearing my Seattle Randonneurs wind vest and non-descript clothes besides and this guy kept looking back to see where I was. And then he would accelerate just a little. Since the pace was not stressful I would match his acceleration but stay about 50' behind him. This went on until we crossed I-405 and I turned left to continue north and he slowed way down to rest up for the McDonald's hill. It kind of made my day. :)

My music mix was really working for me today! I love it when I pick the right songs.

A little but further up the road I passed Nikos M going the other direction. Even in my disguise and on my rain bike he recognized me and waved.

The rest of my ride was extremely enjoyable. I ate, I drank, I listened to music and then when I got back to the UW I decided to take a short detour past Wrench Bicycle Workshop to check it out. Of course it was closed. Rats. I will need to swing by there again.

In the end it warmed up enough for me to pull my liners out of my gloves. Gotta like that. And besides that super short dumping in Renton it was dry all day long. And because of Daylight Saving Time, it was light when I finished! YES.

Sleep	6
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	2 large bottles each w/2 scoops Perpetuem, 2 Clif Bars
Injuries
Therapy	stretching - 30 min
Time of Day	stretching - 8:30 AM ride - 1:20 PM
Workout Type	endurance
Weather	low to mid 40s, wind, some rain but mostly dry
Course
Results
Time
Distance
Pace
Equipment	Rain Bike
Clothing	Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Roubaix leg warmers, Craft long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, wind vest, Polypropylene gloves, OR Gripper gloves, cap

Technorati Tags: Wrench Bicycle Wrokshop