I got owned by this one… Clifford Park could be the most technical course on the EFTA circuit and I simply didn’t have enough miles on the mountain bike to hold my own. I think I was also still recovering from the B2B, 7+ hours in the saddle really takes a toll on you.
If this had just been a 3 lap race I probably would have been alright, but about half way through that third lap things started to get sloppy. My upper body was tired right from the get-go, but my legs held out until mid way through the third lap. The fourth lap I was just in survival mode, trying to hold my place and not crash.
This is a really fun course, and one that on a good day would probably suite me pretty well. It doesn’t have any long climbs, but it does have a handful of short burst climbing sections and a little bit of fire-road (about 20%). Last year I flatted out when I ran too little air in the tires; hopefully next year I can give this course a real try.
Results were not available right away…
UPDATE:
Time 2:10.09
4th Place of 5 Senior I's
18th of 27 Experts
37 Riders DNF'd
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
B2B
This past weekend was the Harpoon B2B, according to my computer it’s a 148.48 mile ride from the Boston Brewery to the Windsor VT Brewery. Until now the longest day in the saddle for me had been just over 100 miles. This was a tough ride, and would have been challenging at just a century.
Getting out of Boston was easy as it was flat, but it was chaotic. To simplify things the organizers staged riders in groups of 25 and spaced them out in 5-minute gaps. Our group must have gotten off to a good start because somewhere in Cambridge or so we caught up to the group in front of us. This made things interesting, as we now were now trying to navigate the burbs with a peloton of 50 riders or so.
The first 50 miles really flew by since we had such a huge group and it was mostly flat. Just after the 50 mile water stop we hit our first hill, I took a good pull here, but I didn’t want to take on too much as it was still early in the ride. This proved to be a smart call as the hills rolled on until mile 90. From there we hit the major climb of the ride, it was roughly 6 miles long, and pretty steep. This was a new section to the ride and clearly caught a lot of people off guard. I have never seen so many riders stop to take a breather or actually walk their bikes.
On top of a challenging hill 90 miles into the ride, the organizers also underestimated the mileage of the second stop. This was frustrating, as I had gauged my food, water and energy based on a water stop at 101 miles and it wasn’t until 109.
After a long stop for lunch, I got back on the road to finish the final 30 miles or so with a good group of riders from the North Shore. The last 30 miles started pretty flat and we pulled a solid 21-22 mph. As we came into the last 15 miles we hit some rolling hills, I tried to take a pull but as soon as I jumped to the front of the group they fell off, and I wasn’t trying to drop anyone. So at this point it was me and this guy Tom, we rode in the last few miles together. He also said that anytime he tried to take a pull these guys would just drop off… maybe they didn’t want someone not in their club pulling, road-snobs.
My final ride time was 7:43.29
Including rests it took 8:36.55
My average speed was 19.2
Max speed was 46.2
Total distance was 148.48
Getting out of Boston was easy as it was flat, but it was chaotic. To simplify things the organizers staged riders in groups of 25 and spaced them out in 5-minute gaps. Our group must have gotten off to a good start because somewhere in Cambridge or so we caught up to the group in front of us. This made things interesting, as we now were now trying to navigate the burbs with a peloton of 50 riders or so.
The first 50 miles really flew by since we had such a huge group and it was mostly flat. Just after the 50 mile water stop we hit our first hill, I took a good pull here, but I didn’t want to take on too much as it was still early in the ride. This proved to be a smart call as the hills rolled on until mile 90. From there we hit the major climb of the ride, it was roughly 6 miles long, and pretty steep. This was a new section to the ride and clearly caught a lot of people off guard. I have never seen so many riders stop to take a breather or actually walk their bikes.
On top of a challenging hill 90 miles into the ride, the organizers also underestimated the mileage of the second stop. This was frustrating, as I had gauged my food, water and energy based on a water stop at 101 miles and it wasn’t until 109.
After a long stop for lunch, I got back on the road to finish the final 30 miles or so with a good group of riders from the North Shore. The last 30 miles started pretty flat and we pulled a solid 21-22 mph. As we came into the last 15 miles we hit some rolling hills, I tried to take a pull but as soon as I jumped to the front of the group they fell off, and I wasn’t trying to drop anyone. So at this point it was me and this guy Tom, we rode in the last few miles together. He also said that anytime he tried to take a pull these guys would just drop off… maybe they didn’t want someone not in their club pulling, road-snobs.
My final ride time was 7:43.29
Including rests it took 8:36.55
My average speed was 19.2
Max speed was 46.2
Total distance was 148.48
Monday, June 9, 2008
Week 3 of the Rayburn TNT
So it’s been a while since I posted an update, but two weeks ago there was a thunder and lightning storm the night of the TNT race and then that Thursday we went to Jersey for a wedding so I didn’t do much riding that week.
Last week I did make it to the TNT race, but I didn’t check my tires before racing. About a quarter of the way in my tires burped out enough air that I finally had to stop to top them off, but being that it was a race I just topped off the rear and figured I could finish with a low front tire. In retrospect this was probably a bad decision. With less than ¾ of the race to go, I thought it would be fun to hit this big rock as a jump. But, what I failed to consider was that the landing happens to be in the middle of a turn, this is not good when your tires have no air. As I landed the front tire blew out almost all the remaining air and folded over sending me to the ground. I don’t bruise easily, but within just a few minutes I had a HUGE bruise on my quad. I then nursed my self and the bike with a completely flat front tire to the finish line. Unfortunately with the flat tire issues and a crash the best I could do was sixth, ending my wining streak in the TNT.
1. Rick 5:41 5:57:55 (16:55) 6:11:09 (13:14) 30:09
#2. Pat 6:03 6:20:04 (17:04) 6:33:12 (13:08) 30:12
#3. Bryan 6:08 6:24:10 (17:10) 6:37:21 (13:11) 30:21
#4. Doug 6:38 6:38:21 (17:21) 6:51:54 (13:33) 30:54
#5. Scott 6:10 6:27:50 (17:50) 6:41:05 (13:15) 31:05
#6. Adam 5:26 5:43:50 (17:50) 5:57:55 (14:05) 31:55
#7. Russ 5:05 5:23:20 (18:20) 5:37:28 (14:08) 32:28
#8. Mary 6:00 6:19:04 (19:04) 6:32:59 (13:55) 32:59
#9. Paul L 6:08 6:26:54 (18:54) 6:41:06 (14:12) 33:06
10. Mike T6:15 6:34:10 (19:10) 6:49:16 (15:06) 34:16
11. Tim 5:55 6:14:50 (19:50) 6:29:38 (14:48) 34:38
12. Laura 5:19 5:38:24 (19:24) 5:53:59 (15:35) 34:59
13.Nate 5:22 5:42:12 (20:12) 5:57:42 (15:30) 35:42
14.Mike L 5:27 5:47:16 (20:16) 6:03:04 (15:48) 36:04
15.Chris 6:05 6:24:47 (19:47) 6:42:15 (18:32) 37:15
16.Dave S 5:57 6:17:46 (20:46) 6:34:24 (16:38) 37:24
17.Liana 6:01 6:23:25 (22:25) 6:42:20 (18:45) 41:20
Last week I did make it to the TNT race, but I didn’t check my tires before racing. About a quarter of the way in my tires burped out enough air that I finally had to stop to top them off, but being that it was a race I just topped off the rear and figured I could finish with a low front tire. In retrospect this was probably a bad decision. With less than ¾ of the race to go, I thought it would be fun to hit this big rock as a jump. But, what I failed to consider was that the landing happens to be in the middle of a turn, this is not good when your tires have no air. As I landed the front tire blew out almost all the remaining air and folded over sending me to the ground. I don’t bruise easily, but within just a few minutes I had a HUGE bruise on my quad. I then nursed my self and the bike with a completely flat front tire to the finish line. Unfortunately with the flat tire issues and a crash the best I could do was sixth, ending my wining streak in the TNT.
1. Rick 5:41 5:57:55 (16:55) 6:11:09 (13:14) 30:09
#2. Pat 6:03 6:20:04 (17:04) 6:33:12 (13:08) 30:12
#3. Bryan 6:08 6:24:10 (17:10) 6:37:21 (13:11) 30:21
#4. Doug 6:38 6:38:21 (17:21) 6:51:54 (13:33) 30:54
#5. Scott 6:10 6:27:50 (17:50) 6:41:05 (13:15) 31:05
#6. Adam 5:26 5:43:50 (17:50) 5:57:55 (14:05) 31:55
#7. Russ 5:05 5:23:20 (18:20) 5:37:28 (14:08) 32:28
#8. Mary 6:00 6:19:04 (19:04) 6:32:59 (13:55) 32:59
#9. Paul L 6:08 6:26:54 (18:54) 6:41:06 (14:12) 33:06
10. Mike T6:15 6:34:10 (19:10) 6:49:16 (15:06) 34:16
11. Tim 5:55 6:14:50 (19:50) 6:29:38 (14:48) 34:38
12. Laura 5:19 5:38:24 (19:24) 5:53:59 (15:35) 34:59
13.Nate 5:22 5:42:12 (20:12) 5:57:42 (15:30) 35:42
14.Mike L 5:27 5:47:16 (20:16) 6:03:04 (15:48) 36:04
15.Chris 6:05 6:24:47 (19:47) 6:42:15 (18:32) 37:15
16.Dave S 5:57 6:17:46 (20:46) 6:34:24 (16:38) 37:24
17.Liana 6:01 6:23:25 (22:25) 6:42:20 (18:45) 41:20
Thursday, May 22, 2008
TNT - Rayburn
Tuesday Night was the first of our 3 stops at Rayburn for the Time-Trial series. I love Rayburn, its got super tight singletrack with some punchy hills and some fun technical challenges. This is the type of course that you need to finesse. As I said before the start of the race its ‘how fast can you ride slow’ because all the tight switchbacks, you have to limit your speed here. I was expecting the results to be pretty close, but I did pretty good and won by almost 2 minutes.
Here are the results:
1. Adam: 5:48 6:03:34 (15:34) 6:15:55 (12:21) 27:55
2. John B: 5:58 6:14:43 (16:43) 6:27:49 (13:06) 29:49
3. Charlie 5:45 6:03:15 (18:05) 6:15:52 (12: 37 ) 30:52
4. Pat 6:32 6:49:45 (17:45) 7:03:15 (14:30) 31:15
5. Rick 6:12 6:29:50 (17:50) 6:43:32 (13:42) 31:32
6. Scott 6:10 6:28:02 (18:02) 6:41:39 (13:37) 31:39
7. Bryan 6:46 7:03: 59 (17:59) 7:17:45 (13:44) 31:45
8. Mike C. 5:20 5:38:02 (18:02) 5:52:04 (14:02) 32:04
9. Russ 5:34 5:52:45 (18:45) 6:07:07 (14:22) 33:07
10.Nate 5:35 5:54:15 (19:15) 6:08:52 (14:37) 33:52
11: Mary 6:47 7:07:05 (20:05) 7:21:43 (14:39) 34:43
12. Mike T. 5:36 5:56:10 (20:10) 6:11:25 (15:15) 35:25
13 Mike L 5:22 5:42:14 (20:14) 5:57:37 (15:23) 35:37
14. Laura 4:51 5:10:16 (19:16) 5:27:56 (17:40) 36:56
15 Chris 5:38 5:59:39 (21:39) 6:15:30 (15:51) 37:30
16. Liana 5:41 6:03:44 (22:44) 6:20:55 (17:11) 39:55
17. Dave S 5:32 5:54:36 (22:36) 6:12:06 (17:30) 40:06
18 Don G 5:33 5:58:44 (25:44) 6:17:07 (18:23) 44:07
Here are the results:
1. Adam: 5:48 6:03:34 (15:34) 6:15:55 (12:21) 27:55
2. John B: 5:58 6:14:43 (16:43) 6:27:49 (13:06) 29:49
3. Charlie 5:45 6:03:15 (18:05) 6:15:52 (12: 37 ) 30:52
4. Pat 6:32 6:49:45 (17:45) 7:03:15 (14:30) 31:15
5. Rick 6:12 6:29:50 (17:50) 6:43:32 (13:42) 31:32
6. Scott 6:10 6:28:02 (18:02) 6:41:39 (13:37) 31:39
7. Bryan 6:46 7:03: 59 (17:59) 7:17:45 (13:44) 31:45
8. Mike C. 5:20 5:38:02 (18:02) 5:52:04 (14:02) 32:04
9. Russ 5:34 5:52:45 (18:45) 6:07:07 (14:22) 33:07
10.Nate 5:35 5:54:15 (19:15) 6:08:52 (14:37) 33:52
11: Mary 6:47 7:07:05 (20:05) 7:21:43 (14:39) 34:43
12. Mike T. 5:36 5:56:10 (20:10) 6:11:25 (15:15) 35:25
13 Mike L 5:22 5:42:14 (20:14) 5:57:37 (15:23) 35:37
14. Laura 4:51 5:10:16 (19:16) 5:27:56 (17:40) 36:56
15 Chris 5:38 5:59:39 (21:39) 6:15:30 (15:51) 37:30
16. Liana 5:41 6:03:44 (22:44) 6:20:55 (17:11) 39:55
17. Dave S 5:32 5:54:36 (22:36) 6:12:06 (17:30) 40:06
18 Don G 5:33 5:58:44 (25:44) 6:17:07 (18:23) 44:07
EFTA NECS #1 - The Glocester Grind
This was a great course for the first race of the season. Mostly flat, with some buff sections to gain some speed on and some fun berms to rail, and of course there were some really muddy and technical sections thrown in for good measure.
Last year I blew up here, so when I went over the bars and all my GU got buried in the mud in the first half mile I was a little nervous that I was gonna bonk again. This year, I had more early season mountain bike rides so that helped and I felt strong the whole race.
I got a pretty good start, which is key as this race funnels quickly into tight singletrack with little room make any passes in the first mile or so. The group got spread out pretty quickly, but I did catch up to the one of the guys in front of me as he was apparently having chain problems. I didn’t realize it, but him and the leader of our pack DNF’d so I was quickly in the lead.
I held my position and felt like I was keeping a good pace, on my last lap I did get passed by a group of 3 Vet riders but I still finished strong.
Final Results:
1:42.39
1st Place Expert Senior I Men
13th Place in the Expert Class of 35 Men
Last year I blew up here, so when I went over the bars and all my GU got buried in the mud in the first half mile I was a little nervous that I was gonna bonk again. This year, I had more early season mountain bike rides so that helped and I felt strong the whole race.
I got a pretty good start, which is key as this race funnels quickly into tight singletrack with little room make any passes in the first mile or so. The group got spread out pretty quickly, but I did catch up to the one of the guys in front of me as he was apparently having chain problems. I didn’t realize it, but him and the leader of our pack DNF’d so I was quickly in the lead.
I held my position and felt like I was keeping a good pace, on my last lap I did get passed by a group of 3 Vet riders but I still finished strong.
Final Results:
1:42.39
1st Place Expert Senior I Men
13th Place in the Expert Class of 35 Men
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Last Pisgah TNT
Last night was the final TNT at Pisgah. It was a great night, 60 degrees, dry, and a good turn out. I was able to get a quick warm up in and then went straight to the line. My first lap was pretty good, I cleaned a few sections I missed the other week and found a good line down rock garden. My second lap started real good, I rode the first two rock spines as fast and smooth as I ever have; but shortly after that I got tripped up and it took a little while to get my rhythm back. On top of that I got held up a little as I was passing some other riders. Enough bitchen, it was a nice night and some fun riding so here are the results:
Name 1st lap 2nd lap Total
Adam 19:05 20:22 39:27
John 19:54 20:28 40:22
Rick 20:15 20:26 40:41
Charlie 20:38 21:33 42:11
Bryan 22:08 22:58 45:06
Scott 22:22 23:18 45:40
Laura 23:34 23:52 47:26
Mary 24:25 23:05 47:30
Nate 23:30 24:38 48:08
Russ 24:10 25:41 49:51
Mike T 23:55 28:41 52:36
Mike L 25:51 28:25 53:16
Chris J 26:35 28:10 54:45
Liana 27:41 28:36 56:17
Paul S 33:03 34:12 1:07:15
Pat 22:28 flat DNF
Name 1st lap 2nd lap Total
Adam 19:05 20:22 39:27
John 19:54 20:28 40:22
Rick 20:15 20:26 40:41
Charlie 20:38 21:33 42:11
Bryan 22:08 22:58 45:06
Scott 22:22 23:18 45:40
Laura 23:34 23:52 47:26
Mary 24:25 23:05 47:30
Nate 23:30 24:38 48:08
Russ 24:10 25:41 49:51
Mike T 23:55 28:41 52:36
Mike L 25:51 28:25 53:16
Chris J 26:35 28:10 54:45
Liana 27:41 28:36 56:17
Paul S 33:03 34:12 1:07:15
Pat 22:28 flat DNF
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
TNT
Last night was the first Tuesday Night Time-trial, well second; but the week before I chickend out because it was pouring.
It was good to get one race under my belt before the first EFTA series race. The time-trail course was pretty short, just a 3 mile loop, twice. John updated it from last year; it was actually a little shorter but we did two laps vs just one. We start mid-way up Pisgah, take a fast flowy down hill that has some good short climbs thrown in. Then from the bottom its a good climb back to the top, then we take a false-flat fire road over to the bone-yard. This section is new, and I never really ride it because it's a mess. After the climbs it's pretty jarring.
I guess I had a slight advantage as its pretty much in my backyard and I ride 95% of the course about once a week. In addition the hills here suite me well; anyway here are the results.
Name Lap 1 Lap 2 Total
Adam 19:41 20:16 39:57
John 20:28 21:26 41:54
Rick 21:37 21:31 43:08
Charlie 22:14 22:51 45:05
Pat 22:21 22:54 45:15
Laura 23:17 24:00 47:17
Scott 22:45 26:45 49:30 Flat on second lap, completed by foot
Mike T 25:28 26:22 51:50
Nate 26:30 28:08 54:38
Mike L 26:47 28:13 55:00
Liana 29:41 30:39 1:00:20 Rode two separate laps
Bryan 22:40 DNF DNF Flat on second
Next week is Pisgah again, then it's on to another course...
It was good to get one race under my belt before the first EFTA series race. The time-trail course was pretty short, just a 3 mile loop, twice. John updated it from last year; it was actually a little shorter but we did two laps vs just one. We start mid-way up Pisgah, take a fast flowy down hill that has some good short climbs thrown in. Then from the bottom its a good climb back to the top, then we take a false-flat fire road over to the bone-yard. This section is new, and I never really ride it because it's a mess. After the climbs it's pretty jarring.
I guess I had a slight advantage as its pretty much in my backyard and I ride 95% of the course about once a week. In addition the hills here suite me well; anyway here are the results.
Name Lap 1 Lap 2 Total
Adam 19:41 20:16 39:57
John 20:28 21:26 41:54
Rick 21:37 21:31 43:08
Charlie 22:14 22:51 45:05
Pat 22:21 22:54 45:15
Laura 23:17 24:00 47:17
Scott 22:45 26:45 49:30 Flat on second lap, completed by foot
Mike T 25:28 26:22 51:50
Nate 26:30 28:08 54:38
Mike L 26:47 28:13 55:00
Liana 29:41 30:39 1:00:20 Rode two separate laps
Bryan 22:40 DNF DNF Flat on second
Next week is Pisgah again, then it's on to another course...
Friday, May 2, 2008
Wachusett Ride
On Saturday Kevin, my dad and I rode from my dad's house in Northboro out to Wachusett, up to the top and then back to Northboro for a tough and very hill 55 mile ride. Check out the map my ride below...
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Rip it
Wow, 60 degrees this morning when rode in at 6:30am, it’s the kind of weather that makes you happy just to be on your bike. Another thing that makes me happy, riding past the gas stations when regular is at $3.55. I haven’t filled up since April 13th and I still have more than a quarter tank; I am thinking I will be able to go every other week before I have to fill ‘er up.
So occasionally when I pack my bag the night before I ride in I will forget something, usually it’s a belt. Today I forgot socks, so I am rockin my EFTA socks with the frog saying RIPPP IT on ‘em. Ha, they defiantly go with the dress shoes. Yeah, I am pretty much a fashion icon.
I also noticed a trend when riding in, of all the vehicles that buzz me; 90% of the time they are pick-up trucks with big American flag stickers or even the occasional confederate flag. If there is one thing red-necks hate while driving its skinny white dudes in spandex blocking their “road”. I am thinking if I put a big American flag patch on my bag it might persuade them to give me a little more room…
So occasionally when I pack my bag the night before I ride in I will forget something, usually it’s a belt. Today I forgot socks, so I am rockin my EFTA socks with the frog saying RIPPP IT on ‘em. Ha, they defiantly go with the dress shoes. Yeah, I am pretty much a fashion icon.
I also noticed a trend when riding in, of all the vehicles that buzz me; 90% of the time they are pick-up trucks with big American flag stickers or even the occasional confederate flag. If there is one thing red-necks hate while driving its skinny white dudes in spandex blocking their “road”. I am thinking if I put a big American flag patch on my bag it might persuade them to give me a little more room…
Sunday, April 20, 2008
First Mountain Bike Ride
I finally got out for my first mountain bike ride of the season this weekend. I did 15 miles at Pisgah on Saturday and 10 at Harold Parker on Sunday. I was surprised to find that my technical skills were pretty solid, usually the first ride of the season can be kinda shaky. I was psyched to clean a few lines that can trip me up even in the middle of the season. I also felt pretty good on the climbs, now I just have to build on the speed, first Tuesday-night time trial is next week.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Valley Rally
The Telegram & Gazette ran an article on the upcoming Treasure Valley Rally that I spent some time this winter helping Russ lay out.
http://www.telegram.com/article/20080413/COLUMN31/47359254/-1/SPORTS_COLUMNS
This is gonna be a fun race, I think we have a really good course.
http://www.telegram.com/article/20080413/COLUMN31/47359254/-1/SPORTS_COLUMNS
This is gonna be a fun race, I think we have a really good course.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Ride to work
Wow, it's been a long winter, but I finally got my first ride into work for 2008 (April 8th). It was a cold start at just 31 degrees out, but I got a pair of winter tights so I was pretty comfortable. Just the fingers and toes were a little cold. This time of year it's tough to ride to work, I get on the road around 6:30 when it's in the 30's and when I come home it's typically closer to 50ish; layers are key.
For this early in the season I guess my time was respectable at 25:30. I think last year during my peak I was making into work in the low 20's; so I need to shave a few minutes off this time.
Update:
I checked up on my times from last year. My first ride into work took 30 minutes so my time of 25 minutes was actually pretty good. Also I got started a few days earlier; last years first ride was April 20.
For this early in the season I guess my time was respectable at 25:30. I think last year during my peak I was making into work in the low 20's; so I need to shave a few minutes off this time.
Update:
I checked up on my times from last year. My first ride into work took 30 minutes so my time of 25 minutes was actually pretty good. Also I got started a few days earlier; last years first ride was April 20.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Lab Rat
http://www.velonews.com/article/73765/the-lab-rat-is-loose
I found this article on VeloNews, one of their correspondents took a very similar power test to the one I did back in February. Although it’s not apples to apples as his was done outside, it does offer some interesting comparison points. It seems our numbers are pretty similar through out most of the zones (see mine in the earlier post).
Considering how similar our numbers are I think I may need to work on my sprint or anaerobic power as well. The author of this article doesn’t seem to happy with these results, but I am not too concerned considering how early in the season it was that I took this test.
I found this article on VeloNews, one of their correspondents took a very similar power test to the one I did back in February. Although it’s not apples to apples as his was done outside, it does offer some interesting comparison points. It seems our numbers are pretty similar through out most of the zones (see mine in the earlier post).
Considering how similar our numbers are I think I may need to work on my sprint or anaerobic power as well. The author of this article doesn’t seem to happy with these results, but I am not too concerned considering how early in the season it was that I took this test.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Col de Peyresourde
This Sunday I was back at Opt-Performance after taking last weekend off for some epic snowboarding. We again spent the first hour + warming up and doing some intervals. The second have of the class was the Col de Peyresourde. Similar to the Alp d'Huez this is another 8 mile climb from the Tour de France. The Col averages a 6.6% grade, but much of the ride is over 7%. What made this weeks climb so tough was that we spent much of it pushing a big gear.
I guess I have been underestimating how difficult these classes are, I thought last weeks was tough because I forgot to bring food; but I brought plenty of food this week and still got my ass kicked.
I need to get some base miles in.
Here is the breakdown:
Dst: 46.09
Max: 47.8 mph
Ave: 18.6 mph
Time: 2:37.01
In Zone: 1:02.28
160+: 1:34.33
Max: 189 (97%)
Ave: 161 (83%)
I guess I have been underestimating how difficult these classes are, I thought last weeks was tough because I forgot to bring food; but I brought plenty of food this week and still got my ass kicked.
I need to get some base miles in.
Here is the breakdown:
Dst: 46.09
Max: 47.8 mph
Ave: 18.6 mph
Time: 2:37.01
In Zone: 1:02.28
160+: 1:34.33
Max: 189 (97%)
Ave: 161 (83%)
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Alp d'Huez
This morning I finally went to another Opt-Performance spin class; I haven't done much over the past two weeks as I had the flu. Today's class was an hour warm up with 25 minutes or so of interval work at the end. Then we started the Alp d'Huez, this was a pretty tough way to get back into things. For those of you that don't know Alp d'Huez is the most famous climb in the Tour de France and may be the most famous climb in all of cycling. It is an 8.4 mile climb, we set the trainer to a 4% grade and we put blocks under the front tire to give us an additional 5%. Unfortunately I forgot to bring any food, and I feeling pretty hungry before we even started the climb. This definitely affected the day’s performance.
So here is the breakdown
Dst: 40.51
Max: 30.8 mph
Avg: 17.9 mph
Time: 2:28.16
In Zone: 37.42
160+: 1:50.34
Max: 186 (95%)
Avg: 164 (84%)Calories 2476
So here is the breakdown
Dst: 40.51
Max: 30.8 mph
Avg: 17.9 mph
Time: 2:28.16
In Zone: 37.42
160+: 1:50.34
Max: 186 (95%)
Avg: 164 (84%)Calories 2476
Sunday, February 3, 2008
EFTA Banquet
Last night was the EFTA awards banquet. Kevin, Gina, Kristy and I all had a pretty good time. Some of the ‘activities’ went on for too long but overall the event was fun. Kevin got an award for finishing 3rd in the single speed division for the year. I got an award for finishing 1st in the Expert, Senior I category. EFTA does a good job with the awards, rather than just giving away a trophy I got a Pearl Izumi duffle bag with my name embroidered on it and the EFTA logo with my season title. A bunch of free swag too.
Me and the rest of the Expert field season winers.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Power Session (Updated)
Wednesday night I went back to optimum performance to do the “power training” class. This class was designed with the intent of defining your performance zones so you can train more effectively. Paul only offers these classes every 6 weeks, so I am glad I got into this one.
The class started with a warm up and some fast spins; then we spun at a maximum sustained effort for 5 minutes. This opens the lactic acid barrier and gets you ready for the next effort. After the five-minute interval we do an easy spin for 10 minutes to get a full recovery in. Then the fun part starts, a 20-minute (or 8 mile) maximum effort. Paul broke this part up into four, 5-minute songs so we keep track of our timing based on the music. If that wasn’t enough Paul gave us updates throughout to keep us on pace.
Based on the first 5-minute effort Paul gave me a goal of maintaining and average of 310 watts for the 20-minute effort. The computer was set up to show my current watts and the average watts. For the first five minutes I was averaging 330 or better, but as the time wore on, that dropped. Paul said he would prefer to see you slowly drop your average rather than start really strong then just drop off. I did a pretty good job of managing that and kept the 20-minute average to 311. That’s not an exceptional number, but I think it was pretty good considering I have only been on the bike once or twice since November or so.
The class record was 360, I hope to hit that number (or better) by the peak of race season. Talking with some of the people in the class, I heard how they improved 30, 40 or more points in just 6 weeks so I don’t think that goal is unrealistic and I think the more structured training can get me there.
Here are the results:
Functional Threshold Power: 311 watts
Recovery Zone
Min: -
Mid: -
Max: 173
Endurance
Min: 174
Mid: 205
Max: 235
Tempo Zone:
Min: 236
Mid: 259
Max: 281
Lactate Threshold:
Min: 283
Mid: 305
Max: 328
VO2:
Min: 329
Mid: -
Max: 374
The class started with a warm up and some fast spins; then we spun at a maximum sustained effort for 5 minutes. This opens the lactic acid barrier and gets you ready for the next effort. After the five-minute interval we do an easy spin for 10 minutes to get a full recovery in. Then the fun part starts, a 20-minute (or 8 mile) maximum effort. Paul broke this part up into four, 5-minute songs so we keep track of our timing based on the music. If that wasn’t enough Paul gave us updates throughout to keep us on pace.
Based on the first 5-minute effort Paul gave me a goal of maintaining and average of 310 watts for the 20-minute effort. The computer was set up to show my current watts and the average watts. For the first five minutes I was averaging 330 or better, but as the time wore on, that dropped. Paul said he would prefer to see you slowly drop your average rather than start really strong then just drop off. I did a pretty good job of managing that and kept the 20-minute average to 311. That’s not an exceptional number, but I think it was pretty good considering I have only been on the bike once or twice since November or so.
The class record was 360, I hope to hit that number (or better) by the peak of race season. Talking with some of the people in the class, I heard how they improved 30, 40 or more points in just 6 weeks so I don’t think that goal is unrealistic and I think the more structured training can get me there.
Here are the results:
Functional Threshold Power: 311 watts
Recovery Zone
Min: -
Mid: -
Max: 173
Endurance
Min: 174
Mid: 205
Max: 235
Tempo Zone:
Min: 236
Mid: 259
Max: 281
Lactate Threshold:
Min: 283
Mid: 305
Max: 328
VO2:
Min: 329
Mid: -
Max: 374
Monday, January 28, 2008
Spin
This Sunday I went to my first spin class. I heard about this group from a cross racer I work with. This guy Paul Boudreau, who is a USA Cycling certified coach, runs it. Unlike most spin classes that are designed around an hour-long high calorie fat burning work out, this class is designed for cyclists. The real difference with this class is that we spin to actual Tour-de-France routes and other popular races and the route is displayed on a big screen at the front of the class.
Paul coaches the group through the route to develop strength and endurance using intervals. You get to bring your own bike and hook it up to their computer, as you ride Paul tells us what % grade to adjust computer to as we are climbing and descending hills. The trainers we hook the bikes up to have a surprisingly real road feel and they measure watts, something my trainer doesn’t do.
So this Sunday we did a Tour-de-France route, I am not sure what the route was but it ended up at a 52 mile ride (we did cut the route a little short). The total ride was about 2-1/2 hours, but it felt more like a real road ride than two hours on a trainer. Pretty fun for riding inside, I will definitely try to get up there for a few rides each month, I think the structured coaching will go a long way when the real season starts.
Check out the site here: http://www.opt-performance.com/
Paul coaches the group through the route to develop strength and endurance using intervals. You get to bring your own bike and hook it up to their computer, as you ride Paul tells us what % grade to adjust computer to as we are climbing and descending hills. The trainers we hook the bikes up to have a surprisingly real road feel and they measure watts, something my trainer doesn’t do.
So this Sunday we did a Tour-de-France route, I am not sure what the route was but it ended up at a 52 mile ride (we did cut the route a little short). The total ride was about 2-1/2 hours, but it felt more like a real road ride than two hours on a trainer. Pretty fun for riding inside, I will definitely try to get up there for a few rides each month, I think the structured coaching will go a long way when the real season starts.
Check out the site here: http://www.opt-performance.com/
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