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
Sunday, February 24, 2008
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/
Friday, November 23, 2007
New 2008 EFTA Course???
Towards the end of the season I got hooked up with Team Bums, racing the Tuesday Night Time Trials and doing some fun rides with these guys. After one of the TNTTs I started talking to Brett (one of the strongest riders) about the EFTA series. He mentioned that he was interested in organizing a race for the series somewhere in central Mass. I told him that after racing for the past 3 years, I would like to get involved with some of the behind the sceens efforts.
Brett lives about 10 minutes from Treasure Valley boy scout camp and he already had approached the camp about possibly building new trails and organizing a race on their property. They great thing about working with a boy scout camp is that they have all the tools and manpower need to build and maintain trails, and they will help us out where needed.
So Brett, myself and a few others meet up at Treasure Valley a week ago on a chilly 28 degree morning to explore some of the trails and come up with a sketch of the course. We discovered with a good loop that covers some good double track, about 3 miles of technical single track and a steep climb with a great descent on the way out. The total length of the proposed course is 9 miles. After riding this course I think it will be one of the most challenging courses in the series.
With the proposed course drawn up it was time to meet with EFTA organizers. I didn't make it to this meeting, but Brett sent me the update via email:
A lot has happened in the last couple weeks regarding the race I discussed below. Here's a rundown.
For the past 3 weekends I've been riding and at times bushwhacking all over Treasure Valley discovering what's there and envisioning a race loop. I've been assisted by the racing and riding minds of Paul Simoes, Chris Beriau, Mike Tonry, and Adam Bradley. Together we've pieced together a proposed race loop. I rode and GPS'd it last Sat and got a 9mi lap with ~717 ft of climbing/lap. There are still a few unknowns with the course, some things I might change to avoid certain things, but the basics are there. It was also on Sat, on the race loop, that I endo'd several times and must have pulled some muscles in my back. Fear not, as long as your bike doesn't skip the chain like mine does, you shouldn't be doing any such crashes.
That Sat. evening I went up to Manchester, NH to meet with the EFTA board and all the 2007-2008 race organizers. I was the only new organizer there so I got some good face time with all of the board members individually. I told them my plans (to also have classes for the younger boys in cub and boy scouts), showed the topo/gps loop map, talked about the strengths of the venue and date restrictions. All in all it was very productive and the dinner was excellent and free! At first I was thinking mid May for this event, the Treasure Valley Rally. But when we did the planning against all the other races in Root66 and with EFTA's Doug Peckham getting first choice in May, I looked into June. June had Fathers Day available, which might have been OK, but it also meant 5-6 EFTA races in a row...not so good. Now I'm still waiting to hear back on a final date, but Aug 24 came up as did September.
But the biggest news of all is that they contacted me tonight and are going to grant New England Championship Series (NECS) status to this race AND are considering it for the SEASON FINALE! The finale part is still being decided, but it is probably the highest attended NECS race in the series with riders cramming points in the series. To have it in central MA would be excellent. Either way, NECS status is huge, usually adds ~100 people to the attendance. There are some conditions I have to meet--I have to work one of Doug P's races to get experience, among other things.
I also have to secure permission from the state because parts of the Midstate Trail that we've planned to run the race on goes onto state forest land. If anyone knows someone at the state level for this, I'd appreciate a contact! I have to do that part ASAP to get an official letter of permission from all land owners. The scout reservation won't be an issue. The state, I don't know. It's certainly possible to avoid those sections but it'd be nice to run the whole stretch of single track.
But the great thing is the EFTA board and Doug Peckham have promised all the help I need. Additionally, Bums have already been helping out and probably will continue to help as this goes on. I know it's not a financial windfall for us, but it will help our image as a MTB club, help the scout reservation's image and awareness, help scouting and mountain biking in general, and hopefully get some new people interested in racing and/or mountain biking. Additionally, the new riding at Treasure Valley is quite good and can only get better.
So it seems we are well on our way to having a central Mass race next season and a NECS sanctioned event too! I will continue to post updates as we move along. It seems at this point our biggest obstacle will be getting the clearance from the state to use the Mid-State trail.
Get ready to Rally the Valley.
Brett lives about 10 minutes from Treasure Valley boy scout camp and he already had approached the camp about possibly building new trails and organizing a race on their property. They great thing about working with a boy scout camp is that they have all the tools and manpower need to build and maintain trails, and they will help us out where needed.
So Brett, myself and a few others meet up at Treasure Valley a week ago on a chilly 28 degree morning to explore some of the trails and come up with a sketch of the course. We discovered with a good loop that covers some good double track, about 3 miles of technical single track and a steep climb with a great descent on the way out. The total length of the proposed course is 9 miles. After riding this course I think it will be one of the most challenging courses in the series.
With the proposed course drawn up it was time to meet with EFTA organizers. I didn't make it to this meeting, but Brett sent me the update via email:
A lot has happened in the last couple weeks regarding the race I discussed below. Here's a rundown.
For the past 3 weekends I've been riding and at times bushwhacking all over Treasure Valley discovering what's there and envisioning a race loop. I've been assisted by the racing and riding minds of Paul Simoes, Chris Beriau, Mike Tonry, and Adam Bradley. Together we've pieced together a proposed race loop. I rode and GPS'd it last Sat and got a 9mi lap with ~717 ft of climbing/lap. There are still a few unknowns with the course, some things I might change to avoid certain things, but the basics are there. It was also on Sat, on the race loop, that I endo'd several times and must have pulled some muscles in my back. Fear not, as long as your bike doesn't skip the chain like mine does, you shouldn't be doing any such crashes.
That Sat. evening I went up to Manchester, NH to meet with the EFTA board and all the 2007-2008 race organizers. I was the only new organizer there so I got some good face time with all of the board members individually. I told them my plans (to also have classes for the younger boys in cub and boy scouts), showed the topo/gps loop map, talked about the strengths of the venue and date restrictions. All in all it was very productive and the dinner was excellent and free! At first I was thinking mid May for this event, the Treasure Valley Rally. But when we did the planning against all the other races in Root66 and with EFTA's Doug Peckham getting first choice in May, I looked into June. June had Fathers Day available, which might have been OK, but it also meant 5-6 EFTA races in a row...not so good. Now I'm still waiting to hear back on a final date, but Aug 24 came up as did September.
But the biggest news of all is that they contacted me tonight and are going to grant New England Championship Series (NECS) status to this race AND are considering it for the SEASON FINALE! The finale part is still being decided, but it is probably the highest attended NECS race in the series with riders cramming points in the series. To have it in central MA would be excellent. Either way, NECS status is huge, usually adds ~100 people to the attendance. There are some conditions I have to meet--I have to work one of Doug P's races to get experience, among other things.
I also have to secure permission from the state because parts of the Midstate Trail that we've planned to run the race on goes onto state forest land. If anyone knows someone at the state level for this, I'd appreciate a contact! I have to do that part ASAP to get an official letter of permission from all land owners. The scout reservation won't be an issue. The state, I don't know. It's certainly possible to avoid those sections but it'd be nice to run the whole stretch of single track.
But the great thing is the EFTA board and Doug Peckham have promised all the help I need. Additionally, Bums have already been helping out and probably will continue to help as this goes on. I know it's not a financial windfall for us, but it will help our image as a MTB club, help the scout reservation's image and awareness, help scouting and mountain biking in general, and hopefully get some new people interested in racing and/or mountain biking. Additionally, the new riding at Treasure Valley is quite good and can only get better.
So it seems we are well on our way to having a central Mass race next season and a NECS sanctioned event too! I will continue to post updates as we move along. It seems at this point our biggest obstacle will be getting the clearance from the state to use the Mid-State trail.
Get ready to Rally the Valley.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Gonzo
This past weekend Kevin and I rode Gonzo Pass. Kevin mapped out a ride to mimic one stage of the cancelled Montreal to Boston pro tour. Our ride was mapped out at 87 miles starting in Ashland and riding north to Woodstock up and over Gonzo Pass and back down Rt. 25 and back into Ashland.
We hit the road at 9:30, it was a cold 39 degrees or so. I don't know why, but the night before when I was packing I convinced myself that all I would need was thick socks so I left my shoe covers at home. In retrospect this was probably not the best decision. Not only was it pretty cold but there were was also a near constant 15-20 mph headwind the whole ride north to Woodstock. This made it tough to warm up and neither one of us felt like we ever got a good pace going. When we hit Woodstock we took a quick brake before we started our climb. From Woodstock it is a 5 or 6 mile climb to the top of Rt. 118 with an average 8% grade.
As we pulled out of Woodstock it started to rain. I was already underdressed for the cold temperatures as it was, and now that I was riding in a cold rain I was border line miserable. However at this point we were half-way out so to turn around didn’t make much sense. About half way up the pass two riders coming down, yelled back “it’s snowing up there”. Perfect, now I can be cold, wet, rained on and snowed on, but again; half-way up a climb we were not going to turn around.
I reached the top a few minutes ahead of Kevin and pulled over and waited, this also was not a good idea, it just gave me time to cool down, but I took that time to take my shoes off and try and squeeze some life back into my painfully numb toes. At that point I really wish I had my shoe covers. When Kevin reached the top we both agreed to take the quickest way back, but at that point we were still and hour or two from Kevin’s place so there really was no “quick” way back. As we headed down the other side of Gonzo Pass the rain was coming down as sleet. The next 3 miles we were doing 40+ mph while on the brakes, the road was slick from rain and the sleet stung your face like some kind of acupuncture. This was probably the scariest descent I have ever done on my road bike.
At the bottom I couldn’t stop shaking, my hands and toes stung from the cold and my face felt raw from the sleet. We rode on into the town of Warren and hit the first convenience store we could find. I bought a cup of coffee (of course it was luke-warm at best) and some toe warmers. From here on out life was good, I had warm toes, the sun came out, and we had a good section of flat road to get the heart rate up and get warmed up again.
So I learned my lesson, always pack for the worst case scenario and hope for the best. I think this would have been a great ride if I had some warmer gloves and toes, even in a little rain. The foliage was peak, so the ride had many classic New England views. This was a fun climb and will definitely be on the list of road rides for next year, probably sometime in the summer or early fall.
Time: 3:56.24
Distance: 70.23 miles
Ave: 17.8
Max: 43.2
We hit the road at 9:30, it was a cold 39 degrees or so. I don't know why, but the night before when I was packing I convinced myself that all I would need was thick socks so I left my shoe covers at home. In retrospect this was probably not the best decision. Not only was it pretty cold but there were was also a near constant 15-20 mph headwind the whole ride north to Woodstock. This made it tough to warm up and neither one of us felt like we ever got a good pace going. When we hit Woodstock we took a quick brake before we started our climb. From Woodstock it is a 5 or 6 mile climb to the top of Rt. 118 with an average 8% grade.
As we pulled out of Woodstock it started to rain. I was already underdressed for the cold temperatures as it was, and now that I was riding in a cold rain I was border line miserable. However at this point we were half-way out so to turn around didn’t make much sense. About half way up the pass two riders coming down, yelled back “it’s snowing up there”. Perfect, now I can be cold, wet, rained on and snowed on, but again; half-way up a climb we were not going to turn around.
I reached the top a few minutes ahead of Kevin and pulled over and waited, this also was not a good idea, it just gave me time to cool down, but I took that time to take my shoes off and try and squeeze some life back into my painfully numb toes. At that point I really wish I had my shoe covers. When Kevin reached the top we both agreed to take the quickest way back, but at that point we were still and hour or two from Kevin’s place so there really was no “quick” way back. As we headed down the other side of Gonzo Pass the rain was coming down as sleet. The next 3 miles we were doing 40+ mph while on the brakes, the road was slick from rain and the sleet stung your face like some kind of acupuncture. This was probably the scariest descent I have ever done on my road bike.
At the bottom I couldn’t stop shaking, my hands and toes stung from the cold and my face felt raw from the sleet. We rode on into the town of Warren and hit the first convenience store we could find. I bought a cup of coffee (of course it was luke-warm at best) and some toe warmers. From here on out life was good, I had warm toes, the sun came out, and we had a good section of flat road to get the heart rate up and get warmed up again.
So I learned my lesson, always pack for the worst case scenario and hope for the best. I think this would have been a great ride if I had some warmer gloves and toes, even in a little rain. The foliage was peak, so the ride had many classic New England views. This was a fun climb and will definitely be on the list of road rides for next year, probably sometime in the summer or early fall.
Time: 3:56.24
Distance: 70.23 miles
Ave: 17.8
Max: 43.2
Monday, October 8, 2007
The Pinnacle Challenge
Sunday Team Blue Zoo; Kevin, Christina, Natalie and myself did the Pinnacle Challenge. This was a Multi-Sport adventure race or "Double Duathlon". We joined the Co-Ed category with Christina doing the road run, myself doing the Mountain Bike, Kevin doing the Road Bike and Natalie finishing the race with the trail run.
Team Blue Zoo did pretty good for our first team event and it was also the first time Christina or Natalie ever raced period. We finished with the 17th fastest time of the day out of 71 mixed and individual teams and we took 2nd place in the Co-Ed division. See all the results here. We were beat out of 1st place in the Co-Ed division by just 30 seconds!
On a individual level I took the fastest mountain bike time of the day with a time 34.21 for the almost 6 mile course that included a lot of climbing. Kevin had a strong 20th place finish on the road course, but he was racing against a lot of tri-athletes with some ridiculous bikes and tear drop helmets; for a 13 mile race some of the roadies really went all out. Christina and Natalie both finished strong in the middle of the pack.
The guys at the Pinnacle put on a really great event, pre-registration got us free syrup, and a wicking (not cotton) t-shirt that I will actually wear. Not to mention the excellent BBQ lunch after the race. Our 2nd place finished got us enough maple syrup to last the team until we can do it again next year.
Check out the photos, looks like the photographer missed Kevin:
Christina (bib # 217) on the right side of the photo
Me on one of the climbs
Me just a few hundred yards from the finish line/staging area
Natalie finishing strong
Me collecting my prize $ for having the fastest mountain bike time of the day
Team Blue Zoo collecting our awards:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hmo/1515504706/in/set-72157602320116851/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hmo/1515508942/in/set-72157602320116851/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hmo/1514655695/in/set-72157602320116851/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hmo/1514659739/in/set-72157602320116851/
Team Blue Zoo did pretty good for our first team event and it was also the first time Christina or Natalie ever raced period. We finished with the 17th fastest time of the day out of 71 mixed and individual teams and we took 2nd place in the Co-Ed division. See all the results here. We were beat out of 1st place in the Co-Ed division by just 30 seconds!
On a individual level I took the fastest mountain bike time of the day with a time 34.21 for the almost 6 mile course that included a lot of climbing. Kevin had a strong 20th place finish on the road course, but he was racing against a lot of tri-athletes with some ridiculous bikes and tear drop helmets; for a 13 mile race some of the roadies really went all out. Christina and Natalie both finished strong in the middle of the pack.
The guys at the Pinnacle put on a really great event, pre-registration got us free syrup, and a wicking (not cotton) t-shirt that I will actually wear. Not to mention the excellent BBQ lunch after the race. Our 2nd place finished got us enough maple syrup to last the team until we can do it again next year.
Check out the photos, looks like the photographer missed Kevin:
Christina (bib # 217) on the right side of the photo
Me on one of the climbs
Me just a few hundred yards from the finish line/staging area
Natalie finishing strong
Me collecting my prize $ for having the fastest mountain bike time of the day
Team Blue Zoo collecting our awards:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hmo/1515504706/in/set-72157602320116851/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hmo/1515508942/in/set-72157602320116851/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hmo/1514655695/in/set-72157602320116851/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hmo/1514659739/in/set-72157602320116851/
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