Power updates

It never ceases to amaze me how stoked I can get on the little things in life. Sunday I cleaned my bikes. I'm not hyper-vigilant about cleaning my bikes, but it seems to be the one thing that gets me fired up to go ride. The drive trains were cleaned, rubbed, wiped down, rubbed again, then lubed so each link shined like a pearl. I spun the cranks around amazed at the lack of sound and the ease with which they spun. Have you ever noticed that when your car gets washed it just seems to run that much better as if its thanking you. My bikes do the same for me. They must have a soul.

My training is turning a slight corner from a faded peak for IB sprint to full on cycling mode for the second time this year. I had some good sessions last week and really started to get fired up on my run and swim. I think I had a decent peak regardless of whether or not I raced.
What is on tap now is the Fiesta Island Time Trial. In the past this has been a training tool and I've never had a specific focus to do well in that one event. It's just been a test.

This effort will be the same but I'll be using this data to establish my Power zones and raise the bar for my off-season cycling so I want to go hard and do well. I pretty much get my ass handed to me when I go against the sticks that show up for these races, once you may think your good you find out your not that good. This should be no different as the Open men are racing against Masters and Juniors for the State Championships. I know where I stand and what would be a good effort for me. I'd like to average 265-270W which should put me pretty close to the sub 30 minute mark for the 20k. That is if conditions shape up and we get some lighter winds and reduced humidity. My PR for this race was 31:13 and 250W average.

Yesterday I had a 20 minute field test at Fiesta Island. I was supposed to do it Wednesday but I couldn't get out til noon and it was windy 12-15. That's not exactly conditions I want to repeat, so I had a window thurs. at sunrise~6:15am and the conditions were perfect. NW breeze at 3-5
72 degrees RH~65-70%. Warm up was 15 min@ 150-175W 1x5minutes race pace, 5x1 minute @ 275-280, all 1:1 RI. 5 minutes easy then quick stretch and TT start. It's amazing what the warmup can do just reflecting on how hard the first 5 minute WU effort felt. In contrast I was flying out of the start and finally settled in around 280W. My plan was to do the first lap at expected average~280, then let it rip. I began realizing quickly I went to hard starting lap 2, not much rip letting going on. Looking back the first 5 minutes was @ 298 W. Not ideal but at least power didn't drop more than 15%. I averaged 25.1 mph on the first 10 minutes, 24.6 for the whole effort on training wheels @ 100psi, aero helmet.

Total 20 minute test DATA:
326kj

Average Watts: 271

Average Speed: 24.6 mph

Max Speed: 28.5

Average Cadence:99 rpm

HR avg: 165
HR max: 174

FTP: 257W

Looking at max HR data I probably could have pushed a little harder as I've seen 180 during a 20k effort.

The good news is that I'm right on track to have a go at sub-30 minute race. It'll be tight but that's what will keep me focused. That's nice but I know now what my FTP is for future workouts. Funny thing is is that's pretty close to what I've been using for LT just using the PTap on most of my workouts. You just get a pretty good sense. I'm just glad to get the Field test overwith as they are tough. Some great rides planned for the weekend.

Checking in.

Wow! 18 days since a post. You got to know somethings up. My mom just got out of the hospital after a 2 week stay from a broken hip falling from her horse and I've had to spend alot of my free time checking in on her. My wife who's a PT spent a lot of time with her also, so that meant watching the baby on her shift. The bottom line is that for a while there my training was all out of wack and I really had to juggle and struggle to get in about 75 % of scheduled workouts. Jim and just about everybody else talks about consistency as the key to success. I'll take that as good advice but it is more applicable to my long term success. Consistently gettting back at it and not allowing too much unscheduled down time. This is starting to pay off as my run is back popping a bit and I'm getting some feel back in the water. The running hasn't been as fun as the swimming having to deal with mid-afternoon runs in this disgusting weather. The thermometer hasn't been doing any justice to the true heat index. It's been hard to judge fitness when its 80 degrees and 80% humidity. My HR has been consistently 10-12 bpm higher on the run and much slower to recover. Regardless I had a 60 minute run yesterday with a negative split:

8:32 pace HR 150 avg out

8:05 pace HR 167 avg home

Still pretty slow but felt good about the run with the heat and all. I remember training in Kona last year during December for Carlsbad Half. The training was tough in the heat and humidity, but came back to the cool weather on race day and ran really well, so I guess its all relative.

Earlier in the morning I did a fun 55 minute ocean swim. 73 degrees with just the speed tube pant. Its nice to feel like your actually IN the water. I used to think that swimming in open (salt) water was more difficult than the pool. I'm slowly learning some respect for that little black line.

I've been keeping together my cycling pretty well despite all this craziness. which is nice.

I had a 6 minute test last wednesday on the trainer where I averaved 314W. My cadence was a little lower than normal at 88rpm which actually felt pretty good. Not a best but much better than I would have guessed. Other than that it's pretty much all been on the trainer for mixed tempo intervals. I think the trainer has been the key to maximizing my training time.

I'm going to have a crack at the last FI TT on Sept 9th so getting on the trainer for some steady state stuff is going to be key.

On a side note I bought the 2006 XTERRA world champs DVD to check out the venue. That race is the shitt. I would never try to convince someone its better than Ironman WC but for me short course is where its at and XTERRA is the pinnacle of that realm of violent efforts. This year there will be a pretty good showdown in the AG's with UnC James Walsh and current WC Trevor Glavin. It'll be fun to watch these guys battle it out in Tahoe and then take it to Maui.

On the couch.

Things are never as bad as they appear. There is always a more positive perspective that can be realized taking a step back and modifying your point of view. My training and racing are both important to me, but I think the training is my primary focus right now. This is the time to gain fitness, refine skills, practice discipline and rediscover yourself everyday. These are the benefits that you can take with you for the rest of your life. It becomes part of your personal portfolio. There are far more experiences in training than in racing from which to draw on. Racing is the test. Undoubtedly you learn a lot about yourself and it enables you to practice execution but as far as the multi-sport lifestyle that promotes optimal health and longevity, racing is just a flash in the pan. Still, I love to race for many reasons. The festival atmosphere, the sense of community and also the adrenaline rush that comes from competition and laying it on the line. It doesn't always work out to knock out a PR but to do something difficult, completely out of the comfort zone, pays huge dividends in the scope of everyday life. This is why I have felt such frustration in not being able to race this weekend. I know it's good for me.

That being said, I can revert to and be satisfied with the benefits of just training...for now. I have been forcing myself to think long term as far as what the sport holds in store for me. Times are tight right now with such a young family and so much adjustment that goes along with that. I spoke with Jim at length on Tuesday and man, having a coach with all that he has seen and experienced in the sport is golden. We talked about a lot of issues including my "where to" plan from here, but what struck me the most was that he was surprised at how much I was able to accomplish this year. In a realm where it is so easy to compare yourself to others, the motivation that goes with that can be a double edge sword. If not checked it can lead to a lot of dissappointment and frustration. This sport is unique that it is personal and has the potential for long term fulfillment.

The plan from here is to take the rest of the week off. I was showing some pretty classic signs of fatigue. From what? The training hasn't been so intense or long. I'm guessing though pretty sure it comes down to recovery. Recovery is dependent on a lot of things, obviously nutrition and sleep but also overall stress levels. That is where it gets tough to realize. What is the stress? How are you handling it? Obviously stress becomes evident when things are out of balance. Therein lies the challenge. Having said that the plan is to take these four days OFF. period.
Sat and Sun. I'll do a some weekend workouts and then get back into a lighter training block.
I'm still planning to do IB sprint. I've earned it. After that it's two-three weeks off and then back to base training. I'm planning to do a 20K TT on September 9th to get some good wattage data.
I'd also like to get some performance testing done. Particularly HR zones for the run and body composition. My weight has been pretty steady around 160-164 and BF% around 6-7%. But to run better I'd like to be steady 158-160 and 4-5%. During the base training I want to have a significant run focus. I've tried training the strengths but can't deny the limiter. The run. To know that if I ran as well as the swim and bike I'd move up 10%-15% in the standings is enough to drive me to crazy. There you have it. It's all about the run.