AzTallRider

That upgrade comes free with the Jens Voight model PM I just ordered.

Hermes

Yeah, I have the Vanderkitten / Focus version.

Allegheny Jet

I have to get that product quick!

sarals 

I'm going to get the Bulgarian version....

shovelhd

doper

sarals 

Shhhhhhhhh....!

sarals 

Tomorrow morning, early, a training ride. I plan to do the fast warmup (which is really a partial warmup), and then do five 20 second on/1 minute off intervals. The last portion of the ride will be sustained efforts on a road that features some shallow rollers. Those also make for good intervals. My goal is to see the average speed come up, or start to, as well and that H/R getting up some more. VO2 max has been elusive, and I need to get used to it.

chasm54

Back on the bike today, for the first time since my crash. Just about 20 minutes, and only on the flat-barred touring bike, because my shoulder can't yet take it if I try to get into the drops, but still - a week ago I couldn't have imagined that I'd be as far along as this. Plenty of recuperation still to do, but I'm beginning to harbour thoughts of making it to the start line of the road-race I'd entered. It's three weeks away.

Hermes

Chasm54, that is good news. Glad your shoulder is getting better.

Hermes

After the track workout in the AM, I worked out at the gym for some Roman Chair, core, back and black band work. The black band is the 1 foot diameter black rubber band (the hardest) that I put around my ankles and walk sideways. I also lay on my side with it around my knees and spread my knees open like a clam. I also take a red rubber tube and hook it to my opposite hand and foot and from my hands and knees lift my arm straight and kick back a leg. All these exercises were recommended for cyclists for cycling injury prevention and rehab by our physical therapy sponsor. And I think I get more top end power.

VanceMac

Had a great session at the track last night. I guess that jives with what you guys experience, but it just felt really odd to feel so weak on Wed, then strong on Thu. After two good interval sessions, Roger ended with a 60-lap motor game (first time I've seen that long... he's always done 50, occasionally 40). And he picked up the speed early on. The last 20 hurt, with the last few laps at 35mph. Was encouraging to be one of only three to finish, one being Ketterer.

Racer Ex 

Good job Vance. Roger had me doing 40 laps 2 full on/2 off efforts yesterday; I had ridden the tandem for an hour and change in the heat with Marvin at noon.

Pretty cooked.

The "after a day off" syndrome is pretty common; it's the reason the TDF guys go for a ride on their rest days. Body shifts into a lot of recovery mechanisms that take some time to engage and disengage. What I've found is a really longgggg warmup can offset this sometimes.

VanceMac

Full on... oof. I'll bet that put a fork in you by the end! I had a short talk with Roger last night, and didn't realize that the 4:00-7:00 session was officially an "open" session. This is phenomenal news for me, since I work east coast hours -- I can beat traffic getting there (less than an hour, rather than 1:40), and get home early enough to wind down for my early (east coast) bed time. This was the deciding factor in buying an annual pass. Track rules.

Hermes

That is why I love training with Roger. Who even thinks of this kind of stuff or that anyone could actually do it.

Hermes

VanceMac, Excellent session last night. KK is an amazing racer.

sarals 

Day Off Syndrome. That explains this morning. I went out as promised and the warmup seemed to be progressing well. Then, when I started a sustained effort, the legs started to cramp and the ride went downhill from there. When coming OTS for accelerations my legs felt weak, and I found myself leaning on the handlebars rather than forcing the pedals down with some power. Crud. Well, a ride, even a not so good one, is better than no ride. I still did the 20 second on, 1 minute off intervals - five of them. Oww.

sarals 

+1.5 on that, Chasm!

sarals 

Another 45 minute, 11 mile training ride this morning. This was the third ride, and it was not as strong as I wanted, or as the one the morning before. I'm realizing that these rides before work are more "maintain" than "gain". I make my gains during my weeks off, when I'm not up against a time constraint, as well as other negative factors.

chasm54

Here's an interesting comment on Wiggins', and Sky's, training for this season:

Wiggins's training programme began on 1 November but he did not merely begin riding his bike and bring in intensity later: he rode at intensities he would normally have hit in the racing season, which is anathema to most cyclists, who have always built up in a more measured way. "Tim took the swimming approach where they train the top end constantly throughout the year. He has totally revolutionised the way we train." This meant Wiggins hit the season running and was able to deal with higher training workloads later in the programme as the Tour drew nearer. That approach involved a huge amount of sacrifice for Wiggins and his family, requiring warm weather training camps at regular intervals in Mallorca and Tenerife.

The other break with cycling tradition was to race less often but always to race to win. That took the pressure off for the Tour, as Wiggins went into the race with a perfect season behind him already, rather than the Tour being the be-all and end-all. It also avoided unnecessary travelling and enabled him to get used to the press conferences and other hassle that go with winning. It enabled his team to get used to the job of leading a major stage race – they had won five such events this year, and Kerrison argued that they were more at ease leading a race rather than chasing the lead. Equally importantly, his stripped down race programme left time for lengthy training camps.

By the end of 2010, when he had endured a disappointing first season with Sky, Wiggins's back was against the wall. He had moved to stage racing after fulfilling his Olympic ambitions on the track in 2008, and knew that at the age of 30, he did not have many years left. That knowledge made him decide to adopt a no-compromise approach. He would devote himself to his profession for 365 days a year, rather than backing off in the late autumn as he had in the past. Sutton has praised his compliance to the programme but it comes down to timing: "I said I don't know how long I can keep training hard for, so I was willing to give it 100%," he said.


I'd like to know the details of the training regime, but it is interesting that his new coach, from a swimming background, has had them working at greater intensity for much longer than is conventional.

Cleave

Hi chasm54,

It sounds like a novel approach for a World Tour bike racer. It doesn't sound like something that the relatively average amateur bike racer could use (IMHO). But then again, maybe after I retire (being pretty average)...

AzTallRider

Just got back from a cycling weekend up in the mountains. Saturday was 91 miles and 5K climbing at a good pace (up to 785 VAM). Sunday was a more tame 53 miles and 2.3K. I was strong - stronger than I expected given I have been focused on shorter, high-intensity rides. I was huffing and puffing from the altitude (averaged about 7,500'), but the legs responded whenever I needed them. Great fun with friends: riding, then eating and watching the tour. You know it's a different sort of group when the Friday evening BBQ has no beer, but includes an IV hydration drip for one of the guys, with the bag tied to a light fixture above the dinner table.

chasm54

Made it onto a conventional (as opposed to recumbent) stationary bike in the gym today, with only occasional murmurs from my shoulder. Weirdly, it's easier resting on my forearms in a sort of IAB position than it is to put much weight on my hand. An hour at 90% - 95% of lactate threshold. I may have lost a little bit of fitness in the 12 days since the crash, but not too much. Could be worse, and very glad to be back doing something reasonably intense.

AZT, are you absolutely sure it wasn't beer in the IV drip?

VanceMac

Wish I could do more of these getaways. We're pretty spoiled with great routes and diverse terrain in our backyard, but it's nice to mix it up. And especially nice to get away with a group of riding friends.

It's amazing how much difference every couple thousand feet make. When I first started cycling, I naively thought that "altitude" wasn't a factor until 10-12k.

Racer Ex 

Different pressure point on the load. Glad to read you're back at it.

sarals 

I overslept this morning and missed my ride. Well. I guess I needed the rest as I RARELY oversleep. Tomorrow is a 45 mile with a group, fast and as hard as I care to go. So, the unexpected rest day is not a bad thing (RacerEx: "55+ rest is more important than training").

Chasm...+1 on the "glad you're back at it"!