Wednesday Night SuperPrestige 2011

I have been fielding emails all day, so here are the details for WNSP 2011.

We will start this training event next Wednesday night. It will run through Nationals in December. We created a Facebook invite, which we encourage you to respond to.

PARTICIPATE AT YOUR OWN RISK. There is a course set up. We make no claims about its safety. If you feel unsafe in any way, you should stop riding immediately. The course is demanding: lots of sharp rocks, off camber turns and steep descents. Be prepared.

Items of Note:

1. Location: Ringer Park, Allston, MA aka Blood Park. We will use this venue until daylight runs out (sometime in September) then we will move over to the Harvard location for the remainder of the season.
2. Start time: 6:30 pm August 17th, 2011
3. Format: 2 x 20 minute efforts.
4. Waiver: I'll have them, you'll sign one. One will serve for the whole 2011 season.
5. "Suggested"Donation: $5 to cover supplies and time spent on course set up.

Tell your friends, but only if they can Keep it Tight. Because of the demanding nature of the course and the presence of other park users, we strongly discourage beginners from riding this event. Juniors only invited with special permission from parents.

Erratic riding will not be tolerated. There is a strict 2 warning policy. Any rider creating ANY dangerous situations will be given one warning, then banned from WNSP. No exceptions.

I hope that you can join us for at least one WNSP this season. The courses are challenging and some heavy hitters show up to keep the pace high. Just like any cross race, all ability levels are represented; you'll have someone to race against no matter how fast or slow you are.

Train hard.

Georgia Death...er...Training Camp Update

So as many of you know, my team mate Matt Wheatley and I drove down to Georgia to hook up with the Cyclonauts to ride ourselves inside out in preparation for the upcoming spring campaign.

Instead of boring you with details about rides and climbs, I'll just say that I have ridden 3 days in a row and have none of the rides have been under 3000 kilojoules, or under 7000 feet of climbing or under 80 miles.

As for the camp, the level of organization is reminiscent of the military. Mike Norton has all of the routes in his Garmin. Acting like a general, when Norton says a ride rolls out at 9am, everyone is clipped in at 8:59 yelling for the last guy to get his shit together. Groceries and meals run smoothly with all of us sharing cooking and cleaning duties. In other words, we are keeping it tight.

Here's some pictures:

I played poker the night before the trip hoping to win enough to pay for gas for the trip. I only earned 1 tank out of 3 or 4. I felt like a failure.

We left Friday after I got out of school and drove straight to Georgia. I knew I was in the South when I saw this.

Then I considered ordering this for dinner



We arrived at the house and I set up shop. This is my bedroom dresser.



There was climbing. Not pictured is a gloating, victorious Mike Norton who rode us off his wheel on the climb.


Signs like this are all over the South. Notice that the hikers are shot multiple times.

This should give you some idea of the kind of riding we are doing down here.

I am trying to talk Mike Cavros into allowing me to post some of helmet cam videos he has taken. Hopefully he complies, as there are some great descents...

Illness and Training

It tickles in the throat, taunting you, daring you to get out in the cold and train through. There may or may not be a little voice in your head mocking you:

"If you were a real hardman, a little cold wouldn't bother you."

"What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger."

"Do you think that [insert arch rival/nemesis's name here] takes the day off due to such a minor cold."

"------ is probably training right now!"

"Pussy!"

Competitive cyclists are a dedicated lot. We train through the worst weather and endure grueling training regiments, all while balancing an adult life complete with mortgages, careers, student loans, household chores, significant others, family, other interests and even non-cycling friends.

Training through illness seems natural, after the privations of normal training. But unlike pushing a little harder on Watertower Hill, pushing through illness will only weaken you.

Every March, I become run down. I get a cold and have to take a few days off from training. And every March I beat myself up as a slacker, a laggart and a softy for succumbing to the illness.

This morning in the shower, I had the first signs of a cold, slightly scratchy throat, runny nose. I am curious how other competitive cyclists handle a slight cold.

Do they train through;

do they take a day off;

do they go easy in their workouts;

or do they power through and come out the other side as anointed hardmen?

PowerCranks Update--Regular 10 Minute Intervals--20 Minutes When I Push

I have been having increasing success with the PC's.  It is fairly easy to keep pedaling for 10 minutes or long at low power output.  I have been keeping my heart rate in what a coach would call base.  If I push through the discomfort, I can now pedal the cranks for 20 minutes straight, which I do at the end of the PC portion of my workout so that I don't burn out early.  

 

My biggest problem with riding the PC's now is that all of my body weight rests on my saddle when riding them.  Normally when you pedal a bike for long periods, you shift your weight around and stand on the pedals every so often to relieve pressure off of the taint.  With the PC's these maneuvers are close to impossible.  Sitting on the trainer for multiple hours is hard enough on the nether regions under normal conditions.  

 

I have taken a couple of steps to alleviate the discomfort.  I installed a Turbomatic Saddle on the PC bike.  This is one of my all time favorite saddles.   If I am still experiencing unbearable discomfort next week, I will bring out the big guns and put my Regal on the the PC bike.  

Chamois creme.  Though I think that this is psychological, since the pain is from pressure, not chafing.  Either way, it makes me feels better about the whole thing if  my shorts are "all loaded up" as my father says.  

Lastly, I installed a large chain ring so that I can pedal standing for longer before spinning my biggest gear out.  I have not ridden with the larger chainring yet; I will report on its effect next week.  

 

While I am struggling with the PC's less, I still don't feel faster.  Once I get my second Powertap harness and sensor, I start testing power output with the PC's.  

Why Shave the Legs in Winter?

I was just in the shower shaving my legs after spending 2.5 hours sweating on the trainer. I was considering the absurdity of shaving in winter. No one is going to see your legs. Even on a group ride, you will be wearing tights.

My usual schedule is to shave my legs on Tuesday and Friday evenings. I maintain this same shaving schedule while in training, in winter and summer. I allow my maintenance to lapse when I am injured or otherwise spending time away from the bike.

Then I thought a little harder about it, while shaving of course. And I concluded that it makes sense to continue shaving, even when no one will see that you are. I came up with a number of reasons to shave, which I will list so that you can cart them out if you are confronted about your winter shaving or if you have doubts about whether to shave or not.

First, I am a competitive cyclist and I try to keep that at the front of my thoughts. In the winter when racing is 75 days away, as it is right now (as Kyle Smith recently pointed out), a person can forget that the competition will be fierce, that we need to train hard, that we need to maintain the diet and the discipline if we want to be at the front of the pack. What we do now determines how our season will be. Shaving is a subtle reminder that we are racers and a step in maintaining discipline when our target races are many months away.

Right now, I want a big bowl of ice cream, but my resolve against having it is firm, since I just got done training and shaving. I really feel like my resolve could slip if I still had the stubble. I am serious. As many of you know, I am in an all in or an all out kind of person.

I use embrocation in the winter. Ever tried to apply embrocation to hairy legs? It gets wasted in the forest, coating the trees instead of the floor so to speak. Even worse, how the hell would you remove said substance with all of the hair mopping it up. Your legs could be on fire for weeks!

Ladies like it. Just don't be a dufus and leave hair shorts behind, that they don't like. On that note, mind as well keep all the other areas clean while you are there.

I went to my soignier last week for a massage and she was very pleased that I was maintaining. Also, if you massage your own legs or talk your significant other into doing it, it is much better without the hair.

Riding on the trainer is hot enough, you don't need hair causing you to retain warmth. Also I towel off while I train to minimize the size of the puddle on the training mat. It's easier to dry shaved legs.

People can see your legs when you cuff your pants to ride around the city. You have nice legs, show off your muscle definition.

Surely there are other reasons to shave. Perhaps some of you disagree with my logic. Please feel free to comment on this important matter. I am interested to hear my reader's thoughts on this subject.

PowerCranks Update: Week Three Breakthroughs

I have been incorporating the PC's into every other workout, if not more often. Since, the weather has deteriorated here in 02139, I usually shoot for half to 2/3's of my base workouts to be completed on the PC's and then I switch over to a regularly equipped bicycle. I am starting to embrace the Colin H. Murphy approach to winter training, and I am using the trainer even when I could get outside. Scary.

I am now up to 5 minute work intervals with 30-45 second rests between intervals. My personal record is 13 minutes of straight pedaling (accomplished at the end of the PC portion of my workout yesterday). I foresee being able to stop resting in the next couple of weeks. As I increase the interval length and decrease the length of the rests, I expect to get to a point where it will be obvious that I no longer need the rest. I am using care not to push too hard, as I don't want to ruin a 3 hour workout, by trying to pedal straight through in the first half hour.

I have found that if I lower my cadence, I can pedal the PC's for longer. Also, when I am putting out a minimum of power; base, aerobic, zone 2; my heart rate is up in the upper levels of what most coaches call base and lower tempo or zone 2, lower zone 3.

Mind you, I am not breathing hard, or pushing hard on the pedals, just my heart rate is high. I attribute this to the increased number of normally unused muscle groups that are recruited to keep the PC's turning. According to the PC literature, this increased number of utilized muscle groups will lead to an increase in my VOMax. Though I am skeptical about this claimed benefit, after making these observations, I could be led to believe that this is true, if my heart rate starts lowering while doing the same work with the PC's.

I plan on installing a 52 tooth chainring on my PC bike this week, as I am spinning out the small ring regularly on the trainer.

I have had the opportunity to ride the PC'c outside again. I found that they are feeling more natural. I am not struggling as much to keep the bike moving and keep the pedals turning. Also, I have significantly lowered my cadence when on the road with the PC's, which makes for a more stable and less jerky ride.

I can also "sprint" on the PC's. If I start in a huge gear and "run" on the pedals, I can get keep them moving while out of the saddle for as long as I am accelerating. Once I hit a high cadence, I get sloppy and it becomes dangerous. I have not really tried any significant climbing on the PC's, but I look forward to it once the weather allows it.

I no longer find pedaling these frustrating and I am not sore after my PC workouts. Nor have I seen any benefits yet. I guess that I am sticking with them due to faith. Others have benefited, so I feel like I will too. I will keep plugging away and updating you weekly.

PowerCranks Update

I have been faithfully riding PowerCranks for the last week. Since my first post, I have completed 3-4 rides, one outdoors and two on the trainer.

I have a number of observations and comments:

First, I find it much easier to use these cranks on a moving bicycle. Pedaling rhythm was problematic in my first couple of PC rides on the trainer. But when you get a PC equipped bicycle moving, you must keep your pedaling rhythm steady or you will find the bike unstable, since your uneven pedaling will cause weight shifts. I also found that I am able to complete longer intervals on the street than on the trainer.

After 4-5 rides, I have found that, while painful, pedaling the PC's seems normal. In fact, when I switch over to a regular bike mid-workout, the attached crankarms feel strange.

When putting out low power pedaling the PC's, my heart rate is in a much higher zone than if I was on a regularly equipped bicycle. I don't have a power meter, but when I in "base 2" my heart rate reacts as if I was in base 3. I have not attempted to put out high power yet, but I plan on building to that.

I still can not pedal the PC's for more than 4 minutes at a time. At the end of 4 minutes, my legs are screaming and I am gasping. Remember, I am not putting out much power.

I have taken the advice of the PC website and am pedaling at a low cadence. Consequently, I am going to have to change my chainring setup. Currently, I am running a single chainring with a 44 tooth ring. Once I am able to put out higher power, I plan on upgrading to a double with an extra large big ring.

I have started learning how to pedal out of the saddle. It was not all that hard to learn. The problem is that I am unable to actually sprint with PC's. The gear is spun out earlier than normal and I get sloppy, which is dangerous, since if you fail to pull one of the crankarms over the stroke, it will fall backwards, which subsequently make the bike jerk. I almost crashed my first few times, but I am becoming more confident.

Apparently, Mark McCormack is a three season PC user (see the comments section of my last PC entry). Once I am able to ride these for 3 hours straight, Mark has offered to take me to the Blue Hills and trash me on the PC's. This is a huge motivator. Its not everyday that an equipment purchase helps you get a workout with a such a distinguished rider.

Lastly, Since there is no neutral standing position with these cranks, potholes and bumps are problematic. On a normal bike, I become light on the bike by sort of hopping a little when faced with an obstacle that I can't avoid. With PC's hopping would cause the saddle the stab me in the...Anyway you hit bumps hard since you have little leverage to pull up on the front end and no leverage to get the bike off of the ground. Obviously avoidance is the best option, but that is not always possible.

New Year--New Training Plan--Reflections on the 2008 Racing Season

I am currently writing my 2009 training plan. While doing so, I have been checking last year's results, reflecting on my successes and failures.

I have drawn a few conclusions:

In order to make yourself eligible to win a bicycle race you must prepare well. Proper training; properly working equipment; support of teammates, family and friends; and tactical savvy all play a role in success in any given race. Becoming eligible is merely a first step.

Overall, luck plays a huge role. The strongest man does not always win. Parts crap out, tires puncture and sometimes a break unexpectedly stays away. Luckily there is another race next weekend.




Opportunities are limited, so take them when they come. If you see a strong break coalescing, you should get in it. Even if the break gets brought back, at least you tried to win the race. You can't win if you don't try. Also, you will have more fun if you do something other than sit in and you'll have something to talk about over beers.

If you know that you are unable to win a race, you should try to help someone else win. It's more fun, it creates good will, and if you just wanted to ride your bike fast, there is probably a fast group ride nearer to your home that doesn't charge anything to join.

If you find yourself getting good results in a category, savor it for awhile. You will have years to suck once you upgrade, don't rush it. Personally, I got crappy results for years before I was able to even contest a prime in a cat 4 race. I felt that I deserved to hang around for half a season as a strong cat 4 and get some good results before moving on. Mind you, I never gathered enough upgrade points for a mandatory upgrade; had I been approaching that situation, I'd have upgraded before reaching that point. I am not advocating sandbagging.

Having a good team is important. If you work for your teammates, they will work for you when the time comes. I just found this out this last season. I have never been happier racing my bicycle than I have been this last season with CB.




Plan. If you don't have one, you will not succeed. You need a training plan if you want to have the most possible fitness. If you aspire to win a race, you need to have a plan before reaching the starting line. I have heard more strong team's say "We'll wait for the finish and see what happens" only to watch every member of the team get mid-pack results when they could have dominated the race if they had made a plan and the worked together.

I am anticipating a great season for my team. We have 3 great squads forming: cat 4, cat 3 and a newly formed but strong, cohesive women's squad.

I am going to get back to my training plan. If anyone needs a 2009 template for a Joe Friel yearly plan, Mashburn made a great one that I'd be happy to forward to you.

Happy New year.