Training update

Was out of town for a quick trip and was unable to get anything posted. I know you have missed reading about my training. Because of the trip my mileage was a bit down last week. Well here is the breakdown for 21.Apr.14 to 27.Apr.14

21.Apr.14

Planned:

• Strength and Endurance 1.5 hrs
• 5x6min on and 6min off 60-70 rpms Z3
• 20min warm up and finish in Z2
  

Actual:

• 1:30:07
• Indoor so was as planned
• 22.2mi
• Strava

Notes:

It was a beautiful day but I was at work so had to do this inside. Not fun getting harassed by the muscle heads at work.

22.Apr.14

Planned:

• 1hr Endurance on trainer
• 95-105rpms in Z2

Actual:

• 1:10:06
• Indoor so as planned with some warm up and cool down.
• Strava

Notes:

Another work day so indoors. Nothing exciting!

23.Apr.14

Planned:

• 2hr Strength and Endurance
• Same as earlier workout but 1/2hr longer endurance Z2 at end

Actual:

• 2:34:04 Mountain Bike ride
  
• Z2-4
• Worked on skills
• Strava

Notes:

Tired of being inside on the trainer and had to get outside. This workout was planned for the next day which would be impossible since I would be working. I planned on swapping the workouts but it was a busy day at work and did not get to the Strength Endurance workout. Really loving my bike and set more PR's on the ride. Worked on descending skill and letting the bike roll when I came down section 16 and through Red Rocks. Damn Specialized Command Post is leaking air and needs to be pumped up before every ride. Never had issue with my reverb.

27.Apr.14

Planned:

• 2hr Mtn or Road Ride
• Variable cadence in Z2-4

Actual:

• 2:02:29 Mountain Ride
• Z2-4 and skills in Palmer Park
• Strava

Notes:

Need to learn the trails of Palmer Park better for flow. I didn't download the ride I did with a few friends from a few weeks back so I ended up repeating some areas. Definitely the place to work on technical climbing and descending skills. Lucky to have this place in town.

 

Week Total:

• 87.9mi
• 7:16:00

Notes:

Bit short on actual mileage but it was good to get down to Canyonlands for some hiking. Didn't get to hike as much as planned because of nasty weather but the hot springs in Glenwood were nice! Also found some great places to eat!

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Week ending 4/20/14... Puff Puff Pass

Well finished my first full week of structured training and here is the rest of the workouts and week totals.

17.Apr.14 Thursday

Planned:

• Strength Endurance 1.5hrs
• 3x8min w/ 8min off Z3
• 60-70rpm

Actual:

• 1:30:04 (easy to be punctual indoors)
• Followed workout as planned
• 21.3 mi on indoor trainer
• Strava

Notes:
Called into work so did the workout on trainer indoors.  Day was a bit busy so this was immediately after dinner on a full belly.. Burp.. Felt pretty good.

18.Apr.14 Friday

Planned:

• Rest or Recovery

Actual:

• Rest

Notes:
Was going to do a afternoon recovery ride but the morning got away from me and had to repay a favor to a friend getting a divorce and moved furniture. Is moving furniture considered a rest day?

19.Apr.14 Saturday

Planned:

• Variable Intensity, Z2-4
• 2hr mountain bike ride
• Practice skills

Actual:

• Variable intensity, how can it not be riding the hills around here.
• 2:59:46
• 32.3mi
• Practiced relaxing downhill and getting leaning the bike into turns
• Strava

Nutrition Consumed:

• 1 packet of Honey Stinger Chews
• 20oz bottle of Skratch Lemon Lime Hydration mix

Notes:
Installed a Wolftooth 28T front ring before the ride. Liked being able to spin on more of the the hill sections and not have to grind up. I think I will really appreciate it when I start doing some longer rides and the legs are tired. Erin was on my heels on the climbs so I was being pushed by here and I attempted to keep Jon in site on the climbs and descents. Both of these animals help me set some PR's on the ride. Combined with me really getting comfortable on the new bike and really loving the way it handles. Really liked the taste of the Skratch Labs hydration mix.  Put 2 scoops in 20oz bottle and it dissolved quickly and no residue in the bottle was found.  I also noticed that I didn't feel the need to chase it with water to remove any lingering sweetness or stickiness out of my mouth. Was pretty hungry at the end of the ride and if I was going to be out longer I should have consumed something with more substance. Didn't feel any bonking or cramps coming on either.  Effort and distance were pretty similar to the AFA Falcon ride from home a couple of weeks ago and I felt better after this ride. 

20.Apr.14 Sunday

Planned:

• Endurance
• 1hr on trainer
• Z2, 95-105rpm

Actual:

• Endurance
• 1:10:16, bit of warm-up and cool down
• 16mi
• Strava

Notes:
Rode the trainer at work. Feeling a bit sluggish after drinking beer at a Saison festival all day yesterday.  

Totals for the week:

• 122.9mi
• 10hr11min

Nothing super crazy and will increase as intervals increase and ride times also go up. Probably going to be lower next week because of a hiking trip to Moab over the weekend. 

Workouts as of 16.Apr.14

I have finished 3 days of workouts and they have been pretty good so far. I have followed workout plans in the past and the issue is always 'following the plan'.  Tough to go from just doing what I want to a structured plan.  Several days are ride for x in this zone so there is still some freedom but when friends call I am now 'that guy' who says "sorry, I have to do x workout and need to stay in my zone.."  You have seen the YouTube videos making fun of these people and now I am one.  Well if I want results I will have to just suffer and be that guy.

I am also experimenting with using workouts on the Garmin 510 and need to adjust a bit in using it. Garmin is supposedly trying to chase down Strava and changing the interface with the Connect site.  I don't think they have a chance but will wait before I put a nail in that coffin. It is improved for sure but segments are missing and a bunch of other stuff but you can get valuable information for free, after buying a Garmin device. Here is what mine looks like.

Would be nice if more of the widgets provided some snapshot information.

Here are the workouts so far:

Starting weight: 184.5lb

14.Apr.14, Monday

Planned:

• Strength Endurance
• 1.5hr total
• 20 min warm-up
• 4x6min on off repeats of Z3 with 60-70rpm
• Finish in z2

Actual:

• 94min
• 20 min warm-up
• 4x8 on off repeats of z3 with 60-70rpm
• 26.59 miles ridden on roads and cross bike
• Strava workout
• Strava finish

Notes:

Snowed the day before and it was a bit cool at the start but the sun was out and it warmed during the workout.  Did not pay attention to the details or which one was the correct one that I uploaded to the Garmin so when it finished after 3 repeats I was at a loss since I knew I had to do four and did not pay attention when they were 8 min long, Wed workout length with Monday repetitions.  So I did the correct amount but for longer. More is better, right? Also used some HEED in the bottle because of the effort. First real effort after 5 days of intestinal virus that drained me.

15.Apr.14, Tuesday

Planned:

• Recovery
• 1hr recovery day or day off
• 95-105rpm
• Z1

Actual:

• 1:04:32
• 9.2 miles on road and dirt jogging path on mountain bike
• Strava

Notes:

It is a work day and up to me to take the day off or do a easy spin.  Decided to use it as a easy commute to work. All day training planned so pack was loaded with food for the day and found it took a bit to get legs spinning in specified area and to stay in HR zone I was not moving very fast.  Just had some water.

16.Apr.14

Planned:

Endurance

1.5hr MTB ride

95-105rpms

Z2

Actual:

1:32:58

17.6 miles

Strava

Notes:

Not a bad night at work and warmer than I thought it would be. More roads than I wanted but had to run to FDC to pickup a item. Quick tour of Lower Bear Creek Park and then home. Feeling pretty good.

Came home today and found my Skratch Labs order had come in.  I have been HEED and Edurolytes in my bottles but there always seemed to be some residue that had to be scrubbed out of my bottle or all of it did not mix.  I have been wanting to try Skratch products for some time and with my bottle of HEED almost empty I made a order, along with "The Feed Zone Cookbook". 

Will let you know my opinions.. Hopefully there products perform better than my mountainbike shoes after a handful of rides.  Supposedly a replacement pair are on the way.  They are the Specialized Rime shoes that are otherwise really nice. More to come on them later also. Damn list is growing..

Getting at it.. Well. Sort of.

Oh lucky day when I received a phone call from a friend telling me he won the lottery into the Leadville 100 mountain bike race.  Which meant that because he was in so was I and the others we entered with as a 'team'.  Not exactly the type of lottery that I was hoping on winning but since it is on my bucket list I was pretty jazzed. Especially since this was the first time I have tried to enter and many of my other friends with much more cycling prowess than myself have been trying for years without success were excited for me but also squirted chainlube in my face from jealousy.

Well I needed to change a few things to get ready.

• Get my ass training
• Get a new bike

For the training bit I contacted the local badass Alison Dunlap to create a training plan for me. I have 'The Time-Crunched Cyclist', 'Endurance Training for Athletes', and other training books in my home library but didn't want to spend the time trying to figure out ride time, periodization calendar, HR zones for rides and the rest of it.  Since this is going to be my only 'race' that I have planned I opted for a monthly plan. I get a personalized plan based on an extensive questionnaire related to goals, strengths, weaknesses, etc.  

I was supposed to start training last week but a viral invasion into my GI tract caused me to cut a MTB trip to Fruita, CO short and miss a couple of days at work and delayed my training.  I spoke to Alison and changed the plan to start on Monday and also take into account a hiking trip to Canyonlands at the end of the month. So the workout will start tomorrow, Monday. Hopefully my plumbing will stay sealed long enough to complete a 1.5hr strength and endurance workout that is planned. I would much rather ride outside than indoors on a trainer.  I will just bring a wag bag and toilet paper as a security blanket.

Since my life is in a tailspin (getting a divorce) and I 'won' entry into a bucket list race what else should you do but get a new bike? Besides I hated the Fox fork and wanted to upgrade to 1x11. By the time I did all the upgrades I might as well get a new bike. So I sold my Niner R.I.P 9 and on the recommendations of several friends I went with the Specialized Stumpjumper EVO Expert Carbon 29er, what a mouthful. The Niner is a great bike but in the few rides on it I have no regrets and the stumpy rocks! 

Here is the new bitch. All stealthy and blacked out!

Will get a review of the bike and few other things out soon.. Just a quick update and review to what is coming.