BVC Workout - endurance and short sprints

Rushed for time, so only able to do a quick endurance workout plus some short 1-2 lap sprints.

No sense pushing intensity or TSS at this point, the 6-day starts on Tuesday... So just keeping warmed up, CTL at or about where it is at, and hope for the best.

Apparently there are already 24 B racers signed up and registration is open for another 2 days... So I'm expected some fairly stiff competition.

I know that Mike Sidic has been out at the track training hard and experimenting with a slightly larger gear. Which I expect will give him a bit more endurance at speed. He's probably going to be tough to beat.

The 6-day is the biggest race series of the year at BVC, so I'm expected some very stiff competition. I'm hoping that Gina Grain (2007 Canadian Road Champion) shows up, she was (IMHO) the best rider last year barely missing first place behind Adam Shwind and Matt Potma (young bucks, since moved up to A group...)

My best result last year was something like a 6th place in a long (80 lap) scratch race. So I'm hoping to do a bit better this year.

Computrainer - 6x2mTT

More rain, so computrainer.

4x1m high cadence, then 6x2mTT, then 1x6mTT and cool down.

Hard to get power out today, probably too much turkey yesterday.

Sun! - Anmore Tour

No rain today, and the Sun was actually visible at times... although the roads where still wet enough to need fenders to keep dry.

Anmore tour, not in record time.. about 2:13 (although that included an extra little climb at the end, about 5 minutes..) Still 25 minutes slower than mid-summer times.

It does compare reasonably well with last winter (Feb 2007) times: 2:22 and 2:08 (without the extra small climb.)

Entire workout (183 watts):

Duration: 2:13:28 (2:45:57)
Work: 1466 kJ
TSS: 162.4 (intensity factor 0.854)
Norm Power: 252
VI: 1.38
Distance: 41.684 km
Elevation Gain: 1250 m
Elevation Loss: 1270 m
Grade: -0.0 % (-20 m)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 684 183 watts
Heart rate: 0 0 0 bpm
Cadence: 24 101 56 rpm
Speed: 1.7 59.1 18.7 kph
Pace 1:01 35:18 3:12 min/km
Altitude: 1 310 127 m
Crank Torque: 0 106.3 32.8 N-m
Temperature: 4 20 5.6 Celsius

Computrainer - 5x10m, revising FTP down

Computrainer today.

5x10m, attempting to do lactate threshold. Tough to do. Should have been 290-300, was closer to 240 Pavg.

Finished with 10x15s at VO2Max... Those where actually easier by comparison...

Based on recent performance I'm thinking that FTP has fallen again. Down to 295 as of Dec 2. I'm not sure if this is due to lower CTL or just lack of doing longer hard rides over the last few months. Or just because of the different conditions of training primarily indoors (fixed gear on the track and Computrainer.)

I have added FTP change points to the PMC chart.

BVC Workout - 5 minute intervals

Was supposed to do 5 minute intervals at 345 Pavg, but just couldn't get near that. Did four at about 315 or close... Really can't get the high numbers on the track (compared to TT...). Finished with a 2 minute Pavg 333.

Ran out of time, should have done at least another 2 minute and cool down.

Track closed until next Thursday. Then we get a few days before the 6-day starts on Dec 31. I don't have to race until Jan 1, and may skip that day (sprints and keirins) and just do the mass start racing starting Jan 2. I think 9 races over three days. Then a final separate Olympic event series on the last day (Saturday.)

BVC Workout - flying 500's

L3 endurance with flying 500 intervals. (500m as fast as you can go... Typically > 500 for the first lap, trailing down to high 400 for the second and mid-low 400 for the final lap.)

Racing not always the best training...

It's been my personal belief for some time that for time trials, which means FTP, that you need to ride long periods of time at your lactate threshold and/or VO2MAX. Not just short intervals, but lonnnggg ones....

Dr. Coggan commented on a related topic to this in wattage today (thread here), providing a summary of what muscle recruitment you need and the required adaptations.

> And if all of those logical jumps are correct, then the implication
> is that in a time trial, you are recruiting all of your type 1 and
> type 2 fibers.

As a percentage of VO2max, maximal lactate steady state/critical power/
functional threshold power occurs at the point at which, based on
various measurements (e.g., PAS staining of muscle samples, EMG
measurements), significant recruitment of the most fatigable type II
fibers begins (I'd refer to them as type IIb/IIx, but after training
they are converted to type IIa, even if they still remain part of that
final "pool" that is hardest to recruit/most fatigable).

> So if your type 2 fibers fatigue quickly, it will hurt your muscle
> endurance for time trialing, and your ability to jump out of a corner
> 40 times. So that fits both of our profiles, as described above.
>
> So what governs fatigue resistance of type 2 fibers?
> What sort of training stress is required to improve it?
> I have no clue about the physiology.

I do. ;-)

The factors that govern fatigue resistance in type II fibers are the
same as in type I fibers, as are the mechanisms by which said fibers
adapt to increased use so as to minimize fatigue resistance. These
include, although are not necessarily limited to, an increased ability
to generate energy aerobically (e.g., increased mitochondria,
increased capillarization), as well as a reduction in ATP demand (by
replacing faster type IIx myosin with slower type IIa). Either way,
the way to go about inducing these adaptations is to continuously
recruit these motor units for a sufficient duration so as to induce
the above adaptations, something that can be accomplished numerous
ways (e.g., "aerobic" intervals, long rides). What I would
*hypothesize* is of limited benefit (because the motor units aren't
"switched on" long enough), at least by comparison, would be - ta da!
- criterium racing (or really any group ride that is too short to
force extensive recruitment of type II motor units, due to fatigue of
the primarily-recruited type I motor units). IOW, I believe that
racing is *not* always the best training...

Andy Coggan

My improved FTP over the summer was (IMHO) a result of doing lots of short, hard, time trials. E.g. the Ryder 8k TT (with about 60m of climbing..) 11-12 minutes in VO2Max. I was able to take more than 30 seconds off both the Ryder 8K TT and VeloVets 10k TT times by the end of the summer.

Roule and you will see ...

Well the original (French) title is Roule et tu sauras.... (for those of us who are French challenged a translated version is here.)

Interesting power training blog from someone whose math skills are far better than mine.

BVC Workout - 10 sets 6on/6off

Straight forward workout today.

Six sets of 6on/6off using 51x15 (~89"). then four more sets using 51x14 (~95") gearing. The target for the "on" was 43-44kph, or L5.

I noticed while doing the first sets on the 51x15 that I my breathing was labored by the end of the set. So after doing the first four I stopped and put on my HRM. Then did two more on that gearing.

Then switched up to 51x15 and did four more sets.

There was a definite difference. The overall Pavg for the first six sets was 322 watts, and for the last four, 329 watts. Subjectively the first six where also "harder" with my breathing more labored and (I think) heart rate higher.

The difference in cadence is not huge, about 95 for the bigger gearing and 101 for the smaller.

In theory, assuming I could maintain the same force, the higher cadence should have meant higher wattage. Since wattage went down, it means that I loose a fair amount of force as cadence moves up from 95 to 100.

This may also explain to some extent the difference in wattage between the TT bike and on the track. On the TT bike I maintain a cadence around 88. If there is a similar drop (in force) from 88 to 95 that starts to explain why I find it hard to maintain the same power output on the track.

I'm hoping that I can get my leg speed up, with appropriate force, and without pushing the heart rate up, as of course that would make my track results better. As it is I can do well in the local B group as I have just enough jump, speed and endurance in the 51x14 to be competitive.

But I would get crushed by the A group. To get up their speeds would require jumping up another notch (say to 97"), but that would leave me in the dust... But on 95" I would be spinning out (due to leg speed) when they lead out 58-60kph.

Peaksware Blog and Wiki

Just a note that Peaksware (parent organization for CyclingPeaks and TrainPeaks) has a blog. It has been around for a while and has been getting more active lately.

Also, I noticed a new (I think) wiki help area with very uptodate help for both TrainingPeaks and CyclingPeaks.

Power Seminar - Hunter Allen

Michel Pelletier and Anthony King organized a Power Seminar in Vancouver yesterday with Hunter Allen of CyclingPeaks and TrainigPeaks fame presenting.

Very interesting, with lot's of little pointers on using WKO+, how to interpret power files etc.

He gave us a short preview of the new about to be released WKO+. Lot's of good things for runners and tri-atheletes. Use your Garmin GPS and it will give you a running (and I think swimming too) TSS score.

For any workout with GPS data you can also easily export to google earth to get an interesting view of the workout track.

If you get a chance to attend one of these with Hunter, it is very worthwhile.

BVC Workout - 3 sets 3onx3off

Track was open today, so was able to workout there instead of outdoors (cold, wet, cold, dark, cold) or on the computrainer...

Started with a good high pace warmup (dodging the guys doing motorpaced madison training...)

Did three sets of 3 laps on (> 400Pavg, L6) and 3-4 laps off. First set was on 91x14, did the reset on 91x15 (effectively 95" moving down to 89".) Trying to see if I can get leg speed up a bit (a weakness.)

Then 20 minutes L3, and cooldown.

Escape Velocity Spring Series - dates and routes up

Escape Velocity has put up the Spring Series 2008 information. The new route this year is the "Snake". Which is just another variation of the Armstrong hill course. Longer loop (so less laps) but (I think) slightly steeper... about 7% grade for 1km.

BVC Friday - final night for Fall series

Who knew a head cold for a week equals tapering :-)

The last night of the BVC IWE Friday night series for fall 2007... double points for the last night. In strong 2nd place but trailing Tony Zachary by large amount, with a strong third place contender (Mike Sidic) snapping at my heels...

Tony Zachary 73
Stuart Lynne 47
Mike Sidic 38
Nick Berry 29
Jacob Swhingboth 28

But if I managed 1st, 7 points, times two, in all three races, that would put me past Tony, assuming he didn't finish well.

Three races:

Elimination to 15 lap Scratch
30 Lap Scratch
5x10 Points

With 17 people showing up....

I decided on the 51x14 as that has been my most successful gearing so far this year. And managed to get a good 20 minutes warmup on it. Because of my cold last week, I effectively have been tapering for two weeks. Current TSB is through the roof...

Elimination, standard tactics, get to front so I don't have to burn any matches sprinting ... had a minor problem when someone else got ahead of me after about 4 eliminations, and I got boxed in. Got to the back and went over the top to get back to the front. I can easily deal with 42-44kph leading the group. Much easier than trying to contest the back ...

The scratch portion was easy, just got to the front and on the blue with a half dozen or so laps to go, waited, Mike Sidic (I think) jumped with about 3-4 to go, went 2 laps, I just went the rest and took it easily.. Legs felt absolutely marvelous...

Next was the 30 lap scratch. Just stayed at the back for the first 20+ laps.. The front group kept trying to push the pace up, doing little sprint efforts. But the rest of the field was strong enough that it didn't split, so I was safe at the back and not doing any work. After one of those sprint efforts, when the group bunched up again I just moved over the top to the front and took over on the blue line. Waited for a lead out.

Nobody wanted to try anything, preferring to follow me when I went. With a little over one lap to go I jumped, and again easily kept ahead of the field (only 230m, 16 seconds, not long enough to fade.)

The 5x10 points race was harder. I was starting to notice some fatigue. And my bronchitis was hurting my breathing a bit... But I made an effort to contest every sprint. Figured even if I just placed in all of them, that would keep me in the top 3 as it was unlikely that anyone would win more than two..

First two where hotly contested. I only (barely) managed 3rd in each. In the next two the field was slowing down a bit and I was able to get 1st both times. But at a cost, I had little or nothing left for the last sprint, a group of about six riders took off with about a lap and a half to go and I just couldn't hang on. But 2 1sts and 2 3rds still was enough to get me 1st place.

Which in the end managed to get me enough points to get 1st in the fall series. By about 4 points. I missed it last year to Mike Roethengaler by (if I recall correctly) about 2-3 points so that was nice. And getting three 1sts on the final night was fun as well.

So, it appears that a head cold that keeps you off the bike for a week doesn't affect your legs... They just treated it like a bit taper. It wasn't until the final sprint of the final race tonight that I really had any problem keeping up. That was after contesting the first four sprints (and winning two!) Normally in a 5x10 I contest the first and possibly the second, then alternate more or less. Try and do well in at least 3. That allows me some rest between the ones I contest. But tonight I just didn't need to rest until after the first 4... And that absolutely has to do with big TSB...


Now, a little more than two weeks to go to the 6-day... and my CTL has plummeted... I think the plan is to see if we can punch in some good workouts with some intensity over the next week or so, get ATL/CTL back in line, then see what we can do for the 6-day.

For us B-Riders the 6-day is actually 8 races over 4 days for the Ominium, then a one day series for Olympic events (500m TT, Flying 200, kierin etc.) So it's hard to taper for. But still the Ominium is 1 less race than the last 3-day. And the Olympic series is at the end so doing it won't interfere with the Ominium.

Exercise-Induced Bronchoconstriction

So in the course of googling up how to treat my Acute Bronchitis, which I seem to get anytime I get a cold, I discovered that I also suffer from Exercise-induced Bronchoconstriction, also known as Exercise-induced Asthma.

This happens periodically at the track, have a hard race, with a very hard sprint at the end, and I end up with a severe cough, literally within the time it takes to take a few laps to slow down and get back to the infield...

One of the common triggers for this is "vigorous exercise in cold, dry air".

Our track is covered by an air-inflated roof. And to keep it inflated they need to pump in cold air from the outside, which they then heat up, which drives the relative humidity way down. And to keep the heating bill low, they don't heat it up past about 15 C (60F). So it is, relatively speaking, cold and dry air.

The fix for this is to use a "Beta-2 Agonists" inhaler (Ventolin, Symbicort, etc.) prior to exercising.

The bad news is that officially makes you a doper according to the UCI as those are on the prohibited list.

The good news is that you can apply for a Therapeutic Use Exemption. In Canada this is done through the Canadian Center for Ethics in Sports:

And we are covered here:

Abbreviated TUE (ATUE)

It is acknowledged that some substances included on the Prohibited List are used to treat medical conditions frequently encountered in the athlete population. As such, the following substances are subject to the ATUE process:

• Beta-2 Agonists by inhalation only (formoterol, salbutamol, salmeterol, and terbutaline); and
• Glucocorticosteroids administered by intra-articular and local injections, and by inhalation.

And:

The ATUE process differs depending on the athlete's category. Some athletes no longer have to apply for an ATUE at the time the medication is prescribed. The Abbreviated Therapeutic Use Exemption Guidelines provide complete detail on how the process applies to different groups of athletes.

So the even better news is that for us lowly "domestic" racers, all we need to do is have the Doctors prescription prior to use of the drug. And file a TUE form on request. I.e. if/when you actually get tested, and the test is positive, then you need to have your Doctor fill in the form and send it in.

This is for Canada, other countries may have different requirements. But this does seem to be a reasonable policy. Reasonable use under a doctors supervision is allowed without prior notice. But your doctor must be willing to say that you had a valid prescription prior to the use.

The only fuzzy area in the summary was the discussion on "international-level" athletes. They are required to file the TUE prior to any events.

I know I ain't one... :-)

But if I go down to Seattle to do a Cat 4 race, does that mean I qualify? Ditto for World Masters events?

I've sent off an email asking for more information. We'll see what they say.

BVC Workout - L2/L3

Easy workout, cold is gone but the after effects are a case of Acute Bronchitis. So no intensity to make me breath hard.

Matt Chater flying 500 - helment cam

Matt Chater does flying 500, Mike Skullman follows with helmet cam....



I'm working on a related project to install a Sony EVI-D30 PZT (Pan, Zoom, Tilt) camera, with some tracking software that will allow track races to be easily taped..

But the above shows the alternate, on the track, POV. I'm not sure, but I suspect that it was taken with one of these, Oregon Scientific ATC2K.

Zipp Gear Bag

Xmas early this year, my new track bag arrived today..

This thing has more pockets and straps than you can shake a stick at :-)

It has room for all of the junk you need to take to and from the track. And allows you to keep things sorted into different pockets so you don't have to dump everything out to find what you need.

Felled by the common cold

No posts this week... time off for battling the common cold....

I work at home and only go out to train or ride at the track... So I can only assume that someone else at home here brought the cold bugs home. Probably the kids who are still in University.

Hopefully I'll be back in training mode soon.

Tomorrow I'll be at the track, but only for a work party.

Computrainer - Map test, misc

Snowing outside, so had to do computrainer again today. Saw Uhl's post on doing a MAP test which reminded me that I have been meaning to do one for some time.

I constructed a simple MAP test erg file, ramping from 100-200 watts with 25 watt jumps per minute, then 5 watt jumps every 15 seconds.

The test protocol is simple, just match the required watts until you can no longer do so.


Then look at the Pavg for the last minute.


The results where a bit low. Only managed 346 watts in the last minute.


According to Ric Stearns MAP info page here that results in the following.

Zone	Min Watts	Max Watts	Ride type	Level
Recovery	0	138	Recovery	Recovery
Zone1	138	190	Long Endurance 1.5-6hrs
Zone2	173	225	Core Endurance	Endurance
Zone3	208	242	Tempo Training
Zone4	225	260	Long TT Power	Intensive
Zone5	242	294	Shorter TT Power(and MAP/VO2Mx work)
Zone6	277	381	MAP training (VO2Max efforts)	Maximal
Zone7	381	519	Anaerobic Work Capacity (<= 30s)

Estimated power outputs for distances based on MAP
3km	89-91% of Map	308	-	315	Watts
4km	88-91% of Map	304	-	315	Watts
16.1km	75-81% of Map	260	-	280	Watts
40.2km	72-77% of Map	249	-	266	Watts
80.5km	64-72% of Map	221	-	249	Watts
161km	60-68% of Map	208	-	235	Watts

Which seriously (I think) under estimates my power zones. Even assuming a (huge!) drop from this summer's TT performances, for short TT's I was doing 340 Pavg for 12-14 minutes (8-10K TTs).

Playing with the numbers show that to achieve that performance, according to MAP test protocol, would require a MAP test result of 400 watts Pavg in the last minute...!! Which I'm sure would not have been possible even at my summer peak.

I suspect this is a product of my power profile. Very low numbers on the left (5 second and 1 minute) and quite high on the left (5 minute and 1 hour..) I can go a (very) long time at FTP (say 320 watts) and just above (up to 350 watts), but as soon as I go above a certain point (say 370 watts) I run out of steam very quickly.

This also impacts on racing, both road (where short hard hills that other riders power up can cause me to burn a match) and on the track.

BVC Friday - 1st, last, 2nd

Strange evening... I did well in the races I don't normally do well in, and bad in my usual good races...

First race was Elimination to 15 lap scratch, 14 starters, with 7 being eliminated. I managed to get to the front. Then stayed there for the first 4 eliminations. Another young guy then went over me and I just followed him with no real competition from behind for the next 3 eliminations. Then just sat at the back until about 8 laps to go... Went to the front, stayed on the blue line to see if anyone wanted to go for it... With two to go was still leading the bunch around the blue line at 42kph... :-) So I jumped and easily took first...

Second was a 20 lap tempo race. This was tough, the dry air had given me a bad cough from the first race and everyone just opened up and pushed the pace way up... So I ended up just following around at the back the entire race... Tempo races are fun, but only if they are 30+ laps, so that the young guys get tired out (mind you there are some young girls in there as well who are pushing the pace up as well...)

Finished with an Unknown distance race. Which is really just a crap shoot. Although you can optimize your chances by sitting out for whatever time you figure is the minimum time they would ring the bell... and then move towards the front and try and stay there.. Tonight seemed to go forever... typically it's about 5-7 minutes... Tonight we where going on 8 minutes or so ... and then someone managed to do a solo crash in the home straight away... We sort of neutralized for a lap or two. I was on the front, on the blue line... Then Mike Sidic jumped, I caught his wheel and they rang the bell.. Didn't manage to get over him though. And Tony Zachary got on my wheel for third.

Finished with a cooldown just to get some TSS points... Keep ATL up...

Hopefully I'll be able to get out this weekend. But the forecast is for snow starting tomorrow afternoon.

BVC Workout - L2 for an hour

Felt the blahs all day, almost skipped going out to the track..

Went and did solid hour of L2. With a bit of up and down getting in and around the other people on the track (who where mostly doing sprint drills or at least that what it felt like...) Kept running into small bunches which slows you down waiting for a good opportunity to get around them.

One hour:

Duration: 1:01:13
Work: 865 kJ
TSS: 63.1 (intensity factor 0.786)
Norm Power: 244
VI: 1.03
Distance: 40.402 km
Elevation Gain: 105 m
Elevation Loss: 102 m
Grade: 0.0 % (3 m)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 750 236 watts
Heart rate: 0 0 0 bpm
Cadence: 25 107 88 rpm
Speed: 11.6 49.3 39.6 kph
Pace 1:13 5:10 1:31 min/km
Altitude: 98 104 101 m
Crank Torque: 0 88.6 25.5 N-m
Temperature: 17 20 18.1 Celsius

I'm glad I went, felt much better after and now. Still feel like maybe a cold might be starting... but overall better for getting out and doing some work instead of sitting at home.

BVC Structured Workout - six on, six off, times six

Reasonably easy drill today, six laps at an easy pace, then six hard.

But felt a bit off. Either from the two days on the weekend (not long as such, but long enough compared to recent riding...) Or possibly a bit of a cold. I've had a bit of a sniffle since Sunday night and today have some unexplained back pains (I have chronic back pains, sometimes worse from riding, but these pains are in different spots...)

If I feel the same tomorrow I'll just do an easy ride.

I did the warmup on a 52x14. But just couldn't get comfortable on it. So did the workout on 51x14. That felt better. But still couldn't really get going. Did the cooldown on 50x14... I'm not going to draw any conclusions though...

Ford Road - L2/L3

Michel Pelletier came over and we spent a couple of hours doing some adjustments to the track and road bikes.. Mostly minor changes, on the track bike moved the seat up and slightly forward, brought the bars up as well. Same on the road bike.

Then we did an enjoyable run out to Pitt Meadows, Ford Road. Wonderful cold and dry weather.

PMC = 2006-2007

Here is a look at my PMC chart showing last (2006) fall through to today.

The big problem I had last fall was the big(!) drop in CTL in Oct/Nov. TSB was hugely positive, which lead to some good results. But once I bottomed out (about Dec 1/2006) and started to try and move CTL back up again it was months (plural!) of negative TSB and very (very) bad results on the track. For both the 6-day in January 2007 and the winter track series through March. My TSB was continuously negative and I had a tough time just staying with the race.

My season high CTL for 2006 was about 66 and I bottomed out at 35. By comparison this year my season high was close to 90 and currently I'm at about 72.

My performance at the track is (I think) better this year (after a bit of a slow start.) But hopefully the big difference will be that I can carry that through to the 6-day race in early January 2008, and then the winter track series. Time will tell.

Anmore Tour - L2/L3

Cold but dry... So was able to get a good long endurance, L2/L3, type ride in. Get ATL and CTL trends pointing in the correct (up!) direction again..


Entire workout (157 watts):

Duration: 2:55:37 (3:06:47)
Work: 1651 kJ
TSS: 147.2 (intensity factor 0.709)
Norm Power: 220
VI: 1.4
Distance: 53.624 km
Elevation Gain: 1669 m
Elevation Loss: 1675 m
Grade: -0.0 % (-6 m)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 592 157 watts
Heart rate: 0 0 0 bpm
Cadence: 25 103 55 rpm
Speed: 1.7 57.7 18.3 kph
Pace 1:02 35:18 3:16 min/km
Altitude: 8 321 147 m
Crank Torque: 0 100.9 29.0 N-m
Temperature: 3 18 5.2 Celsius

Tomorrow Michel Pelletier is coming over and going to do a Wobble Naught bike fit for my road and track bikes. I'm hoping for two things. First to solve some of the shoulder and back issues (chronic pain...) and of course more importantly to optimize for pushing out the big watts...

BVC Friday - relegated..., 5th

Tonight was a kierin. Got first, but was relegated for coming out of the sprinters lane in the last lap. Not sure why, but I was getting a large amount of "wobble" from the front wheel... So drifted up.

Still from a power perspective it was good, felt comfortable. Was on a 51x14.

Final Sprint:

Duration: 0:40
Work: 22 kJ
TSS: 4.1 (intensity factor 1.917)
Norm Power: n/a
VI: n/a
Distance: 586 m
Elevation Gain: 0 m
Elevation Loss: 1 m
Grade: -0.2 % (-1 m)
Min Max Avg
Power: 68 825 544 watts
Heart rate: 0 162 16 bpm
Cadence: 97 126 115 rpm
Speed: 44.7 57.9 52.8 kph
Pace 1:02 1:21 1:08 min/km
Altitude: 127 128 127 m
Crank Torque: 5.9 72.2 45.1 N-m
Temperature: 20 20 20.0 Celsius

I have a Zipp 404 front wheel that I have been meaning to glue a track tubular onto.. I suppose that this gives me a good reason to get that done.


The last race was a 50 lap Scratch race. I was not really warmed up, so got to the front in the first lap and just warmed up by doing 10 laps at about 43kph. That got the heart rate up and the legs moving. But still left me 30 laps to recover.

I went back to the front with about 10 laps to go. And ended up with the race behind me as I circled around on the blue line. No one else seemed to want to go, so I made the tactical error of going... with 5 laps to go.. Which apparently was about 1 lap to early :-)

The main field kept up, and four riders went over me in the finish straight... I *almost* had enough power, but not quite enough. :-(

Final Sprint (5th):

Duration: 1:21
Work: 36 kJ
TSS: 4.4 (intensity factor 1.394)
Norm Power: n/a
VI: n/a
Distance: 1.125 km
Elevation Gain: 1 m
Elevation Loss: 2 m
Grade: -0.1 % (-1 m)
Min Max Avg
Power: 227 711 446 watts
Heart rate: 0 177 20 bpm
Cadence: 97 125 109 rpm
Speed: 44 57.4 50.0 kph
Pace 1:03 1:22 1:12 min/km
Altitude: 124 126 125 m
Crank Torque: 21.2 67.9 39.0 N-m
Temperature: 20 20 20.0 Celsius

I normally just wait for someone else to go, and then just stay on *their* wheel. I really can't figure out why I thought it would be a good idea to try it... I can do 5-6 laps and win, but only if I can get a good gap. And you just can't get a good gap if you are at the front, even going from the blue line, because everyone else is on the blue too..

BVC Structured Workout - Endurance, Motorpaced

Two 10 minute motorpaced sessions planned. First cut short to 6 minutes due to a minor crash.


Tried out the 52x14 for two sessions: 4 minutes at L5 (Pavg 340) and 20 minutes at SST (Pavg about 290).

BVC Structured Workout - Points-Race-Drill

Points-race-drill today. Small groups, do six laps, leaders sprints with everyone following his wheel, for one lap, he then goes to rear. Repeat.. Two sets, we had three riders, did two times through, rest and then three times through.

Finished with 10 minute L5 workout, Pavg 339.

Computrrainer Virtual Series

A computrainer race series is announced here members.shaw.ca.

iBike - too cold, bad position

The numbers crunched, but not too well.

Two problems I think. First I need to get the iBike moved from above the aero-bars to below (using for example the Topeak Bar xtender.)

Second, I think that the cold caused the battery level to go too low.

So, at this point inconclusive results.

Neaves Road - iBike testing

Out to Neaves Road to try out the new iBike2 firmware.... I will (hopefully) provide some CRR and CdA numbers.

Ran three sets of tests on my P2C:

1. non-aero with Bontrager Aeoleus wheels
2. aero with Bontrager Aeoleus wheels
3. aero with Bontrager X-Lite Aero

At the end of the day I also did an iBike torture test, the section of Neeves Road just to the north of my normal TT and wheel test area has some of the worst chipseal and cracked pavement...

I'll run the analysis later and post results..

Yesterday was heavy rain, so spent an hour and a half on the Computrainer, doing the Athens Triathalon course... 5 8km loops with one medium and steep climb (.5km at 7-8%, 300m at 15%) and another shorter climb. Mostly done as L2/L3.

BVC Friday - 1st, 2nd, 1st

Good night, carried through the momentum from last week. Three races, 30 lap Scratch, Elimination and 5x10 Points race.

Mandy Pointras and Jason Manning where not there tonight. Did have Alex Pope and Mike Sidic to contend with (Mike took 1st in C group last weekend, strong up and coming rider.)

Managed to keep towards the front in the 30 lap scratch and then take the win over Alex Pope.

For the Elimination burnt a match contesting Mike Sidic for the "honour" of leading the race after the neutral lap. That meant I could sit in for about the first 6-7 eliminations, just cranking over at about 45kph.. Which for me is a lot easier than sprinting at the back for each elimination (every 40 seconds or so...) Mike went over me and I had to contest one sprint from the middle, then pushed over and went to the front for the remaining (3?) eliminations.. That left Anselmo Rossielmo and (I think) Andy George for the final sprint. Anselmo had the reserves to go over me with one lap, and while I could (more or less) stay on his wheel, I simply didn't have enough to get past him. Second better than not placing (being eliminated...)


The 5x10 Points was last. And unfortunately (:-)) most of the other 18 riders spent last weekend following me around, so where mostly interested in marking my wheel.

Mike Sidic and I did manage to take 1st and 2nd in the first sprint and got a good gap. Mike is quite strong so I yelled at him to keep going and take half lap pulls. We kept off the front four about 15 laps (taking 1st for me and 2nd for Mike for that sprint) and where then joined by Alex Pope who bridged up.

The three of us then enough to contest the next sprint (I think I got another 1st) and where caught by the field about half way to the next (2nd last) sprint.

I then spent most of the rest of the race riding around on the blue, waiting for someone, anyone, to try something. A few riders did, I caught their wheel, brought the field back up. Alex got a good jump with just under 2 laps to go. I caught his wheel, but couldn't get over. Only needed a 2nd though to take 1st overall.

The 48x13 felt good. I have ordered a 52 ring, will move up to 52x14 (96.5 to 97.1).

BVC Structured Workout - Take-a-lap, 48x13

BVC Structured workout, Take-a-lap. Three sets of about ten minutes. Two "laps" in the first two sets, four in the third (we went two up, and where down from 8 to 6 riders in our group.)

Finished with a SST (Sweet Spot) session of about 10 minutes.

Peak 10min (327 watts):

Duration: 10:00
Work: 196 kJ
TSS: 18.7 (intensity factor 1.061)
Norm Power: 329
VI: 1
Distance: 7.207 km
Elevation Gain: 8 m
Elevation Loss: 10 m
Grade: -0.0 % (-2 m)
Min Max Avg
Power: 141 725 327 watts
Heart rate: 0 181 172 bpm
Cadence: 83 105 93 rpm
Speed: 37.9 49 43.2 kph
Pace 1:13 1:35 1:23 min/km
Altitude: 56 60 58 m
Crank Torque: 14.6 70.6 33.6 N-m
Temperature: 17 17 17.0 Celsius

Getting a bit better at getting out of the saddle when taking a jump. The bigger gear (lower cadence) helps.

Exercising those sore shoulders

Terry Ritter was kind enough to make some suggestions for shoulder exercises and therapy using the following product.

Here's the product that I was talking about and the company that I just bought my latest edition from:

http://www.betterfitnessproducts.com/sportcord.html

I used the green cords before, and ordered the blue and black this time. It might have been better, if you were just doing shoulders, to go with the green and blue.

Hope this helps.

--
Terry T. Ritter
USA Cycling Coach
Full Potential Training Services
Reach Your FULL POTENTIAL
www.fpts.biz

Burnaby Velodrome Fall Challenge 2007 - Final results

Final results finally posted....

BVC 2007 Nov results

I did come out on top in the B Omnium. But this was only because Jason Manning didn't compete on Sunday due to a crash on Saturday evening.

On the other hand, I'm reasonably sure that I would still have ended up with a strong and close 2nd (within one 1st place finish of Jason, and more than 1st place finish ahead of Alex Pope in third.)

ibke2 - new firmware and post-analysis software

There is a new version of the iBike software (aka ibike2) available.

ibikepro download

Both firmware and new application (Mac and Windows). Along with new procedures for coast down, and doing a "Four Mile" ride, the new iBike2 software will do post-analysis on your coast down(s) and ride to get a much better set of numbers (CdA and CRR) to allow the iBike to report more accurate numbers.

The post-analysis software can also eliminate many of the old problems (tilt problems, wind changes, vibration problems) by filtering the ride files.

I'll be trying this out soon. And I put together a quick checklist of the procedures for getting the initial profiles (tilt, wind, coast down, 4-mile ride) etc, done correctly.

iBike Checklist...

The new iBike2 software produces CdA and CRR numbers as part of the new process of creating a "profile". This involves multiple coast downs, then doing a 4-mile ride under reasonably controlled conditions, then doing post-analysis.

Hopefully the produced numbers are reproducible and can be used as the "poor mans wind-tunnel" to evaluate aero-gear, wheel sets, bike position etc.

BVC Workout - L2/L3, 48x13

Easy workout today, trying out 48x13. Mostly just L2/L3 with one hard L5 5 minute interval. Also did some practice out of the saddle easy sprints (I need to get more comfortable sprinting out of the saddle on the track...)

BVC Video

I managed to get my son Ryan out on Saturday night to shoot some video. Managed to get most of the B group 8x10 points race..

Burnaby Velodrome Fall Challenge 2007 - Sunday 2 1sts

Three races today. A 3x20 Points Race, Unkown Distance and 50 Lap Snoball.

Jason Manning who was killing me Friday and Saturday wasn't racing today. He had a crash late last night doing a Kierin and didn't feel up to racing today. I can say that if he had showed up today, he only needed to get a couple of 3rd/4th place finishes to maintain his lead in the Omnium points total. I would not have been able to catch him EVEN with two 1sts... and if the past two days are a guide, it's likely we would have split the two for a 1st and 2nd each again.

The 3x20 Points race was a toss up for tactics... Long enough to be good for me, but only three sprints... I needed to get two sprints so could not count on a single big effort. I worked up the group at about lap 15, then managed to lead out for the sprint... and got it. Let the second sprint go, the field was frustrated and wanted to hammer, I just sat at the back. Then for the final sprint started moving up towards the front, at which point the field started to panic as they thought I was going over the top... fat chance with 15 laps to go..

But the panic worked, as it got someone to pickup the pace, then with with about 6-8 to go and I just go on their wheel, followed and went over, I think with 2 laps to go, with a nice gap.

Unknown distance races are always just a crap shoot... you do your best, try and crack the field apart, and when the bell goes (for B groups 6-9 minutes) you hope you have a position that you can win from... The problem is that it is too short to tire everyone out, and when the bell goes everyone tries to go.... I didn't need to win it so just stayed safely to the rear. Good call as there where two different crashes, the final was two riders going down just after the bell rang and everyone tried to sprint at once.

The final race was a 50 lap Snoball. In this race you get one point for going over the line in the first lap, two for the second lap, three for the third, until finished. This makes the final laps the best as they give you the most points. There are something like 1200 points available, and in the last few laps you get 40-50 points per lap.

Snoballs, like Tempo or Point-a-Lap tend to go fast. snoballs are just faster as you get farther along. Long ones like this, suit my power profile to a T... I'm just getting warmed up and ready to do a big push when everyone else is cooked...

I hung around at the back for about the first 25 laps, then moved towards the front. Got into the pace line and just waited to get to the front. Then picked up the pace to get a small group at the front, and just swapped laps with anyone who was able to get to the front. I was happy to get every 2nd or 3rd lap as even though the pace was high, that meant I wasn't pushing enough power to be burning any matches, leaving me able to do the big jump at the end.

At about lap 42 I jumped over the top, got a gap and took 5 laps, and then got pipped at the line for the final one by Mandy Pointras who managed to bridge up and out sprint me for the final lap. I could hear her coming, but after being out there for 6 laps couldn't get much over about 430 watts for the final sprint. She was tired too after bridging and catching me.. But that was a two lap effort so she had just enough to tag on, get her breath and then come over at the finish. Very nicely done on her part.

Burnaby Velodrome Fall Challenge 2007 - Saturday night, 2nd and 1st

There where two races in the Omnium series tonight. A 40 Lap Tempo and 8x10 Points Race.

I managed a 2nd in the Tempo and 1st in the Points race. Both of these races required different tactics from yesterdays races. They where too long or had too many points that a single jump over the top would get a top placing.

In the Tempo race I managed to get 28 points versus Jason Mannings 35. There where 2 points for being first for each lap, 1 point for second. I think that was about 10 1sts. I was careful to keep my effort down to a level that I could recover from, stay with the lead group and then re-attack. I did manage to get away for a set of about 4 1sts round about lap 25. Then Jason Manning caught up and we swapped laps while lapping dropped riders (catching a dropped rider in the sprinters lane going 30ish while you are doing 48-50kph is NOT as much fun as it sounds....)

With about 3 laps to go Iona Wynter Parks and another girl bridged up and about the same time as we hit a group of lapped riders. Jason was in front and managed to find a hole through them low down, I couldn't get through the same hole and had to go over top. By the time I got over the rider I was forced to go around, Jason with Iona and partner in tow where about 6-8 bike lengths away and accelerating... I was reasonably sure at that point that a) I had a lock on second, and b) Jason had a lock on 1st, and c) that most likely the girls would get most of the remaining points anyway... so just coasted to the finish.






The Points race started with (for me) a good position at the front. I managed to control the pace and keep group down to a slow 41-42kph for about 6 laps with the rest of the pack pacing behind me, wondering when/if I'd pull up (the answer is. at that pace, only if I get bored). Eventually, as I was hoping, a strong young guy jumped over me with about 3 laps to go to the first sprint. Which of course is what I was waiting for. I just jumped onto his wheel and let him drag me to the sprint, then went over him to grab the points and then pulluped up.

A small group went by, I just jumped onto their wheels, followed and again went over to get the next sprint as well. I then rested for one sprint, but still stayed well up with the lead group. Almost got 1st for the 4th sprint (Jason Manning pipped be at the line). Then got the 5th.

Rested for the 6th and 7th. Then got to the front behind a relatively fast young guy with about 8 laps to go, I think we had a smallish gap. He managed to keep up a good pace, but was slowing significantly after about 5 laps. Then with 2 laps to go help arrived in the form of Alex Pope who went over us both with just the right speed that I could jump and catch him, but that we gapped the field. He lead me out and I went over him to take the last sprint.

Unlike the shorter races last night, which could be won with a single or perhaps two long efforts, both of the races tonight had have multiple shorter efforts, again staying within the power ranges that I could absorb and come back from quickly. Also choosing when to make an effort (get the early sprints in the points race so that I could then take a rest etc) where what made the difference.

So the end result was to put a good lock on my 2nd place overall Omnium position.

Unofficial totals:

1 - Jason Manning - 69
2 - Stuart Lynne - 54

Not entirely of the totals below that. Mandy Pointras got two thirds, and Alex Pope two fourths. Which I think gets them both up to about 30 points.

There are three races tomorrow. 3x20 Points, Unknown distance and 50 lap Snoball..I think Jason has a lock on 1st (as long as he shows up and places at all). Any of Mandy, Tony or Alex could still catch me for 2nd overall.

Burnaby Velodrome Fall Challenge 2007 - Friday night update

Just got an email from Rob McMurty who is doing the (unenviable) work of tracking all of the points, schedules etc.

The commissaries had minorly screwed up the results, but after the dust settled I was (correctly I think) placed as 2nd for the 5x10 points race.

Which gets me 2nd in the Omnium points standing going into Saturday nights races.

1 - Jason Manning - 42 pts
2 - Stuart Lynne - 27 pts
3 - Tony Zackery - 18 pts
4 - Alex Pope - 17 pts

BVC Race - Equipment update

I was again riding on a large 51x14 (about 96") gear last night.

The rear was my Zipp 900 disc with a new tubular glued on (flatted racing last Friday). Previously it had a Tufo S3 lite. I had some Vittoria Pista Evo-CS on order to replace the Tufo, but since it was flat and the Vittoria's had not arrived I glued on a Tufo Elite < 130. These (according the AFM spreadsheet) have reasonably good CRR (especially at high PSI, say 150, just not as good as the Vittoria's..)

The front wheel was my light weight Bontrager XXX Carbon with a Vitoria Chrono EVO CS. My usual Zipp 3000 is out of action to get the bearings replaced. The Zipp 3000 also has the older Tufo S3 (also waiting for the Vittoria Pista...)

I have to say that I was quite pleased though with the combination. While I don't have specific power numbers and tests to prove it, subjectively that combination with the faster Tubular s felt faster. I think in the big pushes and off the front efforts it was getting me about 1-2 kph extra.

I have another Tufo Elite < 130, I may put that onto the Zipp 3000 (the bearings arrived yesterday.)

Burnaby Velodrome Fall Challenge 2007 - Friday night 1st and placed

First night of the BVC Fall Challenge.

I did two of the three races in the B group, the feature race - 30 lap scratch; and the final 5x10 Points race. I skipped the Miss-and-Out.

There was a huge field with 21 riders lining up in the B group. In the 30 lap scratch the pace was set high from the beginning. The average speed for the first 24 laps was 46kph. Everyone was duking it out at the front and pushing the pace with really no effective result as the race kept coming back together. More than a few laps where averaging over 52kph.


I didn't want to get involved and just hung out at the back.. At about lap 20 I started moving up the field. At lap 24 I went over the top with a big jump. Got a about a half a lap gap, rode past Alex Pope who had just spent more than a couple laps off the front to get the third sprint and just rode it out to the finish 1st. I was running out of gas on the last lap, but still had a reasonable lead, so moderated my speed a bit, still maintained about 5-6 bike gap over the 2nd place rider (I'll get his name and update later from the results.) Final race speed average was 46.4kph (47kph if neutral lap excluded.)

I skipped the Miss-and-out. With 21 riders that would have meant 18 sprints (21 riders down to 3) over 36 laps.. or a sprint every 45 seconds or thereabouts.... Which is just not something I'm good at and it would mean burning too many (18!) matches... which in turn would leave me with nothing for the final race, the 5x10 points race.

The points race again started out stupidly fast with everyone wanting to get to the front and take the sprint... I again retired to the back where it was much safer and a lot less work. Dave Kosick and I kept each other company at the back. The first sprint averaged 52kph over two laps.. The second 52kph over a little over one lap. The third sprint showed that the group was getting tired, only 50 for less than a full lap!


At that point I made my way up the field. And simply went over the top to easily take the fourth sprint, getting a big gap at the same time. Iona Wynter Parks (Team Colividis) bridged up to me over two laps. And then lead me around for about five laps. I went over her with two laps to go.

Not sure what my final placement was, I took 1st in 2 of the 5 sprints. I'll update this tomorrow once the official results are in.

These results where I think my best in two years of track racing. And doubly so as I was also the oldest rider on the track tonight. I don't think any of the A riders have anything to worry about though... :-)

Tomorrow night there is a 40 lap Tempo and 8x10 Points. They should be interesting.

BVC Workout - misc, good 5 min, 355 Pavg

Three day race this weekend, so didn't want to do any L4/L5 work... So mostly L2..

Did one 5 minute push at +350 watts in a BIG gear, 51x14. This tends to show, I think, that my problems with getting reasonable power out in the VO2Max range is related to cadence. ON the 50x14, about 96", I really had little problem pushing out 350+ watts for five minutes. Every time I move up it gets easier to push out L5 power for longer periods.

I think this is due to my limited range of heart rate. My lactate threshold is about 172, VO2Max about 180 and my max is about 186. I don't have a lot of room, and spinning at higher cadence seems to push the heart rate up without necessarily giving me correspondingly more power.

For TT'ing I can compensate by micro-managing my cadence. But on the track I have to choose one gear ahead of time and live with it. Too big a gear and I may get dropped early in the race. But too small a gear and I may be out simply by pushing my heart rate up to high to early.


Peak 5min (355 watts):

Duration: 5:00
Work: 107 kJ
TSS: 10.8 (intensity factor 1.141)
Norm Power: 354
VI: 1
Distance: 3.783 km
Elevation Gain: 5 m
Elevation Loss: 7 m
Grade: -0.1 % (-2 m)
Min Max Avg
Power: 174 615 355 watts
Heart rate: 159 183 177 bpm
Cadence: 90 104 99 rpm
Speed: 41.6 49 45.4 kph
Pace 1:13 1:27 1:19 min/km
Altitude: 35 37 36 m
Crank Torque: 17.1 62 34.3 N-m
Temperature: 18 18 18.0 Celsius

This is still under my best TT efforts, but is getting closer, and again feels more comfortable at this power level.

BVC Structured Workout - Flying 500's - 51x14

Nothing too spectacular. Just 3 flying 500's which I actually stretched out to be more like 600-700.

Peak 1min (494 watts):

Duration: 1:00
Work: 30 kJ
TSS: 4.5 (intensity factor 1.636)
Norm Power: n/a
VI: n/a
Distance: 786 m
Elevation Gain: 1 m
Elevation Loss: 2 m
Grade: -0.1 % (-1 m)
Min Max Avg
Power: 330 631 494 watts
Heart rate: 153 184 170 bpm
Cadence: 84 110 102 rpm
Speed: 40 50.8 47.1 kph
Pace 1:11 1:30 1:16 min/km
Altitude: 130 132 131 m
Crank Torque: 34 65.6 46.4 N-m
Temperature: 14 14 14.0 Celsius

Silverdale - Upper Stave Falls - Endurance

It was supposed to be 3 hours L2/L3, Silverdale and back via the lower Stave Lake Dam and Dewdney Trunk road... But BC Hydro is doing (massive) maintenance (closed for 4 months apparently...) so I had to keep going over towards Mission and come back via the Upper Stave Falls Dam. Which added another 300-400m of climbing and about 20km... Or about an hour...

Entire workout (156 watts):

Duration: 4:13:45 (4:22:09)
Work: 2369 kJ
TSS: 171.6 (intensity factor 0.637)
Norm Power: 197
VI: 1.27
Distance: 105.137 km
Elevation Gain: 1220 m
Elevation Loss: 1223 m
Grade: -0.0 % (-3 m)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 560 156 watts
Heart rate: 0 0 0 bpm
Cadence: 24 99 66 rpm
Speed: 1.6 60.5 24.9 kph
Pace 0:60 37:30 2:25 min/km
Altitude: 7 241 78 m
Crank Torque: 0 104.6 23.4 N-m
Temperature: 9 15 11.9 Celsius

BVC Friday - possibly placed...flatted... still alive

Three races: 25 lap Scratch, 40 lap Point-a-Lap and Elimination to Scratch.

The 25 Lap Scratch started with 18 riders. Which is a very large field for our 200m track (official limit is 20!) This was possibly the fastest B race (or at least in the top 3) for the last few years... 46.7kph (that includes the neutral lap, it was 48.1 for the 25 lap race!.)

25 Lap Scratch Race:

Duration: 7:03
Work: 135 kJ
TSS: 14.3 (intensity factor 1.105)
Norm Power: 342
VI: 1.07
Distance: 5.486 km
Elevation Gain: 8 m
Elevation Loss: 13 m
Grade: -0.1 % (-5 m)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 721 319 watts
Heart rate: 0 185 170 bpm
Cadence: 32 120 103 rpm
Speed: 17.1 54.7 46.7 kph
Pace 1:06 3:31 1:17 min/km
Altitude: 125 130 127 m
Crank Torque: 0 67.9 29.5 N-m
Temperature: 19 20 19.8 Celsius

I managed to at least get into the lead group for the sprint. But that only meant maybe 7th or 8th... Was on a 50x14.

The Point-a-Lap started very fast as well. Average speed for first 18 laps was about 45kph! At that point I had managed to bully my way into the lead group by following aggressively in the sprinters lane and yelling at anyone trying to drop down in front of me. I then jumped over the lead rider to take a point and apparently managed to gap the lead group who where by that point running out of gas... Took about 5 laps. Again on a 50x14 which helped as I could keep up a good pace without going to high on cadence.

Alex Pope then bridged up and we swapped laps for (I think) another 4-5 laps. By that time we where slowing enough that the the rest of the leaders managed to catch us again. I took one more and then fell off and just tried to stay on their wheels..

After about 1 maybe 2 laps I started to feel that unpleasant thump of the valve stem on the rear and realized that I had a flat tire... At about 44kph... going around on the blue line hitting a 47 degree banked curve every 8-10 seconds... This was NOT a pleasant experience.... At least I was well back of the main leaders and didn't have too many other riders around me, so I was able to start yelling "FLAT!!!!!!" and start trying to maneuver down the track into the sprinters lane and then after about 2 laps onto the blue. Without taking anyone else out or crashing....


I had to leave early after the last race, so still don't know if exiting on a flat dis-qualified me.. I think I got 7 points... which should have got me a 3rd or 4th.. There where a few other riders (e.g. Mike Rathengaler) who also managed to get multiple lap points. But I don't think anyone was dominant enough to take much more than I got. I suspect that there where 4-5 riders each with about 5-6 or 7 points...

The last race was an Elimination-2-Scratch. In the rush to swap to my spare training wheel I neglected to change the cog... So was racing on a 50x15. I had basically burnt most (all) of my matches in the Point-a-lap... and it was very hard to keep from being eliminated... just couldn't spin up enough. I was at the back and had to keep attacking up and over. I did manage to stay in for 6. Interestingly if I had managed to stay on for (I think) just one more the scratch race was fairly sedate. Most of the heavy hitters like Tony Zachary had also dropped out.

The power numbers for the breakaway in the Point-a-Lap where reasonable for the time. Starting to feel like my summer TT (e.g. Ryder 8KTT) numbers. Still not as high. But subjectively feeling like I'm actually getting some performance. The Tuesday/Wednesday sessions are probably helping.

Off Front:

Duration: 3:10
Work: 73 kJ
TSS: 7.9 (intensity factor 1.226)
Norm Power: n/a
VI: n/a
Distance: 2.461 km
Elevation Gain: 2 m
Elevation Loss: 1 m
Grade: 0.0 % (0 m)
Min Max Avg
Power: 111 826 384 watts
Heart rate: 179 187 184 bpm
Cadence: 91 124 103 rpm
Speed: 41.1 56.3 46.6 kph
Pace 1:04 1:28 1:17 min/km
Altitude: 114 115 115 m
Crank Torque: 10.7 70.9 35.4 N-m
Temperature: 18 18 18.0 Celsius

This also corresponds nicely with what Hunter Allen and Andy Coggan describe as a "Race Winning Effort":

Race winning efforts- Do (5 to 8). Each begins with a 30 second sprint(15second out of the saddle) to begin with and you must average 600watts (200%) of your Threshold power in these first 30seconds with a peak of at least 900-1000watts(300%). Then 3minutes hammer at 300watts or 100% of your Threshold, and then finish with 10 sec burst at the end trying to reach 600-700watts.

I managed to hit 826 watts max, averaged 542 watts for the first 30 seconds, then 2:35 minutes at 353 average watts, with a 10 second burst hitting 655 watts and averaging 511 watts at the finish.

Of course it was a Point-a-lap, with still about 10 laps to go... and I was whacked... But I think it should have put me in the top 3.. barring flats.. :-(

FastCoach - Sweet Spot Traing (SST)

FastCoach has an update on his SweetSpot approach to training.

The point he makes is that training at a point just between high L3 (Tempo) and low L4 (Threshold) reduces the amount of training you do (time in the saddle) but still get the with the maximum training effect.

This update to his original article last year provides eight real world examples of applying SST (Sweet Spot Training); from Sweet Spot Hours to Structured Sweet Spot.

I know I enjoy doing these types of workouts. Most of my Anmore Tour rides tend to be in this range unless I'm purposely doing L3. In fact it falls into example 3 "45 minutes of Sweet Spot climbing during a 3 hour ride". Although it has a bit more climbing on a shorter ride (although lately I have been doing a longer slower version, 2.5 hours instead of 1.75).

While not quite a Silver Bullet that gets you magically to the finish line, this has the potential to help optimize your training.

There is also a reasonably good discussion taking place on the wattage list (registration required, to prevent list spamming.)

BVC Structured Workout - Points Race Workout

Points Race workout. Group of four, six laps at about 38kph, then sprint for one. Repeat for next rider. Repeat twice for each rider.

Sounds easy, but the sprints add up....

Finished with 12 minutes L4 workout. This is starting to feel a little better and feel more like TT workouts from the summer. Although still about 30-40 watts lower average.

Peak 10min (307 watts):

Duration: 10:00
Work: 184 kJ
TSS: 16.7 (intensity factor 1)
Norm Power: 310
VI: 1.01
Distance: 6.991 km
Elevation Gain: 17 m
Elevation Loss: 18 m
Grade: -0.0 % (-1 m)
Min Max Avg
Power: 74 642 307 watts
Heart rate: 163 185 177 bpm
Cadence: 85 102 94 rpm
Speed: 37.5 45.4 41.9 kph
Pace 1:19 1:36 1:26 min/km
Altitude: 126 129 127 m
Crank Torque: 7.7 64.5 31.0 N-m
Temperature: 16 17 16.7 Celsius

I also noticed tonight that I'm getting higher average heart rate numbers than I have previously been able to do. From years of riding and two years of road and track I "know" that my VO2Max HRM is about 172, and I can do about 180-181 without "blowing up". But if I go much over 181 for any amount of time I "blow up" and need to spend significant time at a slow pace to get it back under control (i.e. back to about 172...)

Tonight half way through the L4 session I noticed that I was at about 181 and not really feeling any effects... A few minutes later I was at about 184 and *still* not feeling like I was having any problems. WKO says my best 1 minute was 185, best 2 minutes 184.

Not quite sure how to interpret that. In theory max heart rate is about 186-188... and it seems unusual to be able to sit at 184 for that length of time...

New Teamate - good aero position

We're always interested in getting our teammates outfitted in the latest gear so they can be as fast as possible.

BVC Structured Workout - 3x3

Structured workout at the track, 3x3, three laps at VO2Max, three laps recovery, repeat 6-8 times. Rest, repeat...

Actually did 9 and 13 reps, with a couple 4x4 thrown in to get some times over a minute (so WKO+ would see best of 60 seconds etc.)

Entire workout (215 watts):

Duration: 1:41:01 (2:39:12)
Work: 1302 kJ
TSS: 126.6 (intensity factor 0.867)
Norm Power: 269
VI: 1.25
Distance: 55.674 km
Elevation Gain: 140 m
Elevation Loss: 139 m
Grade: 0.0 % (1 m)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 660 215 watts
Heart rate: 0 188 148 bpm
Cadence: 24 117 78 rpm
Speed: 0 52.2 33.1 kph
Pace 1:09 0:00 1:49 min/km
Altitude: 118 131 126 m
Crank Torque: 0 102.3 25.0 N-m
Temperature: 14 22 15.1 Celsius

Two days outside - mostly L2/L3

Two days outside, 2 hours on Saturday and 3 on Sunday. Was supposed to do 4 on Sunday but I was too cold and wet to go much longer than 3 hours.

BVC Pictures - Chris Reynolds

Thanks to Chris Reynolds Flickr site, a couple of good track shots.

This is the B group lining up for the start.








Anthony King and unidentified (:-) ) rider.