Two down, 8 to go. This week was based mostly on cadence work. Which, come to find out, was a great idea. I thought I'd just coast through the session, get a workout in, and leave happy. To the contrary, it opened my eyes to how much time I spend at a cadence that very well may be too low for me.
Normally during a trainer session I find myself between 80-85 RPM. In this session we did 3 min intervals of 80, 90, 100, 110, and max cadence. I found that my HR and RPE went down while maintaining the same power when I went from 80 to 90, and maybe even to 100 rpm. Good to know!
Next week is the big week, our first threshold test. I can't remember if they said we'd be doing a 30 min or 40 min test, but it's going to be a sufferfest to push myself to the limits I experience when trying my best to keep up with Ted and Tim during our little group rides. It ain't gonna feel good, but I have no desire to sandbag this test!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
UCI Cyclocross World Championship
This Sunday is the greatest day in sports... The Super Bowl? Heck no, I'm talking about the Cyclocross World Championships.
According to Chicagobikeracing.com the event will be on Universal Sports. I checked the schedule and they haven't posted the time it will be aired yet.
In the meantime, here is a video from the women's championship two years ago:
http://www.universalsports.com/mediaPlayer/media.dbml?&_MODE_=ONDEMAND&DB_MENU_ID=&SPSID=105625&SPID=13044&DB_OEM_ID=23000&CLIP_ID=130182&CLIP_FILE_ID=134809
The video quality is pretty good. The announcers aren't the greatest, but at least it is in English.
According to Chicagobikeracing.com the event will be on Universal Sports. I checked the schedule and they haven't posted the time it will be aired yet.
In the meantime, here is a video from the women's championship two years ago:
http://www.universalsports.com/mediaPlayer/media.dbml?&_MODE_=ONDEMAND&DB_MENU_ID=&SPSID=105625&SPID=13044&DB_OEM_ID=23000&CLIP_ID=130182&CLIP_FILE_ID=134809
The video quality is pretty good. The announcers aren't the greatest, but at least it is in English.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Vision Quest, Week 1
Well, it's actually week -2. I got a chance to start a couple weeks early, so I get 10 weeks for the price of 8.
Today was nothing more than a coaching class to teach everyone what power can do for us. Many of the people in the class had not only never used power, but didn't necessarily know what watts were.
Dave (the coach) had us do some 1 min intervals with 1 min rest first. Then we hit up some 3 min intervals, followed by 5 min intervals. Each one used to show us all how to use watts and give us a glimpse of our baselines. Luckily I have been using watts for some time, so it wasn't all new to me, but I got an idea of how I stacked up against the class and what riders I can use to push myself. There were 2 guys in particular that are roughly the same size as me, one slightly stronger, one only slightly weaker. This will allow me to judge my progress against the other participants to get an idea of how well I am progressing throughout the class.
We'll see how it all plays out, but worst case scenario VQ has a cool spot on Elston to ride on Sunday's and I get to have a good time riding with a group!
Today was nothing more than a coaching class to teach everyone what power can do for us. Many of the people in the class had not only never used power, but didn't necessarily know what watts were.
Dave (the coach) had us do some 1 min intervals with 1 min rest first. Then we hit up some 3 min intervals, followed by 5 min intervals. Each one used to show us all how to use watts and give us a glimpse of our baselines. Luckily I have been using watts for some time, so it wasn't all new to me, but I got an idea of how I stacked up against the class and what riders I can use to push myself. There were 2 guys in particular that are roughly the same size as me, one slightly stronger, one only slightly weaker. This will allow me to judge my progress against the other participants to get an idea of how well I am progressing throughout the class.
We'll see how it all plays out, but worst case scenario VQ has a cool spot on Elston to ride on Sunday's and I get to have a good time riding with a group!
Time to get back to it....
After some time (I won't say how long) of lack-luster training, it's time to get back moving. I was surprised, though I shouldn't have been, at how out of shape I had become. An extra chunk of weight, paired with much lower power numbers than last year, has me realizing I have a long way to go before the XTERRA season starts this year.
I picked up a used Computrainer, an nice LCD and desktop PC off of Craigslist, and I now have a killer training room set up!
Monday started the training, 20 weeks based on the PIG workouts Tim sent out. With the first week down, I am thinking the numbers were a little low that I have been using, but I'm sure I'll be making up for that in the near future.
Day 1 was a 30 min effort to set up what the PIG program calls CP30 (Critical Power, 30 min). Entering that into the spreadsheet gives me all of the wattages for the weeks workouts.
Day 2 was an interval ride, Day 3 was a tempo ride, Day 4 was endurance, and Day 5 was another tempo ride.
My first week back also included a little sample session at Vision Quest, which I'll do another post of. All said I completed a hair over 7 hours on the bike which I am happy with. I'll do another 1-2 weeks like this before introducing more running into my program to get my weight down. My knees tend to be sensitive to the extra weight and the last thing I want to do is pound them into the ground in January!
The season is approaching quickly!
I picked up a used Computrainer, an nice LCD and desktop PC off of Craigslist, and I now have a killer training room set up!
Monday started the training, 20 weeks based on the PIG workouts Tim sent out. With the first week down, I am thinking the numbers were a little low that I have been using, but I'm sure I'll be making up for that in the near future.
Day 1 was a 30 min effort to set up what the PIG program calls CP30 (Critical Power, 30 min). Entering that into the spreadsheet gives me all of the wattages for the weeks workouts.
Day 2 was an interval ride, Day 3 was a tempo ride, Day 4 was endurance, and Day 5 was another tempo ride.
My first week back also included a little sample session at Vision Quest, which I'll do another post of. All said I completed a hair over 7 hours on the bike which I am happy with. I'll do another 1-2 weeks like this before introducing more running into my program to get my weight down. My knees tend to be sensitive to the extra weight and the last thing I want to do is pound them into the ground in January!
The season is approaching quickly!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Tour de Groundhog
Cyclocross season is not quite over. There is one more race in Illinois:
Sunday February 15th, 2009
21st Annual Bill Jensen Memorial Tour de Groundhog
New Salem State Park
For more information go to:
http://www.teammackracing.org/
Sunday February 15th, 2009
21st Annual Bill Jensen Memorial Tour de Groundhog
New Salem State Park
For more information go to:
http://www.teammackracing.org/
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Green Team
There is not much to write about these days. The cold spell in Chicago has me thinking about moving down south. It is so friggin' cold I can't even go out there and snow shoe.
I'm looking at the 2009 race schedules and trying to put together a plan for the 09 season. Other than that I've been swimming endless laps in the pool and trying to stay sane while riding the rollers and running on the treadmill.
During the off season, instead of writing about races I'll periodically post pictures of my bikes (I have a lot) and write reviews of products I have tried this past season. My product reviews won't be biased by advertisers like they are in Bicycling magazine, so I'll give you the no B.S. report on what I really think about products.
In the meantime, team member Saj, has undertaken the Green initiative at Get a Grip. Read about the program below:
Green Statement
After seeing the documentary The 11th Hour, Get a Grip Cycles decided to step up our efforts with making the shop more green. We are in an industry where it only makes sense to care about the Earth. We are striving to make as little of an impact on the Earth as possible and plan to use our shop as an outlet to create awareness. It's great to see and hear the responses that we get from customers when this topic is discussed. More and more people are caring about the condition of the Earth these days.
How we are making a difference:
We now recycle everything we can, including paper, plastic, glass, metals and electronics. As a bike shop, recycling tires and tubes is probably how we will make the biggest difference in offsetting our footprint. We are currently taking in a large load of tires and tubes every few of weeks.
We have switched to Earth friendly lubes, bike cleaners and de-greasers from Pedro's and Phil Wood for use in our shop. We sell these products as well.
We use the Omega Ultrasonic parts cleaner for our drive train cleans. It works with an environmentally friendly solution and electronic charges dislodge unwanted grime.
We make a concentrated effort to encourage people to support Chicago's bicycle co-op Working Bikes. They are a non-profit shop that fixes junk bikes that are donated to them. They sell them for cheap or donate them locally and globally. Any time we have a customer wondering if their junk bike is worth fixing, we either give them a drop off location, or even take their bike to Working Bikes for them.
We have changed our shopping bags. No more poly bags! We now use 100% recycled paper bags with soy based ink.
From now on, all Get a Grip Cycles t-shirts will be made out of organic cotton and not manufactured in a sweat shop. Our latest run of shop tees is from American Apparel, made in California.
Conservation of our off-road trails. We plan to attend more trail work days.
Our future decisions will always be made will the Earth in mind.
We will choose companies to support that are eco-conscious. Some of our current brands that support are goals are: Independent Fabrications, Seven Cycles, Shimano, Quality Bicycle Products, Pedro's, Chris King, Nite Rider, Light & Motion, Keen, Reynolds, Schwalbe, Michelin, Continental, Nokian, Pro Bar, Steaz, Clif, Sharkies, Jittery Joes, Phil Wood, WTB, Finish Line and Resource Revival. These are the companies that we know of currently.
RECYCLE - REUSE - REDUCE
FACT: It takes approximately 1000 miles on a new bike to offset the carbon footprint that it took to make it.
CONTACTS: Chicago Recycling.org - Everything recycling Chicago.
Liberty Tire Recycling: 1323 W. Cortland St. Weekdays 7 - 3:30
Working Bikes.org - Bike Donation.
Resource Revival.com - Bike parts donation.
Electronicsrecycling.org - Solid waste doesn't degrade.
I'm looking at the 2009 race schedules and trying to put together a plan for the 09 season. Other than that I've been swimming endless laps in the pool and trying to stay sane while riding the rollers and running on the treadmill.
During the off season, instead of writing about races I'll periodically post pictures of my bikes (I have a lot) and write reviews of products I have tried this past season. My product reviews won't be biased by advertisers like they are in Bicycling magazine, so I'll give you the no B.S. report on what I really think about products.
In the meantime, team member Saj, has undertaken the Green initiative at Get a Grip. Read about the program below:
Green Statement
After seeing the documentary The 11th Hour, Get a Grip Cycles decided to step up our efforts with making the shop more green. We are in an industry where it only makes sense to care about the Earth. We are striving to make as little of an impact on the Earth as possible and plan to use our shop as an outlet to create awareness. It's great to see and hear the responses that we get from customers when this topic is discussed. More and more people are caring about the condition of the Earth these days.
How we are making a difference:
We now recycle everything we can, including paper, plastic, glass, metals and electronics. As a bike shop, recycling tires and tubes is probably how we will make the biggest difference in offsetting our footprint. We are currently taking in a large load of tires and tubes every few of weeks.
We have switched to Earth friendly lubes, bike cleaners and de-greasers from Pedro's and Phil Wood for use in our shop. We sell these products as well.
We use the Omega Ultrasonic parts cleaner for our drive train cleans. It works with an environmentally friendly solution and electronic charges dislodge unwanted grime.
We make a concentrated effort to encourage people to support Chicago's bicycle co-op Working Bikes. They are a non-profit shop that fixes junk bikes that are donated to them. They sell them for cheap or donate them locally and globally. Any time we have a customer wondering if their junk bike is worth fixing, we either give them a drop off location, or even take their bike to Working Bikes for them.
We have changed our shopping bags. No more poly bags! We now use 100% recycled paper bags with soy based ink.
From now on, all Get a Grip Cycles t-shirts will be made out of organic cotton and not manufactured in a sweat shop. Our latest run of shop tees is from American Apparel, made in California.
Conservation of our off-road trails. We plan to attend more trail work days.
Our future decisions will always be made will the Earth in mind.
We will choose companies to support that are eco-conscious. Some of our current brands that support are goals are: Independent Fabrications, Seven Cycles, Shimano, Quality Bicycle Products, Pedro's, Chris King, Nite Rider, Light & Motion, Keen, Reynolds, Schwalbe, Michelin, Continental, Nokian, Pro Bar, Steaz, Clif, Sharkies, Jittery Joes, Phil Wood, WTB, Finish Line and Resource Revival. These are the companies that we know of currently.
RECYCLE - REUSE - REDUCE
FACT: It takes approximately 1000 miles on a new bike to offset the carbon footprint that it took to make it.
CONTACTS: Chicago Recycling.org - Everything recycling Chicago.
Liberty Tire Recycling: 1323 W. Cortland St. Weekdays 7 - 3:30
Working Bikes.org - Bike Donation.
Resource Revival.com - Bike parts donation.
Electronicsrecycling.org - Solid waste doesn't degrade.
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