Brewery to Cagle Road - Tempo Mix

Garmin Connect Data
Ride With GPS Data
Training Peaks Data
Garmin Summary
Moving Time: 4:15:41 (4:36:32 total)
Distance: 70.6 miles
Avg Moving Speed 16.6 mph

Group: Craig and me

Goal: Get between 250 to 300 TSS with big blocks of L3 and a steady pace.

The Ride: I was planning a solo ride with the goals listed above, but received word that Craig was looking for someone to ride with so he joined me today. We kept a good pace going north and just a little past Red Bud we saw some of the Tundra Time Trial and contestants heading in the opposite direction.

With a quick stop and a bite to eat on Cagle Road we were set for the return. It felt to me that we had to push a little harder on the return because of little bit of headwind. I could see various flags along the side of the road being blown toward our direction so I knew it was true. From the start of the ride and even before the start I knew I was going to struggle with today's effort.  I felt a good bit of residual fatigue from some really good training days this week and throughout the ride I was having trouble keeping up with Craig and he is a stronger rider than me anyway. It wasn't an elegant ride for me today, but I am very happy to push and finish meeting my goals.
 
 I knew on Thursday that Saturday's ride was going to be tough for me because on Thursday I trained on the rollers and held my threshold number for 30 minutes and then did another 30 minutes at 90% of FT. My legs and hips were still sore from that effort and by the time we hit some hills near the 60 mile mark they felt like noodles.I also had intervals for several consecutive days leading up to Thursday. I guess that is part of training is that one stays in a somewhat fatigued state. I look at how those who train and race and how they rack up a lot more time and intensity than me. I guess this is all part of the train more so you can train more evolution / adaptation.

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course: ~30 oz. of water with Hammer Perpetuem, BCAA's, Gluatamine (2) Hammer Gels (1) Cliff Bar (1) 20 gram whey protein post ride recovery drink (1) chicken salad sandwich on whole grain toast, 8 oz skim milk.

The Weather: Partly cloudy skies at the start @ 40 degrees, End sunny skies @ 60 degrees, breezy

Bike: LOOK 585 , Garmin 800, Powertap SL+

Overall Power Data:
Entire workout (137 watts):
    Duration:      4:27:25 (4:36:37)
    Work:          2206 kJ
    TSS:           279 (intensity factor 0.792)
    Norm Power:    162
    VI:            1.18
    Distance:      70.671 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    634    137     watts
    Cadence:         7    212    77     rpm
    Speed:           0    34.4    15.9     mph
    Pace             1:45    0:00    3:47     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    1786    156     lb-in
    Temperature:     32    60.8    49.3     Fahrenheit

Comet - Tempo

Garmin Connect Data
Ride with GPS Data
Training Peaks Data
Summary
Moving Time: 1:50:32
Distance: 30 miles
Avg Moving Speed 17.1 mph

Group: Solo

Goal: 30 miles at Tempo (L3)

The Ride:
Very cold and with a constant 10 mph wind from the N to NW so it was a headwind going out. It was a tough day to be out so I was content just to focus on about a 30 mile ride. There were very few people out on the Comet and most of those were runners. I only saw a handful of cyclist and all were going fairly slow speeds.

Besides getting out of the house after several days of indoor training and over two hours training yesterday I was happy to just get outside. The other thing was testing out the camera setting, which was switching down from 1080P down to 720 with 60 fps and see if that would make a difference. I also wanted to see if the Giordana Silverline bib tights would be okay in temperatures in the low 30 degree Fahrenheit range and they were very comfortable.


Nutrition Intake During and after the Course: ~26 oz. of water with BCAA's and Gluatamine (1) 40 gram whey protein post ride recovery drink

The Weather: Start with sunny skies @ 30 degrees with headwind, On the return sunny skies @ 37 degrees with tailwind (Weather Channel feels like 28 degrees)

Bike: LOOK 585, Garmin 800, Powertap SL+, Contour GPS camera

Overall Power Data:
Entire workout (155 watts):
    Duration:      1:50:34
    Work:          1030 kJ
    TSS:           126.2 (intensity factor 0.83)
    Norm Power:    170
    VI:            1.09
    Distance:      30.483 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    663    155     watts
    Cadence:         7    196    73     rpm
    Speed:           0    24.5    16.5     mph
    Pace             2:27    0:00    3:38     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    1641    187     lb-in

Rolling Tempo Indoors

Garmin Connect Data
Training Peaks Data
Summary
Moving Time: 2:18:26 (2:30:02 total)
Distance: 40 miles
Avg Moving Speed 17.6 mph

Goal: 2 x 1 hour intervals at Tempo (L3)

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course: ~42 oz. of water with BCAA's and Gluatamine (1) Honey Stinger (1) Cliff bar (1) chicken salad with crackers toast about 30 minutes following training.

The Weather: the reason for indoor training 20+ mph sustained winds and temperature in the low 30's.

Bike: Cannondale Six13, Garmin 800, Powertap SL+, e-Motion rollers

Overall Power Data:
Entire workout (165 watts):
    Duration:      2:20:30 (2:42:39)
    Work:          1389 kJ
    TSS:           151.2 (intensity factor 0.805)
    Norm Power:    165
    VI:            1
    Distance:      40.592 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    302    165     watts
    Cadence:         9    182    67     rpm
    Speed:           0    21.4    17.6     mph
    Pace             2:48    0:00    3:25     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    1005    208     lb-in

Comet - Tempo 2 x 60's

Garmin Connect Data
Ride with GPS Data
Training Peaks Data
Summary
Moving Time: 1:58:49
Distance: 36 miles
Avg Moving Speed 18.2 mph
Elevation Gain: 1,000 ft

Group: Solo for the most part, but joined in with a guy named Bryan on part of the ride going out.

Goal: 2 x 1 hour intervals at Tempo (L3)

The Ride:
What an awesome day to be out on the bike to do any type of training or riding or just to be outside with sunny skies and about 70 degrees. There were a good number of people enjoying the Silver Comet trail.

Just like last weekend it seemed as if there was a headwind going out and by the testimony of my data in the first hour I would say it was a headwind as the speed was low and the sustained watts are higher going west than on the return. I caught up with a guy by the name of Bryan who is training for a half Ironman. We kept about the same pace for a few miles and chatted a little, but about 40 minutes into the interval I felt the fatigue hit me and Bryan pulled away. We rejoined, but soon after he hit his turning point. Just a few minute later I hit my turning point for the first 60 minutes.

Sure enough the speed was much easier to achieve on the return with the tailwind, but it made it harder to keep the sustained watts. Plus there seemed to be a lot more foot traffic on the return and the intersection stops killed momentum.

Just an absolute great day to be out in February. I just hope we don't pay for this later with a ultra cold spring.

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course: ~35 oz. of water with BCAA's and Gluatamine (1) Hammer gel (1) 40 gram whey protein post ride recovery drink (1) chicken salad sandwich on whole grain toast about 60 minutes following the ride.

The Weather: Sunny skies @ 64 degrees with headwind, On the return sunny skies @ 73 degrees with tailwind

Bike: LOOK 585, Garmin 800, Powertap SL+, Contour GPS camera

Overall Power Data:
 Lap 1:
    Duration:      1:00:23
    Work:          632 kJ
    TSS:           87.7 (intensity factor 0.937)
    Norm Power:    192
    VI:            1.1
    Distance:      17.728 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    601    175     watts
    Cadence:         8    186    84     rpm
    Speed:           0    26.6    17.6     mph
    Pace             2:15    0:00    3:24     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    1396    181     lb-in

Lap 2:
    Duration:      58:05
    Work:          513 kJ
    TSS:           60.9 (intensity factor 0.793)
    Norm Power:    163
    VI:            1.1
    Distance:      17.785 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    609    147     watts
    Cadence:         8    182    78     rpm
    Speed:           0    32.9    18.4     mph
    Pace             1:50    0:00    3:16     min/mi
    Altitude:        919    1106    1018     ft
    Crank Torque:    0    1320    164     lb-in

Entire workout (159 watts):
    Duration:      2:01:49 (2:03:59)
    Work:          1159 kJ
    TSS:           153.1 (intensity factor 0.87)
    Norm Power:    178
    VI:            1.12
    Distance:      35.96 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    609    159     watts
    Cadence:         8    186    81     rpm
    Speed:           0    32.9    17.8     mph
    Pace             1:50    0:00    3:23     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    1396    171     lb-in
    Temperature:     64.4    73.4    68.2     Fahrenheit

Brewery to Red Bud

Garmin Connect Data
Ride with GPS Data
TrainingPeaks Data
Garmin Summary
Moving Time: 3:38:59 (3:45:17 total)
Distance: 61.3 miles
Avg Moving Speed 16.8 mph

Group: me

Goal: Get in a ride between rain storms

The Ride: Up until 8 a.m. this morning I was expecting to be training inside based on the weather forecast. Late last night the Weather Channel had the morning hours with 60% chance of rain. I saw no emails of people expecting to ride and it was a last second decision of grabbing my gear together and driving up to the brewery. There were only a handful of cyclists in a normally packed brewery parking lot, but I suppose the weather forecast pretty much scared everyone.

I rolled out about 9:19 from the parking lot heading out the BBC 48 and decided I would slip in a few more miles by heading due north to Red Bud. As I rolled along the weather actually started looking better and the sun was starting to peek out between clouds, but with that breeze was starting to pick up as well.

As far as training goes my hips and hamstrings were feeling tight and fatigued from training this week. I kept a fair effort for the first couple of hours, but on the way back I was just too pooped to keep pushing against the wind and was tapering off the effort. By the time I arrived in the parking lot the sun was out and the temperature was feeling great. The quality of training wasn't as good as I might have done indoors, but I am glad that I was able to get out and put some miles on these legs.

Keep pushing toward the goal....


Nutrition Intake During and after the Course: ~30 oz. of water with Hammer Perpetuem, BCAA's, Gluatamine (1) Powerbar Gels (1) 20 gram whey protein post ride recovery drink (1) chicken salad sandwich on whole grain toast, 10 oz skim milk.

The Weather: Dark cloudy skies at the start @ 50 degrees, End sunny skies @ 66 degrees, breezy

Bike: Cannondale six13, Garmin 800, Powertap SL+

Overall Power Data:
Entire workout (137 watts):
    Duration:      3:41:49 (3:45:21)
    Work:          1827 kJ
    TSS:           219.5 (intensity factor 0.771)
    Norm Power:    158
    VI:            1.15
    Distance:      61.279 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    504    137     watts
    Cadence:         9    -    81     rpm
    Speed:           0    33.8    16.6     mph
    Pace             1:47    0:00    3:37     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    1083    151     lb-in
    Temperature:     50    66.2    55.9     Fahrenheit

Comet - Tempo ?

Garmin Connect Data
Ride with GPS Data
Training Peaks Data
Summary
Moving Time: 1:50:38
Distance: 32 miles
Avg Moving Speed 17.3 mph
Elevation Gain: 1,120 ft

Group: Solo going out and joined with a guy named Mike on part of the return.

Goal: 2 x 1 hour intervals at Tempo (L3)

The Ride:
The reason I put Comet - Tempo ? as a title was mainly because going out I felt worn out from the 70 mile ride yesterday and had trouble getting up to speed and power output, but some of that may have been due to heading straight into headwinds. Nevertheless I ended that first hour interval above what I expected with a 0.88 IF (intensity factor). Better than I expected and with the lower average speed there was the evidence that wind certainly did play a role going to the west.

As expected coming back rolling along in the 20+ mph range felt pretty good and it got even better when a guy on a very nice Cannondale Time Trial bike cruised past me. I later found out his name is Mike. Not knowing if he would mind me sitting at his pace I set just off to the right, but not in his draft so that I would continue to work. He continued to pick up the pace and not only was I feeling the fatigue, but I was near my threshold. I kept thinking I cannot continue at this pace, but the legs were willing to output the effort despite the discomfort. Pedestrian traffic was picking up as we were getting near the last miles and there were a few times I had to dig deep with a short sprint because I was cutoff or not able to make it through some small holes in the crowds. No telling what our speeds would have been had there been no other people in the way.

Thanks Mike for letting me hang with you on the return. Great to have met you and that was the best fun I have had in a number of weeks pushing those types of speeds. Good fun and I ended up with a 0.88 IF on the return so all in all a good training day.

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course: ~26 oz. of water with BCAA's and Gluatamine (1) Hammer gel (1) 40 gram whey protein post ride recovery drink (1) chicken salad sandwich on whole grain toast about 60 minutes following the ride.

The Weather: Sunny skies @ 50 degrees with headwind, On the return sunny skies @ 59 degrees with tailwind

Bike: LOOK 585, Garmin 800, Powertap SL+

Overall Power Data:
 Interval 1:
    Duration:      1:00:09
    Work:          600 kJ
    TSS:           78.6 (intensity factor 0.889)
    Norm Power:    182
    VI:            1.09
    Distance:      15.895 mi
    Grade:         0.1 %  (101 ft)
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    679    166     watts
    Cadence:         7    196    81     rpm
    Speed:           0    23.7    15.9     mph
    Pace             2:32    0:00    3:47     min/mi

Interval 2:
    Duration:      53:21
    Work:          520 kJ
    TSS:           69.9 (intensity factor 0.886)
    Norm Power:    182
    VI:            1.12
    Distance:      16.119 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    658    163     watts
    Cadence:         14    225    82     rpm
    Speed:           0    32.5    18.1     mph
    Pace             1:51    0:00    3:19     min/mi

Entire workout (165 watts):
    Duration:      1:53:32
    Work:          1121 kJ
    TSS:           148.5 (intensity factor 0.888)
    Norm Power:    182
    VI:            1.1
    Distance:      32.022 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    679    165     watts
    Cadence:         7    225    81     rpm
    Speed:           0    32.5    16.9     mph
    Pace             1:51    0:00    3:33     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    1613    177     lb-in
    Temperature:     50    59    51.8     Fahrenheit

Brewery to Cagle Road - If / Else Statement

Garmin Connect Data
Ride with GPS Data
Training Peaks Data
Garmin Summary
Moving Time: 4:08:48 (4:17:03 total)
Distance: 72 miles
Avg Moving Speed 17.5 mph
Elevation Gain: 2,362 ft

Group A (85 mile route): Diane, Neal, Joe, Craig, Gary, Mike and Keith
Group B (70 mile route): me

Goal: Meet the prescribed conditions as best possible. 4 hours total / <300 TSS / 0.8 IF

The Ride: Have you  ever used an IF/ELSE statement in programming or in Excel? You know it is a conditional statement to control variables and encourage a certain output - at least that is my crude definition. With only having Friday off from cycling training and with the hope of another week ahead in training I wanted to have control of today's ride variables so that I train just enough, but not so hard that it impacts the days ahead in a negative way. In a crude way I thought about the conditions. I selected my out and back route to control the turning point and it is relatively flat so I can better control a steady tempo.

If: ride time going out is < 2 hours continue forward / Else: turn back

If: ride TSS going out is <150 continue forward / Else: turn back 

By having those two conditions and with hope to keep a 0.8 IF I felt this would be a good training effort. It would be enough load and yet not so much that it would interfere with the upcoming days.

I kind of figured one of the results of these conditions would amount to about a 70 mile ride for the total. Since I hit the 2 hour mark before I hit the TSS condition my turning point was just at 35 miles. On the way out and back on hills or anytime I went up into the higher watts I could really feel last weeks training and the fatigue on my legs, but with the goal of a steady (L3) Tempo effort the discomforts of fatigue were random.

I stopped at the Sunoco with about 20 miles to go to remove a thermal base layer. Even though this morning was quite brisk I kind of thought I may have overdressed. I am not sure what was worse. Wearing the base layer or having rolled up in my back jersey pocket. It felt like I was riding with a basketball back there. Oh well....the next thing I know I am done and not feeling all that fatigued. I suppose I should be ready for intervals tomorrow.

.....and to Mr. Chow, I was quite unimpressed with your performance today. You've had better days chasing me. Your form looked very sloppy and your anaerobic power looks a little diminished. I certainly hope you do better next time. Your stumpy little friend down the road did much better getting close to my heel. Better luck next time.

The song playing in my head through most of the ride today was by Stuart Hine and with the beauty of today it was a good song to be constantly on my mind.

O Lord my God! when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works Thy hand hath made
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course: ~40 oz. of water with Hammer Perpetuem, BCAA's, Gluatamine (1) Cliff bar (2) Hammer Gels (1) 40 gram whey protein post ride recovery drink (1) chicken salad sandwich on whole grain toast, 10 oz skim milk.

The Weather: Sunny skies at the start @ 32 degrees, End sunny skies @ 60 degrees, breezy

Bike: Cannondale six13, Garmin 800, Powertap SL+

Overall Power Data:
 Lap 1:
    Duration:      2:03:34
    Work:          1089 kJ
    TSS:           131.5 (intensity factor 0.801)
    Norm Power:    164
    VI:            1.12
    Distance:      35.234 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    431    147     watts
    Cadence:         13    191    79     rpm
    Speed:           0    33.2    17.1     mph
    Pace             1:48    0:00    3:30     min/mi

Lap 2:
    Duration:      2:05:02
    Work:          1027 kJ
    TSS:           120.2 (intensity factor 0.759)
    Norm Power:    156
    VI:            1.14
    Distance:      34.83 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    520    137     watts
    Cadence:         8    246    77     rpm
    Speed:           0    37.9    16.7     mph
    Pace             1:35    0:00    3:35     min/mi

Entire workout (140 watts):
    Duration:      4:17:13
    Work:          2162 kJ
    TSS:           257.3 (intensity factor 0.775)
    Norm Power:    159
    VI:            1.13
    Distance:      72.367 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    520    140     watts
    Cadence:         8    246    78     rpm
    Speed:           0    37.9    16.9     mph
    Pace             1:35    0:00    3:33     min/mi
    Altitude:        635    924    749     ft
    Crank Torque:    0    1383    157     lb-in
    Temperature:     32    62.6    46.1     Fahrenheit

Rolling Indoors

Garmin Connect Data

TrainingPeaks Data

Goal: 2 x 60 Minute Tempo Efforts on e-Motion rollers

Training Summary:

Duration: 2:16 Moving / 2:37 Total

Distance: 40 miles

Typically I do not blog about my indoor training. How can one express anything that is no more boring than sitting there slugging away for a couple of hours in one spot. I did want to note that training continues despite the weather. This was a moderate (L3) intensity type of training session. I have completed several days of high intensity training so this was an opportunity to log time on the bike and spin roughly 0.8 IF for a couple of hours. One thing I have noted today is the 2 hours on the rollers seems to be more exhausting than my 70 mile ~4 hour effort at near the same intensity level. By the end of the second hour on the rollers I was done and my legs felt done.

Nutrition: ~50 oz water with BCAA's and Glutamine, (1) hammer gel (1) post training tuna salad sandwich on whole grain toast & ~10 oz skim milk