Comet - Tempo 2 x 60's

Garmin Connect Data
Ride with GPS Data
Summary
Moving Time: 2:03:23
Distance: 35 miles
Avg Moving Speed 17.4 mph

Group: Solo

Goal: 30 miles at Tempo (L3)

Ride: My typical 2 x 60, but with the big ride yesterday I planned on taking it easy. I did for the most part, but I did get into a race of sorts with one guy. At least I got in a good 20 minute interval, but backed off and cruised the rest of the miles. I was really happy that my legs seemed to really respond despite the long miles yesterday.

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 @ 55 degrees with slight headwind, On the return sunny skies @ 60 degrees with tailwind

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

Overall Power Data:
 Race:
    Duration:      19:56
    Work:          227 kJ
    TSS:           32.2 (intensity factor 0.984)
    Norm Power:    202
    VI:            1.06
    Distance:      6.896 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    601    190     watts
    Cadence:         17    152    79     rpm
    Speed:           5.9    29.3    20.8     mph
    Pace             2:03    10:10    2:53     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    1364    207     lb-in

Lap 1:
    Duration:      1:00:15
    Work:          532 kJ
    TSS:           69.2 (intensity factor 0.833)
    Norm Power:    171
    VI:            1.16
    Distance:      17.293 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    601    147     watts
    Cadence:         15    182    75     rpm
    Speed:           0    29.3    17.2     mph
    Pace             2:03    0:00    3:29     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    1482    169     lb-in

Lap 2:
    Duration:      1:03:39 (1:04:38)
    Work:          486 kJ
    TSS:           49.1 (intensity factor 0.68)
    Norm Power:    139
    VI:            1.1
    Distance:      17.776 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    383    127     watts
    Cadence:         8    239    69     rpm
    Speed:           0    23.1    16.8     mph
    Pace             2:36    0:00    3:34     min/mi
    Altitude:        869    1008    942     ft
    Crank Torque:    0    1195    160     lb-in

Entire workout (137 watts):
    Duration:      2:03:56 (2:04:55)
    Work:          1019 kJ
    TSS:           120.7 (intensity factor 0.766)
    Norm Power:    157
    VI:            1.15
    Distance:      35.082 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    601    137     watts
    Cadence:         8    239    72     rpm
    Speed:           0    29.3    17.0     mph
    Pace             2:03    0:00    3:32     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    1482    165     lb-in

Brewery to Old Federal Road - Knocking At The Door

Not far from the base of Fort Mountain

 Garmin Connect Data 
Ride with GPS Data
Garmin Summary
Moving Time: 5:16:00 (5:34:18 total)
Distance: 88 miles
Avg Moving Speed 16.7 mph

Group: solo  
Goal: Going for 300 TSS at a steady pace, extend my saddle time and miles.

The Ride: The brewery was a very empty place today. I know some of my friends were headed to Burnt Mountain to train, but usually there are quite a few people that show up in various clubs or as individuals. There were only a couple of people getting ready when I rolled out near 8:30 this morning and I saw only a couple of people on the return. Maybe it was the weather forecast again that sounded really intimidating with cold temperatures and high winds. Not sure. Kind of a weird ghost town feeling.

I went on about my business heading out on my typical out and back route heading due north into what was supposed to be headwinds, but it seemed pretty calm so I kept going forward and would have anyway. The temperature seemed to warm up faster than expected as well and it wasn't long before I realized that I once again overdressed. I think I could have gone with summer gear, base layer and leg warmers.

Overall the day felt pretty good.  I kept my intensity a little lower and hoped to add a few more miles and time to the ride. Once I was near Hwy 61 (Hwy 411) I was really tempted to do a century and I started that direction going toward Fort Mountain, but realized I had not told my wife and decided to turn around. My legs really felt like they were ready for the 100 miles, but I think heading back was the better choice for today. On the return the winds really began to pick up, but fortunately they were crosswinds. The type that you can just about lean your shoulder into them and not fall over. A few times I hit those as headwinds and it dropped me back to about 10 mph at 250+ watts. Those were about the only times I really had to push hard to go anywhere. I think if I had that as headwinds all the way home it would have taken me all day and more than likely I would have just pulled over and cried. That was some stiff wind. :-)

I was well within range of Fort Mountain and was just about ready to knock on the door.
Soon, Very Soon!

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course: ~40 oz. of water with Hammer Perpetuem, BCAA's, Gluatamine (1) Hammer Gels (2) Cliff Bar (1) 30 gram whey protein post ride recovery drink (1) chicken casserole, corn chips and water.

The Weather: Sunny skies at the start @ 35 degrees, End sunny skies @ 60 degrees, 13+ mph winds from the W to NW.

Bike: LOOK 585 , Garmin 800, Powertap SL+

Overall Power Data:
Entire workout (131 watts):
    Duration:      5:26:43 (5:34:24)
    Work:          2566 kJ
    TSS:           301.5 (intensity factor 0.746)
    Norm Power:    153
    VI:            1.17
    Distance:      88.119 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    504    131     watts
    Cadence:         7    206    74     rpm
    Speed:           0    35.5    16.2     mph
    Pace             1:41    0:00    3:42     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    1811    156     lb-in
    Temperature:     35.6    60.8    51.4     Fahrenheit

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