Comet - Easy Spin

Best Wishes To Anne!!

Participant in the Louisville IRONMAN 

Garmin Connect Map & Data
Strava Map & Data
Moving Time: 2:12:54 (2:18:08 total)
Distance: 40 miles
Avg Moving Speed 18.1 mph
Total TSS: 131 (0.75 IF)

Solo (for the most part)
Goal: Low intensity spin. 2 x 60 minute or 2 x 20 mile

The Ride: The usual Sunday Comet low stress ride with maybe a little push here and there. But I did get to meet another very friendly cyclist/triathlete and was able to share a few miles with Anne as she wrapped up her week with a nice recovery ride at the Comet. All the best to Anne in these remaining days leading up to competition and may your race day be blessed.

I am so looking forward to training this coming week. Tomorrow evening it is back to several days of indoor training on the rollers (bring the sufferfest, Bring It!!) and then I hope a nice long ride on Saturday and my usual easy spin on Sunday.

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course:
24 oz from Bottle #1 water, BCAA's, Glutamine
24 oz from Bottle #2  water, BCAA's, Glutamine
1 Hammer gel @ turn point
6 Endurolytes
Finish | 30 gram whey protein drink

The Weather: Sunny skies at the start @ 90degrees, slight headwind on the way out.

Bike: Felt B10 Garmin 800, Powertap SL+

Overall Powertap Data:
Entire workout (141 watts):
    Duration:      2:17:04 (2:18:11)
    Work:          1158 kJ
    TSS:           131.1 (intensity factor 0.759)
    Norm Power:    159
    VI:            1.13
    Distance:      40.16 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    571    141     watts
    Cadence:         7    246    76     rpm
    Speed:           0    27.1    17.6     mph
    Pace             2:13    0:00    3:25     min/mi
    Altitude:        949    1192    1084     ft
    Crank Torque:    0    1783    162     lb-in
    Temperature:     84.2    91.4    87.3     Fahrenheit

Wahoo Fitness and WKO+ - Importing Data

Just the other day my Garmin 800 touch screen stopped working so while waiting on a warranty replacement 800 I am using my Backup Contingency Plan, the Wahoo Fitness iPhone ANT+ case to collect training data from the Powertap hub.

Earlier this year I had no issues for importing data from the phone even though it is not a one step process. Previously the process to import data to WKO+ (the application that I prefer to keep and analyze training data) was to upload to TrainingPeaks.com and then within WKO+ use Download from TrainingPeaks.com that is a menu item under File. This is a few extra steps from the rather simple upload of the Garmin 800 using the Device Agent in WKO+.

However, I was struggling last night to use this process of uploading to TrainingPeaks.com and then download back into WKO+. I spent an hour messing around with my account at TrainingPeaks.com and checking settings with WKO+, as well as, searching through product support pages at TraningPeaks, Wahoo Fitness website and general web searches with not much luck. I kept getting an error dialog message in WKO+ when trying to download from TrainingPeaks that was something like Character cannot be null along with some other jibberish that implied that my password was not syncing or incorrect.

Finally with some more web searching I finally found out that it was not a problem with my account settings on WKO+ or TrainingPeaks.com. It was due to the folks at TrainingPeaks making downloading from the website to WKO+ only availabe now to Premium Members (paid members) or at least that is what I finally found by continuing to search the web. So then I sort of panicked because I am a numbers freak. I was about to do a manual entry in WKO+ (which leaves out some factors of the training session) when I thought I would check the settings on the iPhone app one more time. Low and behold there it was right in front of me kind of like when I ask my wife if she has seen my brown casual pants and she pulls them out of the closet while I am looking straight at them the whole time. So I don't have to become a paying Premium Member of TrainingPeaks after all, but there is a slight hiccup to the upload method that I will mention later.

The process is rather easy actually and here it is if you are using the Wahoo Fitness App. Which is a pretty decent app for tracking ride and power meter data and it is free.



1 . From the Wahoo Fitness app go to the sharing page and email the workout data to yourself.

2. You will receive a few files (CSV, PWX, TCX and I think a GPX not shown in the image below). I placed those into my WKO+ folder data because that is where WKO+ seems to default when opening a file)







3. While in the WKO+ application I opened the PWX file and it imported the data nicely with one exception. It appeared that all the metrics were imported except distance for whatever reason, but I am more than content to have the power metrics imported so that it can be applied as part of my PMC (Performance Manager Chart) and I am once again happy with looking at numbers and charts. Easy enough for now and with hopes that the peeps at TrainingPeaks do not continue to throw in the monkey wrench for us dedicated WKO+ users that would rather not become paying Premium Members. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but my wallet is kind of light and I just personally like WKO+ better as an application.

Meantime I will be anticipating receiving a new Garmin 800 very soon. That is another story in itself when my 800 failed over this past weekend and I have to say that I am extremely impressed with the customer service at Garmin. Extremely impressed at how fast they responded to all my emails during this past weekend. By Monday I had a RMA number to return the device under warranty for a replacement. Below are a few emails (some are not shown in the screen capture) that I received that started within an hour of sending the first email for help.



BBC-67 - Rain Day

Garmin Connect Map & Data
Ride with GPS Map & Data
Strava Map & Data
Ride Summary
Distance: 66.9 miles
Avg. Moving Speed: 16.6
Moving Time: 3:54:08
Total Time: 4:01:05
Ride Total TSS: 231 (0.75 IF)

Group: Keith, Mike, Craig and me
Goal: Group ride type of pace

The Ride: 
It is great to see how many others are addicted to cycling and you know it is true when four of us guys start the ride this morning in the rain and were content to do the full metric route not knowing if it would rain the duration or not. We had a few times where the sun looked as if it wanted to come out, but I almost wanted it to keep raining because the humidity was so high that sweating was more extreme without that cooling rain.

About mile 37 Craig turned off to do a route that would circle around to his home while the three of us continued on with the marked route. Once again I could feel the fatigue in my hips and hamstrings as a result of a good training week so I started to struggle in the latter miles. I lost sight of Mike and Keith on a few occasions, but they slowed down and let me catch up. Besides a couple of fast nature breaks we never really stopped at a store or other place. It was pretty much continuous pedaling from start to finish and that made for a pretty good training day.

I'm sure the rain and road grime made a mess of my bike, but for now I think I will take a nap and leave the cleaning for a little later.

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course:
24 oz from Bottle #1 water, BCAA's, Glutamine, maltodextrin
24 oz from Bottle #2  water, BCAA's, Glutamine, maltodextrin
Hammer gel @ mile 25
Cliff Bar @ mile 37
Finish | 40 gram whey protein drink
Home | chicken salad sandwich

The Weather: Very cloudy skies, very humid and light rain at the start @ 72 degrees, on the return @ 80degrees, steady rain for the first 30 miles and then a few random showers following.

Bike: LOOK 585,  Garmin 800, Powertap SL+

Overall Powertap Data:
 Entire workout (124 watts):
    Duration:      4:01:10
    Work:          1791 kJ
    TSS:           231.2 (intensity factor 0.759)
    Norm Power:    159
    VI:            1.29
    Distance:      66.848 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    635    124     watts
    Cadence:         7    212    83     rpm
    Speed:           0    34.2    16.6     mph
    Pace             1:45    0:00    3:36     min/mi
    Altitude:        502    1102    786     ft
    Crank Torque:    0    1327    133     lb-in
    Temperature:     69.8    82.4    73.4     Fahrenheit

Xlab Mini Bag

The question most consumers like me have when viewing items like this based on web photos is, "how much can I really stuff into that bag?"

Out of fear for not having enough room I purchased the Xlab Tire Bag. Being that I have mounted the CO2 cartridges and the valve on the frame I did not need as much room in the bag. What I carry with me on long training routes in the bag are an extra tube with a 60mm valve stem, cash, tire levers, mini tool and antiseptic wipe just in case something bad happens if my skin meets pavement.With the items listed it is a tight fit and I can't see getting any other items into the mini bag. The Xlab tire bag has enough room to stuff quite a few more items like air cartridges and a few more small items.

The mini bag can be mounted like most bags using the saddle rails, under the Xlab wing mount or stuffed into the center of the wing mount (some call that the cargo area).

This is the larger Xlab Tire Bag mounted below the wing. The mini can be mounted below or stuffed in the area between the bottles. It does give a much more compact and aero look compared to the larger tire bag.

These are the items I was able to fit into the mini bag (top bag) and a comparison view to the tire bag.

BBC-52

Garmin Connect Map & Data
Ride with GPS Map & Data
Strava Map & Data
Ride Summary
Distance: 51.9 miles
Avg. Moving Speed: 17.4
Moving Time: 3:01:25
Total Time: 3:04:54
Ride Total TSS: 187 (0.78 IF)

Solo:
Goal: Try to pick up the intensity for this shorter course.

The Ride: 
I rolled out of the brewery at 7 a.m. this morning hoping to beat the possibility of storms that were predicted. I debated with myself as to how to handle the day for mileage and intensity. My basic rule is to increase intensity as time and miles are shortened. I ended up going with the BBC-48 marked option and added a few extra miles out toward the Sunoco gas station as my turning point.

Although I could feel the fatigue from the Thursday intervals, I feel pretty good about this training effort today. A guy by the name of Dan (competitive triathlete and road cyclist) caught up with me and I tried to pace off of him for a few miles. He was a really nice guy to chat with me a little while, but he was too strong for me to keep up with him.

 About mile 36 the sky turned a bit darker and light rain, but about mile 46 it was coming down light and steady. Light enough not to sting while rolling at a good speed, but enough to soak everything. It did feel refreshing though. Rolling back into the brewery I was amazed at how many cars were in the parking area from cyclists. I guess I just missed all of them because I only saw a couple while I was out on the road. Anyway it was a good day for a shorter route and I don't think I would have done well on a longer route today.

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course:
24 oz from Bottle #1 water, BCAA's, Glutamine, maltodextrin
 24 oz from Bottle #2  water, BCAA's, Glutamine
Finish | 40 gram whey protein drink
Home | chicken pot pie

The Weather: Very cloudy skies at the start @ 72 degrees, on the return @ 80degrees, steady rain from about mile 46 to the finish.

Bike: LOOK 585,  Garmin 800, Powertap SL+

Overall Powertap Data:
Entire workout (143 watts):
    Duration:      3:04:57
    Work:          1587 kJ
    TSS:           187.3 (intensity factor 0.781)
    Norm Power:    164
    VI:            1.15
    Distance:      51.907 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    525    143     watts
    Cadence:         9    212    83     rpm
    Speed:           0    35.5    16.8     mph
    Pace             1:41    0:00    3:34     min/mi
    Altitude:        632    977    758     ft
    Crank Torque:    0    1671    153     lb-in
    Temperature:     69.8    77    72.8     Fahrenheit

July - PMC

A view of my training up to this point this year. Not great, but for a recreational roadie that needs to work for a living......

This year has been typical.  I have better training during the winter months, then work deadlines increase and vacation happens and then it is a slow dig out of the hole. At the moment my CTL is back up to 75, but I am not feeling quite as good out on the road as I did back when I hit a CTL of 90 back in the spring. 

(click to enlarge image)

Comet - Easy Spin

Garmin Connect Map & Data
Strava Map & Data
Moving Time: 1:58:49 (2:03:05 total)
Distance: 35 miles
Avg Moving Speed 17.9 mph
Total TSS: 98 (0.69 IF)

Solo
Goal: Easy spin to give a little rest for the legs and also not risk too much in the heat.

The Ride: The usual Sunday Comet ride. Just spinning the legs and burning calories.

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course:
24 oz from Bottle #1 water, BCAA's, Glutamine
24 oz from Bottle #2  water, BCAA's, Glutamine
4 Endurolytes and 2 Hammer Fizz electrolytes
Finish | 30 gram whey protein drink

The Weather: Sunny skies at the start @ 90degrees, on the return @ 93 degrees

Bike: Felt B10 Garmin 800, Powertap SL+

Overall Powertap Data:
 Lap 1:
    Duration:      1:00:12
    Work:          514 kJ
    TSS:           52.7 (intensity factor 0.728)
    Norm Power:    153
    VI:            1.07
    Distance:      17.803 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    407    143     watts
    Cadence:         8    201    79     rpm
    Speed:           0    24.6    17.8     mph
    Pace             2:26    0:00    3:23     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    1197    160     lb-in

Lap 2:
    Duration:      59:20
    Work:          445 kJ
    TSS:           44.5 (intensity factor 0.671)
    Norm Power:    141
    VI:            1.12
    Distance:      17.252 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    404    125     watts
    Cadence:         8    212    78     rpm
    Speed:           0    24.5    17.5     mph
    Pace             2:27    0:00    3:26     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    1743    140     lb-in

Entire workout (133 watts):
    Duration:      2:01:59 (2:03:07)
    Work:          970 kJ
    TSS:           98.8 (intensity factor 0.699)
    Norm Power:    147
    VI:            1.11
    Distance:      35.376 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    407    133     watts
    Cadence:         8    212    78     rpm
    Speed:           0    24.6    17.4     mph
    Pace             2:26    0:00    3:26     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    1743    149     lb-in

Brew-Cagle Rd

Garmin Connect Map & Data

Ride With GPS Map & Data
Strava Map & Data
Ride Summary
Distance: 75 miles
Avg. Moving Speed: 17.4
Moving Time: 4:18:54
Total Time: 4:30:25
Ride Total TSS: 211 (0.69 IF)

Solo:

Goal: 4 hour endurance type training with a steady cadence and minimized coasting or stops.

The Ride: 
Not much exciting to post about a solo endurance training ride. I was a little disappointed that my legs seemed to struggle recovering following the Wednesday July 4th group ride. They had plenty of days to recover, but for whatever reason really seemed fatigued today. Oh well, I will just keep beating my legs into submission until they learn to wake up and obey the commands. Other than that I enjoyed the 75 miles.

I Love Cycling....Love it!!!

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course:
24 oz from Bottle #1 water, BCAA's, Glutamine, maltodextrin, plus refills
24 oz from Bottle #2  water, BCAA's, Glutamine, maltodextrin
24 oz from Bottle #3 water
Cliff Bar and 1 Hammer Apple Cinnamon gel
Approximately 10 Endurolytes during the ride
Finish | 40 gram whey protein drink
Home | chicken pot pie (severely lacking in groceries)

The Weather: Partly cloudy skies at the start @ 72 degrees, on the return @ 90 degrees
Bike: Felt B10,  Garmin 800, Powertap SL+

Overall Powertap Data:
Entire workout (123 watts):
    Duration:      4:25:16 (4:30:31)
    Work:          1953 kJ
    TSS:           211.2 (intensity factor 0.692)
    Norm Power:    145
    VI:            1.18
    Distance:      75.003 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    455    123     watts
    Cadence:         11    231    80     rpm
    Speed:           0    37.3    17.0     mph
    Pace             1:37    0:00    3:32     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    885    135     lb-in

July 4th Ride

Garmin Connect Map & Data
Ride with GPS Map & Data
Strava Map & Data
Ride Summary
Distance: 60 miles
Avg. Moving Speed: 17.5
Moving Time: 3:25:47
Total Time: 4:01:22
Ride Total TSS: 234 (0.81 IF)

Group: 10 Cyclists: Diane, Susan, Nancy, Blake, Jamie, Peter, Greg, Craig, Mike and Me (Jesse)

Goal: Enjoy the holiday morning riding with friends.

The Ride: 
With July 4th falling on a Wednesday and with most of us returning to work tomorrow it makes for an odd day and yet what a nice break to be able to join in on a recreational group ride. Ten of us rolled out of the brewery at 7:30 this morning for a variable terrain type route going to north to Trimble Hollow Road before a store stop in Adairsville, pass over Boyd Mountain Road to Wayside, then to Kingston and return.

I felt like this group had great chemistry together. Most of us have been riding together for a number of years so we do well to watch over each other and today we all finished together.(except Craig who turned off) There were moments of a brisk pace and of course a challenge or two thrown in for fun, like racing up Boyd for a few and then a few of us putting in a good pace on some of the flatter roads. My favorite was putting a good pace down Trimble Hollow Road and Wayside Road where Craig did most of the front end work with good speed.

Great midweek ride with friends.

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course:
24 oz from Bottle #1 water, BCAA's, Glutamine, maltodextrin, plus refills with plain water
24 oz from Bottle #2  water, BCAA's, Glutamine, maltodextrin
Cliff Bar and 2 Hammer Apple Cinnamon gels
Finish | 40 gram whey protein drink
Home | Pasta, sauce and ground beef

The Weather: Partly cloudy skies at the start @ 72 degrees, on the return @ 90 degrees
Bike: LOOK 585 - group ride,  Garmin 800, Powertap SL+

Overall Powertap Data:
 Entire workout (125 watts):
    Duration:      3:30:48 (4:01:25)
    Work:          1574 kJ
    TSS:           233.7 (intensity factor 0.817)
    Norm Power:    171
    VI:            1.38
    Distance:      59.97 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    812    125     watts
    Cadence:         7    246    85     rpm
    Speed:           0    36.4    17.1     mph
    Pace             1:39    0:00    3:31     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    1805    131     lb-in

Comet - Easy Spin

Garmin Connect Map & Data
Strava Map & Data
Ride Summary
Moving Time: 2:25:05 (2:15:28 total)
Distance: 40 miles
Avg Moving Speed 16.6 mph
Total TSS: 82 (0.58IF)

Solo
Goal: Easy spin to give a little rest for the legs and also not risk too much in the heat.

The Ride: The Comet is usually a busy place through the summer months and this may be the first time I have seen it look almost as dead as the coldest days of winter. There were a few people out, but for the most part it was a barren place. On the way back I saw two fire trucks and three emergency vehicles pull into the pathway. Just past the intersection there was a woman laying on the pavement with guys standing over her trying to fan. I was told that she was suffering from heat exhaustion.

Hind sight I probably should have just stayed at home and spent an hour on the rollers, but I am glad I went even though there was probably no training benefit.

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course:
24 oz from Bottle #1 water, BCAA's, Glutamine
24 oz from Bottle #2  water, BCAA's, Glutamine
Finish | 30 gram whey protein drink

The Weather: Sunny skies at the start @ 97degrees, on the return @ 103 degrees

Bike: LOOK 585, Garmin 800, Powertap SL+

Overall Powertap Data:
 Lap 1:
    Duration:      1:11:56
    Work:          532 kJ
    TSS:           47.3 (intensity factor 0.63)
    Norm Power:    132
    VI:            1.07
    Distance:      20.062 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    326    123     watts
    Cadence:         7    212    85     rpm
    Speed:           0    23.6    16.7     mph
    Pace             2:32    0:00    3:35     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    882    130     lb-in
    Temperature:     82.4    100.4    96.3     Fahrenheit

Lap 2:
    Duration:      1:14:58 (1:17:26)
    Work:          439 kJ
    TSS:           33.2 (intensity factor 0.515)
    Norm Power:    108
    VI:            1.11
    Distance:      19.965 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    274    98     watts
    Cadence:         9    228    83     rpm
    Speed:           0    22.4    16.1     mph
    Pace             2:41    0:00    3:44     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    800    109     lb-in
    Temperature:     95    104    99.0     Fahrenheit