Comet - TT Bike Cruise

Route and Ride Data Links:                                           
Garmin - Ride Data
Strava   - Ride Data

Overall Ride Metrics:                                                       

Distance: 40 miles

Avg. Moving Speed: 19.4 mph

Moving Time: 2:05:10

Total Time: 2:10:38 

Ride Total TSS: 132(0.78 IF)

Group or Solo:                                                                  

Solo

Goal:                                                                                 

Steady pace

Ride Description:                                                            

Out and back cruise on the TT bike

Weather:                                                                          
90 (F), Partly cloudy, sprinkle of rain at time, calm air 

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course:             

20 oz from Bottle #1 water, BCAA, Glutamine
10 oz from Bottle #2 water
Hammer gel @ mile 20
Post Ride | 30 gram protein drink
Home |

Bike:                                                                                  

Felt B10, Garmin 800, Quarq, Flo 60's/Michelin Pro 4's @ 95 psi

Overall Power Data:                                                        
Entire workout (152 watts):
Duration: 2:08:09 (2:10:46)
Work: 1166 kJ
TSS: 132.2 (intensity factor 0.788)
Norm Power: 166
VI: 1.09
Distance: 40.507 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 617 152 watts
Cadence: 5 94 75 rpm
Speed: 0 28.1 19.0 mph
Pace 2:08 0:00 3:09 min/mi
Altitude: 904 1152 1016 ft
Crank Torque: 0 1675 178 lb-in
_____________________________________________
 

Brewery to Cagle - Endurance Ride

Route and Ride Data Links:                                           
Garmin - Ride Data
Strava   - Ride Data

Overall Ride Metrics:                                                       

Distance: 77 miles

Avg. Moving Speed: 17 mph

Moving Time: 4:29:44

Total Time: 4:33:41 

Ride Total TSS: 228.5 (0.7 IF)

Group or Solo:                                                                  

With Mike Q.

Goal:                                                                                 

Endurance type ride (L2)

Ride Description:                                                            

If I could just speak about Mike's performance this post would be a positive note. Thanks to Mike for patience as I began to really struggle in the second half of the ride and as we turned back to the brewery. He carried the pace the entire way back and I did my best just to hang near him.

Oddly it is my mind that normally has to push the legs from becoming lazy, but this was the rare time the legs were willing to keep spinning despite the pity party that was going on in my mind. At each breath my mind kept saying, "Stop under a shade tree, puke and cry like a spoiled diva." However, the legs just ignored the stomach issue with the urge to throw up and the mind's pity party and kept hanging on Mike's wheel.

All I know is this one is in the books and tomorrow it will soon become a distant memory.
Thanks again to Mike for riding with me today and the past few Saturdays.
 

Weather:                                                                          
Sunny, 87 (F), calm air

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course:             

24 oz from Bottle #1 water, BCAA, Glutamine, maltodextrin
18 oz from Bottle #2 water, BCAA, Glutamine, maltodextrin
Hammer gel @ mile 20
Cliff Bar @ mile 40
Post Ride | 30 gram protein drink
Home | Felt too sick to eat and ended up going to sleep instead

Bike:                                                                                  

LOOK 585,  Garmin 800, Powertap G3, HED Belgium/Conti 4000s @ 95 psi

Overall Power Data:                                                        
Entire workout (120 watts):
Duration: 4:33:12 (4:33:43)
Work: 1966 kJ
 TSS: 228.5 (intensity factor 0.709)
 Norm Power: 149
 VI: 1.24
 Distance: 77.274 mi
  Min Max Avg
Power: 0 548 120 watts
Cadence: 1 220 68 rpm
Speed: 0 32 17.0 mph
Pace 1:52 0:00 3:32 min/mi
 Crank Torque: 0 1637 148 lb-in
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Comet - Goofing Around With The TT Bike

Route and Ride Data Links:                                           
Garmin - Ride Data
Strava   - Ride Data

Overall Ride Metrics:                                                       

Distance:  40 miles

Avg. Moving Speed: 19.3 mph

Moving Time: 2:05:41

Total Time: 2:09:25  

Ride Total TSS: ( IF)

Group or Solo:                                                                  

Solo

Goal:                                                                                 

Just do some miles and burn a few calories

Ride Description:                                                            

I really wanted to go out to do race the BBC31 as that has become my favorite thing to do on Sunday afternoons, but today I had an errand to run after cycling that was on the drive to the Comet so that was the spot for today's ride.

Not much to say other than it was a pleasure just to be on the bike and roll a few miles. Considering the amount of times I had to slow down to maneuver around slower folk it was still a good day out and a half decent mild pace.
 

Weather:                                                                          
Partly cloudy, 91 (F), calm air 

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course:             

24 oz from Bottle #1 water, BCAA, Glutamine
Hammer gel @ mile 20
Post Ride | 30 gram protein drink
Home | Chicken, veggies, skim milk

Bike:                                                                                  

Felt B10, Garmin 800, Quarq, Flo 60's/Michelin Pro 4's @ 110 psi

Overall Power Data:                                                        
Entire workout (154 watts):
Duration: 2:06:15 (2:09:23)
Work: 1165 kJ
TSS: 126.5 (intensity factor 0.777)
Norm Power: 163
VI: 1.06
Distance: 40.287 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 438 154 watts
Cadence: 5 93 75 rpm
Speed: 0 25.5 19.2 mph
Pace 2:21 0:00 3:07 min/mi
Crank Torque: 0 1521 176 lb-in

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Brewery to Cagle - Endurance Ride

Route and Ride Data Links:                                           
Garmin - Ride Data
Strava   - Ride Data

Overall Ride Metrics:                                                       

Distance: 75 miles

Avg. Moving Speed: 18.5 mph

Moving Time: 4:05:52

Total Time:  4:10:22

Ride Total TSS: 251 (0.77 IF)

Group or Solo:                                                                  

Mike Q. was riding with me today

Goal:                                                                                 

Endurance / Level 2 type steady pace

Ride Description:                                                            

Typical route and lower intensity endurance pace with Mike joining me again today. The big goal for today was to stay at 4 hours and try to get done before the heat sets in.

I felt like our pace was consistent and steady from start to finish with understanding that we were going to start fading in those last miles and it really did feel like the heat was getting more intense.

Weather:                                                                          
Partly cloudy, calm air to slight breeze, 86 (F) at finish, felt a lot hotter 

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course:             

24 oz from Bottle #1 water, BCAA, Glutamine, maltodextrin (finished mile 43)
20 oz from Bottle #2 water, BCAA, Glutamine, maltodextrin
Hammer gel @ mile 20
Cliff Bar @ mile 35
Home | Protein smoothie

Bike:                                                                                  

Felt B10, Garmin 800, Quarq, Flo 60's/Michelin Pro 4's @ 110 psi

Overall Power Data:                                                        
Entire workout (136 watts):
Duration: 4:08:56 (4:10:24)
Work: 2035 kJ
TSS: 251.6 (intensity factor 0.779)
Norm Power: 164
VI: 1.2
Distance: 75.716 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 502 136 watts
Cadence: 5 107 77 rpm
Speed: 0 31.9 18.3 mph
Pace 1:53 0:00 3:17 min/mi
Altitude: 648 903 750 ft
Crank Torque: 0 1453 154 lb-in

_____________________________________________
 

BBC 31 Solo SST

Route and Ride Data Links:                                           
Garmin - Ride Data
Strava   - Ride Data

Overall Ride Metrics:                                                       

Distance: 31 miles

Avg. Moving Speed: 18.6 mph

Moving Time: 1:39:29

Total Time: 1:40:27  

Ride Total TSS: 121(0.85 IF)

Group or Solo:                                                                  

Solo

Goal:                                                                                 

Just go!!

Ride Description:                                                            

My hope was to lay the hammer down, but that's not quite possible the day after a 70 mile ride so relative to the fatigue I was feeling I still gave it my best without killing over.

The result was beating my best time by 1 minute so I guess the effort was okay.

Weather:                                                                          
Mostly sunny, warm like almost 90 (F), slight breeze

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course:             

24 oz from Bottle #1 water, BCAA, Glutamine, maltodextrin
Post Ride | 30 gram protein drink, PowerBar Gel Chews (tasty little creatures)
Home | Big cold protein smoothie

Bike:                                                                                  

LOOK 585,  Garmin 800, Powertap G3, HED Belgium/Conti 4000s @ 95 psi

Overall Power Data:                                                        
Entire workout (162 watts):
Duration: 1:40:01 (1:40:28)
Work: 972 kJ
TSS: 121 (intensity factor 0.854)
Norm Power: 179
VI: 1.11
Distance: 30.87 mi
Grade: -0.5 % (-825 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 476 162 watts
Cadence: 6 173 75 rpm
Speed: 0 35.4 18.6 mph
Pace 1:42 0:00 3:14 min/mi
Crank Torque: 0 1596 185 lb-in
Temperature: 84.2 95 89.6 Fahrenheit
_____________________________________________
 

Brewery - Endurance Ride

Riding with Mike Q. (The Q stands for Quick-Step)

Route and Ride Data Links:                                           
Garmin - Ride Data
Strava   - Ride Data

Overall Ride Metrics:                                                       

Distance:  70 miles

Avg. Moving Speed: 17.5 mph

Moving Time: 4:01:18

Total Time: 4:07:44 

Ride Total TSS: 234 (0.75 IF)

Group or Solo:                                                                  

With Mike Q.

Goal:                                                                                 

Keep the intensity about L2 or Endurance Paced

Ride Description:                                                            

I appreciate Mike riding with me this morning for a fairly easy going endurance ride. My legs felt fatigue from the week's training so even at an easy pace it still was a struggle at times. There were other moments where we did pick up the pace.

Nice day out and the goal for the day was achieved. Now if it doesn't rain tomorrow I am really looking forward to making an aggressive attempt at the BBC 31 mile loop.

Weather:                                                                          
Damp, heavy clouds at the start, calm air,  sun at the finish

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course:             

24 oz from Bottle #1 water, BCAA, Glutamine, maltodextrin
20 oz from Bottle #2 water, BCAA, Glutamine, maltodextrin
Hammer gel @ mile 21
Post Ride | 30 gram protein drink
Home | Meatloaf wrap

Bike:                                                                                  

LOOK 585,  Garmin 800, Powertap G3, HED Belgium/Conti 4000s @ 95 psi

Overall Power Data:                                                        
Entire workout (130 watts):
Duration: 4:06:21 (4:07:44)
Work: 1926 kJ
TSS: 234.5 (intensity factor 0.757)
Norm Power: 159
VI: 1.22
Distance: 70.287 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 562 130 watts
Cadence: 1 254 69 rpm
Speed: 0 30.5 17.1 mph
Pace 1:58 0:00 3:30 min/mi
Crank Torque: 0 1671 159 lb-in
Temperature: 62.6 84.2 68.2 Fahrenheit
_____________________________________________
 

Brewery - Solo Endurance with TT Bike

Route and Ride Data Links:                                           
Garmin - Ride Data
Strava   - Ride Data

Overall Ride Metrics:                                                       

Distance: 80 miles

Avg. Moving Speed: 17.5 mph

Moving Time: 4:34:36

Total Time: 4:37:51 

Ride Total TSS: 235.2 (0.716 IF)

Group or Solo:                                                                  

Solo

Goal:                                                                                 

Lower endurance level intensity and keep that crank spinning

Ride Description:                                                            

Certainly there was some uncertainty about the weather, but most assuredly I really didn't care because it was Saturday morning and I was ready to roll with the usual. However, I did push my start time closer to 7:45 am as it appeared to be a storm right over the starting point.

I wished I had went with my plan for an early start. When I arrived at the brewery there seemed to be over 200 cars with bike racks and a lot of people probably had already rolled out. The pavement didn't even look damp in many places. Duped by the weather report again and ended up finishing in hotter temperatures.

Nevertheless there is a crank that needs some spinning and spinning it did for more 4 hours. I felt pretty good in those first miles and yet I also knew that I had some good intervals through this past week that would cost me today. I could feel that bit of fatigue and toward the final 30 miles I really started to fizzle. It can be frustrating when this happens, but I must remember the purpose of this ride is not to set personal bests. It is an endurance ride or time on the saddle. The weekday intervals are my meat and potatoes of training. This was just an opportunity to get out in sort of a recreational mindset and enjoy the time rotating those cranks.

It was nice to see Margaret, Nancy, Peter, Tim and Greg in the parking lot at the end. Looks like they had a good group and a good day out as well.
 

Weather:                                                                          
90+% humidity, partly cloudy to cloudy, 72 (F) start, 89 (F) finish, calm air 

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course:             

24 oz from Bottle #1 water, BCAA, Glutamine, maltodextrin
20 oz from Bottle #2 water, BCAA, Glutamine, maltodextrin
Hammer gel @ mile 22
Cliff Bar @ mile 39
Post Ride | 30 gram protein drink
Home | Protein smoothie

Bike:                                                                                  

Felt B10, Garmin 800, Quarq, Flo 60's/Michelin Pro 4's @ 95 psi

Overall Power Data:                                                        
Entire workout (128 watts):
Duration: 4:35:40 (4:37:52)
Work: 2123 kJ
TSS: 235.2 (intensity factor 0.716)
Norm Power: 150
VI: 1.17
Distance: 80.123 mi
Grade: -0.0 % (-5 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 442 128 watts
Cadence: 8 104 75 rpm
Speed: 0 35.5 17.5 mph
Pace 1:41 0:00 3:26 min/mi
Crank Torque: 0 1704 146 lb-in
Temperature: 69.8 89.6 78.4 Fahrenheit

_____________________________________________
 

May Reflection of Training Goals

(click to enlarge)

The above image is my typical planned structure. This is my goal to hit each week, but life interrupts that goal at times and other times fatigue or weather can impact that plan. However, it is good to have something laid out to try to follow for consistency sake.



My general calendar for cycling training during May from WKO+
 

The month of May had a few things come up that is out of my structured plan. My workload increased with working more overtime and we went on vacation so I used that week as sort of a rest week. I still trained while at the beach on the condo balcony, but I dialed it back to a much lower level of intensity.





Monthly view from WKO+

 

 

 



Performance Manager Chart - Red line trending upward


 

From the Performance Manager Chart the view shows my inconsistency in training in consecutive days with fluctuating effort levels, but for a recreational cyclist with a lot of other obligations in life I am just happy to see an upward trend.

Personal spreadsheet to track specific goals like time trained at level

This is probably my favorite thing to track to keep me focused on a specific goal for 2014. In 2013 I was mainly focused on bulk training (yearly hours and miles totaled) and also part of the lack of training in higher intensities were a lot more hardships. I had a back injury and spasm, it rained a whole lot and there were other issues that had me at a point where I was just happy to get in the training time. This year I have turned my attention toward improving the quality of time trained. This chart has helped to focus on improving effort at training levels (Coggan's Levels) from L4 and higher.

In order to train more consistently (back to back days) I feel like staying in L4 will allow me to train a little harder and progressively, but also allow me to recover enough to hit it again the next day. On Saturday I change over to more of an endurance ride (L2) and go for duration and also it gives me a mental break away from those indoor weekday intervals. Saturday serves between training and enjoying the recreational side of cycling. I also have to be careful about attending groups rides because I am normally worn out and going to an aggressive group ride can put me into a recovery hole and interrupt following training days. On Sunday I enjoy going out for about a 2 hour ride at Tempo (L3) and Threshold (L4) or SST (sweet spot training) where I will have good blocks of effort at level.

So that is it for May. With vacation / rest week thrown in there my time at L4 is down a bit, but I am back on track now and hope to finish June with hopefully 600 minutes in L4.

Comet - Easy Day with the TT bike

Route and Ride Data Links:                                           
Garmin - Ride Data
Strava   - Ride Data

Overall Ride Metrics(Garmin Connect):                                                       

Distance: 40 miles

Avg. Moving Speed: 18.9 mph

Moving Time: 2:08:29

Total Time: 2:12:24  

Ride Total TSS: 138 (0,8 IF)

Group or Solo:                                                                  

Solo

Goal:                                                                                 

Steady pace out and back

Ride Description:                                                            

Today started off rough as I would have expected. Yesterday and this morning everything below the waist line was aching, but I was not content hanging around the house today. Especially with the weekly structure I have an active recovery session tomorrow evening so today I just wanted to harden up and give it a go.

Driving down to the Comet the skies were rather dark and it appeared that the storm was about to release its wrath, but thankfully for the 2 hours it held off. The wind was kicking, but honestly I could not tell which direction it was coming. Even with my legs aching they just seemed content to keep pushing the pace and it was up to my mind to put up with the discomfort and legs do their thing. Unfortunately there were a lot of people and I had to navigate around some pretty interesting things. Unfortunately one of those things was watching a lady on a cruiser type of bike face plant on the pavement. I think the only thing hurt on her was being embarrassed.

Despite all the people on the path I was able to hold a fairly decent pace and at least it was a whole lot better than just sitting around. Which fits in nicely with one of my favorites phrases I like to use for training.

"You don't get much done sitting on the couch."
 

Weather:                                                                          
70's (F), breezy to windy, probably the headwind was on the return. 

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course:             

24 oz from Bottle #1 water, BCAA, Glutamine
Hammer gel @ mile 20
Post Ride | 30 gram protein drink
Home | Pure Protein Bar

Bike:                                                                                  

Felt B10, Garmin 800, Quarq, Flo 60's/Michelin Pro 4's @ 110 psi

Overall Power Data:                                                        
Entire workout (156 watts):
Duration: 2:10:09 (2:12:28)
Work: 1221 kJ
TSS: 138.3 (intensity factor 0.8)
Norm Power: 168
VI: 1.07
Distance: 40.494 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 523 156 watts
Cadence: 8 99 76 rpm
Speed: 0 27.9 18.7 mph
Pace 2:09 0:00 3:13 min/mi
Crank Torque: 0 1605 180 lb-in
Temperature: 71.6 78.8 73.6 Fahrenheit
_____________________________________________