Technology Overload!!!

Hello again. Here's my life lately in a brief report. School is going well, three weeks ahead on my assignments so no stress there. Raced the Santiago Canyon Time Trial last Saturday and managed an 8th place finish, with a time of 30:17. Not good considering my goal was 28:30. Don't know what happened, some days you have it, some days......I've still been managing to get out on the bike 10-12 hours a week lately, but I have to admit my motivation to ride hard has been low. I just don't see the point this time of year. My diet has also been on the "easier" side so to speak. On a high note, I will be picking up a new frame sometime this week. A full-carbon Bailey Bikes ride. I've decided to go all carbon for the comfort factor, the bike will still be stiff, but vibration muffled more then my current aluminum frame. I'm hoping the new ride will help motivate me a bit to get out and pound the pedals. Now to the topic of this post...No more technology-based riding for me. As you know, after much research I ended up pulling the trigger on a Powertap about four months ago. At first I loved it (new toy syndrome), and thought I would use it to maximize my training, but here's what I learned about myself. That approach doesn't work for me. I'm not knocking powermeters in any way. I do believe that coupled with a coach or an individual who loves to crunch numbers after rides, they're extremely beneficial. But for someone like me, who's always ridden by feel, and doesn't have the funds to employ a coach, they're a crutch. I've been letting my heart rate and wattage dictate my rides. Frequently being dropped because I've been checking the meter and telling myself, "You better let up, you're going to hard!" I've noticed some of the guys on the team who typically have trouble finishing races, post in their race reports that at some point during the race they looked down at their powermeter and decided they couldn't keep going at whatever wattage was showing, so time to quit! What if they didn't have the powermeter to look at? Would they of quit? Time for me to get back to the basics, listen to my body, and let that dictate how I'm going to ride on any given day. Anyone want to purchase a powermeter? Until next time.....

Crash & Burn

As an endurance athlete and someone who likes to train as much as possible, I've become accustomed to feeling slightly fatigued all the time. Alot of my training rides involve feeling a bit tired as I start pedaling, but soon everything feels great, and I ride strong. Not the case this last Saturday! Last week I began my weight training regime at the gym in hopes of gaining some much needed strength in the legs. Here's what last week's training schedule looked like..
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 3 hours in gym
Wednesday: 50 miles
Thursday: 2 hours in gym
Friday: 45 miles
Saturday: Meltdown!
I did all that training leading up to the biggest ride I've ever taken on Saturday. Huge mistake!!! I left my house Saturday morning and rode to our meeting point at a leisurly pace, feeling ok. This all changed when we hit the first of many climbs that day. My training partner, who I usually have no trouble dropping on climbs since he's more the sprinter type, left me in the dust. About a quarter the way up Palomar South Grade Road I knew something was wrong when I was having trouble maintaining 6-7mph, and 250 watts. My usual pace up that climb is 9-10mph, and closer to 300 watts. Needless to say, I began cramping while descending East Grade Road, and was getting worried knowing I still had to claw my way up Mesa Grande Road. I finally arrived at Santa Ysabel seventy-five miles later with forty miles left to get home. I was in trouble! I really didn't want to limp home by myself on Highway 78. I knew there was no way I was going to be able to stay on the wheels of my training partners that day. Just then my prayers were answered. Two other teammates pulled up saying they'd just finished climbing Palomar, and started their ride right there in Santa Ysabel. I was able to hitch a ride home with them, tail between my legs, as my training partners finished out the ride:( I'm convinced this was a case of over-training, especially before a ride of that magnitude. Needless to say, I decided to take three full days off the bike, and will pull the TT bike out this Wednesday and Friday for two-hour workouts, and that'll be it before the Santiago Canyon TT this Saturday. Let's hope my legs are better this Saturday then last!!! Until next time.....