acceleration

Another Bill Walton sighting, this one by my brother in sin Logan Stonebraker. It is a shot from last week's Death Valley Double Century. Anyway, I got enough rest to crack off 2x30:00 sub-threshold with a hard acceleration every three minutes. Two keys here, enough rest to complete a hard workout and the secret to bike racing...the ability to accelerate over and over until no one is left. Nothing better than that final jump when you hear "there he goes" and no one comes around.

Thursday Quad Measurement

58.2 nuff said.

Today I was not recovered from yesterday's sprint workout so I just did my commute. We are looking at four days of rain (thank God, I'm tired of bald mountains and brown grass) so I'll be riding lots of sub-threshold sweet spot, with some hard seated accelerations to really work on strength. If the RiverRide is a wash then there will be hill sprints on Saturday till I puke. Something different, sounds like fun.

Neuromuscular Power

Last week I did seated starts in the 53x14 so this week I switched to the same workout in the 39x17. All efforts are about 20 seconds. Last week I topped out at 80-90rpm, this week 150-170. In both workouts the final 5 seconds are interminable. Both workouts are designed to get up to speed ASAP. The goal is to be able to comfortably match accelerations until the field fatigues and then attack off the front, or in the case of track enduro events, try to take a lap. I'm not a pure sprinter so I would prefer not to take my chances with bunch sprints.

Grumpy!

My faith in humanity has been restored and it is quite possible that hell is freezing over. Grumpy dressed like a hipster wannabe. Or is he trying to look like Michael Hernandez? Could go either way. Anyway, I'm recovering well from yesterday's jaunt around the lake. 90 miles in five hours. Somehow it doesn't seem so epic as it did in 2001. Next week I am gonna add an hour or two on the tt bike at the end to simulate the Davis 12/24 which I have talked myself into doing on May 2nd. So far I am four for four on Monday long rides, each a little farther than the last.

ride around the lake, water-water please

Back in the winter of 2004-05 I did a ride around Folsom Lake every week through the entire winter. Rain or shine or sub-freezing temps I got out every Wednesday and ground it out. I had no idea what I was doing at the time but it did lay the foundation to a great spring. Now that I understand the laws of specificity and have an idea about what I want to do with my bike I am heading into the winter with the resolve to get back to that routine. The last three Mondays I did rides big enough to see how i would feel for the rest of the week and am totally ready to stick it tomorrow. Now if we can just get some snow so it will be a lake again.

standing starts and quad measurements

I commute on a forty pound bike with fenders, heavy tires, moustache bars, rack and panniers. One of my favorite workouts is doing standing starts in the 53x14. It's actually a barely rolling start from about 3-5mph. The trick I am learning out of necessity as to not rip the bike apart is to do these without swinging the bike. All of the torque has to go straight into the pedals. It takes 20-30 seconds to get up to 24-26 mph and a cadence of around 90rpm and is a total body workout. I prefer these to the standard SFR (slow frequency revolutions) because you have to use quite a bit more force. This exercise is much more like weight lifting because the loads are so much heavier and the reps far fewer and I don't need to find a 3-5% hill that lasts five minutes. There are no weight lifting programs that I know of that advocate doing 250 reps per set. You get the super compensation by doing 1-20 reps to failure. Oh ya, it's Thursday and that means quad measurements...57.3. I'm gonna grow bigger quads than Beth, I think that's a reasonable winter goal. Tomorrow I'm starting the process of getting fitted for my race bikes.

finding my groove

It's been over five months since I got the rug pulled out from beneath me and I am finally getting my confidence back. Life stress is not good for peak performance, especially if it comes during a high training and racing stress period. For great gains to be made you gotta get in a groove and knock back the training blocks without really thinking about it. You get your routines set and kinda go on autopilot. Then when you are on the bike or in the gym you can give your undivided attention to 100% effort. Yesterday I did a five hour ride with some sprint work at the end. I was able to crack off >1000 watts 17 times all the while taking Katie to the next level. That said I'm super motivated to have my best winter yet, enjoying coaching more than ever, and looking forward to an awesome 2009.

my head is swimming

20-30 hours of presentations including: Altitude Training, Science of Peaking and Tapering, Training for Track, Cycling Injuries, Cycling Science, Preventing Doping, Coaching Juniors, Goal Setting, Training Myths, Eating Disorders, Core and Strength Training, and enough suggested reading to last a year.

Horner!

It's great to see Chris Horner riding well again after recovering from broken ribs and a pinched disc following his crash in Cataluyna. He placed 7th in today's Giro di Lombardia (his Astana teammate Janez Brajkovic placed 2nd) and was, as is his style, super aggressive in the finale. This photo was taken by Graham Watson of VeloNews.

Taylor Phinney

Today was a good day. All three presenters were totally engaging. We studied overuse injuries, goal setting, and Taylor Phinney's amazing rise to a world class athlete and American Cycling's great hope. That kid is fucking amazing. He will quite possibly be the greatest American cyclist ever. No offense to those other two ego freaks, well maybe a little offense, but that kid appears to have it all. And he seems charming and humble to boot. I guess winning big races is de rigueur when you grow up in a family like that. And his 14 year old sister is apparently a badass cross country skier that may just find her way to the bike as well. The number one rule of sport is pick your parents well.

Yawn...USADA yada yada

I was planning on sleeping in tomorrow and skipping the USADA presentation but they ambushed us with a schedule change and I had to sit through it today. Oh well, tomorrow morning is a lecture on cycling injuries so I will not be sleeping in after all. Anyway my dorm mates are really cool and the Tylenol PM is working wonders. Off to Phantom Canyon for the big banquet.

All You Can Eat Salad Bar

The presenters are great, the weather is awesome, the networking is going well, but the all you can eat salad bar at every meal is priceless. All of the entrees have a carb, fat, and protein profile listed and have I mentioned the 24 hour access to the hot chocolate machine? Hee hee. What a way to start the off season. No stress, no mess, just hanging out and talking bikes. Today we talked about altitude training and strategies for peaking and tapering. Lots of good info, but as usual, the common theme is that every athlete is an experiment of one. What works for rider A could spell disaster for rider B. That gives me confidence that my artistic sense, ability to see the big picture, and empathetic nature will eventually set me apart. Off to dinner and a ball game, life is good.

Can't Breath...Waiting for the Nose Bleeds

I landed safely in Colorado Springs. The crispy fall weather is refreshing but every time I go up the stairs I am reminded why I like living at sea level. Yesterday's workout is having lingering effects. I've been trying to find a way to describe that on the edge of sickness feeling I get when I over reach. I say I feel torched or crispy and some ultra riders don't get it. They think about a bonky hunger knock, but this is different. It's the feeling I get when a cold is coming on. A bit achy, a bit spacey, hungry all day, and kinda hot. Maybe I should start taking my temperature before and after as well as my heart rate. Hmmm? I'll get right on that, but first, more hot chocolate!!!

Fiyo on the Biyo

2x20 sub LT sweet spot
30 minutes tempo
6x3 VO2 max

Four and a half hours generally riding in the enduro/tempo pace and having fun getting in the time. Yeah right, I'm torched. It seems the top riders are working harder than I imagined.

Thanks Hunter, it's gonna be a productive winter.

I'm Back

It's been eleven weeks since my last race and I'm finally ready to get back to work. I'm dreaming of a 2009 season with no major life changes. I want to wrench, race, coach, and spend quality time with my loved ones. I want the hardest decisions to be what play lists to pick for my long rides and what aero-bars to put on my pursuit bike. I ain't saying I expect the wind to be always at my back, a lucky break or two will do just fine. So far I'm thinking I should race all of the district championship events on the track and on the road. I really really really want to complete the entire Cal Cup Series. I wanna kick ass for March Madness and Bike Commute Month in May. April is all about a sweet vacation, Copperopolis and the Madera Stage Race. On my wish list is the Davis 12/24, the Davis Double, and the Terrible Two. Hopefully I'll figure out how to do it all on Rex Bikes.