Well the last week or so has gone along pretty well as planned, but the only time I managed to get on the track, last Monday, wasn't a particularly fulfilling session.
On the day prior, I had spent some time on a favourite loop of mine sprinting the short (10sec to 20sec) little hills as a "Points Race" type of workout and it left my legs a little heavy.
The track workout was planned to be a series of flying kilometers, but 500m into the first, my legs were saying enough is enough.....yelling pretty loudly actually. OK, these are supposed to feel hard, but when it was obvious I wasn't going to be able to sustain anything like race speed, I thought it better to pull back in distance so I could at least hold some semblance of quality.
So it was 4 x FL500m with ~ 8min recovery, all in the mid to high 36sec range, followed by 1 x FL 1km. This last rep, ridden as a paced effort instead of all out was a 1min 17sec. Not target race pace exactly, but it's rare for me to go fast in training .......probably 'cos of tired legs most of the time..........maybe I should be spending more recovery time so I CAN ride the speed I need to?
In the past, I can't recall ever going faster than 1.15 for a FL 1km in training, and really struggling to do that! But it all seems to come together on race day with fresh legs. Gotta trust that the same will happen in October :-)
I suppose when you consider that these times are ridden when tired, in the morning with temperature inside the velodrome of about 12 degrees, and on crummy training wheels and tires, then there's scope for improvement.
All the Pursuit specific work I've been doing on the road and trainer with my Power Tap equipped bikes have been within my target range of power, so I've just got to trust the process.
On Wednesday morning, I rode 3 x Standing Start 1km reps on the road (in the rain) with 10min recoveries. Not a particularly high start power, around 895watts, but averages for each rep was 400w, 396w and 389w. That's in target range but there was a drop in power towards the end of each. But again, that's what is to be expected the way I'm riding them, i.e. all out from the gun.
I'm riding most of my L6 reps in this fashion to REALLY create a high lactate environment. There seems to be reasonable evidence, and I've had good advice, that this method has shown in the past to provide a strong stimulus for adaptation. We're gonna find out soon aren't we.
Even though I've been running on tired legs most of the time, with a touch of freshness, in the last two weeks I hit an all time peak power PB of....and don't snicker, 1031watts, and twice have PB'd my 5sec Power with 934watts and 935watts. So I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the last week when I'm well tapered.
Tonight I'm heading straight from day shift with the Fire Dept. for the last of the Friday night RAW (Race All Winter) track series, then from night shift on Sunday morning directly to join the regular Sunday morning group back on the velodrome.
Put my entry in today for World Masters in the Pursuit, Scratch race and Points race. Stay tuned to see how things go in these last couple of weeks.
Mike
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Getting down to specifics
Well it's only a month now to my target race, Pursuit qualifying at Masters World Track Championships here in Sydney, so recent weeks have been taken up with track specific work, done either on the Dunc Gray Velodrome or on the trainer or road.
I've been doing mostly L6 work in various formats along with L7 stuff to work on my starts. This has been filled out with moderate volumes of SST and low L4 work.
Have managed to get out to some RAW (Race All Winter) track meets on the last couple of Friday nights. I was rostered on night shift last Friday but arranged 4hrs leave to race, then rushed back to the Fire Station to begin my shift at 10pm.
Everyone gets about 4 races at these meets organised by Paul Craft. Paul always makes things interesting with unusual and "fun" race formats. For example, last week I had two scratch races, a Keiren and a race he called a Miss 'n' Out Points race.
We started the race with 23 riders, and a Derny following the field. Each lap, the last rider over the line was "eliminated" and dropped back to follow the Derny. You were awarded points as you were eliminated.....1 point for the first rider off, 2 for the second, etc, until it came down to the last two riders, with the winner taking 23 points plus a bonus for the win.
Remember, all this time eliminated riders were dropping back to the Derny. So after the final Miss 'n' Out sprint, it became the world's biggest Keiren with the Derny pulling off the track with two and a half laps to go. Points were again awarded for your finishing position with the overall winner being the rider with most accumulated points.
A very intense race with surges from 45-48kph each lap to try to avoid being eliminated, then tracking the Derny at similar speeds until the final sprint. Gee, it was almost fun :P
I had planned to train on the velodrome with the Sunday morning group but got a call to see if I would fill a Rescue Operators spot that came up as a result of another Firefighter calling in sick.
Overtime rates make it hard to pass up these opportunities, so I loaded my bike and trainer into the car hoping to be able to get a workout done during the day if we weren't busy.
As it turned out, I was able to get in a session of 3 sets of 5 x 30sec @ 400-410w with 30sec recovery @ ~100w. Pretty happy with this as in recent times, I've tended to fade just a touch in the last part of the last reps of each set. Not saying it was easy by any stretch, but manageable....just.
On Monday afternoon a session was arranged at the velodrome with a guy to operate the starting gates for us. So over 90min or so, I managed eight starts from the gates, mostly half laps, but included a couple of full laps and one 500m from the standing start.
Backed up on Tuesday with 2 x 1km and 1 x 1500m standing starts efforts on the road.
Didn't take too much notice of the times since they are affected by a little bit of breeze, different rolling resisitance on the road, etc, but power was 472w average for the first 1km rep, 498w for the second, and 382w for the 1500m. Happy enough with that since 380+w is what I'm targeting that level for my pursuit. With a bit of freshness in my legs it might just be within my reach.
Wednesday was my commute to and from the Fire Station, not ridden too hard, averaging 180w Normalised Power.
Thursday is another trainer workout with 2min L6 reps on the menu, backed up with another set of multiple 30sec on 30sec off reps. Can hardly wait :-)
Mike
I've been doing mostly L6 work in various formats along with L7 stuff to work on my starts. This has been filled out with moderate volumes of SST and low L4 work.
Have managed to get out to some RAW (Race All Winter) track meets on the last couple of Friday nights. I was rostered on night shift last Friday but arranged 4hrs leave to race, then rushed back to the Fire Station to begin my shift at 10pm.
Everyone gets about 4 races at these meets organised by Paul Craft. Paul always makes things interesting with unusual and "fun" race formats. For example, last week I had two scratch races, a Keiren and a race he called a Miss 'n' Out Points race.
We started the race with 23 riders, and a Derny following the field. Each lap, the last rider over the line was "eliminated" and dropped back to follow the Derny. You were awarded points as you were eliminated.....1 point for the first rider off, 2 for the second, etc, until it came down to the last two riders, with the winner taking 23 points plus a bonus for the win.
Remember, all this time eliminated riders were dropping back to the Derny. So after the final Miss 'n' Out sprint, it became the world's biggest Keiren with the Derny pulling off the track with two and a half laps to go. Points were again awarded for your finishing position with the overall winner being the rider with most accumulated points.
A very intense race with surges from 45-48kph each lap to try to avoid being eliminated, then tracking the Derny at similar speeds until the final sprint. Gee, it was almost fun :P
I had planned to train on the velodrome with the Sunday morning group but got a call to see if I would fill a Rescue Operators spot that came up as a result of another Firefighter calling in sick.
Overtime rates make it hard to pass up these opportunities, so I loaded my bike and trainer into the car hoping to be able to get a workout done during the day if we weren't busy.
As it turned out, I was able to get in a session of 3 sets of 5 x 30sec @ 400-410w with 30sec recovery @ ~100w. Pretty happy with this as in recent times, I've tended to fade just a touch in the last part of the last reps of each set. Not saying it was easy by any stretch, but manageable....just.
On Monday afternoon a session was arranged at the velodrome with a guy to operate the starting gates for us. So over 90min or so, I managed eight starts from the gates, mostly half laps, but included a couple of full laps and one 500m from the standing start.
Backed up on Tuesday with 2 x 1km and 1 x 1500m standing starts efforts on the road.
Didn't take too much notice of the times since they are affected by a little bit of breeze, different rolling resisitance on the road, etc, but power was 472w average for the first 1km rep, 498w for the second, and 382w for the 1500m. Happy enough with that since 380+w is what I'm targeting that level for my pursuit. With a bit of freshness in my legs it might just be within my reach.
Wednesday was my commute to and from the Fire Station, not ridden too hard, averaging 180w Normalised Power.
Thursday is another trainer workout with 2min L6 reps on the menu, backed up with another set of multiple 30sec on 30sec off reps. Can hardly wait :-)
Mike
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Team Time Trial
August 24th was State TTT on the 43km Calga course. We finished up with quite a respectable ride in my opinion, since we were under no illusions about getting on the podium.
We "lost" one rider by quarter distance and our strategy was to protect our third man to help him get over the hills on the run back to the finish. So there were two of us doing the majority of the work, which was fine by me.
We finished 8th, but only just over 2min off a podium spot. We had some very strong teams starting behind us and I thought there was a distinct possibility of us getting caught. That didn't happen and while we did lose time, we were a lot closer to some strong teams than I thought would really hammer us.
I rode with my Power Tap and saw a Normalised Power for the 1hr 10min, and 43km of 255w which is pretty much what I've been calling my FTP in recent times.
Had my first Friday night track meet prior to the TTT and it was good to get some leg speed happening again. Paul Craft who started this RAW (Race All Winter) Series some years ago does a terrific job of providing a good night of racing for everyone. Mostly get 4 or 5 races a night, and Paul always creates some interesting race formats. I'm headed out there again this Friday.
Since the TTT, I've introduced some L6 work as specific training for my Pursuit in October. Ugly stuff!
Here are the details of my most recent L6 workouts:
#1: 4 x 90sec @ 380w (8min R) then 4 x 30sec @ ~ 500w (2min R) done on my trusty Kurt Kinetic trainer.
#2: 3 x 2min @ 380w but decaying to around 320w at the end of each rep (8min R) then 3 x 1min @ 390w (4min R) done on the road.
#3: This workout done on Dunc Gray Velodrome: Had planned for a series of flying 1km and flying 500m reps but had no legs on the day....they just wouldn't / couldn't produce the required speed / power, so I changed to 6 x flying 250's and 4 x Standing start 250's and went home with my tail between my legs.
#4: 3 x 2min @ 380w (8min R) then 3 x 1min @ 390w (4min R) then 3 x 30sec @ ~ 500w (2min R) on the road.
#5: 3 sets of 4 x 30sec @ ~500w (30sec R) with 10min R between sets) done on the trainer.
After some good advice, I'm trying the approach of very high (for me) power intervals. Short, with longer recoveries. Traditionally, AWC type training levels are done at ~135% of FTP, mine being ~ 255w at present, so it will be interesting to see how this translates to on track performance. As you can see, my minimum power for the above workouts is around 150%, with some decay of power in the last 30sec of longer (i.e. 2min) reps.
Did my commute ride to work this morning and sat up in SST / low L4 range at every opportunity for the ~ 50min. Gotta say, legs felt pretty good too. Will take it a bit easier on the way home, hoping to have something in my legs for my track workout in the morning.
Going to back up on Friday night for some bunch racing.
Current CTL is 104.1 with 682 TSS points accumulated last week. TSB is neutral or just in positive right now.
Mike
We "lost" one rider by quarter distance and our strategy was to protect our third man to help him get over the hills on the run back to the finish. So there were two of us doing the majority of the work, which was fine by me.
We finished 8th, but only just over 2min off a podium spot. We had some very strong teams starting behind us and I thought there was a distinct possibility of us getting caught. That didn't happen and while we did lose time, we were a lot closer to some strong teams than I thought would really hammer us.
I rode with my Power Tap and saw a Normalised Power for the 1hr 10min, and 43km of 255w which is pretty much what I've been calling my FTP in recent times.
Had my first Friday night track meet prior to the TTT and it was good to get some leg speed happening again. Paul Craft who started this RAW (Race All Winter) Series some years ago does a terrific job of providing a good night of racing for everyone. Mostly get 4 or 5 races a night, and Paul always creates some interesting race formats. I'm headed out there again this Friday.
Since the TTT, I've introduced some L6 work as specific training for my Pursuit in October. Ugly stuff!
Here are the details of my most recent L6 workouts:
#1: 4 x 90sec @ 380w (8min R) then 4 x 30sec @ ~ 500w (2min R) done on my trusty Kurt Kinetic trainer.
#2: 3 x 2min @ 380w but decaying to around 320w at the end of each rep (8min R) then 3 x 1min @ 390w (4min R) done on the road.
#3: This workout done on Dunc Gray Velodrome: Had planned for a series of flying 1km and flying 500m reps but had no legs on the day....they just wouldn't / couldn't produce the required speed / power, so I changed to 6 x flying 250's and 4 x Standing start 250's and went home with my tail between my legs.
#4: 3 x 2min @ 380w (8min R) then 3 x 1min @ 390w (4min R) then 3 x 30sec @ ~ 500w (2min R) on the road.
#5: 3 sets of 4 x 30sec @ ~500w (30sec R) with 10min R between sets) done on the trainer.
After some good advice, I'm trying the approach of very high (for me) power intervals. Short, with longer recoveries. Traditionally, AWC type training levels are done at ~135% of FTP, mine being ~ 255w at present, so it will be interesting to see how this translates to on track performance. As you can see, my minimum power for the above workouts is around 150%, with some decay of power in the last 30sec of longer (i.e. 2min) reps.
Did my commute ride to work this morning and sat up in SST / low L4 range at every opportunity for the ~ 50min. Gotta say, legs felt pretty good too. Will take it a bit easier on the way home, hoping to have something in my legs for my track workout in the morning.
Going to back up on Friday night for some bunch racing.
Current CTL is 104.1 with 682 TSS points accumulated last week. TSB is neutral or just in positive right now.
Mike
Monday, August 18, 2008
More CdA testing
Since getting my new NRT track bike, I've had several sessions at DGV doing mostly Flying 500's and Standing Start 250's. Times are starting to come down a little. Still not "comfortable" enough at this low 37sec to mid 36sec time for the 500's, but this is what I've found in the past. I struggle to hold target times in training, yet I'm able to ride as fast or faster on race day while feeling much easier...well, as "easy" as it gets in a Pursuit.
I reckon a big part of this is the crappy wheels and tyres I use in training. The front wheel is a 20year old Shimano with !#$%'d bearings....really lumpy. And I'm running some real slow feeling Kenda HP tyres. So I figure once I hit all my times regularly on this equipment, I'll get a real boost in speed with race wheels.
Last week I ran another CdA test comparing a slightly modified position on the new bike to my "new" position developed after Nationals (see previous post). Came out almost identical which sorta disappointed me a little as I was hoping the new frame might prove to be a bit more slippery.
However, I also did a back to back test using standard helmet and position, compared to using my Giro Advantage aero helmet and shoe covers. As usual, Alex Simmons did the analysis and showed a measureable reduction in CdA of ~ 1.7%.
I wasn't sure if there would be a measurable difference, but was pleased that the test protocol holds up so well.
Had another Team Time Trial workout on the road with my team mates last Saturday. We're getting to know each others strengths and limiters and we're getting things to work quite well.
The Championships are next Sunday on the Calga course. We're going to be right up against it as a couple of teams have some extraordinary Time Trialists in their squads, but we'll give it all we've got.
Have picked up a bit of a head cold in the last few days, but so far it hasn't hindered my training.
I'm back at work as a Fire Fighter now after finishing my annual leave and was able to slip in a trainer workout today during a quieter period.
It was an Anaerobic Work Capacity session today. Chose a work load perhaps a little higher than necessary (370-389watts......145% FTP) for 5 x 90sec with longish recoveries (3m 30s), but I wanted to see how I handled that wattage, seeing as I'm going to need to sustain something similar for the ~ 2m 30sec I'm planning to ride for the 2000m Pursuit.
Planning to compete at my first Friday night RAW (Race All Winter) track meet this week. Usually we get 5 races for the night in all sorts of formats. The guy who started this series, Paul Craft, does a terrific job of providing an interesting, enjoyable night of racing. Looking forward to getting some track "feel" back into my legs.
Mike
I reckon a big part of this is the crappy wheels and tyres I use in training. The front wheel is a 20year old Shimano with !#$%'d bearings....really lumpy. And I'm running some real slow feeling Kenda HP tyres. So I figure once I hit all my times regularly on this equipment, I'll get a real boost in speed with race wheels.
Last week I ran another CdA test comparing a slightly modified position on the new bike to my "new" position developed after Nationals (see previous post). Came out almost identical which sorta disappointed me a little as I was hoping the new frame might prove to be a bit more slippery.
However, I also did a back to back test using standard helmet and position, compared to using my Giro Advantage aero helmet and shoe covers. As usual, Alex Simmons did the analysis and showed a measureable reduction in CdA of ~ 1.7%.
I wasn't sure if there would be a measurable difference, but was pleased that the test protocol holds up so well.
Had another Team Time Trial workout on the road with my team mates last Saturday. We're getting to know each others strengths and limiters and we're getting things to work quite well.
The Championships are next Sunday on the Calga course. We're going to be right up against it as a couple of teams have some extraordinary Time Trialists in their squads, but we'll give it all we've got.
Have picked up a bit of a head cold in the last few days, but so far it hasn't hindered my training.
I'm back at work as a Fire Fighter now after finishing my annual leave and was able to slip in a trainer workout today during a quieter period.
It was an Anaerobic Work Capacity session today. Chose a work load perhaps a little higher than necessary (370-389watts......145% FTP) for 5 x 90sec with longish recoveries (3m 30s), but I wanted to see how I handled that wattage, seeing as I'm going to need to sustain something similar for the ~ 2m 30sec I'm planning to ride for the 2000m Pursuit.
Planning to compete at my first Friday night RAW (Race All Winter) track meet this week. Usually we get 5 races for the night in all sorts of formats. The guy who started this series, Paul Craft, does a terrific job of providing an interesting, enjoyable night of racing. Looking forward to getting some track "feel" back into my legs.
Mike
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
My New Toy
Here's my new track bike. Frame was purchased from Peter Barnard (multi World Masters Champion on the track) who is selling them under the NRT banner. Pete has recently started selling track specific bits and pieces through his web site http://www.tracknut.com.au/
Had a shake-down run on the bike already and it feels smooth and tight. It has a slightly longer top tube than my old frame and I've been able to stretch my position out to get a little longer and lower, but it feels even more comfortable than the position settled on after my CdA test series.
Next plan is to hit the track for more CdA testing to see if the frame and modified position are indeed more slippery. Stay tuned.
Mike
Photo of my new Pursuit position
Been a long time coming, but here is a shot of the position settled on after several CdA test sessions at DGV Velodrome.
Don't laugh at my bike either.....as a $200 special off eBay, it's served my very well...and doesn't the French saying go something like "ca toujour la jambe" .....translated as "it's always the legs".
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Kurrajong Classic Road Race
Last weekend (Sun 3rd August) was the Kurrajong Classic, one of my favourite races of the year.
This year I was graded into Division 2 ......full of young bucks who aren't quite up to elite level, and all the strong Masters riders from M2 and up. There were only two of us M6 "old timers"in the race, the other being a 56kg climbing demon, Eugene Schilter.
Three laps of a 33km loop including one climb of approx 1.7km length and probably between 7 and 8%. Certainly not particularly long or steep, but there is always a selection made at this point. The rest of the course consists of rollers before a fast 10km run into the finish.
Perfect conditions on the day. Glorious winter sunshine and only a gentle breeze. First lap was quite tame. Eugene rode gently off the front over the climb and everyone seemed happy to let him go.
Second time up the climb and things livened up somewhat. The previous week I travelled out to ride the climb a couple of times and to remind myself of the rest of the lap. The two reps I rode of the climb were 5m 25sec and 5min 34sec at 322w average for the first (up by 18w on last time I trained on it). For interest, I set my watch to time the climb during the race. 4min 29sec on the second lap and 4min 38sec on the last lap! I wish I'd been running the Power tap to see exactly my wattage this time.
I ran the numbers through Analytic Cycling for an estimate, and it threw up something close to 400w! I reckon that's a bit optimistic knowing that my most recent 1min and 5min Power Profile tests were only 468w and 326w respectively. Still, I would never have believed I could get up there a full minute faster than those training reps.
Anyways, we didn't shed as many riders as I would have expected either time up the main hill, so when a break of three got away with less than 10km to go, and the field kinda shut down, it turned into a bunch sprint for 4th.
Had a good position and was following the right wheel as we built up for the final kick, when I was given a huge "hook" from a rider I was going around. Lost all momentum, and probably finished 10th or 12th in the bunch.
Sort of satisfied with my ride, except for the sprint. Was pleased to be able to hang on up the climb.
So apart from Team Time Trial championships in three weeks, that's it for important road races for me until after the World Pursuit in mid October.
Went out on Monday on fairly "heavy" legs intending to just ride some SST, but couldn't resist the urge to check 1 minute power, seeing as mine lags quite considerably behind that seen in the profile of better Pursuiters.
I'd set a target of something like 8 to 8.2 watts per kilo as my target before Worlds, coming off my last result of 468w or 7.2 watts per kilo. Surprise, surprise......494w or 7.7 w/kg.
Really pleased with that. Seems like my 8+w/kg might just be achievable when I devote some time to working on that area.
Oh yeah, last week I picked up my new track frame from Pete Barnard (multiple World Masters Champ and record holder). Very happy with it. Had a shake down run last Friday and it felt smooth and tight. Looking forward to doing some more CdA tests to see what gains there are over my old frame, and a couple of tweaks to my position.
This morning I did 4 x 4min "Team Pursuit" type intervals on the road. Rode at 380-400w for the first 15sec of each minute and 280-300w for the next 45sec for the 4min. Tough work bringing it up towards the 380+ mark at the start of each minute.
Current CTL in WKO+ is 107.4 with TSB at -12.5
Heading to the Zoo Hill at Mosman in the morning for some L5 reps.
Will get some photos up shortly of my new bike, my old bike and the changes I've made to my position since Nationals in April.
This year I was graded into Division 2 ......full of young bucks who aren't quite up to elite level, and all the strong Masters riders from M2 and up. There were only two of us M6 "old timers"in the race, the other being a 56kg climbing demon, Eugene Schilter.
Three laps of a 33km loop including one climb of approx 1.7km length and probably between 7 and 8%. Certainly not particularly long or steep, but there is always a selection made at this point. The rest of the course consists of rollers before a fast 10km run into the finish.
Perfect conditions on the day. Glorious winter sunshine and only a gentle breeze. First lap was quite tame. Eugene rode gently off the front over the climb and everyone seemed happy to let him go.
Second time up the climb and things livened up somewhat. The previous week I travelled out to ride the climb a couple of times and to remind myself of the rest of the lap. The two reps I rode of the climb were 5m 25sec and 5min 34sec at 322w average for the first (up by 18w on last time I trained on it). For interest, I set my watch to time the climb during the race. 4min 29sec on the second lap and 4min 38sec on the last lap! I wish I'd been running the Power tap to see exactly my wattage this time.
I ran the numbers through Analytic Cycling for an estimate, and it threw up something close to 400w! I reckon that's a bit optimistic knowing that my most recent 1min and 5min Power Profile tests were only 468w and 326w respectively. Still, I would never have believed I could get up there a full minute faster than those training reps.
Anyways, we didn't shed as many riders as I would have expected either time up the main hill, so when a break of three got away with less than 10km to go, and the field kinda shut down, it turned into a bunch sprint for 4th.
Had a good position and was following the right wheel as we built up for the final kick, when I was given a huge "hook" from a rider I was going around. Lost all momentum, and probably finished 10th or 12th in the bunch.
Sort of satisfied with my ride, except for the sprint. Was pleased to be able to hang on up the climb.
So apart from Team Time Trial championships in three weeks, that's it for important road races for me until after the World Pursuit in mid October.
Went out on Monday on fairly "heavy" legs intending to just ride some SST, but couldn't resist the urge to check 1 minute power, seeing as mine lags quite considerably behind that seen in the profile of better Pursuiters.
I'd set a target of something like 8 to 8.2 watts per kilo as my target before Worlds, coming off my last result of 468w or 7.2 watts per kilo. Surprise, surprise......494w or 7.7 w/kg.
Really pleased with that. Seems like my 8+w/kg might just be achievable when I devote some time to working on that area.
Oh yeah, last week I picked up my new track frame from Pete Barnard (multiple World Masters Champ and record holder). Very happy with it. Had a shake down run last Friday and it felt smooth and tight. Looking forward to doing some more CdA tests to see what gains there are over my old frame, and a couple of tweaks to my position.
This morning I did 4 x 4min "Team Pursuit" type intervals on the road. Rode at 380-400w for the first 15sec of each minute and 280-300w for the next 45sec for the 4min. Tough work bringing it up towards the 380+ mark at the start of each minute.
Current CTL in WKO+ is 107.4 with TSB at -12.5
Heading to the Zoo Hill at Mosman in the morning for some L5 reps.
Will get some photos up shortly of my new bike, my old bike and the changes I've made to my position since Nationals in April.
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