February Training

February is kind of a tough training month.  The weather is still pretty bad so you're stuck indoors, yet it's also the month you start to realize spring is coming and it's time to get in shape.  It won't be that long before race season is upon us.  But with it still being winter, you're not in the shape you want to be.  You might have a few weeks of training under your belt, but you're still building your base.  But the real problem is that you're starting to have expectations and goals with your training that you may or may not be meeting.  

I am not meeting some of my goals right now, and it's a little frustrating.  

Saturday was the second of three one-hour indoor time trials this winter at SBR Coaching.  Last time I averaged about 272 watts and wanted to bump that up close to 280 this time.  I started out around 280 and faded a bit and couldn't pick it back up.  I was getting pretty frustrated toward the end.  I was pushing hard, but just didn't have that last little bit I needed to hit my goal.  I ended with an average of 273.  It was enough to win the overall, which is nice, but that wasn't my goal.  My goal was 280 watts.  

 

My running is going well, but again I'm not quite running up to the level I wanted to be right now.  I'm hoping things come around, but it's a little frustrating and makes me wonder if my goal of going sub 10 hours at IMWI this year is obtainable.  I still have a lot of training time left so I'm definitely not giving up, not by a long shot.  But self-doubt enters in when you're not where you want to be and you start to feel like there's a ton of work left to do....even if there is a lot of time to do the work.  

On a positive note, my swimming is going well.  I'd say I'm about where I want to be.  It's tough to say because I've never done a lot of swimming time trials so I don't have much to compare things to.  I'll have a better idea where I'm at when I do my first triathlon and aquathon this year.  Then I'll know if I'm where I need to be or not.

I signed up for the Shamrock Shuffle 5K in March so that will be a good test for my running.  I ran that race in 2008 and assuming it's the same course I'll be out to beat that time, which should give me a good idea of my progress.

 

Pain Pays

Saturday was the last of the indoor TTs at SBR. It was a rematch between me and Eric. Last time I chased him the whole time and closed the gap at the end and lost by 6 seconds. This race started out like the last race with him pulling a 100-200 foot gap. I was climbing faster than him, and he was descending faster than me.

I hit a few of the hills pretty hard and closed the gap. Then I attacked the downhills so I wouldn't lose much time and I was able to make a pass and open up a 100 foot gap on the next set of hills. I figured I was in a pretty good spot since the course finishes on a hill...but there's a short descent before that hill.

He closed the gap to under 30 feet on the descent and attacked at the base of the hill and closed within 10 feet. I gave it everything I had and we both stood and sprinted to the finish line and....

....we tied. Dead even....down to the hundredth of a second.

********

For setting the fastest time on the hilly course at the team TT, I won a jug of Hammer Heed, a bottle of Hammer Gel, a flask, a gift certificate for SBR Coaching and a gift certificate for Race Day Events. Sometimes it pays to suffer.

********

But it doesn't always pay...



For those who have been following my blog for more than a year, you may remember that I have a spring tradition of buying a new plant. For normal people, that would mean they now own several plants. I own one.


I would love to own more than one plant, but my track record clearly shows that I'm not ready for the responsibility.



I'm not sure how I cut myself potting a plant, but this proves that my problems with plants begin, and unfortunately do not end, with the potting process.

*********

As for my training plan, I just finished month 2 of my base training. I'm now starting base 3 (4 weeks). That means my volume continues to go higher. Tempo is the name of the game this season, so I'll continue my Tuesday tempo runs and my Wednesday tempo rides (some of these will be bricks). I'm now adding hills on Thursdays. Long ride and run on the weekend, as usual.

I actually repeat base 3 so I'll do two months of this program before moving into the build stage of my training. Then the volume comes down a tad and the intensity goes up again. This is when I'll really start to focus on my mid-summer half ironman (still debating between Door County and Racine) and do a lot more race specific training - more long bricks, more intensity....

Looking Ahead

Finally, the weather is warming up, the snow is melting and spring is in the air. People are riding outdoors, running and generally getting back in shape. So what did I do this weekend? I rode indoors.

I did an indoor team time trial Saturday at SBR. Each member of the four person team rode for an hour so it was a tough workout. Two members rode hills and two rode a flat course. I rode hills.

My goal = 280 watt average.

I came close with an average of 275. I weighed in at 171 Saturday so I averaged 3.56 w/kg. I want to average 4.0 w/kg at time trials and to do that I need to get my watts up to 300. Losing a few pounds won't hurt either but I've been struggling to lose weight lately. It's frustrating. If I can get down to 165 and get my watts up to 300 I'll hit my 4.0 w/kg. If I can't lose weight, I need to get my watts up to 310. That's a big jump from 275.

I've got some work to do.

I don't know how my team did yet because the overall results haven't been posted yet, but I was told I set the fastest time on the hilly course so I'm happy with that. The last of the indoor TT series is this Saturday so I have one more day on the trainer.

********

Sunday I met Jim in the arb for a long run. Those familiar with the arboretum know that it's a fairly challenging 10K loop. There's a fair amount of small hills, which add up to quite a bit of climbing when you do a couple of loops.

I've been having a pretty good year for long runs and Sunday was no exception. We kept the pace fast enough to be challenging, but not so fast we couldn't carry on a conversation the whole time. We ran for 2 hours at an 8:30 pace so we got 14 miles in for the day. I haven't run 14 miles since the Ironman so it felt really good to get in some high mileage, and to have 8:30s for a long run be a conversational pace is really encouraging. I put a lot of work into my running this winter and I feel like it's paying off.

So I decided to set a crazy goal for Crazylegs. I want to break 30 minutes. Last year I ran it in 32:40, which is a 6:36 pace. To break 30 minutes I need to hold a 6 minute pace for 5 miles. I'm not confident I can do that, but it's going to be fun to try. Why not, right?

********

I've been working on my training plan lately and trying to set some goals for the season and pick my races. It's tough to do because I love to race and I want to race everything. But this year I think I'm going to race less so I can get in more training volume for The Great Floridian. That's my "A" race for the year so I need to stay focused. I'll also pick a half ironman to do in the middle of summer but I haven't decided which one yet. I'm thinking I might do the Door County Half or the Spirit of Racine again.

Or maybe I'll have to do the Rhode Island 70.3 instead.

But right now I'm getting anxious to do some early season duathlons and time trials. And now that I have a goal for CrazyLegs, I need to start focusing on that and working some more tempo runs and track workouts into my program. It's good to have goals....even if they are crazy.

The Y

They changed the hours at the high school this year so I can't swim in the mornings, and I don't like swimming there in the evenings because the pool is full of kids taking lessons. They only have 2 lanes set aside for lap swimming and I always have to share a lane, sometimes with 2 or 3 people. I don't really mind sharing a lane, but it gets tough when you have 6 people in 2 lanes and you're trying to do intervals. It gets old.

So I figured I'd give the YMCA a shot. It's really close to work (and home) and you can do a month by month membership so I can cancel it during the summer if I want. Plus it's about $20 per month cheaper than most health clubs...and for good reason I'm quickly finding out.

The pool isn't bad, and I like the hours so no complaints there. But the locker room is nasty and really small. And the place is kind of crazy with all the kids running around. I miss the Riverfront Athletic Club. That place was awesome.

But anyway, I'm back in the pool now. I've been slacking big time this winter, so now that I have a membership to the Y I have no excuses. I've been there 3 times now, 3 days in a row, and each time I had a lane to myself for at least half of my workout. I barely knew what to do it's been so long since I've had a lane to myself. So I've now gotten in 3 good swim workouts.

I checked my log from last year and the most yards I swam in one month was 43,875 (25 miles) in June so I'm setting a goal of swimming more than 44,000 yards in March.

***********

Training Peaks

I've been using Training Peaks online this year to schedule my workouts, and I just discovered that there are tons of workouts available to me, and all I have to do is drag them onto the calendar. The only problem is that there are hundreds of them so you could spend a lot of time digging through them, but the search feature is really good so it's not that tough to find some good workouts quickly. This is going to save me a lot of time, and I tried one of the swim workouts today and I really liked it. This should help me mix up my workouts because I end up doing the same workout all the time because I don't feel like coming up with new workouts.

*********

Indoor TT #3

Yesterday was the third indoor TT. I had a great warm up and felt really good so I was confident I could beat my previous time. I did....kind of. Here's where I get frustrated with computrainers, and I'm not all that impressed with them for what they cost. Once again, the calibration seemed a little off, because I increased my watts by 24 (according to my Powertap) and only improved my time by 1 second.

I was running in second place the whole time, only about 200 yards behind the leader so I was working hard to catch him. In the end, I came up 6 seconds short but I think it worked out perfect because I got a killer workout in. I don't know if the calibration was off or not, but I do know it wasn't the same as it was last time. For what computrainers cost, I would expect them to be more consistent (not to mention the watts never agree with my Powertap). But in the end it was perfect because being only 200 feet behind the whole time had me pushing myself much harder than if I had been way out in front or way behind. So the end result is that I had my best indoor TT so I'm happy with that. But I'm a little disappointed I didn't win again because I could've used the money since my computrainer account is down to $0. So it goes.

Coeur D'Alene

Time Trial: So I said I didn't care how I did, which was true...but things have changed now that the results were posted today. Finally....

....I won. By a mere 14 seconds, but it's a win. And that win added $15 to my computrainer account at SBR so tonight I rode for free.

...and there's nothing like a win to get you motivated to keep working hard so you can hopefully win again.



Coeur D'Alene: Tonight I did a 90 minute tempo ride at SBR on the IM Coeur D'Alene course (screenshot above). It's real video from race day and the video moves according to the speed you're going so it's pretty realistic. It helps pass the time when you're doing a long trainer ride.



Snowshoe Run: At lunch today I went to the arb for a snowshoe run to see if I can actually run in those things. My first attempt was in deep snow and that didn't go very well so I thought I might do better running on the trails in the arb, and I did. Snowshoe running is hard enough on trails, and it's just too difficult in deep snow. Today I managed to do 5.1 miles at about a 9:20 pace and it was really fun. Most of it was on trails that were pretty beat down so I stayed on top of the snow and was able to keep my pace up. I did venture off into the woods a bit more in the middle of the run and got into some tougher terrain which slowed my pace, but added a little adventure to the run so that was fun. I was dodging trees and jumping over logs. Nice change of pace from running the Capitol City Trail every day. [I didn't know where I was going and you can see where I ran into a dead end and had to turn around]



Tour Down Under: The 2009 Cycling season has officially started. Lance hasn't done much yet, but he did get 2 days of racing under his belt without problems and finished with the main field each stage.

If you don't make your booty move....

Indoor TT #1 didn't go very well for me - for various reasons - so I was determined to make this one better. I had only one goal - suffer. I didn't care what place I came in. I wanted to stay focused for the whole race and get my average watts back where I think it should be.

Mission accomplished.

Last time I believe I averaged a little less than 250 watts. This time I finished with an average of 297 (from my Powertap, not SBR's computrainer). I averaged 315 in my best TT last winter so I still have a lot of work to do this year but I finally feel like I'm on track. My focus is back. My motivation is back. My holiday weight is disappearing.

It's amazing how quickly fitness disappears. Last spring at the Double Bong TT I held 280 watts for an hour...and improved my endurance throughout the summer. Now I can barely top that number for 16 minutes. I realize it's important to take a break and recovery both mentally and physically, but it's frustrating to see your fitness disappear.

So it goes.

After the TT, I met Dennis in the arb for some snowshoeing. We looked for the lost city, but it is in fact lost. No sign of it. We figure that's probably because of the snow, so maybe I'll find some remnants of it this summer if I do some trail running in the arb. It could also be because we stuck to the trails and didn't venture off into the Lost City Forest...maybe there are some signs of it out there.

4 miles

The Lost City was a planned subdivision back in the 1920s. They started it, but didn't get very far for two reasons: the Great Depression and the soil. Basically, it sunk. It's funny how nealy 100 years later it's fun to search for "The Lost City" when in fact it's really nothing more than a bad idea that probably cost some dumbasses their jobs. Big mistakes tend to lead to interesting historical trivia.

As an ex-Teamster I feel it's my obligation to head back there this summer and see if Hoffa is buried there. You never know.

*******

I didn't feel like spending a lot of time creating a fancy schmancy spreadsheet for my Great Floridian training, so I joined TrainingPeaks.com. I've been using the software for a year now, but I haven't had the online subscription. Online, you can create and track your training plan. The software just allows you to upload and analyze workouts.

The online version is awesome and I wish I had joined last year. I can create my yearly and weekly workout schedule easily and access it anywhere, which is nice because I tend to forget what my lunch workout is supposed to be. I e-mailed it to myself a lot last year, but now I can just log on and see exactly what I'm supposed to do. Here's a shot of the weekly planner for this week. I'm doing 3 weeks of prep before my actual training program begins and I believe this was week 2:


I wanted to post my whole training plan, but the whole thing doesn't fit on one screen and I don't know how to use Hypersnap well enough to get a snapshot of the whole plan. So here's the first few weeks....


This is very similar to the plan I used for IM Wisconsin, except I created it all in a spreadsheet and it took a lot of time. I know it looks involved and confusing, but it's really not that bad...especially when you do it on TrainingPeaks.com. Basically, I'm just following Joel Friel's book and creating my own workouts. The x's on the right side of the page designate the types of workouts I'm supposed to do during the week (speed, muscualar endurance, testing....). I mostly ignore those and do whatever I want. This year I'm going to try to follow the plan a little closer but I suspect that won't really happen. So it goes.

Here's part of my training plan from my IM spreadsheet...


I know.... crazy.

*******

I'm not the biggest Lance fan you'll ever meet, but for some reason I'm very interested to see how his comeback goes. Here's a good Lance video...

If you don't make your booty move, your booty must be dead.

The "Mike is an idiot" Indoor Time Trial

Today was the first of 4 indoor time trials at SBR Coaching. I did them last year and they were good training so I signed up for the series again this year. I didn't really have any expectations for this one since I've been sick all week and haven't worked out in 6 days, but I thought it would be good to get an idea where I'm at right now so I can gauge how my winter training is going.

Based on my past TTs, I figured I could average 275-320 watts for a 10K. Last year I averaged 277 for the first TT and averaged about 310 for the 4th TT. 275, even with a cold, seemed reasonable. If I came in a little lower, no big deal, but last year was 277 and I've ridden about 1,000 miles more this year and have done a lot more TTs.

I averaged 248 watts. And you can see by the chart, it was a steady decline the whole time.

My HR was really high and I couldn't breathe. I figured part of that was my cold, and the other part is me being used to riding outdoors in the cold weather instead of indoors sweating like a pig. So I probably overheated a bit...

But 248?

It doesn't seem right. Sure, I've had a cold and haven't ridden in a week, but I just averaged 233 watts for 56 miles a few weeks ago. And I've been putting in some killer fixie rides. You'll lose fitness with a week off, but not that much. Plus my legs were well rested so I should've had some strength, but I felt weak.

When I got home and was wheeling my bike upstairs, I heard a rubbing sound coming from the rear wheel. I checked it out, and my rear brake was rubbing. When I changed my tired and put my rear wheel back on, I didn't get it on straight so it had a little wobble and was rubbing against the rear brake. Smooth.

I don't know how many watts that cost me, but I'm hoping about 30.

Not only do I feel like an idiot, but I'm frustrated because I wanted this ride to give me a good idea where I'm at right now fitness-wise. These races are just training days for me so I don't really care how I do in the standings, but I hate not getting accurate wattage info.

I did get in a good workout, though, so that's something. I'm hoping it doesn't affect my cold since I'm starting to get over it and expect I'll be 100% in a few days (it's lingering...it's one of those).

I guess I'll have to do an indoor TT at home next week.

Double Bong 40K TT

It turns out the park is named after Richard Bong. I have no idea who that is, but at least the name makes sense to me now.

The race was a two hitter, if you will. Two laps around the park. Registration is at Brighton School, and the race starts down the road a little ways and is one big rectangle with 3 right turns. It's pretty flat and the roads are really nice with little traffic. It's a great TT route. Here's a picture from my warm up ride...



Don't be fooled. It wasn't that nice out. It was cold and really windy. It wasn't too bad when the sun was out, but clouds rolled in and we didn't see the sun too much once the racing started.

One thing about TTs: those guys are FAST. And serious. Lots of skinsuits, aero helmets, disc wheels...



I had two goals for this event: 1. Suffer 2. Under 1 hour.

I knew I could make myself suffer, but breaking an hour was a long shot. But it's like the 4 hour marathon, everyone wants to do a 40K TT in under an hour so I figured I might as well go for it. Since I knew it was a long shot, I wasn't going to be disappointed if I didn't make it.

I figured I could average around 275 watts, so I tried to hold back a bit in the beginning and pace myself. It's easy to ride well above threshold in the beginning, but you'll pay the price big time later on. The race started and ended with a tailwind, so you got a chance to start out with some decent speed.

Eight minutes into the ride, I looked down and I was averaging 26.5 mph and the guy who started one minute behind me passed me like I was tied to a pole. I told you those guys are fast. My average speed dropped as I turned into the wind. I watched my power closely the whole time and, after the first few miles, tried to make sure I kept it at 280 or higher. It was tough, but I finished the first lap in about 30 minutes with an average power of 279.

My goal was to suffer, and suffer I did. The second lap was painful. I was tired, the wind was brutal and I was really struggling to keep my power up. I told myself I would make the last few miles really, really hurt. I wanted to finish with nothing left.

I stepped it up a bit the last few miles and I was able to keep my power around 300, and it became a total sufferfest. My legs were aching, and I kept telling myself to 'make it hurt.'

Even with stepping it up a bit, I finished with an average power of 275 so my power dropped a bit on the second lap. And I didn't break an hour, but I came close so I'm really happy with my ride. Not satisfied, but happy (my high school football coach once told me it's okay to be happy with your performance, but never satisfied - or you're done improving - and it stuck with me). It was tough and I gave it everything I had and that's all you can do.

Time: 1:00:44

Only 44 seconds off my goal. Not bad. That's a 24 mph average (the course was 24.4 miles, a little short of a full 40K). Some guys finished in around 55 minutes, which comes to about a 27 mph average. That's crazy fast.

I haven't seen the final results yet so I don't know how I did in my category. Mid pack is my guess.

I was supposed to run tonight, but my legs are really sore and I don't think it's a good idea so I'm going to rest up. Only one week until the Madison Half Marathon.

Cherry Valley TT & Whitewater Lake

Today was...wait for it...wait for it...warm. Finally. Low 70s, sunny, 5 mph winds...a perfect spring day.

I got up early and headed down to Cherry Valley, IL (Rockford) for the Cherry Valley Time Trial. It was a 30K (18.8 miles) out and back course with a few small, rolling hills. I think the week's worth of working out finally caught up with me. I didn't do bad, but I definitely didn't feel strong out there. It was tough.

From the TTs I did over the winter, I figured I could average about 280 watts. I started a little too strong and averaged about 300 for the first few miles, but then my pace and watts continued to decline and I finished with an average of 260 watts (23.3 mph). I'm not sure what my official finishing time was, but it's around 48 minutes and 15 seconds. I didn't hang around after the race to see the final times.

The race was fun, and I'm glad I went, but I definitely need more time on my Cannondale. It's a much different position and my hamstrings got pretty tired out there. And, as always, the saddle was a torture devise. I don't think Fizik saddles work for me. Here are a few pictures from the TT...

My bike set up on the trainer so I could warm up before the race...




Check out this bike. Those recumbent guys are goofy.




A few riders warming up...(don't they know you're supposed to bring your trainer - like the pros do - and park it behind your Sunfire - like the pros do?)





The starting line...





Here's a picture of my new helmet. It arrived just in time for the time trial. I'm not sure if it made me any faster today, but I'm pretty sure it didn't make me any slower. Fatigue and Lactic Acid can be blamed for that.
When I got home, Cheri and I went for a walk on the bike path and then we hopped on our bikes and rode out to Whitewater Lake, one of my favorite cycling destinations (about a 40 mile ride). The ride was fun, but we were ready for it to end when we got home. My legs were really tired from the TT, and Cheri's were really tired from her 10.5 mile run Saturday (her longest ever). Here are some pictures from the ride.

Whitewater Lake...




I love this road....




Me...



Cheri...



My vacation is over now, and that's a good thing. I'm tired. I need to go back to work so I can get some rest. I worked out for 22 hours this week. 270 miles on my bike with 1 time trial. 30 miles running with 1 mid-week half marathon, 2 hours in the pool - because I've been slacking on my swimming a little lately (gotta get back on track).

Levi wins again.

I was happy to see Levi win the Tour of California again, especially after hearing the news about Team Astana being left out of the Tour de France. If you think he should be allowed to ride, you can go to www.letleviride.com and sign his petition. So far he has over 40,000 signatures. I was number 17,000 something.

How about that ride by Tom Zirbel on stage 7? That was impressive, even though Hincappie tore Zirbel's lead apart in a matter of seconds on the final lap. Staying out front for as long as he did was incredible, but what was even more impressive was how he managed to hang with Hincappie's group after being caught. I was sure he was done when they caught him, but he hung on and stayed with them through the finish line. I was really hoping he could mount another attack and take the stage win because he definitely deserved it, but it was a stellar ride nonetheless. Here's a pic:




Watching the Tour of California last week has me fired up for spring and cycling and warm weather and training outside and it couldn't come at a better time because this is a heavy week of training. Lots of long rides on the trainer so it's definitely a week when I'm going to need some motivation. Plus, I've got a tough ride planned for Wednesday...it's Spinervals Time Trialapalooza day again. Gotta get ready for the final indoor TT March 8.

I can't wait to ride outside, but I've accepted that it's going to be a while. We still have a ton of snow that needs to melt, but even if that were to go away overnight (which we all know it won't) the roads still won't be safe. There is a ton of sand and salt on the roads and I've never seen so many potholes. It's amazing how torn up the roads are this year from all the plowing and cold temps. It's like a mine field. I'm gonna have to play it safe and stay indoors for a while, which isn't the worst thing because the trainer definitely makes doing intervals easier. That's one good thing about it.

While I'm on the subject of cycling, what's the deal with the mustaches at the Tour of California?

TT

Levi's ride at the Solvang TT was inspiring. Check out the look of determination on his face. He was focused and he showed that killer instinct I thought he lacked a little last year. You could tell he really wanted that win. Hopefully, they'll let Team Astana back in the Tour and Levi can ride this momentum to a Tour victory.

Yesterday, was the 3rd indoor TT at SBR. I've been putting in a lot of time on the trainer the past 5 weeks, but I haven't tested myself at all so I didn't feel like I gained much fitness. I knew my endurance had gotten better, but it didn't feel like my power had increased. In fact, I've felt like I've been in a bit of a rut lately, just going through the motions without making gains.

I did the first TT in 16:36 and the second in 16:20 so I was really hoping to break the 16 minute mark yesterday. If I couldn't crack 16 minutes, I figured if I could come close then maybe I could beat that mark in the final TT in 2 weeks.

I showed up pretty early and got in a really good warm up. Then I hopped off my trainer for about 5 - 10 minutes while the first heat finished up so I could cool down a bit. SBR isn't very big so it can get pretty hot when you have a group of cyclists on trainers. When they got my group set up on the computrainers, they entered my weight wrong in the system. They didn't get all of my previous weight deleted so I was in the system at just over 2000 lbs. Once the heat started, I was barely working and doing more than 30 mph. Then the trainer added a ton of pressure and I came to a dead stop. They stopped the TT, figured out the problem and got us ready for another go. It didn't really affect me, but the guy next to me didn't realize they stopped the race right away so he put in a good 2 or 3 minutes of work before stopping. After the race, he told me he thinks that may have affected him a bit because he didn't beat his previous time. That sucks that his race was affected by a false start, but he still rode very well and won the heat with a time of 15:31.

I tried to keep my power really steady and my cadence higher than last time. I was at 85 in the second TT and I wanted a cadence of closer to 90 on this one to see how that might affect my ride and fatigue level. I think the higher cadence worked because I never felt a serious burn or fatigue in my legs. It turned out to be a good ride for me and I finished in 15:39, 40 seconds better than the last race. I'm happy with that time, but I'll need to repeat it before I believe it. That's a pretty big increase and I'm not convinced the trainer was calibrated correctly. Typically, my powertap shows my average watts and average speed a little higher than the computrainer. This time, the average speed was higher, but the watts was lower. I think my time may be correct, but I think the computrainer was giving me the wrong wattage info (I'm hoping anyway because I'm quite happy with that time). The computrainer had me finish with an average of 327, up from 292 last time. There is no way I made that big of an increase. My powertap showed 310, up from 295 so that's believable. There's another one in 2 weeks so I'll have to try and repeat this performance and then I'll know the time was correct.

After the TT, Cheri and I went for a run on the bike path. It's still covered in snow and ice, but it was 30 degrees and sunny so it was a nice day to run (yeah, that's how freaking cold it's been this winter). The birds were chirping and people were walking dogs. It almost felt like spring....almost. We did 4.5 miles and Cheri ran really well. Overall, her average pace was faster than last time and we ran further this time. It looks like her base training is paying off. Once spring comes and she steps up her training, I think she's going to make some good gains and have a good year.

Here's a picture of one of the Team Jelly Belly riders from the Solvang TT:

Indoor TT

I did an indoor time trial this morning at SBR Coaching, which is only a few minutes from my house. I didn't know what to expect since I've never done a time trial, indoor or outdoor. And they do them on Computrainers and I've never ridden one before.

I had no idea what average watts I should shoot for. It was only a 10K, so it was short and intense. Yet, it's still long enough for you to blow up if you go out too hard. And the course was rolling hills - and finished uphill - so you had to save a little extra for the hills. I looked at the watts from some of my previous rides and decided to shoot for a 300 watt average.

The heats are supposed to be 4 riders, but one of the guys in my heat did a little too much drinking last night and showed up late so he opted for a later heat. So there was just 3 of us. Right off the start I was doing about 350 watts and I was going about 24 mph. I checked the screen (example of the screen pictured) and the dude next to me was doing 31. I looked over and he didn't look like he was working that hard. Unreal. The other guy was going a tad faster than me. It shows how far behind you are and I was only a few feet behind him so we were basically running the same speed. I tried to ignore the guy next to me, but when I checked again at about the .5 mile mark he was still over 30 mph. This dude is superman, I thought.

That's about the point he had the girl running the TT come over and check his set up. It turns out his trainer wasn't calibrated right or was malfunctioning or something. So eventually he pulled out and it was the two of us. I was a little happy to see that because he was making me feel like a squid. I eventually pulled a bit of a lead on the other guy and won the heat. I think my average watts were 277 and my average speed was 22.4 mph. I can't remember. They haven't posted the results yet, and I forgot to hit the interval button on my computer at the end of the TT so I screwed up my data by doing some light spinning to cool down.

I was in the first heat, and there were supposed to be a total of 15 people competing so I have absolutely no idea how I did. I hope I did well, but I'm not that concerned about the results. I'm mainly doing these time trials to help motivate me and give me a way to see how I'm progressing through the winter.

I wouldn't say I held back at all - although I did try to pace myself - but I think I could've pushed a little harder and gotten my average watts up closer to 300. I don't think I pushed hard enough on the downhills (if you've never ridden a Computrainer, the tension increases on uphills and decreases on downhills). I used the downhills to recover from the uphills and I think I could've pushed a little harder on those. It was pretty short so you can push pretty hard without completely blowing up.

They have another one in January and my Ironman training officially begins Monday so I'll go into that one with a little more training under my belt and a better idea of what to expect. I think I'm going to shoot for a 300 watt average on that one.

Testing: 40K TT

Part of my training program is doing testing on recovery week. These tests will allow me to monitor my progress and make sure I am in fact making progress. I did my first test last night: a 40K time trial on the trainer. It was a beautiful day so it was horrible being on the trainer, but I'm using the trainer so I have the same conditions every time. The test went well, but I definitely could've pushed a little harder. I didn't know how many watts I could hold for that long so I decided to shoot for 230. I think I could've done 250 because I had way too much energy left at the end. But this gives me a good starting point. After that, I went for an easy 30 minute run.

Today was the gun show. The gun show technically ends in September so I didn't think there would be a big turnout so I figured having tired legs wouldn't matter much. When I got outside there was a good sized group gathered, including several members of the race team. When we got to Saris, they had a big group as well including Jordan (Jordan is one of the best cyclists in Wisconsin). That's when I knew I was in for a rough day. I knew the pace was going to be fast and I was wishing I had done the time trial on Tuesday so I could've had a recovery day on Wednesday. But then I reminded myself I'm training for the Ironman and that's what I need to focus on. Not the gun show.

It was a tough ride. I had nothing for the first sprint and got dropped quickly. I have been doing well in the first sprint lately so I was a little disappointed I couldn't get in there and battle it out. I managed to sneak in for 3rd on the second sprint so I did get some points for the day. I got dropped early on the 3rd sprint and was on my own the whole way. The 3rd sprint is 5.64 miles and I averaged 24.29 mph. I'd like to know what the leaders averaged because I was busting my butt and they were pulling away. I think if I hadn't been so tired I could've hung with the group, but that's the price you pay when you train for the Ironman. Even though it's fun to get in there and try to win the sprints, I was a little happy to be on my own. That's what I need to work on for the Ironman. No drafting in triathlons.

So my recovery week has taken a bit of a turn. The intensity has been pretty high the past 24 hours. Tomorrow won't be so bad though. The intensity gets turned down for my 1 hour run.