Quads on Fire!

Day 28 of the Spinvervals 32-Day Challenge. Some of my team mates are finishing strong, and some are pulling out due to illness and family issues. It's a tough time of year to do a Challenge like this. I was thrilled that I would be on vacation for the last 10 days of it. But, with three rides left, I'm starting to feel pretty edgy. Can't imagine working a 40-hour week and doing this, over this past week. I've been following some of my team mates today as they tackled all five and a half hours of Kona--more will be doing it tomorrow--and wishing I'd had the legs yesterday to finish the whole thing. Had some intestinal issues last night, so I think that may have been part of my problem. Don't know if it's a bug or something else. I was hospitalized last year for five days with a colon obstruction--I'll spare my readers the details--but, it seems I may be prone to chronic dehydration in that part of my innards because of all my endurance activities. I drink enough, my body just doesn't use the fluids effectively. Anyway, just something I need to be attentive to...
I did Spinverals 42.0 today, Quads on Fire, and I loved it! This is a new title, so the first time for me. Don't get me wrong, it was tough. After conversations on our Spinervals Facebook page, I realized that I need to make a better effort trying to keep my wattage, heart rate and cadence all in the ranges that Coach Troy is suggesting. I tend to want to ignore cadence in favor of the gearing Coach gives, along with the speed and distance in the training plan. I've come to realize, with the help of my friends, that gearing and speed are variable factors on an indoor trainer. In order to get the desired training effect, I need to use the HR and power zones I established in my threshold test. Which would be the reason for the test in the first place. Duh! What I discovered once I stopped worrying about gearing, was that I *could* get my heart rate, power and cadence all in the proper ranges AT THE SAME TIME! I decided today to use my Garmin 500 along with my KK wireless, so that I could get HR, at least, to upload to Training Peaks to analyze. With each set during the workout, I focused on sweet spot cadence and holding my power in the proper zone, and my HR just fell in line. I was never in the gear Coach suggested, and I finished about 4 miles shy of the planned distance, but I felt like I did the workout the way Coach intended. I was able to hit power, HR and cadence for every set until the second 6 minute set. The set is long enough that I can see the difference between the two sets on the TP chart. I also struggled with the last of the three 1 minute sets (actually, the last two of the three!), but the sets were too short to reflect any difference in my HR. I could see my power drop off on the KK computer as I started pedaling in squares the last 10-15 seconds. Here's where I need the ability to upload power data. Also, I need to pay more attention to my TSS and IF numbers (and probably resting HR), to help plan my workouts. Maybe I could have predicted yesterday's struggle. That would be a good resolution for the new year. Here are my stats for today (I would include a link to the TP workout, but, for some reason, it isn't displaying properly): Time-1:30:14, avg rpms-83, avg hr-144, avg watts-164, avg mph-15.7, distance-24.73 mi.

On the Road to Kona in a Snowstorm

I've been doing the Spinervals 32-day Challenge since December 1st. We're in the home stretch, but this week has been pretty tough. We've been joking on the Spinervals Facebook page that every DVD ends with Coach Troy saying that the next day should be a rest or recovery day, and yet, we find another grueling intervals/big gear/strength training on and off the bike session scheduled. This week, I did the Pain Cave on Monday, which is rated 9.8 out of 10 in intensity--lots of intervals. Then I did Bending Crank Arms on Tuesday, which is a 9.5, and involves big gear work on the bike, and squats with hand weights and isometric squats off the bike. Yesterday (Wednesday) was Ultra Conditioning 2.0, rated 9.3, and had one-legged pedaling on the bike and core off the bike. A huge Nor'easter was forecast to move in last night, and predictions were for 13-18 inches of snow. So, I thought since I'd likely be stuck in the house all day, maybe I'd do Kona, instead of waiting for Saturday, when it is scheduled. Seemed like a great plan...until I got up this morning. It was a snowstorm for sure, several inches already, so I was going to be stuck home. Check. My son had to go to work (nervous about that, still waiting for him to come home), and my husband would be out plowing all the neighbors and relatives all day, so I'd have the house to myself. Check. Hip flexors very fatigued and sore from yesterday's workout. Wait a minute, that wasn't part of the plan! Now, Coach's notes for the ride say 3-6 hours, and he has 6 1/2 hours plugged into the calendar for today. Last night, when I was all high on snowstorm excitement and leftover chocolate pie, I was thinking maybe I'd do at least five hours. No big deal. Then DOMS reared its ugly head. Always takes 24 hours to kick in. So, I had decided before I even got on the bike, I'd only be doing three hours. Did I mention that we have a 5 1/2 hour, 100 mile ride scheduled for Tuesday, New Years Day, the last day of the 32-day Challenge? The first hour went ok, except that my hips weren't liking the aero position. I checked my stats after the first hour, wished l had written them down, but they seemed pretty good. Think I was averaging 16.6 mph. My one issue I always face is, I can't do the gears Coach suggests and the cadence. I either need an easier gear to do the cadence, or stay in the suggested gear and let my cadence drop. I was also finding today that if I hit the cadence target, my heart rate, power and speed all dropped. So, I mostly went for the Big 3, and didn't worry about cadence. My HR and power were solidly in Zone 3 range. All good. Except pushing that bigger gear made my legs start to tire. Disc 1 ends at 1:55 into the ride, and I was happy to take a break. I did a quick bathroom break, put on a dry shirt and grabbed a dry towel, and recorded my stats: avg rpms-72, avg HR-142, avg power-165, avg mph-16.0 (oh, oh!), distance-30.74 mi. Hmmm. I polished off one big bottle of Heed after 90 min, and was eating two Gu Chomps every 30 min or so. The third hour got ugly, especially the last 45 min. I was moving around so much on the bike, because everything seemed hard. Standing, sitting with hands on bar ends, aero, back to sitting up, back to standing. Aero was almost impossible, I could almost hear my hip flexors screaming, then whining, and finally just the occasional whimper. I continued to do Chomps, then a gel, plus the Heed, so I wasn't bonking. Felt good, except I couldn't generate any power from my core. It felt like survival by the end, and I was sure my numbers had tanked in that last hour. But, when I slid off the bike and had a look, they actually weren't all that bad: 3:00:07, avg rpms-71, avg HR-140, avg watts-161, avg speed-15.8, distance-47.6. That puts me at around a 6 1/2 hour Ironman bike, which is about what I always thought I would do, based on my past riding experience. I can do a century in about 5 1/2 hours, but that's on a road bike and drafting in a pack. Right now, two hours later, my hips feel like jelly. So, lemonade from lemons, considering how tired my hips were, I actually think if I were rested, I would've done much better! And, it was really fun, looking at the beautiful tropical footage, while a snowstorm raged outside my window. This is likely the closest I'll get to Kona. Someday, I'll do the entire DVD.

My Story

I'm 53 years old, a Kindergarten teacher for 22 years, married with a grown son. I've always been active, but not always in an athletic, competitive way. I played intramural sports in junior high and high school, and I ran track in high school. I wasn't very fast, just a skinny girl who liked to compete. My mother died of cancer when I was 16, and my Dad remarried two years later. I gained a mom and three step-sisters in the deal. I've not been without a bike since I was eight years old, so after I got married and had my son, I continued to ride and run some. I was never a big person, so weight control wasn't an issue. I was active enough, but didn't often break a sweat. The year my son graduated from high school, my step-mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was 40 years old, my mother's age when she died, and I realized that, as a woman, if I didn't make my health a priority, no one else would. I started running more, did strength and core training. Joined a gym, took spin classes. I signed up for swimming lessons at the Y. I had learned to swim in a muddy hole at the local river, which means I learned how to save myself from drowning, and not much more. I always wanted to learn how to "really swim," like the Olympians or triathletes I saw on TV. I bought a road bike, and the next thing I knew, I was training and racing as a women's Cat 4. The races were fun and I'm glad I did them, but my best competitive finish was 25th. I belong to a local cycling club, do century rides and compete in a local weekly time trial series. I love to ride and run, and I really enjoy racing and pushing myself to see how hard and fast I can go. I thought maybe I could be competitive in triathlon. I did my first race, a sprint, in the summer of 2010. The potential embarrassment of explaining why I didn't finish was the only thing that got me through the swim. I was 60 out of 66 out of the water, but had the fastest bike split. Finished 19th overall, and lost my age group by only a minute. Clearly, I needed to work on my swim, so I joined a Masters Swim team and got to work. Unfortunately, I injured my hip in the spring of 2011, so wasn't able to run. I did a half-iron distance Aquabike that fall, again, panicking on the swim. I was last out of the water, but, again, had the fastest bike split. I finished in 4:18. I had hip surgery in December of 2011--labral tear and an impingement--rehabbed, and came back strong in 2012. I'm running and riding stronger than I ever have, thanks to Spinervals and a great physical therapist. I did some cycling races and events, and some running races this year. I did four local mini-tris this summer and won all of them, but panicked on the swim in every one. I would be almost last out of the water, then had to work so hard on the bike and run to gain the lead. I did a local "classic" distance tri, had a good swim for once, and won my age group. I was signed up for another sprint and an Olympic distance, but wasn't able to do either for different reasons, but in both cases, I was hugely relieved. So, I'm kind of at a crossroads right now. There are some cycling and running events I am going to sign up for that I really want to do well at, so will be training hard for them. I'm not ready to give up on triathlon yet, but first, I need to drown that swim monkey on my back.

Why I Ride

A local man was killed the other day while riding his bicycle. According to the newspaper article, he rode his bike to and from work daily, and rode just about everywhere else. He wasn't a spandex-clad, über cyclist training for an Ironman. He was just a regular Joe, who loved riding his bike. When the story came out, several of my friends told me they didn't want me riding any more, that's it's too dangerous, and they don't want anything bad to happen to me. I told them if I can't ride my bike, I may as well be dead. I ride mostly in good weather, above freezing temps, in broad daylight. I ride for exercise, to train, and for enjoyment. It's almost winter here. It's getting pretty dusky by 4:00 or so, just about the time this guy was riding home. I wouldn't be out on my bike at that time of day at this particular time of year, although I do sometimes ride the road where the accident happened. I do what I can to reduce my risk, although I'm sure this man wasn't doing anything particularly wrong or risky, other than allegedly not wearing a helmet. The point is, I understand why he was on his bike. While riding my bike, I've seen some beautiful things. I'm in the best shape of my life. I've challenged myself physically, and have had some success racing my bike, something I never thought possible 10 years ago. I've bonded forever with some people because of what we experienced together for a few short hours on our bikes. I've seen deer, snapping turtles, snow geese, wild turkeys, coyotes-almost everything but a moose (I'm hopeful!) Bikes are quiet and fast. You are on the animal before they hear you coming. And often they don't react, because on your bike, you don't look human. You look like something more familiar; a fast, lean, sleek animal. I've solved problems while on my bike. Even on my trainer, I experience that Zen-like state, where my mind goes someplace else, and turns ideas over and over in my head, like a Rubik's cube. I've been racking my brain lately, trying to come up with a different way to run my math lesson in order to differentiate and keep all the students engaged. While I was doing a three-hour trainer ride yesterday, my mind drifted to this problem, and I came up with a couple of novel ideas to try. Mostly though, I believe my bike has saved my sanity. Many times, I've come directly home from work, and immediately got on my bike for a couple of hours. By the time I returned home, I was calm and happy, no longer aggravated by the problems of the day. We joke amongst ourselves that we ride so we don't have to take medication. But, really, we aren't kidding. I've had some tough losses in my life; most recently the loss of my mother to breast cancer, and the loss of a friendship. My friend isn't gone, but is lost to me because of another person's insensitivity. In both cases, the feelings of powerlessness and anger threatened to overcome me. Riding my bike helped me cope. I'd go out for my daily dose of endorphins, and when I got back, I felt better. I could deal with the everyday aggravations and not be overwhelmed. My mom and my friend are still gone, but I know I'll survive, as long as I can ride my bike.

Paralysis by Analysis

Today is Day 3 of the Spinervals 32-Day Challenge. I've been rearranging the workouts this week because I have two more nights of a professional development class. I have a full day's work tomorrow, plus a three and a half hour class tomorrow night. Tomorrow's workout was supposed to be a threshold test, but I just couldn't see myself getting up at 4:15 a.m., and being able to put forth my best effort. So, I moved things around and did the threshold test (Spinervals 27.0) today after work. Last night, I checked Joe Friel's blog to see if I could get some insight as to what the "typical" FTP might be for a woman my age (53). He had a quick-and-dirty formula (Estimating your FTP) that I used, and came up with 215 watts. There's a reason I teach Kindergarten. More about that later. So, I came into the test with a pre-conceived notion of what my FTP should be, and with an attitude a little too focused on power, and not all the data I would be getting. Now, I've done many 10 mile TT's. We have a local time trial series. I didn't do any this past season; hip still healing and thought it might be counter-productive. But, I've done enough to know that my average heart rate for the effort should be around 165 bpm. (Here's the last TT that I have data for: Time Trial) I get my bottle of Electrolyte Brew, I get my towel, put the heart rate monitor on, start the DVD--no cadence. Are you kidding?! This is a new computer!! I get off the bike, check everything out, replace the magnet with the one that came with the computer. (I had left the magnet on from my Garmin and it worked yesterday. A magnet is a magnet, right?) Nothing. Figured I may as well get the workout done. I just won't have cadence. Well, the only part of this computer that has a wire, is the cadence sensor to the mount. Started fiddling with the computer; sure enough, I didn't have it seated in the mount securely. Yea! Cadence back. Did the warmup, stopped and recorded my numbers, then reset the computer. Started the test. I left the computer on the power screen. My Spinerval Challenge friend, Rick Sobona, told me how to set the computer to show HR on every screen. Would've been helpful if I actually looked at it. I got so focused on wanting to keep my watts over 215. On the DVD, Coach Troy is saying that cadence should be in your "sweet spot", which for me is around 85-90. I'm typically a spinner, not a masher. But, when I shifted to a gear to get my cadence up, my power dropped. Can't have that! I will say that I gave it a pretty hard effort. As I sit here almost four hours later, my legs feel pretty fatigued. (Note to self: compression tights after the shower would've been a good idea, duh!) I formed a nice, little pond under my bike. When the test was over and I checked my stats, I was, um, surprised and a little disappointed. My average HR was only 150, my average cadence was 70, and my average watts was 219. At one point--sometime after Coach said to not worry, that I'd pass out before I die, and before the end of the test--it suddenly occurred to me that I had done the math on the estimated FTP wrong. Checked it as soon as I finished the cool-down, and sure enough, it should have been 202.5. Then, plugged in my 20 minute average power into Coach Troy's calculator and came up with...204. Oh, well. Looks like I'm typical. What I really have is a pretty good number to use for my training. And a take-away lesson: it's the whole picture, dummy! Next time, I will get my cadence to where I know it should be, push hard to get my HR where I know it can be, and let the power take care of itself.

First ride with Kurt Kinetic Road Machine

Today, I did my first trainer ride on my "new" Kurt Kinetic Road Machine. I am doing Coach Troy Jacobson's 32 Day Spinerval Challenge. (I'll talk in a different blog about Spinervals, and anything else that comes to mind.) So, I got my new trainer yesterday. It was an easy setup. I also purchased a Kurt Kinetic Wireless computer. My primary reason for the new trainer and computer is that I want to train with power, but wanted to do it fairly inexpensively. Not ready to pony up $900 for a PowerTap right now. I got the trainer used and the computer new, for a total of $327.00! First, if you have a magnetic trainer, get rid of it now and treat yourself to a fluid trainer. What a difference! The pedal stroke was so smooth and realistic compared to my Cyclops magnetic trainer. And it is much quieter. The trainer alone made the purchase worthwhile. I'm not as enamored with the computer, but I think I am going to love training with power. I am used to my Garmin 500. I can customize the screen (and toggle between 3 customized screens), so that I can have all the data I want to see on one screen. Not so with the KK wireless. The three data points I want to see: HR, cadence and power are on different screens, that I have to toggle through (not easy pushing that button on the side while I'm pedaling/breathing hard/sweating excessively. Today, I was doing a Zone 2/3 workout: Spinervals 17, which was a 1:20, 22 mile ride. Coach Troy was talking about cadence and heart rate zones a lot. In newer DVDs, he discusses power more. So, I wanted to keep an eye on my cadence and HR, but I was particularly curious about my wattage. Here are some things I observed: regardless of the cadence or gear, I was able to keep my power output fairly steady until the last 20 minutes, when I suspect I started to tire a little. Also, I ate breakfast about three hours before this workout, but started with plain water. About 30 minutes into the workout, I saw my power suddenly drop by 20 points, almost immediately followed by that low blood sugar, bonking feeling. I got off the bike right away and grabbed a Roctane Gel, and mixed a bottle of Electrolyte Brew. Within 10 minutes, I felt better, and my power numbers came back up. After the ride, I scrolled through the screens and recorded my data, then manually entered it into Training Peaks. I may miss not having all the "in-ride" data, but I was very excited to see how my power data compared to my HR and cadence.  I finished feeling like it was the best trainer workout I've ever had. I've never been able to maintain the speed and achieve the distance of Coach Troy's workouts until today. For sure, the Road Machine is a far superior trainer to my old one. Being able to watch and maintain my power during the proscribed sets was exciting! Here are my final stats (pretty much all the relevant data you can glean from the KK wireless computer): Time-1:23:09, Avg RPM-79, Max RPM-112, Avg HR-136, Max HR-219 (what's up with that?!), Avg watts-171, Max watts-241, Avg MPH-16.1, Max MPH-19.1.