Training 10-9-12

Plus 3 days (from last training ride). Did a 33 minute block with a 217 watt average (79%). Overall ride about 1hr 15min. Switched to 140mm cranks.

TT result, training with power and experimentation

I haven't seen the official results but I was told my time was 23:34 (about 25.45mph) which is slightly slower than the last two results when I was using a 20 degree steeper seat angle. Oh well, so much for that and I'm glad because now I can focus on the position that allows me the most power. I never was too crazy about riding laidback. It always felt like I was taking too much muscle out of the equation. After a couple of days rest I used my Powertap (my second used one) for the first time. I installed it on the bike pictured at top. It's no speed demon, for sure, but what I like about it is that it has the exact same body angle (~124 degrees) as the one below it. That bike (the one below) was GOD, and I felt like god riding it. It allowed the perfect balance of glute, hamstring and quad activation (much glute and hamstrings, little quads) and because of that it not only allowed me to produce more power it enabled me to train with higher intensity and more frequency. As I have said many times before that, I believe, is because my glutes and hamstrings are predominantly slow-twitch (and therefore my nemesis when I was a powerlifter) and my quads are fast-twitch (my nemesis in cycling). Mind you, I've never ridden this bike in the current configuration before (excuse) and I'm back to using 170mm cranks after using 140's for the past month (another excuse) so my pedaling technique and overall efficiency wasn't too great. Anyway, in the middle of a 30-mile ride I did a 3-mile threshold test. I ended up with a 275 watt average (at a bodyweight of 84kg). I was a little higher on the ascent portions and a little lower on the flats and descents. The important thing I learned (besides how pathetic I am... but I already knew that) during the entire Powertapped ride was how lazy and sloppy I've allowed myself to get with my pedaling. The Powertap lets you know what efficient (watts produced/muscular effort) is. I've been allowing myself to evolve from an efficient turbo to a lazy diesel. This wasn't a surprise as I've notice my cadence drop in the past two years but now I can easily see the consequence. I could see the power drop as I went from an attentive spinner to a mindless quasi-masher. Job one this off-season will be to rectify that. The other thing I need to figure out is how to inject more intensity into my training without burning out. The way I've been training (lots of steady state but relatively low intensity) for the last seven years has worked okay but it's only going to take me so far and the low power outputs are okay when you assume an extremely aerodynamic position but I'm not doing that anymore. I need to get in real shape. For starters I'm going to try doing a ride of at least 30 miles while staying above 200 watts the entire time and then follow that with however many short rides (6 miles) at below 100 watts it takes until I'm ready for a ride at 200+ again. 200 watts is pretty easy but it does require concentration if I want to maintain it without going into mash-mode. If I hope to nudge the output up over time I definitely need to avoid mash-mode and it's ability to find my weak physical link and destroy it. Another thing I've changed is protein consumption. In past seven years I've probably averaged 70-100 grams per day (counting only animal sources). Now I have upped that to 140-200

Preparations...

for the last TT of the year. I got in one week of training in the new open position before leaving for Battle Mountain. Without a bike I didn't get to train at all while there but did end up with the flu and a torn quad. Now that I'm home, despite my feeble state, I'm resuming daily training using a super-low intensity protocol. My current physical state is a blessing in disguise as it will make it very easy to limit myself to no more than 60% of my aerobic capacity. I'll do that for the next two weeks then take off the four days before the race. Battle Mountain was quite an experience. Helping Greg Thomas was vastly more stressful than any race I've actually ridden in myself. There's just so much that can go wrong. It was a week of feeling like I was wrung through the wringer. Luckily, nothing went wrong. Though I've never had much interest in streamliners it was pretty neat seeing the different designs and innovations and the people who build and race them.

me on trike

Despite modifications to my tailfairing to allow better breathing along with some other small aerodynamic improvements I managed to go about 20 seconds slower in last Wednesday's TT. What's up with that? Mostly, I think racing three times in five weeks was too much even with the user-friendly closed position. Also, I was still sucking wind. Even with unrestricted airflow my lungs couldn't process enough oxygen to supply my legs. This is so out of the norm for me. In the open position I can pedal to my heart's content and not breathe heavy. In a fit of post-race disappointment/mania I made like Michael Jackson's plastic surgeon and took a hacksaw and utility knife to my trike. I lowered the seat all the way down to the frame and reshaped the tailfairing. If I can't feed the power then I might as well minimize the power requirement. I'll try and recover for the last race of the season on Oct. 3rd.

8/15 TT result

23:15 for a speed of 25.81mph. That's an improvement of 2.16mph from three weeks ago. I found out the hard way that I need to reshape my tailfairing behind my head. Since I don't wear a helmet or breathe very hard in training I didn't know I was restricted. A mile into the race I began to suffocate. I couldn't put my head back far enough to open my airway fully. When I tried my helmet would lift up off my head. Eventually I had to jettison it into a field. That improved things a bit but still I could have used more air. This is a new phenomena for me. In the old open position I could never develop enough power to tax my lungs (or heart). I went back to look for my helmet but I didn't find it. I wasn't too motivated to get it back. It was a nineteen year-old helmet. I'll have to make one now. I have a few more things to do to clean up the aerodynamics of my trike and with improved respiration I'm hopeful of eventually hitting 27mph. I heard some pings near the end of the race. It sounded like spokes. I could see the finish line in the distance and I was praying that if something was going blow it would wait until I posted a time. I would hate to do all of that work for nothing. The next 10mi. TT is in two weeks. Before this last race I was considering backing off for a while and just doing easy rides as I'm starting to feel extra tiredness creeping in. Afterwards, though, I'm thinking of giving it a go. Maybe that will change when the post-race funk hits (probably this afternoon).

more trike mods

I rotated my body position back about ten degrees, raising the bottom bracket into a more aerodynamically desirable position. This new position is very similar to what I'll have in my Quest. I built a proper racing tailfairing and made front wheel covers. I should go faster. Next race is the Putah Creek TT on August 15th. One thing I really like about the closed position on a recumbent is it allows me to train harder, more frequently and race more often. This is due, I'm fairly certain, to the emphasis on the glutes and hamstrings which for me are predominantly slow-twitch as opposed to my quads which are emphasized in the open position. Also, it's so much nicer riding around with my head oriented in the position it was designed to operate. It's a win-win. The only down side is aerodynamics but that's what tailfairings are for.