Well I've actually been a little sad about the warming temps because this winter i built a backyard ice rink and the whole family has had such a blast with it. Today temps were supposed to hit the 40's so I got my bike fixed up for the road and took it out. It turned out to be a beautiful day. It was right around 40 degrees and just as I started riding the clouds moved out so I had clear sky's the whole ride. You can see the route here. I took my time and really enjoyed it. The legs are stiff but little by little they are coming back.
I've been watching the coverage of the tour of california. It's been pretty great so far. I have to say the technology surrounding this race is incredible. I had 2 computers going watching the live coverage. On one i had the Amgen Tour Tracker showing live video with route and race descriptions overlayed. On the other computer I had Google Earth opened with CSC's live gps tracking on. It was pretty cool. At one point it looked like Levi Leipheimer had thown his transmitter out because it stopped moving with the field.
The Amgen site is quite amazing. I'm even finding more crazy things now.
Later
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Sunday, February 11, 2007
I am training...really
So i actually started my 2007 program this week. I've done 5 indoor trainer rides in my basement this week, watching cycling dvd's on my little tv. This weeks selections have been 2004 Paris-Roubaix, 2004 Amstel Gold, 2004 Leige, 2004 Paris-Nice, and the 2004 Criterium Intl.
Last night I did 1 1/2 hours on the trainer. It gets pretty boring but I have a lot of work to do. Here's some proof.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
VO2max Test
Well 3 months of not really doing any training showed this morning as I went to the Gatorade Sports Science Institute for a VO2max test. After warming up for 10 minutes on the bike you start at 100 watts for 3 minutes, then 200 watts for 3 minutes, 300 watts for 3 minutes then 400 for 1 minute followed by 25 watt increases every minute.
The whole test you have your nose plugged and you are breathing into a tube. The machine measures how much oxygen you use. By 400 watts I was starting to suffer and my cadence was dropping. When they switched it to 425 watts it became really hard and my mouthpiece came off the machine and I had to stop pedaling. I tried to restart but I was just pedaling squares. I couldn't keep it going so I stopped. It came out to 45.2 ml/kg. Not high enough to get into the study this time.
Both scientists told me that I was very close and that in a couple of months they will be doing another study and that I should be able to score high enough after being back into training for a bit.
Though I'm dissappointed, i am glad that they will be doing another study in a couple of months because I was already wishing this study wasn't so soon because of the off season I've had.
In the midst of all this, training did start for me this week. It's back to the grind but I'm actually looking forward to it. I have a lot of work to do. I gained a bunch of weight but mentally I really needed the break that i had.
Until next time
The whole test you have your nose plugged and you are breathing into a tube. The machine measures how much oxygen you use. By 400 watts I was starting to suffer and my cadence was dropping. When they switched it to 425 watts it became really hard and my mouthpiece came off the machine and I had to stop pedaling. I tried to restart but I was just pedaling squares. I couldn't keep it going so I stopped. It came out to 45.2 ml/kg. Not high enough to get into the study this time.
Both scientists told me that I was very close and that in a couple of months they will be doing another study and that I should be able to score high enough after being back into training for a bit.
Though I'm dissappointed, i am glad that they will be doing another study in a couple of months because I was already wishing this study wasn't so soon because of the off season I've had.
In the midst of all this, training did start for me this week. It's back to the grind but I'm actually looking forward to it. I have a lot of work to do. I gained a bunch of weight but mentally I really needed the break that i had.
Until next time
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Welcome to 2007
This week is actually the beginning of my 2007 campaign. Today it is about 0 degrees F and it's been too cold to even skate on the backyard rink i built this year.
After the end of last season I've taken the longest break from cycling that i've had since I dug my bike from under the pile of junk 4 years ago. I've taken the customary month break every year but this year was different. I had the goal of trying to lose some weight before the end of the year so after my last race in august I kept riding, doing long lower intensity rides in an effort to lose a fair amount of weight before the holidays.
Just after my birthday I had to stop. I really needed a break. My body was telling me to stop. My head wasn't in it anymore so I abandonded that plan and put the bike away...for 3 months!
It wasn't my intention at the start but after 4 weeks I had no desire to get the thing back out. We even had great weather and I could have gotten alot of outdoor riding in but I couldn't do it.
Finally in the middle of January I put my training and race schedule together. This season is going to be different than last year. I am focusing on different races and will be peaking much later than last year. By march of last year i was flying. My first objective was the Burlington RR on memorial day weekend. This year my first target is not till july. I'm going to be doing a long slow buildup to superweek.
Although i haven't ridden much the last couple of months I have been doing some other stuff. My son started taking hockey lessons and so I've been at the rink a bit. I've found that I can go skating before work and get a great workout in and it's pretty intense. Each time i've been nearing my max heart rate. It was refreshing to be doing something different for a while.
I also had a flareup of my herniated disc in my lower back. It actually happend in the middle of october but after getting better it got worse again in december. I finally broke down and got some drugs from the doctor and am finally getting that under control again.
There's also been another development on the Gatorade side of things. I am in their athelete pool and got an invitation to participate in a cycling specific study. This is what i was hoping for when i signed up last year. Tomorrow I go in to have a Vo2max test done. This alone is pretty cool. This is where you breath into a mask while riding till you can't ride anymore.
If i score high enough on this test I get to come back and do a Lactate Threshold(LT) test. This is where they check your blood levels while you ride till you can't ride anymore. If I score high enough on that I'm in the study.
The study is pretty intense. 3 3hour sessions. You ride for 2 hours right below your LT and then after 2 hours you ride a 20k time trial. I'm actually really excited about this and hoping I can make it in. It's actually a few hundred dollars worth of tests done for free. It would be great.
I'm only wishing that it was a few weeks later after I'd been riding a little bit but I'll take it whenever.
Well that's all for now. Stay tuned for the report on my Vo2max test.
After the end of last season I've taken the longest break from cycling that i've had since I dug my bike from under the pile of junk 4 years ago. I've taken the customary month break every year but this year was different. I had the goal of trying to lose some weight before the end of the year so after my last race in august I kept riding, doing long lower intensity rides in an effort to lose a fair amount of weight before the holidays.
Just after my birthday I had to stop. I really needed a break. My body was telling me to stop. My head wasn't in it anymore so I abandonded that plan and put the bike away...for 3 months!
It wasn't my intention at the start but after 4 weeks I had no desire to get the thing back out. We even had great weather and I could have gotten alot of outdoor riding in but I couldn't do it.
Finally in the middle of January I put my training and race schedule together. This season is going to be different than last year. I am focusing on different races and will be peaking much later than last year. By march of last year i was flying. My first objective was the Burlington RR on memorial day weekend. This year my first target is not till july. I'm going to be doing a long slow buildup to superweek.
Although i haven't ridden much the last couple of months I have been doing some other stuff. My son started taking hockey lessons and so I've been at the rink a bit. I've found that I can go skating before work and get a great workout in and it's pretty intense. Each time i've been nearing my max heart rate. It was refreshing to be doing something different for a while.
I also had a flareup of my herniated disc in my lower back. It actually happend in the middle of october but after getting better it got worse again in december. I finally broke down and got some drugs from the doctor and am finally getting that under control again.
There's also been another development on the Gatorade side of things. I am in their athelete pool and got an invitation to participate in a cycling specific study. This is what i was hoping for when i signed up last year. Tomorrow I go in to have a Vo2max test done. This alone is pretty cool. This is where you breath into a mask while riding till you can't ride anymore.
If i score high enough on this test I get to come back and do a Lactate Threshold(LT) test. This is where they check your blood levels while you ride till you can't ride anymore. If I score high enough on that I'm in the study.
The study is pretty intense. 3 3hour sessions. You ride for 2 hours right below your LT and then after 2 hours you ride a 20k time trial. I'm actually really excited about this and hoping I can make it in. It's actually a few hundred dollars worth of tests done for free. It would be great.
I'm only wishing that it was a few weeks later after I'd been riding a little bit but I'll take it whenever.
Well that's all for now. Stay tuned for the report on my Vo2max test.
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