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Race The Training Thread

I got into listening to this podcast after @theBlob shared a link to it a while back. This interview is with one of the coaches of Norway's cross-country ski team. Really enjoyable listen.

 
In the days of TSS, CTL etc, it still pays to listen to your body, feel the sensations in your legs.

As I get older, what I do off the bike in terms of rest, recovery and strength work, is becoming more and more important.

Last week's training blog link and cut and paste below.

Cheers, Andy



「your not in your 20s anymore!」

「もう20代じゃないよ!」

last week's training blog
先週のトレーニングブログです
変な日本語すみません!

in my 20s I could ride hard every day
in my 40s I have to pay much more attention to rest and recovery
20代は毎日毎日ハードトレーニング!
40代ではレストとリカバリーと考えないと!

a chance to ride the ridgeline from monday to wednesday
60km/1000m
that's a sustainable volume of daily training
月曜日から水曜日まで稜線に乗るチャンス
60km / 1000m
そのぐらいなら
毎日いける!

but saturday is the big ride
150km/3,700m
でも土曜日は大きなライドへ
150km / 3,700m

so two easy days before
and one easy day after
そのために二日前にイージー
ライドの次の日も
もちろんイージー

on saturday, like a heavyweight boxer
I can go the distance to the last round
survival mode though
guard up!
as Noguchi san is still throwing punches in the last round!
still no knockout!
土曜日にヘビーウエートボクサーのように
最後のラウンドまでいける
でもガードしながらサバイバルモード!
野口さんは最後の最後までにパンチしている!
ノックアウトにならないように!

last week's training:
先週のトレーニング:

・monday: ridgeline 45km / 900m
・tuesday: ridgeline 55km / 1,100m
・wednesday: ridgeline 65km / 1,250m
・thursday: rest / strength
・friday: active recovery 30km
・saturday: gravel 150 km, 3,700
m
・sunday: strength / active recovery 50km, 500m

4 weeks to Gran Fondo Myoko
グランフォンド妙高まで4週間

here we go!
がんばりましょう!

#imezi #imezi167 #167grv #imezisealant #プロジェクト167
 
After listening to "The Sports Gene" I took a look at my blood test from last year and realized I was pretty anemic. Maybe I had an iron deficiency...

I think I will start getting blood tests done every six months or so, since once a year probably isn't enough for a (self-styled) athlete.

It's always nice to have a new excuse to blame your lack of progress on! Hehehe.
 
After listening to "The Sports Gene" I took a look at my blood test from last year and realized I was pretty anemic. Maybe I had an iron deficiency...

I think I will start getting blood tests done every six months or so, since once a year probably isn't enough for a (self-styled) athlete.

It's always nice to have a new excuse to blame your lack of progress on! Hehehe.

I've been supplenting iron for a number of years now.

Nice article about it below.

Andy

 
I'm still out of commission with my slightest of colds. This week is going to be super stressful, so I don't think I will recover … ugh.

PS Our team was invited to "your" big event last week by Cyclism (the distributor for Maap who made our new team jerseys), and they claimed it was a friendly, non-competitive event. Knowing how hard you are training for it, I somehow doubt that ;)

Plus, they wrote that you can ride the event on a regular road bike. Given the teasers they posted on Youtube, I'm not so sure, especially if you sprinkle on some rain or mist on some of the rocks … 😥
 
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I don't doubt you could finish the ride on an endurance road bike with tough tubeless 30s, but the idea of dinging up the downtube on my carbon race bike trying to go fast is a non-starter for me. Just crossing a large patch of gravel slowly is nerve-wracking enough as it is!
 
I don't doubt you could finish the ride on an endurance road bike with tough tubeless 30s, but the idea of dinging up the downtube on my carbon race bike trying to go fast is a non-starter for me. Just crossing a large patch of gravel slowly is nerve-wracking enough as it is!
Agreed. I am quite sure I could probably do it, but I know I wouldn't particularly enjoy it.
 
Biggest gravel ride so far yesterday, 175km, 4,300m up.

A month after splitting my knee open I can feel the climbing legs coming back. Still careful on the descents though!

Usual weekly training blog and cut and paste below.

Cheers, Andy



「double up」

last week's training blog
ダブルアップ!
先週のトレーニングブログです
変な日本語すみません!

another hot week
blue skies
35℃ every day
先週は暑い週でした
青い空
毎日35℃へ

during the week
2 hours a day on gravel
平日の練習は
グラベルで2時間

double up on friday
金曜日にダブルアップ
>4h, 80km, 1,600m up

take a rest on saturday
土曜日にレストして

double up again on sunday
日曜日にまたダブルアップ
>8h, 175km, 4,300m up

last week's training:
先週のトレーニング:

・monday: gravel 40km / 550m
・tuesday: gravel 40km / 500m
・wednesday: gravel 40km / 700m
・thursday: gravel 40km / 750m
・friday: gravel 80km / 1,660m
・saturday: rest / swim
・sunday: gravel 175km / 4,300m

3 weeks to Gran Fondo Myoko
グランフォンド妙高まで3週間

confident that we can go the distance
最後までいけると信しています

as the weak link in the team
I'm also happy to find my climbing legs coming back!
自分はチームのウイークリンクとして
少しでもクライミングレッグズが戻ってくると嬉しいです!

here we go!
がんばりましょう!

#imezi #imezi167 #167grv #imezisealant #プロジェクト167
 
Jeebus, I haven't even climbed that much on the road... or gone that far in two years.

I did a ramp test and got a 4 watt bump. Only one watt from my all-time peak. Sigh... I haven't had a real improvement in probably a year. OTOH, I am ever so slightly leaner and have a faster bike.

Based on the way my legs feel during hard and long efforts I suspect VO2max is a limiting factor. I wonder what the best way to make long-term improvements to aerobic capacity is. Volume (LSD) or intensity (Vo2max intervals)?... Need to bore out the engine so it balances better with my muscles!

Think I might start bumping the difficulty manually during training plans to make sure I'm not just getting better at doing the workouts. Especially as I usually leave a few watts on the table for the sake of consistency in the ramp test.
 
Jeebus, I haven't even climbed that much on the road... or gone that far in two years.

I did a ramp test and got a 4 watt bump. Only one watt from my all-time peak. Sigh... I haven't had a real improvement in probably a year. OTOH, I am ever so slightly leaner and have a faster bike.

Based on the way my legs feel during hard and long efforts I suspect VO2max is a limiting factor. I wonder what the best way to make long-term improvements to aerobic capacity is. Volume (LSD) or intensity (Vo2max intervals)?... Need to bore out the engine so it balances better with my muscles!

Think I might start bumping the difficulty manually during training plans to make sure I'm not just getting better at doing the workouts. Especially as I usually leave a few watts on the table for the sake of consistency in the ramp test.
I was listening to the guy who runs the working triathlete website the other day and he was advocating short workouts (45 minutes or so on the trainer) with high efforts (above sweet spot) on the bike to get the most out of training. They also went into the delta (his words) between running and cycling HR, which was interesting and made sense.

I am coming round to the idea of a trainer. I just wish they weren't so expensive when you include the cost of the trainer and a monthly subscription.
 
I was listening to the guy who runs the working triathlete website the other day and he was advocating short workouts (45 minutes or so on the trainer) with high efforts (above sweet spot) on the bike to get the most out of training. They also went into the delta (his words) between running and cycling HR, which was interesting and made sense.

I am coming round to the idea of a trainer. I just wish they weren't so expensive when you include the cost of the trainer and a monthly subscription.

it's cheaper than a gym...haha
 
I am coming round to the idea of a trainer. I just wish they weren't so expensive when you include the cost of the trainer and a monthly subscription.
do you have a power meter? If you don't go the smart trainer route the cost of a used trainer is not that much and you can always sell it on. If no power meter on the bike then yeah it gets pricey.
But you can use virtual wattage can get the same benefit at just the cost of a fluid trainer. How tolerant are the family / neighbours of potential noise?
 
I am coming round to the idea of a trainer. I just wish they weren't so expensive when you include the cost of the trainer and a monthly subscription.
I bought my direct drive/wheel-off dumb trainer off of Yahoo Auctions for ¥21,000 and a power meter for ~¥35,000. That's a good combo for me, and I can train really, really time efficiently. Well, at least when I am healthy and able to do sports. :)
 
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Biggest gravel ride so far yesterday, 175km, 4,300m up.

A month after splitting my knee open I can feel the climbing legs coming back. Still careful on the descents though!

Usual weekly training blog and cut and paste below.

Cheers, Andy



「double up」

last week's training blog
ダブルアップ!
先週のトレーニングブログです
変な日本語すみません!

another hot week
blue skies
35℃ every day
先週は暑い週でした
青い空
毎日35℃へ

during the week
2 hours a day on gravel
平日の練習は
グラベルで2時間

double up on friday
金曜日にダブルアップ
>4h, 80km, 1,600m up

take a rest on saturday
土曜日にレストして

double up again on sunday
日曜日にまたダブルアップ
>8h, 175km, 4,300m up

last week's training:
先週のトレーニング:

・monday: gravel 40km / 550m
・tuesday: gravel 40km / 500m
・wednesday: gravel 40km / 700m
・thursday: gravel 40km / 750m
・friday: gravel 80km / 1,660m
・saturday: rest / swim
・sunday: gravel 175km / 4,300m

3 weeks to Gran Fondo Myoko
グランフォンド妙高まで3週間

confident that we can go the distance
最後までいけると信しています

as the weak link in the team
I'm also happy to find my climbing legs coming back!
自分はチームのウイークリンクとして
少しでもクライミングレッグズが戻ってくると嬉しいです!

here we go!
がんばりましょう!

#imezi #imezi167 #167grv #imezisealant #プロジェクト167

Hey Andy, Can you be kind enough to tell me what the best bike/tires you think would be for the Myoko Gran Fondo? 30km only of gravel/dirt...HMMM!?!?! I haven't signed up yet...waiting on the kid's schedule still...
 
I bought my direct drive/wheel-off dumb trainer off of Yahoo Auctions for ¥21,000 and a power meter for ~¥35,000. . :)
New budget smart trainers are maybe a better value if you don't need PM on the bike. Which maybe you don't ?



 
New budget smart trainers are maybe a better value if you don't need PM on the bike. Which maybe you don't ?
When I was looking into this, this was my other option. But at least on the TrainerRoad forum the default recommendation is that if you are strapped for cash, a dumb wheel-off trainer with a power meter is the better solution. Only high-end smart wheel-on trainers like Wahoo's Kickr Snap seem to be really good.

For me the thinking was that if I got really serious, I'd need a training wheel, a training tire and a cassette, which effectively kills the price advantage — unless you have a spare wheel and cassette lying around. My dumb trainer is a fluid trainer, so it is relatively quiet and I don't need to keep an eye on the tire pressure to be sure that the power readings are correct. So personally, I think the era of smart wheel-on trainers has passed. If you really want a smart trainer, go for something like the Elite Suito, which is a good entry-level smart trainer that comes with a cassette.

And I actually do like using the power meter outdoors. I did not have too many opportunities to ride outdoors (apart from commutes) this year, but I find a power meter very helpful when trying to learn to draft more efficiently and when trying to learn how to pace myself more evenly.

However, I can think of a scenario where you'd want to go for the Elite Tuo or the Tacx: if you are strapped for money and you want to use Zwift. While you can do that with the dumb trainer + power meter setup, I think you are losing a lot here: virtually cycling uphill does not change the resistance of a dumb trainer, so I reckon this will feel very awkward.
 
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