Posts Tagged ‘Training’

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It is not too late to attend criterium seminar

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2009 CYCLING SEMINAR
PRESENTED BY

Jim Cunningham Coaching **** Bon Secours St. Francis Health System

• CRITERIUM TRAINING & RACING
• COMMON CYCLING INJURIES AND THEIR CARE

$10.00 per attendee

Jim Cunningham, Owner & Head Coach JimCunninghamCoaching, USACycling Level II Certified, Computrainer Certified Coach, Bicycle Fitting Specialist

Stephen H Keiser, M.D., Board Certified in Sports Medicine, Belhaven College Sports Medicine Team Physician (2006-2009), Team Physician Furman Athletic Department (1999-2006)

  • WHEN- Thursday, August 13, 2009, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
  • 6:30-7:15—Dr. Stephen H Keiser
    PowerPoint Presentation, Discussion, Q & A

    • Common cycling injuries and their care
    • Patellar femoral issues
    • Lower back issues
  • 7:15-8:00—Coach Jim Cunningham
    PowerPoint Presentation, Discussion, Q & A

    • Criterium racing and its skills
    • Bike selection and set up for Criterium racing
    • Training specifically for Criterium racing

MORE DETAILS — Jim@JimCunninghamCoaching.com
www.JimCunninghamCoaching.com
(864) 630-3081

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Do a little learning off the bike

Monday, August 10th, 2009

Thursday night I don’t believe I will be out riding.  I’ve decided that I am going to attend a cycling seminar presented by Jim Cunningham and Stephen Keiser, M.D.  Maybe I might be able to learn something off the bike, seeing how I can be pretty slow trying to learn on it.

Why don’t you join me on Thursday, August 13 at 522 N. Church St., Greenville SC 29601? It is the Criminal Law Building located behind the Bi-Lo Center.  Don’t worry, there is plenty of free parking on the premises.

There are two sessions – the first (starting at 6:30 PM) by Dr. Keiser is a PowerPoint presentation followed by a discussion and questions and answers.  I probably need to go to this one since it will be covering “Common cycling injuries and their care.”  The way my body is feeling now days, that would be a good one!

However, it is the second session with Jim Cunningham that interests me the most.  It is a similar presentation structure, but the topic will be “Criterium racing and its skills” as well as “Bike selection and set up for Criterium racing” and “Training specifically for Criterium racing.”  With all the crits we do around here, it seems like you basically HAVE TO attend this session.

I’ll be following up this session with a visit with Jim to go over my power files for the last year.  I am evaluating whether it would do me good to enlist his help as a coach for my 2010 season.  I feel I have reached a plateau with what I am able to pull out of myself.  I’m thinking I’m going to need someone else to come along to squeeze anything more out of this lemon.

Still, this session will be a good start.  Why don’t you join me?

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Posted in Racing, Training | 1 Comment »

You ride how you eat

Monday, April 27th, 2009

I learned a valuable lesson last week.  You ride how you eat.  Let me explain.

Looking at my Garmin I saw that I burned 9000 calories riding my bike last week.  The majority of those calories were burned in a three day period.  Yes, I realize that the Garmin calculations are not an exact science but the data does allow me to compare to past weeks.

Going back I find that this spring I have not burned more than 5000 calories during a single week period.  So, last week I burned nearly twice as much energy as any week in months.  Saturday afternoon through Sunday I was feeling it.

Starting Saturday afternoon I was weak.  I labored to stand up and when I would start to walk my aching legs would about lock up and then let go as though they were buckling.  All I wanted to do was sit down.  This continued through Sunday as well.  Now, Monday morning I finally feel as though I am coming out of it.

Why did this happen to me?  I’ve ridden my bike before and burned over 5000 calories in a single ride.  I think what happened was I did not eat properly.

It started on Tuesday with the Donaldson Center ride.  I basically didn’t eat that evening.  I rushed to the course after work and then rushed home afterward to relieve my in-laws who were watching the kids.  Only a light snack followed.

Thursday was race day and I made that mistake of eating the cheese steak sandwich for lunch.  Once again I didn’t eat much that evening after the race because I just didn’t feel like eating until very late.  Friday was a 2000 calories ride.  That evening I was already starting to feel the tiredness coming on and only ate a sandwich and some chips.

Saturday morning I wondered if I would be able to do the Hour of Power.  I had a yogurt and banana before heading out on the ride.  It was a great ride and I was putting out plenty of power.  However, after getting off the bike and sitting to watch my son play baseball, I got hit with the lethargy.

I didn’t keep track of how many calories I consumed, but I think it is safe to say I didn’t eat enough.  I’ve read that you need to eat before and during a ride not so much for the ride, but for the rides to follow.  If you do not consume enough energy giving food during that period, your body will not have enough fuel to recover.

It is true that I managed to go several days without proper fueling.  However, your body stores calories as well.  You might be able to get away with it for a bit, but improper fueling WILL get you.

This week will be another calorie burner.  I’m ready for it.  It will be different as I am already planning how to meet the eating challenge.  You really do ride how you eat.

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Posted in Life, Training | 2 Comments »

If at first you don’t succeed, fail again.

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

I’m starting to think that it just isn’t to be for me to get any decent video from the Tuesday Night World Championships at Donaldson Center.  If it isn’t one thing with my VholdR helmet camera, it is another.  Last night’s ride was no different.

Weather.com was showing that the winds were around 16 mph.  That means that at Donaldson they were probably even higher.  Still, there was no rain and a good number of riders showed up for the loops around the complex.

Once again the pace picked up again about midway through the first lap.  I’m thinking some of this has to do with the fact that we are currently only doing 5 laps of the 7 mile or so course.  The more serious riders hit it right from the start.  Probably as the summer comes and the laps increase that first lap will slow a bit.

My plan was to hang around in the field for several laps and then bow out.  With the race coming up on Thursday night, I wanted to leave this night with my legs feeling like they had a good workout – but not fatigued.  My other objective was to get a full lap of Perimeter Road on my camera.

I did great with my first objective.  Before the first lap ended the field was strung out.  The wind was beating us up.  A couple of times I got hung out on the windward side of the group and found myself having to lean against the crosswind to keep from getting blown over.

Still, I hung in there through that point where I wanted to quit.  My legs came to me and going into the second lap I was feeling much better.  I was holding my own and finding ways to escape some of that wind.

On that lap I decided to start on objective number two.  I reached up and flipped on my VholdR… or so I thought.  Once again my attempt was foiled by the camera.

One of the problems I have with the device is the door that covers the power switch and MiniSD card slot.  When the camera in mounted on my helmet, I have to reach up and slide the large switch back.  I like the switch because it is large, but the way the cover on the back is arranged it is very easy to slide it out of position at the same time you are sliding the record switch.

Sometimes when that happens I can just put the cover back on and we are good to go.  Other times (like last night) it turns the camera off.  I guess this wouldn’t be that big of a deal except when you are riding in a pack and getting dropped isn’t an option, you can’t stop to take your helmet off and check on things.

For that whole second lap I focused on keeping my head up so I could get the best shots.  It was a pretty good lap.  I felt like I was making up for last week’s poor video journal.  This lap would give folks a really good idea of what it is like to do Donaldson!  If only…

Satisfied that I had gotten what I needed I headed into the third lap just getting a workout.  There were certain portions of the course that had me about ready to croak, but I knew that things would get easier in other parts.  I easily made it around with the main field.

I then pulled off and called it a night.  There was a time when I wouldn’t have done that.  I would have felt like I had to do every lap.  Now days I know what I need and have nothing I feel I need to prove by running myself into the ground.

At home after the discouragement of finding out that the second lap was not recorded, I had the encouragement of seeing my power numbers for the ride.  My peak 20 minute power was 290 watts.  That is nearly 20 watts higher than my previous high.  The even better news was that I didn’t feel that I was working any harder.  Just maybe my fitness is starting to come to me.

Sorry there is no video.  I will try again.  I’ve got all summer to finally get that elusive Donaldson Center lap!

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Posted in Review, Rides, Training | 2 Comments »

My bike, the psychiatrist

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

My mind was feeling the strain of one of those days when the various aspects of my life come pushing in from all sides.  So many responsibilities and obligations were beginning to pile up around me.  Opportunities were presented with expectations from those offering and yet the future seems so uncertain it is hard to know what to grab hold of and what to let go.

I needed to ride.

I put on my POA Cycling kit for the first time, prepped my bike, and then pushed it out to the driveway.  It was around 35 degrees, but the Hincapie leg and arm warmers had me feeling just fine.  It might be cold, but the wind wasn’t bad and the sun was shinning.  This could be therapeutic.

The ride could only last an hour because the beautiful redhead needed to head to play rehearsal and it was my job to watch the kids.  So, I set out at a fast clip to get in an hour.  That would give me time to ride to Cleveland Park, do several laps, and then home.

At first it really did feel great.  I have to say, with my new kit, I looked pretty good as well!  Before long, I was doing my laps.

That is when things changed.  Once again my legs started to feel tight — just as they did the last time I rode.  Then I found it hard to breathe.  It was as though I was gulping in loads of air, but not getting much oxygen.  Of course, the fact that it was nearly freezing might have had something to do with it.

To compound things, there was phlegm in my throat that I just couldn’t seem to clear causing me to not be able to get a good rhythm for breathing.  I felt as though I had no power at all and was sputtering to a stop.  This therapy was about to send me to a therapist!

The thing that was coming to my mind was the negative thought about how the time off the bike due to my surgery was putting me way behind where I thought I would be right now.  How was I going to be able to compete if I was riding like this?  I was going to be spit out the back and embarrass myself in my first Category 4 race.

Then I stopped to think.  Why was I doing this?  I enjoy racing, but I love riding.  Race to have the opportunity to ride.  Don’t ride just to stay fit for your next race.  Just ride.  If you do, the racing and results will come.  With my competitive nature I have to make sure I don’t let the enjoyment of racing kill my love of riding.

I rode out of the park with a whole new mindset.  It actually gave me a spring in my stroke and a calmness in my mind.  I can only do what I can do.  That is true on my bike and off of it.  Do the things I love and let that passion enthuse me during those times when the going gets tough.  Don’t beat yourself up when you sometimes get spit out the back.

Just keep pedaling.

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Posted in Life | 3 Comments »

On the list for Assault

Thursday, February 12th, 2009

Just got the notification from the Freewheelers of Spartanburg that I am on the initial list for the Assault on Mount Mitchell.  The thing on the to-do list is to receive the actual number for the ride.  Once I have that in hand I can sit back and wait for the check-in the day before.

Well, not really. I have to make sure that I am ready for the climb. I remember last year before I decided to participate in the epic century ride doing a lot of Web searching to find some advice on how to prepare for the event. The main thing I learned was the fact that the ride is different for each person.  Until you have done it yourself, you really don’t know what to expect — no matter what you read!

I’m including here the two videos I made of the event.  It will at least give you some idea of the terrain that you will be covering.  Remember, the 2008 ride was HOT, HOT, HOT!  Most likely this year will be much cooler because of the earlier start on the calendar.

The above video covers the ride from Spartanburg to Tom Johnson Campground.  This section is the “flatter” portion of the ride, though it does have some hills to get you warmed up for the second half.  It is about 72 miles of the 100.

This video covers the ride from Tom Johnson Campground to the top of Mount Mitchell and back down.  This, of course, was the most challenging portion of the ride.  However, I have to admit that last climb into the park was not nearly the ride I expected.  From what I had read, I thought I would be crawling on the ground dragging the bike behind me to make it across the finish.

By the way, you will see two sites mentioned in the video.  StackOfStuff.net is my first foray into blogging. It was an ecclectic site and once I started becoming cycling centric, I decided I needed a domain that reflected it.  RideForMike.com is a site that I made to use as a tool to get the word out about my yearly charity rides in honor of my friend Mike McCaskill who bravely fought a battle against cancer.

So, that is my advice for someone looking at their name on that riders’ list for the first time?

1) Plan to have fun.  This is not a race.  If you are like me and part of the fun is to set a goal and suffer your way to it, then I would suggest you consider this formula: your best time on your hardest century ride + three hours = your goal for the Assault.  For some that will be too long and for others too short.  However, it is a good base for your first attempt.  You can adjust from there.

2) Ride.  Ride.  Ride. There are training rides that are being put on by the Freewheelers in anticipation of the event.  I never participated in them, but they sound as though they would be very helpful.  What I did was ride as many charity centuries as I could leading up to the event.  Other than that, I continued my regular 20 to 40 mile rides.

3) Plan your logistics.  If you are going to try to make it quickly, you will have to choose your stops wisely.  This year I plan to carry more water with me on the first 70 miles.  That way I should not have to stop until I reach Marion.  I will then lose some of the bottles and refill a couple.  I should then be able to make it to the finish on two more stops.  If things go as I hope, I should roll in at or under 6 hours.

Stay tuned to LowCadence.com as I will be keeping my eyes open for other sites offering suggestions about training for the ride. The best place to start is at the official Assault Web site.

Oh, a little Low Cadence trivia for you.  I have been told that I am the very first rider in the history of the event to video his own attempt.  That is kind of cool.

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Riding to the watts

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

My friend Kirk Flinte threw down the challenge last week when he climbed the Furman side of Paris Mountain in 11:37. I don’t know if I’ll be able to challenge that mark. It is nearly 30 seconds faster than my best time up the winding road. Still, it is worth it to have a goal.

Before I can set beating Kirk as a goal, I have to beat my own personal best up the mountain. Last year I made it to the top in 12:04. I was using a computer to find an average speed that I figured I needed to maintain and tried to hold it up to the top. It wasn’t an exact science and I found it hard to pace myself with speed.

One of the best purchases I have made in understanding how I ride is my Quarq CinQo power meter. It tells me the truth about my ability to move the bike regardless of how I feel. It also gives me steady, real time data that helps me pace myself much more efficiently than with heart rate or speed.

I put it to practice on Tuesday evening. I left home and easily pedaled my way over Altamont from the State Park side. It was neat seeing the various types of riders out on the road — from couples leisurely pedaling along to racer types zipping down the mountain in a tucked position. The best thing? They all waved!

Once to the top I started down. It gave me an idea. Any volunteers to strap my camera to their helmet and follow me down the Furman side? I’m serious. It would be really neat to have on the site. I thought about following in a car, but I don’t think a car could keep up!

Anyway, back to this post…

I weighed myself before leaving. I weighed in at 172 pounds with all my gear on. My bike with tool bag, power meter, and computer weighs in at an even 17 pounds. I left my bottles at the top of the road to lighten things a bit.

My goal was not to go for the fastest time. It was to try to average 300 watts for the entire climb. It wasn’t a matter of thinking I couldn’t do more. It was just I wanted to get a baseline for future attempts. I figured that was a nice round number to start with.

Paris Mountain climb 02.10.2009

Paris Mountain climb 02.10.2009

It was hard at first. I wanted to go much faster in the beginning. Still, I held it at around 300 watts. Obviously, I couldn’t hold it there on the nose and at times I would pop up around 340 or more watts. Turns out the hardest spots were where there was a flatter grade. I had to drastically increase my cadence to bring the watts up to 300.

Another time I paused just enough to reach down and tighten my shoe. If you look at the graph you can see the spot about half way up where the cadence and power drops. A couple of other times I saw my wattage slip and I reacted sending the numbers up into the 400 range. Finally, on The Wall, I just let it go. I had no idea what watts I was getting because I wasn’t looking at the computer. I figured I would get what I would get and I’d find out later.

Turns out on that last stretch I slowly increased the wattage up to 612 watts. Overall I ended up with a 318 watt average — pretty close to my goal. I wonder how many seconds I lost when I tightened my shoe?

Without any plans for trying to get a good time, I managed to land a 12 minutes and 14 seconds climb (my Garmin said 12:13 – my WKO+ says 12:14). Better yet, once I caught my breath on the way down the other side, I was feeling great. My recovery had me ready to turn around and go try it again!

So, I’m still a ways from Kirk’s time. However, I have a good baseline to build from. It is just a matter of finding the proper pacing up the mountain. In case you are interested, here is the data from the lap.

Duration: 12:14
Work: 233 kJ
TSS: 26.8 (intensity factor 1.146)
Norm Power: 321
VI: 1.01
Pw:HR: 3.48%
Pa:HR: 14.32%
Distance: 2.19 mi
Elevation Gain: 792 ft
Elevation Loss: 9 ft
Grade: 6.8 % (783 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 612 317 watts
Heart Rate: 138 192 182 bpm
Cadence: 8 103 73 rpm
Speed: 2.5 16.3 10.7 mph
Pace 3:40 24:08 5:35 min/mi
Altitude: 1162 1948 1551 ft
Crank Torque: 0 715 379 lb-in

I’m coming to get you, Kirk :-)

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Posted in Rides, Training | 6 Comments »

Assault and battery

Friday, February 6th, 2009

Well, I’m doing it again. At 9 AM today I went to Active.com, entered my pass code, and committed to the 34th Assault on Mount Mitchell. Sitting here on February 6th it is hard to have any sensation about the May 18th event. I’m just hoping that the memories of the 33rd riding of the event won’t be relived!

2009 Assault on Mount Mitchell Jersey

2009 Assault on Mount Mitchell Jersey

My understanding is that one of the reasons the ride was moved from June to May was because of the heat we faced last year. I can close my eyes and still see the scene of riders laid out on the side of the road seeking shade. I can still feel the sensation of the heat I was feeling in my shoes and the cloud of gnats around my head as I neared the finish.

Ahhhh, but it was wonderful! It was the Assault alright and the battery you take as you climb over 11,000 feet in the last portion of the 100 mile event is what adds to the lore of the epic ride. This year, having now gotten one under my belt, the idea is to do my own battering and push myself to the top in 6 hours.

Right now, though, I’ve got my eye on tomorrow. The Upstate Winter Bicycle League is coming to a close. We have only two rides left until Spring Series (or is that Late Winter Series). Tomorrow’s ride will begin the tapering off from the longest ride of the league last week.

I went by UWBL.net and found the server was having issues. The last time I went by, it appeared that the ride was targeted to cover around 80 miles and would have two sprint zones along with the traditional finish. Speery didn’t lay out where the attack zones would be. Perhaps he is planning to keep everyone on their toes.

UPDATE: UWBL.net is now up and running.  The attack zones are now up.  #1 – Princeton Wall.  I love this one!  It is quite the climb.  #2 – Dunklin Bridge.  Nothing new on this one.  It will happen less than 20 miles after the climb.  The finish sprint starts at the Golf Course and ends at the normal RR ahead sign.  Choose your sprint wisely!

Some of my friends have been telling me that the UWBL is not good for me. They say that I will be burned out by the time the middle of the season rolls around. I can understand this if I was training really hard. However, I haven’t been. This one day a week ride is the only time I have really been pushing it.

We’ll see. I really do value the advise of my friends and don’t want to do anything stupid, but I really do enjoy those UWBL rides. Besides, the ride gives me something interesting to video. I’ve also enjoyed making some new friends. I guess the rest of the season will tell.

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Where is my bike!?!

Friday, November 28th, 2008

Oooo! Ouch! Ohhh!  Please let me get back on my bike!

I didn’t bring my bike to my parents’ house for Thanksgiving.  There were a couple of reasons.  1) I didn’t want to be out on the bike during the time my family was getting together.  2) We used the Fit to transport the family.  I don’t have a roof rack and while the five of us and our luggage fit just fine, there was no room to add a bike.

Still, I felt that I should be doing something to help maintain my fitness, so I decided to go out and run a bit.  How hard could it be?  I have a pretty good cardiovascular fitness.  Sure I would be using some different muscles, but I figured I could keep the legs turning for an hour.

Wednesday I went running in the afternoon.  The first mile was about 8 minutes and 40 seconds.  The second mile was under 8 minutes.  I had to ease off after that and walked for a mile or so before picking up the pace in the fourth mile.  Finally, I eased off by walking the fifth mile to cool down and finish out my hour of exercise.

Thanksgiving Day I woke up and man was I sore!  I definitely used muscles I don’t normally use!  I had expected my joints to be sore, but they were not.  It was my butt and calve muscles that were most sore.  I took that day off and just enjoyed all the food!

Today I got up feeling a little less sore.  Just before lunch I started arguing with myself whether it would be worth it or not to get back out there.  The weather was beautiful and I kept reminding myself that I would appreciate the stamina next week.

I ran the same course.  The first mile I got finished in 8 minutes 30 seconds.  The second mile I completed after running 7 minutes and 54 seconds.  I then walked a mile.  That took about 15 minutes.  For mile four, I picked it up a bit and pushed the lap button on my Garmin after 7 minutes and 5 seconds.  My fifth mile was another cool down walk which brought me to an hour.

The thing that amazed me was the difference in my heart rate and perceived exertion when compared to my cycling.  I was running along feeling pretty good.  I knew I wasn’t in a recovery zone, but I was amazed when I looked down to find I was in the middle range of zone 4!  A few more beats per minute and I would be red lining!

I really didn’t feel like I was putting out that much.  I also couldn’t control it as well with my breathing like I can do on my bike.  Basically, if I wanted to keep my heart rate in an active recovery zone, I had to be walking.  As soon as I started running, it would jump into zone 3.

Perhaps this is because the muscles being used are not used to be used!  Probably the same amount of effort on the bike (where I have been training and riding for years) would not require the same amount of heart and lung effort.  I assume that by training the same way running, I would do the same thing.

All I know is I can’t wait to get back on the bike!

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Posted in Life, Training | 1 Comment »

Train right

Friday, August 3rd, 2007

I am sore! Last night was interval training night on Paris Mountain. That means I start at the base of the mountain and climb about 1000 feet in 2.25 miles. The first, third, and fifth laps are “easy” laps – I attempt to simply spin up the mountain and try to keep my heart rate down. Laps two and four are “hard” laps – I push myself (still setting a cap on my heart rate so I can learn to control it).

Well, the first lap, I was good and did what I was supposed to do. The second lap, I did push it, but I started focusing on the speed of my climb and did not cap my heart rate. I went into the 90 to 100% range of my max heart rate. From there, it was “down hill.”

On the third lap I did ease off, but didn’t work to keep my heart rate low. One of the reasons was there were lots of riders out there last night. I either rode up with other riders or got caught with the desire to pass those up ahead. I kind of destroyed my discipline!

I had climbed four times before, but this was the first time to do the fifth one. It was hard. Now this morning I woke up and my whole body was sore. I guess it pays not just to train, but to train right. Hopefully, I learned my lesson!

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