I'm certainly not an "old timer" when it comes to riding a bike. I started riding more than "recreationally" in 1999 on a mountain bike. I rode on and off in mountain bike form until 2005 when I switched to road biking. So for me, just under 4 years.
But, what I can say I do - I really study and pay attention and log how I feel, when I feel it and what things my body is doing when I'm training. I feel like I have a pretty good barometer for when my body is making the right kind of progress (and when it's going in the tank - though it's hard to admit it even when I know it's happening).
So, with some movement of off days this week in my training schedule to accommodate family scheduling and rolling into training camp, I came slightly fresher than I normally might this time of year. I took advantage of that to pound in some good long miles and see how the body feels on the aerobic base side. More importantly, how is my recovery from day to day on high TSS - and can I start ramping in the intensity the way I want?
Date TSS IF Hours KM kJ
03/05/09 (Thu) 220.02 0.820 3.27 101.74 2954.67
03/06/09 (Fri) 234.52 0.729 4.41 131.63 3380.07
03/07/09 (Sat) 258.93 0.781 4.25 131.64 3674.86
03/08/09 (Sun) 352.68 0.810 5.38 168.05 4777.46
Thursday was a good long ride day, nothing crazy about it.
Friday I hit the lunch ride at the Point for some spirited wind ups before rolling on my way.
Saturday was just a good cruising pace out to Dry Mill and back.
I honestly didn't expect today to be nearly that intense a ride. It should have been way lower than that - like IF .73? But with the IF that high for 5+ hours after a 3 day stretch leading into it - me thinks FTP might be underestimated. We'll see soon enough.
I got on the bike this morning and the legs hit the chill morning air, and I began thinking ... hrmmm... 5+ hrs? But I'm sitting here now with fatigued - but not really sore - legs. So, my answer? Recovery good. Aerobic base, good. I popped my CTL up into the 110+ range for the first time since... well.. a couple months, for sure.
Now, intensity. 3x20s, hard group riding at Wakefield and VO2, with a LOT of recovery in between. If I feel "on form" in May, I'll be happy. Before then? No good.
I gotta say, I'm digging the daylight savings thing for afternoon->early evening riding. Of course, riding in 70° weather probably skews the perceptions a bit, but I'll take it!
After these four days, it's a recovery spin for 90 minutes tomorrow. Wakefield on Tuesday night, depending on the weather. I'll stretch the week with solid tempo riding with another recovery spin before hitting training camp this weekend.
Cheers!
VW
PS > Saw lots of folks out in Loudon today out by Snickersville. Fantastic riding out there again today in Loudon/Bull Run/Purcellville and points in between.
But, what I can say I do - I really study and pay attention and log how I feel, when I feel it and what things my body is doing when I'm training. I feel like I have a pretty good barometer for when my body is making the right kind of progress (and when it's going in the tank - though it's hard to admit it even when I know it's happening).
So, with some movement of off days this week in my training schedule to accommodate family scheduling and rolling into training camp, I came slightly fresher than I normally might this time of year. I took advantage of that to pound in some good long miles and see how the body feels on the aerobic base side. More importantly, how is my recovery from day to day on high TSS - and can I start ramping in the intensity the way I want?
Date TSS IF Hours KM kJ
03/05/09 (Thu) 220.02 0.820 3.27 101.74 2954.67
03/06/09 (Fri) 234.52 0.729 4.41 131.63 3380.07
03/07/09 (Sat) 258.93 0.781 4.25 131.64 3674.86
03/08/09 (Sun) 352.68 0.810 5.38 168.05 4777.46
Thursday was a good long ride day, nothing crazy about it.
Friday I hit the lunch ride at the Point for some spirited wind ups before rolling on my way.
Saturday was just a good cruising pace out to Dry Mill and back.
I honestly didn't expect today to be nearly that intense a ride. It should have been way lower than that - like IF .73? But with the IF that high for 5+ hours after a 3 day stretch leading into it - me thinks FTP might be underestimated. We'll see soon enough.
I got on the bike this morning and the legs hit the chill morning air, and I began thinking ... hrmmm... 5+ hrs? But I'm sitting here now with fatigued - but not really sore - legs. So, my answer? Recovery good. Aerobic base, good. I popped my CTL up into the 110+ range for the first time since... well.. a couple months, for sure.
Now, intensity. 3x20s, hard group riding at Wakefield and VO2, with a LOT of recovery in between. If I feel "on form" in May, I'll be happy. Before then? No good.
I gotta say, I'm digging the daylight savings thing for afternoon->early evening riding. Of course, riding in 70° weather probably skews the perceptions a bit, but I'll take it!
After these four days, it's a recovery spin for 90 minutes tomorrow. Wakefield on Tuesday night, depending on the weather. I'll stretch the week with solid tempo riding with another recovery spin before hitting training camp this weekend.
Cheers!
VW
PS > Saw lots of folks out in Loudon today out by Snickersville. Fantastic riding out there again today in Loudon/Bull Run/Purcellville and points in between.