Not really happy... just not happy at all. Felt like I was going to have a good ride today. The legs felt decent through the warm up on the way down to the base of my hill climb.

Then, the hill climb began. 5 minutes in... avg power low. 20 minutes in... avg power way low.

I woke up this morning at 76 kg on the scale, 1/2 kg lower than last month's trip up the climb, so nothing significant. But the power numbers just weren't there. The legs just didn't want to give it to me. As I hit the flat portion about 2km from the top, I realized the numbers were way low. At that point, I pretty much mentally caved in.

Somehow with even the low power numbers I still hit the lower "top" (about 3 minutes from the top of the climb) at 23 minutes. In theory, that should get me through the last 800 meters in under 27 minutes. But by then the legs and mind had already given up. I pushed through the top at just over my personal best of 27:08 with a time of 27:20.

Now, here's the thing. The time is - all things considered - pretty fantastic for this climb. It's a top 5 placing come November. The power numbers for today were just plain ol' sorry for me though, and that kinda peeves me.

Here's the comparisons:

January Test Week: 28 min 21 sec
Avg Power: 347, Normalized: 362

May "Peak" Ride: 27 min 08 sec
Avg Power: 351, Normalized: 368

June Test Week: 27 min 20 sec
Avg Power: 338?!?!, Normalized: 355 ?!?!

I know all things considered, not every ride is a personal best ride. But C'MON! How about some strength improvement in 4 months? Where were the legs today, anyway?

Rest week is officially over. Next, test week.

Last week's rest week was nothing exciting, but it provided a couple opportunities to get some full sprints in on completely rested legs. It also gave me an opportunity to squeeze in my required semi-annual physical fitness test in for the Marine Corps. I was pleasantly surprised to run my first ever sub 17 minute 3 mile. I squeezed in just at 16 min 47 sec. I can't recall ever having run three miles at that pace - even in high school.

This week is testing and it looks something like this:

Today - 3 hrs endurance, 2 power intervals (4 min @ 400, 1:1 recovery, today's were avg 411 watts and 404 watts
Monday - Rest day
Tuesday - Zenitsuboyama Hill Climb: Goal - sub 27 minutes, avg power > 355, normalized > 365
Wednesday - 2 hrs endurance, 220-240 watts
Thursday - 2 hrs endurance, 220-240 watts
Friday - MAP test: Goal - I want to make it to the 490-500 watt increment. That'll put me at a MAP of 465+
Saturday - Long 2+ hrs at recovery zone, preparing to meet the summer "off season"

Some of my season goals I can't completely identify yet as far as fitness goes. We'll see how test week goes and evaluate the next step in fitness requirements. But, I have definite performance goals for the season ahead:

Jul 1st, Kyushu Autopolis 3 hr Circuit: Have fun, race hard.
Aug 12th: Nakayama Road Race and 3 hr Enduro - Two events, Have fun, race hard.
Sept 23rd: Iwakuni Triathlon, Team Relay - 40km TT - Sub 1 hr on this course: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1012098
Oct 8th: Okayama Circuit Enduro, 2 hr - Podium
Oct 27th: Iwakuni Energy Awareness 40km RR - Victory
Nov 3rd: Nakayama Circuit Enduro - Have fun, race hard.
Nov 18th: Kirarahama Crit / TT, Race hard, have fun for the RR. Sub 3 min 20 sec for TT (2.5km)
Nov 25th: Zenitsuboyama Hill Climb - Sub 26 minutes. (it was going to be sub 27, but since the last time I went up I was at 27:08, sub 27 seems like a small goal)

I'd like to see my 5 minute power steady in the 420+ range for average power. (I've done a normalized 430, average 415) I'd like to see 1300 watts for my 5 second power. Functional threshold and MAP will depend on what test week shows I'm at right now. My guess by feel will be a functional threshold for zones in the 355ish range with a MAP in the upper 460s.

I need to continue to watch the weight. It's so easy to watch the weight go up/down little by little. Finishing off this week the weight is creeping up. I'll want to make sure I'm a steady 76 kg for the ride up Zenitsubo on Tuesday and through the rest of the week. If the weight creeps up the next month or so after that, no big deal. I just want to get through test week at "race weight."

Looking forward to posting results of test week! My legs finally feel like they've recovered from the pounding they took on the 3 mile fitness test run.

VW

For folks reading since I've started training with power, a quick introduction. I'm a US Marine stationed in Japan. I took up cycling "recreationally" in the 1999/2000 time frame after I'd put on quite a bit of weight. For the next few years I rode a hardtail MTB back and forth to work 4.7 miles each way with some extra distance added on one or two days a week. 6 months after starting this and with a change in lifestyle/diet I was back in good shape and had dropped 30 lbs (down to 190 from 222).

The next couple years involved me doing a lot of time deploying so cycling became a fun thing to do with little time to do it, more running than cycling during this time. I moved to San Diego and had a chance to do quite a bit of MTB riding while there. But when I moved to Japan I found that the MTB riding in my area is pretty slim pickings. So I made the jump to road biking. In June 2005 I ordered my Specialized Roubaix (as new).

I received the Roubaix in July and by December I'd put 2850 kilometers on the bike and decided to spend the next year training. I set some distance goals (10000 km for the year - actual 2006 mileage was 15,073 km) and got a heart rate monitor and just sorta "rode lots." I took part in a few organized events and did well enough. By the end of the summer I was placing top 10 in local events. I finished 3rd in a local 40km road race, 11th in a road race a few hours away, and had the fastest bike time in a team triathlon relay event. I begin thinking, hmmm... I might be able to get really good at this. I did some research and committed to buying a Powertap SL and made the plans to get better.

Here starts the narration of the Performance Management Chart:


I use a designed MS Excel spreadsheet for most of my PMC work. Mostly because I can mark it up and change things easily, as well as plan out a few weeks in advance what I expect my ATL/CTL/TSB to be based on previous workouts. It also allows me to play with other numbers inside my training, as I'll get to later.



I started the season off and defined my goals. I defined my start to the CTL/ATL based on training numbers I had from last year and got to work. I gave myself an FTP of 320 based on my only race file I had and a perceived exertion rating. For the first month I just experimented with different training plans and styles. I had a plan to do the Zenitsuboyama Hill Climb TT in November, but we got rained out. I did set a new personal best of just under 29 minutes later that day - and this by mostly just shooting in the dark and grabbing around training plans for workouts on a 10-11 hrs per week of riding.

December I was invited to a hill climb event during which I clipped a pedal and separated my shoulder. I still placed 9th, 5 minutes off the lead, 3 minutes off the bike.

For the rest of December and January I worked with a pre-built training plan from Hunter Allen focusing on threshold improvement and a personal plan to peak in May for Kunisaki. At the end of the day I was doing a lot of miles and personally focusing on endurance time, that whole "base period" methodology. I made the switch during this time from 5 to 6 days per week of training with 1 day off. December was my first ever 1000+ mile month. I did the Zenitsuboyama Hill Climb course on Jan 1st and set a PB in time and power - though later found out the PT was miscalibrated on the climb, so the power numbers aren't necessarily valid.

At the end of January I dropped the Allen/Coggan zones and training plan for a Ric Stern method. I took a rest week and got to testing. My first MAP test on Jan 19th was a dry run for the MAP test to be done in a couple weeks. It definitely takes some getting a feel for, and I wouldn't recommend anyone take their first ever MAP test numbers as gospel.

Test week came and I blew away all previous times/power numbers on Zenitsuboyama for 20 minute power. I followed this up with a more routine MAP test that also blew away previous numbers. Proof positive here for the coming positive on the TSB scale - which I'd done for the first time in two months. New FTP was defined as 345, and training zones changed to reflect numbers based on MAP as defined over at Ric Stern's web site: http://www.cyclecoach.com

February was a routine training month, getting used to the new training plan and style. Still primarily working base/endurance period training and a lot of time on the bike. My CTL flattened for February and March - I think because I was under-estimating my FTP before the MAP test. Underestimating your threshold will inflate your TSS values and skew all of your numbers.

This highlights one of the lessons learned on training with power. If you're going to go so far as using the performance manager concepts, you have to be doing things accurately. I personally found MAP testing to be an extremely accurate, quick, and simple method to gauge FTP. I was able to confirm my zones using the 20 minute power and Monod's Critical Power methods accurately and it just reinforced the usage of MAP testing for me.

I came off the gas a little bit to taper for the West Japan Championships Road Race. If nothing else the course provides awesome training opportunities for hill climbing. I pre-rode the course twice and was pretty pleased with sticking with the decisive breakaway for 8th place. An epic ride the next week plummeted the TSB before coming off the gas for the Kirarahama Criterium/TT. Once again I was pretty pleased with the results but mostly ready to finish the peak for Kunisaki.

The build period was just that. Lots of endurance training with greater distance and some extremely difficult intervals back to back and I was peaking out my CTL at just over 128. I also found during this time what I've come to associate as my "Three days of pain" breaking point. On my excel chart it's my column between Weight and TSS. Looking back over the season's data and log files, I've found that when my 7 day average TSS is over 135 for more than three days, I start to see it in my perceived exertion. It's not something I'm holding to tried and true and I don't intend to change training plans based on that number, but it's something I will be aware of. When I get to 4, 5 and 6 days over this limit, it definitely started to show.

I was especially ready for tapering into May and some good racing. Kunisaki raced spot on for the goals. I felt good the whole race and was happy to make 5th place ( top 10 was the goal ). For the rest of this month I've pretty much sat at positive TSB between races. I followed my performance at Kunisaki with a worthy solo-off-the-front win at Mominoki and a blisteringly painful win yesterday in the Cannonball 250km race.

So where do we go from here.....

First, retest. This coming week is rest/recovery followed by a week of testing. I'm a steady 76-77 kg down from 78-79 kg in February.

I did Zenitsuboyama this month in a blistering 27:08. Sub 27-minutes will put me in top 3 category for later this year. Sub 26 will contend me for victory. My goal for the year was sub 27, but with that time just around the corner, I'm training for victory.

I'm shooting for a MAP of 470+ on test day. That's a simple 4-5% increase, right?

"A" Races on the calendar don't arrive until Sept/October:

September - Team Relay Triathlon (for me, 40 km TT - goal to be sub 1-hour)
October - Okayama Int'l Circuit - 2 hrs, goal to podium (last year 11th)
October - Iwakuni 40km Road Race - Last year 3rd, this year for the win
November - Zenitsuboyama Hill Climb TT, now goal of sub 26 minutes

Looking forward to the reset in training and focusing on new goals. This is the broad stroke of how the season went. In a couple days I'll have a "lessons learned" blog post to fill up the space since rest weeks don't provide much valuable blogging space.

Quick post before heading out to replace a good portion of my 6045 Calories burned today.

Cannonball Results:

Tied for first. One of the great thing about non-sanctioned crazy rules events is that two riders with a 30 minute gap and 20 kilometers to go can agree to drop to recovery pace over the steep remaining climbing and end the punishment of their bodies.

We came across the line with an overall average speed of 33.5 kph for the 250 kilometers. I spent 50 kilometers off the front on my own. The two of us spent a collective 70 more kilometers off the front.

More to follow later after re-calorizing my body. (not sure if that's a word, but it is now!)

Profile here (this is for the trip out to the turn around. Imagine the reverse for the trip back to the finish line):


Route Map here for those that want to take a peek (now using CycleIwakuni.com map server):
Hiroshige Cannonball Race Cue Sheet

First climb is short. It arrives at 3 1/2 kilometers into the event. It climbs for just over 2 kilometers.

Average grade: 8.7%.
Max grade: 15+% (the first 600 meters of the climb averages 12%+)

The GPS tracklog I have shows a 201 meter section of road at 20%. I descended that hill today and don't think any of it is really 20%. I may have a different feeling at 6:15 am Sunday morning as we're approaching the base of the climb.

Second climb is also short, but not nearly as steep as it looks. Also just over 2 kilometers.

Average grade: 6.5%
Max grade: 8% for a couple portions in the center of turns.

Once over the second short climb, we'll descend into the Nishiki River Valley onto Rte 187 and head northwest to Iwami. This section of road I've been on dozens and dozens of times training. It should be a reasonably tame pace heading out to the Rte 434/Rte 187 intersection at the Nishiki River Stop on the Pure Line. From there you begin the ascent to the ridge line that runs down the center of the island in this portion of Japan. I'd guesstimate and say we'll take about 20 minutes to make the ridgeline.

The peak of the ridgeline comes at around 60km, which means you're just about halfway across the island. On the way down the ridge we'll hit a small "bump" for a kilometer that has a short couple hundred meters at just over 7%. It doesn't seem like much going out to Iwami, because you're coming downhill pretty quick at that point. On the return trip it's closer to 9% for a kilometer and you definitely feel it there.

The terrain profile shows downhill from the ridge to the coast. You have to take into consideration that the "downhill" is one long stretch for 60 kilometers. Descending 400 meters in 60 kilometers equals... not really descending. There are a couple short drops to get speed back up, but nothing worth writing about. If we're lucky we'll be all the way to Iwami into the headwind. The very slow gradual descent into a headwind will still keep us above 36-37kph at slowest while we prepare for the return trip.

The return trip equals more of the same, but the great thing about the return trip is every hill is less steep. Climbing back to the ridgeline center of the island hits the 9% right there close to the top, but then comes screaming downhill after the ridgeline back to the Nishiki River valley. After running the stretch along the river valley intersecting to Rte 2, we'll climb back up over to Sanzoku into Kuga. This is a big ring climb, 7 kilometers to get to what it takes 2 kilometers to get to on the way out.

Leaving Kuga it's time to go back uphill to the top of the last climb. Half of the elevation gain is very gradual on beautiful roads. The other half is at right around 10% according to the road signs. On the 39x23 gearing today it took me just over 4 minutes to climb the 1.2 kilometers that takes you to the top. The descent is very quick back into the Yanai coastal town and before you know it you're on top of the city for the finish.

Most of the riders I'll be riding against/with this weekend I've ridden with/against before. There will only be two other riders from Club Athlete riding this event and I'm not confident I'll be able to count on any help from them when the distance gets long and the hills go back up.

My plan is to play dumb about the route for the first half of the course. Legitimately, I'm not really certain where the turn around point is, though I know the rest of the way. Playing dumb on the route will allow me to sit back and hitch a ride for the distance out. 250 kilometers is a long day of racing and I have no intention of pushing a pace higher than I know I can handle. The Hiroshige riders (Hiroshige sponsors the event) can get pretty aggressive and are eventually going to expect me to pull through. Tough beans. It's up to them to drop me, as far as I'm concerned. Once we get going on the way back I can assess how strong I feel for the last 120 km and what kind of pace I can push.

I know the riders to mark from their team and a couple of the other local teams and will keep an eye on them. My plan will be to get away if possible on the climb to Sanzoku on the way back. With 25 kilometers to go, it will seem like to far to most of them. If I can't get away there it will be to getting off the front when we climb just before dropping into Yanai.

I'm not ruling out a very early breakaway on the descent off the ridgeline either. I know my way back so if I can get off the front on the descent with 60 kilometers to go, I can get up the road and out of sight pretty quick with a lot of climbing remaining.

This isn't an "A" priority race for me, so at the end of the day some of this will be chalked up to fun riding and racing. It would be nice to stomp some Club Athlete podium spots on the Hiroshige sponsored event though.