The one in my right sinus cavity. Seems that the week off the bike, combined with the perfect elements starting Friday ending Monday were enough to put a solid beat down on my immune system. And to compound it all no chance today to get on the bike and let the cold air act as the damn best sinus decongestant. Maybe tomorrow but again, probably not likely.
The path does look clear, what can be ridden. The mile section from crescent view to riverside square is still closed. Major digging going on. No Good. The forecast today is looking potentially interesting.
Ran into a Bikeworks rider at the Y down this way on Sunday. He mentioned already having his base miles in, and starting to mix in some intensity.
That comment has me getting a bit more introspective about training. One in terms of his frame. He's a roadie, no questions, looking to peak in May. So it makes sense that he has been working on base. But, I wonder about base. And the efficacy of long steady miles. I recognize that going out and doing 4 hour rides makes the shorter rides not seem like much. But, how many(assuming reasonably fit, maybe not fast, but racers) cyclists have a problem riding forever? The problem more seems to be duration of intensity. Or number of stretches on the rubber band before it breaks. How many races are 3-4 hours of tempo riding with a sprint at the end? At least around here? Yes the base gives you some other benefits. But. I dunno, I innately want to question the benefits of doing long base miles compared to high intensity as much as you can. Not saying every single ride should be zone 4-5. But after a few years of riding and racing any time in zone 2-3 outside of recovery seems like a waste. No. I am not a coach. I have not read Friel's book yet. I look at successful folks. One person had a story of the training program of a young cyclist who wanted to make it big on the road and he made it PRO very quickly. His program was to ride at Zone 4-5 as long as he could. First the rides were short. Every week or two he added more distance, keeping the same intensity. Rumor has it he was doing 4-6 hour rides at zone 4-5. It took him quite a while (months) to get to that point. But, in my mind, that makes one hell of a lot of sense. No? Barring the luxury of time to ride 4-6 hours a day 4-5 times a week at that intensity coupled with enough rest between, it just seems intervals are the way to go. Longish intervals. Short ones. But essentially: only intervals. For me at least. Assuming I can start commuting again at least 4 days a week, that gives me the volume and saddle time without base miles. If I can figure out how to incorporate intervals instead of long fun social type rides (at any intensity) maybe I can step it up a notch for Cross. But then, as always, if GeWilli can figure out how to do any cycling on a regular basis outside of commuting or cross racing, well, then progress should be very possible.
I keep coming back to the first lap in Cross with this thought: If a rider can hold a certain pace for one lap, what is the hurdle to staying THAT fast all race? The answer that keeps coming back is training. Limiting factors in cross typically are #1 the engine (mental and physical) #2 technique #3 bike handling and a distant #4 bike (setup - fit - tire choice...). And it might not be correct but in general lately I know my improvements in #2 this past season have helped dramatically but as usual, GeWilli seems to hit his head hard on the #1 ceiling. I hope to some how change that in the next few years.
Well, not much else feels like flowing out of my fingers right now.
Heddwch,
G
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8 comments:
If a rider can hold a certain pace for one lap, what is the hurdle to staying THAT fast all race?
Dude, that's like saying "if a man can run a 45 second 400m, what is the hurdle to running a 3:00 mile?"
No amount of training is going to allow you to exercise well above your anaerobic threshold for 45 min. You can raise your AT through training, sure, but you'll always be able to do one lap much faster than you can do 45 minutes.
a whole lap is different no? Maybe not. 6-10 minutes of being fast translating that speed to 40-45 minutes?
Here's the thing, at least from a slow guy who feels like he's got lots to gain (me)...
Riding my fastest lap times for a whole race, would just make me competitive. It ain't gonna make me the next Treefarm or JP.
And hell man, let me at least enjoy my deluded fantasies of having at least a shot at getting faster.
You can get a lot faster, I just think looking at it from a "I should ride every lap like it's my first" is the wrong approach simply because the first lap is always going to be more work (further above your AT) than the rest of the race. As you get in better shape, you will still throw down a faster first lap than the rest of the race and, this makes sense for positioning reasons.
There's no reason you won't get substantially faster doing an interval-based program. This is commonly known as "training." Just look how much faster Zank got in a few months -- it's not rocket science, you just have to get out there and do it.
Anyway, the answer to "why can't i hold my first lap pace?" is "human physiology." The answer to "why are all my laps not very fast" is "training." Worry about the latter, not the former.
you know, I am in the same boat, and struggle with the same base miles philosophy. I have said the same things: "Century? Let's go, no problem" "50 mile team ride? When and where?" "Keep up with Todd Wells? yeah right!" I don't understand why when I am training for a very specific 60 minute effort, riding ling base miles at 40% is a big deal. But then again, coaching isn't my day job...it just doesn't make much sense to me either
"Anyway, the answer to "why can't i hold my first lap pace?" is "human physiology." The answer to "why are all my laps not very fast" is "training." Worry about the latter, not the former."
Yes but, you are discounting incentive and motivation.
The incentive to train would be gaining the ability to ride next season as '2007 first lap fast' the whole race. It would make '08s first lap even faster.
I understand 'building a base.' Everything needs a foundation.
But the foundation should be appropriate for the visible part of the structure. No point making a foundation for a 100,000 seat stadium only to put a 10,000 square foot house on it.
No point puting in hours of LSD (long slow/stupid distance) base riding if you are doing 50 minute crits and Cross races with an occasional Battenkill or Palmer. Sure being able to sit on your ass for 4 hours makes a 3 hour race/ride seem easy. But it don't seem to work to make you faster.
Getting a 10,000 kJ week in of base ain't the same as doign 5,000 kJ or intervals. I'd wager the intervals would make ya way faster than steady or moderate intensity base riding.
But... I am not a coach. I have never had stellar results. So I really have no idea what I'm talking about beyond a gut feeling and reading stuff that is "published" on the internet.
ge,
your points are salient, but it's more an issue of not seeing the forest for the trees...or something like that. Think of base training as a concept of chronic training load as opposed to a task specific to your racing. A good "base" allows you to carry sustained fitness throughout a season and reach a peak without burning out (although its not a guarantee). that being said, any coach will tell you, that a good base program should involve "hard" but not maximal efforts (with few exceptions). google "sweet spot training". Especially with cross, you should be starting to train your FTP during base...cuz in the end that's really the endpoint to making it to the last lap with more gas in the engine. you're commuting strategy leaves you with plenty of great base training if you structure it right and i doubt very much you've reached your ceiling...but hard to say without knowing your training background better.
Mike B
BTW: A 4-6 hour ride at z4 is a physical impossibility assuming a person measured it correctly
Because I'm a family man, I fit my training in around life. You might have already read a little bit about my training methods. Anyway, 10-11 hour weeks are pretty standard in the summer but they also include 3-4 hours of commuting. So really, I get about 7 hours of real training. During the year, I can count the number of rides longer than 90 minutes on my fingers and toes.
Sure, this time of year, I'm not out there training, per se. I am riding my bike and having some fun. I call this my base -- miles in my legs.
Then I dial up the intensity when I feel like it. This year, I'm going to make a concerted effort to take some easy time in August before ratcheting everything to a fever pitch for the season.
Base? If you don't have the time for long rides, don't sweat it.
Did you have more Dale's Ale for breakfast, or are you just trolling for flames?
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