Log: 31/10/2011

27/10/2011 - Trainer

AeT. Felt good.

    Duration:      1:00:02
    Work:          597 kJ
    TSS:           44.4 (intensity factor 0.669)

27/10/2011 - Track | BBN Skills

Nice evening to be rolling out the legs. Good turnout.

28/10/2011 - Road | Muntanyes

A morning to forget. Generally tired. 1st ascent was a battle, made a second ascent - but no preassure - just tempo. Has been a long time between bad days, but nevertheless the single bad day will still conspire to sap your confidence no matter how well you are going.

    Duration:      2:50:28
    Work:          1543 kJ
    TSS:           156.5 (intensity factor 0.751)
    Distance:      70.489 km
    Elevation Gain:        1133 m
    Temperature:     16    23    18.7     Celsius

29/10/2011 - Road

Forfeited racing based on yesterdays energy levels and generally dismal performance. 80min AeT on an old training route. Nice to have a change of scenery. Charging the batteries was number 1 priority..

30/10/2011 - Road | Muntanyes

Sunday morning team ride postponed due to weather. Wet weather hung around all day. I ventured out at 4pm - Friday on my mind. Usual formula: Pick x2 longest possible climbs, on each tap out 20min >FTP then climb the remainder at ~95% FTP. This has proven to be a successful formula, but as I get stronger I'm starting to run out of road - the last portion (which I think is really valuable) is becoming quite reduced in duration. 3rd climb was steeper and circa 10min. Same, same but different.

Typical Spring, deceptively warm and dry on the flat & freezing, wet, cloudy & miserable in the ferns. Key workout - just suck it up and tap it out. Days like these make the good days seem even better. Happy to hit targets while climbing.


    Duration:      3:36:35
    Work:          2141 kJ
    TSS:           237.5 (intensity factor 0.812)
    Distance:      89.138 km
    Elevation Gain:        1471 m


Mind:

Dargo race this coming Saturday.
Looking at the start list - I'm not familiar with any of the competitors in my age category. Unfamiliar parcours, unfamiliar competition.

Log: 26/10/2011

26/10/2011 - Road | Muntanyes

Mid-week Muntanyes. Glorious Melbourne Spring morning.

Starting to mix up the ride route a little now and am enjoying the variation. 2x1/20 and a Perrins this morning. I don't like 1/20 and extension to Olinda much for threshold work, the gradient is all over the place and I struggle keeping the power down on the false flat. I know I just said I'm enjoying the variation and then complained about the climb..
Lot of folks out climbing this morning. Spotted TFM Cetltic crew for 2nd consecutive Wednesday and Crowie was seen about also.

Perrins Ck. Rd.

    Duration:      2:59:00
    Work:          1822 kJ
    TSS:           199 (intensity factor 0.818)
    VI:            1.3
    Pw:HR:          12.03%
    Pa:HR:          -15.18%
    Distance:      78.314 km
    Elevation Gain:        1228 m
    Elevation Loss:       1237 m
    Grade:         -0.0 %  (-8 m)
        Min    Max    Avg

    Heart Rate:      69    221    134     bpm
    Temperature:     7    16    9.6     Celsius

Log: 25/10/2011

24/10/2011 - Foot

A walk today instead of soft ride. It rained - but that was Ok..


25/10/2011 - Track | BBN

Some words from over at Endurance Corner were my motivation today.

..If you have ability in a field then it is straightforward to become good. Good = top 5% performer.

What does it take to become great? In a word, "everything". The transition from good to great requires a complete shift in your approach. We tend to think about what we have to add -- the "extra effort", going the "extra mile", "giving 110%"...

While the extra effort is both material, and essential. People don't breakdown due to the "extra" -- people breakdown because they are unable to strip away the non-essential...

Absent 1-in-ten-million talent, achieving 1-in-ten-thousand results will require a sustained effort that is unreasonable and, possibly, unhealthy. It is unique individuals that can tolerate extreme workloads over the long term (perhaps this is a form of talent?). Most of us can only cope with phases of intense work, primarily when we are young. Medical residents, investment bank trainees, elite military recruits... it's not just athletics where this applies.

Persistence in the face of setback and obstacles - that counts..

What else counts? The capacity to change - in athletics, the key things are:

• Willingness to change geography - to make it easier to do the right work;
• Building the correct peer/training group around one's self - to make it easier to do the right work;
• Tailoring our training approach to perform in races, not training; and
• Continual technical enhancement - to get more speed per unit of work.

I find it tough to front up to the velo on fatigued legs and coerce 50min quality SST out of them. When I have accrued >300TSS on Sunday, my Tuesday legs are still not rearing to go. I find 92-93% FTP pretty tolerable. Any faster and the legs start to scream - trying to suppress 50 minutes of screaming is mentally fatiguing.

Ol & I at Sun Tour Presentation - spotted on SBS Cycling Central  :)

    Duration:      1:29:33
    Work:          978 kJ
    TSS:           106 (intensity factor 0.845)
    VI:            1.21
    Pw:HR:          6.4%
    Pa:HR:          -5.75%
    Distance:      42.866 km
    Temperature:     16    22    18.3     Celsius

Log: 23/10/2011

22/10/2011 - Track | BBN

Oliver and I fronted to race, but the rain (which had cleared) put off the number of attendees to a level not worthy of holding a race meet. Instead, the few that were there and keen used the session for training. Lots of motor pacing was on the menu for the afternoon - which was a nice way to get in some leg speed, and a perfect intro for Oliver. Brad James is adding the finishing touches to his Warny prep - and some quality time behind the derny was exactly what he wanted. Ol loved rolling turns behind the bike. Good to get more work in than what would have been accrued for a typical race day..

23/10/2011 - Road | Muntanyes

Team ride - "Cinderella & the 3 Ugly Sisters". Only Mick Villani completed the final climb after coffee, and he was planning to bolt on some extras to boot. I was after ~300TSS for the session, felt bad for not climbing Cindarella and got home to discover 312.. mission accomplished. Garmin have now published update to Edge 800 firmware that displays TSS on the unit. Still waiting for the update for the 500. This metric would be perfect for days like these...

Was a great training ride today - apart from the fog. Spent a lot of time in the fog. 3 solid climbs, all at a good intensity.

Cinderella and 3 Ugly Sisters

Last couple of weeks have acclimatised to what has been a steady diet of ~900TSS/week. This has then seen a couple of weeks with a CTL of only +1 per week - leaving me feeling pretty fresh for each ride and evidently allowing me to crank up the output.

This week TSS 1000 and a CTL +4 but feeling pretty on top of it. Ave watts +2.75% on last week across x2hrs climbing threshold work. Had expected to be gaining at most +1% week (if anything) from here to Tour of Bright, so unexpected but certainly good.


Duration:      4:42:22
Work:          2255 kJ
TSS:           312.2 (intensity factor 0.88)
VI:            1.48
Pw:HR:          0.2%
Pa:HR:          15.47%
Distance:      109.358 km
Elevation Gain:        1694 m


Next week planning for CTL+3 (~960TSS), bringing CTL up to 125.

BBN Track: 15/10/2011

15/10/2011 - Track | Race

Season opener at BBN. B grade. Format: Scratch, Points and Kierin.

Scratch: I succumbed to a mechanical - DNF (cringe).

Points: Confidence blown to pieces by the previous DNF and an acute paranoia that the gear I was running was too big - we rolled off.. I raced conservatively.. 3rd place and confidence restored. There was a selection mid way through that I chose not to chase, but in retrospect should have - I definitely had the legs.

Kierin: Fun but not my bag - finished with the bunch, the pure sprinters dominated. Need to think about changing my tactics here - sitting in until the bunch kick will get me nowhere..

Ok start to the season - will ride more aggressively from now on as self belief now in a more healthy place (1st racing since accident, etc).

Log: 21/10/2011

21/10/2011 - Road | Muntanyes

Post work muntanyes. Made the right decision to go back to bed AM.

Rolled out along Burwood Hwy feeling pretty fresh. No rain. Warm. Traffic not as bad as was expecting. More daylight than I'm programmed to expect. Different smells - Pizza.. Steak. Different radio show. Days work behind me on the timeline, but still present in my head.

Expected the worst from the weather. Lightly dressed, but pockets full - rain jacket, arm warmers, knee warmers, shoe covers. Warm.

Mtn Hwy, Devil's/1Tree: Tonight I let the reigns loosen some.
Going by Stava's version of the climb "Devil's Elbow from roundabout" they give me 4.48 watts/kilo - but I backed off x1 street early (Alpine Rd instead of Merimbula Rd) as that was the spot that I though was the official end of the climb. Fair to say time would have been better had have kept on pushing to the finish line. Second climb was at requisite watts for next weeks sessions. 3rd climb I took it relatively easy.

Pea soop fog but no precipitation, quiet roads, dusk. Magic.

Ol - Thursday Skills Session

Duration:      3:12:29
Work:          1845 kJ
TSS:           227.5 (intensity factor 0.844) 

Pw:HR:          15.22%
Pa:HR:          -26.87%
Distance:      75.108 km
Elevation Gain:        1384 m
Heart Rate:      73    174    132     bpm
Temperature:     12    20    14.5     Celsius

Happy for now - numbers coming good.

Log: 20/10/2011

Looking back to my moments of trepidation Wednesday morning - there was a contributing factor that I didn't mention - being my inability to resist the temptation of testing myself a little the day before. Tuesdays workout was on the velo:

95% FTP for 2x20min, 1x10min at 105% FTP.

That final 10min was really to test the water with an alternate power meter. For the final interval, I sustained similar wattage to that regularly output during climbs - and it wasn't really very comfortable. I was surprised to be moving so fast while doing threshold work, and it all felt a bit strange. 10min on the flat at the intensity that I'd normally bang out back to back 2x20min on a climb felt a bit like it ripped my legs off.. The 10min effort did occur after 40min @95% FTP, that would have to contribute to the sting - but interestingly enough - would probably say there is an element that comes back to specificity of training.


20/10/2011 - Trainer

60mins AeT.. Pretty warm.


Duration:      1:02:05
Work:          616 kJ
TSS:           49.6 (intensity factor 0.695)
Distance:      29.802 kmMin    Max    Avg

Heart Rate:      75    164    138     bpm
Temperature:     26    29    28.3     Celsius

20/10/2011 - Road | Velodrome

BBN skills with jnrs. Threat of rain all night, basically held off. Ol is still enjoying the track and is keen to have a race on Saturday. I don't end up accruing much actual training during these sessions, is nice to roll out the legs on the track..

21/10/2011 - Road | Muntanyes

Awoke to rain this morning - back to bed. Crossing my fingers that it's clear this evening as I won't miss this workout regardless of weather..

Mid-Season Build1: Wrap-Up

Little late, but here is a wrap-up for Mid-Season 2011 Build1:

Looking back 6 or so weeks - here is the state of play at the end of Base.

I have labelled this period as Build1 - it's primary focus included continued ramp of CTL, introduction of more specific/race-like sessions, and tonnes of threshold work.

CTL ramp over the period was pretty fierce with an average of +5.25 per week for the 4 weeks. This saw CTL rise from 96 to 117.

Training moved away from the trainer over to a predominantly road based schedule where I was looking to be in the mountains multiple times per week.

Threshold work was accumulated while climbing. Average of 2 hours dedicated threshold work on climbs on per-week basis over the 4 week block. Average power output for threshold work increased 2.2% week on week.

Body weight at ~66.9kg moved down to ~65.3kg.

Mid-Season Build1 - PMC

In reference to the PMC above:
A: Peak

B: Post injury and illness trough

C: End of Mid-Season Base

D: End of Mid-Season Build1

Next Build is basically more of the same, but with a slowed CTL ramp..

Log: 19/10/2011

19/10/2011 - Road | Muntanyes

Another mid-week muntanyes done and dusted.

Ok, went back and rode the same route as last Sunday - this time on racing wheel with different Powertap. Sunday it was becoming pretty apparent (final nail in coffin) that my other PT was starting to swing high/low and the offset torque was now consistently reporting out of spec values. Have been living with it for the last couple of weeks as it's pretty obvious when it's happening and I seemed to be able to bring it back in-line with a calibration and trusty 'ol auto-zero. Certainly there was a dose of denial going on there too - as I just didn't want to have deal with a faulty unit.. Aaaaaa-nnnd well, I was quietly terrified that the unit may have been reading a bit high for a while, and that all of my so called progress was just noise in the machine that was slowly amplifying as it kind of rolled over and died...

All this in mind (well and truly in mind) it was with some trepidation that I rolled out for the mid-week muntanyes. Different scenarios played out in my mind, in particular those where I just couldn't hit the same numbers that I had days and weeks before this very morning - thus confirming that all of my progress was just bollox - and that in fact I was capable of only mediocre performance, and what would I tell myself if this eventuated, and how would I cope, and.. you get the picture.

1st climb - hit the requisite numbers. "Did I just slaughter myself -  rendering a second, repeat performance impossible?" "Didn't feel that hard, buut dunno If I could tap out another one of those.." etc, etc..

2nd climb - hit the requisite numbers!! Army of monkeys simultaneously jumped from my shoulders and into the surrounding trees. Tough, but doable - nothing unusual. In fact over the two climbs I did hit next weeks target numbers (which is what I had been doing on the dodgy PM).. Take a deep breath, consolidate, move forward.

I'm liking this climb - it gives me 20 minutes work and is 7.9% gradient. Not as long as TawongaB - but the right kind of gradient. 1: 20min@104.6% FTP, 2: 20min@103.9% FTP, 3: 10min@100% FTP.

    Duration:      3:05:41
    Work:          1800 kJ
    TSS:           210.2 (intensity factor 0.828)
    VI:            1.33
    Pw:HR:          17.16%
    Distance:      74.918 km
    Elevation Gain:        1363 m
    Temperature:     12    24    16.7     Celsius

Log: 18/10/2011

17/10/2011 - Nil(ish)

Rest Day. 20min on the trainer- easy effort.. Didn't happen.. Did roll around a bit on the road to validate swapped wheel operating correctly. Have sent primary Powertap back to meet it's makers as suspect numbers have been plaguing rides for last couple of weeks..

18/10/2011 - Road | Velo

Prescribed 95% FTP for 2x20min, which completed then completed 1x10 at 105%.
Beautiful day (warm), lots of sweat - got to get used to that..


Duration:      1:35:09
Work:          1017 kJ
TSS:           113.5 (intensity factor 0.848)
Distance:      46.471 km
Temperature:     21    29    25.3     Celsius

Minimum 14c overnight. Going to be beautiful morning for mid-week Muntanyes..

Log: 17/10/2011

12/10/2011 - Road | Muntanyes

Running from memory here - x1 word = Miserable.

Cold and wet in the mountains but I got the work done.

Duration:      2:53:57
Work:          1649 kJ
TSS:           191.9 (intensity factor 0.816)
Pw:HR:          7.67%
Distance:      71.633 km
Elevation Gain:        986 m
Temperature:     6    18    8.6     Celsius

13/10/2011 - Trainer

AeT for an hour.

Duration:      1:00:02
Work:          580 kJ
TSS:           42.7 (intensity factor 0.661)
Distance:      29.343 km

13/10/2011 - Track

Thursday night skills sessions are back on at BBN track. Oliver and I headed out to reacquaint ourselves with the single-speed. It's been a while for both of us - 6 months for Ol. I help out Alan with drills etc. and it's great to train with the young one.

Oliver - Flying 200 at dusk

14/10/2011 - Road | Muntanyes

Beautiful morning - stark contrast to the misery of Wednesday. Had a small incident with a bee in the helmet on one descent - had to stop to remove it. Good solid climbing, x2 20minute efforts at >FTP, each followed immediately (No RI) by 6-7 minutes at 90-95% FTP. ~52+ minutes solid threshold work over two intervals - will continue to feature frequently on the training menu from here on in.


Duration:      3:00:16
Work:          1906 kJ
TSS:           215.1 (intensity factor 0.848)
VI:            1.25
Pw:HR:          11.29%
Distance:      79.796 km
Elevation Gain:        1153 m

15/10/2011 - Track | Race

Season opener at BBN. B grade. Format: Scratch, Points and Kierin.

Scratch: I succumbed to a mechanical - DNF (cringe).

Points: Confidence blown to pieces by the previous DNF and an acute paranoia that the gear I was running was too big - we rolled off.. I raced conservatively.. 3rd place and confidence restored. There was a selection mid way through that I chose not to chase, but in retrospect should have - I definitely had the legs.

Kierin: Fun but not my bag - finished with the bunch, the pure sprinters dominated. Need to think about changing my tactics here - sitting in until the bunch kick will get me nowhere..

Ok start to the season - will ride more aggressively from now on as self belief now in a more healthy place (1st racing since accident, etc).

16/10/2011 - Road | Muntanyes

Headed out later in the day - missed the 6:00am team ride due to super poor nights sleep.

4 seasons in 1 ride. Different climbs today - slightly different format. Steeper, slightly shorter climbs (2x20 min >FTP) and x1 10min climb >>FTP. Solid tempo into headwind home.

Less time and CTL than I had planned for, but the late start determined the format as wanted to go and catch the final stage of the JHST with Ol.

Duration:      3:12:28
Work:          2087 kJ
TSS:           240.9 (intensity factor 0.87)
VI:            1.25
Pw:HR:          5.19%
Pa:HR:          -24.66%
Distance:      74.745 km
Elevation Gain:        1421 m

Lygon St - JHST

Great afternoon - good bike racing and primo gelati :)

On Suffering: 3

"And suffering is a like a foreign country. It’s not really comfortable, and you don’t want to stay forever, but it’s good to know what it’s like there, if only so you can appreciate home. You come back with good stories. And espresso on your breath."

Da Robot

Log: 11/10/2011

10/10/2011 - Nil 

 

Rest Day. 20min on the trainer- easy effort.. Didn't happen..

11/10/2011 - Road | Velo

 

Per previous post I've started Build2 phase. I have taken the approach of pre-mapping out target watts for each SST or FTP interval for the coming period. In the case of each Tuesday it's SST - and have prescribed 95% FTP for 2x20min, but the Tuesday mantra is strictly to go with the flow.

If I had an intense Sunday I can still be carrying fatigue into Tue - and where I find 95% feels like 9500% which it sometimes can - then just turn the volume down on intensity. Wednesday muntanyes take priority, and I have prescribed target numbers for Wednesdays that I do not want to miss. Target numbers for Wed & Fri climbing intervals aren't overly ambitious (I hope) - but they scare me nevertheless..

So, 2x20min at Balcky Velo. 1st 20 - on the scale of perceived effort (PE) was a bit difficult - but no danger of falling short of the mark. 2nd 20 was nice and easy on the PE scale - more like how I felt the first might be. Probably suffered 1st time round as did not roll the legs out yesterday like supposed to.

Duration:      1:25:24
Work:          857 kJ
TSS:           101.2 (intensity factor 0.849)
Pw:HR:          5.54%
Distance:      38.519 km

Log: 09/10/2011

08/10/2011 - Road

No racing track today - had a family commitment that didn't want to miss..
AeT effort on the road - being mindful of knee. Very steady, easy effort - just maintain aerobic engine and settle into 595. Somewhat mindful of scheduled training for tomorrow = 140km out to Toolangi and return. Weather forecast looks less than ideal also..


Duration:      1:41:05
Work:          742 kJ
TSS:           71.6 (intensity factor 0.654)
VI:            1.33
Pw:HR:          -2.05%
Distance:      36.261 km

09/10/2011 - Road | Muntanyes

5:35am awoke to rain - lots of rain. No Toolangi for me, back to sleep.

8:30am awoke to rain, back to sleep.
9:50am awoke to rain, better get up.

Eventually headed out for training session early afternoon (Not Toolangi - just couple climbs in Dandenongs). Some rain fell coming into Montrose, and while making 1st ascent. Not enough water to properly wet the road or soak my kit - but enough to give the whole riding in the rain vibe. Mixed it up a bit today in terms of route, but still targetting longest climbs possible.

Hit targeted numbers - great to consolidate on upward trend for the week. Finding that as I progress, the ave power for 2nd climb is becoming a lot stronger in relation to 1st.
125 minutes focused FTP+ climbing minutes over the week with an average 2.8% wattage increase on last week. Today signifies the end of Build1 period - will post wrap-up early this week.
If I can progress at even half of the rate that I have been to date from here on in, I will be happy come race day. It's been a challenging 12 months, and I'd love to end the year with real progress.


Duration:      3:35:10
Work:          2046 kJ
TSS:           247.9 (intensity factor 0.833)
VI:            1.31
Pw:HR:          13.2%
Distance:      89.283 km
Elevation Gain:        1420 m

10km ride with Oliver early in the evening. He's able to put the hurt on me on climbs once I've got a good training session in the legs. He loves putting the hurt on :)

Scoreboard - Cracticus tibicen: 1, Me: 0

Well, I thought all of the magpie young had sprouted feathers and left their nests - no birdie attacks for days and days.. Olinda side of Ridge Rd - x1 crazy bird near sat on my shoulder for 30 seconds - "snap, snap" in my ear, etc. I really swore my head off at that animal - so surprised at the land and snap tactics, then laughed my head off when it finally relented. Hoping that's a wrap for 2011 animal attacks..

Log: 07/10/2011

06/10/2011 - Nil

An echo from the not too distant past.. "stick to the plan". Not much training today - not much I can do about it..

Picked up 595 and had intentions of fine-tuning setup then riding-out my scheduled session on the trainer.
House guests put a stop to those ambitions and it was late in the evening before I could resume wrenching.

Plenty of late night short test rides up/down my home street while fine tuning bar/lever/saddle positioning, etc.. but no "training". I got stuck into some red too while prepping my bike - probably a bit too much..

07/10/2011 - Road | Muntanyes

My new/old bike - sweet..
Slept in pretty late, made some last minute adjustments and hit the road around lunchtime.
I've been having mixed feelings about getting 595 back on the road. It's been nearly 11 weeks since I've ridden it, and there's been 8 solid weeks work on the Giant.

Have done all I can to emulate Giant setup on 595, but there's always subtle differences - these can quickly manifest themselves as niggles and then injury if you don't listen for the signs and react promptly. This is very much the case when changes are made, and volume+intensity are not adjusted for any kind of a settling in period..

Fully aware of the risks I said my prayers and hit the road on 595 for a session in the mountains focused around x2 solid, above threshold, 20+ minute intervals & a total of 3 hours saddle time.
All-up = resounding success. I have pulled up with some pain in my left knee (the gammy one), and a slightly tender ITB at the knee on the right side (could see/feel right nee swinging in toward top-tube throughout session). Both of these signs tell me saddle needs to go back a fraction. I'll just keep feeling my way through the transition - no major concern as yet.

595 is now running SRAM gruppo - leaving behind Dura Ace 7801 that's served me well for years. 1st impressions are that I have made a good choice. Major win is the lever /brake reach adjust-ability. It's completely unfamiliar to me to have lever/reach combo that actually fits my hands.
No more gorilla reach-around motion to push the brake lever through a great pendulum-like arc to invoke multiple sprocket shifting at the rear cassette - shed a tear I will not..

Double-tap felt pretty natural by the end of the ride and am applying no "extra" thought to gear changes. Hood ergonomics are very different, but I'll get used to it. Hoods are more chunky at the base - and more narrow at the top. My hands searched out new resting positions that were different - but not really any better or worse. Standing with hands on hoods, levers feel a bit "block" like - sharper, less gradually rounded corners pressing into palms. Not a major downside - but not as nice as Shimano. Must say - a downside more than compensated for in other areas - did I mention I can reach my levers now?? - bloody marvelous!!

Despite the previous evenings festivities I managed to hit target numbers, but feel a bit more shattered tonight than normal.


Duration:      2:52:46 (14:50:21)
Work:          1683 kJ
TSS:           206.8 (intensity factor 0.848)
Pw:HR:          10.42%
Distance:      74.212 km
Elevation Gain:        1082 m
Temperature:     15    24    20.0     Celsius

An early evening ride with Oliver was good fun and nice to roll the legs out a bit..

Log: 05/10/2011

Having a week away from work is nice, have started some home renovations. Combination of training and reno-labour is leaving me smashed at the end of each day.

My philosophy for the week off is not to ride any extra - it is to just stick to the plan. So far so good..

A catch-up in-brief:

02/10/2011 - Road | Muntanyes

Sunday was team training ride - "Cirque de Cardinia" was the ride route. Beautiful morning, great training and great company.

Cardinia

It's getting nearer to goal events for many, and it's showing in their present form. Makes for a committed bunch driving  a solid pace through challenging terrain.

Duration:      4:55:34
Work:          2493 kJ
TSS:           361.5 (intensity factor 0.905)
Pw:HR:          1.68%
Distance:      119.702 km
Elevation Gain:        1609 m
Heart Rate:      73    174    135     bpm

03/10/2011 - Foot

Walk as substitute for recovery ride on the trainer.

Young one usually rides when we go walking..

04/10/2011 - Road | Velodrome

Again this Tuesday not feeling fresh enough to put in quality threshold workout. Wound it back to SST intensity. Cut workout a little short as combined fatigue, loosening rear cassette and broken front derailleur built an overall, distinctively "broken" feel to the ride. Headed for home feeling a little deflated and praying the 595 would be ready for tomorrow.

05/10/2011 - Road | Muntanyes

No 595. More renovating in the morning. 3 days of stripping paint from window frames has melted my core - front and back. I fueled up at about 2:30pm and hit the road at 3:00 feeling skeptical about my potential to perform based on how my abdomen and lower back were feeling.

I followed the same route/climbs that I have been hitting for the last few weeks. Numbers were up again over last week across both climbs in the order of 2.5%.

This was unexpected due to core muscle "meltdown", and regardless of that I just expected to hit a plateau this week. Not the case so far - very encouraged by this. Need to play the week out to confirm that I'm able to hit the numbers consistently.

Duration:      2:54:53
Work:          1719 kJ
TSS:           206.6 (intensity factor 0.844)
VI:            1.28
Pw:HR:          6.89%
Distance:      74.327 km
Elevation Gain:        1082 m

End of this week will mark the end of first build block (4 weeks). Looking forward to reviewing progress and consolidating the training details for the coming block at weeks-end.

Based on current progress I'm on track to meet or exceed goals for this stage in the preparation for ToB. It's really encouraging, and as I continue to move forward faster than previously experienced - I'm starting to really believe that the changes that I've made to training structure much better suit my physiology than previous approaches.