Whew, time goes by – 4 additional races to update on since the last entry.
Well, here goes, coming off a big three weeks of hard training it was time for a recovery week in late July/early August. What better way to test the results of that training than cranking out a road race…. Only one problem, my wife, Kate also plans a 4th birthday party for our son, Marshall, that same day. Hmmm… sometimes you just got to work with the situation. The first Saturday in August puts Grand View, WI on the cycling map as the site of largest road race in Northern Wisconsin the Firehouse 50. The event carries a choice of road races and time trials. Fortunately when a birthday party is scheduled for 10am, it leaves the Fantasy 50 as the only option to pull things off.
Start at 8am, finish the 33 mile course in under 90 minutes, jump back in the car for the ½ hr drive home and I should be safe, right? Got it done & back home with five minutes to spare as it turned out! As far as the race -- it’s the much more relaxed version of the two Firehouse races yet still there’s adequate competition. I got to the start line with about 30 seconds to go – I wasn’t stressed by it, at least not in the same respect as fellow racer, Scott Chapin who was at Grand View to do a team time trail with girlfriend Julie, he happened to be parked next to me assisting with some minor bike adjustments when the count down over the loudspeaker was announced. He’s like “Would you get out of here already! You’re making me nervous!” I just chuckled and told him “Thanks”.
The race rollout was smooth and as long as I was within 15-20 spots of the front I was comfortable with my racing position. It was a moderate pace with everyone staying together for the first couple miles. Upon reaching the steeper sections of the climbs that make up the first 5 miles of the race, I decided to move up to the front and push the effort, to see who would be racing at the front and who would be sightseeing the race. I pushed it enough to cause separation with the larger group and by the top of the Great Divide (5 mile mark) it was down to 6 racers with 2 more later catching on. There group of 6 consisted of two sets of 2 person teams, myself and one other lone rider. Interesting dynamics & tactics come into play anytime you have a small group with more than one rider from the same team.
Two against one isn’t the odds you want to be stuck with so most of the time so making a break away move is sometimes better than hanging in the group. When the other lone racer made an effort that got him 50 yards out front and held it for awhile I decided to bridge up to him on the short climb after turning onto Pioneer Road. Fortunately, the move stuck, but at the same time it was a big commitment to make with 20+ miles to go. It was the two of us to hopefully work together in a team time trial effort, to hold off the group of 6 other racers. That group of six didn’t make it easy forcing us to hold a high pace in order to keep the 200-300 yard lead we’d built from going away. The guy I was with wasn’t overly talkative – maybe cause he was constantly pushing it but he shared he’d done the FH 50 in the past and a FH time trial.
With the chasers closing things down we needed to push it on the Ryberg Rd just prior to Lake Owen drive about half way into the 33 mile course. I assumed if we could just get out of sight with the rolling hills and winding corners maybe they’d give up their valiant effort. It must have had some effect as we didn’t see them again til well into the final 8 mile section from Drummond to Grand View.
With the final miles closing in and the break away appearing to that it would succeed the pace stayed high and how the race would play out remained a question mark. My idea and that of the rider with me must have been different. Having worked together to make this opportunity possible for both of us, I thought it only right to have a gentleman’s agreement to drag race it out side by side at the end. Instead, after taking equal pulls, he failed to come through to the front when I pulled over. Rather he sat on my wheel. In hindsight I should have really eased up and starting conserving energy to prep for the move he was going to make but that’s what you get for assuming such things. He dogged me – rather than having a friendly understanding, he jumped hard at about a mile out after sitting on my wheel resting up. I gave it a go but my long effort at the front didn’t leave enough to pick back up. It was 2nd place on the day for the one road race I do a year. It was very satisfactory but also a very hard effort as we averaged a greater mph pace than any of the 2 person TT teams or even the large pack in the full FH 50 race did that day.
My coach Josh Powers had preferred me pass on this road race to get more rest going into the first big MTB race I was hoping to peak for this year, Marquette’s Ore to Shore 48 mile Hard Rock. As usual he’s probably right so maybe I burned up a few more of the “matches” that a season of bike racing gives or it was excellent late season high end interval training. Only the remaining races and the duration of this training peak will hold that answers. Given last years early burnout I’m hoping for some a turn of good fortune this year.
Getting home at 9:55am was just in time for Marshall’s birthday party. Great time had with family and friends coming over. A pleasure in life that can’t be beat is watching your young kids celebrate and grow. A good friend once told me of the best things about having kids is being able to do your childhood over again. You know, sometimes I think he’s gotta be right.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Fixin' Tubeless Tires
Ok, ok, for those of you who know there's been a bunch of racing going on my apologies for not yet getting caught up on the recent race reports. There's coming....
In the meantime, I thought I'd pass along a super helpful link on how to fix your tubeless tires when you get a slash or puncture that any of the interior sealants (Stan's, Bontrager Juice, etc)can't quite handle. If you're a tubeless tire fan it sure beats having to throw out a decent tire and drop another $40-$50 for a replacement each time.
You'll find out more on why I tracked this info down once the race reports are updated. There are three of 'em, Grand Views Road Race, Marquette's Ore to Shore and a last minute additional to the race schedule Calumet's (MI) The Great Deer Chase.
In the meantime, I thought I'd pass along a super helpful link on how to fix your tubeless tires when you get a slash or puncture that any of the interior sealants (Stan's, Bontrager Juice, etc)can't quite handle. If you're a tubeless tire fan it sure beats having to throw out a decent tire and drop another $40-$50 for a replacement each time.
You'll find out more on why I tracked this info down once the race reports are updated. There are three of 'em, Grand Views Road Race, Marquette's Ore to Shore and a last minute additional to the race schedule Calumet's (MI) The Great Deer Chase.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Duluth Powder Monkey
I'm surprised I didn't see any flippin' monkeys given how hot & humid that Duluth Spirit Mt jungle course was today.
Coming of the tail end of a very hard three week training block, racing this course wasn't a prescription for the best possible results. Even so, the race didn't go all that bad.... at least for awhile.
Anyone that's done it will agree, it's a tough challenging course, not overall built for speed except for the most technically adapt racers. That's not to say it's can't be fun, it's just a different kind of fun than any other race course or trail in the Midwest that I've experienced.
I overcame last minute indecision on whether to go or not but still arrived plenty early(for me that's anything close to 45 minutes before race starting time). Got in a good warm up (perhaps too much of one).
By far the most relaxed I've ever been at the starting line of a race, but actually now for most races I like to steal the line from Kareem Abdul Jabbar in what I recall to be the 1985 NBA finals. When asked if he was nervous, he simply said "The butterflies are dead." Fortunately I consider that to be a good thing going into most races.
The uphill start went well and though I lingered somewhat back thinking to not get in that position of holding up more technical riders as we entered the first section of single track. But once we got there I realized that was foolish as there wasn't anybody within 10 people of me that were overly skilled at pounding through the "gorilla heads", rock outcroppings and tighter twists and turns. (File that on in the memory bank -- go hard from the start, giving someone else the benefit of the doubt ain't necessarily the best strategy).
The rest of the race makes for an interesting tale which I could probably elaborate on at a later time, but it boils down to some fun riding with alot of guys I know and enjoy racing with. Early on I caught up to Charlie "Mr Ultra Endurance" Farrow, road a good share of the first lap with Bart Rodberg, chased down a surprisingly slow starter (no offense) Ross Fabroni and took advantage of a nice spill by the single guy I trade racing positions with more than anyone this season Larry Sauber. And not only that, I'm leading Mr. incred-ski Adam Swank for the first lap. Only he must have afterburners cause he put 14 positions in between us by the end.
Well, the cumulative effect of the training or the heat or something had me struggling by the 1/2 hr mark of the race. It was two laps and took 2hrs to finish. The big 20minute climb on the back side of the course had me surviving more than climbing only to relive the experience on the second lap. However that time I did have the opportunity to have a nice chat with fellow Trek FS 69er enthusiast Charly Tri from Rochester without an ill-timed flat he'd of done quite nicely today.
Side note -- you big wheelers don't knock it til you try it. I appreciate you express the opinion you like what you have but the 69er is a dead on sweet bike. (Not to mention you can ride an impressive rear wheelie with it, ah, but that's another story for another day).
So in the end, I'm out of water, out of energy, out of luck. I make some semblence of a scramble up the final hill and hope to avoid the nearby vultures circling overhead. Graciously giving up an additional three or so spots out of the kindness & mercy in my heart in the final mile and winding up 28th on the day.
My coach Josh Powers had me scheduled for another 90minutes -2hrs of riding afterwards but that could have resulted in heat stroke so I hit up the Baked Lays Chips, Pepsi, automobile A/C & took Kate & our clutch of children on home.
I must say an upcoming rest week never looked so appealing....
....maybe a Firehouse 50 this coming weekend (Aug 2nd) otherwise next up the Big 'Ole Ore to Shore (Aug 9th) I have a strong feeling it's going to be one of the best races of the year.
Til later....
Coming of the tail end of a very hard three week training block, racing this course wasn't a prescription for the best possible results. Even so, the race didn't go all that bad.... at least for awhile.
Anyone that's done it will agree, it's a tough challenging course, not overall built for speed except for the most technically adapt racers. That's not to say it's can't be fun, it's just a different kind of fun than any other race course or trail in the Midwest that I've experienced.
I overcame last minute indecision on whether to go or not but still arrived plenty early(for me that's anything close to 45 minutes before race starting time). Got in a good warm up (perhaps too much of one).
By far the most relaxed I've ever been at the starting line of a race, but actually now for most races I like to steal the line from Kareem Abdul Jabbar in what I recall to be the 1985 NBA finals. When asked if he was nervous, he simply said "The butterflies are dead." Fortunately I consider that to be a good thing going into most races.
The uphill start went well and though I lingered somewhat back thinking to not get in that position of holding up more technical riders as we entered the first section of single track. But once we got there I realized that was foolish as there wasn't anybody within 10 people of me that were overly skilled at pounding through the "gorilla heads", rock outcroppings and tighter twists and turns. (File that on in the memory bank -- go hard from the start, giving someone else the benefit of the doubt ain't necessarily the best strategy).
The rest of the race makes for an interesting tale which I could probably elaborate on at a later time, but it boils down to some fun riding with alot of guys I know and enjoy racing with. Early on I caught up to Charlie "Mr Ultra Endurance" Farrow, road a good share of the first lap with Bart Rodberg, chased down a surprisingly slow starter (no offense) Ross Fabroni and took advantage of a nice spill by the single guy I trade racing positions with more than anyone this season Larry Sauber. And not only that, I'm leading Mr. incred-ski Adam Swank for the first lap. Only he must have afterburners cause he put 14 positions in between us by the end.
Well, the cumulative effect of the training or the heat or something had me struggling by the 1/2 hr mark of the race. It was two laps and took 2hrs to finish. The big 20minute climb on the back side of the course had me surviving more than climbing only to relive the experience on the second lap. However that time I did have the opportunity to have a nice chat with fellow Trek FS 69er enthusiast Charly Tri from Rochester without an ill-timed flat he'd of done quite nicely today.
Side note -- you big wheelers don't knock it til you try it. I appreciate you express the opinion you like what you have but the 69er is a dead on sweet bike. (Not to mention you can ride an impressive rear wheelie with it, ah, but that's another story for another day).
So in the end, I'm out of water, out of energy, out of luck. I make some semblence of a scramble up the final hill and hope to avoid the nearby vultures circling overhead. Graciously giving up an additional three or so spots out of the kindness & mercy in my heart in the final mile and winding up 28th on the day.
My coach Josh Powers had me scheduled for another 90minutes -2hrs of riding afterwards but that could have resulted in heat stroke so I hit up the Baked Lays Chips, Pepsi, automobile A/C & took Kate & our clutch of children on home.
I must say an upcoming rest week never looked so appealing....
....maybe a Firehouse 50 this coming weekend (Aug 2nd) otherwise next up the Big 'Ole Ore to Shore (Aug 9th) I have a strong feeling it's going to be one of the best races of the year.
Til later....
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Riverbrook MTB Time Trial: Hatchery Creek Hayward
What are the odds?
Went to Riverbrook’s weekly Thurs nite MTB TT’s – great little summer MTB racing series put on by the cycling communities of Seeley, Hayward & Spooner. Some time ago they came up with a “Equalizer” format. Racers are handicapped with different starting times -- the least speedy go first and progressively the faster racers are released in 30sec to 1 minute intervals. When done to perfection, everyone hits the finish line at the same time. But regardless, everyone gets to compete both on an overall as well as handicapped basis.
And there’s no motivation like being forced to catch the slower person in front of you or to avoid being caught from behind.
So, this past Thursday the TT was held at the Hatchery Creek Trailhead in Hayward. Never having done the series before they use the best educated guess of where to start you in the lineup. Lucky me? With Scott Chapin, Jesrin Gaier & Tim Swift having good reputations & past experience I put 4th to last leaving only those vultures to hunt me down. With that kind of motivation it’s easier get a quick start. I left the start line with Tom Gaier & Tim Wilkie. At first I figured with Tom’s familiarity with the trails I could benefit from staying behind him but then I decided I was better off getting the biggest gap I could muster on the open Birkie trails at the start before the course entered the single track. Then let the chips fall where they may after finesse and handling skills in the single track took precedence over for straight up power in the open sections. The strategy paid off as I had gained 15 seconds or more by the time we entered the single track. After busting it wide open, the trails were a relief and my heart rate returned to a more reasonable sustainable pace. All I kept thinking, is I’ve got the gap, just keep it steady and don’t give up too much ground and recover to pound it again when (and if) it opens up again.
Even with my unfamiliarity with the trail, I managed to keep the miscues to a minimum. Taking note to listen for sounds of turning wheels and skidding brakes and glancing out of the corner of my eye on switch backs for any movements on the trail. Ten minutes in still all good, fifteen minutes still clean without any sign of trouble coming.
That’s when the bike gods released their fury – mind you not just on me, as I came off a S corner I got that sloppy feeling in the rear of the bike that can only come from a blown tire that’s rolled off the bead. End of the night for me. So hiking down the trail and counting time for the next racers Tom came through 30 seconds later and another 30 seconds later Scott Chapin with Tim Wilkie now behind him. Tom was out of any CO2 but was kind enough to toss me some bug spray (for which I was grateful on the next half hour walk back to the start/finish). I assumed I’d be seeing Tim Swift any minute and certainly Jesrin – I counted off a minute and then 90 seconds and still no sign of either of them. Only to discover when I finally got to the end that they’d both incurred flats within 20-30 feet of each other. What are the odds 3 of the last 4 riders flatting out on the same night.
So though it was a good hard effort, it didn’t provide the feedback I was hoping to get on how my racing speed is coming along. Though I was feeling pretty good and holding off Chapin felt like a distinct possibility. Next Thursday it’s a toss up, I’ve got league softball and the TT being held at Seeley which is notoriously challenging singletrack to ride a fast speeds. ….. we’ll see, maybe. Especially if I can drag some certain other individuals in the Chequamegon bay area who shall remain nameless unless they don’t start showing & participating in some local races pretty soon.
Regardless, it was a good time as Kate, Hope & Marshall were able to come along and have fun at the park with the other families and riders.
Up next, it’s WORS in Franklin, WI or MNSCS at Spirit Mt in Duluth – with a 4 1/2hr difference in drives times – I think Spirit Mt should be the easy choice. A hard core course that’s great to ride… it’s just racing it successfully is sometimes another story.
Went to Riverbrook’s weekly Thurs nite MTB TT’s – great little summer MTB racing series put on by the cycling communities of Seeley, Hayward & Spooner. Some time ago they came up with a “Equalizer” format. Racers are handicapped with different starting times -- the least speedy go first and progressively the faster racers are released in 30sec to 1 minute intervals. When done to perfection, everyone hits the finish line at the same time. But regardless, everyone gets to compete both on an overall as well as handicapped basis.
And there’s no motivation like being forced to catch the slower person in front of you or to avoid being caught from behind.
So, this past Thursday the TT was held at the Hatchery Creek Trailhead in Hayward. Never having done the series before they use the best educated guess of where to start you in the lineup. Lucky me? With Scott Chapin, Jesrin Gaier & Tim Swift having good reputations & past experience I put 4th to last leaving only those vultures to hunt me down. With that kind of motivation it’s easier get a quick start. I left the start line with Tom Gaier & Tim Wilkie. At first I figured with Tom’s familiarity with the trails I could benefit from staying behind him but then I decided I was better off getting the biggest gap I could muster on the open Birkie trails at the start before the course entered the single track. Then let the chips fall where they may after finesse and handling skills in the single track took precedence over for straight up power in the open sections. The strategy paid off as I had gained 15 seconds or more by the time we entered the single track. After busting it wide open, the trails were a relief and my heart rate returned to a more reasonable sustainable pace. All I kept thinking, is I’ve got the gap, just keep it steady and don’t give up too much ground and recover to pound it again when (and if) it opens up again.
Even with my unfamiliarity with the trail, I managed to keep the miscues to a minimum. Taking note to listen for sounds of turning wheels and skidding brakes and glancing out of the corner of my eye on switch backs for any movements on the trail. Ten minutes in still all good, fifteen minutes still clean without any sign of trouble coming.
That’s when the bike gods released their fury – mind you not just on me, as I came off a S corner I got that sloppy feeling in the rear of the bike that can only come from a blown tire that’s rolled off the bead. End of the night for me. So hiking down the trail and counting time for the next racers Tom came through 30 seconds later and another 30 seconds later Scott Chapin with Tim Wilkie now behind him. Tom was out of any CO2 but was kind enough to toss me some bug spray (for which I was grateful on the next half hour walk back to the start/finish). I assumed I’d be seeing Tim Swift any minute and certainly Jesrin – I counted off a minute and then 90 seconds and still no sign of either of them. Only to discover when I finally got to the end that they’d both incurred flats within 20-30 feet of each other. What are the odds 3 of the last 4 riders flatting out on the same night.
So though it was a good hard effort, it didn’t provide the feedback I was hoping to get on how my racing speed is coming along. Though I was feeling pretty good and holding off Chapin felt like a distinct possibility. Next Thursday it’s a toss up, I’ve got league softball and the TT being held at Seeley which is notoriously challenging singletrack to ride a fast speeds. ….. we’ll see, maybe. Especially if I can drag some certain other individuals in the Chequamegon bay area who shall remain nameless unless they don’t start showing & participating in some local races pretty soon.
Regardless, it was a good time as Kate, Hope & Marshall were able to come along and have fun at the park with the other families and riders.
Up next, it’s WORS in Franklin, WI or MNSCS at Spirit Mt in Duluth – with a 4 1/2hr difference in drives times – I think Spirit Mt should be the easy choice. A hard core course that’s great to ride… it’s just racing it successfully is sometimes another story.
Chippewa Valley FireCracker
Like in real fireworks sometimes the anticipated “blast” becomes a “poof”. That’s much of what the 2008 edition of the Chippewa Firecracker held in store. In the training program I follow it had me coming off a rest week which theoretically should have made for some fresh legs and a great race. Rather the legs were a bit starchy and a fast opening lap had me backing off half way through. After dropping 4-5 spots I got back in the groove and followed John Fang (BKB rider) who was pushing it really well until he rounded a turn too hot & slide out just over half way thru lap 2. Feeling like some mojo was coming back I took to the front and pounded through lap 3 gapping two chasers. That worked well until the end of lap three when 2 additional riders caught back up and I messed up a water bottle & gel flask handoff. It doesn’t take long to lose 100 yards and the energy required to close it back down can be extremely consuming. I was able to get a few places back by the middle of lap 4 but the culmination of the hot day, and consistently running low on water each lap had me pretty zapped coming in the last few miles.
From each race you hopefully learn some lessons, pack up the experience and better know how to tackle it on the next go around.
From each race you hopefully learn some lessons, pack up the experience and better know how to tackle it on the next go around.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Where to train at
A little while back I mentioned passing along a great article about training and a key component of what could be said to have the greatest value in helping a person get faster. For those who are familiar it's reiteration of what you already know. For those who haven't or have gone through different regimens trying to figure out what works best -- give this article a good reading. I may never hit the absolute top of cycling scene, but the basics behind this have taken me slowly & progressively from a very, very average mediocre cyclist to a mid pack elite racer with a positive outlook of still reaching the upper tier. I hope wherever you are as a cyclist you can find a benefit from reading this.
Power at lactate threshold wins races
By Rick Crawford
Posted Apr. 4, 2008
Competitive cyclists are not patient people. They tend to go directly to the pain, work too hard too early, and mistakenly overlook the real limiter of their performance simply because it doesn’t hurt enough to satisfy their addiction to pain.
Overwhelmingly, the most damaging error committed by developing cyclists, from a methodological point of view, is spending too much time training aspects that do not efficiently contribute to the athlete’s potential. This is a double whammy for the aspiring cyclist, because it takes energy from the systems that contribute the most. The error compounds in that energy is being wasted working systems that aren’t effectively maximizing the rider’s output.
The most common example is cyclists that cripple themselves with an overdose of excessively depleting work (zone 5/ VO2). The systems involved in races of an hour or more are primarily aerobic, and the focus of the training for these events should also be aerobic. If an athlete is forced to go anaerobic in order to make a selection, then the racers in the selection that are able to maintain aerobic status are clearly in an advantageous position. Going to VO2 (lactate accumulation) against riders who are at or below LT, is usually a losing proposition.
Yet, consistently, the misguided athlete will spend a disproportionate amount of time at intensities over LT, thinking that there is gold waiting in the ensuing lactate induced burn. No pain, no gain, right? This is certainly true, but in the endurance game, it is the longer-term pain of patiently planned progressive training strategy — and metered control of the naturally destructive human behavior of type A people — that wins. The anaerobic work certainly needs to be there, but it needs to be metered carefully for best results.
Think of it this way. In an event an hour or more long, how long can an athlete accumulate lactate before he/she blows? In the aerobic state, an athlete can pretty much go until the fuel is gone. Doesn’t it make sense to develop power in the aerobic zone where the majority of the race will be spent? Think of making the opposition go into a state of excruciating lactate induced burn while you cruise along semi-comfortably at threshold. That is the essential element of training the physiology of an endurance athlete.
First a well-built base is critical, which by this time should already be done. Then, establish baseline levels of where your perceived LT is and get a feel for what the critical zones feel like when you’re training. Home in on your present LT output by ramping gently into intensity and taking note of where you noticeably load up. You can tickle VO2 in each of your intensity workouts, but do not hang out there. This is where you get into trouble. For every minute you spend at VO2, you cost yourself exponential amounts of LT training. Tickling VO2 will allow you to note when you have increases in levels, which you should expect if you are training right.
When you tickle VO2 to observe aerobic status, you will simultaneously stimulate and develop anaerobic energy systems, in the proper proportions they deserve in your endurance world. Racing and hard group rides will provide many opportunities to develop lactate tolerance and go anaerobic, so rest easy knowing that you will get your lactate fix. Don’t volunteer your body for more zone 5 punishment when your needs are best served by zone 4 discipline. Don’t avoid zone 5 completely, just don’t kill yourself with it.
It is critical to understand the load that VO2 training creates and the recovery it requires from the body. One of the main detriments of VO2 training is that it burns down the central nervous system (CNS), which can effectively shut down your whole body when it’s depleted. It take a ton of CNS resource to do structured VO2 intervals ... you leave a lot of mojo out on the road on a training day that would best be used in a race ... when the CNS mojo is gone, you will not have the oomph to push your hard-earned fitness. Moreover, it takes time to heal from the chemical wasteland that anaerobia creates at those incendiary levels and that is time you could spend increasing your power at LT which is the gold standard of endurance performance.
If you’re the kind of rider that depends on a good sprint for results, view this progressive strategy as insurance that you will bring that great speed to the line more often, being fresher for having had to deplete less of the precious reserves it requires to make the selection. Sprinters are typically born not formed. Patiently build your program from base to the top. Don’t fail to spend enough time and energy building power at LT. When it’s time to wake up the speed mechanism, it will be there with dividends. Racing, and hard group rides will quickly prod dormant genetics to life. A little patience go along way.
Editor's note: Rick Crawford is Director of Coaching and COO of Colorado Premier Training. He is also the head coach for the Fort Lewis College cycling team in Durango, Colorado.
Power at lactate threshold wins races
By Rick Crawford
Posted Apr. 4, 2008
Competitive cyclists are not patient people. They tend to go directly to the pain, work too hard too early, and mistakenly overlook the real limiter of their performance simply because it doesn’t hurt enough to satisfy their addiction to pain.
Overwhelmingly, the most damaging error committed by developing cyclists, from a methodological point of view, is spending too much time training aspects that do not efficiently contribute to the athlete’s potential. This is a double whammy for the aspiring cyclist, because it takes energy from the systems that contribute the most. The error compounds in that energy is being wasted working systems that aren’t effectively maximizing the rider’s output.
The most common example is cyclists that cripple themselves with an overdose of excessively depleting work (zone 5/ VO2). The systems involved in races of an hour or more are primarily aerobic, and the focus of the training for these events should also be aerobic. If an athlete is forced to go anaerobic in order to make a selection, then the racers in the selection that are able to maintain aerobic status are clearly in an advantageous position. Going to VO2 (lactate accumulation) against riders who are at or below LT, is usually a losing proposition.
Yet, consistently, the misguided athlete will spend a disproportionate amount of time at intensities over LT, thinking that there is gold waiting in the ensuing lactate induced burn. No pain, no gain, right? This is certainly true, but in the endurance game, it is the longer-term pain of patiently planned progressive training strategy — and metered control of the naturally destructive human behavior of type A people — that wins. The anaerobic work certainly needs to be there, but it needs to be metered carefully for best results.
Think of it this way. In an event an hour or more long, how long can an athlete accumulate lactate before he/she blows? In the aerobic state, an athlete can pretty much go until the fuel is gone. Doesn’t it make sense to develop power in the aerobic zone where the majority of the race will be spent? Think of making the opposition go into a state of excruciating lactate induced burn while you cruise along semi-comfortably at threshold. That is the essential element of training the physiology of an endurance athlete.
First a well-built base is critical, which by this time should already be done. Then, establish baseline levels of where your perceived LT is and get a feel for what the critical zones feel like when you’re training. Home in on your present LT output by ramping gently into intensity and taking note of where you noticeably load up. You can tickle VO2 in each of your intensity workouts, but do not hang out there. This is where you get into trouble. For every minute you spend at VO2, you cost yourself exponential amounts of LT training. Tickling VO2 will allow you to note when you have increases in levels, which you should expect if you are training right.
When you tickle VO2 to observe aerobic status, you will simultaneously stimulate and develop anaerobic energy systems, in the proper proportions they deserve in your endurance world. Racing and hard group rides will provide many opportunities to develop lactate tolerance and go anaerobic, so rest easy knowing that you will get your lactate fix. Don’t volunteer your body for more zone 5 punishment when your needs are best served by zone 4 discipline. Don’t avoid zone 5 completely, just don’t kill yourself with it.
It is critical to understand the load that VO2 training creates and the recovery it requires from the body. One of the main detriments of VO2 training is that it burns down the central nervous system (CNS), which can effectively shut down your whole body when it’s depleted. It take a ton of CNS resource to do structured VO2 intervals ... you leave a lot of mojo out on the road on a training day that would best be used in a race ... when the CNS mojo is gone, you will not have the oomph to push your hard-earned fitness. Moreover, it takes time to heal from the chemical wasteland that anaerobia creates at those incendiary levels and that is time you could spend increasing your power at LT which is the gold standard of endurance performance.
If you’re the kind of rider that depends on a good sprint for results, view this progressive strategy as insurance that you will bring that great speed to the line more often, being fresher for having had to deplete less of the precious reserves it requires to make the selection. Sprinters are typically born not formed. Patiently build your program from base to the top. Don’t fail to spend enough time and energy building power at LT. When it’s time to wake up the speed mechanism, it will be there with dividends. Racing, and hard group rides will quickly prod dormant genetics to life. A little patience go along way.
Editor's note: Rick Crawford is Director of Coaching and COO of Colorado Premier Training. He is also the head coach for the Fort Lewis College cycling team in Durango, Colorado.
Monday, June 23, 2008
The Tale of 4 laps - Duluth Dirt Spanker
Lap 1 - good tires
Lap 2 - bad tires
Lap 3 - good tires
Lap 4 - bad tires
Craziest race conditions on a multi-lap race I've ever come across at this past weekend's Duluth Dirt Spanker. With scattered thundershowers in the forecast but only a 30% chance why bother with mud tires on a hilly course? How can a course go from dry to mud back to dry and finish out muddy? Not sure but it was rather impressive how it happened on Sunday.
Had a fantastic start up the monster hill getting in the top 12-13 with Mike "a single speed never looked so painful" Bushy, Jesrin Gaier and the rest of the speedy guys. Todd McFadden close behind. It was a tough climb but very doable. Was racing well with them, until another guy passed and unfortunately he lost the tail of the train, leaving Todd & myself stranded. Great quote from the seemingly never phased McFadden, "Not too worry, it's a long race, plenty of time to catch Brendan (Moore)". Saying it like he had no care in the world and was out for an easy joy ride. And woudn't you know it when the race was over, Todd, after having given up 2 or 3 minutes when we'd gotten slowed up, had climbed back 9 spots to finish 6th, just one spot behind Brendan. Mighty impressive.
Not for lack of excitment but even getting to the race was an off road adventure. Knowing the WI shortcut to Mont du Lac through South Superior Kate, I & the kids headed for the Oliver bridge only to be stopped short by road closed signs. This wasn't good because if we had to go back around thru Duluth we'd get there with about 5 minutes to start. So Kate stops at this bar in the middle of nowhere next to the road closure and asks this Sunday afternoon bar tender how to get through. Taking her for a pregnant woman out-of-towner -- he maintained the only way to get around was back through Duluth. The ever persistent Kate however insisted we didn't have time and needed to get through. How can we do that. With a chuckle and a roar of laughter from all the patrons in the bar he said -- "You're going to need to take the "goat" path". And sure enough, we off-roaded that Toyota Prius through some crazy over grown abandoned road and through the back yard of someones house and soon we were on the highway to cross the bridge and get to the race with plenty of time to spare. ..... sometimes when you're gonna be late for a race you just gotta be persistent!
I'll try to give a better race recap later but with the on again, off again conditions of each lap -- I skidded in a for an 18th place finish on the day in just over 2:13. Lot's of fun despite the slick as ice mud that would come & go and a nasty wet bridge wipeout. The hill climbing went great and gave it the best I could given the tires (Bontrager Dry X & Revolt) on the single track & downhill sections.
It was great to see everyone again and catch up for a while. Scotty & Sara KJ - as Kate & Sara got to swap pregnancy stories, their due dates are just 4 days different..... and right around the time of the Cheq Fat Tire -- oh, uh!. Also saw Michelle & Mike Flanagan-Hagg, Charlie "even worse tire selection than me" Farrow, Todd McFadden, Mike Bushey, Mike Weispfenning, just to name a few. Lastly, thanks a ton to Mr. all over the place - Tom Gaier, I think he passed out more water bottles yesterday than all the volunteers at the overheated '07 Grandma's marathon. Always cheering and encouraging, absolutely great guy.
Lap 2 - bad tires
Lap 3 - good tires
Lap 4 - bad tires
Craziest race conditions on a multi-lap race I've ever come across at this past weekend's Duluth Dirt Spanker. With scattered thundershowers in the forecast but only a 30% chance why bother with mud tires on a hilly course? How can a course go from dry to mud back to dry and finish out muddy? Not sure but it was rather impressive how it happened on Sunday.
Had a fantastic start up the monster hill getting in the top 12-13 with Mike "a single speed never looked so painful" Bushy, Jesrin Gaier and the rest of the speedy guys. Todd McFadden close behind. It was a tough climb but very doable. Was racing well with them, until another guy passed and unfortunately he lost the tail of the train, leaving Todd & myself stranded. Great quote from the seemingly never phased McFadden, "Not too worry, it's a long race, plenty of time to catch Brendan (Moore)". Saying it like he had no care in the world and was out for an easy joy ride. And woudn't you know it when the race was over, Todd, after having given up 2 or 3 minutes when we'd gotten slowed up, had climbed back 9 spots to finish 6th, just one spot behind Brendan. Mighty impressive.
Not for lack of excitment but even getting to the race was an off road adventure. Knowing the WI shortcut to Mont du Lac through South Superior Kate, I & the kids headed for the Oliver bridge only to be stopped short by road closed signs. This wasn't good because if we had to go back around thru Duluth we'd get there with about 5 minutes to start. So Kate stops at this bar in the middle of nowhere next to the road closure and asks this Sunday afternoon bar tender how to get through. Taking her for a pregnant woman out-of-towner -- he maintained the only way to get around was back through Duluth. The ever persistent Kate however insisted we didn't have time and needed to get through. How can we do that. With a chuckle and a roar of laughter from all the patrons in the bar he said -- "You're going to need to take the "goat" path". And sure enough, we off-roaded that Toyota Prius through some crazy over grown abandoned road and through the back yard of someones house and soon we were on the highway to cross the bridge and get to the race with plenty of time to spare. ..... sometimes when you're gonna be late for a race you just gotta be persistent!
I'll try to give a better race recap later but with the on again, off again conditions of each lap -- I skidded in a for an 18th place finish on the day in just over 2:13. Lot's of fun despite the slick as ice mud that would come & go and a nasty wet bridge wipeout. The hill climbing went great and gave it the best I could given the tires (Bontrager Dry X & Revolt) on the single track & downhill sections.
It was great to see everyone again and catch up for a while. Scotty & Sara KJ - as Kate & Sara got to swap pregnancy stories, their due dates are just 4 days different..... and right around the time of the Cheq Fat Tire -- oh, uh!. Also saw Michelle & Mike Flanagan-Hagg, Charlie "even worse tire selection than me" Farrow, Todd McFadden, Mike Bushey, Mike Weispfenning, just to name a few. Lastly, thanks a ton to Mr. all over the place - Tom Gaier, I think he passed out more water bottles yesterday than all the volunteers at the overheated '07 Grandma's marathon. Always cheering and encouraging, absolutely great guy.
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