Power Mentor Group with Shane & Marc - Closed. (Page 67)

I missed a whole week of riding. I ran a lot and swam a couple of times though.  I hate making excuses, but work got in the way and somehow I ended up with a bad cold (and I rarely get sick). I probably could have squeezed them in, but really had no desire to ride in the basement so I didn't. Yesterday I did Week 12 TH1 (I completely skipped Week 11) and knew I was in trouble from the beginning. My PowerTap lost signal a few times which frustrated me, and I felt like crap, I almost quit after the first 20 minute interval. I decided to modify the second one - I did 7 X 2' very hard effort w/ 1' easy recovery.  I have to say 2 minutes 7 times was tough, but mentally I could convince myself to do that vs. another 20 minutes.

Today I rode outside on a route I will ride a lot during training this summer. I felt pretty good despite the trainer ride yesterday, swimming yesterday with a lot of kicking (still can't swim much freestyle with the shoulder), and running 10 miles this morning. It was not a long ride, but it was a solid effort.

So I'm not sure if I should continue with Week 12 & test next week, or back up to Week 11 and test in 2 weeks. I'm officially starting Week 3 of my IM training plan and have a lot of workouts to fit in and it will only build from here - so maybe I should test this week.....

I will say today's ride seemed like a solid effort and I feel like the last several weeks of training has made a difference. I felt stronger on some of the climbs. And between having been sick last week and the last few days of workouts, I felt much better than I would have expected.

I'm still 2 weeks behind the finish line, so 2 more weeks until I test.

Had my adventure race this past weekend, 2nd of the year.  Faired much better than the adventure race in February.  We got 2nd place this go around.  Always difficult to race against the locals who have the upper hand on navigation.  The pair that beat us rode a tandem bike.  It was an urban race, and I would never have expected a tandem bike, but it gave them quite an advantage in the wind, and add in the fact they were local racers they had the upper hand.  It was a really fun race and we were happy with 2nd place.  

I decided to take yesterday and today as days off cardio and focused on core this morning, and did squats, push-ups, and planks yesterday.

My next adventure race is a 12 hour off road in Kansas in 2 weeks.  Lord I hope I survive.  As long as I keep up with Nutrition and slow down some I should be ok.

I still haven't planned out any triathlons for the year.  I have several on my calendar but they all seem to be bunched up together in July.

I'll be testing Sunday during a uphill TT that should take me around 22-23 minutes.  Likely too fat to set a PR, but the power numbers should be there.

Unfortunately, I'm still using virtual power and can't aero test, but I did have a few questions for the group (hopefully RChung is still monitoring this thread) and whether there was any aero penalty for each of the following gear:

• I've been fortunate, and have never dealt with a flat during a race, but even though I will only be racing Sprints and Olympics I plan on taking a flat kit. In the off-season I bought the Torrhans VR Aero Frame bottle and plan to stow away the flat kit there.  I have the Felt B16 and so can only mount on the seat tube.
• Last season I bought a can of Vittoria Pit Stop and would tape it under the top tube at the front butting up against the head tube.  If there is no or minimal aero penalty, I was planning on using it again this year for a quick flat repair and try to stay in a race.  Is there a better placement than under the top tube?  I've seen other racers tape it to the back of the seat tube, but I think there is more exposure there.
• For the 30km Sprints and the Olympics I plan on using my Profile Design Aero Bottle between the aero bars.  As was discussed earlier, I have cut the straw very short and was even thinking of switching to a flexible straw that could be bent and attached to the top of the bottle when not in use. Is there any aero penalty with the bottle itself (I prefer it to the horizontal bottle holder between the arms).
• Also, for the 30km and 40km bike legs, I have a small bento box to put a gel flask and which used to hold a few extra parts of the flat kit.  I think the Torrhans bottle can hold everything I need, so would only use the bento box for the gel flask if there was little or no aero penalty and, if a problem, would otherwise just tape a gel or two to the top tube. I've seen it mounted either against the stem or at the back against the seat post - does one have a better aero profile over the other?

I was also wondering how people position their heads in aero position.  I have the Giro Advantage 2 aero helmet, but have always struggled with neck flexibility and looking straight ahead during a race.  Instead, I position the helmet high on my forehead to keep the tail close to my back, and tend to look slightly downwards (about 15 yards or so in front of my front wheel) and then look down the road every 20 to 30 seconds or so and for passing and cornering. 

Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on the above?

Scott

I'm just shy of five weeks out from my race, so my plan was to go back and do Weeks 10, 11, and 12.  I attempted Week 10, Threshold 1 this morning and my legs told me, "Ummm, you've gotta be kidding me!!"  I modified the 2x20' intervals to 8x5' intervals on 1' rest....even then, I couldn't quite hit the power I was aiming for.  I guess that's what I get for having a big (great) weekend!

I'm going to call that Threshold 2 and try Threshold 1 again on Thursday

Thanks Marc! 

It may be overkill to have the flat kit and the Pit Stop, but if there is little or no aero penalty then if I'd like to try to stay in the race.  I know some people don't take either on Sprint or even Olympic races, but the idea of having to walk several kms carrying my bike is worth the extra weight IMO.  Also, almost all of my races are either flat or rolling hills, so the weight isn't really a factor for me.

I've been working on trying to turtle my head, but its a balance between comfort and the best aero position.

Completed Week 12 Threshold 1 on Monday night and then V02-1 tonight.

Both were challenging but felt good. 

For the V02 session tonight, although we were supposed to target >108%, I was only able to actually hit 108% twice.  My intervals were 107%, 106%, 108%, 107% and 108%.

On target for just under 300 TSS this week, which will be a personal best for me.  

The ATL of my PMC chart is on a steep climb upwards after a week off two weeks ago.

Will do either Threshold 2 or Sweet Spot on Friday and then test next week.