Big Steve's Group (Year Two) - CLOSED (Page 8)

I did the trainer this morning for 1:05:15 and 19.06 miles @ 116 average heart rate, 195 average watts, 17.53 MPH and 98 average cadence.

I'm taking tomorrow off to end my recovery week. So my total are below. Legs definately feel SOOOOOOOO much better than they did on Sunday or Monday when the recovery ride and run were just painful.

When I grow up I want to be able to bike like Scott !

Question came up last year which I assume some people have...are we using Monday to Sunday or Sunday to Saturday to post weekly summaries?   The answer is either - some people have their calendar set up Sat to Sun like Scott, I have mine set up Mon to Sun.   So just post your totals after your Sat or Sun workout and I'll do the rest and post a summary by Monday late afternoon.

Have a great training weekend!

You'll definately feel the difference on the tri bike. When I'm on the road I'm about 95% aerobars. On the trainer it varies. On interval days I'm about 50-60% areo because of all the hills. On a recovery or long ride day I'm about 75% aero. It's much harder to stay in that position on the trainer for extended periods of time. So I end up doing 4 minutes down and a minute up to break it up.

Thanks for the compliments. Honestly it's just putting the time in. Mid October when I got the trainer it was like re-training myself for the bike. It's so much harder because if yoiu stop peddling the trainer begins to spin down the pace. So you are going from start to finish. You take for granted the time on the road where you hit a big hill and take the time to stop peddling and stretch your calves down on your peddles or just lift your off the saddle to get comfortable again.

So the first month on the trainer I went from doing 3 hour rides outside to 75 minutes on the trainer being MUCH harder. It took me from 10/16 to 12/26 to finally get back up to a 3 hour ride and I've done as long as 3.5 on the road.

10/23 -  1:15:00, 22.05 miles, 17.64 MPH, 200 average watts, 131 average heart rate, 91 average cadence.

12/26 - 3:00:00, 55.37 miles, 18.46 MPH, 219 average watts, 130 average heart rate, 94 average cadence.

These are very similar rides where I'm mostly paying attention to form and doing some mini intervals. Such as add 5 RPM for 30 seconds and then back to normal for a minute. The growth is just about being consistent and taking small steps. My interval workouts have come even futher since October. Power really develops with the meter as a tool and the trainer as a consistent vs the road a variable.

Everybody here can see the same curve or better if they make the commitment to being consistent and making small gains every week. You CAN do it!

Do you really find that being in the aero bars really help with the cycling? 

I had put the bars on my bike last year and just never really felt comfortable in them that I had them removed.  Do you stay in them when going up a hill?

On a different note.............

I am really bummed for the last 2 months I have been dealing with injuries which thank goodness still allows me to workout but I am not 100% and that frustrates me.  I am healing and am doing much better then what I was about 3 weeks ago.  My marathon is 5 weeks and I have fallen apart during the 2 marathons I did.  So I am really hoping to do well but with the injuries I have a feeling this marathon has won again without me evening trying.  Okay, I am done complaining.

They help a lot! but it is hard to stay in them at first.  They will feel different added to a road bike vs. how they feel on a Tri Bike.  When I go down into them I immediately see a 1.5 to 2 MPH increase.  Its amazing how much drag your body creates.  Staying in there on a hill - depends...if its a real climb no, if its a moderate hill where you can maintain 70% or more of your speed then yes.  This is something I am working on improving this year.  I stay in them about 25% of the time which is not enough, its really tough on the back and arms.  Need to build that up.

Don't give up on the marathon, I'm sure you've learned a ton from your first 2 and you'll take those lessons into the 3rd.  Good luck with the continued recovery.  You'll do just fine!

I am still trying to used to the Aero bars also, I have a set on my rode bike, I definitely see an improvement on speed when I am in them, but like Steve said it takes time. 

Good luck on the race, I bet you'll do better than you think! I know how frustrating it is to be injured about 3 weeks before my first HIM I had a problem with my back and was unable to do the run, Doctors orders and my wife was with me to hear it so there was no ignoring him! 

keep doing what you can and hopefully you will be ready to go.

Speaking of injuries... I rolled my ankle 1/2 mile into a 5 mile run today, didn't see the edge of the road with the covering of snow we received this morning. I was able to finish my run with out too much pain, just hoping it doesn't start to get stiff once I am off it for the next several hours?

I've been tougher than smart!

On the aerobars, did you put them on yourself? On a road bike? The fit for a road bike and a tri bike is completely different. It might be worth the money to get fitted at your LBS and have them adjust the bike to the best possible fit for you and then you can take the measurements they come up with and if you ever buy a TRI bike you'll know which types are in your range. When I had mine done it was so enlightening. I was good for a 54 guru, a 58 Scott, a Blue medium, a Specialized large........and many brands like Cervelo were completely wrong for my body type.

Even getting fitted it took a long time to get comfortable but now I love it and can feel the extra power. Plus you're generating more power from the gluts and saving the quads.

What types of injuries? Are you training with a heart rate monitor? Are you staying in your running zones and not trying to go too fast? Are your shoes right for you? Do you have good form or are you a heel striker?

So many things could be causing your issues.

I was trying to stay in them all the time. I was talking to a guy who's qualified for Kona after an Olympic last year and I said the hills on this course were brutal as I blew a 175 on my heart rate monitor going up one. He asked if I stayed in aero and I said yes. He said that's your problem. It's harder to fully expand your diaphragm from the aero position when you're pushing that hard and the aerodynamic benefit is zero so you need to come up so you can open up your hips which in turn makes it easier on your diaphragm and allows the lungs to expand more increasing your oxygen capacity.

He said really anytime below 14 or 15 MPH you can come out.

That's awesome max power. If I have a flat course I can go on for forever but the steep hills kill me. I don't think I can push 730 watts. I need to get there. My last interval day I did 1:45 for average power of 246 but my max power was 410-ish. So going long and hard isn't my issue. It's those intense steep parts that do me in.

With the ftp test you're supposed to warm up for 20 getting your heart rate into zone 3 at times and then you do 20 minute all out for your power and heart rate and then do a 20 minute cool down.

Again great job with the max watts that impressive.

Wow, 60* in NJ in January! - Hard not to go for a ride outside.  Unfortunately it was crazy windy.  Crappy pace today but still really happy to get out before having to lockup in the pain cave downstairs.

60 wow you are spoiled I would have went for a ride also. Thanks Scott, I have rollers or hills everywhere I go around my house so a quick burst to get up them is fun. There is alos a climb close to my house that gains 3000 ft in 3 miles good times. Can't wait for spring!!!!

Ftp test do I avg the whole 60 minutes or just the 20 minute all out part? Thanks

Quick question regarding heart rate.  I have what seems to be a fairly high exercise heart rate.  Does anyone have experience or see this as normal for someone in their 30's?  Back in '10, I had some heart palpitation issues, but was ultimately cleared by the cardiologist who said I actually had a very low resting heart rate, which may have been the cause.  For example, here is the data on my first run for the year (from rest). BTW, it hasn't phased me and I feel amazing today after this and practicing soccer with the kiddo...

I'm almost 52 years old and mine would be 20-25 less than yours at those paces - so, yes they  seem they fairly high to me - but I am not knowledgeable enough about heart rate to speculate as to whether it's a matter of fitness or some other issue.  Would be interesting to hear from a resident heart rate expert.

-Ron

I biked yesterday 45 kilometres with the MTB. With 850 highmetres

The problem with running like this all the time is you don't develop your aerobic zones and that keeps you from making progress long term. There's nothing wrong with running like this once a week but you need to run in zones 1 and 2 to progress. One way to do this is just hop on the threadmill and find the right speed to keep your heart rate low enough to be in the 140's and stay there for the duration of the workout. The second is to do intervals. Start doing quarter mile with your heart rate in the 120's followed by a quarter mile in the 150-s to low 160's. Build from there. If this works out to be 14 miinute mile so be it. On my recovery week I often run 12 minute miles because my legs are so beat up that's what I need to do to keep my heart rate in the 120's.

20 minutes. Cool tool to figure out your race paces based on the event and your training volume.

http://www.qt2systems.com/triathlon-calculator/

Probably won't be able to get my brick in today. Family business calls. Did Ok for the first week of the plan. My summary....