Cycle Day
Suggested time- 60min
Actual time- 66min*
Distance- 17.62mi
*time does not include first descent
My goal today was to pump as much as I could. To really get my legs churning, get my cadence up, and try to go fast. It worked-ish. You see, my focus is on racing. I realize its, for me, a long race at 13mi on the bike, but I'd like to be able to pump for most/all of that. I know how to run fast and I'm relearning how to swim fast. But I've never cycled fast. I think it's going to be a muscular more than a cardiovascular issue, but I'm not sure. Climbing this hill over and over, like I'm doing, is making my legs stronger, but I started to worry its making them strong in the wrong way. So on my shorter days, Wednesdays, I'll be doing what I did today. Start at the bottom, pump hard for as long as I can, because its flat or relatively flat for about two miles, and then try to keep my stroke rate high even as I'm climbing. Then, when I get to the top, gear way up and pedal all the way downhill, which will both teach my legs to move fast and act as active rest, getting the lactic acid out of my muscles. And I mean all the way down to my starting point. Then I turn around and do it again. This increases the amount of time I spend riding on more level ground and the amount of time I can spend working at a higher rate. My times today were alright, I'm decently happy with them, but not thrilled. My first summit was after 24 minutes, then I stopped the clock, turned around, and restarted when I turned again at my starting point. My second summit was at 50 minutes. So a two minute fade, not too bad. Not too fast, but not too bad. Kept the clock running on the way back down and, as you can see from the map, took a little bit of a different route back. I turned where I normally turn around and followed that back to the parking lot. Different is good.
When I got home I did some core work on the balance ball, plank but with my feet up. To be honest, I'm slipping on my core work and I need to do better. My mental excuse is that my rides are more challenging so I'm tired afterwards. I need to either fight through it or start doing core after my swims. Stretched after the core. Not long enough, it feels like. Quads are tightening up. Will have a banana or a kiwi and stretch a little more before bed. Trying to recapture my Fast during my run tomorrow since its only 25 minutes. Going to fight through the soreness and get some.
What is the terrain for race day like? My concern is that you're focused SO MUCH on this hill, that you're training for more than what you're going to be racing, and not have the speed and cadence for the flat, though you'll have the strength for the climbs. Like swimming with paddles every workout, or running with a parachute...
ReplyDeleteThe hill is going to become less important soon, because I start doing ride/run bricks and those won't be hill days. Those will be done around the house more so that I can drop the bike off somewhere safe and run. The course is fairly flat, not much climbing at all. But the hill is teaching me mental toughness and using my whole leg to push and pull.
ReplyDelete