Category: Cycling

Wait, how many feet is that? Previewing IM Mont Tremblant on the CompuTrainer

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Elevation profile for the Ironman Mont Tremblant bike course. I opened my Training Peaks schedule on Christmas Eve to find a 3-hour hilly ride that my coach, Vince Matteo, had scheduled. This would be my first 3-hour ride since September. For me, the three-hour ride is a sure sign of beginning base training for an Ironman. With Ironman Mont Tremblant 7 months away that’s exactly right where I need to be. Usually, I would opt to do my long ride outdoors. But, a few factors drove me to the CompuTrainer for this ride. Most importantly, it was only 35-degrees. The …

CompuTrainer Ride of the Week: Felog’s False Flats

Every race has got ’em. Those infuriating patches where we stare in wonder at our bike computers as they report decreasing speed despite maintaining power and effort. False Flats. Just the phrase is enough to conjure another F-word. False flats remind us that not all elevation change comes in big leaps. Sometimes, we climb a hill 1-2% at a time. After two years competing in Ironman Lake Placid, I’ve learned quite a bit about how false flats will try to get the best of you. But–and this is a really important “but”– false flats represent an opportunity if we train …

A little saddle time with my honey

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When we were preparing for our first Ironman in 2010, John and I did many of our bike rides together. Nothing quite like spending 6 hours together in the saddle, complete with sweat, blood (from the chafing), and tears (from John because he was so bored waiting for me all the time). But this year,  I simply could not keep up with him anymore. There is a limit to how many times he can double back to make sure I’m not splayed out on the road somewhere. With the aggressive goals he had for 2011, I knew I would only …

Tempo Intervals: Crying for my mommy in the last 10 seconds

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With IMLP 2011 a fond memory, it’s time to enjoy a return of the sufferfest. We’ve moved the CompuTrainer into a deluxe suite in the garage, where we have a TV, cable, and climate control. Lap of luxury, people! As an added benefit of the deluxe sweet, I don’t have to worry about my house smelling like a locker room–or leaving bike grease all over the floors (which I did two weeks ago – oops!). I like sweat and grease as much as the next triathlete, but I think the garage is a better place for stinky and sticky stuff. …

A little help from my friends

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If you cycle or if you’ve seen cyclists, then you know that cyclists typically ride in groups – sometimes of only 2 or 3, other times of 20, 30 or more. And, then there’s me. I don’t ride with other people. Ever. I do all of my training rides solo: just me, the velo and miles of open road. Oh, if it were only that romantic! But it’s not. In reality, it’s holding me back from reaching my potential. While going solo is good for mental toughness, solitary cycling for every ride is not necessarily the road to success, particularly …

Fartlek Freestylin’: Muscular Endurance Rides on the CompuTrainer

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Effective endurance training must incorporate sessions that work on muscular endurance, which Joe Friel and Gordo Byrn (2009) define as the point “where force meets endurance [which] allows the athlete to apply a fairly large force for a fairly long time and is essential for cycling” (p. 27). In a little more than three weeks, muscular endurance will power me up Whiteface Mountain, and help me push through those relentless rolling hills that make the Ironman Lake Placid course so challenging. In the early base phase of training (January and February), most of my workouts focused simply on re-establishing and …

Miley Cyrus is right: It’s all about the climb

With two laps of Mirror Lake completed, my fellow Fireman Ironman training partners were stripping their wetsuits, drying off and heading back to their accommodations to prepare for the long run, which would begin at 12:30 p.m. Me? I was trying to avoid throwing a pity party for myself. With less than 5 weeks to go until Ironman Lake Placid, I’m sidelined from running thanks to a cranky right leg that is suffering from a mixture of tendinitis and ITBS. Good times. So as I exited the water, I did not strip my wetsuit. I did not dry off. I …

CompuTrainer’s Coaching Software versus 3D Software: Assessing value for interval training

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The CompuTrainer comes with three software options for loading rides: 3D software, Coaching Software, and the Real Course Video. Each of these packages has advantages and disadvantages for the particular type of workout you want to complete on the CompuTrainer. My “everyday” training is done using either the 3D software or the Coaching Software, saving my Lake Placid RCV for “special” occasions :). So, I thought I’d offer up my thoughts about the relative advantages of the two packages, specifically with respect to interval training. Until last week, I followed the prescription in the Performance Improvement Gurantee (PIG) program, and …

You spin my wheel *the right way* round: Using the Spin Scan Analyzer

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In my maybe-not-so-humble opinion, I’ve had a successful 7 weeks of cycling, both on the CompuTrainer (CT) and on the Road. I’ve steadily increased my average watts across all types of rides. During my first three weeks with the CompuTrainer, from February 19-March 13, I averaged 159.9 watts on all of my rides combined. During the past four weeks (March 14-April 9), that average has risen to 170.7 watts (2.9 watts/kilogram). After the Boston Marathon (April 18th), I plan to do another FTP test to mark improvement in my power threshold. Stay posted for that number coming soon! I’ve taken …

Making goals believable: Sampling the Quassy HalfRev Course

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I might be a desperate masochist, but those Rev3 folks are sadists. The Quassy HalfRev course is proof enough. Cold temperatures drove me indoors for this week’s long ride, scheduled to be a 3 hour session. Hmmm. 3 hours on the trainer – that’s just a touch less than a half iron distance course for me. My mind immediately went to Quassy, which we will do for the first time this summer in Middlebury, CT on June 5th. One of the best aspects of having a CompuTrainer, versus a standard trainer, is being able to download and “ride” almost any …