I don't know what it was this week, but I wasn't quite right. My legs felt mostly okay, but I was getting out of breath far more quickly than I should, especially for shorter, more intense exercises. I got through all but the last effort; I started that one twice, but just couldn't keep going, even with a little extra rest.
:00 E1
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 8s PGRS(80, seated):3
:16 2 x 8s PG+4"RS(70, seated):3
:22 2 x 8s PG+8"RS(60, seated)
:28 2 x 7s BGRS(20, seated):3
:34 30s PG-4RS r/up (10:110, 10:135, 10:max)
The HCLRs were fine, though slightly lower than last week - 181 and 180, respectively. PGRS was okay - 151 and 155. Just mediocre. The +4 and +8 sets I did on the same gears as last week's +4 and +6, which are actually +5 and +11. So I didn't increase the difficulty, which is probably part of the idea, but I'm already well beyond where I should be. Good thing? No idea! Results were 147/151 and 137/140, so about 6 RPM lower than last week - and I should note that I did the program before it was slightly amended, so that I started from 80(ish) RPM, not 70 and 60. BGRS felt okay, reaching 112 and 125, respectively. Then the ramp up... I got about 15 seconds through the first time, after considering giving myself an extra couple of minutes to rest, then about 10 seconds through the second time, after another couple of minutes rest. I considered going back in the evening just to do that, but... didn't seem worthwhile.
Brief stats here.
30 May 2011
29 May 2011
DISC Session #6 with ABOC
Well that was an interesting session! I got to DISC earlier than usual (though still not as early as most of the other sprinters) so as to do a proper sort of warmup without being too rushed. That started off fine, spinning on the trainer, before going out on to the track to do a couple of efforts. First powerjump and CRACK! Pull the wheel forward in the dropouts, but manage to roll back to the infield without drama. This after I specifically checked the tightness of the nuts or lugs or whatever the hell they're called.
So that was a little frustrating, but no great drama although I rubbed a bit of rubber off the tyre and paint off the frame. I headed out for the 1/4 lap powerjumps from ~10km/hr paired up with Nic again. First effort I was behind, too close and too wide so that when I jumped, he saw me easily and held me off without any problems. Second round, Nic behind, he sat much further back than I had, more directly behind and accelerated in the saddle to start with. He got the jump and went around me with ease.
Rolling around afterwards, he let me know how stupid I was - always something to appreciate in a training partner! He let me know exactly what he'd been doing in the second round, and why, and how he'd been able to hold me off in the first round, and why. Useful stuff!
So this should be the bit where I tell you I beat him next time? No. Not quite. I stayed further back, closer to his 6 o'clock, accelerated in the saddle, threw a feint, and finally went later than usual, but he still held me off. Was closer though. One thing I noticed was that he stayed down really low, and moved up the track a bit as I jumped, which forced me to go around, rather than in a straight line, and to think for a second - probably just about enough.
Last round I lead out again, staying down low and focussing more on keeping an eye on him than maintaining my line. Which meant that I was down on the blue a bit, and we got yelled at by Carl to get up on the track. So I did, still keeping an eye on Nic, and jumped at a point which was a combination of a) looking like Nic was accelerating (in the saddle) and b) getting too close to the turn to feel I'd be able to accelerate fast enough to stay on the track through the banking! I managed to take the win on that one, although I was unsure if I'd reacted to Nic jumping, or just jumped. I tend to have a sneaking suspicion in such cases that I've ended up jumping first rather than reacting. Given that I normally react too slowly, it could just be that I need to recalibrate my senses.
After that we were switching to 250m MACs. What are they? Well, they're kinda like windouts, except they're shorter and you roll around on the blue line before diving in to the lane behind the motorbike for a lap, accelerating at each corner so as to go really fast. Fun! But before I could get out there, first was the traditional mechanical problem - Nic loaned me a 51T chainring so that I could get ~92" (spares have been ordered and should hopefully get here for next week) rather than 86" or 99" which is all I've got otherwise. So I hurriedly got that on (as hurriedly as I could, having never done it before) just in time, only to realise - my chain was too short! I could just barely get it on, but it pulled my wheel too far forward so that it was rubbing on the frame. So bugger, had to take it all off again, swap back to the 48T, and rush out on to the track to do my first effort after everyone else had already come back for a rest! So I nipped out there, straight up to 40km/hr, dived behind the bike and went all-out for a lap. And was well rewarded - 62.9km/hr at 155RPM. Noice! As I said to Carl afterwards, stealing a phrase from Douglas Adams "Like an orgasm without the foreplay!" Probably describes all of track sprint, really.
After a short break, it was back up to the fence (last in line, thank you! Needed a bit of recovery time) to do it all again. This time I swapped to 99" to see what would happen. I felt good behind the bike, perhaps a bit slow in matching the acceleration on 99" (though again, lots of rear-wheel slip. Doesn't bother me now, but surely it's detracting from acceleration) but caught the bike fine and stayed with it. Looking at the max speed afterwards, I thought that the first effort was the fastest, but it turns out that I actually hit 62.2 and then 62.9 again in the other efforts, so I held on through the session well even though I felt like bursting. In my last effort in the last corner I actually backed off slightly (mentally at least, and maybe softpedalled a bit, it's hard to remember!) because I was going to hit the bike. I hear tell that perhaps you lose less momentum (unless you hit really hard) hitting the roller than you do soft pedalling, so perhaps next time I'll have to try that instead.
And now, video:
Brief stats here.
So that was a little frustrating, but no great drama although I rubbed a bit of rubber off the tyre and paint off the frame. I headed out for the 1/4 lap powerjumps from ~10km/hr paired up with Nic again. First effort I was behind, too close and too wide so that when I jumped, he saw me easily and held me off without any problems. Second round, Nic behind, he sat much further back than I had, more directly behind and accelerated in the saddle to start with. He got the jump and went around me with ease.
Rolling around afterwards, he let me know how stupid I was - always something to appreciate in a training partner! He let me know exactly what he'd been doing in the second round, and why, and how he'd been able to hold me off in the first round, and why. Useful stuff!
So this should be the bit where I tell you I beat him next time? No. Not quite. I stayed further back, closer to his 6 o'clock, accelerated in the saddle, threw a feint, and finally went later than usual, but he still held me off. Was closer though. One thing I noticed was that he stayed down really low, and moved up the track a bit as I jumped, which forced me to go around, rather than in a straight line, and to think for a second - probably just about enough.
Last round I lead out again, staying down low and focussing more on keeping an eye on him than maintaining my line. Which meant that I was down on the blue a bit, and we got yelled at by Carl to get up on the track. So I did, still keeping an eye on Nic, and jumped at a point which was a combination of a) looking like Nic was accelerating (in the saddle) and b) getting too close to the turn to feel I'd be able to accelerate fast enough to stay on the track through the banking! I managed to take the win on that one, although I was unsure if I'd reacted to Nic jumping, or just jumped. I tend to have a sneaking suspicion in such cases that I've ended up jumping first rather than reacting. Given that I normally react too slowly, it could just be that I need to recalibrate my senses.
After that we were switching to 250m MACs. What are they? Well, they're kinda like windouts, except they're shorter and you roll around on the blue line before diving in to the lane behind the motorbike for a lap, accelerating at each corner so as to go really fast. Fun! But before I could get out there, first was the traditional mechanical problem - Nic loaned me a 51T chainring so that I could get ~92" (spares have been ordered and should hopefully get here for next week) rather than 86" or 99" which is all I've got otherwise. So I hurriedly got that on (as hurriedly as I could, having never done it before) just in time, only to realise - my chain was too short! I could just barely get it on, but it pulled my wheel too far forward so that it was rubbing on the frame. So bugger, had to take it all off again, swap back to the 48T, and rush out on to the track to do my first effort after everyone else had already come back for a rest! So I nipped out there, straight up to 40km/hr, dived behind the bike and went all-out for a lap. And was well rewarded - 62.9km/hr at 155RPM. Noice! As I said to Carl afterwards, stealing a phrase from Douglas Adams "Like an orgasm without the foreplay!" Probably describes all of track sprint, really.
After a short break, it was back up to the fence (last in line, thank you! Needed a bit of recovery time) to do it all again. This time I swapped to 99" to see what would happen. I felt good behind the bike, perhaps a bit slow in matching the acceleration on 99" (though again, lots of rear-wheel slip. Doesn't bother me now, but surely it's detracting from acceleration) but caught the bike fine and stayed with it. Looking at the max speed afterwards, I thought that the first effort was the fastest, but it turns out that I actually hit 62.2 and then 62.9 again in the other efforts, so I held on through the session well even though I felt like bursting. In my last effort in the last corner I actually backed off slightly (mentally at least, and maybe softpedalled a bit, it's hard to remember!) because I was going to hit the bike. I hear tell that perhaps you lose less momentum (unless you hit really hard) hitting the roller than you do soft pedalling, so perhaps next time I'll have to try that instead.
And now, video:
Brief stats here.
27 May 2011
Hill Sprints?
Erm... failed. No hill sprints this week! Spent all day in bed trying to recover from dentistry, on the assumption that it were better to recover, and be 100% for DISC this week, than to do the hill sprints (or perhaps only part thereof) and miss out on DISC.
I, unfortunately, lack a control duplicate to tell me whether or not this was the best course of action. However I will be fine for DISC, so I can claim that as some level of success!
I, unfortunately, lack a control duplicate to tell me whether or not this was the best course of action. However I will be fine for DISC, so I can claim that as some level of success!
25 May 2011
Delayed spin effect
:00 E1
:05 2 x 5s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 8s SS PG+2" (L,R):3
:16 2 x 8s SS PG+4" (L,R):3
:22 2 x 8s SS PG+6" (L,R):3
:28 4 x 8s PGRS(80):3
:40 24s HCLR r/up (8:110, 8:140, 8:max)
So this week's spin session was a day late and performed under the cloud of illicit drug use - I had codeine in my system and probably still some anaesthetic since only a couple of hours earlier I'd had a couple of fillings done! So I wasn't really at my best, but put up some interesting numbers...
The HCLR warmup gave a top cadence of 187, a full 12RPM higher than I've previously managed, and I didn't feel like I was bouncing or rocking - though obviously it's a bit difficult to tell in the moment without an assistant! Maybe I should start filming myself...
The PG+ sets were pretty approximate since, well, one can only work with the gears one has! My PG is 53x17 (82") so theoretically I should have been working on 84, 86 and then 88". What I ended up on instead was 85.4, 87.1 and 92.9" - rather higher than suggested! Ah well, so long as it's consistent for subsequent drills I guess. Last week, in my PG calibration session, I managed 155RPM on 82", whereas this week I got up to 158 on 87" - not a bad sort of a result! This week's effort came relatively earlier in the session though, so perhaps it doesn't indicate quite as much improvement as one might be tempted to infer otherwise. My results were slightly higher when starting with the right leg, but not significantly so.
The PGRS sets were a picture in fatigue, decaying from a high of 153RPM (the same as my first PG+3.5 standing start!) to only 138 in the last rep. I felt quite tired by this point (did I mention that I barely slept last night thanks to the pain from my about-to-be-operated-on tooth?) but was determined to push through the last HCLR exercise as solidly as possible, hoping to get the most value out of the session. And, in a pure numbers sense, I did quite well - a top of 175RPM at the end of a 24s effort at the end of a 40 minute session is notable. My form, however, went out of the window - if I was riding a bike, I'd have fallen off so little attention did I pay to keeping myself steady. So... not terribly valid, in a sense, since I do always try to put form over pure speed. Try to. But I was pleased that I managed to put in that much effort all the way through the session, and all the way through the long last effort.
So Hill Sprints this week will be pushed back to Friday, with tomorrow a recovery spin, then another recovery spin on the BBC ride on Saturday before DISC again on Sunday. I'm almost beginning to feel like an actual athlete!
Brief stats here.
:05 2 x 5s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 8s SS PG+2" (L,R):3
:16 2 x 8s SS PG+4" (L,R):3
:22 2 x 8s SS PG+6" (L,R):3
:28 4 x 8s PGRS(80):3
:40 24s HCLR r/up (8:110, 8:140, 8:max)
So this week's spin session was a day late and performed under the cloud of illicit drug use - I had codeine in my system and probably still some anaesthetic since only a couple of hours earlier I'd had a couple of fillings done! So I wasn't really at my best, but put up some interesting numbers...
The HCLR warmup gave a top cadence of 187, a full 12RPM higher than I've previously managed, and I didn't feel like I was bouncing or rocking - though obviously it's a bit difficult to tell in the moment without an assistant! Maybe I should start filming myself...
The PG+ sets were pretty approximate since, well, one can only work with the gears one has! My PG is 53x17 (82") so theoretically I should have been working on 84, 86 and then 88". What I ended up on instead was 85.4, 87.1 and 92.9" - rather higher than suggested! Ah well, so long as it's consistent for subsequent drills I guess. Last week, in my PG calibration session, I managed 155RPM on 82", whereas this week I got up to 158 on 87" - not a bad sort of a result! This week's effort came relatively earlier in the session though, so perhaps it doesn't indicate quite as much improvement as one might be tempted to infer otherwise. My results were slightly higher when starting with the right leg, but not significantly so.
The PGRS sets were a picture in fatigue, decaying from a high of 153RPM (the same as my first PG+3.5 standing start!) to only 138 in the last rep. I felt quite tired by this point (did I mention that I barely slept last night thanks to the pain from my about-to-be-operated-on tooth?) but was determined to push through the last HCLR exercise as solidly as possible, hoping to get the most value out of the session. And, in a pure numbers sense, I did quite well - a top of 175RPM at the end of a 24s effort at the end of a 40 minute session is notable. My form, however, went out of the window - if I was riding a bike, I'd have fallen off so little attention did I pay to keeping myself steady. So... not terribly valid, in a sense, since I do always try to put form over pure speed. Try to. But I was pleased that I managed to put in that much effort all the way through the session, and all the way through the long last effort.
So Hill Sprints this week will be pushed back to Friday, with tomorrow a recovery spin, then another recovery spin on the BBC ride on Saturday before DISC again on Sunday. I'm almost beginning to feel like an actual athlete!
Brief stats here.
22 May 2011
DISC Session #5 with ABOC
The program for this week was a bit of a variation on the last couple of weeks, but not much. I was uncertain about attending this one - I'd had the runs all day and wasn't sure if a) I'd be able to sit in the car long enough and b) not embarrass myself during a hard effort! I ended up deciding to give it a try anyway, but I didn't feel well-prepared; though I wasn't as off as for session 3, mentally I had trouble getting in to the right mindset. I think that (specific issues like diarrhoea aside!) I need to make sure I get there at something more like 4pm, to give myself enough time to settle in to the training.
All that is to say that the first set of efforts, 30km/hr reaction powerjumps, didn't go that well. Certainly the first one was quite poor - I was in front, and felt like I was keeping an eye on Wayne okay, but when I jumped I didn't really go hard enough - though ironically my rear wheel was slipping for the first 2 or 3 pedal strokes, which did detract a little from what little power I was able to put down!
The next two efforts felt better, and I was closer than I had been - I actually had his wheel and pulled out to pass by the line on one effort, though I still finished a bike length back - but it wasn't until the windouts that I really clicked in. Because, I guess, one doesn't have much choice!
The windouts this week were a little different - rather than staying behind the bike, it pulled up the bank on the last turn to give us a 100m sprint to the line. So the numbers may not be absolutely comparable, but close enough.
The first effort, behind Carl, felt fairly good. Not 100%, and I still need to work on my skills at sitting behind the bike, but it certainly woke me up and got me more focussed. 58.9 @ 145 is a good result, though I don't know whether that was behind the bike, or if I held the speed, or how long for, or that sort of thing - garmin connect just doesn't give enough resolution, especially without GPS on.
The next effort behind Nathan wasn't so good - again I was finding it very difficult to sit the right distance behind the bike. Probably 5 times in the 4 laps behind the bike I nearly hit the roller. Yes, it's possible to hit the roller, and I wasn't so concerned about falling as simply about losing momentum! To that end, I tried to make sure I swung out rather than backpedalling too much. Still, I ended up spending too much time chasing rather than drafting and the max of 55.3 @ 135 tells the story there.
The third effort was better except for 1/100 of a second. I felt more comfortable behind Nathan this time, and we were down in the sprinters lane coming around turn three one lap before I was to be launched on the sprint, when in the blink of an eye I lost a moment of focus, swung up above the red and dropped the wheel. Gah! I was 2 metres back before I even noticed. I chased back on, and managed to be there to be launched away a lap later, but again the extra time in the wind told - 56.9 @ 140.
For the final effort of the evening I was determined to get everything right - focus, hanging on the wheel without losing any momentum, and launching my sprint at the right moment (watching the others helped with realising that the sprint should start before the motorbike peels away, not afterwards!) And I managed it I felt - though I was getting tired by that point. I threw everything in to the sprint that I could though, trying to hit that 60km/hr mark - 59.1 @ 145. Precisely the same as last week! Okay, one extra RPM. And rabbit tells me that the difference between 48x15 and 48x13 at 60km/hr is 20RPM. But history tells me that the difference for me between 48x15 and 48x13 might be closer to 30RPM - though there's not yet much evidence to go on.
Hmm. I feel like I'm getting stronger, bit by bit. But I feel like if anything I'm getting fatter - have to work on mental issues around diet and getting focussed. Getting that sprinter mindset. And, apparently, I'm stomping too much, not smooth enough in my pedalling. So rollers might be a good idea, though they're not cheap. Hmm. On the other hand, it's only a few weeks in, not quite yet time for too too much reflection because there's so little to go on yet.
Brief stats here.
All that is to say that the first set of efforts, 30km/hr reaction powerjumps, didn't go that well. Certainly the first one was quite poor - I was in front, and felt like I was keeping an eye on Wayne okay, but when I jumped I didn't really go hard enough - though ironically my rear wheel was slipping for the first 2 or 3 pedal strokes, which did detract a little from what little power I was able to put down!
The next two efforts felt better, and I was closer than I had been - I actually had his wheel and pulled out to pass by the line on one effort, though I still finished a bike length back - but it wasn't until the windouts that I really clicked in. Because, I guess, one doesn't have much choice!
The windouts this week were a little different - rather than staying behind the bike, it pulled up the bank on the last turn to give us a 100m sprint to the line. So the numbers may not be absolutely comparable, but close enough.
The first effort, behind Carl, felt fairly good. Not 100%, and I still need to work on my skills at sitting behind the bike, but it certainly woke me up and got me more focussed. 58.9 @ 145 is a good result, though I don't know whether that was behind the bike, or if I held the speed, or how long for, or that sort of thing - garmin connect just doesn't give enough resolution, especially without GPS on.
The next effort behind Nathan wasn't so good - again I was finding it very difficult to sit the right distance behind the bike. Probably 5 times in the 4 laps behind the bike I nearly hit the roller. Yes, it's possible to hit the roller, and I wasn't so concerned about falling as simply about losing momentum! To that end, I tried to make sure I swung out rather than backpedalling too much. Still, I ended up spending too much time chasing rather than drafting and the max of 55.3 @ 135 tells the story there.
The third effort was better except for 1/100 of a second. I felt more comfortable behind Nathan this time, and we were down in the sprinters lane coming around turn three one lap before I was to be launched on the sprint, when in the blink of an eye I lost a moment of focus, swung up above the red and dropped the wheel. Gah! I was 2 metres back before I even noticed. I chased back on, and managed to be there to be launched away a lap later, but again the extra time in the wind told - 56.9 @ 140.
For the final effort of the evening I was determined to get everything right - focus, hanging on the wheel without losing any momentum, and launching my sprint at the right moment (watching the others helped with realising that the sprint should start before the motorbike peels away, not afterwards!) And I managed it I felt - though I was getting tired by that point. I threw everything in to the sprint that I could though, trying to hit that 60km/hr mark - 59.1 @ 145. Precisely the same as last week! Okay, one extra RPM. And rabbit tells me that the difference between 48x15 and 48x13 at 60km/hr is 20RPM. But history tells me that the difference for me between 48x15 and 48x13 might be closer to 30RPM - though there's not yet much evidence to go on.
Hmm. I feel like I'm getting stronger, bit by bit. But I feel like if anything I'm getting fatter - have to work on mental issues around diet and getting focussed. Getting that sprinter mindset. And, apparently, I'm stomping too much, not smooth enough in my pedalling. So rollers might be a good idea, though they're not cheap. Hmm. On the other hand, it's only a few weeks in, not quite yet time for too too much reflection because there's so little to go on yet.
Brief stats here.
19 May 2011
Hill Sprints up and down
Hill Sprints up:
79/27.1 (31.5)
76/28.0 (30.5)
78/29.0 (30.8)
75/28.3 (30.0)
76/29.0 (30.4)
76/27.3 (30.3)
Hill Sprints down:
116/59.1; 124/62.1 (64.8)
117/56.9; 130/60.8 (62.7)
120/57.1; 133/61.3 (63.8)
117/57.0; 131/60.6 (62.9)
116/60.2; 127/63.2 (65.6)
And then one on a slightly bigger downhill on the way home, just for the fun of it (this was in 53x12) 114/64.0
The numbers in brackets above are the maximum speed achieved - usually after I've stopped pedalling so hard! The good thing about that is it shows that I'm still accelerating by the end of the effort, so there's clearly more improvement possible. At least, that's the way I'm interpreting it!
So the numbers are getting better; mostly they're not getting better by much, but they are getting better. The maximum cadence on the downhill sprints is certainly much better, though there's also a clear correlation between maximum cadence and entry cadence.
Brief stats here and here.
79/27.1 (31.5)
76/28.0 (30.5)
78/29.0 (30.8)
75/28.3 (30.0)
76/29.0 (30.4)
76/27.3 (30.3)
Hill Sprints down:
116/59.1; 124/62.1 (64.8)
117/56.9; 130/60.8 (62.7)
120/57.1; 133/61.3 (63.8)
117/57.0; 131/60.6 (62.9)
116/60.2; 127/63.2 (65.6)
And then one on a slightly bigger downhill on the way home, just for the fun of it (this was in 53x12) 114/64.0
The numbers in brackets above are the maximum speed achieved - usually after I've stopped pedalling so hard! The good thing about that is it shows that I'm still accelerating by the end of the effort, so there's clearly more improvement possible. At least, that's the way I'm interpreting it!
So the numbers are getting better; mostly they're not getting better by much, but they are getting better. The maximum cadence on the downhill sprints is certainly much better, though there's also a clear correlation between maximum cadence and entry cadence.
Brief stats here and here.
17 May 2011
How high can you spin? PG Recalibration
Or, in my case, PG calibration; prior to this session I was only guessing that my 'power gear' for this bike/trainer combination was 53x17. And you know what? I was right!
This session was all about cadence, and lots of it! Every two minutes was an 8 second sprint at increasingly difficult gear ratios. The goal was to go as hard as possible for that 8 seconds, and find the ratio at which you couldn't quite get to 160RPM. My results were as follows... oh, and to be honest, once I'd gotten above 160 I didn't really try to go much higher...
First, warmup with 2x6s HCLR:1 = 176/175 (39x25, 41")
39x21 (48.8") = 167
39x19 (53.9") = 166
53x23 (60.6") = 162
39x16 (64.1") = 163
39x15 (68.3") = 160
53x19 (73.3") = 163
53x17 (81.9") = 155
39x12 (85.4") = 148
So 53x17 is the gear that I can't quite get to 160RPM on at the moment. Score for random guessing backed up by a little bit of rationalising! But the fun wasn't finished there - oh no! I tried to continue the next part on my road bike, but the chain kept coming off not only on the standing starts, but on the rolling ones, too. So I swapped to the track bike, which makes comparisons invalid because it has a smaller tyre diameter (it's a 20mm versus the 23mm width of the roadie) and hence lower resistance, and because of the different dynamics of the fixed wheel. But I got the exercises done, even if the BG (99.7")wasn't quite as big (116.1") as it should have been...
2x6s BG(99.7")SS (L,R seated):2 = 155/143
2x8s RG(99.7")RS (40, seated):2 = 151/154
PG(86.4") r/up (6:100, 6:130, 6:max) = 152
So. HCLR a little higher than last week, found out my PG, and hit what felt like a good number in the PG ramp-up. And sweated out several litres of sweat, leaving me pure and cleansed. Or something.
Brief stats here.
This session was all about cadence, and lots of it! Every two minutes was an 8 second sprint at increasingly difficult gear ratios. The goal was to go as hard as possible for that 8 seconds, and find the ratio at which you couldn't quite get to 160RPM. My results were as follows... oh, and to be honest, once I'd gotten above 160 I didn't really try to go much higher...
First, warmup with 2x6s HCLR:1 = 176/175 (39x25, 41")
39x21 (48.8") = 167
39x19 (53.9") = 166
53x23 (60.6") = 162
39x16 (64.1") = 163
39x15 (68.3") = 160
53x19 (73.3") = 163
53x17 (81.9") = 155
39x12 (85.4") = 148
So 53x17 is the gear that I can't quite get to 160RPM on at the moment. Score for random guessing backed up by a little bit of rationalising! But the fun wasn't finished there - oh no! I tried to continue the next part on my road bike, but the chain kept coming off not only on the standing starts, but on the rolling ones, too. So I swapped to the track bike, which makes comparisons invalid because it has a smaller tyre diameter (it's a 20mm versus the 23mm width of the roadie) and hence lower resistance, and because of the different dynamics of the fixed wheel. But I got the exercises done, even if the BG (99.7")wasn't quite as big (116.1") as it should have been...
2x6s BG(99.7")SS (L,R seated):2 = 155/143
2x8s RG(99.7")RS (40, seated):2 = 151/154
PG(86.4") r/up (6:100, 6:130, 6:max) = 152
So. HCLR a little higher than last week, found out my PG, and hit what felt like a good number in the PG ramp-up. And sweated out several litres of sweat, leaving me pure and cleansed. Or something.
Brief stats here.
15 May 2011
DISC Session #4 with ABOC
Well the program for this week was almost identical to last week, with the exception that this week I ran my 86" gear all night as I was paired up with Dino, who's just coming back from injury and is restricted in his gearing for the moment.
I felt much more present this week, like I had more energy and, especially, focus. Even in the warmup I was hitting it better, with a top speed about 3km/hr more than last week on the flying entry.
Statistically, the powerjump efforts are hard to compare because they're much more tactical than all-out efforts. This week Dino and I didn't do the ducking and diving, continuing instead with the powerjumps for the second set, and I led out each one so as to save Dino having to look over his shoulder, and also to give me more practice at it.
The last two efforts we did were a little muted, as Dino was about spent by that point and so didn't really seriously challenge me. Now, I should push just as hard anyway, and the top speed was similar to last week so I didn't slack off too much, but the competition does help really get the most out of the efforts. The first 4 efforts, though, were much better if still not quite fully committed.
Dino and Carl both commented that my second kick was quite good - but that that meant that I wasn't putting my all in to the first kick! Which is true. One matchup in particular - I think it was the second - Dino came around on the outside and was actually half a wheel in front of me coming out of the turn. Theoretically he should have beaten me from that point, as he was going faster (since he was going further around the bend) and had a slight run off the bank, but I kicked again and beat him. Which is great, but I should have had him beaten before that! He did just pip me on the line in another of our matchups, but overall I was happy with my work in those two sets.
We finished off with revouts again, and I held my position much better this week. In the first one particularly I was having trouble holding a terribly straight line, but at least I wasn't dropping off too far, nor having to back or softpedal too much; hopefully, this all means that my skills are improving! I had a pretty good go on the first attempt, hitting 57.3kmh/141RPM. This was already better than my best last week, but I felt like I had a bit more in me, and rather than cruising back to rest I continued to slowly pedal around the infield - so slowly that often the cadence registered as 0! It seems to get bored of waiting once you drop below 18RPM or so.
Anyway, my second revout I was really focussing on going as hard as I could, even though on the entry and halfway through the first lap I already felt like I wasn't going to make it! I stuck at it though, and once the first lap was over knowing that I only had two accelerations to go helped me to focus down again and I dug in as hard as I could, staring at the numberplate on the back of the bike. As I peeled off up the bank I was absolutely done, and I'm glad I was on a track bike because if I'd stopped pedalling from the fatigue I'm not sure I wouldn't have fallen off! When I finally rolled off the track and checked the stats, I was happy - 59.1 at 144RPM. Time to aim for 60km/hr!
Brief stats here.
I felt much more present this week, like I had more energy and, especially, focus. Even in the warmup I was hitting it better, with a top speed about 3km/hr more than last week on the flying entry.
Statistically, the powerjump efforts are hard to compare because they're much more tactical than all-out efforts. This week Dino and I didn't do the ducking and diving, continuing instead with the powerjumps for the second set, and I led out each one so as to save Dino having to look over his shoulder, and also to give me more practice at it.
The last two efforts we did were a little muted, as Dino was about spent by that point and so didn't really seriously challenge me. Now, I should push just as hard anyway, and the top speed was similar to last week so I didn't slack off too much, but the competition does help really get the most out of the efforts. The first 4 efforts, though, were much better if still not quite fully committed.
Dino and Carl both commented that my second kick was quite good - but that that meant that I wasn't putting my all in to the first kick! Which is true. One matchup in particular - I think it was the second - Dino came around on the outside and was actually half a wheel in front of me coming out of the turn. Theoretically he should have beaten me from that point, as he was going faster (since he was going further around the bend) and had a slight run off the bank, but I kicked again and beat him. Which is great, but I should have had him beaten before that! He did just pip me on the line in another of our matchups, but overall I was happy with my work in those two sets.
We finished off with revouts again, and I held my position much better this week. In the first one particularly I was having trouble holding a terribly straight line, but at least I wasn't dropping off too far, nor having to back or softpedal too much; hopefully, this all means that my skills are improving! I had a pretty good go on the first attempt, hitting 57.3kmh/141RPM. This was already better than my best last week, but I felt like I had a bit more in me, and rather than cruising back to rest I continued to slowly pedal around the infield - so slowly that often the cadence registered as 0! It seems to get bored of waiting once you drop below 18RPM or so.
Anyway, my second revout I was really focussing on going as hard as I could, even though on the entry and halfway through the first lap I already felt like I wasn't going to make it! I stuck at it though, and once the first lap was over knowing that I only had two accelerations to go helped me to focus down again and I dug in as hard as I could, staring at the numberplate on the back of the bike. As I peeled off up the bank I was absolutely done, and I'm glad I was on a track bike because if I'd stopped pedalling from the fatigue I'm not sure I wouldn't have fallen off! When I finally rolled off the track and checked the stats, I was happy - 59.1 at 144RPM. Time to aim for 60km/hr!
Brief stats here.
13 May 2011
Mostly Hill Sprints
A day late, pouring rain, and didn't quite have time to do the lot so had to finish on the trainer at home. A slightly imperfect training session! But I got it done at least.
Uphill sprints this week felt a little better than last week, and though I was supposed to do them 'on the five' I was actually getting back in 3-4 minutes - and given the rain, wind and cold, I wasn't hanging around for the 5 minutes to roll around!
i) 74/27.7 (?)
ii) 75/27.6 (30.0)
iii) 78/28.3 (30.3)
iv) 76/27.8 (29.3)
v) 75/25.7 (29.4)
So quite a consistent set of results, much more so than last week. The slight speed discrepancy on the last result is probably because, although strava reports cadence and speed for each second, there's bound to be some lag, and I'm taking figures from the point of highest cadence (since when I get to the mark, I stop pedalling hard, in part to make it easier to analyse afterwards) and speed continues to increase for a second or two afterwards. All of this was in 53x17.
The one downhill sprint I managed to fit in had a similar profile to last week:
Entry: 114/56.1, Max 123/58.1(59.0)
Because of the weather, however, it's hard to compare too precisely - I had a tailwind for the uphill sprints, and a headwind for the downhill sprint of a good 30km/hr or so, plus the rain and so on. Still, good to do. Then I got home and did 4 X 8s PG sprints (110):5 in an attempt to roughly replicate the downhill sprints. Even in 53x25 it was a bit difficult to hold 120RPM as an entry cadence without taking too much away from the sprint, so I tended to go with about 110 as a target. The 4 sprints in 53x17 gave max cadences of 142, 147, 140 and 140. Which, really, doesn't mean much, but it's something to record, anyway!
Overall I felt quite good with the training today, despite (because of?) the rain and wind and cold. fairly strong and fresh, head felt fairly screwed on properly, and I felt like I was doing something worthwhile. Which makes training much more enjoyable and aggressive!
Brief stats here and here.
Uphill sprints this week felt a little better than last week, and though I was supposed to do them 'on the five' I was actually getting back in 3-4 minutes - and given the rain, wind and cold, I wasn't hanging around for the 5 minutes to roll around!
i) 74/27.7 (?)
ii) 75/27.6 (30.0)
iii) 78/28.3 (30.3)
iv) 76/27.8 (29.3)
v) 75/25.7 (29.4)
So quite a consistent set of results, much more so than last week. The slight speed discrepancy on the last result is probably because, although strava reports cadence and speed for each second, there's bound to be some lag, and I'm taking figures from the point of highest cadence (since when I get to the mark, I stop pedalling hard, in part to make it easier to analyse afterwards) and speed continues to increase for a second or two afterwards. All of this was in 53x17.
The one downhill sprint I managed to fit in had a similar profile to last week:
Entry: 114/56.1, Max 123/58.1(59.0)
Because of the weather, however, it's hard to compare too precisely - I had a tailwind for the uphill sprints, and a headwind for the downhill sprint of a good 30km/hr or so, plus the rain and so on. Still, good to do. Then I got home and did 4 X 8s PG sprints (110):5 in an attempt to roughly replicate the downhill sprints. Even in 53x25 it was a bit difficult to hold 120RPM as an entry cadence without taking too much away from the sprint, so I tended to go with about 110 as a target. The 4 sprints in 53x17 gave max cadences of 142, 147, 140 and 140. Which, really, doesn't mean much, but it's something to record, anyway!
Overall I felt quite good with the training today, despite (because of?) the rain and wind and cold. fairly strong and fresh, head felt fairly screwed on properly, and I felt like I was doing something worthwhile. Which makes training much more enjoyable and aggressive!
Brief stats here and here.
10 May 2011
Spin at Home
More spinning at home! Last week was tough, this week even tougher...
:00 E1
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 7s PGSS (seated):3
:19 1 x 25s PG RS (80) r/up (5:100,10:130, 10:max)
:25 1 x 30s PG RS (80) r/up (10:110,10:130,10:max)
:32 1 x 27s PG RS(80) r/up (9:110, 9:135, 9:max)
:38 2 x 7s BGSS (seated):2
:42 2 x 10s HCLR:2
The first two HCLRs were fine, and I hit the same sorts of numbers I did last week - 175 and 173, though in 39x25 this week rather than 39x23. The PGSSs don't have a precise corollary from last week, so can't compare, but I hit 145 starting on the left leg and 154 starting on the right leg, in 53x17.
The next three exercises were horrible. A 25s ramp up, then a 30s ramp up, then 27s ramp up, getting faster and harder each time. Or, at least, that was the idea. On the theory that my PG should be about 53x17, I've got a bit of work to do. The PG is the gear you can't quite get to 160RPM in after 8 seconds from a standing start, and if you look at my 7 seconds results above - 145 and 154 - that should be about right, no?
But these exercises were beyond me, at least today. In part there's a difficulty in hitting the exact cadence - it took me about 5 seconds just to settle on 100RPM, and then it was time to go to 130! I spent most of that 10 seconds around 124, then only hit 134 in the 10 second max effort - which only lasted 7 seconds before I couldn't go any longer. The next two sets, I at least lasted the distance, but I couldn't even hit the 130RPM mark, let alone 135 or a maximum above that - my highest was 126 in each effort. Which closely parallels my efforts at DISC on Sunday, and points to where I need to work harder.
After that the last two sets were almost warm-downs, and again I had my chain jump off the chainring doing the BGSS. I managed 116RPM on the one effort that I completed properly. Then the HCLRs again, where I hit 164 and 174, respectively.
But there are 5 months to go. Brief stats here.
:00 E1
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 7s PGSS (seated):3
:19 1 x 25s PG RS (80) r/up (5:100,10:130, 10:max)
:25 1 x 30s PG RS (80) r/up (10:110,10:130,10:max)
:32 1 x 27s PG RS(80) r/up (9:110, 9:135, 9:max)
:38 2 x 7s BGSS (seated):2
:42 2 x 10s HCLR:2
The first two HCLRs were fine, and I hit the same sorts of numbers I did last week - 175 and 173, though in 39x25 this week rather than 39x23. The PGSSs don't have a precise corollary from last week, so can't compare, but I hit 145 starting on the left leg and 154 starting on the right leg, in 53x17.
The next three exercises were horrible. A 25s ramp up, then a 30s ramp up, then 27s ramp up, getting faster and harder each time. Or, at least, that was the idea. On the theory that my PG should be about 53x17, I've got a bit of work to do. The PG is the gear you can't quite get to 160RPM in after 8 seconds from a standing start, and if you look at my 7 seconds results above - 145 and 154 - that should be about right, no?
But these exercises were beyond me, at least today. In part there's a difficulty in hitting the exact cadence - it took me about 5 seconds just to settle on 100RPM, and then it was time to go to 130! I spent most of that 10 seconds around 124, then only hit 134 in the 10 second max effort - which only lasted 7 seconds before I couldn't go any longer. The next two sets, I at least lasted the distance, but I couldn't even hit the 130RPM mark, let alone 135 or a maximum above that - my highest was 126 in each effort. Which closely parallels my efforts at DISC on Sunday, and points to where I need to work harder.
After that the last two sets were almost warm-downs, and again I had my chain jump off the chainring doing the BGSS. I managed 116RPM on the one effort that I completed properly. Then the HCLRs again, where I hit 164 and 174, respectively.
But there are 5 months to go. Brief stats here.
08 May 2011
DISC Session #3 with ABOC
Well, that was all a bit... tiring. I went in to the evening not really feeling very focussed, and low on energy. I joked to Wayne, my partner for the evening, that I'd probably begin focussing about when I got tired, and the reality wasn't far off that.
We started with 3 x 30km/hr 1/2 lap powerjumps, reaction drills - Wayne led out two, and I took the front for the middle drill. Each time I was beaten, and I didn't feel much more focussed by the end than I had at the start.
The second set of drills was 4 x 3 laps over/under/D&D 1/2 lap sprints, which means that for one lap the following rider rides a metre or so above and 10 metres behind the lead rider, then a metre below, then weaves up and down. The whole time (or as much as possible) the lead rider watches the trailing rider, maintaining position on the track by peripheral vision.
These were a bit of a mixed bag - my reaction time when Wayne was attacking on the sprint lap was quite ordinary, and my acceleration needs a lot of work. I was mostly happy with my ability to watch over my shoulder while riding around the velo, though I wasn't perfect in holding my line by any means. It's harder than doing it at Blackburn, and it's harder doing it at 30km/hr than at 10, but it felt pretty good considering I find it difficult to ride in a straight line on the road while looking over my shoulder for any length of time.
On the third drill I was sprinting from in front, and thought I had the sprinters lane, when Wayne came underneath me down on to the duckboard. I swung up and pulled out of the sprint, with Wayne saying afterwards that I was just out of the lane so he went underneath. I've no idea of the precise position, but it was probably a bit touch and go either way. The important thing, from the perspective of the drill, is that he was going past me at a decent rate - partly because he had the run down the bank, but partly also because I just wasn't accelerating hard enough.
I think partly it's a matter of gearing (I'll stick with 99.7" for now, because we're doing strength work anyway, but 94" or so might be a better race gear for me - at the moment) and partly a matter of experience/technique (I'm still working on my out-of-the-saddle position to avoid slipping, and being confident to be out of the saddle on the bends) but mostly it's my strength, my weight, and insufficient aggression/focus. Especially last night.
The last drill we had the option of doing 3 x flying 100s or 2 x 500m revouts. I chose the revouts partly to work on legspeed, and partly because one just doesn't get many opportunities to sit behind the motorbike. The first one was a bit uneven - Carl rode up to the fence and brought us down on a flying entry line to start the effort, which was quite different to when I did it last time - I found it quite difficult to maintain position behind the bike, either having to backpedal a bit to avoid running in to it coming down the bank, or dropping off the back by 5 metres going up it. Something to work on, but it was only my first time. I only managed 1.5 laps on the first go, but still got up to 54 km/hr/133RPM on 86".
The second attempt I did better, still not maintaining my place behind the bike terribly well, but better than the first attempt which meant I did less chasing. I think Carl also started at a slightly lower speed to make sure I got 2 laps - he said something like that, but it's bloody hard to hear sitting behind the motorbike! At any rate, I felt a bit more focussed by this time, and was able to stick to the wheel for the entire 2 laps with a top of 56.1/138. Bloody tired, but felt a bit better afterwards. Wasn't the most successful session, but I got something out of it and was happy with my last revout at least, and the rest will all add to fitness/experience in some general way.
Brief stats here.
We started with 3 x 30km/hr 1/2 lap powerjumps, reaction drills - Wayne led out two, and I took the front for the middle drill. Each time I was beaten, and I didn't feel much more focussed by the end than I had at the start.
The second set of drills was 4 x 3 laps over/under/D&D 1/2 lap sprints, which means that for one lap the following rider rides a metre or so above and 10 metres behind the lead rider, then a metre below, then weaves up and down. The whole time (or as much as possible) the lead rider watches the trailing rider, maintaining position on the track by peripheral vision.
These were a bit of a mixed bag - my reaction time when Wayne was attacking on the sprint lap was quite ordinary, and my acceleration needs a lot of work. I was mostly happy with my ability to watch over my shoulder while riding around the velo, though I wasn't perfect in holding my line by any means. It's harder than doing it at Blackburn, and it's harder doing it at 30km/hr than at 10, but it felt pretty good considering I find it difficult to ride in a straight line on the road while looking over my shoulder for any length of time.
On the third drill I was sprinting from in front, and thought I had the sprinters lane, when Wayne came underneath me down on to the duckboard. I swung up and pulled out of the sprint, with Wayne saying afterwards that I was just out of the lane so he went underneath. I've no idea of the precise position, but it was probably a bit touch and go either way. The important thing, from the perspective of the drill, is that he was going past me at a decent rate - partly because he had the run down the bank, but partly also because I just wasn't accelerating hard enough.
I think partly it's a matter of gearing (I'll stick with 99.7" for now, because we're doing strength work anyway, but 94" or so might be a better race gear for me - at the moment) and partly a matter of experience/technique (I'm still working on my out-of-the-saddle position to avoid slipping, and being confident to be out of the saddle on the bends) but mostly it's my strength, my weight, and insufficient aggression/focus. Especially last night.
The last drill we had the option of doing 3 x flying 100s or 2 x 500m revouts. I chose the revouts partly to work on legspeed, and partly because one just doesn't get many opportunities to sit behind the motorbike. The first one was a bit uneven - Carl rode up to the fence and brought us down on a flying entry line to start the effort, which was quite different to when I did it last time - I found it quite difficult to maintain position behind the bike, either having to backpedal a bit to avoid running in to it coming down the bank, or dropping off the back by 5 metres going up it. Something to work on, but it was only my first time. I only managed 1.5 laps on the first go, but still got up to 54 km/hr/133RPM on 86".
The second attempt I did better, still not maintaining my place behind the bike terribly well, but better than the first attempt which meant I did less chasing. I think Carl also started at a slightly lower speed to make sure I got 2 laps - he said something like that, but it's bloody hard to hear sitting behind the motorbike! At any rate, I felt a bit more focussed by this time, and was able to stick to the wheel for the entire 2 laps with a top of 56.1/138. Bloody tired, but felt a bit better afterwards. Wasn't the most successful session, but I got something out of it and was happy with my last revout at least, and the rest will all add to fitness/experience in some general way.
Brief stats here.
05 May 2011
Hill Sprints
So today was the day to get out on the road and do some hill sprints - up hill and down dale! First task was to try to find the best spot to do these. I eventually settled on Diamond Creek Road, between St. Helena Road and the big roundabout, as it's long, wide, and has a fairly constant rate of gradient change, except for one rapid change from 4-5% to 8-9% which, though it must be climbed/descended, doesn't form part of the actual sprints.
After a bit of a warmup/orientation where I chose the markers for my sprints, I headed back uphill to the starting point of my first attempt. I shifted in to 53x17, came as close to a stop as I could, and started off, trying to concentrate on my form. Upon reaching my finishing marker, I looked down to discover I'd only travelled approximately 60 of the required 80 metres! So I tried to dig in for the remaining 20 and looked for another tree to mark the new finishing point. Fortunately there was a handy one at close enough to the right spot, so I filed that one away and continued on up the hill to my turnaround point - which is not ideal, as it's an extra 200m or so of 8-9% climbing which makes it impossible to get back for a 4-minute cycle.
My stats for the uphill sprints were (approx) 73/25.2km/hr, 70/27.6, 66/24.6 and 74/29.3, starting (I think!) R,L,L,L, all in 53x17, all seated, not out of the saddle.
Downhill sprints were a little smoother, though I changed gearing for the last two - from 53x13 to 53x14 because the cadence was a little low. In theory each should start at a cadence of 120, but that's a bit tricky! Sprinting from 120RPM for 8 seconds should presumably see some sort of an increase, but my 4 results were:
i) Entry 114/59.7, Max 121/64.6
ii) Entry 113/59.4, Max 121/61.9
iii) Entry 117/56.5, Max 124/59.2
iv) Entry 115/59.4, Max 124/63.3
The slope is still approximately -1% at the start of the sprint, so I wonder at the extent of the influence of the slope. Clearly the entry speed makes a big difference to the final speed, even though my cadence on entry was lower in the final attempt. Interestingly, though max cadence was slightly higher once I dropped down a gear, entry cadence wasn't significantly greater, suggesting that the limiter of spin speed was me, not the gear. Which is odd, considering that in the 'spin' on Tuesday I was maintaining 130+ for 10 seconds or so - though that was absolutely head down smashing myself, which I wouldn't do on the road since I like to see where I'm going then! I didn't notice any rocking of the hips though. At any rate, much work still to do.
Brief stats here.
After a bit of a warmup/orientation where I chose the markers for my sprints, I headed back uphill to the starting point of my first attempt. I shifted in to 53x17, came as close to a stop as I could, and started off, trying to concentrate on my form. Upon reaching my finishing marker, I looked down to discover I'd only travelled approximately 60 of the required 80 metres! So I tried to dig in for the remaining 20 and looked for another tree to mark the new finishing point. Fortunately there was a handy one at close enough to the right spot, so I filed that one away and continued on up the hill to my turnaround point - which is not ideal, as it's an extra 200m or so of 8-9% climbing which makes it impossible to get back for a 4-minute cycle.
My stats for the uphill sprints were (approx) 73/25.2km/hr, 70/27.6, 66/24.6 and 74/29.3, starting (I think!) R,L,L,L, all in 53x17, all seated, not out of the saddle.
Downhill sprints were a little smoother, though I changed gearing for the last two - from 53x13 to 53x14 because the cadence was a little low. In theory each should start at a cadence of 120, but that's a bit tricky! Sprinting from 120RPM for 8 seconds should presumably see some sort of an increase, but my 4 results were:
i) Entry 114/59.7, Max 121/64.6
ii) Entry 113/59.4, Max 121/61.9
iii) Entry 117/56.5, Max 124/59.2
iv) Entry 115/59.4, Max 124/63.3
The slope is still approximately -1% at the start of the sprint, so I wonder at the extent of the influence of the slope. Clearly the entry speed makes a big difference to the final speed, even though my cadence on entry was lower in the final attempt. Interestingly, though max cadence was slightly higher once I dropped down a gear, entry cadence wasn't significantly greater, suggesting that the limiter of spin speed was me, not the gear. Which is odd, considering that in the 'spin' on Tuesday I was maintaining 130+ for 10 seconds or so - though that was absolutely head down smashing myself, which I wouldn't do on the road since I like to see where I'm going then! I didn't notice any rocking of the hips though. At any rate, much work still to do.
Brief stats here.
03 May 2011
Spin at Home
Ideally, I'd be down at the ABOC spin session of a Tuesday night. But that's not possible for the moment, so instead we play at home and hope that someone chooses the home viewer and wins $25.
Sprint Stream
:00 E1
:05 2 x 5s HCLR:1
:10 3 x 6s RGSS:3 (L,R, prefered)
:19 1 x 24s PG+2 RS 80 r/up (8,8,8)
:26 1 x 30s (10:120,10:140,10:max) HCLR r/up
:34 2 x 6s BGSS(seated, L,R):2
:40 1 x 10s HCLR
Probably doesn't look too hard written down like that!
HCLR = High Cadence Low Resistance, so I put it in 39x23 and spun as fast as I could, up to 175RPM.
RGSS = Race Gear (I think! Not actually sure.) Standing Start - not sure if this was meant to be seated or not, but I did it like that anyway, in 53x14. Got to a cadence of 112, 115 and 114, respectively.
PG+2 RS 80 r/up (8,8,8) = Powergear (the gear that you can't quite get to 160RPM on, basically. I haven't tested this, so guessed at 53x17, which was probably about right) plus 2". I think it was meant to be spin up to 100, then 120, then 140 for 8 seconds each. Got up to 137.
HCLR r/up = Much the same as above, only this time with lower resistance and lasting longer. Hit a max of 155 RPM, but didn't hold that for 10 seconds I don't think! Maybe around 147-150.
BGSS = Big Gear Standing Start. Starting from stopped, accelerate as hard as possible for 6 seconds in 53x12 (well, it's the biggest I have!) Had some problems with the chain falling off, but otherwise okay. Got to 90RPM the first time, 104RPM the next - first proper attempt (the first unproper one was aborted) the chain fell off, then I pedalled it back on, which affected the results a bit.
Then wind down with a lazy ol' HCLR spin for 10 seconds - just 166RPM this time.
Then fell off the bike and got in to the shower. Survived fairly well really - tired, but still able to walk after the first couple of minutes of wobbliness.
Brief stats here.
Sprint Stream
:00 E1
:05 2 x 5s HCLR:1
:10 3 x 6s RGSS:3 (L,R, prefered)
:19 1 x 24s PG+2 RS 80 r/up (8,8,8)
:26 1 x 30s (10:120,10:140,10:max) HCLR r/up
:34 2 x 6s BGSS(seated, L,R):2
:40 1 x 10s HCLR
Probably doesn't look too hard written down like that!
HCLR = High Cadence Low Resistance, so I put it in 39x23 and spun as fast as I could, up to 175RPM.
RGSS = Race Gear (I think! Not actually sure.) Standing Start - not sure if this was meant to be seated or not, but I did it like that anyway, in 53x14. Got to a cadence of 112, 115 and 114, respectively.
PG+2 RS 80 r/up (8,8,8) = Powergear (the gear that you can't quite get to 160RPM on, basically. I haven't tested this, so guessed at 53x17, which was probably about right) plus 2". I think it was meant to be spin up to 100, then 120, then 140 for 8 seconds each. Got up to 137.
HCLR r/up = Much the same as above, only this time with lower resistance and lasting longer. Hit a max of 155 RPM, but didn't hold that for 10 seconds I don't think! Maybe around 147-150.
BGSS = Big Gear Standing Start. Starting from stopped, accelerate as hard as possible for 6 seconds in 53x12 (well, it's the biggest I have!) Had some problems with the chain falling off, but otherwise okay. Got to 90RPM the first time, 104RPM the next - first proper attempt (the first unproper one was aborted) the chain fell off, then I pedalled it back on, which affected the results a bit.
Then wind down with a lazy ol' HCLR spin for 10 seconds - just 166RPM this time.
Then fell off the bike and got in to the shower. Survived fairly well really - tired, but still able to walk after the first couple of minutes of wobbliness.
Brief stats here.
02 May 2011
Recovery
Aim for today: 1 hour, over 100RPM, under 149BPM.
Stats for today: 33 min, 14.14km (25.6km/hr), 99RPM av., 154 BPM av.
Hmm. Closeish.
Stats for today: 33 min, 14.14km (25.6km/hr), 99RPM av., 154 BPM av.
Hmm. Closeish.
01 May 2011
DISC Session #2 with ABOC
Well there goes the now traditional Sunday massacre at DISC. The emphasis was on strength, with two sets of K1s, the first three as reaction drills (a group of 3, since there were just 5 sprinters in total) and the second set gate starts. All 1/4 lap except for the final gate start, which was a 1/2 lap.
The main difference in the rolling K1s compared to the last session was that this time we had to do them seated, in Race Gear (as previously mentioned, 99.7" for me) which made them so much more difficult. I think I came third in both of the competitive efforts (the first I did solo due to a mistake.) I had a bit of front-end wobble in the last effort, and checked out my bike afterwards but could find nothing strange around the front-end so thought it must just have been user error.
The gate starts were interesting, as I've never done them before and watching a youtube video or two is only so useful. Especially when, again, we had to do them seated rather than the usual standing out of the saddle. But I watched carefully, took note of the audible countdown and felt okay about it all. When I was strapped in and just about to start the countdown, I pushed forward on my bars to get my hands well seated-in and they moved! Back off I got and went back to the infield to tighten them up - each of the 4 bolts needed to be done up a full 2 turns at least! Very disconcerting, and not something I've encountered before; sprint training does, I agree, put more stress through the frame and contact points, but I would never have expected that to happen. But a track bike is a very simple thing, really, so I know the points to be checked every time I get on at least.
My first gate start was... an experience. I was very slow, very wobbly, and looking straight down, just concerned about getting away cleanly, not falling over and so on. Which of course meant that my form and power were rather lacking. I'd like to say that that improved for the next two efforts, and it did really (top speed on effort two was 3km/hr higher, and 1km/hr higher than the fastest rolling start), but not nearly enough. I suspect there's a reason why the next couple of months are going to be focussed on strength work! The last effort, being a half lap, felt better because once I'd actually gotten moving it was much easier to get the power going and get some acceleration happening, which always feels awesome.
We rounded off the evening with 3xFlying 100s, each of the three of us taking turns to lead the group in. I decided to stick with the theme of the evening, staying in the saddle to accelerate in to the starting point, and try to work on my line. I managed over 57km/hr on the first two efforts (top 57.6) but the third was a bit off, though at the time it felt okay, so perhaps it had more to do with the line I took than with getting too fatigued.
I was though. Rooted. And then to make things funner, getting up at 4am to take my sister to the airport, and getting almost no sleep beforehand because I always anticipate when I have to get up early. Even if it's not really that early. Anyway. 1hr spin on the roadie today. Then sleep!
Brief stats here.
The main difference in the rolling K1s compared to the last session was that this time we had to do them seated, in Race Gear (as previously mentioned, 99.7" for me) which made them so much more difficult. I think I came third in both of the competitive efforts (the first I did solo due to a mistake.) I had a bit of front-end wobble in the last effort, and checked out my bike afterwards but could find nothing strange around the front-end so thought it must just have been user error.
The gate starts were interesting, as I've never done them before and watching a youtube video or two is only so useful. Especially when, again, we had to do them seated rather than the usual standing out of the saddle. But I watched carefully, took note of the audible countdown and felt okay about it all. When I was strapped in and just about to start the countdown, I pushed forward on my bars to get my hands well seated-in and they moved! Back off I got and went back to the infield to tighten them up - each of the 4 bolts needed to be done up a full 2 turns at least! Very disconcerting, and not something I've encountered before; sprint training does, I agree, put more stress through the frame and contact points, but I would never have expected that to happen. But a track bike is a very simple thing, really, so I know the points to be checked every time I get on at least.
My first gate start was... an experience. I was very slow, very wobbly, and looking straight down, just concerned about getting away cleanly, not falling over and so on. Which of course meant that my form and power were rather lacking. I'd like to say that that improved for the next two efforts, and it did really (top speed on effort two was 3km/hr higher, and 1km/hr higher than the fastest rolling start), but not nearly enough. I suspect there's a reason why the next couple of months are going to be focussed on strength work! The last effort, being a half lap, felt better because once I'd actually gotten moving it was much easier to get the power going and get some acceleration happening, which always feels awesome.
We rounded off the evening with 3xFlying 100s, each of the three of us taking turns to lead the group in. I decided to stick with the theme of the evening, staying in the saddle to accelerate in to the starting point, and try to work on my line. I managed over 57km/hr on the first two efforts (top 57.6) but the third was a bit off, though at the time it felt okay, so perhaps it had more to do with the line I took than with getting too fatigued.
I was though. Rooted. And then to make things funner, getting up at 4am to take my sister to the airport, and getting almost no sleep beforehand because I always anticipate when I have to get up early. Even if it's not really that early. Anyway. 1hr spin on the roadie today. Then sleep!
Brief stats here.
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