Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Notes From Winter Training

Well technically it's not "winter" yet, but it seems close enough.

I got to ride in big snowflakes through the north end last week, which made me feel like Andy Hampsten on the Gavia, barely able to see through the thick whiteness of it all. Except the snow in Seattle wasn't sticking, so it made for a nice little ride.

(The ride was around the north end of Lake Washington - a nice hilly route including 5th Ave through Northgate/etc (hills), Juanita Hill, east side hills including the "col d'bellevue", that short-but-steep section leading towards I-90 off Main street.)

Start of Base Training

In other news, training for the 2011 race season is well under way! "Base" training (e.g. endurance-zone riding). A big part of my training plan is the commute to Redmond, about 17 miles over I-90 & Mercer Island, through Bellevue, or as I now call it the Belly of the Beast.

  • Base 1, Week 1: 10 hours - commuting & a team ride on the weekend
  • Base 1, Week 2: 13 hours - commuting & a team ride
  • Base 1, Week 3: 16 hours! (probably the most I've ever done in terms of actual training)
  • Base 1, Week 4: rest - just two rides on the weekend for a total of 6-7 hours

The pattern seen in Base 1 (three weeks of work, one rest week) continues in Base 2 and beyond, and after those two blocks I move on to the "Build" period - two more blocks of four weeks each, then it's time to shred some legs!

As a side-note, it's not just endurance rides I'm doing in this Base period, but also some "speedwork", such as spin-ups or low-gear sprints. I've been getting in the 34x25 gear and spinning out in excess of 160 rpm - the PT reported 218 rpm the other day but that seems crazy. By 180 rpm or so I'm bouncing on the seat, it probably looks interesting to anyone watching.

2011!

While the training hours can get tedious, and cold, I just try to think more about the upcoming 2011 race season in March.. it's not that far away right? Just 89 days away..

4 comments:

Luke said...

Where does your commute go, exactly? I've got a feeling we may be doing the exact mirror of each other on the commute in the morning...

mattm said...

Indeed, it was great running into to ya yesterday!

Glad to see you still rock the RCR kit now and then. =]

Anonymous said...

shit, i already got dropped. good to see an update. tim

Joe P said...

Matt,
We think you need a little more base and a little more night riding. That is why you are getting this personal invitation to the solstice ride. We have trinkets.

Yours,
SIR