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..

Hard But Good Commute Today

My commute is just 25.7 kms of rolling terrain between Capitol Hill & Redmond. On fast days I can cover it in about an hour, like today for instance:

Entire workout (215 watts):
Duration: 1:01:55
Work: 814 kJ
TSS: 91.4 (intensity factor 0.941) (IF=1.0 is the equivalent of a 1 hour time trial at your threshold)
Norm Power: 268
VI: 1.22
Distance: 25.492 km
Elevation Gain: 557 m
Elevation Loss: 553 m
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 992 219 watts
Cadence: 15 142 75 rpm
Speed: 0 72.9 26.3 kph
Altitude: 2 118 51 m
Crank Torque: 0 201.6 28.7 N-m

Interestingly, I did this commute faster yesterday (e.g. higher avg speed, less overall time) but with a lower average power. Just goes to show that average speed alone isn't the best indicator of a workout, even for the same ride. (The main difference between these two rides were timing of stoplights, rather, getting a lot of reds today)

Today I just tried to concentrate on keeping my power output near my threshold of 285 watts. The thing is, it's really easy to attack a climb at 400-500w (well, not easy, but doable anyway), but then I'm cooked on the downhill and can barely put out 100w.

But by pacing like this, I was able to hold 250+ watts on some of the downhills, which I normally can't/dont' do. (And for what it's worth, it's generally more challenging to hold your threshold power on downhills)

Here's the power distribution from the commute, with a few notes:

It's hard to gauge your FTP (Functional Threshold Power, the theorhetical amount of power you can sustain for one hour) doing mostly solo rides or the big endurance rides us randos do. Which is why it takes a hard ride like this to get a better idea of where your FTP is.

And here's the graph of the overall ride (yellow=power, orange=elevation):

When I get some time I'd like to post an analysis of the 300k from a few weeks ago. In a way, this power data is kind of a like a flight data recorder. Data is just plain fun, what can I say?

PS: for the power junkies out there, I know you're missing one piece of info you probably want in order to calculate my w/kg. That would be my weight, which is as of this week 68.4 kg (~151 lbs). That's down from 160 lbs a few months ago!

A Little Bit Of Justice

So on the commute home tonight I was cruising down a little hill on Mercer Island at 25+mph, heading towards Seattle. It was dark, and I could see a car's headlights on my legs and on the road - so I wasn't surprised a sedan shot around me, of course 50 feet or so before a stop sign, a classic move. (I wonder how much fuel is wasted on dumb accelerations around the world?)

All I was thinking was that they're probably even going over the speed limit (30?) just to get in front of me and then immediately stop!

And then whaddya know? All of a sudden the surroundings light up with blue/red flashing lights!! And then a commanding voice on the loudspeaker. I've never been happier to see those lights.

Guess the cop was watching the whole thing. I made sure to come to a complete stop at the sign, with the foot down (not the usual "Cali stop"). I also made sure to give a nice wave/smile to the driver, just to rub it in. Justice!!

The ironic thing is that had the driver just stayed behind me in the first place, I'm guessing I would have been the one pulled over (for not stopping completely). Just goes to show, patience pays.

Stop Reading Here, If You Hate Power Data!

Alex pointed out that my FTP (Functional Threshold Power) was probably set too low (it was at 259w), since last weekend's 4.5 hour training ride scored 300+ TSS.

I think it comes down to the the 20-minute test (NP: 271w) I did that included cars & stop signs to slow me down. I really need to do that test again..

But there are other ways to estimate your threshold, and one (crude) method is looking for the drop-off in your power distribution chart. Well, according to that method it looks like I'm closer to 300 watts. Sweet!

(chart is not including zeroes, and the bucket size is 15w)

Anyway I still need to do another test, but hopefully the numbers are indeed better than I thought.

(My) Seattle To Redmond Commute

I did the full commute to work in Redmond today, via I-90, Mercer Island, and Bellevue. 25 km each way, with small hills & a lake in between. I brought along a little digi camera and snapped some shots (mostly while rolling, can't be late). Enjoy!

(Click any image for its larger original size)

The view of downtown from my porch - yup, looks like a great day! Short sleeve (wool) jersey and arm-warmer kind of weather.

A few km into the trip, this is at Judkins Park in the Central District, on 20th Ave, heading south towards the I-90 trail. I've heard people say this is the "dangerous" part of town but I think that's ridiculous! I haven't had any issues commuting through here so far.

Just down the street from Judkins Park is a nice little view of the Sound - you can barely see it but it's there. I make a point to view (and enjoy) the water every time I roll past this intersection. I guess growing up in Key West means I love large bodies of water!
After the Mt. Baker tunnel, this is the view overlooking the I-90 floating bridge & the northern portion of Mercer Island (facing east). (There's a separated bike path from all that traffic, in case you're wondering)

Now on Mercer Island, this is looking back west towards Seattle. You can see downtown just over the hill there. That's more or less were I started the journey.

A few feet later on Mercer Island Way, briefly heading north. You can't really tell but his little kick can either propel me down it at 30-35 mph, or slow me down to 10 mph, depending if I'm going up or down it. It's really short but steep enough to make a difference. One day, I hope to sprint up it at 20 mph..

This is kind of in between Bellevue & Redmond, about 22 km into the ride. If you can't tell, this is atop a cliff I just pedaled up! This is 24th Ave, just off of 120th. Not long, but steeeep.

Then the camera ran out of batteries.

On the way in, I felt a little weak, probably due to lack of breakfast (just coffee). That was an average of about 25.5 km/h. Then on the way back, I really pushed my limits, and rode fast as I could. From Redmond to Bellevue (~5 km) and an average of 30.0 km/h! With those hills in between I'm pretty happy with that, but that's really not very far. By the time I was back in Seattle across the I-90 bridge (~18 km), the average was still 30.0 km/h! (18.6 mph). By the time I got home, it was down to 27.7 km/h. Woot.

A Week Of Commuting, And a Weekend of Riding. What Else Can I Ask For?

Usually I end up either riding the bus to Redmond to get to work, carpooling a few days with a friend, and cycling to work maybe two days out of the week. My carpool buddy is in Europe, so I decided to pedal in every day last week. I realize how lucky I am to have my health, a flexible work schedule, decently strong legs, and a place of work that's only 16 miles away. And I also have a working bicycle (the Miyata) - yup, I've got everything I need to be an independent traveler; all I need is pavement, bridges, and my gear.

On Monday I had to get in super-early (for me, that means 8 AM) to watch Bill Gates speak to my division ("Entertainment & Devices") at Microsoft. Even though I didn't see him in person (they broadcast his speech to other parts of campus), it was interesting to see my boss's boss's boss's ... he's the boss right now, although he's stepping down soon to run the Gates Foundation. I wish I could sit down with him for a day to give me coding tips, but I don't even know if I'd be able to understand his guru-speak.

Anyway, since I had to be in early, I just pedaled a mile down to the bus stop, and put my bike on the bus to get out to work. Even though it's just a mile, the bike saves probably 20-30 minutes of walking overall.

Tuesday was a full-commute, via I-90, Mercer Island, and Bellevue. Let me tell you something about downtown Bellevue: it was apparently designed by people who assumed that all drivers are in large, comfortable new cars, and that these drivers number in the thousands. Oh yeah, and the drivers don't mind waiting forever at stoplights (seems like up to 4-5 minutes sometimes) - well if you're in an air-conditioned box with music, who cares how long the light takes? (It turns out that their assumptions were correct, and that most cars you see in Bellevue are large SUVs, mixed in with Audi's, BMW's, etc, etc) (Disclaimer: Like Kent says, I'm not anti-car, just pro-bike)

What I'm getting at is that my commute is totally slowed down by Bellevue, mostly by the damn stoplights. I come up 108th Ave (the hilly way), and I somehow never, ever, get a green at the light on Bellevue Way, so I always get to stop at the bottom of a 150-foot hill. Then after that if I keep going straight up to Main St, take a right, cross over I-405 (a sea of traffic, always slowly moving it seems), then take a left on 116th Ave. Here's where the traffic gets heavy, and the lights become many, with long waits. (Remember, we're all riding in comfortable boxes w/ music, so nobody minds)

Wednesday was more of the same, but I was starting to get tired of the platform pedals with straps that I was running on the Miyata this whole time. While it sure is comfortable to wear sneakers on the bike, it sure isn't efficient! Pulling up on the straps can lend you a little more power, but not being able to pull the pedal for the full rotation is a weird sensation. That night, I went out and bought some Sidi shoes!

So the commute on Thursday was much better, since my new SPD pedals with Sidi shoes are excellent! I especially like the way that the SPD cleats aren't huge (like Speedplay), so the shoes are actually walkable - helps on the flights of stairs I navigate daily. High winds today, it was pushing me from side to side on the I-90 trail across Lake Washington.

Yesterday, Friday, when I woke up there was light rain outside! No biggie, I've got the gear & dedication it takes to pedal 16 miles to work in the rain. On the way back in the afternoon, I was hoping to make it to Critical Mass, but didn't get back to Seatown until 6:15, too late unless I wanted to hunt down the group. Dammit, I bet they had fun too - the rain had stopped, and it wasn't too cold. Next month I'll go.

Today, Saturday, I'll be riding out to Redmond via the Burke-Gilaman Trail & Sammamish River Trail. It'll be a flat ride, since Dennis is still recovering from his foot injury, but I'm always down for some form of pedaling or another. About 50 miles in total, should be a nice little jaunt.

Then tomorrow, Sunday, I'll be doing the "Big Time 100K Populaire" - Oh my fucking god, guess who's coming to Seattle to ride?! The "Seattle" Intl Randonneurs! Sweet, can't wait to show them around my town, their nominal headquarters, although so far their rides have mostly started far way from Seattle. Their route goes all around Seattle, in a similar fashion to Dennis' "Five summits of Seattle" route. I'll probably post some details about this route later on today, as I'm sure the elevation profile looks like a roller coaster.

Miles this year so far (prior to this weekend's rides): 1079 miles (yes, I broke the 1K mile-marker this week!)
See my cycling log for details.
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In off-topic news, I beat Super Mario Galaxy (for the Wii)! Yes, I'm almost 30 and I'm playing games for ages 10 and up, but that game gets hard towards the end! Don't be fooled by the cartoonish graphics, it's a challenging game. My generation: those that were partially raised by the 8-bit Nintendo. (For those of you confused at this point, to "beat" a game means to finish it to the point that it shows you the credits).

And while I'm at it (bragging, that is), I also beat The Legend Of Zelda: The Twilight Princess on the Wii a few months ago! Now that one is really really tough, and I actually had to cheat to find the answers to a few of the puzzles in it. But heavily recommended if you're into that kind of game.

A Commute WIth A Little Ice On The Side

I commuted to work on Monday, and when I left my office to head home, there were little white flakes coming down! Those of you up in the mountains or in the mid-west are probably rolling your eyes, but we don't get that much snow here, maybe a few inches a year. I've got all the layers I need to stay warm, and my slick 23's are fine in light snow. I love riding when it's snowing, until the roads turn icy that is. Since it slows down traffic, it usually means smooth sailing for cyclists.

But by the time I got rolling (after maybe 10 minutes of puttting on layers, gloves, setting up lights, etc) the pretty snow had turned to ugly freezing rain. I didn't have proper booties or QFC bags, so you can bet my feet were wet & frozen! Even the wool socks weren't really doing anything for me at that point. But I pushed on, thinking of how the current pain would somehow make me a stronger cyclist at some point in the future. If nothing else, it (suffering in the cold rain) builds mental character. Right?!

I still pedaled the 8 km or so from NE 40th St. & 148th Ave to Evergreen Pt. When I got on the bus to go across 520, my glasses were foggy as hell, but it didn't really matter. The 545 was crowded as usual, so I was just standing in the front anyway, no need to really see. I could see just enough to make out my Bianchi bouncing around on the bike rack the buses have - those things are scary to watch! You realize how little is actually holding your bike on the rack.

Today I rode back into work, and all of the roads were bare, with maybe some black ice on the shoulder, but not in my way. White snow covered the grass on the side of the roads, which added a nice touch to the ride. On the way back it was cold, maybe 36 degrees F, but once I got warmed up I felt great, and took the long way home: via I-90. I didn't see any ice or snow in Bellevue, and luckily there wasn't any ice on the I-90 trail, that had long melted away.

All in all they were pretty standard commutes, luckily no highlights like a crash caused by ice! If this snow keeps up, I'm gonna go down to the LBS and just buy a $50 used mountain bike, some some studded tires, and shred it up! So bring on the nasty weather!

My Overall Ride Stats:
Today's Distance: 40 km
Total Distance this year: 376 km

Lost a Mini-Race on the Commute This Morning

My 16-mile commute takes me from Capitol Hill to the Microsoft Campus out in Redmond over the I-90 trail, and through Bellevue. I usually like to ride hard & fast as much as possible, and today was no exception. I felt great starting down 12th ave, at a good 35+ km/h rate.

As I was getting on the I-90 bike trail in Seattle, there was another roadie also getting on the trail, fully decked out in Team Chipotle's argyle race kit, and I sat on his wheel during the descent to the flat bridge deck cruising at about 32 km/h.

It wasn't that I was trying to drop the guy, but I pulled around him and bumped the speed up to 36-40 km/h, but that only lasted about 30 seconds due to a tough head-wind. I always seem to make the mistake of passing someone that I'm drafting off of, and then suffering in the head-wind they were pulling me through! The bridge-deck is about 2 miles long, so it can be tough to hold top speed the whole time, but I was sure trying. My speed slowly dropped, first to 32-34 km/h, then 30-32 km/h. Did I mention the head wind??

I didn't look back to see if he was on my wheel or not, but he apparently was, because as soon as the grade started to kick up to get onto Mercer Island, he passed me and started climbing out of the saddle - it's on!

As we started the 2nd half of the climb, he really hammered, basically sprinting up the hill. I was only about 20 ft behind him, also sprinting about as hard as I could. But just as we were about to the top, I started to feel all bonky - you know, ill feeling, legs get numb, etc. Damn! And this is only 3 miles into my commute!

Not that I expected to drop the guy, like I said he looked pretty serious, but I was hoping to test him a little more than that! As he turned left onto Mercer Island Way he glanced back a few times, only to see me 100 ft away, slowly rolling, head looking down towards the handle-bars, heavily breathing.

Needless to say the other 13 miles were pretty slow indeed. It took me about 10 minutes to recover while slowly riding - it's been a while since I felt like that! Nice little taste of racing I suppose.

Note to self: don't go all-out for too long if you don't want to bonk.