2015年8月アーカイブ
Like last week this week was about intervals.
Pursuit intervals in preparation for Fuji 200. Under the guidance of my coach I'm targeting 6, 7, 8 minute intervals. Simulating the effort to bridge to another group or chase back on should I need to pit.
These are easily done. Straightforward 8 hard / 5 easy on Tuesday and Thursday. Stop after a 10 % drop off in power.
It's important to keep things fun too. I did two fun sessions with Yamada san. Tweaking the intervals for pair riding.
On Friday we did a 2 up TT. Two laps of the Shindou TT circuit. Holding 39 to 40 kmph. 40 second pulls. About 8 mins of work each. x 4 sets.
On Sunday we rode in the heavy rain. 7 minute pulls, 7 minutes holding the wheel. 8 pulls each in total. The power drops off nicely.
Monday: recovery
Tuesday: intervals
Wednesday: recovery
Thursday: intervals
Friday: intervals
Saturday: rest day
Sunday: intervals
Total 595 km
I'm lucky to have friends to push me and motivate me...
Three weeks of build before peaking for Fuji 200.
These three weeks are all about intervals.
Last week was a big volume of training. 19.5 h, 560 km.
But more important was the intensity. Interval training on 5 count'em days.
Monday: 6 mins intervals x 6 (rollers)
Tuesday: 12 + mins intervals x 4 (Komura Pass)
Wednesday: easy riding
Thursday: 8 mins intervals x 5 (R73 climb)
Friday: 6 mins intervals x 6 (rollers)
Saturday: rest day
Sunday: 7 mins intervals x 8 (coast road)
These interval sessions are all planned focused workouts.
The power should drop off gradually. Fade out slowly.
Mon to Wed I was without a power meter.
On the rollers I looked at speed. On the climbs I looked at time.
Even without power, the principle is still the same. Each effort should feel harder than the last.
On Sunday I did intervals with Yamada san.
On the flat. One rider pulls the other for 7 minutes. The other rider follows. We share a rest interval after 2 hard efforts each. The data shows the power slowly dropping off. The data also shows the benefit of a true rest period:
7 minute intervals
front (343 W, 167 HR)
follow (267 W, 158 HR)
front (338 W, 170 HR)
follow (281 W, 163 HR)
recover
front (split 339 W, 317 W 166 HR, 172 HR)
follow ( 253 W, 153 HR)
front ( 310 W, 165 HR)
follow ( 258 W, 152 HR)
recover
front (332 W, 164 HR)
follow (260 W, 151 HR)
front ( 313 W, 167 HR)
follow ( 267 W, 153 HR)
recover
front ( 315 W, 161 HR)
follow ( 247 W, 149 HR)
front ( 295 W, 165 HR)
follow ( 235 W, 151 HR)
recover
Autumn is around the corner. Fuji Speedway 200 km next month. Time is on my side to get the training and preparation just right...
The Jyonnobi Marathon on Saturday.
10 laps of the tough hilly circuit. 115 km. 1,800 m of climbing.
Last year I was off the front for half of the race. Likewise in my last two races at Uchinada and Gunma, I was off the front for long periods.
So I was thinking of where and when to attack...
Little did I know I'd be struggling to hold on....
The build up
An easy week before the race after two very hard weeks previously. Feel rested and ready.
An 8 am start in Nota. Heavy rain is clearing for blue skies. The temperature will rise too.
About 30 riders on the start line. Niigata's finest. Team Fins were dominant in yesterday's race at Maze. They have a strong presence today too with Kenta san, Adachi san, Hayakawa san, Ito san, Mezaki san, Tojo san, Endo san, Yamada san...
Of course the evergreen Murayama san is here too. Long gone are the days when I'd drag him around this course and we'd fight it out on the last climb....
3,2,1 Go!
The first lap is neutral. A nice warm up.
Lap 2
Race on!
Adachi san attacks on the first climb. He's on a different level. The fast descent. The second climb. It's a big effort to pull him back.
Lap 3
Deja Vu!
Adachi san attacks on the first climb. He's on a different level. The fast descent. The second climb. It's a big effort to pull him back...
These laps are completed in 19 mins. At 36 kmph. On this course!
Lap 4
7 more laps. I'm struggling just to follow the wheels. It's the slight gradients. The slight changes in speed. Here's where the gaps open.
Survival mode. Move to the front on the descents. Keep in contact on the climbs.
I do the 2nd climb in the big ring each time. It's the only way to keep up. HR up and above 180 bpm each time.
I lose contact a few times but somehow bring it back on the descents.
Kenta is bossing the Fins train. Screaming at the young guys to get on the front. Make it faster! Make it harder!
Murayama san and I try to keep out of it. Holding up the rear. We share a glance. A blow of the lips. This is going to be a hard one.
Lap 5
It's hot now. Everyone is suffering. We regroup. The pace slows. A chance to recover at last.
On the 2nd climb Ito san and Murayama san are up front. I find myself in a gap between them and the main group. As the two of them exchange a few words at the top I find myself going for it.
Clunk, clunk. Grind it. Up the right hand side. Shut up legs! Sick in the mouth! Gross!
Over the top. Clunk, clunk, clunk. 50 × 11.
Up to speed. Into the ski tuck. Make the body as small as possible. Catch me if you can!
Onto the valley floor. Glance back.
Here they come. Murayama san leading the chase. The old man's grip is as tight as ever!
Back in the group.
Lap 6
Kenta does an explosive attack on the first incline. Then again on the first climb proper. Cheers all around.
The second climb. Here he comes again. This is my chance. Out of the saddle. Make it look like I'm chasing him. The others will leave me to it.
I'm not chasing anything though. He won't make the top. I pass him about half way up. Now I have a proper gap.
All or nothing now. The heaviest gear I can. Push, pull, push, pull. Everything out by the top. Thighs on fire.
Over we go. Ski tuck. Maybe this one will work?
Take a glance. Still have the gap by the valley floor. But the're closing fast.
2 hard efforts out of the saddle. Try to put them off. Physiological warfare. It's useless though. Don't have the legs.
Back in the frying pan.
Lap 7
If this is a war, it's a war of attrition. Kenta throws in the towel. Hayakawa san too.
Still I'm struggling to hold the wheels. The group splits on the first incline. Deceptively hard here.
Up front Mezaki san and Adachi san. With Murayama san and Ito san for company.
I'm off the back with Tojo san and Yamada san.
Push on, push on. Look back at the top of the climb. 2 more riders down.
3 laps to go. 4 riders up the road. TT mode.
Lap 8
I catch Ito san and share a few pulls. He's actually a lap down. We share a few jokes.
Lap 9
4th on the road now. Fins ace Adachi san, Japan top level cross country skier Mezaki san and Mr. Hillclimb Murayama san up front.
I'm under no illusion that I'll catch them. 33 kmph laps riding solo. I'm losing ground. But maybe one will crack...
Lap 10
At the start/goal Murayama san has pulled off. "The only thing worse than a DNS is a DNF!" he once told me. That shows how hard it is.
The 10th lap then. 2 flyers up the road. I'm dead. I just have to do the lap to hold on for 3rd. Enjoy the small chainring on the climbs. Sit up. Drink a full bottle. 30 kmph. Roll home...
Goal!
The race didn't go as well as planned. It didn't quite click. You can't hit it perfect every time.
Still I did what I could. A TSS of over 300 is testament to how hard it was. Good training as they say.
After the race it's back to the Jyonnobi Time Bike Shop for a BBQ. We've earned the beers today.
Thanks everyone for a great event. See you next year too!
Time to focus now on my season's second target race, Fuji Speedway 200 km in September...
Bring it on!
2001, my first year as a "cyclist", a steel Kalavinka on Komura Pass
After two weeks of hard training, I'm enjoying a rest week this week. Race tomorrow:
Mon: off
Tues: 3h easy (+1 × 3 mins strava KOM)
Wed: 2h easy
Thurs: 2 h easy
Friday: off
Saturday: race
Sunday: off
A meeting with my coach yesterday. It's always nice to catch up and plan ahead. Here are the things we talked about:
Analysis of JCRC data.
I was happy with the race and was happy that I could ride off the front for the majority of the race.
Next time I will split the data for warm up, race and warm down.
There was a gradual decline in NP for each lap after I attacked the group which is to be expected:
- 370, 370, 348, 329, 318, 318, 309, 300, 299, 293, 284 W
- The peak 30 mins power = 338 W, peak 60 mins = 316 W
Analysis of Build 1 and 2
I did two big weeks of training:
- Build 1: Short intervals x 3 on the 3 climbs of Saturday's race course + big volume of easy riding
- Build 2: 5 laps of the course at race pace + big volume of easy riding
I felt tired by the Saturday of the 2nd week. I noted the HR to be lower and sluggish.
We talked about the effects of overtraining on HR:
1. Overtraining with a large volume at low intensity often results in a depression in HR.
2. Overtraining with too much high intensity and without enough recover often results in an elevated HR.
A strategy for Saturday's event
This is a fun event really, not too serious. Last year I was in a break for the first half of the race. When the 2nd move went I couldn't follow.
One idea is to sit in and ignore the breaks. Try to go on the 8th (of 10 laps).
Another idea is to just go for it early again with a couple of guys. We're all friends, so it's easy to set up different things.
I'm expecting my freshness (a rest week this week and many of the other guys will race at Maze today (the day before)) will be an advantage this time.
So I'll go out there and try to ride aggressively and enjoy the race.
4iiii
I sent the power meter to Canada to be repaired. In the meantime, I will borrow a powertap wheel from Doug. I'll do the upcoming power based intervals on this wheel.
Percentage drop off is useful for the intervals.
So we can determine TSS accurately, I'll also do an FTP test and we can adjust the power zones accordingly.
The lead up to Fuji 200
I didn't look into strategy too much yet. I will start getting information together. Doug maybe able to join me for this race too.
In the ATP I will have 3 weeks of Build, 2 weeks of Peak and 1 race week.
Build weeks:
During the Build weeks, I will focus on pursuit type intervals: 7, 8, 9 and 10 minutes. x 5 or 6 sets.
I will aim to go as hard as I can on the first set and study how power drops off for subsequent sets.
I will mix up the intervals, riding on the flat and on some of the 10 minute climbs like Komura and Ishikawa Toge.
Peak weeks:
During the peak weeks, we envisage I'll do some longer durations at higher intensity. I'm also interested in simulating the race effort in terms of time on the bike to determine the necessary fueling (bottles and food) necessary.
Getting excited about my 2nd big target of the season. Thanks to my coach I'm focused and more motivated than ever before!
It's really hot in Japan now. 35 degrees most days. The heat stays all day long and through the night.
There is just a small window between 4 am and 6 am when the temperature drops into the 20s. Any hard training has to be done at this time.
This week was build 3 week 2.
I do three hard sessions: Tues, Thurs and Saturday. 4 am start each time. 5 laps of next week's race course with Yamada san. Race pace. We push each other to the limit. 60 km of hard work.
All other riding is easy. Zones 1 and 2. Up the coast to Teradomari. Grab an ice cream. Ride the blue wind home. Every day. 80 km.
That gives me 710 km for the week. 1000 TSS.
Next week I'll step right back. Rest Rest Rest. Recover Recover Recover. Race on Saturday...
Total: 709 km, 1030 TSS.
Too busy training recently to write anything!
Before the Gunma CSC race, I had a meeting with my coach Here's what we talked about:
Last 3 weeks of build
I think I did a good job of increasing the intensity over the 3 weeks:
- Build 2 week 1 15.5 h / 700 TSS
- Build 2 week 2 16.5 h / 885 TSS
- Build 2 week 3 22.5 h / 1075 TSS
It was noted that the 3rd week was the 2nd biggest week (in terms of volume) so far this year.
FTP test
Based on the midweek FTP test we reset the FTP value:
- 380 W x 0.95 = 361 W FTP
This value is consistent with field observations when doing VO2 max intervals (the 440 W I've been hitting equates to roughly 125% of this new FTP value)
However, there has been a general jump in power readings after Uchinada.
We compared the value to powertap readings earlier in the year:
20 min FTP tests:
Nov 360
Feb 357
Mar 361
Apr 365
We will keep an eye on power readings. If there is a major shift, we will make adjustments.
Upcoming races
The jyonnobi marathon is on August 15.
In the next 2 weeks I will do specific training for this. This will be in the form of intervals on the main climbs of the course.
We also adjusted the annual training plan to accommodate the race. Leading into the race I will do 2 weeks of build followed by a rest week.
The build weeks will be hard. Aiming for 800 and then 1000 TSS.
Fuji 200
I put in my entry for Fuji 200 on September 23.
We talked about strategies for this race.
An assistant rider would be very useful. Also someone to give out advice. As the event is being organised by Funride, we can expect realtime lap updates to the web.
We talked about trying to do the event without "pitting". Maybe 2 bottles under the saddle.
It looks like all categories will be on the road together. I need to research the coloring and numbering of different categories. It may be possible to work with team categories for example.
Also, I will find out if their is an overall prize in addition to category prizes.
I will also work out the effort it will take (time and power) to try and lap the field.
I will use Strava to look at the power data that faster riders were doing last year.
In terms of training, I have the base and endurance. We think mid length intervals will be useful. 5,6,7,8 minutes.
These will replicate the effort required to cover moves, solo away to put in some distance or to bridge a gap.
It looks like I will be on the Lynskey for this race. I need to research what aero set up is allowed. I'm also thinking of putting the 53/39 crankset on the bike for this event.
The last 2 weeks of training:
build 2 week 4
The week before Gunma was a rest week. I rested up well. 3 days off the bike. 3 days of easy riding. One hard 20 minute effort midweek for the FTP test. A new PB with 380 W for the 20 minutes.
- 260 km, 550 TSS
build 3 week 1
After Gunma the training starts again.
Interval training on alternative days: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.
I do the intervals on the 3 main climbs of the upcoming Jyonnobi Marathon. 10 climbs of each on each day.
A big volume of riding pushes the km and TSS right up.
- 590 km, 950 TSS
I plan to go harder still next week. After that a rest week. Then the Jyonnobi marathon event.
