andy: 2014年12月アーカイブ
After Friday's training, I had cold symptoms, so 12h sleep and a rest day. A drive up to the Lake District. 4 days in England's jewel in the crown.
Saturday: rest day
Turbo trainer plus road on Sunday.
Still don't feel great but my brother in law has been looking forward to this ride. Minus temperatures, blue skies and some of the UK's best roads.
Rolling roads, the heart rate never settles down (cold symptoms?), on this tiny old bike I feel like I'm wrestling it up the hills, big chain rings, short cranks, 8 small gears on the back...
A beautiful ride though, no wonder the Yorkshire stages of the tour were so successful, unfortunately cut short by a mechanical...
Sunday's training:
Endurance:
1. turbo trainer (1h 20)
2. Road (52 km, 600 m climbing)
Again I don't feel good after Sunday's ride, another 12h sleep, another rest day on Monday.
Monday: rest day
Another ride on the beautiful lake district roads on Tuesday.
Punchy climbs, fast descents, a real roller coaster ride.
It's difficult to do focused training, 2h of fun, more focused training tomorrow.
Tuesday's training:
Endurance: Road (50 km, 600 m climbing)
Back in the garage this morning. After a few days away, I'm really up for it. Back to basics. 430 to 730. 3 hours. Zones 1 and 2.
Feels good to have focus back.
Wednesday's training:
Endurance: turbo trainer (3h)
Strength: Lunges x 700
I can honestly say I've never complained about not having time to train. You make your own time.
Back in the UK I want to maximise time spent with kids and family. This means training when everyone is sleeping. And going to bed when everyone continues partying.
Two more 7pm sleeps. Two more 330 am starts.
2 hours on Christmas Day before the kids open there presents at 530.
3 hours before the house wakes up on Boxing Day.
Thursday's training:
Endurance: turbo trainer zones 1 and 2 (2h)
Friday's training:
Endurance: turbo trainer zones 1 and 2 (3h)
Back on the bike. A borrowed bike.
Saddle up to the max. A roll of old carpet to bring the "handlebars" up.
The base phase of training. High volume. Low intensity.
Perhaps the longest turbo trainer sessions I've ever done.
Kicking off at 3:30 am today!
Tuesday's training:
Endurance: Turbo trainer, zones 1 and 2 (2h 30)
Wednesday's training:
Endurance: Turbo trainer, zones 1 and 2 (3h 15)
Back in the UK now. We traveled to Tokyo on Thursday. A quick run before breakfast on Friday morning.
Blue skies and frost in Tokyo. If I lived here I wouldn't have to cross train in winter...
Back in the UK. It doesn't come light till 8 o'clock. So running at 4 am or running at 6 am makes no difference. 3 × 4 am runs in a row.
It's always wet. Always windy. But you just get on with it in northern England.
Looking forward to getting a bike set up in the garage...
Thursday: rest day
Friday's training:
Endurance: Run (45 mins)
Saturday's training:
Endurance: Run (55 mins)
Strength: Lunges x 800
Sunday's training:
Endurance: Run (1h 15 mins)
Monday's training:
Endurance: Run (1h 20 mins)
Strength: 1 legged squats x 450
Tuesday's training:
Endurance: Swim (3.5 km)
Speed: Rollers - pedal efficiency comparisons (70 mins)
Strength: 7.5 kg dumbells, squats x 150, lunges x 190
Wednesday's training:
Endurance:
1. Run (45 mins)
2. Stepping machine (45 mins)
Speed: Rollers - high cadence, 1 leg drills, pedal efficiency comparisons (70 mins)
Another meeting with my coach last night. I enjoy the build up. Rollers in the snow, jump in a hot bath, nice warm pajamas, load up skype!
Each time I feel like I'm understanding things more. I've always been good at the “doing” but now I’m starting to improve on the “thinking” too!
Here are my notes from last night’s meeting:
Base period
This week marks the start of the base period.
I will continue to work primarily on endurance / speed / strength.
For strength work, I will aim to increase the weights and reduce the reps. However, the real “muscular endurance” work will begin in base 2.
The allocated hours for this 4 week Base 1 are:
Base 1 wk 1 Dec 15 ~ 21 (13h 45)
Base 1 wk 2 Dec 22 ~ 29 (16h 30)
Base 1 wk 3 Dec 29 ~ Jan 4 (18h 45)
Base 1 rest Jan 5 ~ 11 (10h)
I should be able to hit the target hours for the first and last week.
UK trip
It will be difficult to hit these hours for weeks 2 and 3. I will be visiting family in the UK.
I will aim to train 6 days a week around 90 minutes a day. I will use the turbo trainer and do some cross training (running, swimming).
I envisage I will be able to do 8 to 9 hours per week. Strength work on alternate days may push this up to 10~11 hours.
How to compensate for reduced volume?
We agreed that time lost at this stage in the ATP is not so crucial. We can be flexible and not worry too much about losses in fitness.
Some ideas I had were:
Increase the intensity?
One idea I had was to increase the intensity a little on the turbo trainer. We agreed that as I have a big base relative to my peers, some work in zone 3 is okay. However, I will still focus primarily on zone 2 work.
Introduce strength work on the bike?
I suggested some “SFR” heavy gear work on the rollers. We are not sure how beneficial this work is or how well it actually translates to on the road riding.
I will experiment with this on the turbo trainer. During these exercises I will focus on maintaining a steady HR (zone 2 if possible) and a smooth pedal stroke
Offset endurance to the Base 2 phase?
Another idea I had was to focus mostly on speed and strength in UK. Once back in Japan for base 2, I could focus more on endurance efforts (this will also be relevant as I expect to put on a bit of weight with Christmas eating and a reduced training volume).
I will upload my body weight to Training Peaks every few days.
Speed drills
We talked about the speed drills I have been doing.
1 legged drills.
I will try to find the optimum gear / cadence that I can pedal smoothly at for the duration.
I will switch between legs (ex: L only 30s, both 30s, right only 30s)
The target in these exercises is to make the mental association with good pedalling stroke.
As I repeat the exercises, if the muscles fatigue, I will move up to an easier gear.
4 parts of the pedal stroke
With both legs clipped in I will practice on focussing on the 4 parts of the pedal stroke separately (ex: 30 s pushing over the top, 30 s on the downstroke etc)
High cadence
I will look to find the highest cadence I can maintain “smooth” before “bouncing” on the rollers.
I will try some drills of 110 rpm x 5 mins.
I will see how HR responds to this in a set gear. Also I will try to hold a set effort (HR) while changing gears as appropriate.
The ultimate goal is to try to find the “cut off” point, where a high cadence results in a higher metabolic cost (relative to power output).
The importance of pedal efficiency?
There are different schools of thought on this. We think that the importance will vary with the individual athlete.
I will try to look at how relevant pedal efficiency is to me.
On the rollers I will try 2 × 5 minute intervals at a fixed speed and cadence.
For the first interval I will pedal normally. For the 2nd interval I will focus on pedal efficiency.
We will analyse the metabolic cost (in terms of HR) for the 2 efforts.
Later on the road we will use power to look at the power vs. cadence vs. HR relationship more closely.
Swim
Intensity values for my swimming seemed to be a little high. We recalculated the swimming threshold. The new value seems more reasonable. I noted that a 1h 30 swim gives a similar TSS score to 3h in zone 2 on the bike, which is what I would perceive it to be.
Training intensity during the prep phase.
It was noted that my weekly training intensity stayed pretty constant during the prep phase. This was an objective in this stage. Prior to beginning a training program, there were big fluctuations in training intensity week by week.
I am really enjoying the athlete-coach relationship. I am lucky that our relationship is a very interactive one. We are both working towards the same goal.
Our next meeting will be Tuesday January 13th at 10pm.
For the last few weeks my TSS score has been around 600. Which roughly translates as 100 TSS per day plus one rest day.
773 TSS last week. This is a result of a large volume of training. 18 hours. All in zones 1 and 2.
About 190 of this TSS was generated on Sunday.
Sunday's training:
Endurance:
1. Snow shoe Z1 & 2 (3h)
2. Rollers Z1 & 2 (1h 30)
Strength:
Free squats x 1000
More endurance work to start the base period on Monday.
Monday's training:
Endurance:
1. Stepping machine Z1 & 2 (45 mins)
2. Rollers Z1 & 2 (1h 15)
An other full set of training on Thursday.
Thursday's training:
Endurance: Swim 3 km (70 mins)
Speed: Rollers (1 leg, high cadence) x 45 mins
Strength: 1 legged squats x 350
The stepping machine on Friday. I love this as a cross training tool. Endurance work with a bit of strength work thrown in.
Friday's training:
Endurance: Stepping Machine Z2 (80 mins)
A rest day today. I'm trying to be strict about having one day of rest each week during this phase of training.
A big snow shoe planned for tomorrow morning...
Saturday's training: rest
A big volume of training over the last few days.
Sunday's training:
1000 squats on Sunday night. Takamura san of Ravanello pescribes this menu to his riders. He used to send me bike racing DVDs. The "post it note" said 2000 squats!
Strength: 1000 squats
Monday's training:
A long effort on the stepping machine on Monday. 80 minutes. Almost a full football match. A box to box midfielder. That's me!
Some speed work too.
Endurance: Run Z2 × 15 mins, Stepping machine Z2 × 80 mins
Speed: Rollers (1 leg, high cadence) x 60 mins
Tuesday's training:
Another big endurance effort on Tuesday. The full 90 minutes this time. Swimming is boring. But it's effective for sure. Always hungry after a swim.
Some speed and strength work too. The full menu.
Endurance: Swim 3.5 km (90 mins)
Speed: Rollers (1 leg, high cadence) x 45 mins
Strength: 700 squats
Wednesday's training:
Sunshine on the forecast on Wednesday! It seems to have rained (or snowed) for 40 days and 40 nights.
Get a chance to ride the road in winter? Grab it with both hands!
60 minutes in zone 2. In Ishiji I'm happy to meet Hayakawa san. Another 30 mins in zone 2 to Teradomari.
Two sets of 30 mins "through and off".
For the first set I try to keep an eye on HR. Pull off before I enter zone 3. But the culmulative effect makes it difficult.
For the second set we do 30 s each on the front. Now it's easier to control it. I drift into Z3 a few times. But it's the price you pay.
The first time to feel tired after exercise in ages...
Endurance: Road, 2 × 30 mins through and off, (115 km)
TSS (Training Stress Score) is a value calculated combining training volume and intensity. The value is specific to the individual.
A value of 100 TSS is equivalent to a 1 hr TT on the bike. In training, if you produce a value of less than 100 TSS each day, you should be good to train the next day.
Winter training in zone 2: 90 mins on the rollers or 60 mins stepping give a TSS of around 60.
But how do the big cross training exercises show up?
A 3.5 km (85 mins) swim on Thursday produces a TSS of 98.
Today's 2h 40 min snow shoe hike, a TSS of 97.
It's good to be able to get a feel for how these exercises compare to bike work.
Thursday's training:
Endurance: Swim (3.5 km)
Speed: Rollers: (1 leg drills, 40 mins)
Strength: Lunges x 300
Friday: rest day
Saturday's training:
Endurance: Snow shoe (2h 40 mins), snow shoveling (45 mins)
In the preparation phase of my ATP (annual training plan), I'm focussing on three things:
1. endurance
cross training: stepping, swimming, running (snow shoes)
night time rollers count too
2. strength
I try to do strength work every 2 days.
Mostly low weight / high reps in this phase.
3. speed skills
Speed skill drills on the rollers. I am just starting to introduce these to my training.
Sunday's training:
Endurance: rollers z2 × 100 mins
Strength: 1 legged squats x 400 reps
Monday's training:
Endurance:
1. stepping machine z2 × 40 mins
2. rollers z2 × 70 mins
Tuesday's training:
Endurance: stepping machine x 80 mins
Strength: leg press machine x 20 reps building to max 140 kg (3 sets) = 240 total
Speed: Rollers high cadence intervals(30 mins)
Wednesday's training:
Endurance:
1. mountain run z2 × 60 mins
2. stepping machine z2 × 60 mins
Speed skills:
Rollers 1 legged intervals, high cadence intervals (70 mins)
The Niigata prefecture cyclist's end of season party on saturday night.
It's always great to talk about this year's results. Next year's goals.
After starting to work with a coach I find myself talking differently than in previous years. More focused. Clear goals and objectives.... At least until the beers kick in....
Talking with my coach on Monday. Our 4th meeting. 90 minutes on Skype.
Each time we are putting the pieces together. Building a plan specific for me.
Here are the notes from the meeting:
Periodization and the ATP
Most training plans are based on periodization. Base, Build, Peak, Race. High volume & low intensity at first. Replaced by lower volume & higher intensity later. These higher intensity efforts are useful for racing skills such as attacking, bridging, sprinting etc.
However, we are wondering how relevant these skill will be to my target A races? We envisage the required skills to be a long TT effort (Tokyo~Itoigawa) and a long endurance effort with some more strategy (Fuji and Motegi)
Should we keep more volume? We need to customize the training plan, trading off volume and intensity. ex: high volume / mid-intensity.
Other coaches are being consulted about this. We are waiting for their feedback.
One training theory is "reverse periodization". High intensity at first. More volume later. Maybe I've done this unknowingly in the past as I spent the winter months in zone 3 on the rollers, before doing long volume (lower intensity) rides on the road in the spring. We are not sure if we should follow this method though.
November's training.
Most of November has been work in zone 2. Rollers, cross training and low intensity strength work. The hours are close to the ATP.
1 rest day a week is a good habit.
Most exercises produce a TS value of 0.5 to 0.6. It is difficult to train below this intensity. A gentle ride with children for example would produce a lower score.
Weekly TSS totals are around 600. These will likely become higher as training intensity increases.
Preparation phase
Currently I am in the preparation phase. There are 2 more weeks of this phase. Around 12 hours are allocated to each week. Hitting the target is not so important. It will be come less important as we become to understand my TSS and response to training.
Base phase
There are three specific skills to focus on in the base phase:
1. endurance - cross training, rollers
2. force - strength training
3. speed skills - exercises to improve pedal efficiency
As we move into the base phase, I will continue to get lots of my cardio work through cross training.
For force, I will continue to do strength work. I will slowly reduce the repetitions and increase the weight. I am happy with my progress so far. Later I would like to try some new exercises like "jumps"
For speed skills, I will practice:
•1 legged drills
•high cadence (130 rpm)
•ankling
1 legged drills can help to highlight deadspots. They can also help to recruit muscles that are not being recruited.
I will look more closely at "ankling" and how this can improve my pedal stroke.
Transition phase
After the base phase the transition phase deals with "advanced skills".
The TSS score
As a general guideline, an athlete can train the next day if his TTS doesn't exceed 100. 100~200 would require a day's rest. 200 + would require 2 or 3 days rest. Every individual is different. I have a big base and I am used to riding big 180 to 200 km rides. We will try to assess my response to training stress.
Coach - athlete relationship
Weekly training plans are usually sent to athletes on Sunday evening. However, we envisage this will be a more collaborative working relationship.
We are looking forward to a rewarding and successful year on the bike in 2015!
Next meeting
December 15th, 10 pm
