Monday, February 21, 2011

Bad Valentine's Week

I managed to get all my training rides in for last week, except my tempo ride for Saturday.  Reason?  My Dad fell on Wednesday morning and broke his right hip.  He had surgery that night to replace the ball.  He's still in the hospital today due to acute confusion & hallucinations.  Initially, he was going to be discharged this past weekend, but his blood platelets were low and they wanted to keep him to make sure they started to go back up.  That got better, but there were still more problems.


His blood pressure was also high and not responding very well to the medication.  That's not all.  He ripped all his iv's out Friday night, he's not eating and at times, refusing to even drink.  He's back on iv's for hydration and more medication for the high blood pressure.  The acute confusion and hallucinations are, from what the doctor's tell me, the surgery in general, pain medications, unfamiliar location.  He's just really in his own little world.  But, fortunately, he does recognize me, can tell you his name & birthday.


I really just think, giving him a few more days in the hospital, to make sure he's starting to eat again and the confusion stuff goes away, he'll be fine later this week.  At least I really hope so.  


I didn't do too well on the rides after Wednesday - I had a recovery ride Thursday and VO2 max intervals for Friday.  Those intervals didn't go well because I hadn't been eating very much and not getting enough rest.  I had to stop doing those negative things over the weekend because I won't be any good to my Dad if I don't take care of me, nor will I be able to ride.


That's about all for last week.  Zone 4 intervals this evening and all were pretty good.


#1: 188/185
#2: 188/188
#3: 188/185

Monday, February 14, 2011

Day 1, Week 1

Day 1 in the books for my AoMM training.  On the table this evening were 4x6min zone 4 intervals. I think I have learned how to do them without going out too hard at the beginning and then faltering at the end.  Lots of wind this evening (head/crosswind) and for once, that wasn't all that bad, maybe helped somewhat.  It was a bit hard to keep the average on the lower end of my zone, but I did manage to do that as well as increase them 10+/- watts each time.


I did get all of them done and I don't believe I could have done another one that would have been better than the last one.  Great job!  Rode back to the car, then picked Taylor up at doggy daycare and on home.  I even got the after workout nutrition correct!  1 serving of Recoverite, then a shower, and lastly a 1c serving of pasta/sauce, 1 slice of spinach/feta pizza, and a Sweet Water 420 Extra Pale Ale. :)


My legs are definitely feeling the effects of this workout right now.  I will be going to bed in about an hour or so too - Andy's old sayings & training are still remembered - "Rest, Recover, Get Stronger".  Early to bed so that I can get up at 5:20am to take Taylor for a 20-30 min walk (with a few stints of running) before breakfast & going to work.


Tomorrow will be a nice 1 hour recovery ride.  I'm so glad I have a schedule to follow!  Structure & organization I do like!!!


Interval session (181-211w=zone 4):
#1 188/187/89 (normal power/avg power/rpm)
#2 191/191/93
#3 205/204/90
#4 218/217/88


Hmmmm...cadence needs to be 95+.  I'll have to work on just spinning at 95+ tomorrow and the high cadence drills later this week should help get me back into more spinning.  Better for the knees.





Thursday, February 10, 2011

I have a Plan

Yes, yes, I do.  I have a plan for the remainder of this month and through the first full week of March.  I really haven't had anything written down and I've just been doing zone 4 (threshold) rides every other day.  Mainly on the trainer due to weather or not having time after work.


This evening, I was supposed to do another zone 4 interval set, but my mind just was not into it this evening.  I even got dressed but just did not feel like doing them.  Frustrated really.  Frustrated because I honestly didn't really know what to do.  I had no real plan.  I thrive on structure, especially in cycling, and I NEEDED to know what I was going to be doing in preparation for AoMM.  I have the makings of a plan for part of that.


Once I get to March, I will go back to my 2009 Google Calendar and do the workouts I posted for all of March & April.  Hopefully, those along with a few mountain training rides, I will be ready come May 16, 2011.


I have a solid 3 weeks of intervals, a recovery week and I will do my FTP test on March 18.  Will be interesting to see what I get during an actual test - see if I'm close to what I have been using.  I hope so.  Even if I come out and the test results are indicative of a lower FTP, I'm going to continue using what I have used for the 3 weeks on.  I might even bump it up, if I can do those wattages....


Damn.  I do feel better after spending the last hour or so figuring out the training plan.  The next 3 days will be intervals, tempo, recovery and then it starts!!!  Yay!! :)

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Training Week

Well, it's been a week since I started my AoMM training.  I have managed to get the interval & zone 3 rides done, but the recovery rides haven't been as easy to do.  A zone 2 recovery ride for an hour on the trainer???  I just can't seem to do those.  But, I will do my intervals on the trainer.  Someone once told me - "Never skip your intervals" and I really have and will try to not skip them.


This past Sunday, I managed to get out for 2 hours and do a zone 3 tempo ride out in the county.  It was a very nice day and I really enjoyed the ride.  My only concern was that I may have under-estimated my power zones.  I decided to use the zones calculated from December 2007, but after the tempo ride and the first interval session, I think I'm a tad low.


Thinking I was a tad low on the power zones, I upped them and did the zone 4 intervals at the new level.  I think I'm close.  I was expecting company yesterday evening and just did not have time to get all 6 intervals done before 7pm (expected arrival).  I did squeek out 5x3min zone 4 intervals and the last one was really becoming hard (202w avg).  Therefore, since the 5th one was becoming a bit difficult towards the end and thinking that had I been able to do a 6th one, it would have really been more difficult.  Just the way they're supposed to be. :)


Tomorrow, Thursday, February 10, I have a zone 3 tempo ride scheduled.  The weather probably isn't going to be conducive to outdoor riding plus, I won't have enough daylight, so it looks like it's another trainer ride.  Oh Yay. 


Half day Friday - I may do another zone 4 interval session and the weekend looks fabulous, so I'll definitely be riding outside over the weekend.  Very much looking forward to the outside rides!!!  Next week looks very promising too! :)


Guess that's all for now....

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

First "real" training session

I want to do AoMM, as I stated in the previous post.  15 weeks....I know if I don't get my ass in gear and start doing SOMETHING, I won't make it past Marion.  So, I went back and looked over my training rides from 2008 & 2009 and have sorta figured out what I need to do.  I hope.


Tonight, despite the unanswered calls from my Dad, a dog that needed some Mommy time, and a cat that was pestering me, I managed to do my first interval session.  It was a very good one...I have learned from years past.  I did 6x3min zone 4 (powertap) intervals this evening.  I did them correctly too. :)  I worked from the low end of zone 4 up to the high end for the last two intervals.  Damn!!!  I love intervals!!!


I can't download my data, as I have a new computer (Macbook Pro) and do not have the thing configured to run any of my Windows programs.  Will take it tomorrow and see if I can get that fixed.  I will also have to do a good recovery ride on the trainer tomorrow.


I'm excited!!!  I just need to keep it up and not let the family/life issues derail me.  I know I can do AoMM, I know how to do the ride, from Spartanburg to Marion, and from Marion to Mitchell.  I know.  And, I know I can do it.


Now, it's time for bed.  Rest, Recover, Get Stronger.