Review: Tanita BC-1000 Scale with Healthy Edge Software

I know you've seen it. Some new crazy scale that has no numbers on it. Some new software that claims to make it fun to weigh in each morning.

The BC-1000 from Tanita is supercool. Just walk by your computer with the Healthy Edge software on it and click, "New measurement" from your profile. Walk to the scale... it beeps and flashes green. Step on and wait for another few beeps. That's it!

Meanwhile, back at your computer. All of your info is there and updated:
Date, time, weight, BMI, total body fat%, mass, Fat free mass; Total body water % and mass; Muscle mass and bone mass. It also guesses at your Basal Metabolic Rate, daily caloric intake, your metabolic age, and it rates your physique. It also has a field for comments (sleep quality, hydration, when you ate, when you worked out, whatever...)

Its graphs and goals are what make it most helpful and idiot proof. As you change your training into a base early/pre-season phase, this device could keep the motivation going!

It came with an ANT+ usb stick to talk to the scale. The warranty is only 90 days, for such a costly item that is a suckass warranty. I set it up easily last night. Entering the athlete profile was easy and pairing the scale with my desktop PC was also easy. Of course I weighed myself before and after dinner last night and before and after coffee this morning.
It is fun and easy... let's hope it make me mindful of overall goals.

1) My brief training camp @ 4000 ft 2) Base period body weight 3) Snazzy tile

Training Camp:

I wanted 5 good rides on the Texas/New Mexico frontier. I got 4 rides total, two were good.
The snowed forced the arrival to Monday (instead of Saturday), then I brought the wrong drop-out with me to put on the training bike. I had to get a shop in Midland, TX (Peyton's Bikes) to overnight the correct one from Dallas (I was relieved that they could get it!). Had to drive over 3 hours round trip back the next day to pick up the correct drop. That was Tuesday and it was getting dark by the time I drove back into New Mexico so I didn't ride. But yes... on that day the weather was f**'in perfect.
So, I went out on the Raleigh R700 with old 9spd Ultegra over the next four days. I brought my Power Tap wheel and Garmin with me (yes, I was the super dork with a red mavic wheel bag on the plane). I was glad to have brought the power tap wheel so I could see how the power was under those conditions.
POWER SUCKING FACTORS:
1) 3700 - 4000 feet of elevation is enough to FEEL LIKE you are short of breath. It was a very strange feeling. Not quite mountain climbing, but I did feel that lack of oxygen.
2) The training bike (featured in the photo above), which I love, saps the power every step of the way. Cycling power begins at the core (or your Chi if you're a hippie). Then to your major muscle movers, down to your foot bones. From there I had my old plastic Sidi T-1 tri shoes, super old original speedplays, old bottom bracket, old old nasty chain, old derailler. This is VERY different from the 2006 Trek Madone with 10sp dura ace.
3) Motivation, while it was very cool to be out in the wild, and the cars were more polite than they are around here, I saw not one other bike and rode alone.
Here are the rides:
12/23 Wed: 1:20 total, 209 avg watts . Tried to do some 20 min int, but was not used to the air.
Interval 1: 6.5 minutes, 290 watts.
Int.2: 20min. @ 252 watts average.
12/24 Thurs: 33 degrees, 30 mph sustained winds, UGG! 38 minutes, bad day.
12/25 Fri: 2:30:00 total, 215 avg watts: 2 x 60.
Int1: 60 min: avg. 225 Watts, 809 KJ, avg 140bpm. rest 13 min...
Int2: 60 min: avg. 234 Watts, 842 KJ, avg 145 bpm.
12/26 Sat.: 48 min total, 632 KJ. Headwind/tailwind.
Int1: 7 min, 303W, 154bpm, 126 KJ. avg 18.9 mph
Int2: 15min, 274W, 154bpm, 271 KJ. avg 24.4 mph

Sunday was travel day, Monday night I did an old Spinervals tape, I will post about that later.

OFF SEASON BODY WEIGHT:

I did not weigh myself for a week, which seems normal. In this off season, my body weight has gone up. At first it was all fat (I think), then it was from additional muscle (maybe 2-5 pounds??). My numbers are good on the bike, see my posts about my power tests. But my body weight has become a concern as it will be January soon. So I am changing my gym routine from MAximum Strength Phase to a Strength Maintenance Phase (see: Cyclists Training Bible 3rd or 4th edition, 4th Ed is better). I was reading Jo Friel's blog here: http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2009/12/base-period-body-weight.html
He says that weight gain is normal in the off-season, it may be good for your mood/psyche. I have been at an OFF-SEASON weight (still training). I need to move into a TRAINING WEIGHT, so that I can have an easier time getting to a good RACE WEIGHT.
I got a new scale for Christmas. And as we all know, even the most basic new toy can help keep the motivation high.

SNAZZY TILE

The tile on the left side of this picture is a 1 inch glass mosaic: super trendy. It would still be better than the giant mirror I have in the bathroom now. That middle part is used to make a frame and the right side is butt.

Last two weeks: Summary of Deadlegs Syndrome.

Today I had to get off of my trainer after about 38 minutes. Uggg. I hopped on because I was getting bored and feeling guilty about lounging around with cabin fever. I have dead legs for a good reason I think.

The five days before my last power test on Saturday December 12th on Skyline Dr, I did not get on the bike at all (DEC 7-11th). I did one whole gym routine and one shortened gym routine that week.

Following that power test, the next form of exercise was Haines Point the following Tuesday (Dec. 15). I tried to make a 2.5 hour ride out of it. That day at HP was very difficult, eventhough I was struggling I still love it on those days when the pace is hot all around the loop (thanks Chuck!). I felt bad, like way too much time off, I definitely was way over-rested, lost some fitness.
Wednesday December 16th, hit the gym. I had time to do my full 70 minute routine. I added 1 min over-geared exercise bike reps to my 2 minute jump rope reps and made it a 9 minute super set (2 jump, 1 bike, 2 jump 1 bike etc). Definitely got the HGH flowing.
By the way, I already do the whole stack on both hip machines (think "Thighmaster") and I am a few plates away from doing sets with the whole stack on the leg press machine (the one featured in recent blog entry about single leg). It is labeled 390 but that is only relative to that specific machine.
Thurs Dec 17, trainer workout at home with my new fan. I did 4 intervals with full recovery in between. 5 min @ 292W, 5 min @ 326W, 10 min @ 308W, 20 min @ 274W, then a little 10 min @ 184. Making the switch back to the trainer was annoying, I need a bigger window and fan.
Friday Dec 18th, back to the gym, I resumed doing triple sets of the main power exercises (smith machine squats and leg press). I STILL keep the pace fast between sets and between exercises. BEST SONG FOR A 4-5 minute jump rope interval: Till I Collapse by Eminem it has about a 40 second intro for you to get going. I also did a crazy "down the rack" set of incline flys just for old times sake. I followed the fitness ball abs with 1 minute planks- ouch!

Your body is craving to give you steroids, natural steroids that God gave us all. You just have to ask it in the right way; to have the pituitary gland drop it into your bloodstream. You cannot ask nicely or half-assed.

In short: too much time off with questionable sleep, then a fast return to training.

Christmas training camp... flying out in the snow. (New years at HP???)

Is it too much hype again, or will it truly be a historical snowstorm???????????

I have an 8:30a flight out of Reagan tomorrow for my personal 10 day training camp in the Southwest. 10-day forecast is clear and 60-65. I am bring my PT wheel and my garmin, I have a training bike out there already (yeah Raleigh R700!).

I will be super pissed off if I am stuck at Reagan National tomorrow.

I have no goals except I want FIVE good rides. The kind you come home from and eat then nap until dinner.

This is also known as visiting family.

IS HAINES POINT HAPPENING ON NEW YEARS DAY??

Anyone?

A tale of two Power tests. How to add 21 watts and set a Personal Best.

NOVEMBER 28th:
I went out to set FTP after a good week of training. Riding and gym routines. It was early on a Saturday on Clara Barton (at the Goldsboro area) we rode hard out to the end and back to set a max 20 min power effort. I was pleased with my watts. Felt I could have dug deeper.

DECEMBER 12th:
Fast forward to this past Saturday. I was going to Front Royal to socialize. So I brought my bike and went to Skyline Dr first thing in the morning (brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr).

I had not been on the bike for 5 days and had done 1.5 gym routines. I was rested.

I warmed up, then went to the main Skyline gate, unzipped the jacket, wore just glove liners, turned on my music (in one ear only).
As soon as my watts were steady in the 300s, I started my Garmin Edge 705 Lap2.

I ADDED 21 WATTS by being rested and fighting uphill. I was about 28 degrees, but not windy, clear and sunny. This was the highest 20min effort in I have ever put in since I began using WKO/Powertap.

I plan on adding another 14 watts to my 20 minute effort in late January. I am concerned because holiday training will be inconsistent.

Then I saw a baby bear's butt.

Newsflash: Oatmeal will turn to glue.

So, I am trying to eat more healthful, organic, natural foods. I have been having 300 calories of plain oats at around 7am everyday for a long time. (1 cup).

It truly has the ability to get you through to the afternoon should you choose to starve your body. Luckily for me it only has to get me through to 10am for my second feeding of the day.

Some days I have to microwave the oats in Tupperware and take it with me (early to bed early to rise, right?). After eating I am left with an almost empty container and no time and no where to rinse it out.

If you ever find yourself in this predicament: PUT THE LID BACK ON.

It will turn to dried up glue if you don't. You have been warned.

Hitting the gym pays off in cycling power. Check out my chart.

The above chart compares racing to off-season. I take this as good evidence that my off-bike training is helping my on bike wattage. I have been doing my gym routine during the off-season circled above.
Here is what Joe Friel says about the BASE PERIOD.

So I took it easy last week. I hit Haines Point once, had to avoid getting caught up in the sprinting. Avoiding the intensity at HP was the hardest thing to do. I had to keep the intensity down though. After 4 solid weeks of "Base Building" I hit the wall.

Hitting the wall sucked big time. It felt like a little bit of burnout mixed with getting kicked in the nuts. It was a ride where I had little mojo. No "oomph" in my legs. Body felt tired. So I planned to relax for a week. I did relax on rides, kept heart rate low. Then the weather turned nasty.

I rode after the snow day with Robb. It never reached 40 degrees. It was a good 2 hours of ride time, but my toes and feet got numb. I need new booties.
So this week with cold rain has seen:

• Monday, no riding or training at all.
• Tuesday, modified gym routine; I increased my Rocky Balboa jump-rope routine to 4 minutes. Jumping rope is my new cross-training favorite.
• Wednesday, no time to ride in daylight. I finally got a fan for my indoor trainer sessions. I might have to try it out tonite.
• Thursday- I might try to get to HP, otherwise, back to the gym for the full 70 minute routine.
• Friday, 10k jog? 2 hour trainer session?

Who knows, weather is loco.

The holiday riding for me

Wednesday: On the day before Thanksgiving, my cousin's wife gave him the day off from kid-duty (God bless her) so we could ride. I borrowed a fully suspended 26er and my cousin rode his SICK Niner. we parked a little southwest of the main Gambrill's area on a gravel road. My Garmin ride time said over 2.5 hours. It was foggy, it got rainy, it was cold, but it was awesome. I slammed some rocks hard. the 29 inch wheels are better for frederick rocks. My ankle is still swollen. Of course the sun came out some on the way home.

I woke up to cold rain on Thanksgiving, got suited up; rode by the Turkey Chase in Bethesda, found my brother in the pack finishing his first 10k; it was fun to see him (he is bigger than me). Continued to Hains Point for some pseudo-intervals- I just pretended it was a Thursday lunch time effort. Tried to see how long I could hold in the 400W range. Ankle hurt to really mash, out of the saddle was not an option. Rode all the way home, 3 hours. We had the best cornbread stuffing ever while my parents and in-laws got re-acquainted.


Friday was no pedal for me.

Saturday was power test day. I do think the swollen ankle slowed me down. Did I mention I hit the gym Monday of that week and went bonkers? I did. I was grunting and sweating for about 70 minutes; made me really sore. Squats/leg press/Inc dbell presses were all done until failure. Ouch. My power test was GREAT considering how trashed my legs were and swollen ankle. Tom and Bruno were with me as we each benchmarked our off-season wattage. made it a 3 hr day.

Sunday: Showed up way late to the 8:30; felt each pedal stroke deep in my quads. Crushed it while I could. Made it a 50 mile day after an easy cruise through Georgetown and back home.

Today: hopefully I can Hottub later. I am pretty sure my next power test can have 15 more watts (for the 20 min effort). The days in the gym are paying off. god bless noise blocking ear buds that have good bass.

I take the red pill. I pull the trigger.

This an analog for my off season training....




(no I don't really take an actual pill.... none like that)

the single leg, alternating , leg press (strength in numbers)

I do this exercise, BUT I ALTERNATE. Barely let the weights rest, switch feet, pull the non-working knee up, then press out with the working leg. As it gets harder, you can use the non-working leg to assist.. on your way to FAILURE.

Yes, I am hitting the gym. You're crazy if you think I'm crazy.

Shout out to Robb in Florida

Dear God, it's me... remember me? A year of 1min and 5 min power data. (How long can these blog titles get? Sheesh this is long, will it post on the..

Well, I clearly took some time off. Clearly, I have begun the pre-season. 1min and 5min peaks through yesterday 11/17/09; actual wattage numbers intentionally cropped out. Thursday is my birthday. My lovely spouse got me new speedplays, I hope.

When is a training blog not a training blog?

answer:

Why you dont F**'in train!

Geez. I'm so struggling. I posted back in June that I was motivated and excited and blah blah blah.

Now, I am back up to my March 09 body weight, got DUSTED big time on a team ride saturday.

However, this is life. I have to sacrifice the bike time to get my work done.
Also, my bike is having issues. wheels are creeking, derailer (sp?) is out of whack because I think I bent the aluminum hanger. My SHOES! got broken at Reston, I borrowed shoes from my brother, ugg, they are not the same. I miss my Shimanos.

I am going to do the Nation's Triathlon. My lovely spouse is requiring that I put the swift-hand-of-justice-royal-smackdown on any non-cyclist we know of that is also doing the event (i.e., her boss! co-workers, other friends...)

So, Tuesday after work, I ran for an hour up the Mormon Temple Hill, down to Kensington Pkwy and then all the way back to the water fountain at Cedar, nice and slow.

Now if I just find my TT bike.....

Another Cat3 blog: A Tale of Two Tapers

I'll make this brief.

TOWC taper was not even a taper; way too much off-bike.

Reston taper, with new endurance supplements, was very good. 2 x 3hr rides, 1 hr ride day before w/new special "pre-hydration formula".

Hagerstown should be best. I will have ZERO days without pedalling/pedal'n around.

See you all in hagerstown

WTFM, ToWC, RR, Cat3, hot. too hott for me, power chart enclosed.

You can see where I got dropped. Everytime up the hill, my power was less than the first lap, until I just cracked.
This is what the heat does to me when the pace is too much. Poorly hydrated.
Of note, I used ZERO supplements- what a mistake.

Power chart (5min and 20 min) over last 2 weeks-ish, Tour Taper?

I had some issues with the Garmin and I lost a few days of training data, oh well.
What you see in the chart here is 5 min and 20 min power from my last 10 rides. I got food poisoning 2 of the days. The last three workouts are much lower than the others, I got tired.
What you can also see is that I did 2 solid 4-day training blocks.
My plan has been to start practicing those 28 min TT efforts for ToWC. I did those, but that crit on Sunday is going to be ridiculously difficult. Plus, Church Creek results are showing that there is some real TT talent in the Cat 3s. Plus, there will always be that guy that no one knows but shows up to crack the field... oh well. You can see that I had 3 days of about 300W efforts of 20 minutes (they were actually longer). 300W is not a lot for me on rolling hills, but I am able to repeat them. Either way, its all i got these days.

I plan to post a similar chart from this coming up weekend. Kyle sounds like he is ready!
I hope I am. 2 days off so far, hope to spin today.

I did my TT intervals incorrectly, ugg

I was supposed to hit goal waatage in the second quarter of the effort, I was still holding back. That explains the incline of the power graph. 1st quarter you hold back, 2nd quarter hit and hold goal wattage, 3rd quarter stuggle like hell to hold goal wattage, 4th quarter is all a blur of pain and sweat in my eyes.

Here be da graph, again.

You can see half way through the black areas (the intervals), the power line sort of peaks. It is supposed to be far more gradual than that (even if on rolling Boonsboro hills). I think I will lower the goal wattage and hold it longer. BTW, 4th quarter wattage was way too high... steady power wins the race (I hope).

Rate My Space! a pair of before and after pictures

The entry into the kitchen after demo got started, of course. Note the crap-ass double-bowl sink and blah faucet


BAM! Check out the super-sweet Kohler Stainless Pull and new D-sink, under the cabinet lights, granite, paint, and cabinets, BAM!

This was the "main" area of the kitchen, notice the crap-ass fake vinyl flooring and blah paint scheme.

Bam! Check out the Side-by-side, counter depth Stainless fridge (4cf larger than the old), new stainless microwave, some recessed lights (I did 4 x 5" lights), and the new ceramic top stainless range, and the bullet-proof fake tile flooring (that looks real in pictures).


If you want to buy it, its near Grovsenor Metro, 2BR, 2 BA, at Tuckerman Ln and Sugarbush. Great location for riding. During construction I rode from there a lot.

2+hrs tempo, 5/31/09 Hains Point and back

So, after Saturdays 2x28, I still felt good. Actually had some muscle soreness which makes me super excited to know that I crushed it that hard.

The red line is average HR for the whole workout= 142 bpm

The yellow line is average watts for the whole workout= 250W (normalized is 266, I take this to mean that I was rock steady tempo pace).

2000+ kilojoules in 2:18:00, nice.

2x28, divided into quarters, Joe Friel's method

I was reading Jow Friel's blog and found some good stuff about time trialing efforts with power. He said that I should practice practice practice- so I did. I started near the Goon ride start and ended up doing one lap around Hains Point and then all of the way back.
The advice found here: http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2009/05/time-trial-pacing.html is interesting, it goes beyond the negative split idea.

First try; Q1 was 55W below TT goal, Q2 was 18W below goal, Q3 was 10W above goal, and Q4 was 31W above goal! (average watts per split). It was tough, but I felt like I was flying. On the road bike by the way.
Interval 2: 28min.
First 7 min: 55 W below
Second 7 min: 48 W below
Third 7 min: 18W below (definitely tired)
4th and final 7 min: 8W above goal.

read the blog:http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2009/05/time-trial-pacing.html
give it a shot

What I just saw on Universal Sports made my week

I was watching the Universal Sports coverage of the Ironman New Zealand.
The moto camera was following one of the leading females while on the bike.
So, I'm watching, checking out her Cervelo P3 with a pair of semi-deep dish wheels. I'm looking at her bar mounted aero drinker. I am counting her respirations, checking out her Giro Advantage helmet. I'm looking at her sunglasses.
The camera pans away and I look at her bike again.
The camera pans back to her face...

BLAHHHHHHHHHHH -vomit.

She spits the rest out, keeps pedalin' around. Then the very best part:

She knowingly looks at the camera and just sort of smiles, then keeps on. Awesome.

the week going into RFK crit.

This was Saturday's pre-race ride before RFK Crit 2009. I had been doing manual labor (painting, sanding, using a trim nailer, chop saw, etc) and the temperature finally dropped by 7p, so I went out into Rock Creek Park. I essentially covered the Goon route (geez, its like I'm addicted). After the turn to come North under Military Rd, I gave it a good 5 minute effort, thats pictured above. Peak 5 min was: 105 KJ of work, avg W349; here is my favorite part min was 256W and max was 486.... steady!

I was steady maybe because of where I did the interval: Google Earth Map via Garmin Training Center:

I Feel great because: Goon on 5/19/09, Wednesday was some recovery/endurance effort, Thursday 5/21/09 Goon, Friday-no biking, Saturday- see above.

Thursday's Goon Ride was a RIDICULOUS Harley/Richmond Pro shoot out. I got dropped on the hill and never saw those guys again; after doing at least 2 1min efforts averaging over 400-500W. in the minutes before the hill. 37 mph, crushing it. I was on the front as we ripped through the windy part that takes you over the lumpy bridge... so hott.

Over the bridge (marked by the faint black arrow) I was in the middle of a 452W effort (1 min), speed was 28 mph, heart rate jacked up at 178. I only got on the front after being 2nd wheel to Richmond Pro for a seriously monster effort in the 35-40 mph range- no joke.

I love it when I am riding with people that are a lot stronger than me- super fun ride.

Goon ride, Tuesday May 19. Hott as ever!

The goon ride this past Tuesday was fun as hell. The pace was great the whole way around. I even messed around and attacked on the hill in the park only to totally blow myself up, it was awesome. Plenty of strong riders in the bunch. The yellow line is at 400W, the red line is at 170 HR.

I had not pedalled SINCE LAST WEDNESDAY! Oh well, thats training in the real world. My friend Robb was nice enough to fix my bike after I broke it at Ft Ritchie, BIKE DOCTOR FREDERICK was nice enough to get me special order parts in 3 days at a steep steep discount. Big shout out to Brian Wizawaty BD-Frederick owner. Got new aluminum Deda bars narrower and shallow drop- hott; and tape, replaced the saddle in white (Fizik airone) new tires too. Oh yeah, finally got my new Carbones!!

In other news, I am waiting for the granite to be installed at the remodel project. The four 5" recessed lights came out nice, the under cabinet IKEA lights (all 6 stainless puck) look far better than I ever imagined. this is a shot before all the cabinets were done:

Ft. Ritchie 3 race was worse than expected, broken carbon bars, who crashed me?

I was tired all last week playing Bob Vila. I love the course at Ft. Ritchie.
I even felt not-great during my warmup, uggg. To top it off, I was second and then first wheel for the first few laps, WAY TOO MUCH POWER GOING OUT.
The two yellow lines on the power graph at at 400W and 700W.

I start loathing myself when I show up to a race tired, but this is racing in the real world.

Then on the straightest, flatest, widest part of the course when I was 7th wheel, strung out, 5th and 6th wheel decided to crash each other. I went over the top, slid on my back, cracked my bars... Then, like I have CIA training, while sliding I got my feet under me and sprang up!

It's all true. I got new wheels this week and I am going to try and rest up for Crash Jam, oops I mean Bike Jam 2/3.

Real world sucks. Here is my workout Monday and Tuesday: 10min warmup on trainer with TT bike (and no powertap b/c it needed trueing). 20 min high effort, 5 min cool.

Yes, thats right, a whole 35 min a day. Still better than last week.

In other news, I did finish up some bad-ass flooring work.

this is the nasty-ass before picture:

Thursday, still tired. Ft. Ritchie tomorrow, UGG!

The name of the blog is The Training Effect. This Effect is based on the age old principles of Overload and Recovery. The Human Body is incredibly adaptive.

It will adapt to a lifetime of sofa-sitting and smoking the same as it will adapt to controlled pre-season into a good early-season.

I had a big week last week, see my earlier post. After Bunny Hop I was tired. I have now had 4 days of NO PEDALLING. This concerns me a lot. I had the opportunity to ride last night, but I reclined on the sofa and it felt REALLY good to lie down. Hmmm, I took that as a sign that I was tired. I definitely should have done an hour in power zone 2/3. Endurance/Tempo. But I did not. I am concerned that Saturday's Ft. Ritchie crit will feel awful.

Today I will do a modified PRE-RACE spin... here's to hoping.

In other news, the appliances arrived at the remodel job and WOW. "COUNTER DEPTH" fridges are twice the cost of regular fridges. Yes, I know: IT'S LESS FRIDGE, FOR MORE MONEY?!?! But check it out, huge difference from old to new.

3 days off after the Hop; "rest"

After the bunny hop 2009, 1/2/3 and 3/4 race where I rode strong and did effortful things in both races I was tired.

My form is coming around well and I don't want to lose any MOJO.

Partly because of scheduling and practical issues (my trainer is in my truck in the shop which has taken 3x as long as it should have) I decided to rest and feel how I feel.

This is a before picture of my "rest" days.









What you see there is a junky cluttered kitchen with original cabinets and range from the late 80s. I decided to do some demo!






Got out everything but the kitchen sink... then that had to go also.



New appliances arrive today between 2 and 6p.
When you are building a new kitchen, pick the cabinets first. Then pick your granite. Then choose flooring to go with that.
Then plan your wall color/trim; then the extras, lighting, hardware, accessories, etc.

Granite measure person is coming Monday. This unit is going onto the market in 2 weeks! Lots to do. This is not my real job, FYI.

Doesn't make for good "rest" days either. This is life, this is bike racing in the real world.

Rock on.

2 Goons, a 10am, + 2 Bunny Hops=Best week Yet!

My previous post documented my yee-haw fun time on the Tuesday goon. I rested wednesday.
Then, as expected, the Thursday goon ride was less intense, but still good. Greg Abbott and me finished with a handful of others.
Then I rested Friday.
SATURDAY 10AM
Then, Saturday I hit the 10am. I ended up with a R1V, Eli from Harley, and some strong as crap dude from ETS (note: I once rode for ETS and the original Rockville Harley).
I knew I would be doing 2 bunny hops (1/2/3 and the 3/4) so I wasn't trying to go all out...BUT:
I ended up in a 5 man break after the turn on Glen, then it was a 4 man. I took most of my turns pulling through but started skipping some (I think they could hear me breathing hard!).
BY the time we turned right to go up Esworthy, I simply cracked. Too many efforts up hills. That intense ride ended up being about 35-40 minutes, a good pre-race effort. I turned around after getting dropped- rode to River and limped all the way home, keeping the watts very low.
BUNNY HOP 2009 1/2/3
I had no trainer for the cold rainy warmup at Bunny Hop 1/2/3. I simply got on the course, dragged my brakes and kept the cadence at 110 to warm up. I was miserable eventhough Robb set up a great tent in the parking lot. Robb and I lined up for the 1/2/3.
I finished with the field, BUT I was in a break and covered some moves. It was my best effort and performance (not result) on a bike ever. The week before last all I could do for training was 4 hotel exercise bike days in a row... it felt awesome to be in the mix in a 1/2/3 race (last time I tried that I got lapped twice, no joke). I know it has a lot to do with the Powertap and the WKO software (and being held accountable for fitness and training).
BUNNY HOP 2009 3/4 Race
Then the 3/4 race came, same pitiful warmup scenario. Between races I toweled off and sat in Robbs car with the heat on. Then I lined up shivering.
I must say that I saw my team Bike Doctor all over the field. Covering and attacking and getting in breaks etc etc. I think we took 1st, 3rd, 6th and 7th and then I got 12th. I have to mention that I was talking trash with a teammate, I said I was smoked from the 1/2/3 but you better believe I am going for eack Prime. The first prime was awesome, I just smacked it up the inside before the last turn- got it. Then for the second prime I thought I saw a teammate go for it- so I didn't. By the third prime I had come to my senses.

Awesome day. I had to Biofreeze my whole lower back and legs.

April 27 Goon Ride Power file, Google Earth map

The Goon ride was awesome this Tuesday. I had a teammate (Robb) and they were plenty of people letting it RIP! Super Dave was out there and other people much stronger than I. I had 4 days in a row of hotel training last week- rested Saturday- freeride on Sunday, slow power loss tired ride on Monday... then I was ready for the Goon.
We had awesome weather, started off hot, then cooled nicely. What I have done here is link parts of my power file to spots on the Google earth map. NOTE: The Google Earth TIME ELAPSED data points are 4-5 minutes behind the time shown on WKO.

When the ride stopped at East-West Hwy, you can see below the elevation line staying flat, zero Power, cadence and speed. You can also see my heart rate recovering. You then see where the light turned green and cadence and power spike up.





As we grouped up after the light, the pace was a little slow. Then people starting drilling it on the front (Robb and others). A few (2-3) folks were suddenly up the road. I dropped the hammer and launched up (pardon the dramatic language, it was fun as hell). As I bridged to the 2-3 guys away, I spotted one of my UMD jerseys even farther away. I thought, "who could that be?"

I drilled it again to catch that person, IT WAS EVAN! (Ellicott, Indy). I think that the next picture shows a 558 AVERAGE Watt burst to catch up to Evan, somewhere near Wundale Rd.

You can see the HR line (red) come up, the power line (yellow) spikes way up (1185 watts), elevation is slightly dropping (orange), and cadence is whatever (blue). You can see the data points from the Google EArth map: 32 MPH, HR 175, Cadence 94 right after we passed Wyndale Dr.



We all were cruising down past the Park Police station, Evan lead the way (he was on his way home, I think). He is strong as crap, I guess babies do that for you.
Of course I was thinking about the hill. I wasn't sure if I wanted to rest up to crack the hill, or push hard TO the hill to really make it more of a struggle to get up the hill. I decided to make a good attempt at the hill while staying on Evan's wheel. Evan dropped me off right at the curb you hop to go over to the hill. I feel odd being on the front going up the hill, I was hoping to get passed so I could follow a wheel to the super sharp left hand bend...




The yellow dashed line on the graph is at 400W. You can see here the elevation line (orange) creep up, cadence (green) goes wherever, and POWER (yellow) keeps jammin' between 400 and 700Watts; all this while HR gets pegged! FULL SIZE POPUP OF THE CHART BELOW



I got dropped! Super Dave and 4 more dropped everyone. When we got back to the flat, we were chasing. Eventually, the 5 were in sight with Ford Escape drafting off of them. I drilled it to bridge up (once they were close enough) and drafted off of the car creeping up the hill out of Rock Creek. Then the next question was what to do about the Mormon Hill. I knew I'd be tired, but I gave it my all, dropped on the first part of the hill...





From the power chart below, you can see my power drop on the hill as the hill flattens out in the middle (1:08:40). HR shoots up, elevation goes up, cadence goes wicky-wack, and speed is dropping. FULL SIZE POPUP OF THE CHART BELOW




It was then a spirited ride to the "sprint" area. A guy in a sleeveless tri shirt went early, so I went on his wheel, I think then that Super Dave and Greg Abbott absolutely nailed it to the end.

It was a sweet ride, great for me as Bunny Hop appraoches 1/2/3. Ride Data:
Normalized Power: 301W, 1057 kJ, avg HR 145 bpm.

First day back on my own bike, outside, with power, warm weather; I love riding.

I spent last week trying to workout on a hotel fitness bike. I had my polar HRM with worked with the fit bikes they had. I managed to lose 1 pound and keep some fitness.4 consecutive morning on the fitness bike 60-80 minutes each. BY THE WAY, those bikes shut down after one hour.

SUPER MASSIVE POPUP WITH YESTERDAYS POWER GRAPH!

After grouting some tile most of the day, and missing the 8:30 ride, which I hear was awesome, I had to get out. (ALL GROUTING DONE, FINALLY; I'll post on that after we clean and seal the natural stone tile) I had not been on an actual bicycle since Dolan. I was itching to ride.

At about 6pm I saddled up and went out and did the route for the Goon.

I had no idea how much I missed riding! It was one of those super-corny moments; I just felt like a million bucks. I will post right here and right now that my motivation is high, I look forward to racing, I want to train, I look forward to tough trainer workouts, etc. We'll see how I feel by July 1. This is Sundays "Do-Nothing-Feel-Great-Glad-To-Be-Home" Ride. 1:30, average and normalized watts far below threshold. See you on the Goon this Tuesday.

Hotel bike counts as cross training? How to stay sane while travelling...

So, I am on a 6 day work trip on the west coast. I do not have my bike or much time to ride it anyway (this was not the case in January in Santa Barbara). After Dolan, I went home, changed, had a snack and flew to Garden Grove (Anaheim, CA).
This time of year is crucial for growing fitness for bike races. So, I am in a hotel for 6 days and needing to lose weight and work on my fitness. I have outlined what I have done.

1. Bring a Polar heart rate monitor strap, and watch.
2. Bring 2 sets of general workout clothes.
3. Bring a can opener; and iPod with awesome earbuds, check out mine. These earbuds are more like an earplug, they block noise, and they really have bass! You don't have to crank the volume as high either.
4. Get a hotel room with a fridge
5. Walk to a grocery store and buy some healthy stuff for the week. "Bush's Beans; Black beans" have iron, protein, ok sodium, and limited calories. Get a lot of water, find some Muscle Milk or some other protein drink with limited calories.
6. HOTEL FITNESS CENTER first thing in the morning: Get on the bike there, fire up your Polar HRM. Set a goal for calories burned (or avg HR or something).
7. Get on that exercise bike EVERY morning, with music.
8. Eat 1 can of beans for lunch, or something similar to avoid hotel/conference food (IF you must eat with colleagues, get the no-dressing salad, eat your beans later).
9. Have healthy in-room dinners from the grocery store.

There you go. I fly back tomorrow, and get back on my scale at home, back to my power meter, garmin, etc.

GamJams Reviews: Floor Pumps - Topeak Joe Blow Pro

Here is what I like about this pump.

1. It got leaky once and the store replaced it with no questions asked. However, a fellow racer worked at the store and let me swap it.

2. It fills up a HED3 without any adaptor.

3. It holds a right-angle adaptor easily for carbon disc wheels.

4. Tough. This pump travels in a cramped (junky) SUV with me, its gets tossed about a lot. Still no functional hassles.

5. Improvements? At one point, I wanted a super-high PSI gauge for the high pressure tubular on my TT rear wheel. But, it is not necessary. It has a bleed-off valve, I don't think it would work with regular road valves (they are one-way, are they not?)

2 Steves, 2 races, 2 podiums

Big shout out to Stephen Wahl (Latitude; 1st and 1st) and Steve Fife (Bike Doctor; 3rd and 3rd) for being consistent as hell this weekend at Syn-Fit and Dolan. I had a conversation with both after Dolan, my favorite part is how honestly and chill Mr Wahl admitted to "working hard this winter"... love that.

Another shout out to all teams that show effort and discipline, especially in coordinating lead outs (my own team included!)

me too me too me too (Nation's Tri)

How sweet it will be to have Clara Barton Parkway closed to everyone but TT'ing tri geeks?!
I did this triathlon before (yes, with Adrian Fenty) and we cruised up and down Constitution ave- all six or eight lanes just empty as hell.

Rock on.

Good Training and GPS madness

So, if you happen to have a GPS type device, like the Garmin Edge 705, which I have, which is awesome, you can do fun things with it. This image was created by having Garmin Training Center software (free here) dump my training ride into Google Earth (free here).



Each of those little white boxes is a point with a lot of data; time, HR, etc; but NOT power. All you do is open up google earth and also open up your WKO or PowerAgent software and find a time you want to look at, then find that data point on google earth.

Tysons Corner Crit 2009

So Tysons was tough. I am trying to post a chart.

This is an atypical hill repeat from Tysons. One of the harder ones, note the Peak 30s mark.

This was 45 minutes into the race. I FEEL like I did a lot of work to get to the front and then hang out there as the big break broke up and people came back. This was probably one time up the hill where I moved up a few positions.

AVG Watts was 280. Normalized power was 368W.

This profile is the heavier version of this one, put out by a lighter, much lighter rider.

With our comparison comments posted under this entry...

This is the power distribution chart from Tysons 2009