Here is my new 5 min peak power since I don’t have any historical data anymore.
Here is the Training Peaks 3.0 screen shot of my Coffee Crew ride. It was medium paced because the ground was still wet from the rains the night before. I rode better than I thought I would considering I had done the 300km (180 miler) three days before.
Beginning at Peet’s Coffee in Corona del Mar at 635 am sharp. You will join local
racers and avid cyclists for a MEDIUM to HIGH INTENSITY PACED ride. Click here
for Tuesday Thursday Coffee Crew and Wednesday Ride.
View the player from a Garmin GPS Download. (you will notice a small box with
four arrows next to the turtle/rabbit slider– click for full screen mode)
You may click on “View Path in Full” for full screen interactive mode. You may
have to temporarily allow pop-ups in your website security software. Click just
above elevation profile to access overhead map and then allow pop-ups. If the
interactive view below gives you trouble click here.
One of my favorite morning rides in Orange County is the “Wednesday Ride”. It begins at 6am at the intersection of Campus Drive and University Drive in the University of California Irvine (UCI) campus area.
Click here for a player of a Garmin GPS download. (you will notice a small box with four directional arrows next to the turtle/rabbit slider– click for full screen mode)
Below is an interactive map of the Wednesday Ride. (you may click on “View Path in Full” for full screen)
People often ask me what rides I do. Lately, I have been doing short early morning rides so that I can get to work by 10am. One of the rides is called Coffee Crew in Irvine. It meets at 615am at the corner of University and Campus Drive in the University of California Irvine (UCI). It is held every Tuesday and Thursday.
Here are a couple of links and overhead pictures for you.
Here is the player from a Garmin GPS download. (you will notice a small box with four arrows next to the turtle/rabbit slider– click for full screen mode)
Below is an interactive map of the Coffee Crew ride. (you may click on “View Path in Full” for full screen)
You may view this ride and other training rides on my website
Brandy and I did a casual 3 hour ride yesterday. We visited her new place of employment. We got a feel for the route she might use on her commute. I’m a little worried because it has a few sketchy areas. People driving to work are always in a hurry and multi-tasking i.e. cell phones, texting, shaving, applying make up, and I’ve even seen people brushing their teeth.
On our way home we took Back Bay and merged into a memorial ride for a Steve Hedrick. Steve was a competitive cyclist, among other things. The turnout was impressive. There were many riders wearing their team kit shorts with a Steve Hedrick memorial T-shirt. My condolensces to the Hedrick family.
Today I did the Como Street ride. I get dropped everytime I do the ride but I keep hoping that one day I’ll stay in. I usually get dropped going through Santiago Canyon near Modjeska Grade/Canyon. I tried to stay on Jason Bausch’s andJamie Paolinetti’s wheel. I was successful for a while but eventually I got shelled. When I popped I was averaging 191 bpm for at least 2 minutes. According to my Power Tap download on Training Peaks Software I avg 189 bpm for 5 minutes before I popped. I was only 700 feet from reaching the crest of a roller where I could have recovered slightly.
My pacing was good, my positioning could have been better but I have to be happy with my performance. I’ve been doing Ultras for so long that doing rides with this type of intensity is not my forte. And of course there is the question of genetics. Do I even have the genetics to stay with these guys and girls? After the ride I rode home with Jason and he offered a couple of tips. I told him I would be doing less Ultras next year and possibly some USCF racing. I may focus more on Double Centuries next year and leave things like 400km, 600kms and 300 milers on the table. I did the long events this year and I believe they led to my burnout. Besides I have a goal to run more next year.
After my ride my recovery consisted of Fluid Recovery Drink and my Skins Recovery Tights. I am evaluating Fluid Recovery Drink. I like their simple formula, low calories for faster absorbtion, high levels of L-Glutamine, Lactose free Whey Protien Isolates, and heck it even taste great. Read all about Fluid Recovery Drink I think you will be impressed how they differ.
Stats of the ride.
Total mileage —58.4 miles
Duration——— 3 hours 9 mins
Total Elevation–1,900
Avg Speed—— 19.2 mph
Avg Power—— 163 watts
Normalized Power- 207 watts
Total Kjs———- 1784 kjs
Stats for just Como Street
Mileage———— 33 miles
Duration———– 1 hour 35 mins
Elevation———— 1600 feet
Avg Speed———- 21.4 mph
Avg Power———- 181 watts
Normalized Power— 231 watts
Total Kjs————- 1007 kjs
T- 17 days until Furnace Creek 508 2009. I go into this event burnt-out from a full year of ultra racing. My season began with the San Diego 200km Brevet back in Jan 3rd and will end with FC508 on Oct 3rd, a full 10 months! Follow labels such as Race Reports, races, Brevets, or training, mountains, high intensity to read up all the races and training leading up to the Furnace Creek 508, my goal event of the year.
On my website, http://www.epictrain.com/follow the link “Race Reports”. There you will find 2006, 2007 and 2008 Furnace Creek 508 Race Reports. Or you could “skip the book and see the movie” here in my video gallery.
Subscribe to my blog!!!
Went out for a hard one hour effort. There is a stretch of road where I can “open her up”. Unfortunately it’s hard to get away from traffic lights but I wouldn’t trade living 2.5 miles from the beach for anything.
SCREEN SHOT FROM MY POWER TAP DOWNLOADED TO TRAINING PEAKS SOFTWARE
41 minutes Normalized Power of 244 watts or 3.69 w/kg on flat terrain.
90 miles 3,000 feet of gain. An urban ride and still averaged 20 mph for the day — that’s total time not rolling time. I’m quite proud of that.
First things first– The ride starts at 800 am NOT 830am as I have seen on some websites. I left the house at 7:26 and had to hammer out of the gate to make the meet. I was aching from yesterday’s Food Park ride. So I didn’t get the benefit of an appropriate warm up.
I got to the start at 805am and I could see the the mass of riders overflowing from the bike lane up the road. I had to make the decision then and there will I chase and totally smoke myself even if I get on? Or just let them go and do my own thing. I decided to chase because I could see a rider about a block away and the pack was at least 3 blocks ahead of him. I caught him and asked, “YOU WANNA CATCH COMO?! THEN LET’S WORK TOGETHER!”
We worked well together and we caught the main field. I thanked him for his help and he looked at me and said “there is no way I would have caught them alone no Thank you!” And just like that I had made a friend for the day LOL!
The ride was fast (my perception). I just don’t ride that hard alone. But I need the intensity this month and next. I was hanging tough and then we hit Santiago Canyon. I got dropped. I then got on with some stragglers and rode hard with them to the finish. Someday I’d like to hang in to the finish but it’s probably not likely. I’m going to have to come to terms with that when the time comes that I know I’m as fit as I can be and the pack is still going up the road away from me.
I also want to send a shout out to Jamie Paolinetti. At the end of the Como Street Ride I asked to take a picture for my son. As I mentioned yesterday my son has been watching the Hard Road DVD for about 1 1/2 years. I can’t wait to show him the pictures of both Jason Bausch and Jamie. And then totally unexpected Jamie gave me a copy of PRO isn’t that freakin’ cool? Yes it is. Thanks Jamie!!!
Jamie Paolinetti
Entire workout
Leaving home late and chasing the main field
Como Street Detail
Extra miles after Como Street
SCREEN SHOTS FROM MY POWER TAP POWER METER DOWNLOAD ON TRAINING PEAKS SOFTWARE
I had a good day on the bike. The last half of August and September is about intensity as I peak for Furnace Creek 508. I did Food Park for the first time. There were a few sketchy riders and they ran a few stops signs in the residential area. In my opinion, the right turns on red were questionable as well. I do have concerns about the overall safety of this ride. I am a huge proponent of safety on the bike. When riding alone I stop at EVERY stop sign and every light. I have an internal conflict with the way groups ride in urban areas. On one hand, I don’t want to be unsafe and on the other I don’t want to get dropped or cause a crash if I’m the only one stopping at a traffic control. I guess that’s why most weekends you can find me riding solo in the mountains.
As an Ultra cyclist I don’t ride in packs. Many of my races break up pretty early and the other races are non-drafting. I felt my pack riding skills were fine. In other words I felt comfortable and not the sketchy rider people had to yell at — “hold your line!”. My sixth sense for the flow of the pack was spot-on. I didn’t miss a thing. I ignored many attacks that I sensed wouldn’t amount to much but wasted energy.
What helped the most was marking Jason Bausch the whole ride. His experience helped me make efforts at the right times and conserve at others. Even when attacks went up the road he was steady. I learned a lot from him today.
JB was gracious enough to take a picture with me. I took the picture for my son. My not quite 5 year old son has been watching the Hard Road DVD for about 1 1/2 years. He loves the soundtrack and always remembers the roll call of the teams– Mercury seems to stick out for some reason.
After my shower and my recovery meal it was time to put on my Skins Travel and Recovery tights. I’m planning on doing Como Street tomorrow. A fast recovery and fresh legs will be necessary to keep up with those boys.
TRAINING PEAKS SCREEN SHOT OF MY POWER TAP DOWNLOAD– 534 WATTS FOR ONE MINUTE
149LBS OR 67.59 kg my
7.90 w/kg for one minute a new PR.
After looking at the graph I am quite sure that my 1 min number would actually be higher than 534 depending on the situation. I remember distinctly what happened. There was an attack which I didn’t follow so I surged but backed off. Then I saw JB go and that was the right time to go. As you can see there was
an initial surge to 672 watts
then a pull back down to 240 watts
then another surge up to 885 watts with 10 sec avg at 743 watts
then the last 30 secs (when I should’ve been fading) I still put out a 553 avg.
ALSO HAD A MAX SPRINT OF 1077 WATTS OR 15.93 w/kg and a 5 sec of 995 watts or 14.72 w/kg good for mid cat four on the Power Profile chart.
George's Epic Adventures 