Mid Winter Checkup...

[Aaron]

Ok to initiate some more forum posting, and to avoid studying...

How is your training going so far?

Me? a solid 2/10.
- suffered a burnout last month, didnt log in anything more than an hour on the trainer.

- only now im finding that passion again.. however.. ive lost alot of time.. hopefully i can recover/train enough to get in position to do well at the races/ beat bayden at the hilton falls time trial. (No mercy this time mr. pritchard)

- I plan on kicking up the intensity to more race like efforts over the next couple of weeks. Hard intervals (ie hill climbs) begin in march.

What about the rest of you...

post away!

[admin]

hmm, no more than a 5/10 for me here. Logged a ton of hours in the fall and early winter, but january was pitiful. Largely due to my desire to be more productive in life, but I think I've gotta step it up a notch. I'd be out right now in the sunny and 7 degree weather, but I am stuck inside at the moment unfortunately...

[zooford]

2/10. finally got on the trainer. i manage to keep my body fat down by climbing but fitness has been suffering.

definitely looking forward to reading week biking. hopefully i'll come back a superstar! ;D

definitely lookin' forward to some fearsome spring riding though. waaaaahoooooooooo

[Bayden]

ahh training! Getting BORED of trainer!
BORED of studying, not bored of forums tho! So here we go.

- The grind is grinding heavily this winter, but in this little world, training is on the fringe of 10/10. Its become a steady habit. Been doing more than last year, which was the first time i ever did winter-cycling training anyway (so what does that mean )

- The 6 days a week is almost a reality, schoolwork permitting.

- What I use for motivation is a poster of A.Rahim at the All weather challenge, which slowly recedes the faster I pedal. when its a speck on the 6 o'clock horizon, i'm allowed to rest.
I have nightmares of a repeat from last year, where you caught your minuteman (me), and where I had to hitch a ride with the 4-wheelers to get those seconds back.

- Winter blows.

Why again are humans settled in this climate?? beaver skins?
Being indigenous without wheels to roll out on?

Cannot WAIT for spring.

[Aaron]

bayden said:

- The grind is grinding heavily this winter, but in this little world, training is on the fringe of 10/10. Its become a steady habit. Been doing more than last year, which was the first time i ever did winter-cycling training anyway (so what does that mean )

Oh yea.. well my training has actually been 12/10.. i just forgot to put the one in front. So beat that!

But in all honesty,
Good for you man...keep it up. i had a miracle year last year cause i put in the hard time over winter.

I look forward to your challenge this April. Anyone want to heat this up and place bets?

What!? competitive? me? no way.. never.

[Bayden]

haha i forgot another 9 out front too!
thats a very relative 10/10 btw, just according to personal goals.
Finally.. vo2 max above 100....

[admin]

Well, 6 days a week training is pretty darn good for all but the best. I heard a very general number of ~15 hours a week for Cat 3. So if you're hitting up the trainer 6 days a week, then that's pretty solid.

Have you tossed any weight training in there Bayden?

[Bayden]

Kind of, i do bodyweight stuff for upperbody, and do strength training for legs on the bike mainly, with sprints and low cadence sets. No ACTUAL weights though.

I've looked into weight training a fair bit for cycling performance, and good points are made that once weight training stops, so do the gains and they go away, making a case for continuing aerobic training until racing rolls around. Incorporating strength training into Z bike seems to work well, as its more ongoing and less boring, and of course, activity specific.

It seems to be 'working out'. However, if i take my bike out first thing in spring and I can't move in the granny gear...

[gmbcer]

Wow you guys have been busy tonight not doing whatever it was you were supposed to be doing. I shouldn't talk, I went skating tonight and now I am finishing a handwavy assignment (quantum mechanics can be a handwavy subject at times).

My training I give it a 3/10 the past 3 weeks which is quite poor, failing grade. The first 3 weeks of the semester I giver a 6/10 - was teaching 3 spin classes a week plus indoor soccer/volleyball and some biking up gordon hill, to groceries etc.

Now... midterms and badass weather, and only 1-2 spin classes/week. I missed my spin class today due to an examination, in trading my class off I am now teaching a "Valentine's Day double header" In room 300 5-7pm so come out, be my valentine.... Last year i did a V-day 6-7pm or something and only 1 person came to the spin class, and she wasn't even scheduled for that time slot.

Next week.. ohh next week. Michelle's mini training camp is going down (in Niagara). Then after that... more midterms and badass weather.

The Lake to Lake Classic 50km giv'r is 4 months away.. that'll be my first big race of the year so in retrospect - LOTS of time.

[mark romeril]

man...even 15 hours a week is challenging.

i did a 18 hour week, I would work all day then spin till 11:30 and some times as late as 12 just to fit in that 2:45 hour ride. I was an absentee human for that week.

Never the less my training is going well I would say an 8.5/10. The reason points are missing is because i have been missing out on the massive endurance rides on the weekends w/ mike and tim. (4-5h outdoors at a crawling pace)

My power intervals and high intensity work are building over the next weeks so to aid in the struggle...hello powertap ! [used and sold courtesy of Tim and Mike ]



note on the Cat 3 expectations: a Cat 3 racer should be able to sustain sub lactate threshold output for up to an hour...sub lactate for and hour... that sucks...so far to go, so much more to improve. [if your curious take your highest average heart rate and divide by .9]

im really looking forward to mosport, calabogie and especially K-W classic!

[michellep]

YAY bayden for sticking it out on the trainer! i got bored the second i sat on one, so my 'trainer' training has been non-existent. that being said though, i'd rate myself at a 7/10 so far.

i've been concocting a delectable cocktail of running, spinning, and swimming to keep things exciting. an excessive amount of climbing has managed to slowly start morphing me into a V-shaped hulk, so weight training has also factored into things to try and keep myself "balanced"

also, YOGA. agh, it's so glorious. tight hamstrings from all that riding anyone? it really helps to stretch things out. come spring, you'll see me on my bike in the shape of a pretzel, i swear.

melt, snow, melt. the spring equinox is March 20th at 5:48 AM, let the countdown begin.

[admin]

oh god yeah, the trainer is boring as heck, and I find it very uncomfortable too. I can't sit in it fo more than 1 movie. Beyond that, I get antsy and can't sit still, want to push harder but can't, etc. Too boring.

When I was doing ~15 and working full time, I pretty much saw nobody except the people i worked with, and the one person I trained with. I need a little more social contact than that methinks...

Yay V-shaped hulks! have you started turning green yet??

p.s., the long endurance rides are awesome. It's like working out without working out. Those are the one thing I've held onto.

[Aaron]

One thing i have been pretty adamant about is weight training...

One of my goals was to gain some more upper body and core strength simply because its good to be well balanced.

A 4 day/week routine involving pushups, chinups, pullups and situps is definitely helping out, unfortunately at the expense of extra weight.

A solid 10/10 in that department.

[Z]

I've made some good gains on the trainer this winter, I'm a lot stronger than I was in August. However, my main concern has always been shedding the extra weight but it's been slowly coming off this winter; last year I was just maintaining.

I joined speed river for the summer and hopefully I will not get dropped like a bag of hammer on Tuesday night.

[mark romeril]

Yoga's sheer unstoppable, insurmountable awesomeness is seconded...with conviction

and pilates... i will do pilates classes next winter for sure...even if i am the only guy.

[Derek O]

Wow! It's great to hear that everyone is on the training bandwagon... even though some of us seem to be falling off said wagon. (*cough*- Morgan) Speaking of falling off... I've helped ease some of the trainer induced boredom by using rollers.

Two words: Learning. Curve.

Rollers are neat 'cause you're actually "riding" your bike. All the techniques of balance are definitely in effect. Therefore, if you have a sloppy pedal stroke, the bike gets wobbly and you can slip off the side and rocket into your T.V. - Don't do this. Also, because the rollers put your whole bike 4 or 5 inches off the ground, you can't really put your foot down to stabilize yourself, making mounting and dismounting a little tricky. I have a medium sized table that I put on its side beside me as a safety blanket to grab onto if I feel I'm in peril. I don't really need it anymore, and mayhaps I'll stop using it, but I have a feeling that will invite more trouble than it's worth. Other than the inherent dangers, they're fabulous.

My main goals this winter were to start riding inside earlier than last year - which I've accomplished. (By being on the bike at ALL ) and to work on core strength because I had some pretty awful lower back pain after every long ride last season. The benefits of the core work are already apparent. Woo Hoo! Riding with less pain is happy.

Now my goal is to continue training... Alabama... Here I come!


W000 Bikes!

[Derek O]

Oh yeah... Trainer Party?

Who has a big enough room/T.V. to accomodate a bunch of us? I also have an extra trainer and my rollers, so if anyone is lacking a trainer for said party, I can help there.

[Dana]

Wha, training..?
I've gotten out on the trails a few times a month so far, but lethargy has largely ruled my lifestyle.

I echo Derek's sentiments about the rollers, cept i've been doing basically the same thing using glare ice. Hint, go very straight and pedal very smoothly ;-)

[gmbcer]

core stregnth is definatly key... I lost count how many times I got thrown over my handlebars in September by not being able to control my bike - very uncharacterisitic of me. I blame lack of core stregnth for sure, it was much weaker that usual during that time frame.


I also fine trainers quite boring... me on a trainer needs a hockey game on TV, my HRM, and a musical playlist going..... or i occasionally hook up the good'ol playstation and play a couple 10min period hockey games on it... the PS1 ctrler fits well in my hands on my handlebars.

Spin classes are cool.. if you dig that.... I have to teach it or else i find i get bored really quickly, regardless of instructor... something about me being in control... my music... whatever I feel like.... I honestly make up the class as I go along, I`ll have a plan but not before i get in there and just go with the flow.

My 2hr spin-o-thon was AWESOME! I was able to hammer the 2nd hour almost as good as the first. > 50min rides where have you been... all my winter life...

[Z]

It sounds tacky but it's a lack of stimulus that makes you notice every little little discomfort and add in the fact you don't move around a lot sitting in your saddle.

One thing that really helps the legs feel better is making sure your stomach is pretty empty; I always wait 2 hours after eating before riding the trainer.

Michelle is right about hockey games; I also find that mindless action on TV like 24 makes the time past quicker. One sure fire way of keeping yourself motivated is to post pictures of Cipollini everywhere; it really works but I always need to keep a pack smokes near me.

[mattr]

Well I have done pretty much no training this winter for cycling. I picked up a trainer and have used it a few times. I have been concentrating more on getting back in climbing shape in light of heading back to Alabama for the break(less than 24 hours). (speaking of which Morgan and Derek you should defiantly stop in if you are i the area the climbing is really something else). I figure once i get back from reading week things should have settled down school wise and with the warming weather there will be more motivation to ride.

[mark romeril]

prop's chris...classic cipo shot... nothing says 'player' like a pack of Lucky Strikes