Flightlessbirds Flaps Forward to 2010 (Cycling)

[flightlessbirds]

I'm back! I've been delaying starting a new log here for a while. I've been pretty casual about my training the last little while and had the flu, a whole lot of work and a bunch of travel. I figured I would wait until I was back from Stockholm to start a new log because I think I can actually start a regular schedule now.
I actually managed to get a pretty decent amount of exercise in while in Stockholm, not the least of which was walking, walking and more walking. I also got in two nice rides with FredrikW. It was a lot of fun getting off the road not to mention a great tour of some of the forest, parks and lakes around Stockholm. I also did a "body balance" class with Linnea. My first time trying that and it was all in Swedish but I think I did alright. It felt quite good to get in a workout and a good stretch.

Now I am home and very ready to begin a regular, planned training schedule. One of my main goals of 2010 is to come up with a training plan for the season and stick to it as much as possible. Last year I had no real plan and just kind of did what I felt like, when I felt like it. This resulted in really no control over my progress or when I was race-ready. I found I was peaking when I didn't need to be and exhausted for races. I also had no ranking system for races and so didn't really train through any of them, resulting in really crappy training when I was racing frequently.

Quick recap of the 2009 Season

After riding a lot the summer before I decided to try out racing this summer. I was planning to just give a few races a try so I got a one-day license for my first race and went out. "Just trying it out" turned pretty quickly into full racing license and about 10 races through the season. I did well in cat 3 and was quite happy with a few of my races. I was upgraded to cat 2 and realized I had a lot of work to do if I wanted to be competitive in that cateogry.

And moving on...
Using the cyclists training bible as a guide I've stated to hash out my 2010 plan. For the next few weeks I'm going to be getting my body back into lots-of-exercise mode. This will include strength training, track, trainer and continuing to ride outside.

Off I go!

[fredrikw]

it was great seeing you here in stockholm, and we got some good riding in as well. for someone not having done any off-road riding in a long time you did good I think, some of the trails we went on were quite technical.

good to see you starting a log again, will follow it closely

[helmut]

brilliant

you went to sweden! i'm jealous

[flightlessbirds]

Thanks, Fredrik! It was really great to meet you, Ida and Linnéa and I had a fantastic time. I hope I get to return some of the hospitality you showed me someday.

Today: 60 minutes on the ol' trainer. First trainer ride of the season. As exciting as ever...

Tonight going to go watch some track racing! Fun!

[Linnéa76]

Were you able to post those cards? It seems they removed the mailbox that used to sit near my house!
It was nice meeting you, hope I'll have the chance to go to Canada some day! Good luck with the cycling!

[ida]

Great to see that you made it back home safely, and great to meet you.

Hope your training goes well. Happy riding!

[flightlessbirds]

Thanks Ida and Linnéa!
Linnéa: Yup I ended up posting them behind security in the airport. They had a post box there that saved me! It would be fantastic if you made it to Canada one day.

Today: two hours at the track.
There were more people there than are usually around on Tuesday night rides and I was surprised that I felt as comfortable as I did. I hung on to the paceline on the blue line as much as possible and also worked on standing up for sprints around the corners.
The races the night before were fantastic and quite inspiring. I think everyone was on the edge of their seats for the end of the endurance race.

[flightlessbirds]

Tuesday: 2 hrs at the track. Did some good time with the faster pace line and generally had a good ride. However, after having the same problem as I had last year with the rental bikes and talking to another woman at the track last night I have decided that getting my own track bike would be a good investment.
Any suggestions for something in the budget range of 1000-1500 dollars?

Wednesday: Went to the newer gym at school for the first time today for my first strength training session of the season. I have to admit I was feeling a little lost in there so I've asked a cyclist friend to come with me next time and take me through what she does.
Warm up: 15 minutes on treadmill (boooooring)
3 x each of 30 second plank, 15 squats with 5 pound weights, 10 pushups
3 x 15 reps on the glute machine** at 27kg
3 x 15 reps on leg press at 18 kg
3 x each of 30 second front plank and 15 second each side plank
started doing hamstring curls but they started to hurt so I stopped.

After I got home from school I hopped on the trainer but cut it to just 30 minutes after deciding the workout + trainer was too much, especially at this stage of the game.


**I'm sure this has another name but I don't know what it is. It's the one where you have your knees against the pads and push outward.

[Frostfire]

Wow, awesome that you are looking into getting a track bike (sorry, I have no recommendations . . .), I bet that will up your game tons

[helmut]

cool! i'm sure you can get a pretty decent track bike for around that much they aren't too expensive compared with geared bikes...

[flightlessbirds]

Yeah, I definitely don't need to spend any more than that. I might spend less. There's lots of decent track bikes for under a thousand and the main thing for me is that I get a saddle that is comfortable for me so I'm not riding in pain and spending so much time with adjustments.

So Week 1 on The Plan is done and I feel quite good about it.
Friday: Another session at the gym.
15 minute warm up on treadmill
3 x circuit
30 second each side plank
4 x 10 second glute bridge each leg
15 squats with 10 pds

3 x 30 step-ups with 24 pounds
3 x 20 kg glute machine dealie
3 x 18 kg leg press
2 x 7 kg triceps
then I realized I was going to be late for my massage appointment and had to stretch quickly, run out, hop on my bike and ride 7 km across town. I read somewhere that it is good to follow strength training workouts with a brief period on a bike so you teach the muscles how to apply the strength to cycling. I don't know if I buy that, but doesn't hurt to spin as a cooldown.

Today (Saturday):
First sub-zero outdoor ride this year. Still no snow though. I was quite toasty for a while but then the wind started cutting through my leg layers and my neoprene booties and I ended up only going out for an hour. Need better leg layers and thicker socks I guess. Also it felt like my chain lube was freezing up. I'm using white lightning, which is waxy so I thought it would be okay, but it felt quite stiff.

[flightlessbirds]

Week 2 Accomplished! Prep phase continues...
I was visiting friends in Toronto on the weekend so I had to re-arrange things a little.

Monday Dec 6th: Gym (2hrs)
Had a friend show me her workout routine for offseason strength training. A very strong friend... but I won't say she put me to shame. Er... I'll say she gives me something to aspire to.
20 min warmup on treadmill
3 x 15 each leg - leg press @ 27 kg (this was too much but I was feeling competitive and my friend was pressing 45 kg)
3 x 15 lat pull @ 60 pounds (or kg? I dunno, didn't feel like kg)
3 x 15 reps each leg working on hip flexor with pulley weights @ 6 kg
3 x 15 reps lats with free weights (24 kg) while balancing on half ball for core
10 minute abs routine
3 x 5 reps hamstring curl (these are so tough!)
2 x 15 reps each leg squats with 10 pd ball
2 x 15 arm lift free weight thing (5 kg wt)
10 min rowing cooldown

My left quad started to really hurt during the squats which is why the I cut it down to two.

Tuesday Dec 7th: Track (2 hrs) Not my greatest track session. My legs were tired from the gym so I mostly stuck with the paceline on the black line, which was still fairly quick at times.

Thursday Dec 9th: Trainer (1hr): not much to say about this. Kept it
spinny.

Friday Dec 10th: Gym (1hr): Was a little time crunched so I condensed my workout as
much as possible and left a few things out. My left quad was still sore
from overdoing things on Monday so I took it easy.

10 min warmup on treadmill
3 x 15 reps: each leg on leg press @ 18 kg
3 x 15 reps: lat pull @ 50 pounds
10 minute abs
3 x 15 reps of that hip flexor/leg exercise at 5kg pulley weights
3 x 15 reps of shoulder press with free weights while standing on half ball
(to work core) - 10 kg
cooldown on rower

Saturday Dec 11th: Trainer (1hr): I can feel the difference the track is making on my spin. My cadence is higher and feels smoother.

I guess today (Sunday) is not really part of week 3 so I'll log that at the end of next week but I will say that I bought a track bike today. Got it very slightly used from someone who had rode it on the track 4 times in the year he has owned it. I'll post pictures soon. It's beautiful and fits really well. I felt a million times more comfortable on the track today. That adjustable stem really has to go though (gag).

edit: here's a photo!

[flightlessbirds]

Week 3 (Dec 13-19) – Prep continues
Sunday– Track (2hrs): I already mentioned above about my new bike on Sunday but I’ll still say that I’m totally in love with this bike. It fits me very nicely and I feel so much more comfortable on the track than I ever have. The gear is a little bigger and makes it much easier to ride the faster paceline while still spinning quite a bit.

Tuesday: Was supposed to go back to the track but right before we were supposed to leave the roads turned into skating rinks. It was ridiculous and traffic was incredibly slow. We ended up giving up and ducking into a coffee place to wait out the worst of the traffic and hope for the salting trucks to come by. I was planning on riding my trainer instead but was thwarted when I realized my pedals were still on my track bike in the back of Alex’s van. I was also feeling generally kind of gross. I think I need more sleep to match the increase in training over the last couple weeks and especially when I start upping the volume.

Wednesday – Gym (1.5 hours)
20 min warmup on treadmill
3x15 – each leg press @ 18kg
-lat pull 1x50, 2x40kg
-hip flexor pull @ 6 kg
-shoulder press on bozu @ 16 kg
-10 min abs
-3x8 hamstring curls (getting better but damn these kill)

Thursday – Track (2hrs)
This was my first Thursday night at the track which is a “skills and drills 2” session instead of a rec ride. It was more race-training and intervals oriented and I had a blast. We did fun drills like ‘popcorn’ where there are two groups riding the blueline half the track apart and at the ‘go’ the person on the front of each group sprints to catch the next group. We also did intervals that were the same thing only one group so you sprint longer to catch the group. There were a few other activities too. I have some times to report for the first time (keep in mind this is a tiny 138 m track):
Flying 500: 44.35 seconds
Flying lap 1: 11.33 seconds
Flying lap 2: 11.00 seconds

I have a lot of work to do on my top end (so says the fearless leader). Makes sense, any I’ve had is long gone after slackin’ for a couple months. Now isn’t the time to work on that though so I will be patient and work on base and look forward to improving those times in the future. All this track riding is giving me a lot of confidence riding at high speeds with people. Now if only I could take away everyone’s brakes in road races...

Friday – Gym (1.5 hours)
Actually managed to haul myself out of bed early for the first time to get to the gym. Pretty much the only time I have to get a last workout in before Sunday. It was really nice going early though! There were only two other women in the whole place and I had all the weight machines to myself. One more week of low weights, high reps and I start transitioning up to some higher weights.
10 min warmup on treadmill (cut it short ‘cause I had just rode my bike there anyway)
3x15: leg press @ 18kg
-lat pulldown @ 50 kg
-hip flexor pull thingy @ 6 kg
-shoulder press on bozu ball @ 20 kg
-10 min abs
-3x15 each one legged squats with ball
-front raise @ 8kg

On Sunday I’m heading home for xmas. I’ve tried to plan as best I can to keep my training schedule while I am there despite the lack of a bike (or the will to ride outside in Edmonton in the winter. They hit -46 (-58 with windchill) last weekend). Instead I’ll be aiming to hit the gym (‘tis the season for strength training) and the cross-country ski trails.

[flightlessbirds]

Week 4 (Dec 20-27) – Final week of prep!
In Edmonton for the holidays and it’s actually quite lovely with all the snow. Was ski-less for most of the week but managed to get by.
Monday – Strength Training (2 hrs): Hit up the gym I occasionally used to haunt which is actually quite nice.
20 min on treadmill
3 x 15: leg press each leg @ 40 kg (the machine is slightly different than the one at the University gym and it was easier to push more weight).
3 x 15: lat pulldown @ 50 kg
3 x 15: hip flexor pull @ 10 kg (smallest increment but the increase was okay)
3 x 15: shoulder press @ 15 kg
10 min abs
3 X 10 squats each leg
15 min cooldown on bike

Tuesday – Hot Yoga (1 hr): Went with a couple of (also slightly hungover) girl friends and did my first ever hot yoga session. I was an unending river of sweat but it felt really good and was quite a decent workout especially for core.

Wednesday – Run on treadmill (1 hr): Watching Star Wars made it slightly more tolerable but still... can’t wait to get in some outdoor exercise!

Thursday – Run on treadmill (1 hr10min): Booooring. At least my skis were finished at the shop today and I picked them up so I can go tomorrow. Added the 10 minute abs workout after

Friday – XC ski (1 hr + a little more): First ski in a loooong time! Went out with my Dad on a lovely Xmas day. He seemed to not notice all the trails were marked with black diamonds. Fortunately even though my technique is a little sloppy I still seem to remember how to control myself on the hills. None of it was really all that black diamond worthy anyway. It was a little cold and the snow was a little too dry and icy for the waxless skis but I think they will be perfect back in Southern Ontario (if it stops raining and starts snowing there...).

Saturday – Strength training (~1hr): Went to the gym with the afformentioned girl friends of the hot yoga experience. I must say that the 10 minute abs workout was definitely made much more difficult by a lot of giggling. Bit of a short workout but that’s alright as I didn’t want to be too sore for going on a longer ski tomorrow.
10 min warmup on stationary bike (damn I hate those contraptions)
3x15 leg press @ 40 kg
3x15 lat pulldown @ 50 kg
3x15 hip flexor pull dealie @ 10 kg
3x15 shoulder press on bozu @ 15kg
10 min abs

Month one down and prep done. I’m feeling rather good about sticking to my plan even through the holidays. Next up: base training begins!

[flightlessbirds]

Okay, so the optimistic 'next up: base training!' of the last post didn't work out so well. I decided to stick with the number of hours I was doing for the last month for one more week. I realized that it is very difficult to get in a lot of hours with out having time on the bike. My body is good at spending lots of hours on a bike but if I try that running or on skis right now I will just hurt myself. This revelation came after attempting to run for more than an hour on the treadmill. After an hour my knees suddenly said "no way!" and I listened as previously not listening has resulted in barely being able to walk for a week.

So here's Week 5
Sunday - XC Ski (1 hr)
Monday - Hot Yoga (1 hr)
Tuesday - Strength (2 hr) :
20 min warmup on stationary bike
3 x 15 each leg on leg press @ 40 kg
3 x 15 lat pull @ 50 kg
3 x 15 hip flexor @ 10 kg
3 x 15 should press on bozu @ 15 kg
10 min abs
35 min on one of the spin bikes. I discovered it has a power meter and played with it a bit by doing four, one minute long intervals at 360 W.

Thursday - Treadmill (1hr + 10 min):
Running and 10 min abs
Saturday - Spin bike + strength (1 hr + 45 min) :
Did 80 mins on spin bike with 5 x 5 min intervals @ 215 W.
3 x 15 lat pulldown
10 min abs
good long stretch out

On Monday I am heading home. I miss my bikes and can't wait to hit the track on Tuesday! No excuses not to get in my base training hours!