Peaks and Valleys

Earlier this year I noted that my training has been consistently inconsistent and trend continues to remain the same today.  Unfortunately the most recent inconsistencies have been caused by a number of colds I've had in the last month.  On the good side of all this though is that my most recent cold has passed as of today.  To celebrate this occasion of better health I decided I'd join the Ozaukee Bicycle Club ride that started out of Cedarburg.  A significant number of riders participated in the ride that quickly became a race (which I knew would happen because it always does) and of course was perfect to get me jump started after being off the bike for a bit of time.  It was great to ride with friends that I haven't had the opportunity to ride with since last year.  There were a lot of strong riders that continued to drive a fast pace which really put the hurt on me by the time we were half-way through.  I put in a few big efforts of my own just to test my legs and lungs.  The first was on a flat stretch after a long downhill in which the group was flying at above 35 mph.  I moved to the front through the pace line and hammered the pedals pushing 700+ watts for about 30 seconds before beginning to back off and finally popping and quickly finding the back of the pack.  The second effort was on a stretch which the group occasionally throws down a sprint for the "stop ahead" sign.  I was rolling mid-pack while a rider came up on my left quickly and I overheard him saying to the guy behind him that he'd give him a lead out.  It was a gift at 25 mph.  I quickly caught their wheels and rolled to the front with them and before the other rider could launch his spring I attacked.  Once past the stop ahead sign I thought I'd fall off the bike vomiting.  Luckily only a few deep coughs and 4 miles of recovery before setting up for keeping pace on the final sprint of the ride.  All-in-all it was a great ride and also a new record wattage for me this year.  I finally broke the 1,000 watt barrier (something I haven't done in a long time)!  Beyond what I did during the ride, a number of my friends and teammates were riding very strong for this early in the season.  I look forward to seeing them succeed  and achieve their established goals.  Speaking of goals, I only have one this year and that is to just have fun.  Over the past few years I've been so focused on results that it has just about sucked all of the fun out of racing.  So this year, no goals focusing on results.  Just going out to have fun, do the best I can do and enjoy every minute of it.

While my training has had a few peaks and valleys this year and my confidence in relation to my fitness has swung in both directions, this ride helped to improve my confidence of being somewhat competitive going into my first race of the year this coming Saturday.  Saturday brings about the Menomonee Park Criterium in which the Cat 3 race starts at 3:30PM.  Should be a blast and I look forward to it!  The 2012 season starts here.

March Madness Update

The month of March came and went before I knew it.  Between the increased hours, travel and demand from work, the 3 birthdays, home improvements, cycling activities, and daily life in itself, it seems as though in a blink of an eye 30+ days can go by and here I sit looking back having a hard time believe all of the activities that were piled in to that time frame.  The biggest events of the month were Amy’s, William’s and my niece Allison's birthdays.  William is now over 1 year old and is growing like crazy (most likely because of all the pancakes he can eat).  Amy being the best mom ever went above and beyond planning for William’s party which was a huge success.  Some of Amy’s neatest ideas that came to fruition included “bee” cake pops, a “honey comb” cupcake cake, and a picture banner that included a picture of William each month up to his birthday.  The party was a blast and all of William’s family and friends attended.

William's Honeycomb Birthday Cake

Digging in the cake

 

Amy's Bee Pops & Pretzels

 While there was a lot of partying we also continued to work on updates to the house, ultimately working towards putting the house on the market.  Amy and I are looking to move a little closer to family but keeping the commute to work manageable.  We’re currently eying up the West Bend area while keeping the Hartford area option open.  Both areas are great “small-ish” cities that are good for raising William and there are plenty of rural roads for excellent cycling.  Also, there’s no lake breeze to keep the temps cold like there is in Cedarburg.  Last Sunday was a great example where it was 46 degrees in Cedarburg; however, when you headed further inland (10-15 miles) the temps were near the upper 60’s.  Chill from Lake Michigan is not welcomed by this guy!

On the cycling front, things have been less than consistent.  Inconsistency has been the theme for March thanks to colds and travel for work.  The beginning of the month led off with me being under-the-weather with a cold that affected my respiratory system (never good for training), followed by a week-long work trip to St. Pete, FL, and further followed by another week of recovering from the aforementioned cold.  I did manage to get some longer rides in on the weekends when I felt better and because of the lack of time to train, picked the intensity up.  The notable ride of the month was a ride that I did from Horicon to Cedarburg into a strong headwind for the entire 40 mile route.  Only plus side to the ride was the fact the sun was out and it was warm with above average temps.  Due to the strong headwind and lack of daylight I hammered the pedals kicking out big numbers.  Primary stats include: Ride Time: 1:57:27; Ave. Power: 259 watts; Normalized Power: 278 watts; Ave. Cadence: 86 rpm; and Ave. Speed: 20 mph.  This ride provide a boost to my overall morale and set my bar of expectations a bit higher.

The inconsistent nature of my training for the month however led me to what I perceived as my “poor cycling condition” (insert Amy laughing) but after Tuesday night’s functional threshold power (FTP) test, my perception was proved wrong.  While the training may have been inconsistent, it was spot on for providing physiological gains.  The gains were so much so that I was shocked by the numbers, mainly the % change in FTP.  My average power output increased an amazing 27 watts over the course of a month for an increase of 8.56%.  This FTP test was also a great motivating factor for my continued training which is becoming tougher as the weather gets nicer out but still spending most of my training hours in the basement.

 In other great cycling news, William got his first bike!  It’s a Strider bike that has no pedals but provides for kids the ability to push themselves with their feet while learning their balance.  William’s maiden ride on the bike was successful with big smiles and laughs followed by the required “I have to taste this thing” by trying to eat the handlebar.  William’s legs are a bit too short yet for him to fully utilize the bike on his own but he’ll grow into it quickly.  His bike also matches his dad’s in its yellow and black paint scheme.  Look for William to be flying by on a sidewalk or patch of grass nearby this summer.

I’m sure the month of March had many other great events taking place but I cannot think of anymore at this time.  On that note, THE END.

Working

Putting in the hours in the name of the game to get things done at work, at home and on the bike.  It's been well over three months since the last post because of just that... work.  Work itself has been extremely busy with an increased amount of work with less resources to go around.  16 key enterprise-wide projects to oversee and ensure each and every milestone is hit and objective met prior to established due dates.  Not easy to do when your team consists of your manager, your two employees and yourself.  No worries though, the annual plan I developed is in motion and moving swiftly.  Now just to get through the onsite review with the Feds.

Work at home has been progressing well too, just slower than ever expected but we're almost done with the remodel of the upstairs bathroom.  With the help of my Pa we hung the drywall and I spent the next few weeks mudding the joints.  Only a few things to finish up and we'll have the bathroom usable again.  Remaining tasks are painting (second coat), caulk around the tub, tile the floor, put in the vanity and install the toilet.  Aiming for a few weeks out for wrapping it all up.  Amy and William are getting antsy to use the new tub and shower and are getting sick of the walk downstairs.  The hours of work put into this project makes you appreciate what all goes into the full remodel of any room in a house.

Cycling has been going well also with additional time being put in to up my fitness for a challenging year of racing ahead.  I completed my first power test of the year a few weeks and the results were quite surprising.  I didn't anticipate the higher than expected sustained power output but it did provide me with additional motivation knowing that I'm not in as big of a hole than originally thought.  I'm also using new software to analyze my workouts and applying new metrics to track my ongoing progress.  I'm looking forward to having a few months of additional data to leverage many of the interesting analysis tools that are provided.  More hours in the saddle and focused attention to each training detail are required for continued progress and my eyes on strictly focused on a few important goals.  Should be interesting to see how they play out.  Until spring is here and racing starts it will be just long and tiresome hours on the trainer in the basement in front of the TV.  Can't wait!

I also can't wait to see what William will be up to in a few months.  His 1st birthday is just around the corner (1 month from today) and he's already walking fairly well with significant progress each day.  It's amazing seeing what new things he's able to do each day.  Amy and I have already picked out William's birthday present.  He will be using it in no time and it will be fun to watch him speed around!  This next year is going to be a blast with many potential changes on the horizon.  I can't wait!