It’s been about 2 weeks since my last training update, and
all was going well until mid-last week, when I got bit by the head cold bug
again. By mid-January, everyone in
our house seemed to be recovered from the annoying runny noses and stuffy heads
that we’ve been playing tag with since early December. We were finally bug-free. I was in a good training groove,
hitting all of my key sessions and seeing progress, and then “tag”. I’m it (again)!
On January 26, I rode a 4-hour segment, from 8:30 PM to
12:30 AM in the Fraser Bicycle (www.fraserbicycle.com)
24-hour Charity Lab-a-thon, to benefit local charities. Since I would be surrounded with others
pushing their trainer limits, I figured I would use this as a test to see where my long
ride fitness is. Since is for
charity, it’s just an easy ride, right?
Wrong. Line up 16
triathletes, mountain bikers and various other riders on Computrainers and the
unwritten rules take over: it’s
always a competition.
 |
| Fraser Bicycle Computrainer Lab at about 2:00 AM |
So I used this “non-competitive” environment to see where I was. Since I haven’t ridden further than 3 hours since last fall, I started conservative, and held just over 250w for the first 2 hours. In the second half, I was feeling good, so I notched it up a little and averaged over 260w for the next 90 minutes, and “cooled down” with 255w for the last 30 minutes. In the end, I averaged 254w (256 normalized), which was a 0.80 IF and an awesome TSS of 255. All this was based on my new FTP that I established on January 16, so I think this is a good double check my FTP was tested correctly. The best part was my legs were still feeling pretty good at the end. It wasn’t my legs that wanted to stop, but my seat. I need to build up my “saddle” endurance a little more. In summary, I passed my "test" and I'm happy with how the ride went, especially for one in January.
 |
| The results of my Lab-A-Thon ride |
My swimming and running have focused on consistency and
frequency. I’ve been in the pool
and on the treadmill about 4-5 times per week as well, with an average volume
of about 14km in the pool and 25-30 miles running. I’m not sure why, but for some reason, I can’t get excited
about running in the cold and snow this winter. In the past, unless the temperature was in the single
digits, I would be outside. Not
this year. It’s not so much the
cold, but I’m not a fan of the unplowed sidewalks and trails. They’re not bad in fresh snow, but
after a few days, the snow turns icy and choppy, and I really don’t feel like turning my
ankle or falling on ice. At least
that’s my rationale, but I’m sure I just need to toughen up a little more….
So all was going good, until last week, when stuffy noses
began to appear in our house again.
First my daughter, then my son, then last Tuesday, it got me. It came on quick, and a little more
intense than a few weeks ago, first a runny nose, then my head was completely stuffed up. It left me with no choice, but to make the hard decision and skip a couple of
days of training to rest and recover.
I used all my tricks to get knock this head cold out. I took Biestmilch (www.biestmilch.com), used a Neti Pot, unfiltered apple cider vinegar (tastes horrible, but seems to work), lots of Kleenex and
extra rest. The only positive is
by Friday, I was feeling good enough for a light swim and bike, and over
the weekend eased back to normal training. Now I’m feeling good again (knocks on
wood) and ready to get back on track!
Happy Training!
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