My Training Tools

I've been asked by many customers what I use for training. Here's a basic list:

2009 Gary Fisher Procaliber. Shimano XTR pedals.

2009 Trek XO-2 with SRAM Rival and Bontrager Classics Wheels. Shimano XTR pedals.

CycleOps Powertap SL+ on a Mavic Open Pro rim.

Trainingpeaks.com and WKO+ software for power analysis.

CycleOps Supermagneto Pro trainer.

I don't currently have a road bike, though I will by May.

Power test graph

How to take a power/threshold/LT/zone test

Ingredients:

1. Water.

2. Required music: Punkrocker by Teddybears featuring Iggy Pop.

3. Optional music: The Fire And Flames by DragonForce, Dance Dream (Lady Gaga vs. Eurythmics) by Divide and Kreate, I'm not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You by Black Kids, or anything by Silversun Pickups.

4. An empty 2-gallon or larger bucket.

5. Cheerleaders, hecklers, supporters and mourners.

6. A stationary trainer, bicycle, and some form of measuring effort (HRM, SRM, or Powertap)

7. Cytomax, Endurox, Recoverite, Bell's Oberon Ale, or Nesquick (chocolate).

Instructions:

1. Warm up on the bicycle approximately 10-15 minutes at a moderate pace. Be sure to hydrate. Place ingredient 4 on the ground behind the vertical plane of the handlebars, but in front of the range of the cranks.

2. Complete 1-2 warm-up sprints to get cardiovascular system ready for the effort.

3. Spin 5 minutes. Cue ingredient 3.

4. Turn inside-out. Do not pop, bonk, puke, stop, or black out, but come as close as possible without doing so.

5. Spin for 15 minutes at recovery pace. Drink some water.

6. Turn inside-out. Do not pop, bonk, puke, stop, or black out, but come as close as possible without doing so. Closer than in first effort in step 4. With 10% of time remaining, cue ingredient 5.

7. Cue ingredient 3. Spin until symptoms listed in 4 and 6 have subsided.

8. Consume your choice of ingredient 7.

Of training: momentum, weight, and power.

Training indoors, for me, is a thing of momentum. I have a hell of a time getting going on trainer rides, and making a habit of riding the trainer each winter. Once I get into a ride, say, 15 minutes, it gets easier. After the first few brutal 45-minute spin sessions, it gets easier, and I can bring on the pain. Other things that help:

-Group trainer rides. Peer pressure or social fun, it gets me riding. My training buddies are awesome!
-Downhill racing movies by Clay Porter.
-Awesome music. Not good music, but super wicked-sick rad awesome bubblegum-poppy rock. I'll post more playlists soon.
-ABC's Lost on DVD. If I'm just spinning at tempo for a while, I can put down two episodes, which come out to between 1 hr 20 to 1 hr 30. Perfect for base.

Oh, and I've been eating pretty well lately; and not in the sense of eating large volumes of Cindy-cooked food. I've actually lost two lbs. since New Years, and have managed to effectively cut the quick dinners from restaurants. Though maybe I should try Taco Bell's new training regimen.


The Powertap arrived, but I haven't had time to learn where to put the squirrel food, where to sacrifice the goat, or how to extract the black magic it employs that will make me what Phil Ligget call "a hardman of the peloton."

In other news, I'm contemplating my next road bike. Major factors include price and timliness of delivery. P1 6-series Madone with Force is all I have so far.

Training smarter

I've been keeping my training resolutions and my diet has changed drastically as a result. Also, I've been riding more, about 5-6 hours at tempo weekly as opposed to the 3 at endurance I was doing for a while. It feels great to ride more and harder. My motivation level has been really high in all aspects of my life, which helps in this midwinter lull.

My Powertap is on the way, which should help with a few of my specific goals for the year. The biggest is my ability to maintain a consistent speed on climbs. I have great initial acceleration, but can't maintain it very long. It's good for sneaky crit breakaways and drag racing kids around the neighborhood, but not much use on longer rides.

I'm also getting a new road bike in a few weeks. It's going to have a custom paint job, so I'm geeking out a bit.

Spring break? Yeah, that coin is still spinning mid-air, but I'm not worried about the outcome. If I have to, I'll just make it a brutal week on the trainer. If I can go, I plan on at least two days of 5 hours on the mountain bike.


On the iPod:
by Jay-Z: 99 Problems, Run This Town, Empire State of Mind
by The Killers: Sam's town (the album)
by Dot Dot Dot: Edge of the World
by Phoenix: 1901

New Years Resolutions

Top 5:

5. More wheelies.
4. Cooler sunglasses.
3. Hipper Hop.
2. Wordier words.
1. It doesn't get any easier, you only go faster.

dietary habits and timing.

In my continued quest for a better diet, I have recently taken a look at my daily eating habits. The PSAs about smoking (You don't drive every time you smoke, so why should you smoke every time you drive?) got me thinking about how I always have a big latte in the morning. Why? It's simply a habit of mine. And on Mondays after a weekly meeting at work, we head to Einstein Brothers Bagels for breakfast where I habitually get some sort of breakfast sandwich.

No longer, though. I've switched the big rich latte (320 kCal) to a simple dark roast (0 kCal), and my bacon egg and cheese breakfast sandwich (580 kCal) has become a toasted whole wheat bagel (260 kCal) with some fat free cream cheese (60 kCal). That's a net savings of 580 kCal.

On Tuesdays I usually have dinner with my parents, my brother, and his entire family. This involves some great food from my mom, snacks, beer, soda, etc. It's easy to over-eat. This Tuesday I had one beer, a sandwich with Turkey, veggies, and mustard, and no snacks, soda, or dessert. I also avoided the Christmas cookies and pie that were in full force.

The fight against the late-night snacking has been successful. I've timed dinner a bit later, and made sure I have appropriate (carrots, pretzels) snacks on hand so there are no late-night trips to T-Bell. Dilligence is the name of the game.

Now to start training. Happy new year.