I missed morning spin class for work. Probably in retrospect a good thing. I did an hour of cross trainer machine while watching world cup 'cross on my iPad at lunch. Then the real workout hit this evening.
After a nice commute over, calibrate the CompuTrainer, then a 15 minute warmup, we were presented with: alternating 90 second and 2 minute intervals at 150% of threshold* with 4 minutes rest between. Instructions were "you will fail, question is how long can you hold out". Queue Metallica and start.
Cumulatively I got 10 minutes in, but failed at about 90 seconds into one of the two minute ones in the middle, I think I made 4 before failure. Who knows it was all pretty blurry then. Nowhere to hide in that class. Admittedly this is probably more spring road race training than the type of efforts I'm going to deploy at the Yak (unless I'm trying to yak…), but ostensibly it's forcing V02 optimization by maximal exertion to failure.
* this class uses threshold as ~90% of a 20 minute TT to approximate what one would sustain if pushed for an hour, as no really sane class can do an entry to the spin sessions TT at a 60 minute length; today's intervals were therefore 430W. That would move me along decently well on a bike if I could trim down.
Yak Attack training #4
Im doing some lunch training these days. Mild dedication, but also just a really good excuse to not sit at desk through lunch and to actually take a break.
15 degree incline on treadmill is all it'll do. Backpack with 25lbs which is bike and such simulator. Hour up. Idea is to help legs get ready, but also torso. Is rather have nights of recovery there applied to other areas of body than a back in shock and sore from load bearing.
Why does 25lbs feel so heavy in a backpack context?!
Yak Attack training #3
So apparently I'm a glutton for punishment. After a day of rest up at the ABA board meeting, Pat Dodge, Kate and I met at Cadence. Great, that'll make an easy ride!
Pat Dodge "leads us out" at tempo around 60k, on the roads up north. We cover upcoming racing and riding plans and life on the bike, new toys being assembled, etc. while nuggets of wisdom slip out like "if you want to be fit don't eat on rides under 4h". He rides out to Big Hill Springs Provincial Park with us then departs for his own way home, favouring pedalling.
Kate and I venture into the park and are able to ride the well packed first kilometre. After that, it's a variety of ride, carry bike, push bike, ankle deep, post holing to the knee deep, frozen river riding, animal track riding, more carrying, and some single track. I'm invariably 2 to 5 bike lengths behind and every time I look up there's a gap unless Kate is taking a picture or pointing out animals. I'm trying to keep up, but at times I'm like WTF? Am I following an arctic born viking queen of winter or something? Oh right. That's precisely it. Eventually after what feels like hours (let's just say the 4km/h of trudging is good Yak training, poor for average speed) we get to civilization. It took about 10 minutes shy of 5h to get to Cochrane, I've had one water bottle and one banana. Time to hit the soup.
In an attempt to not let my memories of the ride be contributed to only by others, I pick a couple of spots to hit some good intervals on the way home - gravel by Airport Road and the Old Banff Coach Road climb. The gravel section Kate tails me then pulls up on the road, and without any outward signs of effort offers "that was hard". I'm gonna take that as a success. We take it easy then make an effort on the last climb up Old Banff Coach road. Or should I say I made an effort? I put in what I'm labelling a reasonably solid interval complete with standing for that last spike in grade up to the sign. Kate sits on my wheel and let's me take the sign, then pulls around on the flat, without any outward sign of effort again and says "that wasn't what I'd call spinning it home" then leaves me to dig in and get in her draft on the flat. Youch! As evidence it was the 4th fastest female time up that pitch with a) a 100km ride yesterday, b) 6h in today, c) on cross bikes and full winter gear.
Riding with awesome people is… well… awesome! 6h moving, I think a little over 4 riding, 7h out from home. Data and route here.
Yak Attack training #2
Kate, Shawn and a surprise Devin visit occurred at Cadence. We headed west out airport road, toward Cochrane, a fantastic lunch and home. That's a brief description, and the accompanying stats. About 100k, probably riding/walking/moving for 5, out for 6h. I felt notably stronger today, yesterday was a bit of labour.
But that all misses what the real story of this weekend is. I'm not empowered to be a king maker, but let me at least nominate one.
We rode two days with Kate. Or should I say, Kate is genteel enough to wait up for the boys 2 days in a row. Jeff, Thomas and I yesterday, Shawn, Devin and I today. Every time we'd look up, come up a rise, come around a corner, how was it that Kate was 5m ahead? She'd just easily move forward all the time. We'd bust it, catch up, and expect to see her perhaps showing indications of effort. She'd smile and say hi and pick up whatever conversation was left off, without displaying laboured breathing. Shawn and I today were both impressed and dejected all in one how easy she was doing it. Very impressive!
Alpha is often used with male or female. Forget that. Kate's just the winter riding Alpha these days. My winter Queen nomination.
So I've named my training plan the Kate plan. Or even the double Kate. I'm eating like Kate Moss, perhaps though without the cocaine and cigarettes, and I'm riding with Kate Aardal, or at least somewhere behind her, hopefully in a draft. Maybe these two will merge and my power to weight ratio will hit an acceptable level in the next few months.
But that all misses what the real story of this weekend is. I'm not empowered to be a king maker, but let me at least nominate one.
We rode two days with Kate. Or should I say, Kate is genteel enough to wait up for the boys 2 days in a row. Jeff, Thomas and I yesterday, Shawn, Devin and I today. Every time we'd look up, come up a rise, come around a corner, how was it that Kate was 5m ahead? She'd just easily move forward all the time. We'd bust it, catch up, and expect to see her perhaps showing indications of effort. She'd smile and say hi and pick up whatever conversation was left off, without displaying laboured breathing. Shawn and I today were both impressed and dejected all in one how easy she was doing it. Very impressive!
Alpha is often used with male or female. Forget that. Kate's just the winter riding Alpha these days. My winter Queen nomination.
So I've named my training plan the Kate plan. Or even the double Kate. I'm eating like Kate Moss, perhaps though without the cocaine and cigarettes, and I'm riding with Kate Aardal, or at least somewhere behind her, hopefully in a draft. Maybe these two will merge and my power to weight ratio will hit an acceptable level in the next few months.
Yak Attack training ride #1
Today was a #5 ride.
After dropping Cindy off at SpeedTheory for her morning spin class, I made my way over to meet Jeff at Cadence. Kate surprised us by being there too, great!
Off we go in -9C. Felt a little cooler than we thought or than forecast was. Out through Tuscany ravine which was packed nicely, and finally a bit of warmth by the top of 12 mile coulee road. Jeff and I chatted most of the way out to Cochrane while Kate was up the road; Jeff hadn't ridden more than 2:45 all of 2013, so he was feeling out of endurance. I have no doubt he'll come around fast. Kate showed us a new way to get some additional single track in the Cochrane Ranch historic park, so we did that on empty stomachs, then emerged out into the parking lot where the chill of the valley gave way to warmth. New route on paths all the way to the coffee stop…
Although I'm trying to trim down, I can always make room for the soup stop as they make a terrific thai chicken out there. As we were relaxing, with Jeff needing a gel on the couch to even be able to place his order, Thomas Yip walks in. Perfect.
Nice paths out of town, in the sun, across the old bridge and up out of the river valley. We checked right (west) as we shed a layer and saw nothing but purple clouds on the horizon. We hoped we could make it most of the way back before the front blew through.
OK, so don't underestimate the speed at which storms blow through the prairies. Not 10 minutes later before we even got off highway 22 we were riding out bikes at what felt like 15 degree angles hoping we weren't going to get blown into traffic in massive crosswinds. Got off onto the gravel for a straight west shot for a few minutes which felt amazing, we all spun out right away. Turned back south on the gravel to work toward airport road and the sidewinds brought a rain squall so we were soaked. By the time we got to airport road it was snow, now sticking to us. Airport road was a coast, then Thomas and I elected to go up Old Banff Coach Road (massive side or headwind, either felt like a hero or thought we'd be pushed into traffic randomly). Snowed the rest of the way into town. Wx.ca showed 60km/h winds and weather Canada labelled it an "abnormal weather pattern".
To be honest, I wasn't super uncomfortable, but had I not had Gore tex winter boots, helmet cover, gloves, jacket and pretty good pants, it would have been very uncomfortable. That stuff is amazing from -9 to rain to snow I was actually comfortable all day.
Great ride, great company!
After dropping Cindy off at SpeedTheory for her morning spin class, I made my way over to meet Jeff at Cadence. Kate surprised us by being there too, great!
Off we go in -9C. Felt a little cooler than we thought or than forecast was. Out through Tuscany ravine which was packed nicely, and finally a bit of warmth by the top of 12 mile coulee road. Jeff and I chatted most of the way out to Cochrane while Kate was up the road; Jeff hadn't ridden more than 2:45 all of 2013, so he was feeling out of endurance. I have no doubt he'll come around fast. Kate showed us a new way to get some additional single track in the Cochrane Ranch historic park, so we did that on empty stomachs, then emerged out into the parking lot where the chill of the valley gave way to warmth. New route on paths all the way to the coffee stop…
Although I'm trying to trim down, I can always make room for the soup stop as they make a terrific thai chicken out there. As we were relaxing, with Jeff needing a gel on the couch to even be able to place his order, Thomas Yip walks in. Perfect.
Nice paths out of town, in the sun, across the old bridge and up out of the river valley. We checked right (west) as we shed a layer and saw nothing but purple clouds on the horizon. We hoped we could make it most of the way back before the front blew through.
OK, so don't underestimate the speed at which storms blow through the prairies. Not 10 minutes later before we even got off highway 22 we were riding out bikes at what felt like 15 degree angles hoping we weren't going to get blown into traffic in massive crosswinds. Got off onto the gravel for a straight west shot for a few minutes which felt amazing, we all spun out right away. Turned back south on the gravel to work toward airport road and the sidewinds brought a rain squall so we were soaked. By the time we got to airport road it was snow, now sticking to us. Airport road was a coast, then Thomas and I elected to go up Old Banff Coach Road (massive side or headwind, either felt like a hero or thought we'd be pushed into traffic randomly). Snowed the rest of the way into town. Wx.ca showed 60km/h winds and weather Canada labelled it an "abnormal weather pattern".
To be honest, I wasn't super uncomfortable, but had I not had Gore tex winter boots, helmet cover, gloves, jacket and pretty good pants, it would have been very uncomfortable. That stuff is amazing from -9 to rain to snow I was actually comfortable all day.
Great ride, great company!
It's all uphill from here buddy
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