Monday September 20th
Pain!
On the first week of Cross-Mas Hunter Allen gave to me...pain!
Welcome to the next installment of the never-ending series of blog posts by me, the self-named Mayor McCheese. In this 12 week (now 11, minus 1 day, which would be 71 days, exactly 1900 less than the year I was born) thread, I will outline what absurd things I’m doing to myself to try and peak for the last 2 weeks of the cross season, which culminates with a 2 race weekend (Sussex and P’Burg) followed by another 2 race weekend (Horseshoe Scramble).
That’s all I have for the setup. I contemplated tacking this on to the last thread, since in a very real sense this is part of the continued effort to be competitive in the Big Leagues. But it’s a new discipline, a new season, and for sure a new class. Thus, it makes sense to break it off and put this on its own, all 11 and 6/7th weeks of it.
The Story So Far
For those of you who followed Chronicles, this is nothing new. But here was week 1 of the 12 week plan. Feel free to read these if you’re having problems falling asleep tonight, or if you like graphs:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Double session #1
Wednesday: Double session #2
Thursday: Double session #3
Friday: Double session #4
Saturday: Race tune-up
Sunday: Fumble in the Jungle
What’s the Point?
So why am I doing this? What does it all mean, Basil?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRt2_OLY3Ho
I’ve hinted at it before, but this is an extension of the race season. With the possible exception of yesterday, I’m pretty addicted to racing, and training to race. Even as I sit here the day after, I’m itching to get back up to JH and work on some of those trails. Looking forward to 2011, the best way to be prepared is to go as deep into this season as I can. That should prime me for a solid winter then a solid spring.
It’s been said if you race through the end of cross you start the season on a better note than if you hadn’t. I’m looking to carry this through December, then start up again at the Branchburg races in March. I’m not specifically focused on cross, even though this will be the first time I have a training plan this specific. I’ll give it my all but the primary aim is to carry my fitness as deep into the season as I can. The secondary aim is to see how I react to a structured training plan.
Having said that we all know damn well I want to crush in the races. As much as I’m doing this for the training and experience, it’s more fun when you do well. Fred is on board with me here.
The New Format
So far it looks like the same old blog in a new dress.
I got some solid feedback on the format, and most people seem to like the setup as I had it on the Chronicles thread.
Pearl admitted he likes more real-time stuff, which would be somewhat useful/entertaining at times. He likes the entertainment, which I admit is lacking when I go all training-heavy. I think it’s a cycle, and right now I’m really hitting the sweet spot of my power meter love affair. Thus the graphs.
JimmyHat said he likes the current format but that an occasional mid-day post might be good. I plan on generally keeping the format, but occasionally dropping in a mid-day post when I feel like it. Maybe I’ll morph into it being a morning newspaper, instead of an evening one. Or not.
Colin brings up time, and much of my problem is that I write 80% of the post by 10:00 some days, then find myself editing it all day, when I could be doing something else, like making sure my goddamn tires don’t have any holes, or making sure they have enough sealant. BTW, when I put the tube in yesterday the sealant was just about gone.
Rob wants to see more of his own name, which is lacking these days. But that’s his own fault, because he just texts me his thoughts instead of posting them on the thread.
MattyB said the same thing others have mentioned, along the lines of the wit and new stuff. Pearl said something to the fact that he likes when I talk about jerks on the train. Matty also likes the history stuff, which Pearl echoed. Funny though that nobody said they read it when I posted it, so I figured it was boring to people.
Capers agrees with the current format, though consistency is big for him. I may just forgo editing it to make it easier to do this stuff. I know some days there are errors all over. I think I’d go nuts if I was a newspaper reporter and had to try and write error-free stuff every day. I know then have editors but there’s only so much they can catch.
ChrisRU is thinking what I am. Keep the main post and possibly throw up a few small notes during some days. Maybe I’ll put my commute woes in for mid-day fodder. Finally got to talk to Chris for more than 20 seconds yesterday. It was like a whole minute. Good to see him feeling good about the race. He likes to read about the concepts of training, which I usually try to do.
Iggy was the first to chime in with the single post. I am going to not engage in mid-day banter either way. I think that just causes any of the training threads to go off-course in record time. I’ll try to post more pics.
This Week
Last week was brutal. This week is more tame in comparison.
Mon: Easy/off
Tue AM: CX practice efforts, 8 race-pace efforts of 5-6 minutes each
Tue PM: CX skills, low effort
Wed: Run/core
Thu AM: 3x20 LT efforts
Thu PM: Run/core
Fri: Easy/off
Sat: Tempo, mountain bike, maybe 6MR finally?
Sun: Whirlybird CX race
12-14.5 hours total
I thought about moving stuff around to try and make cx practice Wednesday, but I’m supposed to get a total of 2.5 hours with the cx practice efforts, and there’s no way I hit that target at the Wednesday night ride unless I get there at 4:00 and ride by myself for 90 minutes. I could also try the cx skills for Wednesday night, but it’s impossible to keep the effort low there.
I like the additional rest in this week. I was in no shape to race yesterday after last week, but wanted to get that last mountain bike race in. This week I should be in better shape to race on Sunday. Hopefully things go better this time. My last 3 races have been kinda Suckville.
Looking Ahead Again
Next week is going to suck because I’m in Chicago Tue-Thu, so I need to double up my Monday & Friday, and do the running on Wed/Thu mornings when I’m out there. Also, the double Friday is not ideal for the Hillbilly race Sunday. Common wisdom says that a hard Friday does not do wonders for your Sunday race. Thankfully that race is only a 40 minute shot, and not the 2 hour rock-fest we had yesterday.
I finished the first pass of the 2011 plan. I have 3 different cycle peaks, which is very aggressive and would entail an abbreviated winter base which may not be a great idea. The first peak would be around the SSaP and Granogue/Wawayanda/Michaux timeframe, with Battenkill and Fair Hill also in the early park of that peak. The second would be DH40 and Freedom Tour-based, with Bear Creek and Michaux again in the mix. The early part of that peak would include KVSP, Fair Hill, and the Pinecone RR.
The final peak would be just like this year, end of cross season. Really, the first 2 are the major cycle peaks and the last 1/3 of the year is extension/maintenance/fun. I’m not sure about this, and actually emailed Hunter Allen to ask his opinion on the idea and what he recommends. Since I’m buying his plans he’s likely to be more open to answer. But maybe not. It’s been all day and he hasn’t gotten back to me.
When I say “peak areas” that usually means a 2 week set of races. This is how you sort of ensure that your peak isn’t a single race that can go to crap with a flat tire. So this year you could have tried to do SSaP and Wawayanda as back-to-back peak races. The 2 weeks before that are also part of the peak, but the early part. That could have included Fair HIll and the Tour de Tykes.
That basically loads the end of your 12 week cycle with 4 races in 4 weeks, and you progressively sharpen in preparation for the last one. Fair Hill, Tour de Tykes, SSaP, then Wawayanda/Granogue. By having 4 races in that peak period you’re bound to be really sharp for 1 or more, and a flat or DNF doesn’t sink the whole 12 weeks. I also recommend racing ASAFP in the year to get the taste of blood to keep you motivated.
The more I write this out the less I like the early peak for the SSaP race, since it would mean starting to build so early (February). At the same time, I’m looking to use a plan to help get me through the winter, particularly March, which is my least favorite month in the biking year.
I’m also looking at some of these plans and I really want to try them to see how they shake out. Still 11 more weeks to go in this one. So I’m getting ahead of myself, but that’s what I do sometimes.
Fundraiser
I’m nothing short of blown away by the response we got on day 1. If the whole week goes this well I’ll be cooking dinner for far too many people. Much appreciation and it makes my life a lot easier, that’s for sure.
Media
JimmyHat gave this to me yesterday. I'll let him explain more about it:
Pain!
On the first week of Cross-Mas Hunter Allen gave to me...pain!
Welcome to the next installment of the never-ending series of blog posts by me, the self-named Mayor McCheese. In this 12 week (now 11, minus 1 day, which would be 71 days, exactly 1900 less than the year I was born) thread, I will outline what absurd things I’m doing to myself to try and peak for the last 2 weeks of the cross season, which culminates with a 2 race weekend (Sussex and P’Burg) followed by another 2 race weekend (Horseshoe Scramble).
That’s all I have for the setup. I contemplated tacking this on to the last thread, since in a very real sense this is part of the continued effort to be competitive in the Big Leagues. But it’s a new discipline, a new season, and for sure a new class. Thus, it makes sense to break it off and put this on its own, all 11 and 6/7th weeks of it.
The Story So Far
For those of you who followed Chronicles, this is nothing new. But here was week 1 of the 12 week plan. Feel free to read these if you’re having problems falling asleep tonight, or if you like graphs:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Double session #1
Wednesday: Double session #2
Thursday: Double session #3
Friday: Double session #4
Saturday: Race tune-up
Sunday: Fumble in the Jungle
What’s the Point?
So why am I doing this? What does it all mean, Basil?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRt2_OLY3Ho
I’ve hinted at it before, but this is an extension of the race season. With the possible exception of yesterday, I’m pretty addicted to racing, and training to race. Even as I sit here the day after, I’m itching to get back up to JH and work on some of those trails. Looking forward to 2011, the best way to be prepared is to go as deep into this season as I can. That should prime me for a solid winter then a solid spring.
It’s been said if you race through the end of cross you start the season on a better note than if you hadn’t. I’m looking to carry this through December, then start up again at the Branchburg races in March. I’m not specifically focused on cross, even though this will be the first time I have a training plan this specific. I’ll give it my all but the primary aim is to carry my fitness as deep into the season as I can. The secondary aim is to see how I react to a structured training plan.
Having said that we all know damn well I want to crush in the races. As much as I’m doing this for the training and experience, it’s more fun when you do well. Fred is on board with me here.
The New Format
So far it looks like the same old blog in a new dress.
I got some solid feedback on the format, and most people seem to like the setup as I had it on the Chronicles thread.
Pearl admitted he likes more real-time stuff, which would be somewhat useful/entertaining at times. He likes the entertainment, which I admit is lacking when I go all training-heavy. I think it’s a cycle, and right now I’m really hitting the sweet spot of my power meter love affair. Thus the graphs.
JimmyHat said he likes the current format but that an occasional mid-day post might be good. I plan on generally keeping the format, but occasionally dropping in a mid-day post when I feel like it. Maybe I’ll morph into it being a morning newspaper, instead of an evening one. Or not.
Colin brings up time, and much of my problem is that I write 80% of the post by 10:00 some days, then find myself editing it all day, when I could be doing something else, like making sure my goddamn tires don’t have any holes, or making sure they have enough sealant. BTW, when I put the tube in yesterday the sealant was just about gone.
Rob wants to see more of his own name, which is lacking these days. But that’s his own fault, because he just texts me his thoughts instead of posting them on the thread.
MattyB said the same thing others have mentioned, along the lines of the wit and new stuff. Pearl said something to the fact that he likes when I talk about jerks on the train. Matty also likes the history stuff, which Pearl echoed. Funny though that nobody said they read it when I posted it, so I figured it was boring to people.
Capers agrees with the current format, though consistency is big for him. I may just forgo editing it to make it easier to do this stuff. I know some days there are errors all over. I think I’d go nuts if I was a newspaper reporter and had to try and write error-free stuff every day. I know then have editors but there’s only so much they can catch.
ChrisRU is thinking what I am. Keep the main post and possibly throw up a few small notes during some days. Maybe I’ll put my commute woes in for mid-day fodder. Finally got to talk to Chris for more than 20 seconds yesterday. It was like a whole minute. Good to see him feeling good about the race. He likes to read about the concepts of training, which I usually try to do.
Iggy was the first to chime in with the single post. I am going to not engage in mid-day banter either way. I think that just causes any of the training threads to go off-course in record time. I’ll try to post more pics.
This Week
Last week was brutal. This week is more tame in comparison.
Mon: Easy/off
Tue AM: CX practice efforts, 8 race-pace efforts of 5-6 minutes each
Tue PM: CX skills, low effort
Wed: Run/core
Thu AM: 3x20 LT efforts
Thu PM: Run/core
Fri: Easy/off
Sat: Tempo, mountain bike, maybe 6MR finally?
Sun: Whirlybird CX race
12-14.5 hours total
I thought about moving stuff around to try and make cx practice Wednesday, but I’m supposed to get a total of 2.5 hours with the cx practice efforts, and there’s no way I hit that target at the Wednesday night ride unless I get there at 4:00 and ride by myself for 90 minutes. I could also try the cx skills for Wednesday night, but it’s impossible to keep the effort low there.
I like the additional rest in this week. I was in no shape to race yesterday after last week, but wanted to get that last mountain bike race in. This week I should be in better shape to race on Sunday. Hopefully things go better this time. My last 3 races have been kinda Suckville.
Looking Ahead Again
Next week is going to suck because I’m in Chicago Tue-Thu, so I need to double up my Monday & Friday, and do the running on Wed/Thu mornings when I’m out there. Also, the double Friday is not ideal for the Hillbilly race Sunday. Common wisdom says that a hard Friday does not do wonders for your Sunday race. Thankfully that race is only a 40 minute shot, and not the 2 hour rock-fest we had yesterday.
I finished the first pass of the 2011 plan. I have 3 different cycle peaks, which is very aggressive and would entail an abbreviated winter base which may not be a great idea. The first peak would be around the SSaP and Granogue/Wawayanda/Michaux timeframe, with Battenkill and Fair Hill also in the early park of that peak. The second would be DH40 and Freedom Tour-based, with Bear Creek and Michaux again in the mix. The early part of that peak would include KVSP, Fair Hill, and the Pinecone RR.
The final peak would be just like this year, end of cross season. Really, the first 2 are the major cycle peaks and the last 1/3 of the year is extension/maintenance/fun. I’m not sure about this, and actually emailed Hunter Allen to ask his opinion on the idea and what he recommends. Since I’m buying his plans he’s likely to be more open to answer. But maybe not. It’s been all day and he hasn’t gotten back to me.
When I say “peak areas” that usually means a 2 week set of races. This is how you sort of ensure that your peak isn’t a single race that can go to crap with a flat tire. So this year you could have tried to do SSaP and Wawayanda as back-to-back peak races. The 2 weeks before that are also part of the peak, but the early part. That could have included Fair HIll and the Tour de Tykes.
That basically loads the end of your 12 week cycle with 4 races in 4 weeks, and you progressively sharpen in preparation for the last one. Fair Hill, Tour de Tykes, SSaP, then Wawayanda/Granogue. By having 4 races in that peak period you’re bound to be really sharp for 1 or more, and a flat or DNF doesn’t sink the whole 12 weeks. I also recommend racing ASAFP in the year to get the taste of blood to keep you motivated.
The more I write this out the less I like the early peak for the SSaP race, since it would mean starting to build so early (February). At the same time, I’m looking to use a plan to help get me through the winter, particularly March, which is my least favorite month in the biking year.
I’m also looking at some of these plans and I really want to try them to see how they shake out. Still 11 more weeks to go in this one. So I’m getting ahead of myself, but that’s what I do sometimes.
Fundraiser
I’m nothing short of blown away by the response we got on day 1. If the whole week goes this well I’ll be cooking dinner for far too many people. Much appreciation and it makes my life a lot easier, that’s for sure.
Media
JimmyHat gave this to me yesterday. I'll let him explain more about it:
