Monday Musings on a Tuesday: When Opportunity Knocks

I had a hangover yesterday.

But it wasn't THAT kind of hangover.  It was an exercise hangover, ha ha.  This past weekend was nothing short of amazing.  Actually, the last 4 days have been amazing.  All because I offered up my time.

This past weekend, I got the opportunity to be a part of a Peaks Coaching Group Women's cycling camp led by the one and only Hunter Allen.  He's kind of a big deal in the world of cycling with power.  It all came about on Wednesday when a friend of a friend here in Clermont posted that she was looking for another female rider that was willing to cover off her "C" group of riders.  I thought why the heck not.  I'm always looking for new people to ride with AND, it was all ladies which is even better AND, I'd get to learn from one of the best in the business.

The camp was an intro to power and cycling skills camp.  I've been training with power for almost 4 years now so I understand the basics but in terms of real in depth analysis, I feel I have some gaps in my knowledge.  And I know my cycling skills need some work as well.  What better person to learn from than Hunter and what better environment than with a group of likeminded women.  It was a no brainer.

It also gave me the opportunity to meet Julie McKenzie, who is the friend of my friend Marianne.  Julie added me on Facebook shortly after my second trip to Clermont in October 2016.  I never got a chance to meet her last year so when she posted on Facebook that she needed some help with this camp, I jumped at the chance.  It was one of the best impulsive decisions I've ever made.  You know when you say yes to something and then you second guess yourself and think oh shit what have I done?  Every single bit of worry or apprehension I had completely evaporated within 10 minutes of meeting the awesome group of ladies I would be spending the next 3 days with.

There were 14 ladies in total, not including me.  One from Canada (Winnipeg to be exact), one from Bermuda and the rest from various places across the US.  It was a diverse group in terms of abilities but all of these ladies knew their way around a bike.  A few of them were racers, a handful were triathletes and the rest were just women that really enjoyed riding their bikes.  All of them were there for the same reason - to improve their skills and their knowledge.

The camp started on Thursday night with a 2 hour talk about cycling skills and the basics of power and why it was a more reliable metric than heart rate.  Hunter touched a bit on the metrics in Training Peaks but the big ones he focused on were TSS and IF (Intensity Factor).  That two hours flew by.  I have notes scribbled in a notebook that I have to decipher when my brain is up to the task, ha ha.

The next day was divided up into two main workouts.  The first 2 hours of the day were spent doing drills, getting the group comfortable riding in a group with other people around them and learning how to handle their bikes in a group.  We did some wheel touching and shoulder leans while riding in circles on grass.  That was incredibly unnerving but my partner, Sarah, and I managed to do it.  Not without a lot of nervous laughter though.  We then headed off to a parking lot to practice steering and cornering.  I haven't gotten the hang of the steering technique that Hunter taught us, but the cornering was much better.  Especially cornering to my right.  I'm much more comfortable going fast that way vs. cornering left.  I now know what I need to work on.

The best kind of bike gang!

From the parking lot, we headed off onto the newly paved Hancock Trail to learn how to pace line.  We rode along there and then up the back of Sugarloaf Mountain and then down the front side.  I had such a blast on that descent.

Coming back along the Hancock Trail

Heading out to Sugarloaf Mountain

We then turned around and headed back to the hotel for lunch and a group data analysis session.  I found these sessions to be so insightful. Hunter would download everyone's Garmins and upload the files to WK04 and then analyze areas he thought people did really well on and areas where they could improve.  He then gave suggestions on things they could do to improve.

Post Ride data analysis

Saturday was our longer ride (90km) that consisted of a 1 minute power test (up a hill) as well as a 20 minute FTP test.  I have never done an FTP test outside.  It was evil and awesome all at the same time.  The course they mapped out had some good climbs but some good descents as well.  We were also dealing with a massive headwind and a lot of heat.  This past weekend temps were in the high 20's low 30's.  It was hot.  We did that after close to 45km of riding already.  It was hard.  I'm not used to doing a TT on my road bike either.  I came away with an FTP of 207w according to Hunter.  He went with my normalized power (218w) for the 20 minute segment because the course was hilly and it wasn't a steady state effort like it would be on the trainer.   It's not where I was last year but it's getting closer.  I suspect by the time I come back from Florida it will be close to where I was heading into my peak training last year.

Megumi taking off on the start of her 20 minute test.  You can see the first climb in the distance

Sunday was spent learning about rotating pace lines.  It was a little touch and go at first but once we got going, we did a pretty good job.  It's not an easy skill to learn and if you are nervous in a group or you're unsure of the skills of the people that you're riding with, it makes it challenging.   Once we had that down, we stopped on a flat stretch of road and learned how to sprint.  We practiced learning how to shift in the drops while being out of the saddle (AHHH), how to let the bike rock back and forth.  We then started sprinting.  We did some sprints in the small ring and surprisingly that's where I had my best power effort of the day, ha ha.  We then moved to big ring sprints.  Once we had practiced those, we started racing each other.  Julie and another woman, Mia, who is an elite road racer and coach from Wisconsin, raced against each other and the speed was just incredible.  Mia hit 1000w.  ONE THOUSAND WATTS.  I can't even FATHOM that.  I think my max was 586w.

Sarah and I sprinting

After we had sprinted our hearts out, Hunter broke us into groups.  I was with Julie's group.  We strategized, rode down to the start and rolled out.

Our plan was for Julie to cover the breaks and then the rest of us had to keep Katherine, our sprinter sheltered.  But the other team went on the attack right away and threw us for a loop so we all just ended up chasing people down the road.  For the second race Hunter gave us a strategy he wanted us to stick to.  We were going man to man so Julie assigned each one of us a person to mark.  We rolled out again and the jostling for position started.  This really felt like a race, there was a lot of moving around.  Katherine, who has raced for years, knew what to watch for as the rest of us were just hanging on for dear life.  I was near her at one point and I could hear her saying they were forming a lead out line.  I watched to see what Mia, a veteran racer, was doing and she was obviously pulling Lynda, who was the woman that I had to mark.  So I stuck to Lynda's wheel like glue.  I could see them moving up through the group and over to the right hand side of the road.  I kept on Lynda's wheel.  Mia was getting closer to the front.  I knew if she got past the front of the group, that would be it.  A small gap started to open up on the right.  We were getting close to the finish line.  I was pretty sure I heard Katherine saying watch Mia and Lynda.  The gap opened up a bit more so I thought I'd catch them off guard, shoot the gap and sprint to the line.  I didn't think Lynda could out sprint me if I got the jump on her so I went for it.   I didn't hear or see anyone coming after me but I knew someone would.  Sure enough, just as I got to the finish line, I see Mia's wheel come up beside me.  I'm pretty sure she caught me right at the line.  Had I waited another 15-20s, I think I would have gotten to the line first.  But DAMN was that ever exciting.  I totally get the adrenaline rush.  That was a LOT of fun.

Back at the hotel we went over our data again.  I got some insights into where my weaknesses are and  how I can improve them, which was immensely helpful.  Hunter also looked at people's overall fitness trends if they had a lot of data on their Garmins.  I only had data from the end of December so there wasn't a lot to look at but you can definitely see the training load build over the last little while, ha ha.  This weekend resulted in a massive peak in fatigue so we'll see how the next few days go.  You know you're tired when your Training Peaks app tells you that you should consider taking a rest day, ha ha.  So I took yesterday off and was still feeling a fair bit of fatigue this morning so I skipped my swim.  I may go later in the day as long as it doesn't rain.

I covered 239km on two wheels last week, the majority of it over the weekend.  That also included 1844m of climbing!  It's been a long time since I've cycled 3 days in a row or climbed that much in 3 days (hello indoor riding!)  It wasn't what I had planned for the weekend, it was a million times better.

I can't even begin to thank Julie enough for bringing me in to the camp and letting me stick around for the weekend.  It was an experience I won't soon forget.  I hope to cross paths with these ladies again.

Dinner out at the Crooked Spoon

An Iron Weekend

The last 72 hours have been a total whirlwind and I feel like I've been hit by a Mac truck....but it was SO MUCH FUN.  On Friday we loaded up the car and went up north.  We had two good friends of ours that were doing their first Ironman in Muskoka so we wanted to support them.  We were staying at a friends cottage in Dorset which is along the bike course so we signed up to volunteer at the aid station there on race morning.  Friday night it took us 4 hours to get to the cottage.  If the roads are clear it's usually about 2.5 hours.  It was 11:30 pm by the time I went to bed.  We were planning on riding with friends Saturday morning and they wanted to go early.  I put the hammer down on that and said no, I wanted a bit of extra sleep so we were going to meet them.  For whatever reason, I didn't sleep well and ended up tossing and turning most of the night.  I got up at 6:30 and we were on the road by 8:00 am.  G and I rode the Muskoka bike course backwards from Dorset until we met up with our friends Pat & Jenn on South Portage.  We turned around and headed back to Dorset.  G wasn't feeling very good and neither was Jenn.  It didn't stop G from hammering back with Pat.  I hopped on their wheels and hung on.  I was actually feeling pretty good and I surprised myself by hanging on for quite some time.  We stopped in Dorset to regroup.  G pulled the pin as did Jenn so Pat and I continued out for another 10km or so and then turned around.  We hammered our way out to Raven Lake and I think Pat was surprised to see me right on his wheel.  I probably could have gone even longer but G had gotten everything he needed in Dorset and was ready to head back.  It was the first ride I've done in a while where I've felt really strong the entire time.   When I uploaded my ride to Strava I was treated to this:

Yes, that's 3 Queen of the Mountains in one ride.  WTH?!?!  Then my Garmin told me this:

Another new 20 minute power PR.  Must've been the socks.

The rest of the afternoon was spent lazing around as the skies opened and it rained for the rest of the day.  I had an epic nap while wrapped up in a blanket on the couch.  I love lazy afternoons like that.   Even with my hour long nap, I was still in bed by 9:00 pm.  The alarm went off and 5:00 am we were up and at 'em.  We had to be in Dorset for 6:45 am to help start setting up.  We got there a bit early and were put to work right away.  The volunteer Captains there were Clint and Barb and they were the nicest people.  We spent a good hour opening bottles of Gatorade and stacking them on the table.  G and I were assigned to separate stations.  I was at the Banana station, which thanks to Sarah, my awesome partner, was probably the most fun station.   We had a Minions thing going, yelling "Bananaaassss" as the athletes went by so when they came by on the second loop, we got a lot of that as they rode by.  I was so busy cutting bananas I almost missed my friend David L.  He saw me first and pointed and then I started jumping up and down and yelling.  I knew my other friend David B probably wouldn't be too far behind him and sure enough about 20 minutes later, I spotted him and was ready with the cowbells.  I have a blister on my middle finger from the cowbell rubbing on it.  My first spectating "injury"  ha ha.  That at my throat is still pretty sore this morning from all the cheering I did.

After we wrapped up our 5 hour shift we went back to the cottage.  I had planned on doing a 16km run but my legs wanted none of that.  I managed to drag myself out for 11km over some insane hills. 

It was ugly and it hurt but I got it done.  We then packed up the car and headed into Huntsville to do some more cheering.  We saw the David's a couple of times along Main Street and then made our way into Deerhurst to get a spot near the finish line.  The finish line of an Ironman is a special place.  As soon as I heard Mike Reilly calling out "You Are an Ironman", I got goosebumps and a little emotional.  That's one thing I will never forget - hearing him say my name followed by those words as I made my way down the finishing chute at the Olympic Oval in Lake Placid.  What a day.  So of course we were super excited for both of our friends.  I kept tracking them online.  I figured David L was going to be on pace for about a 12 hour day and David B about a 13 hour day.  I wasn't too far off.   We saw David L come running down the chute just after 7:00 pm, so focused on that finish line.  He looked so strong.  He finished in 12:06.

An hour and a bit later, we saw the other David come booking along the finishing chute.  He slowed up for some high fives.

He was moving so quickly, the camera on my phone couldn't focus! 

He finished in 13:24.  We went and met up with them after - both of them were really happy with how their days went.   I am so proud and happy for them both.  I'm so glad we were there to see it. 

So it was a pretty action packed weekend that for once didn't have a massive amount of mileage.  What it lacked in miles it made up for in intensity I suppose.  This coming weekend will be a whole different story as we're heading to Mont Tremblant to put in some serious time in the saddle.  Bring it on.  For now, lets look at this past week...

Monday:  OFF - triathlon race season is officially over so I skipped swimming
Tuesday:  33km with Morning Glory, followed by a 40 minute weight workout.  12km run in the pm.  Legs were pretty tired by the end of the day
Wednesday:  1700m swim.  I was seriously disinterested in this workout.  I feel like I need a mental break from swimming right now.  Our coach has us doing distance all the time.  I never thought I'd say this but give me some hard 100's for a change, ha ha. 
Thursday:  6km run.  I was going to ride with Morning Glory but opted to run instead.  I do have a half marathon coming up so I should probably get some more run mileage in my legs. Went for a massage after.  Best thing ever.
Friday:  OFF
Saturday:  60km of Muskoka's finest hills on the bike
Sunday:  5 hours on my feet, followed by 11km of more of Muskoka's finest hills in my running shoes.

Total time:  6h 59 minutes.  Training Stress Score:  415.7.

I am going to be elaborating on this whole Training Stress Score thing later on this week so stay tuned for that.  

Have you ever volunteered at a big race?  Have you ever been inspired to sign up for a race after volunteering?

Tri Talk Tuesday: Improving on the Bike

I can't believe that APRIL is here already.  It only seems like yesterday that I celebrated my birthday.  Geez.  It's the first Tuesday of the month so you know what that means... It's time for Tri Talk Tuesday!  This month my lovely co-hosts, Courtney & Cynthia and I are chatting about how to improve on the bike.  Given it's the longest distance discipline of the three sports, this is where you stand to make the most in terms of time gains.

So, how can you get better on the bike?  There are some things you can do that will be costly and others that won't cost you anything.  Here are my 4 tips:

1.  Train with Power

This is the costliest option but it's also the most bang for your buck in my opinion.  The power you are able to generate on the bike is absolute - a watt is a watt.  It is not affected by things like temperature, dehydration etc, as heart rate is.  So even if you're racing on a super hot day, the power you are able to generate will stay the same, unlike your heart rate which will affected by the heat.  If you were training by heart rate and it was a hot day, your heart rate would more than likely be elevated so it wouldn't be an accurate reflection of your proper racing zones.

2.  Get properly Fit

This is probably the next costliest option.  A good bike fit will set you back anywhere between $300-$400.  If you're going to spend money on a tri bike, spend the money on getting fit properly so you get the most out of your bike.  A good fit makes all the difference on a tri bike.  A poor fit can cost you power and comfort.  Even being off by the slightest millimeter can make a difference in your comfort level and the amount of power you can generate on the bike.  I would also include getting an appropriate saddle as part of your bike fit.  I've never been comfortable on the stock saddles that have come on my various tri bikes.  You might be one of the lucky ones that is but if you're not, you may have to do some research.  Being comfortable on your bike, especially in your aero bars means that you'll get the most benefit out of it.  If you're not riding in your aero bars then why are you on a tri bike? 

3.  Ride with a Group

This may or may not cost you anything.  If you choose to join a tri club then obviously there are club dues.  Or maybe you just have a large group of triathlete friends that you like to ride with.  Either way, riding with a large group that has people that are faster than you in it, is another great way to improve your cycling.  You are more apt to work harder at keeping up with the group vs. if you rode on your own.  Riding in a group will also help you get more comfortable handling your bike with people around you. 

4.  Improve Your Pedaling Efficiency - Drills

Cheapest option going.  Look up cycling drills on you tube, get on your trainer, and work your butt off.  Seriously though, working on making your pedal stroke more efficient (i.e no dead spots) will translate to more power.  One of the best drills for improving your pedal stroke is the single leg drill.  I try to incorporate a few of them into my warm up while I'm on the trainer.  You can also do them outside if you're one of those lucky people that lives somewhere you can ride outside all year round. 

Do you have any tips you'd add to this list?  Head on over to the link up and check out some other posts!

An InLinkz Link-up