Weekly Training Notes #7
This was a transitional week to lead into the main season, which will last until the end of September.
I increased the intensity of all my training rides this week, although I reduced the volume slightly to compensate.
I did a combined leg speed/threshold ride on Tuesday, and some sweet-spot blocks on Thursday. These rides, like all the others this week, went fine, although at this time of year strong winds are usually a factor (I did feel that my rhythm was disrupted at times).
Heading out early on probably one of the last cool mornings for many months
I took a break from the usual group ride this Saturday, instead doing a threshold test followed by a free ride on the local roads. The test went okay, although I did another positive split by going off too hard; but the calculated threshold value of 163 bpm was right in the usual range.
I'm going to keep doing plenty of medium-intensity (sweet-spot & threshold) work throughout the summer; I'm beginning to suspect I've got a bit of a gap right around there in my power profile. My aerobic threshold continues its steady improvement, along with (more surprisingly) my sub-1 minute power, but perhaps due to a relative lack of focus on it, my anaerobic threshold isn't yet where I think it should be. I want to be doing around 40 km/h for 30 minutes (flat road, no wind, no drafting); that's one of my major goals for this year and one that I'll be disappointed not to achieve.
As happened a few weeks ago, I felt better on Sunday than on Saturday, despite pretty tough ride and weight-lifting sessions on Saturday. I again rode with the Bluffton group, where the pace is now starting to build somewhat. The majority of the ride was easy enough, but I picked things up over the last half hour or so on the return home. Again illustrating my point, I performed and felt better riding at sweet-spot pace than I had riding at threshold pace on the test the previous day. My legs actually felt a little sore, probably mostly from the weight lifting, but not tired, and the ride was brief enough not to cause undue fatigue.
So now I go into the main season, finally moving onto the In-Season plan. I'll be slightly reserved on the first mesocycle, as I want a gradual increase in intensity to avoid any overreaching. I should be much better at managing my fatigue this year, now that I've got the experience of last year to go off. No longer will I be ignoring the warning signs.
In addition to my threshold goal mentioned above, other goals for this season are:
- Win at least one race in the Nestor Cup.
- Get the key Hilton Head sprint KOMs on the group rides.
- Get my aerobic threshold (all-day pace) above 20mph, so that I can go for my most ambitious goal:
- Complete a 200-mile season finale ride in under 10 hours moving time.
Last year's season finale was 158 miles at 18.6 mph, so there's quite a gap to bridge, but I have until October to gain the requisite fitness.
Designation: Pre-Season, Transition Week Time: 15.1 hours | Distance: 425 km | Low:Medium:High Intensity: 73:23:4 Weight Training: 1 x Lower Body, 2 x Upper Body | Walking: 17 km
As ever, if you want more detail follow me on Strava, and see my full training plan.