Two Wheel Blogs

We have a arrived. The first big event of the season - the Ouachita Challenge - is only a week away. I'm as fit as I'll ever be for it. If the weather had cooperated more I might be even a little fitter, but you gotta play the hand that's dealt, don't you know.

Performance manager's telling me I need to ramp it down a little this week if I'm going to have endurance enough to take on 60 miles in the mountains of Arkansas. CTL is around 110 or so and TSB is way down below. I'll come up for a big gulp of freshness this week and I'll be as ready as I'll ever be.

This won't be a taper by any means. I'll just be letting up some. I won't be adding intensity this week. I'll just do the same kinds of things I've been doing, only with a little less intensity and for shorter duration.

Take my latest workout for instance. Just a couple of hours' ride time on the road. I went out to the local park and rode laps on the rolling part. No big climbs and no sustained efforts. Six 11km laps at tempo speed. And with fairly decent repeatability too:

Lap 1:
	Duration:  	21:23
	Work:      	275 kJ
	TSS:       	24.2 (intensity factor 0.824)
	Norm Power:	218
	VI:        	1.02
	Distance:  	10.978 km

		        Min	Max	Avg
	Power:       	0	570	214 	watts
	Heart rate:  	0	0	0 	bpm
	Cadence:     	8	108	89 	rpm

Lap 2:
	Duration:  	20:56
	Work:      	277 kJ
	TSS:       	25.1 (intensity factor 0.848)
	Norm Power:	225
	VI:        	1.02
	Distance:  	10.985 km

		        Min	Max	Avg
	Power:       	0	506	220 	watts
	Cadence:     	12	114	88 	rpm

Lap 3:
	Duration:  	21:28
	Work:      	277 kJ
	TSS:       	24.8 (intensity factor 0.832)
	Norm Power:	220
	VI:        	1.02
	Distance:  	10.999 km

		        Min	Max	Avg
	Power:       	0	568	215 	watts
	Cadence:     	10	107	88 	rpm

Lap 4:
	Duration:  	21:11
	Work:      	275 kJ
	TSS:       	26.5 (intensity factor 0.867)
	Norm Power:	230
	VI:        	1.06
	Distance:  	11.07 km

		        Min	Max	Avg
	Power:       	0	574	216 	watts
	Cadence:     	1	114	89 	rpm

Lap 5:
	Duration:  	20:58
	Work:      	278 kJ
	TSS:       	26.5 (intensity factor 0.87)
	Norm Power:	231
	VI:        	1.04
	Distance:  	10.986 km

		        Min	Max	Avg
	Power:       	0	499	221 	watts
	Cadence:     	2	108	89 	rpm



Lap 6:
	Duration:  	21:08
	Work:      	268 kJ
	TSS:       	24.1 (intensity factor 0.827)
	Norm Power:	219
	VI:        	1.04
	Distance:  	10.927 km

		        Min	Max	Avg
	Power:       	0	507	211 	watts
	Cadence:     	4	108	89 	rpm

Rather odd weather for this part of the country at this time of year - rather warm and somewhat humid. Seems like the snow just melted and now I'm sweating up a storm. I unintentionally put myself at a hydration disadvantage on this ride.

I'll have to watch out for that next weekend. The Ouachita Challenge weather looks pretty decent for sitting around in the shade with beer in hand. For powering a fully-rigid single speed 29er sixty miles through the mountains -- not so much.