Training Log, February 20, 2010

Shootout today, followed by the climb up to Madera Canyon.

 

Riders take different approaches to how they ride the Shootout. Big watt dudes who are further along in their training like Jon Chodroff like to get on the front ASAP and make the "race" as hard as possible. For me, just sitting in until the shit hits the fan, than doing what I have to in order to make the selection (and then setting up for the sprint) gives me 45 minutes just below threshold. Follow that up with the hour long climb up Madera, and I can't imagine being the one pulling or attacking.

 

Today did seem pretty hard. More and more riders are showing up in Tucson each week, and there was well over 100 anxious dudes ready to rip. There was a nasty headwind, the strongest I've ever seen on this ride, making it really easy to attack but really hard to stay off the front. That didn't stop folks from trying.

 

I split the Shootout into 3 sections, 15-minutes each. The first 15 is flatter, the nervous and/or strong guys go to the front to show everyone how strong they are, and no one really goes anywhere. The second 15 guys are starting to get a little tired, the road gets steeper, and that's where the selection almost always happens. Add the head/crosswind in today, and even I took a swing in the gutter trying to split the group, to no avail. The final 15 is rolling to downhill, and this is where the break usually is fully established and pulling through or continuing to attack each other for the finish. With a big group today, plus the crosswind, guys were making strong moves to try and get clear before the sprint.

 

I'd won the last two Shootouts, the first week from a break of 8 or so, and last week from a bigger group of maybe 15. Today we must have had 30 guys still together, and it looked a few guys were going to sneak away from us before the line. It all came back as we turned the bend to start the climb to the finish, and since the crosswind was from the right I knew we'd have a dead on headwind for the uphill sprint. I'd been going early the past two weeks, and today I had to be more patient.

 

As we hit the base of the climb, I was about 5 guys back, and a Canadian dude hit out early from second spot, a little earlier than even I went the week before. I didn't immediately respond, and hoped another Canadian guy I had been marking and who was on his wheel would follow. But the guy who jumped went clear, and when I realized no one could respond, I had to go after him myself. It took me about 15 second to get to his wheel, and then another 10 seconds to jump again to get the "win."

 

So first, here are the numbers for the Shootout itself, the 30 seconds in the sprint from when I started my jump, and then the peak 1 minute power that covers the whole climb to the finish.

 

 Shootout:

Duration:   46:32

Work:       767 kJ

TSS:       76.6 (intensity factor 0.994)

Norm Power: 313

VI:         1.14

Pw:HR:       -1.48%

Pa:HR:       8.03%

Distance:   16.819 mi

Min Max Avg

Power:       0 1187 275 watts

Heart Rate:   128 190 161 bpm

Cadence:     38 182 96 rpm

Speed:       12.7 36.2 21.6 mph

Pace         1:39 4:44 2:46 min/mi

Crank Torque: 0 1102 241 lb-in

 

sprint:

Duration:   0:30

Work:       23 kJ

TSS:       n/a

Norm Power: n/a

VI:         n/a

Pw:HR:       10.6%

Pa:HR:       -7.23%

Distance:   873 ft

Min Max Avg

Power:       624 987 777 watts

Heart Rate:   180 190 185 bpm

Cadence:     76 98 89 rpm

Speed:       16.6 22.2 19.8 mph

Pace         2:42 3:37 3:02 min/mi

Crank Torque: 579 887 733 lb-in

 

Madera Canyon:

Duration:   1:00:02

Work:       943 kJ

TSS:       76.6 (intensity factor 0.875)

Norm Power: 276

VI:         1.05

Pw:HR:       -11.26%

Pa:HR:       47.71%

Distance:   13.334 mi

Min Max Avg

Power:       0 753 262 watts

Heart Rate:   123 176 156 bpm

Cadence:     45 162 84 rpm

Speed:       4.7 23.7 13.3 mph

Pace         2:32 12:52 4:31 min/mi

Crank Torque: 0 740 271 lb-in

 

 

We were racing the rain today, so after the descent from Madera and our store stop, we took the flat, direct route home with the tailwind, but still got poured on for the last 30 minutes once we hit town. I dunno what it is about the rain here, but it's not like home where rain usually means it warms up a little, and cold air matches with high pressure and sunny skies. This rain is cold, and I was happy to be home.

Totals for the day below. Enjoy.

 

Entire workout (174 watts):

Duration:   5:14:24

Work:       3277 kJ

TSS:       297.4 (intensity factor 0.754)

Norm Power: 238

VI:         1.37

Pw:HR:       8.38%

Pa:HR:       -10.15%

Distance:   101.814 mi

Min Max Avg

Power:       0 1187 174 watts

Heart Rate:   59 195 140 bpm

Cadence:     30 182 87 rpm

Speed:       2.2 51.8 19.7 mph

Pace         1:10 26:49 3:03 min/mi

Crank Torque: 0 1102 167 lb-in