Yesterday after work I went to Speed Theory to pick up a new addition to my training/racing tools/repertoire. Hopefully the last expensive one in a while (and by a while I really mean a whillleeeee). 2009 was an expensive year: new bike, new wheels, new trainer, Australia, annnnndddd yes, a Powertap.
Most of you know me well and know that I don’t spend money easily. It takes me a year to decide if I should spend money on a racing bike or I should keep racing on my 1200$ stock bike, I have a low end wetsuit, haven’t replaced my googles in 5 years (very true), use tires until they are square (and then I keep them and destroy them happily in the trainer during winter), and so on. But this year was different… I realized that I really really enjoy the sport, I am making lots of friendships, I spend 12 hours a week on a hard piece of plastic called “saddle” and I am into this for a good while. That, combined with a great sponsorship from Speed Theory is how I ended up with all this. Murray, Jeremy, Doug, Mike and company have really helped me out a lot with advice, service, and above all friendship.
Now that the emotional section is over, let talk about POWER hehe – I wanted to say that for a while-. I have been in the sport for about 4 seasons (my very first tri was the UBC sprint in 2006 in 1:18 ooohhh yeahhhh) and have come a long way. Every year I have improved a lot making 2009 my best year so far (couple of sub 2 hour Olympic Tris) Despite all that I have never done a VO2 max, lactate threshold, any sort of power measurements. What average power am I able to hold? How hard should I go on the 40x1min intervals on the bike? How easy is easy? Am I really struggling or I think I am but I am doing just fine? How long will it take me to blow up at 400W? Actually, how do 400W feel? Up until now I have no idea about anything. If I want to make it to the next level, I think it will really help to know and be able to train better.
Over the last couple of years I have made my own workouts, training schedules, volume, intensity, you name it. It has worked pretty well so far -actually sometimes I can’t believe how far it has got me- but I am not sure for how long it will keep working. There is where good swim coaches (Dale and Dario) at VAC, Alan and the LETC squad for running and cycling, the support from the Speed Theory crew, and the Powertap all come into play. This year/season (2010) I am relying on them, as well as myself and my dedication and hard work, to take me to the next level. I would like to mention that there is lots of other people that support me as well and all contribute to my continuous improvement. Ryan and his company on long rides is key, my brother taking care of most groceries during the week amongst other things, my parents supporting me at all times, my friends for understanding when I am busy/tired/training and despite my business still being my friends.
Crap, I said no more emotions already… Lets try that again. So, I installed the Powertap yesterday and got 3 mins on it just to play with the 50.000 screens that are operated with 2 (yes, only 2) buttons. Today I will get the first decent ride, and start gathering information for future training adjustments. Needless to say, I am a happy camper right now =)
Facundo
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Friday to Sunday
Friday afternoon I left work early to go to the famous Sugoi Warehouse sale. I got there around 2:30pm (started at 1pm) and there was already 100 people lined up waiting to get into the warehouse. It was not raining and it was not that cold so I did not mind the 30 min wait, the line was moving quite quickly. Once I got in the zoo -I might use zoo or warehouse but I mean the same thing- I grabbed a box and started piling up stuff for me. After a quick message to my dad I started piling up stuff for him and my mom as well. Alica also called me and ended up getting a jacket for her. 2.5 hrs after I got in I was purchasing 23 pieces of clothing for 178$ including taxes. Alica got her waterproof and windproof jacket, mom and dad got trisuits, cycling shorts, jerseys, I got shorts, a thick everything-proof vest, long sleeve cycling jersey, and so much more. Just crazy.
After that I was pretty tired, believe it or not was quite draining to go through the racks, try out lots of stuff, find your size, etc. Still I rode for 1.5 hrs and 20 minutes later I was in bed sleeping after a quick shower and food.
Saturday went for the usual swim and then run in the UBC trails with Leading Edge. We had 4 hill repeats from the last parking lot of Spanish banks. It’s the first time I do this hill in the trails, but I will remember next time the dreadful “yellow post to yellow post” under 3 minutes… It was hard but we were all pushing to the max, and suffering with someone else it’s not as bad as on your own. Ohh yeah, there was a lady that told us 1.5 minutes into the hill that we were showing off, RRiiiiigghhhttt… that’s exactly what we were all there for. I just laughed (inside my head, couldn’t really waste any oxygen).
On the way back it started raining and was ridiculously cold, which set me up for a good lunch and a 2hr powernap. When I woke up I though about riding again at night in the trails (I bought a light!) but the ride was cancelled and the weather was miserable. I ended up watching 2 hrs of 2 ½ men while pushing a heavy gear at 60-80 cadence on the trainer. Shower, stretch, computer, dinnertime, bed.
Sunday I smashed myself in the gym for 3 hrs. I did not feel like swimming, I did not want to do a long ride on the trainer (3hrs), Plantar Fasciitis is starting to really bother me (so no running), so I ended up busting my arms, core and legs in the gym. After that I still rode 1.5 hrs on the trainer watching the Tour. Squats+Theraband exercises+Intervals on the Trainer+Tough/hard saddle have all combined to cause a deep “pain in the ass”. Today it hurts, lets just leave it at that. In the afternoon Alica came over and we had fish and chips (the Spanish version with chips replaced by “pinchos de patata”) and watched Slumdog millionaire which was really good.
Today the weather was nasty and riding to the pool was an adventure: 50kph gusts, pouring rain, very sore “glutes”, plus a truck driver who sprayed me from head to toe on the Burrard Bridge. After that happened I just smiled, seriously, I felt like in a “funny movie” or something like that. What else could happen? I just smiled all the way (downhill) until I got to the pool. Then I saw the workout, remembered the 3 hours in the gym and the sore glutes and realized it was not going to be an easy one. I just got through it.
Today an ez spin at home or in the forest. The weather is nasty but it makes me want to ride outside (on the trails) even more, is that sense of adventure... (plus a bike with full suspension that will hopefully help for my quick recovery…)
Off to lunch, I am starving
Facundo
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
My weekly dose of crazy stuff
Saturday was supposed to be a regular day: swim in the morning with a ride/run after that, food, nap, and the afternoon free to do stuff around the house, see people, etc. However, the day started as follows: swim, and ride up cypress for a run with the LETC squad in the XC trails. Half way up the mountain the unexpected: snow. The 5 of us in the car thought that was pretty, and it was, but that was not part of the plan. Once at the top the snow was about 20cm deep in the trails, hence, there was no trail. The plan was to do 4min up, 3min down ez until we got to the top (~40min total). The workout was hard, it was definitely cold, stepped into a paddle 25min into the workout (you could never know what was under the fresh snow), but we had a blast! (which includes digging for 5 minutes to find a lost shoe)
After that I was dropped off at the pool again, and rode back home with sort of wet clothes, cold and pretty hungry. Arrived home, hot shower, lunch and might 2hr nap! Me, nap? Yes, pretty tired… When I woke up I ate again (nothing out of the ordinary) and then headed to Speed Theory to chat with the guys and drop off my bike. When I arrived at the store I saw 4 downhill bikes and 1 cross bike all ready to go and the guys were playing with the very cool NiteRider lights. So first questions was: whats up with all this? The answer was cooler than I expected, they were planning to ride in the UBC Endownment Lands Trails from 6pm (when the store closes) until whenever, probably around 2 hrs. It was 5pm and they offered me to come along; I have a full suspension bike, but I don’t have a kick ass light so I turned it down. At 5:15 I left the store walking and before I made it home (3 blocks away) I was jogging back to get all ready to go.
I set up my commuter light, filled bottles, pumped the tires, checked the brakes, greased the suspension and got rolling. At 6 I showed up in the store; it was now 7 of us, awesome! We rode all the way to UBC (and in the hill the 2 cross bikes kicked the full suspension bikes). We got into the trails and quickly realized that my light was the same as walking with a match in the forest... My options at this point were to either turn around and go back home and come back another time with a better light, or literally draft one of the other 6 guys (no more than 2 meters behind) to be able to see rocks, turns and trees in real time. I went for the second option and I don’t regret it at all! I told Murray that this was 80% his fault, just to make sure he knew it… It was a blast once again, that is provided that the person ahead or behind me did not go more than 2m away. Otherwise I had to stop and wait for the following guy behind because I could not see anything at all, not 2 meters, nada (trees will cover moonlight, pitch black). Towards the end I found a pretty sweet spot with Jeremy in front and Murray on my right shoulder that made things wayyyy better, thanks guys.
After 2 hours of fun I was once again wet, hungry, and tired, but this time I was also completely covered in mud =) What a crazy/different Saturday than usual! I think I got a pretty good “outdoors” dose for the week and recharged the batteries for training by doing something very different. Looking forward to repeating both experiences in the near future, especially if I end up putting cyclocross tires to my Trek.
Here are some pictures after the ride, hopefully I can get the ones in the forest and before from Jeremy.
After that I was dropped off at the pool again, and rode back home with sort of wet clothes, cold and pretty hungry. Arrived home, hot shower, lunch and might 2hr nap! Me, nap? Yes, pretty tired… When I woke up I ate again (nothing out of the ordinary) and then headed to Speed Theory to chat with the guys and drop off my bike. When I arrived at the store I saw 4 downhill bikes and 1 cross bike all ready to go and the guys were playing with the very cool NiteRider lights. So first questions was: whats up with all this? The answer was cooler than I expected, they were planning to ride in the UBC Endownment Lands Trails from 6pm (when the store closes) until whenever, probably around 2 hrs. It was 5pm and they offered me to come along; I have a full suspension bike, but I don’t have a kick ass light so I turned it down. At 5:15 I left the store walking and before I made it home (3 blocks away) I was jogging back to get all ready to go.
I set up my commuter light, filled bottles, pumped the tires, checked the brakes, greased the suspension and got rolling. At 6 I showed up in the store; it was now 7 of us, awesome! We rode all the way to UBC (and in the hill the 2 cross bikes kicked the full suspension bikes). We got into the trails and quickly realized that my light was the same as walking with a match in the forest... My options at this point were to either turn around and go back home and come back another time with a better light, or literally draft one of the other 6 guys (no more than 2 meters behind) to be able to see rocks, turns and trees in real time. I went for the second option and I don’t regret it at all! I told Murray that this was 80% his fault, just to make sure he knew it… It was a blast once again, that is provided that the person ahead or behind me did not go more than 2m away. Otherwise I had to stop and wait for the following guy behind because I could not see anything at all, not 2 meters, nada (trees will cover moonlight, pitch black). Towards the end I found a pretty sweet spot with Jeremy in front and Murray on my right shoulder that made things wayyyy better, thanks guys.
After 2 hours of fun I was once again wet, hungry, and tired, but this time I was also completely covered in mud =) What a crazy/different Saturday than usual! I think I got a pretty good “outdoors” dose for the week and recharged the batteries for training by doing something very different. Looking forward to repeating both experiences in the near future, especially if I end up putting cyclocross tires to my Trek.
Here are some pictures after the ride, hopefully I can get the ones in the forest and before from Jeremy.
What a day!
Muddy face
Muddy Bike and Shoes
xcuse me, may I get an overhaul please?
Wipe it down or just hose it...
Shower or food first?
mmm... I think shower. I dont want mud in the fridge...
NiteRider 200 light (Available at Speed Theory)
NiteRider Helmet mount, way better than in the handlebars...
Facundo
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Cycleops SuperMagneto Pro
Its been a week since I got my new trainer and I really really like it. I am not sure how much more quiet it is than my previous trainer, but it is definitely smoother, more adjustable, stiffer and more stable.
So far I have only used 2 of the 4 settings, the road setting and intervals setting. I think I will never use the easy spin setting as the road setting is easy enough for any sort of high cadence workouts. The fourth and last setting is the hill climbing, and I probably will not use that one for a while. I think it requires something like 600W to ride at 30kph... Don’t think I have that sort of power (for now =P)
Setting the bike on the trainer is very easy and does not require to turn a knob 2 hundred 56 times until it comes in contact with the skewer. That means that I will not think twice before freeing my bike to go for a ride on the road! And setting it up when its pouring outside.
So far I have only used 2 of the 4 settings, the road setting and intervals setting. I think I will never use the easy spin setting as the road setting is easy enough for any sort of high cadence workouts. The fourth and last setting is the hill climbing, and I probably will not use that one for a while. I think it requires something like 600W to ride at 30kph... Don’t think I have that sort of power (for now =P)
Setting the bike on the trainer is very easy and does not require to turn a knob 2 hundred 56 times until it comes in contact with the skewer. That means that I will not think twice before freeing my bike to go for a ride on the road! And setting it up when its pouring outside.
First workout => spinning at the speed of light =)* Picture courtesy of my brother who is getting into photography. Hopefully his skills come to play next season and I end up with some awesome shots at very low cost (maybe dinner or something!)
Thanks to the guys at Speed Theory for getting a hold of one for me before they were all gone! 3 came in and went out in a day...
Facundo
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Back Home
I am home! Finally a bed with the springs shielded properly so they dont poke your back, a stove that actually has a range from low to high instead of being on or off, an internet connection that allows for uploading 10mb of pictures in a matter of seconds and not a matter of hours =)
I arrived in Vancouver just over a week now and I dont know how it happened but the day I got here was sunny, just like I wanted! Then well... some Vancouver weather, but Saturday and Sunday was nice and sunny again! Not so bad after all, but definitely a change from 25C weather and sunny pretty much every day.
On Tuesday afternoon I was not feeling very well, you know, this flu/H1N1 going around everywhere. In the afternoon I skipped my ride and decided to go to bed at 6pm turning off all alarms and phones around. The night was not smooth, but I got 12 hours of sleep. If you know me well enough, you know that I have not done this in years and there is probably something very very wrong with me. Needless to say, I stayed home all day watching tv, sending emails, organizing stuff in my room (still from the trip) and so on. I think yesterdays rest served its purpose and today I was feeling much better (still not 100%). Hopefully I managed to avoid going sick sick with fever and all that.
Today the weather is not looking very good and it does not look good for the weekend either.
I arrived in Vancouver just over a week now and I dont know how it happened but the day I got here was sunny, just like I wanted! Then well... some Vancouver weather, but Saturday and Sunday was nice and sunny again! Not so bad after all, but definitely a change from 25C weather and sunny pretty much every day.
On Tuesday afternoon I was not feeling very well, you know, this flu/H1N1 going around everywhere. In the afternoon I skipped my ride and decided to go to bed at 6pm turning off all alarms and phones around. The night was not smooth, but I got 12 hours of sleep. If you know me well enough, you know that I have not done this in years and there is probably something very very wrong with me. Needless to say, I stayed home all day watching tv, sending emails, organizing stuff in my room (still from the trip) and so on. I think yesterdays rest served its purpose and today I was feeling much better (still not 100%). Hopefully I managed to avoid going sick sick with fever and all that.
Today the weather is not looking very good and it does not look good for the weekend either.
I guess we have to put up with that so from time to time we can enjoy some of this (Pictures from Saturday Long Ride around Richmond and River Road)
Marine Drive - UBC Area
Beautiful British Columbia - University Endowment Lands
Marine Drive
Happy Halloween!! - Richmond
Fraser River - Richmond
Pumpkin Field - Richmond
Pick your Pumpkin - Richmond
River Road - Richmond
Cool Field Irrigation - Richmond
Arthur Lang Bridge - East View
Arthur Lang Bridge - West View (mmm windy?? Look at that plane landing...)Facundo
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