About a week ago I downloaded the WKO power meter software. I wanted to try it because it seemed to be much more detailed than the Saris Poweragent software I was using before. Although the downloading process was pretty complicated, the system is very detailed. You can look at things like Normalized Power, Training Stress score (TSS), Intensity Factor (IF), and your mean maximal power curve. It took a little while for me to actually understand these things, but on the Training Peaks website it describes various features of WKO in great detail. Another good reference is the book Training and Racing with a Powermeter.
I tried to copy and paste some of the graphs from WKO, but it won't let me. Below are the numbers from my ride yesterday, and a 2 minute (and 4 second) long interval I did during it.
Here is the data from the entire ride. Look at the huge difference between the avg. watts (101) and the Normalized power(179 watts). Basically normalized power is the power you could have maintained for the same amount of time, for the same physiological cost if you had maintained a steady wattage. If the difference between the avg. watts and NP is big, it indicates that you rode at a really varied pace.
Entire workout (101 watts):
Duration: 1:07:18 (1:27:13)
Work: 403 kJ
TSS: 83.8 (intensity factor 0.87)
Norm Power: 179
VI: 1.77
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 17.309 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 641 101 watts
Cadence: 29 141 73 rpm
Speed: 2.3 117.4 15.8 mph
Pace 0:31 26:06 3:48 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 217 42 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 703 112 lb-inPeak 2min (281 watts):
Here is the interval.
Duration: 2:01
Work: 34 kJ
TSS: 6.2 (intensity factor 1.36)
Norm Power: n/a
VI: n/a
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 0.812 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 113 368 281 watts
Cadence: 68 141 89 rpm
Speed: 20.3 28.1 24.2 mph
Pace 2:08 2:58 2:29 min/mi
Hub Torque: 37 111 77 lb-in
Crank Torque: 67 396 270 lb-in
I haven't got a chance to post any pictures from the race on Sunday yet but I'll try to post them pretty soon.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Ion Village Crit
Sunday I did the Ion Village Crit. I was glad to be racing again after doing no competitions for almost a month because of a combination of sickness and some other problems. This race was also special to me because the last time I did it was in 2006. Back then it was only my 3rd race, but now it would be my 73rd.
The course was a nontechnical, dead flat oval loop, not exactly the best terrain for me, but nonetheless I wanted to do be aggresive and get a high finish. After a long warmup I lined up for the 4 race in the 2nd row.
The race started pretty fast and I got in a break on the 2nd lap. I bridged from the pack to the 3rd group to the 2nd group, but we didn't come close to catching the 2 leaders and were caught after less than a minute, having never gotten more than a few seconds ahead. After that I took some time to recover, and over the next few laps I went from a good position to a bad position to an OK position to a good one again. There were some breakaways, but the course wasn't decisive enough to allow a threatening break to form.
With 2 laps to go I was in 8th place. The race was slow but dangerous, with near crashes on each corner. With one lap to go I fell back a lot, and took a lot of risks to move up from then on. On the 2nd to last corner there was a crash, and I narrowly avoided it. But I chose the wrong side of the pack to be on, and was in 15th or 20th around the last corner. Desperate to move up, I went into the corner at over 30 miles per hour and really overshot it. I flew off the road, bunny hoped a pothole, and almost crashed into a fence. Thankfully I stayed upright and rode the last 300 meters by myself to get 39th out of about 50.
Here are the facts from the race
21.1 miles
50 minute long race
25.1 mph.
I'll post some pictures as soon as I can.
The course was a nontechnical, dead flat oval loop, not exactly the best terrain for me, but nonetheless I wanted to do be aggresive and get a high finish. After a long warmup I lined up for the 4 race in the 2nd row.
The race started pretty fast and I got in a break on the 2nd lap. I bridged from the pack to the 3rd group to the 2nd group, but we didn't come close to catching the 2 leaders and were caught after less than a minute, having never gotten more than a few seconds ahead. After that I took some time to recover, and over the next few laps I went from a good position to a bad position to an OK position to a good one again. There were some breakaways, but the course wasn't decisive enough to allow a threatening break to form.
With 2 laps to go I was in 8th place. The race was slow but dangerous, with near crashes on each corner. With one lap to go I fell back a lot, and took a lot of risks to move up from then on. On the 2nd to last corner there was a crash, and I narrowly avoided it. But I chose the wrong side of the pack to be on, and was in 15th or 20th around the last corner. Desperate to move up, I went into the corner at over 30 miles per hour and really overshot it. I flew off the road, bunny hoped a pothole, and almost crashed into a fence. Thankfully I stayed upright and rode the last 300 meters by myself to get 39th out of about 50.
Here are the facts from the race
21.1 miles
50 minute long race
25.1 mph.
I'll post some pictures as soon as I can.
Friday, April 3, 2009
A couple days ago I did the Tuesday Group Ride. I have been writing a lot about the weekend group rides recently, but this was my first Tuesday one of the season.
The Tuesday Group ride is traditionally the hardest one, and is nearly always harder than a cat. 4 race. When I got there , I saw a great group of about 15 people. Among others, there was Alexander, a cat. 3, Sam, a cat. 3, Mike, a cat. 3, Mac, a strong masters rider, and Jarret, also a cat. 3. My Dad couldn't take me to it nor ride with me, so I biked the 40 minutes there and back, plus the hour and 40 minutes long ride, for a great 2 hours 52 minutes, on a school day.
The ride started with a shorter than usual warmup. Mac attacked, the group got strung out, and when we caught him we started a paceline. The paceline went from 10 people pulling down to 5 every time, with me being one of them. We took a left hand turn and when the group eased up Mac pointed for me to get on his wheel. I did so and when he attacked, I was right in the draft. We had been going for maybe a minute when Alexander bridged, as did Sam. After that, Mike and another rider bridged, followed by three more, then the 10 of us were altogether again.
We kept doing the paceline until Mac attacked again, followed by Alexander and I. We were caught right before a hill that is known to split the field. Jarret attacked, Alexander, Mac, Sam and I followed. The rest of the pack managed to keep up, and we resumed our paceline.
When we got about 1 mile away from the town-limit finish, Jarret attacked up the decisive hill. The regulars followed him. Sam got to the front and sprinted, Jarret and Alexander fell back, leaving Sam, Mac and I. We sprinted for the line, with Sam winning, Mac second, and me 3 bike lengths back for 3rd.
Our computer isn't working so I can't download my powermeter, but I did ride 55 miles, 2 hours 52 minutes, at an avg. speed of 19mph.
The Tuesday Group ride is traditionally the hardest one, and is nearly always harder than a cat. 4 race. When I got there , I saw a great group of about 15 people. Among others, there was Alexander, a cat. 3, Sam, a cat. 3, Mike, a cat. 3, Mac, a strong masters rider, and Jarret, also a cat. 3. My Dad couldn't take me to it nor ride with me, so I biked the 40 minutes there and back, plus the hour and 40 minutes long ride, for a great 2 hours 52 minutes, on a school day.
The ride started with a shorter than usual warmup. Mac attacked, the group got strung out, and when we caught him we started a paceline. The paceline went from 10 people pulling down to 5 every time, with me being one of them. We took a left hand turn and when the group eased up Mac pointed for me to get on his wheel. I did so and when he attacked, I was right in the draft. We had been going for maybe a minute when Alexander bridged, as did Sam. After that, Mike and another rider bridged, followed by three more, then the 10 of us were altogether again.
We kept doing the paceline until Mac attacked again, followed by Alexander and I. We were caught right before a hill that is known to split the field. Jarret attacked, Alexander, Mac, Sam and I followed. The rest of the pack managed to keep up, and we resumed our paceline.
When we got about 1 mile away from the town-limit finish, Jarret attacked up the decisive hill. The regulars followed him. Sam got to the front and sprinted, Jarret and Alexander fell back, leaving Sam, Mac and I. We sprinted for the line, with Sam winning, Mac second, and me 3 bike lengths back for 3rd.
Our computer isn't working so I can't download my powermeter, but I did ride 55 miles, 2 hours 52 minutes, at an avg. speed of 19mph.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Group Ride
A lot of stuff has happened since my last post. I missed the Out Like a Lion Road Race and the City Park crit a week ago, and missed the races in Greenville, NC yesterday, and am now trying to get back into shape for my next race, which unfortunately is not until April 19th at the earliest.
On my last post I talked about the races in Blythewood, 2 weeks ago. During the next couple of days, I was training more intensely and was feeling good, although my cold, which never really went away, got a little worse. Then, I woke up Friday morning with a fever and feeling really congested. I was hoping that I would feel better, but I missed my race preparation ride and still had a fever Saturday. I felt a little better Saturday night, but not really ready to race.
Sunday I got a little better, but I didn't ride again until Wednesday. Having taken 6 days off, I could only hope that I could get back into shape quickly and not miss my next race. I felt pretty good on my ride Thursday, but felt bad on Friday. That and the fact that the weather in Greenville was forecasting thunderstorms and hail was enough for us to decide not to go, much to my dissapointment.
Well, today I did the Group Ride. The first half of the ride was in a rotating echolon because of the strong crosswinds. After about an hour and a half, one rider took a long pull and dropped everyone except three of us. We waited for the others, and then resumed our paceline. We got onto the longest climb of the route after 2 hours, not very steep but one of the longest climbs in the area. I had just finished my pull when a rider, the same one who had taken that long turn on the front, pulled away from the group. I was a little boxed in and was 10 bike lengths behind him when I started chasing. I caught him right before a short downhill, and pulled the next time the road went up. We traded pulls a couple of times, until I got onto the front near the crest and pulled until the road finally leveled out. 220 to 250 to 280 to 300 watts for as long as I could hold it.
After that I rode back to the bike shop, then turned around and rode home. I'll download the powermeter when I get the chance
On my last post I talked about the races in Blythewood, 2 weeks ago. During the next couple of days, I was training more intensely and was feeling good, although my cold, which never really went away, got a little worse. Then, I woke up Friday morning with a fever and feeling really congested. I was hoping that I would feel better, but I missed my race preparation ride and still had a fever Saturday. I felt a little better Saturday night, but not really ready to race.
Sunday I got a little better, but I didn't ride again until Wednesday. Having taken 6 days off, I could only hope that I could get back into shape quickly and not miss my next race. I felt pretty good on my ride Thursday, but felt bad on Friday. That and the fact that the weather in Greenville was forecasting thunderstorms and hail was enough for us to decide not to go, much to my dissapointment.
Well, today I did the Group Ride. The first half of the ride was in a rotating echolon because of the strong crosswinds. After about an hour and a half, one rider took a long pull and dropped everyone except three of us. We waited for the others, and then resumed our paceline. We got onto the longest climb of the route after 2 hours, not very steep but one of the longest climbs in the area. I had just finished my pull when a rider, the same one who had taken that long turn on the front, pulled away from the group. I was a little boxed in and was 10 bike lengths behind him when I started chasing. I caught him right before a short downhill, and pulled the next time the road went up. We traded pulls a couple of times, until I got onto the front near the crest and pulled until the road finally leveled out. 220 to 250 to 280 to 300 watts for as long as I could hold it.
After that I rode back to the bike shop, then turned around and rode home. I'll download the powermeter when I get the chance
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Blythewood Criterium
Yesterday I did the Blythewood crit, close to Columbia, South Carolina. I planned to do the 15-18 juniors race and the cat. 4's, and hoped I'd be feeling well enough to do pretty good after getting strep on Tuesday. Although I had been feeling great and my throat didn't hurt anymore, my biggest concern was if the antibiotics would affect me.
We got to the race at 8 o' clock and were greeted by cold, rainy conditions, but nonetheless a pretty good group of riders. The rain stopped a little just before the start of the 9:35 juniors race and I rode the course a couple of times.
I lined up for the race and saw that there were about 14 riders, 7 being in the 15-18 category, but no one I recognized besides my teammates. The race started, and I got to the front to go around the soaked first corner safely. My teammate, Michael Raynor, passed me, and I got into 3rd place.
Near the end of the first lap on a long strait downhill, I pulled off and my momentum carried me a little past Michael who was still at the front. One bike length became two and that became three and then four, and, not expecting my teammate to chase me down, I decided to go for it. As I crossed the finish line, I had a 5 second gap, and that became 15 the next lap.
Halfway through the 3rd lap, Michael bridged up to me. At this point I wasn't feeling very good, and was glad to have someone else break the wind for a while. We shared pulls, and the gap became bigger and bigger until we were close to lapping the next group. Having never been in a situation were one of my teammate and I were going to finish 1-2, I pulled up next to Michael and asked him if he wanted to finish hand in hand or go for the sprint, and we finished with our hands held up together.
3 hours later was the cat. 4 race, and a 25 rider strong field showed up despite the weather. The race started fast and never seemed to slow down as I was feeling weak, and I was in a bad position until half a lap to go. I had gotten into 2nd when a couple groups of riders swarmed the front. I really had to fight for positioning after that, especially around the last corner. I sprinted hard, and ended up 7th.
I was disappointed about being in a bad position, but I didn't feel that there was very much I could do. On the positive side though, my team did great, winning the 17-18, 15-16 and 10-12 races, as well as getting 3rd in the 13-14's. I also got 45 dollars!
Congratulations to my whole team for their excellent performances. Also, thanks to Micheal, who was probably riding stronger than me and helped me win the 15-16 race.
We got to the race at 8 o' clock and were greeted by cold, rainy conditions, but nonetheless a pretty good group of riders. The rain stopped a little just before the start of the 9:35 juniors race and I rode the course a couple of times.
I lined up for the race and saw that there were about 14 riders, 7 being in the 15-18 category, but no one I recognized besides my teammates. The race started, and I got to the front to go around the soaked first corner safely. My teammate, Michael Raynor, passed me, and I got into 3rd place.
Near the end of the first lap on a long strait downhill, I pulled off and my momentum carried me a little past Michael who was still at the front. One bike length became two and that became three and then four, and, not expecting my teammate to chase me down, I decided to go for it. As I crossed the finish line, I had a 5 second gap, and that became 15 the next lap.
Halfway through the 3rd lap, Michael bridged up to me. At this point I wasn't feeling very good, and was glad to have someone else break the wind for a while. We shared pulls, and the gap became bigger and bigger until we were close to lapping the next group. Having never been in a situation were one of my teammate and I were going to finish 1-2, I pulled up next to Michael and asked him if he wanted to finish hand in hand or go for the sprint, and we finished with our hands held up together.
3 hours later was the cat. 4 race, and a 25 rider strong field showed up despite the weather. The race started fast and never seemed to slow down as I was feeling weak, and I was in a bad position until half a lap to go. I had gotten into 2nd when a couple groups of riders swarmed the front. I really had to fight for positioning after that, especially around the last corner. I sprinted hard, and ended up 7th.
I was disappointed about being in a bad position, but I didn't feel that there was very much I could do. On the positive side though, my team did great, winning the 17-18, 15-16 and 10-12 races, as well as getting 3rd in the 13-14's. I also got 45 dollars!
Congratulations to my whole team for their excellent performances. Also, thanks to Micheal, who was probably riding stronger than me and helped me win the 15-16 race.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
I went to the doctors office yesterday because of a sore throat that I've had since monday. Turns out I have Strep and have to take antibiotics for 10 days, up until the day before my next big race. The good news is that I am feeling better today and don't have a fever.
Also, I downloaded my powermeter today. Here are the figures:
70 miles
3 hours 51 minutes
17.93 avg. mph
117 avg. watts
1511 KJ
Peak Power Records:
1 minute: 303 watts
5 minutes: 214 watts
10 minutes: 207 watts
30 minutes: 161 watts
6o minutes: 147 watts
120 minutes: 136 watts
Also, I downloaded my powermeter today. Here are the figures:
70 miles
3 hours 51 minutes
17.93 avg. mph
117 avg. watts
1511 KJ
Peak Power Records:
1 minute: 303 watts
5 minutes: 214 watts
10 minutes: 207 watts
30 minutes: 161 watts
6o minutes: 147 watts
120 minutes: 136 watts
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Group Ride
The last couple of days here in North Carolina have been really nice, with weather in the mid 70's and even 80's. Out riding in just a short sleeve jersey and shorts, it is hard to believe we got a couple inches of snow just a week ago. The nice weather and daylight savings time has made for great cycling, and it seems the season is really getting started.
Yesterday, I did the Group ride. I rode the 30 minutes it takes to get there, and was glad to see that there was a great turnout. About 25 people were there due to the perfect conditions, including Alexander, a strong cat. 3 and Todd, a strong cat. 1 and masters rider, and many other good cyclists. Once we got out of the busy Southern Pines / Pinehurst area, we went up a hill that traditionally marks the end of the warm up and the start of the fun. More than half the pack was dropped up the hill, and we circled around waiting at the top until 9 of us had regrouped. After that we went up a couple more hills, and I took a pretty hard pull, which whittled it down to 6. Other riders also pushed the pace, which distanced the dropped riders.
Maybe 30 minutes later, the six of us sat up, but then the pace increased and again the group was back down to the 6 of us..
Up one of the next hills, I took a short but hard pull, trying to sustain a fast pace. After a little while, I pulled of and saw only Alexander and Todd behind me. All of us took very hard turns on the front for what seemed like a long time, until it seemed that all of us, or at least me, were hurting. We went a little easier after that, stopped at a gas station to refuel, and rode back to the bike shop.
I was feeling very good after the ride, and had a little ways more to go until I had went 4 hours, so I took a longer way home. I was going to do a couple of intervals, but decided not to as I have plenty of form for this time of the season. Instead, I just went hard, but not all out, a couple of times before cooling down. I went for 3 hours 5o minutes, and did about 70 miles, but I'll post the stats after I can download my powermeter.
Yesterday, I did the Group ride. I rode the 30 minutes it takes to get there, and was glad to see that there was a great turnout. About 25 people were there due to the perfect conditions, including Alexander, a strong cat. 3 and Todd, a strong cat. 1 and masters rider, and many other good cyclists. Once we got out of the busy Southern Pines / Pinehurst area, we went up a hill that traditionally marks the end of the warm up and the start of the fun. More than half the pack was dropped up the hill, and we circled around waiting at the top until 9 of us had regrouped. After that we went up a couple more hills, and I took a pretty hard pull, which whittled it down to 6. Other riders also pushed the pace, which distanced the dropped riders.
Maybe 30 minutes later, the six of us sat up, but then the pace increased and again the group was back down to the 6 of us..
Up one of the next hills, I took a short but hard pull, trying to sustain a fast pace. After a little while, I pulled of and saw only Alexander and Todd behind me. All of us took very hard turns on the front for what seemed like a long time, until it seemed that all of us, or at least me, were hurting. We went a little easier after that, stopped at a gas station to refuel, and rode back to the bike shop.
I was feeling very good after the ride, and had a little ways more to go until I had went 4 hours, so I took a longer way home. I was going to do a couple of intervals, but decided not to as I have plenty of form for this time of the season. Instead, I just went hard, but not all out, a couple of times before cooling down. I went for 3 hours 5o minutes, and did about 70 miles, but I'll post the stats after I can download my powermeter.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
