question from the new guy: when people say "2x30 tempo with 10 minute recovery," what does the 2x30 refer to?  what is "tempo"?  (is it like kenpo?)  i googled quickly but to no avail, and figured someone here would be as eager to explain as i am to know.  also: i will find out tonight when i join the tuesday tempo ride.

Brendan Rigby said:

question from the new guy: when people say "2x30 tempo with 10 minute recovery," what does the 2x30 refer to?  what is "tempo"?  (is it like kenpo?)  i googled quickly but to no avail, and figured someone here would be as eager to explain as i am to know.  also: i will find out tonight when i join the tuesday tempo ride.

I'll jump in on this, 2x30 would refer to 2 blocks of 30 minute tempo riding, with a 10 minute recovery in between.  Tempo riding, to me, is going at about 80% of my max heart rate. I sometimes feel like I'm actually in a race at that pace.

There is an entire thread on this under "training" go check it out

Jules said:

There is an entire thread on this under "training" go check it out

@Jules: sorry to ask what's been answered.  i'll locate the thread.

going in for a bike fit Sunday...Brickwell cycles...they use the Guru fit machine...my new pedals and cleats plus a slipping seat post has led to some knee tendonitis.  Will let the group know how the fit goes...

Quick question re: LT field-tests.  I was planning on performing another test at the end my current training cycle and was wondering whether it would be best to do the test at the very end of the current cycle or at the beginning of the new cycle the following week. 

I guess either way it doesn't matter a great deal but I am inclined to do the test at the very end of the current cycle given that I may lose an amount of fitness (read: be tempted by shitty food) during a rest week.

Does anyone have strong views either way?

@Mark, here is my 2 cents.

I'd like to add a little to Jules' two cents.  

Thanks Jules and JP. 

This is good advice, and perhaps a first in that there is universal agreement on a training-related question.

Mark Clifford said:

Thanks Jules and JP. 

This is good advice, and perhaps a first in that there is universal agreement on a training-related question.

LOL. Just wait.

I agree with Jules and JP. I will offer this, "yes and..." top-tip:

Be aware that you are training/tapering, in theory, to race well at your A-priority events. And a true and good field test will take a lot out of you, requiring adequate preparation and recovery. So timing and frequency become important to consider.

All I'm saying here is, "keep your eye on the ball."

Good point Marc.  Don't go ripping field tests the week or two before your A races

Say...Craig Zolan loaned me his Garmin 800 to field test my cycleops power cal.  I am now on Garmin Connect.  I would like to search for some of you guys but everyone seems to have gotten all fancy with their screen names and I have no idea who is who when I search for users.  Anywho, I am "two yacks" is anyone wants to find me.   I did one ride with the power...a nice 20 minute interval at a steady 250 watts on the computrainer.  The powercal recorded it at 268, so it is high.  I will do the same workout once a week and see if it is consistent.  My hr was really high for this interval as I have not tested the knee in over 3 weeks.  It was interesting to see how the cardio drift would impact the power.  My interval started at 140 bpm's and ended at 189.  The power recording seems pretty steady, so that is good.  If you do the Garmin thing you can seem my workout from yesterday on the internets.  Yack

scratch that.  I just used the Garmin software to chop up the interval & here goes: 20 minute watts = 268  10 minutes watts = 279  5 minute watts = 289     So I can clearly see that as my hr goes up, so to the power reading.  It is a toy and a guesstimator...when using it indoors, where my hr will rise quickly due to heat and the lack of any kind of break during an interval.  I will see how it does outdoors.  I also have a sigma sport rox 9.1 with a power algorithm.  That computer actually recorded my computrainer interval correctly.  It is another power guesstimator.  Since I have a computrainer, my need for a quality powermeter is not strong...ergo I employ crappy, stopgap's like the powercal and rox 9.1   I can see myself getting a garmin to use with the powercal for a year and then grabbing crank based meter when the prices move lower.  I like my Sigmasport Rox 9.1 because it is simple and it works and their software is pretty nice.  But it is not ant + and I can't upload info to strava or other sites due to the way it records files and it has no gps features.  

twoyacks, hreems just tried to connect w/ you on Garmin Connect.

I can only save files in .slf  .smf   and .csv     any of those files work for ya?

I think .csv is the best bet.

Ok. I'll get it to you tonight. Lifting the weights right now cause the chicks dig the gun show !

I can't even attach he file....emai won't let me...can you grab the file off my garmin connect account...being as we are now friends on that site?

I think you can use windows explorer to go into the garmin, as if it is an external storage drive, and copy the file / attach to an email. I'd copy it first to your desktop and then send via email. I forget where the rides/events are stored. I think it is on the internal memory of the garmin, while the memory card in the unit has the map. You'll have to look for the most recent file created. It should be either a .fit,.gpx or .tcx file - I can't remember which.

Yacks, I sent a friend request on Garmin Connect. 

LK

Lenny I tried to click on acquaintance...but there was no tab.  So I have accepted your "friend" request.  I looked at some of your power #'s.  Your kung-fu is no good. But I kid.  I will give the power cal another go around tonight.  1 hour with a nice 20 minute interval at 250 watts in the middle.  Hopefully the knee holds up.

I uploaded another interval session using the powercal.  My computrainer cable that hooks up to the computer is busted...so I have been simply using the head unit.  This time around I used Buh-bump gel for the chest strap and I tried not to confuse the monitor by jumping out of the saddle or changing the cadence too much.  I kept the computrainer pegged at 250 watts for 20 minutes.  The first 10 minutes I used a cadence of about 105 and the last 10 minutes I shifted gears and used a cadence of 92.  The recorded 20 minute interval for the power cal?  258 watts....that is real good.  It may have been a combination of using the buh-bump, ready at a steady tempo and having my hr level off for this ride.  I had not ridden an interval in 3 weeks before Sundays ride...so I'm thinking my h.r. leveled off a bit.  I will keep doing the same intervals and compare the data.  I changed the power smoothing to 3 second and 30 second, but the meter really jumps around and it would be kind of hard to use the meter on the bike because if this.  For $100 it is awesome.  The chest strap is very comfortable.  An ant plus h.r. strap will set you back $50 bucks so for the extra $50 you've got some power #'s...perhaps not true #'s but something you can integrate into your training.  I would say the powercal is best for averaging your power and for use off the bike to take a look see where you were working really hard during a race.  That is all I gots, for now.  Yacks

After Grant's Tomb, I rolled north and ended up riding north with former Kissena, current Foundation (road) and Richard Sachs cross team racer Dan Chabanov. And he made some interesting comments about his training/racing this time of year.

Like Perlberg mentioned in an earlier post, Chabanov is too feeling the lack of high end, explosive, leg speedy energy. Working with a coach for the first time in his career, he also mentioned that most of his training has been in zone's 1-3 so far.

I wouldn't expect most people to really have that leg speed and punch going right now unless they really were focused on the early races. I was punchier this week than last, but now that I've had two weeks of Sprints, Openers and 4 races, my legs will start to come around. look for real punchiness in May / June.

If the knee comes around, look for me to bring an entire punchbowl...Kah-booom !

A few weeks back, someone asked "how do you know when you're about to explode?"  

mugwump said:

A few weeks back, someone asked "how do you know when you're about to explode?"  

Stokes discussed tunnel vision, weakness in his arms, (and I think) starting to black out.  

For me, it's more like my breathing has done from deep to ragged and I'm trying suck down as much air as I can but find myself unable to because my body is on a shorter-breath pattern.  

With bonking, there are a few symptoms I seem to experience.  One is I start losing the ability to focus, my eyes dart around, and all I can think about is food.

with cramping, typically the muscle that's about to go seems to start pulsing.  

Others?

I get tunnel vision, start to see stars and very rarely go cross eyed.  I can only do that to myself when I'm on my own though, have never managed to go that hard in a pack.

Heat exhaustion.  That's a rough one.  You know you're in trouble when you've stopped sweating.  Next step is getting chills.  After the chills stop, the body is frying on the inside.