Apr 28, 12:40 PM by Steve | Training 4/21-4/27

I feel like Goldilocks trying out different training porridge. This week’s too much, this week’s not enough, this one’s just right. This week felt just right, and after a nice recovery day after Sea Otter, I jumped back in and hit the tuesday ride hard. I felt really good and got an email from Chester afterwards commenting that I looked strong. I wanted to try the Hope Ranch intervals ride, but apparently everyone else went somewhere else and I went and did OSM with Bill and Jamie. We started out at a fairly moderate pace and I felt comfortable (but clearly working closer to my limit than them), until Jamie rode away from us right before the switchbacks. Crit practice also went very well, and I held onto the main field for nearly half an hour, longer than I think I ever have in the past. Once off, I joined up with Dan and togher we picked up a bunch of others and formed a decent sized group. We were finally lapped with a few laps to go; I was going to get back on but right as I got on, Chester came off and as I accelerated to close the gap he shouted at me “not to mix it up” with them. I slowed down and watched Dan and one other guy jump on, somewhat disappointed that I listened to Chester instead of sticking with Dan—I wasn’t going to “mix it up” with them, I just wanted the tow and see if I could hold on.

I was still undecided about Devil’s Punchbowl late into the week, so I took Thursday easy “just in case”. Friday I had pretty much made up my mind to pass on it, so I went and did some VO2 max intervals in the evening. Since I had skipped out on Punchbowl I figured I had to get some good training in, so I did the ROCO ride instead of the Echelon ride, and went around the lake and back up the coast. I had never been up the coast with that group, but heard stories about the pace and was wondering what I was getting myself into. I was holding on just barely on some stretches of PCH and the 101, and when we hit Bates I just watched them ride away. I caught up with Ben at the top when we hit the 150 and he towed me most of the way back to the group. The pace never really “settled” like worlds does on the way back through Summerland, so when the group charged up Ortega Hill I took the opportunity and shortcut them on the bike path. I thought I would come out just ahead of right in the middle of them, but I hit full gas and manged to get out way ahead, enabling me and one other guy to easily make it past San Ysidro before the group caught up with us.

I had originally planned to do Punchbowl, and then stay in Santa Clarita for the crit on Sunday. Since we had stayed home Saturday, Kim wanted to hit up the Beachbreak Cafe for her favorite, chocolate chip pancakes. My race wasn’t until 2, so we had plenty of time for a nice leisurely ride to breakfast and came back through Hope Ranch. I did some low-gear jumps and sprints on the path on the way home, which must have looked funny to Kim. I would shoot off and spin up around 30 and then coast until she caught me and then do it all over again.

The race… went ok. I had low expectations going in—my main goal was to feel comfortable in the pack, cornering, and not feel like I was about to get snapped off the back at any moment. For the most part I would say that there was never any difficulty holding on, I was very comfortable going into the corners and I was able to maintain my speed well and not have to constantly accelerate back on. There was a crash about halfway through the race that I was caught behind (I actually ran into one of the guys on the ground going about 1mph, fell over and landed on him), but was able to use a free lap to get back in. I didn’t try to move up near the end, I was content to maintain my position and finish solidly in the pack.

Heart Rate Data
Total time: 17.4 hours
Below 50%: 0:18:15
Zone 1 (50%-55%): 1:08:09
Zone 2 (56%-69%): 6:02:12
Zone 3 (70%-79%): 4:25:00
Zone 4 (80%-89%): 4:05:01
Zone 5 (90%-99%): 1:26:55
Calories burned: 16,609

Summary
Total: 299.40 miles, 17.5 hours, 14,912 feet
Racing: 15.97 miles, 0.6 hours, 224 feet
Average (all days): 42.77 miles, 2.5 hours, 2,130 feet
Average (work days): 31.92 miles, 2.0 hours, 1,841 feet

Rides
M: 1.5 hr morning recovery spin
Tu: 1 hr morning tempo, 1 hr lunchtime hammerfest
W: 0.75 hr morning tempo, 1 hr lunchtime spin w/ 19:15 OSM, 0.75 hr crit practice
Th: 1 hr low/moderate tempo
F: 1 hr easy spin with TT course preview
Sat: 4 hr around lake Casitas, 1 hr spin to dial in race setup
Sun: 2 hr easy ride with Kim, 0.6 hr crit

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