Training Log Archive: veinbuster

Legs versus the hills.

The climbing Friday was bad enough that I felt compelled to make sure I hadn't forgotten how. I has a theory about the cause, but best to test it out just in case it was really just an excuse. The plan was to head out to Kennedy road which has some nice repeatable elevation.

Fog was quite heavy first thing so I waited until close to 7:30 to go out and even then ran full lights. Once I got past the lower spots between me and the 404 it was clear sailing.

The first tests were the outbound hills totalling about 100m in about the distance we went Friday. No problem, even on the two climbs that lights conspired to have me do from a dead stop. Then the turn on to Kennedy and the wall of doom. I did pop into the granny gear near the top and crested at about 7km/hr, which is pretty close to the balance threshold on two wheel. Heart rate peaked at about 170.

Then the repeats: 7% in one direction, 10% in the other. Not terribly long, but I don't think anything we did Friday came close to it in steepness or length. I stayed for a bit over an hour, leaving in time to get home before Mrs. called a search party at 10. Turns out she changed the threshold and called at 9:45 to make sure I wasn't dead in a ditch - I was on the path right behind the house looping home.

Back to the hill repeats. Aside from fresh legs, there were a few other things contributing to a better result:
- I know my bike really well. The shift points are automatic and I know exactly how each shift is going to impact the effort.
- my bike has no tipping point, so there is no speed to bail out on, which is a psychological advantage
- the heart monitor tells me the truth about when I am at my limit. I think Friday I was bailing in the high 150s and I didn't really need to. Without the monitor, I can't really distinguish between 160 and 173. If I'd seen 162, for example, I would have just said 'I got this' and carried on. An unforced error since I had the strap with me, but didn't bother putting it on for a short test ride
- I start initial stroke at just before 12 o'clock on the Greenspeed. I noticed myself setting it exactly the same spot at each stop. I was setting the stroke probably about 20 degrees too low on 'Bent's bikes and not getting the right push. It's a bit different with each geometry, but one of those things I tend to take for granted.
- I noticed that I periodically hitch up my butt to free up a bit of blood flow on the top of my left leg. I have no idea if it releases as little as a couple of tablespoons, or as much as 100ml, but the impact is very noticeable in that I get a burst of energy that lasts maybe 20-40 seconds. This is very deliberate on my road bike because it is essential, but I'd never really noticed it on my recumbents. Clearly it is something learned through repeated use and familiarity
- my peak heart rate actually dropped a bit in later climbs. I think familiarity let's you spend your energy more efficiently as you get used to how the hill flows. Not surprising, but it was interesting to see the heart rate profile shift over the course of an hour, when you would expect to be starting to tire.

Enough blah-blah.
Very nice ride. By starting late a couple of bike clubs were ahead of me today. A few cyclists met me during my repeats. It was a amusing to watch them look back to see if they were dropping me on the climb - generally not until they crested. I thought one guy was going to do a few repeats with me because he stopped and watched me. Turns out he just wanted a second look at how has the trike descended. A pair of Ferraris caught me on my last climb: a late model and one approaching 50 years old. They thought the trike was brilliant.

I could easily go out for another hour or more, versus Friday not being sure it was a good idea to drive home right away.

C • Interesting 4

Legs took a beating yesterday for not doing much. I did plan the right compression for the amount of standing that is required if you actually want to see anything at a concert you payed good money for these days. Maybe I should go to less popular acts.

Lots of walking getting in and out. Public transit is definitely not up to the needs of people on the edges of the GTA (pardon the political commentary).

I'm going to have to cut back on stairs, at least when wearing travel compression. Developed an ouchy bruise about 15 cm long on the inner right thigh.
That does settle the question of whether I should ride over to see 'Bent or drive though.

Day 3 soloflex
It turns out waiting for a carpenter is a good way to catch up on a few things.

Round numbers. Lots of little test runs on 'Bent new ride while it was getting tuned up, followed by a short woods loop with a couple of bike swaps. I had a few steering errors with the long wheel bases on these one offs, but they would be easy to get used to. I'd venture 20-100 hrs to really get a handle on steering input versus body input. That would probably be more than enough time to learn this little bit of the forest as well.

Perfect way to spend a few hours of a free Friday.
And a visit with Bash and 'Bent is always good.

C • Thanks! 6

4 secure doors on each lap these days - makes for a lot of badging in

Day 2 free weights and push ups

35C so I took the 29er single speed out for an easy ride. I was a bit surprised how low the heart rate stayed, even on the two longer climbs which make up most of the elevation on this route.

No traffic events and humidity wasn't too bad so it was a nice ride, even if it barely burned enough calories to warrant having dinner.

Day 1 free weights