I tested on the bike before I left for Germany and let me tell you... my functional power is 160. OMG.. this is so sad. :-( I took too much time away from the bike! plus I never did this before (training with power) and had no idea how to really go about testing.
This week I am in the lab and back on the bike. OUCH. I am getting a new saddle as this one has caused some serious soft tissue damage. I got my bike fit and the saddle pressure did not change, so we opted for a new saddle. I have never been more happy!
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| Cobb V Flow Max |
Oh what a difference! The saddle supports you on the sides, not the sit bones, and is a real difference in feeling from the traditional saddles.
So looking over my power outputs I realized that the thing that has changed, outside of just not having the time int he saddle I am used to, is that I am focused on RPM now - 90+ RPM all the time, at each power unless otherwise instructed. This has put me into the lower chain ring, whereas I usually mash through on the big ring. What I need to do is to get back into the big ring and get into a high cadence here... this is where my power comes from. The big gears + efficiency +cadence.
I really want to improve my power this season and perform on the bike, nit just coast in my comfort zone. This power training is putting me out of the comfort zone and into a performance zone and while I am not performing very well right now, I know that in time I will.
My training for the week is pretty normal, but I have missed all swims much to my own promise to get back into the pool. Ugh. This winter has sapped my desire to swim, which is funny because usually I want to live in the pool. I think it is because more people are at the gym and thus I have a harder time actually getting into the pool.
Mondays and Wednesdays I am riding in the Lab with the rest of the lab rats, and then Mondays I am at the HS pool with the team for some drill work. Saturdays I am back in the lab for either an endurance ride (2.5 - 3 hours) or 2.5 - 3 hours of brick repeats, swim bike and run.
Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays are my swim days Now I just need to swim.
My commitment, I will not say promise, to my self is that I will be back in the pool 100% next week.
So next week my schedule is as such, and I am committing to hit 100% of it.
Monday: 1.5 hour bike, 1 hour swim drills
Tuesday - run
Wednesday - 1.5 hour bike ride, stretching/foam rollering
Thursday - swim and run
Friday - rest and stretch
Saturday 2.5 hours of brick repeats
Sunday - swim and run
I posted over in my
day to day blog about how my weeks are going with planning and prepping.
You can find the post here.
