I have a course where I do interval training on the bike and have kept track of some of the past training. We were headed out on the tandem for a ride today and Anne said she could not be gone too long. That was the clue to do a speed workout so we rode the tandem and did the same interval training I have done before on my single bike. I was anxious to see how the times would be on the tandem. The intervals consist of four segments of 7 minutes, at maximum speed, followed by about 3.5 minutes of recovery.

It turns out we did very well, averaging 22.2 mph for the 4 sections and I was able to get my heart rate up to 167-171 on each of the legs.  Anne took her heart rate up to 154.   We were back home in no time and still had a good workout.

Last post was 3rd time is NOT the charm because I was not able to set a PR on Alpine Loop after setting a new one on two other hills in the same week.  Our stay is drawing to a close so I am anxious to try to get some new best times up some of the local hills here after putting a new compact crank on my bike and after getting a new lighter new frame (under warranty).

About two weeks ago I did the 1000 Warriors race and had terrible cramping on the final climb up Snowbird.  I usually only get to climb this hill after a lot of biking in terms of distance and climbing.  Since Anne needed to return something to a store in Salt Lake I thought this was a good time to do the usual bike route in reverse so I had her drop me off on Wasatch Blvd.

I figured I could set a new best time up Snowbird since I would not have that many miles on my legs before I started.  I am proud to say I was not passed by any other cyclist this time and I passed everyone in sight (an old guy on a recumbent and another ld guy on a mountain bike).  I ended up with a time that was about 8 minutes faster than my prior best time I did on a training ride.

After descending back down I rode the 1000 Warriors route in reverse until I reached the bottom of Transverse Ridge (the north side of Suncrest).  If thought maybe I could set a new PR on this hill also so I took my heart rate up to a rather high level and kept it there for the entire climb.  I was able to take three minutes off my prior best time.

I was feeling rather tired and was tempted to ride back home the flat way.  But after making a brief stop to get some more liquid in me (it was hot in the low 90’s) I decided to stick with my original plan and go up American Fork Canyon, then down the Alpine Loop.  As I started the climb, I was feeling in pretty good shape and decided to give it a go to see if I could sent a 3rd PR for the day, something I have never been able to do before.  I passed a couple of riders I recognized that had the “Ride for a Reason” jersey on.  One joined me for awhile but when I answered his question that it was 3 miles to the summit, he backed off to join his friend.  I was checking the time on the mile markers and about 1.5 miles from the top I knew I would be able to set a new record time.  I ended up taking another 2 minutes off.  So with the 3 new PRs I collectively took 13 minutes off, which I was very happy about.

It was getting a bit cool as I started to descend down the Alpine Loop.  I am sure that the temperature was high enough but after pushing my body so hard on three tough climbs, I guess I should have stopped and rested.  I did decide to take it easy going down.  About 6 miles from home I had a flat on the rear tire.  Normally  would have been frustrated to flat so close to home but I was so happy with my riding that I just took it in stride.

Here is all the data.  You will see that my LT has moved up from my training because I was able to sustain heart rates over 165 bpm for almost an hour.  Before I would have been cooked if I tried that.  My maximum heart rate for the day was 177, so I guess my maximum heart rate is still around 180.  I am not quite sure why I ever let my heart rate go to 177, I guess I got excited near the top of Transverse Ridge with my time.

Here is my heart rate chart. You can see I went into the red zone on many of the climbs, especially on Transverse Ridge.  Click to enlarge.

My Polar heart rate monitor software allows you to setup what it calls sport zones.  The default is 5 zones all based on maximum heart rate, with the maximum intensity zone defined as 90-100% of maximum heart rate, hard intensity zone of 80-90% of maximum heart rate, and so forth.  With a maximum heart rate of 180 bpm, that would give me a range in the maximum intensity of 180 x 0.9 = 162.  On a recent 95 miles race, with 9,500 feet of climbing I used my Polar HRM and had reset to use the defaults.  But the 7 hours during the race showed 2 full hours in that red zone.  Since this red zone should be above your Lactate Threshold, it indicated that such a range was too wide.

One heart rate zone calcualtor that is more sophisticated because it also uses your resting heart rate.  You calculate the difference between your resting heart rate and maximum heart rate.  For me that is 180-45 = 135.  Now instead of using just 90% of maximum heart rate, you use 90% of that difference plus your resting heart rate (0.9 x 135 + 45 = 167).  That small change from using 162 and 167 results in a reduction of time in that recent race from 2 full hours down to 45 minutes.  Use this handy calculator to use this approach for your own zones.

Today I needed to take my bike into the shop to have the steerer tube slightly cut because when the Trek Store built up with the new frame, they didn’t cut it quite enough so the LBS needed to add a spacer on the top of the stem.  I thought this would be a good chance to do a time trial up Suncest.  All my other times up that hill were part of a long ride, including the recent Warriors race.  It took me 21:15 to make the climb, more than two minutes faster than my previous best.  I was in the “red zone” for 16:30, or most of the climb.  I had an average heart rate of 166 during the climb with a maximum of 176.  That indicates two things.  One that my maximum heart rate is indeed close to 180 and that using 167-180 bpm as the “red zone” is about right.  Below is the heart rate curve from the Suncrest time trial.

The Spanish dollar (also known as the piece of eight, the real de a ocho or the eight-real coin) is a silver coin, worth eight reales.  But I think of pieces of eight as a way to piece together a ride from our Utah home using 8 different climbs and at least 8,000 feet of climbing and 80 miles.

Today I did another Pieces of Eight ride and it was my first big ride on my new bike (at least a new frame) and one of my last big training ride before the 1000 Warriors race in one week.  I wanted to get in a ride that went up Snowbird, the final climb on the race.  The race is 95 miles, but the last 50 has most all of the climbing.  I decided to ask Anne to drive me up to the bottom of the Alpine Loop so I could ride the last half of the route since I wanted to focus on climbing.  I started to ride at 8:41 am and it was still a bit cool but I started right out with a climb so it was fine.  It took me 1 hour and 2 minutes to reach the summit, better than my long ride last Monday and more then 2 minutes faster than the 300 Warriors race last year.  But on the race I had already ridden 45 miles to get to the start of today’s ride.  It was then a fast decent down American Fork Canyon.  I was interested in how the new bike would handle.  It handled very well, just as good as my Madone 5.9 frame and probably a bit better.

I followed the route for the 1000 Warriors ride and timed myself going up Suncrest.  Again my time was faster than my race time last week.  I was feeling good as I made my down into the Salt Lake Valley and over to the beginning of the Snowbird climb.  I was worried about this climb because it is so difficult, more than 6 miles with no plateaus to catch your breath.  It is especially brutal at the end of a 95 mile race.  Even though I was only at mile 43 when I started the steep climb, it was still very difficult.  But my climb time was more than 6 minutes faster than my race time from last year.  I am sure most of that was less miles on my legs.

At the summit I turned around to trace the route backwards.  That meant climbing the tough Transverse Ridge.  With over 7,500 of climbing already on my legs it was not a pleasant experience and my time showed it.  At the summit I stopped to get water and gave Anne a call.  Since we have a 50 mile ride tomorrow, with a lot of climbing, I decided I wanted to keep this ride down to 80 miles. If I biked back home, even skipping American Fork Canyon, I would have ended up with 95 miles.  She agreed to meet me at the Bike Peddler, which allowed me to finish riding with 80 miles and 8,840 feet of climbing.

This table shows how my ride today compared with similar rides on the same hills during the past year.   Someday I really need to switch to a compact crank.  Doing these hills with a double crank is getting too tough.

Anne and I went for a 4.5 mile run this morning.  She was going to have lunch with a friend so there was no time for cycling together today.  I thought it would be a good day for some interval training.  The weather is getting warm and I knew that it would be in the high 90’s today. so I did not want to wait too long.  Around 11:00 am, I headed out on my single bike for the loop I have done before.  I did not have aerobars on the bike right now and did not want to bother to put them on just for this speedwork since I need to have them off for the race next month.

The good thing about doing speed work on the same course is you can compare your times between days.  Since cycling speed is greatly affected by the wind, I have a loop course with each of the four intervals after I make a right turn so the wind should average out.  I felt I did very well today, even though I did a speed workout two days ago running.  I was able to get my heart rate up to a high level during each of the four 7 minute intervals, averaging around 165, with a maximum heart rate of around 172.  With interval training you want to push your heart rate well above your lactate threshold.  The recovery portion is such that you get your heart rate back down before the next interval.

This chart shows my heart rate and speed.  The course is not completely flat so you get some varations in speed during each 7 minute interval, but the total climb is only 400 feet for the whole loop.  Notice how the heart rate goes up quickly at the start of each interval and stays in the red zone and how I slow down enough for the rest portion to get my heart rate down below 130.    Click on the graph to view enlarge.

I record the data on my Polar heart rate monitor so I can compare each workout with the same course on other days.  Even though I was no using aerobars today (which would account for another 1 mph) I did well compared with prior workouts, especially getting my heart rate up high, which I find hard to do on a flat stretch.

I did some additional research on the subject of how to be a faster climber.  There are three keys including 1) mental attitude, 2) light body weight and 3) smart tactics.   While some cyclists will want to avoid some tough climbs, I seek them out.  My weight is also down, although not as low as it was last fall when I was getting ready for the Everest Challenge.  So what is left is tactics.  Here are a few that I am thinking about:

Use the right gearing

I do almost all my cycling with a double crank.  Although I have put on a 12-27 cassette, it does not seem quite enough on some of the real steep hills.  Sure I am able to make it up every hill, but when the grade gets too steep, my cadence really dips.  If a pro cyclists goes up in a 39/21, with their speed of travel, they may have a cadence of over 80 rpm.  It has been shown that while climbing, a cadence of 80-90 will result in a faster climb time.  The slower you climb, the lower the gearing you need to keep that type of cadence.  It is time I move to a compact crank. With the ability to use a lower gear that will give me the option to remain seated more.  I know when I stand my heart rate climbs.  Although I find standing frequently a help with my legs, too much standing would not lead to the best time.

Avoid Going too Hard too Early

Last Wednesday I did a climb up Henry Coe with some cycling buddies.  Fairly early in the climb I was taking the pace up to see who was going to be able to hang with me.  My pulse rate was now over 170, well above my lactate threshold.  Since one other rider kept up, I had no choice but to keep the pace to see who would last the longest.  He finally dropped off the back but I had to keep driving long enough to form a gap.  But by then I was too expended and my overall time suffered.  I was surprised at the end of the climb that he was only a minute behind me.  You can see this on the attached series of charts, the top one being last week and the other two from an actual race on the same climb during the last two years.  Click on the chart to view enlarged.

Of course I would never expect my time on a ride with some friends to ever be as fast as an actual race where I make sure I have fresh legs and I give it all I have for just that one climb.  However I feel that if I had kept my heart rate down a bit earlier in the climb and then took it up late in the climb I would have finished faster.

Doing Speedwork

One thing I have done in the past is doing some speed work, both intervals on the flats and hill repeats.  That is significantly improved my performance on a long climb.  Although you get some benefit of just climbing certain hills at a hard pace, one should not ignore the benefit of repeats, with short recovery periods in between.  See my article on speedwork.

Cross Training

When I was training for marathons, it not only kept my weight down, but I believe it made me a faster climber.  I started to get out of running for the most part over the last year, due to some issues with my knees.  But I met a guy on our 10 day bicyle tour who also ran the Boston Marathon and he gave me some information one what was causing my problem so I started some exercises to stretch my IT band.  The issue seems to be solved so I have been increasing my running again.  Yesterday I did a 4.5 mile run, with 3 miles at a tempo pace.  On those three miles I was averaging an 8 minute pace.  Not very fast considering I use to run a marathon at a 8:20 pace.  However it was fast for my conditioning because I woke up this morning with sore legs!  Although I don’t plan to run a marathon again anytime soon, I do plan to take my running back up to at least 25 miles a week and add in some interval training.  All cycling and no running makes Franz a dull boy.

On Tuesday I went on the mountain bike, which is always a tough climb.  But my first chance on the road bike was Wednesday, up Henry Coe.  I was riding toward the front of the pack and decided to take my heart rate up to a high level and see if I could hold it.  Even after taking it over 170 bpm, one rider, Jim W, stayed with me.  I figured that if I could hold that pace long enough he would fall off, which is what happened.  But I was so wasted after that that I had to lower my heart rate to finish the climb.  It was not the best way to set a good time up the hill, but it was a good training exercise.  Here is the heart rate graph.  My total climb time was 6 minutes slower than my best time last year (set during a race), even taking my average heart rate to 163 for the climb.  For each graph below click it to see it enlarged.

The next day was the weekly Metcalf Mauler ride.  This week we went on the tandem and we pushed the pace all the way up the hill.  Our total time was about 1 minute slower than our best time set last year.  Here again is the graph.

On Friday John and Jeff were visiting.  They joined Anne and I, all on single bikes, for a 33 mile ride around the reservoir.  Not much climbing that day and I really needed the rest.

On Saturday, John and I went to join a club ride up Mt. Diablo.  Anne and I had done that same hill on the tandem last April, but this was a chance to see if I could break an hour on my single bike.  As soon as we went by the start point at the South Gate, we picked up the pace.  Soon after that a rider came by us and John jumped on his wheel. I kept focused on my heart rate, knowing that I needed to keep it below 160 in order to be able to keep the pace for a whole hour.  My legs felt trashed from the other days this week of climbing hard.  I was keeping track of my feet per minute climbing rate and after about 40 minutes I realized it was unlikely I would break an hour on the climb.  It was exactly one hour when I reached the bottom of the very steep final narrow road up to the parking lot.  I ended up making the climb in 61:52., about 20 minutes faster than we had done the same climb on the tandem earlier this year.

John was using one of my Polar 625X heart rate monitors so I had a chance to download his data.  I put both graphs together below.  It is remarkable how close we were in terms of heart rate.  Kind of like Father, like Son.  Since John had gone ahead of me his was not quite sure where the top was and had stopped at a parking lot at the bottom of the real step final section, so his actually time would have been closer to 58 minutes.

I think that is enough hard climbing for the week.  I need a day or two to recover.

After returning from Atlanta (week 20), we started our crash recovery course on cycling, quickly getting ready to a Century ride that Saturday.  It was the first time for quite awhile for both Anne and I to reach 200 miles of cycling in a week.  The next week should have been much better than it was, but the long ride we were planning on that Saturday turned out to be short due to very cold condition. But for this week (week 22), I biked nearly 400 miles.  Yesterday was my first time to cycle without any splint on, and it worked okay.  I went on the long distance training ride with the club (Anne could not join due to a conflict).  The 115 miles seemed not too difficult, but I did have a hard time to keep up with the guys I usually can hang right with.  My climbing is slowing coming back but I still have a ways to recover.

If I look at the accumulated cycling miles over this year, compared with prior years, the fall off is quite apparent.  From being ahead of any prior years, I have fallen back, well below last year.

Due to issues with my knees, my running has been very moderate for several months now.  While traveling, I did run more than I had been, but it is still at a relatively low level, never getting more than about 16 miles in a week.

My weight had climbed as my cycling at declined, but it is now finally coming back down, which is good news.