so so spin class

I coulda gone harder tonight, and my power data showed! You can't hide when using this thing. If you look in the middle of the graph, you can see 6, 4 minute efforts. You will notice that the 4th has the highest power and speed shown, this is due to the fact that I was working REALLY hard during that interval. Then if you look @ #5, you will notice that it is the lowest overall out of the 6, and this is due to the fact that I could have (and definately should have) used 1 harder gear.

I slacked off, and I will admit that.

As for #6, you can see high cadence #'s and speed. This happens when you pull up while pedaling. Amazing what happens when you engage a full range of muscles during a pedal stroke. YOU GO FASTER!

spin class, with POWER

Did my second to last spin class tonight, but my first using my PowerTap. You can see below in the graph the different sets that we did over the hour long workout. The last set before the cool down were 3 30 second spinups, increasing cadence every 5 seconds. I peaked out at 565 watts! SWEET! I again came out at an average power of 245 watts, so since I have hit this number 3 different times, I guess I am gonna use this as my functional threshold (FT) wattage.

first run in a long time and more wattage fun

I ran for a solid 15 mins on the treadmill this morning, my first run in 2 weeks. Surprisingly, it felt like I hadn't stopped running. I even did the usual 4 X (30 second on/90 second off) intervals to see how my speed work was doing, and again, it felt fine. After the 15 mins though, I did feel like my overall endurance was not the same, and that was confirmed when I got off the treadmill and I felt some inflamation in my quads. That went away quickly, which means that I haven't lost my running shape entirely, I just need to reclaim it and get back to doing a 10K and feeling fine afterwards.

Then I took a small break, ate some food, let it digest and hopped onto my new trainer, the Kirt Kinetic Road machine:

I did another test, this one is for finding your MAP, or maximum applied power. My coworker is a self proclaimed "wattage junkie", he gave me some rough instructions on how to conduct the test. Basically warm up for 15 mins, then get into a 90 RPM cadence starting at about 170 watts. Every three minutes increase your wattage by upping one gear in the back, while maintaining that 90 RPM. Stop when you can't hold 90 RPM any longer. It took me three iterations before I could no longer hold 90 RPM. I'll post the data when I get back. I think I got the same number as my previous test, since I haven't really had time to improve over a 2 day period. Still, a good test! I am gonna need to consult my coworker to see how to do the test better, as 3 interations was not enough data to clearly find the number I was looking for.

first powerTap test

Just did my first powerTap test yesterday. It was basically a 20 minute @ lactate threshold time trial to find my power threshold power level, in watts. Here is what it looks like:


I averaged 245 watts @ lactate threshold. This would put me at the bottom of being a CAT 3 cyclist, if I were a pure cycling racer.

ass kicker spin class

Got it handed to me as usual last night at spin class. I was using my TT bike again, and my coach pointed out that my aero position can be made better. Sweet!

The main set of spinning was utterly brual. Basically 90 seconds above LT, then 90 seconds rest.....7X's!!!!! Oh man, the first and fifth hurt the hardest. Amazing how if you can just concentrate on something and stay focused on it, how much it makes the pain hurt a teeny bit less.

Then I was like, phew the hard part is over. WRONG! 90 seconds more of the same thing but in one easier gear, then 45 seconds back to the same LT intensity, then 45 MORE seconds at an even harder gear. Yeah.......OUCH!

a moderate spin class

We did mostly strength training last night. Mostly it was sets of 60 rpm @ a high resistance. I prefer this over the fast stuff. The last 5 30 second sets were the hardest of the night. Basically it was the same resistance, but building ever 5 seconds until the last 5 seconds are all out. My heart rate got up there pretty high.

Now I gotta get back to running, something I haven't done in almost a week! Yikes!