3/22 – 4/4 (Brad Sims)

I’ve been slacking on my updates but this should catch me up.  3/22-3/28 was my spring break where I had planned on getting some solid training in.  This was not to be, with the mid-week snow storm and a quick trip down to NM my volume stayed pretty low.  I did get one day of lifting in and a couple days of spring skiing.  3/29-4/4 was a scheduled recovery week but since the previous week had been pretty easy I didn’t back off too much.  I only got to the gym once and did a high rep low weight workout.  On Tuesday our group ride headed up Flagstaff.  It had been a really long time since I’d done this climb.  I climbed pretty hard from Broadway to the top but worked particularly hard from the stone bridge to the amphitheater.  During the climb I saw my highest average 1 min, 20 min, and 60 min power outputs to date.  I did some Koppenberg scouting on Thursday in preparation for the race on Saturday.  The race went very well and I placed 2^nd.  I felt good during the race and felt like I could control the tempo.  I did sprint too early costing me the win by a few inches.  I’m continuing to build and will be starting a new high weight lifting session this week.  My first scheduled peak is for the Growler endurance mtn bike race at the end of May.

3/22- Mtn, 0:45, 7 mi, Tempo, 1798 ft gain, Horse Thief (Fruita)

3/23- Rest

3/24- Trainer, 1:00, Over Distance, Norm 207 W, Avg 198 W, 709 KJ

3/25- 10 min run, 3×12 full body lifting

3/26- Alpine Skiing–Trainer, 0:50, Over Distance, Avg 190 W, 573 KJ

3/27- Road, 1:47, 30.33 mi, Tempo, Avg 226 W, 1464 KJ

3/28- Trainer, 0:30, Over Distance, Avg 213 W, 385 KJ—Alpine Skiing

3/29- Rest

3/30- Road, 2:05, 32.16 mi, Endurance, Norm 294 W, Avg 216 W, 1598 KJ (Flagstaff)

3/31- Rest

4/1- Road, 1:32, 26.46 mi, Tempo, Norm 294 W, Avg 215 W, 1176 KJ

4/2- Road, 0:55, 16.14 mi, Over Distance, Norm 231 W, Avg 206 W, 677 KJ (Form Drills)

4/3- Kopp (Warm-up/Race/Cool-down), 2:15, 41.72 mi, Norm 328 W, Avg 246 W, 1978 KJ

4/4- 17 min spin, 1×30 full body lifting

3/22 – 4/8 (Peter Schimpf)

So now starts the tricky training time as the races become more frequent and the training days are often used for recovery and endurance.  My wife is also due to give birth to our second child pretty much any day now, so the training I get in now is crucial as I will likely be mostly off the bike for a good two weeks at some point in late April and early May.  This log begins the day after the Niwot Practice Crit.

3-22: Climbing day, NCAR and Superflag; 3 hrs.; avg. pwr. 166 (212 normalized), 1,813 kjs

3-23: off

3-24: Recovery ride, trainer: 1:10; avg. pwr: 169; 717 kjs

3-25: Endurance ride, trainer: 1:36, avg. pwr: 192; 1,041 kjs

3-26: off

3-27: Climbing day (Jamestown and Ward); 3:06; 51.21 miles; avg. pwr: 206 (232 normalized); 2,237 kjs

3-28: Boulder Roubaix group recon ride (with Os and Paul), 2 laps: 2:14; 40 miles; avg. pwr: 179; 1,148 kjs

3-29: off

3-30: Endurance ride, (ride howm from work-Denver to Lafayette) 1:36; 31 miles; avg. pwr 156 (176 normalized); 918 kjs

3-31: off

4-1: Endurance ride with VO2 max intervals (trainer): 1:29, 6×1′ z5 intervals with 1′ rest between; 1,003 kjs

4-2: Opener ride: (casual cruise with my wife’s cousin) 1:23; 556 kjs

4-3: Koppenberg: 1.5 hour warm-up, 10 minutes of racing (dnf with a flat tire); another 1.5 hours riding around watch Brad finish in 2nd.

4-4: off

4-5: Endurance ride (trainer); 1:15; avg. pwr: 190; 818 kjs

4-6: off

4-7: Cherry Creek TT #1; 1 hr. warm-up, race time: 21:38, good enough for 2nd place in the SM 3s (8th overall)

4-8: Endurance ride with climbing: NCAR Flagstaff; 2:06; avg. pwr: 180 (224 normalized); 1,400 kjs

3/15 – 3/21 (Brad Sims)

Finally a good dose of trail riding!  On Wednesday JD, Rob, and I rode Heil and top part of the connector trail to scope it out for the Team mtn camp.  I felt pretty good on the trail but could definitely tell that my technical skills suffered during the snowy winter.  Friday we had a good group for our Heil/Connector/Hall ride.  A big snow storm on Friday cancelled the rest of our Team camp so Rob and I headed to Moab on Saturday.  We got a 2:45 in the ride in Saturday night by using the lights for about an hour.  Sunday we put down a solid 7 hour ride with some challenging terrain.  I ran a 1×9 which made some of the climbs a challenge but it was a good power work-out.  Finally during Sundays ride I started feeling my technical skills returning.  I also felt amazingly good during the 7 hour ride, seems like my endurance from last year has stuck around.

3/16- Road, 2:06, 40.76 mi, Tempo, Avg Power 230 W, 1467 kJ

3/17- Mtn, 1:32, 10.64 mi, Over Distance, Avg HR 152 BPM, 1846 ft gain

3/18- Mtn, 2:27, 26.32 mi, Over Distance (Team Ride), Avg HR 161 BPM, 2924 ft gain

3/20- Mtn, 2:43, 19.9 mi, Over Distance (Moab), Avg HR 140 BPM, 2801 ft gain

3/21- Mtn, 7:00, 47 mi, Endurance (Moab), 11,000 ft gain

3/12 – 3/25 (Peter Schimpf)

After some initial success in the first two time trials of the season, I was anxious about how my form would be in a mass start race.  I raced the Leaving 99 Crit Crusade and managed to win pretty easily.  Granted, I didn’t really know any of the other riders, so the competition may not have been the strongest representation of a cat. 4 field.  Nevertheless I was really satisfied to get my first crit. win.  Consequently, the “sandbagger” chatter began to increase, and this very blog received some negative comments concerning my apparent unwillingness to upgrade.  I suppose anyone that wins a cat. 4 race will be accused of sandbagging.  After 3 wins in 3 races, I did request an upgrade with the ACA based on experience (since I technically still have no upgrade points), and the upgrade was granted.  Time to train harder and smarter (and drop 10 more lbs.). Here’s the last two weeks.

3-12: Mtn bike ride with the baby trailer, 1:20

3-13: Leaving 99 Crit., (40 mintes + 1 hr. warmup), 1st Place

3-14: Endurance Ride with Climbing, 2:26, avg. pwr, 192; 1,714 kjs

3-15: Off

3-16: LT Intervals (trainer) 3×11 zone 4; 1:30; avg. pwr. 206, 1,118 kjs

3-17: Zone 2-3 ride; 1:38; avg. pwr. 220; 1,150 kjs

3-18: LT Intervals 3×15 zone 4; avg. pwr. 198; 3:11, 1,823 kjs

3-19: Endurance Ride; 1:23; avg. pwr. 143; 709 kjs

3-20: Opener Ride, zone 1 with 4 30′ sprints (Trainer); 1:02; avg. pwr. 140; 514 kjs

3-21: Niwot Practice Crit, 45 minutes, (+ 1 hr. warm up); crit data: 45 minutes, normalized pwr. 288 (normalized power is different from average power in that it takes into account drastic changes in power (sprinting to coasting for example) and creates an average that more accurately represents your effort; 708 kjs

3-22: Climbing Day (NCAR and Superflag), 3:02, normalized pwr. 212, 1,813 kjs

3-23: Off

3-24: Recovery ride (trainer), 1:11, avg. pwr. 169, 717 kjs

3-25: Endurance Ride  (trainer), 1:36; avg. pwr. 192; 1,041 kjs

3/8 – 3/14 (Brad Sims)

Another busy week, I didn’t get any training or much sleep Monday-Wednesday but after getting some pillow time I got back to it on Thursday.  I spent 3 hours on the rigid mtn bike trying to get my body used to being off-road again.  I found some pretty dry trails (Rabbit Mtn and the rock garden at Hall).  Friday I got some good 30 second efforts in and a trip to the gym.  Jumped in my first mass start race on the season on Saturday, the CU Criterium.  I made quite a few break away attempts but none of them stuck and I had to settle for 8th in the group sprint.  It was fun to be back in a crit and I felt good out there.  My body is feeling strong, my power is looking good, and my weight is very slowly coming down.  Things are looking pretty good.

3/11- Mtn, 3:03, Endurance, Avg HR 142, 3067 ft gain

3/12- Road, 1:30, Over Distance, Avg Power 218 W, 1168 kJ (12 x 30sec Z5 bursts)

-10 min run, full body lifting, max @ 3×8

3/13- CU Criterium/Warm-up, 1:23, 31.64 mi, Norm Power during Crit 339 W, 1255 kJ

3/14- Cross, 1:36, 22 mi, Avg HR 121, 1150 ft gain

3/1-3/7 (Brad Sims)

The past few weeks have been really busy, school has been kicking my ass.  I’ve tried my best to keep up on my training but I think my wife has forgotten my name and my house if a disaster (more so than normal).  This week I cut my volume and intensity down to recover a bit for the Frostbite TT and Metro State TT.  Only got one lifting session in and a couple training hours in.  The Frostbite TT went ok, It was very wind.  Speed over 40 mph on the way out and below 20 mph on the way back.  I definitely was not used to putting continuous power down on my TT bike.  My gluts and hamstring were killing.  I think my position is too aggressive.  I am going run a bit less drop and try to recover some power.  I places 2nd in Cat 3, 2 seconds back from 1st.  The Metro TT is a really fun course with plenty of turns and some short climbs.  I raced the Collegiate A cat in the morning placing 10th and then cat3 an hour later placing 2nd again.  My second run was slightly faster but I say that is due to a better course knowledge.  Again my gluts and hamstrings were in bad shape.  Good to be back to racing.

3/2- Trainer TT, 0:51, Over Distance, Avg HR 122

3/4- Road TT, 1:13, Tempo, Avg HR 154, 1011 gt gain

-20 min run, full body lifting, max @ 4×6

2/25- Warm-up 0:21 (oops)

- Frostbite TT, 0:29, 11.75 mi, Avg HR 189, 487 ft gain

2/28- Warm-up 0:49

- Metro TT CollegiateA, 0:21, 8.6, Avg HR 185, 523 ft gain

- Warm-up 0:24

- Metro TT Cat3, 0:21, 8.6, Avg HR 188, 546 ft gain

3/5 – 3/11 (Peter Schimpf)

This week featured the first two races of the season (both Time Trials) and thus the first test of my fitness following a rather extensive and structured winter training program.  I felt a lot of pressure going into these races as I’ve raised the level of my training with both a powermeter and a coach.  Fortunately, I did pretty well.  We’ll see how the mass start races go this weekend.

3-6: Frostbite Time Trial. 1 hr. warm up with a few, short hard efforts.  Race time 26:48 (1st place, by more than two minutes; would have been 1st place in the Cat. 3s and Cat. 2s).  Extremely windy, but I felt great.

3-7: Metro State TT at Bear Creek Lake Park. 1 hr. warm up with a few, short hard efforts.  Race time 19:46 (1st place; also would have been 1st place in the Cat. 3s).  30 minute cool down on the trainer.

3-9: Endurance Ride (Denver to Lafayette), 2:05, avg. pwr: 186, 1,400 kjs.

3-10: Threshold intervals (on a gym bike), 1:20, 3×10″ zone 4. Core workout.

3-11: Endurance Ride (Denver to Lookout mtn.), 2:37, avg. pwr.: 165, 1,450 kjs.

2/23 – 3/4 (Peter Schimpf)

The first races of the season are nearly here, so a few longer, harder efforts were in store, particularly threshold intervals.  For the most part the weather has been helping my training along.  I unfortunately missed most of the team training camp, but I still managed to get plenty of work in by myself.

2-24: Endurance ride on the trainer, 1: 21; ave. pwr 171; 837 kjs

2-25: Accelerations (done during our snowy group ride), 7 sprint accelerations at 90% max, followed by 30 seconds in zone 5; 1:34; ave pwr 167; 950 kjs

2-26: Long TT ride and 20 minute time trial effort; ave pwr 183 (303 during tt); 2:13; 1,471 kjs

2-28: Climbing day; 4 x NCAR, zone 4-5; 2:13; ave pwr 191; 1,531 kjs

3-1: Recovery ride, gym bike, 0:55

3-2: Threshold intervals on TT bike (3 x 10 minutes in zone 4-5); ave pwr during intervals 301; 2:20; 1,472 kjs

3-3: Recovery Ride TT bike; 1:07, ave pwr 125; 505 kjs

3-4: Group ride with some Denver friends; 2:19; ave pwr 144; 1,210 kjs

Training 2/22-2/28 (Brad Sims)

Thanks to the Team road training camp my volume was way up this week.  The Thursday evening and Sunday ride saw some pretty bad weather.  I’d like a week or two without riding through a snow storm.  I’m still hitting the gym twice a week and slowly increasing my pre-lifting running.  These two things seem to be keeping my fitness more rounded than it used to be and I’m feeling generally stronger.  The weekend rides were pretty long (longest I’ve been on the bike since the Stone Temple 8 in September).  I felt good on both rides (except damn cold on Sunday) and had now problem recovery quickly after them.  I go through a pretty solid recovery routine and it seems to help a lot.

2/23 -Trainer TT, 0:50, Over Distance, Avg Power 193, 579 kJ

-18 min run, full body lifting, max @ 3×6

2/25 -Road TT, 0:49, Tempo, Avg Power 213, 621 kJ, (12 min TT effort)

-Road, 1:14, Tempo, Avg HR 147, 1117 ft Gain

2/26 -Road, 1:16, Tempo, Avg Power 218, 1081 kJ

-19 min run, full body lifting, max @ 3×6

2/27- Road, 5:44, Endurance, Avg Power 195, 3988 kJ

2/28- Road, 4:06, Endurance, Avg Power 188, 2748 kJ

Training 2/15-2/21 (Brad Sims)

This was suppose to be a stabilizer week but since I didn’t train very hard last week I trained pretty normally.  I’ve started a new lifting block, more weight with less reps.  It was good to get out on my mtn bike a few times, I have got to get my body used to the abuse it will see during the mtn season.  Saturday’s ride was during a snow storm and included lots of snowy and icy trails but was a really good time.

2/16- Road, 1:27, Tempo, Avg Power 228, 1023 kJ (6 x 3 min Z4)-   Trainer TT, 1:00, Over Distance, Avg HR 137

2/18- Mountain, 1:21, Over Distance, Avg HR 147, 1503 ft gain

2/19- Trainer TT, 1:00, Over Distance, Avg HR 143 (14 min TT effort, 3 x 1 min Z5)-  16 min run, full body lifting, max @ 2×6

2/20- Mountain, 2:43, Endurance, Avg HR 149, 1755 ft gain

2/21- 17 min run, full body lifting, max @ 2×6