July 21, 2008
Importance of the Negative Split
If there is one training principle I have come to both love and hate, it's the negative split. It's also one of the most important.
In short, it means that you increase effort and, thus (hopefully) speed, on the second half of your workout or race. Workouts can also be gradual in increasing effort, resulting in descending time so it is some times called descending workouts or intervals (ie. in swimming, you can do a set at descend 1-2-3, which means you descend time over the next three intervals). No matter what you start at one pace, but you end up at increased pace/effort.
Our bodies race like we train. When we go all out during a race, we often put out the most effort and have the highest speed during the first part of the race, when we're fresh. Then when the second half of the race comes, we find ourselves getting more and more tired and often slow down as we hit the finish line.
This is bad! Slowing down as you approach the finish line, often starting from miles out, means:
1. You're getting tired and depleted. Maintaining speed becomes a grinding experience or impossible. Your heart rate starts leaping higher and higher and you have no choice but to slow down or else you'll flame out...or pass out.
2. Your better trained opponents are now passing you. That sucks right? You try to pick it up and you can't!
3. As you get depleted, your muscles get stiffer and stiffer as lactic acid builds up. It just becomes a painful experience as you force your muscles to keep going, and you may be reduced to walking, or weak spinning for cycling, or for swimming your stroke rate just keeps dropping as your arms feel like lead.
4. Mentally, it just makes the race feel like the worst experience ever. You're glad to hit the finish line and you wonder why in the world did you ever subject your body to that kind of torture.
However, training via negative splits or descending intervals means you condition your body to be able to perform while tired and give more energy during the latter half of the race. You learn to pace yourself and not go all out in the beginning, and your body learns to give that extra kick in second half while your energy levels begin to wane.
In every workout I do, I try to always finish with more effort than I begin. I slowly ramp effort and speed throughout a workout and then by the end of the workout, I am sprinting towards the parking lot where my car is. Or I'm on the way home on my bike and after doing laps on Kings Mountain, I'll raise my energy level pedaling and get close to sprinting home on the bike.
It's a tough workout, but over time your body gets used to it. Come race day, you'll be thankful for training this way. During races you're always putting out 100%+ effort and you need to be conditioned to give extra effort even while your energy level is dropping.
What a rush to be accelerating and passing other competitors and feel like a million bucks as you accelerate towards the finish line!
Posted by dshen at 06:08 PM | Comments (1)
July 08, 2008
Yield to Life
Whoo hoo! Got my Yield to Life bike jersey today, signed by Dave Zabrieskie himself.
I'm proud to be a donor and a part of Yield to Life, whose mission is to promote safe cycling everywhere. The popularity of cycling and triathlon has put an enormous amount of people on the roads on bicycles. Add to that soaring gas prices and now you have even more a reason to go out and bike. The unfortunate consequence of this is that simply because there are more people on bicycles that probability says that there will be more bicycle accidents.
Of course, every bike accident sucks and every death to a cyclist is even more tragic. We must do what we can as drivers and as cyclists to help prevent the collision between bike and auto.
Organizations such as Yield to Life promote safety on the road and the fact that cyclists and drivers must co-exist on the roads. While probability makes more accidents inevitable, we must do what we can to drive the odds in our favor such that preventable accidents be reduced or totally eliminated. Support Yield to Life! Donate enough money and get a cool cycling jersey plus socks!
Posted by dshen at 12:36 PM | Comments (0)
May 21, 2008
Computing Grade
One thing that has always confounded me is percent grade.
When I'm on the treadmill, I always run at 1% grade which supposedly simulates a flat surface due to the fact that the treadmill's moving surface changes the dynamics of running slightly (versus you moving across the ground). When I train hills, I hit the up button on the grade and increase the % percent grade. Seems simple, but when I go outside to run and try to equate a treadmill grade to whatever hill I'm running on, I get confused.
It's the same when I bike. For instance, on the Tour De France, they talk about Category 1 through 4 climbs:
In general terms, Category 4 climbs are short and easy. Category 3 climbs last approximately 5 kilometers (3.1 miles), have an average grade of 5 percent, and ascend 150 meters (500 feet). Category 2 climbs are the same length or longer at an 8 percent grade and ascend 500 meters (1,600 feet). Category 1 climbs last 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) with an average 6 percent grade and ascend 1,500 meters. Beyond category climbs include an altitude difference of at least 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) from start to finish and have an average grade of at least 7 percent.
Since I'm nowhere near a Tour De France class rider, I'm assuming that these climbs are pretty brutal, especially the Category 2 and 1 climbs. I might be able to get up them, but I certainly wouldn't be winning any races anytime soon.
But what do these percentage grades actually feel like? Last year, I did laps on Old La Honda and it's about 3.35 miles long and climbs 1280 ft. According to Stanford Cycling, it averages 7.3% grade.
OK. Old La Honda is tough for me and now I sort of know what 7% grade feels like. Still there are portions which feel even steeper than that.
Now onwards to the computation. I finally figured out that grade is rise in height over a given distance, and then you multiply by 100 to get percent.
So 7% grade is a rise of 7 ft. for every 100 ft. travelled. Hmmm still tough to visualize. Let's convert that to an angle from the horizontal. So taking the arctan of the triangle formed by 7 ft. high over 100 ft of distance, that's an arctan of 7/100, that's about a 4 degree slope from the horizontal. Doesn't seem like much but definitely hell to pedal!
Posted by dshen at 07:11 AM | Comments (0)
February 20, 2008
Fun with Discs
Friday was a beautiful day in the Bay area, and I quickly ran home for a late afternoon ride to try out my new Zipp 900 Disc wheel.
I went out on Foothill Blvd and did some non-scientific time tests. From my house to a known traffic light, I usually take about 10 minutes during my warmup. But that day, it took me 9 minutes. Hmmm, maybe there is something here. On the flats of Foothill Blvd, I felt that maybe I was going 1-2 MPH faster than I normally would on those roads. Or I could have been just dreaming. Certainly I didn't try to put more effort into my cycling. But it did seem like I was going a bit faster than normal on the same roads without a disc wheel.
And then there was that awesome sound like that of a jet plane flying overhead, but it was my wheel vibrating against the wind. In fact, the wheel magnified my gear shifts as well and it sounded like big ka-chunks every time I shifted.
All this talk about disc wheels is particularly interesting, especially the research on negative drag and aerodynamics. A buddy of mine remarked that at IM WA in certain parts of the course where the wind would hit the disc wheel just right, that he felt that he was shooting forward with the wind just a bit. I went out on the net looking for some literature about it.
Among the references I found, they talked about "tacking against the wind" as like in sailing. The technique is described as basically just leaning into the wind slightly, in whichever direction it's coming from. Apparently, when the wind is hitting it from the side, it creates lift on the wheel which shoots the wheel and bike forward, similar to how a wing works where if air is accelerated off a surface, it creates force to push the wing forward. Aerodynamics is improved by smoothing out the airflow off the back of the wheel. But disc wheels will create instability problems in high winds and you need to compensate by forcing the bike to stay on course.
The other references I found were that disc wheels, due to their mass, have higher rotational inertia since it is solid versus a spoked wheel which is not. That means it takes longer to get up to speed, but then when you get up to speed, it tends to help you maintain that speed. Thus, you can maintain a higher speed easier, especially on flatter courses.
I can't wait to try this disc wheel out at Ironman Florida at the end of the year.
If you want to read some of the stuff I read, here are some links:
Help! what's the aerodynamic difference of the two wheels?
Aerodynamics - The Wheel Story
Duathlon.com Crosswind Tacking
Posted by dshen at 04:53 PM | Comments (1)
August 18, 2007
Shaving for Triathlon
A few years back, I got hooked on the notion of shaving my legs for triathlon. I remember hearing about it and the supposed benefits of shaving my legs. Some of these were:
1. Biking - if you get in a crash and you need to put a bandage on, pulling it off is less painful due to having no hair.
2. Biking - aerodynamics is improved by not having all those pesky hairs on your legs to create minor turbulence in the air as the air flows past your legs.
3. Swimming - less resistance through the water with all those hairs on your body creating drag.
4. General - It looks better than having hairy legs, and more consistent with the look of a healthy, motivated triathlete/cyclist.
One morning in 2003, I decided to shave my legs in the shower. It was a messy affair. Fumbling about with shaving cream and a women's razor, I proceeded to take clumps of hairs off my legs and watch them slowly go down the drain (I hoped that my shower drain wouldn't get clogged!!). I remember looking at myself in the mirror and thinking that it looked very weird to not have hair on my legs any more and that it felt almost...more naked.
The day after, I jumped in the water for a swim and I recall having this funny sensation of "feeling" the water more. I felt faster in the water, and unfortunately had no conclusive proof that I was faster than with hair on my legs. But I did feel better when I swam.
As for cycling, I somehow felt more like a real cyclist, and it's funny that I noticed guys who didn't shave their legs more out there on their bikes and thought they looked very...well...non-cyclist.
Then in the July-August 2007 issue of USMS Swimmer magazine, there was an article called "The Naked Truth About Shaving Down" where they give some scientific basis for why shaving is good for swimming. They claim that it helps swimming by reducing the amount of stimuli that your nervous system is receiving from the environment and that your motor output is improved when you remove that stimuli through shaving. So I guess this means that you control your muscles better through your perception of what is required to be slippery through the water and your ability to feel the water when you stroke. While I was definitely more sensitized to the water environment post-shaving, I cannot verify if my motor output is improved simply through shaving. And because I shave every week, my body has since gotten used to environment with my no-hair-on-my-legs level of sensitivity and I don't perceive any additional sensitivity due to shaving now.
In the sidebar, there is reference to a study that showed that blood lactate accumulation was reduced significantly. If I were to read this small snippet correctly, does this mean that I am being more relaxed and efficient through the water simply because of the positive feelings that one gets while swimming with shaved legs (and/or body)?
Who knows. I try lots of things and don't have conclusive evidence that everything I do improves my performance, such as taking certain supplements or the research that shows that having protein in your sports drink is better than not. Some of it is just insurance. That which does not hurt me might just help me.
Posted by dshen at 08:30 AM | Comments (1)
April 29, 2007
Aero Helmets: Louis Garneau Rocket
Yesterday I took my new Louis Garneau Rocket aero helmet out for my long ride to test it out. I didn't know what to expect but if the wind tunnel tests were true, then I should be using something which would have a dramatic effect on my cycling aerodynamic efficiency.
Wow what a noticeable difference. I especially noticed it while pedaling in windy conditions. It was noticeably easier to pedal with winds and headwinds, as I didn't feel as much effort in my legs. The effect was most dramatic when I was in aero position. It made me want to pedal in aero position the whole time! When I sat upright, the effect was much lessened. But hunkering down on my aero bars with the back cone of the helmet laying against my back somehow made me slice through the wind much easier.
I'm sold! Can't wait to try it out at Ironman Brazil.
Posted by dshen at 09:48 AM | Comments (0)
April 27, 2007
Got My Aero Helmet!
I'm STOKED.
My Louis Garneau Rocket aero helmet arrived today. Putting me on made me feel like a ROCKET.
OK OK. I suck as a triathlete. Maybe you can argue that I'm not worthy of wearing an aero helmet. But after reading this article about Bicycle Aerodynamics and an article in Bicycling Magazine, September 2006, I am looking at anything to help me increase my aerodynamic efficiency. One of those, surprisingly enough, is the helmet. So I plunked down some cash to get my head more aero.
Will I go faster? Maybe. But what I'm more concerned about is conservation of energy. Even if I go the same speed, I should be more aero and thus expend less energy than without an aero helmet, and thus help me on the run. At least that's the theory...
Posted by dshen at 04:32 PM | Comments (0)
April 01, 2007
Floyd Landis at M2 Revolution 3-30-07
My coach, M2, just opened a new facility in San Francisco called M2 Revolution Cycling and Motion Studio at the corner of Bush and Van Ness. For his grand opening celebration, he got Floyd Landis to come and ride with us during a workout.
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They put Floyd's watts up on a video screen at the front of the room. Man, that guy is STRONG. We were officially dusted by his 520 peak watts, which was well over twice the power output I was putting out in the same interval. Makes me want to keep going up Old La Honda until my legs are as big as my waist!
If you live in SF, you should visit the M2 Revolution facility. It has CycleOps trainers which give you power output, treadmills, and also Vasa trainers for dryland swim training. Parking is on the next block over so very convenient. If you visit M2's classes, you'll get a taste for the interval training he puts all of us through. Very tough and very worthwhile. Much better than your average spin class.
Posted by dshen at 09:05 PM | Comments (1)
March 25, 2007
Success! What a Rush! Old La Honda Climbing
This Saturday I set out on a cold (but warming) morning out on a ride. I was determined to ride up Old La Honda twice, as last time I only did it 1.5 times, completely wiping out in the middle of the second try.
It was my quest to increase my hill climbing strength. Previous to Old La Honda, I was doing hill repeats on a smaller hill and got up to about 6 reps, which each rep being about 5:15 minutes. It was time to move up. Old La Honda is about half an hour, sometimes many minutes less for those who like sprinting up a 3 mile hill with steep switchbacks and no flats at all. My legs were getting stronger, but I was determined to improve this part of my fitness as I've always felt that hilly courses wipe me out too much and leave me nothing for the run afterwards.
I went to low gear as I spun up the hill. It was tough but I reached the top in about 27:30 which was pretty slow compared to pros...or those guys with triple front chain rings who just easily went up that darn hill fast and easy. I have compact cranks, so I'm a tad better than those without compact cranks, but nowhere near the mechanical advantage of triple chain ring folks. Most of us frown upon those guys, even if they do blow by me up Old La Honda. Bah! I am going up twice and these turkeys are probably going to quit after one rep!
I pause at the top and rest, suck down a GU gel, put on my windbreaker, and then turn around and make a chilling downhill run and almost freeze my tail off coming down the hill. Cooling down with no effort, coupled with the fog up top makes for a super uncomfortable downhill, sometimes even in the middle of summer.
Then, at the bottom, I sit in a sunny patch for a minute to warmup. I take off my windbreaker, and then head back up. It's definitely much harder this time. My quads are feeling very wiped out and I'm off my seat to vary my muscle usage as much as possible. I make it up in about 29 minutes this time, but I don't care about losing 2 minutes. This is a strength workout and I so psyched to make it up the second time!
Next time, 2.5 times up Old La Honda, and then onwards to 3 times. It will definitely suck, but the benefits outweigh mere pain.
Posted by dshen at 08:57 AM | Comments (0)
March 24, 2007
About the Computrainer
When I started using my Computrainer (CT) by Racermate, it was hard to figure out how to use. So I thought I would post some discoveries about it in the last 2+ years of using it while training.
The CT is great because it's like weight lifting for the bike. The wattage settings are consistent with the CT from workout to workout; with a regular trainer, you aren't consistent with the pressure the roller is pushing against the rear tire and you may not be working out as hard one day to the next. On the CT, a calibration step makes the wattage consistent from workout to workout.
Add to that the ability to ride simulated courses and you have the perfect companion for indoors training.
Here are some tips about it:
1. Make sure you go through the calibration step. You need to pedal at least 8-10 minutes to warm up the tire itself and then the CT will be calibrated to the rubber of the tire against the roller. When you hit both the +/- keys together, you enter the calibration mode. Then you pedal to at least 25 MPH and then stop pedaling until it stops. It will then reveal a number related to the tension of the roller against the rear tire. This will change from the beginning when the tire is cold to when the tire is warmed up. However, according to Marc Evans, he says that you can still have some variance in wattage consistency across workouts if you don't push the roller against the tire with the same tension, and have the same air pressure in the tire. I am too lazy to make it consistent from workout to workout. I just calibrate as is. Marc inflates to 100 lbs and adjusts the roller until the unit says 2.00 during the calibration step.
2. Ergometer mode is where I do most of my workouts.
3. You can do a benchmark test to measure your fitness and give you a sense for your workout wattages, and tell you where approximately your bike LT is. This is a 2 minute 20 watt step test which is in the manual. Here is my benchmark from last year:
| Time | Watts | HR | RPE | Comments |
| 2 min | 130 | 160 | 5 | |
| 4 min | 150 | 164 | 5 | |
| 6 min | 170 | 170\ | 6/7 | |
| 8 min | 190 | 176 | 7/8 | Breath begins change at 170, goes labored at 174-176 | 10 min | 210 | 184 | 9/10 | Stopped about 45 sec into this interval |
Record time, watts, HR and RPE. Change watts every 2 minutes by going up 20 watts until you can't continue. My LT is around HR 174, where I really go labored.
It also told me that I can do 2-3 min intervals at about 170w-180w.
4. Generally interval workouts are about 30-60 minutes in length. I do usually 2, rarely 3, per week which is in addition to my long bike on the weekends.
There are ladders you can do, gradually increasing wattage progressions, and also see-saw type workouts where you have 2 minutes at high watts, and then drop 30 watts for a recovery, but not all the way down to spin watts (ie. 50-100).
5. Neural activation workouts which help you get used to more watts, are short intervals at high watts.
6. Strength workouts are done with low RPM but high watts and lots of rest.
7. My warmup usually includes the calibration step. So I'll spin at low watts, 50-100 for 8 minutes, then enter calibration mode, calibrate, then exit calibration mode and raise watts to 100w until 9th minute. Then I'll do :30 high watts, :30 low (100w), and steadily increase the high watts until I'm past my workout watts. Warmup is at a minimum of 15 minutes and better up to 20 minutes. I find sometimes that even though I warmup 15 minutes, my first few intervals are tough to handle, but I feel better as the workout goes on. But usually I'm time constrained so I only warmup for 15 minutes.
8. I have never tried doing an interval workout beyond 1.5 hours. It's pretty hard and taxing to maintain that kind of strength for that long. My coach gave us all his mega interval workout of 2.5 hours. I have never tried it and don't think I will ;-).
9. Spinscan is way cool. It's great to practice neuromuscular training by focusing on creating perfectly round circles and even circles between the left and right legs. You can see the unevenness you may have in pedaling on this graph.
10. I also use Powercranks on my CT. It's a great strength workout and helps in balancing the strength output between legs. Ergometer mode is perfect for adjusting watts during a workout. Powercranks workouts only last about 30 minutes. You'll find they are much more taxing than normal crank workouts.
11. I don't like to ride the 3D bike courses. You can't coast downhill and uphills are super tough as the CT sometimes locks down on the rear tire on steep uphills. I do use the Challenge PC1 app and ride on simple rolling courses to practice maintaining constant wattage during a ride.
Here is a website with courses:
http://www.michiganoutlaws.com/computrainer.htm
One thing that helps on course rides is to make sure you jam the roller on the tire as much as possible, as sometimes the rear wheel slips against the roller on hills. This was from a Racermate rep I met at an Ironman expo in Kona one year.
Definitely one of the coolest, most useful training gadgets around.
Posted by dshen at 09:14 PM | Comments (0)
February 17, 2007
Bike Positioning on the Seat
They make such a big deal about bike fit. You sit for hours with someone at a bike store, or you pay big bucks to go to a professional to make sure you're maximizing power output with the most efficiency and minimal energy waste.
But little is known about about shifting your bike positioning during cycling. And I don't mean actually sliding the seat. I mean that you can actually engage different muscles for different terrain based on where you put your butt!
This article in Triathlete magazine talks about this:
http://www.dshen.com/training/bikepositioning.pdf (7 MB!)
Sorry for the huge file size. I wanted the images and text to come out nicely.
I tried this today in my long ride outdoors, which today consisted of hill repeats. I found myself naturally sliding back and forth and experimented with best positioning on the hill repeats. By sliding my butt all the way back on the seat, I could really engage my glutes and got some real nice power while on my seat going up the hill.
Down on the flats, I found myself sliding forward more to engage a wider range of muscles for making lots of revolutions while on the aerobars.
Along with the article on pedaling from Bicycling magazine, working on both pedalling and bike body position, I've been able to boost power output this year by another 5-10 watts.
Posted by dshen at 12:53 PM | Comments (0)
February 15, 2007
New Pedaling: Hitting the Glutes!
When I started cycling for racing, I never could have imagined how complex cycling really was. Cycling technique has so many little nuances it's hard to keep track of all of them when you are cycling. Only through extensive training and practice to reinforce technique can you unconsciously perform optimal cycling technique...and prevent injury.
A great article on pedaling was published in Bicycling magazine, March 2007 Issue. I scanned it in:
The Perfect Pedal Stroke, Bicycling Magazine, March 2007, pg. 108
After looking at the fantastic illustration, I noted that I wasn't letting my heel drop on the downstroke but instead I was pointing my toe downward. By letting the heel drop, I could engage my large glute muscles and hamstrings which I probably was not in the past. I set out to try this.
Definitely a difference. My glutes are more sore in my Computrainer workouts, and I can definitely feel my hamstrings getting hit more as well. Overall, I think my power output has gone up another 5-10 watts on workouts that I did last year. Very cool. Definitely more to work on here because I still get messy and revert to old habits when I get tired.
Posted by dshen at 08:50 AM | Comments (0)
July 29, 2006
From the MIT Center for Sports Innovation and Technology
An interesting article from Bicycling magazine, September 2006, p. 32. Great insights into bicycling aerodynamics and the science of cycling.
1. Time trialing is about efficiency, not power. It's much easier to increase efficiency rather than increasing power.
2. Your bike accounts for only 15-20% of overall drag.
3. 75% of drag is determined by your body's resistance against the air.
4. There is a relationship between biomechanics and power output and aerodynamics. You have to balance all 3 to maximize power output over time.
5. A non-aero helmet creates four times the drag of a non-aero wheelset. So spend money on an aero helmet!
6. How the race number is fixed to the bike matters - make it as flat as possible against the bike.
7. On a round tubed bike frame, a water bottle on the seat tube is more aero than without. It is more aero to put it there than putting it on the down tube.
8. Wearing gloves creates more drag than having a non-aero front wheel.
Posted by dshen at 04:41 PM | Comments (3)
June 25, 2006
Compact Cranks on my Bike
Last week my coach and I were discussing a workout whereby I am supposed to cycle up Kings Mountain twice. I told him that my cadence is about 60-70 RPM usually, at which time he tells me about compact cranks.
Compact cranks are a crankset that have a smaller bolt pattern to allow smaller chain rings on the front. Basic mechanics says that using smaller front chain rings will allow more direct power transfers although at a higher cadence. And as Lance Armstrong always preaches, pedalling at a higher cadence is much better than burning your muscles out at a lower cadence.
I head out on my newly installed compact cranks. The feel is different as now the ratios favor a higher mechanical advantage for power transfer, although at the higher pedalling rate.
The first hill I encounter is a short 6 percent or so. I drop to a 34/25 and roll over it at 75 RPM. Not bad for 5 min out of the house. Normally, I am either grinding or out of my seat as it is only a stone's throw away from my house and I'm barely warm.
As I move down Foothill Expressway, I find that my cadence is definitely higher for a given gear on the back. It also presents an interesting adaptation challenge as now I am shifting a bit more to compensate for my higher cadence. I also find I sit in a higher cadence a little longer because I am used to watching my speed and cadence together.
At the end of Foothill Expressway, there is a little steep climb up to Page Mill Road. It is probably a 5% grade or so. I downshift and make it up that hill at 85 RPM. Now I'm warm and going over a hill that normally requires me to stand and grind, even though it's a short distance.
After that, it's just a rolling ride to Woodside Road. There is yet another challenging, longer hill from Alameda de Las Pulgas to Canada Road. Again, I am about 10 RPM higher than normal, about 70-80 RPM. I cruise over the hump past Buck's and onwards to Kings Mountain Road.
At Kings Mountain Road, I proceed up. My coach has asked me to do this twice and the day is warming up. I head up and on its very steep sections, I am about 70-75 RPM and on its flatter steep sections, I am about 75-80 RPM. As I spin up the hill, my HR is rising, as is the temperature. Some sections of Kings Mountain Road are fully in the sun, and as I pass through them, I am feeling the heat. About half way up, I start to crater because of the heat and the knowing sign is the drop in cadence to about 50 RPM, and general weakness through my legs. I grind the rest of the way up and decide to not the next climbing rep. Instead I continue down Skyline and 92.
One weird thing here is the competing climate. The very warm sun constantly beats back a chilling wind and in general, I do cool down. But I feel the energy has been sucked from my legs for sure. I recover as I blaze down 92 and hit Canada Road.
Here I am supposed to practice Ironman Race Pace. But it's difficult because the heat has sucked my energy away. I proceed to spin and shift gears to maximize my speed relative to my energy level and while maintaining 90-95 RPM. On certain stretches, I do notice that my speed is higher, due to the higher mechanical advantage. I zip home and am glad to make it there. I run a quick 10 minute brick run and then I'm done.
Notes:
Need to take some time to adapt to the higher cadence pedalling. It is driving my HR higher to maintain the higher cadences. I need to shift more and be aware of the new power transfer ratios at each gear.
Definitely the compact cranks are great for hill climbing. Better spinning is going to allow me to get up and over hills without grinding and burning my legs. I am looking forward to getting used to them, especially prior to Ironman Austria.
Posted by dshen at 07:58 AM | Comments (0)
May 09, 2006
PowerTap WOW
The last few weeks I've been riding with a Powertap power meter. What an incredible piece of technology! My training has been taken to a new level!
Previously, I was using a Computrainer and training based on power, as a measure of progress and application of resistance to the cycling motion of pedalling. It was working well, being like weightlifting to cycling. When you enter 200 watts, it will be 200 watts the next time around, just like when you put on a 45 lbs plate, it will still be 45 lbs the next time you try to lift it. It works pretty well as a measure of progress and is very consistent.
Add a Powertap in the mix and then it really adds color to the training. After Computrainer workouts, it brings more depth into rides outside and out of your garage. All you have to do is ride around for a while and then look at the data. It really tells you where you strong points and your weak points are, and espeically where your thresholds are. Amazingly, the data matches up with your wattages that you use with your Computrainer. It's really incredible that training matches up so closely with what happens when you ride naturally.
So all you do is look at all these graphs. They tell you all this data about how you rode. When you improve, you should see the graphs change slightly. But it does bring out your weak points, and also help you in improving your ride, especially in conserving energy. One thing I try is to go out as hard as I come back. It's harder than you think. When you go out, you tend to use a lot of energy because you're fresh. When you come back, you tend to come back weaker because you've used up all that energy and you're slower. But to even that out is really challenging. I'm just now getting the hang of it.
I am looking forward to training with the Powertap more, and perhaps sometime in the future, racing with it.
Posted by dshen at 07:55 PM | Comments (0)
March 09, 2006
The Ups and Downs of Cycling
A few months ago I bought a pair of Powercranks in an attempt to improve my cycling and even out some annoying power differences between my right and left legs.
I have discovered some amazing results with these Powercranks, in that they have really awakened some new muscles for pedalling in that circular motion. These muscles are especially related to the up motion of the cycling stroke.
In the book, Triathlete's Guide to Bike Training by Linda Wallenfels, she explains the importance of unloading the other leg while pedalling down with the opposite leg. She states that if both legs are pushing down, even though one leg is really concentrating on the down stroke, the other leg can cause unwanted energy wastage by actually resisting the downstroke of the downward pushing leg.
Thus, the upstroke of the leg gains importance in not only helping with the overall circular motion of the pedal stroke, but also in unloading that leg so that it does not tire the downstroking leg.
These muscles require training, as only a set of Powercranks can do. I am finding that I can generate more overall power now by adding the upstroke to help the downstroke of the leg. It seems that Powercranks are the only tool that can truly isolate the legs to exercise this motion and to activate those upstroke muscles. Single leg pedalling just doesn't seem to cut it.
Posted by dshen at 09:24 PM | Comments (0)
January 03, 2006
Powercranks Wow!
Wow.
I did a first workout to try out. What a strange sensation!
I attempted to get a rhythm down to warm up but failed miserably. So I pedaled until about 5 minutes at which time I finally figured out an interval which I could work out at.
I moved up from 50 watts to about 90 watts and then started pedalling 30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest with legs just hanging. At about 30 seconds, my legs would get out of sync so I pegged that as my upper time limit for now. I also was at about 60-70 RPM during the interval. Anything above that and my left leg would get out of sync first, and I would have to stop and start over.
I could already see differences between my right and left leg. It seemed like my right leg was more sore than my left, but both definitely were worked.
I am eager to keep up with this. I am also eager to see it's claimed effects on running as well. But mostly, I'd love to see my two legs even out more effort-wise and my cycling improve.
More on this as the weeks roll by. Read about them on the Powercranks website.
Posted by dshen at 06:46 AM | Comments (0)
July 01, 2005
Shifting Gears
I just noticed something at my last cycling workout. I shift gears incessantly.
I adjust my gearing at the slightest change in pressure to my thighs. I use them as my signal to shift down or up. This is because I don't want to be powering through the ride, but rather using the mechanical advantage of the bike's gears to the fullest extent.
So I try to keep to 90 RPM mostly. I watch my perceived effort and try to keep that constant no matter what. If the effort rises on a slight incline, I feel the pressure on my thighs and thus shift to easier cog and go at a higher RPM. I'd much rather go at 95-100 RPM than power through at 80 RPMs. It's too easy to wipe my thighs on a long ride.
If I reach 100+ RPM, then I shift to a smaller cog and then I'm back to 90 RPM, or else my HR rises too high and stays there too long.
I think about Lance. He is famous for riding at 100 RPM and conditioning his body to do so. There must be something to it if Lance does it....
By doing this, I shaved 6 minutes off what was a 48 minute ride of about 12 miles with a big climb up and down Mt. Eden Road in Cupertino. That's pretty cool. Something must be working right!
As my coach is fond of saying - "Ride Fast, Not Hard".
Tour De France coverage on OLN starts tomorrow morning - Exciting!
Posted by dshen at 11:44 PM | Comments (0)
May 29, 2005
King's Mountain, Geeking Out on Training with GPS
Yesterday I went up King's Mountain Road for the first time in my cycling history in the Bay Area.
What a grueling climb it was! I had been up Old La Honda before which is supposedly 3.75 miles from bottom to the top. In comparison, my GPS said King's Mountain was 5.2 miles although others say it's 4.3 miles to the top, but all the way it felt like it was just sucking energy away quickly. Great training ride and I hope to do it more often now that I know where it is, especially with the 1+ hour warmup ride from Cupertino to Woodside to get there!
Grueling on the way back too in a different way - the screaming downhill down 84 back to Woodside gets you up to 25+ MPH and your HR cools down until you feel like you're freezing because it's still early morning and the fog hasn't burnt off...!
This time I took my Garmin Forerunner 301 with me to check out some of its PC related features. It's an awesome little device that is much better than its predecessor, the Forerunner 201, because it's got a HR monitor in there. All my training is HR monitored and not having to wear 2-3 watches/devices is a good thing.
The GPS actually records tons of data when you use it. Using its training software, I download my King's Mountain ride onto my PC. WOW. And I start geeking out big time. I had hit the lap button at various points on the ride and now I can see how long it took to get to the top of King's Mountain, as well as the elevation, speed, and average HR during each lap.
This is way cool! Now when I get elevation maps from races, I can judge how hard the hills will be during the bike portion.
This of course also applies to running as well....
Posted by dshen at 09:33 AM | Comments (0)
May 24, 2005
Cycling in NYC
This last weekend I went out with another M2 athlete, Chirag, and we went cycling up the west side, up Riverside Dr., across the George Washington Bridge, and up route 9W in New Jersey towards upstate NY.
It was an incredibly beautiful day in Manhattan especially having rained the day before. When we got up to route 9W, it was spring in full force with green leaves of the trees looking full of life.
However, given that this was my first time cycling in a big city, I have found out some really interesting things:
1. Getting from my apartment, which is on the east side, to the west side was an interesting exercise. With all the one way streets and sometimes road closures, you're zig zagging around the streets to find a way to get all the way over and then to cross the west side highway to finally get on the bike path there. Pretty harrowing as there is no bike lane and the cars are right next to you the whole way.
2. Pot holes everywhere! You don't notice this when you're walking around the city, but man are there a lot! You gotta really watch out or else your ride is hugely jarring!
3. What's with the tar? They are continually repairing something in the roads and there is fresh new tar everywhere. I swerve and one time even got off my bike to avoid rolling through some fresh tar.
4. Ignoring street lights seems to be the norm. I see cyclists roll through red lights all the time. So I do the same.
5. Dodging traffic is a given. Especially taxi drivers. Sheesh.
6. The worst was when I got up to my apartment, I realize that I am covered with this black soot or dirt. UGH! I whip off my cycling stuff and hop in the shower. After cleaning up, I spend some time wiping tar and dirt off my bike. As I do this, I start thinking about the soot that has entered my lungs during this ride. Yuck! So I reach for my vitamin bottle and take another vitamin C for antioxidant protection.
I hope my lungs survive training in NYC. Next stop: endless loops in Central Park.
Posted by dshen at 05:03 AM | Comments (0)
April 19, 2005
Bike Fit? Pounds? Materials? What?
"A good friend of mine was a writer for a Spanish Cycling magazine in which he would do frame reviews. While he would offer useful insights into issues like geometry, weight, etc., the question would always come back to him, “but will I be faster on this bike.” I always liked his answer, which was if you want to believe that a bike will make you faster, then this is probably the best reason that it will."Lessons & Myths on Bike Fit, Frame Materials, Aero-positions, et al., Michael McCormack, M2 Coaching
How interesting to see a comment like that from my Ironman coach.
Before I bought my Cervelo P2K, I rode a Aegis, Cannondale, Guru, Kestrel, and Trek. I drove all over the Bay Area to various bike shops to find out what the difference was between all these bikes. Dura-Ace vs. Ultegra vs. Campy, steel vs. carbon vs. aluminum vs. titanium, triathlon angle vs. cycling angle - I think it all really serves to confuse the average bike buyer and probably makes us spend more money than we should.
How much does a pound here or there really affect your riding? I met one of my coach's athletes in NYC and we were shooting the breeze about bikes and we both had come to the same conclusion that the parts and pounds and materials really don't make much difference to people under Lance Armstrong. We've both seen riders on what seem to be heavier bikes blow past us on the race course. It obviously couldn't have been the high tech advanced materials on our own bikes slowing us down - more obviously it was the fact that we just aren't that strong riders yet and that we needed to spend more quality training on the bike improving our basic technique and strength.
Another friend of mine asked me how she should choose her bike. She and I talked about the pros and cons of the parts, materials, and pounds but I told her in the end what was really important was that she felt SUPER FAST on the bike. Because if you don't, you'll always have that nagging at you during a ride or a race, and it will be a constant discomfort that you really don't need.
That's how I chose my Cervelo P2K. It wasn't the lightest bike and had a component set one down from the very top. It wasn't the most cushiest of rides with carbon fiber throughout, but actually stiff aluminum. But, I FELT LIKE A ROCKET on that bike. Now I don't ride all that fast compared to some really strong guys out there, but I don't care. When I'm on that bike, I feel like I have a jet engine strapped to my bike and I am flying down the road.
Once again, how important is the psychological aspect of racing? Super important. Whether it's your equipment or your technique, you need to have confidence in yourself and your abilities. If you don't you'll have yet another barrier to conquer come race day.
Posted by dshen at 05:18 AM | Comments (0)
January 29, 2005
Cycling: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
Today, I did a 6:20 bike ride, about 102 miles or so in preparation for my Ironman coming up in early March.
When I go for a ride, I usually see at least one thing that bugs me or pisses me off. BUT TODAY - being out there for 6+ hours, I think I just about saw it all.
So here it is: Cycling: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly...but in reverse.
The Ugly:
1. Pedestrians who walk on the wrong side of the road.
Cyclists ride with the flow of traffic, walkers/runners go against the flow of traffic. This is so walkers/runners can see oncoming traffic and react appropriately in case of trouble, versus walking with their back to traffic and risk being clipped by a stupid driver. Cyclists going faster and sometimes as fast as traffic have more time to be seen by traffic and thus can lower the risk of trouble. Also, a bicycle is a vehicle and should thus share the road as a vehicle, going with the flow of traffic.
I don't know where people learn this but walking with their back to me as I'm going 10-20 MPH is really dumb. If I were walking on the road and tons of cyclists were blowing by me going at such speed, I would get nervous. Yet so many pedestrians are so oblivious to the danger they are in.
1a. Pedestrians who walk on the wrong side of the road AND can't walk a straight line or are swinging their arms while strolling or during expressive talking.
As I come up to pedestrians, I always start observing how they walk. If they are weaving back and forth, then I yell really loud, "ON YOUR LEFT!!!!!" and prepare to brake as I pass.
1b. Pedestrians who walk on the wrong side of the road AND can't walk a straight line or are swinging their arms while strolling or during expressive talking AND when I yell "ON YOUR LEFT!!!!" as I pass, they FREAKIN' DODGE TO THE LEFT...right into yours truly.
Nuff said there.
2. Cyclists who hang out stopped in the bike lane.
Come on guys. Where is your courtesy? You stop at the side of the road to rest, chat, fix a flat,...whatever. Fine. BUT DON'T STAND WITH YOUR BUDDIES IN THE WHOLE FREAKIN' BIKE LANE. I lost count of how many times I was forced into the traffic lane just to go around these idiots. Get further to the side and be aware that there are tons of cyclists trying to ride. Geez.
Earlier this year, a pro-triathlete was tossed from her bike, breaking her collarbone, because she was powering up a road and as she checked her back for traffic, she ran smack dab into two cyclists who decided to stop right in the middle of the bike lane to do something, and not move to the side.
Would you stop dead in a traffic lane on Highway 280 after going 65-80 MPH and then zero just because you felt like it?
3. Cyclists who can't pedal in a straight line.
What happened to basic cycling skills? Passing people like these is an exercise in stress management. It is nerve racking to come up to their rear, yell "ON YOUR LEFT!!!!" and then watch them weave back and forth while you try to make your pass.
4. Cyclists who can't pedal in a straight line AND weave to the LEFT as you try to pass on the LEFT, after yelling "ON YOUR LEFT!!!"
These people must have been born with the "dodge into danger when warning is signalled" gene. Too bad we as human beings have stopped evolution completely....
The Bad:
1. Feeling an impending cramp in your thigh when you're miles from home.
Aw man...not now...not now....I was at about hour 5 going up a hill when my right thigh gets that familiar tightness. You never know if it's going to subside or just knot up and you'll be writhing in pain.
And you know you've got more hills, and one more hour to go....
2. Running out of fluids.
I was out there today, thinking that I timed my drinking and how much fluid I brought perfectly. But unfortunately, I ran out about 30 minutes from home. Man, seems like forever, when you want to take a sip of fluid but can't....
3. Getting a flat.
At least it was my front tire. Changing the rear tire REALLY SUCKS.
It took my only spare about 2 hours in. I hate the feeling of not having another one. Gotta remember to bring another one next time.
4. Realizing that your bike is covered in mud after the ride.
...my beautiful shiny bike is all dirty....(sniff)....
And also because it takes an hour to clean everything, get all the gunk off metal parts so they don't rust, and regrease the chain. I'd rather put my feet up in front of the TV and recharge....or spend time complaining on my blog...
The Good:
1. Going on the brick run afterwards and NOT CRAMPING UP.
At least my impending thigh cramp did not happen and I got a good brick run in afterwards.
2. Feeling energetic on the bike and run.
Sometimes you go out there and you feel totally abused by the time you get back. Especially in Bay Area winters, this happens a lot when you're training in the cold weather and it just saps your energy so much. It is a joy to do all that and feel like you could keep going if you wanted to. But instead, you kick back and watch TV and complain on your blog...
3. Knowing you're over your freakin' cold so you can get back to training.
Always a positive thing.
Posted by dshen at 04:25 PM
