LT Testing

On Saturday I went over to my new coach's house for some Lactic Threshold testing and to ice my contract. He, being my coach, gets 1/3 of my winnings...and groupies.

He started off by doing a skin-fold test to see what percentage body fat I have. Turns out I am at 9%, including all the not riding/eating/sleeping/graduating I've done recently. This means the 142 lbs of lean muscle mass is pulling an extra 14 lbs of fat up all the hills. Looks like there's room for improvement.

Then, it was time for the LT test. I got on the bike and warmed up for about 15 minutes at 100 watts or so. By the time I had a good sweat going the test began. I think he started me out at 160 watts or something like that. Every four minutes the wattage would increase by 30 watts.

At the end of the first segment I was feeling fine. He pricked my ear for some blood so he could measure the lactic acid. Then he bumped it up to 190 watts. I was doing fine still but making it to 300-something was seeming very far off.

220 watts. By this point I'm beginning to feel it a bit. I've averaged more than this for a long time before but for some reason it was taking a toll. I think the sample after this interval showed I was starting to release (or produce?) lactic acid at a greater rate.

250 watts. Really this is a guesstimate since I don't remember much from the actual test. I remember my heart rate was around 190 though. I kept pedaling although I was pretty sure I wouldn't make it to 300.

280 watts. I think this was about the last one I did. It really was starting to hurt. A week ago I had averaged 353 watts for 10 minutes so it seemed like this was really weak for me. Nonetheless, I was really starting to hurt. The pedals weren't turning as quick and my heart rate was over 200.

At one point my heart rate reached 207. He assured me I was almost done. There was no way I could do another interval.

"Stop!"

My feet almost froze mid stroke. He braced me while he took the last blood sample from my ear. I sat straight up and tried to breath.

"Clark, I need a trash can" I told him. He handed me a bucket and I held on tight. I had eaten five eggs and two pieces of french toast for breakfast. Big mistake. It was the closest I had ever come to spewing while riding.

Finally, I was able to catch my breath. Forget the cool-down, I just wanted off the bike. I sat down in a chair and he gave me some tips.

Lesson 1: even if you walk like a ballerina, you shouldn't ride like one. I walk on my toes and so I'm wont to pedal with my toes down. He said I just keep my heals down and my toes level.

He told me he'd come up with a training plan but in the meantime I should ride at an endurance pace around 200 watts.

Sunday.

I woke up at 6 and headed out for a ride. I thought of riding up the coast since it's flat and would allow me to stay at 200 and spin well. However, I hate being around cars so I headed for Tunitas Creek.

Riding steep hills is really slow at 200 watts. My cadence dropped to almost nothing and I worked on staying in the saddle.

About halfway up Tunitas creek I looked down to see a spider web forming on my handlebars.

Tweet

Climb, Grasshopper

This Saturday I did the final Grasshopper race of the series with Blake and Oliver. I can't find the link but they're basically really hard group rides. They have a cx and mtb one as well.

The ride began at a pretty nice group ride pace, or at least that's how it seemed near the back. The route started on a two-lane country road out of Occidental. Our lane was packed as far as the eye could see. This didn't deter the cars from passing blindly. Some of the cars going the opposite way even pulled over it. It was quite a sight.

Then the climb came. The pack started to thin out pretty good. Once the climb kicked up I dropped off Oliver's wheel but was ahead of Blake. It stayed this way for the rest of the race.

I climbed for at least an hour with the same group of guys. The views were incredible. It reminded me a lot of Alpine Road only with some massive rollers thrown in. Near the top there was someone handing out water bottles. It was super hot out so I took two.

Then came the descent. It was probably faster than anything I've seen. For added effect there were cattle guards every mile or so. One memorable one was right in the middle of a turn. Mooooooo!!!

Finally the cool breeze hit, a sign the coast was near. We made it to Hwy 1 and headed south with a tailwind. After a mile or so we turned and headed up a dirt road. Sweet!! This was my favorite climb. Small grade with good tree coverage. We stayed on this for a few miles until the summit. Some of the guys in the group warned about a screaming descent ahead. Then I saw the sign for 18% grade, next 2 miles!!!

We climbed a bit more and then the whole coast came into view. This ride had some of the best views I've seen on a ride. The only thing that compares is this one ride I did last spring break in Mammoth. After about 70 miles of riding we headed up Tioga Pass. Ten miles later, after we both wanted to quit, we came around a turn to see a frozen lake and snow banks.

Anywho, the descent was super fast and I can't wait to do it again. I had my hands on both brakes most of the way down. Ended up getting passed by most the guys I had passed on the climb but by this point I was used to it.

We descended a bit longer on Hwy 1 and then turned onto another gravel/dirt road. This one would take us to Occidental. This part seemed to last forever. I had been riding with a guy for a while so I stayed with him. I could have gone harder but I found out midway he was a fellow Okie so I stuck around.

The road wasn't too bad except for this one killer climb. I had to get really stern with myself on this one. I even summoned last year's Vineman. "You do not quit on climbs!!!" Ok, weird.

So I made it up that and before I knew it I was descending. Ahh. I saw a pack of riders on the side of the road relaxing. Figured they had stopped to take a break so I wasn't going to stop. I slowed a bit though and they asked my name.

"Um, is this the end?"

"Yes."

On the way down to Occidental we were almost killed by the Mazda Miata Junior "Sportscar" Club of the North Bay (MMJSCNB) ride. You can't win them all.

Tweet