Nov. 29

65 degrees and sunny...perfect for burnin' off some turkey
@40 miles up into White County
Rollin' at 1:15pm
Craig

NO Ride Sun 11/22

It's a 80-90% chance of rain and 47 degree high tomorrow so no scheduled ride for tomorrow. Try to get out and get a little time in if there is a break in the weather.

Have a great holiday week and we'll meet again on the 29th!

Craig

Nov. 15

Last week started the winter rides off with about 10 riders...I've heard from about 4 or 5 more who say they are planning on being w/ us this weekend!

Since the forecast is calling for 73 degrees and sunshine let's do the "Kroger 39" route from the MapMyRide Group this week. It is a nice loop over though the Dewberry area and up to about Cleveland with a relatively flat return to Clermont/N Hall.

Also, if you are interested in joining us on our Tuesday night MTB rides, drop me a line at my email address on the right side of this page and I'll be sure to add you to the distribution list for that ride. It is just plain fun riding in the woods and on the roads at night...we can even loan you w/ a light if you need one!

See you on Sunday!

Craig

It's baaaaaack!

We're back on for the fall/winter Kroger rides beginning this Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009.

Please meet in front of the Mexican restaurant by 1pm and we'll have wheels rolling at 1:15pm.

This week we'll do 32 miles of the Kroger #1 route. Additional mileage is always available after the group returns for all who may be interested.

Please keep in mind that the purpose for these rides is for the accumulation of base training mileage and therefore high efforts/elevated heart rates are to be avoided. If you can't talk comfortably, you're probably going too hard. If it matters to you, our average speed usually falls between 15 and 17 mph, depending on terrain.

Please read the article below, by Brian Grasky, for a better understanding of what the goals of these base training rides are; hopefully yours match, somewhat!

Hope to see you all there!

Craig

Written by Brian Grasky
Now that racing season is over and the post-race recover is done, it’s time to hit it hard again, right?

Well, sorta.

This is time for Base Training. In order to pound the competition this next season, we need to build an Aerobic base onto which to build speed, strength and Endurance. “But I have a base from last year,” you say. Yes you do, and if only doing as well as you did last year is fine with you, then blow it off. There’s more to it, however. Your base will wane a bit depending on how much endurance work you kept up with in your Peak and race rest phases of training and the recovery after racing.

Here’s the scoop: An aerobic base is something you can build season after season. The effects are cumulative. What you did last season definitely will help next season, but you’ll want to build on it. Think of your aerobic base as the foundation of a building. The larger and deeper the foundation, the larger the building can be built upon it. We want to build a skyscraper of speed and Power, so we need a solid foundation. Cutting the base phase short will do nothing but limit

Aerobic training builds the your potential later in the season. Cardiovascular System and enables the physiological adaptations that allow for increased effectiveness in your intense training. This type of training has two major effects: it increases the size and number of the capillaries that deliver blood to the muscles, enabling you to build larger and denser musculature; and it increases the size and number of mitochondria responsible for energy production and transfer. Then, there are two effects on top of that: your heart rate at a given aerobic Intensity level goes down (you get more efficient); and you increase the intensity at which you are aerobic, meaning you can go harder before Lactate builds in your muscles (aerobic intensity, i.e. heart rate, goes up).

It’s also mentally and physically draining to begin power and speed training too soon. Intense work is hard on the body and hard on the mind. Beginning intense training too soon, your peak, will either not happen or will happen too soon. You definitely don’t want to be fatigued or burned out by the time your race comes around.

“How do you train in the base phase?” you ask. Well, depending on the distance and timeframe of your ‘A’ race this season, you’ll begin with a solid few or more months of base training. This is low intensity, high volume training—basically heart rate zone 2 (Friel systems and similar). If you find yourself noticeable breathing hard, you’re going too hard and are producing Lactic Acid. You should be able to hold a conversation, with one breath in the middle of a sentence. If it’s a Sunday cruise in the park, you’re going too easy—you should be breathing a bit. Build your endurance to a point greater than you did last season. If racing anything other than ultra distance (Ironman), build up to longer than that goal distance. For ultras, build to about 75% on the run and 100% on the swim and bike. These are only guidelines, and your past training, experience in the sport, age, time available, goals, and injury history will all go into the amount of volume you build.

Remember, this is slower work, but find a group or friends and make it fun. And keep each other slow!