My continuous extremely positive experience with the MAF Method can be found under the Me and MAF tag.

You have to start with ‘Wow!’ One of the biggest wow moments as far as cycling and probably training in general for me to this date was being introduced to The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing by Dr. Phil Maffetone. After many seasons of going harder and doing more and more, I had gotten to the point where even something I was good at, time trialling, was becoming slower and slower, I knew I had to change from the ground up if I wanted to get somewhere with the sport I have grown to love so much. To say that Dr. Maffetone goes completely against the grain of everything that is out there as far as endurance training, utilising fat (fat burning for energy rather than carbohydrates), healthy living, balanced nutrition, injury prevention, body balance, mental focus and such, would be a huge huge understatement. In simple terms he goes down to the bare bone fundamentals that are behind endurance – from physiology, to muscle function to psychology.

Dr. Maffetone is not without his critiques, particularly because his methods are the polar opposite of the ‘no pain, no gain.’ and the ‘do more…faster!!!’ slogans that scream at you from virtually everywhere as well as against the hugely popular cookbook and formula approaches that are now the mainstream norm for ‘successful training/coaching.’ A modest person himself he doesn’t have to go and showcase his successes. The most famous of his athletes was Mark Allen. Mark who you say? For those not familiar with the Ironman Hawaii Triathlon (2.4-mile (3.86 km)swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.2-mile (42.2 km) run, raced in that order and without a break). Mark Allen won it, SIX times. Before that he was a swimmer in college and had gotten himself injured and burned out before starting his successful collaboration with Dr. Maffetone. Long haul bomber pilots, race car drivers, runners, music stars (Johnny Cash) all have nothing but praise to say for Dr. Phil Maffetone.

Needless to say, if you look for them though, you will come across a number of quite unhappy people who tried Dr. Maffetone’s methods and were quite unsuccessful or worse they critiqued him without even trying to make sense of his ideas.  By briefly reading quite a number of those ‘negative experiences’ I couldn’t help but notice that every single one of those people missed one or more of the following, I would call them commandments of the Maffetone method. I absolutely recommend that you go and read his work, since putting decades of hands on clinical and coaching experience in just a blog post is impossible, however, I will get you started. In addition the Maffetone crowd seems to be mostly runners and triathletes so I want to put a ‘cycling spin’ on it. Here we go.

The Commandments of Maffetone Training for Cycling

1. Understand the Big Picture

Having two legs for walking and running, the ability to sweat and regulate our body temperature allowed us as species to cover vast amounts of land in search for food and water as well as provided an advantage versus the large predators in the African savannah who had to rest in the shade during the day. In short – we have endured, so it is safe to say endurance is hardwired into every human. Fast forward to the recent past and we have started doing all of the above (minus escaping saber-toothed tigers) in an organised fashion and we have called in running, cycling, triathlon, swimming etc.

Therefore, as ‘something we all have,’ endurance is the culmination of the whole complexity that is the human body. As described by Dr. Maffetone the best way to illustrate it is an equilateral triangle.

Structure – the muscles and bones and neurons that make up the body. The constant wear and tear we put on our body also falls into this category.

Chemistry – the body functions due to cascades of highly regulated biochemical processes. Any changes due to prescription drugs, inadequate diet, etc. all contribute to changes in the chemical part of the endurance triangle.

Mental and emotional – as mentioned above the brain is the most important and yet often overlooked part when it comes to training and racing. Sensations, perceptions, emotions, pain, motivation just to name a few.

All three are interrelated and cannot be viewed entirely in isolation. A very general example: Entirely neglecting the pain signals your body is sending you as you keep ‘giving it all’ day after day (mental emotional) would lead to increasing levels of inflammation (chemical) and ultimately an injury due to the the incomplete recovery (structure).

In addition developing our fat burning as a primary energy system is an ability that allows us to use the 40.000+kcal available even to the leanest athletes rather than the limited ~2000kcal of carbohydrates.

2. Take Control

African hunters chase antelopes for hours in the midday desert heat. No highly sophisticated coaching, heart rate monitors, power meters or the ‘latest and greatest’ equipment. Also no time to stop and drink water since one thing that antelopes are good at is running fast…very fast. Yet the hunters survive and manage remarkable feats of strength.  Why? They are in tune to their bodies. The brain is the best governor we have and everything we do starts there. The way we sense our environment and the feedback that comes from the brain is very important.  In addition continuously asking why and educating yourself about training, nutrition etc., is a significant part of the mental and emotional part of endurance. Take control and listen to your body.

3. MAF, the 180 Formula and Fat Burning

The 180 formula is pretty much the only formula that Dr. Maffetone mentions. My aside here is that most athletes only focus on this point of Maffetone training while ignoring points 1 and 2 and hence get suboptimal results.

I am probably repeating myself and I whole heartedly agree with him that the best schedule is the one not written down and no formula can suit everybody. Though through his experience by examining a LOT of athletes he has come up with a formula which in his words represents your maximum aerobic function (MAF) heart rate where you are developing your fat burning, or utilising the virtually endless fuel your body has at its disposal.

How to calculate your MAF

Subtract your age from 180 and further adjust that number by the following 4 conditions (quoted directly)

a. If you have or are recovering from a major illness (heart disease, operations, hospital stays) or are on any regular medication – subtract 10.

b. If you are injured, have regressed in training or competition, get more than two colds or bouts of flu per year, have allergies or asthma, or if you have been inconsistent or are just getting back into training – subtract additional 5.

c. If you have been training consistently (at least four times weekly) for up to two years without any kind of the problems mentioned in a and b, keep the number (180-age) the same

d. If you have been training for more than two years without any of the problems listed above, and have made progress in competition without injury, add 5.

If you have any questions, look at points 1 and 2 again. Good.

Better be 5bpm lower rather than too high. No but’s, no if’s, no I know better and this zone does not correspond to my zone, etc. Ideally Dr. Maffetone would test you on a treadmill/track, however, this is the next best thing. Your fat burning/MAF/training zone is 10bpm from that.

For example if you are 30 years old and have no injuries/conditions/prescription medications and are just starting training you get 180-30-5 = 145bpm. Your training zone is the 10bpm range 135-145bpm.

Bike, swim, run or walk, 1h, 45min, 100hours, uphill, downhill, flats, rolling terrain of training this is the maximum heart rate you should be training at any time (ie not the average over the whole workout). No but’s, no if’s. Period.

Why heart rate when we have all this advances, power meters, etc.? It’s quite simple really. The common ‘wisdom’ is that heart rate is too variable to be a reliable training metric. It gets affected by (lack of) sleep, stress, coffee, etc. This is exactly why it is the most important metric – it is the biofeedback you are receiving from your body. With the current state, stress, fatigue you are experiencing this is what you are capable of achieving aerobically while burning fat rather than sugar (glucose). How would you know if you are improving? More on that a bit later.

4. Commit and Reduce Stress

To the whole idea and give it 3-6months. You will go sloooooow at first, I mean dead slow. Another misconception is that Maffetone training is about training slow. No, it isn’t, you are slow because if you have been following the popular “no pain, no gain” approach as well as eating the currently (as of 2015) typical western diet based on carbohydrates – your body has simply become aerobically deficient – it doesn’t know how to burn fat efficiently yet so you have to start slow – you have to learn to walk before you can run.

Rumor has it Mark Allen ran an 11 minute mile pace (2x slower than a competitive pace) as he was starting and he was not out of shape. That being said for cycling you will have to avoid hills and if not possible, get a compact crankset and a wide gearing cassette – 11/28, 11/32 and (gasp!) even triple chainrings. Hills will be even slower, be patient. Joining the weekly group ride (hammer fest) and racing is out of the question. You will have to get used to the company of only your bike and heart rate monitor. The positive is that since you are not redlining it all the time and all you have to keep in check is your HR you can actually start to enjoy riding, find new roads, notice things you were too busy to see before. It’s all wonderful stimulation for your brain as well.

In addition although stress sometimes is labeled as a badge of honour in our modern fast paced lifestyles, mother nature put it there as our ‘fight-or-flight’ response and was never intended as a long term state. Therefore chronic stress is counter-productive towards endurance. Stress can affect each three parts of the triangle in point 1 such as: physical/structural stress – poorly fitting bike, chemical stress – caffeine, prescription and/or over the counter drugs, mental and emotional stress – job deadlines, relationship problems, etc. Write down all the stressors you feel are having and start reducing/eliminating the ones that you can control.

5. Test

Every month if possible and keep a diary. Test what? Your MAF or how fast/how much power are you producing at your MAF heart rate. Find a course with no traffic that takes 30ish min to ride and record your times/speed. Having a power meter and/or indoor trainer is the best in my opinion; simply warm up building to your MAF (12-15min), ride at it for 30min and cooldown (12-15min). More watts/speed at the same MAF HR = improved aerobic fitness. If you are progressing you are on the right track, if you are stagnating or regressing shortly after beginning (1-2months) you have to re evaluate your MAF HR (usually set too high), stress, diet – check your diary. Once your MAF tests plateau you are ready to add some intensity and/or racing. Once they start regressing, it is time to continue building your aerobic base again.

Conclusion

Endurance is something that is part of being human and as such is no simple task to put into a single blog post. However, if nothing else the take away points from this article are that you should take charge of your training and keep educating yourself and ignore the ‘no pain no gain’ mentality that has sadly become the norm of athletic endeavour. You cannot reach your full athletic potential by focusing on the training alone, it requires a full holistic approach starting with your body as the combination of the structural, chemical, mental and emotional aspects of it. Last but not least reducing stress as well training your body to utilize fat as fuel/developing your maximum aerobic function (MAF).

My continuous experience with the MAF Method can be found under the Me and MAF tag.

For further information check the ever-increasing Reading List

I welcome comments, however, before asking a question please visit the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page.

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Each event will get it’s separate post that would be linked to the categories here; this post is like a table of content of sorts.

Training (like the PROs): You like me have probably wondered: “How do the PROs train?”  It was my first season having a training schedule given to me by a team coach (Kamen Stanchev, the man responsible for creating Slovenian cycling in the past), rather than me being one hundred percent self coached. If I learned one thing, it is that I don’t follow a schedule blindly just because a coach has given it to me. Even so, with a few tweaks I discovered a lot of new things as far as how to train. In addition it also gave me a piece of mind – PRO or amateur we all train the same.

City of Thousand Hills – Grand Prix Sarajevo 2014 (UCI 2.2): In small region with many countries, more borders and still bearing some scars of past wars, the first edition of the Grand Prix Sarajevo taught me two things. 1. You need an 11.  2. If you are small it doesn’t mean you can climb well.

I know what you did last summer – National Road Championships 2014: Ghosts of communism, strange hotels on lonely mountain roads, last minute course changes and bad organization – in short last season’s national cycling championships.

…and it was over so soon…. – National Track Championships 2014: With something like 3 days on the track due to bad weather (Sofia velodrome is outdoors and steep so riding in the rain is a big no-no) and the wrong gearing, it was…well fast…and over just as fast, and lots of fun.

Anatomy of an (out of competition) doping test: The people at the national anti doping agency got to earn their paychecks, hence at the end of season they tested various athletes from different sports. I got picked together with 5 other guys from my team. I have always wondered if it is just a simple pee in a cup and what goes on in those anti-doping tents at races. Let’s say I can check off “Pee in a room full of mirrors from my bucket list.”=)

Summing it All Up: 2014 had it’s challenges and as a friend of mine says: “Things will work out in one way or another…most likely another.”

Photo credit: Sofia velodrome (Link)

The post Smiles From the Old Reels: Season 2014 appeared first on The Tall Cyclist.

Yesterday you said: “Tomorrow.”

Today(ish), after the week of my post national championships vacation, as my legs finally feel normal(ish =) )  (i.e. not stiff and sore) and most likely 1kg (2lbs) heavier than racing weight, I am sitting down with the clear idea and motivation to catch you up with what has been going on with me – TheTallCyclist. Since I started this blog with one goal – to share my exploits in the world of (PRO) cycling as I compete against some of the best (and colorful) in the sport, the many things that happened in the last 4 months

I will post my Weekly Summary (ok more like 4 monthly summaries) of all my workouts (thankfully I am very obsessive compulsive about my training diaries=)) ) and detailed posts on the topics I mention below.

So without a further ado..the last couple of month in the world of me – TheTallCyclist

New Team and Training Schedule

Just around this time last year I joined a Bulgarian team, Tsar Simeon Plovdiv – one of the oldest teams in the country. They put me on their roster for the 2013 Tour of Bulgaria, no questions asked, ever since that point it has been a challenge (putting it mildly) to get in touch or receive any kind of support without a serious effort on my part. Granted I am self-coached and almost entirely self sufficient when it comes to training and equipment, this is not how I see a team. This, together with the 2hour drive to Plovdiv where most of the other guys live/train made me look for opportunities closer to home (Sofia). I joined KK Levski – a team formed just in 2012. It’s a small world and I already knew some of the guys so it has worked quite nicely up to now. Since the majority of my new teammates are still in school or university or are graduate students, they train together during day throughout the week, while I am at work, however, I can join them for most of the weekend big rides. I don’t see it as a disadvantage, because people tend to ease up and become too social more often than not when in groups. A negative point was that team rosters had already been sent out for all the races that happened in April/May so I was not going to get race experience until later on.

Furthermore, I got a new training schedule. The nice thing was that overall progression and type of workouts was very close to what I had planned for myself until Nationals. The major difference was for the most part the greater amount/volume/mileage. The schedule was based on distance and perceived effort (possibly heart rate), so a bit too old school, however, it was easier to translate to my power training zones. In addition the training program opened my eyes to some new ways on how to approach some of my workouts. I know I don’t know everything when it comes to training so I keep an open mind on my way to improving. It took some adjusting because training for 2-3h after working hours before daylight savings was not possible for me. Even so, I was amazed how I could handle 12-14h weeks with 450-500 weekly TSS/Bikescore one after the other (just two 6-8h 350-400TSS weeks last year would leave me sore on the couch for an extra recovery day).

I was curious how many such weeks I can sustain. Unfortunately Mother Nature curbed my enthusiasm.

Rivers and a Small Crash

Living in a country with a land climate means two things – snow and long trainer hours in the winter together with hot summer, crazy tanlines and nice riding the rest of the year. Well neither has been happening up to now…. The winter was mild and snow less, however, cold enough to leave black ice on the road. Not a big problem, since it is…well….winter anyway. All nice but…. April, May, June, JULY!!!! have been the rainiest months on record here for the last 50+ years. Coming from living 6 years in The Netherlands I knew how to ride in the rain. Not so much around here…

Here when it rains, it pours, and my teammates just avoid training altogether and/or train inside for those few who own a trainer. When it was almost June and 3-4 out of my 6 weekly workouts were being spent on the trainer, I simply needed road time. So I braved the pouring rain, waded the rivers that the mountain roads have turned into and one day….when the sunny day turned into a massive thunderstorm, I crashed while going dead slow on the last corner before  coasting home. Of course it happened on my nice S-Works Tarmac. Besides some cosmetic damage and some road rash on my right side (didn’t even tear my shorts) I was ok, however, I understood why my teammates just stay at home when it rains. To get an idea how bad the rains have been, some cities in Bulgaria were flooded with numerous human casualties…

Osymetric Chainrings

On a more cheerful note, my ‘always looking for improvement’ cyclist mind had an inspirational moment. I need to keep myself occupied when riding for 4-5h alone. I had always been curious of those funky looking chainrings that both Wiggo and Froome have been using (and won the Tour de France in 2012, 2013 respectively among other impressive palmares).

So while my mind was wondering one day, the design idea behind the non-round chainrings made perfect sense to me! Easy gear through the dead spot (cranks vertical), big gear through the power phase (cranks horizontal). After quick internet search I found out there is an authorized retailer in Bulgaria, quite surprising for such a niche product. After a call with him I bought a set of 54/44 of the latest generation of Osymetric chainrings. I have been genuinely impressed by how they ride and feel and I will post a detailed review soon. The one significant negative I have with them is that coming back to ‘regular circular’ chainrings (while getting ready for track championships in August) makes the pedaling feel veeeerrryy sluggish as if the bike has 2 flat tyres.

Grand Prix Sarajevo 2014 (UCI 2.1)

As I mentioned above, joining a team in the middle of the season puts you in a bit of a limbo, since most UCI races require team rosters sent way in advance. Combined with the limited races in the area and further complicated by races getting cancelled for ‘sponsor problems’ or ‘disagreements with the local police.’ I was eager to get some racing experience. The 2014 Sarajevo Grand Prix, featured quite a hilly course and a big climb in the middle. It was a ‘training race’ in the week before the national championships, therefore I wasn’t expecting miracles. I am preparing a full race report, however, one thing to note is that, I was passing guys have my size on the major climb. I certainly had legs, however, not enough experience and as a first race for the season I was very happy.

National Championships 2014

I know what you did last summer and the Blair Witch Project could have taken scenes from my travel to the hotel booked for the participants. Very lonely mountain roads not existing on the GPS, pitch dark and no living soul in sight.

TT

I arrived to the race location a day in advance. I pre-drove the course the morning before the race. I did it all by the book…

But…

…. the federation changed the course literally 2 hours before the start. From the pan flat out and back drag strip to a short segment that didn’t have more than 50m (150ft) of flat terrain, suiting the tiny climbers who can just buzz through the hills and putting big guys like me at an obvious disadvantage. Although according to the numbers, I rode my best 40km (25mi) TT up to date, I finished at 6th place again, 2:30 min from the podium as compared to 6th in 2013, 1:40 from the podium. No need to get into the ‘What ifs…’ at least not yet.

Road Race

Granted I had to call it a day last year after 50km (28mi) and given my very limited racing experience this year – I had only one goal – finish. So I did – 12th place. I did chase a breakaway too many at the beginning and missed the key one, however, I could stay at the front of the main bunch for the remainder of the race quite comfortably, even on the climbs, while I could see people hanging for dear life at the back. I certainly don’t have the power to weight ratio to stay with the favorites on the big climbs..yet, however, I definitely see a lot of progress in the right direction. Couple of watts more and some more racing experience and next time I make the break. It’s all baby steps….

Track Bike

One of my goals this year was to try my hand at some track cycling, specifically all the timed events – with my eyes on the 4000m individual pursuit.

I am in the process of putting together a track bike (and learning how to ride the rollers). It is amazing how much simpler the whole process is as compared to a road bike. The track thing is ‘for fun’ at this point so my whole track setup is built with only budget in mind. Stay tuned for more details.

Upcoming Track Championships

The velodrome in Sofia is quite steep and outdoors so quite dangerous to ride in adverse weather (as you read above we’ve had more than enough of that). Below is a picture of my first track training this season with special thanks to Zornitsa Stefanova for the pictures. I will ask her for the remainder of the full resolution images she took to make a photo essay post in the near future.

Second, it is where the cycling federation is located. Why is that important? Well apparently they had some (significant) debts so their offices got sealed and there is nobody there to let people on the velodrome. Last week the juniors of my team have been training there (they have gotten a hold of a key), however, they train at 9am (if it doesn’t rain) so while I still don’t have a bike assembled, I don’t expect to have significant track time before the weekend of 2-3 August. Also I was sooo tired the week after nationals (28Jun2014), so I took 10 days off to recover and re-motivate myself. I probably didn’t lose too much of my condition, however, I am not in peak form for sure. The field is not the British or Australian track squads so it will be more manageable but with so much preparation I’ll have to rely on my condition and power (no climbing!!!!), rather than experience and skills. It’s quite strange for me doing something ‘for fun’ without any high expectations, however, it’s the ride and the process I enjoy rather than the end results.

So there you have it – the last 4 months. Apologies for the lengthy pause and stay tuned for detailed posts.

The Dream is alive!

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The post The Many Things Happening With Me in The Last Months in Cycling appeared first on The Tall Cyclist.

Monday: Off
Tuesday: 20min warmup, 2x20min (5min rest in between) @ ~FTP, 10min cooldown
Wednesday: Weights
Thursday: 1:00h Indoor Z2 ride
Friday: Off
Saturday: Pilates lesson
Sunday: Off

Total Bikescore/TSS: 115

Total Training Time: 2:15h bike+1:15h Weights+1:00h Pilates

Weekly Summary

After 6 weeks of hard training, it was time for some well earned rest and the perfect opportunity to hang the bike for he weekend and enjoy the beautiful life outside of a frame with two wheels. Even though it was a free weekend, I took a surprise Pilates lesson and it was one of those ‘wow moments’

So what did I do last week(end)…

Pilates for Cycling

Some very brief background on Pilates. It bears the name after its creator Joseph Pilates. It’s a physical fitness system focusing on six fundamental principles: concentration, control, center, flow, precision, and breathing. When you put the six of them together, it means performing the motions in a very controlled manner with full awareness AND control of what each muscle involved in the motion is doing, without extra wasted energy – the way mother nature designed us to move. Joseph Pilates has published 3 books quite some time ago (1930s…). All are just about 50 pages so I am looking to finding a copy and reading them. I will post what I find on the pages of this blog. Not wasting energy and being efficient is never a bad thing for any sport, cycling included!

So even after just a single 1h lesson I discovered:

• My right gluteus maximus (butt muscle) is lazier (weaker) than my left one, very noticeably so. It’s not a strength thing, it’s an awareness of my brain to send signals to get it to work 100%. I unclip my right foot at traffic lights and I ALWAYS start on my left leg after coasting etc. Now I had an explanation of why. Even as I am writing this summary, I am quite aware of my right butt cheek being ‘asleep.’ This might be relevant due to the fact I am thinking switching to the Stages powermeter (which measures and doubles the power you produce with your left leg to get the total value).
• My leg alignment and such was pretty ok, further confirming that the Body Geometry Fit I had some time ago was well worth it. Now I am even more reluctant to change shoe brand manufacturer; though that could be a good thing so I would save money from buying new cycling shoes=)
• The core strength/stability I have been working on has certainly helped quite a bit. Incorporating the 6 principles of Pilates would take the exercises to the next level.

As a conclusion in the words of the Mike Spracklen:

You can always get better

The Dream is Alive!

Image: Source

You can find explanations of the terms here together with explanations of the Training Zones.

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The post Weekly Summary February 10 – February 16, 2014: Pilates or Things I Did Over The Weekend appeared first on The Tall Cyclist.

Monday: Off
Tuesday: 20min warmup, 2x20min (5min rest in between) @ ~FTP, 10min cooldown
Wednesday: Weights
Thursday: 1:00h Indoor Z2 ride
Friday: 1:00h Indoor Z2 ride
Saturday: 20min warmup, 2x20min (5min rest in between) @ ~FTP, 10min cooldown
Sunday: 2:00h Indoor Z2 ride

Total Bikescore/TSS: 310

Total Training Time: 6:30h bike+1:15h Weights

Weekly Summary

Plateau?

Whether it has been the heavy weights with lower reps or some accumulated fatigue, or unexpectedly losing some weight, I seem to have gotten into a plateau as far as improvement.  My power doesn’t seem to go up…or…down.

But…

Moments like that are normal, yes they are and it is important to stay motivated. One more week of this training block and I am going to change things a bit, for one I am going to start riding my TT bike little by little. One more week and then,  I am going to take a weekend away from cycling and afterwards do an FTP Estimation Test to see where my condition has gone and get out of the plateau. One more week…!

Rush

Everyone’s Driven by Something

It has been a while since I watched something with this much suspense.  A documentary of one of the greatest rivalries on the Formula 1 race track – the 1976 Grand Prix season – Niki Lauda vs James Hunt or in short the movie Rush. In a sport with no margin for error, how fast are you willing to go? How much are you willing to risk? Truly captivating plot, played by a great cast and no need for embellishment – just a true story.

One of the many lines that stuck with me form the movie

And then one day, the doctor came and said, ‘Mr. Lauda, may I offer a piece of advice? Stop thinking of it as a curse to have been given an enemy in life. It can be a blessing, too. A wise man gets more from his enemies than a fool from his friends.’ And you know what? He was right. Look at us. We were both a pair of kids when we met. Hot-headed jerks in Formula 3. Disowned by our families. Headed nowhere. And now, we’re both champions of the world. It was not bad, huh?

We are all in the same game; just different levels. Dealing with the same  hell; just different devils.

Rush – highly recommended for watching on and off the trainer.

The Dream is Alive!

Image: Source (All images are copyrighted to their respective owners)

You can find explanations of the terms here together with explanations of the Training Zones.

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The post Weekly Summary February 3 – February 9, 2014: Feel the Rush! appeared first on The Tall Cyclist.

Monday: Off
Tuesday: 20min warmup, 2x20min (5min rest in between) @ ~FTP, 10min cooldown
Wednesday: Weights
Thursday: 1:15h Indoor Z2 ride
Friday: 1:00h Indoor Z2 ride
Saturday: 20min warmup, 2x20min (5min rest in between) @ ~FTP, 10min cooldown
Sunday: 2:00h Indoor Z2 ride

Total Bikescore/TSS: 320

Total Training Time: 6:45h bike+1:15h Weights

Weekly Summary

First Signs of Fatigue

It was bound to happen one day and the first signs of fatigue for the 2014 season are a fact. After a week of quite amazing workouts, on Saturday I couldn’t hold the power on the second 20min interval. Quitting is never an option so I just dropped the pace by 15-20W and finished.

A bad workout is the one that didn’t happen!

It is never a single factor, however, I suspect my upset stomach after eating something not so easily digestible on Friday, certainly played a role. In addition I have lost some weight and I am in the 86ish kg (189lbs) range which is lower than my 86-87kg (192lbs) racing weight from last season. (I weigh myself every 2-3days for signs of over/undereating etc.). Therefore, it is a good wake up call to pay more attention to my body. Overtraining is a cruel mistress that shows up when your body spends more time in catabolic rather than anabolic state; in simple terms your body eats itself since it doesn’t have enough time/nutrients to rebuild from the training stress.  I must eat more and certainly I must include more protein in my diet. So yes I have a goal to gain at least 1kg (2.2lbs) back.

I am repeating myself that it is not a matter of simply not eating enough, however, the cold weather makes the body burn up more energy to stay warm which is a massive calorie drain. Winter is NOT the time to be losing weight and it is asking for some health problems when cold and flu germs are flying left and right.

The Dream is Alive!

Image: Cadel Evan Tired after Stage 12 of the 2011 Tour de France (Source)

You can find explanations of the terms here together with explanations of the Training Zones.

A drop of support means an ocean of gratitude.

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The post Weekly Summary January 27 – February 2, 2014: First Signs of Fatigue appeared first on The Tall Cyclist.