Week 9

Wednesday: I knew that this would be the last meaningful workout before the Pesta Pulau Pinang Road Race so I decided to make it count. Was torn between Revolver to get some last minute tune up for the big efforts of the criterium and A Very Dark Place for the sustained efforts required for the road race. I decided to do the latter. I think I created a PB overall. AP 25W, 300W, 305W, 209W, 304W. 80 TSS points.

Saturday: Pesta Pulau Pinang Road Race. I knew that I was going to get dropped at the dam, so I tried to play it smart. A break had gone up the road early and the pace slowed down enough for me to get to the front just before the Teluk Bahang roundabout. I think I was 3^rd or 4^th wheel coming into the corner and top 10 as the climb started. The big guns went and I just played it smart with the power, going hard, but not too deep that I would be shattered coming over the top. Managed to get into a group, but all went to shit when a guy slid out at the corner, leaving me off the back. Rode at FTP to the top of the Teluk Bahang climb. Just as about to cross over I saw a large group in front and chased on the descent. I think it helped that they were not going great guns and I managed to latch back onto the group after a furious chase off the descent. Mostly juniors, but still a couple of seniors in the group. Didn’t work too well even though a bigger group was in sight up the road. Even P2K has more discipline when riding hard. The coaches should drill some tactical nous into their charges. Worked at the front and never shirked my turns. Even chased down a small group going off on the last lap. But it came together again before the climb. On the climb it was just about managing power at FTP as legs were already close to dead. Still managed quite close to FTP which wasn’t too bad after close to 3 hours of hard riding. NP for the race until the climb was 227W. NP for the climb was 253W. Total of 270 TSS points for the race.

Sunday: No big hope for the criterium as I knew the BIG GUNS were riding. And true enough, spat out the back after 2.5 laps of the Mens Elite Category. Too bad the Junior Veterans only had 5 laps as it was good, hard riding. Even managed a stint at the front chasing down a Singaporean who tried to break away. The Mens Open was another repeat of the Elite. Although we lasted a good deal longer. Were still lapped after 12 laps as the TCG were going great guns. 152 TSS points for the day.

All in all, a good weekends of racing. But it made me think what could have been if I was 5 kg’s lighter. Oh well. Next year then. 500 TSS points for the whole week. Toning down the intensity for the next 2 weeks as I want to have a small volume block of at least 2 hours a day over the Christmas and New Year season.

Week 8

Tuesday: A Very Dark Place. AP 291W, 294W, 296W, 297W, 301W. 20 min tempo @ NP 211W. 90 TSS points.

Wednesday: Angels. Over/Under NP 247W. Main sets NP 263W, 263W, 267W. 15 min tempo @ 209W. 95 TSS points.

Thursday: Revolver. Main set NP 272W. Wanted to do a tempo set but legs said go to hell.

Saturday: Usual Saturday Sempah ride. Did workout B as given in the Ryan Trebon cyclocross article. It was hard, but the way the workout is split into sections (3 min @ FTP, 1 min Zone 5, 1 min Zone 3, etc.) made time go slightly faster (if at all possible). I think could have gone harder as I was mentally fresh after a recovery week. NP 264W, 266W, 264W, 266W. Fabian Cancellara on my mind on the way back on DUKE for NP 245W. 200 TSS points.

Sunday: First long ride in a while. Turned out to be a ~5.5 hour ride for 172 km. Rode to Senawang and back via LEKAS solo. Very windy on the way there and back. There were some times that there would be a tailwind, but most of the time it felt like it was a cross/headwind. Pretty damn hard going when you're flying solo and have nowhere to hide, if even for a bit. To make things worse, didn't really eat enough. Which was pretty stupid coz I already know that it should be 300 - 400 calories per hour on the bike. Didn't make things easier that the shops at the Beranang R&R were all closed, hence no refill on the way there (except for tap water). All this culminated in a last hour that felt absolutely AWFUL. TTDI - Beranang R&R NP 200W, Beranang R&R - Senawang 214W, Senawang - Kajang NP 204, Kajang - TTDI NP 195W. 325 TSS points.

Week 7 - Recovery Week

This was a recovery week but I still put in some good effort. Trawled the Wattage Google Groups for advice on how to schedule a recovery week, and I decided that the "same intensity but two-thirds of the duration" was as good as any. Not exactly puttering around and still putting in efforts that would still encourage some physiological adaptation.

Tuesday: A Very Dark Place, 4 sets out of the usual 5+1 that I usually would do. AP 194W, 299W, 308W, 308W. 65 TSS points.

Thursday: Revolver, 10 sets of the usual 15+1 that the video encompasses. Went for above anaerobic capacity of 315W for the ON sets. AP 271W. 55 TSS points.

Saturday: Ride up to Sempah only coz Lin had a TNB reunion at Genting Sempah. Tried out the Open Pave CG's from Terry. Comfy as hell. Although it wasn't a totally groundbreaking sensation. The Specialized Roubaix tires gave the same feeling of comfort as they were actually around 25 mm instead of the marked 23 mm. Big chainnring-ed it up all the way for the very first time. The worlds hardest right turn reduced me to around 35 RPM. Thought I'd be struggling a bit with fatugue but kept it at a sensible effort and made it up with an NP of 248W. 130 TSS points.

Sunday: Rode to Bukit Jelutong to meet up with the PCC gang and then to Ijok and back. Attacked at the start of the temple climb and just managed to get over the top hanging on to the coattails of Leonard and some other guy. Hung on all the way to Petronas. Steady on the way back. 200 TSS points. Had a 5 sec power of 680W and 1 min power of 434W.

450 TSS points for the week, and CTLdidn't drop by much, from around 80 TSS/day to 78 TSS/day. Just waiting for the 2 weeks at Christmas & New Years for an endurance block. I want to try and get it up to more than 100 TSS/day.

Week 6

This is the week that figuratively broke the camels back. The weekend rides indicated that I needed a rest week. What was supposed to be a 3 day riding weekend turned out to be only 2 rides, and one of them virtually useless where training load is concerned. Due to the outcome of this week, Week 7 will be a recovery week.

Tuesday: 6 x 5 min @ 270W with 1 min RI at the Kota Damansara loop. AP for sets 267W, 272W, 278W, 271W, 273W, 280W. 10 x 15 sec sprint with 45 sec recovery. 105 TSS points.

Wednesday: The Sufferfest's A Very Dark Place. Felt very strong today. Did an extra set to make it 6 x 4 min @ VO2max. AP for sets 286W, 289W, 296W, 301W, 296W, 307W. 90 TSS points.

Friday: Warmed up with Angels over/under and main set was Revolver. Over/under set NP 244W, 15 x 1 min @ 310W with 1 min RI NP 263W for 32 min. 80 TSS points.

Saturday: Ride to Sempah and back. Wanted to do 8 x 5 min @ 270W but RPE for 240W at the beginning of the climb told me that it wasn't going to happen. So I decided to downgrade it to 2 x 20 min @ 240W. At least I would still me in the lower FTP range. But that didn't happen either. Gave up the ghost after 14 minutes. Felt positively awful. So waited for the Leonard train to come along and just hopped behind to the top. Suffered on the way back on the climbs. 160 TSS points.

Sunday: Legs felt better when riding with P2K ti Batang Berjuntai via Kuang. Main section was the HARD rolling from Kuang to Batang Berjuntai. Felt better in this section compared to when I last rode with them on this same route. NP for this section was 264W for 30 minutes for an average speed of 39 km/h. Was hoping for some more intensity on the way back but two punctures made the ride back fairly sedate. 190 TSS points.

So a total of 635 TSS points this week. After 6 weeks of work (including the week prior to Raya Haji, which was supposed to be a rest week but I but in some hard work), the wheels completely fell off and a recovery week is due. So next week will be have workouts with the same intensity, but two-thirds the time. Time to let the body absorb all that work.

Week 5

Tuesday

A Local Here. Still the hardest Sufferfest video ever in my books. Sprints 2 - 4 at the end left me drooling on my bike.

3 x 6 min laps: NP 257W, 260W, 261W.

5 x 3 min laps: NP 276W, 276W, 279W, 278W, 272W

4 x 2 min laps: NP 288W, 284W, 276W, 282W

110 TSS points.

Wednesday

A Downward Spiral. Thought I did OK but looking at the power numbers, it looks like I was a little down from the last time I did the same workout. NP 256W and 248W for the 2 sets. 80 TSS points.

Thursday

Third consecutive Sufferfest video, A Very Dark Place. This video really forces you to push hard. Really had a hard time on the last 2 sets. Although the Fabian Roubaix video on Lap 4 should really motivate people. Just something about trying to pound HARD over the cobbles just gets you to pour some more juice out.

5 x 4 min laps: NP 283W, 285W, 287W, 282W, 282W.

75 TSS points.

Saturday

The typical Saturday ride to Sempah with the boys. Felt really crap out of the gate but felt better as we got along. 2 x 20 up Sempah and felt better than previously. NP 259W and 261W. Attacked just after the climb on the Hartamas ramp and pushed all the way til the Penchala toll. 200 TSS points.

Sunday

130 km ride to the Mantin toll on LEKAS and back. Supposed to be a steady ride but with Leonard in tow, it was steady alright. A steady 33 km/h average and 35 km/h for the last 2.5 hours. Even threw in an attack after the Kerinchi toll just for kicks. Breakdown of the ride:

1-Utama Junction to Beranang R&R: NP 205W, average speed 32.8 km/h

Beranang R&R to Kajang Petronas: NP 210W, average speed 35.0 km/h

Kajang Petronas to TTDI: NP 217W, average speed 35.6 km/h

250 TSS points.

So total for the week was 715 TSS points. One more week of work and then I can dial it back down a bit.

Week 4

Still a little low on the TSS count, but a good quality week overall. Although I only managed 4 rides. Was supposed to ride Tuesday but was REALLY tired after coming back from Penang. Slept the afternoon away. Man, being 30 really catches up with you...

Monday: To Balik Pulau and back with FTP on Sardon and tempo on the coastal road. Sardon NP 268W and 264W, tempo NP 217W. 125 TSS points.

Wednesday: A Very Dark Place. 6 x 4 min, AP 265W, 277W, 281W, 284W, 284W, 288W. 80 TSS points.

Thursday: A Local Hero. 3 x 6 min @ FTP AP 251W, 251W, 253W. 5 x 3 min AP 260W, 265W, 270W, 271W, 261W. 4 x 2 min AP 288W, 284W, 286W, 272W. 100 TSS points.

Saturday: Big Puncak Alam + Dragnoback loop, 3 laps ascending power all Zone 3 NP 214W, 219W, 225W. 300 TSS points.

The Saturday ride was HARD. Done in the pouring rain for the first 2 laps. Pushed it on the last lap with a raging headwind on the front straight. Rolling climbs were hard coz there is no momentum to take up to the top. Seems like the climbs from the reverse side are all small chainring climbs, steep up, shallow down, and is reversed if done from the other side.

Week 3

I was pretty lax in updating this blog last week. No excuse other than being forgetful, and lazy. Week 3 was supposed to be a big week before a recovery week, but Hari Raya Aidiladha being where it was in the cycle, it became a lower TSS week instead. Part recovery week, some might say. Despite being a low TSS week, I still managed to log 4 quality rides for 490 TSS points. The weeks workouts are as below.

Tuesday: Downward Spiral. Main Sets NP 249W and 256W for 85 TSS points.

Wednesday: Revolver. Main Set NP 266W for 75 TSS points.

Thursday: FTP set. Over/Under at FeesstNP 234W + 6 x 5 min with 1 min RI NP 240W for 75 TSS points.

Saturday: Long hilly ride in Penang. Sardon 1 NP 259W, Sardon 2 NP 250W, Sardon 3 NP 252W, Teluk Bahang 1 NP 254W, Teluk Bahang 2 NP 261W, Sardon 4 NP 247W, total elevation gain 1550m for 255 TSS points.

But of course, any weight loss potential was thrown out the window thanks to gorging during the Selama Aidiladha Meat Fest. Oh well. It was a "recovery week", anyway, kan?

Day 14

Sunday was Home - Perez - Home again, but this time with the boys. Sundays are long steady ride days, so kept it steady most of the way, especially on the way back, where usually I take the opportunity to ride it at a hard tempo. The only interval was up Perez. Must have been a tailwind most of the way up, coz it was another pretty fast 26+ minutes to the top. Leading into the climb, Leonard was going like a bat out of hell. In my head, I was thinking "this is what TDF riders must feel like heading into the last climb as the domestiques line them out". Was surprised I managed to hold it up at threshold, since it was a hard week with a hard ride on Saturday.

Ride stats:

Home - Perez - Home: 120 km

Perez: 26:30 NP 261W

235 TSS points.

Day 13

Was supposed to be 2 loops of the Dragonback + Puncak Alam today, but Leonard punctured and ran out of tubes, so at the end of the 2nd time up the Dragonback, we turned right towards Puncak Alam climbs and turned for home.

Workout stats:

Home - Sungai Buloh - Dragonback Start: NP 192W

Dragonback Loop: 18.9 km, 35:30, NP 244W

Dragonback: 5.5 km, 10:40, NP 273W

Puncak Alam Climbs: 7.7 km, 15:00, NP 238W

205 TSS points.

Day 10

A Public Holiday on Wednesday meant a longer weekday ride. On the menu today was Home - Perez - Home. All the boys didn't make it for one reason or another.

It was my best ride so far of the two weeks, although it started out far from it. Legs felt heavy all the way to Batu 18, where I stopped to say hi to Ishsal who was meeting up with the others for TSB's Tribute Ride. Felt much better after that. Maybe thanks to a shot of Twiggies.

An FTP set all the way up Perez, where I felt better for close to 30 minutes than I felt for the first 20 on Saturday up Sempah. Maybe Twiggies is magic! :-) I think it was a PB up Perez. Before it was 26 minutes from the junction, but today it was 26:30 from the start of the climb instead. Not too sure as it's been a while, and previous data was lost along with the old laptop. So this can be the new baseline.

Pushed REAL HARD from Batu 18 to home and made it under an hour. Average speed was 37 km/h and it was mostly all me, with some help only on the Phoenix Plaza climb.

Ride data:

Distance: 120 km

Ride time: 4:00

Home - Foot of Perez: NP 194W

Perez: FTP interval NP 261W 26:30

Batu 18 - Home: NP 234W

250 TSS points

Day 9

Monday was just an easy 30 minute active recovery ride on the trainer. Need to flush that lactic acid out of the legs somehow. Using the stick, the legs felt swollen and tender. Maybe inflammation from all the hard riding in the first week.

Due to Wednesday being a public holiday hence a ride in the morning, I had to ride on Tuesday morning so that I have plenty of recovery time. If I had ridden in the evening, chances are recovery is compromised and I won't be able to get the best out of the ride on Wednesday. So The Sufferfest: Revolver it was on the menu. Short and sweet. And I wasn't too late for work today.

Something I noticed (actually, it's been pretty apparent for a while now) that I do better at lower cadences. At RPM >100, RPE is quite high for the first 5 >300W intervals. But once I started riding the intervals at around 90 - 95 RPM, I felt better across the board and could deliver more constant power to the pedals. Maybe it's all these time riding as a triathlon and a lot of steady state efforts. Is that necessarily a bad thing? Maybe, for road racing, where there's a lot of accelerations to close the gaps or out of the corners. I won't base my whole training on getting my cadence up, but including a couple of intervals with higher cadence should help with things, overall. Who's to say that lower cadences will ALWAYS work. Might have worked for Lance. But an n=1 case shouldn't govern everything. Hail "Der Kaiser" Jan Ulrich!!! :-)

Workout stats:

Main set: NP 258W

65 TSS points

Week 1 Round Up

So Week 1 is over and done with. A bit low on the TSS side than I would have liked. 5 consecutive rainy evenings meant I was limited to the trainer for evening rides. And riding the trainer limits my watts by around 10 - 20 watts compared to riding outside, hence a lower TSS for the same amount of ride time. Although riding to The Sufferfest's videos does provide a focused approach to trainer riding.

Was aiming for something around 700 TSS points for the week, but only managed 660. But next Wednesday is a public holiday so an opportunity to fit in a slightly longer ride during the week to recover some TSS points. But all in all, a good start to the cycle.

Something I have to take better care of is post-ride nutrition. Get a protein shake down immediately post-ride, and have a small meal within 1 hour after ride. This is definitely more important if I'm riding again the next day. Recovery is definitely impaired if too much calorie deficit (as I found out this weekend, and it's not something new I've discovered).

Week 1 stats:

Total Hours: 10:05

Total TSS Points: 660 points

Week End Weight: 173 lbs (easier to track in lbs as variation is more easily detectable)

Total Work: 6675 kJ

Day 7

3 hour aerobic was on the cards today. Decided to do the Home - Sungai Buloh - GCE - Latar Expressway - Ijok - GCE - Home. A bit more than 90 km on the cards. Was supposed to be aerobic but turned out to be low tempo, thanks to overzealousness on the way to Ijok on my part, and Leonard's strong legs on the way back.

Legs felt heavy on the bike, mainly I think coz I took too long between finishing riding on Saturday to getting some food in me. Plus, I was on my feet walking around looking for second hand cars for two hours in the afternoon. I have to be more vigilant about post-ride nutrition if I am going to be able to ride hard on Saturday AND Sunday.

Ride stats:

15 min warm up

Home - Sungai Buloh - GCE - Latar Expressway - Ijok: 1:30, NP 199W

Ijok - GCE - Home: 1:00, NP 206W

15 min cool down

160 TSS points

Day 6

The normal Saturday ride: Home - Sempah - Home with FTP intervals up Sempah and tempo on DUKE on the way back. Rode with the gang today.

Up Sempah was 2 x 20 @ FTP. Felt good in the first half of the first interval. But as the interval wore on, started to feel worse and worse and somewhat faded at the end of the second interval. But it was the first time that I made it up before the supposed end of the second interval. Reached the top at around 19 minutes of the second interval.

And on the way back, instead of the typical benchmark distance mid-Zone 3 from the DUKE entrance to the end of Penchala Link, it was a two-man breakaway with Leonard up to the Penchala Toll, ridden at close to FTP, reaching V02max on the climbs (didn't go all the way to the end as we waited for Terry at the toll).

Ride stats:

FTP intervals: 2 x 20 (NP 258W, 257W)

DUKE: 21 minutes to Penchala Toll, NP 255W

200 TSS points

Day 4

Mother Nature is conspiring against me, trying to spoil my training. And it's only the first week! But actually, thank God it's the first week, while mental will is still strong. And the trainer is not the most hated sight. Yet.

Today it was The Sufferfest: Fight Club. There's just something the makes me want to smash Cunego's face in at the end of the workout. Thanks to him, it was countless times of attacks. So much so that I only could respond to every other one in the last set. Still, 70 TSS points in the bank.

Workout stats:

1 x 6:00 - 250W

4 x 6:30 (4:00 @ 240W, 2:30 @ 260W) - 256W, 252W, 258W, 260W.

Day 3

Another rainy evening in KL. Another day confined to the trainer. Some ascending extended tempo sets for today to the video of the 2011 Paris Roubaix race.

1st set was 4 x 3 min ascending from 200W to 230W. Decided to extend time at each level to 4 minutes for the next 3 sets. The last set was to the last 12 kms of the race. Perfect motivation to push hard as van Summeren tries to stay away and Cancellara attacks the "coward" group. AP for each of the 4 sets were 219W, 221W, 221W and 223 W. Total ride time including 10 minute warm up was 1:15 for 85 TSS points.

Day 2

Another day on the trainer due to time constraints (And rain. What's up with the evening rain nowadays? is it the monsoon season already?). Today it's slightly longer FTP intervals. The Sufferfest: Angels. Workout stats:

Over/Under set: AP 239W.

Main sets: AP 258W, 260W, 262W.

75 TSS points.

So close, yet so far. Only 2 watts in the first set until I achieve the trifecta of 260W for all 3 sets of Angels. It's been a long time and I though I'd never get there. Soon, though...

Day 1

It's supposed to be an R&R day today. But after the eating marathon over the weekend, I'm feeling slightly flabby so I decided to give the legs a spin out. Stormy in the evening so I was confined to the trainer. What better way to make time fly than with The Sufferfest videos. Revolver was the pick today as I didn't feel like spending too long on the trainer, and the mind wasn't that up for long-ish intervals. Short and sweet. That's what it's all about today.

Pretty heavy going the first couple of sets as I washed all the lactic out from Saturday's ride. Was doubtful I could finish the 15 intervals but made it over the line. Just.

45 minutes. Main set 16 x 1:00 >300 W with 1:00 RI. 30 min NP 259W. 65 TSS points.

I'll never be able to achieve outdoor watts inside, and usually I knock off 20 watts in comparison. All's you can do is all's you can do. So I'll take these 65 TSS points and store it in The Bank of De Ronde.

Introduction

This blog is to log my training in preparation for the Ronde van Vlaanderen Sportive on the 31st of March 2012, which is around 6 months away. And also to chronicle my training beyond that. I have two measurable start points and short term (~6 months) goals, which are:

Starting Weight: 78 kg

Starting FTP: 260W

Target Weight Loss: 5 - 6 kg in 6 months

Target FTP Gain: 10 - 15W in 6 months

These are the two metrics that are most important in my progression as a cyclist. Everyone knows it's a W/kg game. The aim is to make the watts go up, and the kg's go down. The targets are achievable in my opinion. 1 kg a month is feasible, and 10 - 15 watts over 6 months is definitely not unheard of. The challenge is to be consistent and disciplined in my application over these next 6 months.

Here's to me achieving these goals.