Legit Sore

Yesterday was the first time I can recall my quads being actually sore from cycling.  I've had that day-after burn from running and strength training (squats, deadlifts, etc), but never from cycling... until yesterday.  The workout was Spruce Knob, and consists of two thirty minute intervals separated by a 6 minute recovery interval.  All this at 85% FTP.  In other words, it's a tough one.  A lot of time is spent very near threshold power, and there's not a ton of relative recovery time between efforts.

I've done multiple centuries in the Kansas heat.  I've done the 120 mile Triple Bypass in Colorado three times (well, I actually finished it twice).  I've done all-out nothing-left-behind time trials and end-of-long-ride sprints.  None of those have me lingering muscle soreness.  The left me totally cooked, but not sore.

I'm going to read that as a sign that TrainerRoad is working.  Those workouts are the cause of this soreness, after all.  The weekend high intensity workouts prescribed in my Sustained Power Build plan are... well... intense.

On the TrainerRoad - What I've Learned So Far

Over the last year or so, after a several year hiatus, I've immersed myself in the world of cycling again.  This time, it's with a much higher focus on actual "training", rather than the bike riding I passed off as training in years past.

I've been riding bikes since I was about 4.  It wasn't really until this past April, 40*cough*-some-odd years later that I really started legit training.

I'm no stranger to hard rides.  Some of my "career highlights" include:

• Multiple unsupported centuries and near centuries in the Kansas summer heat and humidity.
• Multiple supported centuries and metric centuries in the Kansas summer heat and humidity.
• Three attempts at the Triple Bypass in Colorado, with two completions.
• The Tour of the Moon in Colorado.
• Thousands of miles on secondary Kansas highways and urban streets.

In April of 2017, I started riding a lot more in preparation for the Tour of the Moon in September.  That was a fantastic ride.  We had a great time.  6 months later, I raced the 2018 Corporate Challenge KC Time Trial.  It's a paltry 2 laps on the Kansas Speedway, totaling 3 miles.  I did it in 7m 22s, at an average power of about 250 watts, and I was completely cooked.  It took me 10 minutes to catch my breath, and another hour for the chest burn to subside.  I left everything out there on the track, and enjoyed every second of it.  As an added bonus, that performance earned me 5th in my age bracket overall, and 1st in my division!

That performance proved to be the tipping point for me.  Maybe I can actually do a little more with this cycling thing.  It inspired me to graduate from simply "riding my bike to get better" to actually "training."  I'd been listening to the TrainerRoad podcast for a few months already, so the concept of structured training was already in my mind.  After that race, I bought a smart trainer, the Tacx Neo Smart, some Favero Assioma power meter pedals, a few other odds and ends for my "pain cave", and a subscription to TrainerRoad.

I researched the training plans, asked some questions, and came up with a path designed to generate the most fitness given my limited time.  On August 4th, myself and a bunch of friends are tackling the Copper Triangle in Colorado (we do like our Colorado rides).  My training began 15 weeks prior to Go Time, on April 22nd.  That's not a lot of time, when you consider that the standard TR plan takes 28+ weeks.  I had to adjust the plans, and bank on having sufficient carry-over fitness to make it work.

So far, I think it's working.

Recall that I was completely spent lungs a-burnin' after pushing 250 watts for 7m 22s.

On Saturday June 8th, after training for 6 weeks, I did a workout composed of 5 6 minute intervals at 250 watts separated by 4 minutes of recovery.  That's nearly the equivalent of doing the Corporate Challenge Time Trial 5 times over with 4 minutes rest in between.  And I rocked it.  It was definitely challenging and there were moments when I didn't think I could do it.  But I did it.  And I wasn't completely spent afterwards.

In 6 weeks, I went from from being completely spent after a hard effort, to being able to repeat that hard effort 5 times with minimal rest.  That's improvement.

So, what have I learned so far:

• There is a distinct difference between riding my bike, and training.  Training definitely involves riding my bike, but riding my bike doesn't necessarily involve training.
• There is no substitute for honest effort structured training, designed by people who understand the sport and the physiology required to perform well.  Fully enjoying my outdoor rides is the point at the end of the day, but structured disciplined indoor training is vastly superior in terms of making the most progress in the least amount of time.
• Nutrition matters.  I knew this.  Now I know that I really don't know that much.  I've learned that it's not just what you eat, but also when you eat it.  Maybe when you eat it  is more important.  I'm still learning this.
• Cycling improvement is more like weight training than I'd previously considered.  The only way to get stronger is to push deep into uncomfortable territory.  Sounds so obvious, now that I write it down.
• That this is a journey.  Getting fit and becoming a faster more capable cyclist isn't a destination, it's a commitment that will take as much time as I'm willing to give it.