Jeff Cup 2005

Charlottesville, VA

45 degrees and drizzling. i am preparing for what is possibly the hardest road race i will do all year (never understood why we do this race in the end of march every year)- the Jefferson Cup, just outside of Charlottesville. it's a 10-mile loop with a fair amount of climbing, including a start on a 2-mile 4% average grade road.

my team did well. we had quite a few top 10s, and one of our guys won the cat 4 race in a commanding Pettachi-like sprint. i had 2 choices- the 50-mile 30+/40+ or the 80-mile 1,2,3 race. i opted for the shorter...

the race started okay- my HR was up a tad, but not unbearable. the start is a long grade with a few quick steeps, after the first turn there are a few short steeps, but also a few long descents and rollers. i was comfortable on that section, and felt like if nothing else i would be able to ride the race, but not be animated. then we got back to the start/finish: at the base of the long start road, suddenly i couldn't maintain the pace. the road turns up slightly, and i was quickly off the back, with my HR up around 183. i maintained that level for much too long, and felt the legs just blowing up revolution by revolution. the $377 compact crankset i just bought was of NO help. nothing was going to save me.

so, i lasted one lap with the group. i rode one more lap solo, catching a few guys who were falling off the back and trying to hold the wheels of a few guys who had mechanicals on the first lap and were trying to get back to the field.



i've been using the Phinney-Lemond-Friel method of off-season and early-season training for about 6 years. Zone 2 base miles - 60-70% of max, which for me is 120-140 bpm. and every year it takes me a few months of racing to be able to finish my races with even an atom of energy left. so i started reading the Carmichael book- The Ultimate Ride, and did his field test- 8 mins of as hard as you can go in the biggest gear you can push comfortably at 90-95 rpms. do this twice when rested, give some time between, get your average HR for the 16 mins, and that gives your your average sustainable HR (i got 175). and that's what you base your training on- which ideally, will rise as your fitness rises. and based on this, there are basic types of training- Foundation, Endurance, Tempo, etc... and my Foundation miles (<89%) cap is at 156. so i'm rethinking my training, and realising that all the time i've spent at 135-140 (i used to freak out and back waaay off when i got near 150) have been recreational miles. i'm rethinking my entire strategy for the season- granted, i will still "race into shape" like i've apparently always done, but my easy rides are going to become harder than they used to be. my training is going to become more specific based on these numbers in the Carmichael book.

if you're using any other training guideline book, i highly recommend looking into The Ultimate Ride. it's changing the way i am thinking about training entirely.