Winter Training - Mental Push

I have not wrote a post in a while so I decided its time to start writing again! This time I will be talking about the mental determination it takes to get through a 5 month winter on trainer. 

Like the many people who are reading this, you too have to face the long and cold winters of the Midwest and you fight every day to hop on the trainer and ride every day. I have never known anyone that enjoys doing this and if you do I would love to hear why. I know that every day I pull my trainer out knowing that for the next hour or two I will be going through a multitude of mental games of telling myself to quit to then telling myself you can do one more set; it will be worth it when you start racing. All of this is happening on top of you dripping sweat due to the fact that your probably in a basement with a box fan in front of you trying to not die from dehydration. 

I do not know any other sport that forces you to due such a cruel thing every year but I guess that is one of the negative things of being a cyclist in the Midwest. Even though it does suck when you are on the trainer, many of us know that if you put in the effort and time in the winter it will all be worth it in the summer. I also think that it allows cyclist from the Midwest to have a little edge on how far they can mentally push themselves in a race. People who live in the sunshine of California rarely have to hit the trainer or force themselves to do a 4 hour ride in 20 degree weather while it is snowing out. They simply get to go out everyday where it is 60 degrees and sunny and have nothing to worry about. They never really have to mentally push themselves except to just finish a workout.

Where here in the Midwest you have to mentally tell yourself to go on the trainer and torture yourself for the next hour or so. I know that whenever I am on the trainer I go through at least 10 mental fights each day telling myself that I can complete this workout and can then get off the trainer, and I am sure many others would agree. No one looks forward to coming home and cranking out 10 intervals on the trainer unless they are nuts. 

But back to the point, I think that due to the fact that for those 5 long agonizing months of sitting in the basement on the trainer make all of us not only a physically stronger each year but make us mentally stronger as well. I believe that being mentally stronger plays such a large role in racing and if you do not have a good attitude at the start line than you probably will not end up doing well. You have to mentally prepare yourself and think that you can hold that persons wheel otherwise you are never going to do it and you will continue to finish in the back of the pack.  

So with that I believe that if you are given the opportunity to live in the Midwest and be a cyclist you will become a mentally strong rider if you are to put in the hours on the trainer over the winter. Yes, it may suck but if you are not getting on your bike every day then you are missing out on valuable training that your competitors are getting in. So the next time you are debating or not whether to get on the trainer and do the grueling workout just think about how much stronger of rider you will become not only physically but mentally as well; so when it does come down to the last lap at your favorite race you can tell yourself you do have more left in the tank then everyone else and out sprint them to the line. 

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My Big Races for 2014

This is a list of some of the bigger races I am doing this year or am focusing on that I look forward to racing at this upcoming season. Some of these races are very large races that draw cyclist from all over the United States while other only draw locals but they are races that appeal to me, and I look forward to racing at each year.

La Crosse Omnium

My first big race of this year will be on the first weekend of May in La Crosse, Wi. I really enjoy this weekend of bike racing because it is right in my backyard and I am very familiar with the courses so I know what I am going to be facing on the day of the race. The first day is the Time Trial at Grandad's Bluff that is straight uphill for 600ft. This is a course that appeals to me because I am good at climbing and allows me to get an edge on my competitors. The second day is a flat four turn criterium downtown that is nothing special and is somewhat boring. The third day wraps up the omnium with a hilly road race in Minnesota. This is a very challenging road race that suits climbers due to a 500ft climb every lap. This tends to be the determning factor in this race and where people get dropped. The rest of the course is relatively flat or downhill so it is hard to get popped. Overall this is a low key race but I really enjoy the courses and scenery for this race which makes it one of my favorite races of the year.

Memorial Day Weekend

My biggest weekend of racing will be Memorial Day Weekend in Iowa. This a 4 day event consisting of one road race and three criteriums, no day is like each other which is something that you do not often seen in an weekend event. The premier event for this weekend is on Saturday at Snake Alley. This is my favorite race of the year and I always try to do my best here each year. Each lap at the snake consist of you either climbing the cobbles or descending through the town of Burlington, IA. Some people call this a cyclocross race because all tactics that you have ever learned no longer work on this course because it is hard to draft people at such slow speeds, and with narrow streets it is not easy to move up if you have the power to do so anyways. This is not only a physical test but a mental one as well, many races do not put you in your red zone every lap but if you want to stay in the front at the Snake that is what you have to do in order to win. The rest of the weekend still has great courses and atmosphere, and people from all over the United States flock to Iowa for this weekend of racing making the competition level very high. 

Tour of Galena

The Tour of Galena is  3 day weekend race that occurs in Galena, IL. This is another weekend that is suited for climbers. The first day is only 30 miles but has over 2,000ft of climbing which equates to 66ft per mile; not many races in the Midwest are capable of having these numbers and makes this a paradise for people who can climb. The second day has a hilly TT that is a simple out and back course with one nasty climb that you have to do twice. Later in the day the road race occurs, this is another very hilly course that will challenge you every lap. I tend to enjoy this course because it has a lot of false flats where you can push the pace and slowly drop people off the back of the pack. The third and final day of the Tour of Galena consist of a 5 corner criterium in downtown Galena. Overall, this is my second favorite weekend of racing mainly due to how much climbing is involved. 

U23 Nationals - Madison, WI

My next big race for the year will be the U23 Nationals located in Madison, WI. This will be my first time doing this race so I do not have any past experiences on these courses. I hope to do well at these races but we will see how the competition stacks up when I get there. I do know that the road race is a hilly course that appeals to climbers so that is one plus that will benefit me in July.

Edwardsville Criterium

The Edwardsville Criterium takes place right before the big weekend down in St. Louis and I will be able to use this race to see where my fitness level is at. I was able to spectate this race last year and it seemed very interesting to me and was a race that I wanted to do in the future. The course for this criterium is a figure eight with the back sections have very tight corners that spread the field out. Another thing that drew my attention to this race was that it was a race in the dark. Not many times do you get to race in the dark, so this is one of those chances to try it out and also since the first night of the Gateway Cup is at night you could use this as practice race. This race last year had a very stacked field and was a race that never really settled down and seemed like it would be a good place to test where your body is at before going into a larger event.

Gateway Cup

My final weekend of racing will be down in St. Louis for the Gateway Cup. This a four day weekend of criterium racing where people from all over the United States come to race at. I find this to be a weekend of racing with a large amount of spectators and gives you an atmosphere that feels as though you are in an UCI event. Not many races have rows of people lining the barriers and pounding on the boards and when your out their burying yourself into your stem that gives you that extra little motivation to hang on and push through it. I do not know if I could pick a favorite course for this weekend but I know every day but that last day I enjoy thoroughly. The last day has never been appealing to me and it seems as though many people just do that race because they have already been there for three days but that may just be me. Overall, this weekend is packed of fast high speed racing with courses full of spectators to keep you motivated.

Hope you enjoyed! Remember to share below!

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Garmin Edge 800 Custom Startup Screen

This post will show you how to startup screen on your Garmin Edge 800, 810, and 510. The purpose of this screen is to show text on your Garmin when it turns on so that you or someone who finds your Garmin may contact you.

Step by Step Instructions:

1. Plug your Garmin into your computer

2. Access the hard-drive of your device

3. Go to the Garmin folder

4. Go to the startup text file

5. Put your own custimized message after the "<!-- Type your message on the next line -->" line.

6. You now have your own customized startup message

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Garmin Edge 800 Unboxing / Short Review

This post will mostly be a series of pictures showing my unboxing of my Garmin Edge 800 that I got this week. I decided to upgrade to the 800 from 705 because it allows me more power meter data that can be accessed while you are riding rather than when your are done riding. 

My initial reaction to this Garmin was that the screen is far bigger than the 705 and a lot more vivid in color after turning it on for first time.After playing around with the 800 for a while I was able to come away with a few things that made it stand out over the 705.

1. More data per screen

2. More screens

3. Lap Summary screen

The 705 only allows 6 fields of data per screen compared to the 800 which allows 10. It also allowed the user to have 8 screens when the 705 could only have 3. The final thing that really caught my eye was the lap summary page that showed you your statistics from your laps that you can check while you are riding. This was a feature that was neat to me because it allowed you to see your past averages on your laps so that you can continue to be persistent in your workouts.

The Box

What is inside

Garmin Edge 800 Unit (Front)

Garmin Edge 800 (Data Ports)

Accessories

Home Screen

Data Field

Map

Data View

History View

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My Short Time With A Power Meter - FTP Testing

Introduction

In September of last year I was searching through eBay and happen to find a good deal on a power meter and bought it. I knew a little about what a power meter did at that time, and that more and more people around me were getting them so I decided to hop on the bandwagon. What I did not expect though is how big of role it would have in my training and racing. After being immobilized for a month in a half to a broken jaw, I was starting from ground zero with this new "toy." So I went riding for a week or two always looking at these watts popping up on my screen and pushing on my pedals harder to see these numbers go up and down. I wanted to know more about these numbers so I went to Training Peaks and did some research to figure out in detail what these numbers mean. After reading through their blog I was amazed with all of the information that was in front of me and it took me a while to absorb all of that, but the first thing that I needed to do was find out my "FTP."

FTP Testing

According to Trainingpeaks FTP is "The FTP is the maximal wattage an individual can sustain for an effort of approximately 45 - 60 min in duration. What is the significance of the FTP you might ask? FTP enables further calculations regarding TSS and performance modeling relative to the individual’s fitness level. This is critical because, for optimal training and performance, pace based training metrics need to be expressed relative to a given athlete’s own ability, not the ability of some Olympic or professional athlete, or the athlete’s training partner, etc."

There are two ways of testing you FTP but the typical way of testing your FTP is to go as hard as you can for 20 minutes, and then to multiply that number by .95 and that will be equivalent to your 60 Min FTP.

Ex. 400 Watts x .95 = 380 Watts

To see how you stack up against others and track your efforts you would have to know your watts per kilogram (w/kg). This is any wattage divided by your weight in kilograms.

Ex. 380 Watts / 100 kg = 3.8 w/kg

You now have what your watts per kilogram is for your FTP and can use that number with the chart below to see where you stack up compared to others.

This rider would be ranked as a Cat 3 rider and has room to improve.

My First FTP Test

Going into my first FTP I had know idea what numbers I was capable of holding so I took a guess and tried to hold 260 watts I started my test and I felt good so after 10 minutes I decided to amp up my wattage to 270 and see if I could hold it until the end of the 20 minutes. I was feeling strong going into 15 minutes so again I raised my wattage up to 280 and sat at the number until the end and gave it all I had.

Obviously, this was my first test I did not know how to exactly pace but I gave it my best shot to see what would happen. I think that after looking at my data I could have came out with a better result, but I can not complain. My 20 min average was 262 watts and since I weigh 61.7 kilograms my watts per kilogram came out too 4.0 w/kg. After comparing my number to the chart I came in at a high category 3 which made since to me after only getting in a couple weeks of training since I had my surgery. 

My Results

My Last FTP Test

My last FTP test took place this week and I was very pleased with the results. I had not done a FTP test since late October so I was overdue for a new one. I did not want to do one in December or January due to the fact that I was sick and was never fully healthy to perform a test, so I waited until February. I really wanted to push myself on this test and try to get a number that may have been out of my reach. My goal was to average 325 watts for 20 minutes to get and FTP of 5 watts per kilogram. This number would put me in the mid category 1 where is where I wanted to be in May. So I hooked up my trainer and did my typical warm up and went for it. The first 5 minutes were fairly comfortable and was right on goal averaging 325 watts, this trend of averaging 325 watts was consistent for the entire 20 minutes but my heart rate was not. 

5 Minute Avg Heart Rate: 184 bpm

10 Minute Avg Heart Rate: 187 bpm
15 Minute Avg Heart Rate: 189 bpm
20 Minute Avg Heart Rate: 190 bpm
Max Heart Rate: 195 bpm

Even though I have held these numbers before I did not feel as comfortable as I usually do, but I still was able to reach my goal that I wanted.

My Results

As you can see my pacing was a little more efficient in this test compared to this one now that I know how to use my power meter. I would also like to note that after only using a power meter for 5 months my FTP has gone up 20% and may increase as much 28%.For my next test I want to try an average 340 watts to get around 5.2 w/kg, getting me into the high category 1/ low domestic pro range. 

To be continued...

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The Winter Bike Setup - Felt F25

For this winter I decided to throw together a bike from old parts so that my race bike would not have to deal with all of the wear and tear of winter riding. My goal for this bike was to have a reliable and strong bike that could get me thorough the rough Wisconsin winter and sand coated roads. Last winter I was getting tired of painstakingly cleaning my bike after each ride due to everything be covered in sand, so now I am now as worried for the integrity of the components so I will not have to clean them as much and will be able to enjoy my training without having to deal with the cleaning. So far this bike has had no troubles this winter and has held up great, but I have not brought this bike up to Wisconsin so when I go back up in a few weeks it will really get it's test. I believe that this bike will hold up to the beachy roads of Wisconsin, and I will be able to continue to enjoy my winter training. I do hope to add some fenders onto this bike so I will not have to deal with spray up from the water but have yet to find any fenders that will work with this bike, but maybe with more research I will be able to find a pair and slap them on. Overall, this bike will serves it purpose in the winter and it will be nice to go back to the race bike in April and not have to lug around 20 lbs with me every ride.

Bike Setup

Frame: Felt F25

Fork: Easton Ec70

Headset:FSA Integrated

Stem: ITM 110mm

Handlebar: Zeus Cat

Handlebar Tape: Sram

Saddle: Fizik Arione

Seatpost: Specialized

Seat Binder: Felt

Front Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra

Rear Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra

Shift & Brake Levers: Shimano Ultegra

Crank Set: Sram Force 53/39

Bottom Bracket: Sram BB

Cassette: Shimano Ultegra 12-25

Chain: Shimano Ultegra

Brakes: Shimano Ultegra

Wheelset: Velomax Vista

Inner Tubes: Sram

Tyres: Michelin Pro4 Endurance

Skewers: Velomax

Cables & Housings: Jagwire/Sram

Pedals: Look Keo

Computer: Garmin Edge 705

Power Meter: Stages Power Meter

Light: 3800 Lm 3x Cree XM-L T6 Headlight

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Stages Power Meter Review

Whats in the Box? What you need?

Sram Rival Crank Arm

This is my review of my Stages Power meter, my first power meter that I have ever used. I have currently had this power meter for about 4 months and have truly enjoyed using it every day. Throughout my 4 months of using my Stages i have only come across 2 issues that have now been resolved. The first issue that I had with my power meter is that it was having problems staying connected to my Garmin while riding in an area with a large amount of wireless routers, but after the recent firmware update I have not had an issue with that due to the update. 

Connective Issues

The other problem that I had was a small plastic piece cracking off where the battery is held in. This caused a plethora of issues with my wattage and connective issues, but after a short phone call to Stages. I had  a brand new power meter the next day and ever since then I have not had any other issues. 

Crack in case in the upper corner

I know for a fact that this power meter is doing me nothing but good, and there are results to show that as well. A local cat 3 climb called Chimpmunk Ridge is one of the hardest climbs around, and I was never close to being able to get the best time of that climb. I knew that with my power meter I had a shot at taking the KOM on the climb so I set out that day and took the KOM by almost a minute on a 6 min climb with even slowing down at the end of the climb. That was also they day where I set my 5 min record of 6.12 w/kg. The time before that when I had gone up that climb I was almost a minute and a half slower. This spring when I begin to work on 5- 10 min intervals I plan to take another couple of KOM's from the surrounding area to show that training with power really does make a big difference while on your bike, and I hope that this review helps you see that.

Overall this is a great power meter and would defiantly buy from this company again! Yes, I may have had some minor issues but due to the great customer service at Stages I was able to get them resolved and was back to training again. Many people ask the question of with the power meter only taking number from one leg is their a difference in numbers, and from what I have saw their is a minimal difference in numbers, but what really matters is that your numbers are consistent so that you can continue to train at the same level. Ever since I have gotten this power meter I have only seen my results go up not only by over 10% in wattage but in placing as well. So if your looking to enhance your training and get better results you should head over to  Stages Power and get your self a crank arm!
I would also like to add that Team Sky has now signed with Stages Power and will be using their power meters for the 2014 Season showing that Stages is truly a company that knows what they are doing!

Overall Stats

Performance- 8/10

Quality- 7/10

Customer Service- 10/10

Benefits- 11/10

Leave a comment below if you have any questions or concerns!

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