OFF SEASON
In the off season prior to last year I was on my indoor trainer quite a bit. Not a ton, but enough to hit the ground running, so to speak, when the season began in earnest. But then early in the season with all the rain I should have been on the indoor trainer on rainy days, but was so sick of the thing I avoided it like the plague. So my fitness level was not what it could have been.
This year I am taking an entirely different approach. I am literally hitting the ground running. I am training for an April marathon, though whether or not I actually do the marathon will depend on 1) whether I am able to keep up with the mileage set forth in the training plan, and 2) whether I can avoid injury while ramping up for an April marathon. April is cycling season, but it is early in the season. Running is not cycling, but it is definitely cardio-intensive, so I'm curious to see how well I will transition back to the saddle.
WEATHER
Our 2011 goals were lofty, and largely not attained due primarily to weather. We did increase our average distance per ride from 43 to 50 miles, but with far fewer rides it was impossible to reach the desired seasonal totals.
Said cruddy 2011 weather generally kept these fair-weather-cyclists from riding the desired miles well into June. And without riding the desired miles early in the season it is tough to reach lofty overall seasonal goals. So one of our goals for 2012 is better weather. Since this is completely outside of our control, we plan to hit the road as often as possible early in the season. If it is dry, we will ride. Something akin to the old bird-in-the-hand adage comes to mind: 30 dry miles today is better than 60 potentially wet miles tomorrow. We won't intentionally ride in the rain any, but we might start rides that are iffy weather-wise, keeping them close to home so we can dash back under shelter fairly quickly. I specifically have in mind some hill repeats on Fruit Valley Road that are pretty close to home.
However, being a realist, and writing this post while buckets are falling outside, I know the rain will come. And possibly in record amounts if January is any indication. So I have altered our projected 2012 Goal portion of the graph of Riding Miles by Date to factor in the time of year. Last year I projected something like 180 or 190 miles per week from March through October. Not this year. February and March are a minimal 80 miles per week, April thru May are 130 miles per week, and we should be able to sustain over 200 miles per week from June until mid-September, after which time we will finish out the season at 140 miles per week. Time will tell...
INTENSITY
In 2011 Amy conquered the Mt. Shasta Super Century, but it conquered me. I am convinced it has to do with a lack of intensity training on my part. Yes, I suffer from the heat, and the altitude doesn't help, but I think it is more than that. The best way to train for really long climbs is to do really long climbs. Absent that, ride with your heart rate in the climbing zone for an extended period, even if you are not climbing. I didn't do enough of this last year.
I used to think that our Throbbing Thigh Thriller was a sufficient training ride for me, providing plenty of intensity with all of the little climbs. However, this is only true if I am pushing it. Looking back on it last year I can say that once I got in pretty good shape I did not push it enough in our training rides. Or perhaps a better way to say it is that I recovered too much after each of the climbs. I need to have a plan for a "speed ride" each week (e.g. sustained tempo ride or intensity interval ride) and then stick to the plan.
TESTING
I did some Lactate Threshold test rides in both 2009 and 2010, but I neglected to do any last year. I don't think I really need the heart rate training numbers updated all that often, and in fact this is why I didn't bother to update them last year. However, it does provide a standardized measure of fitness progress. Plus, a 30-minute all out speed ride is about as good as it gets if you want a quality training ride.
SPECIFIC RIDES
Last year we keyed everything on the Mt. Shasta Super Century and didn't really have any other "A" rides on our list. This year I would like to do at least one 12-hour Ultra race, if not two.
This is a local race on Memorial Day weekend I have yet to do. We did ride the course route two years ago, but discovered how difficult it is to be ready for a 12-hour ride in May. If I can be in shape enough to both enter and finish this race I will be pleased indeed.
EDIT: I am simply not where I would want to be in order to do a 12-hour race. I could probably finish the 140-mile big loop, but it would be a suffer-fest, and I doubt I would want to do any more miles, assuming I had any time left on the clock within the 12-hour time limit. So the L&C Ultra is a no go for me this year.
Amy has heard about this ride from a spin class friend. It is quite a ways away, pretty much in the middle of Washington, but if we want to cover new territory every year we have to be willing to get there. Plus it has 8,600 feet of climbing, so it ought to be a nice challenge, as the name implies.
EDIT: The Chelan Century Challenge conflicts with one we really enjoyed two years ago, and want to do again... this one:
Mountain Lakes Challenge - June 23rd
We did this in 2010 and loved it, though I did struggle some. They are now offering a double metric version with about 10,000 feet of climbing, so we are going to be all over it.
Mount Shasta Super Century - August 5th
Amy finished all 138 miles last year, but she says she ran out of power on the last climb, the big one on the mountain proper. She wants to finish stronger this year. I, on the other hand, would simply like to finish the whole super century. Finish strong, yes, but more importantly, finish!
Ring of Fire 12-hour Time Trial - September 8th
I did this race in 2009 and 2010 but not last year. I'd like to do it in 2012 as I felt like I missed out by not doing it in 2011.
We will of course do a number of other organized rides as well, but many of those other rides will be used as training for these rides.
OBJECTIVE GOALS
I have updated the table at the bottom of the Ride Stats By Year page to include goals for various categories in 2012. Here's to a dry 2012!
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