New FUN Thursday TS rides for 2014

[Rolf]

Jeepers, Hugh. Max HR of 246? I hope for your sake that Dr. Sinclair takes up Thursday riding.

I was sorry to miss this morning. Other people's plagues have knocked me off the riding-at-sparrow's-fart routine.

[Curran]

May of 172 for me!
http://www.strava.com/activities/108437335/laps

Nice chilly wind to ride into every lap; and enjoyed every minute

[Lister Farrar]

Just a reminder of Thursday TTT intervals tomorrow am. 6:00 am at ring road pull-off just east of Henderson. We start promptly to avoid traffic on the circle, so try to be on time.

Some thoughts on why do this? There's little of threshold level efforts on a regular TS ride because the rests on a wheel are longer. Here's your chance to go hard but steady in a small group and get those sillys out.

Worried you can't keep up? There's probably a team your speed, but if not, use it as motor pacing and follow a team around; it will do wonders for your drafting skills. Too early in the season? We don't go as hard as the hill or sprint days, so even couch-softened joints should be ok. But as always, use discretion.

See ya on the rivet.

L

[mfarnham]

Good ride this morning! We had 2 teams of 4. We divided into a "B1" and "B2" team, but both teams were pretty evenly matched. Each passed the other at different points in the ride.

Holding at or near the redline for several minutes at a time is a very different sort of workout than the usual TS rides. It's great mental exercise as well as physical. I find that I spend the first lap thinking, "There's no way I can do 5 laps of this…" and arguing with myself over that point. By the end of the second lap I start winning that argument (in favour of hanging in there). The argument starts up again in the last couple laps. For one interval I won the argument, for the second, I lost it (thanks in part to a leg cramp). Still, it's great to practice forcing yourself to hang on, both mentally and physically.

It's also great practice for paceline transition. I tend to gut myself on the pull and then have a hard time grabbing the last wheel when I drop back. WIth lots of short pulls at high intensity, you get repeated practice at this. Anyone interested in stepping up to a faster TS group or racing is likely to benefit from this. Lister provides useful coaching tips too.

The ride finishes sooner than most TS rides, so for those pressed for time in the morning, this could be a good one for you. Come on out and give it a shot--or three!

Martin

[chrisb]

Excellent ride this morning, would certainly be nice to get a few more people out there - it's really motivating when we were racing the other group

[stevierooks]

I found todays ride/practice to be a good challenge and a great rush! It was a quick way for me to feel exactly where my threshholds are...mental and physical. There was no pressure to stay on front anymore than you want. Getting done by 7 was a nice plus. Im hooked:)

Rooks

[mfarnham]

By the way in answer to Wighty's question, I think aerobars are fine as long as you're comfortable with them. I think Sig did this with aerobars last spring. And if we were training for a TTT event, we'd all have them. Just realize there's always the possibility of a quick stop for deer or pedestrians. Anyone disagree? Martin

[Paula]

There always another perspective.
I slept in this morning until 7:30 and it was glorious!!!

[Lister Farrar]

There always another perspective.
I slept in this morning until 7:30 and it was glorious!!!

Brothers and sisters, let us pray for the deliverance of sister Paula from the clutches of the demon sloth, and be delivered unto the sweet redemption of team intervals.

Or at least to stop posting about sleeping in.

[Lister Farrar]

Good session yesterday. Mandy, Chris, Paul, and Steve in one team, me, Rooks, Jenny, and Martin on the other.

Stuff I noticed:
We self selected teams, and thought we were different paces, but we were actually much more closely matched than we thought. I'm guessing people estimate their fitness based on their finishes at TS rides. But that's likely more about positioning and timing.

There were comments about just avoiding puking, and getting dropped. If there's a real risk of this, I think this is too high an intensity. If you really feel like that, it means you're going anaerobic and not really training the threshold (tt pace) we're aiming for.

I think folks can more wisely do shorter turns, skip turns, or sit on, and hit the target intensity better. Maybe think of the math: missing a lap is 3 minutes NOT at the target intensity. Skip a turn, stay on, and you get three more minutes at the intensity we're aiming for. And remember your turn's not over until you're back in the draft.

Likewise avoid long hero turns. Shorter turns actually keep everyone on the team closer to the desired threshold intensity. Of course if you're much stronger than the others, go long, but that won't be as anaerobic for the strongest as it would be if a weaker person tried to match it.

Be patient: it doesn't have to burn in the first half lap.

Jenny is super strong. She rides for red truck, and on the track at a high level in women's 1-2 races. Moved here in August from Vancouver for the riding. I noticed, with chagrin, she did the first interval in the small chain ring. Long pulls too. Yeah, i know she has track spin. But I think she needs some stronger riders to train with. How about some A riders?

[Stéphane Tran]

Anyone planning on going out tomorrow?

[Lister Farrar]

Yep. See ya there! (Where's the emoticon for giddy trepidation?)

[mfarnham]

Until I own a pair of long pants, I don't do sub-zero rides.

Martin

p.s. And don't mess with my excuse by offering me a pair of long pants!

[MDAWSON]

I'm staying indoors this week. This weather is ridiculous, I moved here from Ontario years ago to avoid freezing temperatures.
Still planning in making these thurs. rides soon though, and will try to bring along some A riders.
See you next week!

[Lister Farrar]

No bad weather, only bad clothes. Martin, I'll bring some warm tights. Just post a sigh of resignation.

If not, you'll have to live with the knowledge the u15s enjoyed the crisp weather. . See tonight's ride below.

[Lister Farrar]

Stephane and I traded pulls...unequally, but still a good workout. And Paula, he declared it was 'better than sleeping in'. Actually that meant I was a less than evenly matched team mate and it was faint praise for my doing 15 sec pulls to his 30+.

[Quentin]

No bad weather, only bad clothes.

No amount of proper clothes can overcome the coefficient of friction (or lack thereof) between an icy road and a pair of 23c tires.

Quentin.

[Lister Farrar]

No bad weather, only bad clothes.

No amount of proper clothes can overcome the coefficient of friction (or lack thereof) between an icy road and a pair of 23c tires.

Quentin.

True. But no ice we saw today. Except when the u15s went looking for it.

[Lister Farrar]

I could also modify that to say no bad weather, just bad clothes or tires.

These would fit great in your cross bike Quentin. http://www.mec.ca/product/4018-656/schw ... wire-tire/

And you know as soon as you buy them it will get warmer. Do us all a favour will ya?

L

[Quentin]

Oooooo, those are nice. Does anyone have experience with them?