Sunday, January 11, 2009

Training Week -- 1/5 - 1/11

Pretty timed constrained this week so only 4 riding days, but each had some really hard intensity. Too hard perhaps -- my lungs are burning.

Mon: 0
Tue: 1.5 hrs; warm-up + lunchtime hammerfun
Wed: 0
Thu: 1 hr; OSM, 15:57
Fri: 0
Sat: 4 hr; Gibraltar HC TT, 35:04 to the intersection, 2nd place, + around SB
Sun: 3 hr; Worlds

Total: 9.5 hrs

Notes:
- I've always found that the most accurate indicator of my motivation is how much I ride solo versus how much I do the group rides. I may say I'm fired up to race ...rah, rah, rah!!... but the truth is that if I don't get out 6-7 days a week with a lot of solo time in the wind or on rides with 10 kft of climbing, then I'm fooling myself. Actions speak way louder than words when it comes to motivation. And so it is with some concern that I look back on my training the last few months and notice that 90+ percent of my riding is with groups. We're in for a spell of nice weather it seems, 70-degree days and no rain in sight. Do or die time ...absolutely no excuses now.

14 comments:

meh-wee-uhn said...

Way to drop the hammer on Saturday. Congrats!

But I will state that in my case, I do most of my riding on my own & I sucked harder than a Hoover on Saturday. *meh* Everyone's different they say.

Anonymous said...

I heard you got second on Saturday. Congrats.

Carissa

Marco Fanelli said...

Thanks Carissa and Marian. I wish the start scenario would have been different so I could have gone head-to-head with that kid (Menso de Jong) who won, but as it was, battling Mike Smith and John Comunale was plenty hard. In fact, I've been replaying in my mind the mental aspect of that ride, which ranged from almost giving up when Mike and John pulled away at the start, to wanting to crush their souls at the top. Weird stuff goes through your head when your body is working at its limit!

Anony-
That is odd, especially because Mothballs registration is through SoCalReg: http://www.socalreg.com/

I don't know why it's on active at all. Could it be that active.com poaches the internet for events to list, even if they aren't the "official" reg site??? I know a lot of people are not fond of active's business tactics...

Anonymous said...

Hey, just so I can compare my relatively weak aerobic system to yours Mark, I am curious, what was your average heart rate up Gibraltar??? I average between 170 and 180 up a hard climb at a hard effort and am curious what a more seasoned rider would be pumping up that hill.
Thanks!!

Tom Anhalt said...

Ummm...comparing heart rates across individuals is an exercise in futility...

Anonymous said...

Crush my soul? I could tell you if you succeeded or not, but that would take the fun out of it! I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the results and the mysterious Menso de Jong and the UCSB rider appeared.

An all around great ride for a great purpose. I have watery eyes when I think about the girl that died on that road. The crystal blue skies and warm temps made for a great day in her honor.

Anonymous said...

You're a sick climber, sick as in wicked, you know superb! And Thursday under 16 up OSM, hmmmmm. I can't wait to see what you do once you "get" your motivation going.

Kk said...

Congrats Marco!
Copied this over from Twitter. Nice photos. If I'm not mistaken there's one of you in there.

"Due to extreme interest Gibraltar Hill Climb images are up, early!

http://www.carsonblume.com/ "

Marco Fanelli said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Marco Fanelli said...

Drea-
Fit and motivated -> sub 15:00.
Unlike you and your 5K & 10K PR goals, I'm afraid my PRs are history, so sub-15:00 is the new OSM goal. OK, your turn... what time are you going to get for that 5K and 10K?

ps. You should join us some Thursday (noon at the Giorgi Park parking lot on Old San Marcos Rd.) Leif R. comes out a lot ...ask him how much fun we have!

KK-
Thanks for that picture info. He's very talented. I really like the shots he got at the finish line with the sun in the background. #81 of 189 makes it look like I have a nuclear-powered headlamp on!

Marco Fanelli said...

Anony 10:11-
I think TnA is correct that comparing heart rate across individuals isn't very meaningful. Maybe a more helpful number is, for each individual, what percentage of his/her MAX heart rate he/she can maintain for an effort like Gibraltar. When I was fit, I could go 30-60 minutes at 92%-94% of max. But my max has always been on the low end of the averages. I didn't have a heart monitor on Saturday but unless I've decayed a bunch since I used one a couple years ago, I'd guess I averaged in the mid 160s until the end. BTW... "seasoned" ...I like that!

John-
It was a pleasure to ride with you up the hill. You are absolutely right... 'twas a beautiful day and an nice tribute.

(I deleted my earlier comment because, in retrospect, maybe it was inappropriate and also no need to dig up those issues two years too late.)

Kk said...

You mean the sun isn't your personal follow spot?! ;+}

I think your facial expression on that is classic.

Kimberly (aka. DrKim) said...

Congrats on a great ride! I think the whole tire-blowing at the start line thing would have stressed me out...but it didn't seem to affect you at all! Sweet.

Carson Blume said...

Thanks for the complement Marco