3:15 and New Gear: Powertap

That's not what time it is, rather the # of hours I worked out yesterday - biggest volume day in 2008 (so far). I'm not too sore, which is good, but I need to stretch my back somehow to ensure that doesn't get a knot in it.

Saturday was a big bike day - total of 2:30 split into 2 different workouts: morning workout focused on hills and an evening workout focused on distance. Workout #2 averaged about 18.7 mph for 1:45. Didn't have the HR monitor on, so don't know exactly what range I was in, but I was supposed to have 1 hour at "overdistance" (aka easy) and 45 minutes at "endurance" level. I'm pretty certain I hit that about spot on.

I've been reading a lot about folks who over-train, and one of my buddies certainly falls into this camp - but I think that I do too. It's very difficult for me to "go easy" even though I know my muscles need a break but still need to move. Something that I read rececently spoke of intermittent "tests" which could also be shorter distance races. This approach serves as an opportunity to push hard, but it isn't EVERY session.

Along those lines of wanting to make every workout count, I purchased a rear Bontrager Aero Powertap wheel yesterday. The Bontrager wheels fell between the more expensive Zipp wheel and the less expensive standard build. Apparently the Bontragers have a good reputation for durability and have a 5 year warranty. I really want something that can last.

I've been wanting a Powertap for awhile, but they are VERY expensive. The concept behind the Powertap is fairly straightforward: don't hit to many peaks and valleys, be consistent. Here's an excerpt from an article by Dan Empfeld off of Slowtwitch that may explain it better.

"...the bane of the triathlete during the bike segment is the peak power one puts out, and not only in terms of too many watts now and then during the ride, but peak power inside the pedal stroke as well. The problem is the inability to easily recover from a particularly ballistic muscle contraction. Putting out 500 or 600 watts—when the ride is going to be performed at an average of 220 or 230 watts—means some significant and perhaps unwarranted work has been done."

My thinking is that my workouts can be more efficient and I can recover better with this tool. I pick it up later this week and get to start using it during week 2 of my 19 week training plan.

I also saw a post from "rmur" to the Slowtwitch message board that I really liked: "power is power. time is time. Speed indoors is meaningless :-)" - so you may start seeing different posts about average speed; training with a power meter is going to be interesting!