Indoor Training and Multitasking

So, it was the Wed. before the first collegiate race at the Naval Academy. 20min + 2 lap crit... I'm pumped!!! Anyways, it's not a super long or really hard race, but none the less, don't want to blow the legs out. So, indoor training is slow, easy, and boring this week... blah. Oh, and there was Accounting to be done. So I call this the art of multitasking.... because usually I bike indoors and just watch a movie or tv. And along with Accounting, I was trying to peer down at a UFC fight that was on the tv.


The boredom led to pictures... and a video:

According to my calculations, (and the power curve that came with the trainer), I was on level 5, and I was in the biggest chain gears possible, and I had to be going at least 25mph, so I was putting out ~550 watts of power... It hurt like poop, you just can't tell because I was jacked for the video.

Thinking & Learning

So on the tues. night crit race/ride we have, I was doing a lot of thinking... and I also learned a lot as well. Let me share...

LEARNING:

1. I havn't been standing up as much lately on rides. But on the 2nd and 3rd laps today, I decided to pop up and push more often and I did much better. 1/4 of the way up the climb, just stand up, keep it at about 70-80 rpm cadence, stay comfortable and loose, and don't sway.

2. I also learned I go uphill and pick up the MPH average much better when I say to myself... "I am Tom Boonen, I am Specialized" (don't ask) Here's the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HygIMD4PzrQ
I just get in the zone, and with the brim of my cycling cap popping out over my sunglasses, I try to see myself as Tom Boonen just raping that hill in the commercial.

3. I learned tonight I am not a "fair weather cyclist". Although sometimes I wish I was...

4. I learned that the ride home is much faster and easier without 20 mph wind in your face constantly.

5. I learned SHIP has some good cyclists. Really good ones, and I'm jealous. Not so much jealous, but motivated.

6. Finally, I learned from Dr. Goates, that cycling is all about conservation of energy. Which I knew already, but now I'll think about it constantly a little more during races and riding.

THINKING:

1. I haven't washed my blue Adidas jacket yet, and on average, I get snot and nose gunk on it probably twice a ride... yikes!

2. My butt hurts today. I like the new SHIP cycling kits. The chaminos in the bibs are so much nicer than the Cannondale shorts I have on today.

3. I lost a pair of jeans, no lie. (Hollister Tagless, dark blue, reward being offered) (who loses jeans???)

4. I can probably name more pro/UCI cyclists and their teams than NFL or NBA players. Does that make me a nerd?

5. To go along with #4, I have narrowed down my top cyclists: Mark Cavendish, Levi Leipheimer, and George Hincape (don't forget about Lance too...)

6. I haven't fed my fish yet today.


So that's all that was running through my mind today on the ride. Lance Armstrong said that during a race, he seriously thinks about bike racing for 3 hrs. His mind doesn't wonder. Well I'm not Lance, I was all alone today, and I wasn't racing anyone but myself. But I am always thinking about the next hill, next sprint, next way to get better, because this is something I really like to do.