Training does work!

Well, the numbers are in folks, and they do not lie. Today, was the second to last day in my recovery week, and I did a fitness test, or TTE (time trial to exhaustion). If you have no interest in my ride, philosophy on riding then please stop reading, I would not want to bore you.

The reason for a TTE is simple. If one can TT for 30 minutes at 360 watts (with a good aero setup), you can dominate in time trial. Not dominate pro's or anything, but at least most elite athletes. I cannot do 360 for 30 minutes, therefore, I don't dominate anyone.

My philosophy on riding is that when no one is getting better (right now in the cold, ice, and snow) I ride a lot. not 40 hour a week or anything, but a lot. And I know what you are all thinking, you are a cat 3 why are you riding so much? Well, you my answers is you can't be mediocre all the time. You have to get good at some point. And I can't stand embarrassing Dr's (Kim West and KPav). The last five week build up was as follows:
Wk1 14hr
Wk2 16hr
Wk3 18hr
Wk4 20.5hr
Wk5 10.5hr

I have been thoroughly motivated, and have had a very good last 9 weeks of training. Not going out much, but getting quality training and sleep none the less. Here are my results from a fitness test from last year and this year. Please note the dates, average power, time and weight

Date 12/1/07 2/4/07
Average power 358W 349W
Time 11:01 min 7:59
Average Hr 173 bpm 172bpm
Weight 158lbs 161lbs

Improvement, ah yes. Even though this does not look like much, I assure you it is significant. Three pounds less, nine watts more, three minutes longer to exhausting. The interesting thing to note, is that I have not done any intensity, none. My rides have only consisted of Zone 1, Zone 2 and Stealth mile (shush...). In February of last season, I was doing Zone 4 and Zone 6 efforts. Not bad for just riding to ride.