4 Hours, 5 Hours, 6 Hours -- How Long is Too Long?

Every successful team enters an event with a race plan and strategy. Team Ride Red has been playing around with the concept of riding in shifts and trying to find that "sweet spot" which optimizes rider effort and shift duration.

So What does this actually mean?

Contrary to what most people think, we are not taking the 3,000 miles of RAAM, dividing by 4 riders and then telling each rider, "OK Carol - go ride the first 750 miles, then Sue - go ride the next 750 miles..." and so on. In order to add speed to a race of this length, the rider shifts have to be shorter which allows for greater intensity. But how short?

Right now we are looking at splitting the four riders into teams of 2. One team will be "on" for several hours while the other team gets shuttled up the road and then rests, eats, gets a massage, or whatever. The team that is "on" will then ride alternating in shorter, more intense shifts -- so when one rider is riding for anywhere from 15-30 minutes, the other rider gets shuttled up the road and waits. When the one rider approaches, an exchange takes place and then the second rider takes off up the road while the first rider and bike is loaded up into the leapfrog vehicle and then is driven up the road for the next exchange. These exchanges happen for several hours until their shift is done. Then the second team of 2 riders is "on" and the first two riders will get transported up the road to rest, eat, etc. until it's time for them to ride again. For RAAM, this process will literally be repeated 24 hours a day for 7-9 days as the team makes its way across the country.

So how long is an optimal shift? We tried 4 hour shifts during our team training event last Saturday and that seemed to work really well. It was long enough for us to put in a solid effort but short enough to feel reasonable. The downside is that when the two riders are "off" - 4 hours isn't much time to eat, sleep, stretch, and get ready for the next shift. So at this weekend's Hill Country 600K race, we are trying one shift of 5 hours and one shift of 6 hours. The advantage is longer down time. But will we be able to sustain a solid effort for another 1-2 hours? My quads are cringing at the thought. Time, literally, will tell!

Photo: Carol Pope on team training event in Fredericksburg. Photo courtesy of Jake North Photography.

Don't Fear 300!

I have recently been reminded that the mind is a very powerful thing and so is perception. And that it's very difficult to override either one.

I train using a power meter which measures the amount of wattage (energy) I generate when I ride. What's great about riding with a power meter is that power doesn't lie. When I look down at my little yellow "dashboard", it's like riding with Goldilocks - it tells me if I'm not pushing hard enough, pushing way too hard, or if the effort is just right. The other great thing is that power is really independent of any external variables such as wind or hills. If my goal is to work at a certain level of effort, I can correlate that effort to a watt number and try to hold that number regardless of riding in 30mph head winds or sitting on my bike in the comfort of my living room while doing a spin workout on my trainer and watching the movie "The Notebook" (just an example ;-)

My watt numbers fluctuate depending on what cycling shape I'm in. When I'm in decent shape and I head out to do hill repeats or solid efforts, I know that if I keep my wattage at 225 or under (270 for climbing long hills), then I won't burn out and will have energy reserves to keep going. But if I see the number "300", I immediately back off. So 300 watts has become my benchmark, eliciting a, "holy crap I'm going to blow an artery and my quads will separate from my thigh bones!!!!" type of mental response. But in reality, it had become a roadblock. Until two weeks ago.

Two weeks ago I decided to take my own advice (what I tell my athletes) and I went out on a two hour interval/tempo/hills ride and just "left it all out there" - everything I had. I was blasting up long grinding hills, short steep hills, and keeping the tempo and effort high. The first time I saw 320 watts I immediately looked away from my dashboard, pushed the "holy crap" thoughts from creeping into my brain, and just kept hammering. 360 watts on the next hill? Who cares! Let 'er rip!

After that workout I dragged myself home and felt totally wiped and really great! When I downloaded my power data I was amazed to discover that my average watts for the entire ride (including warmup, cooldown, and recovery) was 209 and my 30 minute sustained effort was 246. I also discovered that my 1 minute efforts were 313 and above. And while one minute might not seem that long, it's long enough to get up a hill quickly or blast through a straightaway at pretty decent speed. And it's enough to reassure me that I won't blow an artery.

Sometimes we just have to get out of our own way to make progress. Fear 300? Not anymore!

RAAM on the Brain and in my Dining Room

My husband is currently on a business trip and I just got off the phone with him a few hours ago. After our usual, "How was your day" chit chat, out discussions these days always turn to one thing -- RAAM. I think he summed it up best when he said, "If I'm not thinking about it (RAAM), I'm talking about it, reading e-mails from people about it, writing e-mails to people about it, planning for it, or figuring out how to solve some logistical problem with it." He followed that sentiment up with, "Thank you Susan."

That's code for, "How in the world did you get me into another one of your hair brained ideas." And while I could hear the smile in his voice, I have to admit he has a point.

As I sit here writing this at 1:07am, with exercise TV infomercials playing in the background, I look around my office (aka: the dining room) and see piles of official RAAM documents, Team Ride Red folders and papers, and a few boxes from my newest technology acquisitions: a cell phone with video capability and a GPS window suction mount that I plan to use for live streaming video (not GPS). Go up into our workout room and you'll see a new bike helmet that needs to be properly fitted, four large poster signs stacked against the wall from our last sponsor fundraiser six days ago, our team banner rolled up, a pile of hardware and pvc pipe that is either on the way back to Home Depot or waiting to be affixed to something in the van to support a flag, flashing lights, emergency vehicle sign, or who knows what. That's next to the four foot stack of plastic drawers that WERE in the van but after last week's training session, have been replaced with two shorter stacks of plastic drawers because the van has since been rewamped for a better, more "efficient" configuration.

And I just came inside a few minutes ago from taking measurements on the side of the leapfrog vehicle (aka: our mini-van which we traded my camaro in for a more practical vehicle for RAAM...I know...I know...) so I can order magnetic signage for the van for our upcoming race in two weeks - the Hill Country 600K. Truth be told, I have never ordered magnetic signs before so quite honestly I have no idea what I'm doing. Is $68.50 for two 24x24 magnetic signs a good deal? Is that in four color print or just one color? Should I hold out for vinyl signs instead because the magnetic ones will look dorky? Good lord.

I have to admit a big part of me loves figuring out all the logistics of an event like RAAM. But there are some days when it's a bit too much. My friend, and team Crew Chief, Fred said last week that he thought he and I alone would exchange no less than 50 e-mails from Tues to Sun as we ramped up for the team's 18 hour training event on Saturday. We hit 48.

Perhaps when my husband returns we can have a meaningful conversation that doesn't include topics like, "How are we going to fasten the orange safety flags to the car" or, "Do you think we can find a coffee maker that is below the power rating for the 1600 watt/amp power inverter booster thingey". Or perhaps we could go out to dinner instead of Home Depot's plumbing department while we try to figure out how to take a drain pipe and turn it into a flag holder (been there, done that). I give us 5 minutes before one of us cracks.

What the Heck is a "Route Book"?!

It would be difficult to get from one place to another without directions or a map. Add to the equation: 14 crew members, 4 riders, and 4-5 vehicles and things can get pretty interesting.

RAAM provides each team with a "Route Book" - a 1.5 inch thick, spiral bound navigational bible that serves as THE definitive word on getting from Oceanside, CA to Annapolis, MD. What about using GPS? That's fine but if there's a discrepancy between the Route Book and your GPS - paper wins.

On first glance, the Route Book is quite intimidating, with line by line instructions and directions traversing 3,000 miles across mountains, cities, corn fields, and rivers. So what better way to prepare Team Ride Red than to create our own route books for our training rides, patterned after the RAAM Route Book!

So for our first training event last November, Fred, MJ, Leary, and I drove the 100 mile loop we intended to use and as a result, our first team route book was born. Of course we had a few snafus along the way, like not realizing our odometer switched mid way though from miles to kilometers which goofed up our cumulative distance, or when we would miss a turn and have to back up and then subtract .75 miles from every distance calculation thereafter (or however far we overshot the turn). But by the end of it all, we had a nice route book complete with maps and line by line turns formatted in RAAM Route Book fashion. But did this prevent people from getting lost before we even got out of Old Settler's Park? Nope.

Our second training event is coming up this weekend and of course, we are fully prepared with another route book. This route covers 200 miles and even though the distance is double, the route book is actually smaller. We were a little smarter this time, choosing a route that had a lot fewer turns and "special features" (like a bazillion cattle guards, dry low water crossings, or a port-a-potty sitting in the middle of a corn field). Fingers crossed no one gets lost again!

Oh My Hips! (or the importance of cross training)

With all the riding, riding, riding I've been doing these days, my other training activities (run, swim, yoga, weights) have taken a hit. I suppose I could blame "not enough hours in the day" but in reality, there is time for a 30 min run here or a 45 min yoga session there.

I was reminded of my other beloved but neglected activities today when I went for a trail run with my trail buddy, Richelle. She had a 3 hr run and so I tagged along on the last 1.5 hrs to keep her company. You have to understand just how much time Richelle and I have spent together on the trail over the past few years -- add up all the time and it could easily be counted in weeks. But because she is run focused and I am bike focused these days, our paths don't cross as frequently as I'd like. But what fun today to hit the trails, cross streams, and slosh-slosh-slosh down the rocky terrain while catching up on what's new!

While my brain was happy to be out there with her, my body was confused. After 20 minutes I distinctly heard my quads say, "Um...what are you doing?" I ignored them. Then five minutes later I heard my rear-end say, "Hey! If you're breathing hard then shouldn't I be sitting on a bike seat?!" Again, I ignored. Then my hips spoke up at the 60 minute mark. "OK!! ENOUGH of whatever THIS is that you are doing that is NOT cycling!!" When the hips speak, I listen.

All the smooth motion and non-pounding action of cycling has given my hips (and feet, and knees, and low back) a wonderful respite from the brutal mileage of my trail running over the past year. I think my hips were nervous that we were starting things back up. As Richelle and I climbed the last few switchbacks leading up to the 360 Access parking lot, I was glad to be done running. As we stretched in the parking lot, I quietly thanked my hips for their participation and promised that I would get back to more cross training so they would be reminded of other activities. I also promised to keep the duration low, at least until after Race Across America in June. But shhhhh...don't tell my hips.

What "Recovery Week" Means to Me

After 12 years of endurance sports and training, I have FINALLY come up with what I call the "perfect recovery week". For me, recovery not only provides a physical rest, it also provides a mental break. So for two out of every three weeks, a recovery week is a hard earned block of unstructured time.

I have certain things I like to include in a recovery week such as extra sleep, yoga, running, and swimming but other than that, I do what I feel like doing (physical) when I feel like doing it (mental). And if I feel like taking a day or two off, I do -- guilt and conscience free.

Recovery week also means allowing my body to heal. In the case of coming off a 400 mile ride week, I have come to appreciate wearing boxer shorts (my own, not my husbands ;-) I haven't really had to deal with saddle sores (chafing or tender bumps on the skin from friction or pressure) until the three I acquired last week but let me say, wearing boxers provides that extra "ventilation" to let my pink parts air out, breathe, and heal!

Food plays an integral part of recovery as well, including smoothies and juices that pack a nutritional wallop. This morning I made "Sweet Garlic Juice" -- a combination of carrots, avocado, green apple, ginger, garlic, mango, kale, and cucumber, all pressed through my juicer to create a beautiful green beverage. I am enjoying the juice right now and I should be pretty safe from any vampires for the rest of the day!

I still have five recovery days left until I get back into my structured training regiment and I plan to enjoy each and every minute. And if I do a recovery week right, I start to get antsy near the end and I am rearing to get back to training!

400 Miles: Sunday (Done and DONE)

Daily Goal: 10 miles
Weekly Goal: 400 miles
Distance Completed After Today: 400 miles

A long week of riding was wrapped up today with a wonderful (and short) 10 mile bike ride from home into Lakeway and back. The sun was shining, the wind was blowing warm, and I felt pretty darn good as did my legs (tired but good). I am very much looking forward to a day off tomorrow and a recovery week next week. Plus tomorrow is Valentines Day -- just the excuse I need to go out and enjoy a TexMex dinner at Maudie's Cafe and maybe even a little dessert! I think my legs would appreciate it.

Can't wait to keep blogging as I continue towards June 18th and the start of RAAM. But I will miss "unique" trainer workout opportunities like riding in Macy's Department store. I'm off to do more laundry...again.