What I did to prepare for Sebring 2017 ---today

ratz

Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
For some winter fun.....

This will be the "We" are training for Sebring 2017 thread. If you did something today to prepare for Sebring 2017 go a head and post it here. Sort of a motivation journal for everyone working toward the event. Everyone is welcome to add their daily activity here.
 

ratz

Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Thursday dec 8 - Rode one of the last of my MAF foundation rides (two left to go)
Thursday dec 8 - Create the Sebring training plan that starts on Tuesday

Friday reviewed with Larry and Pluckyblond about the approach we are going to take
 

DavidCH

In thought; expanding the paradigm of traversity
Started to increase time and distance. Over 110km issues with left leg. Looking at a wedge adjustment , thinking that might get rid of the pull. It just feels as though I had my left leg in traction. So listened to various bike fit experts but don't like spending a fortune on experts who don't know much about recumbent racer conditions. I am going out to buy compression socks today. A wedge is on order. Should get it next week. So which shoe should it go on?

From the bike fit videos. The left leg is the weaker leg which is compensating for the right leg???

I am going to try it on each one. And whatever one I feel better with... It's staying there.

Why on earth didn't I buy compression socks before. Heck they make my legs the warmest part of me on a cold day.

And after a ride the legs aren't hurting so badly.
 
Last edited:

LarryOz

Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
I rode Lyell tonight. 3 1/2 hours of endurance - Ended up riding it at about the same NP as I did the Mid-Atlantic Century back in August: NP ~ 170.
HR avg right at my MAF ~ 132
...
Rest day tomorrow before I embark on Ratz's 9 week Sebring training plan - O boy - can't wait

Why on earth didn't I buy compression socks before. Heck they make my legs the warmest part of me on a cold day.
I've been wearing them on my left left leg all the time now for 3 years.
I had about half my veins in my left removed because they were varicose from my knee reconstruction back in 1982 (Yes, I am that old!)
Looking forward to meeting you in person at Sebring David!
 

DavidCH

In thought; expanding the paradigm of traversity
Looking forward to meeting you in person at Sebring
Where is everyone staying? Are you all in the hotel by the track? Guess it must be almost full?

If so. Just might rent an RV

On a lighter note. I have been reading about how much easier it is to recover with mid cleat positioned cycling shoes. Harder to accelerate but more top power and suited for ultra triathlons.

Anyone tried a rivet gun in their shoes?

Steve Hogg has a wealth of information
https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bikefit/2011/04/power-to-the-pedal-cleat-position/
 
Last edited:

super slim

Zen MBB Master
I rode Lyell tonight. 3 1/2 hours of endurance - Ended up riding it at about the same NP as I did the Mid-Atlantic Century back in August: NP ~ 170.
HR avg right at my MAF ~ 132
...
Rest day tomorrow before I embark on Ratz's 9 week Sebring training plan - O boy - can't wait


I've been wearing them on my left left leg all the time now for 3 years.
I had about half my veins in my left removed because they were varicose from my knee reconstruction back in 1982 (Yes, I am that old!)
Looking forward to meeting you in person at Sebring David!
Larry, you MUST be a pensioner if having knee ops in 1982!!!
 

CruzLike

Guru
Where is everyone staying? Are you all in the hotel by the track? Guess it must be almost full?

On a lighter note. I have been reading about how much easier it is to recover with mid cleat positioned cycling shoes. Harder to accelerate but more top power and suited for ultra triathlons.

Anyone tried a rivet gun in their shoes?

Mid summer I moved my cleats to a mid sole position. I have not competed in an event that would tell me any difference in the performance. I have only done my own outdoor rides and a few months on the trainer. I had not used the trainer prior to the relocation. That could have been an interesting test.

This page was one that I read http://www.joefrielsblog.com/2014/11/midsole-cleats-and-pedals.html along with a few Youtube "how to pages". One of the things that interested me in this was the lower leg muscle isolation. One of the benefits was to reduce the use of some of the smaller muscles in your leg that usually wear out during a ultra event. I thought I would give it a try.

Initially I couldn't find my pedals. It took me about 30 seconds to get clipped in. Now it's normal speed. Unclipping is a little different. Before I would just twist my ankles out as I was riding without issue. Now when I twist out my toes go inward and contacts the crankarm as I'm pedaling. Just a little extra thought as you unclip.

The other thing I noticed was the pedal to hip distance needed to be precise. Just moving the cleat 1 1/2" closer to your ankle made a big difference in the location of your pedals. The "goldylocks" location was a smaller target to hit, so the pedals weren't to far of too close.
 

LarryOz

Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
Larry, you MUST be a pensioner if having knee ops in 1982!!!
Yes, I'm a "old" guy at 57, but still working to full time.
Probably will be for the next 20 years - unless I can find a sponsor! haha
..
On mid-sole cleat position:
I have been meaning to experiment with this.
A good friend of mine - and an extremely powerful (and well known in the US) recumbent rider - (Kent Polk) rides with his cleats right in the center of his shoe.
He rides "extreme" distances! He will ride 200 KM, just to ride a 1200KM brevet, and then ride the 200km back home!
He is meticulous with how he does anything with his bike and only will make a change if it has proven to benefit him.
One of my winter projects is to make some sort of jig that I can fit to the bottom on my existing shoe and try out different cleat positions.
One ramification of moving the cleat to the center of the shoe is going to mean moving the BB closer to you (for most people anyway). The more you pedal with your toes straight up and don't point, the less you will probably have to move your BB.
I'll post my findings to the forum when done, hopefully before Sebring!
 

CruzLike

Guru
What did I do today?

1 Rested for the first ride of the Ultra Sweet Sebring training plan tomorrow morning. (mortal version of course)

2. Made reservations at the "Inn". (Chateau) In 13 days there won't be any rooms at the Inn. Had to throw in some seasonal reference.

3. Read an interesting Blog Larry wrote after his first Sebring 24hr. https://www.dropbox.com/s/q42lkujqvnepgqz/2015-Sebring-24hour-journal-Oslund.pdf?dl=0

Larry: You commented the transition from the entrance road support area and the pits were a challenge. Has this been refined in last years ride? Would a hand cart or dolly be helpful?
 

super slim

Zen MBB Master
Yes, I'm a "old" guy at 57, but still working to full time.
Probably will be for the next 20 years - unless I can find a sponsor! haha
..
On mid-sole cleat position:
I have been meaning to experiment with this.
A good friend of mine - and an extremely powerful (and well known in the US) recumbent rider - (Kent Polk) rides with his cleats right in the center of his shoe.
He rides "extreme" distances! He will ride 200 KM, just to ride a 1200KM brevet, and then ride the 200km back home!
He is meticulous with how he does anything with his bike and only will make a change if it has proven to benefit him.
One of my winter projects is to make some sort of jig that I can fit to the bottom on my existing shoe and try out different cleat positions.
One ramification of moving the cleat to the center of the shoe is going to mean moving the BB closer to you (for most people anyway). The more you pedal with your toes straight up and don't point, the less you will probably have to move your BB.
I'll post my findings to the forum when done, hopefully before Sebring!

Larry at 57, you are still a "Wipper Snipper!!!"

I wear Jobst knee high compression socks, AFTER I exercise, on days over 36C (97F), as if used during exercise, it takes 2 to 3 washes to get the smell out in a normal wash, as I perspire a LOT!
My ankles turn dark blue during exercise on hot days, but only required compression socks, instead of operations!
Do you have smell problems with yours! Does it get above 97F near you? Or do you/wife use special washing detergent?
 

LarryOz

Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
Larry: You commented the transition from the entrance road support area and the pits were a challenge. Has this been refined in last years ride? Would a hand cart or dolly be helpful?
Yes - They do not let you drive your vehicle to the pit area, so you have to carry all your stuff. It was particulaly hard for my crew (Gary), who was recovering from bunion surgery. It just about did him in! I would highly recommend a cart, wagon, or dolly of some sort.

Do you have smell problems with yours! Does it get above 97F near you? Or do you/wife use special washing detergent?
I probably do have smell problems, but since a botched sinus surgery back in 2005 I can't hardly smell anything. (Good for when things really stink, but bad for smelling and tasting food. I think I would rather smell stinky stuff and have smell and taste also - but now I have something else to look forward to in heaven).
I don't where them when I train, unless it is outdoor ridding to protect me from the sun. Otherwise I wear them all the time, as if I don't it is very painful.
 

super slim

Zen MBB Master
Larry thanks!
My sence of smell is also reduced, but I can still smell a roast cooking, even after a childhood of my Twin brother, waking me up in the morning with a fart in my face!!!
 

LarryOz

Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
I finally rode a "true" 1-hour FTP - well, at least the Larry version of it, which I explained somewhere that I start out about 20 watts under my FTP and them ramp up and past it in an hour, and leave room to keep going.
I did that this morning (instead of the TR 8-minute test, where you ride 2x8 minute tests as hard as you can.) I'de rather suffer longer at a slightly lesser rate! I find I like the longer one better, but it is still a bear.
I was supposed to be well rested, but egg'd on by Jason I loaded up Zwift yesterday and after a 1 hour Pettit-TR ride, I hopped on Zwift for a quick 5 mile test run. Of course I did not go very easy, as chasing all those other ridders on bikes just played with my mind. I still wish they would build a recumbent avatar. That would be really sweet!
Instead of being well rested and supple, my thighs were like rocks all day and night.

On my ride today, I experienced little "micro-cramps" on the inside of my right thigh. It was irritating mostly, but they also got worse when I tried to spin much over 95rpm, so I could not pedal and maintain 100+ like I would have liked to do on a 1 hour test.
Anyway - I barely made it past the first 1 hour ramp after my 30 minute warm-up.
And then the stupid goofiest thing happened on my TR program: As soon as I passed my 1 hour on my ramp, I immediately tried to lower the effort level of the entire program - because if I didn't it was just going to go higher and higher and I was pretty wasted, but in doing that I some how clicked on the workout around the 20 minute mark, and the workout starting over-recording my ride at the 20 minute mark. I did not notice this for about 3 minutes however!
I had done this in the past by accident too, and I knew if I actually stopped the workout now, I would loose all the last 60+ minutes of hard work and data I just rode to collect. So, I tried to click and re-position the "time" to just past 1:30 where I finished my ramp - but I clicked at about 1:28, which meant I just blew away the last 2 minutes of my "hardest hour".
To make a long story even longer: After I noticed this 2nd snafoo - I had to back the time up again to 1:28 - put the program back up to 100% and ride the last 2 minutes at about 280+watts so I could duplicate what I just completed about 10 minutes ago. Gosh what a pain.
Moral of this story is to not click into the workout window and reset the time on your workout. If you do, there's hell to pay.
Good news at least: TrainingPeaks updated my FTP from 260 to 273, so all the pain for the last 4 weeks in the Short Power Build - High Volume training plan paid off a little - from a low of about 244 after about a month off and a little weight training.
Now the fun really begins.. :) - 9 weeks of ramping up to Sebring 12-hour race!

https://www.strava.com/activities/801187269/analysis
 

ratz

Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Moral of this story is to not click into the workout window and reset the time on your workout. If you do, there's hell to pay.
Or run the current version of the program, where you never loose data and can restart the work even if you crash..... ;)

g'd on by Jason I loaded up Zwift yesterday and after a 1 hour Pettit-TR ride, I hopped on Zwift for a quick 5 mile test run. Of course I did not go very easy, as chasing all those other ridders on bikes just played with my mind
And that's why Zwift is not on my personal list. I'd spend so much time chasing people that I'd need three days off to recover.
 

ratz

Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Monday 12/12/16 -. Road Goddard to start off the Sebring Training block (substituted in for 8 minute test) . No FTP test required just using the newer "modeled"-FTP which is based on the last 90 days of rolling data. Can't say that I miss doing the FTP test and the disruption to the training cycle. Based on "just" finishing the workout I'd say that the mFTP is right on the mark. Let the fun begin. Started one day early because Friday is the dreaded pluckyblond company xmas party
 
Top