Season Starts Now

Go Time!!
The 2008 Season started this week, at least training wise. Transition is officially over and yesterday was LT Testing. 20 minutes all out on the trainer to produce a magical power number......the elusive number that I will chase for the coming weeks training sessions, only to try and one up next LT test.
That magic LT number for now 340 watts and a HR of 178, a fair amount off of my power high from last year, but right where things should be this time of year. The important thing, I have recovered from the previous season and am ready to start the next.
The Winter Training Series is going well, attendance has been very consistent for a few people, and not for others. Hopefully after New Years we will see an increase in the number of attendees. Recruitment for our MS Bike Tour Team is on as well, so anyone interested in joining us, please let me know.

-Shawn

Tuesday Night Trainer Sessions

This week marked the official start of the Winter Training Series. A pseudo-event/ major happening that I am putting on as part of my membership with the Charlottesville Racing Club. The first event was a Trainer Session at C'ville Bike and Tri held last night. Eric Fletcher put on a great one. He put us through a series of sub threshold intervals with a few surges thrown in, all in the name of lactate clearance. The turn out was great with a few under a dozen showing. Boris (?) rocked it on a fixey and rollers the whole time.....hardcore. At one point during a high spin session, I thought he was gonna start hovering, or at least melting tires........wow.

Tonight will be the second event in the series, a casual group ride on our family farm. It is presently snowing, with about a 1/2 inch on the trails, so things are really just getting good for some first rate snow riding. This is the type of riding that really sticks in your mind for the rest of the year. When you toe the line come early spring, and the doubts start to hit your mind, all you gotta do is think back to the work you did over the winter: those days on the trainer touching up your LT, and those long cold days of snow drifting down in front of your lights as you plow through hour three of riding........and when you can think back to that, you know you are ready for the season.....and deserve to win. Remember, the guy who is gonna beat you this coming year, is out there training right now..........so go ride.

-Shawn

Vacation is over

Back to the working world today. Time off ended well yesterday. A group from CAMBC (www.cambc.org) met at O-hill and got a bunch of work done. I ran a leaf blower pretty much all morning and got a ton of stuff off of the trails. The place looks great now so go ride....
-Shawn