Heat Training

In preparation for the Challenge RR, I tried a TT up Sierra road today in the heat. The thermometer at Piedmont HS said it was 91 F at the start, but I tried to put out my normal power. That failed miserably. I felt completely zapped at the top of the hill and was over 1:30 off pace. I felt like throwing in the towel on what's left of the season. Google scholar came to the rescue though. This article says that going from 73 F to 91 F was enough to drop power output by 6.5% on average for the Australian National team. That's almost exactly how far off I was today, so I feel a lot better, but also a lot more like a dork for looking up this stuff. It even says that for the first 10 minutes, the power output was similar between the trials. That's pretty much what I experienced. It felt like a meltdown right around 11 minutes. Their conclusion has me thinking I should be dumping a lot more water over my body to aid in cooling during hot races as well.

I should probably write some race reports, but I really lack motivation to do really well for myself recently. I'm looking forward to a few more races and the low-key hillclimb series throughout the autumn though.

Peaked

I'm starting to think I hit a peak right after Pescadero. Everything was falling in place, I was pushing good amounts of power and didn't seem to fatigue. Then I kept going, and going, and going until I eventually dug myself in a hole. I still feel pretty good on the bike, but it's kind of muted compared to what I was feeling a month ago. For now, I'm hoping to back off a bit in training, race a bit more and enjoy the end of the season without completely burning out.

Now that I look back on things, it was a lack of rest that got to me. I look at my training log and I trained hard for six weeks. At about week four, things went downhill, but I just didn't listen. Next time I hope I know what to look for. Now, I've somehow injured my hamstring and hope to just limp through the cal cup. Wish me luck!