good week
Tuesday: 20-50 second sprints on Potrero Hill. I love this sort of workout. Quality pain time. But for much of it I was still chilly in my arm warmers, knee warmers, and vest. A typical summer evening in San Francisco.
Wednesday: Finally, progress! 274 PowerTap watts up Old La Honda. Only 0.6% lower W/kg than my 2008 best power up the same hill. Given the leg-thrashing I experienced the previous evening, I think I have a few % more in me. My time of 17:40 was very solid considering I was on my steel Ritchey Breakaway with heavy wheels: there's still hope for my sub-17 minute goal. Indeed, calculations show were I on my weenied SL/1, I would have done it today. But calculations don't count. Really, I'd like to break 17 by a sufficient margin for calculations shown I would also have done so on my 16 lb Al Fuji Team I rode in 2002. Given running this past offseason left me at a lower base-line body mass than I've had for years, I just need to keep improving power, just a bit. The key is stay on top of my recovery, not get sick.
Pacing comparison of some OLH climbs. My best of last year was exceptional in that there was very little fade in my average. I started a bit slower this week than in my previous effort, but held a much higher average to the finish. Especially after recent high-intensity intervals have increased comfort in the higher power zones, a key is to keep enthusiasm in check at the bottom where Z5 still feels easy.
Thursday: I rode in with the SF2G crew, a nice route eastward over Guadalupe Canyon Road then onto the canonical Bay Way (with a Foster City "shortcut"). I split off on Marsh to ride Middlefield to California Ave in Palo Alto. I scored a prized "SF2G" sticker in the deal. Sweet.
Jeremy Denk
Thursday Night: San Francisco Symphony does Ludwig. A little overture, then Jeremy Denk played a spectacular 5th Piano Concerto. Capping it off was the 5th Symphony. Cara and I were in the front row, within spitting distance of the piano. Great for the concerto, not as good for the symphony. But a very cool perspective of the violins and the cellos, anyway.
Wednesday: Finally, progress! 274 PowerTap watts up Old La Honda. Only 0.6% lower W/kg than my 2008 best power up the same hill. Given the leg-thrashing I experienced the previous evening, I think I have a few % more in me. My time of 17:40 was very solid considering I was on my steel Ritchey Breakaway with heavy wheels: there's still hope for my sub-17 minute goal. Indeed, calculations show were I on my weenied SL/1, I would have done it today. But calculations don't count. Really, I'd like to break 17 by a sufficient margin for calculations shown I would also have done so on my 16 lb Al Fuji Team I rode in 2002. Given running this past offseason left me at a lower base-line body mass than I've had for years, I just need to keep improving power, just a bit. The key is stay on top of my recovery, not get sick.
Pacing comparison of some OLH climbs. My best of last year was exceptional in that there was very little fade in my average. I started a bit slower this week than in my previous effort, but held a much higher average to the finish. Especially after recent high-intensity intervals have increased comfort in the higher power zones, a key is to keep enthusiasm in check at the bottom where Z5 still feels easy.
Thursday: I rode in with the SF2G crew, a nice route eastward over Guadalupe Canyon Road then onto the canonical Bay Way (with a Foster City "shortcut"). I split off on Marsh to ride Middlefield to California Ave in Palo Alto. I scored a prized "SF2G" sticker in the deal. Sweet.
Jeremy Denk
Thursday Night: San Francisco Symphony does Ludwig. A little overture, then Jeremy Denk played a spectacular 5th Piano Concerto. Capping it off was the 5th Symphony. Cara and I were in the front row, within spitting distance of the piano. Great for the concerto, not as good for the symphony. But a very cool perspective of the violins and the cellos, anyway.
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