DMG
Coachwhip PR: 8:53Training Update
I'm done numbering the weeks. Tahoe is off, and The Grizzly 100 is at the end of September. That's close enough that I need to start thinking about it, but today's not about that.
I just wrapped up the second block of Strava TCTP training, and the results have been great.
I used Coachwhip as my fitness test. I've been chasing a new PR there for a long time, and it's a sustained 10-minute dirt climb close to home. My litmus test for the Strava program was: Can this restore forward progress to my Coachwhip PRs?
Answer: Hell yes.
The first training block improved my time from 9:25 to 9:12, good enough for a new PR.
The second block got me down to 8:53, which I'm really pleased with. I've been trying to get under 9:00 for ages.
Two months of training took 32 seconds off a 9-minute climb. That's damn fine progress.
And across the board, I'm improving. My endurance is up, I'm holding my HR at 170BPM on my hill repeats (up from 165 or so) and I'm recovering from workouts really well.
Interesting sidenote: I've noticed in the past that I need to "wake up" my legs before I can perform at my best. I initially attempted a PR after a day of easy riding and a rest day, and was way, way off the pace.
I went back the very next day, and was 40 seconds faster to score that 8:53 PR.
I can't help thinking of the Limestone Canyon race, where I felt sluggish. It was the same pattern: a day of easy riding, a day of rest, then race. For my next race or PR attempt, I'll do some riding the day before and see how that feels.