Training Log Archive: cedarcreek

Gym workout:

Cycling 25 min
Treadmill inclined: 22 min
cool down

My first spinning class ever. I'd been into the studio several times to get the bike adjustments correct and to get used to the weird fixie-ness. I still haven't figured out how to pedal while standing and make it feel normal. The bike doesn't move under you like normal, and it makes me feel just uber-awkward. I wasn't able to follow the instructor's instructions---my heart rate was too high, but I did try to speed up and recover to the verbal instructions, which was really fun. I finally committed to several out-of-the-saddle climbs, and I just kept adding tension until I had enough resistance to feel somewhat normal. If my normal "flat pace" at 90 or 100 rpm cadence was 100-140 Watts, my "high tension climb" was 60 rpm cadence at 375-400 W. I could hold it much longer than I guessed, but my HR did skyrocket during these, so they were short efforts. (The instructor would say, "Put on a turn" (of tension), but to get to my high-resistance "non-awkward" climb would take at least four turns.)

I had some foot pain---I'm guessing it's my cuboid, which I really should get properly diagnosed and treated. A friend mentioned that tight shoes help foot pain, so I cranked in a few ratchet clicks on my bike shoes, but released it after a few minutes. Loose and almost floppy seemed less painful.

I arrived late (so embarrassed), so I only did about 48 minutes of spinning, but I was absolutely *dead* at the end. So fun, though.

I did figure out that my earlier solo sessions, where my butt was killing me, were non-representative. My butt hurt tonight, but only because I wasn't doing the climbs the instructor directed. When I actually started adding in the tension and doing stuff out-of-the-saddle, I had no real pain.

I need to figure out if the high-tension route is normal. I don't think it is. I think I should be using a bit less tension and a bit more flowy arm-leg-body coordination to climb more like a real out-of-the-saddle climb. (Years ago, climbing out of the saddle was totally my thing. I *loved* doing it. I had a cog set so small I couldn't sit on any major climb.) The biggest problem is that I can barely practice those climbs---my fitness is just so marginal that I just explode when I do it on a real hill. It's like I've lost my coordination for good climbing. I think I should just pick a big hill without a lot of traffic, pick a good gear for a standing climb, and just spin on the approach and transition to standing until I redline my heart rate, then do a u-turn, descend, and recover.

If you look at my HR graph (blue globe), I did two small intervals up to about 7 minutes, then for the next 10 minutes, when the instructor said "climb", I just did high-cadence spinning (120-130+ rpm). Then there was a "full recovery" of about six minutes, where I did 85-90 rpm, then a bunch of play where I tried to do the intervals. I missed several to control my HR, but then I did a couple at the very end, then did the cooldown. Again, *a lot* of fun.

Event: MVOC / TROL - Possum Creek
 

Yellow Course at Possum Creek Metropark, near Dayton, Ohio, set by dersu.

Fun course in loose, dry, crusty snow that was just grueling to move through. I had one speed, and it hurt. No real mistakes. A bit of hesitation on 10-11, and I overshot 6 or 7.

This map needs some lidar contours, and some redrawing to some fresh aerials. The map isn't terrible, but it just feels off.