For Five Minutes...

 ...at a time I worked for legs over just a bit ago. The Zwift bike was the only reasonable option since:

  1. my plans to ride the Cutty from Sears Kay out to Seven Springs was thwarted by thunderstorms rolling in early this morning, dumping a bunch of water... along with some thunder and lightning.  Just... No.
  2. The sun popped out shortly after and the low 90 degree morning turned into a muggy 100 degree sauna.  So... No.
  3. The "new" plan turned to intervals, focusing on weaker spots in my already weaker fitness... and the best option for power intervals is usually the Zwift (no stoplights, no absent-minded geriatrics except for the one on the bike).
Yesterday my head was trying to wrap around something to do... and as I flipped through Facebook, the Cave Creek Cactus Classic came up.  It's a 21-25 mile route (depending on Kaolin's mood) in the foothills north of Cave Creek.  I have ridden the route 2,3 times maybe... and it's no joke.  The race itself is November 14th.

My only problem with the race is all the other people.  Mountain bike racers have turned into dicks, type-A personalities with a penchant for chastising anyone they see themselves outperforming.  The crowd (at least the crowd that would be racing MY pace) has turned into a bro/brah session of dick-measuring and fanny packs.

So... I will hit the trails a couple weeks later.

As one tends to do when they set a goal, the calendar was being filled with rides aimed to build up to the fitness needed for a 2 1/2 slog in the desert.  The rides were filling in... and then I remembered another race, the Chino Grinder.  I have signed up for it TWICE and had to bail TWICE.  The first time was 2017 when my left hip flexor went awry and had to be nursed back into something close to functioning.  The second time was 2018 when my truck had a malfunction on the way up the hill (due to an over-filled transmission.)

I haven't signed up again since.  In fact there have only been a handful of events I have signed up for... and NONE that I have shown up for... but that is a story for another time.

Anyways, the 45 mile version of the Chino Grinder kinda "fit" the training ride I wanted to do in that week of October 17th - a little over 3 hours, pretty hard effort.  So I plugged it in yesterday.

This morning I began thinking about what I would have to do to turn a respectable (for me) time at the race.  Back in February 2017 I did a recon ride of the 60 mile course.  I did not "race" it so much as I just rode it... and it wasn't necessarily easy... but it is not complicated either:
  • long, not very steep climb to the pass over the hills (about 10 miles)
  • first stretch of downhill isn't steep but it is FAST...and chunky from what I remember.  Not fun for someone with weaker limbs trying to steer the bike
  • second stretch of downhill IS steep and really fast... and a bit chewed up and sometime chunky.  It does flatten out a bit but it's still downhill and fast.
  • Turn around at the Perkinsville Bridge
  • the climb back out is on the same road.  That first stretch goes from a steady effort to all-out grinding in the saddle... 'cause the surface is too loose to stand and mash
  • the second half is flatter but still climbing
  • Over the top of the hills and that same 10 miles back is FAST all the way back to the barn... and usually full of washboards.
Well, I went back and looked at how long it took me before to climb each section.  It wasn't impressive, slower than I estimated initially.  Plug in numbers and I soon realize the power numbers are not much more than what I have turning lately - something around 165-170 watts for stretches up to 50 minutes.

Figuring if I can do that NOW, why not start pushing a bit harder... say 200-210 watts... and get used to pushing MORE.  If I can mash out 200 watts (or more) going up that hill, maybe I will be faster than I was NINE years ago?  (or I will be comparable since I also weigh more now).


That was where the Zwift bike came into play today.  Suit up, turn on the fans and warm-up by following along with the pacer groups.  Easiest to Not-As-Easy to Less-Easy...until about 15 minutes had passed.  I jumped over to a group that was pushing out 1.8 w/kg... so for me, between 185-215 watts.

First interval is pretty fun.  I am at the front of the group, motoring away on uphills but getting reeled in on the downhills.  It was going a bit easier than expected, partly because riding in the group made it easier to gauge how hard I was or was not going.

Interval Two was rough though.  I backed off for a three minute recovery from the first interval and even though I am only 20 seconds behind the pacer, it's still gonna take some work to reel em' in... and I did it... but I was burnt up a bit.  My average power was a bit more than prescribed but it was enough to reel in the group over five minutes.

Interval Three was when the wheels fell off.  I had to bail on the pacer group, watch em' go up the road in that three minutes between intervals.  When I jumped back on the pedals, my heart rate was flowing EASY and soon I was in the 160's... and when the five minutes was over, it was SLOWLY coming back down.  Three minutes later I was still in the 130's... so I took an extended break.

Back into the 110's, Interval Four started.  Hit the 160's, stayed there til I didn't.  Wait 3 minutes, see the 120's, go again.

Interval Five wasn't much different but now the course had turned into a steady climb.  It was gonna more of a consistent climbing effort versus the rollers of before.  Settle in, see 160's, hold for 5 minutes.  As the three minutes clicked down, I wondered if I was gonna recover.  I had already resigned myself to quitting, starting the next batch of intervals at an easier level... but nope, I saw the 120's.

Interval Six seemed to hit a stride since my head and everything else knew it was the last one.  Kick hard, spinning in the high 70's for the most part.  The power was steady in the 200's... until five minutes clicked by and it was over.  Spin, recover, hang it up.


Will this be what I need to kick start my fitness before Fall?  Sure, doing more structured work has always helped me.  Will it be enough to be ready for Chino?  I have no idea.  Nine years have passed since that last trip to even recon the route.  The DiVerge, the bike I used, was sold in '22, replaced with the Crux which was sold in '23.  The current DiiVerge is a faster, more capable bike but can I outperform the 45 year old, 225 pound version of myself?  That's what I am hoping for.

Later.

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