Happy New Year’s, People
BY KENNETH LUNDGREN
Hey gang,
Hope all is well out there… Weather has been brutal… Not much has changed over here… The knee is feeling close to 100%;, so that’s good!!! During some Tempo rides outdoors, the knee would feel tight in the beginning, a dull ache, but that has seemed to dissipate in the last 30 days…
In the gym, I’ve had my best lifting sessions EVER. I dunno if it’s because I’m so focused with rehabbing the knee, the diet I’m currently on, knowing I have to do EVERYTHING right to get back to my previous condition — it’s probably a combination of everything. In the gym, I’ve really been focusing on Squats and Step-Ups… I’ve been following a progressive program and I’ve continued to improve. The left leg seems to be as strong as the right…
On the bike, however, I’m still sluggy 🙂 In DEC, I’ve been primarily riding the PowerCranks, doing specific Tempo intervals on them, overgeared work on the climbs, high-cadence work, have been riding them lots. However, when you ride them, they almost turn you into a diesel, taking away your acceleration — you can ride all day at Tempo but it’s VERY hard to ride Threshold or SupraThreshold paces…
I did the Nyack Ride last week — the Felt F1 felt almost foreign! VERY fast ride. Lol, you see very quickly who’s been training hard, who’s fit and who’s not fit… At the end of a training block, my goal was to sit in during the first half, then get to the front, steady pulls, keep pace high, try not to let anyone get away.
Well, Matt Doran happened. This Global Locate rider is STRONG, stupid strong. Borderline scary. He was pulling all ride, then got away in Old Tappan (again, lol). I was on Gavi’s wheel when he jumped, but I didn’t have the condition to go with him (NO BREAKAWAYS IN DECEMBER, PEOPLE! :)), and that was that. Matt, Haluk, Al, and Gavi, the four strongest riders on the ride off the front…
I stayed near the front and tried to lead the chase, steady pulls steady pulls. If pace slows, be the guy to get it back up. Goal was to do this for final 30 minutes of ride… The important thing is I stuck to my plan and ended up getting the ideal workout, was able to pinpoint my FT — got SOLID numbers at the end as we chased.
Some coaches and riders are vehemently ANTI group ride during the winter, and I feel this is a huge mistake. The key is to approach each ride with specific goals and training objectives. There are many, many reasons why a riders shouldn’t completely abandon hitting a group ride every 3-4 weeks…
Kudos to Kuria Njenga — the guy is riding VERY smart and looks GREAT out there… I foresee a huge 2010 out of this talented rider…
Regarding how I feel out there, I can feel the heaviness in my legs as the pace starts to increase, and this is due to the progressing gym workouts and the steady PowerCranking. I know once I start to change gears, that heavy rust will start to fall off and I’ll have a new diamond, bigger than I ever had, ready to shine brighter than ever…
Winter heroes are the spring’s zeroes. We shall see how things pan out… Everyone has their own plan, and mine is to come into solid form for the important events of the NJ TT Cup — it’s that simple… I have three more weeks of Foundation work, and then by mid-JAN I’ll be ready to start my first week of Build work…
So far, so good. Good things come to those who wait 🙂
