The Mighty Struggle
BY KENNETH LUNDGREN
Continuing to plow forward… Am really starting to fill up the race calendar over here… Training-wise, things are going well, the power is slowly creeping upwards — SLOWLY, lol…
I’ve been doing tons and tons of prep (higher-end aerobic work, gym work, overgeared intervals) to prep for this time, when I really start to increase the SubThreshold and LT workload… As expected, the threshold work is difficult, more difficult than year’s past… LT work used to be my strength, what I could do best in training AND on the road (hence the TT success), but now the intervals don’t pass so easily!!! Just last night, I struggled mightily through a series of longer LT intervals, power up and down, fighting with the cadence, trying desperately to find that right gear. Blick.
Then, I settled into longer SubThreshold work, and it’s amazing what 10-15w can do… Here I’m going LONGER at slightly lower intensity and it feels like a walk in the park, and the power file illustrates that: HR steady, power STEADY, cadence steady — I just whirred along… So that’s reassuring… The LT work is still a hefty chore, but remember — it’s only FEB 17…
First race of the year, Saturday March 6th, CRCA club race… Team meeting Sunday night in the city, getting all the Blue Ribbon guys together… Then plan to do one or two Branch Brook races in the Northeastern Hardware colors, will be nice to get some racing miles… In my youth, I’d be chomping crazily at the bit, looking to win these races, hellishly attacking, looking to scoop up as many upgrades points as I could, lol, but now I just want to get in the pack, maybe test the legs, look for some logical efforts, certainly always looking to help my team get a result. Funny how we mature out there…
I picked up my new mountain bike last night. I bought a Kona King Kahuna 29er, got it for a great price… Sick rig, $3000 retail, Scandium frame, hardtail, almost full XT, Fox fork, very light and very simple. And I hope… VERY FAST! Goal is to stay 10000% on target with all road training up through the TTs, up to State TT and State RR, may do the Giro, may do that new (old, actually) Killington Stage Race (in late-JUN, has a 11-mile TT woot woot!!!), and then shut it down a bit… Will do some MTB racing, hang with the many mountain bikers I coach, plan to certainly do Lewis Morris, Darkhorse 40, the Vermont 50, Blue Mountain… I am VERY excited!
The rest of FEB is packed with quality workouts… Been waiting a long time to start turning it up, and I’m fresh and eager and ready to work — good things do come to those who wait… I plan to be on the Park Ridge Ride on SAT, on the PowerCranks, and I hope to see a bunch of y’all!
Thanks for reading.
