'Cause I am smarter then your average bear

Just to prove I actually do something with all the power data I have.
This is the quadrant plot from the road ride I did today.
So what is it?
Quadrant Analysis is a way to measure the neuromuscular power demands of cycling. Taken from the book, "Training and Racing with a Power Meter by Hunter Allen and Dr. Andrew R. Coggan, "Tools such as Normalized Power, Intensity Factor, and Training Stress Score explicitly recognize the seemingly stochastic nature of cycling power output and help coaches and athletes better understand the actual physiological demands of a given race or workout.

Neuromuscular What? “Neuromuscular function” may sound complicated, but it simply means how fast you can contract a muscle, how strongly you can contract it, and how long you can contract it before relaxing it again.

Each quadrant represents a different combination of force(how hard you push on the pedals) and pedaling velocity(how fast you push on the pedals).
QI: High Force and High Cadence- An example of this would be sprinting.

QII: High Force and Low Cadence- An example would be steep hill repeats, big gear intervals and a lot of Mt. Biking resides in QII as well.

QIII: Low Force and Low Cadence- An example would be a recovery ride or just an easy ride around town.

QIV: Low Force and High Cadence- An example would be a Criterium or fast pedaling drills.


I have highlighted some key areas to look at when reading one of these plots.

These are,
- The general shape of the plot (a tight elipse)
- The direction of the shape (low right to top left)
- Where the outliers are sitting (Quadrant 2- High force, low cadence)
- What the percentages are in each quadrant

So this is what a road training flie looks like. Tomorrow I will post up a MTB ride to highlight a number of points.

And we have a new winner!

For Worst Team Kit of the Year....what were they thinking??????

At the Pound

Yesterday turned out to be an easier day training wise spent with the family.

We took wee man to Stromlo so he could ride his little bike around the kids track. Even at 10AM the temperatures with starting to bump up into the 30's. Wee man got bored playing with the other kids so took himself off down to the Crit track and was trying to chase a couple of riders around...but when your wheels are only about 10cm your not going to go very fast.

He would try skooting after them on the straights then use the short cut through the middle of track to catch them on the other side.

Want a Kitten?

I'm not really a cat person but we stopped in at the RSPCA yeterday on the way home and they currently have about 30+ kittens that need homes. So if you are a cat person there is alot to choose from at the RSPCA at the moment.

Square Eyes

Everyone says get outside enjoy summer, my response is "Piss off it's too f^&ken hot!"

I have to admit I have a bit of a dislike to the Australian summer. The reason being that anything after about 10am and your already into the mid-30's. This makes trying to train after this but really hard physically due to the risk of dehydration but but backing up and recovering hard too. So this generally means that training means being super motivated and a 6am start or rolling out after work at 5pm and still getting cooked.

Yesterday was a Bakery bunch and and extra couple of hours around Uriarra for a bit of sunbaking. Today ftp intervals on the death machine.

After a couple of weeks the FTP is back up over the 300 watt mark...and the garage floor is looking like it's got a permanent sweat stain on it.

So what have it been doing with the rest of the time you ask?



Training the old reflexes on Modern Warfare 2 (Thanks Santa) I'm sure it's useful for MTBing somehow....

Ginga' Roo

Given the amount of time I have spent lately at Stromlo, I'm getting to know the 'Roos on a first name basis.
However yesterday I almost ran over one of these, hadn't met him before. I didn't even know that they made them this colour. I'm going to call him Stan

A Ginger Kangaroo

Now this has to really demonstrate God has a sense of humor.... I can't really think of a worse colour to make an animal that lives in the bush.

Fail!

Willing to pay your riders top dollar--> Check

Willing to get into legal battles to recruit riders--> Check

Top Class bikes (Pinarello)--> Check

Skimping on the team kit--> Fail!

2009 by the Numbers

Training
Total time: 472hrs (Same as 2008)
Total Km's: 12000km (Less than 2008)
Total TSS: 34200(10% increase on 2008)
Total Energy: 330600kj (169 Big Mac's!)
Peak CTL: 116.4 (17th May)
Peak ATL: 153.2 (8th Nov)
Low CTL: 82.4 (24th July)
Highest FTP: 330w

Racing
Best Race: 100 mile Fling. Not sure why but I just really enjoyed the course and the day.

Worst Race: Jetblack 101. Run with a kangaroo on the way to the race, crap course (due to last minute changes), breaking 4 spokes in the rear wheel and having to DNF

Not going to make it moment: Otway. This wasn't a physical moment, more mental at the 1/2 way point.

Luckiest Escape: Coota Road Race. Not piling in on top of everyone else in the mass crash

Longest Road Trip: Otway Odessey. 9.5hrs

Longest Race: Tie. Token 12hr & 100 mile Fing both 8.5hr

Worst Accomodation: Nothing jumps out this year yah!

Best Post Race Food: The dodgy hamburger after the Otway race.


Other Stuff

Best Purchase over $1000

MTB Powertap

Best Purchase over $500

Garmin 705

Best Purchase under $100

Schwalbe Racing Ralph Tires