After crashing early (8:30pm!) from yesterdays track, swim and run day, I felt surprisingly well. A good night sleep has always been my secret to a great recovery.
On this day I got to relax in the morning. I still got up at 6:30am to use Clint Leins (Peak Performance) computer while he was out at swim lessons. Today’s schedule was a bike lactic threshold test (LT test) and an easy 45min run. This was to start around noon so I went out and did one of my favorite thing: shop for groceries.
The LT test was done at the Pacfic Institute of Sport Excellence (PISE). This is a place where I could really see myself working in the future. It’s a place where fitness and science are married together for the benefit of all variety of athletes. Soccer fields outside, huge indoor gym, weight center and of course testing labs inside. Their soon going to be adding a pool, which now has us multi-sporters covered.
If you’ve never done a LT test I suggest (if your serious about the sport) to get one done. It’s very helpful number to know. It also allows you to compare yourself to years previous.
After my 30min commute to PISE I got on a stationary bike for another half hour to make sure I was ready. I’m not going to lie, the LT test hurts. You start off at a very easy pace/wattage, this is based on your weight, and then every 3mins the amount of resistance goes up. At first I just gabbed with the students/employees there. We talked about what it was like to work there. What other crazy tests they had performed. Then the increase in resistance starts to hurt. It’s game time.
The bike I was riding was fully customizable. This is to ensure that you can get the best fit that balances your power output and being resonably comfortable. This bike also had a display showing your watts and the countdown till the next increment.
Before gonig into the LT test I was told that most people always wish they had pushed a little harder. Why? Because at some point your sitting in that seat pushing as hard as you can, not going anywhere, going till you give up. Giving up basically means a drop in cadence by about 10-20%. Think of going up a hill in your granny gear when all of a sudden it gets so steep, you can’t pedal. Thats what the end of the test feels like. Legs go boom.
You know what though? It’s just a number. It really has no bearing other than another bit of information to help you train. Watching some of the other experienced athletes go, they seem to get worked up over what the LT test produced. Amanda Stevens went before me and she had a bad test, at least in in her eyes. A bad test could really mean any number of things, over training, bad setup, not enough to eat or just a bad mental lapse. When your a pro, I guess you live and die by the numbers that you create.
Well anyone who has done this kind of test knows that you feel pretty spent after. I had reached 10 beats below my max heart rate, which on a bike is pretty amazing. For my recovery I decided to postpone my run and cycle around Victoria. I know I was disrespecting the “listen to your coach” rule (see yesterdays post) but it was sunny out. Damned if I was going to be in doors with my feet up.
I took in the sights along the ocean. Amazing views which reminds me a lot of Southern Califoria with the number of Ocean front houses. After a couple of hours I decided that was enough. Only a run left and I could call it a day.
Out on the run my guts started to do a familiar rumbling. It wasn’t the sound of hunger. It was the “I need the bathroom real fast” noise. I was in the ‘burbs with no gas station or convience store in sight. I started cramping.. not a good sign. I knew that my only choice was to go knock on someones door or….
Luckily a guy out washing his car let me in his house. He probably thought it was a little weird but looking at my size, he knew that I couldn’t steal much. Turns out I was less than a km from Clints house. Oh well. It made the jog a lot more comfortable!
In the PM I got a small taste of Victoria’s night life as we went out for music trivia. It was a good night as Clint ended up winning $10 (after he beat a 16 year old for fourth place). I ended up being the DD as our company got a little typsy!
So far so good I thought as I drove back to Clints place. What’s tomorrow going to bring?
Happy Trainin
Cliff
did ya find a tree?
Somebody’s house man.
Dude was out washing his car. I basically waldeled over and asked if I could use his sal da bain. If he would have said no his car would have been a bit muddy!