Special Deal

I just wanted to pass on more information about this program at
Atlantic Performance Training. The package price is $299. That
includes VO2max/Threshold Test and 10 sessions of the Stendurance
class for cyclist and multisport athletes. They are going to give the
first 10 athletes $50 off. That means you get the testing and the 10
sessions for $249.

The classes will incorporate the use of your bike/trainer as well as
some of the other specialty equipment they have. This is a very good
deal and great training, not to mention a lot of fun.

Jeremy is the coach and owner. Here is his contact information:

2529 Virginia Beach Boulevard
Virginia Beach, VA 23452

ph. (757)275-7636
fax (757) 275-7637

info@atlanticperformancetraining.com

Feel free to contact me also if you have any questions. There are
other services available there also. Ever want to try an altitude
tent? They have a few to rent out.

What did you do?

Base building season is upon us (or approaching for some). For most people the weekend is the time to get the extra saddle time. So what do you do when you wake up and its raining, windy and cold? Here are the options:

1. Suck it up. Get on the fixed gear or your crappy weather bike and ride. My brother and I call these rides Belgium Rides. It builds more character then fitness I think.
2. Go off road. Weather seems to matter less when you are on a trail. So mountain bike or cross bike and hit the trails. Not only will you be working on your base miles but also your bike handling skills.
3. Go indoors. Probably the best way to preserve your health, but not you mind. Too many hours on an indoor trainer could land you in an institution.
4. Forget about it. You could always use the line..."Its December, I'll start my miles next week."

So this morning for most of us the weather was bad. I saw on Facebook that a handful of faithful (Liz, Jimmy D, I think Kevin skipped it) were heading to Freedom for some trail riding. I saw T. Karnes claim to plan on a 6.5 hour trainer ride...did that happen?

As for me, I opted for the indoor experience. 1 hour 35 minutes controlling my heart rate and watching some football. Good saddle time for this time of year, and I felt real good about it.

What did you do today?

GamJams Reviews: Trainer Distractions-Group Riding

I tend to be able to find many ways to distract myself during trainer rides. The usual like TV (especially Scrubs for some reason), movies and ipods. But even with those I seem to have an hour limit before I call it quits. The other thing I do is break down the intervals. If you focus on 1 hour you won't make it. But if you focus on 2 minutes, 5 minutes or even 10 minutes at a time, the hour will fly by.

That all being said, last night was our first night of strendurance at APT. In a group setting we moved from the bikes, to the VersaClimbers and back. It was a tough workout that lasted for about an hour and a half. Bordem was never an issue. Actually we could have all gone another hour or two without bordem settling in.

So you could always get some teammates together and meet in someone's garage, but this is supposed to be a product review (or service review) so my garage doesn't quite work. But here is the deal. I have had teammates meet and we get together and either put in a video or someone makes up a workout. But if you have available to you, a facility that provides an indoor cycling workout focused towards racers, do it. They come in many forms like CompuTrainer workouts, or this Stendurance session that we did last night. These workouts tend to be run by coaches and are more specific to the time of year.

Where do these places exist? I know of Atlantic Performance Training in Virginia Beach. Do you know of others?

The Virginia Beach Wheelmen Dance

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Jerseys for sale!

I have a handful of 2008 jerseys left over. We are about ready to order our 2009 jerseys but I would like to unload of some of these. Anyone interested. They would make for a good training jersey. High quality for a cheap $35.

Email me if you are interested.

Strendurance Classes for Cyclists

After the Indoor Invitationals on Tuesday, Jeremy was inspired to put that training into their regular program at Atlantic Performance Training.

Stendurance for Cyclist and Multisport Athletes is going to be an indoor workout that is time of year appropriate. So for the off season and preseason it will focus on strength and endurance (hence the name stendurance) on and off the bike. The class membership will also include VO2max and Threshold test. That way the heart rate numbers are accurate and your training is more percise.

Questions? Drop Jeremy an email.

Indoor Invitationals

A group of ten of us were invited to APT last night for a trial session of an indoor cycling workout. It was a good time and an appropriate workout for the time of year. Everyone had HR monitors on and our stats were displayed on the monitor for all to see.

This was the first step toward APT developing a cycling strendurance class on a weekly basis. This type of workout would be available to everyone whether or not you get custom training through them or not. Possible the next step would be a computrainer set up.

Nonetheless....it was a blast and I thank everyone for showing up. It was John Gray, Mike Tamayo, Kevin Horvath, Lynn, Albe, Jason, Gene R., Mike H., Brenna and me.

Power Meters...What's your opinion?

I am looking to get a power meter this year. I know, I'm jumping into the 21st century with both feet. I have never used one, but since I have been doing this training at APT this year I have realized the importance of one. Especially since I got my threshold levels tested and we will be training those levels at their facility. It just makes since to get one for the bike so I can train with one all the time.

With money being an issue for me I was looking for an alternative to the Powertap.

Ibike. What do you think. Has anyone used it before?

VO2Max Testing and Lactate Threshold Testing

Three of us got our VO2max testing and threshold testing at Atlantic Performance Training in Virginia Beach today.

I went first. I didn't know exactly what to expect since I had never done it before. It was tough, especially at the end.

Here is Mike Tamayo during his test.

And here is Kyle the Kid. He was told he has a gift. VO2max number in the 70s.

The primary reason for the testing is to find our threshold levels so Jeremy could customize our programs accordingly. I'll probably post some of the numbers next week when we get the print outs.

Does anyone out there get their thresholds tested on a regular basis? We will probably get it done again in January or February.

Walmart Bingo

 

I went shopping at WalMart today and played WalMart Bingo.  I didn't do too well, but I think it was because it was in the middle of the day on a week day.  I bet a Saturday or Sunday will result in a filled card.  Give it a shot.

 

The prime check-off I think was the "entire family wearing NASCAR appareal.  It was a lesbian couple both dressed in NASCAR jackets.  Sweet.

Next time...I will get that Bingo.

Trashmore CX

Conditions were great for a CX race. I have not raced cross yet this year and basically have blown off the cross season in preparation for next road season. No warm up, B race starting with the A race for 60 minutes. I started too hard and never recovered. I dropped out after about a half hour.

But, I had a blast. It was fun to finally do a cross race in cross conditions. Plus I got to sport that cool 757.cx skinsuit. Most people got muddier than I did. I think going as slow I was I didn't kick up that much mud.

Good day at the trash heap.

Photos taken by BJ .

Mad Skills

I rode the rollers yesterday and decided to try one-legged efforts.  Never tried them on the rollers before.  I have mad skills.  I was able to them with no problem.  So I thought to myself...self, this would make a good blog post.  Especially if I had a picture of it.  Well it was 6 in the morning and I didn't think my wife would want to get out of bed just to take a picture.  So I figured I would attempt to take one myself.  So imagine this...one legged intervals on the rollers, holding a camera while trying to get a blog photo.

You would be keen to notice there is no picture attached.  I only rode off the rollers once attempting to get it.  Next time, I'll have someone else take it.

How good are you on the rollers?  Stupid rollers tricks...sounds like a good blog assignment.

Course Poaching. Right or Wrong?

If promoter A has been using a course for many years, is it wrong for promoter B to decide they are also going to hold a race on the same course?

What if promoter B was the promoter who came up with the course many years before but had not used it for a period of two consecutive years. That is when promoter A took over the course and has used it ever since.

I attended the VCA meeting yesterday and this scenario is probably the thing the bothered me the most. Is course poaching right or wrong? Does a promoter "own" a course? I am not talking about the Sportsplex. That course was built for bike racing and can be used by any promoter. But I'm talking about the courses that require contacts to be made and leg work to be done.

Comments?

Anyone interested in Training at Atlantic Performance?

Regular readers of this blog know about the training the Virginia Beach Wheelmen are doing at Atlantic Performance Training. Up until September I had no idea this type training and coaching was available locally. They offer fitness assessment including threshold testing and VO2. They even have altitude tents and training programs.

There was a group of racers who were interested in doing the Velocity again this year when this opportunity came up. This is great training. The guys at APT want to show off what they have to offer. Would anyone be interested in an open house style event?

Let me know. Post to comments or email me.

Tour De Garage-Power Endurance

Time to use those trainers for workouts and not just to warm-up for time trials. I have done a couple of workouts this season so far. Usually this time of year I ride indoors before work when it is too dark to get in a good workout. That is what I did yesterday. My workout consisted of very short, full effort burst.

My warm up:
5:00 easy pedaling (small ring)
5:00 alternating seating and standing pedaling every :30 (big ring, top of the cog set)
6:00 one-legged efforts 1:00 at a time (big ring, top of the cog set)

The Workout:
5 x :30 power efforts. Big ring and top of the cog set (like 17). 1:00 RI (rest interval)
5 x :30 power efforts. Big ring and bottom of the cog set (like 12). 1:00 RI
Rest for 2:00 between those two set.

6 x :15 one-legged power efforts. Big ring and middle of cog set (like 15). :45 RI
Complete all 6 sets for one leg, rest for 2:00, then complete all 6 for the other leg.

Warm down:
Spin in an easy gear for at least 5:00
Easy pedaling for as long as required.

Give it a try and post what you think to the comments.

Update to post:

Nick made a very good point in the comments:

hey man just wondering but dont you think its a little bit early to be doing that intense, short work.

id stick with the longer intervals 2x20 or 1x30 depending on how long ur on the trainer.

He's right. This time of year is too early to be doing intense power intervals on the bike. Right now we are doing some load bearing power endurance training off the bike. Our trainer workouts are sub-threshold workouts just like Nick suggested. I was taking some of the information I am learning from my new coach and trying to apply it to some of the in-season workouts we could be doing.

These workouts are much more interesting to post then the sub-threshold long intervals. Although I will be posting some of those.

Thanks for point Nick.

The Answer.

According to our new coaches at Atlantic Performance Training, the five factors of athletic performance, in order, are:

Preparedness
Effort
Attitude
Talent
Skill

As I am not one to just accept information as fact, I researched this on my own. Jim Loehr is a human performance psychologist and probably a leading expert in the field. He expands his knowledge base to help people succeed in business as well. He adds toughness as number 1, but most others don't include it on their list. Self-confidence and a sense of control could be listed, but they could be considered a result of preparedness.

What does this mean?

Natural talent will only get you so far. If someone is preparing properly for competition (training, nutrition, tactics, visualizations, etc...) they will beat the natural athlete who is not properly preparing. This gives me a lot of hope and a lot of motivation.

One aspect of training that is not used as often as it should be is sports psychology training. Has anyone ever done this? Does it work? For people that I have talked to so far, it works. Professional athletes of all sports do it. Cycling is so much a mental sport, you would think it would be beneficial.

There is one coming up at Atlantic Performance Training on November 22nd. They are going to start having them on a regular basis I think.

An Advanced Sports Performance Seminar
Registration

Atlantic Performance Training is proud to present the “Mental Preparation for Competition” seminar on
Saturday, November 22, 2008 from 12pm to 4pm. Topics covered in this seminar
include motivation, recovery, distraction, selective attention, focus, anxiety, imagery, creating success...
and more. Location: Atlantic Performance Training, 2529 Virginia Beach Blvd, VA Beach, VA 23452.
For directions, visit www.atlanticperformancetraining.com. Seminar includes reference materials, water
bottle and tee shirt. SEATS ARE LIMITED. Cost: $199 per participant.
For further information, please contact Nick Luciano at 757.275.7636.

Factors affecting athletic performance.

If I were to list a set of factors that contribute to athletic performance, could you put them in order of importance?

Effort
Talent
Skill
Preparedness
Attitude

Give it a shot. Post them, in order, to the comments. Check back and I will post the answer.

Cure for the exercise excuse.

Bikes for Sale.

I have decided it is time to unload some of my bikes so the kids could have Christmas presents. The above Giant Trance 4 is the first to go. I believe it is a 2006 model. I have had it for two years and it has very few miles on it. Especially after getting my CX bike last year, this bike has just been hanging in the garage. I have not been on it at all this year.

It is pretty much stock with the exception of the Avid disc brakes that I added. Saddle bag, pump and bottle cage included.

I am 6'. The bike I think is a Medium (18") but I can't remember for sure and the sticker is no longer on it (of course). It measures 18" from the center of the bottom bracket to the center of the seat collar. At 6' it fits me perfectly. You can see from the picture how much seat post is showing.

Interested? $700 OBO.

I also might be willing to sell my fixed gear. It is a converted Giant TCR aluminum frame size medium converted to a fixed gear. It is a great winter time beater bike but can not be used for track events. If anyone is interested I might be willing to let that go for $300 OBO.

Email me if interested in any of this stuff. vbwheelmen@cox.net

Change is upon us.

I am going to keep my talk about the election and politics to local races. In Virginia Beach it looks like we are getting a new mayor after two decades. Is that good? Virginia Beach is a City Manager run government and the mayor is simply another vote on council. So a new mayor can only do so much damage or good. I heard a lot of people talk about needing a new mayor and my only response was "why?" Virginia Beach is doing well. We may hate paying personal property taxes on vehicles and our homes, but the money has to come from some where. City services are top notch and based on the continued development of Town Center it looks like we are attracting new businesses as well.


Just a thought. We knew what we had with Oberndorf, now we have to wait to see what we are going to get with Sessoms.

Speaking of change. I made a first step in changing the look of the VCA race calendar for next year. I have found a good course, the town is excited to have us, and it comes with thousands of spectators there for a festival.

Here's the hint:

Excited for another night.

I am looking forward to another night of training at APT. The stuff we are doing is exciting, useful and different. Balance and coordination is our primary goal now. The above picture is of us after a workout.

That Jacob's Ladder is not joke. You should see Tim on that slide board. He looks like a pro.

There is Jon performing one of the many exercises done with a pvc pipe.

All photos taken by staff of Atlantic Performance Training.

FireBike Leadout

Mike May at Gam Jams has awarded me the Leadout of the Week for the picture of the Virginia Beach Firefighters wearing pink shirts for Breast Cancer Awareness.

Also Mike posted an awesome pumpkin stencil. I think it would look good on a FireBike pumpkin. I carved my pumpkin with my girls last night. Maybe I need to go find another one.

Where do you train?

We are into our second week at Atlantic Performance Training and I am impressed. One thing that it is definitely do is make us more accountable. Gone is the time of thinking I could eat anything I want because I ride my bike. Now I'm thinking about food as making me a better athlete. One main reason is that Jeremy (our coach) wants us to email him with a list of what we eat. The fact that I have to write it down and tell someone who has an interest in my training will make me naturally choose better food.

Since we are only training at APT twice a week we also have to keep a training log. Once again this makes those decisions of whether or not to ride a lot easier. The difference between this training an a standard coach can be seen in this off season preparation. Currently in this strength and conditioning program we are working on balance and coordination. This training is hard, fun and although off the bike, it will be very beneficial to racing.

We care enough to wear pink.

Over the weekend the Virginia Beach Fire Department was able to wear these pink shirts as part of a "we care enough to wear pink" breast cancer support campaign.

My Aunt is fighting breast cancer right now. I will be sending this photo along with my shirt to her as a way show my support and care of her battle.

Get well Janis.

Fire Truck Crash...Check this out.

Check out what happens when a fire truck does not stop at a red light. Every law in the country requires emergency vehicles to stop at red lights and stop signs before proceeding through. Luckily no one was severely injured. All fire fighters were wearing seat belts.

I'm Back and Ready to Train

Jenni and I went on our 10 year anniversary vacation. Yes it was to Disney and the kids stayed home. We felt a little bit bad...just a little though.

The happy anniversary buttons got us some free deserts and a couple of head of the line privileges and a whole lot of congratulations form cast members.
The second part of the trip was the Disney Cruise. First stop was Nassau. We weren't crazy about it. We probably enjoyed it more from the boat then when we actually got off and walked around.
Pirate night was a blast. This was Jenni giving here best Pirate look.
Castaway Cay was definitely relaxing. Can you say Corona moment?

Pretty girl and pretty boat.
I even helped a kid get into his coconut that he found.

Back to the boat. This was the part of the trip that we really liked. On Castaway Cay we get massages, relaxed on floats and in hammocks, road bikes and went snorkeling. It was a blast.

Now that the trip is out of my system I am ready to train some more. Jenni and I have a little bet going. We both probably gained a few pounds on the trip. We weighed ourselves when we got home. On December 1st we will weigh in again. The person who lost the most weight doesn't have to do the dishes for the entire month of December. That means loading and unloading the dishwasher.

Atlantic Performance Training

Atlantic Performance Training is where we are (the Virginia Beach Wheelmen) will be training this winter. While planning the Velocity training this offer came up. Velocity has been good to us for the last 2 years, but APT offers a more scientific and cycling specific training plan. The owner was a pro racer for Coors Light back in the late Eighties and early Nineties.

Today half of us go in for our initial threshold testing. I'm a little nervous but it should be fun. Although VO2max is part of the testing, the thresholds will be more important to set up our training plans.

We start the training at the end of this month. I'll keep posting the updates.

10 years and going strong!

Today is my 10 year anniversary. Jenni was 20 years old and I was 22 when we got married.

What else is this day known for?

Today is also Obama's 16th wedding anniversary...CRAP.

O.J. was found not guilty... DOUBLE CRAP.

The Beltway Sniper started random shootings in the D.C. area killing 5 people in a 14 hour period...TRIPLE CRAP.

A tiger attacked Roy of Siegfried and Roy leaving him partially paralyzed, and its his birthday today...

Okay so maybe we didn't pick the best day to get married. But it is still our day and our celebration. The true celebration starts next week Thursday when we leave for our Disney Cruise (kids left behind).

Don't be "that" rider.

I was having a conversation the other day with a guy at work. Here's what he told me:

"Last week I was driving home through Pungo and I saw 4 guys on bikes up the road. They were taking up the entire road, so when I got behind them I tapped my horn to let them know I was back there. Three of them moved over but one just stayed in the middle of the road. So I had to wait for on-coming traffic to clear then I slowly passed them. When I got up to the guy who didn't move he started yelling at me. He said his life is more precious then me having to get to where ever I was going to sit on my fat ass and eat potatoe chips."

I admit, there are some asshole drivers out there who would rather run us over then to take the time to pass us safely. But what made them that way. Perhaps it was the fourth rider described above. I am discovering that cyclist have taken such a defensive attitude with motorist that it is harming our image and hindering our safety even more.

Many years ago my father would commute his bike to work. One day a car full of guys road up behind him and hit him in the head with a baseball bat. They then drove off. It knocked him off his bike and absolutely stunned him. The bat had just barely caught the lower part of the helmet. It was actually a brand new helmet. His old helmet did not go down as far and it would have been a direct hit to his skull. He did not piss those guys off...someone else did I'm sure.

So next time you hear someone tap their horn, or even honk it for that matter, get over to the right and give them a wave (not a finger wave). Thank them for passing you safely and sharing the road.

As for that fourth rider. If you pull that kind of crap when I'm riding with you, I will personal get my car and ride your ass off the road. We don't need those attitudes out there. When I ride my bike I am relaxed and happy, road rage is supposed to happen when you trapped in a car. Let's all work together and try to change the attitudes of the drivers, not reinforce what many of them already think of us.

This was one of those blog post that I had written, thought it sounded too angry so I deleted it and figured I would rewrite it when I cooled down. So this is the cooled down version.

What do you think, am I way off base here?

Opinions Please!

As many of you know I have a goal of promoting upto 5 races next year.  My goal for the races are to keep the entry fee low and to not over work the officials and volunteers.  So I am thinking that we will hold just catagory races and not age graded races (with the exception of Juniors).  I have my eye on some new courses and some courses that have not been used in many years. 

Please post your opinions on my proposed schedule for all crits in the series.  This is a chance to feed me your opinion before it is set in stone.  I know I have heard a lot of talk about moving Juniors to middle of the day and I like the idea of having a mid day break for the officials and volunteers to eat lunch and to allow the course to be open for riding.  Here's my schedule:

9:00             Cat 5                           45 minutes
   
10:00           Cat 3/4                       1 hour

11:15           Women’s Open          1 hour

12:15 to 12:45    break                   open course

12:45          Juniors 10-14              30 minutes

1:30            Juniors 15-18              45 minutes

2:30            Pro 1/2/3                     90 minutes
4pm race over


By not having age graded races we can increase the length of the races and potentially increase the prize money per event (of course thats not what its about right?).

Opinions Please!

Some Workouts May Be Harmful To Your Training

On Sunday, at the fire station we went to the Town Center in Virginia Beach to climb the stairs of the Armada Hoffler building. We do this every weekend. When we work Saturdays we just go up in workout gear. On Sundays we dress out in full firefighting gear with air pack and tools. It is probably an extra 50-60 pounds carried up.

This past Sunday I started off fast. I started by taking two steps at once. I began to pull away from the rest of my crew (who are very fit and young). So the competitive nature of mine made me go even harder. By the end of the 23 1/2 floors I was pretty spent. It only took me under 5 minutes to get to the top and I finished an whole floor and half ahead of the other guys. Then came the hard part...going down. The eccentric contractions of your legs hurt and they are what will make you sore the next day, or three.


Later on that night we had a fire in which we all worked really hard. By the next morning I had a hard time just walking. So I skipped my easy ride.

Tuesday I still had a hard time walking. My calves were tight and very painful. So I skipped my intervals and the Trashmore cyclocross practice.

On Wednesday I was back at work and my calves were still sore. So I skipped my strength training.

Here it Thursday, they are a little better but still tight. I will force myself to do my workout today. Unfortunately it is riding and running hill sprints. That will probably put me back into the category of too sore to move.

So even though I thought going fast up the stairs was great cross training, I have concluded that it hurt my program. I will take it slower next time.

The Maiden Voyage

James just got his brand new Trek XO2 cyclocross bike from All About Bikes. It was time for its maiden voyage. Any chance we could get that white bar tape dirty?



You could say some of the bikes got mud. Dam Neck was pretty muddy, but somehow James manage to pick up the least amount of mud. I think his bike has super mud shedding powers.


Our ride once again was about 3 hours and took us through Seashore, the Oceanfront and Dam Neck trails. It was a good time.
Very hot out. Luckily we have mapped out refueling places along the way.

The riders in today's cross ride was:

Me...Joshua Goyet
James Goyet
Tim Shockley
Jon Nisbet
Kevin Hupp

Kevin didn't hold anything back in Seashore. My heart rate elevated pretty high back there. Other than that it wasn't too bad. Probably a little bit harder then we had planned. I think James enjoyed cross riding. He's been recovering from a cold or something and wasn't feeling great but it was a good time.

What I've been up to.

Busy it seems.  Since I have been back on shift work it seems like I have had more time to ride.  So I have been out on the cross bike lately just riding easy trying to rebuild a good base.  Next week I will throw intervals back in.  Here is a quick look at some of the stuff I have been busy doing:

• Setting up Velocity training for the fall and winter.  Spots are still open for anyone who wants to join us.  Last year VBW, Tripower and All About Bikes had riders working out there.
• Trying to find a course in Virginia Beach to hold a cyclocross race.  I think I have found 2 sites.  The city seems to be working well with me.  Let's see if I can get everything in place in time.  Here's a question:  Would you want a Virginia Beach race weekend having a race on Saturday somewhere in VB and then the Trashmore race on Sunday...or would you rather spread the racing out over a couple of weekends only having one race per weekend here?  Let me know.

I've been riding some at Dam Neck and Ipswitch.  I am amazed at the number of spider webs in those woods this time of year.  I hope webs are high in fiber because I have eaten a lot lately.

Labor Day Cyclocross

It has been about a year since most of the Virginia Beach Wheelmen got our cyclocross bikes. Last year on labor day we met at Ipswich for a ride. It was apparently cooler last year.

After that first holiday we started to do around the city holiday rides. That is what we did this year. Mike, Tim and I met at Redmill to begin the ride. The ride took us through the trails at Dam Neck, the oceanfront and Seashore State Park before ending back at Red Mill. It was just shy of 3 hours but was a lot of fun. It is different to hit the trails, ride bike paths and sidewalks. Its a good change from the road season.

Virginia Beach Oceanfront

Mike refueling at Seashore

Tim refueling at Seashore

Jon Nisbet was out of town and James' bike is still on order. Next team ride should be bigger.