Whaddup Dog...ma?

Ahhh.

Another crazy-ass workweek has almost passed us by, which receives no complaints from yours truly.

Yesterday was my first trip to Dogma Athletica - a fitness/training/pilates/yoga establishment that is very, shall we say, supportive of the local bike community.  My prize for winning the Hammer In The Hay race last spring was a 10-trip punch card to Dogma, and I figured it was time to start using it.

You see, they've got computrainers.

You hook your bike up to what looks like a normal resistance trainer; relatively similar to what I have at home.  Unlike my fluid trainer at home (constant resistance; as you shift gears, the intensity increases or decreases), these are electronically controlled to change the resistance to its programming, so you don't have to shift.  All you do is pedal.

And suffer.

First day consisted of a 15 minute warmup, then 6x5x3 intervals with Jono Ridler.  (For those that aren't "in the know", 6x5x3 means six sets of 5 minutes high intensity, with 3 minutes of lower intensity/recovery.)  We set up at 80% threshold during the interval, then 50% threshold during recovery.  Since I had never done power training in my life, my coach told me that I should set my threshold at 290-295 watts, and try it out.  What I didn't realize is that 295W - which is what I set it at - was the highest in the class.  Singlespeeder Jay Kocks was in the class - and had it set up at 290W.

Crap.

Actually, it wasn't that far off.  For six sets, I didn't really hit a solid 9 out of 10 on the exertion scale until midway through the fourth set.  So I was pretty pleased with that.  The other thing this computrainer does for you is give you feedback on your power output.  I was pretty pleased with where I came in at:

- Power-to-weight ratio:  Maxed around 3.20 W/kg, averaged 2.75 W/kg
- Average power output:  Over 200W (including recoveries, warmup and cooldown)
- Average HR:  157bpm
- Average Cadence:  96rpm
- Total Distance:  31.46mi in 1 hour

All in all, not a bad workout.  Too bad I had to go back to work until nearly midnight afterward.

On other fronts:
- The Fightin' Willies of Kansas State University keep on keepin' on.  Wins on the road at Nebraska and Iowa State - both very solid road wins - have allowed the Wildcats to jump into #9 in both polls, at 19-4.
- The trip to Seaside,CA for the XC race at Sea Otter is becoming a reality.  Hotel reserved, hard-shelled bike case ordered, and as soon as I can guarantee my Stumpy will fit in it, the plane tickets are getting booked.
- This has been one of the worst snow years in recent memory.  However, it appears that it is going to let me get outside on the bike more often, now...so that's good.  Made it out last weekend for an easy 2hr ride from Eagle to the top of Glenwood Canyon and back.  It was relatively calm, sunny, and 35F at 3:30pm...just a beautiful day.

Birthday is coming up in less than two weeks.  Yay.

It's nearly time to start thinking about heading to Fruita for some mountain biking.  As soon as temps start hitting 50F there - I'm going.  Period.

That way I can...GO RIDE!