Week 2 is done. Got some good weather for the weekend and made both my ride on the MTB as prescribed. Here are my assessments for both rides. For feedback, if there is anything else I should be looking at besides the things I describe in both rides I would appreciate it. I intend on doing this assessment for every weekend ride that is done outdoors.
2-6
Track: Lost Valley
Time: 2:00pm
Temp: 81, medium humidity
The ride went well overall. The track was wet with slippery parts, so I was taking it easy to not overdo it and lose the bike. The objective was to keep the heart rate at or below Zone 2, so in my case this means 158bpm or below. While I would not say I struggled to keep it at below that number for the whole ride, it was noticeably higher while going over obstacles. Granted, obstacles were wet, but it was a struggle to keep things under the target number. When this happened, heart rate was mostly in Z3 and low Z4. Another section that went up it was on a fire road climb. I was expecting this to happen, but at all times I felt under control and not under stress. Heart rate went into low Z5 towards the top. Descending went well, with heart rate going down during the descents. I feel comfortable during descents. So I usually try and take these as a moment to catch my breath. Overall I spent around 23 minutes over Z2.
Things to consider:
Did my concern with getting the heart rate up caused me to doubt myself while trying to clear obstacles?
Are the current tires due to a change? Sometimes grip was not there, and I also know that they have some miles in them. I will be getting a new set before the race.
If I try this course and same format on a cooler day, will it result in a better control of my heart rate?
2-7
Track: Greensfelder
Time: 9:30 am
Temp: 74, medium humidity
Before ride calcs (3hr): 1020 calories, 60 oz water, 900mg sodium
Carried: 120 oz water with 380mg sodium per 20 oz, 1180 calories (480 from drink mix, 200 from two gels, 140 from Skratch chewables, 360 from Bobos bar)
Consumed (during ride): 80 oz water, 700 calories
Consumed (after ride): 40 oz water, 340 calories
Weight (before ride): 172.0
Weight (After ride): 172.2*
The ride went well overall. I still noticed that its hard for me to keep the heart rate at zone 2 or below, but this time I focused on, when I went above, to keep calm and let the bike do the rest. I focused more on the body feeling when in those zone to pick up the cues as I ride rather than look at the bike computer and perhaps panic. Overall I spent 47 minutes above Zone 2.
I also noticed that I may have a hard time consuming solid foods (Bobos Bar) while riding. I do have Skratch Superfuel that I can use in my hydration bladder and go with that for the race. For training purposes, I will keep using other methods for fueling and hydrating as the superfuel mix is kinda expensive. Gels were ok. I am sure chewables will be fine, but it may be a good idea to open the packets before the race as they are hard to open. Will try the wafers on a future ride.
One note regarding the water: it looks like I brought the right amount looking at the weight. However, I did not consume it all during the ride, so I assume that I was down two pounds or more after the ride was over.