April 25, 2008
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Last friday, the same day I tested out the dorkflag, I rode my Jordan Lake loop to get in some “flat land” / “race pace” training for the White Lake race. The flattest stretch of road that I have found around here are two causeways on NC-64 that go over Jordan Lake. It’s about a 1.6 mile stretch. Even though NC-64 is a major road, the shoulder is so wide that it’s better than a bike lane, and traffic isn’t bad as long as you aren’t riding during rush hour.

velo.PNGMy training plan called for a 40 minute warm-up, followed by 30 minutes at race pace, zones 4-5b. I rode out and arrived at the spot at around 12:30. Traffic was light. My plan was to do several loops of the causeway, totaling 30-40 minutes, depending on how I felt.

Random shuffle mode on my mp3 player was generating a nice mix of music. Just as I headed out for the first race-pace loop, “Get Loose” by Benny Benassi came on. I was never exposed to techno music until I bought an mp3 player on ebay, which came preloaded with lots of stuff. (I got rid of the country, classical and rap, but kept the techno cuz I think it has a cool beat.) I rode along at a good clip, enjoying the Get Loose beat and the Get Loose metaphor. Each time the song was about to end, I reached back to hit the rewind button. I focused on relaxing muscles not used and staying tightly down in aero position.

I occasionally glanced down at the cateye computer. My speed varied anywhere from 20 to 23 mph…usually it showed 21 mph. My heart rate stayed around 160. I tried to go harder and push it up toward 165+, but was unable to get it up. The first loop took me 8 minutes. I then challenged myself to do 4 more loops, each at 8 minutes. I succeeded until the very last loop. My final time for five complete laps was 40:34. The only reason the last loop took longer as that traffic was getting heavier…as everybody cuts out of work early on Friday afternoons! The heavier traffic meant I had to wait longer at the turn around points.

Update June 2008:
I had the opportunity to drive that way in my car while dropping my daughter off at a friend’s house. I clocked this loop at 2.8 miles. That means my calculations for this workout look like this:
5 laps x 2.8 miles = 14 miles in 40 minutes = 21 mph. That sounds right, and I’m pleased with that pace!

According to Veloroutes, each lap was 3.2 miles. 5 laps x 3.2 miles=16 miles in about 40 minutes = 24 mph. Hmmm, not sure I believe that, as it doesn’t jive with what I saw glancing down at my cateye computer. At any rate, it was a great workout and I enjoyed it, and I feel ready for my sub-40 bike split goal at White lake. I do wish I had more time before White Lake to do this again. But that race is only 8 days away – I am tapering.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=KFP9VChYl0E]