Bike training notes

 I'm going to drop the intensity this week to recover. 

No 4x10's but I'll likely ride the Saturday morning practice if available. 

12 weeks post surgery

My shoulder has been better since last week.  I cut the running and bench presses out and things got better by Thursday.  I ran again on Saturday and Sunday and felt good so I feel the bench presses were the cause of the problem.  45lbs was more than I wanted to do but there wasn't a lighter bar.  I need to find an alternative.

Threshold intervals went well last Thursday, they confirmed my TP of 190.  It was just Kevin/Linda and myself doing the intervals, we started off splitting my work as a rotating paceline of 9 strokes each then 20/9.  After that we went 4 laps for me and 1 lap for K/L.  That lowered his power to the range he needed and and raised mine to the power I needed.  I'd like to see and increase of 5 to 10 watts in my next cycle, I'd be happy with 5.

I've been up for 3 weeks now and it's time to lower the training stress for a week so I can recover.  Kevin is on the same cycle.

The Saturday practice is going well. I need to be careful on the "jump the gap" sprints so I don't tweak my shoulder any.  At one point during practice I got my HR just over 180bpm so I was going quite hard.  Our second Sunday of pursuit training went well, we had 7 bikes and worked on exchanges, and finishes.  Today I tried to ride on my aerobars but it turned my left arm to an uncomfortable angle so I abandoned it for now.

I've been pretty good about doing my daily strength exercises, sometimes I miss one but most of the time I don't.  I have an appointment with my surgeon tomorrow and expect to have some restrictions removed.  I'm going to ask if there is something I can do to get more sessions of physical therapy.  I don't need a lot, maybe just 8 sessions so I can make sure I'm doing the right thing to heal up correctly.  I don't want to go through this again.

Body weight has been 149-150 so it dropped a little.  I've been skipping lunch sometimes to reduce calorie counts.  I need to find something more filling to eat for breakfast so I don't snack before lunch.

11 Weeks post surgery

 I over-did it last week on the bike and my should is sore.  I rode track a little on Tuesday, then easy on Wednesday, Saturday morning track practice and Sunday easy pursuit drills.  The extra stress on my shoulder is a little too much right now and I'll drop that down a bit.  Combining with Zwift I completed my 200 miles again.  My last threshold session indicated a TP of 190 watts so that came up a little.  I decided to do track workouts instead of the second TP session.  My next one will be on Thursday and I'll see how it turns out.  It should be on the track, I don't know if I should do it solo or with the group, solo would be a better indicator of my abilities but it's also boring.

I have an appointment with my surgeon next Tuesday and I expect some restrictions to be removed.  My PT feels that they'll let me start swimming and do upper body strength exercises.  As of now I have one more PT session left and that is the week after the appointment.

Body weight is still 150-151, I have not been tracking it as closely as I should.  I need to work on that.

Week 10

 Another 200+ mile week on the bike, mostly on Zwift but Saturday I rode on the track.  It was a moderate ride without a whole lot of effort but not easy.  Since I was there to work on the refrigerator and Kevin was there, I choose to ride.  It was busy but uneventful.

I noticed that I ride a lot harder at the track and my moderate days on Zwift need to be a little harder to match that effort.  I plan to be there Tuesday to ride my 10 min intervals with Kevin and whomever else shows up.  My 10 min intervals went well, they indicate my TP is about 185-190 watts.  Garmin estimates 190 watts.

Home therapy is getting better and I'm using more weight than I had in the past few weeks.  I have used some Ibuprofen a few times when I felt swelling was hindering my recovery.  Even though it relieves pain, I'm using it for recovery when needed.  I think it was 2 or 3 times last week, 400-600mg.

I'm 150-151 lbs this week, I'm getting lighter but I need to concentrate on it some more.

Bike training notes

A follow up to yesterday's post:

I did my 4X10(3) today starting off with a goal of 160 watts.  I wanted to do this as a Zone 3 interval so I could get a feel of what I am currently capable of.  My power output was 166, 167, 166, 174 watts for the four intervals.  They felt more difficult than I thought they should have, this indicates my threshold power is much lower than I thought it would be.

My 30/15 intervals indicated a TP of 200 watts. (238/1.18)

When I was doing the 6X5(5) intervals, the results indicated a TP of 188 watts.

These intervals indicate a TP of ~180-185 watts.  (168/.9)

So the last 2 are fairly close to each other and come from a near-threshold type of workout.  The first comes from a VO2max workout.  So 238/185 gives me a VO2max of 128% of threshold.  Since that is far greater than 115% it appears I am going to benefit more from threshold training than VO2max training for  now.

According to the numbers;  it appears I will benefit more from TP workouts until I reach ~205-210 watts.

So now I have a fairly clear cut path for improvement.  I'm thinking it'll take 6 to 9 weeks to reach that goal.

In addition, I am still able to do the swimming drill I mentioned yesterday.

9 Weeks Post Surgery (1 day early)

No big advancements except that I was able to do one of my swimming drills today.  I was unable to do the zipper drill which simulates the recovery portion of the freestyle stroke but today I did it.  I did some behind the back stretches and gave it a try and was successful.

Another 200+ miles on Zwift again this week with just about all of it as easy riding.  I tried some longer Z3 intervals yesterday and found them more difficult than I thought they'd be so instead of the 45/45's I'm going to start with 10 min Z3 intervals and work them up to threshold.  I'm planning 3 weeks of this but may cut it to two if I think my improvement is stagnating.  This won't drive the heartrate like VO2max stuff will but my performance right now indicates it's what I need.

Weight has been mostly in the 151's, up and down a little but averaging right there.

Home therapy is going OK.  I get sore doing internal shoulder rotations with weights so I'm staying easy with it.  I've taken some Ibuprofen for it a few times but not my normal large dose, just 400mg once or twice a day.

8 Weeks Post Surgery

There weren't any big advancements last week.  I'm getting better but slowly.

There is still no swimming or running yet.  The protocol calls for running in week 10.

I rode 200 miles on Zwift again and finished the :30/:15 intervals.  I went from 214 to 237 average watts on those intervals in the three weeks.  Those power numbers indicate an FTP of ~200 watts.  I'm OK with those results.  

Staying consistent with last weeks' plans, I'm going to do easier riding this week while holding the same volume.  Next week I'll be moving to :45/:45's.  I'll figure out the final numbers but it'll likely be something like 6X(5X:45/:45)(5) with the option to shorten the set count.

While I'm still 152 lbs I'm touching 151 now and am on my way back down.

My strength and flexibility is getting better.  With my home exercises I'm using weights on just about everything now.  They have taken me down to once a week.  I don't agree with it but will continue with their plan.

7 Week Post Surgery

Last Saturday I seemed to feel significantly better, I can't explain why.

Swimming and running are not happening yet.

I rode 200 miles on Zwift again.  I've included the :30/:15 intervals and was able to increase my efforts by about 10 watts last week and 16 watts over the last 2 weeks.  I'm likely to continue with them this week and then take a short break from the intensity.  I'll replace them with easy riding.

After that, I'll probably go to :45/:30's to simulate track riding.  I don't think the :30/:15 are as effective in sustaining a higher HR as the :45/:30's and won't drive VO2max abilities as well.  I do feel the :30/:15' were a good introduction to higher effort training with more stress to the muscles than HR. I am now after higher sustained HR to drive my fitness.  I'm also entertaining the thought of :45 on and 2 min on to simulate points races.  I need to determine if this will drive fitness or is more of a race simulation.  My goal right now is to drive fitness.

My weight is still stable at 152 lbs and has not moved.  I haven't been as disciplined as I need to be about calorie counting and need to work at it more.

My flexibility is still doing well.  My PT is addressing my limitations I feel I have for swimming.

The PT is taking me down to 1 day a week in January.  I don't agree that it's the right thing to do but I fix machinery and not people so I will accept their judgement and follow their plan.

6 Weeks out from AC and CC Reconstructive Surgery

I went to my 6 week check in after surgery and while the doctor was happy with the progress I've made he does not want me on the velodrome yet.  He said that was more of a 3 month thing.

First thing is that after viewing the X-rays, I have not stretched the grafts at all and my collarbone is still in the correct position.

Next, he answered my question about how to determine healing time and how much scar tissue has grown over the grafts.  There will not be images to look directly at the scar tissue, they expect so much tissue to grow over a specific time and X-rays will show if my collarbone is still in the correct position.

I am now allowed to get a flu and/or Covid vaccine.

Swimming and Running are not in the schedule yet and won't be until at least week 10.

I rode 200 miles on Zwift last week.  I moved on from the 6X5's to :30/:15 because I didn't think it's what I need right now but then any sort of riding is probably good for the level of fitness I'm in at the moment.  The plan is to complete 3 weeks of the short HIT intervals, reevaluate and likely complete 3 more weeks of them.  That will take me to 11 weeks out where I expect to be able to ride the track the following week.

I'll probably take an easier week by then adjusting to the track...I don't know...I'm just speculating.

My weight has remained stable at 152 and has not gone down.  I stopped paying attention to it and will start again.  I would really like to be under 150 by the end of the year.

I am still not taking any medications.

My flexibility is doing well.  I still have a problem with strength in my left should and cannot do the zipper drill for swimming.  I mentioned it to my PT and he's going to address it so when I get back in the pool I'll be able to swim effectively.

I rarely wear my sling now, not even while sleeping.  It started with me being lazy and not getting my sling out of my car but has moved to me trying to sleep with my left arm behind me while lying on my right side.  I'm hoping it will make it easier to rotate my arm behind me which causes me a little bit of pain.

5 Weeks from AC Reconstruction Surgery

 Like last week I'm doing better but didn't have the big leap as I did before.

My shoulder is stronger and I'm less afraid of pulling things apart but I still don't have the flexibility to swim yet, nor the permission.  Along with doing some PT homework I tried doing the zipper drill and cannot do it along my body, I have to do it slightly if front of me so I don't have the tight rotation on my recovery.

I'm no where near ready to swim or run yet.

I failed in my quest to finish 3 weeks of 6X5(5) on the bike so I let it go.  I'm just not strong enough to do it 3 times a week yet.  I could definitely do 2 times but not 3 yet.  I may move on to something else like some VO2max work but only twice a week.  I'm not sure.

I did 165 miles on the trainer last week which is more of a normal week for me.  I don't think I could handle any more.  I had some thoughts about doing a 1000 mile month in December then thought it would be better for me to use December to lead into a 1000 mile January.  It's just too early to stress it and I'm not time constrained.  When I get on the track again it won't be so boring to ride.  Zwift is helping but I really don't like it as much.

My weight came down a little but I let it go a bit over Thanksgiving.  I was in the low 152's, now I'm back to 153's.  I had been as low as 151.4 and saw some 150's after workouts.

I saw a different PT today and he did a few different things than the normal one I was seeing.  He concentrated on the muscle knots in my shoulder and a little less on strength.  It wasn't better, just different.

Next Monday I have another doctor appointment.  I'm hoping to get the OK to ride at the Velodrome but I'm not optimistic.

I am still not taking any medications for pain.

While I don't wear my sling most of the time, I do like to wear it while sleeping.  Letting my arm lie in front of me doesn't feel good in the morning.  I tried it again last week with the same poor results.  I am using my left hand a little while on the bike trainer right now but not a lot.  I am actively trying to not use it most of the time.

I started work last week.  Things are pretty calm, there were no really big issues while I was gone.  One test stand is down for a drive controller problem, the vendor I contacted for repair hadn't returned my call yet.

4 weeks out from AC Reconstruction Surgery

 I seem to be better every day, it's slow but it's happening.

I have pretty good range of motion and am getting stronger.  I'm concerned with tearing my shoulder apart by doing too much.  Right now I'm being careful not to stress my shoulder much at all.

Last week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday I completed my standard 6X5(5) @105% with mixed results.  While I increased power on most days I had a setback on Friday and rallied on Sunday.  I have one more week with this schedule of workouts then I'll evaluate my situation then.

I started work again today and it was pretty light.  I need to get some calibration work done as well as fixing a few things that have failed in the last 4 week.  Thankfully, most everything is still working well.  I've been given a helper for calibration work in case I need it.  I'll probably use him a bit and then move on by myself.

Post surgery notes 11/19/24

 I really felt like crxp after the surgery but not as bad as I thought I would.

In the week after surgery I was very heavy, about 168lbs.  I was concerned so I started tracking it on November 4th.  At that time I was 165lbs.  My goal was to get back to my pre-surgery weight of ~155lbs.  After that I want to get back to the low 140's.

I started Physical Therapy on November 4th and had better than expected flexibility, it appears the therapist was impressed.  

On November 7th I rode my bike on the trainer for the first time.  I mostly rode sitting up but occasionally I rode 1 handed.

On November 8th I had my post operative check up.  The doctor felt everything was going well.  After the check up I was allowed to stop all of my medications.  There have been a few times that I have taken the Tylenol and Ibuprofen but it was at night to sleep.  The last time I took anything was on November 15th.  I never took any of the Oxycodone.

On November 12th I started some short intervals on the bike with 2x5(5).  My plan was to increase the interval count until I reach 6x5(5).

November 14th I'd done 3x5(5), November 16th 4x5(5).  On November 18th I bypassed the 5x5(5) and went to 6x5(5).  I exceeded the benchmark I did on October 21st.  Most all of the riding has been sitting up or 1 handed.  Now the plan to to hold or increase the power until I am nearer 220 watts if possible.  I expect that somewhere near the beginning of January.  I will then re-evaluate my plan.

As of today I feel the best that I have been.  This has followed the last week of what felt like no progress.

I start work again on November 25th with a 3 day work week.

French Frye reference

 

2015 R3 Wiring diagram