No Pain. Gain.

No knee pain today. There was a little, in both knees, for about 30 minutes in the morning, but that is what I consider "normal" pain. I sometimes get that if I pick up the pace beyond 20mph in the early part of a ride. I usually make it go away by periodically standing for about 10 seconds. I'm pretty happy about that. I guess my decision to take an extra rest day paid off. I even had some moderately high bursts of power today. I had a peak 30 minute interval at an average of 200 watts, a peak 1 minute interval at 300 watts, and a peak 10 second interval at over 600 watts. I'm considering this pain free day to be a big gain.

For the second half of the ride today, I rode with John Hughes. For those that don't know about John, he is the Managing Director of the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association and a professional cycling coach. I told him about what I had planned this year, and asked him for a reaction. Long story short, he seemed doubtful that I would accomplish all of my goals for the year, given my minimal time in the sport. He seemed particularly concerned about my knee injury -- not because it was a reflection of my physical potential, but because it was a reflection on my lack of discipline. I injured my knee because I pushed too hard during training camp. A disciplined cyclist would not have made that mistake.

John suggested that I focus on one of my three goals (i.e. the three tours) for 2006. I debated that idea with him for a while to better understand where he was coming from. After about an hour of discussion on the topic, one thing became clear. Riding the Pacific Coast at 100 miles a day, two weeks prior to the fast southern transcontinental in September, was counterproductive. John's position was that, if I was really intent on the second transcontinental crossing in the fall, I needed to taper my mileage down in the months leading up to the event, while simultaneously increasing the intensity of my training. I needed both endurance and power if I was to have any hope of maintaining the fast pace of the PAC Tour southern crossing for 26 consecutive days.

The first transcontinental, being a total of 40 days of riding for over 3700 miles will likely take a lot out of me. However, it will also ensure that I will have about as good of an endurance base as I can get for this year. John said that, after that crossing, I need to focus on power. Doing just two back-to-back 100 mile days each week or substituting with a single 200 mile day would preserve my endurance. During the rest of the week, I should focus on shorter rides of higher intensity. Hill climbs, time trials, speed intervals, etc. As I approach the southern transcontinental, I need to taper the miles and increase the intensity even more. That is exactly the opposite of what the Pacific Coast tour in August would do for me. In short, 7-10 days of 100 mile riding would significantly decrease my chances of successfully completing the second, faster, crossing.

So, I need to figure this out. Going back to look at my priority list for the year, the Pacific Coast is near the bottom. Perhaps I will have to pass on that ride in order to accomplish the second, fast paced, transcontinental.

Photos

Today's route included a river crossing. I snapped a picture of one of the riders crossing behind me. As you can see, a river in the desert is like a backyard creek in cooler climates.

A view near the top of Coronado Pass. We rode up to about the 5500 ft elevation mark, but did not ride that last 1000 feet of elevation because the pavement ended. After about 1/2 mile of loose dirt and gravel on a road bike, we decided to head back down.

Ride Summary

Route: Coronado Mountain Loop from Sierra Vista
Distance: 55 miles
Speed (avg/max): 14.2 mph / 40.5 mph
Riding Time: 3 hours 55 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours 32 minutes
Power (avg/max) 128 watts / 776 watts
Calories Measured at Wheel: 1,791
Heart Rate (min/max/avg): 102 bpm / 179 bpm / 147 bpm

Miles this Year: 1350