Plan for the next few weeks...more PowerCrank focus

Well, we're getting down into the final thrust before Cascade and the speeder (crit and track) portion of the season kicks up.  I'm really hoping my PowerCranks (PC) will help provide me an advantage, so here is my plan for the next few weeks:

• Monday (6/18) - Resting
• Tuesday - Racing PIR
• Wednesday - PC ride
• Thursday - PC ride + Track racing
• Friday - Resting
• Saturday - Pacific Crest Tri (as team)
• Sunday - PC ride
• Monday (6/25) through Saturday (6/30) - PC ride + Alpenrose 6 day racing

In all that should provide me with more than twice as many PC rides per week as I've been having the past few months.  Should be fun!

A major race, a run of bad luck, and some continued improvement

I went in to the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic with high hopes based on the training and racing I've been doing, as well as the recent wattage gains I've seen based on my relatively limited PowerCrank training.  During the weeks leading up to Mt. Hood I had primarily been seeing sub-5 minute power improvements and I was hoping that would help me during the first stage as well as the crit.  Here is how it played out:

More information about the Pro Race

Stage 1 - The road race started out fast from the gun and I nearly set a 5 min power record on the first climb and unfortunately got a flat shortly after the start of the 2nd lap and never caught back on after getting a neutral SRAM wheel.  Luckily for me one of my teammates was in a chase group and we finished the stage together.  If he hadn't I'm not sure if I would have made it.

Stage 2 - Scary is how I would describe the Stage 2 Time Trial, which was highlighted by 30+ mph side gusts throughout the 18+ mile course.  I love Time Trials, but I don't love wind like that and I was off the road twice and am lucky I didn't go down.  Still, I was surprised by the fact that I set a 40 min power record (~340 watts), because up to that point I hadn't been seeing larger improvements in my longer power efforts.

Stage 3 - The downtown Hood River crit is always an experience and culminates in a downhill hairpin corner that always claims a few riders each year.  The race was fast, sketchy at points, and everything a typical Pro 1/2 crit is.  During the race I noticed less fatigue than I normally have with those types of efforts and I could really feel my legs "pushing over the top" during seated accelerations, which is something relatively new and I would associated with my PowerCrank training.  During the crit I set a 50 min power record, which meant I had two longer power records within one day.

Stage 4 - The final stage of Mt. Hood is beast of a stage capped by 4 hard climbs, a bunch of hairy descents, and only a few moments to catch your breath.  I've rarely had good days during Stage 4 and this year I went into the stage feeling better and fresher than normal, but was caught behind/in a small crash during the 1st KOM climb (about 4k out) and was never able to catch back on.  Dang, both road stages affected by bad luck...that's stage racing for you.

Summary - Bad luck sucks at Stage Races, but I'm starting to see power gains beyond 10 minutes.  Hopefully that will continue to improve as I get more targeted PowerCrank training time during the next 5 weeks leading up to Cascade.

Shorter can be better...who knew?

When I first received my "Entry" level PowerCranks in the mail I couldn't help but wonder why someone would ever want to use a 90mm crank.  It just seemed odd.  Can you even pedal 90mm cranks?  I come from a generation of cyclists who grew up watching and then mimicking riders like Jan Ullrich and Miguel Indurain, who were famous for using long cranks to crush their competition.  In fact, Jan use to ride 177.5 cranks on the road and then would TT using 180 or 182.5 cranks!

A photo of Jan's cranks from the Tour

As a byproduct I have spent a majority of the past 15 years riding, racing, and training on longer-than-average cranks and have often road 177.5 cranks for TT'ing.  So, when I first installed my PowerCranks I ran through the length options (170, 150, 130, 110, and 90) and immediately selected the 170mm length as my starting point, because it felt like the familiar and easier thing to do.  I should note that I tend to be a stubborn person (just ask my wife) and while I had read Frank's posting on "The Importance of Experimenting with Crank Length" I hadn't really taken it fully to heart.

Frank Day's write-up on the value of experimenting with crank length

From there I spent my first ~6 weeks riding 170mm cranks never thinking about whether or not it would be easier or better to try something shorter.  As is normal for me, I just "pushed" through the adaption experience and continued to do my best to develop the strength and coordination that would allow me to pedal consistently for more than a few minutes at a time before I needed a mini-break to allow my hip flexors to recover.  Luckily for me I was able to trade a few emails with Frank and he encouraged me to try out a shorter length (150 or 130). 

With my biggest races of the year coming up rather quickly, and with my existing training and racing calendar limiting my PowerCrank time, I was more than willing to try anything that would help accelerate my adaption and muscle development.  On the eve of the Mt. Hood, for the first time in my life, and with a bit of skepticism, I moved down to 150mm for my tune-up ride.  The difference?  A night-and-day transition in the way I was able to consistently ride my PowerCranks.  Immediately I was able to control my pedal stroke and left/right coordination better, and I was able to ride for 20 to 30 minutes continuously without a break for muscle or brain-power recovery.  Plus, I was able to climb out of the saddle without an issue (albeit for 10 seconds at a time)!  

I don't feel like I can put as much "leverage" on each pedal stroke, but I am able to calm my stroke greatly and already feel like I'm improving my coordination beyond the benefits I was seeing at 170mm.  More to come soon, but I'm excited by the change and will be experimenting with 130mm during the weeks to come.

Another weekend of training and racing and another PR.

For the first time in several weeks I had a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday stretch where I could mix in a heavy dosage of PowerCrank'ing without running into a race.  On Friday I managed to sneak out after work for a 90 minute ride and was pleasantly surprised by how much muscle memory I have developed during the past few weeks and that I'm able to get on my bike and "go" without spending a mile or two re-discovering how to ride/pedal.   I have noticed that my saddle height has gone down by 2 or 3mm since I started using my PowerCranks and I think it is being driven by two things:

1.  I have greatly reduced the amount of ankle flex'ing (often called "ankle'ing" by fit folks) that takes place during my pedal stroke, because I have to keep my ankle relatively fixed in order to maintain cadence, timing, and pressure throughout my pedal stroke.

2.  I have also begun to engage my glut and hamstrings more in my pedal stroke, which is probably associated with #1 a bit as well.

I should note that the saddle height reduction has only taken place on my road bike and my TT position has remained stable.

On Saturday and Sunday I was able to mix several hours of PowerCrank riding in with my hard tempo rides in preparation for the Mt Hood Cycling Classic, which is coming up in two weeks.  At the end of my longer rides my hip flexors are pretty much numb and I get to a point where it's hard to maintain any level of pedaling coordination for more than 20 or 30 seconds.  By the time Monday came around my legs were pretty tired, but in new ways and my fatigue was pretty isolated in my hip flexors, but my quads felt pretty fresh.  I did the PIR TT for the second time this season (the first prior to my initial PowerCrank experience) and I am happy to say that I dropped more than 60 seconds off my original time!  

Progress is being made with my admittedly less-than-every-day usage of PowerCranks and demonstrates that even targeted mid-season usage can begin to develop power that can help you during a season.  Or, at least that's what I'm finding so far.

You can find a photo from the TT at: http://leonardjohnson.zenfolio.com/p508225301/e3501591a

Before and after shots

Here are a few before and after shots of my install. I was able to use my existing Campy chainrings, which preserves shifting and chain life.

Learning to ride...again

"I know how to ride my bike.  I know how to ride my bike.  I know how to ride my bike." - First time user of PowerCranks

I've read several reviews of PowerCranks over the years, but they failed to fully impart the lack of coordination you feel when you do your first ride outside.  I'm not trying to play up the experience, but from the first miss-timed pedal stroke you recognize rather quickly that you're going to be learning to ride...again.

Why you may ask?  It's a combination of several factors that leave you challenged, fatigued, and if you're like me looking for more!  After a few weeks of riding PowerCranks I have begun to break it down into the following:

• Timing of pedal strokes - Without a solid tie between you two legs you quickly realize that while you feel coordinating while you ride the connection between the pedals (e.g. axle) is actually doing a lot of the work.  Timing is tricky to say the least and a constant challenge. The benefit...full leg engagement and proper timing of each leg.
• The "6 to 12" portion of your pedal stroke - Typically, or at least typically for me, the 6 to 12 portion of my pedal stroke (the second half) is really supported by the pedaling of my opposite foot, and while I try to tell myself to "pull up" and keep constant pressure throughout my stroke it never really happens.  With the PowerCranks you are forced to keep your leg engaged throughout the stroke, which means you're really pulling up as your pedal passes from 6 to 12.  For me I noticed two things...(1) I kept forgetting to breath during my brief stints of coordination, because I was focusing so much on my stroke, and (2) my hip flexor and psoas muscles were really getting engaged more than they have ever been used before.  The benefit...when coordinated I am getting a lot more power for a given HR.

Two weeks in and already seeing results

Getting to know you...getting you know all about you...

During the past few weeks I've had a chance to begin my PowerCrank evolution and have done my best to get at least 3 rides in per week, which has been a challenge due to the load of racing I've been doing lately as well as the family events we've been having.  

Week 1:  Frank at PowerCranks, as well as my coach, recommended I spend my first few rides on the trainer, because it would give me the best opportunity to "normalize" to the cranks without getting myself stranded somewhere.  This became particularly evident during my first ride on the trainer where I struggled to develop a consistent cadence that would allow me to ride for more than 30 seconds at a time.  (Mental note:  Entertaining TV [in this case BBC Top Gear] is not the best thing to watch when you're trying your first few rides on PowerCranks)  By the end of my second ride I was starting to develop a rhythm that allowed me to ride for several minutes at a time without "breaking" the connection.

Week 2:  During the 2nd week I finally felt confident enough to ride outside for the first time and I asked my wife to keep her phone handy in case I found myself woefully unable to pedal my bike after an hour of riding.  What I can say from the initial rides outside are (1) you don't really realize how much you tend to stand while riding until you cannot stand, (2) you do really end up riding faster, and (3) you find out that you have muscles that you haven't been using a ton during your "normal" riding.  After two outside rides (90 min and then 120 min) I found my gluts and internal quads were more activated and tired than they are after normal rides and felt more engaged.  During my third ride I tried to climb up a small roller and quickly found than I didn't have that level of coordination yet...

Week 3:  This week I haven't had a chance to ride my PowerCranks that much, because I've been focusing on racing as well as a few targeted power tests.  What I can say is that after less than 3 weeks of riding I set two new power records (30 sec and 10 min) during the past 3 days, which is exciting and unexpected.

Weight:  71kg

30 sec - 765 watts

10 min - 367 watts