My Own Little Field Test

A few weeks ago, I picked up a copy of Chris Carmichael’s The Ultimate Ride: Get Fit, Get Fast, and Start Winning with the World’s Top Cycling Coach. What makes this clown the world’s top cycling coach? Well, he was Armstrong’s coach through all seven of his Tour de France victories, so yeah, I’d say that sort of makes him the world’s top cycling coach.

Before I even get started with this, I’m well aware that a lot of guys, after reading the above, would lament, “Don’t worry about the science of riding yet, you idiot. Just get out there and ride your legs off.” At a certain level, I sort of agree with that thinking, but you know what? If I’m going to put in the effort I’ve been putting in since I bought the bike on July 4th, why shouldn’t I approach the effort with some sort of thinking above and beyond ride hard and ride long? Without a cycling computer with a cadence feature and a heart rate monitor, how do I know if I’m really riding hard enough? Or if I ride too hard, am I negating my efforts?

See my thinking behind investing in both the book and a $40 CatEye heart rate monitor?

Anyway, Carmichael recommends beginning with a 3-mile field test on a flat road with few turns as a way to gauge average heart rate, so I drove to Sandy Hook yesterday morning to do exactly that. I rode three miles at a hard pace, yet a pace I felt I could sustain if necessary. My average heart rate? 163. Total time? 9:43 with a headwind. Average speed? 18.8. Average cadence? No clue.

With the first field test completed, I decided to tick off another with the wind at my back. Average heart rate? 161. Total time? 9:25. Average speed? 19.4.

Just to prove how much of a geek I am, I whipped out my cell phone and made a voice recording of all the data. Sounds odd, sure, but it beats carrying a pen and paper in my jersey.

With the field tests completed, I logged in another few miles and then split back to Brooklyn. This morning, I got out of bed at seven looking forward to my first CTS (Carmichael Training Systems) workout: 2 hours of Foundation Miles with five :10 second PowerStarts worked in.

How absolutely thrilling. I calculated that 89% of my average heart rate (measured during the field test) should be 144--a pace I felt I could maintain comfortably for the two-hour ride.

And I did just that. Actually, once the two hours were completed, my average heart rate climbed to 148, but what are a few points? What’s the big deal? I logged 30 miles in Prospect Park (only decent place to ride around here without traffic, although I admit, it does get a bit boring after a while) at just under two hours and now the legs feel good.

Tomorrow’s workout includes only a one-hour FM (foundationmiles at 89% average heart rate). I’m starting to like this Carmichael guy, but let’s see how I do next year in the Kissena Club races in the Park. If I can finish with the lead group in Category Five, then maybe I’ll actually call him the world’s top cycling coach if we ever meet. If not . . . whatever.