Back In The Saddle Again

I did get back in town from Florida on Sunday but have been pretty busy the last couple of days trying to get things done around the house and get my rides in according to my program. I returned Sunday to some pretty frigid temps, only 58 here versus 92 in Florida, but threw on the arm warmers and rode for about 2.5 hours at a pretty easy pace just to get back in to the swing of things. Monday I did a 30 minute ride around the neighborhood with the family as it was a scheduled rest day and even though I was off the bike for 4 days I don't want to stray from my training program. Tuesday was a beautiful day and I did have off of work so I was out on the bike at about 10:30 and rode out to Big Bend and back and along the way did my requisite set 6 x 3 minute Power Intervals. The key to this interval is to keep up a high cadence and ride at a max effort, heart rate doesn't really matter as long as you are maxing out while keeping up a cadence of 110-120. This really builds anaerobic power and keeps you going when attacks come at the end of races and is a vital workout when trying to peak for important races, which for me is the upcoming SuperWeek races. Today I'll be doing an easy 1 hour ride with a ceiling of 92% so it will almost seem like a rest night. Tomorrow will be another day of Power intervals during a 2 hour ride as I'm keeping my rides fairly short but very intense for the next 4 weeks leading up to the first SuperWeek race. Friday will be a 1 hour Recovery Ride and then Saturday will be a race in Madison. I'll try to do well in the race but mainly I'm going to use it for training leading up to the Superweek races as I really want to do well in the 6 or 7 races that I'll be doing for that series. The Masters 4/5 category for Superweek is only 5 races long so my goal is to win that series and then do an additional 2 or 3 races in the Masters 30+ Open category or the Cat 4/5 category. It will be quite a challenge but I'm really focused right now on my training and have set up all my workouts to taper for that week of races so that I will be at my peak fitness for about 2 weeks in July before I have to cut back intensity and increase endurance again. I've also started a nutritional program as well that will provide ideal fuel for the next 4 weeks so that my body is running optimally for the start of the series. I eat really good now but I will be even more strict now for the next 4 weeks as I have to compensate for the increased intensity in my training. I will pretty much restrict my diet to all natural foods with a minimal amount of processed foods and increase my caloric intake slightly as I try to keep up with the calories I'm expending. I'll be eating more veggies, fruits, whole grain products, and of course I'll still be eating the PowerBars and PowerGels. I'll be cutting out red meat for the most part and limiting fat to a very small amount of healthy fats such as all-natural peanut butter and olive oil and some omega fats from fish. I've had pretty good success with this strict diet in the past for important races and peak periods so even though it's 10 years later, I'm gonna give it a go again. Not much else to say right now, I'll update ya'll tomorrow.