Fit Mom's Blog

Yesterday, I had the luxury to take a bike ride with my husband. We get to ride together about once every six months. Most of the time paying a babysitter isn’t worth it since I can ride alone, however, it was Christmas time, so we splurged. We had a two hour window, 45 degree weather, and kids happy to see their favorite babysitter.

I met John Howard earlier this month for the Power FITTE session.

I completed two power tests on a computrainer. The test was an almost all out effort for a half mile on my bike that was hooked up to a computer to measure all relevant statistics. In between the two efforts, he adjusted my bike to be a better fit. My pedals had been set up incorrectly- My left pedal was pointed too far out and my right pedal was pointed inwards so essentially I was not pedaling straight. My knees thanked him immediately! In addition, he put a new stem on my bike which was two centimeters longer and dropped my seat angle slightly.

1st Test:

Watts: 325

Speed: 24.55

Heart Rate: 159

Time: 1 minute, 13.18 seconds

2nd Test

Watts: 345

Speed: 25.19

Time: 1 minute, 11.32 seconds

The results indicated that I have some serious power for a woman. My weaknesses included basic core strength and strength building. John was pretty impressed with my power output. He thought I would do really well as a sprinter.

I have NEVER been a sprinter! In both high school and college, I was a plodder. My strengths were climbing big mountains on my bike or going for long distances in running. The computrainer power test yielded 345 watts in a half mile all out effort. For those of you who understand this (I’m still learning)- I should have been a track SPRINTER. If we had a velodrome around here, I’d go try it out! The nearest Velodrome is in Dominguez Hills which is one hour away into Los Angeles. I cannot take up some new sport at this late date, however, I can improve my sprint.

So, lucky me, I married a sprinter. Paul took me out and taught me how to do one of Graeme Street’s sprinting workouts. I have a lot to learn in becoming a better sprinter. You have to start all over and relearn everything you know.

Our workout was part of Graeme Street’s Advanced Training program and we did the following:

3, 45 minute Spin Ups in the lowest gear

4 one legged drills in the small ring, 4 one legged drills in the big ring

3-5 one minute all out efforts followed by 30 seconds of rest

3 all out efforts in the big ring starting from almost a stopped position

FINALLY- full on sprint practice. We did 3-5 sprints. Paul would lead me out, and then I would sprint to a road sign. Of course, he got me every time. But, I had a blast! It was so fun to sprint. It’s not something I’ve ever spent any time on- so I’m enjoying these new skills to learn.

Goals for 2008: Upgrade my cycling category, complete more than one triathlon, improve my running speed in a 5km.

Pushing the Limits: The Story of John Howard, the Incredible Human Machine