http://www.powercranks.com/news en-us http://www.powercranks.com/news N/A jmckenna@powercranks.com Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:24:41 MDT 20 http://www.powercranks.com/news/blogs/374/Time-Trial-National-Championsip.html After my victory in the Giro d'Italia 's stage 21 I realized I really had a good performance and focused on the national championship TT 3 weeks later. The main goal was to keep the fitness level and gaining some freshness. So the first week I had only recovery days and before racing in the week-end I did two powercranks session on the rollers of 20' each.I was 2nd in one of the two races perforing really wellThe second week I started to do some work-outs onto my TT bike, one with Vo2max exercises and the other one focusing on aerobic power.Both training were 2hrs long. Then I trained with normal bike because I was called by the team to recognize 3 Tour mountain stages.That happened from 9 to 6 days before my event. I did 3 long training rides each one from 5 to 6 hrs and 50 to 60kms of climbing. The pace has been steady all the 3 days.After 1 day of complete rest I resumed my TT bike training with motorpacing workout, with the goal of speeding up the legs after the long days in the mountain.Only 48hrs before the event I did some short intense intervals to feel again the race pace.The day of the event I recognized the circuit in the morning in 1 hr training with some intervals to setting up the body.Then 30' before the start I warmed up for 20' on the rollers. It was a very hot day with temperature well above 35°C.The race was 33.1 kms long and the route was almost all flat with 65 turns, some narrow and some very fast.I started well controlling the effort after the turns in order to avoid maximum accellerations.After the first check time I slowed down the pace a little bit before speeding up again in the last 10' of the race.My average power in the end was 360W for a 40' effort winning by 1'22".It's a good value for me considering the heat and the nervous route.Now next goal the World Championship Marco Pinotti Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.powercranks.com/news/blogs/372/Getting-Ready-For-The-Death-Ride.html I am finally back on my bike and on my Powercranks.  I have had a series of bad luck that prevented me from riding, including getting sick and not feeling like I had any energy for about a month.  I am still going to do the Markleeville Death Ride using Powercranks and I'll have to admit, I am nervous.  There was a time when I felt so strong and comfortable and I am happy to say I am not yet there but at least finally on the way.  I had my first ride after a long break about four and a half weeks ago.  I knew I would seriously suffer but I kept thinking about the Death Ride so I knew I had to just go for it.  This first ride was not fun but I was happy that although I was weak on Powercranks, I was still no where close to starting from scratch.  This ride was a loop called Iowa Hill which consists of 66 miles with 7000 feet of climbing.  I took it slow but started feeling seriously fatigued around mile 40.  I started having trouble turning my cranks over, my legs and hip flexors were spent and I just wished I were back home.  I am sad to say I didn't finish this ride and ended it 16 miles early at Worton's Market in Forest Hill.  This never happens to me but it happened that day.  My buddy on regular cranks finished the ride and picked me up.  I rode a flat 40 mile ride the following week and then decided to do the Iowa Hill loop again the following weekend.  I did feel a lot better this time and I did finish the ride but I was still the slowest one in my group.  I did not get a ride in during the week but went big during the weekend.A friend and I decided to drive to Markleeville and ride 3 of the 5 passes of the Death Ride.  I took it very conservatively and kept my heart rate around 135 while climbing.  I felt a lot stronger than the week before and did not start feeling like my legs could possibly be in trouble until halfway up the third pass.  I made it to the top of Ebbetts pass and was happy all I had left was the descent back down.  I climbed about 10,000 feet that day and my legs were definitely tired but I was also feeling like I was getting stronger.  I did not ride again until Thursday.  A group of friends and I were going to stay in Lake Tahoe for a great weekend of mountain biking and road riding.  I mountain biked on Thursday (regular cranks) and got a lot of climbing in.  On Friday I once again decided to tackle the Death Ride course.  I felt even stronger this time around and started feeling a bit like my old self once again.  I was also not the last rider in my group like I had been two weeks prior.  Out of the seven riders, only three of us finished 4 of the 5 passes.  I was one of them and the only one on Powercranks.  The others did finish 3 passes.  This day had about 80 miles and 12,000 feet of climbing.  I felt a lot stronger than the weeks prior but I also rode very conservatively.  Let me say right now that there is a huge difference between completing 4 passes of the Death Ride and Completing 5 passes.  The fifth pass is where it all starts to catch up with you and it's the pass that always hurts me the most every time I have participated in the Death Ride.  I will have to ride slow and smart considering my lack of time on the bike.  The next day we rode 70 miles with about 3500 feet of climbing. This was a much needed weekend of riding for me.  I am starting to get my Powercranks mojo back.  I am once again able to comfortably spin at a higher RPM and I am not so quickly fatigued.  I will be putting in one more big ride this coming weekend and look forward to the Death Ride the following week on July 12th.  If you are interested in viewing the death ride course, go to www.deathride.com. Bobby Escay Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.powercranks.com/news/blogs/371/12-Hrs-of-Temecula-and-New-PCS.html I am very excited today because my new bike has just arrived and that means that the power cranks now have a bike to be installed upon.... Should be riding them by the end of the week! Just in time for some good training before the XC race in Downieville.I recently raced in the 12Hrs of Temecula mountain bike event in Temecula, CA and I am very satisfied with my result. The consistency of my laps was just beautiful, all twelve laps were within eight minutes of each other and my longest lap was only just over the 1 hour mark.The course was actually a pretty fun one, lots of steep little climbs and fun little descents, one big climb and some false flat sections towards the end. There were no trees. You simply could not escape the sweltering heat out on the course and i was taking some pretty big doses of electrolytes to stay upright. I really feel like my training with PCs helped me out in certain sections of this course, namely the sections which had gradual inclines. I was able to stay seated and pedal super efficient circles and just churn up them as others shifted to their low gears and bounced on their saddles. Good stuff, next update will be after riding the PCs once again. Oh yeah, I won the Solo Pro class at Temecula... Dezmin Wilder Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.powercranks.com/news/blogs/370/Weak-buttocks.html In my last blog I wrote a little about a running injury that is bothering me. At that time I didn't know exactly what was wrong with my, but in the meantime I've had my leg scanned with ultra sound and...........funny thing is that I still don't know the exact diagnosis. My physiotherapist couldn't rule out that it was a stress fracture in my thigh bone, but he is more keen on the idea about a weak gluteaus medius that needs to be trained. I know that I'm a lazy ass, but I didn't know that I had a weak butt!It makes sense though, as while I'm training my weak spots I'm getting more and more ready to pick up my running again.Before every running workout I will use my PC's as a warm up drill. I can't run straight out the door, as my injured leg needs to be warmed up properly and the cycling makes a good preperation. More on that later. Peter Bech Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.powercranks.com/news/blogs/369/First-ride-on-the-PCs-at-altitiude.html A few days ago was my first ride on the PCs in Boulder Colorado.  My coach (Chuckie V.) and I went mostly on the bike path.  It helped me put in the time and 'coast'.  I was cheating a bit but we went for about 1hr22min and my flexors were aching after the first 30minutes.  Slow and steady.  I am glad I am back on them tough. I am just heading out again on them today - my goal: two hours with less coasting.  One thing I noticed is that you really need to focus on your speed and cadence. You can power through them with a low cadence but once you increase it, it gets that much tougher.  I know it is going to help with my rehab in getting back into running (I broke my toe 3.5 weeks ago).  I am back running in about 1 week.    Hopefully the PCs help with the hip flexor strength and my momentum in running!  Will keep you posted! Angela Naeth Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.powercranks.com/news/blogs/368/Nationals-2008.html Hey!   Since I last updated, I went to Cincinnati, Ohio to compete in one of my bigger races for the year, USRowing Youth National Championships. The field was very fast, and I had tough races all the way through the heats, semi-finals, and finals. I got off to a tough start, not qualifying outright for the semi-final and having to do an extra race to get in. After a remarkably strong field in a semi that I survived by .1 seconds, I was able to dig out fourth in the final after a rough start and some navigation challenges at the beginning of the race.   I brought my Powercrank bike in addition to my regular training bike to aid in warmup. The temperature was very warm, so I loosened up pretty quickly and didn’t need to spend as much time with the warmup as I did for some of the colder races this spring. The difference between this race and the others in the spring was that it turned out to be four races over three days, so cooling down properly, and staying loose and hydrated was crucial to getting stronger throughout the entire week. Powercranks definitely helped me with this, I got on the bike after every race for 15- 20 min, and even spent some time on the bike in the hotel room just to spin the lactic acid out as best I can.   I have some smaller races in Boston early next month before another big one in New Jersey July 16th-19th. I will continue to use Powercranks in my training, such as a 1.5 hr session this morning, to help me continue to build depth, strength, and balance in areas that I can’t get in the boat. Erich Schultze Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.powercranks.com/news/blogs/367/PR-or-PR.html In my bio I state that my PR was 9.38, but in my latest blog I told you about a new PR of 9.39. So whats up? My PR is 9.38, but to be honest that time was set in a race with a bike course of only 172/175 k. I've always felt a little uneasy about that time. But its in the books, right. This last course was bona fide though. Also, my actual finish time last Saturday was under 9.39, but in the confusion I forgot to press my timechip against this rather old fashioned time measuring device (we had to carry a chip like watch thing on our right wrist). Somebody had to more or less take me by the hand and make me press the chip, as I was still a little dazed. The run time was a real PR though, never ran faster in a long distance triathlon. I did 3.21 once, but that was in 1989. Way before powercranks were invented. Gerard Terwisscha van Scheltinga Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.powercranks.com/news/blogs/366/PR-at-47.html Last Saturday, June 14, I participated in an Ironman distance race in Moritzburg, Germany (near Dresden). As regular blog readers might recall, due to a torn calf muscle I was unable to run for two months (March and April). But hey, I have my power cranks. The hours I would normally have spent running, now were devoted entirely to biking (with lots of PC-work). I started running again in early May, but of course couldn’t do very much running wise. I just had to be careful and take it easy. Still, I managed two 2 hour runs and two Olympic Distance races. On May 24 I did a real hard work out: swam for an hour with the Groningen tri-squad, rode 60 k to the start of an OD race, raced the thing and rode back home: 7.35 hours of training. Anyway: last Saturday was just great. After a decent swim (1.07) and a real good bike ride (5.11, including two transitions), I ran a 3.20 marathon (PR). Time: 9.39.09 (another PR). And this after 22 years of triathlon and 24 Ironman distance races, for someone who will turn 47 in a few weeks. The only real change in training since 2005 is powercranks. They do make a difference! http://www.schloss-triathlon-moritzburg.de/index.php?id=20&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=360&tx_ttnews[backPid]=53&cHash=9a4b34802c Gerard Terwisscha van Scheltinga Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.powercranks.com/news/blogs/365/The-big-move---shipped-the-PCs.html Well I have been out of PCs for the last  week or so because  I am heading to Colorado for some training. I should be there early next week and my bike should meet me there!  It is going to be tough to get on them again for a number of reasons: I took a mid-season break from them for 2 weeks or so, altitude! and the travel!  Angela Naeth Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:00:00 MDT http://www.powercranks.com/news/blogs/364/PowerCranks-great-rehab-tool.html In my latest blog I come up with a couple of excuses why I haven't been using my PC's lately. Here's another one and maybe the most obvious reason not to powercrank: I have a running related injury in my right thigh which occured after doing two 10k races and a duathlon in the same week. (not the smartest move, I know) That has kept me away from running for more than 4 weeks now, and riding the PC's was not an option in the beginning.Now my injury allows me to use the PC's and I think it's gonna be a great rehabilitation tool. I can feel that it involves all the muscles and tendons that troubles my running. The challenge now is to strengthen my injured leg and not to go beyond the point where I'm hurting myself again. It's about finding a balance and that can be hard when you are motivated and impatient. Peter Bech Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:00:00 MDT