I did it, I'm alive--aka the Spinervals Noobs thread/tips and tricks

[maillotpois]

I have to say I'm really liking Tough Love for the tempo pace endurance workout. The aero base builder is good, in general. But for a climbing simulation like what she's looking for, her Tucson thing or Tough Love seems to be pretty good.

[Starfish]

I have to say I'm really liking Tough Love for the tempo pace endurance workout. The aero base builder is good, in general. But for a climbing simulation like what she's looking for, her Tucson thing or Tough Love seems to be pretty good.

Alas, I am budgeting. This morning I finally broke down and ordered some shorts and a saddle from Terry, both on sale.

I have been SERIOUSLY in need of another pair of shorts (just at that point...everything I have is worn out, and my current saddle has never been perfect...found one on Terry on sale I have wanted to try since it was introduced, so went for it.

Just had to do shorts/saddle over Spinerval purchase for now.

[jobob]

Well for what it's worth, I've seen a big improvement in my speed on the flatlands over the past month or so since I started doing spinervals.

I'm still finding it hard to believe that on the long flat stretches of my commute I'm cruising easily at 17-18 mph. I haven't been doing much climbing lately but I think that might have improved some as well.

The big test will be the 200K brevet this weekend.

[salsabike]

Jobob, which ones have you been doing? I know Aerobase V, I think, is one of them?

[SouthernBelle]

Since I am trying to work on a steady higher cadence with Spinervals, I've noticed an improvement in my speed too. Fortunately, almost all of them help with this.

I did 3.0, Suffer-a-rama last night. I find this one a bit irritating. I think it's because it has some longer soft-pedals with that really irritating soft pedal music he uses.

Wouldn't Uphill Grind help on the climbing?

[Thorn]

I did 3.0, Suffer-a-rama last night. I find this one a bit irritating.

Grrr...that one is on the docket for tomorrow....I really, really hate it and I don't know why. But, now I'll be blaming the music.

Uphill Grind helps with hills (I think any work that forces you to push bigger gears will help), but the hill work seems to be more like sprinting to get over small bumps in a criterium--hard spins in hard gears with a lot of standing.

I like the Tucson rides for sustained climbs. Gates Pass, to me, is an aero workout with 3 good-sized hills to push the heartrate outside of aero--kinda like a real ride with hills. Mt. Lemmon is just cruel--relentless climbing.

I also use Hillacious for climbing work. It has two sustained grinds (75RPM), some fake rolling hills (mostly seated) and some big-gear grinds. More like climbing for a non-racer type.

[jobob]

Salsa, you're right, I've been using Aerobase V, as well as No Slackers and Uphill Grind. For about the last month I did NS and UG once a week, separated by at least a day, and ABV twice a week. More or less.

I actually have 3 other DVDs from the interval 5-pack that I haven't cracked open yet - Suffer-o-ama, Muscle Breakdown, & the Sprinting Machine. I'll get to them eventually.

[salsabike]

Hey, I just read Nana's take on ECT on your blog, Jobob. I love it. That was while the sweat was still leaking into my eyes from the last part of Timesavers Technique. I used to come out of ballet classes, when I had very short hair, looking just like a purple-faced drowned rat too. Not what they had in mind when they choreographed Swan Lake, I'm sure.

Anyone mind telling me what the sections are in No Slackers?

BTW, I have to start remembering more often to use little smiley icons, a habit I don't have well developed, because my post this morning about the Spinervals music earworm was pretty much meant to be a joke. You know...can anyone send me to the closest neighborhood Spin-Anon meeting, or do a Spinervals music intervention, kind of thing. I don't really expect much of an escape from the music-in-the-head thing. I pick up tunes easily in my head and often it's music I hate (examples from last night: the theme song from The Courtship of Eddie's Father ("People, let me tell you 'bout my best friend..." Why? I have no idea how it got in there), and not long after that spun around in my head for a while, somehow I next got "Drivin' that train, high on___", etc. And I HATE the Grateful Dead).

It may be that when I have UG pretty much memorized that I can switch to...yeah, salsa. Salsa makes me VERY happy.

I did post on purpose, though, for my fellows who are quasi-new to Spinervals, the UG and Timesaver Techniques combo, because I like it and it's working well for me to do those together. I still have a long way to go. But I think that the next time I do UG, I will do one gear easier in back instead of two. As much as I can, anyway.