L'Etape is back on!

Didn't think I've been gone this long.  Wow. Over the last three or so weeks, I've been focused on my physical therapy and my training. A few last minute travels to the west coast have made keeping to the training plan a bit challenging. Doing the best i can with this.  Since last time I blogged, I've adopted a full-on training plan based on Power (vs. Heart Rate) with the help of a power meter. Until I got into the science behind training with power, I didn't fully understand.  To summarize it really simple- whereas heart rate tells you what your input is, power tells you what you're output is, which is key. With this, you can truly know how much work you're expending in a given workout. This, coupled with an incredible free online software- www.trainingpeaks.com, has really quantified this training thing for me.  (The software was created by the top experts in endurance and strength training.  The science is really amazing.)  Still reading and re-reading the materials in Hunter Allen and Andrew Coggans' "Training and Racing With A Power Meter", considered the bible in this field.  Will report back and post some cool data/graphs in the next month.

You recall me saying how a new client had planned an event that I needed to attend on the same weekend I was to do L'Etape?  Well, the event just got rescheduled two weeks later in July; thus L'Etape is back on!  Trust me, the other event I was going to substitute in- La Marmotte, isn't a joke. Certainly one could say it's a lot more difficult in many respects.  But, I've always wanted to ride a Tour de France stage, and unless things change again, it seems as though I'm getting closer to fulfilling that dream.  Knowing that things/life can change at any moment, I'll keep my head down and keep it all moving forward one step at a time.

Be back soon.....