1. Get aero and get used to it...
I have decided to spend a lot more time in the drops than ever before. I realized when reflecting on past seasons that anytime I am attempting an attack, to bridge an attack, sprint for the finish, advance in a crit, hold position in a crit when I am outmatched, or ride a TT/prologue, I am in my drops. Yet I have spent nearly no time training in my drops. My road bike position is relatively aggressive on the hoods and very aggressive on the drops (these are mostly relative to my own comfort level but also in comparison with other cyclists)... this makes me less apt to ride in the drops than on the hoods. I have focused on spending time in my drops this off season and have tested there on occasion. I have more than a 20 watt drop in FTP when moving from my hoods to my drops... this is unacceptable and explains some of my hardship in certain races over the past few years. I will often jump into the drops on an attack or bridge attempt only to find myself quickly out of breath. Now I expect that is due to many factors, but giving up 20 watts cant be helpful in any case. Spending more time in that position will help flexibility, muscle firing, and strength in TT/drop specific positioning that should help in races. I need to be closer to 98% FTP in those positions rather than 90%... time will tell...
2. Lift Weights...
We will see... I hope that it adds to my sprint but who knows. What I do know is that it has made me full strong throughout and that should add to my durability and confidence during the next races season... cant be bad...
3. Save the L4 for January...
Last year I completed a 40 minute L4 time trial every week from November until nearly February. As L5 and L6 work started in Jan/Feb, the L4 work tapered off but still continued every other week for maintenance. This offseason, I have had a steady diet of L2 and now L3 and will build L4 similar to the way I have built L5/L6 in the past... do it over a month and dont look back. I dont know what this will do, but I feel much more mentally and physically fresh right now compared to other years and I burnt out last spring very quickly so maybe this is the right move. I am training between 8 and 13 hours a week... feels good and my legs seem OK so time will tell..
