5x5's

August 07, 2019

As athletes, we usually dislike the workouts that are best for us.

by Alison Powers, ALP Cycles Coaching

In February, I wrote a blog post called Training to Train and in it, I disclosed that I had signed up for a bike race-Steamboat Gravel (SBT GRVL), a 141-mile race with 100 miles on dirt/gravel roads. Now, less 2 weeks out from race day, I thought it would be fun and interesting to blog every day leading up to the race. I will blog about the specifics of my training, my preparation, my headspace, etc. All the things that lead up to race day that not everyone gets to see or understand. 

12 days to go - Tuesday, August 6th

What a difference a rest day makes. I felt a lot better today and was ready for some good training. I’ve mentioned in earlier blog posts that my training has been lacking anaerobic efforts, so today was another day to get those efforts in.

As athletes, we usually dislike the workouts that are the best for us. Some dislike threshold intervals, others dislikes sprints. For me, I always dreaded the 5x5 workout. These intervals are done just above threshold with little recovery. So, today, I decided it would be good for me to do this workout.

I warmed up, went to the flattest dirt road around, and did the intervals. It took my legs ~30 min to get going and feeling better (no proper ride since Friday), but once going things went well. I did the 3rd and 4th intervals in one too hard of a gear to challenge leg strength and keep the HR somewhat down (I was at 9,000ft), and the last interval I did on the bumpiest part of the road to make sure I could make power on the pumps and my bike, chain, and shifting was all good over the bumps. I feel lucky that I can train on dirt roads on my race bike every day. Some people do not have this privilege/advantage.

After the ride was a recovery shake and then ~20min of core strength and push-ups.

The day was not quite over as I headed to Golden later in the afternoon to pre-ride the Colorado Classic stage with ALP Cycles Racing. We rode the race lap twice for about an hour of riding. My legs were not psyched on this ride but it was good to spin out and get a little additional ride time in. The excitement of the day was getting pulled over by a Golden police officer. We were riding 2 by 2 through town and that’s not allowed. It was a good day of bike riding and coaching.

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ABOUT ALISON POWERS

Alison Powers only recently retired from cycling, finishing her final season on the UnitedHealthcare Women’s Team. Her career has spanned a wide array of wins, including the 2013 USA Cycling Professional Criterium National Championship where she won in memorable fashion by soloing after an early breakaway that obliterated the pro women’s peloton. Other standout results during the 33-year-old’s 2013 season include the win at Redlands Bicycle Classic, second at the Tour of Elk Grove, third at the US National Road Championship and the US National Time Trial Championship, and stage wins at Cascade Classic, Tulsa Tough, Tour of the Gila and Redlands Bicycle Classic. Hailing from Fraser, Colorado, Powers has been racing bikes professionally for eight years and is a true athlete with her career beginning as a teenager in mountain bike racing. In her mid 20s, she added in alpine ski racing before switching over to the road. In addition to being the current Criterium National Champion, Powers has two other national championships (Time Trial, Team Pursuit) and 2 NRC titles (2009, 2013).

About ALP Cycles Coaching

ALP Cycles Coaching is located in the mountains of Colorado, and is a cycling coaching company with over 25 years of professional sports experience. ALP Cycles Coaching is unique in that we have 4 coaches, Alison Powers, Shawn Heidgen, Jennifer Triplett, and Patricia Schwager who each brings her own coaching strengths and personal experiences. We work together to create a training plan that works for each and every person. Visit them online at http://alpcyclescoach

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