Looking For Ways to Improve REM and DEEP Sleep

I Made my Eight-Hour Goal Last Night, But I Know I can Do Better Yesterday’s ride was refreshing. I may try to get outside again today, but the clock is conspiring against me. Last night, I kept my alcohol consumption down to one glass of wine. I also had a nightcap of 12oz of milk. […]
Sometimes Ya Gotta Get Some SUN!

I Went Mountain Biking – And I Trapped ALL of the Data! The purpose of this exercise and series of blogs is to share my thought processes, as a coach, on how to interpret data from instruments. With that data, I can then make more informed decisions on my own training, recovery, and performance. When […]
I Still Can’t Figure Out Sleep

Trying to Decipher the Roots of Insomnia Stress is a major factor in a restless night’s sleep. I have a tax bill and a car payment coming through in the next few days. Maybe that’s my issue. My Brother-In-Law has moved in with us; I have experienced homelessness and we welcomed him and his dog […]
Deciphering Sleep

I AM Sleeping Slightly Better – Will It Translate Into a Better Ride? After taking a day off, and focusing on clients, I’m ready to hop back on with my pre-season BASE training. My weight is down about a kilogram, but interruptions in home life continue to leave me challenged with good, high quality sleep. […]
The Heart KNOWS Best.

DFAA1 With the Help of FatMaxxer and Garmin Connect Sleep Leads to a GREAT RIDE! My economy is up, my heart rate is down, my weight is down, and my power is up. SmO2 is also tracking, and I’m starting to adapt. I know none of this is new, but I do enjoy blogging the […]
Base Ride Number 2 – Pre-Brief

Ya Gotta SLEEP in order to PERFORM! Apparently, the winner of this year’s Tour de France, who also won the race LAST YEAR, has a secret. He knows how to SLEEP and RECOVER. I obviously do not. I’ve tried everything; blackout curtains, weighted blankets, cold room, no caffeine past 10am, less than two beers a […]
Let’s Start With An Assessment!

What Is My Current Fitness? Stress is a horrible psychological state. It’s also chemical, and physical. Strain is the actual, physical manifestation of Stress. Think about it this way; Stress is your body, mind, and heart, looking at a hill, and saying… “I have to go climb THAT?!” And Strain is the actual GRIND as […]
75 XSS for 75 Days – 3 Weeks In.

75 XSS Is Bringing me VOLUME, But What Else Am I Accomplishing? ***** THIS DID NOT PUBLISH ON JULY 4th, 2021 LIKE I EXPECTED. PLEASE EXCUSE THE TECHNICAL GLITCH. I AM WORKING ON AN END-OF-JULY REPORT NOW. ******* XSS (Xert Strain Score) is a metric that looks at the time you spend riding, the energy […]
75 XSS for 75 Days – First 14 Days
75 XSS for 75 Days – What’s Happening to my Fitness? XSS Stands for Xert Strain Score. It’s a way to combine time and energy at different intensities. It’s a measure of Cycling Volume. While I unofficially began thinking about this goal in late May, I announced the plan on this forum later, in Mid […]
75 XSS (Per Day), for 75 Days: A New Self-Challenge
75 Days of 75 XSS (Xert Strain Score) Points – Let’s See Where This Leads 75 XSS per day, roughly 5 days per week? Can I achieve this? The Xert Strain Score (XSS) is a volume-measuring tool that looks at a cyclist’s time, wattage, energy expenditure, and overall fitness signature. The calculation is unknown, but […]