Dancing

I've heard the term "dancing on the pedals" before, but never really knew what it entailed...until today. I've had so much fun on my mtn bike lately that I decided to use the Blur on my shorter days (1hr rides) during the rest weeks. Hell, I might even use the mtn bike for ALL short rides.

Anyway, I did an hour today, and what a ride it was. I quite literally was dancing on the pedals. I was in the zone, I had my flow on. I was railing the corners, I was hopping over obstacles with ease, I was surfing thru the trees. It's days like this that make you love riding a mtn bike. Gimme some races like that and this fella will be standing on some podiums! Boo-yah!

Not feelin' the love

My sinuses must've been bothering me, because most of the day I was wanting to stretch out on the sofa for a nap. I forced myself to go ride, and then it was out on the trails. The wind was up around 20mph or so, and I just couldn't see myself battling that today. Despite being draggy the ride went well. I cleaned every obstacle, and kept up a good steady pace. Add in the fact that it was a gorgeous day and I don't really have anything to complain about.

This past week's hours didn't add up like I planned, but I'll focus on this coming week, which is the last week of base.

This past week really affected me, or wore on me, if you will. I don't mean physically either. This was mental. As the week progressed I'd start dreading the longer rides that were still to come. Between the mental "psych out" of progressively longer rides at the end of the week and the seemingly inevitable weather jinx that hits right when the long rides are to happen, I'm thinking of trying to get at least one of my longer rides in during the week...if time/work will permit.

A cruel joke

As of last night we were supposed to have a big day of rain in the forecast, and from the radar images I was seeing that forecast was gonna be accurate. So I wrote off my riding for the day, although, when I got up this morning I checked the radar just to be certain. While not in immediate danger of rain, there was a huge mass of storms just to our north and west of us, "no way we're gonna miss that!"
How wrong can I be.
Other than it being cloudy, we didn't get any rain all damn day long. "Maybe I'll get a ride in anyway!" I head home in hopes of getting some riding in, even if its just on the mtn bike. Here's the humorous part. The rain started on the way home. I sh*t you not. Over 4hrs of zero rain, and when I decide to go ride, it pours. Talk about a kick in the nuts.

At least tomorrow is gonna be nice, so we'll see what I can salvage.

Waxing philosophical

I just finished waxing philosophical about pushing your limits, now I'm going to go the opposite direction and bitch a little...

It appears that there is a minor breakdown in communication. I distinctly asked for one week of decent weather (I wasn't even asking for great weather), so I could get my last big week of base riding in. It looks as if I've been punked... the weather is supposed to be a big pile of crap tomorrow.

I think I'm used to it by now. It used to really frost my cookies, but now...well, I just move on and think about the next day's workout.

Pushing yourself

During Friday's workout I included some more cruise intervals, and by the time I finished the first 7 minutes session I was wondering if I shouldn't just pull the plug on doing the intervals for today. After my 3 minutes of recovery I decided to give a second interval a go. I almost quit about half way thru the second interval, but like the first one, I pressed on. I would eventually do my alloted 4x7 min workout.

I rode for an hour and a half, and got my interval in, but it wasn't a day that stood out, at least not in respect to setting any kind of personal best in speed/distance, etc. But I was extremely pleased with the workout today. I felt like canning the intervals, but yet I pushed thru and completed my tasks, and completed them very competently...I didn't shuffle my way thru them, despite having some serious doubt early on if I was in the right frame to do them.

Ya know, I think that's why so many people pursue endurance based sports... not to garner praise and recognition, as much as seeing how far you can push yourself, and come out the other side a stronger/better person for it.

Sandbagging...what can you do?

A friend of mine competed at last weekend's 12 hrs of Reddick. He was competing in the Solo Sport category. Pat came in 4th, which was very respectable. He said he didn't have anything left...which is what you want. You want to go out and leave everything out on the course. What was unfortunate, was that he was robbed of an even higher placing. The guy who won this year, won it last year. He should've moved up to expert, but he didn't. Another guy who came in 3rd competed in the expert class last year, and was competing in the sport class because he said he hadn't trained much. That was wrong. It's nobody's fault that this guy didn't train. He competed in expert class last year, he should've gone back to it.

I posted all that to say this...the above story is exactly why you can't/shouldn't make rce goals that involve getting first place. You never know who is gonna show up and be racing with you, either legitimately or sandbagging. That's why you should always focus on racing your own race. When I make my solo debut at the 12 Hrs of Tsali, I'm gonna set a goal for a certain number of laps to complete, and let rankings fall where they may.

For today's ride, I made it a recovery ride, and did it on the mtn bike. So, nothing too dramatic to report. 1hr completed, and so far I'm still on schedule for the week.

Better

Today's ride went a bit better, I learned my lesson after yesterday. No impromptu race efforts for me. Despite the ride going well, before heading out I was having a hard time getting motivated to go. I felt really lethargic. Maybe it was my sinuses, but for some reason I just felt kinda, 'blah'.
I once heard someone say that the hardest part of going running was putting your running shoes on. Of course, he was saying that the hardest part of doing ANYTHING is getting started. Today was a perfect example. Once I got my gear on and got out the door my lethargy was forgotten and I was ready to log some miles.

I'm sitting at 3.5hrs for the week so far. Only 8 more hrs to go. Yippee. We're having some typical Florida weather, so that's a nice bonus. None of this freezing my as...butt off. Today it was a balmy 74 degrees, or 23 degrees, for those of you doing that whole Celcius thing.

In other news...
I see that Floyd Landis has taken the lead in the Tour of California. Go Floyd!

Retard...

Idiot, dummy, dipsh*t!

Yes, I'm refering to myself. During my ride today, I let my competitive juices start flowing, and I paid a price. I had been out an hour into my 2 hr ride, and was heading for home when I saw a fellow cyclist pass me going in the opposite direction. After two or three minutes I look back and see this fellow has turned around and is heading in the same direction as me. Well, I know this guy isn't trying to race me or anything, but I make a decision...this guy is NOT gonna catch me, and no way in hell is he gonna close that gap! So, for the next hour I keep up the pace. Here's where the stupid part comes in. I had already done cruise intervals in the first hour of my ride. That last hour was essentially an hour long cruise interval. Retarded, I know.

I'm paying the price now. My legs are expressing their displeasure with me. Now, that said, the ride went pretty well. My avg HR was within the proper zone, the intervals went well, and I got my alloted time in.

Somebody remind me not to push myself like that during training.

Last week of base

Today started my last week full week of base training. How did I start it off? With a day off the bike...how's that for a commitment to training?

Seriously though, the weather wasn't really ideal, and...my legs just felt kinda heavy. I took it as a sign to take a break, even though I don't like taking my only day off this early on in the week. Tomorrow I'll be back at it, and finish out the week strong.

Tip of the week

Gloves need to be washed frequently. If not, they tend to become a little gamey. I noticed mine were....aromatic, to say the least.

No need to thank me, I'm just doing my part to raise the bar of the blogging world.

Time trial

I woke up this morning to chilly 41 degree temperatures. It's a good thing this TT was being done in the woods and not out on the road. This TT was over a 4.62 mile course. The competitors were going at 2 minute intervals, and I was the second to the last person to go. I didn't want to go too hard too early, so I made a concerted effort to pace my efforts for the first 10 or so minutes...long enough to get into a rhythm. At around the 10-12min mark I caught, and passed the person who went before me. I kept a good, strong pace and finished with a time of 23:08. Looking back, there were places that I could've stepped up the pace, but I'm pleased with this effort. In the end I had the second fastest time of the day. The guy with the fastest time is the Florida State Champion Time Trialist 40+ age group, and expert class mtn bike racer. I was 41 seconds off his time. Maybe he was holding back some, maybe not...either way, I'm quite pleased with the results. This TT was for fun, but it's more proof that I'm on the right track with my training.

There will be another one of these in March, and in April. I'm hoping I can get my time down to around 22:50 by the March TT.

I was planning on hitting the road this afternoon, but between the weather and the fact that my legs are not feeling really snappy after that effort, I think I'm just gonna chill out. Tomorrow I'll pick it up. This will be my last full week of base.

Soggy

3hrs was the plan. 1hr was the reality. Despite my best efforts to get a solid training week in, Mother Nature had other plans. About 20 minutes into my ride, the skies opened up...and unceremoniously dumped on me. The weather wasn't going to totally get the best of me...I was gonna get a decent workout in, come hell or high water (Editorial note- Pun fully intended).

I'm slowly learning to deal with these interruptions to my training, so tomorrow I'll get a couple of hours in and call it a week. Next week will be a biggy, at 11.5hrs.

Bicycles and bank robbers

The hour and a half ride went well, nothing dramatic to report. I was hoping to get a second 1.5hr ride in this afternoon(thought I'd be clever and split up my 3hr ride), but my schedule just didn't permit. That means I've gotta do 3hrs tomorrow(the Oak Mtn trip was cancelled due to bad weather-cold and rainy). Yippee.

A local club is starting a mtb time trial on Sunday and there will be two more in March and April. They're doing them for fun, so it's not like there are any prizes...unless you count personal gratification and perhaps bragging rights. I'm thinking about giving it a go as it would be a good race pace test for me, another way to test my progress to date, if you will.

Now, for the local update. We had a bank robbery the other day...right here in my little ole town. A town of about 12,000 people and we have a bank robbery. Here's the best part. The thief robbed the bank in the middle of the day, and without any kind of mask. What a retard! I'm sure that if the police have not caught the guy, they at least know who he his. Can we make stupidity a capitol offense?

Twice in a row.

As strange as it may seem, I am up early two days in a row to go riding. Don't believe me? Just check out the time stamp on this post? Uh huh, need I say more?

I'm downing some Optimum cereal (yummy!), then it's off for an hour and a half of fabulously boring road work.

The weather is only showing a 2mph wind (if you can call 2mph a wind...a breeze perhaps?), but does anyone want to take bets on how hard it will be blowing when I start riding? Effing wind.

Bright and early

Due to some work related issues later this afternoon, I had to go against my religion and get up early for my day's ride.

After some oatmeal and an English muffin, it was off to get an hour's worth of saddle time in.

Other than dealing with the aforementioned wind on my way back, it was a good ride. With that Oak Mtn trip on Saturday, I'm gonna have to do my big 3hr ride tomorrow. I just love those 3hr ones...can you tell I love them?

Conspiracy!

How come I can leave the house with the wind blowing at a paltry 5mph, but get out riding and it's like a gale force wind? The trees are barely moving with the wind, yet I'm fighting a headwind. A mystery wind...I smell a conspiracy.


*puts on foil hat.

Cruise control

Today was a really good ride day. Everything was clicking. I got my time in, and even did my cruise intervals. I managed a couple of personal time/distance bests as a result of those cruise intervals. Two hours went by really fast...which is surprising, as the 2hr and longer rides seem to go on forever. Not today though. I was in the zone!

My schedule has freed up to allow me to go with a group up to Oak Mtn State Park on Saturday. I've never been to Oak Mtn, but I've heard great things about the trails there.

I've got a 1UpUSA trainer, and I've been noticing that while riding on it, at times the resistance will jump sharply, as if I applied the brakes. After an email exchange with one of their reps, they have sent me a UPS shipping label to send the unit back. They say they'll repair it and send it back the same day. That's good customer service!

I just found out the UWF Fat Tire Challenge will be on April 9th. That's the same weekend as the Bryson City stop of the SERC series. I'm thinking of staying close to home and doing the UWF race. Get a little early season racing in, but stay close to home at the same time.

Threads

If you've not seen some of the newest entries in Primal Wear's Rock n Roll jersey line-up, do yourself a favor and check them out.

I'm not a Led Zeppelin fan, but this is one totally cool jersey!



What do you think of this one?



The moment I saw it, I had to have it. It's just too cool for words. Gotta have it!

Meh.

The back is feeling better today, so I got a little ride time in. It was a little brisk out, so I opted for an hour on the trainer, which sucked river rocks...but what can you do?

Change of pace...it's all downhill from here

Saturday was too cold to ride on the road, so I opted for the mtn bike and some singletrack.




Other than the wind, it was a gorgeous day. Even the temperature wasn't that bad... it was just that dang wind! The ride was going well, I had a good rhythm happening, it was almost making up for the lack of real training time I'd been able to get in during the week. It was about this time that I got brought back to reality. I don't know what it was, maybe a stump, but something stopped my bike dead. It probably doesn't come as a surprise that I went over the handlebars. The post crash assessment revealed a couple of bruises and a scrape, and a slight muscle twinge in my back, but no real damage. My handlebars needed some straightening, but all in all no harm done. Although...when I got home I discovered that I had really jacked up a muscle in my back. There was a spot on my back that was VERY sore. Any pressure on that spot and a wave of pain would spread that would just about take my breath away.
The good news is, today my back is a lot better, while still sore, that spot can at least be pressed on without it sending me to my knees. The bad news is that muscle injury put the kibosh on any riding today. So, week 1 of base 3 goes in the toilet. I think this coming week will be much better.

Crash and burn

I woke up this morning to this...


To say that I'm more than mildy annoyed about this development would be an understatement. I was expecting the rain to be over, and it be windy. Well, in a strange turn of events, it's not windy. If it wasn't for the fact that it's currently 48 degrees, I'd brave the rain, but something about rain and 48 degrees that doesn't seem like a good combination for riding a bicycle in. I'm seeing this week's training going down in flames. Must. Not. Get. Upset.

1st week of Base 3- All ass.

This week has not been a good week for training. Trying to get some warranty work done on my vehicle really f&^%ed up two days worth of training, and then some work related issues kept me from getting in my ride today (Friday). The only bright spot was that I got about 45 minutes in on the mtn bike this afternoon, with some friends. It wasn't quality time, but it was fun hangin' with some buds.

I'm hoping to salvage my week's training with long rides on Saturday and Sunday. It looks as if the weather might be against me for Sat. though. We're looking at a wind advisory for most of the day, so that means winds in excess of 20mph. Riding in a 20+mph headwind...that's some major suckage right there.

I'm tempted to restart the Base 3 period next week. I know life can change my training plans, so I'm trying not to obsess over missing a day here and there...maybe I shouldn't restart the period, and just move on as if nothing had happened.

Changin' it up!

Got another hour in the saddle, although I would've much prefered that to be an hour and a half in the saddle, but beggars can't be choosers.

Despite the ride not being as long as I wanted, it was still an hour well spent. Incorporated a new workout into the ride. Cruise intervals...


No, not THAT Cruise. These are intervals of 6 minutes done in the 4 or 5a zone. I did 4 sets for a total of 24 minutes(4x6). In addition to HR I also used RPE to gauge how hard I was working. I need to get used to using Perceived Exertion because that will be an important tool in my races.

On a related note, I'm really starting to see some changes to my fitness. When I ride in zone 2 and get my HR up into the 150s I used to be able to tell. My breathing would get ever so labored, but today I was cruisin' along and glanced down and noticed my HR was in the mid to upper 150s and I was breathing easy and not winded at all. It's awesome to see more and more progress from this training.

On an UNrelated note...my site got some free press from that 24hr Superfreak, Jeff Kerkove. I guess I'm gonna have to get more creative and witty in my posts. The pressure is on, can I handle it?

Turnin' those big gears

Anyone who's read my posts regarding "big gear climbs" knows that I've had a challenge with this particular exercise, due to my lack of suitable climbs. Well, today I tried a different approach.
I decided to ride into a headwind, using my hardest gear. I'm not sure how effective it's gonna be, but I'll give it a few more times before I pass judgement. Due to terrain issues, I couldn't get my cadence into the 50-60rpm range, instead I was between 65-70rpm. Also, instead of using HR for this, I went with RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion). For this interval/s my RPE hovered around a 7 out of 10. I think with a little more fine tuning of this I might be able to do the interval and do it with an RPE of 8 or better. One thing that will help will be a stronger headwind. How's that for a reversal? I was cursing headwinds just the other day, now I'm needing a stronger one. I tell ya, there's no pleasing me!

Other than that, I had a rather uneventful ride. 19 miles and 1hr...only 9 more to go for the week.

Base 3: Not off to a good start

Today is the beginning of my final base period and...it's raining. I guess I take my one rest day today. Oh well, I'll just have six straight days of riding.

If it wasn't for the fact that a Feb rain is still kind of chilly, I would've been tempted to brave the rain, as I can't expect my races to always take place in perfect conditions. But riding in the rain right now could end up making me sick, then that would mean time off the bike, which would be self defeating.

The good news is, tomorrow is gonna be nice.

Good and the bad

Saturday ride summary:

20mph headwind. Sucks.

20mph tailwind. Yeehaw!

I finished up the week with 2hrs today, for a total of just over 5.5 hrs for the week. Thus ends the 2nd base period. One more base period to go.


From the "Who gives a flip" files...
Apparently, Lance Armstrong and Sheryl Crow are history. I can't say I'm surprised. I am always amazed at how many Americans are obsessed with fame. I truly believe there are some people out there, that if you gave them a choice between wealth or fame, they'd take fame. Me? Just gimme the money and we'll call it a day!

Weapons of Mass Destruction

I have found a weapon, a weapon of such destructive capability, it should only be used in the most extreme situations...but it is sure to be an effective weapon. What is this new weapon?

*looks around to make sure no one is looking. Here it is... the song Barbie Girl, by Aqua. I'm sure that after one use, it will be forbidden under the Geneva Convention.

In case you're wondering, I was unfortunate enough to hear this song on the radio earlier today, and now the damned thing is stuck in my head!

On a different note, I got my wheel back and immediately went out on the trails for some night riding. It sure is good to get out on the mtn bike.

Nothing in particular

Not much happening on the training front, just making the most of this easier week. I got the wheel fixed on my mtn bike...just in time too, tomorrow night is the weekly group ride.

Speaking of the group, some of the crew are talking of going to Oak Mtn on the 18th. I'm seriously thinking of going, as I've never ridden at Oak Mtn. It would also be a good test of how my training is going...see how well I'm climbing, etc.