Best laid plans. My crash a couple of weeks ago has kind of taken the wind out of my sails. I was feeling pretty good about my fitness, but since then it has been cold and I have not ridden much. I can finally sleep on my left side, so as a side sleeper I am really grateful to have half of my sleeping territory back. Actually I think the crash was just a method to give me the time to sit back and reevaluate my year. I have financial and time pressure with other things in my life right now, so I have had to cut back on events etc.
I had a conflict with both 300k brevets offered in my area in February and also finally decided that I would have to skip the ride at Sebring because I really could not afford it right now. So, in looking around for another goal, one that would be inexpensive but still a challenge, I have decided to go for my R-12 award from RUSA. In English, that is an award for riding at least a qualified 200k ride for 12 consecutive months, from Randonneurs USA. Check out rusa.org if you are interested.
This will be a challenge in and of itself, if only because of the time involved. At least one weekend day a month, I will have to ride a total time of about 8 to 9 hours. Brevets count total time, not riding time. You have 13.5 hours to finish a 200k, which is very doable unless you have mechanicals etc. The key is not stopping! I was pleased that on my 200k in January the Brooks saddle I have been trying to break in was pretty comfortable. I will not yet know what it will be like on longer rides, but it seems like an improvement.
I have lots of my Dad’s old equipment, and because of the prepared fellow that he was, he also bought spares. I inherited two brand new, never used Brooks saddles. I think they are standard B-17’s and those seem to be saddle of choice for more than 50% of the long distance riders I saw in Paris. I have one on my brevet bike and one on my commuter bike. I have no idea if it is just time and distance that are different but the one on my brevet bike is feeling really good, while the commuter bike is still hard and I am grateful I only have a 45 minute commute each way. Maybe one day I will swap them, or maybe I will just leave well enough alone!
OK, so enough rambling. I am going to do my February 200k on the very last day of this month, and have invited some buddies along to share in the fun. I hope lots of them show up, always more fun with others. I will keep you posted about training and plans in case anyone wants to join me. Boy, for that one in August I think I am going to have to get one early start! Till then, keep the rubber side down!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Ups and Downs
Well, I had some ups and downs this week- literally. I did my last Computrainer class and improved my wattage from 184 the first week to 204 at week 6. It is nice to be getting back in shape. It was pretty cold here in Orlando last week, we had a couple of nights of hard frost. So, somehow I found that enough reason not to ride to work. I know- we are spoiled.
I went for a ride Sunday and it was a great day, warm, beautiful. Just one other riding companion and we took a nice route north of town. About 40 miles into the ride I was pulling and stood up to go up a slight rise. As my left foot came down the pedal came off my bike and I was on the ground in a hurry. My hip and shoulder took most of the impact and I was grateful I had on sleeves on my jersey after seeing what was left of the cloth. My helmet did a perfect job, and I would hate to see my head if I had not had one on. I have a good lump above my eye, but a new helmet is a small price to pay for having an intact noggin.
It was kind of a freak thing for the pedal to come off. I have not had the pedals off that bike for a very long time so I am not sure what happened, except that they loosened up over time. I am sure I am going to figure out the lessons to learn from this, I would hope that if I needed some time off I could have found a different way ;-) I am still grateful though that it was not worse, that the bike is fine, and I will be back on the saddle again soon. Everyone keep the rubber side down!
I went for a ride Sunday and it was a great day, warm, beautiful. Just one other riding companion and we took a nice route north of town. About 40 miles into the ride I was pulling and stood up to go up a slight rise. As my left foot came down the pedal came off my bike and I was on the ground in a hurry. My hip and shoulder took most of the impact and I was grateful I had on sleeves on my jersey after seeing what was left of the cloth. My helmet did a perfect job, and I would hate to see my head if I had not had one on. I have a good lump above my eye, but a new helmet is a small price to pay for having an intact noggin.
It was kind of a freak thing for the pedal to come off. I have not had the pedals off that bike for a very long time so I am not sure what happened, except that they loosened up over time. I am sure I am going to figure out the lessons to learn from this, I would hope that if I needed some time off I could have found a different way ;-) I am still grateful though that it was not worse, that the bike is fine, and I will be back on the saddle again soon. Everyone keep the rubber side down!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
you must listen to your body- it speaks volumes
My 200k last weekend was awesome, a beautiful warm day, a reunion with riding buddies, help from friends, just an excellent ride. We went up the coast for 66 miles with a great tailwind. The turn around made it a little harder but I was with a terrific group that made it a quick fun trip. Just so we had a story, a bridge was locked so traffic was backed up as we were to go back to Jupiter Island and we had a detour but got back with time and safely.
I didn't ride on Sunday, but commuted to work on Monday and had a nice blow the legs out ride. I felt pretty good but still took an inventory of little aches and soreness. I had a sore spot that came up from my right ankle up the side of my shin. I really need to replace my cleats! I also noticed that the instep of my right foot was itching again.
I had that problem for almost a year and could not figure it out. I tried athlete's foot products, but it was an internal problem, there was no rash or anything on the sole of my foot. I asked doctors, massage therapists, everyone about it and got no answers. I finally went to a chiropractor when I was in CT who said- "oh, of course, that makes perfect sense. You have problems with your pelvis being twisted and tight hips, that goes right down the sciatic nerve and it ends right there in your foot". So- who knew? I worked with him and a massage therapist and it went away.
Now I take it as an indicator. Kind of like I get a very specific back ache when I am running a fever. It may be a very low grade fever, but if I have the back ache, I know even without taking my temperature. So, I made sure to work on stretching out my low back and hips this week and the itch in my foot went away in a day or so.
I think it is so easy to not listen to your body, to ignore little things, hope they go away, or mask them with a pain killer or sleep medication or something. However, if you are really tuned in to what is going on you can address things before they develop into something worse. Listening- such a useful skill to develop whether it is with your spouse, child, boss, body, or conscience. It is all within you, just tune in to it!
I didn't ride on Sunday, but commuted to work on Monday and had a nice blow the legs out ride. I felt pretty good but still took an inventory of little aches and soreness. I had a sore spot that came up from my right ankle up the side of my shin. I really need to replace my cleats! I also noticed that the instep of my right foot was itching again.
I had that problem for almost a year and could not figure it out. I tried athlete's foot products, but it was an internal problem, there was no rash or anything on the sole of my foot. I asked doctors, massage therapists, everyone about it and got no answers. I finally went to a chiropractor when I was in CT who said- "oh, of course, that makes perfect sense. You have problems with your pelvis being twisted and tight hips, that goes right down the sciatic nerve and it ends right there in your foot". So- who knew? I worked with him and a massage therapist and it went away.
Now I take it as an indicator. Kind of like I get a very specific back ache when I am running a fever. It may be a very low grade fever, but if I have the back ache, I know even without taking my temperature. So, I made sure to work on stretching out my low back and hips this week and the itch in my foot went away in a day or so.
I think it is so easy to not listen to your body, to ignore little things, hope they go away, or mask them with a pain killer or sleep medication or something. However, if you are really tuned in to what is going on you can address things before they develop into something worse. Listening- such a useful skill to develop whether it is with your spouse, child, boss, body, or conscience. It is all within you, just tune in to it!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
lunch stops, perfection, and gratitude
Over New Years I was able to ride 45 miles New Years day, 40 miles on Saturday by myself, and 85 miles on Sunday- which was perfection in every way.
We had a group of 6 start 5 miles from my house so I rode to the start for an 8 am push off. It was one of the days that make me want to fall to my knees with gratitude for living in Florida this time of year. I had just arm and knee warmers to the start (because it was in the low 60's after all ;-)) and those came off by the lunch stop when it was getting into the upper 70's. There was little wind and we rode double paceline for almost the entire day. We explored new roads, got that extra special bonus of getting to a gate across the road and just went around it to rejoin the new roads we were exploring. It was a minor diversion and we got to go through when cars can't. I love that.
We got to Yalaha Bakery and stopped for a real lunch stop- mine included a breakfast sandwich and a chocolate eclair (one of the very best items there) and a goody to take home for my partner. It was delicious and then we continued on around the lake to Mt. Dora where there was a quick stop for coffee and ice cream and then back home. Just absolutely perfect- a group that was well matched in speed, was willing to go on an adventure, and not so wrapped up in the get-there-itis that they were unwilling to stop and enjoy a sit down meal. I of course was so tired when we got back to the meeting point that I wished I had a car there. I did not however, so I trundled my way home for 5 more miles and then took a nap!
Due to tired legs and upcoming plans, I did NOT ride to work on Monday. Those were the original plans but after the weekend, discretion became the better part of valor. I had my Computrainer class on Tuesday evening, only a couple more left, and the first brevet of the season is next Saturday. So, jumping from 85 to 124 miles- that is in the training plan right? It is all good, I am looking forward to the 200k, if only to see how the Brooks leather saddle I have been riding treats me over the day. Fingers crossed for North winds as we will do an out and back up the east coast of FL. Would be a headwind going out but tons of fun coming back! Will keep you posted.
We had a group of 6 start 5 miles from my house so I rode to the start for an 8 am push off. It was one of the days that make me want to fall to my knees with gratitude for living in Florida this time of year. I had just arm and knee warmers to the start (because it was in the low 60's after all ;-)) and those came off by the lunch stop when it was getting into the upper 70's. There was little wind and we rode double paceline for almost the entire day. We explored new roads, got that extra special bonus of getting to a gate across the road and just went around it to rejoin the new roads we were exploring. It was a minor diversion and we got to go through when cars can't. I love that.
We got to Yalaha Bakery and stopped for a real lunch stop- mine included a breakfast sandwich and a chocolate eclair (one of the very best items there) and a goody to take home for my partner. It was delicious and then we continued on around the lake to Mt. Dora where there was a quick stop for coffee and ice cream and then back home. Just absolutely perfect- a group that was well matched in speed, was willing to go on an adventure, and not so wrapped up in the get-there-itis that they were unwilling to stop and enjoy a sit down meal. I of course was so tired when we got back to the meeting point that I wished I had a car there. I did not however, so I trundled my way home for 5 more miles and then took a nap!
Due to tired legs and upcoming plans, I did NOT ride to work on Monday. Those were the original plans but after the weekend, discretion became the better part of valor. I had my Computrainer class on Tuesday evening, only a couple more left, and the first brevet of the season is next Saturday. So, jumping from 85 to 124 miles- that is in the training plan right? It is all good, I am looking forward to the 200k, if only to see how the Brooks leather saddle I have been riding treats me over the day. Fingers crossed for North winds as we will do an out and back up the east coast of FL. Would be a headwind going out but tons of fun coming back! Will keep you posted.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Raisin Bran
I was grocery shopping last night and while in the cereal aisle I overheard a young man say "I am going to be healthy and get the Raisin Bran". Now, of course I was curious and I looked at the cart he and a young woman were pushing away and I saw cases of soda, bags of Doritos, frozen pepperoni pizza- in short a plethora of good old american processed food.
I try to be careful about what I eat and I try to only eat things with one ingredient- milk, eggs, chicken, broccoli, whatever it is but I try to stay away from processed food. Now, first of all I thought this incident I observed was really funny. I mean, is the Raisin Bran really healthy in the context of all the rest of the stuff in that cart? But then, maybe they were shopping for someone else? And maybe it is not up to me to make a judgment? After all, I can only control what I put in my body, not control or comment on others.
But what really got me thinking was the incongruity of the picture of eating his cereal and feeling good about it but the rest of the day is putting crap into his system. That is inconsistent with his "healthy" intent. What do I do in my life that is incongruent in the same way? Well, the first thing that came to my mind was cycling and this blog. I have stated that I want to RAAM qualify. That will necessarily entail a training plan, discipline, and constant working towards that goal. I feel that my actions (lack of discipline, haphazard training, chocolate every night after dinner) are not consistent with my stated goal.
It is the perfect time of year for this introspection. I wonder if more New Years resolutions would stay strong if we all could either recognize the incongruence in ourselves, or if we could have really valuable friends who point those things out- (only at the most perfect receptive time of course, preferably over a piece of chocolate ;-)
Anyway, just some musings, hope you enjoy. And, so I could have some consistency- even though it was 10:30pm last night- I got a couple of Graeme's workout in 5' in- core and loose. Here's to congruence and the best New Year of your life so far.
I try to be careful about what I eat and I try to only eat things with one ingredient- milk, eggs, chicken, broccoli, whatever it is but I try to stay away from processed food. Now, first of all I thought this incident I observed was really funny. I mean, is the Raisin Bran really healthy in the context of all the rest of the stuff in that cart? But then, maybe they were shopping for someone else? And maybe it is not up to me to make a judgment? After all, I can only control what I put in my body, not control or comment on others.
But what really got me thinking was the incongruity of the picture of eating his cereal and feeling good about it but the rest of the day is putting crap into his system. That is inconsistent with his "healthy" intent. What do I do in my life that is incongruent in the same way? Well, the first thing that came to my mind was cycling and this blog. I have stated that I want to RAAM qualify. That will necessarily entail a training plan, discipline, and constant working towards that goal. I feel that my actions (lack of discipline, haphazard training, chocolate every night after dinner) are not consistent with my stated goal.
It is the perfect time of year for this introspection. I wonder if more New Years resolutions would stay strong if we all could either recognize the incongruence in ourselves, or if we could have really valuable friends who point those things out- (only at the most perfect receptive time of course, preferably over a piece of chocolate ;-)
Anyway, just some musings, hope you enjoy. And, so I could have some consistency- even though it was 10:30pm last night- I got a couple of Graeme's workout in 5' in- core and loose. Here's to congruence and the best New Year of your life so far.
Monday, December 29, 2008
suntan at christmas and goals
I am so grateful to live in FL, this is the time of the year when it really makes living through July, August, and September worth it. I did a couple of commutes to work last week and checked to make sure all the new bits stayed on the commuter bike. I was sorry we are off for the next couple of weeks from the Computrainer class, but I have filled in the time.
I had hoped to ride across town for Christmas day with the family but it was pouring as I was just ready to leave so I gave up and drove. I was able to make up for it by riding almost 5 hours on Saturday and 2.5 yesterday. Great company, nice easy pace, no set route, just "which way do you want to turn?" and enjoy. I did put on my power meter on Saturday and was disappointed with the results but I also was not pushing and not doing real intervals. I usually do not care to ride by the numbers unless I am doing a structured interval workout.
So, I guess that means I am going to have to go do some hill repeats and work on that! And that is not easy to do down here. I do live in the middle of the state, near Clermont where we can find hills that are not overpasses, but Sugarloaf is still only 500' above sea level!
I also resolved to institute some more discipline BEFORE New Years so I was up and doing stretching this morning. I will do a Core workout when I get home tonight and work on getting semi prepared! The new brevet season starts here Jan 10 with a 200k and the Sebring event is Feb 14. There are 3 events- a 12 hour, 24 hour drafting, and a 24 hour non-drafting RAAM qualifier. I had hoped to do the RAAM qualifier but I know I am not physically ready and I don't want to set myself up to fail. I will however see if I can reach one of my goals which is 200 miles in 12 hours. 2 6 hour centuries are not bad- you just can't stop! Do 17.5 miles per hour and I can bank about 5 minutes an hour or something. Whatever, 200 miles in 12 hours. That is the goal! Let you know on Feb 15th. Happy New Year.
I had hoped to ride across town for Christmas day with the family but it was pouring as I was just ready to leave so I gave up and drove. I was able to make up for it by riding almost 5 hours on Saturday and 2.5 yesterday. Great company, nice easy pace, no set route, just "which way do you want to turn?" and enjoy. I did put on my power meter on Saturday and was disappointed with the results but I also was not pushing and not doing real intervals. I usually do not care to ride by the numbers unless I am doing a structured interval workout.
So, I guess that means I am going to have to go do some hill repeats and work on that! And that is not easy to do down here. I do live in the middle of the state, near Clermont where we can find hills that are not overpasses, but Sugarloaf is still only 500' above sea level!
I also resolved to institute some more discipline BEFORE New Years so I was up and doing stretching this morning. I will do a Core workout when I get home tonight and work on getting semi prepared! The new brevet season starts here Jan 10 with a 200k and the Sebring event is Feb 14. There are 3 events- a 12 hour, 24 hour drafting, and a 24 hour non-drafting RAAM qualifier. I had hoped to do the RAAM qualifier but I know I am not physically ready and I don't want to set myself up to fail. I will however see if I can reach one of my goals which is 200 miles in 12 hours. 2 6 hour centuries are not bad- you just can't stop! Do 17.5 miles per hour and I can bank about 5 minutes an hour or something. Whatever, 200 miles in 12 hours. That is the goal! Let you know on Feb 15th. Happy New Year.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Ah life, why do we say it gets in the way when all we have is life? Is it because it is nicer than saying my family gets in the way? Or because they might fire you if you say my job gets in the way? OK, I digress and that is my good story for such a long gap in posts.
I went out of town for almost two weeks, between leaving for work, then a personal trip out to San Diego over the weekend, then back to South Florida for more work on the project and then home. I felt like the George Carlin routine about stuff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac So, I packed for two weeks, left some stuff at work so I could go across country for the weekend, then come back and get reunited with my stuff!
I did Graeme's first Cyclo-Spin in my hotel. Kind of sucked as the bandwidth was really low. An hour workout turned into 1 hour 45 minutes! But, it was awesome and I got my workout in. Things were really busy and crazy and I finally got back to town and got into a makeup class for my Computrainer class last Friday morning.
It was a cool class because instead of watching the screen and keeping your watts on track, it was a blind test where you had to ride for 20 minutes at what you thought was 65% of max, then 20 minutes at 75% of max, and then 10 minutes at 95% of max. I was under all 3 times but not by much. Several other folks went over 75% on the first test. There were two women and 4 men in that class. Both of us females were almost spot on in all 3 while the men tended to go too hard. Our coach said women are often better at this than men. Not sure why the gender tendency but I told him in the beginning I thought I would be good at that test. I have ridden all my life until about 18 months ago not using anything other than a cycling computer with distance, time, etc. I never even used a heart rate monitor. I can tell you if I my heart rate is up there- because I can't talk to you! Anyway, it was fun and different.
Last weekend was more cross training (yard sale and reverse ditch digging) so I finally got to put fenders and a rack on my commuter bike late Sunday night. Whew, that single speed got a lot heavier! I commuted to work on Monday and was pleased I kept up the same general average mph to work even with a heavier bike. I had another Computrainer class last night and had a blast pushing hard on some intervals. Hip flexors are telling me today that it worked! And I finally brought my ball chair into work so I can have people wonder what the heck that is. http://www.isokineticsinc.com/category/ex_ball_chairs
Hopefully there is a nice long ride in our beautiful Florida weather coming up this weekend.
I went out of town for almost two weeks, between leaving for work, then a personal trip out to San Diego over the weekend, then back to South Florida for more work on the project and then home. I felt like the George Carlin routine about stuff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac So, I packed for two weeks, left some stuff at work so I could go across country for the weekend, then come back and get reunited with my stuff!
I did Graeme's first Cyclo-Spin in my hotel. Kind of sucked as the bandwidth was really low. An hour workout turned into 1 hour 45 minutes! But, it was awesome and I got my workout in. Things were really busy and crazy and I finally got back to town and got into a makeup class for my Computrainer class last Friday morning.
It was a cool class because instead of watching the screen and keeping your watts on track, it was a blind test where you had to ride for 20 minutes at what you thought was 65% of max, then 20 minutes at 75% of max, and then 10 minutes at 95% of max. I was under all 3 times but not by much. Several other folks went over 75% on the first test. There were two women and 4 men in that class. Both of us females were almost spot on in all 3 while the men tended to go too hard. Our coach said women are often better at this than men. Not sure why the gender tendency but I told him in the beginning I thought I would be good at that test. I have ridden all my life until about 18 months ago not using anything other than a cycling computer with distance, time, etc. I never even used a heart rate monitor. I can tell you if I my heart rate is up there- because I can't talk to you! Anyway, it was fun and different.
Last weekend was more cross training (yard sale and reverse ditch digging) so I finally got to put fenders and a rack on my commuter bike late Sunday night. Whew, that single speed got a lot heavier! I commuted to work on Monday and was pleased I kept up the same general average mph to work even with a heavier bike. I had another Computrainer class last night and had a blast pushing hard on some intervals. Hip flexors are telling me today that it worked! And I finally brought my ball chair into work so I can have people wonder what the heck that is. http://www.isokineticsinc.com/category/ex_ball_chairs
Hopefully there is a nice long ride in our beautiful Florida weather coming up this weekend.
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