Sunday, February 03, 2008
Saturday 2 February 2008 - ride
posted by: Martin
Hrs. Sleeping: 7
Pulse (waking):  
Pulse (rising):  
Difference:  
Weight:  
Body Fat:  
Time of Day: 7:45 am
Distance: 73 miles?
Time (total): 5 hours
Time (moving):  
Time (stopped):  
Speed (moving):  
Speed (overall):  
Total Ascent:  
Weather: upper 30s to start, dry, calm, around 40 at the finish
Workout Type: ride

Breakfast: cereal, banana
Lunch:  
Dinner:  
Workout Food: half a food bar, 5 scoops Perpetuem in one big bottle, 3 scoops HEED in another

Course: University Village, 23rd, Lake City Way, Log Boom Park, Hollywood Hill, Avondale, up Ames Lake, up Union Hill, Willows Road, Lake City, Interlaken, 19th, home
Results:  
Comments: First really hard hill today and all is well.

As we rode out of town on Lake City Way I saw Mick and Martha W heading south. Those guys sure ride a ton and are always in such good spirits about it! Something to aspire towards for sure.

Going up Hollywood Hill Greg K went to the front and upped the pace a bit. I had been chatting in the back with some other guys and when I saw this I went to bridge. Oof... It took a bit but I got on just as the hill starts to flatten out. As it turned left and kicked up Greg looked back, saw me and stood up and gassed it proper. I was afraid I was going to blow so I just increased my cadence and stayed in the saddle. After about 100 yards I caught him and then testosterone took over. Since I was only at 98 percent, I stood up and jumped by him. :) Ouch! I had to shift down and sit down in short order but I held the gap to top where it levels off again. What a lung burner.

Then we kind of dorked around and eventually descended down Avondale Road and headed south along the Carnation Valley and up Ames Lake and Union Hill. This time I decided to ride temp from the bottom and so went to the front right from the start. After a bit I looked back and I was alone so I upped the pace a little. Soon I was basically at my limit when what did I see just behind me but the shadow of a certain Tony B... Nice.

By now I was going basically as hard as I could without (hopefully) blowing sky high. This ascent has so many rollers and I always forget which one is the last one so I tried to peg it at around 90 percent or so. Accelerating out of the saddle was not an option this time so as the road leveled off some towards the top of Union Tony was able to come around me. But I grabbed his wheel and that little rest was just what I needed. After a few seconds I was able to come around him and then we swapped the lead a few times and just kept speeding up. This felt great!

Finally we got to the next intersection and doubled back to grab the rest of the bunch. I was tired but elated. And Tony seemed pretty ecstatic too - that's contagious. :)

I pulled a lot today and felt good on the hills - now I just need to be able to do this when the pace does not slow down so much on the flats.
Equipment: Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25
road ride
Sunday, February 03, 2008 5:00:01 AM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [4]  | 

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 Friday, February 01, 2008
Friday 1 February 2008 - weights | core
posted by: Martin
Hrs. Sleeping: 7
Pulse (waking):  
Pulse (rising):  
Difference:  
Weight:  
Body Fat:  
Time of Day: 5:30 am
Distance:  
Time (total): 60 min
Time (moving):  
Time (stopped):  
Speed (moving):  
Speed (overall):  
Total Ascent:  
Weather:  
Workout Type: weights | core

Breakfast: cereal
Lunch:  
Dinner:  
Workout Food: water

Course:
push-ups 20, 20, 15
seated row 20, 20, 20 - 90 lb
shoulder press 16, 15, 15 - 25 lb
lat pull-down 16, 15, 15 - 90 lb
plank 3 min, 1 min, 60 sec to each side
other core TONS! 30 ball passes, 2 sets of steam engines, crunches, leg extensions, 2 sets twisters - 10 lb, 3 sets of 15 sit-ups on incline board
back extensions 20 straight, 20 twisting - 25 lb
Results:  
Comments: I felt good doing the weights for some reason so tried for more. It was nice to be able to do a little extra.

Ken L and Thom W joined me for abs - that was nice.
Equipment:  
core | weights
Friday, February 01, 2008 3:54:39 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  | 

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 Thursday, January 31, 2008
Thursday 31 January 2008 - core | spinning
posted by: Martin
Hrs. Sleeping: 6
Pulse (waking):  
Pulse (rising):  
Difference:  
Weight:  
Body Fat:  
Time of Day: 5:30 am
Distance:  
Time (total): spinning - 45 min
Time (moving):  
Time (stopped):  
Speed (moving):  
Speed (overall):  
Total Ascent:  
Weather:  
Workout Type: core | spinning

Breakfast: cereal
Lunch: cookies, 3 pieces rye bread with peanut butter, 2 8 oz yogurts, tea
Dinner: pasta
Workout Food: water

Course: plank - 180 sec, 60 sec, 60 sec to each side
2x40 clam knee lifts on each side
40 back extensions, 20 straight, 20 twisting - 25 lb
Results:  
Comments: Wow, great spinning workout today. WE did four 5 min 'intervals' where we dialed up the resistance for each of the first four minutes and then for the last one we backed it off and sped up. Some sprints, single leg drill and we were done.

I was so bummed that I could not do the plank for 2x180 sec! What is my deal? It was cake on Wednesday.
Equipment:  
core | spinning
Thursday, January 31, 2008 6:21:42 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  | 

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 Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Wednesday 30 January 2008 - weights | core
posted by: Martin
Hrs. Sleeping: 6
Pulse (waking):  
Pulse (rising):  
Difference:  
Weight:  
Body Fat:  
Time of Day: 5:00 am
Distance:  
Time (total): 2 hours! Am I a gym rat or what...
Time (moving):  
Time (stopped):  
Speed (moving):  
Speed (overall):  
Total Ascent:  
Weather:  
Workout Type: weights | core

Breakfast: cereal
Lunch:  
Dinner:  
Workout Food: water

Course:
push-ups 3x15
seated row 3x15 - 90 lb
shoulder press 3x15 - 25 lb
lat pull-down 3x15 - 90 lb
incline leg press 20x90 lb, 20x180 lb, 20x270 lb, 5x15 - 360 lb
smith machine squat 15x70 lb, 15x90 lb, 15x100 lb
lunges 3x20 - 50 lb
leg curls 15x155 lb, 2x15 - 175 lb
leg extensions 15x135 lb, 2x12 - 150 lb
plank 2x3 min, 60 sec to each side
other core 30 steam engines, 30 twisters - 12 lb
back extensions 20 straight, 20 twisting - 25 lb
Results:  
Comments: Today was a good day. I had already started my leg stuff when Thom W showed up but that was fine, I just got in some extra sets of leg press. My back feels totally fine doing these now - yes!

It was fun to do squats again which I have not done in ages... And it felt safe to do them in the machine.

It's funny, I'm a little stronger than Thom in every leg exercise except for the curls and extensions, he goes about 20 heavier than me on those exercises.
Equipment:  
core | weights
Wednesday, January 30, 2008 10:47:36 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  | 

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 Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Tuesday 29 January 2008 - stairs
posted by: Martin
Hrs. Sleeping: 4
Pulse (waking):  
Pulse (rising):  
Difference:  
Weight:  
Body Fat:  
Time of Day: 6:00 am
Distance: 10 flights
Time (total): 40 min
Time (moving):  
Time (stopped):  
Speed (moving):  
Speed (overall):  
Total Ascent:  
Weather: upper 30s, light drizzle, calm
Workout Type: stairs

Breakfast: yogurt, jam, fruit, bran cereal, banana, 2 bagels with cream cheese, water
Lunch:  
Dinner:  
Workout Food:  

Course: Howe Street
Results:  
Comments: Okay, first of all I need to sleep more. I was out of bed at about 2:30 or 3 and never went back. That can't be too good. I wish I definitively knew that I was one of those people that only needed like three or four hours of sleep per night but no, I just don't get enough and then I'm tired. Shelley suggested I stay up later but how easy is that when you've been up for 20 hours already?

It's been so cold lately that when I saw the rain this morning I freaked. I put on long pants which is something that I have not done for stairs even when there was snow on the ground. Top it off with a fleece hat and I'm good to go. Of course after two flights I was nice and cozy...

I was there with Greg K who is on a rest week so we just walked all of the flights. To be perfectly honest I was dreading running... especially after such a short nap. When I heard that this was a rest week for Greg I was all innocent and accommodating like and said, "Hey, if you just want to walk 'em today that's fine with me. I'm just here for the company and don't have an agenda..." Nice. He bought it.

We did walk them kind of fast and although I think we might have only done nine flights (I lost count around six) we did make pretty good time.
Equipment:  
stairs
Tuesday, January 29, 2008 11:08:16 AM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  | 

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 Sunday, January 27, 2008
Sunday 27 January 2008 - ride
posted by: Martin
Hrs. Sleeping: 6
Pulse (waking):  
Pulse (rising):  
Difference:  
Weight:  
Body Fat:  
Time of Day: 7:30 am
Distance:  
Time (total): 4:15 or so
Time (moving): maybe 3:30?
Time (stopped):  
Speed (moving):  
Speed (overall):  
Total Ascent:  
Weather: mid 30s, a couple of sprinkles but then clearing, not much wind
Workout Type: Hank ride | team ride

Breakfast: smoothie
Lunch:  
Dinner:  
Workout Food: bar, 4 scoops Endurox R4 in one big bottle, 3 scoops HEED in another

Course: Hank ride - around Mercer Island counter-clockwise
team ride - Leschi, around Mercer Island counter-clockwise, north end of Lake WA via Juanita, Burke Gilman, Interlaken, 19th, home
Results:  
Comments: Ugh... the cold sure makes my legs heavy. Then again, yesterday when it was even colder I felt relatively good. So maybe I'm just tired from yesterday?

The Hank ride started out at the usual tempo and by 'usual' I mean as fast as John M wants to go. Today he was on a single speed bike with a 42x16 (he claimed it was a 39x16 but it sure looked larger to me based on how fast he was moving and pedaling...) and so when we were on the flats the pace was mercifully moderate. But on the first climb it was just as fast as always and I was sucking wind. Hard.

When I got back to Leschi only about eight people showed up so I suggested that we do something besides riding down Rainier and everyone liked it so we went around the north end of the lake and it was nice.

One funny story - after climbing a hill in Bellevue this woman on the ride was gasping for air and asked us to slow down as she could not shift to her small chainring and HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO SO FOR THE LAST TWO WEEKS. I had her pull over right away and fixed it. Seems the shop she took her bike to had just left the cable tension way too tight and although the limit screw was okay, the cable prevented it from dropping down. Easy fix. Later on in the ride we started a descent and when this same woman tried to shift to her big chainring the chain fell off. I happened to be behind her and was passing as this happened and noticed that she was grabbing her brakes to stop and fix it. I yelled out, "Shift it back on slowly while you ride." and bingo, it came right back on. She was so stoked! As our group assembled at the bottom of the hill she turns toward me and deadpans, "Martin, I have so much to learn from you!" Oh man, I almost burst out laughing and at the same time felt somehow inappropriate. :)

After Juanita we decided to ride the trail home and guess what - it still sucks. Even when there are very few people on the trail like today when it's super cold out, the surface is so darn bumpy that it just is not fun to ride. Oh yeah, and we almost collided with this kid on his Big Wheel for crying out loud. When was the last time you saw one of those, eh?
Equipment: Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25
Man, my rear wheel is kinda bent and won't stay true anymore... I've only been able to milk it this long because I have disk brakes. Time to rebuild. Not bad for a wheel that is over 15 years old!
road ride
Sunday, January 27, 2008 10:21:48 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  | 

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 Saturday, January 26, 2008
Saturday 26 January 2008 - ride
posted by: Martin
Hrs. Sleeping: 5 (maybe...)
Pulse (waking):  
Pulse (rising):  
Difference:  
Weight:  
Body Fat:  
Time of Day: 8:10 am
Distance: 64 miles
Time (total): 4:00
Time (moving): 3:42
Time (stopped): 18 min
Speed (moving): 17.4 mph
Speed (overall): 16.1 mph
Total Ascent: 2913 feet
Weather: mid 20s at the start, mid 30s at the finish, dry at first, sprinkles at the end
Workout Type: road ride

Breakfast: 7:30 - cereal
Lunch: 3 tempeh 'tacos' (tempeh, dressing, tomatoes and lettuce in a pita), chips, avocado
Dinner:  
Workout Food: bar, 4 scoops Endurox R4 in one big bottle and 3 scoops HEED in another

Course: Leschi, Seward Park, Rainier, Renton, Jones Rd, up Cedar Grove, left on Issaquah-Hobart, up Tiger, right on Issaquah-Hobart, May Valley, down McDonald's hill, Renton, Rainier, Lake WA Blvd, Leschi, up Madrona, home
Results:  
Comments: God, I could not sleep last night... I woke up at about 3:30 and that was it. So I dorked around on the computer for a few hours after realizing sleep was futile and was about to head out for this 8:30 ride that a friend was organizing when I remembered the 8:00 am ride...! I got on the horn and called Greg K who graciously opted to head south and pick me up instead of going north as was his original plan. Am I a lucky guy or what.

I got out of the house at about 8:10 and Greg had said to meet him at Leschi at 8:20. I'm glad I made it.

It was so cold today. My legs felt slow and heavy and at first I thought that my brakes were rubbing. I had just put on new disk brake pads and when I sailed out of the driveway and got to the first red light I realized that I was not stopping... I had to back the adjusters all the way off to install the pads and had not screwed them back down. Crap. I almost literally had to drag a foot as my brake levers were against my bars and my velocity was only changing ever so slightly.

Once I survived that boner maneuver I pulled over and cranked 'em right down. Like too much. So when I got to Leschi the first thing I did was adjust them as best I could. I got it pretty close but in my head my pads were still rubbing ever so slightly. Okay, I could hear them so they were rubbing, just not very much. :)

The pace was a tiny bit faster today than the last few weeks which was good. I needed that. Going up Cedar Grove the group split up a little but that is such a short hill and we got back together right away. Going up Tiger was a different story. I thought I was going to be slow but Greg got on the front and set a steady tempo that separated him, me and Paul from the rest pretty quick. And it felt fine. About half way up I was able to ride past Greg and we dropped Paul on the first steep pitch.

ASIDE - I was noticing that I was breathing almost half as rapidly as Greg. That's not to say I was not out of breath, but Greg was kind of panting super fast.

At the top we waited for everyone and then descended. It was WARM at the top of Tiger. And it lasted almost all the way back down to Issaquah-Hobart.

On May Valley we fell apart. Greg suggested we rotate and it just didn't happen. Gaps opened up, the pace was too fast and then too slow - good grief.

By the time we go to Seward again I was very tired. It seems I can only go about three hours and then I fold. Maybe it's because I only ride for a little over three hours...? You think?

A good ride - super company.
Equipment: Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25
road ride
Saturday, January 26, 2008 7:44:38 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  | 

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 Friday, January 25, 2008
Friday 25 January 2008 - weights | core | indoor exercise class
posted by: Martin
Hrs. Sleeping: 6
Pulse (waking):  
Pulse (rising):  
Difference:  
Weight:  
Body Fat:  
Time of Day: 5:00 am
Distance:  
Time (total): 1:30
Time (moving):  
Time (stopped):  
Speed (moving):  
Speed (overall):  
Total Ascent:  
Weather:  
Workout Type: weights | core | indoor exercise class

Breakfast: smoothie
Lunch: 2 pieces pizza, tea, some m&m candies, Odwalla protein drink
Dinner: Lola - because it's my birthday today
Workout Food: water

Course:
push-ups 3x15
seated row 3x15 - 90 lb
shoulder press 3x15 - 25 lb
lat pull-down 3x15  90 lb
plank 180 sec, 60 sec, 60 sec on each side
other core bent leg knee lifts - 2x40 each side, 2x30 twisters
back extensions 50 - 190 lb [on machine]
indoor exercise class - lots of walking lunges, lots of pushups, shoulder presses, some rubber band upper body stuff, tons of bun toners with a dumbbell clamped behind my knee, leg lifts, abs, 120 sec plank
Results:  
Comments: Initially I just wanted to get to the gym early to get home early to get to work early. When I was half way through my little upper body routine I remembered that Friday is the day that Ken et all work out with Abigail. I figured what the heck, finished my deal and joined them.

Since it was my birthday I got to do whatever exercises I wanted and I chose lunges. I know, way out of control... who knows what Martin will do next year!?

But it was fun to not do gobs of cardio for a change. We got to talk, make bad jokes, critique each other's form, all world changing stuff. Ken and Thom are off to grace the grand opening of grey with their presence tonight, I'm off to eat some smashed potatoes.
Equipment:  
core | indoor exercise class | weights
Friday, January 25, 2008 2:03:17 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  | 

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Thursday 24 January 2008 - core | spinning
posted by: Martin
Hrs. Sleeping: 6
Pulse (waking):  
Pulse (rising):  
Difference:  
Weight:  
Body Fat:  
Time of Day: 5:30 am
Distance:  
Time (total): spinning - 45 min
Time (moving):  
Time (stopped):  
Speed (moving):  
Speed (overall):  
Total Ascent:  
Weather:  
Workout Type: core | spinning

Breakfast: cereal
Lunch: 10:00 am - banana, 3 mandarin oranges, 8 oz yogurt, 3 pieces Pilot Bread w/peanut butter
1:00 pm - 8 oz yogurt, tea, banana
Dinner: salad, pasta, 2 Bud Lights
Workout Food: water

Course: plank - 2x180 sec, 60 sec to each side
40 clam knee lifts, 40 twisters, 40 leg extenders
Results:  
Comments: Okay, I can tell I need to do way more of these hip exercises... I am SO weak. I had totally forgotten about these until Greg K mentioned them at the last ride we did. Oops.

Spinning was hard today. But because the workout was hard, not because I felt like crap so that's two thumbs up. Way up.
Equipment:  
core | spinning
Friday, January 25, 2008 2:56:18 AM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  | 

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 Thursday, January 24, 2008
Wednesday 23 January 2008 - weights | core
posted by: Martin
Hrs. Sleeping: 6
Pulse (waking):  
Pulse (rising):  
Difference:  
Weight: 180 lb - YES!
Body Fat: 9
Time of Day: 5:00 am
Distance:  
Time (total): 1:30
Time (moving):  
Time (stopped):  
Speed (moving):  
Speed (overall):  
Total Ascent:  
Weather:  
Workout Type: weights | core

Breakfast: smoothie
Lunch:  
Dinner:  
Workout Food: water

Course:
push-ups 3x15
seated row 3x15 - 90 lb
shoulder press 3x15 - 25 lb
lat pull down 3x15 - 90 lb
incline leg press 20x90 lb, 20x180 lb, 20x270 lb, 5x15 - 360 lb, 20x270 lb
smith machine squat 12x50 lb, 12x70 lb, 12x90 lb
dead lift 15x20 lb, 15x40 lb, 15x60 lb
leg curls 3x15 - 135 lb
leg extensions 3x15 - 155 lb
plank 2x180 sec, 60 sec to each side
other core 40 clam knee lifts on each side, 30 ball passes, 2x20 leg scissors, 2x20 twisters - 12 lb
back extensions 20 straight, 20 twisting - 25 lb
Results:  
Comments: Okay, I can finally do the f'n plank for two times three minutes again! Man, this is the weirdest exercise in that one day it's relatively easy and the next day it's impossible. What's with that?

I had just finished my little upper body routine and started in on legs when Thom W shows up and he's doing the same thing so I jumped into his workout. It meant a few extra sets of leg press but no biggie, I felt great today. I can still drop the weight as low as I want with no back pain. I would rather have done lunges instead of dead lifts but what they hey, that's what you get when you do someone else's workout, right? Besides, the company far outweighs missing the one exercise.
Equipment:  
core | weights
Thursday, January 24, 2008 3:16:33 AM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  | 

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