Martin's training diary - Sunday, April 20, 2008

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Sunday 20 April 2008 - ride

posted by: Martin

Hrs. Sleeping:
Pulse (waking):
Pulse (rising):
Difference:
Weight:
Body Fat:
Time of Day:	7:30 am
Distance:	74 miles
Time (total):	5:15
Time (moving):
Time (stopped):
Speed (moving):
Speed (overall):
Total Ascent:
Weather:	low to mid 40s, snow at times, some sun
Workout Type:	Hank ride \| team ride

Breakfast:
Lunch:
Dinner:
Workout Food:	two large bottles each with 2 scoops Endurox R4 and 2 scoops Perpetuem

Course:	Hank ride - around Mercer Island counter-clockwise team ride - Leschi, Seward Park, Rainier to Renton, Coulon, McDonald's hill, May Valley, Issaquah-Hobart, Issaquah, Squak Mountain, Newport Way, across Mercer Island, home
Results:
Comments:	I could not bear to get out on the rain bike today... once that thing is put away once it's hard to pull it out again. So instead I got soaked on my race bike. :( For a while it looked like it would not be too bad but on the island the roads were really wet and there was SNOW on the ground and it was melting off of the trees. Alastair L was on the team ride and he wanted to go long and do a hill so when he suggested Squak I impulsively went along. It was just him, George G, Jim K and Mike from Dewar's. The way up was brutal as usual and on the way down it started to snow! Luckily it was pellets and we did not get any wetter. I was first to the bottom (only second to the top, George was first!) and when I got there I was alone. After waiting a bit Alastair showed up and said George had gone off the road on the descent and was fixing a flat. Finally everyone rolled up and George had a huge skid mark on his tire and it was really thin. They had booted it but it did not hold. It blew again a few 100 m down the road and he had to call home. Alastair and I each got in quite a few good efforts on this ride today as no one else seemed to want to pull. It felt good and I was plenty tired when I got home. I was laughing at the weather... we got snowed on three times and it would alternate with sun and dry conditions. Totally nuts.
Equipment:	Ti Cycles Hyak, 39/53, 12-25, Neuvation wheels

road ride

Sunday, April 20, 2008 12:20:18 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)

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Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Wednesday 16 April 2008 - weights | commute

posted by: Martin

Hrs. Sleeping:	5
Pulse (waking):
Pulse (rising):
Difference:
Weight:
Body Fat:
Time of Day:	5:00 am
Distance:	9 miles
Time (total):
Time (moving):
Time (stopped):
Speed (moving):
Speed (overall):
Total Ascent:
Weather:
Workout Type:	weights \| commute

Breakfast:	smoothie
Lunch:	Odwalla protein drink, tomato and mozzarella sandwich, Builder's bar
Dinner:
Workout Food:	water

Course:

push-ups	2x20
seated row	2x20 - 90 lb
shoulder press	2x20 - 25 lb
lat pull-down	2x20 - 90 lb
incline leg press	20x180 lb, 20x270 lb, 20x360 lb, 22x360 lb
squat (Smith)	10x140 lb, 10x140 lb, 12x140 lb
bench step-ups	15x40 lb dumbbells, 15x45 lb, 20x50 lb
leg extensions	3x15 - 195 lb with 135 lb drop set each time
leg curls	we used this funky machine... 12x35 lb, 12x50 lb, 12x50 lb
plank	2x180 sec

Results:

Comments:

I was really up for legs in the gym today and had a pretty good workout. Amazing how much of this is mental... Duh.

The ride home can be described in one word: mellow. I went up Belmont and had to get myself pretty excited about that hill on my single speed.

Equipment:

Raleigh town bike

commute | weights

Wednesday, April 16, 2008 4:59:33 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)

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Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Tuesday 15 April 2008 - core | spinning | Pacific Raceways CR

posted by: Martin

Hrs. Sleeping:	6
Pulse (waking):
Pulse (rising):
Difference:
Weight:
Body Fat:
Time of Day:	gym - 5:30 am race - 7:00 pm
Distance:
Time (total):
Time (moving):	race - 45 min
Time (stopped):
Speed (moving):
Speed (overall):
Total Ascent:
Weather:	mid 40s, windy, light rain
Workout Type:	core \| spinning \| Pacific Raceways CR

Breakfast:	cereal
Lunch:	fish burrito, LOTS of orange juice, Promax bar, chocolate 5:00 pm - 2 scoops Perpetuem and 2 scoops Endurox R4 in a big bottle
Dinner:	tortellini, 2 pieces bread w/butter, beer, tortilla w/bean dip
Workout Food:	HEED

Course:	core: 2x180 sec plank, 60 sec to each side, 2x40 clam knee lifts to each side, 40 side leg lifts to each side, 2x50 steam engines, 30 twisters, 70 leg extensions, 40 back extensions (20 straight, 20 twisting) - 25 lb race: flats, counter-clockwise
Results:	1st prime - pack 2nd prime - pack finish - 5th official results
Comments:	Spinning was okay, I am STILL running out of breath and need to stop once or twice each class... I never needed to do that. It seems my strength is not my weak point (as far as spinning goes anyway) but instead it's my stamina? But I was able to get back to business with the plank. That felt good. Today it was Jim K, Charlie D, a relatively new guy I have never met before named Rowe(sp?) from ByrneInvent and Matt H, Chris G and Darren P from Excel. Right at the start Matt took it out hard and fast for about half a lap. ASIDE - I recall the first time someone attacked from the gun in a race. I was totally intimidated and barely able to hang on. Now it seems almost par for the course. Darren attacked a bunch, so did Matt, I did a couple of times and each time Mat went I covered it and each time I went he chased me down. Finally, right after one of my efforts, Darren countered and I couldn't follow. Nice. A couple of guys went with him and then when I yelled at Rowe to chase Jim jumped hard and bridged up. Way to go Jim. So the die was cast and I rode a supporting role for the remainder of the race. Somehow Rowe got away from the bunch too and eventually caught the break. So it was Darren, Jim, Rowe and Tom H from Old Town. The last time down the drag strip I saw Jim pull off and Tom surge. He got away and held on for the win and although Jim got 4th he was super excited to finally be in the break! It's especially cool since he just got back from a week in Hawaii and did not ride while he was there. And way to go Tom - he's been knocking on the door for ages and finally made it work. As we rounded the last corner I was just about to ask Matt (who wan on my wheel) if he wanted a lead out when I realized there were only four away and the points went five deep... So I kept my eyes open for an opportunity and somehow I got one. The front of the field slowed down (I was in about 3rd place) and as they pulled right Matt kinda drifted that direction with them. I went left and when I saw that I had 10' I went as hard as I could. Matt started chasing but I think he thought the pack was on his wheel so he slowed for a second before he figured it out. That was enough for me and I soloed in for 5th. :) It was a great race! It's good to have an attacking Darren back for sure. His accelerations are deceptive, he usually stays in the saddle and just speeds up; you have to watch out. It was also great to have Jim get in the break and to have Rowe (who has not raced in like 15 years) be there as well - go team!
Equipment:	Ti Cycles Hyak, 39/53, 12-25, Zipp 404 wheels

core | road race | spinning

Tuesday, April 15, 2008 12:40:38 AM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)

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Monday, April 14, 2008

Monday 14 April 2008 - weights | core

posted by: Martin

Hrs. Sleeping:
Pulse (waking):
Pulse (rising):
Difference:
Weight:
Body Fat:
Time of Day:	5:15 am
Distance:
Time (total):
Time (moving):
Time (stopped):
Speed (moving):
Speed (overall):
Total Ascent:
Weather:
Workout Type:	weights \| core

Breakfast:
Lunch:
Dinner:
Workout Food:	water

Course:

push-ups	2x20
seated row	2x20 - 90 lb
shoulder press	2x20 - 25 lb
lat pull-down	2x20 - 90 lb
plank	2x180 sec, 60 sec to each side
other core	2x40 clam knee lifts to each side, 40 side leg lifts to each side, 30 ball passes, 30 twisters, 70 leg extensions
back extensions	20 straight, 20 twisting - 25 lb

Results:

Comments:

Just another day in the gym... at least I was able to do the plank for 3 minutes again unlike last week.

Equipment:

core | weights

Monday, April 14, 2008 10:35:24 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)

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Saturday, April 12, 2008

Saturday 12 April 2008 - Volunteer Park CT | walk

posted by: Martin

Hrs. Sleeping:	6
Pulse (waking):
Pulse (rising):
Difference:
Weight:
Body Fat:
Time of Day:	11:30 am
Distance:	walk - 4 miles
Time (total):	40 min
Time (moving):
Time (stopped):
Speed (moving):
Speed (overall):
Total Ascent:
Weather:	70, sunny, dry, light breeze
Workout Type:	race

Breakfast:	6:00 am - smoothie 10:00 am - Shot Bloks
Lunch:	fish tacos, bread, butter, beer
Dinner:	2 pieces pizza, salad, 2 glasses wine, ice cream w/berries
Workout Food:	one small bottle with 1 scoop HEED

Course:	Volunteer Park CT
Results:	Masters A-B - 7th
Comments:	First - it was beautiful day. Yesterday was still quite cool and today it jumps up 15 degrees and the sun is out making people pink. I love it! Second - at first I was bummed I did not have the strength to do better at the finish but I should be glad I made the break. Making the move is key and if you don't do that you never even have a chance to sprint for victory so upon reflection I'm pretty happy. :) To keep things calm I took a trainer to the race and warmed up at the start/finish line. Totally removes all the stress and you can ride as long or short as you like and you don't miss the start. I have ridden this course many times so I just took one lap during a break in the action to see if there was anything new to see and there was not. After spinning moderate gears for about 25 minutes I lined up near the start about 15 minutes prior to our departure. When they let us on the course I just went right to the start line and got a spot in the front row seeing as I knew the course and had already ridden it once. Almost everyone else took a lap and got staged several rows back. Plus, I had heard BRI talking about this 'early move' they were going to throw at everyone so I wanted to make sure I was up there. At the gun I got a good start and hit the water tower in about 15th spot. Most of the usuals were up there including Matt H who drilled in on the 2nd lap in what has become his traditional warm-up routine it seems: go hard at the front. There were a few surges and I went with pretty much all of them being paranoid I would miss the move. I was able to stay in the top 20 pretty easily and then after a few laps it happened. Someone jumped (I think it was BRI?), I followed and a few others joined us as we were gone. It was a good combo for sure; it was Chris T, Gavin G and Aaron from BRI, Mike B from Excel, Flavio R from Garage, two random guys and myself. With all the strong teams represented this was it and our gap slowly grew to 20 seconds and grew to about 40 by the finish. I think we got away about 10 minutes into the race... Mostly we worked well together although Mike B did not pull. At first I thought it was because he had to bridge a bit farther than the rest of us to make it but after a bit I realized he was just not going to work. And it made sense, with three BRI guys it was their job to drive this. I was pulling quite a bit at first but then backed off when I knew we were not going to get caught. Martin "I'm no sprinter" Criminale was trying to figure out my chances and with just over one lap to go it came. Gavin surged at the top of the hill and I went after him. In theory it was perfect. BRI had three guys so they were not going to chase and everyone else was alone so they watched each other. And we got away! But then Gavin died and I could not carry through for a full lap on my own. Sure enough, just after we started up the hill for the last time Chris came roaring by with Aaron on his wheel. I was just able to catch on but had to expend a lot of energy to do so as they were going much faster. At the top of the hill I shifted up and accelerated as much as I could but no use... all could do was maintain my position. Gavin blew or gave up and so I was not last. :) With the age limit at this event being only 30, it was basically a cat 1-2 race so I really was happy to be there in the break. And did I mention it was awesome to hear my teammates yelling my name all the way around the course? It was great! After getting home and cleaning up, Shelley and I went for a SUNNY, BEAUTIFUL walk down to Pioneer Square, along the water front and then back up the hill.
Equipment:	Ti Cycles Hyak, 39/53, 12-25, Zipp 404 wheels

Here are all the pictures including a video Shelley took of me finishing.

road race | walk

Saturday, April 12, 2008 2:58:45 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)

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Friday, April 11, 2008

Friday 11 April 2008 - weights | core | commute

posted by: Martin

Hrs. Sleeping:	7
Pulse (waking):
Pulse (rising):
Difference:
Weight:
Body Fat:
Time of Day:	5:15 am
Distance:	15 miles
Time (total):
Time (moving):
Time (stopped):
Speed (moving):
Speed (overall):
Total Ascent:
Weather:
Workout Type:	weights \| core \| commute

Breakfast:	cereal
Lunch:	10:00 am - Promax bar 11:30 am - 2 bagels, cream cheese, one with lox, one with jam, Odwalla C Monster
Dinner:	2 beers, pie, spinach salad at Pies & Pints
Workout Food:	water

Course:

push-ups	2x20
seated row	2x20 - 90 lb
shoulder press	2x20 - 25 lb
lat pull-down	2x20 - 90 lb
plank	180 sec, 60 sec, 60 sec, 60 sec to each side
other core	2x40 clam knee lifts to each side, 40 side leg lifts to each side, 2x50 steam engines, 30 twisters - 10 lb, 80 leg extensions
back extensions	20 straight, 20 twisting - 25 lb

Results:

Comments:

The plank was hard today, but thinking back I have done very little core this last week so no wonder. At least riding my bike felt great! On the way home I took my scenic detour

Equipment:

Raleigh town bike

commute | core | weights

Friday, April 11, 2008 12:12:54 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)

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Thursday, April 10, 2008

Thursday 10 April 2008 - commute

posted by: Martin

Hrs. Sleeping:	7
Pulse (waking):
Pulse (rising):
Difference:
Weight:
Body Fat:
Time of Day:
Distance:	8 miles
Time (total):
Time (moving):
Time (stopped):
Speed (moving):
Speed (overall):
Total Ascent:
Weather:
Workout Type:	commute

Breakfast:
Lunch:
Dinner:
Workout Food:

Course:
Results:
Comments:	Oh man, I woke up and did not feel like spinning, not at all. Plus I was thinking ahead to the races this weekend and since I seem to need tons of rest these days it was easy to justify. Especially with the way I felt riding home yesterday which was VERY slow. It's lunch time now and I think I made the right choice. I was bounding up the stairs and not feeling like I had lead in my veins so that's good. Okay, just made it home and my legs feel much better! I think I made the right decision by not spinning today.
Equipment:	Raleigh town bike

commute

Thursday, April 10, 2008 4:44:22 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)

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Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Wednesday 9 April 2008 - weights | commute

posted by: Martin

Hrs. Sleeping:	6
Pulse (waking):
Pulse (rising):
Difference:
Weight:
Body Fat:
Time of Day:	5:15 am
Distance:	8 miles
Time (total):
Time (moving):
Time (stopped):
Speed (moving):
Speed (overall):
Total Ascent:
Weather:	40's in the morning, low 50s in the afternoon, partly sunny, dry
Workout Type:	weights \| commute

Breakfast:	2 eggs, bread, cheese, cereal
Lunch:	peanut butter bagel, 8 oz yogurt, crackers, cheese, dried papaya, water, Odwalla juice
Dinner:	salad, 2 pieces pizza, sauteed veggies, Bud light, too much wine (three glasses?)
Workout Food:	water

Course:

push-ups	2x20
seated row	2x20 - 90 lb
shoulder press	2x17 - 25 lb
lat pull-down	2x17 - 90 lb
incline leg press	20x90 lb, 20x180 lb, 20x270 lb, 20x360 lb
incline hack squat	15x110 lb, 15x130 lb, 15x150 lb, 12x170 lb
step ups	15x30 lb, 15x35 lb, 15x40 lb
leg extensions	3x15 - 195 lb (drop set each time)
leg curls	3x12 - 165 lb (drop set each time)

Results:

Comments:

Oy... I had a hard time getting out of bed today, my upper body exercises felt super hard (probably because I have not been doing them for a week - since last Wednesday!) and legs did not feel super. The step ups on the bench with dumbbells was kinda fun though, we could have used more weight.

It felt GREAT to commute to work on my bike again...! iPod, reasonable weather, the works. But man, my legs felt done in. I was just rolling along.

Equipment:

Raleigh town bike

commute | weights

Wednesday, April 09, 2008 11:44:33 AM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)

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Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Tuesday 8 April 2008 - core | spinning | Pacific Raceways CR

posted by: Martin

Hrs. Sleeping:	6
Pulse (waking):
Pulse (rising):
Difference:
Weight:	180
Body Fat:	8
Time of Day:
Distance:
Time (total):	race - 43 min
Time (moving):
Time (stopped):
Speed (moving):
Speed (overall):
Total Ascent:
Weather:	low 40s, wet ground, mostly cloudy, calm
Workout Type:	core \| spinning \| Pacific Raceways CR

Breakfast:
Lunch:
Dinner:
Workout Food:	gym - water race - 2 scoops HEED in a small bottle (but I only had like two sips)

Course:	race: counter-clockwise down the escape road, finish on the flats
Results:	1st prime - 2nd 2nd prime - 1st finish - 2nd
Comments:	For the first time in ages spinning felt good! I was rested and could go hard - that felt SO nice. My wind is still sucky meaning I had to seriously catch my breath a couple of times but hey, it's a start. At the race Dave H went on the first hill and stayed away solo for one lap. We caught him half way up the second hill and I took off on the left side near the top. I got a nice gap right away and then saw Matt H chasing so I sat up and waited for him. I had a couple of teammates in the bunch plus there were not many contenders out today so our gap grew really quickly. We worked really well together; Matt rolling his 50x11 (Jesus!) on the flats and me my 53x15. We decided to just pull through the primes so Matt got the first one and I got the second. With two laps to go our gap was enormous so we slowed a bit. Matt left me on the front from the bottom of the last hill but we had loads of time so it was fine. Besides, I felt pretty confident about the sprint. I just kept the speed down thinking I had a much better initial jump than Matt and kept it glued to the barrier on the right side of the finishing stretch. We got close and closer and were not going fast at all so I was in a pretty small gear... When Matt finally did make a move I stood up and felt like I easily stayed ahead of him at first. But then I had to shift up and kinda fumbled the shift. That plus Matt being a little faster than I had expected let him pull even and then he nipped me with a perfectly timed bike throw. I threw my bike too but mine was late. Poop. Anyway, that was a super ride in that we attacked, made it a race and I actually got to sprint at the end. Plus I finally felt good while we were away. Dave got 2nd again and I learned not to underestimate Matt so much. :)
Equipment:	Ti Cycles Hyak, 39/53, 12-25, Zipp 404 wheels

core | road race | spinning

Tuesday, April 08, 2008 12:01:39 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)

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Saturday, April 05, 2008

Saturday 5 April 2008 - ride

posted by: Martin

Hrs. Sleeping:
Pulse (waking):
Pulse (rising):
Difference:
Weight:
Body Fat:
Time of Day:	7:15 am
Distance:	72 miles
Time (total):	4:40
Time (moving):
Time (stopped):
Speed (moving):
Speed (overall):
Total Ascent:
Weather:	low 40s, cloudy at first, partly sunny at the end, pretty calm, NO RAIN
Workout Type:	ride

Breakfast:
Lunch:
Dinner:
Workout Food:	2 large bottles each with 2 scoops Endurox R4 and 2 scoops Perpetuem, half a sleeve of Fig Newtons

Course:	23rd, Lake City Way, Log Boom Park, Hollywood Hill, blah, blah, blah, Avondale Rd, blah, blah, blah, Ames Lake, Union Hill, Slough trail, Lake City Way, Interlaken, 19th, home
Results:
Comments:	Nice! This was JUST what the doctor ordered... Tony B, Jeff D and Kurt A and I went for a longish, zero stress ride. The tempo on the hills was anything from sorta hard to pretty stiff but we chatted throughout the rest of the ride and always regrouped at the top. I pulled a lot and felt good all the way. And my back did not hurt! YES. I did stretch it a couple of times towards the end of the ride but no pain. I like that.
Equipment:	Ti Cycles Hyak, 39/53, 12-25, Neuvation wheels