# Friday, January 29, 2010
Friday 29 January 2010 – core | weights | CycleU indoor TT
posted by: Martin Criminale
Hours Sleeping: 6
Pulse (waking):  
Pulse (rising):  
Difference:  
Weight: 7:30 AM - 178
Body Fat: 8
Time of Day: gym – 5:30 AM
indoor TT – 5:30 PM
Distance:  
Time (total):  
Time (moving): indoor TT #1 – 24:18
Time (stopped):  
Speed (moving):  
Speed (overall):  
Power: indoor TT #1 – 321
Total Ascent:  
Weather:  
Workout Type:  

Breakfast: 7:00 AM – smoothie
10:30 AM – almonds
11:00 AM – massive chocolate chip cookie
Lunch: 12:30 PM – rice, stir fry veggies, Builder's bar, tea, water
Dinner: 7:30 PM – lasagna, green salad, 2 glasses wine, yogurt, granola, peanut butter, water
Workout Food: water

Course:
rubber band walk 3x down and back in the aerobics studio
ball leg lifts 3x10
ball hip raisers 3x10
ball leg extensions 3x10
roman chair knee lifts 3x40
incline press 20/16/12 – 25 lb
incline pull down 18/16/14 – 70 lb
shoulder press 18/16/12 – 40 lb
donkey kick 3x15 – 50 lb
indoor TT – 10 mile rolling course
Results: official results
Comments: The gym went fairly well although I felt pretty (sleepy) tired today. I was psyched to finally bust out some real numbers on my leg lifts while on the ball, that is so damn hard for me.

Having had such a super ride at Cycle U two days ago on my TT bike I was actually excited to see how tonight would go with the longer course! I unloaded my bike, walked it to the door and… [queue sound of crickets]

There was no one else there. Lang R was there futzing with his MacBook trying to get it to display on a television but there were ZERO indoor TT participants. I apprehensively installed my bike on the trainer, changed my clothes and began a lackluster warm-up. After confirming that the other three folks who had signed up had indeed bagged Lang asked me if I'd like to try the CompuTrainer mode instead of the multi rider mode and I said sure. In this mode you are 'outside' and can see the road (and the pixilated trees, grass, etc.) as you climb and descend. He also offered to let me race a pacer; that sounded great.

All seemed fine and at my request we configured the pacer to average 330 watts (it seemed like an ambitious goal on this longer course and me being on my TT bike) so off I went. It soon became obvious that all was not right.

I started out faster than 330 watts but the pacer stuck with me. In fact, he sucked my wheel! On the first climb eased off a bit, got behind him and sure enough, drafting was turned on; I could feel the resistance ease up just a little as my digitized rider slotted in behind the robot pacer. I told Lang what was up and after he told me there was no way to turn this off in this mode I opted to stop and start again by myself.

So… after another five minutes I was finally on my way. Still with the scenery but this time no pacer.

I managed to stay down in the aero bars the entire time but my focus was not laser sharp by any means. I managed a reasonable time/watts but figured out pretty quickly that my stated goal of 330 was not going to happen tonight. Oh well.

After finishing I got the hell out of Dodge as I did not want to subject myself to another solo ride. Good thing too as I was able to eat dinner with Shelley tonight for a change instead of heating leftovers. Nice.
Equipment: Abici Time Machine, 42/55, 12-23
Clothing:  
Technorati Tags: ,
core | CycleU indoor TT | weights-upper body
Friday, January 29, 2010 3:18:00 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  | 

Bookmark and Share
# Thursday, January 28, 2010
Thursday 28 January 2010 – ride
posted by: Martin Criminale
Hours Sleeping: 4
Pulse (waking):  
Pulse (rising):  
Difference:  
Weight: 7:30 AM (after riding and before eating) – 174

Since I'm usually at 179 or so in the evening after eating and not doing any aerobic activity this is proof positive that my weight varies 5-6 lb through the course of one day! Nifty factoid.
Body Fat: 8
Time of Day: 5:15 AM
Distance: 40 miles
Time (total): 2:15
Time (moving):  
Time (stopped):  
Speed (moving):  
Speed (overall):  
Power:  
Total Ascent:  
Weather: low 40s, dry, partly cloudy, calm
Workout Type: sprints

Breakfast: 5:00 AM – banana
7:30 AM – banana, Promax bar
Lunch: 11:30 AM – 1 piece Fitness Bread and 3 pieces Pilot bread w/peanut butter and jam, Stonewall's Jerquee
12:30 AM – 6 Dove chocolate hearts, water
1:30 PM - tea
Dinner:  
Workout Food: large bottle w/2 scoops Cytomax

Course: Dawg, half way around Mercer Island, back, Seward Park, Madrona, Union, home
Results:  
Comments: Nice! Today was my first sprint workout on the bike this year (and since my last race!) and it is just what I need. My motor is getting better but my top end is hurting. HURTING.

Today it was Greg K, RD R and Ryan D. We met up at the Dawg at the usual insane hour of oh dark thirty and hit out. Once we got on the island the schedule called for one hour of moderate tempo riding (250 ish watts?) with 10 second sprints thrown in every three minutes. These were not all-out by any means, rather they were supposed to be around 180 percent of threshold so roughly 570 watts.

I have no power meter so was just along for the ride.

Everyone else could hardly see their power meter so much of this was by feel anyway. :) We'd ride under a street light and Ryan would yell out, "315!" or similar and then we'd all slow down a touch. You get the idea.

But it was great! I thought I would be lagging seriously and did fine. Even on my boat anchor of a winter bike. If we had gone any faster or uphill it would have been a different story but we did not. Whew.

As we headed down to Seward and did some on the flats the sprints felt better and I could tell I was running out of calories at the same time. At the start of the ride I asked Ryan what he fueled up with prior to these early morning outings and he replied with a big bowl of oatmeal, fruit and coffee. Kind of made my lonely banana sound extremely lacking.

Heading up Madrona I could feel myself bonking. At least I was almost home so pushed it a little. M u s t  e a t . . . Ryan claimed I charged up the hill at 500 watts, didn't know that was possible in my 38x23 while starving.

All in all it was great fun and these guys are fantastic to ride with. I can't wait to race with them!
Equipment: Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25
Clothing: Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Craft short sleeve undershirt, Craft long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, OR Gripper gloves, cap
road ride
Thursday, January 28, 2010 3:36:32 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  | 

Bookmark and Share
# Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Wednesday 27 January 2010 – core | weights | walk | CycleU indoor TT
posted by: Martin Criminale
Hours Sleeping: 7
Pulse (waking):  
Pulse (rising):  
Difference:  
Weight: 7:00 AM - 179
Body Fat: 8
Time of Day: gym – 5:15 AM
walk – 12:00 PM
indoor TT – 5:30 PM
Distance: walk – 3 miles
Time (total): indoor TT #1 – 15:21
indoor TT #2 – 15:34
indoor TT #3 – 15:48
Time (moving):  
Time (stopped):  
Speed (moving):  
Speed (overall):  
Power: indoor TT #1 – 337
indoor TT #2 – 326
indoor TT #3 – 316
Total Ascent:  
Weather:  
Workout Type:  

Breakfast:  
Lunch:  
Dinner:  
Workout Food: water

Course:
clam knee lifts 3x40
side leg lifts 3x40
ball leg lifts 3x6
roman chair knee lifts 3x40
cable cross body 3x15 – 20 lb
cable punch 3x15 – 20 lb
donkey kick 3x15 – 50 lb
walk – marsh loop on UW campus
indoor TT – 10 km rolling course
Results: official results
Comments: Core was good, although the numbers don't show it, I finally felt somewhat in control for the lag lifts while on the ball.

After spending some time with my PT this morning tweaking my TT bike position and installing a new saddle to test it out (gotta keep the junk alive ya know) I headed down to Cycle U. And you know what? As ridiculous as this saddle looks it is the absolute bomb. BOMB I tell you.

It totally eliminates the pressure on the crotch and I think that on a longer TT numbness would be a complete non-issue. It is a little wider than what I am used to right between the thighs but I experienced no chafing or other discomfort and I did sit on the bike for three of these things today so that has to be a good test I'm thinking.

In my first heat I felt surprisingly fresh! I was expecting power to be significantly lower on the TT bike than the road bike by like 20 watts but that was not the case for the first couple of miles. I was resolved to stay in the aero bars to 1) test the saddle and 2) to see how the power would fare like when I'm on the road so it did slide some when I hit the first climb but not too bad. On the last hill to the finish I got on the cow horns and was able to hold 400+ like usual. Nice.

Heat number two was similar but I was not quite so fresh. :) It felt like the second heat usually does meaning I was not as fast and a little less focused.

Impulsively I decided to stay for heat number 3 even though I had not originally signed up for it. At the beginning I felt like it was a mistake but I slowly eased into the effort and recovered a tad. Sure, I was slower but I did not feel shattered by any means. This time I stayed down in the aero position all the way to the finish and still managed to hold 420+ watts to the line. That to me is very encouraging as it means I had some gas left in the tank and that my power does not suck when down on the bars.

At my fit this morning I realized my aero bars are stupid. I got the ones that look cool but they are not the most versatile. The cow horn extensions slope down for that 'fast' look but this means that if I need to climb an extended hill on the TT bike I will need to hold onto the forearm pads – not ideal at all. A better bar would be two-piece so I can futz with the stem length and also flat so the sides are the same height as my brake hoods roughly. Live and learn.
Equipment: Abici Time Machine, 42/55, 12-23
Clothing:  
core | CycleU indoor TT | walk | weights-upper body
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 12:29:00 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  | 

Bookmark and Share
# Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Tuesday 26 January 2010 – core | stairs
posted by: Martin Criminale
Hours Sleeping:  
Pulse (waking):  
Pulse (rising):  
Difference:  
Weight:  
Body Fat:  
Time of Day: gym – 5:00 AM
stairs – 6:00 AM
Distance: Lucky 13! Okay, 12.5 flights really…
Time (total):  
Time (moving):  
Time (stopped):  
Speed (moving):  
Speed (overall):  
Power:  
Total Ascent:  
Weather: low 40s, mostly clear, dry, calm
Workout Type:  

Breakfast:  
Lunch:  
Dinner:  
Workout Food: Nothing, the water was shut off at the gym. :(

Course:
clam knee lifts 3x40
side leg lifts 3x40
ball hip raisers 3x10
ball leg extensions 3x10
roman chair knee lifts 3x40
stairs - Howe Street
Results:  
Comments: Core was fine, the third set of Roman chair knee lifts are getting easier.

Jim K and I got it done today. Only two more weeks of this action. Yes, I am looking forward to no more stairs on Tuesday! :)

We alternated between walking and running for nine flights and then on our fifth runner we threw in a 'doubler' (read: up two sections, down one, repeat to the top). Then we walked one and finished with a regular runner.

Jim is playing games with me I think… :) He's strong on the first runner and then I leave him behind more and more as the morning progresses but the last time up he came on amazingly strong and I had to push for all I was worth. He was on front of me with just two sections to go and I barely beat him. Must be mental.
Equipment:  
Clothing: shorts, Craft long sleeve undershirt, long sleeve running shirt
Technorati Tags: ,
core | stairs
Tuesday, January 26, 2010 12:14:00 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  | 

Bookmark and Share
# Monday, January 25, 2010
Monday 25 January 2010 – core | weights
posted by: Martin Criminale
Hours 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):  
Power:  
Total Ascent:  
Weather:  
Workout Type:  

Breakfast:  
Lunch:  
Dinner:  
Workout Food: water

Course:
clam knee lifts 3x40
side leg lifts 3x40
ball hip raisers 3x10
ball leg extensions 3x10
roman chair knee lifts 3x40
incline press 20/16/12 – 25 lb
incline pull down 3x20 – 65 lb
donkey kick 3x15 – 50 lb
Results:  
Comments: Today is my birthday; happy day to me!

My core exercises are getting a little easier, that's good. So why is my back more sore than previously…?! I think my posture throughout the day is seriously lacking and I need to shape that up.
Equipment:  
Clothing:  
core | weights-upper body
Monday, January 25, 2010 12:05:00 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  | 

Bookmark and Share
# Sunday, January 24, 2010
Sunday 24 January 2010 – ride
posted by: Martin Criminale
Hours Sleeping:  
Pulse (waking):  
Pulse (rising):  
Difference:  
Weight:  
Body Fat:  
Time of Day: 8:40 AM
Distance: 76 miles
Time (total): 4:45
Time (moving):  
Time (stopped):  
Speed (moving):  
Speed (overall):  
Power:  
Total Ascent:  
Weather: low 40s, mostly cloudy, dry most of the time, rain the last hour
Workout Type:  

Breakfast:  
Lunch:  
Dinner:  
Workout Food: 2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Endurox R4, gel

Course:  
Results:  
Comments: This ride was kind of a bust… Everyone had a different agenda and the end result was a mostly endurance (read: slow) ride. I got in one opener but damn, every time I go fast it isn't very fast and I can't sustain it.
Equipment: Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25
Clothing:  
road ride
Sunday, January 24, 2010 12:04:00 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  | 

Bookmark and Share
# Saturday, January 23, 2010
Saturday 23 January 2010 - ride
posted by: Martin Criminale
Hours Sleeping:  
Pulse (waking):  
Pulse (rising):  
Difference:  
Weight:  
Body Fat:  
Time of Day: 8:45 AM
Distance: 65 miles
Time (total): 4:30…?!
Time (moving):  
Time (stopped):  
Speed (moving):  
Speed (overall):  
Power:  
Total Ascent:  
Weather: low to mid 40s, damp at times, calm
Workout Type:  

Breakfast: 6:00 AM - smoothie
Lunch:  
Dinner:  
Workout Food: 1.5 large bottles each with 3 scoops Endurox R4, gel

Course: Leschi, Coulon Park, McDonalds hill, May Valley, Tiger Mt, Squak, Newport, home
Results:  
Comments: Today was less than satisfying. :(

It seemed everyone had a different agenda and so not much got done. Some folks wanted to climb hills, some wanted to stay on the flats, some would have gone harder and some wanted to hold back. What did happen is we cruised along pretty slowly until we got to Tiger. Todd G went to the front and set a very reasonable tempo but after a bit he got passed and from that point the pace kept getting slowly ratcheted up.

At first it was okay but then I was breathing pretty darn hard.Greg K was pushing it and so was Edgardo B. Near the top Edgardo surged and Todd (easily!) went with. I was gapped but managed to accelerate after a few seconds to regroup. The return trip up Tiger was more controlled.

Next up was Squak. It was only Greg, Alex T, Edgardo and Julie R at this point. Edgardo was off the front immediately and gone. Then came Greg, me Alex and Julie. At one point near the top where the slope is not so severe I tried to reel in Greg but no dice. I closed the gap some but then suffered the consequences of my effort and had to let it open up again. :(

By this time I was totally out of time and Greg and Julie were done so we rode home and skipped the zoo hill which had originally been on the agenda.

I feel like I can go 70 percent for ever, 80 or 90 percent for about as long as those Cycle U indoor TTs (if I ramp it up slowly) and 100 percent not at all.
Equipment: Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25
Clothing: knit shoe covers, shorts, knee warmers, Craft short sleeve undershirt, Craft long sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, wind vest, OR Gripper gloves, cap
road ride
Saturday, January 23, 2010 5:58:00 AM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  | 

Bookmark and Share
# Friday, January 22, 2010
Friday 22 January 2010 – core | weights | CycleU indoor TT
posted by: Martin Criminale
Hours Sleeping: 6
Pulse (waking):  
Pulse (rising):  
Difference:  
Weight: 7:00 AM - 179
Body Fat: 9
Time of Day: gym – 5:00 AM
indoor TT – 5:30 PM
Distance:  
Time (total):  
Time (moving): indoor TT #1 – 25:00
indoor TT #2 – 25:28
Time (stopped):  
Speed (moving):  
Speed (overall):  
Power: indoor TT #1 – 326
indoor TT #2 – 312
Total Ascent:  
Weather:  
Workout Type:  

Breakfast:  
Lunch:  
Dinner:  
Workout Food: water

Course:
clam knee lifts 3x40
side leg lifts 3x40
ball leg lifts 3x5
ball hip raisers 3x10
ball leg extensions 3x10
roman chair knee lifts 3x40
incline pull down 3x20 – 65 lb
incline press 20/17/13 – 25 lb
shoulder press 13/13/14 – 40 lb
donkey kick 3x15 – 50 lb
indoor TT – 10 mile rolling course
Results: official results
Comments: The gym was great. I was there nice and early, I was into it, the music was good, etc., etc.

For the first time I did not feel like I was flailing when I did my leg lifts on the ball. Now I Just need to be able to do more!

At Cycle U it was so so. My first heat was all right in that I was shooting for 320 watts and surpassed it. But my second heat was lame-o. Once again I could not focus and my numbers were fine one minute and then dropped WAY off the next. One time I Looked up and my average was 309. Had I been a coach I would have yelled at myself.

I'm being hard on myself because I don't think my body is that tired for the second heat… I bet if I cold maintain focus I could equal my first ride; especially since I did not go all out or anything. Far from it.
Equipment: Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25
Clothing:  
core | CycleU indoor TT | weights-upper body
Friday, January 22, 2010 4:41:00 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [1]  | 

Bookmark and Share
# Thursday, January 21, 2010
Thursday 21 January 2010 – ride
posted by: Martin Criminale
Hours Sleeping: 4
Pulse (waking):  
Pulse (rising):  
Difference:  
Weight:  
Body Fat:  
Time of Day: 5:45 AM
Distance: 30 miles
Time (total): 1:45
Time (moving):  
Time (stopped):  
Speed (moving):  
Speed (overall):  
Power:  
Total Ascent:  
Weather: mid 40s, dry, calm
Workout Type: roughly endurance pace

Breakfast: 4:30 AM – cereal
7:30 AM – Promax bar
9:30 AM – almonds
Lunch: 1:30 PM – fish burrito, water
Dinner: 7:00 PM – brown rice, corn chowder, cheese, crackers, tea
Workout Food: water

Course: Dawg, around Mercer Island, home through the I-90 tunnel
Results:  
Comments: It was just RC R and me today, we hooked up with Jim K and the ByrneInvent crew on the Mercer Island lid and did one moderate lap around the island.

There were six of us so it was perfect. Except for the two times I almost rode RC into the ditch… I was kind of out of control today. Not sure why. Luckily his bike handling is up to snuff and we were able to laugh it off.

It felt quite warm, warmer than the thermometer indicated. My windproof shirt was awesome.
Equipment: Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25
Clothing: knit shoe covers, shorts, knee warmers, Craft windproof short sleeve undershirt, Craft long sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, cap Polypropylene gloves
road ride
Thursday, January 21, 2010 4:37:00 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  | 

Bookmark and Share
# Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Wednesday, 20 January 2010 – core | weights | walk | CycleU indoor TT
posted by: Martin Criminale
Hours Sleeping: 7
Pulse (waking):  
Pulse (rising):  
Difference:  
Weight: 7:00 AM - 179
Body Fat: 9
Time of Day: gym – 5:00 AM
walk – 12:00 PM
indoor TT – 5:30 PM
Distance: walk – 3 miles
Time (total):  
Time (moving): indoor TT #1 – 15:03
indoor TT #2 – 15:28
Time (stopped):  
Speed (moving):  
Speed (overall):  
Power: indoor TT #1 – 540
indoor TT #2 – 530
Total Ascent:  
Weather: upper 50s, sunny, dry, calm
Workout Type:  

Breakfast: 6:30 AM – cereal
9:30 AM – almonds, water
Lunch: 1:30 PM – fish burrito, water
Dinner: 8:00 PM – corn chowder, cheese, yogurt, jam, granola, water
Workout Food: water

Course:
clam knee lifts 3x40
side leg lifts 3x40
rubber band walk 3x
roman chair knee lifts 3x40
incline press 20/16/13 – 25 lb
incline pull down 20/20/14 – 65 lb
donkey kick 3x15 – 50 lb
walk – work to Gas Works Park and back
indoor TT – 10 km rolling course
Results: official results
Comments: The gym was okay, I think some of these core exercises are getting easier to a small degree so that's nice.

The weather was outrageous today so I joined the walking group at work and we hit out to Gas Works Park. I was down to a t-shirt right away but for some reason my little toe on both feet was rubbing the adjacent toe and by the end of the walk I had a huge blister on both feet. How crazy… I have gone walking in these shoes several times before.

At Cycle U I was not expecting anything at all and ended up feeling fantastic in the first heat. I was breathing a bit hard kind of like at the stairs yesterday but my legs felt very strong and if not for the breathing the effort was almost easy… As easy as this kind of thing can be. Today was the day that I (maybe) could have posted a new PR; it sure felt like it. Even at 350 watts I felt like I was holding back.

Heat number two sure compensated for that feeling of invincibility though, focus was HARD to maintain. I started thinking I would shoot for 340 and soon realized that was not going to happen. Once I looked up and was barely doing over 200 watts! Crap. If not for that last hill where I try to hold 400+ my average would have been even lower. It really is all about the ability to focus, my legs did not feel that bad.
Equipment: Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25
Clothing:  
Technorati Tags: ,
core | CycleU indoor TT | walk | weights-upper body
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 12:53:00 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  | 

Bookmark and Share