Thursday, December 31, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 7 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 5:45 AM |
| Distance: | 45 miles? |
| Time (total): | 3:30 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | 4500' |
| Weather: | low 40s, dry, calm |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 5:15 AM – 8 Fig Newtons, water
10:00 AM – cereal, cookie |
| Lunch: | 2:00 PM – green salad, grilled cauliflower, bean dip, tortilla chips, 2 beers, a boat load of Christmas cookies |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Endurox R4, coffee, nibbles of pastry |
| Course: | The 'hill' ride! We met at the Dawg, rode down to Leschi, went up Madrona four times, headed over to Interlaken and went up Capitol Hill four times, then over to Queen Anne and went up 3rd Ave N four times. Party on. |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | I tried to do this ride once and ran out of time. :( Not today.
Let me start by saying that the route sounds brutal but the pace was very reasonable throughout. 'Endurance pace' I think it was called…
For once Justin A "I just ran 24 miles yesterday, the last six with pace" was not several hundred feet off the front and was only on the front claiming he was pretty tired. That worked for me. Ryan D was his usual perky self and pretty much set the pace all morning. Greg K and RC R were also there.
I felt all right. Pretty stiff and tired at first but then better and better to a point. I never felt stellar but once the legs got warmed up and since the pace never got crazy I was fine. Here are some highlights of the ride.
- Climbing Galer towards Volunteer Park I was able to make my rear tire spin with ease just by getting out of the saddle. Nice. Not.
- On our first descent down Capitol Hill Ryan lost a bottle. Greg and I stopped to retrieve it and as we continued down the hill I turned into Interlaken. This was a problem as Greg was on my right and the route called for us going straight. Thanks to his bike handling skills neither of us hit the deck.
- Riding through Interlaken the first time I hit a metal manhole cover in a corner and my rear wheel slid out, caught and everyone behind me congratulated me on my bike handling skills.
- At Gas Works Park we saw a homeless guy who had this freakish mop of dredded up hair that totally resembled a helmet. Nasty stuff.
- Towards the top of our last climb Ryan was up the road a tad and so I kicked it in and spun up to him. Then I promptly blew and faded back to Greg. As he pulled up to me he said, "How was that, eh? Welcome back!"
- After we finished we hit Caffe Ladro on the top of Queen Anne and before I knew it, there was a huge, hot cup of coffee in front of me. Not drinking any coffee at all it hit me hard. Within 15 minutes I felt a little too alert and there was a really faint ringing in my ears. I am a huge wuss.
- We got it all done before the rain hit. Beautiful. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25
I'm thinking a 27 would be ideal at times… |
| Clothing: | thin wool socks, Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Roubaix leg warmers, Craft short sleeve undershirt, Craft long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, OR Gripper gloves, cap |
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | 5:15 PM – 180 |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | gym – 5:15 AM |
| Distance: | |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | indoor TT #1 – 14:58
indoor TT #2 – 15:00
indoor TT #3 – 15:14 |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | indoor TT #1 – 355
indoor TT #2 – 344
indoor TT #3 – 330 |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 6:30 AM – smoothie |
| Lunch: | 11:30 AM – giant Thai tofu wrap, tea
1:00 PM – Odwalla chocolate protein drink, 3 pieces Pilot Bread w/peanut butter and apple butter, water |
| Dinner: | 8:00 PM – roasted cauliflower, green salad, bread, pesto, 2 Bud Lights, way too many Christmas cookies |
| Workout Food: | water, 1 gel before the 3rd indoor TT |
| Course: | | clam knee lifts | 3x40 | | side leg lifts | 3x40 | | roman chair knee lifts | 3x35 | | incline press | 3x16 – 25 lb | | incline pull-down | 3x16 – 65 lb | | cable incline press | 2x15 – 20 lb | | cable cross body | 2x15 – 20 lb | indoor TT – 10 km rolling course |
| Results: | official results |
| Comments: | The gym was fine, I added some cable exercises for the core and it felt super but dang, this routine is taking a while to finish… hope i can stick with it.
AS of this writing I don't yet have the official results for the indoor TT but I do vividly recall my average power for the first one as I believe it's my best ever. I recall my best time ever being 14:45 but can't remember what the power was that day… Power? Who uses that? :)
So I scorched the first heat (for me anyway) and then kind of folded. My second ride was not terrible but the laser like focus was gone. Ride three was more of the same. Funny thing is I felt pretty good physically during the second heat and so I think that if I'd had the same fortitude I could have posted another 350+ watt ride. The third heat was all about limiting my loses if you can even do that at an indoor TT. My watts kept dropping below 300 and I was out of it.
Heat one was full. Nice. That really makes for a fun event.
So my stated goal was to average 350 watts in one of these events.. now what? I guess I should strive to 1) repeat this and then 2) try to muster up back-to-back 350s. If that flies I might even see if I can sustain 350 on Friday. There, easy cheesy. Now I have a shit ton of goals again. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | |
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 5? I woke up at 3:30. :( |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | gym – 5:15 AM
stairs – 6:00 AM |
| Distance: | 10 flights |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid 30s, dry, calm |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 7:00 AM - cereal |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | water |
| Course: | | clam knee lifts | 3x40 | | side leg lifts | 3x40 | | roman chair knee lifts | 3x35 | | incline press | 3x16 – 25 lb | | incline pull-down | 3x16 – 65 lb | | shoulder press | 3x15 – 40 lb | stairs - Howe Street |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | It's been a few days since I have done my core routine. :( Luckily it felt okay. My PT told me to do the leg lift stuff faster and guess what, that's harder. Now I also need to figure out how to work in the extra exercises he told me to do. This shit takes time!
On an up note I was able to add a tiny bit of weight to the pull-downs and up the reps by one. ONE. I know, impressive stuff.
At the stairs it's down to just Jim K and me now. RC has decided to stick to the bike from now on which is cool. As long as Jim shows up that is. :)
The first runner (it's back to alternating walking and running) felt like absolute crap. I'm pretty sure I have said that before but today was exceptional. If I had been alone I would have headed straight for the car and driven home. Thank goodness I was with someone because the second runner was a world of difference. And the third was even better. Then I was cruising.
About half way into the workout these four high school footballers show up and hit it hard. And by hard I mean that the two reasonably fit guys yelled like crazy to try and encourage the other two up each flight. At first it was funny and then it just go annoying.
"C'mon bitch, don't you walk, don't you WALK…! We're in this together. NO other school is doing this; not Eastside Catholic, not [insert several more high schools here] not anyone!"
You get the idea. At one point Jim turns to me and says, "Oh to be 18 again." Totally. |
| Equipment: | |
| Clothing: | shorts, long sleeve running shirt, long sleeve Capeline shirt, short sleeve running shirt, SmartWool cap, gloves
It was too cold for shorts today. |
Monday, December 28, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 7:00 AM |
| Distance: | 10 miles |
| Time (total): | 1:29 car-to-car
1:26 or so to the last bridge where everyone stops running and walks it in |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | 8:36 or 8:54 depending on what time you use. Either way it's faster than last week. :) |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low 40s, dry, calm |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 6:00 AM – 10 Fig Newtons, water |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | water |
| Course: | Cougar Mountain |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Nice! Just another day of chasing the ultra runners but this time it was MUCH better. Last week I was hating life after the first climb and had to walk twice towards the end. Today we went just a tad faster, did not stop except once to take a leak and I did not have to walk. I was even able to carry on a conversation most of the time.
ASIDE – these runs have been kind of funny as Justin and his friends blab on about all of their friends and stuff that they do and I just sort of hang out and listen. I've learned about this poor sap that moved to follow a girl and it sounds like that situation blew up in his face. :(
Oh sure, there were moments towards the end when I was working but there were also moments towards the end where I was rolling along really easy.
Justin A was the instigator again by inviting me and he brought along his friend Tom. Of course Tom has completed numerous ultras…
The trail conditions were just perfect. The ground was damp but not wet. Just this perfect grippy, spongy surface that wasn't slick or dry. Obviously it did not rain on Cougar this last week. Today we only needed the headlamps for the first half of the run and then I switched it off. But it was so comfy I never needed to remove it – bonus.
For the first time ever holding on to a water bottle did not bother me or piss me off. In fact, I held it in my left hand most of the time and my left shoulder is the one that is messed up. I attribute this to wussy weights that I have been throwing around at the gym for all of two weeks now. Seriously. Anyway it was awesome to not feel like I was carrying around a brick. And I just put water in the bottle this time! Much more appropriate for a run of this distance. Last week I dumped a bunch of food powder in and that was not good/too thick/not very thirst quenching. I might be dumb but at least I'm slow.
I was a little sore after but again, less than last week. Sorta lame that I am discovering this NOW when cycling is ramping up as I simply don't have time for two serious sports. But you know I'll be back next fall. And if I can squeeze in the occasional run this spring and summer, maybe even one or two outings when it's warm out. That would be novel. |
| Equipment: | headlamp, hand held bottle |
| Clothing: | thin wool socks, cycling socks, shorts, Craft long sleeve undershirt, long sleeve running shirt, SmartWool cap, gloves |
Sunday, December 27, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 1:30 PM |
| Distance: | miles? |
| Time (total): | 3 hours |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low 40s, sunny, calm, dry |
| Workout Type: | 'Tempo' (whatever that means… I hear folks using the word a lot these days. |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Endurox R4 |
| Course: | across Mercer Island, Issaquah, up 900, May Valley, Issaquah-Hobart, Issaquah, Newport, up 164th and over Cougar, Coal Creek Parkway, back home across Mercer Island |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | I was hoping to maybe climb Cougar via the zoo road today (just for fun!) but everything that was north facing was super frosty so I bagged that plan.
I had my iPod so just cruised to the tunes and rode MY pace. And you know what? I felt pretty good. Probably because I was going my pace. :) I never pushed it too hard but tried to keep some pressure on most of the time.
I spent a fair amount of time in the drops today – because I was going so fast of course – and my back was fine. Nice. I did sit up several times to stretch but when I finished the ride I had no issues. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | It's still winter… |
Saturday, December 26, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 9:00 AM |
| Distance: | 52 miles |
| Time (total): | 3:45 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | Crazy thermal inversion! Within 50' of Lake WA it was freezing (literally) and one you rose above that elevation it was at least 10 degrees warmer. totally bizarre… |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Endurox R4, food bar |
| Course: | |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Very mellow outing today. I basically did a loop of Lake WA with Greg and Suzie K and then went home via Fremont and downtown for the scenic value. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | all the usual winter gear… |
Thursday, December 24, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 6:30 AM |
| Distance: | 31 miles |
| Time (total): | 2:00 I think…? |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | upper 30s to low 40s, calm |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 5:00 Am - cereal |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | water |
| Course: | around Mercer Island |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | I thought today was going to be easy but it ended up being a tad harder than at least one person in our group wanted… It was the usual deal; as soon as the men got to the front the pace would be ratcheted up little by little and then someone was off the back.
Luckily no one had an agenda so after a couple of separations we regrouped and finished as a unit. Nice.
How did I feel? Not so hot actually; and the pace was mostly very mellow. I think that I just don't perform that well in the cold. That's my excuse anyway. That or the three indoor TTs I did last night. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | wool socks, Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Roubaix leg warmers, short sleeve undershirt, long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, OR Gripper gloves, cap |
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | gym – 5:30 AM
CycleU indoor TT – 5:30 PM |
| Distance: | |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | indoor TT #1 – 15:09
indoor TT #2 – 15:22
indoor TT #3 – 15:30 |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | indoor TT #1 – 345
indoor TT #2 – 334
indoor TT #3 – 327 |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | water |
| Course: | | clam knee lifts | 3x40 | | side leg lifts | 3x35 | | roman chair knee lifts | 3x35 | | incline press | 3x15 – 25 lb | | incline pull-down | 3x15 – 60 lb | | leg extensions | 3x15 – 115 lb | | leg curls | 3x15 – 105 lb | CycleU indoor TT – 10 km rolling course |
| Results: | official results |
| Comments: | Core went well (read: it must be time for me to add one or two additional exercise…).
I think I can also move up in weight, at least for the leg stuff. Seriously, I must be the weakest person i know from the waist up. Holy crap.
At the indoor TTs I really surprised myself in the first heat. My stated goal is to average 350 watts for one of these and low and behold I practically did it. Of course I do take these numbers with a big grain of salt as the unit invariably is not calibrated just right and there might even be some variance from trainer to trainer but hey, it's still cool to put out those numbers.
ASIDE – I have said it before and I'll say it again, watching your OWN numbers and not racing others is key to doing well. I always get lured into pushing too hard when I can't or shouldn't racing this event but watching myself and specifically keeping the power on during the descents is really helping me. Does this mean Martin needs to fork out the dough for a power meter. Argh… I hope not.
What was not so cool was watching my numbers get worse and worse with each successive heat. :) But again, I was not exactly eating to win this day and that first effort might have taken a bit out of me.
I'm noticing that I might be slightly under-geared for these events. I'm in my 50x12 at least three times on this course and at least once I'm pretty spun and my watts drop off precipitously. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | |
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 6:05 AM |
| Distance: | 10 flights |
| Time (total): | 39 min |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low 40s, mostly dry ground, dry sky, calm |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | |
| Course: | Howe Street |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Last week Jim K said he would not be here (but I forgot that) and this AM I got a note from RC R who also could not show. So thinking Jim was still going to arrive 'any second' I sat in my car…
At 6:05 I said screw it, if I don't get cracking I'll just head home and so got busy.
Boy, with no one else around I had LOW motivation… After my first walker I just kept right on walking. :) No runners for me today.
On the up side the flights kept getting easier and easier and I hardly paused at all at the top or the bottom. |
| Equipment: | |
| Clothing: | |
Monday, December 21, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 5:30 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 to each side | | side leg lifts | 3x30 to each side | | roman chair knee lifts | 3x35 | | incline press | 3x15 – 25 lb | | incline pull-down | 3x15 – 60 lb | | leg extensions | 3x15 – 115 lb | | leg curls | 3x15 – 105 lb | |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Now did those core exercises feel just a tad easier today…? Nah. |
| Equipment: | |
| Clothing: | |
Sunday, December 20, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 4? 5? |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 6:40 AM |
| Distance: | 10 miles |
| Time (total): | 1:35 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | upper 40s, wet ground, dry sky, calm |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 4:30 AM – cereal
6:30 AM - gel |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | bottle w/4 scoops Maltodextrin |
| Course: | Cougar Mountain |
| Results: | I finished! |
| Comments: | I love it when you can see things from a different perspective. Like today for example. I went for a trail run with Justin A and his two friends Bill and Mike. We started out mellow and with one other person but they soon bagged out. Uh oh.
Okay, I'm exaggerating for effect but it was pretty funny to talk to these guys while on the trail. I'm huffing and puffing and they are chatting like high school girls the day after the big dance. At one point Mike stopped to remove a layer; Justin waited for him and Bill and I kept on going.
Bill: Do you race bikes? I didn't get a chance to ride much last fall as I was training for a 100.
Martin: Yeah… [gasp, gasp] I race bikes. [gasp, gasp] Was that a [gasp, gasp] 100 mile running race [gasp, gasp] you were training for?
Bill: Yep. It was in Virginia and the scenery was beautiful blah, blah, blah.
Martin: How many [gasp, gasp] have you done?
Bill: Just two, but I've done a bunch of 50s. And Mike has done lots of 100s. But neither of us are in the class of Justin, that guy's just plain fast.
Jesus H.! What was I doing here? The newbie of the bunch had only participated in two 100 mile races. The other two guys had done 'lots'. In a few minutes Justin and Mike had caught up. At this point I simultaneously had to let Bill go and stepped aside to let Justin pass me. Not long after that I had to walk for 50'. Crap, there goes Mike up the trail as well. Half a mile later I had to walk again.
In the end it was fun. No one was in a rush and this time of year they were just out for a fun run. Considering we stopped at least twice for a couple of minutes each time I didn't do so bad at all. But damn, it's humbling to be in the presence of such ultra runners.
When I got home and checked my feet my super comfy road shoes and super specific Drymax Trail Running socks had given me a blister on the tip of one toe and a sore spot under the ball of one of my feet. Either all the up and down (we were flying down some of the descents!) caused that or I need trail-specific shoes. Oh well. At least traction was not an issue.
I might try one more trail run and then maybe I'll do the Fat Ass 50 (one 25 km loop that is) and then I'm calling it quits with this silliness. |
| Equipment: | headlamp, hand bottle
I still hate carrying a bottle! For the last couple of miles I took my light and hat off and that seemed to balance it out making the weight slightly less awkward but still… |
| Clothing: | road shoes, Drymax trail running socks, shorts, Craft long sleeve undershirt, short sleeve active t-shirt, SmartWool cap, think gloves
It was warm! I felt overdressed right away but kept my hat on to protect my head from the lamp and my gloves onto protect my hand (with the scraped knuckle from yesterday's fall) from the hand held bottle. I got pretty sweaty but not too hot luckily. Half way in I could have stripped to just a t-shirt and been fine. |
Saturday, December 19, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 9:00 AM |
| Distance: | 57 miles |
| Time (total): | 3:30? |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid 40s, heavy mist, cloudy, calm |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each with 3 scoops Endurox R4, food bar |
| Course: | The usual Renton/May Valley loop with a trip up Cougar. |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Well… hills are what I need to work on.
Great group today! And the pace was quite social throughout. At the top of McDonald's hill I gave it a little gas to see how my legs were feeling after the two indoor TTS last night and the answer was not so hot. :) I was able to cruise along on the flats okay but putting out that extra bit of power was not happening.
Strangely enough, on our way along May Valley I led up a shallow hill and Dustin said something like, "Blah, blah, blah Martin is riding by himself, blah, blah, blah" and then there was a gap behind me. Oh well.
Coming back up Newport I was feeling super and then we turned left on 164th and I died.
ASIDE – it seems these days that everyone's 'winter' bike is getting more and more like their 'summer' bike meaning it's f'n light and wicked fast. I'm still mired in the eastern block training camp and haul a 32 lb machine around in the off-season and I can usually keep up but not all the time. Like this time.
Half way up I was still in contact but hating it and then I let one person slip past me, another, and then I was off the back. By the top I was at least 100' behind but everyone waited thank goodness. From there we rode home together and I am glad that no one suggested a lap around Mercer as I was pretty done.
Riding across the floating bridge Dustin put in an effort and I tried to go with. I could not do it. I made it to within 10' and then exploded. Rats. On the upside, every time I slowed down I was realizing that I was not totally shattered and was still able to ride my own pace so that is good. I might not be able to go fast but at least I can still go medium after trying to go fast; that's something.
Climbing up from the lake towards the Arboretum it was just Jeff D, Justin A and me. At the bottom of the switchbacks you ride around an off-camber left hand turn at the bottom of a slight descent and as we got to the apex I felt my tires start to give way. It was the smoothest, most predictable fall but there was nothing I could do about it. On my way down I took out Jeff (sorry!) but luckily Justin was ahead of me and made it through. We picked ourselves up and luckily everyone was pretty much okay. A few small scrapes, my bar tape was trashed and Jeff broke his saddle. Rats. Riding home was probably the best thing for me as I did not get stiff. It has been a looooong time since I have gone down for any reason. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | thin wool socks, Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Roubaix leg warmers, Craft long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, OR Gripper gloves, cap |
Friday, December 18, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | gym – 5:15 AM
indoor TT – 5:30 PM |
| Distance: | indoor TT – 10 miles |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | indoor TT #1 – 25:01
indoor TT #2 – 25:00 |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | indoor TT #1 – 334
indoor TT #2 – 227 |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | water |
| Course: | | clam knee lifts | 3x35 | | side leg lifts | 3x30 | | roman chair knee lifts | 3x30 | | incline press | 3x15 – 25 lb | | incline pull-down | 3x15 – 55 lb | | leg extensions | 3x15 – 115 lb | | leg curls | 3x15 – 105 lb | indoor TT – 10 mile rolling course |
| Results: | official results |
| Comments: | Okay, day two of doing the RIGHT core exercises went better than day one so that was good. Gotta get those reps up and then I need to figure out a leg press type thing that I can do and not stress my back.
Weights were no sweat at all – I'm weak as hell but it was not hard except for the incline press. It has obviously been way too long since I have done a push-up and am thus starting from scratch. Poop.
At Cycle U I had my best ride ever this fall/winter season. This after having my best ride prior to today two days ago. It's nice but now I need to give it some stick and see if I can surpass these numbers… My stated goal is to average 350 watts. I think I can do that on the 10 km course but the 10 mile? We'll see. :)
I have realized lots of improvement just by watching my watts and NOT racing the other participants. There's probably a good take-away in there somewhere… |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | |
Thursday, December 17, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | Not a whole lot… |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 5:15 AM |
| Distance: | 25 miles (as best I can tell from MapMyRide…) |
| Time (total): | 1:45 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid 40s, wet ground, dry sky, calm |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 4:30 AM - cereal |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | water |
| Course: | Dawg, 4xMadrona, 3xInterlaken, home |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Out with RC R, Ryan D, Greg K and Justin A today for what is their usual Thursday morning outing and my first time. It's a super route and I wish I would have been able to complete it but I had a PT appointment at 8. :(
As we headed through the Arboretum I led Greg right into a pothole and he got a front flat. Damn. Sorry Greg… It was also here that I noticed how f'n bright Justin's front AND rear lights are – holy cow. It's to the point where you do not want to be right behind him or you risk having some sort of seizure from the intense flashing.
The first time up Madrona was a bit stiff for my liking. Then again, any hill on this boat anchor of a bike is a bit stiff. We cooled it a tad and the rest of the ride was very enjoyable. I did feel my rear tire slip as I stood one of the times up Galer at the very top.
This ride is early as HELL but the company is super, I will try to do it again. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | Too much! I had on wool socks, Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Roubaix leg warmers, Craft long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, Gripper gloves, cap |
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 7 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | gym – 5:30 AM
CycleU indoor TT – 5:30 PM |
| Distance: | CycleU indoor TT – 10 km rolling course |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | indoor TT #1 – 15:38
indoor TT #2 – 15:37 |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | indoor TT #1 – 335
indoor TT #2 – 336 |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 7:00 AM - smoothie |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | water |
| Course: | | clam knee lifts | 3x30 | | side leg lifts | 3x30 | | roman chair knee lifts | 3x30 | | incline press | 3x15 – 25 lb | | incline pull-down | 3x15 – 45 lb | | leg extensions | 3x15 – 115 lb | | leg curls | 3x15 – 90 lb | |
| Results: | official results |
| Comments: | Today was day 1 of me doing my core exercise correctly! :( Don't you hate it when you find out you have been doing it all wrong? I sure do. Today was also day 1 of me giving (some very light weights) a try again. It's been at least 12 months and I'm feeling pretty puny.
I had my best night to date this season at the indoor TT! My power jumped from about 320 to about 335 and my two rides were almost identical which to me is a good sign. If I crash my second ride it means I'm not so fit. On the other hand, it might mean that I can go faster on my first ride. :) |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | |
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 7 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | 7:15 AM - 179 |
| Body Fat: | 8 |
| Time of Day: | 6:00 AM |
| Distance: | 10 flights |
| Time (total): | 48:31 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | low 40s, wet ground, dry sky, calm |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | |
| Course: | Howe Street |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Jim K, RC R and I hit it hard today. I just like saying that… :)
RC had already finished 1.5 walkers by the time Jim and I started walking down and he joined us for the descent and our first walker.
As usual my first runner felt like dog poo. I'm always impressed with Jim, he's so smooth and his only limitation is his fitness. He casually cruised by both RC and I on the way up the first time.
The second runner was better and during the third I actually felt held up and tried to squirt by as we crossed Broadway so I could speed up on the last bit. On the fourth runner I kind of blew the proverbial wad by the time I got to the top but I was able to gas it on the way up. I started at the front this time and went as hard as I could from the bottom. It was a fast flight but man was I out of breath at the top… sheesh!
The last runner was okay, I did all right and was not as blown as I thought I would be.
I think that we are resting more after each flight this year than previous years… I guess that's okay, as long as I can hit it each time up. And no matter how you slice stairs, the are never easy. |
| Equipment: | |
| Clothing: | Craft long sleeve undershirt, long sleeve Capeline shirt, short sleeve technical t-shirt, shorts |
Saturday, December 12, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 8:10 AM |
| Distance: | 55 miles |
| Time (total): | 3:30 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | upper 20s to low 30s, dry, calm, partly cloudy |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 7:00 AM - cereal |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | 2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Endurox R4, food bar |
| Course: | |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | It was going to be cold ALL day and I wanted to have some of the afternoon free to get our Christmas tree, etc. and since some others were going out in the AM I decided to not wuss out and join them. It was the right call.
I was joined by a super group and we had a very enjoyable ride around the lake. The last couple of hills were a challenge for me and coming home up Interlaken was also hard but hey, I'm just getting back on the bike. All in all I was happy. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | Just about everything I own! Meaning DeFeet Woolie Boolie socks, Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Roubaix leg warmers, Craft long sleeve undershirt, long sleeve Capeline undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, glove liners, OR Gripper gloves, lobster mitt shell, cap |
Friday, December 11, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 5:30 PM |
| Distance: | |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | indoor TT #1 – 25:58
indoor TT #2 – 25:50 |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | indoor TT #1 – 302
indoor TT #2 – 307 |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | water, gel |
| Course: | 10 mile rolling course |
| Results: | official results |
| Comments: | I made a conscious effort to try something new today.
Last time I was here (two days ago) I noticed that Adrian H was doing some way over-geared efforts. In fact, he did not shift at all and must have been in his 13 or 12 the entire time. So for my first effort I upped the gear a bit compared to what I might normally select.
It worked great for the first 15 minutes. :) As usual I took off strong and was in the lead. And I grew my advantage for the next couple of miles until I had about 500' on Dustin 1/4 of the way in. But then I started to fade a little and by the half way point Dustin had inched ahead of me.
At this point I pretty much collapsed and by the finish Dustin had not only erased my initial advantage but he had put at least another 1000' into me. I really came apart and he stayed super steady.
For the second heat I resolved to try and keep my power as constant as possible and not even look at anything else. Since I had managed to eek out 300 watts in the first heat I decided to try and maintain 300+ watts the entire time and guess what, it worked. It meant backing off a tad on the climbs compared to what I might have otherwise done and it meant going much harder than I would otherwise have gone on the descents. The end result was a faster time and higher watts.
ASIDE – there may have been a contributing factor though… Dustin's chain came off during the second ride and he had to get off the bike and fix this. This meant he had a lot of catching up to do but he did it and so we were 'racing' up the last short climb to the finish.
I do think there is a good take-away here in spite of this because I did not die at the end like the first heat and my numbers were good. I'll try to test/prove this next time. |
| Equipment: | Ti Cycles Hyak, Neuvation wheels, 42/53, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | |
Thursday, December 10, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 5:15 AM |
| Distance: | |
| Time (total): | cardio – 30 min |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | water |
| Course: | core – 3 sets leg lifts on incline bench, 2 sets crunches on ball, 3 sets of crazy crunch/leg lift machine
cardio – elliptical trainer, random profile, 15/20 resistance, 75+ rpm |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Core did not feel so hot, the exercises we chose were the ones I am not so good at…
Cardio on the other hand was a nice surprise in that it was easier for me to maintain 75+ rpm than I thought it might be. And having Thom there for company was also nice as talking make the time go by faster. |
| Equipment: | |
| Clothing: | |
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 5:30 PM |
| Distance: | |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | indoor TT #1 – 15:43
indoor TT #2 – 15:44 |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | indoor TT #1 – 319
indoor TT #2 – 317 |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | water |
| Course: | 10 km rolling course |
| Results: | official results |
| Comments: | For my second time here I went sorta hard… I have a terrible tendency to start too fast and then fade. From recollection my best rides are when I'm fit enough to not fade as much. Something to work on perhaps? :)
On a positive note, my second effort was almost exactly the same as my first so I'm not sucking that bad. |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25 |
| Clothing: | |
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 6:00 AM |
| Distance: | 9 flights |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | upper 20s or low 30s, dry, calm |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | |
| Course: | Howe Street |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | In spite of the cold RC R and Jim K showed up! Nice. We did the usual alternating between walking and running and although the first runner felt like garbage (totally expected because of the weather and my run on Sunday!) the rest were all right.
The only place there was any ice was the usual wet spot crossing Broadway. |
| Equipment: | |
| Clothing: | wool socks, hi-tech underwear, tights, hi-tech t-shirt, long sleeve Capeline shirt, long sleeve fleece, gloves, SmartWool hat |
Monday, December 07, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 10:00 AM |
| Distance: | 3 miles |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | |
| Course: | the wash behind Shelley's sister's house |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Just working out the run from yesterday! I was actually not as stiff as I expected. |
| Equipment: | |
| Clothing: | Jeans, Vans, Carhartt jacket… you get the idea. |
Sunday, December 06, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 4 (maybe…) |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 6:15 AM |
| Distance: | 13.1 miles |
| Time (total): | 1:34:47 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | 7:14 minutes/mile |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | 40'? This is one flat run. |
| Weather: | mid 30s at the start, low to mid 40s at the finish, dry, partly cloudy, calm |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | 4:00 AM – 2 bananas, yogurt
5:30 AM - gel |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | Cytomax, water, gel |
| Course: | official course |
| Results: | overall – 348/17827
sex place – 289/6505
division place – 32/803
official results |
| Comments: | Today was the day, the pinnacle of Martin's running season, the big enchilada and all that. This fall I wanted to run a half marathon in under 1:38 and last week I came oh so close (read: I did not make it) to that goal and so today was my chance to redeem myself. Bring it!
ASIDE – I love melodrama. And drama, as long as it's not negatively associated with my life. That's the long way of saying that I like throwing out expressions like, "bring it". Makes me feel young or something like that. It also makes me sound like a dork but being young is more important so I'm not backing off any time soon.
Our trip along with the Las Vegas Marathon has become sort of an annual tradition. This is the third year we have travelled there to participate in this event and the second year I have entered. Good times. Seriously, I can't think or a healthier tradition to have…
Okay, so the start of this run is ridiculously early. I guess they do it because the strip is closed for the event and they need to open it ASAP. Whatever. It means waking up at 4 and then trying to eat some food pronto. Lucky for me this is not such a huge problem but still… I would absolutely prefer something like 8 AM. At 4:30 we hit the road and since we were there with locals we got a great parking spot. Still, 'great' meant you had to walk several blocks and it was butt ass cold out. Like FREEZING cold.
Two words: gear check. Without this I would probably die. This way you can wear as much as you want to the race and then check your extra stuff minutes before you start. I checked sweat pants, a sweat shirt and at the last minute threw in my hat. Why? Because I wanted to go FAST. And as we all know, hats slow you down. :|
On my entry form I had estimated 1:38 so that put me in corral #2 which was a dream. There were over 28,000 people here to run this and if you were too far back it takes a lifetime to cross the start line. That's all time you are freezing your balls off. To wit, it took some people 45 minutes just to get to the start line…
So at 6:15 they let the elite runners and corral #1 one go and then just one minute later they let us go. Nice. At the start I spotted the 1:35 pacesetter so on a whim I decided to try and stick with him for as long as I could. Did I mention it was freezing? Well when the countdown hit about 10 minutes to go I never even noticed it, the adrenaline was flowing!
At first I felt totally at ease. Sure, there were some butterflies (only because I had set a goal for myself of course) but other than that I was very relaxed and breathing easy. Of course the air was as dry as a bucket of baked sand but I was breathing it easy. Initially we headed south for a bit and just before we got to the turn around there were the leaders hauling ASS back up the strip. It's always amazing to watch really good people do their thing.
Based on my experience last week I was resolved to drink more and specifically to drink the energy drink they had (Cytomax) instead of just water to try and get a few more calories. I also started with one gel in my pocket so I could have it at the mid point as the official food stop was a ways past half way. This pace setter was fantastic! He kept extremely good track of his time and would actually tell us that we were a few seconds ahead of pace or whatever.
At mile three the pace did not seem so super easy any more but I was still fine. The 1:35 pace setter was still doing a stellar job. About this time I grabbed my first drink of Cytomax from a water stop. When I squeezed the cup and poured the liquid into my mouth I felt something foreign and promptly tried to spit it out and fish around in my mouth with my gloved hand looking for a hair or similar… Turns out there was a layer of ice on my drink! Obviously it was colder than I thought.
About five or six miles in here come the half marathon leaders going in the other direction. Damn… I couldn't run that fast for 100 m much less a mile (or 13!).
I kept drinking Cytomax slushies. A couple of times it caused a slight elevation in my heart rate as the pacer never stopped or slowed so unless my drinking was perfect – which it invariably was not – I would have to catch up after gulping. Not such a big deal for the first few water stops but after the half way point I was feeling ever so slightly more strained.
As we rounded the corner to start the return leg I ate my gel. It made me realize how little this thing in my pocket had bothered me which I was grateful for.
At this point one of the people in our small pack started to drop off. As I caught up after yet another drink (to wash down the gel) this one woman could not go with me. At first she was just 30' behind and then it was 50' and then she was gone. Our 'pack' had started with maybe 10 people and now we were down to four? I had not said a word yet and was just listening to everyone else jabber away. One guy with a do rag said he had run a 7:31 at some point in the past and looked pretty at ease so in addition to keeping up with the pacer I also had my eye on him thinking that if he accelerated at the finish I would try and go with. One water stop later Mr. 7:31 started to fade! Now it was just me, the pacer and this other tall guy about my age that looked super determined.
Between the half way point and the finish I went from feeling slightly stressed to feeling pretty in control again to feeling like I was at my limit. The strip is by most any standard very flat but it does descend just a tad all the way out and then rises the same slight bit all the way back. I'm not sure if it was the temperature or my state of conditioning or the pace but with about two miles to go I got that same feeling as towards the end of the Seattle Half Marathon. I was not blown but I just could not accelerate.
At this point I finally pulled up to the pacer and thanked him for doing such good work, I guess I was worried that if I waited any longer I might be with him and so unable to express my appreciation. With one mile to go he turned to this tall guy and me and encouraged us to, "Feel free and kill it, you're almost there." Ha! I wish.
Of course I did try but my 'acceleration' only lasted a few 100 m and then I was back to pace, all I managed to do was put maybe 50' between me and the pacer. The tall guy had managed to go with me and after I slowed he did gradually pull away – good for him! As I neared the casino parking lot I took a glance at my watch and saw that sub 1:35 was a real possibility so I did my best to kick just a little as I exited the strip and made it. Nice. No way could I have done this without such a phenomenal pacer.
After the race you have everything you could want! There are the ubiquitous space blankets, food (perfectly ripe bananas and food bars), drink (Cytomax and water), room to stretch, you get your finisher's medal and then at the exit you get to have your picture taken with a Las Vegas show girl. Oh yeah.
After cooling down a bit and walking some I thought I would be good to stretch so put my hands on the ground to test my calves and I almost passed out. Everything got unstable and I had to sit down and then stand up; I guess having my head that low was not so good…
I got my clothes from the gear check, changed into a dry shirt and then headed to the marathon finish to watch the real athletes. :)
I am so pumped about my time! Of course it motivates me to try and go faster but that will have to wait until next year. And who knows, I feel like I'm at the point where somewhat casual running and serious training diverge so I might need to be satisfied with this effort.
Here are the photos of me from the official race site. |
| Equipment: | |
| Clothing: | Craft short sleeve undershirt, long sleeve active t-shirt, gloves; I dressed perfect. |
Saturday, December 05, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | 10:00 AM |
| Distance: | 3 miles |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | mid 40s, dry, light breeze |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | |
| Course: | wash loop behind Mike and Shannon’s house in Las Vegas |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Mike R, Scott G and I did the mellow pre-race run today and it was super. We chatted all the way and towards the end I took a detour through the wash trail while Mike and Scott stayed up on the paved path.
With a few 100 m to go Mike gave it the gas and it felt really good to open it up. |
| Equipment: | |
| Clothing: | Craft undershirt, long sleeve tech shirt, gloves |
Thursday, December 03, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | gym – 5:15 AM
stairs – 6:00 AM |
| Distance: | stairs – 11 flights |
| Time (total): | |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | |
| Power: | |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | |
| Course: | core – 3 sets leg lifts (5 lb), 3 sets sit-ups on incline board, 3 sets crunch machine
stairs – Howe Street |
| Results: | |
| Comments: | Core (read: abs) with Thom and then stairs with Ryan D.
Today Ryan and I just walked the stairs as he had crippled himself last time and I was ‘tapering’ for my race Sunday. Whatever. Regardless of the reason, it was super to be out with great company and we chatted about everything. I love that. |
| Equipment: | |
| Clothing: | |
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
| Hours Sleeping: | 6 |
| Pulse (waking): | |
| Pulse (rising): | |
| Difference: | |
| Weight: | |
| Body Fat: | |
| Time of Day: | gym – 5:15 AM |
| Distance: | run – 4 miles |
| Time (total): | run – 30 min
indoor TT #1 – 15:52
indoor TT #2 – 15:20 |
| Time (moving): | |
| Time (stopped): | |
| Speed (moving): | |
| Speed (overall): | run – 8 mph/7:30 minutes per mile |
| Power: | indoor TT #1 – 312
indoor TT #2 - 420 |
| Total Ascent: | |
| Weather: | |
| Workout Type: | |
| Breakfast: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Workout Food: | water |
| Course: | | plank | 180 sec, 120 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, 50 steam engines, 60 leg extensions, 30 twisters to each side – 12 lb, 30 side bends to each side – 45 lb | | back extensions | 30 straight, 30 twisting | run – treadmill, zero incline
indoor TT – 10 km rolling course |
| Results: |  |
| Comments: | All the core stuff felt super today, even the plank! In fact, when I hit 120 sec on the second set I could have gone longer but was so surprised to get here without shaking that I stopped out of habit. :(
ASIDE – I went to my PT after work and found out I have been doing all my core stuff wrong. Nice. I guess all this will get harder once again.
My run felt great too. All soreness from last Sunday was gone and I was breathing easy the whole time.
Tonight was my first indoor TT and it was okay. I was not expecting anything and did not go 100 percent. We’ll see how I improve from here as I sure feel like I’m way off the back when it comes to cycling-specific training.
It was also the first time for Shelley to give this a go and she went much better than I thought she would. More accurately, she pushed herself a lot harder than I expected she would. It was so cool to be doing this on the tandem! Hopefully it will be a regular occurrence.
We did slow down on the climbs a bit compared to me on a single bike but I was expecting this. What I was not expecting was how fast we went on the descents! Last summer I swapped the worn out 55 for a 53 on the tandem and we were in it for every downhill. And spun out.
It sure was fun to see the watts climb up over 550 on a couple of the climbs… to bad I can’t manage that on my own. :) |
| Equipment: | Bianchi Volpe, 38/50, 12-25
Co-Motion Robusta, 30/42/53, 12-27 |
| Clothing: | |