Last night I got home, played with the girls, changed and headed out for a ride. The schedule show it should be 24, but I managed 16 in 1:00. Pushed some big gears into some stiff winds -- my version of hill training. Nifi has been working hard (until 8:00 last night) so I cannot afford the extra time away from home. Besides, MM is a ways off and I am doing near century training distances on the weekends. I was able to calculate by the heart monitor that Spin is about equal to 16 road miles. That means I should be throwing down some extra miles on the 6000 those days. As the ride approaches I will put in more saddle time.
On that subject, the old-faithful felt much better. Maybe a slight adjustment here or there, but the extra padding and forgiving plastic base soothed my aching a**. I'll see how it does on a long haul this weekend hopefully. I like the slotted seats better and a narrower nose with leather covering, but have not come across one just yet.
Dog Report: Emily did not want to go for a long walk but she and Shilo had played hard in the yard earlier. It has been a few months now and Shilo is really becoming more interactive and initiating play now. Funny to see her outside getting "the zooms". We all (Emily too) just get out of the way -- 90+ pounds barging around at full speed!
Spin On
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The Final Push
...and lift, and squeeze and lunge.
Last night was the final session with my tri-athlete trainer. She amped up the weight some and gave me some variations on my workouts going forward until August. It was nice to have a person to workout with and share relevant training stories. It's up to me now to keep up the training schedule.
Felt hyped up and hungry last night. Think I need an EPT -- craved pickles and peanut butter! I'll go for salt and protein instead, sounds better.
Tonight is a neighborhood spin with the old 5000 saddle. See if that feels any better.
Spin On
Last night was the final session with my tri-athlete trainer. She amped up the weight some and gave me some variations on my workouts going forward until August. It was nice to have a person to workout with and share relevant training stories. It's up to me now to keep up the training schedule.
Felt hyped up and hungry last night. Think I need an EPT -- craved pickles and peanut butter! I'll go for salt and protein instead, sounds better.
Tonight is a neighborhood spin with the old 5000 saddle. See if that feels any better.
Spin On
Monday, May 19, 2008
Ride Report
So, Friday I was pumped. It was "Ride your bike to work week" so we thought it was a good opportunity to Go Green for some PR. Truth be told, I had planned to play hookie and ride Friday afternoon so my commute was a short 2 blocks to get the bike into the office. Iron-Man Mark did ride in though -- thank you for supporting the SASS PR Machine. The 6000 looked sweet parked outside my office door:)
I waited to leave until the Pacific Time FRS offices opened only to find out all the orders of concentrate are back ordered until the end of the month. I think they were a wee bit unprepared for the up-swell in their products interest. Quick lunch then home -- still sporting chamois from the morning "commute". Oddly comfortable for wearing around the office...
When I got home the answering machine was flashing one message. Could this be the vet with results after two weeks of waiting? I said (like my 200th) quick little prayer and hit "play". Sure enough it was the vet and asked that I call. She was with a patient. My heart was racing, hoping for good news -- any news as long as it was not a tumor. An hour passed. Pacing, petting the dogs, until I could not wait anymore and called back. Still busy. After 4-1/2 hours she called. No tumor, but... Apparently Emily has acute displaysia in both hips, sever arthritis in her right hock, probably caused by and adolescent OCD, and some arthritis in her left hock joint. Bottom line: keep her comfortable, avoid surgery, it wouldn't do anything really. Not the best news but we kept Jake happy for years, now I pray we can do the same for our sweet little Emily. She had a good, playful weekend and the aspirin is helping for now. Guess we were meant to care for "special needs" dogs. More frustrating than anything at this point. I hate the limitations on her lifestyle. Shilo could care less.
Friday night dinner with Todawgz -- good Italian. Spin class Saturday morning. I really had no mojo the rest of the day. Napped, avoided the heat and then dinner with good friends -- yummy tuscan fare.
Sunday was up and fueling quickly for a long ride and testing out the loaner saddle. First fifteen, fine. By 20 some discomfort. By 40 I was ready to call it a day. By 55 I was thankful it was over. It took a toll on my performance I think.
Here is my next option:
I need to resolve this before Gears and Cheers.
I was a little off at the 10 mile and 40 mile mark. Did 50 at 3:18 and 55 at 3:38. My computers were all a bit haywire, both heart monitor and cyclometer were jumping around in the readings. Time for new batteries I suppose. I recovered well but nearly bonked at 45. I took a long rest and fueled some to make it home -- with a grateful tailwind.
Congrats to Spengahli for his awesome efforts -- and that's just balancing riding and family! Well done.
Spin on.
I waited to leave until the Pacific Time FRS offices opened only to find out all the orders of concentrate are back ordered until the end of the month. I think they were a wee bit unprepared for the up-swell in their products interest. Quick lunch then home -- still sporting chamois from the morning "commute". Oddly comfortable for wearing around the office...
When I got home the answering machine was flashing one message. Could this be the vet with results after two weeks of waiting? I said (like my 200th) quick little prayer and hit "play". Sure enough it was the vet and asked that I call. She was with a patient. My heart was racing, hoping for good news -- any news as long as it was not a tumor. An hour passed. Pacing, petting the dogs, until I could not wait anymore and called back. Still busy. After 4-1/2 hours she called. No tumor, but... Apparently Emily has acute displaysia in both hips, sever arthritis in her right hock, probably caused by and adolescent OCD, and some arthritis in her left hock joint. Bottom line: keep her comfortable, avoid surgery, it wouldn't do anything really. Not the best news but we kept Jake happy for years, now I pray we can do the same for our sweet little Emily. She had a good, playful weekend and the aspirin is helping for now. Guess we were meant to care for "special needs" dogs. More frustrating than anything at this point. I hate the limitations on her lifestyle. Shilo could care less.
Friday night dinner with Todawgz -- good Italian. Spin class Saturday morning. I really had no mojo the rest of the day. Napped, avoided the heat and then dinner with good friends -- yummy tuscan fare.
Sunday was up and fueling quickly for a long ride and testing out the loaner saddle. First fifteen, fine. By 20 some discomfort. By 40 I was ready to call it a day. By 55 I was thankful it was over. It took a toll on my performance I think.
Here is my next option:
I need to resolve this before Gears and Cheers.
I was a little off at the 10 mile and 40 mile mark. Did 50 at 3:18 and 55 at 3:38. My computers were all a bit haywire, both heart monitor and cyclometer were jumping around in the readings. Time for new batteries I suppose. I recovered well but nearly bonked at 45. I took a long rest and fueled some to make it home -- with a grateful tailwind.
Congrats to Spengahli for his awesome efforts -- and that's just balancing riding and family! Well done.
Spin on.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Saddle Up
With only two more sessions to go, meeting with the trainer Tuesday felt good. We ran through set routine so I can continue on my own. My left arm has proven to be the weaker side, so I might have to concentrate on that a little. We upped the squats and weights a touch.
Wednesday was a trip to the bike shop to investigate a new saddle. No real luck, the one Specialized option in the shop was too big. Alvelo has offered me his as a trial on Friday. It seems very nimble. I am glad to have the trial opportunity, don't trust buying one online and the options are endless. I did find a nice Selle Italia that I might consider if I can find it locally.
That evening was a neighborhood spin, 16 miles in 1:02. I lumbered at the start but tried very hard to keep my cadence at about 85 the whole time. Difficulty is the stops, turns and turn-abouts knocking down my average speed.
Friday I hope to bug out early and give the loaner saddle a test run.
Spin On
Wednesday was a trip to the bike shop to investigate a new saddle. No real luck, the one Specialized option in the shop was too big. Alvelo has offered me his as a trial on Friday. It seems very nimble. I am glad to have the trial opportunity, don't trust buying one online and the options are endless. I did find a nice Selle Italia that I might consider if I can find it locally.
That evening was a neighborhood spin, 16 miles in 1:02. I lumbered at the start but tried very hard to keep my cadence at about 85 the whole time. Difficulty is the stops, turns and turn-abouts knocking down my average speed.
Friday I hope to bug out early and give the loaner saddle a test run.
Spin On
Monday, May 12, 2008
Training Wheels
First, for my dedicated readers (both of you) I changed the template to make the blog easier to read. The chunky type on reverse was too much eye strain for my aging optics.
Friday was a yard/birthday night. Nifi had a nice birthday -- lots of things to exchange or return. I knew if she was not thrilled with her birthday, Mother's day was going to suck for her -- started to develop plan B. Nice dinner, great wine and time with the girls for a late night stroll.
Saturday was up and at-em for Spin class. It was tough. The teacher was in a bad mood, I think, and took it out on us. People were bitching about the reconfigured space and little AC but it was fine for me, I consume tons of fluid so I never felt too depleted. I was ready to do some weights but felt it was not in my best interest since I was planning 50 for Sunday. Plus I had to enact Plan B. Ran errands all over town and got home to finish up the yard. Worked on the 6000 -- cool Ergon grips, thanks to some advice from Alvelo, they fit perfectly. Hanging Saturday night.
Sunday it was up, fuel, prep and head out for the 50 mile ride. I was not feeling it for a long while. I was into the wind, climbing the causeway was more difficult -- burning lungs, slow cadence and speed. My legs felt like two sausage casings filled with lead. I was trudging into the wind (hopeful that I would have some tailwind home) at a slower than normal average speed and high heart rate. I wanted to bag it. I was at the "why am I doing this?" point of training. I knew if I could push past that I would be okay. I made the half way destination, re-fueled, re-focused and headed back glad to have some tailwind this time.
By the time I hit the causeway back I sprinted over it 6+ MPH faster than on the original climb. It felt wonderful, plus I looked down and I was in a higher gear than I had planned -- bonus points! I ended up hitting the 40 mile mark just 17 seconds off two weeks ago surprisingly. The last 10 miles was a circuit around the neighborhood, with and without wind. I finished the 50 in 3:19. Guess that was okay based on how I started.
My body was showing signs of over-training during the night, restlessness, discomfort but today is a rest day.
I think a new saddle is in order. I am not digging the Bontrager and it distracts from my focus -- when you're focusing on your own a**. I'll take suggestions from the gallery on good saddles, please.
Spin On
Friday was a yard/birthday night. Nifi had a nice birthday -- lots of things to exchange or return. I knew if she was not thrilled with her birthday, Mother's day was going to suck for her -- started to develop plan B. Nice dinner, great wine and time with the girls for a late night stroll.
Saturday was up and at-em for Spin class. It was tough. The teacher was in a bad mood, I think, and took it out on us. People were bitching about the reconfigured space and little AC but it was fine for me, I consume tons of fluid so I never felt too depleted. I was ready to do some weights but felt it was not in my best interest since I was planning 50 for Sunday. Plus I had to enact Plan B. Ran errands all over town and got home to finish up the yard. Worked on the 6000 -- cool Ergon grips, thanks to some advice from Alvelo, they fit perfectly. Hanging Saturday night.
Sunday it was up, fuel, prep and head out for the 50 mile ride. I was not feeling it for a long while. I was into the wind, climbing the causeway was more difficult -- burning lungs, slow cadence and speed. My legs felt like two sausage casings filled with lead. I was trudging into the wind (hopeful that I would have some tailwind home) at a slower than normal average speed and high heart rate. I wanted to bag it. I was at the "why am I doing this?" point of training. I knew if I could push past that I would be okay. I made the half way destination, re-fueled, re-focused and headed back glad to have some tailwind this time.
By the time I hit the causeway back I sprinted over it 6+ MPH faster than on the original climb. It felt wonderful, plus I looked down and I was in a higher gear than I had planned -- bonus points! I ended up hitting the 40 mile mark just 17 seconds off two weeks ago surprisingly. The last 10 miles was a circuit around the neighborhood, with and without wind. I finished the 50 in 3:19. Guess that was okay based on how I started.
My body was showing signs of over-training during the night, restlessness, discomfort but today is a rest day.
I think a new saddle is in order. I am not digging the Bontrager and it distracts from my focus -- when you're focusing on your own a**. I'll take suggestions from the gallery on good saddles, please.
Spin On
Friday, May 9, 2008
Birthday Wishes
Today is the Nifi's birthday. Being a good husband, I will not disclose how old she is, but suffice to say there is less emphasis placed on celebrating them the past few years:) I'm just glad that she is excited about her birthday this year and hopefully I will not disappoint in the gift giving department!
Being that it is a special day today, I felt it was best to do a longer ride last night and stay in tonight even though Thursday was a scheduled rest day. I did 20+ miles and kept a good clip going, upping my average speed again. I kept in the big chain-ring despite some hefty headwinds. I was amazed at how just a little more cadence or upping one free-wheel gear translated into instant speed. I am much more of a cadence rider, but pushing a big gear was fun last night.
The unknown cloud of Emily's prognosis hangs over my head like an annoying little drizzle. We are to hear back no sooner than Monday. I promised Nifi not to tell her on her birthday if we get bad news so I am hoping for no news today. She seems very active and happy so I am going with that and prayerful we will get a treatable diagnosis. Thanks to those who have wished us well and to those who visited Fat Cyclist. Fortunately, Susan is seeing some relief now.
It occurred to me last night as I rode into the wind, for the third time trying (successfully) to beat my last lap. One of my goals for Mountain Mama (and cycling in general) is not to give myself a mental "out". I think I have a stronger "flight" versus "fight" reaction. Mine comes in the form of seeking that little nagging rationalization to stop just short. It is also a creative minds excersize in finding alternative solutions, I believe. So, along with building muscle, I will continue to endeavor to build character.
Spin On
Being that it is a special day today, I felt it was best to do a longer ride last night and stay in tonight even though Thursday was a scheduled rest day. I did 20+ miles and kept a good clip going, upping my average speed again. I kept in the big chain-ring despite some hefty headwinds. I was amazed at how just a little more cadence or upping one free-wheel gear translated into instant speed. I am much more of a cadence rider, but pushing a big gear was fun last night.
The unknown cloud of Emily's prognosis hangs over my head like an annoying little drizzle. We are to hear back no sooner than Monday. I promised Nifi not to tell her on her birthday if we get bad news so I am hoping for no news today. She seems very active and happy so I am going with that and prayerful we will get a treatable diagnosis. Thanks to those who have wished us well and to those who visited Fat Cyclist. Fortunately, Susan is seeing some relief now.
It occurred to me last night as I rode into the wind, for the third time trying (successfully) to beat my last lap. One of my goals for Mountain Mama (and cycling in general) is not to give myself a mental "out". I think I have a stronger "flight" versus "fight" reaction. Mine comes in the form of seeking that little nagging rationalization to stop just short. It is also a creative minds excersize in finding alternative solutions, I believe. So, along with building muscle, I will continue to endeavor to build character.
Spin On
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Weight
Weight: As in mine and increase in lifting.
Last night was time at the gym with the trainer. We upped the leg weight a little and used more machines in faster succession. It was fun and better cardio. The most painful thing? My sunburn, still tender to the touch. Still can't seem to lose that extra 5-7 LBS despite my efforts.
Nifi is out tonight so it's me and the girls. I hope to pull the 6000 in and accomplish what I did not get done on it last night. Took all my might to remove one grip! But hey, i'm a roadie and we are not known for upper body strength.
Thanks to all those visiting the Ride2TheRescue site, pledging and bolgging. This little grass roots effort has legs!
Spin On.
Last night was time at the gym with the trainer. We upped the leg weight a little and used more machines in faster succession. It was fun and better cardio. The most painful thing? My sunburn, still tender to the touch. Still can't seem to lose that extra 5-7 LBS despite my efforts.
Nifi is out tonight so it's me and the girls. I hope to pull the 6000 in and accomplish what I did not get done on it last night. Took all my might to remove one grip! But hey, i'm a roadie and we are not known for upper body strength.
Thanks to all those visiting the Ride2TheRescue site, pledging and bolgging. This little grass roots effort has legs!
Spin On.
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