Bad Ticker

Fortunately, I feel confident in saying it is not MY ticker but rather my HR monitor.

The new battery has seemed to do the trick. Last night I did a fast 13 in order to get some miles in before Cheers & Gears. It needed to be short because I have a ton to get ready before I depart. I decided to push it, pretending to be the breakaway in The Giro. I upped my average 1.4 MPH over my last few rides and stayed in zone 2 & 3 during the hardest efforts. The HR monitor maxed at 195 but I never saw that and think it might have been interference. Most of the time it was at 147 - 150 bpm and I was quite comfortable.

I feel much better, especially since my doc never called back. Guess he and the jeweler are out to get me:)

Spin On

Huff & Puff

I think I feel a little wind coming back into the sails.

Last night was about trip details and preparation. It started early when I took the Cateye MRC HR10 in to the local jeweler for a new battery. He showed me that the battery was still full power and "in the green" so no need to change it. This is the second time he has told me this, the second time I have listened and the upmteenth time I have read the manual saying they should last about a year -- which has passed. Fiddling with the buttons to reset the watch I hit a button -- low and behold a drained battery icon appeared! So I took matters into my own hands, scrounged Walgreen's for a small enough repair screwdriver, changed the battery and reset the data. Then I sat in the yard an played ball with "The Girls" and between some breathing techniques (and a chardonnay) I got my resting rate below 50 bpm -- that is 20+ less than Monday. Tonight I hope to test my bad battery theory on the road.

All that said, if I can see the doc, I probably will, just for a little peace of mind.

I am getting stoked for Cheers & Gears again!

Spin On

In Search of Mojo

Monday was a good Memorial Day. Didn't eat to well, but what the hell, it was a holiday, right?

Did a neighborhood cruise on the 6K with Nifi, finished up some chores and hung out. My HR is still baffling me and with Cheers & Gears coming up, I'd like some resolution before the ride. Over all I don't feel like I have a lot of wind in my sails which concerns me since I have not really hit stride to train for the MM in August.

Maybe Spengahili can kick my a** and attitude a little and get me refocused.

Spin On

Bill Slowski

Me

The last few rides have seen me declining in average speed or struggling to keep up an average speed that seems typical for me.

I did a quick 12 after work Friday but started to feel funky, like a big pit in my stomach and hungry. The smell of folks getting their grill on for the weekend did not help. So I finished up and bagged it for some food and ale. I had a HR spike to about 211 but I get that from interference occasionally. But combined with the funk seemed odd.

Saturday was spin class. I got there and warmed up. My resting HR seemed a little high but not concerning. When class started it jumped to 190 immediately. I spent over a third of the class over 200 and spiked to 240 at one point plus maintained a 225+ for a while. For my age it should be 175 max. I allow 185 for fitness level. Now I was getting a little concerned. I kept wearing the HR monitor at home for a while and it mellowed out but still on the resting high side.

Made a call to Dr. Tree and he said that was not normal, a bit concerning and to contact my GP and discuss a Halter Monitor via a cardiologist. Basically it is a recording device that tracks every beat and what part of the heart is dictating the BPM. Great, me and Dick Cheney. At least I have not accidentally shot anyone....yet.

I had hoped to do 60 Sunday with a great Monday off for sleep and recovery but opted to do 25 instead to get more rest in. HR still spent more time above 200 than I felt comfortable with and maxed at 235. Plus it was windy and that kicked my average speed in the junk. Frig.

I re-read an article on climbing and they suggested Lance's method of high cadence. I kept shifting down to keep cadence at 80+ and while it was initially slower, I ended much stronger. The trick is to have a good rounded pedal stroke, not box the rotation.

Medical issues aside I picked up another Specialized saddle to try. I think it just might work! I need to make a few adjustments but it has the slot I like and more padding, plus it is the right width. My next distance will be Gears & Cheers 40 with some climbing. We'll see if it works or it goes on eBay:)

Tried the Berry Zym with caffeine. Tastes good but definitely stronger than the lemon-lime which I double in 24 ounces. A single berry tab was enough for 24 ounces.

Monday will be total rest, hydration and yard work.

Happy Memorial Day to all!

Spin On

Ruff Ride

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

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

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.