Trainers=Torture

Trainers=Torture Devices. I hate getting on that thing. Hate it. With a Passion. But, I felt like I needed to do something since I wasn't getting to ride the Frostbite Tour today. It was washed out. Rain all day today.

First session mid AM...wanted to try and do the intervals, but they are so hard/boring on the trainer and my mind was weak today. Lasted for 35min. Did I mention how much I hate riding that thing?? Since I didn't last very long, I thought I would attempt another session in the evening, trying to last longer than previously. Found LOTR: The Two Towers on tv and decided to watch some of that while riding. Lasted for 1hr this time. 1.5hr total trainer time today. 500 calories burned. Not much for 1.5hr total. Oh well.

I'm not sure that I'll ride the trainer tomorrow....that thing makes your butt a little bit sore. May do some upper body/core stuff in the morning and if we get a break in the rain, go for a walk. And, 3 showers in one day is a plenty!

Rainy Weekend

The weather forecast hasn't looked great all week for this weekend. I was hoping that the rain would hold off until around 12pm today so that Andy, Neal, Chris, and I could ride the Frostbite Tour, but, alas, it did not. It was not raining last night when I went to bed, but I woke up around 6am to the patter of rain on the roof. Sigh. Talked to Andy this morning around 6:30am and he said he wasn't going to ride today. Can't blame him...I didn't want to either, but would have if he wanted to. I don't think I know anyone that wants to ride in the rain this time of the year.

I suppose I will have to hit the trainer today instead. I hope to do at least 2 trainer sessions today, separated by 3-4hr...planning on putting some Srubs in the dvd player, watching 2 episodes, take a break for a while, and then repeat at least once. I'll probably work on VO2max intervals today. I need 2 days of rest/easy-ish riding after doing these...they really take a toll on me.

Tomorrow will probably be on the trainer too, but only as a recovery ride.....

Assault On Mt Mitchell

It's on!!!!!

I had initially decided not to do this ride due to cost and one of the biggest reasons - having to get back to Spartanburg after the ride to get a vehicle in order to get home. Well, now, I'm pretty sure that I and my friend Neal have a spot on a chartered bus that will take us and our bikes to Spartanburg, allowing us to leave our vehicles in Marion and leave from there after completing AoMM.

Wow. This ride is pretty damn close! I'm going to have to get in a few centuries (Andy says a century every 2 weeks) between now and then so that doing 100mi is fairly easy. Oh boy. I'm really going to have to re-think the number of races I try to do now as well. I'll have to skip the race on 5/16 - probably not a good idea to do that 2 days before AoMM.

Found this depicting the route/elevation change. Oh boy. And this ride is almost a month earlier than last year. I've got to get on the ball!!!!!!! Oh boy. Can I do it? Will I survive? Damn. Would you believe I now have butterflies???

High Cadence Drills

This afternoon after work, I headed over to Greenfield Industrial Park for another recovery-type ride with high cadence drills. It was 62F when I left work, but I think the temps must have started dropping shortly there after. I don't know if it was the temps or what, but my legs just didn't feel very snappy. Maybe I need a much longer warm up than 15min in temps such as this.

Anyways, 15min warm up and then my first high cadence drill. OMG. When you haven't done these in a really long time, you tend to forget how taxing it is on your lungs. Sheesh. The first one was sorta hard. 5min rest between intervals. Felt better on the last two, but didn't feel like I wanted to ride for 1.5hr. Finished up with a couple of loops near the car and also tried one hard/fast effort on a short hill for max power. ppppppffffffffttttt....that didn't go to well either. Legs just didn't have anything.

#1: 128/162/17 (rpm/ap/mph)
#2: 124/136/17.5
#3: 116/134/17.4

max power=708

Recovery Day & What Zone Am I???

The schedule calls for a 90min zone 3 ride today. Not going to happen. Not after those intervals yesterday. Those things seem to take a lot out of me, but I guess that's too be expected at the intensity they're done at. Instead, today I'll do a 60-75min zone 2 recovery ride and incorporate 4-5 powerstarts every 5min after warmup. I'll do the zone 3 ride tomorrow.



So, what am I using for FTP to set my power zones?? Hell if I know. Last year, in March I had a 20min max (normalized power) field test of 194w. Taking 5% off of that left me at around 184w. I used 185w to calculate the power zones used all last year. Now, after a good solid year of riding and training, I think these numbers are low. I'm just guessing on the FTP at this point what to use. I'll try to do a test next week, maybe on Friday afternoon - either on the normal FTP testing route or maybe I can get up to the mountains and do a hard 20min climb. I'll talk to Andy about that this weekend when he's here for the Frostbite Tour.

March 2008
zone 1: 0-103w
zone 2: 104-140w
zone 3: 141-167w
zone 4: 168-195w
zone 5: 196-223w
zone 6: 223w+

Right now, I'm guessing at an NP=205w giving me an FTP=195w. Maybe this is low too (or spot on) - just won't know until I get that test done.
zone 1: 0-108w
zone 2: 109-146w
zone 3: 147-176w
zone 4: 177-205w
zone 5: 206-234w
zone 6: 235w+


Powerstarts: These are short, maximal bursts, designed to develop power and convert the strength gained from resistance training to your cycling. Use large gearing and begin the effort at a low speed and near standstill. Jump up on the pedals and perform the exercise standing out of the saddle. Duration of powerstart is 8-10 seconds, done every 5min after warm up.

1 hr zone2 recovery ride, just barely. 5 powerstarts done every 5min after a 15min warm up.
799/800/728/801. cold. i wish it was warmer!!!! Damnit. My legs sure don't feel much like they are recovered. I doubt that I can do a 90min zone 3 or another day of VO2max intervals tomorrow. The friend/coach says I am under-estimating the stresses on my body that these intervals are taking on me. What???? As much as I don't want to say he's right (he's always right), I think he may be right. Again.

VO2 max Intervals

Training schedule called for VO2max intervals and 2x20min @ 95% FTP. Left work shortly before 4pm to head out to the Grocery Bag to do the intervals. Temp at start approximately 48F, no wind to speak of.

15-20min warm up then started the interval set...
3x5min:
#1: 209/203/95/19.7 (np/ap/rpm/mph)
#2: 209/205/93/19.1
#3: 209/205/94/19.9

These were not extremely hard, but by the time 4min was rolling around, I was getting a little fatigued. Just have to fight through that and I did.

Next up, after a good 15min recovery was supposed to be 2x20min at 95% of my ftp. It was starting to get a bit colder, my fingers were slightly cold as were my toes. Set out and did pretty well, but after that one interval, I just couldn't do another one. All I wanted to do was get back to the car and get warm!!

Hopefully, next week, I will be able to get 2 of the 95% ftp intervals done. Will need to leave work a little earlier so that I can finish while still daylight....

1x20': 184/178/93/17.6

Entire workout (141 watts):
Duration: 1:52:55 (1:54:31)
Work: 951 kJ
TSS: 146.5 (intensity factor 0.884)
Norm Power: 168
VI: 1.19
Pw:HR: 100%
Pa:HR: 100%
Distance: 30.419 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 490 141 watts
Heart Rate: 89 130 108 bpm
Cadence: 30 236 84 rpm
Speed: 3 31.1 16.2 mph
Pace 1:56 19:42 3:42 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 295 61 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 849 147 lb-in

Resting Today (?)

Supposed to be a rest day today - go for a 45min walk or something similar. It's really windy out today, like yesterday - and I don't particularly want to walk...So, yea, I'm gonna do it...ride the bike. I know. Shouldn't do it, but I'm going to hop on the trainer this evening and do 45min of zone 1-2, small ring, high cadence. Easy stuff. I'm feeling really good today after a good 8hr of sleep last night too.

I think this is going to be a good week for training. I'm really motivated to get these intervals nailed tomorrow and Friday so that I can tell the friend/coach(s) how I'm doing. I might get fussed at for riding today, not sure, but I figure as long as I keep it zone 1-2 and take it really easy, it should be fine. Plus, I have lots of motivation for sticking with the diet (200cal/2hr) now and watching the pounds come off. I'm just in that "mind-set" now. It's like a switch flipped on over the weekend and I feel so much more positive now. That's a good thing - wasn't doing too well at the beginning of the weekend.

That's all....I'll post an edit to this with what I did tonight.


Well, that didn't go as planned. I went to a friend's house to pick up a new kit and we ended up talking for the longest time. Didn't get home till 6:45pm, got a bite to eat, then had to find pictures of my son to use at school for his ROTC Awards ceremony coming up in a month or so. Maybe it was a good thing that I didn't ride this evening. It does mean that I should be fully rested and ready to hammer out those intervals tomorrow.

Riding The Wind Today

Wow. I had plans to do a cross (cx) ride this afternoon with my friends Dallas & Cliff, but really just wasn't motivated to get out of my PJ's and get stuff ready...heh...I was still sitting in the PJ's at 12pm this afternoon. Dallas called and said everyone else that was going this afternoon bailed, so I didn't feel too bad about bailing. But, I still really needed to get a good, hard ride in.

The temps were actually pretty good for riding (right around 50F), but the wind was another damn story. It was extremely windy this afternoon - sustained 12-14mph with gusts up to 25mph. But, I really needed to ride, so I finally got out of the PJ's, dressed and headed out. Pretty much the whole 33/34mi was either a head/cross wind with maybe 3 or 4mi of tailwind. Besides the wind, it was a beautiful day for a ride.

Not much else for today. I'm pretty tired after that ride though - 34mi (by the time I got home) in 2:11hr. Slow, but to be expected with headwinds for the whole ride. Tomorrow will be a rest day, then intervals on Tuesday. Yay! I like intervals.

Here's the route:

Adjusting the Plan

Had to adjust the plan because it was too intense for me right now. I also cannot do back to back days of hard intervals. Last year, Andy had me take at least 1 day, preferably 2 days between intervals. So, here's the adjusted plan for the next few weeks:

1. Monday: off, no riding. 45min to an hour of walking.
2. Tuesday: 1 set of 3x5min VO2max (5min rest), 15min easy recovery, 2x20min @ 95-100% FTP (10min rest). Do a 15min warmup/cool down. Try to keep cadence > 95. Might have to drop back to 15min on the second interval,but will have to wait and see next week.
3. Wednesday: 90min of zone 3 tempo work. Cadence > 95.
4. Thursday: Easy, zone 2 recovery ride. Small ring, high cadence > 100. Might also incorporate some high cadence drills, depending on how I am feeling (3x2min, cadence >120).
5. Friday: 60min maximum duration ride, to include 1 set of 2x2min of VO2max (2min rest), 5min recovery, 1x10min @ 95% FTP, and 3x15s in saddle sprints (15s rest). Again, trying to keep the cadence > 95.
6. Saturday: Either a race or a hard ride with the guys.
7. Sunday: Race (most likely not), so another hard ride with the guys.

For the rides on Saturday/Sunday if I'm riding with the guys, I will try to go out front and take some 3min pulls, using these as good hard intervals. Or, I can just go off the back a few times and hammer to get back on.

Fail.

Ummm, how come I didn't remember that I can't do intervals on back to back days?? So, what made me think anything was different this year from last year?? Dunno. So, I was supposed to do 2x20min at 90-95% of FTP yesterday on the trainer.

Got home, set everything up, hopped on the bike and warmed up for 20min. Hmmmmmm...why are my legs feeling like crap in a warm up?? Move on to 5min at 100%. Hmmmmm...this isn't working. Why are my legs screaming?? 5min recovery from that and it's time to do the first 20min. Uh huh. Right. No can do. I last for maybe 8min and even that was not at 95%. So, I realized what I had done and remembered that Andy didn't have me doing back-back days of intervals last year. I had at least 1 day, if not 2, between hard intervals. I just finish up riding with something like 50min ride time.

Oh boy - my legs were really tired after that. Hell, all of me was tired. I got a little something to eat, chatted with a couple of friends, wathced NCSU lose to UNC and finally had to call it quits at 10:30pm. In bed before 11pm last night. I also took a lunesta because I was really too tired to fall asleep. Slept really well.

Rest, Recover, Get Stronger.

Today will be 1-1.5hr ride afterwork in zone 3. Have to tweak the plan a bit...I have to work up to the plan I previously posted....

VO2 max Intervals

Today's workout was to be 5x5min VO2 max intervals. I decided to do these after work because they required a 20min warm-up/cool down and I would have more time after work than during lunch. It was pretty cold at 4:30pm, ~45F and I did not have the proper clothing for this ride. No toe covers was the biggest problem. Toes froze.

Took a 20-21min warm-up then started the first interval. I felt really good, but I'm having shifting troubles and was not able to get a gear which allowed me to spin like I like too. I only did 3 of the intervals instead of 5, but felt as if I could have done all of them. The numbers:

#1: 221/211/82/15.1 (np/ap/rpm/mph)
#2: 211/210/85/15.5
#3: 211/211/86/15.4

The cadence is too low, but nothing I could do about it due to the shifting woes. Other than that, I (and Andy) think they look pretty good. No way could I have done this last year. Awesome. They weren't too terribly hard until the last minute.

Damn. I love structure. I'm so glad I have a plan for the next few weeks, otherwise, I'd not have any idea what to do and just do whatever. My buddy Lawrence called me early this morning telling me that he and another guy were going to Greenfield to ride this evening...I had to tell him "No". I didn't want to, but on the otherhand, I'm glad I did skip because it would have been pretty dang cold. It was also my first test in following my program and the Ten Commandments. Yay!!!

Tomorrow is 2x20's at 90-95% done on the trainer.

Ten Commandments of Training

Here is my (Joe Friel's) training philosophy: An athlete should do the least amount of properly timed, specific training that brings continual improvement.

The idea of limiting training is a scary thought for some. Many cyclists have become so accustomed to overtraining it seems a normal state. These racers are no less addicted than drug users. As is the case with a drug addict, the chronically overtrained athlete is not getting any better but still can't convince himself or herself to change.

My basic philosophy is simply "use your training time wisely." For those of us with full-time jobs, spouses, children, a home to maintain, and other responsibilities, using training time wisely is more than a philosophy; it's a necessity.

What this means is that there are times when it's right to do higher-volume training, but not necessarily the highest possible. This is usually in the Base (general preparation) period of training. There are also times when high volume is not wise, but faster, more race-specific training is right. These are the Build and Peak (specific preparation) periods.

While it seems so simple, there are many who can't seem to get it right. They put in lots of miles when they should be trying to get faster. And when they should be building a base of general fitness, they're going fast—usually in group hammer sessions.

So what do you use to gauge your progress? How tired you are? How fast you are? If it's the former, you're doomed to a career of less-than-stellar racing. Once you figure out that fatigue gets in the way of getting faster and you make the necessary changes, you'll be flying.

To help you better understand this training philosophy I have broken it down into the "Ten Commandments of Training." By incorporating each of these guidelines into your thinking and training, you'll be following this philosophy and getting a better return on your time invested. Your results will also improve regardless of your age or experience.

Commandment 1—Train Moderately
Your body has limits when it comes to endurance, speed and strength. Muscles will only contract forcefully a certain number of times before they refuse to pull hard again. The biggest mistake of most athletes is to make the easy days too hard, so when it comes time for a hard training day, they can't go hard enough.

By progressing carefully, especially with intensity, you'll gradually get stronger and there will be time and energy for other pursuits in life. An athlete who enjoys training will get more benefits from it than one who is always on the edge of overtraining.

When you develop carefully, especially with intensity, eventually you will get stronger and you’ll also have more time and energy for other pursuits in life. As an athlete, you will get far more out of your workouts (both physically and emotionally) if you enjoy your training than if you are constantly on the edge of overtraining.

Commandment 2—Train Consistently
The human body thrives on routine, and regular activity brings positive change. This does not mean do the same workout every day, week after week. Variety also promotes growth. This is not to say that you shouldn't do hard workouts or that it isn't necessary to push the limits on occasion and experience fatigue as a result.

It's obvious that if coming close to your riding potential is your goal, you must often face and conquer training challenges. Training consistently, not extremely, is the route to the highest possible fitness and your ultimate racing performances. The key to consistency is moderation and rest.

Commandment 3—Get Adequate Rest
During rest, the body adapts to the stresses of training and grows stronger. Without rest, there's simply no improvement. As the stress of training increases, so does the need for rest. When we sleep, our body releases human growth hormone, and it mends and grows stronger.

If our time spent snoozing is shortened, it takes us longer to recover and our consistency in training suffers. Damaged cells take longer to heal, raising the risk of injury and illness. If the training workload remains high despite decreased sleep time, overtraining becomes a real threat. Burnout is lurking just around the corner.

Commandment 4—Train with a Plan
This is fundamental to improvement in almost any endeavor of life, yet few self-trained athletes do it. Realize that all plans can be changed. Yours will not be chiseled into stone. It takes some flexibility to cope with the many factors that will get in your way. These may include a bad cold, overtime at work, unexpected travel, or a visit from family or friends.

I have yet to coach an athlete who didn't have something interfere with the plan. Expect it, but don't be upset. Roll with the punches and change the plan to fit the new situation.

Commandment 5—Train with Groups Infrequently
There's a real advantage to working out with others—sometimes. For the winter base-building period, find a group that rides at a comfortable pace. During the spring intensity-building period, ride with a group that will challenge you to ride fast, just as when racing.

Smart and structured group rides are hard to find. You may need to create your own. Stay away from big packs that take over the road and are unsafe. You want to get faster, not get killed. Use groups when they can help you. Otherwise, avoid them.

Commandment 6—Plan to Peak
Your season plan should bring you to your peak for the most important events. I call these "A" races. The "B" races are important, too, but you will not taper and peak for these, just rest for three to four days before. "C" races are tune-ups to get you ready for the A and B races. A smart rider will use these low-priority races for experience, or to practice pacing, or as a time trial to gauge fitness. If all races are A-level priority, don't expect much in the way of results.

Commandment 7—Improve Weaknesses
What type of training do riders with great endurance, but not much speed, do the most? You guessed it, endurance work. What do good climbers like to do? Not surprisingly, they like to train in the hills. Most cyclists spend too much time working on what they already do well. What's your weakest area? Ask your training partners if you don't know. I'll bet they do. Then spend more time on that area.

Commandment 8—Trust Your Training
Few of us trust our training when it comes time to race. There's a great fear as the big race approaches that we haven't done enough, so we train right up to race day. I've seen people the day before an important race go out for a long ride or compete in a hard race because they think it will help.

It takes 10 to 21 days of reduced workload for the human body to be fully ready to race, depending on how long and hard the training has been. Cut back before the big races, and you'll do better. Trust me.

Commandment 9—Listen to Your Body
In the early 1990s, I attended a talk by the former head of the East German Sports Institute. He described how every morning each athlete met with a group of experts—an event coach, a physiologist, a doctor or nurse, and a sports psychologist, for example.

The group checked the athlete's readiness to train that day and made adjustments as necessary to the schedule. The athlete trained only to the level he or she could tolerate that day. Nothing more. If you listen to what the body is saying, you'll train smarter and get faster. Cyclists who train intelligently always beat athletes who train hard.

Commandment 10—Commit to Goals
After you set your goals, take a look at them and determine how they relate to your lifestyle and training. Determine whether change is needed. Eat nutritious food to not only fuel the body for training, but also to help speed recovery, replenish depleted energy and nutrient stores, and provide the building blocks for a stronger body.

Keep a training log. Record workout details, perceptions of effort, stress signals, race results and analyses, signs of increasing or decreasing fitness, equipment changes, and anything else that describes your daily experience. Most athletes also find that keeping a log provides them with a sharper training focus and more rapid growth toward their goals.

I ripped this from Active.com and think it's a little better than the previous note.

From TMac Coaching:

These are basically the same as the above - but, short and sweet...
1. Go Slow To Go Fast
2. Train Alone Most Of The Time
3. Believe and Trust Your Program
4. Don't Stand When You Can Sit...
5. Every Race Is Not The Tour de France
6. Take Chances
7. When You're Not Riding Strong, Take A Break
8. Visualize Success
9. Believe In Yourself
10. Train With Intensity

Training Schedule....

OK...I now have a plan for what to do before the next road race on 3/21...

The next 3 weeks will look like this:

1. Monday: off
2. Tuesday: 5x5min VO2 max intervals, 5min rest between. 20min warm-up/cool down.
3. Wednesday: 2x20min @ 90-95% of FTP. 20min warm-up, 5min @100%, 5min recovery, 1st interval, 10min recovery, 2nd interval, 20min cool down. Done on torture device.
4. Thursday: 1-1.5hr of tempo work with 0.5hr endurance.
5. Friday: off (this will suck since I have half days off and can get some good riding in...will have to settle for a good walk)
6. Saturday: Long, hard group riding.
7. Sunday: Easy recovery ride.

Week 4 will be the same intensity but will back off length of intensity to 80% of what I was doing.

Week before the race - back off to 60%.

I'll be starting this tomorrow, probably after work since the Tuesday workout will be around 1.5hr long. Wednesday at home on the trainer and Thursday can either be at lunch or after work...will have to wait & see for this week...

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I thrive on structure and this is exactly what I need. I've been missing it terribly since June of last year, when I finished up AoM. I'm soooo looking forward to this!!!!

Updating Schedule

Well, my plate was way too full with all the organized rides April-June/July, so I took some out. I really want to give a go at racing this year and in order to do that, something had to give. The "give" was getting rid of some of the early season organized rides. I'm leaving the organized rides that occur in the Fall, though I guess I will have to think about those when cross season gets here.

Now, I just need to figure out how to train for these races and let the organized rides fall where they may. Until I get someone to help me with a training plan, I think I'm just going to go back and look at my training notebook from last year and do what I was doing then...next road race is Out Like A Lion in New London on 3/21 and then Patriot's Point in Brattonsville on 4/5. The first race at ACE speedway the following Tuesday (4/7).

Wolfpack Classic Road Race

i left the house around 6am, arrived at the site at 7am, got my number and then lolly-gagged around too much...looking to see what everyone else was wearing. went with tights on, but changed to knee/arm warmers, short gloves. went for a ride. cold. came back and put the long finger gloves on and a vest. i guess i probably got in about 15-20min of warmup.

anyways....the first 18mi went like this :

pack: slowing!
me:
pack: speed up
pack: slowing!
me: get the F out of my way!!! stop the gd slowing crap! wtf are you people doing???????
rinse and repeat for 18 friggen miles.

rules - DO NOT CROSS THE CENTERLINE!! so, we start out 6 or 7 wide in an intersection and have to funnel down to a double paceline. i can't get towards the front without going over centerline or up the middle. honestly, i didn't want to go up the middle cause i didn't want to take a chance of crashing and getting hurt again. so, i just stayed towards the back.

i pretty much sat in the first 18mi, felt pretty good, was able to pass ppl on the short rollers/climbs, but still ended up towards the back. dunno how. there was one short climb that i knew i was going to get dropped on, it ranged from 8-11%. i did get dropped, but was able to get right back with the group fairly quickly. we eventually ended up in a single paceline with some of the collegiate gals not giving an inch for getting into the line. oh well, i held my own till the next climb and then found my place in line.

the crash happened on a flat section around 23mi i think. don't know what happened, probably wheels touched. all i saw was bicycles cart-wheeling and girls going down. that took out 6-8 plus me & another girl that stayed up. the pack went right on and there wasn't any chance for me to catch them. 2 of the crashees got up and worked together to get back to me and proceeded to drop my ass. my legs hurt at this point and i just couldn't hang on to their wheel. the last 15mi was pretty much solo.

i have no idea where i placed in the cat4's and at this point, i don't really care. i finished the race and i stayed upright. there were 22 starters, don't know how many were DNF.

not sure if i like these rr's or not...all that damn slowing shit got on my nerves. i mean, ? we're in a flat straight section and we're slowing??????? sheesh. as bad as the Burnsville ride last year. next race is not till April at the ACE speedway. i guess i'll give that a try too.

that's it. i'm tired now, legs hurt, need to find some food. at least i did keep the rubber side down.

Assault on Mt Mitchell

Well, after looking at the costs for this ride, I've decided to NOT ride AoMM this year. It's just not worth it to me.

Cost break-down:
$80 registration fee
$65 jersey
$12 t-shirt
$15 Sunday evening buffet
$45 bus ticket
$112+tax room at Marriott

That's over $300. Sure, I could not get the jersey & t-shirt knocking the cost down to $250+. But, hell, if I do this ride and survive, I want a damn jersey. And, it's a logistical nightmare for getting back to Spartanburg or even trying to leave from Marion after the ride. Last year, I carpooled with Andy from Marion to Spartanburg and then was able to have my car in Marion and leave after the ride. I'm just not doing it.

There are other rides in the WNC area that I can do which are loop rides, not point to point, so, I'll do something else. I might consider doing Tour de Cashiers Century. I had planned on just doing the metric route, but *someone* keeps saying do it. Always pushing me. Oh well - getting pushed is good. Keeps me on focus. And focus is what I have to do now.

Anyways - no AoMM, at least not from Spartanburg to Mitchell. I might work something out and ride my own AoMM from Sylva/Cullowhee area later in the summer...June starts to slow down for me, so it might happen in June or July......

Races & Rides

Well, that’s some kind of heavy racing/riding schedule I’ve got going on for this year! I don’t know that I’ll do all of the listed races, but I want to do at least 10 out of all those listed. There’s like 25 races listed plus 19-20 organized rides. Holy cow! I guess I’ll just have to see how I feel as the year progresses.

First race is this weekend – Wolfpack Classic down near Sanford. Could be a cold & wet race, but I hope not. As of today, there’s only myself listed as registered for the women’s 4 race. It’ll probably be like the cx races, where the women sign up at the last minute (day before). I hope so. Otherwise, it looks like I could be racing with the men’s cat 5 group. Just want to keep the rubber side down, no crashes for this first race. If I actually place somewhere, that will be a bonus. Most likely not tho, but that’s ok.

After the WPC, there are no races planned for me until March. That’s really a good thing because I need to get back onto schedule and start my training for Burnsville and Mitchell. Everything in between those 2 rides are B rides and the races, well, they’ll just be whatever they are. Maybe I can get one of my BF friends to help set up a small training program for the racing part….

Nothing like a plate full of races/rides to get one motivated for training!!!

Weekend Riding

Called up Lawrence on Thursday or Friday and asked what the guys were going to be doing this weekend. He said that they planned on doing a 40mi ride at a slow pace on Saturday morning. After talking with him, I thought to myself..."40mi? that's it? just 40mi??" Well, let me tell ya, it was all I could do to complete this ride today.

My first ride without the cast and I can definitely tell that I have not been riding much over the past 4 weeks. I struggled for the first 25mi, to the planned store stop, averaging around 18.5mph. The last 17mi was extremely hard. The route took us over rolling terrain and it seemed like my legs just didn't have anything left to hit the climbs hard. Had a bit of cramping issues towards the end of the ride as well. Ended up with 42mi and 17.5 (or was it 17.3?) average. I also had a 20min power that was the best I've had....210/191 (np/ap).

Tomorrow, we ride again, but only for 30-35mi and probably about the same pace. It's supposed to be just as nice tomorrow as it was today....it was a chilly start (for here) at 32F, but warmed up fairly quickly. Warmed up to around upper 60's almost 70F for today. Tomorrow to be at least 70 or better!

Woo-Hoo

Yay!!!! I am finally cast free after 4 weeks! The cast came off Tuesday - my birthday. What a great birthday present!!!

It's great to have that thing off, but the thumb is sore/painful....having it in one position for 4 weeks has lead to it being very stiff and sore. But, as of today, it's gotten slightly better. I'm sooo ready to get back out on the road. I did make a trip up to WNC this past weekend. We rode the Burningtown route on Saturday and the BRP from the Folk Art Center up to Craggy Gardens picnic area on Sunday. Can't say that the rides were easy. It was quite hard due to the cast and not really having a place to comfortably rest my hand. But, I survived! Damn. I love riding up there!!!

Plans for the weekend include riding tomorrow afternoon, Saturday morning with Lawrence/Dallas & the guys, and Sunday I will go preride the race course for next weekend's Wolfpack Classic Road Race. It will be my first road race....hope I can hang on!

But yea, it's great to be getting back to normal....:D

Only one picture from this past weekend...I had a flat and had to get someone (Andy) to change it for me since I had the cast on.