December Training Stats

Here are my training stats for December. There was vast improvement over November when I was battling another UC flair. Sorry for not providing the same detail as in the past, but I've been getting lazy about recording everything. My workouts over the last month have been a mix of road riding, indoor trainer, running, and weights. Maybe I should include shoveling the driveway as well since that nearly killed me two weeks ago.

Total # workouts: 23
Total time: 44:27
Total KCals: 34,463

On to January 2010...

Plainville changes?

What the hell? I don't understand the changes Jim has made to the Plainville spring series.

http://www.plainvillespringseries.com/2010_Spring_Series_Flyer.pdf

He has changed the feature race to cat 2-3-4 40+. Last year, it was an open 1-2-3. What a brilliant move...lower the number of potential participants!!! Did some old man complain about racing against the younger guys or cat 1's? I'm an over 40 cat 2 and would rather race against the younger guys...especially in a spring series. Also, can you imagine racing against some cat 4's that have already potentially done two races? No thank you!!! Actually. maybe they won't be that tired since the race distances are ridiculously short. The loop is only 0.5 miles long.

This sucks for me because a Saturday series fits into my schedule better than Sunday. I guess I will have to bite the bullet and do Bethel instead.

Sleeping Giant December 27

It's sad to say that the sleeping giant reports are my ONLY ride reports these last few weeks. These days, it seems like Sunday is the only day I'm able to get out on the road. I'd like to get out on Saturday too, but the weather (ie. snow, rain, VERY low temps) has put a hold on that. My goal for Saturday is to get out VERY early before the family wakes, but it's hard to find the motivation when it's 12 degrees. Plus, I need to get out early because Christine has swimming at 9am. Soon Ian will have basketball as well on Saturday's, so my day will be entirely booked. I don't mind the indoor workouts, but with the season approaching fast, I need to get in more time on the road. Let's hope the new year will bring more motivation. I know there are other guys already logging in mega-miles and I'm probably already way behind them.

As for the sleeping giant ride this week, one word will sum it up...and that word is wet. Thanks to the heavy rains we had Saturday and Saturday night, the roads were completely saturated for Sunday morning. Well, at least most of the snow is gone and the temps were in the lower 50's, so not all is bad.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/21119914

Even though is was a smaller group than usual (about 25), the pace was ballistic at times. I don't know where all these guys get their winter fitness. Maybe they get out on the road more than once a week. I wanted to find a happy place at the back of the group, but that was impossible since guys were constantly being gapped in front of me.

The ride finally came completely apart on the prison hill when Pete P, clad in a neon orange ski hat, drilled it. About 8 or 9 guys rolled away and I was able to grab on. This group contained some of the local heroes like Mike M, Pete P, Brian G, Brian K, Julio, JI, and a couple other guys I can't remember. We rolled into the finish together.

On the way home, the rest of the guys chose to take the bike path, but I didn't want to deal with the remaining snow and ice, so I stuck to the roads. Overall, a good ride and my fitness is getting better each week. Now if only I can stay healthy. The Bethel and Plainville series are now a little more than two months away...unbelievable!!!

Thanks for reading...

Sleeping Giant November 15

Sorry for the late posting, but things have been crazy lately. Also, I've had to take it easy the last week or so since my colitis is acting up again. Looks like I'll be back on a low dose of roids for the indefinite future. I'm getting scoped (bend over and cough!!!) on December 4, so I'll have a better idea of what my future holds. I'm just hoping that I tapered too quickly or a virus triggered my latest flare-up. Anyway, things are much better today, so I should be able to resume training now.

As for the ride, it was somewhat uneventful. I assumed my normal position at the back of the group. Some of the heavy hitters were missing, so the chance of survival was increased. I'm in survival mode on every ride these days anyway!!! If you want more detail, check out Rondo's Rage for his blow by blow account. I had a late start since the rest of the family skipped church because Ian had strep, so my pre-ride was shorter than usual. This week I hung on the ride until we passed Rt42. At that point I turned off and headed back home. I wanted to get back a little early to add some bonus points to my account with Victoria.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/18878203

With the coming holiday weekend, I was hoping to get in some good rides. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that my health holds out. Plus, it's light out by 6am these days, so I can sneak out before the rest of the family wakes up.

On to the November 29th ride...

And the Slide Continues...

The Bears have now lost 5 of 6 games. It seems like an eternity since they were 3 - 1. The way they're playing, the Bears may not win another one this year. I believe they still have the Rams on their schedule so there is a chance they could win at least once. Next week in Minnesota could be ugly...

Cheshire Cross Pics M35+

October Training Stats

I went back and compiled my training stats for October. I had a pretty good month considering that I was recovering from my illness and my fitness was poor. Unfortunately, almost all of my time on the bike was indoors. Hopefully I can get out more in November.

Here are my October stats:

Total # of Workouts: 23
Total Time of Workouts: 42:42
Total Time on the Bike: 25:26
Total Time Walking/Running: 9:03 (52.04 miles)
Total # of Sets Lifting: 119
Average # of Reps per Set: 18
Total KCals: 32,410 (most likely exaggerated since HR monitor was not calibrated)

We'll Take It...

I know the victory was against to lowly Brownies, but we'll take it. Next week the Bears are home for the Cardinals who just ended a three-game winning streak by rolling over to the Panthers at home. Let hope they roll over in Chicago next week too.

Hopefully, they've put those orange jerseys on ice for the year. Given that it was Halloween weekend those things are pretty scary.

Sleeping Giant (Part Deux)

Success!!! I managed to hang on Sleeping Giant ride for the 1st time this year. I'm not sure if my fitness is improving or if the pace was slower than in past weeks. Whatever the reason, I'll take some satisfaction in my effort. There was some doubt early in the ride when JI was pacing us on his m-cycle and I aways seemed to get stuck behind someone opening gaps. If I was in their shoes, I would just sit at the back, but I guess, like me, there are plenty of guys just trying to survive. It may be safer closer to the front, but I don't want to get in the way of guys who actually take a turn on the front.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/17746149

Maybe this will be the last week I pull off at my street. I could use more miles and with my fitness returning, I'm sure I could hang all the way back to Hamden...well, hopefully I can hang.

I may have a birthday party for one of Ian's friends next week, so I may not be back until November 15. Oh well, I guess I will just have to get out for an early am ride like I do on Saturday's. Will I ever get a chance to sleep in? Actually, I'd prefer to ride than sleep anyway.

45-10...

So much for the "dream season" for the Bears. 45-10 to the f'n Bungles...the f'n Bungles...you have got to be kidding me! At this point, it looks like it could be a long season in Chicago. That's all I have to say about that.

Sleeping Giant (aka Sunday World Championships)

My weekend wouldn't be complete without the Sleeping Giant ride. I rolled out of the house at 9am hoping to get in some miles before the onslaught of the ride while the rest of the family went to church. I hope I'm not going to hell because I'd rather ride my bike than go to church...but, then again, the sleeping giant ride, combined with my current level of fitness, has become my personal purgatory.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/17105954#

As for the ride, the pace was somewhat human for the first few miles. I few of the local superstars went up the road and I was hoping that the remainder of the ride would continue at it's current pace. But these are the World Championships, so that was not meant to be. Right before we hit Vernon Rd, a few of the superstars that previously went up the road decided to return to the group to torture the rest of us. By the time we reached the ski resort, my fuse was lit and I knew my time was limited. Once we hit the risers after the ski area, I was done. After that, I couldn't even keep with some of the back markers (who took the shortcut) that went by me like I was dragging a piano. Pride would not allow me to take the shortcut and I was resigned to the fact that the rest of my ride would be solo. The headwind out of the north didn't help either. Ed was nice enough to turn around and keep me company on the way home. I was hoping to stay with the ride longer than two weeks ago, but that didn't happen. I'd like to think my workout from the day before did me in, but I just think it's my lack of fitness. Oh well, on to next week...

October 24, 2009 Workout

With the crappy weather outside, I was stuck in the house for today's workout. I'm still trying to get back in shape from my run in with colitis, so the intensity may be harder than most at his time of the year. Normally, I would just do some random road miles or nothing considering the bad weather. My next races will not be happening until March, so I do have some time to get back in shape. I also think my heart rate is higher than normal due to multiple issues such my lack of fitness, the prednisone I still have to take daily, or the anemia from my illness. I'll be completely off the prednisone in about two weeks, so hopefully the swelling in my face and legs will end. As for the anemia, it has been improving and hopefully I'll be back to normal soon.

As for the workout, after a 15 minute warm up on the indoor trainer, I decided to do one-minute efforts every five minutes to loosen up the legs for a run. In total, I did about 60 minutes on the indoor trainer including a 10 minute cool down. After my warm up on the trainer, I changed into my running shoes for a run on the treadmill. I ran for about 55 minutes for a total of 5.7 miles. I know the speed is not impressive, but that's the best I can do considering my lack of fitness.

Tomorrow is the sleeping giant ride which has become the unofficial "Cheshire Sunday World Championships". My goal is to not get dropped like I did two weeks ago. It rained last Sunday, so went to church with the family instead. This time I pray that I have enough in my legs to hang for the whole ride. There's always some local hero willing to torture the rest of us. With the crappy weather today, I assume there will be plenty of fresh guys for tomorrow.

Where the magic happens...

Maybe I'd be better off with some sort of man cave or something, but this room is where the magic happens. This room has become my favorite room in the house...especially on crappy weather days or for 5am workouts during the week. Having two children makes it hard to get in workouts so we decided to turn one of our basement rooms into a workout room with treadmill and smith machine. We installed insulated ceiling tiles so I don't wake up the little ones with the sound of the bike or treadmill. This usually works out well since I can get my workouts in before the rest of the clan gets up.

Having the 26" HD in the corner helps me get through most workouts. This is usually my one chance to catch the latest flick that doesn't involve cartoon cars or insects. ESPN is also a popular channel for catching up on all the scores from the night before. Other than that, there's not much on at 5am during the week.