Out to Athens again for the WBL ride. Picked Dana and Marc up at their respective hizzies. After some Panera bagel action we headed up to the ride start. Drizzly, damp and cool. Crowe declared it epic as we got hit with a cold rain at 40 miles, just minutes before the store stop. Shivvering into the next few downhill miles was miserable but eventually we got things steaming again. It was ladies day so the ladies got to sprint it out for a prize purse. Dana took a close second, playing solid strategy. After that it was a nice ride back into Athens. This was my first group ride on the road bike. Braking is the strangest thing... it's more like pushing down than squeezing. On fast/tight downhills I stayed on the hoods but felt sketchier than I do on the tri bike. May opt for some more in the drops but I hadn't tested them out of the group. Also found myself doing a lot of shifting... just because I could!
One hour. Felt good. Kept it mellow tonight, no intervals or speedwork. Ava rode her SmartCycle next to me for the beginning of the workout. Too cute. Every couple seconds I'd hear "GooDah, ..."
Nice little Xmas workout on the Silver Comet on the way over to Matt and Kendy's. First ride outside on the road bike. Most confusing part was the first time I had to brake. Figured it out pretty quickly. Shifting isn't second nature yet but doesn't seem like it'll be much of a hurdle. Overall it was comfortable and I really like being able to shift while sitting up. Surprised how twitchy/sketchy the bike is when in the drops. And I thought aerobars were sketchy. Those drops can be tricky. I tried some sprints but my gearing's a little wonky right now... need to trim things up a bit. Run was uneventful. Surprised how many people were out.
Warmed up, calibrated the CompuTrainer. Did 300w for 5min in ERG mode, meaning that no matter what my cadence/gearing it'll increase or decrease the resistance so that I'm outputting 300w. Was difficult but definitely have some more watts in me. After that a light few minutes followed by a short treadmill run.
Did 30 minutes of intervals on the trainer between 225 and 300 watts for between 1 and 5 minutes. and then completed my first Wingate TT test. Basically .2 miles on a flat course. Takes less than 30 seconds. Time: 26.48 sec. Peak watts: 758. Avg watts: 610. Pretty weak compared to Marc who's got a much higher average and a much much higher peak wattage. In my defense I had just completed 30 mins of intervals, wasn't sure how to shift, didn't have the tension on the wheel so it slipped a lot and didn't have the bike tightened in so there was a lot of back and forth motion. Oh, and my legs are like toothpicks compared to Marc's. I'll have to improve. Good to have a benchmark down.
Accidental Epic for 3rd WBL event, Zealots hammer out 86 mile day in 4 hours, quads fried, big rings overheated, chains smoking. Zealots pelted with rain for final 12 miles. Carney awards extra 2 points for all, one for the weather and one for the speed.
Marc and I headed up. Nice day to ride. Enjoyed it. John Murphy was there. Big rain near the end.
20min@8mph, 8min@9mph, 8min@10mph and then a bunch of intervalish stuff between 8 and 12mph. Hit it hard at the end. Legs were sore going in from, well, the lack of working out combined with yesterday's ride. But the run felt pretty good. Zero expectations. No heart rate monitoring. No goals. Just some running. Kinda like it that way.
At 41-49 degrees this was the lowest range I'll comfortably ride in. Met up with Dana and Marc at Outback Bikes. Added a pair of last minute compression stockings over bare shins. Goofy looking but they served their purpose. Met up with Josh Shields who did a great job on today's ride. Jeff Blau tells me I hosed his eBay auction with my $1 bid because it turned off the Buy It Now option... sorry dude. Saw Konnie riding strong. And Mark L on his road bike. Did the long loop. Felt even cooler coming back in. I was surprised by my legs but was pushing the limits of my residual aerobic base from the season. Time to get back into the training so that it'll hurt less. Avoided the bonk by eating more this time. Smart.
Just keeping the legs moving a bit today. I'd like to ride tomorrow and I'm already sore from yesterday. We'll see. But I did want to keep some consistency going.
Thanks for Blair for getting me off my arse! Blair's super strong and set the smackdown into effect today. Great to see him so motivated and ready for 09. And great to get off my arse and into the great wide open. It was cold and my feet are still frozen solid, but there's something nice about that!
Cold. And cold. Not to mention cold. Great to see Matthew, Dana and Marc. None of us got the clothing right today. At the store Dana, Matthew and I colluded to head back to the car where Marc thought at least one of us might continue the ride. All three of us bailed on him. Sucker. My toes were numb for two hours.
After the ride I went to Conte's Bikes to pick up a hard-to-find seat post that Brian helped me find. While there I met Eric, Jane, Brent and Trent. Brian, Brent and Trent are signed up for the Ironman Louisville/Ironman Florida double that I did this year. They opened the shop because they were tired of driving all over the place to get their bikes taken care of properly. Nice guys and a great shop atmosphere. Very helpful.
Brent's got a 2008 Litespeed Archon Titanium for sale for $5,800. Less than 250 miles and includes s-works carbon handlebars, FSA carbon stem and red s-works grip tape. A sweet ride that'd run you $8,200+ new. Contact conyersGA@contebikes.com if you're interested. Tell them Joe Reger sent you and you get a coffee for only a nickel!
I'm getting motivated by all the bloggers starting streaks or workout programs in December. So I hopped onto the treadmill for a little workout. Forced myself to take it easy at 8mph for the first 30 minutes. Then I went to 9mph for 5 min, 10mph for 5 min and then finished at 11mph for 3:24min. Final workout was 6.2 mi in 43:24. Not bad for this time of year, although I can feel the lost LT fitness.
A big flaw in my pre-post-season thinking is that riding will continue to be pleasant. It's not. Riding in mid-40's temps is miserable. Clothing is binding. Anything exposed is frozen. Snot happens. Eyes water and fog up glasses. You never know exactly how many layers to put on so you spend the first 20 minutes opening or closing zippers, bouncing between too hot and too cold. Winter riding sucks.
I got 15 miles at an average 19mph today. Not a bad workout. But not fun.
Amazed I actually made it to this workout, that is. Busy today. Treadmill in the sub-den. 8mph base and then 9mph for 5 min and 10mph for 5 min. Lungs not happy. Legs cool with it. Brain just glad that I didn't goose egg on Day 2 of my December workout push.
December 1st. Can't believe how many tri blogs I saw today with people gearing up for the working portion of the off season. Wow. And I'm there with 'em. Today's workout was uneventful, unimpressive and lacking in any specific purpose. Which meant it was perfect. Just something to get the old heart pumping and start things off. Here's to some consistency and more, well, working out.
My first a/port ride of the season. Long loop. Talked to Jeff Blau for the first time in something like 12 years. Saw Mark L. Marc and Dana parked with me at Outback Bikes in Little Five. Temps were cool but it warmed up. I was happy with my legs and lungs. I really expected a lot more pain on this one. Maybe the group just wasn't very animated today. I dropped a gel and bonked hard in the last 15 minutes but nutritional issues don't count, right? After the ride met Michael who ate at La Fonda with us. Glad to have my first a/port ride of the season done.
That's it. Me and the bike. And a Aves riding her little bike around the sub den asking me why I'm watching yoga while I'm riding my bike. Because who doesn't want to watch Namaste Yoga while wearing spandex and getting all sweaty? Aves is cute... she tries some of the yoga for a few seconds and then jumps onto the bike... and then goes back to the yoga.
Woke up at the butt crack of dawn. The cold, chapped butt crack of dawn, that is. It was 26 degrees on the way out to the run. And 23 degrees coming back thanks to some bad engineering, questionable quality control or a localized temperature wormhole.
Planned on doing my usual Wednesday 23 miler today to get back into the swing of things. No dice poncho. A veritable laundry list kept me from the far end of this run. Numb face. Ice cream headache forehead despite a hat. Lungs that have that not fresh feeling after 2.5 weeks of nothing. Freezing hands.
Got my clothing right though. Two long sleeve synthetic layers. One breathable running shell. One thin down vest. Running man-leggings (not tights.) Gloves and hat. Felt pretty good but at 26 degrees running will just be uncomfortable.
Some of the regulars out on the trail today. Nice to see them and to mumble Hi through numb lips.
Fitness bounces between muscles and respiratory throughout the season. Sometimes one's stronger. For most of the season my respiratory heart/lungs are stronger than my muscles. But today I found that I'm on the other side of the equation. My legs actually feel fine. I was easily able to drop to sub-7 pace when I wanted to. Still feels fluid, much to my surprise. But my heart rate's elevated about 15 beats and my lungs feel a burning sensation. Could be the cold.
Woke up at 5a after getting to bed at 1:30a. Stepped out onto the Comet under a beautifully clear night sky. Made the run worth it. Watching the sun come up is always fun.
Two quirks of winter running on the comet. Artificial lights from houses and street lamps are more pervasive because of the lack of leaves on the trees. And when running east the sun is a much bigger factor for the same reason.
At mile 5.5 I sat down on the side of the trail. Barely able to keep my eyes open. Sleep issues lately have caught up to me in a number of ways. Not much enjoying the run. Looked right. Looked left. Have nothing to prove. To myself or to anybody else. Packed it in. Not the time of year to invest too much mental bank going epic. It needs to be about enjoyment right now. By cutting things short I was able to keep it fun.
Fat Ass 50k/30mi Trail Run
