Outside on the Road Bike?!

You bet yer sweet ass we were. I was going through some crazy cabin fever too. In fact Saturday night and into Sunday morning we had 4-6" of snow on the ground from a freak snow storm that completely immobolized things for a few hours. But then came Monday and I'm out on the road with Milkman and Tony. It was only 25 miles, but it did a world of good for the spirit. All in all I felt good on the ride, even into some killer headwinds at times. I didn't have as much left at the end as I wanted, but it will come. We took off for a sprint to finish things up and those two flat out left me. I was trying to get to 30 mph, and at about 28.5 my right calf cramped up on me. I had a few more gears to grab, but it wasnt's happening. I backed off and watched them head for the horizon. They said they were up around 34 or so. I just dont have that in me yet. I'll get some pics up from the ride soon.

The new Timex Race Trainer should be in today too. I've already started my training Peaks account and am loking forward to downloading the HRM info. I'll be at the airport for April so I'll have plenty of time to learn the ins and outs of it. I'm not sure the online logging/monitoring is for me but I'll give it a try. I really like my handwritten logbook. I'll stay in it too though as my time spent writing in it is a nice way to end my days before going to bed.

Matt, you may be on to something with that sweep idea. Unfortunatley I think my standing will be sweep even in Novice at this point.

Back to the Task at Hand

Well, training in Macomb went well. It was pretty intense and taught me a lot. It's some nice training to have under my belt too. But now that its over and I've had some serious down time, it's time to get to some serious training time. My workouts will now start including a bit more speed work and will only have one long day/wk alternating between bike and run. I'll have to be flexible though as far as opportunities and weather and as the race season gets going. My next event might be Sylvan Island Stampede on 4/19, but I'm not sure. I haven't been in the woods in a long time and have zero rides on the new bike thus far due to wet trails. Sylvan is pretty forgiving though and might be just what I need to cut my teeth in the mtb race scene. If not the Stampede then I'll for sure be doing the Wildlife Trail Classic on 4/25. That's race #1 of the CITRA series. The following weekend is tyhe Run to Remember...my first "A" race of the year.

The rest of this week will be easing back into things and getting my fueling/diet right again. The past week has been hell on my diet and I'm sure my weight will reflect that. I'm not looking forward to those scale numbers.

Focus on a Different Training This Week

Taking off today to Macomb for some work related training. I'll be there all week and head back Friday night. I am taking some running clothes and will attempt to get some running and some sort of SF, core and stretching in during the week. Not sure about my facilities yet, but I will have a pool I plan on utilizing some. No updates this week, but will be sure to get back to it upon my return.

RIP Polar S120

My HRM died on me. It's been a good nfriend the last 8 yrs or so. Tiffany bought it for me for Christ,as back in the day and I've used the heck out of it. Had to replace the strap and everything. Well, the last few weeks I noticed it was getting harder to activate and work the buttons properly like I had to really push them or hold them extra long. So yesterday I'm ending a nice 90 minute treadmill run and the thing won't stop. I was pushing and holding with all my might but it wouldnt stop. I admit to banging it my hand a few times, but nothing more. Then it just went blank. I know it wasnt the battery because I never got a low battery signal and I just changed it not too long ago. So with deep regret, I must bid my Polar S120 a farewell.

Now the search for a new HRM. I am very reliant on mine to measure recovery and keep tabs on myself in terms of what my body is telling me. The obvious choice is another Polar product, but I'm relly diggin the Timex Race models. I'm a huge fan of the Timex watches. I have bout 6 of em and they all work like new. I just get bored and see a sleeker, fancier one that I think I have to have. I'm willing to give one a try and see what I think. Timex deserves a shot. Polar has a great reputation and they are solid, no doubt. But for the money, I'm willing to give a Timex Race a shot at the title.

On a side note, I'm 100% on SF this week. Havent done that in awhile. Now maybe I can finally move up to the next level. Should've been done a month ago, but I haven't stuck to them like I should.

I Feel The Need...

the need for SPEED. I'm lacking it right now and I really want to find it in the next 7 weeks or so. The Jack Kenny 5K was only slightly better than my last race with a time of 23:53. On the plus side, I was much more comfortable and relaxed for this race. I had a strategy going in and even executed it for a strong finish. The only thing lacking was a better time. So what that tells me is that it I need to put some emphasis on my interval/tempo runs and maybe even add some other speed workouts to the mix like repeat 200's and 400's. May 2nd is on the horizon and that is the first of my "A" races for the year.

I've been slacking the last couple days. Not really sure what happened to day, but I didnt get any work in. Have to start fresh tomorrow with SF then a good long run Wednesday morning at Indy. I was hoping to get outside today, but thye weather isnt quite where I want it. No excuse though for not plantin my ass on the trainer for awhile.

CITRA series dates are all finalized. I'd like to hit em all this year. Have to wait and see about September. My schedule overall is shaping up. Ive got a few question marks still but I've got 12 or so solid events with probably another 10 that I'm looking at.

Going to a PAMBA meeting tonight. I havent been in a very long time. Looking forward to seeing a few people, some not so much.

Closing In

The "season" that is. I worked on a race schedule again the other night and I think I can safely say that races that have some meaning to me look to start next month with a couple of trail runs. I do however have a 5K going down Saturday morning at Glen Oak Park. I have done this race before several years ago when I first started running. It was not a great effort as I remember. I'm a different runner now than I was then so hopefully it will have better results. Temps are looking pretty comfy, prob in the 40's by race time at 9 a.m. It's just another dress rehearsal really before the runs Im looking forward to start up.

Today is "the day before the day before" but I didnt quite get the sleep I wanted today and I probably went a little harder on my gravel grinder than I should have, but who cares. It was so great to be outside on a bike exploring new roads and plotting courses for future rides. It was more of a short recon mission really. All in all about 45 minutes on the Nishiki checking out some roads to hit full on in the months to come. It was a bit windy and as I expected, there are some handling issues to address. Wait til I get on the trail the first time!! That should be interesting.

Speaking of trails, I finally got over to Indy on Wednesday morning and got a little over an hour in. It was perfect. Cold enough that the trail wasnt sloppy but warm enough to be in shorts and be comfy. I will be there a lot this year as well. Hopefully on the bike very soon. Gonna enjoy this weather while I can though. It's that frustrating time of year when you want Spring to be here, but it seems to play games with us.

Ups and Downs

Really that's just life though, right? I'd say for sure that the past week was better that those prior. I missed a couple things for sure, but I got in some really good work too and a couple misses were out of my control. I will say that the diet took a hit a few times this week but I'll get into that more later. For now I'm gonna call it a successful week because I made progress.

As far as the diet taking a hit and maybe the biggest reason for me calling this past week good is because I have not had a dip since very early Thursday morning. To some that may not sound like much but trust me, I have struggled with it. To assist me I have probably had a few items not normally on my menu like peanut M&M's. I figure its a good trade as long as I dont go overboard with them and so far I haven't. In fact I think I will make it through the night tonight without them. I've also noticed a bit more coffee being consumed, but again...worth the tradeoff. In addition I have been having sunflower seeds, butter rum Life Savers, and some gum. Anyway, I'm proud of myself so far. I've got a long way to go and I certainly havent beat it yet, but I did today and I'll try again tomorrow and that's all the farther Im planning

I promised some bike porn......




Still like to pick up a computer and a small seat bag for it, but she's ready to ride!