29 February 2012

Cycle U CompuTrainer | core

Another Wednesday, another 2 x 20 session on the indoor trainer.

CycleU_2012--02-29

The last couple of days have felt like utter crap. And prior to that, this entire last week has not felt 'good'. My attitude has been at an all-time low so even though I came off of two rest days today I was not looking forward to this workout.

Teammates and Cycle University to the rescue.

Wow, what a difference good company and a great facility can make. I set my bike up between Ryan D and Greg K and to my left were Nelson J and RC R as well. Super crew. Since I had started this workout at a threshold setting of 360 watts last week I was loath to do anything less… especially after two easy days. For just a bit I contemplated 350 but then when the big, "3… 2… 1…" came on the screen I dialed it up to 360.

Go!

Half way into the first interval I was breathing hard! On the upside my legs were not falling off and I was able to keep my cadence where I wanted. During the 4-minute break I contemplated turning up my resistance but I was not sure when to do it. I was pretty sure I could not sustain a threshold setting of 370 for the entire second interval so I waited for the 80% 'break' that comes 10 minutes in and then cranked it up.

And I held it until the end! Yes.

Damn, those last five minutes I was just staring at the screen trying to will the seconds to tick by quicker. When the workout was over I had to slump over the bars and quit pedaling for a few seconds, that was as hard as I was able to go on this day.

Dos that mean I am wicked fast/strong? I doubt it. It just means I can keep slowly improving on this specific trainer workout where I know what is coming (so I can meter my effort) after two rest days. I have ridden precious little lately as I try to squeeze in these last couple of trail running races I want to do and feel like every time I get out on the road I don't have any fitness to speak of. Whatever, my last running race is in 2.5 weeks and then it will finally be all about the bike.

Here is the CompuTrainer summary.

Name: CRIMINALE, MARTIN
Gender: Male
Athlete Type: Recreationa
Date of Birth: 0/0/1900
Weigh-in: 200
Track Position: 6
Finish Time: 50:00.00 Seconds
Anaerobic Threshold: 370
Average Speed: 22.05 MPH
Peak Speed: 24.90 MPH
Average Power: 300.52 Watts
Peak Power: 402.00 Watts
Average Pulse Power: 0
Average Watts/Kg: 3
Rolling Resistance after 5 Minute Warmup: 1.78 Pounds
Average HR: 0 BPM
Peak HR: 0 BPM
Average RPM: 0.0
Peak RPM: 0.0
Average PP: 0.0
Peak PP: 0.0
Average WPKG: 3.3
Peak WPKG: 4.4
Average SS: 0.0
Calories: 911.5

Here is my PowerTap data.

At lunch I managed to slip down to the IMA and got in a reasonable core workout. All that means is it felt reasonable, I pretty much do the same thing every time I work my core.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 4:30 AM - banana, Odwalla bar, 2 Perpetuem Solids, Nuun
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food trainer - large bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 1 scoop HEED
Injuries  
Therapy 12:45 PM - 10 min sauna
Time of Day trainer - 6:00 AM
core 12:00 PM
Workout Type intervals
Weather  
Course trainer - 2 x 20 w/hills
plank 3 min, 2 min each leg
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
leg scissors 100
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
push-ups 20
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment Road Bike
Clothing  

28 February 2012

cardio

Wow… what just happened? I suddenly lost all interest in training.

Yesterday was kind of a shambles and today I got out of bed, got dressed to hit the gym and then just didn't. I could blame it on the weather, the darkness or whatever but regardless it isn't helping me exercise.

This time of year in 2011 and 2010 I was lucky enough to spend a week in Maui riding my bike. This year that's not happening and all of a sudden I really wish it was. Vacation? I need one.

I also need some freaking massage. My legs constantly feel tight and stretching is not helping that much.

I did not want to run and the weather forecast scared me off of commuting on my bicycle (dumb!) so what's left? Some kinda cardio device at the IMA. Today it was the elliptical trainer.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 12:00 PM
Workout Type endurance
Weather  
Course elliptical trainer - 12 incline, 16 resistance
'random' hill/interval course
Results  
Time 48 min
Distance 5.9 miles (for whatever that's worth…)
Pace 140+ rpm
Equipment  
Clothing  

27 February 2012

(aborted) treadmill run | core

I made it to the gym with the will to do the right thing! That thing being an active recovery workout instead of just nothing.

I got on the treadmill, fired it up and after 15 minutes climbed off. :( I just did not have the desire… and my right knee started to ache a little. Let me outa here.
Sleep 6
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food water
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day run - 5:45 AM
core - 12:00 PM
Workout Type
Weather
Course run - treadmill, 7.5 mph (8:00 min/mile)
plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/2 x 15 sec leg lift on each side
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
leg scissors 100
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
push-ups 16 (hating it!)
hip abductors 0, the machine was busy
Results
Time run - 15 min
Distance run - 1.8 miles
Pace run - 8 min/mile
Equipment
Clothing

26 February 2012

Lord Hill Trail Run

That's right, it's practically March and Martin is still running… What can I say, it's the new me. One thing for sure, all this mediocre running will absolutely ensure that my cycling is also mediocre. Yes!

The Lord Hill Trail Run at the Lord Hill Regional Park has 5 mile, 10 mile, 20 mile (my choice) and 50 km options. Judging by the map below I'll be doing this 10 mile loop twice.

LordHill10Mile

The flyer said show up early if you want to get a parking spot near the start/finish so I did just that. Turns out 'early' means something entirely different to a runner than it does to a cyclist. Bike racers need to setup trainers, tweak equipment, put on tons of complicated clothing, pin two numbers (or have someone help you if it's a TT), pump up tires, stand in line at the bathrooms, fuss with nutrition, adjust all the equipment again, put the trainer back in the car, make a final wardrobe adjustment and then show up to the start line about 15 minutes before the gun. Runners pull up, take off their sweats, pin on one number and go. Needless to say, I got there with PLENTY of time to spare and was probably the 20th car in the main parking lot. Lesson learned.

Driving to the race the weather looked fine and the forecast said the precipitation would hold off until about 1:00 PM so I sauntered over to the start with no wind vest or jacket as it was not windy and nothing was coming down from the sky. With 10 minutes to go the promoter calls the pre-race meeting and the sky instantly opens up. At first I was thinking, "Jesus, f'ing Christ, here we go with the hypothermic suffer fest…" but then I realized it was cold enough that all the precip was solid. Nice! All that was coming down was tiny bits of pellet snow. Then we were told that there was a river (the promoter did  NOT say creek) crossing just 100' down the trail and there was simply no way to avoid it. Having soaking wet feet right from the gun is not fun so I took the last couple of minutes before the start to try and steel myself for the icy plunge.

Go!

Nice! The 'river' was not so bad - thankfully - and being near the front I managed to just jump across at the narrowest spot and not get soaked. Whew.

After about .3 miles of incredibly greasy flat dirt road it starts to tip up. I was still running but around .8 miles in you take a left and NO ONE was running. Holy cliff hanger Batman, the trail went straight up this grassy hill and if someone was 20' in front of you were staring at their heels. No shit. What was at the top of this precipice? The first photographer of course. :)

03 05

Right from the start I had resolved to TAKE IT EASY. I always go out too hard and fade and my goal today was to try and find a pace that I could theoretically sustain for more than 20 miles; like hypothetically 31 miles. Needless to say, in those first .8 miles about 20 people ran away from me but incredibly I reeled three or so in on the hike.

But I was not feeling so hot. I was breathing way too hard and did not feel fresh and was struggling to move efficiently. Oh well, another good thing to learn is how to run through bad patches. It is not fun but you need to do it.

At the highest points on the course it was snowing very lightly and it was beautiful. There was a dusting on the ground and the flakes kinda ticked your face. The stuff on the ground absolutely helped with traction but it did not last. As the race progressed it warmed up some but the precipitation also stopped so we never got rained on.

After an equally greasy descent (I was already wondering how the hell we were going to stay upright the second time through…) we finally got off the road and onto some fun trail. This took us over several bridges and to the first aid station at which point I had pretty much lost contact with everyone up front except for these two guys. Once of them seemed about my age and the other quite a bit younger. I had to stop for a leak so they both got a gap but after shoving a gel and four Shot Bloks in my face and trying to wash them down with some Nuun I was off. And half way down the first big sustained descent I caught them both!

It was already obvious that both of these guys were going up better than I was so I decided not to worry about them/race them and just do my own thing. My own thing meant they passed me back on the last climb and I caught them and dropped one of them on the last descent. Which is steep by the way! You drop from the upper parking lot to the lower parking lot and it's .25 miles of look-out-because-ready-or-not-here-I-come.

At the start/finish I ate another gel and another four Shot Bloks and washed that down with more Nuun. I managed not to fall into the creek and not hit the deck in the greasy mud and then it was straight up again.

I was suddenly feeling better! Not faster, but more consistent. between mile 10 and 15 I transitioned from walking to running very quickly after each hike section and kept it nice and steady all the way to the aid station. I was feeling good! So good I had dropped the other guy on the climbs… Was I going too hard? I had no idea. But since it was working for me so far, I had another gel and four more Shot Bloks and lots of Nuun (my bottle was almost empty).

11

As I was squeezing gel into my mouth the older guy that I had passed pulled up and essentially turned right around and took off. Damn. I threw my gel wrapper in the trash, grabbed one last cup of Nuun to try and help rinse the bits of Shot Blok that were glued to every tooth in my mouth and started running. Trying to breath with a mouthful of food is not so easy, just sayin'.

And guess what, pretty much right away I could tell I was not going to be able to hang with this guy. :( About .5 miles after this aid station you turn off the doubletrack and onto the most technical singletrack on the course. At this point I was still right behind him and he actually stepped aside and waved me through saying I was probably going to be faster than him here so I obliged him but inside I was thinking today is not my day. Sure enough, as I exited the singletrack onto more greasy dirt road - where I had to walk to catch my breath - he was right behind me. And he did not have to walk. See ya.

ASIDE - I think this run was the wettest and most slippery run that I have ever done. You spend quite a bit of time on dirt road that is covered in super slimy mud and you literally skate/surf across the surface at times. There is nothing to do but expect it and never totally commit to either foot. Not to mention we were running down trails that were essentially creeks numerous times. Two words: mud bog.

There is a section of this run that takes you over grassy rollers. The first time up it was slippery. Coming back on this same section of trail toward the end of lap one it was treacherous. Starting lap three I was running about five feet to the right of the 'trail' just so I wouldn't constantly be on my ass. Let's just say I saw lots of people walking these descents. One person had trekking poles that I made fun of earlier and of course now I could see the logic.

As I continued to run out of gas that guy in front of me kept putting time into me but interestingly I also kept putting time into the kid that I had dropped earlier who had been faster than me on the climbs. I just tried to keep it somewhat steady and although I walked more this time round than the first lap I didn't totally blow up. Small consolation that.

Somehow I had managed to avoid stepping directly into a puddle/stream/mud hole this long. With about two miles to go that ended as I put my left foot into what I thought was going to be a shallow puddle and it completely covering my sock. Oh yeah. Maybe 200 m later I planted my right foot on a root and it slid off into a a pit of mud. I didn't fall down - luckily - but my speed took a sudden dive and I heard a resounding squelch as I extracted my foot from the mess. Then it was game on and I was looking for water to run through so I could rinse the mud off.

As I finally exited the forest and was approaching the last descent someone shouted my name. I was so surprised anyone could recognize me with a hat on I had to turn around and see who it was. And almost bit the dust in the process. I forget her name but it was an adventX instructor from my outdoor exercise class days. Very nice to get a shout out.

I caught two women who were finishing their 10-mile race on the descent and suddenly they accelerated! That's right, I beat them to the bottom. I am a man after all. I am also an idiot.

At the finish they had recovery pizza! Holy cow did that hit the spot. To the tune of three slices. I also saw Martin de V at the finish who had smoked the 10-mile course. Way to go. Then I got a free tune-up from a Chiropractic clinic that was donating their time (thanks!) and I got some congratulations from Roger. To top it off I was not injured or all that sore. Come to think of it, I had something left in the tank for sure but just did not have the fortitude to use it all. On the other hand I mostly had fun so that's a big plus.

The only bummer was that my favorite shorts have for some bizarre reason started to chafe my inner thighs. I thought I had let my legs recover enough but not so. Today sure flared that up and it looks I will need to switch shorts until I can figure out why this happened in the first place as they used to be super comfy. Rats.

Here are all the pictures.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 5:30 AM - 2 bananas, applesauce, protein powder, walnuts
6:00 AM - large bottle w/2 scoops Perpetuem
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 1 scoop HEED, 3 gels, 12 Shot Bloks, more Nuun
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 8:30 AM
Workout Type race
Weather mid 30s - 40
Course  
Results 20 mile
Men - 8th
Overall - 17th [The women positively scorched this event!]
official results
Time 3:12:18
Distance 20 miles
Pace  
Equipment Hoka Combo XT, hand-held bottle
Clothing shorts, Craft short sleeve undershirt, SmartWool long sleeve shirt, Patagonia gloves, SmartWool hat

25 February 2012

team ride

My legs have felt really heavy lately. I think it's because I am not doing any active recovery and all my workouts have been relatively hard or I do nothing. I recall falling into this pattern last summer when mid-week racing started and I ran out of time to just go for fun or easy rides. Take my advice, take the time to ride easy; it not only helps your muscles recover it also helps your mind because you know you don't have to go 100% every time you throw a leg over the saddle. The latter is actually huge.

Today I decided to join the 'team ride' but judging by the weather conditions (snow up north and rain most everywhere else) and the emails flying around attendance was going to be low.

I checked the forecast briefly before heading out and it looked good! Sure it was cold but it was not raining at my house and it looked like the precipitation might hold off until about 1:00 PM. Nice!

The dry conditions lasted until I got to the UW where it started sprinkling. One mile later I pulled over to swap my vest for my rain jacket. Oh well. And then as I got close to Bothell the rain was getting slushy and I saw white on both sides of the Burke Gilman Trail.

I met Greg K, Ryan D, Dean J, Lane S and RC R. Good company for sure. The plan was to do some hills up north but it looked bad. We tried one and as we climbed there was more and more snow on the road. And each car that passed us would douse us with a wave of slush. So we headed south.

What a difference! First of all the rain stopped half way back and by the time we got to the top of the hill the roads were half dry. That'll teach me to venture away from home. :)

We did a few hills here, mostly the pace was quite moderate. I tried to go hard once and had to back off after not very long. I then went hard again, actually caught the leaders and then blew again. Oh well. I kind of just wanted to do some 'openers' anyway as I have hard day planned tomorrow. See that? I just made an excuse and tried to disguise it. :)

After riding up Capitol Hill four times I called it a day and headed home. Can I just say that doing hills here is freaking convenient? Incredible. I was home in less than 15 minutes from the time I peeled off.

Thinking back my legs did not feel that bad which is a good sign.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 5:30 AM - 2 bananas, applesauce, protein powder, walnuts, opine nuts
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food large bottle w/2 scoops
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 8:30 AM
Workout Type endurance hills
Weather 40, some rain, calm
Course  
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment Rain Bike
Clothing Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Roubaix leg warmers, Craft long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, rain jacket, Polypropylene gloves, OR Gripper gloves, cap

24 February 2012

core

So. Tired. Must. Rest.

Today was my second aerobic zero this week, it seems like it has been ages since I took two whole days off from exercising in any given week. Yesterday must have been harder on me than I thought it would be because even an active recovery day did not sound very exciting.

I did get to the gym and I did do my core work and that went well so hooray. I also did lots of stretching and hit the sauna. Oh man, do I love the sauna… I swear I could nap in there sometimes.

Sleep 6-7
Waking HR  
Body Weight 12:00 PM - 182
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries My right hip still feel somewhat tweaked but better than yesterday.
Therapy  
Time of Day 5:30 AM
Workout Type 12:00 PM - 20 min of stretching, 15 min sauna
Weather  
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/2 x 15 sec leg lifts each leg
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
leg scissors 100
twisters 50 each side - 10 lb.
push-ups 20
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment  
Clothing  

23 February 2012

urban run

Holy shit! I took losing sleep to the extreme last night. I woke up at midnight and that was all she wrote. Damn.

On the up side, the weather was fantastic and I had great company but my run was a massive spiral of death as I gradually faded all the way to the end where I ended up having to walk four times. :( I didn't bonk, I think it was lack of sleep and me being tired from the last few days.

It's my experience that if you log a hard run it stays with you longer than a hard ride AND you can't fake it on subsequent runs like you can on a bike where you are able to draft and coast. And you can take that to the bank. :)

Today I hooked with Frank H and Justin A for an early lunch run. Turns out Frank likes to clock out every Thursday around this time, go for a run, run home and then finish his work day there. Nice. I have been able to join these guys twice and it's been great company both times.

We take off and after a mile or so Justin kinda turns his head around and says to me, "So Martin, what's our pace on your GPS thingy…?" I glance down and see that we're doing 7:05-7:10 and in retrospect I bet Justin knew this and just wanted to hip me to the fact so I wouldn't toast myself. We slowed down a little but today it was not enough for me and I paid the price later on.

As we climbed up toward Discovery Park so we could cross the wood bridge over the train tracks and then cross the locks my legs were HEAVY. On the flats I was right on their heels but on this very gentle climb suddenly I was 20' off the back. Shit. Lucky for me I had to take a leak at the locks so I got a tiny breather.

Cruising into Golden Gardens you can see that our pace picked up again. At the time this felt okay and I was determined to run the climb up from the beach but about two thirds of the way up - pretty much right where it gets steep - I folded and had to walk. I walked the last bit of dirt trail and the stairs (two at a time at least) and then once I got to the top I had to walk half a block just to catch my breath. Ouch.

From here on in it was not so much fun. :( As you head to Green Lake there are about four or five, normally insignificant, one-block rollers and on each one I was hating life. I had to prep myself mentally each time I saw one coming and then dig on the 'climb' just to stay in contact. On one of them I had to walk! And then bust it on the descent to catch up. Yikes… I was fading big time.

We dropped Justin off and for just a bit I felt okay but then I had to ask Frank to hold up so I could walk a few steps again. I just had no focus, my breathing was ragged and my legs were pretty un-special. I had to walk a few steps again just climbing up to 15th Ave NE for crying out loud.

At least I held it together running back into campus on Ravenna Blvd, thank god for that.

I can't help feeling like super dork running through campus in my shorts, SmartWool top and handheld bottle… I might as well be carrying a sign that says, "Look at me, I'm different!" Funny how out on the streets or trails I don't give a damn but on campus with all the 20-somethings I get super self-conscious.

Around mile 10 I had been extoling the virtues of my Hoka Combo XT shoes and so it was supreme irony that my right hip started to really hurt the last two miles of this run. After my shower (which was heaven by the way) and my walk back to the office it felt a little better but what the hell? These shoes have been super so far and I do NOT need any issues right now.

Sleep 3, maybe…
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 6:30 AM - 2 bananas, applesauce, protein powder, walnuts, avocado
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 1 scoop HEED, gel
Injuries Right hip started to ache with about 2-3 miles to go.
Therapy 5:30 AM - 30 minutes of stretching
Time of Day 10:30 AM
Workout Type  
Weather mid to upper 40s, mostly sunny, light breeze, dry
Course  
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment Hoka Combo XT, handheld bottle
Clothing shorts, Craft short sleeve undershirt, SmartWool long sleeve shirt

22 February 2012

Cycle U CompuTrainer | core

Wednesday morning at Cycle University has become my weekly highlight. And by 'highlight' I of course mean it's the day I peak for. :( Obviously it's time to start racing bikes on the weekends. Another sign that I need to do a real event on the weekends is I was thinking about this trainer session 24 hours in advance because I wanted to do well. Sheesh.

CycleU_2012-02-22

The alarm woke me up today and I felt pretty (sleepy) tired. Knowing I needed at least some food I stumbled down to the kitchen which has the benefit of getting me halfway to the garage where my bike is.

I made an effort to show up a little early today in hopes of getting in some warm-up minutes on the trainer otherwise the start of these workouts just kick my ass. Lucky for me Ryan D pulled up at about 5:50 so I was able to spin for roughly 10 minutes. Thanks Ryan.

Last week I started this workout at a threshold power setting of 340 watts and turned it up twice ultimately finishing at 360. As I was warming up today I dialed in 350 watts for my threshold setting but then just before we started I impulsively turned it up another 10 watts. Just because. I guess I wanted to see what I could sustain for the entire workout and not discover I could have done more during the first interval and so turn it up during the second.

I could tell it was harder.

I was already breathing pretty good by the time I hit that 2-minute 80% 'rest' in the middle of the first interval and those last two bumps were not easy. During the 4-minute 50% break I caught my breath, had a drink, steeled myself and then it was time for interval number two.

I shifted up one tooth for this one in hopes that a slightly slower cadence would make it easier for me keep my speed up. I had noticed that my speed was hovering around 21-22 mph during the first interval and I try to keep it between 21-25 and so wanted to get myself back to the upper end of that range.

ASIDE - in case I have not mentioned it before (I probably have…), when you drop below 20 mph on a CompuTrainer ergometer workout the resistance gets artificially hard and when you go above 25 mph it gets artificially easy. I sometimes see people killing it in the 53x12 doing 30+ mph and I just want to let them know that this is not the point of an ergo workout. Whatever.

A quarter of the way through the second interval I was already talking to myself in my head. "C'mon Martin!" I would say to myself, "You can do this!" Did I mention I was already looking forward to that 80% rest…? You betcha.

During the second part of the second interval I really had to concentrate. And at some point the words in my head started to come out of my mouth. Funny how we all do different things to encourage ourselves and I guess I literally cheer myself on. :) My speed dipped just a little a couple of times and I had to force myself to keep going and not take one of my lame little coasting breaks but in the end I did it. Boy where those last three nine minutes hard.

Whew, that was as hard as I can go. Never once did I even contemplate turning up my threshold power. At the end I had to do the old hang-the-head-over-the-handlebars routine for a minute before I could even cool down. For me this is another trainer PR/benchmark and honestly I'm not sure if I can go any better with the training (or lack thereof) that I am currently doing? And every time I think this is pretty solid I remind myself that doing two 20-minute intervals is NOT like any bike race where everyone else and the terrain dictates the pace. Plus, I'm not actually riding that much… Blah, blah, blah, right? See you on the road. Better yet, see you at the next duathlon, there I might stand a chance.

It sure helped 1) that I had rested yesterday and 2) that I setup between Ryan and Greg K both of which are very encouraging. During the ride Greg recognized that I was going for it and said something motivating and after we were done Ryan did the same. It helps!

Here is the CompuTrainer summary.

Name: CRIMINALE, MARTIN
Gender: Male
Athlete Type: Recreationa
Date of Birth: 0/0/1900
Weigh-in: 200
Track Position: 6
Finish Time: 50:00.00 Seconds
Anaerobic Threshold: 360
Average Speed: 22.35 MPH
Peak Speed: 26.62 MPH
Average Power: 297.08 Watts
Peak Power: 400.00 Watts
Average Pulse Power: 0
Average Watts/Kg: 3
Rolling Resistance after 5 Minute Warmup: 1.50 Pounds
Average HR: 0 BPM
Peak HR: 0 BPM
Average RPM: 0.0
Peak RPM: 0.0
Average PP: 0.0
Peak PP: 0.0
Average WPKG: 3.3
Peak WPKG: 4.4
Average SS: 0.0
Calories: 929.7

And here is my PowerTap data.

At lunch I managed to get down to the IMA and had a great core workout! Nice. Sometimes after a hard workout in the AM I totally lose it and just want to go have a beer at lunch and call it a day.

ANOTHER ASIDE - in my experience nothing calls a stop to (the productive part of) your day faster than the beer with lunch. It always sounds like a great idea but then I just want to roll over, grab the remote and have another.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 5:00 AM - banana, applesauce, protein powder, 1 Perpetuem Solids
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food trainer - large bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 1 scoop HEED
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day trainer - 6:00 AM
core - 12:00 PM
Workout Type intervals
Weather  
Course trainer - 2 x 20 w/hills
plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/2 15 sec leg lifts each leg
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
leg scissors 100
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
push-ups 20
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment Road Bike
Clothing  

20 February 2012

core | ride | Martin learns his BMI

2 beers + massage + big dinner the night before = hard to get out of bed

I know, rough life and all that.

After checking the core box I went to see my doctor for my annual physical exam and then for a ride.

First the ride. Today was one of those non-stop negotiations with myself. A few days ago I had thought that going long today would be a good idea; I actually had five hours to spare so loaded up my bottles and pockets and headed out all bundled up.

Three or four miles down the Burke-Gilman Trail that changed. I was pooped. As I rode I kept doing the mental math figuring out where I could go and each time I thought of the route I ended up trimming off some miles. By the time I got to the north end of Lake WA my ride had shrunk from 70 or 80 to 60 and finally top 55. Then I got to the top of Juanita Dr and it started raining. Suddenly my route shrunk again as I just wanted to get home.

At least I did not take the most direct (read: boring) route back to I-90 and instead rode along the east shore of the lake which netted me one more hill and a lot les traffic. And once I arrived back on the west shore I did not head straight through the tunnel and instead dropped down to Leschi and went back up Madrona Dr.

When I saw my doctor I learned for the first time ever what my BMI is. It's 23. I was told 'normal' is 18-25 for men and that this number is pure math based on your height (6' 2.5") and weight (181 lb.). I think if you had asked me if I was going to fall on the higher end of the normal scale I would have said no but there you go, what do I know. Turns out he CDC even has a widget (I hear they are all the rage these days) you can insert into a web page:

BMI For Adults Widget


I also learned that compared to last year when I had blood work done I am still wicked low in iron. Time to get back on the supplements I guess. :( And this is after I gave up being vegetarian and I eat exponentially more dark, leafy greens than the average American. Sucks.

 

Sleep  
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food core - water
ride - large bottle w/2 scoops Perpetuem, 2 Perpetuem Solids, half a Promax bar
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day core - 5:30 AM
ride - 12:00 PM
Workout Type  
Weather mid 40s, cloudy, light rain
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side w/2 x 10 sec leg lift
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
leg scissors 100
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
push-ups 6, 12
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment Rain Bike
Clothing Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Roubaix leg warmers, Craft long sleeve undershirt, heavy long sleeve jersey, wind vest, Polypropylene gloves, OR Gripper gloves, cap
Technorati Tags: ,

19 February 2012

Ballard, Discovery Park, Magnolia run

Plan A and plan B for running fell through today but luckily Jon W was up for plan C.

I love how the mind justifies something and then when it comes time to execute you totally have second thoughts. Just two days ago I was thinking that a good, long run would be just the ticket today but a couple of miles in I was thinking, "What in the hell am I doing…?!" That and, "Watching the Lord Of The Rings trilogy (director's cut of course) on a couch with big bag of potato chips and lots of beer in the fridge sounds pretty damn good right now…"

Yesterday's race had taken a little more out of me than I thought and Jon is deceptively smooth meaning you need to feel good to keep up with him. I tried some deep breathing and tried to rest on the first descent down to the Burke Gilman Trail in hopes that I could ease into this.

Lucky for me Jon is also super nice and (correctly in my opinion) believes that on your long day about all that matters is getting in the time/miles and speed is of little importance. He's also great fun to talk to so we chatted away about all kinds of things and it helped keep my mind off the effort.

Crossing the Ballard Locks was fun. I have only run across them once before ever and it's so peaceful when it's not a crazy, tourist-filled summer day. The roar of the water flowing through the sluices is also pretty impressive.

As we started to climb up to Discovery Park I began to feel a little better and once we were on the Loop Trail in the park I was feeling fine. Whew.

We took it easy on the descent to the beach. At the top of the stairs a woman walking her dog told us a baby seal was on the beach at the lighthouse but we never saw it. Still, it was cool just knowing that a baby seal was on the beach mere yards from us… It made me feel all Greenpeace and shit.

As we turned left off of the beach and hit the climb to the bluff Jon said something like, "Okay, I think I'm ready for this…" and instantly I felt better knowing that he was human and could also get tired. And did fine on the climb! I was able to take most of the steps two-at-a-time and we were never in danger of slowing to a walk. Of course when I got to the top I had to pause and catch my breath. Jon did not seem to mind. Then it was another quick stop at the toilet in the park and, out the top and down Magnolia Blvd W.

Here we marveled at and speculated about the price of the estates on the west side of the street as you near the bottom of the hill. Each house has a private drive, multiple garages, separate quarters (for servants?) and a boatload of real estate which guarantees a spectacular view of the Puget Sound and prices in the millions.

Once we ran down the Magnolia Bridge there is a cool urban section where you go up some ramps, down some stairs and then along a ton of train tracks as you head north. I have ridden this section countless times commuting home from work but have never run it ever. In fact, as we headed north this HSP rider passed us with a, "On your right." and I had to smile thinking that usually that person on the bike is me and the runner or pedestrian is someone else.

As we ran long the tracks admiring all the tags and graffiti on the freight cars we suddenly saw two cars hooked together moving rather quickly along the track with NO ENGINE ATTACHED TO THEM AND NO PEOPLE ABOARD. We were both like, "Wha…?" These cars were not moving slowly. It was not until we got up the trail a bit more and saw an engine that was pushing cars up this small incline and then letting them go on the back side that we realized this was something that had been don on purpose. I gotta say, those two cars sailing along the tracks all by themselves was sort of spooky.

As we crossed Dravus I suddenly got very tired. Once we turned right onto the new ship canal bike path I was feeling really beat. I had just had my second gel and was so hoping for one of those cartoon moments when Popeye eats his spinach and quite literally wakes from the dead. No such luck. But I did manage to keep plodding along. Until we got to Fremont Bridge. I had to walk for a few seconds here. What's that you say? It's all uphill back to Green Lake? Really…

As we crossed the bridge two cyclists slowed as they passed us and took the time to let us know they recognized us from up in Discovery Park and that they were really impressed by how fast we had run. How nice! For some reason this gave me a tiny boost. That and the fact that Jon was not in a huge hurry to climb Fremont Ave meant we cruised all the way up that hill non-stop and our pace was not so shabby in my humble opinion.

In retrospect it was a good decision to climb this hill. Once you reach the top it's downhill to Green Lake and then flat to the car. Nice! Once we hit the lake I guess both of us could smell the barn some because our pace picked up just a tad and we finished the run off in relative style.

ASIDE - my Hoka Combo XT shoes really saved my bacon today, holy cow. I finally figured out how to lace them up (tight on the bottom and lose on the top) and they felt super. More importantly, my right foot and ankle felt super! I guess I just need to stick with these shoes for a bit until I am well and truly healed up.

Thanks Jon! You don't complain, you are fun to talk to and you are game to try routes that I come up with at the last minute.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 5:15 AM - banana, applesauce, protein powder, walnuts, large bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 1 scoop HEED
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food 2 bottles each w/2 scoops Perpetuem, 2 gels
Injuries My right foot and ankle felt great!
Therapy 6:00 PM - 60 minute massage
Time of Day 7:30 AM
Workout Type endurance
Weather 40, dry sky, a little wind in exposed areas but not so bad
Course  
Results  
Time 2:58:21
Distance 21.1 miles
Pace 8:21 min/mile
Equipment Hoka Combo XT
Clothing shorts, Craft short sleeve undershirt, SmartWool long sleeve shirt, Patagonia gloves

18 February 2012

Fort Steilacoom Off-Road Duathlon

Three weeks ago I entered the second event in this three-race series and it was pretty fun so I thought I would come back and try the last one. This time it was quite a bit wetter than last time.

CIMG8373

The weather kept some of the competitors away but it was obvious that all the fast guys who were in the hunt for the series win were still here. Go!

Right away I could tell that my run was not quite as quick as last time. The leaders pulled away pretty fast and all I could do was watch them recede into the distance. But this run had a substantial hill in it and I was able to pass about three people back on the climb. I pulled into the transition in 17th place.

It took me a looong time to change my shoes. Rats. At last two people passed me back in the transition. Once I got on my bike it was a different story; I felt pretty good and was really drilling it on the flats and was going up the hills in bigger gears than last time, I could tell because we rode many of the same trails today. Even though I was very cautious on the corners, the only thing holding me up today on the ride was traffic.

There was this one woman in front of me on the second lap and as I approached I shouted that I was coming up and she was like, "Okay…" But she didn't move. Then I said, "Passing on your left!" and again she said okay and didn't move. I saw an opportune corner coming up so I shouted, "Let me by on the right at the next corner please!" She said okay and then stuck right to the middle of the trail all the way through the turn. What the hell? I was getting a bit perturbed but wasn't going to shoulder her into the ravine or anything so this time I shouted, "Please let me by! You might need to stop or get off the trail!" This time she sorta kinda moved over to the left but I still had some significant contact as I rode past. Sheesh. For the most part everyone was VERY accommodating and some people even jumped off their bikes and pulled them off the trail - not necessary but very nice.

All the mountain bikes were putting seconds into me on the descents but I would more than make up for it on the flats and the climbs. Today I was able to really drill it on the flats and it felt good. I like that. I also started trusting the burms on the outside of corners and riding straight through puddles when it was the shortest line and passed plenty of people that way. Plus, off on the side of the trail the surface was frequently softer than in the middle so even though there was more water in the middle it felt faster to be on firm ground.

The first climb was straight up a section of grassy hill and it was just rideable. Each time my back tire was squirming all over the place as I churned away in my lowest gear. There was no way you could get out of the saddle so the proper gear and traction was key.

After some very bumpy flatish trail came the second climb. This was pretty steep and I had to run it every lap but I don't think that slowed me down any.

Then you came all the way back toward the start on a side hill and even rode under an arch that I had to duck (a lot!) for. That was the new bit and then we hit a gradual climb that was the course from last time.

At the bottom of the last descent were some people with RC boats by the 'lake' and these things were hauling ass! They were gas-powered and I saw some of them get launched and they took off like rockets. It was all hydrofoils and cigarette racing boats. The boats were about four feet long.

On the last flat section of the last lap I managed to pass one more person and tried to gun it to the finish so I would have a buffer because I knew that if he was this far ahead of me he obviously had a stellar run.

But my second transition was even longer than my first! :( Out of the corner of my eye I saw this guy pull in, seemingly change his shoes by magic and boom, he was off. I think he put 30 seconds on easy and I had almost that much on him going into the transition. At the end of the race he came up to me and gave me a tip, "Put toggles on your laces. That's how I made up so much time on you." Thanks Bro. Then he proceeded to compliment me on my bike leg. "You did really well for riding that cycle touring bike…" Thanks again.

As I headed out I could see him just ahead of me but there was no closing this gap. In fact, he put at least another 30 seconds into me on the last run leg and there was nothing I could do about it. On the hill I tried to go hard and kinda blew a gasket… At the top I had to stop for three seconds and catch my breath before I could run the descent. And then on the descent I was not really racing, more like resting.

Near the end I saw one guy chasing me down so I sped up and managed to finish strong. Whew.

I had put a clear rain jacket in the transition because of the wind but opted to not put it on for the bike leg and I was fine. And by the time I put my running shoes back on my gloves were soaking wet so after three seconds of fumbling with them I just left them behind and luckily my hands were plenty warm on that last run.

When I finished I was muddy! At the last minute I put a seatpost fender on and I'm so glad I did. Still, my shoes (both pair!) were a disaster as were my socks and my chest and face. I did a pretty good job of avoiding the spray from other riders as I did not spend a lot of time behind anyone but there was no stopping the mud from my own front wheel.

So my result was better but some of the competition from last time was not there. My average run speed was also slower but that hill takes the credit for that. My ride was faster but the bike course was also a little shorter (or so I was told?). All-in-all a really fun time.

It seems all the winners in these duathlons are wicked fast runners. I'll never be that. It was tough to decide what to wear today. It felt COLD but once I finished the first run I was fine and the ride was fairly sheltered. There was one long straight section on the run where you were battling a massive headwind. I don't recall that last time. Unfortunately there was no tailwind section. :) Once again it looks like my GPS shortened the course. Oh well.

Here are all the pictures.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 5:45 AM - banana, apple sauce protein powder, walnuts
6:00 AM - large bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 1 scoop HEED
8:00 AM - large bottle w/3 scoops Perpetuem
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food 1 sip of water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 10:00 AM
Workout Type race
Weather 40, rain, wind
Course 5 km run, 12 mile ride (3 x 4-mile loop), 5 km run
Results Long Course
Male - 4th
Overall - 4th
official results
Turns out this result was enough to give me 2nd place in the series!
Time 1:36:21
Distance 5 km run, 12 mile ride, 5 km run
Pace  
Equipment Brooks Cascadia
Cyclocross Bike
Clothing Roubaix knickers, Craft long sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, heavy vest, OR Gripper gloves, cap

17 February 2012

Cycle U CompuTrainer

Boom! Another record setting day for Martin. And by 'record' I of course mean I managed to set my threshold power about 5-10 watts higher than normal which is still a pretty mediocre number compared to any major player. In other words, this hype is just about making me feel special. :)

After an easy day yesterday I obviously showed up at Cycle University pretty fresh and ready to go. Today it was just the skeleton crew of Corrie M, Tony B and Ryan D but hey, it's a FAR cry from doing a solo trainer workout so I was thrilled to be here.

CycleU_2012-02-17

For the first time ever this (indoor trainer) season I started the workout at a threshold setting of 350 watts. After the first interval I upped it to 355, after the second I upped it to 360 and I did the last 8-minute interval and the 15-minute interval at a threshold setting of 365 watts.

That first interval in this workout is always hard but today it was not quite the massive slap in the face that it usually is; I think I was able to spin for a solid 10 minutes before we got rolling and I'm sure that helped. The second interval was okay but then I was breathing pretty good during the third. I got it back under control during the fourth but had to focus to finish this up without fading; I was still breathing hard. In the end it was hard for sure but I actually had a little bit left in the tank so under ideal conditions I could do just a little more. Focus is the hardest thing for me… when I lose it my workouts suck and when I can maintain they are pretty good.

Here is the CompuTrainer summary.

Name: CRIMINALE, MARTIN
Gender: Male
Athlete Type: Recreationa
Date of Birth: 0/0/1900
Weigh-in: 200
Track Position: 6
Finish Time: 00:00.00 Seconds
Anaerobic Threshold: 365
Average Speed: 23.25 MPH
Peak Speed: 27.10 MPH
Average Power: 296.86 Watts
Peak Power: 448.00 Watts
Average Pulse Power: 0
Average Watts/Kg: 3
Rolling Resistance after 5 Minute Warmup: 1.62 Pounds
Average HR: 0 BPM
Peak HR: 0 BPM
Average RPM: 0.0
Peak RPM: 0.0
Average PP: 0.0
Peak PP: 0.0
Average WPKG: 3.3
Peak WPKG: 4.9
Average SS: 0.0
Calories: 1098.3

And here is my PowerTap data. No surprises here, you can see that after the last 8-minute interval I finally sat up for a couple of seconds to coast so my speed drops off once but that was the only time. My max heart rate is still not so high but my power numbers keep slowly climbing. I think I did shift up one cog after the first interval and my cadence chart seems to corroborate that.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 5:00 AM - 4 Perpetuem Solids, large bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 1 scoop HEED
5:30 AM - gel
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food large bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 1 scoop HEED
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 6:00 AM
Workout Type 4 x 8-min
Weather  
Course  
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment Road Bike
Clothing  

16 February 2012

treadmill run

I managed to run twice Tuesday so figured I would try that again today but no dice. Once I started I realized pretty quickly that today was just a 'check the box' kind of day and I'm okay with that. :)

Hopefully I feel up for another quality indoor ride tomorrow after this rest.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 5:30 AM
Workout Type active recovery
Weather  
Course treadmill - 1% incline
Results  
Time 30 min
Distance 3.9 miles
Pace 7:30 min/mile
Equipment Hoka Combo XT
Clothing  

15 February 2012

Cycle U CompuTrainer | core

The goal today was 'moah powah'. [Said in my best Arnold Schwarzenegger accent.]

And I achieved it.

For the first time I was able to start the workout at a threshold setting of 340 watts and half way through turned it up to 350. Then halfway through the second interval I upped the threshold setting to 360. Whew.

I won't to lie, not doing stairs or weights on Tuesday definitely helped me out today.

CycleU_2012-02-15

We almost had a full house! High attendance is good for my motivation.

Since I was relatively rested and woke up early enough to have a snack I decided to go for a PR of sorts today meaning I would start the workout at a higher threshold setting than before. It's always tough to get in a warm-up for these as you can only show up so early to a 6:00 AM workout but I managed to spin for at least five minutes. :)

I was breathing pretty good after the first interval but my legs felt great so I took the chance and increased the power. Funny how sometimes 10 watts is really noticeable sometimes not so much. Going from 340 to 350 I could feel it but then going from 350 to 360 not so much actually. I'm convinced all this indoor stuff has to be taken with a HUGE grain of salt… it's just another metric and not very real-world.

Still, I was pretty psyched by today's metric. :) The next goal is to start this workout at a threshold setting of 350 and not need to turn it down. We'll see when I can do that.

Here is the CompuTrainer summary.

Name: CRIMINALE, MARTIN
Gender: Male
Athlete Type: Recreationa
Date of Birth: 0/0/1900
Weigh-in: 200
Track Position: 6
Finish Time: 50:00.00 Seconds
Anaerobic Threshold: 360
Average Speed: 22.77 MPH
Peak Speed: 25.84 MPH
Average Power: 288.95 Watts
Peak Power: 394.00 Watts
Average Pulse Power: 0
Average Watts/Kg: 3
Rolling Resistance after 5 Minute Warmup: 1.68 Pounds
Average HR: 0 BPM
Peak HR: 0 BPM
Average RPM: 0.0
Peak RPM: 0.0
Average PP: 0.0
Peak PP: 0.0
Average WPKG: 3.2
Peak WPKG: 4.3
Average SS: 0.0
Calories: 890.5

And here is the PowerTap data.

Not sure why my Garmin Edge 500 cuts out so often, you can see the speed drop off numerous times and I can confirm that many times when I looked down I saw, "Auto Paused" on the display. Seems like a glitch? it would Auto Resume almost immediately but still, why does it drop off?

You can also see my heart rate climb a little during the second interval which makes sense as I was going harder. On the other hand, you can see my cadence drop slightly because I shifted to the next smaller cog for the second interval trying to give myself a break as in I was not sure I would be able to maintain my cadence with the increased resistance… Usually I have a harder time getting my heart rate up when my cadence drops but I guess it has to drop significantly and this time it only tailed off very slightly. You can also see my power increase a tad which makes sense.

At lunch I got down to the IMA for the usual core routine. Because Ryan D and I had been talking about it this morning at Cycle University, I tried to lift my top leg while doing the side plank and to my surprise I was able to hold it up for 10 seconds. Twice! The last time I tried this I was literally only able to keep my leg up for 2-3 seconds… Maybe I will try this again. If I remember.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 4:15 AM - 3 Perpetuem Solids, 2 bananas, large bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 1 scoop HEED
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food trainer - large bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 1 scoop HEED
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day trainer - 6:00 AM
core - 12:00 PM
Workout Type intervals
Weather  
Course trainer - 2 x 20 w/hills
plank 3 min, 2 min each side
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
leg scissors 100
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
push-ups 22
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment Road Bike
Clothing  

14 February 2012

treadmill runs

It's Tuesday and I am NOT doing stairs. What a load off. I think I also quite weights so this leaves a relatively big hole in my workout week every Tuesday and Thursday. What do I fill it with? Running for now.

This is by far the longest I have ever extended my running 'season' but with another duathlon just around the corner and some long term running goals that will be much easier to attain if I don't totally quit it seems to make sense. What do I know, right? Here goes nothing.

I'm realizing that running in the dark and wet is not much more fun than riding in the dark and wet so I am opting for doing these indoors. Of course I only last so long on a trainer all by myself so the end result is 30 minutes. As long as I get in a longer run on the weekends it works.

My AM run felt pretty relaxed. I started out at a 7:30 pace for 10 minutes and then did 7:00 for the next 10 and finally 6:30 for the last 10. Not a problem but also pretty short. My right foot and ankle felt great, my breathing was relaxed, I was perhaps a bit antsy as I was having a hard time not watching the clock but that is an inherent difficulty of indoor trainers.

In the afternoon I started out at 7:00 pace for 20 minutes and then dialed it up roughly .2 mph every minute until I did the 29th minute at 5:30 pace. Then I shut it down and cooled off with 10 minutes at 7:30. This felt pretty good as well; I was never gasping for air, my foot and ankle were fine, etc., etc.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day morning run - 5:30 AM
afternoon run - 12:00 PM
Workout Type tempo
Weather  
Course morning run - 10 min at 7:30, 10 min at 7:00, 10 min at 6:30
afternoon run - 20 min at 7:00, then roughly .2 mph faster for each minute finishing with 1 min at 5:30 then 10 min at 7:30
Results  
Time morning run - 30 min
afternoon run - 40 min
Distance morning run - 4.3 miles
afternoon run - 5.8 miles
Pace  
Equipment Hoka Combo XT
Clothing  

13 February 2012

core

The alarm woke me up today, a sure sign that I should have slept a little more.

Surprisingly core felt okay today. I was only able to do it twice last week but even the plank felt all right this morning. I'll take it.

At lunch I got down to the IMA for a solid 30 minutes of stretching and a sauna. Now that's a rest day. Boom.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy 12:00 PM 30 min stretching
12:30 PM - 15 min sauna
Time of Day  
Workout Type rest
Weather  
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
leg scissors 100
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
push-ups 20
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment  
Clothing  

12 February 2012

West Side MTB Series #1 Dash Point State Park

This was a total impulse event on my part…

I could have gone for a run (endurance) or a road ride (more endurance and/or hills) or I could do this RACE. on my SINGLE SPEED. Since I plan to do a fair bit of racing on this bike in 2012 I figured it would prudent to give my bike handling skills and legs the shock treatment. Oh yeah, it might be fun too. Plus, it didn't start until 10 AM; can you say hello big, leisurely breakfast?

Did I know how long the race was? No idea. Did I have any course knowledge? None.

Go!

05

Man did I get schooled! But let's start at the beginning.

I was eating a fairly big breakfast when I looked at the flyer more closely and read the race started at 9 instead of 10 like I thought. Oops… So I stop eating and throw all my shit in the van and head down.

ASIDE - this is the same drive I have done a bazillion times going to Pacific Raceways but early Sunday morning it's a dream. No traffic!

I got a parking spot right across the street from the freaking start line! No way could it have been any more convenient. I was even pointed home already to expedite my return trip. I registered and then walked some of the trails to see what the heck this park was like and it looked really good! Fairly fast, not too technical and a couple of air bumps right before the finish. Show time. I went back to the van, changed my clothes, aired up my tires and did a few laps around the neighborhood to warm up waste time, had a gel and a sip of water and headed over to the start. Nice, there were only a couple of other single speed bikes here so the odds of me staring in a 'big fish small pond' scenario were looking promising.

As the beginners were queuing up I went over to Deanna M and asked when the Expert category was taking off. "10:00, just like it says on the web site Martin…" Damn. So I got back in the van, turned up the heat and did nothing for 30 minutes.

Then I got out, had another gel and another sip of water, got back on my bike to do a few more laps of the neighborhood and headed over to the start again. I am an idiot. Did I mention that this time there were about 15 single speed bikes lined up? Yep, and I recognized several faces. Suddenly I was a very, very small fish and the body of water had grown considerably.

A couple of last minutes jokes and we were off.

02

This race exposed ALL of my weaknesses. I don't have a great start, I'm not fast and my bike handling sucks.

We started out on a slimy doubletrack trail. I had fenders front and rear to keep my pretty white arm and knee warmers clean but just about everyone else did not. As a result I was getting the shit thrown at my face right from the gun as we raced to the singletrack. I could see the leaders pulling away and there was nothing I could do about it; my legs just were not turning circles fast enough. After some fun corners and a few slippery roots and a short climb we got to the first bridge. I was off my bike before you could say, "Ever thought of spending any times in a skills park Martin?" At least I did not fall and managed to limp/hop/shuffle along the 10" wide bridge to where it ended and got back on. 50" later I rode over a root, stuffed my front wheel and went down bruising my right knee on my stem or some other unforgiving part of my bike. Good times.

Not only did the remaining single speed racers pass me as I tried to extricate myself from the brushy, muddy bog next to the trail, in very short order the Expert geared bikes that had started 60 seconds behind us were breathing down my neck. Not wanting to be that guy I pulled over and let the lead pack of roughly 10 riders by.

Lap number one went like that. Every so often I was pulling over to let faster geared bikes leave me in the dust.

On lap number two I took a header in a different spot on the course and this time whacked my left shin. I knew it was going to bleed so did not even bother looking down and just got back up and carried on. When I got to the narrow bridge where I bailed on the first lap I rode off the bridge again but this time had enough momentum to keep it together and rode along the side it and managed not to dab! And then I cleared that dumb log 50' later good and proper. Progress.

As I started lap number three (we were doing 3.5 laps - the course had an upper and lower loop) I was pretty much alone but still riding at my steady rate whatever that was. Apparently it was enough to reel in some other people as several started to come back on the last lap. I passed about 10 geared bikes and even passed back two single speed bikes.

One of the single speed bikes I passed was Peter S who I know from the track and mountain bike racing and who is a better bike handler than I.

08

I would eek out a small lead on some of the climbs and he would pull me back on the descents. Ouch.Finally, on one of the last climbs I managed to ride all the way up and Peter unclipped and that gave me a gap I was able to sustain until they finish. Sometimes the 'race within the race' is all you have for motivation, especially when you are as far off the back as we were.

With less than one mile to go this guy on a single speed bike comes roaring past me! I recognized his checkered shirt from the start and he was absolutely drilling it. I was like, "Nice, I just got lapped!" When I learned that he had broken his saddle and had to hit the pits, grab some duct tape, repair it and then get back in the race it was not much of a consolation. He was going WAY faster than I was.

09

Whew. That was tough. But fun! After my shower the cut on my left shin is not so bad and after hosing off my bike it looks normal again and after soaking my white arm and knee warmers (what was I thinking?!) in OxiClean and washing them they almost look normal.

Looking at my Garmin data below it's at least encouraging that although I was feeling more and more beat down as the race progressed my heart rate did not go down. In fact, my max was on the last lap! I guess yesterday did not totally kill me. I also rode more of each lap as the race progressed so even though I was getting fatigued my bike handling improved. It does appear that my speed drops off ever so slightly in the third lap though. I did feel I was sorta taking it easy when I was all alone.

I carried a bottle with me and there was NO place to take a drink. Lesson learned. I think I want to do another one of these.

Here are all the pictures.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 5:45 AM - applesauce, protein powder, walnuts, banana, 2 eggs, water
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food 8:45 AM - gel, Nuun
9:45 AM - gel, Nuun
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 10:00 AM
Workout Type race
Weather upper 40s, dry sky, slick trails, calm
Course Dash Point State Park
Results Expert Single Speed - 10th
official results
Time 1:31:44
Distance 11.5 miles?
Pace 7 mph!
Equipment Mountain Bike
Clothing knee warmers, bib shorts, Craft long sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, knit gloves, cap

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