training-trainer

Hours Sleeping	7 at least	Time of Day	6:00 AM
Body Weight		Body Fat
Distance		Power
Time	Total – 30 min maybe?	Speed
Total Ascent		Max

Breakfast	5:00 AM – PowerBar, water 7:30 AM – smoothie
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	water
Injuries
Therapy
Workout Type	active rest
Weather
Course
Results
Equipment	Road Bike
Clothing

What an aborted workout!

We all (Ryan D, Greg K, Steve O, Dean J) showed up at Seattle Multisport for our hard intervals and the multi-rider software goes belly-up. Rats.

It might have been for the best as I am still very much under the weather but I'd rather do a 70 percent workout than nothing honestly... After realizing there was no one in our group with the knowledge to get the application up and running we all spun for a bit and then some went for coffee and I went home.

Oh well. I still have a wicked cough and my nose is running at 90 miles per hour and I'm sneezing. I hate that. I'm alternating between Alka-Seltzer daytime formula and nighttime formula. Bottom line is I'm juiced 24/7.

Technorati Tags: Seattle Multisport

training-trainer intervals

Hours Sleeping	5	Time of Day	9:00 AM
Body Weight		Body Fat
Distance		Power	260 watts?
Time	Total – 1:10?	Speed	Overall – 22.6 mph?
Total Ascent		Max

Breakfast	5:45 AM – cereal, lots of water
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	water
Injuries
Therapy
Workout Type	40 km TT
Weather
Course	rolling CompuTrainer
Results
Equipment	Road Bike
Clothing

I was coughing all night long and had a massive runny nose last night and this morning. Hit the hay at around 9 and woke up at 2 – could NOT go back to sleep so embarked on a major technology project in our basement.

At around 7:15 AM I saw that Dean J was committed to an indoor workout at Seattle Multisport so I figured why not, at least it will help clear me up by sweating some. On the agenda was a 24.8 mile rolling course similar to the traditional 10 km route we do for testing but it was all stretched out so the hills were 1-1.5 miles long.

Right away I knew I was not going very well... you know that light-headed feeling when you are sick? I had it. My watts were barely over 300 on the inclines and around the lower 200s on the descents. Oh well, I just tried to roll it and stay consistent.

About half way in I had to stop pedaling and stand for a few seconds to catch my breath and I had to do that again with about 10 minutes left. Having to constantly blow your nose is also a huge distraction.

In the end I finished a mediocre workout without killing myself and hopefully without going too hard so I can try to go harder tomorrow morning.

Technorati Tags: Seattle Multisport

Frostbite TT

Hours Sleeping	7	Time of Day
Body Weight		Body Fat
Distance		Power
Time		Speed
Total Ascent		Max

Breakfast	6:00 AM – cereal 8:00 AM – PowerBar
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food
Injuries
Therapy
Workout Type
Weather	upper 20s – 30, overcast, started out dry and then turned to constant snow
Course	Lowell-Snohomish River Road
Results
Equipment	Masters - Time Trial Bike Retro - Road Bike
Clothing

My cough was really bad this morning. But I got a good night's sleep!

About two or three miles from the parking lot I realized I had left my TT wheels at home... oh well. The sky was not looking as clear as was forecast and then 60 minutes later when it started snowing I realized I had left my glasses at home. Shit.

I helped set up signage, thought about setting up the trainer, drank some super scientific sports drink and then took the race promoter for a drive down the course to check it out. Here is what it looked like.

Upon arriving back at the parking lot the snow was really starting to accumulate and I had to hit the head so off to the public restroom I went. When I got back the race had been cancelled.

It was for the best. Here is what one racer looked like after trying to ride around.

Nothing to do but drive back down the course and clean up all the signage. And eat a double chocolate muffin from Costco of course. Time to go home.

After getting back home my cough turned into sneezing and a runny nose. Nice. Race day just turned into rest day.

Technorati Tags: Frostbite TT,FootWorks Cycles,FootWorks PT,FareStart p/b Cobalt Mortgage

The Bosberg by Ritte Van Vlaanderen

Could it be that I have found my dream bike? Behold...

It has everything I want.

• BB 30 bottom bracket
• carbon frame and fork
• integrated seat mast
• massive, tapered head tube (1 1/8 – 1 1/4)
• for 2011 cable routing will be internal
• massive chain stays
• real world chain stay length, anything shorter than 41 cm is nuts and wears out your drivetrain unnecessarily
• no-nonsense tube shapes

The cost? US $2150 for the frame and fork. Take that Cervelo (and Look and Ridley and...). It's available in May. Stay tuned.

Technorati Tags: Ritte Van Vlaanderen,Bosberg,dream bike

training-core

Hours Sleeping	7	Time of Day	5:30 AM
Body Weight		Body Fat
Distance		Power
Time	45 min	Speed
Total Ascent		Max

Breakfast	6:30 AM - smoothie
Lunch	11:00 AM - Stonewall's Jerquee, dried figs
Dinner
Workout Food	water
Injuries
Therapy
Workout Type	rest
Weather
Course	plank 3:30, 2 min each side back extensions 3x40 clam knee lift 100 each side side leg lift 80 each leg twisters 40 each side – 12 lb roman chair knee lifts 3x40 hip abductors 3x30 – 100 lb push-ups 20
Results
Equipment
Clothing

Going to sleep last night I felt fine but I did have one coughing fit. This morning I am coughing a ton.

I did not feel especially pumped for core today and this cold has me under the weather but I had a great workout. The plank was easier than it has been in ages so I did an extra 30 seconds. Nice. Everything else felt good as well including the push-ups where I was finally able to do 20 back-to-back with not a hint of a pause at 16 or 17 like I usually need to do.

So in spite of my cold I am raging! As much as you can rage during a 45 minute core workout anyway. :)

Here's hoping there is no ice on the road tomorrow and that my lungs cooperate so I don't feel like someone is stuffing a rag down my throat so I can enjoy the Frostbite TT.

When is light ridiculous? When it’s Select 55.

This rant is long overdue.

I was having a Facebook chat with a friend yesterday who happened to have a birthday and I suggested he do something for himself since we rarely spoil ourselves and this seemed like as good a time as any. He replied that a light beer was on the agenda and it made me think about how crazy America is when it comes to food.

Not only are we the fattest country in the world with fully 34% of Americans now officially falling into the obese category, we are also the nation most obsessed with diet products, pills, cosmetic surgery, cleanses, and the like.

ASIDE – obese is not just some colloquial/slang term that means you could stand to lose a few pounds, it is a medical condition that means you are in trouble and it’s time to see your doctor!

But that is another topic for another post, today is just about light beer.

First there was regular old light beer, think Bud Light. This has 110 calories and 6.6 g of carbohydrates. Then things started to go awry.

At some point marketing department realized that selling us beer that costs less to make AND sells for the same price would be a huge hit with the sales department and boy were they right. All you have to do is spin something as ‘healthy’ and people come running. Enter the era of our-light-beer-is-lighter-than-your-light-beer. This is also known as the era of beer that tastes like, well, water.

The first foray into this was Miller Light. The slogan was, “Less filling! Tastes great!” and although the adds were hilarious they did not make up for what was/is pretty damn light beer and marginal at best.

Miller Light – 96 calories, 3.2 g of carbohydrates

Michelob Ultra was the next to give it a go and if you watch one of their adds you would think they had a lock on some sort of miracle fountain of youth formula but really it was just the same as what was already out there. Plus they spent a boat load in order to get everyone’s favorite Tour de France winner and cancer survivor to endorse it so it must be great, right? Oh by the way Lance, comeback 2.0 is over, you just retired. Again.

Next up was MGD 64 which –surprisingly – contains 64 calories and 2.4 g of carbohydrates. As a bonus it also had half the alcohol as the other light beers. they had to cut the calories somehow after all.

Finally we get to the winner (loser?) – Budweiser Select 55.  55 calories and 1.9 g of carbohydrates.

It makes me wonder, at what point in this progression did said beverage stop being recognizable as beer? Because the last incarnation of this drink evolution certainly is not.

What’s next, will somebody start selling beer in a skinny can like this?

Because as we all know, if the can you drink from is skinny, so are you.

ANOTHER ASIDE – remember these cigarettes? Same idea.

Technorati Tags: Bud Light,Miller Light,Michelob Ultra,MGD 64,Budweiser Seleect 55,light beer

The Bicycle Film Festival is coming!

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Bicycle Film Festival

http://www.bicyclefilmfestival.com/

But wait, what's this...?! No Seattle in 2011? LAME.

Technorati Tags: Bicycle Film Festival

El Camino del Rey

File this under places I want to go.

Technorati Tags: El Camino del Rey,Spain

training-spinning | trainer intervals

Hours Sleeping	6	Time of Day	spinning – 12:00 PM trainer – 6:00 PM
Body Weight	12:00 PM – 180	Body Fat
Distance		Power	1st 20 – 279 watts 2nd 20 – 279 watts
Time	Total (spinning) – 55 min Total (trainer) – 55 min	Speed
Total Ascent		Max

Breakfast	6:30 AM – cereal 9:30 AM – yogurt, almonds, Stonewall's Jerquee, apple
Lunch	1:30 PM – smoothie, yogurt, apple, almonds 4:00 PM – Coke
Dinner
Workout Food	water
Injuries
Therapy
Workout Type	intervals
Weather
Course	spinning – hills trainer - 2x20
Results
Equipment	Time Trial Bike
Clothing

Oh man did I feel like crap this morning... Last night I got sick; it was one of those evenings where you can feel your throat get more and more sore as the night progresses and by the time I went to bed I opted for a dose of multi-symptom miracle medicine. All night it was cough, cough, cough.

So I blew off the gym. And felt good about it.

On the way to the bus I let an aspirin dissolve on the back of my tongue and it really helped my throat. I did it again at 11:30. And then again at 4. To me this is preferable to nasty throat spray.

During spinning I was only good for maybe 80% but I figured sweating might do me some good and since I could not work too hard anyway I was not worried about overdoing it. We did three hills, each 11-14 minutes in length (two minutes rest between hills) and basically kept increasing the resistance every minute and worked the last four or so minutes in and out of the saddle. It was all relatively slow cadence stuff. After I actually felt a tiny bit better.

At Seattle Multisport I figured it was important to get a bit more time on the TT bike even if I could not go hard. I had planned to just ride out the workout at 300 watts threshold (270 actual) but I felt reasonable to tried 310.

My breathing was again the limiting factor and with about five minutes to go I had to spend a little time on the wings to open up my lungs. The last couple of minutes were not easy.

I started the second interval at the same setting and was up on the wings after just a couple of minutes and then five minutes in I quit pedaling. Crazy how that happens, my mind just decides to stop focusing and I cave. I stood up to catch my breath, rested maybe 10 seconds and then got back to it. It was harder than I wanted it to be and at 12 minutes in I had to do the same thing.

I was able to shift up the last two minutes and finish at 34 mph but I was totally maxed out and not comfortable. :(

I rode both intervals in the 55x14 and maintained 29-30 mph for the first one but wavered between 26-29 mph for the second.

Now if I can get a lot of sleep and recover for Saturday I'm hoping this did me some good.

Technorati Tags: spinning,Seattle Multisport,2x20

training-core | cardio

Hours Sleeping	6 (maybe...)	Time of Day	5:15 AM
Body Weight		Body Fat
Distance		Power
Time	Total (cardio) – 30 min	Speed
Total Ascent		Max

Breakfast	6:30 AM – cereal 10:30 AM – tea
Lunch	12:00 PM – apple, yogurt, 3 pieces Pilot Bread w/peanut butter & jam
Dinner
Workout Food	water
Injuries
Therapy
Workout Type	active recovery
Weather
Course	plank 3 min, 2 min each side back extensions 3x40 clam knee lifts 100 each side side leg lifts 80 each leg twisters 40 each side – 12 lb roman chair knee lifts 3x40 hip abductors 3x30 – 100 lb push-ups 20 cardio – elliptical trainer, incline 14/20, resistance 14/20, 140+ rpm
Results
Equipment
Clothing

Shelley has had a sore throat for two days and I have not been getting very much sleep and last night I felt kinda worn down but this AM there were no residual effects so hopefully I am good to go? Getting sick is never any fun and so far I have been lucky.

That's not to say I felt 'fresh' or anything and once I got to the gym I was not exactly raring to go... I managed to plow through my core routine and then went upstairs to the cardio loft and got busy before I had the chance to talk myself into going home. Due diligence and all that rot.

Cardio felt fine. Not too hard and I managed to secure a fan and aim it at myself so I didn't even get drenched in sweat. Nice.

training-core | spinning

Hours Sleeping	6	Time of Day	gym – 5:15 AM spinning – 12:00 PM
Body Weight	12:00 PM - 182	Body Fat
Distance		Power
Time	Total (spinning) – 50 min	Speed
Total Ascent		Max

Breakfast	6:30 AM - smoothie
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	water
Injuries
Therapy	stretching – hamstrings, quads, hip abductor
Workout Type	intervals
Weather
Course	plank 3 min, 2 min each side back extensions 3x40 clam knee lifts 100 each side side leg lifts 80 each leg twisters 40 each side – 10 lb roman chair knee lifts 3x40 hip abductors 3x30 – 100 lb push-ups 20 spinning - IMA
Results
Equipment
Clothing

Oh man, another tough day mentally.

Core was fine, in fact I threw in an extra exercise and my knee lifts felt good! That was nice.

At spinning it was another story. Sure, I was tired from yesterday but I don't seem to have the fortitude to push through lately... Tomorrow is a rest day so why can't I work hard two days in a row? No idea.

The entire class was a simulated race so there was not as much rest as usual, we mostly kept the resistance around 7-9/10 on a scale of perceived effort and even at 8 I was in trouble. Towards the end of the class I had to quit a couple of times and just stand on my pedals to catch my breath. Then with about 20 seconds to go (we had been ramping it up for the last 1.5 minutes – just like yesterday) I simply had to stop pedaling. Rats.

I feel like I can't get enough air! It's starting to bother me. Time to see my doctor and maybe a specialist? But I feel like it takes WAY too long to find the cause. Of course the longer I wait the longer I will be in the dark. :(

I just don't recall ever feeling exactly like this when my body is working properly and I'm just not fit, this seems like something different that is inhibiting me from working hard.

IKEA milk-frother

File this under best invention ever!

Shelley and I went down to our local IKEA store last weekend and one thing she specifically wanted to get was this milk-frother thingy. I was like, whatever... sounds pretty hokey to me. Boy, was I wrong. Check it out.

This bad boy runs on two AA batteries and works like a freaking champ.

Let me backup a bit and say that I love foamy milk drinks as much as the next guy but I'll be damned if I'm going to spend $5 for each one.

ASIDE – of course I spend way more than $5 on various other crap that I somehow justify but hey, this is my blog and in it this is highway robbery when it comes to a hot drink.

I love hot chocolate, hot tea, chai, plain old steamed milk with flavor, you get the picture. I also love all that is creamy, dairy, rich and smooth so it's natural I would love the foam you get in a latte. Enter the black magic that is technological advancements in consumerism.

Once we got back home we had this baby unwrapped and loaded with batteries faster than you can say, "Make mine a double tall non-fat half decaf with no sweetener and forget the whip please and you can skip the cup sleeve because I think they are silly and simply waste more paper." We poured some cold, non-fat milk into a cup, inserted this magic wand and let 'er rip.

In less than TEN SECONDS the cup was filled with frothy milk so stiff you could have mistaken it for icing used on a gingerbread house. No shit.

Did I mention that unlike what the IKEA web says it was only $1.99?! Oh yes. WE got one for home, Shelley got one for work and I will be mailing one to my sister. Thank god I am not lactose intolerant.

Technorati Tags: IKEA,milk-frother

training-trainer intervals

Hours Sleeping	6	Time of Day	trainer – 6:00 AM
Body Weight		Body Fat
Distance		Power	threshold setting 330+ watts
Time	Total – 55 min	Speed	31 mph mostly
Total Ascent		Max

Breakfast	4:30 AM – PowerBar, water
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	water
Injuries
Therapy
Workout Type	intervals
Weather
Course
Results
Equipment	Road Bike
Clothing

It was just Dean J and Ryan D and me at Seattle Multisport today, kinda quiet and kinda nice.

Ryan emailed me last night letting me know he was bringing his race bike which I thought was sort of strange... was he expecting me to challenge him? Not likely, he seems to have these workouts mastered. He has superior leg speed for sure and that is what seems crucial to exceling here.

This was just my second time on my race bike this year and both times have been indoors so I have yet to feel the exuberance of riding this lighter bike outside. But it will come, and it will be glorious. :) The only bummer is like I said last week my position on this bike is not yet dialed in because I have switched to much shorter cranks which meant I had to jack up my saddle. I also tried to clone my handlebar drop and extension from my winter bike and it's close but not exact. Plus I slid my saddle back a touch to try and compensate for the shorter cranks and today it felt like I was sitting too far back. All that means this bike does not feel natural yet.

On the agenda today were 12 x 1.5 minute "peak and fade' intervals that start at 110% of your threshold and fade to 95% by the end of the interval with equal rest. Good stuff. I was about to start with my threshold power set at 320 but saw Ryan had his set at 330 so bumped mine up at the last minute. Riding in my 53x14 I was doing about 31 mph most of the time. For sure during each interval and almost that fast during the 'rest' period. From experience if you slow down too much ramping it back up is tough.

ASIDE – at my last threshold power test I managed to post 340 watts so I guess I should darn wall be doing these at 330 or higher. People (read: me) are so afraid to fail and so they set the bar too low. What's that called...? Oh yeah, sandbagging. We all want to be the big fish in the little pond.

Interval number two saw Ryan bump up his resistance to 340 watts and interval number three saw him at 350 watts which is where he kept it until the end of the workout. His speed also increased throughout the workout from the low 30s to the mid 40s! Nice job.

Tim had configured the workout prior to us showing up and he had placed Dean on the other side of the projector from Ryan and me. A bit of a drag. I did glance at his numbers now and again and was posting a nice, consistent ride. Good for him. Dean has been riding the trainer facing a mirror for months now and said it has helped his pedal stroke... I'd like to give that a try sometime. I know there is nothing like seeing yourself on film to improve your skiing so why not cycling?

I was not breathing very easy and it's starting piss me off. I feel like my breathing is literally restricted and although my legs are getting tired, my lungs are obviously the weak link here. For this reason I was afraid to increase my own resistance and decided to see if I could ride it out at 330. I 'm glad I was able to do so.

With three intervals to go I did increase the resistance to 340 watts and shifted to my 13 which resulted in me going about 34 mph. For the last interval I shifted to the 12 and tried to wind it up with 30 seconds to go and managed to finish around 44 mph. Ouch.

I was sucking wind for way too long after the workout ended... no fun. It took ages for my breathing to slow down and for my heart rate to drop. It does not feel quite so bad on the road but perhaps that is just because there I have so many distractions? Here you are supremely focused and supremely aware of everything. Sitting on the trainer I notice every little wrinkle in my shorts or every subtle shift of my ass on the saddle. Maybe I just hate riding a trainer.

Objectively it was my best workout of this type to date but subjectively it was not as good as I wanted it to be. I guess you gotta take what you can.

Technorati Tags: Seattle Multisport

training-team ride

Hours Sleeping	7	Time of Day	9:30 AM
Body Weight		Body Fat
Distance	73 miles	Power
Time	Total – 4:30	Speed
Total Ascent	3343 ft	Max	Elevation – 787 ft

Breakfast	6:30 Am – cereal
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Endurox R4, PowerBar, gel
Injuries
Therapy
Workout Type	team ride
Weather	upper 30s to mid 40s, sun, dry, windy
Course	Snoqualmie Falls
Results
Equipment	Rain Bike
Clothing	Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix leg warmers, Roubaix knickers, Craft long sleeve undershirt, long sleeve jersey, wind vest, Polypropylene gloves, OR Gripper gloves, cap

Finally, a little more sleep.

We had a fantastic group show up today. It was my first time out with many of the stronger riders on our team and as I looked around I could not help noticing that I was the only person on a dedicated rain bike...

We headed east the pace picked up as soon as we hit Newport. This new guy named Peter would get on the front, get super low and just crank it up. His pulls were fast, he would accelerate out of corners, go, go, go. At times it was hard to not let a gap open up or to close the gap when it did. I could not help looking at all the carbon frames in our paceline. My bike? Sturdy aluminum.

The first climb of the day up to the Issaquah plateau resulted in an immediate selection. Four guys squirted up the road, then came me and a few others and then a couple more behind us. Half way up my pace was too anemic for those riding with me and they proceeded to bridge the gap to the leaders. I could only watch. All around me light wheels and tires. My bike? Really wide, wrap-around fenders and long mud flaps.

As we headed down the old Issaquah-Fall City road we rolled into the climb with a bit of momentum and Aaron S went to front. I think it was more of a move that resulted from momentum rather than an attack but it was still significant and suddenly I was gapped again as four or five guys rode ahead. This time I was able to keep them within reach and as we crested the last roller I gave it everything I had and not only closed the gap but managed to pass them just before the road tipped back down. Of course I was breathing so hard at this point that when Peter passed me I could barely get on his wheel. All the other bikes? Carbon bars and stems. My bike? Top-mounted cyclocross brake levers.

I pulled into the climb up to the falls and was maintaining a reasonable pace but maybe one third of the way up Peter went by me. He was promptly passed by Dave H who rode super all day long and the race was on. As Lyle T went by me he was nice enough to say something like, "Good job..." but I faded further back by the time we got to the top. All the other bikes? Fancy seat posts and saddles with titanium (even carbon!) rails. My bike? A front flasher light.

After fixing a flat, eating and resting a bit we carried and did the loop at the top of the falls. Once again Peter pulled into the steep hill with wild abandon and I was at my limit in fifth place. I even went so far as to tell Dave that he should go ahead of me as I was surely going to get shelled. In his usual supportive way Dave assured me I would do fine. As we turned right up the steep bit Dave was out of the saddle and GONE. If his previous accelerations were not so obvious, this was clearly an I-will-see-you-at-the-top-if-you-can-catch-me type of move. All the strong riders tried to reel him in and then there was me.

As I pegged my effort as high as was possible I noticed that I was not doing that badly. Either Dave slowed just a bit or the group in front of me sped up but they merged up the road. I was riding with another new guy and we weren't closing the gap but we were not exactly riding backwards either. As the descent started I coasted for just a bit to catch my breath and then went all out. We chased down the hill, around a couple of corners and then I saw them just up the road. My legs were dying a thousand deaths at this point but it was one of those classic times where you either make the bridge or you are gone. For the longest time I was within 50' and closing that last bit hurt. A lot. But I made it. All the other bikes? 28 or fewer spokes per wheel. My bike? 25c tires.

Leaving Fall City and riding over the rollers before the hill gets serious going back up the old Issaquah-Fall City road I could tell I was done. Sure enough, Peter was destroying me on the run in and then once we turned left Dave went rocketing off the front again. As people chased I could only look on. This time everyone simply rode away form me. I kept up what pace I could and didn't slow down but my pace was substantially less than what the guys up front were doing. Ouch.

As we headed east along he south shore of Lake Sammamish we got to the last rise in the road and someone (Peter?) surged yet again and I was off the back. This time no one waited and I was gone for good and did all of Newport with Dean J and Paul M for company. I would pull, pull, pull and then Dean would surge ahead. I would get gapped and then would s l o w l y bridge back up to him. Repeat. By the time we got to Mercer Island I was completely cooked.

For some reason we caught the front bunch here... they must have slowed down? Some people turned left for a lap of the island and I dearly wanted to come along but time was getting tight and I was fearful that I would only last a few seconds and then have to fight the headwind solo all the way back up the west side. Reluctantly I went straight but it was the right call. Those last couple of inclines crossing the island were torture for me and I would have been miserable had I gone south.

Crossing the I-90 floating bridge was an adventure. The wind was ferocious and out of the north so we got zero protection. It felt like I was tipped over the whole way across the bridge. Oh yeah, half way across I could not even hang with Den and Paul and was dropped again. For the fourth time today I believe?

Having crossed the bridge we said our goodbyes and I crawled home.

Not sure exactly how much of a difference the race bike would have made today but everyone else was on theirs. Just sayin'. :)

On the bright side I was able to take my wind vest off half way in and stripped off my out gloves on the way home. Nice. I would have taken off my leg warmers too but the pace was to high and I was too tired.

training-core

Hours Sleeping	7	Time of Day	5:30 AM
Body Weight	7:00 AM - 180	Body Fat	9
Distance		Power
Time		Speed
Total Ascent		Max

Breakfast	6:30 AM - smoothie
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	water
Injuries
Therapy
Workout Type
Weather
Course	plank 3 min, 2 min each side back extensions 3x40 clam knee lifts 100 each leg side leg lifts 80 each leg roman chair knee lifts 3x40 hip abductor 3x30 – 100 lb push-ups 20
Results
Equipment
Clothing

For a change my core routine felt really good!

Especially the knee lifts, I felt super strong doing those today and the form was really strict. Hooray for me.

Hello 2011!

Way back when racers first started getting infatuated with technology the heart rate monitor and a pair of sweet, sweet Oakley Factory Pilot sun glasses were the peak of high tech.

These days it seems you can't even turn a pedal (and have it be worthwhile anyway) unless you are recording power, elevation gained and calories expended not to mention the ability to upload your data file to some online application that will tell you how much you rock/suck compared to the last time you rode this same route or compared to whoever else might be using the same online application.

I bought in for a while but then got sick of it all the beeps, numbers, gadgets, batteries and associated hardware. Interestingly, it seemed to me that pretty frequently the display acted as a governor and prevented me from going faster instead of helping me get faster. So for many years I was the guy with no dashboard. Sometimes I did not even wear a watch. I know, I know, "What is he thinking?"

That just changed.

First some history.
I've been meaning to get a power meter. After looking around it seems that the Garmin unit which will hopefully reside in the body of a Speedplay pedal makes the most sense for these reasons.

• I already have tons of Speedplay pedals and love them!
• This unit is easily moved from bike to bike and will work with training wheels, race wheels, wheels with knobby tires... you get the idea.
• It's ANT+ wireless compatible. That's what all the good power meters I have seen use.
• Hey, wireless! No more shit to zip tie or tape to your bike.

Not only is this particular power meter damn cool, power meters in general seem like a really good way to train smarter and more efficiently. And these days I am so used to not looking at a cyclometer that I bet I won't get intimidated by a high number. I can always put a piece of tape on the display. The release date for this has been pushed back countless times but the latest is, "The second half of 2011" whatever that means. Maybe I will get myself a cool Christmas present.

Back to today.
Although I rarely use a cyclometer I have fallen in love with using a GPS! My first experience was during TransPortugal in 2007 and I was blown away by how easy it was to use and how well it worked. For that event I got a Garmin GPSmap 60CSx

and was sold because of it's accuracy and durability and resistance to rain/sand/impact/etc.

All power meters require a head unit to display numbers and it seems like a shame to get a power meter and not have all the basic stuff like speed elevation, etc. These days a GPS is so accurate and not needing any wires is a dream. Plus you can easily move it from bike to bike without the need to re-calibrate anything. Not needing to attach a magnet to all your wheels is also a huge bonus.

So I just ordered a Garmin Edge 500.

The only feature this unit is missing is the visual map so I guess it would not be so good for hiking or getting lost in the woods on a mountain bike. Otherwise it seems ideal. Besides, I still have the 60CSx.

Martin meet 2011, 2011 meet Martin.

Technorati Tags: GPS,Garmin. Edge 500,power meter,cyclometer

training-core | Seattle Multisport

Hours Sleeping	6	Time of Day	gym – 5:15 AM trainer – 6:00 PM
Body Weight		Body Fat
Distance		Power	1st interval – 288 watts 2nd interval – 288 watts
Time	Total (trainer) – 60 min	Speed
Total Ascent		Max

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	water
Injuries
Therapy
Workout Type	2x20
Weather
Course	plank 3 min, 2 min each side back extensions 3x40 clam knee lifts 100 each leg side leg lifts 80 each leg roman chair knee lifts 3x40 hip abductor 3x30 – 100 lb push-ups 20
Results
Equipment	Time Trial Bike
Clothing

Well... core went okay even though I was not motivated much. A few days ago my Chiropractor told me the 'right' way to do the plank and of course it's harder than what I was doing... Seems my back was not really straight. Now it is and I am out of breath at the end of two minutes, that last minute is tough.

At Seattle Multisport I had a crap workout. It was my first time on my TT bike and guess what; my road position has changed so much over the winter that this feels TOTALLY wrong. Leaving my house I hopped on the saddle to coast down to the van and the saddle felt very high. I got on the trainer at Seattle Multisport and lasted all of 10 pedal revolutions before I lowered it about 4 mm. I pedaled for maybe a couple of minutes and had to lower it another 3 or 4 mm. What the hell was I doing on this bike last year...?!

Then we started. I had the threshold setting set at 330 when Greg K suggested that perhaps I dial it down a bit. From experience these trainer workouts are harder on a TT bike than on a road bike so I saw the wisdom in that and dropped it to 320 before the start of the first interval.

At first it was not so bad. My back felt good and my upper body was supported well but I was having a little trouble breathing. I'm not sure how much of this was due to me being bent over or how much was sue to my recent inability to get a full lung of air but my legs were running a slight oxygen debt the entire interval. I managed to finish but it was hard. And when I sat up during the two minute 'rest' I never quite got my breathing under control.

Within four or five minutes of the second interval I knew I was in trouble. Seven minutes in I fell apart and quite pedaling.

I felt like I simply could not get a proper lung full of air and I had to stand up, stop pedaling and gasp for a few seconds.

After about 10 seconds I got back to it but only lasted maybe one minute and had to quit again. This went on for the next 10 minutes with me needing to stop for about 10 or so seconds every minute or two until about five minutes to go. At this point I was able to buckle down and grind it out and even accelerate a bit the last two minutes by shifting.

I started both intervals in the 55x14 and finished the second one in the 55x12 but ouch... I basically did a 1x20 workout and then flailed for another 20 minutes. For the first interval I was always above 28 mph and usually close to 30. For the second one I was more like 26-29 mph and almost never at 30. I finished the second interval at around 34 mph but that was just the last few seconds.

On the up side I think my saddle position is pretty good now but I still need to adjust my handlebar position to optimize this bike. The stem is too long and my bars might be a touch too low as well. Over the winter I made quite a few adjustments to my road position to try and ease my back and now it's time to translate that to the TT bike. Sheesh. How quickly I forget that you need to ride all your bikes to be able to race them.

Technorati Tags: Seattle Multisport,2x20

training-core | cardio

Hours Sleeping	6	Time of Day	5:30 AM
Body Weight		Body Fat
Distance		Power
Time	Total (cardio) – 30 min	Speed
Total Ascent		Max

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	water
Injuries
Therapy
Workout Type	active recovery
Weather
Course	plank 3 min, 2 min each side back extensions 3x40 cardio – elliptical trainer, 14 incline, 14 resistance, 140+ rpm
Results
Equipment
Clothing

I was obviously not feeling it today... Luckily Thom showed up and was doing cardio as well so I bagged the core routine and joined him in the cardio 'loft' at our gym.

Friends are good to have in situations like these.

bigger is not always better

Especially when you are talking televisions it seems.

One of the cool things about building a new house is that you invariably will fill it with at least some new stuff. One of those new items will probably be a television. Shelley and I love watching movies and since it's so damn easy to connect your laptop to your television and since Netflix is so darn cheap I was thinking it would be wicked cool to get as big a screen as we can afford.

A friend at work volunteered some info that made me think twice about going all in for a television; it was this viewing distance chart.

So unless we want to shove our couch back into the dining table it appears that our existing 42" television will be adequate. Shit. There goes another technology wonderland fantasy up in smoke.

it won't stop me from looking at 50" models and contemplating moving the old television into the basement of course but now I will be shopping for quality instead of quantity.

How un-American.

Technorati Tags: television viewing distance

getting taped

Yesterday after work I went to see my LMP and Chiropractor and walked out with some fancy therapeutic tape on my body.

I've seen this stuff on all kinds of athletes and luckily it also works on people like me.

In my case it is just supposed to function as a reminder to maintain correct posture.

Long story short, my back is not so good and I tend to slouch; not just in my chair but when I walk, stand, you name it. In addition to striving for a neutral spine (not too bent, not too unnaturally straight) another good thing is to keep your shoulders back. The strips of tape that wrap around my shoulders are to keep them back and the strips that run up my back are to keep me from bending forward.

This stuff is SPACE AGE. The glue lasts for days even if you shower and the tape does not rollup or get rubbed off by your sheets when you toss and turn at night. The elastic is stronger than I thought it would be, it really tugs at you when you bend the way you are not supposed to.

What cool stuff this is.

I'm trying to think of a witty quip about some sort of recreational use for this tape and my mind is strangely blank.

Technorati Tags: Mobility + Healthcare

training-core | spinning

Hours Sleeping	6	Time of Day	gym – 5:30 AM spinning – 12:00 PM
Body Weight	7:00 AM - 180	Body Fat	8
Distance		Power
Time		Speed
Total Ascent		Max

Breakfast	6:30 AM - smoothie
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food
Injuries
Therapy
Workout Type
Weather
Course	plank 3 min, 2 min each side clam knee lifts 100 each side side leg lifts 80 each side roman chair knee lifts 3x40 hip abductor 3x30 – 100 lb push-ups 20 spinning - IMA
Results
Equipment
Clothing

Core was okay, spinning was hard. I obviously was still feeling the workout from Monday morning.

I could only go about 85%.

Ferrari fuel for the road

Sometimes an ad agency really gets it right. Whoever made this commercial for Shell Oil tapped into every little boy's dream. Or in this case an almost middle aged man's dream. Meaning me.

Watch me in full screen.

Technorati Tags: Ferrari,Shell commercial

training-Seattle Multisport

Hours Sleeping	5	Time of Day	6:00 AM
Body Weight	8:00 AM - 180	Body Fat	8
Distance		Power	threshold – 330 watts
Time	Total – 55 min?	Speed	warm-up – 26-28 mph intervals - 30+ mph
Total Ascent		Max

Breakfast	4:30 AM – PowerBar, water 7:30 AM – cereal 10:30 AM – yogurt, almonds, water
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	water
Injuries
Therapy
Workout Type	intervals
Weather
Course	30 x 30 sec
Results
Equipment	Road Bike
Clothing

Why do I wake up so darn early? Old it is getting.

I put together my race bike yesterday and per the advice of my bike fitter and my PT I installed shorter cranks and a shorter stem... That's kind of a leap of faith for me but the smaller circle my foot will make is supposed to torque my back less and the shorter stem will take a little pressure off of my lower back..

Luckily it's not all new, the position on my old cyclocross bike/current rain bike has that same combined top tube/stem length so the only truly new thing here is the cranks. Assuming my measurements are correct anyway. But hey, better late than never and the first time I will race this bike is in two weeks so time to get cracking.

In attendance today was Ryan D, Greg K, Steve O and RC R. I think Dean J was taking the day off due to a severe case of riding outside a lot when the weather is nice... whatever.

We got off to a rocky start because Tim had not prepped our workout like he usually does. Rats. The computer was turned off so in short order we had to learn how to run the CompuTrainer application, load a program and configure the racers in the correct locations. To top it off we could not find the workout we wanted to do which was the 12 x 1.5 min peak and fade intervals. Oh well, we did find the 30 x 30 sec interval workout so went with that. We got started about 15 minutes late.

I'm learning that Greg uses anger as motivation quite a bit.

First he got pissed that the workout was not loaded – that's justified. I was upset as well since this is not the most convenient location for me to go ride my trainer. Then once we got going it seems his resistance was messed up. He said that it was hard when we were going easy and easy when we were going hard?! This resulted in much swearing. Finally I asked him if there was anything I could do to help him out and get his trainer calibrated (or anything to get him to quiet down) and when he kept at it I had to tell him to shut up. Not only was it distracting me by this point but there was a woman there with us who must have been getting terrified.

To top off this episode of Fear Factor, we had Inglorious Bastards on the DVD player so while solders are getting scalped and hit in the head with baseball bats Greg is panting really loudly with grunts thrown in for emphasis. He interspersed this with shouts of encouragement telling us to, "Get angry!"

Needless to say the woman left immediately after the 30 intervals which is way before the workout was over.

After Greg apologized for yelling and I apologized for telling him to shut up. One good thing about Greg is that he can take it. Being thick skinned is an extremely underrated quality in my opinion.

I started out with my threshold setting at 330 watts. The intervals were at something like 105% of threshold. Today I was able to keep my cadence over 30 mph the entire time! I was cruising along in the 53x14 and it felt manageable so that was a big moral boost for me. I saved something for the end and with three intervals left I upped the power to 340 watts and shifted up one gear for each of the last three so finished in the 53x12 at around 44 mph.

It seems that whenever I ride the trainer with Ryan my eyes are riveted to his stats so not sure at all how everyone else was doing. [That's a compliment Ryan, take it.] Ryan was steady throughout but then absolutely floored it with about five to go. That was some impressive speed. He backed it off a bit after that but was still able to finish slightly faster than me. RC did really well considering this is his first time doing this kind of a workout. We do a full 20 minute stepped ramp up prior to hitting the intervals which can be a bit intimidating and kinda spooked RC but he found his stride and did just fine.

I'm not sure if the shorter cranks helped me out today but I did notice that me saddle feels like it is too far foreword. I raised it to compensate for the cranks but forgot to slide it back as well. Oops. The handlebar location feels fine. Yes.

Technorati Tags: Seattle Multisport

training-snowshoe

Hours Sleeping	6	Time of Day	12:30 PM
Body Weight		Body Fat
Distance		Power
Time	Total – 2 hours	Speed
Total Ascent		Max

Breakfast	8:30 AM – cereal 10:30 AM – yogurt
Lunch	12:00 PM – banana
Dinner
Workout Food	water, peanut butter and jam sandwich
Injuries
Therapy
Workout Type	active recovery
Weather	mid to upper 30s, clear, some sun
Course
Results
Equipment
Clothing

Shelley and I went up to Gold Creek today and the weather was gorgeous. Note shadows.

Coming back out of the woods we made our own trail, good times. On the way back to the car we spotted this little guy.

training-team ride

Hours Sleeping	7	Time of Day	8:00 AM
Body Weight		Body Fat
Distance	80 miles	Power
Time	Total – 4:50	Speed	Overall – 16.5 mph
Total Ascent	2890 ft	Max	Elevation – 971 ft

Breakfast	5:30 AM – cereal
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	2 large bottles each w/3 scoops Endurox R4, gel, Fig Newtons, PowerBar
Injuries
Therapy
Workout Type
Weather	mid 40s to 50, DRY with some sun at the end, lots of wind at the end
Course
Results
Equipment	Rain Bike
Clothing	Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Craft short sleeve undershirt, Craft long sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, wind vest, OR Gripper gloves, cap

Great group today! I was joined by Greg K, Dean J, Olivier H, RC R and eventually Dave H.

We cruised south and east at a sane pace until Jones Rd crosses Hwy 169. AS the road tipped up Olivier went to the front and did what he does best: a great Energizer Bunny imitation. Two words: ouch [and] ouch.

At first Dave was in front of me but then about half way up he started to drift back and I had to close the gap. Near the top I was this close to getting shelled when Olivier finally eases up and Greg goes rocketing past. Nice. Olivier has no problem latching onto Greg's wheel but it takes me a little too long to make the junction and then all I could do was hang on for dear life across the false summit.

Riding up toward Black Diamond and Hobart we traded some good pulls. I have a love/hate relationship with the rollers just north of Ravensdale. When you are on they rock, when you are haggard they suck like crazy. Today was a pretty good day and I managed to pull into and over a couple without exploding and even pushed one hard out of the saddle. As we passed through Black Diamond Dave peeled off muttering something about that first hill destroying him... I was bummed to see him go.

Next up, Tiger Mt.

Right as we pulled off Issaquah-Hobart RC got a flat. Oh well, none of us minded the pause and we got it fixed pronto. Dean rode ahead and by the time we got started everyone's legs felt pretty if my sensations were any indication.

We round one corner and out of the corner of my eye I see a brown flash. Next thing I Know this massive dog is under a fence and heading straight for me! I'm thinking this is crazy and it hasn't happened in years but I reach for the big ring and Olivier and I are sprinting up Tiger like our lives depend on it.

When it became apparent that we would be able to outpace the dog I slowly started to shift back into the larger cogs... only to have Olivier wind it up yet again. All day I had been doing okay but this time I cracked. Alone on Tiger. Up ahead I could see Olivier's red jersey quickly fade into the distance and my only consolation was that he slowed when he caught Dean and I was able to 'sprint' past.

On our way back riding along May Valley we saw group after group after group of racers doing the usual weekend thing. It felt really good to be heading west/home when they were heading east. :)

I suggested a lap around Mercer Island and Dean and Olivier came along. At this point I was shattered but to his credit Olivier kept the pace very reasonable and we finished together. He even let a group of racers blow past us and did not react. Thanks Olivier.

The sun had been threatening all morning and an hour ago it burst through the clouds. This was the first dry ride in I can't remember how long and it felt great. The wind was also picking up all day and by the time we crossed the I-90 floating bridge it was nuts. I was getting moved around! Exciting stuff.

Dean managed a great effort on the rise exiting the lake and all I could do was watch.

From here it was all riding that last mile home as slow as possible. What a super day.

training-core

Hours Sleeping	6	Time of Day	5:30 AM
Body Weight	181	Body Fat	9
Distance		Power
Time		Speed
Total Ascent		Max

Breakfast	6:30 AM - smoothie
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	water
Injuries
Therapy
Workout Type
Weather
Course	clam knee lifts 3x40 each leg side leg lifts 3x40 each leg back extensions 30/30/40 push-ups 20
Results
Equipment
Clothing

Oh man, I was pretty hung over this morning.

After our workout last night we went for beers and food. I only had 2.5 beers but most of that was on an empty stomach and right after a workout so it did maximal damage. Crap.

I opted for mostly low impact (read: easy) core exercises today and called it good.

Today was just about checking the workout box.