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2014-04-22 11:42 PM
in reply to: pistuo

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED

Will, I don't concealed carry (only because I haven't taken the class and applied for the permit yet), but I live in a much more weapon friendly area than much of the rest of California, and I do know some others in our congregation who do carry. 



2014-04-23 4:46 AM
in reply to: tmoons

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED

Originally posted by tmoons Happy Easter Dirk and Jeff... keep the rehab and conditioning going. sounds like its all coming along nicely.... Derek... great finish.
I had planned to do a HIM this month, but cancelled due to being out of town for things and not being able to train. Currently I have been swimming and running once a week and trying to bike 3X per week. I've got a 100 mile bike race in 2 weeks. I also want to do the Little Rock 100 mile in the Fall again. Beyond those, I dont currently have anything else planned... might try to find a late fall HIM or OLY. What's everyone else got brewing?
I finished the Swim Miami 5k OWS yesterday.... about 30 minutes off my planned pace (2:22:34). At the first mile I was at 34 minutes but I got elbowed in the jaw around mile 1.6 and had to stop a few times to get it aligned because I couldn't open my mouth... after that I couldn't really find a rhythm. next weekend its: 4/26 I have a 200k bike http://www.mapmyride.com/us/weston-fl/snake-road-clewiston-ramble-2... 4/27 a 30mile bike and 10k brick (2x5k) https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=725118234186814&set=gm.3... That is all..... thee may be a 30 mile run on May 1, the Law Enforcement Torch Run for special Olympics if my work clears up, then really nothing until the HIM on June 8. the photo are of myself and some teammates who all swam.....

Nice swim Terry!  I have thought about distance swimming a few times but there's nothing around here that I am aware of.  I am not likely to do a lot of research to find one either, there's just not enough interest for me.  The only distance swim I know of is in the Chicago area and there are 5k and 10k distances at that swim.  And I am NEVER interested in going to much of anything in Chicago.

2014-04-23 4:51 AM
in reply to: JonnyVero

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED

Originally posted by JonnyVero

Originally posted by Jo63  John security patrol at the service?? 

About a year ago someone broke into a couple of cars in our church parking lot during sunday worship service so a group of us organized a schedule where we always have at least 2 people in orange vests patroling the parking lots while services are going on. Each of us takes one service a month on patrol. It's more of a deterent to theives than anything. We are not actually supposed to physically prevent theft or vandalism, but our presence is enough to make those looking for a full parking lot of unattended cars think twice about it. More often than not I'm pointing people to empty parking spots, giving people a welcoming smile and chat as they arrive, and then cruising around the lot looking for anything out of the ordinary.

 

I know many of the big churches use armed guard for some of the pastors because of the threats they receive on a regular basis.  One pastor (Mark Driscoll) that I listen to via podcast has had a man waving a gun at him in a service.  I think your doing the right thing by being someone who reports rather than confronts a criminal.  That said I am also a 2nd amendment supporter and a CCP kind of guy and would defend myself and family (or others) if it were necessary.

2014-04-23 8:20 AM
in reply to: pistuo

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED
Originally posted by pistuo

John, just curious... I know you said you're not supposed to stop a robbery but are you carrying any sort of weapon?

I live in TX, so I'd guess about 30% of our members are packing heat each week... ha!



Will I had to laugh when I read this but I realize that you are not joking when you mention this. I can say up here in NY if you are carrying concealed you are probably doing so illegally. The gun laws here are a little more restrictive then the are elsewhere.
2014-04-23 10:50 AM
in reply to: strikyr

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED
Question....in the TR programs is it better to shoot for precision or power? I ve been doing some hard rides and these tend to fluctuate so I am a thinking Iam lacking in smooth pedaling (!if that's what I should call it) so then question 2 should I be working on smoother pedaling? I know when I have done 1 legged drills in the past I catch or stall at the top.

We are off tonight to NY/ PA we will be going to Binghamton first then to Muncy Valley PA for a memorial service. My husbands aunt died in Jan but her daughter didn't want people traveling during winter so they bumped it to this weekend. This may sound odd but I am really looking forward to getting away and 2 of our kids and Maria and Gabi are going, we rented a van so we are all traveling together, my oldest has finals for Law School so he won't be able to come but it should be a fun road trip even if it's for a funeral.
2014-04-23 10:54 AM
in reply to: Jo63

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED
On the concealed carry thing my husband is a gun man and is always trying to get me to take the class and get a gun but I just can't bring myself to do it.

My oldest is actually having a paper published on the 2nd amendment, I guess it will actually be called a comment because he isn't a Lawyer yet but it is somewhere near 45 pages long so I don't know how it can be called a comment lol.... My mom always said he had the gift of gab


2014-04-23 2:45 PM
in reply to: Jo63

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED
Originally posted by Jo63

Question....in the TR programs is it better to shoot for precision or power?


I'm not sure what TR does....but I have a feeling that what you are describing is better termed 'pacing'.
One of the metrics measured when riding with power is how consistent your power is over the course of the ride.
The more consistent it is, the more efficiently you paced.

But this is a measurement of power smoothed out over time. For instance the numbers you read out on your display are updated on a periodic basis...say ever 1 second? Even though your physical torque applied over that 1 second varies dramatically, it averages it over that period of time.
Many display units will average it over a longer period, up to 5 seconds.

What you seem to be asking about is something more accurately called a 'spin scan analysis' that measures force being applied to the pedals around 1 revolution of the crank and is a way to analyze pedaling technique.

But to answer your question, I think you are shooting for the AVG power number. If that goes up, you are faster. It's just that you are likely to achieve the best AVG power number with the flattest power graph.

FWIW, I wholeheartedly endorse a dead spot at the top of the pedal stroke!
I've been thinking about bringing up the topic of pedaling technique lately. Maybe it's time to bust out the graphics tools and draw some circles.
2014-04-23 7:36 PM
in reply to: JeffY

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED
Jeff for the record I enjoy those discussions on the pedaling technique and the graphs have been helpful in the past in you explaining this to us IMHO. I look forward to seeing that.

And since JoAnne mentioned this I have noticed that while I have really focused on increasing my power and raising my FTP I have also noticed that my cadence has increased. I've not purposely worked on increasing my cadence per se it seems to have happened naturally. I've also messed around with my pedaling technique as well. I'm not sure my technique is the most efficient but I seem to be comfortable in the way that I do.
2014-04-24 8:29 AM
in reply to: strikyr

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED
Just wanted to let you guys know the FLO Cycling is doing another sale order on May 1st 1 pm EST for wheels. They won't have the 30's but they will be selling the 60's, 90's and disc if anybody is interested.
2014-04-25 6:55 AM
in reply to: Jo63

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED

Originally posted by Jo63 Question....in the TR programs is it better to shoot for precision or power? I ve been doing some hard rides and these tend to fluctuate so I am a thinking Iam lacking in smooth pedaling (!if that's what I should call it) so then question 2 should I be working on smoother pedaling? I know when I have done 1 legged drills in the past I catch or stall at the top. We are off tonight to NY/ PA we will be going to Binghamton first then to Muncy Valley PA for a memorial service. My husbands aunt died in Jan but her daughter didn't want people traveling during winter so they bumped it to this weekend. This may sound odd but I am really looking forward to getting away and 2 of our kids and Maria and Gabi are going, we rented a van so we are all traveling together, my oldest has finals for Law School so he won't be able to come but it should be a fun road trip even if it's for a funeral.

I can't remember for sure but I believe you're doing one of TR's training plans and the question is stemming from different cadences and intensities throughout the plan.  These differences serve varying purposes to develop certain aspects of your cycling to strengthen your overall cycling ability.  The high cadence drills develop a better pedaling efficiency and smoother pedal stroke. These things should help you develop skills to get your power curve to smooth down.  Now, as I have glanced at some of your TR rides, you seem to be following the given ride as closely to the designed numbers and that's a good.

If you're not following a TR plan you can add some long interval work at higher intensities to work on the endurance aspect of your training.  I wouldn't suggest all of your rides be with long intervals however,  The very short intervals capture fitness such as VO2 capacities that will make be more efficient at burning the oxygen in your blood.  The moderate length, high intensity (90-105%) stuff helps push your FTP higher essentially allowing you to ride faster with less effort.  The longest intervals will provide adaptations that keep you at a higher FTP for longer periods of time and develop muscular endurance that you will need for long course racing, ie. HIM and IM.

Hopefully between Jeff and I we have answered what you're looking for.

As Jeff stated, you should be working to smooth your power out over the ride so that if it were possible, which it's not, you would see a smooth yellow line indicating your virtual power as a smooth, consistent line rather than the jagged line we all actually see.

2014-04-25 7:17 AM
in reply to: JeffY

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED

Originally posted by JeffY  FWIW, I wholeheartedly endorse a dead spot at the top of the pedal stroke! I've been thinking about bringing up the topic of pedaling technique lately. Maybe it's time to bust out the graphics tools and draw some circles.

I have interest in this discussion myself.  As I have done some pedal drills more recently I have the same dead spot near the top of my stroke.  I'm interested in why we should keep this dead spot.  It seems to me that it would be almost impossible to completely get rid that dead spot.



2014-04-25 7:19 AM
in reply to: DirkP

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED
I really enjoy following the cycling discussions. I learn so much.
I haven't done much since last weekends swim... - getting over the sunburn, and general real world work increased this week also.

I've been doing my strength conditioning and joined a few friends for a 30 day abdominal/core challenge. - day 6 today

I have a 200k ride tomorrow, and a 30mile/5-10k brick on Sunday and some other friends asked me to join them in an OWS afterwards....
Next weekend in another 200k ride and run following.

I seem to be in a workout funk.... I'm eating and sleeping well. I just seem to be in a "blah" for the daily planned training.....
I have about 43 days until the June race and don't seem to want to do anything this week. I know I'll pull it together next week for speed and race specific work but all I want right now.... is more ice cream

my facebook link is below:

https://www.facebook.com/terry.moons


2014-04-26 5:06 PM
in reply to: tmoons

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED
Well friends, today I managed to do two things I've never done before...

1. Avg over 20mph for a long ride
2. Win a bike race (sort of)

We started out with 12 cyclists in our group on a very hilly and windy 60 mile course today. Looking around before the race, I noticed there were only a couple hundred riders. I did notice a group from Louisiana that looked like they were legit (they started in the front and took off quick). Around mile 50 some of our group was hurting and stopped at the aid station... the 3 fastest guys kept going so I decided to try and hang with them. And I was at max HR for 30 min straight... ha! We passed the leaders about 1/2 a mile from the finish... I could not feel my legs. Probably the hardest effort I've ever put in on the bike. Avg HR was 142 which is zone 4 for me...
2014-04-26 6:12 PM
in reply to: pistuo

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED
Will congrats on the ride today, 20 mile avg is very legit. You guys must have been flying and it also sounds like you and your team put in a great effort.

I had my own epic bike ride of sorts today. We were supposed to do our North Shore hills ride however with the rain and wet weather most of us didn't feel comfortable having to deal with the traffic or the descents since we started late so we headed east right into the bad weather. It was windy, cold and raining for most of the ride but it wound up being a great ride.

We headed south and east then north and west, we did a loop we call the Red Creek loop out towards the east end of Long Island. We also diverted and did an out back to the tank farm (gas storage facility) where there are plenty of hills so we got some elevation in on this ride. Only about half of what we would have gotten had we hit the North Shore but I think this ride was every bit as tough with the weather. It was good for a little over 61 miles and with all the wind it made up for the hills we missed.

This is the first time I've done a coffee stop on my ride. It was that cold out and it did help but I think my new fueling strategy may include twinkies. I ate a two pack with the coffee and rode like a champ. I'm not sure what they put in there nor do I think it's nutrition much less food but it worked today lol. And to think I was going to go with Ring Dings that could have been a big mistake.
2014-04-26 8:40 PM
in reply to: tmoons

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED

Originally posted by tmoons I really enjoy following the cycling discussions. I learn so much. I haven't done much since last weekends swim... - getting over the sunburn, and general real world work increased this week also. I've been doing my strength conditioning and joined a few friends for a 30 day abdominal/core challenge. - day 6 today I have a 200k ride tomorrow, and a 30mile/5-10k brick on Sunday and some other friends asked me to join them in an OWS afterwards.... Next weekend in another 200k ride and run following. I seem to be in a workout funk.... I'm eating and sleeping well. I just seem to be in a "blah" for the daily planned training..... I have about 43 days until the June race and don't seem to want to do anything this week. I know I'll pull it together next week for speed and race specific work but all I want right now.... is more ice cream my facebook link is below: https://www.facebook.com/terry.moons

It sounds like you have quite the weekend of training  coming, or at least what's left of it.  That should be something killer from today to tomorrows workouts.

Let the funk work it's way through, it always does.  the big thing is to not let it get the best of you.  Make sure you get some rest, maybe take a couple of days off altogether before getting back into it.  A couple of days off is not going to hurt you whatsoever but not taking time off when needed can break you.  Just don't eat too much ice cream on those days off...........I'll eat your share for you!

2014-04-26 8:47 PM
in reply to: pistuo

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED

Originally posted by pistuo Well friends, today I managed to do two things I've never done before... 1. Avg over 20mph for a long ride 2. Win a bike race (sort of) We started out with 12 cyclists in our group on a very hilly and windy 60 mile course today. Looking around before the race, I noticed there were only a couple hundred riders. I did notice a group from Louisiana that looked like they were legit (they started in the front and took off quick). Around mile 50 some of our group was hurting and stopped at the aid station... the 3 fastest guys kept going so I decided to try and hang with them. And I was at max HR for 30 min straight... ha! We passed the leaders about 1/2 a mile from the finish... I could not feel my legs. Probably the hardest effort I've ever put in on the bike. Avg HR was 142 which is zone 4 for me...

That sounds like something some friends of mine didn't allow to happen to them last year during a road race.  Their strategy was to pull the pack around until about 10 miles left and then act like they were burned out, fall back to 2nd or 3rd position in the peloton for a couple of miles, recover and push the pace harder.  It worked!  They drove the second place team in the ground and won the race.  

Congratulations on an epic ride!  It had to have felt great when you saw how hard you were able to push the pace for so long a period of time.  Now you know what you're capable of when you have a reason to push.

Oh and the sucking wheel thing?  Yeah, I did it too.  Once!  Once! 



2014-04-26 9:02 PM
in reply to: DirkP

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED

Tony, Nice riding but I'll stick to something other than twinkies for my fuel source.  Whenever I go out with one for the groups I ride with there's always a stop at the halfway point but I usually don't get anything.  I try to keep my situation on the bike and save a couple of bucks and poor carbs.

I'll be going for a small charity ride tomorrow.  The benefits are for the Ronald McDonald house here in Ft. Wayne.  there are 4 routes but I think the only route for me will be the long route of 65 miles.  Some of my teammates will be doing the ride so it should be fun.  It is supposed to be windy but it appears we'll have the wind in our faces for the way out and a great tailwind on the way back.  We'll see how it goes.

2014-04-27 9:50 AM
in reply to: DirkP

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED

Tony,

I am trying to plan to have the race tracker that you used last year for IMWI.  I cannot remember exactly what the name of it was and how it works.  I know you said they mail the chip to you and you have to return once you've completed the race.  I think it's a great idea to use so Lis can track me and know, almost exactly, where I'm at on the course throughout the day.

As far as I could tell from your race last year there was only one time when your chip seemed to provide false information.  It was an inopportune time too!  It was near the end of your bike leg and it had you basically in one spot for a long time.  I was texting Brenda to let her know where you were and you were "sitting" in one spot on the stick as you returned from the loops.  I remember texting Brenda and telling her what was going on but then she saw you go whizzing by when you were supposed to be sitting somewhere on the stick.  According to where she was and where you were supposed to be according the app, you were several miles apart when you blew by her.

___________

Knee update:

I had a minor setback last weekend.  A friend of mine whose father had just entered hospice care asked if I could help him move some things from his fathers house to the garage so they could get ready to sell the place.  I of course said yes and I wish I hadn't.  The thing about Darrell and his family is that they have always been there for us and I just didn't feel I could say no after all they have done for my family over the years.  Darrell has "rescued" Lis or one of the girls several times from dead car batteries and so on when I've been out of town or doing storm related work.  I felt like I wold be letting him down if I wasn't there for he and his family.

So in the process of moving furniture, nothing particularly heavy, I was carrying things backward and I could feel my knee not liking what was going on.  I felt some minor aggravation in the sweet spot but I kept going.  That was Saturday.  Then on Sunday I forgot to take my mobic (anti-inflammatory), which I think contributed to the pain on that day.  By Monday noon-ish I was feeling fine.

I did drop the efforts on the bike, lowered the weights by about 30% during lifting, kept the Arc Trainer in the regimen but kept the flip turns in place for swimming (although I didn't swim until Friday).  PT was Thursday and I told Todd what was going on.  He didn't seem to concerned, at least that he told me, but if you know Todd he doesn't get to excited about things like that.  I think he has learned to just roll with things, having a thought process of "the damage is done" so let's just keep going and see how it turns out.

Since then I have been feeling good, increasing the weights (per Todd's permission) and dialing the bike back up.  I haven't done anything hard on the bike yet just because I am proceeding with caution.  I am going to wait an additional week before running, per Todd's request, which will put me 5 weeks post op before running.  The extra week feels like a huge amount from one perspective but it's not going to break my Ironman dreams.  Not waiting that week could do exactly what I'm NOT wanting to happen.  I am cautiously optimistic but I have had a few days of worry crop in this week. 

2014-04-27 10:06 AM
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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED

Hello Junkies!

My apologies for not posting regularly the past few months. I found out just after the February marathon that my dad is pretty sick. He is in the initial stages of congestive heart failure, and his kidneys and liver aren't doing what they are supposed to do. He has been a heavy vodka drinker my entire life. He was also the crazy snowboarder, surfer, hiker, and embodied strength and adventure all my life until now. He is coming out to visit us in June and we are going to make some decisions about the near future. we are not sure if he has a year, 2-3 good years, or 5. This means I am not sure where my Ironman training will be- this is an honest response. He may want me to continue training and be there to see me undertake my first Full Ironman, or things may not be conducive to the training regimen I would need to undertake over the coming months.

I know I have not logged my training into BT, but I have been trying to get my workouts in. Swim workouts are the first to get dropped, followed by the bike. I can't tell you how many times I got a run in, headed to gym for work and hoped to get a quick shower in at the gym and it never happened. Talk about being a stinky runner al day long with bed head tucked under my runner hat.

I did manage to do my first Half Iron distance race yesterday!! Two of the top 3 women to finish first were in my age group, which meant that even though I finished 4/7 in my AG, I still took home the title to 2nd in AG! Holy cow I did not expect that. I didn't even treat it like a race, cause lord know I can't race 70.3 miles, but I can trot along and trot along and trot along.... until holy jeepers there is a finish line. Without a GPS to know my splits, I really have no clue what my actual pace was through each mile. But, I realized that the area I dreaded most - the bike, turned out to be pretty decent. I averaged 18.0 mph on a ridiculously hilly course and passed a few people on the hills who I thought would pass me on the second half of the course but they didn't. I went into this race thinking about the Ironman in September. I figured I would come out of this race either deterred by the reality and wakeup call, or I would be hungry to goooooo the distance. I am hungry for the FULL. I kept cracking jokes at the race and nobody seemed to think I was very funny- I think they were hurting too much.

My husband came out to take pictures of our 5 tri club members and see us all finish. He told me afterward that watching us race makes him NEVER want to do a triathlon. He said by the second loop of the run people looked absolutely terrible. He thought I was going to be a mess when I finished and not come trotting along the finish line with a smile.    

Race recap:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=515075  



Edited by jenbmosley 2014-04-27 10:09 AM
2014-04-27 1:34 PM
in reply to: jenbmosley

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED
Dirk I hope that is just a minor setback with the knee and I agree better safe then sorry so deferring your run training another week is not the end of the world. I think that is the smart thing and the right thing to do. Hope you have a great charity ride.

The tracker I used was My Athlete Live. It is a GPS tracker and you wear it for the bike and run. It is pretty accurate but obviously as you guys already know from me using it last year it's not perfect. I do remember you guys telling me about that. It is a great way though for Lisa to be able to track you along the course and I'm sure she'll be there for the swim start so that should work out great for you. I had mine shipped to the hotel. I think they ship it to you the week of the race. I'm going to order it for IMMT as well.

The link is http://www.myathletelive.com/

Jenn congrats again on a great race. Sounds like you did a great job yesterday and I'm glad it's kind of got your fire stoked to do IMLT assuming you work and family life allow you to do that. I'm also sorry to hear about your Dad as well. I hope things work out for you and for him and I'll certainly keep him in my thoughts and prayers.

Another awesome trail run today. Almost 11 miles in just under two hours and pretty awesome running weather today. I think I'm already for the HM trail run next Sunday. I am really looking forward to it, I'm not really looking at racing it more then just making a solid training run and a fun day.
2014-04-27 3:14 PM
in reply to: strikyr

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED

Thanks Tony! Looking forward to reading about your trail run results. Will- congrats on the 20+ mph long ride and on winning. Dirk- I second Tony's comment And I hope this is a temporary setback.

During my Half Iron training, jump from Oly to Half Iron over 6 month period, I steadily gained weight, about 4 solid pounds. My first Sprint In August of 2012, I weighed 128. In August 2013, I weighed 131 at my first Oly. Now, I weigh 135 and had a great half Iron race. I'm not sure how I feel about this weight gain. I tried to scale back calorie consumption during recover weeks (training scaled back). Whenever I scaled back calories, I found that I couldn't push through the upcoming workout due to major hunger. Has this ever happened to anyone else? I'd really appreciate some feedback Tony!



2014-04-27 3:45 PM
in reply to: jenbmosley

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED

Quick check in from the office this Sunday afternoon.

My training is going well, but I had to skip a bike ride on Thursday and a strength workout Friday due to long hours here at the office. I still hit my 1 hour ride/3 mile run brick yesterday and a seven mile run this morning before coming to work.

I did get an uexpected opportunity yesterday to join a 3 hour Total Immersion training class so I jumped on it. My first coaching ever in swimming. I'm looking forward to Monday morning's swim to see if I can continue to implement the changes to my stroke and get a little faster at the swim.

 

Sounds like some good training and some good racing going on by everyone.

Jenn - Fantastic job on your Half Iron! I hope I can do so well on mine in July.

Dirk - I completely understand about helping your friends. I would have done the same. I'm sorry to hear about the recovery setback as a result. Life will always throw things in that change our training plans. Keep being flexible and patient with it.  ( ..and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..)

2014-04-27 4:43 PM
in reply to: JonnyVero

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED
My long run was cur short on Saturday (had a crisis client call that I had to attend to) ... I ended up doing about 30 miles and felt pretty good about it.
Today, I did the 30 mile ride with a run afterwards. I did intervals the entire run, .2 miles sprint, .2 miles walk/easy pace..... it was a brutal experience. it was really hot and humid outside.

Wow... Jenn... fantastic 70.3..... great effort and good time!!
Dirk, sorry about your setback.....
Tony.. good luck next weekend.
2014-04-28 4:24 PM
in reply to: tmoons

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Subject: RE: Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED
Originally posted by tmoons

I really enjoy following the cycling discussions. I learn so much.
I haven't done much since last weekends swim... - getting over the sunburn, and general real world work increased this week also.

I've been doing my strength conditioning and joined a few friends for a 30 day abdominal/core challenge. - day 6 today

I have a 200k ride tomorrow, and a 30mile/5-10k brick on Sunday and some other friends asked me to join them in an OWS afterwards....
Next weekend in another 200k ride and run following.

I seem to be in a workout funk.... I'm eating and sleeping well. I just seem to be in a "blah" for the daily planned training.....
I have about 43 days until the June race and don't seem to want to do anything this week. I know I'll pull it together next week for speed and race specific work but all I want right now.... is more ice cream

my facebook link is below:

https://www.facebook.com/terry.moons





Terry, can you find a local sprint tri this upcoming weekend? I think most of us get a boost to our motivation when we race.
2014-04-28 5:22 PM
in reply to: JeffY

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Subject: My weekend...
My weekend...

I drove down to GA with my daughter Morgan on Friday. We barely arrived with enough time to hit the trail before dark. We did an easy lap together. It was my first time to ride a real bike since breaking my foot. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my foot didn't hurt for the most part. I rode on the saddle a lot more than I normally do mtn biking, but by no means stayed on the saddle all the time.

I was rusty on the mtn bike, plus it's a trail that I don't know perfectly well and the soil is mostly sand and was looser than I've seen it in past years so I was hesitant to trust my traction on the curves.
Morgan did wonderfully well keeping up with me on the downhills. She is quite a bit better than last time I rode with her.

We finished by dark and went out to eat. I called around and lined up our hotel room while we waited for dinner to be served. Yep, I waited until the last minute!!

The foot felt good after the ride too and I was evaluating on Saturday morning when I woke up, but all was well.

We went to the park early and watched the Xterra. It was cool to be watching and chatting with some of the people I knew as well as people I didn't. The weather was amazing for a race!!

My daughter Jordan drove over from Atlanta by the time the race was over and we got to visit for a while. I brought an extra mtn bike so that she and Morgan could ride a lap together.

I rode 2 laps that afternoon by myself. I wanted to see if the foot was OK with the longer distance and even pushing the pace a little harder. The only pains I felt were the occassional jump down off of something and landing. But that was just a momentary twinge and didn't feel like it was hurting anything. Also the couple of times my bike began to slide out around a turn I now realize that I tend to 'grab' the bike with my toes. That would cause a twinge of pain too.

At no point during the 50 miles of riding this weekend did I fall or have to unclip quickly to put a foot down. That was probably a good thing.

So Sunday morning dawned and I still wasn't committed in my mind to racing. But we got our things together and got there an hour before the start of our 'wave'. Each category of racers starts 2 minutes apart within this wave. My group was the cat 2 40-49 year old men. There were 16 of us. Morgan's group started 2 minutes after us (all cat 2 women together)

Once we arrived, I decided I would race and it stopped being a question in my mind as soon as I realized I could ride slow and enjoy the woods, the weather, the comeraderie... So there you go...
Off comes the boot and on goes the cycling shoe. (getting it on hurts a little bit)

I did a little bit of warmup, but not nearly enough. I had a flat front tire that morning and didn't know how fast the leak was. During the 20 minutes that I spent around the registration table I lost noticeable amount of air. It probably wouldn't be good for the whole 2 hour race. I made a last minute diecision with my daughter's input to add more sealant to it.
By the time we finished that and all of the little pre-race things you do we only had about 20 minutes left for warmup and we only dared use about 10 of that.

So when my group started, I hung back and rode easily behind everyone. I didn't feel awkward or unsteady like I had on Friday (thanks to Saturday's laps), so I just relaxed and enjoyed the start. The first section of hills we came to I was riding fairly easy still, but was concerned about being left behind by everyone. Through the first mile I had only passed 2 guys. But then we hit a sustained climb in the trail. Perhaps a 1/4 mile of trail that continues to undulate upward with no resting. I was still riding easy, but passed a couple more guys laboring badly.

Then came some fast descents. Very fun! Almost all the guys in this class hold their own or outshine me down hills, but throughout this race I never had anyone really ride away from me downhill or push up my rear end from behind. I seem to have done well handling the bike.
About halfway through that first lap (2 laps of 10 miles) I noticed my left shifter felt weird. For some reason my front shifter broke and I was stuck in my big chainring. I was also worrying about my rear tire (not the one that had been worked on that morning, the other one). I bottomed out on a root, touching my rim. That hadn't happened previously so I began to fear my rear tire was losing air.

Oh well. There's nobody's life on the line here...

I began to catch stragglers from the classes that started 2 and 4 minutes ahead of me. It always happened up a hill. I would be unable to see anyone ahead of me, then suddenly during a climb as if they were standing still, there they were. I was really amazed at how slow many of these people are on the up hills. It might help that I'm stuck in my big ring and forced to keep the power coming.

Well, I worried about that rear tire the entire rest of the race, but it never amounted to a problem. It was soft, but I had set it up soft on purpose for better traction on the sand and to roll faster over the roots.
I found myself, especially on the 2nd lap, cornering a lot smoother and more confidently just due to getting more and more used to the sand.

I actually drank my water bottle during this race! I drank periodically out there whenever the trail was suitable. I'm getting better at this and can handle a lot of terrain with 1 hand on the bars now. So I finished my whole 24 oz bottle before finishing. (giving myself an atta-boy)

There is a section somewhere in the middle of the lap they call "The Monster Mile". I think it's fun. It is a section in the woods that's very twisty and very narrow. You really can't keep up a pace of much more than 7-8 mph. You certainly can't pass. And the entire area is filled with ditches. Think of a valley that is from 2-8 feet deep and 2-8 feet across. Some of them are very disruptive. If you are riding through as fast as you can, you would possibly fly off and directly in to the far face. So you need to control your speed and to maximize the speed you CAN carry, you need to violently shove the bike down in to the ditch and violently pull it back to you on the far side, both movements within a fraction of a second.
Of course there is the big one that is the 8+ footer. You ride up to that and you literally cannot see the slope you will be riding down until your front wheel has gone over the edge. It literally is close to vertical. Super fun!

There is also a section near the end of the loop that needs a name because it's so AWESOME!
I think it's about a mile where there is a general loss of altitude. It starts with a section of climbing then you come out in to the open and it's a wide dirt 'road'. I can shift nearly into my highest gear and roll up to 25mph and can maintain over 20 throughout a curve through the woods, a trip over a driveway, along a road, another driveway, then a brief detour through a rock garden that is slow, then a drop downward again along the road at 25mph and a dangerous chicane on to the road (over a bridge) then dropping hard left and down again past a bunch of people fishing on the shore and in to the woods. If I get out of the saddle and keep sprinting out of the saddle I can maintain that pace in to the woods and over some gnarly root bundles by jumping them clean.!!!
I love that section. Both on Saturday and then while racing Sunday I smoked everyone near me through that. It's where a TT specialist can put down real power! And it helps that it leads in to a long section of switchback climbs too.

During that first lap I was still riding comfortably, but during the 2nd lap I began to feel good about putting down some more power and being able to maintain my strength to the finish. So the 2nd time around I felt faster. I even continued to catch guys from my own group, which is really rare after the halfway point in a race. I was reeling them back in. And these guys were pretty skilled at the downhills. At one point I caught a train of 3 guys and was able to match them pretty well whenever things went downhill and twisty. I rode with them for a few miles following them down the hills and twists and it really helped me ride faster.

I was still following 2 of them when we got to that fast section I love so much during the last lap. So I got to smoke them. Then as that ended and that prolonged climbing began that I told you about I caught and destroyed another rider...

I was feeling very strong, by then. As if I could sprint all day long and it wasn't making me tired. I rode on in that way just missing overtaking another guy in my division... Really would have had him with just another 10 seconds of climbing.

When I checked the results later I found that I was 5th in my category and that the first 3 guys were unreachable, all finishing within a minute of each other 5 minutes ahead of me.
However, the next 5 guys in my category all finished within a minute of each other too!

And my splits for the 2 laps were within 2 seconds of each other.
We've talked last year about running even or negative splits and how doing it really FEELS like you are excelerating the entire time. That's what I experienced. It was also very comfortable compared to going out hard and fading... A much more enjoyable way to race.

When I was done I looked down at my computer and saw 1:33:xx on the clock and was pleasantly surprised. I had a fastest lap on Saturday of 55 minutes. I wasn't 'racing' Saturday, but didn't expect to get much better than 50 minutes per lap. Yet I was able to turn in 2 laps of 46:xx

Morgan also made me proud. She put in both laps under 1 hour and both of HER laps were also within 2 seconds of each other!
She took 7th of 10 women, but she is racing cat 2 which is a big step up for her this year.

So as soon as I finished, I rode the bike to the truck, changed shirts, put on my boot and walked back to the activity. The foot was feeling good. The boot is a very good thing to have when walking around off of flat surfaces. I really don't need it when I'm on pavement and indoors.

As you can imagine, it's a downer to be unable to run. But to be able to race the mtn bike without any problems is very, very uplifting.
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