Beer Drinker Appreciation Society - Closed (Page 93)

Well, I didn't get any of my office work done but I did spend some serious time on my goal to plan out my year.  After much hemming and hawing - here are the races I signed up for

June - 5K to raise money for my son's rehab hospital
July - Olympic tri (which take place at the lake where I learned how to swim - how sweet is that)
 September - Pumkinman HIM - Wanna do this with me Lenny?  You know you want to
November - Half Marython

I might add an sprint or an olympic in there in August just to keep things exciting!

Come on, sign up for a sprint. They are a fun, balls to the walls race.

How many of you use Trainer Road?  I'm really looking forward to their "8 Days in California" challenge, which starts in mid-May.  8 workouts in 8 days, designed to simulate working as a Domestiques on a race team.

Cool stuff, and a welcome departure from running around my house.

I wish I used Trainer Road cause it looks like it would help a bunch.  Any tips on picking a trainer out?  I want one of the types that change resistance based on speed.  I don't know enough about them to know what type that is and what is the least I can get away with.

Doesn't sound too bad. Ill have to just register and then tell my wife. lol  If I did Id do the sprint ( gotta walk before you run).  Ill let you know if it will work.

Quietest is the fluid variety. you change resistance based on your gears. I have a second hand Cycleops...that being said...you live in Florida... Get outside on your bike!! I still have snow on the ground!

I have a Cycleops Fluid 2, and I am very happy with it.  It's a bit noisy, but I haven't bothered to talk to Cycleops about it, and it still works fine.

Having played with the magnetic and wind trainers, I prefer the fluid, as it is more natural and closer to road feel, and you change resistance with the bike gears, not a lever on the trainer.

I don't know a thing about trainers, so unfortunately I can't offer any advice.  However, I agree with Thor the best thing is to get outside.  And I was in one of the best places to get outside today at Sugarite Canyon State Park and rode up the canyon to Colorado!  I was up doing an inspection at the park today and decided I would bring my bike and try it.  A 500ft elevation climb (runkeeper said 1200ft climb, but difference between bottom and top elevation is only 500) in about 5 miles starting elevation about 7,000ft.  Let me tell you there is not much oxygen up there and going uphill was tough on this flatlander, but the ride downhill was AWESOME!!!  Hope everyone is having a great day and keeping up with their training!

I have a sprint in 2.5 weeks - May 11...Mother's Day - Balls to the wall (for doing a race on mothers day!

Did you read the part about the Thanksgiving dinner and the pumpkin pie.  Time to sweet talk the wife and get her up there!

That looks like one hell of a ride!  I'm breathing hard just thinking about it!

OK here's the bad news: Had a totally crappy day at work.  Came within a walk down the hallway of quitting...

Now the good news: It was 67 degrees here in bean town today and I made the most of it with a 12 mile ride. I took all that anger and just hammered it the entire way.  It was fricking awesome!  Best ride of the year so far and it put me in the best mood.  Not lying when I say - that Madone 3.1 is a gift from God!

As for the beer - I had 4 from Great Lakes Brewery.  It's a brewery in Cleveland but I would say it's in the top 50 breweries in America easy.  If you like malty beers (and I'm talking to you Kevin if you are keeping up with the forum) - you will love their brews.

Tomorrow - Run and swim in the morning (hip is sore so I plan on taking it easy) and then a beer tasting in the evening.  We are going to sample Belgian Goldens, dubbels, trippels, and quads.  I can almost feel the headache.

Prost

I've been thinking about it, since I have the fun 5k on Sunday.  It's only a 5k, so I am going to taper a bit by not running for 36 hours before hand.  I will probably swim on Saturday, do some pull buoy drills, and then probably run through P90x yoga in the afternoon.

Avoiding new foods is a no-brainer, so I'll probably grill some chicken and a simple vegetable.  

Looking ahead to the olympic races, I'll probably follow a similar pattern - taper down a bit, stay fresh, and avoid anything that might upset my stomach.  

My real concern is the two weeks between olympics - I will probably take a 2 or 3 days off, then get some really light stuff in between them.  The rest of the prep is just checklists to make sure I have everything, especially for my upcoming sprint, since it is near my family but 6 hours away, in a place that doesn't have a lot in terms of sports or bike shops.

Since I have no xp racing yet I'll do the thing I do best....ask a ton of questions to you that have done it before and pick out the cool parts 

Atta boy!

I visualize the entire race starting the night before to the end, the good the bad and the ugly of a race and how I will handle whatever may come up.  I lay flat in my bed and picture everything from how I eat my dinner to crossing the finish line.  I guess it would be meditation.  I relax my body from my toes to my brow and get my mind prepared for what may come. 

Well if it is my "A" race I taper my training, if not I train as per usual.

Try stay well hydrated.

Try eat cleaner.

Start preparing my race box. Clear rubbermaid container with everything I need for race day.

Do a bike check before I leave and when I get there, go for a ride just to double check.

Night before double check everything. Eat a healthy meal with a couple of fave beers(carb loading)

Mentally prepare for race...going through race in my head.

Make sure there are cold beers in fridge for after race.

Get up early and have breakfast(no greasy bacon/sausage etc)

Mentally prepare for race...going through race in my head.

Get to race site early to get preferred spot for bike. I try to get the end of a row, closest to bike exit...less time running in bike shoes.

Mentally prepare for race...going through race in my head.

that is a thing of beauty! Would love to have a ride like that nearby!

A couple of other notes about race planning:

For my sprint, I plan to ride the course the day before, at a leisurely pace.  

For my olympic in Wisconsin, I plan to train on the course, since my wife's family has a vacation home nearby (marrying up in the world is a good thing); that part of Wisconsin is very hilly, so I need to work on my hill-climbing.  I'm hoping to get up there every other weekend during the summer, but that might be a bit much.

Morning Everyone!  I hope you are all ready for a nice relaxing weekend.  I'm headed to Western Mass. for a boy scout trip with my sons.  Nothing like carrying a 35 pound pack in order to burn some calories.

Last night - Had a beer tasting with a bunch of friends.  It was Belgian Beer Night and we tried goldens, doubbels, tripels, quads, Gueuze, and a few other styles.  The winners were (Nebraska Hop God Belgian Style IPA, Geuze Tilquin, and Bronze Age Saison by Stillwater Artisan Beer co.  I have to admit that I've got a bit of a headache this morning.

Enjoy the weekend!

Alex - that's gotta be so frustrating and I hope it clears up soon!  But I commend you on your desire to keep going despite the challenges the bum knee has created for you. Just think how far you have come by friend.

Alex and anyone else using the LoseIt app to track their food and exercise - I hopped on the scale and dropped a little more weight.  In order to keep going and motivate myself, I'd like to make it my goal to earn some Lose It badges.  I was thinking on trying to earn the Yoga Badge by doing Yoga 12 times in May.  Who wants to do it with me?  

Alex - give some thought to this.  I could be wrong but I bet you would really benefit from some additional stretching.  You could create a class on the Yoga Studio app that would involve stretches that wouldn't hurt your knee.