I've been neglecting this blog, mostly because I've been neglecting my road bike. Poor Paris hadn't seen the great outdoors for over two weeks. I was determined to change that tonight. I spent the entire day holed up in Muddy Waters working diligently on my focus group transcription, knowing that at the end of it all I would reward myself with a nice long ride on Paris. It had been hot out, but beautiful and sunny when I arrived at the coffee shop. At some point, in the four hours I was there, the weather gods decided to mess with me. As I left for home, it started to drizzle. It stopped by the time I arrived. I checked the hourly weather forecast... 50% chance of thunderstorms. Hmm... I looked outside and saw nothing but dark gray overhead, but a whole lot of light gray to the west. And the weather here always moves from west to east. Hmm... So I checked two other weather sites. They both agreed that it was only a 40% chance of showers for the next two hours (probably use the same satellite data). I decided to believe the majority and get myself all kitted up to ride.
It was still dry and the wind had died down when I walked out to the garage. As I was putting on my helmet and gloves, I heard the first raindrops. By the time I had my shoes on, the rain was coming down pretty seriously. I stood in the garage and contemplated my options. Give up? Or get wet? I chose to get wet, and boy did I ever. It poured, and thundered, and lightninged for the first 30 minutes of my ride. I kept looking ahead at the lighter gray skies in front of me, hoping that I would catch them or they would catch me before my willpower gave out. I did, or they did, doesn't matter which. The end result was a very wet start to a mostly dry 35 mile ride through the rolling countryside. Just right for getting back into the groove of things.
Oh, and as soon as I got home, it started to thunder, lightning, and pour down rain again. I guess the weather gods have a sense of humor.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
DOMS
There's an acronym for everything. That one happens to be Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness. Oddly enough, no one actually knows what causes DOMS. Muscle soreness during and immediately after exercise is the result of lactic acid that is produced under anaerobic conditions. Basically, your breathing/circulation can't keep up with your muscles' oxygen demand. That lactic acid is cleared out of the muscles and surrounding tissue within a matter of hours though, so it can't be the cause, and no other plausible explanation has been offered for the soreness you feel the day after a hard workout. Which, by the way is the point of this little physiology lesson. I hurt.
I was okay when I woke up this morning. Until I tried to move. Luckily, hungry outweighed sore and got me downstairs for breakfast, and I managed to work the worst of the kinks out pretty easily. I rode into school a bit slower than usual, but not too bad. And then I had a 5.5 hour lab class on my feet the entire time. By the end my legs were aching so badly I could hardly walk.
So, I ate lunch after lab, then registered for my next term, and then what did I decide to do? Go to the gym. Yeah, I'm brilliant. One heavy lifting workout later, and I limped home on my bike and am now curled up in bed and planning to not move again all night. Can't wait to see how bad the hurt is in the morning. Maybe I'll take tomorrow off.
I was okay when I woke up this morning. Until I tried to move. Luckily, hungry outweighed sore and got me downstairs for breakfast, and I managed to work the worst of the kinks out pretty easily. I rode into school a bit slower than usual, but not too bad. And then I had a 5.5 hour lab class on my feet the entire time. By the end my legs were aching so badly I could hardly walk.
So, I ate lunch after lab, then registered for my next term, and then what did I decide to do? Go to the gym. Yeah, I'm brilliant. One heavy lifting workout later, and I limped home on my bike and am now curled up in bed and planning to not move again all night. Can't wait to see how bad the hurt is in the morning. Maybe I'll take tomorrow off.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Learn Something
I remember talking with Neil before my first race back in February. He told me that my goal should be to "learn something." I also remember laughing about that later and deciding to add my own goals in too: Finish the race, and don't be last.
Well, things have changed and I'm beginning to appreciate the importance of "learn something." Tonight was a GVCC criterium (1 mile course, 30 minutes plus 5 laps). Last time I raced this course, it was 10 minutes shorter and I suffered miserably the whole time. This time I went into the race knowing that I would get dropped. There was no way around, so I decided to just put everything I had into hanging on for as long as possible, holding nothing back for the end. What does it matter if you've got energy left and you're sprinting for last anyway? So, with my goal being, "learn something" and my plan being, "Hang on for dear life and leave nothing in the tank," here's what I learned:
1. My maximum heart rate is actually 194. I figured that once I wore the monitor for a race I would discover a higher max HR.
2. It is physically possible for me to spend 20+ minutes with my HR over 170. It just hurts an awful lot.
3. A heart rate that high for that long will induce stomach heaves and retching, regardless of the fact that I am traveling at 25mph on a bike and so anaerobic that I can barely stay upright. Also, I can stay upright while my stomach tries, but thankfully fails, to spew Gatorade all over spectators.
4. A high cadence is the key to following people's moves. By keeping my cadence up, usually around 90-100, I was able to respond faster to accelerations, corners, and hills. Also, my muscles were burning less (though my lungs were burning just as much).
5. I've got the pure power to stay with the fast women, I just don't have the stamina. On the first lap, the group split in half. I managed to stay with the front half for almost a full lap. After they dropped me, I was still managing to work with the other chasers to help us all get back together and start moving up. Then we all started falling off the back one by one, and I was among the first to go.
6. Working with other people makes things much more interesting and fun. I spent almost half the race moving among the chasers, sometimes in the front few, sometimes dangling off the back, but there was always a goal with the others around. Find the wheel ahead of you and hang on until you can get around them. Then move up to the next wheel. It was the first time I've had the opportunity to do that and I really enjoyed it.
7. Spectators are a godsend. By the end of the race, I was suffering so badly that I couldn't even think. Every time I went past the finish line and heard people yelling, "Go get her wheel!" or "Move around her and catch the one in yellow!" I would realize that they were right, that's exactly what I should do, and I could do it. Without them telling me that, I would have been completely at a loss, since my brain had shut off. Also, a little bit of cowbell goes a long way.
9. I like crits. They're super fast, tricky, strategic, and basically sum up everything that I love about bike racing. Oh, and there are spectators. I really want to try a crit with a full-sized field of women at my level.
8. Perhaps the most important thing I learned tonight: I'm getting stronger. Compare this post with the one linked above. And then realize that this race was 10 minutes longer, fewer neutral laps, and everyone else is in much better racing condition than at the beginning of the season. I may have been dropped, and lapped, and I think I even finished last, but I'm still feeling pretty good about myself tonight.
So, that's what I learned. I'd say I reached, and possibly even surpassed my goal for the evening. Maybe next week I'll do it again and learn more.
Well, things have changed and I'm beginning to appreciate the importance of "learn something." Tonight was a GVCC criterium (1 mile course, 30 minutes plus 5 laps). Last time I raced this course, it was 10 minutes shorter and I suffered miserably the whole time. This time I went into the race knowing that I would get dropped. There was no way around, so I decided to just put everything I had into hanging on for as long as possible, holding nothing back for the end. What does it matter if you've got energy left and you're sprinting for last anyway? So, with my goal being, "learn something" and my plan being, "Hang on for dear life and leave nothing in the tank," here's what I learned:
1. My maximum heart rate is actually 194. I figured that once I wore the monitor for a race I would discover a higher max HR.
2. It is physically possible for me to spend 20+ minutes with my HR over 170. It just hurts an awful lot.
3. A heart rate that high for that long will induce stomach heaves and retching, regardless of the fact that I am traveling at 25mph on a bike and so anaerobic that I can barely stay upright. Also, I can stay upright while my stomach tries, but thankfully fails, to spew Gatorade all over spectators.
4. A high cadence is the key to following people's moves. By keeping my cadence up, usually around 90-100, I was able to respond faster to accelerations, corners, and hills. Also, my muscles were burning less (though my lungs were burning just as much).
5. I've got the pure power to stay with the fast women, I just don't have the stamina. On the first lap, the group split in half. I managed to stay with the front half for almost a full lap. After they dropped me, I was still managing to work with the other chasers to help us all get back together and start moving up. Then we all started falling off the back one by one, and I was among the first to go.
6. Working with other people makes things much more interesting and fun. I spent almost half the race moving among the chasers, sometimes in the front few, sometimes dangling off the back, but there was always a goal with the others around. Find the wheel ahead of you and hang on until you can get around them. Then move up to the next wheel. It was the first time I've had the opportunity to do that and I really enjoyed it.
7. Spectators are a godsend. By the end of the race, I was suffering so badly that I couldn't even think. Every time I went past the finish line and heard people yelling, "Go get her wheel!" or "Move around her and catch the one in yellow!" I would realize that they were right, that's exactly what I should do, and I could do it. Without them telling me that, I would have been completely at a loss, since my brain had shut off. Also, a little bit of cowbell goes a long way.
9. I like crits. They're super fast, tricky, strategic, and basically sum up everything that I love about bike racing. Oh, and there are spectators. I really want to try a crit with a full-sized field of women at my level.
8. Perhaps the most important thing I learned tonight: I'm getting stronger. Compare this post with the one linked above. And then realize that this race was 10 minutes longer, fewer neutral laps, and everyone else is in much better racing condition than at the beginning of the season. I may have been dropped, and lapped, and I think I even finished last, but I'm still feeling pretty good about myself tonight.
So, that's what I learned. I'd say I reached, and possibly even surpassed my goal for the evening. Maybe next week I'll do it again and learn more.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Excuses
Why I'm not racing tonight:
1. 90 degrees and very muggy (yuck)
2. Mold in all of my water bottles (oops)
3. Tired and lazy (as usual)
I actually did a lot of riding last week, and will get back to a lot of riding as soon as I have a usable water bottle or three. Maybe I can get some tomorrow.
1. 90 degrees and very muggy (yuck)
2. Mold in all of my water bottles (oops)
3. Tired and lazy (as usual)
I actually did a lot of riding last week, and will get back to a lot of riding as soon as I have a usable water bottle or three. Maybe I can get some tomorrow.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Even more numbers
Ride on Monday morning:
Total Time - 1:52:23
Calories - 866
Average HR - 129 (68%)
Max HR - 177 (93%)
Time in Target Zone (Easy) - 48:24
It worked much better this time, I tightened down the chest strap and didn't notice the monitor losing signal at all. Hopefully it means that there wasn't any iPod interference. Tomorrow I'll be going to the gym, so I'll get numbers from a lifting session. Yay!
Total Time - 1:52:23
Calories - 866
Average HR - 129 (68%)
Max HR - 177 (93%)
Time in Target Zone (Easy) - 48:24
It worked much better this time, I tightened down the chest strap and didn't notice the monitor losing signal at all. Hopefully it means that there wasn't any iPod interference. Tomorrow I'll be going to the gym, so I'll get numbers from a lifting session. Yay!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Numbers
I really like numbers. Now that I have a heart rate monitor I have a lot more numbers to like. My goal for today was to figure out my maximum heart rate. There are formulas for that, which give me anything from 192-202bpm, but they aren't as accurate as actually going out there and testing it myself.
The test that seems to be agreed upon by most of the sources that I checked involves finding a road that is flat or a mild incline and, keeping a steady cadence around 90, increasing one gear every two minutes until I feel like I can't hold it any more. At that point, sprint as hard as possible for about 30 seconds. So, that's what I tried to do, and I ended up with a max HR of 188. That seems a little low based on the estimates I was getting from formulas, and I didn't really feel like I was at my limit, but I couldn't mentally push myself any harder. I bet that I'll see higher heart rates then that while I'm racing, especially if I'm ever in a position to sprint. Or maybe I just need someone to do it with me.
The other fun numbers that I get from my HRM involve HR zones. This particular monitor gives 3 zones: hard (170-152), moderate (133-151) and easy (114-132). The ranges are set automatically based on my height, weight, sex, max HR, and resting HR. Each time I use the HRM it will record how long the total ride was, and how long I spent in each zone, as well as my max and average HR for that ride and an estimate of how many calories I burned. For example, my ride this morning was 1:25:52, with 23:50 easy, 22:58 moderate, and 19:52 hard. I don't really have an average HR for this ride because I stopped and started the HRM a few times, so the data is all split up. It estimates that I burned 623 calories, which is really low because of a few problems I had.
The problems mostly involved it giving a ridiculously low HR reading. I can guarantee that my HR was never 37 and never will be 37 while I'm on my bike. Frankly, if my resting HR ever gets down to 37 I'll be shocked. Usually it didn't give a reading that stupid. Usually it gave one that was about half of what I thought it should be. For most of the ride I should probably have been around 140, but I frequently saw readings in the 60s and 70s. So, since the HR was regularly underestimated, the calorie count is low and the zone times are only a minimum. I think the cause of the problem was probably the positioning of the band around my chest, and possibly interference from something (maybe my iPod?). It seemed to get better for a while when I turned the iPod off, which is weird but possible, I guess. I'm going to go browse around Polar's website to see if I can troubleshoot it.
Now that I have this HRM I can do a lot more planning of my workouts and make sure that I'm getting the kind of workout I need. It'll be really useful and a lot of fun for things like races to see how hard I'm really working. Ideally it would be a power meter and I'd get to measure my wattage output, but that's a little bit too much for someone like me. Maybe someday.
The test that seems to be agreed upon by most of the sources that I checked involves finding a road that is flat or a mild incline and, keeping a steady cadence around 90, increasing one gear every two minutes until I feel like I can't hold it any more. At that point, sprint as hard as possible for about 30 seconds. So, that's what I tried to do, and I ended up with a max HR of 188. That seems a little low based on the estimates I was getting from formulas, and I didn't really feel like I was at my limit, but I couldn't mentally push myself any harder. I bet that I'll see higher heart rates then that while I'm racing, especially if I'm ever in a position to sprint. Or maybe I just need someone to do it with me.
The other fun numbers that I get from my HRM involve HR zones. This particular monitor gives 3 zones: hard (170-152), moderate (133-151) and easy (114-132). The ranges are set automatically based on my height, weight, sex, max HR, and resting HR. Each time I use the HRM it will record how long the total ride was, and how long I spent in each zone, as well as my max and average HR for that ride and an estimate of how many calories I burned. For example, my ride this morning was 1:25:52, with 23:50 easy, 22:58 moderate, and 19:52 hard. I don't really have an average HR for this ride because I stopped and started the HRM a few times, so the data is all split up. It estimates that I burned 623 calories, which is really low because of a few problems I had.
The problems mostly involved it giving a ridiculously low HR reading. I can guarantee that my HR was never 37 and never will be 37 while I'm on my bike. Frankly, if my resting HR ever gets down to 37 I'll be shocked. Usually it didn't give a reading that stupid. Usually it gave one that was about half of what I thought it should be. For most of the ride I should probably have been around 140, but I frequently saw readings in the 60s and 70s. So, since the HR was regularly underestimated, the calorie count is low and the zone times are only a minimum. I think the cause of the problem was probably the positioning of the band around my chest, and possibly interference from something (maybe my iPod?). It seemed to get better for a while when I turned the iPod off, which is weird but possible, I guess. I'm going to go browse around Polar's website to see if I can troubleshoot it.
Now that I have this HRM I can do a lot more planning of my workouts and make sure that I'm getting the kind of workout I need. It'll be really useful and a lot of fun for things like races to see how hard I'm really working. Ideally it would be a power meter and I'd get to measure my wattage output, but that's a little bit too much for someone like me. Maybe someday.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
The Pain Cave
A brief description of The Pain Cave by one of my favorite bloggers:
So, that's where I was for a much too short a time yesterday during the race. But I should start from the beginning. The group decided that since it was going to be the most daylight we'll have all year that the men would do 5 laps and the women would do 4. I'm sitting there thinking, "One lap almost killed me last time, how am I going to do 4?" But then they suggest that the first lap be neutral because there were enough new people that we didn't want anyone getting lost. So I think, "Okay, one lap will just be an easy warm up and then I can do the other three. No problem."
To put it bluntly, I was wrong. The neutral lap started off pretty easily, with the experienced racers showing the newbies how to ride a paceline. But once they got the paceline (sorta) down, things started to speed up just a little. Then a little more. Let's just say that our supposedly neutral lap averaged 18.5mph on an 9 mile course with 2500ft of climbing. That's pretty fast. I was starting to get left behind on the hills. So much for neutral.
As soon as we crossed the line to start lap #2, the experienced ladies just took off. I don't know how they can accelerate like that on hills, but all that mattered is that they could and I couldn't. I was completely and utterly shot off the back by the second hill. Which left me to do another individual time trial to try to catch back on. Someone else got dropped too, but she wasn't time trialling like I wanted to, so I passed her and did my best to keep the pack in sight. That's where I found my pain cave. Nothing hurts like chasing a group that's always just barely in sight. I couldn't gain any ground, but for about half a lap I didn't lose any ground either.
I did finally lose them when we hit the hilliest part of the course again. By then I had done some serious spelunking in my pain cave and was forced to back down because I knew the situation was hopeless and I really wanted to get in at least 3 laps. When I had almost finished lap #2 the other one that had been popped off on the hills caught me and we rode together for the third lap. I didn't have the energy or motivation to go for lap 4, especially because that would just force the other women to wait for us after they had finished.
So, it's time to do some even more serious goal revision. And some serious recovery. My legs are trashed.
Sal and his cycling teammates talk about the “Pain Cave” a lot. It’s that place you go where you are enveloped by a complete and raw brand of pain. You reach it after feeling the seering inside of you and then ignoring it. You reach it when every voice inside of you has screamed for you to stop and you have silenced them all. The quiet of the pain cave is eerie and horrific.
It’s still but not calming. It’s excruciating and peaceful all at once. It’s simultaneously transcendent and brutally immediate. The agony is almost tangible.
It is the best and the worst feeling.
So, that's where I was for a much too short a time yesterday during the race. But I should start from the beginning. The group decided that since it was going to be the most daylight we'll have all year that the men would do 5 laps and the women would do 4. I'm sitting there thinking, "One lap almost killed me last time, how am I going to do 4?" But then they suggest that the first lap be neutral because there were enough new people that we didn't want anyone getting lost. So I think, "Okay, one lap will just be an easy warm up and then I can do the other three. No problem."
To put it bluntly, I was wrong. The neutral lap started off pretty easily, with the experienced racers showing the newbies how to ride a paceline. But once they got the paceline (sorta) down, things started to speed up just a little. Then a little more. Let's just say that our supposedly neutral lap averaged 18.5mph on an 9 mile course with 2500ft of climbing. That's pretty fast. I was starting to get left behind on the hills. So much for neutral.
As soon as we crossed the line to start lap #2, the experienced ladies just took off. I don't know how they can accelerate like that on hills, but all that mattered is that they could and I couldn't. I was completely and utterly shot off the back by the second hill. Which left me to do another individual time trial to try to catch back on. Someone else got dropped too, but she wasn't time trialling like I wanted to, so I passed her and did my best to keep the pack in sight. That's where I found my pain cave. Nothing hurts like chasing a group that's always just barely in sight. I couldn't gain any ground, but for about half a lap I didn't lose any ground either.
I did finally lose them when we hit the hilliest part of the course again. By then I had done some serious spelunking in my pain cave and was forced to back down because I knew the situation was hopeless and I really wanted to get in at least 3 laps. When I had almost finished lap #2 the other one that had been popped off on the hills caught me and we rode together for the third lap. I didn't have the energy or motivation to go for lap 4, especially because that would just force the other women to wait for us after they had finished.
So, it's time to do some even more serious goal revision. And some serious recovery. My legs are trashed.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Back to the races
Bernie and I had a nice ride on Sunday. We were both tired, but it was clearly affecting me more than it affected him, since after an hour he was dropping me on all the hills. I was very well behaved and didn't kill myself to keep up, even though it was awfully tempting. Luckily for me Bernie was a gentleman about it and waited for me whenever necessary. We did about 2 hours at an average of 17mph. That's pretty fast for me while tired, so I'm happy with it.
I'm going to race tomorrow night. No excuses this time, the weather looks good and I've got the zipcar already booked. The only potential problem is the course will be the same one that I DNFed on last time I raced. So, I set my goals nice and low: Finish the race. I'm throwing in an additional bonus goal: Stay with the pack for at least 1 full lap. I think I'm getting better at realistic goal setting. Neil would be so proud.
I was feeling some pretty serious leg fatigue today while just riding to school, and my resting heart rate is up about 10bpm (OMG it's over 60!). That means that I haven't recovered enough from the long hours of riding this weekend. I calculated over 10 hours on the bike since Thursday evening. That's a lot for me right now, so I'm going to make sure to get a lot of sleep tonight and take it very easy on the way to school tomorrow. On that note, I'm going to go shower and head to bed. Good night!
I'm going to race tomorrow night. No excuses this time, the weather looks good and I've got the zipcar already booked. The only potential problem is the course will be the same one that I DNFed on last time I raced. So, I set my goals nice and low: Finish the race. I'm throwing in an additional bonus goal: Stay with the pack for at least 1 full lap. I think I'm getting better at realistic goal setting. Neil would be so proud.
I was feeling some pretty serious leg fatigue today while just riding to school, and my resting heart rate is up about 10bpm (OMG it's over 60!). That means that I haven't recovered enough from the long hours of riding this weekend. I calculated over 10 hours on the bike since Thursday evening. That's a lot for me right now, so I'm going to make sure to get a lot of sleep tonight and take it very easy on the way to school tomorrow. On that note, I'm going to go shower and head to bed. Good night!
Friday, June 20, 2008
All it takes is the lycra
Yesterday I felt awful. It was the end of my hell week, I had just had two exams, I was getting my usual stress letdown headache that frequently becomes a migraine, and I hadn't been sleeping enough. But I had promised myself that I would go for a ride that evening. So when I got home from school I gave myself until 5:30 to sleep, and then woke up still feeling tired and awful. But, I was determined to at least try to get a real ride in before the thunderstorms hit. So I start to change into my team kit. Like magic, as soon as I'm dressed to ride I feel energized and motivated. I go out there and get on my bike and my mood seems to improve with each pedal stroke. Instead of the ordeal that I had been expecting, that ride ended up being exactly what I needed. My headache went away, my mood lifted and the world just disappeared for a little while.
Fast forward to this evening. The plan was to meet Bernie for a ride around 5:30 after my class picnic. I got home and seriously considered calling and canceling because my headache was back and I was tired again. But, I had made a commitment so I started to get changed. Once again all it took was getting myself into the lycra cycling gear and I felt just fine. Once on my bike I felt even better. By the time I got to the designated meeting spot, I was feeling up for a couple hours of riding. I told Bernie as much and so he picked a route from his mental repertoire and off we went. Around mile 30 and close to 2 hours into our ride I was completely lost and Bernie asked me how far we'd gone. Turns out he doesn't have a computer on his bike so he had no idea. I told him and he was surprised, to say the least. I think he said something like, "Umm... I gues we should start heading home then..." I'm thinking that we're probably just doing a big loop and home should only be about a half hour away. I was wrong. Home was another hour and a half and almost 30 more miles away. Luckily Bernie is like a superhero and pulled almost the entire way back. So my nearly canceled ride that should have been a couple of hours ended up being about 60 miles and 3.5 hours. But I was smiling at the end and Bernie and I plan to do it again on Sunday. All I have to do is put on my lycra and I'll be ready to go.
Fast forward to this evening. The plan was to meet Bernie for a ride around 5:30 after my class picnic. I got home and seriously considered calling and canceling because my headache was back and I was tired again. But, I had made a commitment so I started to get changed. Once again all it took was getting myself into the lycra cycling gear and I felt just fine. Once on my bike I felt even better. By the time I got to the designated meeting spot, I was feeling up for a couple hours of riding. I told Bernie as much and so he picked a route from his mental repertoire and off we went. Around mile 30 and close to 2 hours into our ride I was completely lost and Bernie asked me how far we'd gone. Turns out he doesn't have a computer on his bike so he had no idea. I told him and he was surprised, to say the least. I think he said something like, "Umm... I gues we should start heading home then..." I'm thinking that we're probably just doing a big loop and home should only be about a half hour away. I was wrong. Home was another hour and a half and almost 30 more miles away. Luckily Bernie is like a superhero and pulled almost the entire way back. So my nearly canceled ride that should have been a couple of hours ended up being about 60 miles and 3.5 hours. But I was smiling at the end and Bernie and I plan to do it again on Sunday. All I have to do is put on my lycra and I'll be ready to go.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Riding less, lifting more
I haven't really had the time to ride much over the past week. The motivation is tough when I don't have people to ride with on short notice. The thunderstorms don't help either. Bernie and I will be riding together this weekend, which will be good.
Instead of riding I've been lifting. I shifted from 2 sets of 20 to 3 sets of 12-15 and upped my weights accordingly on Tuesday. A shift like that always means a day of pretty extreme soreness and stiffness. That should be mostly gone by tomorrow, though, which is good because I'll be lifting again. It is very encouraging, though, because I'm lifting weight in sets of 15 that I was only able to lift in sets of 5-8 before I left Portland. I'm also starting to see real muscle definition in my arms and more definition in my legs. As I continue with the lifting I'll slowly replace fat with muscle and should see a very visible difference. The lifting isn't going to make me shrink, necessarily, but it will definitely help get my percent body fat down.
Over the past couple of weeks I've been trying calorie counting for the first time in my life. I've decided that I hate it and it doesn't work for me. Maybe for someone that has a regular schedule and does the same amount of exercise daily it would work. I lift a couple of times a week, do one race pace workout, try to do at least one long ride, and who knows what else I'll throw in there. That means my daily caloric needs can vary by 2000kcal or more. I'm just not willing to put in the effort to keep track of that kind of thing. What I discovered is that I kept underestimating how much I should eat throughout the day and would either eat a lot at night or wake up starving, or both. Overall, I think I actually gained a couple of pounds in the past two weeks. So I'm going to stop listening to the part of my brain that buys into media hype and go back to Neil's diet plan. Eat healthy food whenever I'm hungry and ride as much as possible.
The big sticking point with this plan is making sure that I bring enough food with me to school, especially on lifting days. For example, on Tuesday I brought: a tuna sandwich, a PBJ with banana, an orange, a bag of trail mix, and a muffin. That was supposed to be enough to get me from 7:30am to 4pm with an intense workout in the middle. It didn't work. And when I run out of food at school, the only real options are vending machines and the cookies at the coffee stand. So for tomorrow, which is the same schedule as Tuesday, I will pack: a burrito, a bagel with cream cheese, an orange, a bag of trail mix, two muffins, a nutrigrain bar, and some cookies. We'll see how that goes.
Instead of riding I've been lifting. I shifted from 2 sets of 20 to 3 sets of 12-15 and upped my weights accordingly on Tuesday. A shift like that always means a day of pretty extreme soreness and stiffness. That should be mostly gone by tomorrow, though, which is good because I'll be lifting again. It is very encouraging, though, because I'm lifting weight in sets of 15 that I was only able to lift in sets of 5-8 before I left Portland. I'm also starting to see real muscle definition in my arms and more definition in my legs. As I continue with the lifting I'll slowly replace fat with muscle and should see a very visible difference. The lifting isn't going to make me shrink, necessarily, but it will definitely help get my percent body fat down.
Over the past couple of weeks I've been trying calorie counting for the first time in my life. I've decided that I hate it and it doesn't work for me. Maybe for someone that has a regular schedule and does the same amount of exercise daily it would work. I lift a couple of times a week, do one race pace workout, try to do at least one long ride, and who knows what else I'll throw in there. That means my daily caloric needs can vary by 2000kcal or more. I'm just not willing to put in the effort to keep track of that kind of thing. What I discovered is that I kept underestimating how much I should eat throughout the day and would either eat a lot at night or wake up starving, or both. Overall, I think I actually gained a couple of pounds in the past two weeks. So I'm going to stop listening to the part of my brain that buys into media hype and go back to Neil's diet plan. Eat healthy food whenever I'm hungry and ride as much as possible.
The big sticking point with this plan is making sure that I bring enough food with me to school, especially on lifting days. For example, on Tuesday I brought: a tuna sandwich, a PBJ with banana, an orange, a bag of trail mix, and a muffin. That was supposed to be enough to get me from 7:30am to 4pm with an intense workout in the middle. It didn't work. And when I run out of food at school, the only real options are vending machines and the cookies at the coffee stand. So for tomorrow, which is the same schedule as Tuesday, I will pack: a burrito, a bagel with cream cheese, an orange, a bag of trail mix, two muffins, a nutrigrain bar, and some cookies. We'll see how that goes.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Random thoughts
1. I'm getting faster. Today I rode 22 miles at an average of 18.5mph, and I wasn't killing myself to go that speed. Yay!
2. I really need some chain lube. I'm becoming that person with the noisy bike.
3. Eminem is excellent workout music. If anyone else has suggestions for good workout music, preferably with a pounding beat, please tell me!
4. When it's hot out, my jersey stayed half unzipped. If it's also buggy out, they tend to fly into my jersey/sports bra and collect there. I dunno if they die on impact or drown in sweat, but it sure makes for an interesting find when I strip down for a shower.
2. I really need some chain lube. I'm becoming that person with the noisy bike.
3. Eminem is excellent workout music. If anyone else has suggestions for good workout music, preferably with a pounding beat, please tell me!
4. When it's hot out, my jersey stayed half unzipped. If it's also buggy out, they tend to fly into my jersey/sports bra and collect there. I dunno if they die on impact or drown in sweat, but it sure makes for an interesting find when I strip down for a shower.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Something clicked
My ambitious plan for the weekend fell through, and I didn't get on Paris until this morning, so I decided to make the most of it. I rode down to the course that so thoroughly beat me up in the last GVCC race. It was about an hour ride to the course, each lap would take about 30-40 minutes, and an hour back home. I planned to do 2 laps, but had to cut it down to one because I wouldn't have had enough gatorade. In heat like this the last thing I wanted was to be in the middle of nowhere with no liquids.
When I got to the course I decided to sprint up every hill (read: Fartlek workout, painful, but effective). There were probably 10 small hills, often called power or sprinter's hills, along the 9 mile course. All were steep (10% or higher grade, I would bet) and short (less than a minute to the top). I would usually pick a landmark at the crest of the hill and try to sprint to that. The goal with a sprint is to keep accelerating the entire time. Letting speed fade away just means that in a race people will be passing you.
The first 5 or 6 hills went okay, but I couldn't maintain my speed to the top. My legs slowed down, I had to drop into lower gears and if I had been in a race I would have been shelled off the back. Then there was a long, painful, false flat section into a brutal headwind. False flats look like they should be flat and easy but are actually uphill. They're awful, and compounded with a headwind are even worse. I'm going to once again state how bad the winds are out here. I've never seen anything like it in Portland. The gusts blow my bike all over the place, and I frequently have to lean my body into the wind just to maintain a straight line. It's crazy.
Back to the hills. After terrorizing my legs with the false flats, I reach another set of little hills. I expect them to go worse than the first ones, since I'm now tired. So I start in a slightly easier gear than I would normally. I stand, and try to maintain both my overall speed and a high pedal turnover. Somehow, something in my brain and legs clicked. I flew up the hill, accelerating the entire way, even managing to shift UP a gear before the top. My legs were still moving as quickly as they had been at the base of the hill. I was ecstatic.
This probably seems like a very small thing, but for me it's a pretty big deal. I'm not a hill climber and never will be, but I'm strong and should be able to use pure power to my advantage on these "sprinter's hills." Finally, I managed to get to the point in my training where I've got the right combination of fitness, muscle strength, and technique to do what I know I should be able to do. If I've done it once, I can do it again.
At least in theory, I didn't manage it on the last few hills of the course. But I'm okay with that, I'll make it happen again soon.
The entire ride today was about 42 miles, in a little less than 3 hours. I'll be going for a short ride tomorrow morning with Katharine from school (the one who's husband is a Cat 2 roadie), and then racing on Tuesday. We'll be racing on a course I've never seen before, so I have no idea what to expect. My goal: Stay with the pack for at least one full lap.
When I got to the course I decided to sprint up every hill (read: Fartlek workout, painful, but effective). There were probably 10 small hills, often called power or sprinter's hills, along the 9 mile course. All were steep (10% or higher grade, I would bet) and short (less than a minute to the top). I would usually pick a landmark at the crest of the hill and try to sprint to that. The goal with a sprint is to keep accelerating the entire time. Letting speed fade away just means that in a race people will be passing you.
The first 5 or 6 hills went okay, but I couldn't maintain my speed to the top. My legs slowed down, I had to drop into lower gears and if I had been in a race I would have been shelled off the back. Then there was a long, painful, false flat section into a brutal headwind. False flats look like they should be flat and easy but are actually uphill. They're awful, and compounded with a headwind are even worse. I'm going to once again state how bad the winds are out here. I've never seen anything like it in Portland. The gusts blow my bike all over the place, and I frequently have to lean my body into the wind just to maintain a straight line. It's crazy.
Back to the hills. After terrorizing my legs with the false flats, I reach another set of little hills. I expect them to go worse than the first ones, since I'm now tired. So I start in a slightly easier gear than I would normally. I stand, and try to maintain both my overall speed and a high pedal turnover. Somehow, something in my brain and legs clicked. I flew up the hill, accelerating the entire way, even managing to shift UP a gear before the top. My legs were still moving as quickly as they had been at the base of the hill. I was ecstatic.
This probably seems like a very small thing, but for me it's a pretty big deal. I'm not a hill climber and never will be, but I'm strong and should be able to use pure power to my advantage on these "sprinter's hills." Finally, I managed to get to the point in my training where I've got the right combination of fitness, muscle strength, and technique to do what I know I should be able to do. If I've done it once, I can do it again.
At least in theory, I didn't manage it on the last few hills of the course. But I'm okay with that, I'll make it happen again soon.
The entire ride today was about 42 miles, in a little less than 3 hours. I'll be going for a short ride tomorrow morning with Katharine from school (the one who's husband is a Cat 2 roadie), and then racing on Tuesday. We'll be racing on a course I've never seen before, so I have no idea what to expect. My goal: Stay with the pack for at least one full lap.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Types of workouts
By request, here's an explanation of what I mean when I mention what kind of workout I'm going to do.
Intervals: As the name suggests, this workout is intervals of hard effort interspersed with recovery. For example, 2 minutes on followed by complete recovery. When I say "on" I mean putting out as much effort and power as I can sustain for the length of that interval. Therefore, a 1 minute interval will be extremely fast, whereas a 5 minute interval might be a little slower but it has to be sustained longer. Recovery doesn't mean stop, it means slow down and keep the legs moving quickly, but in smaller gears so I reduce the effort and let my heart rate slow. A subset of intervals would be a ladder interval workout, 1min on, 1 min recover, 2 min on, 2 min recover, all the way up to 5 min, then back down to 1 min. Those are hard. The goal of intervals is to increase anaerobic fitness and power.
Tempo: Tempo workouts are like time trials. Pick an amount of time, usually 45-60 minutes, then go as hard as can be sustained for that entire length of time, also known as the aerobic threshold (where you stop being able to supply oxygen to your muscles at the rate they want it). For me, these workouts are a mind game, constantly reminding myself to keep pushing hard and not ease up. This kind of workout gets the muscles used to working at threshold and can increase aerobic threshold.
Fartlek: It's a Swedish word, apparently means "speed play", probably really means pain and suffering. This workout is like intervals, but without full recovery. So, I would do a 3 minute all out effort, then rest for 30-60 seconds, then another 3 minutes, rest for 30-60 seconds, etc. Another option would be to ride somewhere with varied terrain and push hard up every hill, recover on every descent and alternate hard efforts and recovery on the flats, continue until puking or passing out. This is much harder than either regular intervals or tempo because without full recovery it takes more effort to get the power up during the hard interval. Unfortunately, this is also what road racing is like, short bursts of speed followed by minimal rest and more bursts of speed. So the purpose of fartlek is to get used to race conditions, learn how to deal with suffering, and increase anaerobic power.
Anaerobic power is what will win a race, and what I'm lacking since I've never done any real athletic training before. That's why I do a lot of interval workouts and should do more fartlek workouts (they're just so hard to do by myself).
Today I was going to do intervals on my bike, but then the weather decided to turn ugly. It's currently 95 degrees and 60% humidity, not good outdoor workout weather. So instead I did intervals on the elliptical in the gym. It's better than nothing, but really not the same as on the bike training. Being on the bike works slightly different muscles in slightly different ways, enough of a difference that I wouldn't get too much benefit from doing regular elliptical workouts. Which is too bad, because it's going to stay hot here for quite a while.
Intervals: As the name suggests, this workout is intervals of hard effort interspersed with recovery. For example, 2 minutes on followed by complete recovery. When I say "on" I mean putting out as much effort and power as I can sustain for the length of that interval. Therefore, a 1 minute interval will be extremely fast, whereas a 5 minute interval might be a little slower but it has to be sustained longer. Recovery doesn't mean stop, it means slow down and keep the legs moving quickly, but in smaller gears so I reduce the effort and let my heart rate slow. A subset of intervals would be a ladder interval workout, 1min on, 1 min recover, 2 min on, 2 min recover, all the way up to 5 min, then back down to 1 min. Those are hard. The goal of intervals is to increase anaerobic fitness and power.
Tempo: Tempo workouts are like time trials. Pick an amount of time, usually 45-60 minutes, then go as hard as can be sustained for that entire length of time, also known as the aerobic threshold (where you stop being able to supply oxygen to your muscles at the rate they want it). For me, these workouts are a mind game, constantly reminding myself to keep pushing hard and not ease up. This kind of workout gets the muscles used to working at threshold and can increase aerobic threshold.
Fartlek: It's a Swedish word, apparently means "speed play", probably really means pain and suffering. This workout is like intervals, but without full recovery. So, I would do a 3 minute all out effort, then rest for 30-60 seconds, then another 3 minutes, rest for 30-60 seconds, etc. Another option would be to ride somewhere with varied terrain and push hard up every hill, recover on every descent and alternate hard efforts and recovery on the flats, continue until puking or passing out. This is much harder than either regular intervals or tempo because without full recovery it takes more effort to get the power up during the hard interval. Unfortunately, this is also what road racing is like, short bursts of speed followed by minimal rest and more bursts of speed. So the purpose of fartlek is to get used to race conditions, learn how to deal with suffering, and increase anaerobic power.
Anaerobic power is what will win a race, and what I'm lacking since I've never done any real athletic training before. That's why I do a lot of interval workouts and should do more fartlek workouts (they're just so hard to do by myself).
Today I was going to do intervals on my bike, but then the weather decided to turn ugly. It's currently 95 degrees and 60% humidity, not good outdoor workout weather. So instead I did intervals on the elliptical in the gym. It's better than nothing, but really not the same as on the bike training. Being on the bike works slightly different muscles in slightly different ways, enough of a difference that I wouldn't get too much benefit from doing regular elliptical workouts. Which is too bad, because it's going to stay hot here for quite a while.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Lifting and some more plan
I've been in the gym every other day this week and it's been great. I am feeling stronger, having more energy, keeping my stress level manageable and generally loving it. I realize that a week of lifting has a much bigger psychological impact than physical impact, but at least I am getting my muscles used to this particular form of abuse again. I'm staying at high reps/light weights for at least two weeks and then will talk to Neil about increasing the weight depending on what my racing situation is at that point. I'm guessing the situation will still be trying hang onto the back of the pack as long as possible.
Speaking of racing, I took the week off. I've been rather busy and stressed, and the weather was nasty, so I decided to just rest. I think it was a good decision. I'll be racing again next week though.
The plan for the next little while is as follows:
Friday: Yoga class and interval workout
Saturday: ~3 hour ride (with UR team?)
Sunday: 1 hour tempo workout, lifting?
Monday: Recovery ride with Katherine from school
Tuesday: GVCC race
Wednesday: lift
Also, I have other exciting news. I'll be back in Portland during the break between semesters, and according to Neil, he can help me bring my bike for free. That means I can use some of my new found power on flat and windy courses at PIR! I'm very excited about this possibility...
Speaking of racing, I took the week off. I've been rather busy and stressed, and the weather was nasty, so I decided to just rest. I think it was a good decision. I'll be racing again next week though.
The plan for the next little while is as follows:
Friday: Yoga class and interval workout
Saturday: ~3 hour ride (with UR team?)
Sunday: 1 hour tempo workout, lifting?
Monday: Recovery ride with Katherine from school
Tuesday: GVCC race
Wednesday: lift
Also, I have other exciting news. I'll be back in Portland during the break between semesters, and according to Neil, he can help me bring my bike for free. That means I can use some of my new found power on flat and windy courses at PIR! I'm very excited about this possibility...
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Still plugging along
I had a really nice relaxed ride on Thursday with Bernie from the UR Cycling team. We went about 30 miles in a little less than 2 hours. It was a good relaxed pace and just what I had been needing.
Friday I finally got myself into the gym. First for a yoga class, which was great. It was a very energizing style of yoga, so once the class was over I was feeling ready to go lift for a while. So that's what I did, working all the major muscle groups and using light weights just to get myself used to lifting again. By the time I finished my muscles were feeling pretty dead but I was feeling really good.
The next morning I woke up sore all over, as can be expected after weightlifting, and with a mild sore throat. So I took the day off, except for my 10 mile ride to the grocery store and back. Today I felt much better and went riding with Bernie and a couple others from UR. One guy is from Salem, so he sympathized with my dislike of the wind and lack of hills. I've got to admit, though, the farmland and rolling countryside around Rochester is beautiful. It's just a very different kind of scenery from what I'm used to.
I don't think I'm going to do the GVCC race this week. I'm going to focus on lifting and a couple of short intensity workouts at a level I can handle. With my current computer troubles and the stack of homework I'm ignoring right now, it'll be good to take the week off.
Friday I finally got myself into the gym. First for a yoga class, which was great. It was a very energizing style of yoga, so once the class was over I was feeling ready to go lift for a while. So that's what I did, working all the major muscle groups and using light weights just to get myself used to lifting again. By the time I finished my muscles were feeling pretty dead but I was feeling really good.
The next morning I woke up sore all over, as can be expected after weightlifting, and with a mild sore throat. So I took the day off, except for my 10 mile ride to the grocery store and back. Today I felt much better and went riding with Bernie and a couple others from UR. One guy is from Salem, so he sympathized with my dislike of the wind and lack of hills. I've got to admit, though, the farmland and rolling countryside around Rochester is beautiful. It's just a very different kind of scenery from what I'm used to.
I don't think I'm going to do the GVCC race this week. I'm going to focus on lifting and a couple of short intensity workouts at a level I can handle. With my current computer troubles and the stack of homework I'm ignoring right now, it'll be good to take the week off.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Ouch
My ego got left somewhere along the side of the road tonight. The course was brutally hard, the other women are simply stronger and faster than me, and my stomach was cramping. Before the race started I was actually feeling pretty good, but I only managed to hang on for about 6 miles before the wind and hills completely overpowered me. I was the third to get dropped, so that's something at least. Sadly, I didn't finish the race. The stomach cramps turned nasty and I was choking back vomit on my last hill, so I decided that I had had enough. It was my first DNF, and hopefully my last.
I called Neil after I got home and he gave me some much needed encouragement. I'm revising my season goals from "podium placement" to "pack finish". I have to keep reminding myself that I'm racing way over my head with Cat 2 and 3's and they SHOULD be dropping me every race. At least I get a good workout on Tuesday nights. Oh, and one of the other women lives just down the street from me, so I now have a carpool to races. That alone almost makes tonight seem like a success.
I called Neil after I got home and he gave me some much needed encouragement. I'm revising my season goals from "podium placement" to "pack finish". I have to keep reminding myself that I'm racing way over my head with Cat 2 and 3's and they SHOULD be dropping me every race. At least I get a good workout on Tuesday nights. Oh, and one of the other women lives just down the street from me, so I now have a carpool to races. That alone almost makes tonight seem like a success.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Goals: 3 week report
How am I doing on all those lofty goals I set for myself when I first showed up in Rochester? Let's take a look.
1. Find a team I like.
This one has become kind of moot. There are no teams with women's squads in town, so I'll just stick with whoever I can find that will go on group rides with me. I've now emailed with two guys from the UofR team and they both seem enthusiastic and happy to ride, so I'll probably meet with them once they get back into town.
2. Lose some weight/fat
I didn't have a tape measure until yesterday, so let's consider this my baseline. Current measurements: Chest - 34.25, Waist - 30.5, Hips - 41.25, Thigh - 21.25
By publishing my measurements on a public blog maybe I can actually embarrass myself into making some progress. To make this goal more concrete, I want to lose an inch off my waist by the end of the summer.
3. Fix my diet
I'm quite happy with how I've done with this so far. The only pre-packaged thing I've eaten in the past three weeks has been mac and cheese, once. I'm eating produce like crazy, almost entirely whole grain breads and cereal, no sugary desserts, and so far it's working for me. I get occasional cravings for sweet stuff, but that is usually fixed by a piece of fruit or some jam on toast. I do eat my weekly doughnut on the way home from the grocery store, but I figure I deserve that.
4. Get back to regular lifting
Fail. Granted, I didn't have sneakers that I could use at the gym until last week, but still, I haven't even looked at the gym yet. I'm doing that on Tuesday.
5. Find a yoga class
There's one on Fridays at the medical center gym during a break between classes. If I can get myself signed up for the gym I will go this week.
6. Train smarter
I tried a little bit, it didn't work well. I think I should revise this goal to "ride at least three times each week" because I haven't even got that down yet.
7. Race as much as I can
I can race 10 Tuesdays for free (now that I've payed the club dues). After 10, it'll cost $1 each week. As long as I plan for Tuesdays to be a non-homework night, I should be able to do this. I might do an occasional weekend race too, but not until I can hold my own in the training races.
So, how did I do? I think I'm making progress. I've still got a long way to go, but at least I'm moving forward.
1. Find a team I like.
This one has become kind of moot. There are no teams with women's squads in town, so I'll just stick with whoever I can find that will go on group rides with me. I've now emailed with two guys from the UofR team and they both seem enthusiastic and happy to ride, so I'll probably meet with them once they get back into town.
2. Lose some weight/fat
I didn't have a tape measure until yesterday, so let's consider this my baseline. Current measurements: Chest - 34.25, Waist - 30.5, Hips - 41.25, Thigh - 21.25
By publishing my measurements on a public blog maybe I can actually embarrass myself into making some progress. To make this goal more concrete, I want to lose an inch off my waist by the end of the summer.
3. Fix my diet
I'm quite happy with how I've done with this so far. The only pre-packaged thing I've eaten in the past three weeks has been mac and cheese, once. I'm eating produce like crazy, almost entirely whole grain breads and cereal, no sugary desserts, and so far it's working for me. I get occasional cravings for sweet stuff, but that is usually fixed by a piece of fruit or some jam on toast. I do eat my weekly doughnut on the way home from the grocery store, but I figure I deserve that.
4. Get back to regular lifting
Fail. Granted, I didn't have sneakers that I could use at the gym until last week, but still, I haven't even looked at the gym yet. I'm doing that on Tuesday.
5. Find a yoga class
There's one on Fridays at the medical center gym during a break between classes. If I can get myself signed up for the gym I will go this week.
6. Train smarter
I tried a little bit, it didn't work well. I think I should revise this goal to "ride at least three times each week" because I haven't even got that down yet.
7. Race as much as I can
I can race 10 Tuesdays for free (now that I've payed the club dues). After 10, it'll cost $1 each week. As long as I plan for Tuesdays to be a non-homework night, I should be able to do this. I might do an occasional weekend race too, but not until I can hold my own in the training races.
So, how did I do? I think I'm making progress. I've still got a long way to go, but at least I'm moving forward.
The well is empty
I haven't been on my race bike since Tuesday. The weather is beautiful, there's no real reason not to ride, but the excuses keep piling up in my head. I'm overwhelmed with schoolwork (although the mountain is shrinking), frustrated with my poor showing at the crit, scared I'll have another poor showing at the next race, and there's no one here to get me out on my bike but myself.
Then I read this. If you're ever struggling to understand why I fell head over heels for cycling in such a short time, read some of this blog, particularly the favorites in the sidebar. If you still don't get it, I just can't help you. That particular post articulates how I'm feeling right now perfectly. When I look for my motivation, it's just not there. But it will come back, maybe later today, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week. In the meantime, I'll be working through that shrinking mountain of reading and trying not to think about the race on Tuesday.
Then I read this. If you're ever struggling to understand why I fell head over heels for cycling in such a short time, read some of this blog, particularly the favorites in the sidebar. If you still don't get it, I just can't help you. That particular post articulates how I'm feeling right now perfectly. When I look for my motivation, it's just not there. But it will come back, maybe later today, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week. In the meantime, I'll be working through that shrinking mountain of reading and trying not to think about the race on Tuesday.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
My First Crit, or, How to Improve Your Cornering
I was very nervous for my first GVCC race. What if they're all faster than me? What if I don't like anyone? What if I make a fool of myself? Many bad scenarios got replayed in my head over and over again.
When I arrived I realized my first big mistake. I had hardly eaten anything since noon. It was now 6 and my body was used to eating every 3-4 hours. This was a big problem, but there wasn't much I could do about it. We rode around the course several times to warm up. It was a 0.6 mile loop, with only two real corners. One half was slightly downhill and the other half was slightly uphill and into a headwind. Within a lap or two I realized my second big mistake. My legs were toasted from the ride on Monday. Maybe that has something to do with the crazy headwinds, but I bet it also had to do with going out dancing and only getting 7 hours of sleep before my insane first day of class. Just maybe.
I did my best to work the kinks out of my legs, but they were having none of it. The muscles were sluggish and already burning on the uphill. The race was going to be 20 minutes plus 5 laps. We started with a few neutral laps, which were nice to continue trying to coax my legs into good behavior. It didn't work. Then the racing started. At first I was fine, in the middle of our small pack (only 10 women) and breathing hard but not dying. I lost some ground on the uphill each lap, but I always do. The difference this time is that I couldn't make it up on the the downhill. After about 3 laps I was dangling off the back, gasping for air. After 5 laps, the pack was barely even in sight around the corners.
There are few things more demoralizing than putting every ounce of energy you have into just clinging to the back of the pack, and then getting dropped anyway. But, I have the voice of Neil in my head telling me over and over again, "If you get dropped, it's still good training. Just keep riding." So I kept riding. For a little while I made futile efforts to get back to the pack, but I never gained any ground. At one point someone else got dropped and I spent the rest of the race chasing her. I never caught her, but I never let her gain ground on me either. I owe her a lot of thanks, because having someone visible in front of me was just enough motivation to keep me going.
Throughout the race I also got to practice high-speed cornering. Cornering and I are not comfortable with each other yet, but I figured I might as well make the best use of my solo training race and practice. I started out taking the corners at about 19-20mph, and by the end I was pretty confidently taking them at 25mph. I call that good practice.
At some point along the way I got lapped. That was about the point that my energy reserve kicked in. Or maybe I was just mad about being lapped. Either way, my speed picked up significantly. There were only a few laps to go by then, though, so it hardly mattered. Shana ended up winning the race, and I was shocked to find out that I hadn't actually finished last. Someone else who was racing a crit for the first time had been dropped before me. That was also when I found out that in the pack had been three Cat 3's and a Cat 2. I felt a little better after that.
That race wasn't fun. There's no way to twist it around and make it seem fun. I got shelled off the back, heartily embarrassed, and was suffering badly the whole time. Luckily, I was stubborn enough to keep riding. I think I earned some respect for that, even if my bad judgment and lack of fitness were blatantly obvious. Next week it's a regular road race, and my goal will be very simple and very modest: Finish with pack.
When I arrived I realized my first big mistake. I had hardly eaten anything since noon. It was now 6 and my body was used to eating every 3-4 hours. This was a big problem, but there wasn't much I could do about it. We rode around the course several times to warm up. It was a 0.6 mile loop, with only two real corners. One half was slightly downhill and the other half was slightly uphill and into a headwind. Within a lap or two I realized my second big mistake. My legs were toasted from the ride on Monday. Maybe that has something to do with the crazy headwinds, but I bet it also had to do with going out dancing and only getting 7 hours of sleep before my insane first day of class. Just maybe.
I did my best to work the kinks out of my legs, but they were having none of it. The muscles were sluggish and already burning on the uphill. The race was going to be 20 minutes plus 5 laps. We started with a few neutral laps, which were nice to continue trying to coax my legs into good behavior. It didn't work. Then the racing started. At first I was fine, in the middle of our small pack (only 10 women) and breathing hard but not dying. I lost some ground on the uphill each lap, but I always do. The difference this time is that I couldn't make it up on the the downhill. After about 3 laps I was dangling off the back, gasping for air. After 5 laps, the pack was barely even in sight around the corners.
There are few things more demoralizing than putting every ounce of energy you have into just clinging to the back of the pack, and then getting dropped anyway. But, I have the voice of Neil in my head telling me over and over again, "If you get dropped, it's still good training. Just keep riding." So I kept riding. For a little while I made futile efforts to get back to the pack, but I never gained any ground. At one point someone else got dropped and I spent the rest of the race chasing her. I never caught her, but I never let her gain ground on me either. I owe her a lot of thanks, because having someone visible in front of me was just enough motivation to keep me going.
Throughout the race I also got to practice high-speed cornering. Cornering and I are not comfortable with each other yet, but I figured I might as well make the best use of my solo training race and practice. I started out taking the corners at about 19-20mph, and by the end I was pretty confidently taking them at 25mph. I call that good practice.
At some point along the way I got lapped. That was about the point that my energy reserve kicked in. Or maybe I was just mad about being lapped. Either way, my speed picked up significantly. There were only a few laps to go by then, though, so it hardly mattered. Shana ended up winning the race, and I was shocked to find out that I hadn't actually finished last. Someone else who was racing a crit for the first time had been dropped before me. That was also when I found out that in the pack had been three Cat 3's and a Cat 2. I felt a little better after that.
That race wasn't fun. There's no way to twist it around and make it seem fun. I got shelled off the back, heartily embarrassed, and was suffering badly the whole time. Luckily, I was stubborn enough to keep riding. I think I earned some respect for that, even if my bad judgment and lack of fitness were blatantly obvious. Next week it's a regular road race, and my goal will be very simple and very modest: Finish with pack.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Recon
The day before a race I always try to ride. It's my "blood volume" ride, and it seems to actually work. Basically, by riding I tell my body to maintain or increase its blood volume, rather than allowing it to drop. These increases and drops happen within a span of 24 hours, so without riding I would lose blood volume before the race. That has ll kinds of negative impacts on my racing form, so it's best to just ride the day before.
With that in mind, I decided to combine my BV ride with a little bit of reconnaissance. I checked out another of the GVCC race courses (actually, the course for next week). I rode for about 2 hours 15 minutes, for a total of almost 35 miles. Headwind all the way out there, tailwind all the way back. I don't think it's ever NOT windy in this place. Anyway, like the other one, this course is mostly flat to rolling with a couple of little bumps that I can power over easily. It'll be great for me. Any course that doesn't involve real climbing (real climbing = sustained for 1 mile or more) should work to my advantage. So far the two courses I've seen look like Cherry Pie, without the uphill finish. Note: Before that uphill finish I was in 5th or 6th place at Cherry Pie.
I realize that by saying all of this in a public forum, although not read by very many people, I will almost certainly get a severely bruised ego after racing these courses. But that's okay, I can handle some bruising, as long as it's dished out by women that are actually faster and stronger than me. Tomorrow is the first test. I've got a ride to the race, done all the training I could, and hopefully will not make a fool of myself. If only I were better at cornering...
With that in mind, I decided to combine my BV ride with a little bit of reconnaissance. I checked out another of the GVCC race courses (actually, the course for next week). I rode for about 2 hours 15 minutes, for a total of almost 35 miles. Headwind all the way out there, tailwind all the way back. I don't think it's ever NOT windy in this place. Anyway, like the other one, this course is mostly flat to rolling with a couple of little bumps that I can power over easily. It'll be great for me. Any course that doesn't involve real climbing (real climbing = sustained for 1 mile or more) should work to my advantage. So far the two courses I've seen look like Cherry Pie, without the uphill finish. Note: Before that uphill finish I was in 5th or 6th place at Cherry Pie.
I realize that by saying all of this in a public forum, although not read by very many people, I will almost certainly get a severely bruised ego after racing these courses. But that's okay, I can handle some bruising, as long as it's dished out by women that are actually faster and stronger than me. Tomorrow is the first test. I've got a ride to the race, done all the training I could, and hopefully will not make a fool of myself. If only I were better at cornering...
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Even flat intervals hurt
I never thought I'd say this, but I miss hills. Hills force you to be honest and push hard. When the road is flat and there's no one to make you go hard except yourself, it's way too easy to cheat. I think this is going to be a problem in the future.
Luckily, it wasn't a problem today. The weather was so iffy for most of the afternoon and I was so antsy to get out and try the new roads that Todd showed me that when I finally got out there motivation was not an issue. I had all the motivation in that world and I was ready to go ride for an hour, hammer out some hard intervals, then ride for another hour back. That was the plan. Unfortunately, the wind had other ideas.
Wind is a normal problem, especially in flat areas, but today was a special kind of wind. It was blowing from every direction at once and when it decided to gust into my face it could knock 10mph off my speed. I was pushing into it as hard as I could and moving at about 12mph. I don't like wind.
So, when I got out to the area I had decided to explore (one of the race courses for GVCC) I was already more than warmed up. But, I was there, the sun was out, my iPod was ready and intervals awaited. I turn on the music (random play started with Kanye West - Glory, good choice for intervals) and start the suffering. Three minutes, flat out as hard as I could go. The first one is always the hardest. I chose to do nice intervals today, so I let myself recover completely. Then start up again for another three minutes. Repeat four times. By the time I had finished four, I was done. Well, my legs were done. I knew they'd get me home, but if I tried for a fifth or to go exploring bad things would happen. So I headed home.
I've gotta say, it felt really good to get out there and push myself to the limit again. I had the biggest, stupidest grin on my face as I was riding home. The wind was still going strong, but it had decided to stay at my back all the way home. Nothing like riding home at 25mph despite having trashed my legs. When I got off my bike my knees were wobbly and it hurt to walk up the stairs, exactly what I wanted to feel.
One more important note for today: That course is going to suit me perfectly in a race. It'll be a few weeks before we go out there, but I should be able to rock that course. I can just hope that the crit on Tuesday will be similar. I should probably work on my cornering for that crit, too. Hmmm... maybe tomorrow.
Luckily, it wasn't a problem today. The weather was so iffy for most of the afternoon and I was so antsy to get out and try the new roads that Todd showed me that when I finally got out there motivation was not an issue. I had all the motivation in that world and I was ready to go ride for an hour, hammer out some hard intervals, then ride for another hour back. That was the plan. Unfortunately, the wind had other ideas.
Wind is a normal problem, especially in flat areas, but today was a special kind of wind. It was blowing from every direction at once and when it decided to gust into my face it could knock 10mph off my speed. I was pushing into it as hard as I could and moving at about 12mph. I don't like wind.
So, when I got out to the area I had decided to explore (one of the race courses for GVCC) I was already more than warmed up. But, I was there, the sun was out, my iPod was ready and intervals awaited. I turn on the music (random play started with Kanye West - Glory, good choice for intervals) and start the suffering. Three minutes, flat out as hard as I could go. The first one is always the hardest. I chose to do nice intervals today, so I let myself recover completely. Then start up again for another three minutes. Repeat four times. By the time I had finished four, I was done. Well, my legs were done. I knew they'd get me home, but if I tried for a fifth or to go exploring bad things would happen. So I headed home.
I've gotta say, it felt really good to get out there and push myself to the limit again. I had the biggest, stupidest grin on my face as I was riding home. The wind was still going strong, but it had decided to stay at my back all the way home. Nothing like riding home at 25mph despite having trashed my legs. When I got off my bike my knees were wobbly and it hurt to walk up the stairs, exactly what I wanted to feel.
One more important note for today: That course is going to suit me perfectly in a race. It'll be a few weeks before we go out there, but I should be able to rock that course. I can just hope that the crit on Tuesday will be similar. I should probably work on my cornering for that crit, too. Hmmm... maybe tomorrow.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Getting Schooled
I've been emailing with Todd, the guy that runs the GVCC. At one point he offered to show me some good roads to ride on, and I jumped at the chance. He then says, "I can swing by after I hit up the some hard training." Alarm bells should have gone off at this point.
So, at the designated time, he ride up to my house, wearing full kit and riding a rather beautiful bike (I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't notice what kind). He pulls off his Rudy Project glasses (yes, I did notice that) and introduces himself. We head south from my house, and I immediately come to the conclusion that I'm in trouble. It wasn't so much our speed that tipped me off, but I made the mistake of checking out his legs. Perfectly shaven to display a level of muscle definition that strikes both awe and fear into my heart.
We're chatting and cruising along, and I notice that my legs are burning a little. I think I'm just stiff from the ride yesterday and having been off the bike for so long. Then I glance down at my speed. Turns out we're cruising at about 21mph, before I'm warmed up. I think to myself, "I'm sure we'll slow down once we get away from traffic, and I'll be fine once I'm warmed up," so I don't say anything. Todd is continuing to chat about racing, school, and all kinds of stuff in a way that proves he's not even a little bit out of breath. I try to keep up my end of the conversation, but it comes out in half sentences, since I have to catch my breath every 4-5 words.
After only 15 minutes or so of riding, we come to an area that is made up of beautiful fields, backroads and old farmhouses. Perfect cycling country. I would have been enjoying the view, except Todd was maintaining his cruising speed of about 19-21mph. I should point out that we were riding side by side the entire time, in order to hold a conversation, so I couldn't just draft off his wheel. I should also point out that my typical cruising speed on this kind of terrain is in the 16-18mph range.
About 30 minutes into the ride I was feeling warmed up. There comes a point when the muscles just get loose and happy and I can feel the blood pumping without feeling much of a burn at all. I hit that point, and felt really good. It didn't last. About the time the good leg feeling was fading Todd says, "If I'm going to fast or too slow, make sure you tell me." Being as competitive as I am, he might as well have said, "I dare you to keep up with me." So I did. The good legs went away and the burn started to creep in.
As we turned onto my road, with Todd still chatting amiably and without sign of fatigue, I realized that I had done almost no talking for the last few miles. He either didn't notice or, more likely, was kind enough to not point it out. We got back, I thanked him profusely for coming out to show me around, and watched him ride off into the sunset. I check my computer. Turns out we had gone over 18 miles in about an hour. When you factor in stoplights, etc. that amounts to pretty darn fast. My last race in Portland was a 20.4 mile time trial that I did in just over an hour. His cool down was my tempo workout. I believe that I got schooled tonight. The great thing? I feel like I could've gone farther. Maybe those two weeks without my bike weren't so terrible after all.
My first race is on Tuesday. With luck, maybe I can do a little schooling of my own.
So, at the designated time, he ride up to my house, wearing full kit and riding a rather beautiful bike (I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't notice what kind). He pulls off his Rudy Project glasses (yes, I did notice that) and introduces himself. We head south from my house, and I immediately come to the conclusion that I'm in trouble. It wasn't so much our speed that tipped me off, but I made the mistake of checking out his legs. Perfectly shaven to display a level of muscle definition that strikes both awe and fear into my heart.
We're chatting and cruising along, and I notice that my legs are burning a little. I think I'm just stiff from the ride yesterday and having been off the bike for so long. Then I glance down at my speed. Turns out we're cruising at about 21mph, before I'm warmed up. I think to myself, "I'm sure we'll slow down once we get away from traffic, and I'll be fine once I'm warmed up," so I don't say anything. Todd is continuing to chat about racing, school, and all kinds of stuff in a way that proves he's not even a little bit out of breath. I try to keep up my end of the conversation, but it comes out in half sentences, since I have to catch my breath every 4-5 words.
After only 15 minutes or so of riding, we come to an area that is made up of beautiful fields, backroads and old farmhouses. Perfect cycling country. I would have been enjoying the view, except Todd was maintaining his cruising speed of about 19-21mph. I should point out that we were riding side by side the entire time, in order to hold a conversation, so I couldn't just draft off his wheel. I should also point out that my typical cruising speed on this kind of terrain is in the 16-18mph range.
About 30 minutes into the ride I was feeling warmed up. There comes a point when the muscles just get loose and happy and I can feel the blood pumping without feeling much of a burn at all. I hit that point, and felt really good. It didn't last. About the time the good leg feeling was fading Todd says, "If I'm going to fast or too slow, make sure you tell me." Being as competitive as I am, he might as well have said, "I dare you to keep up with me." So I did. The good legs went away and the burn started to creep in.
As we turned onto my road, with Todd still chatting amiably and without sign of fatigue, I realized that I had done almost no talking for the last few miles. He either didn't notice or, more likely, was kind enough to not point it out. We got back, I thanked him profusely for coming out to show me around, and watched him ride off into the sunset. I check my computer. Turns out we had gone over 18 miles in about an hour. When you factor in stoplights, etc. that amounts to pretty darn fast. My last race in Portland was a 20.4 mile time trial that I did in just over an hour. His cool down was my tempo workout. I believe that I got schooled tonight. The great thing? I feel like I could've gone farther. Maybe those two weeks without my bike weren't so terrible after all.
My first race is on Tuesday. With luck, maybe I can do a little schooling of my own.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
More progress, and a ride to Lake Ontario
Today I took Paris in to Full Moon Vista for his tune up. The mechanic there today was named Dave and he was incredibly friendly. We chatted about all kinds of stuff, and it turns out he's an RN and Respiratory Therapist, as well as a photographer and bike mechanic. Busy guy. Anyway, while he was checking out Paris I sat and drank a complimentary cup of coffee and listened to his stories about Rochester and his multiple jobs, etc. Then he'd send me off on a test ride, I'd come back and tell him what was still wrong and he'd continue wrenching and chatting. It was great.
In the midst of this, I met Shana, a very enthusiastic racer. She was encouraging and helpful and suggested that I show up to the race on Tuesday night to meet other women. There are no scheduled group rides, and not enough women on any given team for tactics to matter much in the races, so joining a team is becoming less of a priority. But, networking with the female racers in town will help me get in on impromptu rides and maybe carpooling to races.
Also while I was there, I talked a bit with Kyle, the mechanic who had worked on Johnny a couple days ago. He recognized me right away, even remembered my name, which was really nice. He helped me figure out the best route for my ride to the lake and back. Dave offered me the chance to ride with him and a friend or two that evening a 4pm, but I wanted to be back home in time to eat and go swing dancing tonight, so I politely declined. But, the invitation stands for every Tuesday and Wednesday around 4, so I'll try to join them soon if my class schedule allows it.
I'd now spent over an hour hanging out in the shop, so I finished my coffee and took off in the direction of Lake Ontario. The route Kyle gave me went through the park that contains the Seneca Park Zoo.
There was a pretty pond in the park, it looked like a nice place for a picnic. Be warned that most of these pictures were taken while I was riding, so they might not be the best quality.
After the zoo I crossed over the Genesee River on a fabulous bike/pedestrian only bridge. Portland could learn a thing or two about bike/ped bridges from Rochester. So far I've used two of them and they are wonderful.
The view from the bridge was pretty good too.
This is the path I took along the other side of the river.
The path becomes this really nifty boardwalk. I saw lots of fun wildlife along the boardwalk, including an older guy with a bike (and a beer can in his bottle cage) who asked me if I have a boyfriend. I said yes, and pedaled away.
Turtle
Swan
Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
After the boardwalk and wildlife viewing, I continued along the river. There was a cool bridge, that I eventually went over.
Under the bridge I almost got attacked by a pair of geese protecting their adorable goslings.
I finally made it to Lake Ontario! There was a nice big park, and a nice beach, and a lot of water. There was also an ice cream place, so I'm sure the future holds many rides to the lake for ice cream this summer. It was a very overcast, Oregon kind of day. I'm sure on sunny days this place would be packed.
One last shot of downtown Rochester.
The ride home was uneventful. I did get to laugh at what Dave had called "a nice climb." It did make me drop me speed to single digits (because I was conserving energy), but it lasted maybe a tenth of a mile, at most. If that's what they call I climb out here, I might as well call myself a climber. For a few more pictures, and larger versions of the ones you've seen, click here.
In the midst of this, I met Shana, a very enthusiastic racer. She was encouraging and helpful and suggested that I show up to the race on Tuesday night to meet other women. There are no scheduled group rides, and not enough women on any given team for tactics to matter much in the races, so joining a team is becoming less of a priority. But, networking with the female racers in town will help me get in on impromptu rides and maybe carpooling to races.
Also while I was there, I talked a bit with Kyle, the mechanic who had worked on Johnny a couple days ago. He recognized me right away, even remembered my name, which was really nice. He helped me figure out the best route for my ride to the lake and back. Dave offered me the chance to ride with him and a friend or two that evening a 4pm, but I wanted to be back home in time to eat and go swing dancing tonight, so I politely declined. But, the invitation stands for every Tuesday and Wednesday around 4, so I'll try to join them soon if my class schedule allows it.
I'd now spent over an hour hanging out in the shop, so I finished my coffee and took off in the direction of Lake Ontario. The route Kyle gave me went through the park that contains the Seneca Park Zoo.
There was a pretty pond in the park, it looked like a nice place for a picnic. Be warned that most of these pictures were taken while I was riding, so they might not be the best quality.
After the zoo I crossed over the Genesee River on a fabulous bike/pedestrian only bridge. Portland could learn a thing or two about bike/ped bridges from Rochester. So far I've used two of them and they are wonderful.
The view from the bridge was pretty good too.
This is the path I took along the other side of the river.
The path becomes this really nifty boardwalk. I saw lots of fun wildlife along the boardwalk, including an older guy with a bike (and a beer can in his bottle cage) who asked me if I have a boyfriend. I said yes, and pedaled away.
Turtle SwanCardinal Red-winged BlackbirdAfter the boardwalk and wildlife viewing, I continued along the river. There was a cool bridge, that I eventually went over.
Under the bridge I almost got attacked by a pair of geese protecting their adorable goslings.
I finally made it to Lake Ontario! There was a nice big park, and a nice beach, and a lot of water. There was also an ice cream place, so I'm sure the future holds many rides to the lake for ice cream this summer. It was a very overcast, Oregon kind of day. I'm sure on sunny days this place would be packed.
One last shot of downtown Rochester.
The ride home was uneventful. I did get to laugh at what Dave had called "a nice climb." It did make me drop me speed to single digits (because I was conserving energy), but it lasted maybe a tenth of a mile, at most. If that's what they call I climb out here, I might as well call myself a climber. For a few more pictures, and larger versions of the ones you've seen, click here.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Progress already
I've done some emailing and will be talking to a female racer tomorrow at Full Moon Vista when I take Paris in for his checkup. With luck, she'll be able to hook me up with some group rides. I still need to figure out whether or not to get a collegiate license from USAC and get my applications in for the GVCC so I can participate in their training races. It's all starting to fall into place :)
Time to get serious! :-D
My road bike (I call him Paris) finally arrived. I spent the day with my laptop refreshing the UPS tracker page every 15 minutes :)
He arrived in a mostly torn apart state, so I just spent an hour trying to figure out how to get him back together. It was mostly successful, and he's now in rideable condition, but his first ride will be to Full Moon Vista to get checked out and fix his shifting. And then I'll probably continue on to Lake Ontario.
The most exciting thing about having my race bike back is that I can start racing again! I've contacted the captain of the UofR cycling team and plan to join the GVCC. I also need to get myself a USA Cycling license. If I can get that all sorted out by May 24th, I just might be able to compete in the Corning Circuit Race!
If I'm going to race in less than two weeks, I'm going to need to get some serious training in first. Hopefully through the UofR team and the GVCC I'll be able to find a gorup ride or two and some ideas about where to go for training. This is so exciting!
He arrived in a mostly torn apart state, so I just spent an hour trying to figure out how to get him back together. It was mostly successful, and he's now in rideable condition, but his first ride will be to Full Moon Vista to get checked out and fix his shifting. And then I'll probably continue on to Lake Ontario.
The most exciting thing about having my race bike back is that I can start racing again! I've contacted the captain of the UofR cycling team and plan to join the GVCC. I also need to get myself a USA Cycling license. If I can get that all sorted out by May 24th, I just might be able to compete in the Corning Circuit Race!
If I'm going to race in less than two weeks, I'm going to need to get some serious training in first. Hopefully through the UofR team and the GVCC I'll be able to find a gorup ride or two and some ideas about where to go for training. This is so exciting!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Caitlin's 12 step guide to bike assembly
Step 1: Slice into finger while getting the box open. Get banddaid from nameless roommate to avoid dripping blood on the floor or bike.
Step 2: Assemble the bike. This is the closest thing I've ever done to a bike build. Poor thing was in all kinds of pieces in order to fit in the box.
Step 3: Discover that a tiny piece for the front brake was missing.
Step 4: While trying to make the front brake work anyway, break an essential piece.
Step 5: Yell and curse a lot.
Step 6: Find and call a bike shop that claims it'll have the parts to fit even a very old set of brakes.
Step 7: Ride very slowly and carefully using only the rear brake to said bike shop.
Step 8: Get brake fixed. Offer to pay, get turned down.
Step 9: Buy a rear rack with attached baskets, partly out of gratitude and guilt, mostly because I need to haul groceries.
Step 10: Ride home very carefully carrying rack in one hand, but able to use both brakes.
Step 11: Attach rear rack and baskets.
Step 12: Admire handiwork. Realize that 4 hours have passed and I need to eat dinner.
Now I can get around town. As Mel Gibson so succinctly put it, "FREEDOM!"
Step 2: Assemble the bike. This is the closest thing I've ever done to a bike build. Poor thing was in all kinds of pieces in order to fit in the box.
Step 3: Discover that a tiny piece for the front brake was missing.
Step 4: While trying to make the front brake work anyway, break an essential piece.
Step 5: Yell and curse a lot.
Step 6: Find and call a bike shop that claims it'll have the parts to fit even a very old set of brakes.
Step 7: Ride very slowly and carefully using only the rear brake to said bike shop.
Step 8: Get brake fixed. Offer to pay, get turned down.
Step 9: Buy a rear rack with attached baskets, partly out of gratitude and guilt, mostly because I need to haul groceries.
Step 10: Ride home very carefully carrying rack in one hand, but able to use both brakes.
Step 11: Attach rear rack and baskets.
Step 12: Admire handiwork. Realize that 4 hours have passed and I need to eat dinner.
Now I can get around town. As Mel Gibson so succinctly put it, "FREEDOM!"
Monday, May 5, 2008
Goals
Since my original plans regarding racing and training got somewhat derailed by this move, I've got a new list of goals to work on this summer, some easier than others.
1. Find a team I like. UofR has a cycling team, but I'm going to make sure I don't just join up because that's where I go to school. There are other teams in the area and I want to check them out before I decide.
2. Lose some weight/fat. I'm near the heaviest weight I've ever been, although I'm also in the best shape I've been since my first knee surgery. I don't really care what my final weight ends up being, but I do want to decrease my % body fat and that will result in weight and inches loss. I'm guessing about 15-20 lbs, which should put me down about two sizes. I don't have a scale right now, so I'll be watching measurements and weighing myself occasionally at the gym.
3. Fix my diet. I am now 100% in control of the food I eat and the food available to me for the first time in my life. I can and will make sure that I eat healthy foods and avoid junk. Reduce fat and avoid simple sugars and I should be good. I'm also trying to add at least some veggies or fruit to every meal, and using produce as my snacks and desserts. Obviously this will help a lot with goal #2.
4. Get back to regular lifting. I didn't even manage once a week for my last month in Portland. I need to maintain all the muscle I've built and my feminine physiology isn't doing my any favors. I need to get myself to the gym, as much as I don't like it.
5. Find a yoga class. I loved yoga and it's one of the best stress relievers I've ever found. Plus it's a great workout for building and toning muscle. I'm not exactly an elite cyclist that needs to do nothing but ride and I think the added strength and energy will help me a lot. I think I can get free classes through UofR. If that's true, I'm signing up.
6. Train smarter. Mostly this involves getting a heart rate monitor. I'm not very good at the perceived effort thing, especially when I'm by myself. I have a tendency to ease up too much when I should be going all out or pushing too hard when I should be recovering. I think having a number in front of me will help a lot. It will at least help me know how I should feel depending on the goal for that ride/interval.
7. Race as much as I can. Money and time are going to become significantly limiting factors once school starts. Transportation might also be a problem. But I still love to race and will do whatever it takes to get out there and do it.
My commuter bike will be here by Friday. I'm already itching to ride.
1. Find a team I like. UofR has a cycling team, but I'm going to make sure I don't just join up because that's where I go to school. There are other teams in the area and I want to check them out before I decide.
2. Lose some weight/fat. I'm near the heaviest weight I've ever been, although I'm also in the best shape I've been since my first knee surgery. I don't really care what my final weight ends up being, but I do want to decrease my % body fat and that will result in weight and inches loss. I'm guessing about 15-20 lbs, which should put me down about two sizes. I don't have a scale right now, so I'll be watching measurements and weighing myself occasionally at the gym.
3. Fix my diet. I am now 100% in control of the food I eat and the food available to me for the first time in my life. I can and will make sure that I eat healthy foods and avoid junk. Reduce fat and avoid simple sugars and I should be good. I'm also trying to add at least some veggies or fruit to every meal, and using produce as my snacks and desserts. Obviously this will help a lot with goal #2.
4. Get back to regular lifting. I didn't even manage once a week for my last month in Portland. I need to maintain all the muscle I've built and my feminine physiology isn't doing my any favors. I need to get myself to the gym, as much as I don't like it.
5. Find a yoga class. I loved yoga and it's one of the best stress relievers I've ever found. Plus it's a great workout for building and toning muscle. I'm not exactly an elite cyclist that needs to do nothing but ride and I think the added strength and energy will help me a lot. I think I can get free classes through UofR. If that's true, I'm signing up.
6. Train smarter. Mostly this involves getting a heart rate monitor. I'm not very good at the perceived effort thing, especially when I'm by myself. I have a tendency to ease up too much when I should be going all out or pushing too hard when I should be recovering. I think having a number in front of me will help a lot. It will at least help me know how I should feel depending on the goal for that ride/interval.
7. Race as much as I can. Money and time are going to become significantly limiting factors once school starts. Transportation might also be a problem. But I still love to race and will do whatever it takes to get out there and do it.
My commuter bike will be here by Friday. I'm already itching to ride.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Welcome
This will be where I write about bike stuff. Currently I don't have any bikes with me, so it'll be a little while before I write anything interesting. Until then, I apologize to those that understood the joke in the title. If you don't get it, consider yourself better off.
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