Still work to do

It seems that I can blow through the Base1 Rest & Recovery week easily but there is still work to do. I have two days of lifting and a power test. Also, I still want to work in a 3hr ride. That should take up most of the 10hrs. I will fill in the rest with zone2 work and some speed work.

Another thing to keep in mind is my weight. I would like to shave off another pound.

Base 1 is Done!

In my eyes I am done. This week concludes my Base 1 with only 10hrs of scheduled time I am going to enjoy it while I can because I know I will be in the middle of base 2 soon.

Other than spin classes I spent about 60% of my time in Zone 2. I am getting use to the 3hr trainer rides which make the 3hr road rides seem fun. My only regret is that I didn't ride for any longer than 3hrs. Next period I my goal will be to get a 4hr ride in each week.

My Base 1 weekly hours look like this: Week: 1) 14:00hrs, 2) 14.30hrs, 3) 17:15hrs

I still feel good and motivated. Next period will the training kicks up a notch with tempo work on Tuesdays. Also, I am going to carry on with my Muscle Strength workouts for a bit longer.

Off to a good start of the week

Yesterday was a day off so I was ready to go this morning.

I woke up a bit after 4:00 this morning in was on my trainer by 4:30 for 1:30hrs of E2 work. It took a good 30minutes to warmup to zone 2 but I was able to keep my HR there for 48min. After about 1:15 I was ready to get off my bike. I wasn't tired or drained... just ready to do something else.

stats - 90minutes, 48min zone 2, avg hr 130, avg cad 88

I am packed up and ready to hit the gym tonight for some weights. This will be my second session in the Muscle strength phase.

Doing Time - Weekend Wrapup

Friday - I was able to do some spinning and lifting. I did squats instead of leg press. The weight of the bar hurt my vertibrae a little bit but the squat wasn't too bad. Did Spining class for about an hour. 2:00hrs today

Saturday - Taught spin class we did a bunch of hills. Then shovelled snow for about an hour and the in-laws. I worked up a pretty good sweat so I am going to count it. 2:00hrs today

Sunday - Did 3:00hrs on the trainer. Kept in zone 2 avg hr 140

I ended up with 14:30hrs for the week. Well short of the 16:30 scheduled hours but I did get some good weight session and a couple longer rides. I' take it. Next week 18.5... bring it on, I am looking forward to it.

Doing Time Day 3

I was able to get out on the Single Speed yesterday. I had take my computer off "Blue" (my trek 5200) and put it in my pocket to get time and HR functions. Since I couldn't see the computer, I had to wing it to judge my time and effort. The goal was to ride in zone 2 for 3 hrs. I ended with 2:30min mostly in zone 1 my avg HR was 121.

Although my avg HR was low, my legs got a good strength workout with riding on the Single Speed climbing some hills. I stayed seated and powered up the hills.

I stopped along the way to flipped the wheel around to change from freewheel to fixed. That was interesting. It was a little dangerous at first but once I learned to slow down using my legs instead of breaking I was fine. You have to plan your stops so you feet are in the right position to start up again. This time no crashes because I was constantly reminding myself that I was now in "fixed" mode.

Today I may do 1:30hrs and weights.

Doing Time Day 2 - continued

I was able to climb on the bike last night for a couple hours. It took about 15 minutes to climb into zone 2 but I was able to hold it there with ease. I was able to mix things up by changing my cadence. Every 10min or so I would switch chainrings. Big chainring low cadence. Small chainring high cadence. So I would just focus on 10min blocks of time instead of thinking about how much more.

Today I have the afternoon off so I am going do a 3hr ride.

Stats - 2hrs, 139bpm avg, zone 2 time 120minutes

Doing Time Day 2

One hour spin class this morning. We did some resistance work and some zone 4 work. I am worried not getting the planned hours of training. Today should be a 4hr day. If I ride 1.5hrs tonight I will be happy. 2hrs will be great but I need to get in another 3hrs to stay on track. ugh!!!

Doing Time Day 1

Got on the trainer a bit late this morning. I was snoozing good when Christine woke me up at 5:30. 0:50min of a planned hour since I was running late. It seemed like it took forever to get warmed up but after about 20minutes I was in the target zone.

Tonight it is another weight session. I will do another transition day before I hit the heavy weights.

One week at a time

I got my 14hrs training last week. Finished up the weekend with 4:00hrs Saturday and 2:20 yesterday. Last week will be easy compared to the upcoming week. This next week most of my time will be on the trainer with the temps barely getting out of the single digits.

125mi
2hrs weights
2hrs spin class
10hrs on bike

It'll do!!

Tonight

Back to the gym for about an hour lifting. I am going to try some squats. I hear they are good for the core as well as the legs.

My legs are not sore but they are still a little tight from Tuesday nights lifting session. I still keep on this 3 day rotation. That means Monday I have to lift instead of taking a day off.

The Grind

Evening Grind - 26degrees 2:00hrs, 28mi on the trail. Done!! Any Questions?

Morning Grind - 21degrees 1:43hrs, 23mi on the trail. Done!! Was suppose to be 2:00hrs.

Not much to report about these rides, I just climbed on the bike and knocked out the work according to plan. Although temps were in the 20s, I was warm. Any day I can ride outside is a good day.

It looks like next week is going to push my limits riding outside with temps in the teens and single digits.

Christmas

Bryan wrote on his blog that he wants Optimus Prime .. Freak!! I hope he does not hang it from his bike seat or on his handlebars.

I want something more in line with my interests... a Visa Black Card. Yeah baby! more carbon and it looks cool too. It should be lighter than my current credit card.

With new wheels and that, I will be unstoppable.

Back on Track

This week starts my new training plan with a 14hr week.

Last night I was able to lift weights about 1:15hr and easy spin on the Lifecycle for 15min. That is 1:30hrs as planned. I will spend this week doing Transitional weight lifting. This means for certain exercises like rows/hip sled I will do 10 - 15 reps instead of 20 - 30reps. So for the hip sled I did 10reps with 450lbs (10plates * 45lbs). This was enough since the recommended max a 200lb rider is 560lbs.

Today is a 3:00hr day. I did spin class this morning for 1:00hr. That leaves 2hrs for tonight. It looks like it is going to be in the 30s tonight so I may go outside (probably on the trail). Anybody care to join in the fun?

Feeling Better

I am about through this cold. The congestion has gone away and I am down to a few sniffs and coughs. The rest of the week I will focus to get back on track with my training. I will do another AA weight session and a couple rides on the trainer... nothing serious.

I wish next years race schedule was posted.

Engines at "Full Stop"

I went on vacation last week. The plan was to have fun with the family but still for the most part stay on my training routine.

Things started out good. Did some Mtb & road biking in Moab, UT adding up to about 4:30hrs. In Phoenix, I got in a 2:30hr and 3:00hr ride. I was feeling good. Then I hurt my back rock climbing. It was an annoyance at first so I kept going. I struggled through a Turkey Trot fun run with it bothering me. I tried to ride the next day but I could not even get up to zone2. So I called the wife in for a rescue before too many Arizona riders passed me. I have been off the bike for 5 days... arrrgh!!

I did spinning class this morning and my back feels fine. I need to start my muscle strength weight training but I will wait a few more days. For my cycling I am going to restart with Base 1 week 1 next week. Doing what I can this week... I believe that will make me race ready at the end of May.

On a positive note. I was very happy with my avg speed on a 40 mile ride. It was perfect conditions... Flat road, no wind, 50s for temp. I averaged 19.8mph staying mostly in zone2.

Stay on target

Although I don't think I will make my scheduled 14hrs, I think I will be close. Last night I did my last AA weight workout. I was able to do 360lbs on the hip sled 20 times. My goal by the beginning of race season is 620lbs 6 - 12reps.

Today was suppose to be an easier day but I had to rearrange my schedule because I will be traveling. But Sunday my travels will bring me to Moab, UT. I will get my long ride on SlickRock and Porcupine rim. Then it is off to Phoenix. I will be doing plenty of road biking there. I think it will be easy to get in my 17.5hrs on the road.



Stats -
Thurs night - weights duration 1:15, 2 sets of a AA workout
Friday - duration 2hrs, distance 28mi, avg spd 13.9, avg HR 140, avg Cad 193

Still catching up

I was able to lift last night. Didn't move up in weight but was able to do more reps at the current settings. I am going to do one more AA workout then I will be transitioning to the Muscle Strength phase.

Today, Spin class in the morning. One hour down...that was easy! This evening was harder. The temperature was not bad at 36 but the wind as strong and cold. Gusts up to 36mph.

Good news, I got my tooth fixed today. Root canal - ick! I felt good enough to ride tonight.

This is my first official week of base training. I am highly motivated to get the full 14hrs done but it may be difficult since I am traveling to Phoenix. I am bringing the bike though. I may have to rearrange some training hours. I am hoping I to get my long ride in Moab, UT. That should be fun.

Tues -
Weights duration 1:00hr

Weds -
Spinning duration 1:00hr, avg HR 145
Ride duration 1:35hr, distance 19.8, avg HR 139, avg spd 12.9, avg cad 89

Weekend Update

Friday night set the tone for the whole weekend. I was watching a movie when my tooth started throbbing. Just an annoyance at first but then it kept intensifying. Christine finally call the Dentist for drugs. I counted the minutes waiting for her to come back with the narcotic goodness.

Saturday, all I had to do was teach spinning. I am bummed I couldn't make the Cranksgiving festivities. I spent most of the day piddling around.

Sunday I was able to ride with the guys. We got about 3hrs and 54miles clocked off so that was good. Later that day I put on my new tires/tubes. I bought some Armadillo tires with True Goo tubes. My Trek bike is so heavy now.

This week starts training.

A thin line

I almost stayed in bed this morning. I laid(sp?) in bed contemplating whether to get up and ride or not. I got up. I took it slow... no pressure on myself. Started up the coffee maker and did some morning chores.

It was 39degrees when I left. I'll take it...pretty nice for Nov. in Nebraska. Cruised through a head wind heading south on the keystone.

I spent about 45min in my zone2, and about 10min above zone2. I am liking that. I am very happy with the average cadence. The avg speed is no fun.

Ride stats-
duration 1:35hr, distance 20mi, avg speed 13.6*, avg HR 139, avg Cad 93

* luggage rack & bag attached

It is going to be a long winter

Tuesday Night -
After much stalling, I climbed on my bike last night. I tried mentally breaking up my 2hr ride into two 1hr rides. I wasn't successful. The thought of doing one long hour to be only half way kept creeping into mind.

It took about 20minutes to raise my heart rate to zone 2. For 30 minutes after, I had to really focus to keep it my heart rate there. Then there was a period that I was comfortable. I gave myself a small break about 1:20hr into the ride. The last half hour I put myself back into zone 2 for 20min and then cooled down for the last 10min. Yay! it was over.

My Cad and HR numbers for this ride looked similar to a ride on the rode. So I was happy with that.

Wednesday Morning -
Spin class we did a lot of Muscle endurance work climbing hills and long intervals. My HR went into zone 5 several times.


(Tues/Wed)Ride stats-
duration 2:00hr, avg HR 136, avg Cad 94, Zone2 time 1:10min
Spin, 1:00hr, avg HR 140, Zone1 time 0:29hr, Zone2 0:12hr, Zone2+ 23 time

Today's Ride, weekly stats, and next week goals

Today I was on my own for my 3hr ride. Layers were the key to staying warm. I had several. I broke out the neoprene face mask for the first time to keep my face warm. As always I was a little chilled starting out but after the first few minutes I was comfortably warm. I set out on the usually Sunday 3hr course. Start at Wehrspan, then south to Ashland, east to Louisville, and back north to Wehrspan.

Most of the ride I had good focus. For my HR I try and keep it between 137 & 149 and my cadence I shoot for 95 - 105 rpm. The last 45min I got tired. I was in the "Gett'r done" mode. That's when my cadence drops and it is hard to keep the HR in the desired zone. My avg speed dropped significantly because I added a bike rack. I don't like recording my distance or speed anymore!

Ride Stats-
duration 3:00hrs, distance 42.5, avg spd 14.2, avg HR 134, avg cad 88

I finished up the week a bit short of my time goals. I am happy with the results though with the weather turning colder. I still did a 3 hour ride and was within 1hr of the time goals.

Weekly stats-
duration 11:19min, distance 95.4mi, avg spd 14.0mph, avg HR 133, avg Cad 86

Next weeks goals-
Get Training Bible log book, complete 3hr ride, complete 2 weight sessions, weight 196

Rolling along

There has been some modifications to the training plan but I am still plugging along with my prep period.

Last night I was in the gym doing my weight routine. I increased the weight load of almost every exercise. Bench, Step ups, Lat pulls, seated rows, and standing rows went up 10lbs. Leg extensions and hamstring curls up 5lbs. Finally, I went up 90lbs on the hip sled. I was able to get at least 20reps on all 3 of the hip sled set with 360lbs. I am happy with that.

I was in spin class this morning for just under an hour. Also, my second workout outside was just under an hour. I kept this ride close to home just in case I wasn't dressed warm enough. I will probably layer the same tomorrow, for my 3hr ride, as today. It is not suppose to be windy so I think I will be fine.

Ride stats-
spin class duration 56min, avg HR 143
outside duration 54min, distance 11.9, avg spd 13.2, avg HR 130, avg Cad 92

Change of Plans

Yesterday I was suppose to ride in the morning and then do weights later. I rode for 20 miles in the morning but didn't get to the gym for weights. So instead of an easy day on the bike, I packed my bags for the gym after work.

I think I will implement a 3 day plan for my strength training. It seems to take a bit longer than two days to recover from weights. With the 3 day plan my days at the gym will change. That's ok... I will do weights even if it is a day off. I think right now it is important to develop my muscle strength.

Catching up

I have some catching up to do with my blog and my training. Yesterday was suppose to be a 1:30hr day but I only logged 1:00 for spinning. Instead of riding the trainer last night I opted to skip the second workout. I will let the 1/2hr slide and just focus on what I have to do for the rest of the week.

Today 2:30hrs is scheduled - I plan on riding for 1:00 plus and spend the rest of the time in the gym. My gym workout usually takes about 1:30hrs so I should be good on time. I have been doing 30 reps on the hip sled with 270lbs. I think I will bumped that up another 90lbs. tonight.

The diet - I am slowly getting my energy back and it is getting easier to wait for meals. Part of the plan is to eat every 3hrs. At first I would get hungry 1hr after eating and then endure that hunger for 2hrs. Now, I seemed to stay satisfied longer and I am only hungry for 1hr. My weight is still hovering around 198.

Ride Stat -
duration 1:24, distance 20mi, avg spd ~14.3, avg HR 128, avg cad 82

That was close

Last week I had The Bike Way send my nice head light back to the mfg. They gave me a couple small ones to use but I had no good way to mount them on my bike. So, I resigned to the fact that I had to ride my trainer.

As I was setting up my bike to ride my wife asked, "You are not riding outside... it will be warm in the morning?". She was right, as always. It wasn't pretty but I used tape to attach two lights to the drops of my handlebars. I rode outside. The headlight rigging worked Ok... I wouldn't recommend it.

Weights tonight.


Ride Stats -
duration 1:19hrs, distance 21, avg spd 14.3, avg cad 82, avg HR 128

Day Off

Nothing interesting here, another day off starting a new week of training. This week and next week are my last weeks in the "Prep" period. After that I start my base training. On the bike I will be doing pretty much the same kind of riding I am doing now. HR stays mostly in Zone 2 rolling hills of 3% grades. I am behind with my gym work.


It is day 4 of the diet. Still, happy with the progress but a little sapped of energy. I am down about 3lbs. There is a long way to go.

Today Dan and I set out south to Ashland then back North to Yutan. We relaxed with with wind and worked together against the wind. Toward the end of the ride, I was running out of steam. I think the lack of energy is mostly from dieting.

It is pretty amazing to be riding this late in the year in shorts. I wore arm warmers and a vest but didn't need them.

Ride Stats -
duration 03:10hrs, distance 51.3, avg spd 16.1, avg HR 129, avg Cad

Still going

Still keeping up with the diet. I am not counting calories... Yet. Still in the clean up phase. The Blue Line Latte was not part of the clean up, oops! Otherwise it has been protein and fruits & veggies.

Spinning class was a lot of heavy resistance and high heart rate. Had fun with that.

It was such a nice day I stayed out for more than the prescribed hours. One thing I noticed during the ride is that 100rpm cadence is very comfortable. Towards the end the ride 95 was the cadence of choice. 95 - 100rpm is getting to be my new normal.

Also, keeping my HR in my zone 2 was difficult while I was keeping the cadence high. Now I can comfortable keep the HR in the upper part of zone two. I am still concerned about my avg speed. I want to be able cruise at 20mp while keeping my HR in zone2.

Ride Stats -
1) Spinning class 59min, avg HR 151
2) duration 2:41, distance 45, avg spd 16.8, avg hr 140, avg Cad 92

Put away the pasta

I am officially starting my diet. I know I am not suppose to say "Diet" and it is all about slowly changing your eating habit. Ya Ya Ya. This has worked for me in the past. I jump right into eating healthy... that means lean meat, and lot 'O fruits and veggies.

I just need 3 days. I am not a junk food junkie but there are areas where I can "clean up" my diet. So, bye to the mt dew, the ice cream, and the pasta. Hello to broccoli, spinach, and fruit smoothies.

So, it was a smoothie this morning. I have hard boiled eggs & almonds for snack and its off to HyVee salad bar for lunch.

Oh yes, we started a weightloss smackdown on the EVCC site. I will again bask in the glory of competition.

No riding today ... :( sniff!

Technical Difficulties

Got on the bike this morning for about 1:30hrs. My HRM was acting crazy and my headlight was stuck. Very frustrating! More to come on that. Otherwise, it was a nice morning... I should be glad. I want to rant about my difficulties but not enough time now.

Ok, I have time. First of all, my nice headlamp wasn't operating properly. The button that turns the light on was stuck in the on but dim position. I had just enough light to see down the trail. If it was just $20 - $30, I would just get a new one. I spent good money on this light, I expected it to last for years if not for life. I think I can survive the weekend but right now I will have to forgo the morning rides outside for the trainer.

Also, my HR monitor went totally kaput. I almost turned around and canceled the ride.

Hit the gym in the evening. I was totally tired so I quit after 1 of 3 circuits. I think I just needed some food.

Anyway not a banner day for me. This will make 4 weeks so maybe I needed to back off a little.

Wednesday Report - Continued

I am taking the night off. That means I will miss my Spin up workout. Oh well, I will do some ultra high cadence work tomorrow morning. Also, I am going to hit the weights again. So tonight recovery sleep is in order.

Wednesday Report

Did spinning class this morning. I was a bit slow to get up... maybe because of lifting the last night. I increased the weight on all my exercises by about 10 lbs. I am still staying conservative with the weight amount and trying to keep the reps up near 30.

Spin class was fun. We did a lot of heavy resistance work. Hills, 30 sec power intervals.

Ride Stats -
Spinning - duration 0:57, Avg HR 145

Back in the Saddle

It was a bit chilly this morning. The weather channel reported 27deg when I left at 5:30. I could have waited 'till after work but I wanted to get a taste of what is in store for me. I was pretty warm in my boots and amfib pants. I had my balacava on but should of wore my neoprene face mask. My core temp was Ok but I did have some issues with extremeties. In particular toes and my right thumb.

Zero people on the Keystone trail. I must be the only crazy one.

Weight Training-
duration 1:15

Ride Stats -
duration 1:26, distance 19.1, avg spd 13.7, avg HR 136, avg cad 93

Day Off

Yep, another week down. On my rest day now. The past week was a tough one working around the rainy. Reading Bryan's post it sound like he is doing longer rides than I am. It also sounds like he is just motivated as I am. It is going to be fun next year!

One question that often comes to mind is, "Did I start to early?". I would hate to do all this work and have to start all over again. Even if I did start too early, would a period of say... a month off, hurt me? I am getting into a groove with my training schedule now but, winter is coming. Can I keep up with 14, 16, or even 18hour weeks.

I have accomplished some things in the past weeks. I have kept up with my training hours. I know it sometimes seems like I am being compulsive about my hours but I am looking at these hours in a different way this year. This year I am treating my schedule hours as the minimum.

Previously, I have set the hours a bit high if I didn't reach the set hours, no big deal, I was close. This year, the hours are right on target for where I want to be. So If I don't reach the minimums I probably needed relax a little. My goal is to see through the target and to get in more hours.

Another week in the books

Craig Dan and I did a brutal ride yesterday. It was chilly with wind gust up to 45mph. 51mi, 3:30 hrs... I was glad to be done with that one.

Ride Stats-
duration 3:30hrs, distance 51mi, avg spd 15.1, avg HR 140, avg cad 82

Weekly Stats -
duration 13:27hrs, distance 154.8, avg spd 15.1, avg HR 136, avg Cad 78

Bright Sun Shinny Day

The day started off with Spinning class. I don't even try to stay in my zones. There were several times that I was into zone 4+. With 1:00hr of spinning I only needed 1:00hr on the bike. It was such a nice day, I was out for 2:00hrs. My ride took me north up the trail to the highway, then over to Florence. Then down the trail by Abbott Drive and back behind the Airport.

I had to stop a few times to get my cadence meter to work properly. I finally figured it out the magnet must pass across the bottom of the transmitter.

Ride stats -
1)Spin duration 1:01hr, avg HR 139
2) duration 2:01, distance 31, avg spd 15.4, avg HR 140, avg Cad 94

Trail Patrol-
Keystone North is good.
Abbott St trail just South of 680... lots of leaves on trail wet and very slippery

TGIF

Today I have planned is a 1:00hr recovery ride. I don't think I would gain or loose any fitness with this ride so it would be easy to skip. It was nice sleeping in this morning though.

Did my hour ride in the evening out behind the Airport. I kept my heart rate below 137 for most of the ride. Also, I kept the cadence comfortable.


Ride Stats -
duration 1:03hr, distance 14.8, avg spd 14.8, avg HR 123, avg Cad 63

Trail Patrol

I completed a 1:48 minutes chunk of my planned 2:30 workout. Can I get a "Woo Hoo!!" It seems like a small victory now but I knew today would be a big hurdle for me. It is not over yet. I still have 42 minutes to do. I think I will do an hour which I can bust that out on the trainer tonight.

When I ventured out the streets were damp but no rain. I was thinking I could get in a quick hour ride. I made it down the trail to Twin Creek. By then it was lightly raining but I was still dry and comfortable. I pushed on to Highway 75 to the start of the "Bellevue Loop". That was good! So I turned around. It was still raining... I was comfortable though. The fender I got from Cranksgiving last year, thanks Bryan, worked great and my boots kept my feet dry.

Second ride, opted for riding outside around the back of the airport.

Trail Conditions - College of St. Mary - Bellevue Loop
Slick Bridges, Slight Mud washout under Harrison St bridge, Runners 2, Rabbit Index - Low, Goose Poo Index - Low

Ride Stats -
1) duration 1:48hr, distance 27, avg spd 15.3, avg HR 136, avg Cad 69
2) duration 1:02, distance 15

Wednesday is Done !

The training plan called for 1:30hrs of zone2 work. I am going to call it good with 1:00hr spin class which my heart rate was at or above zone2. And 1:00hr weight workout. Since this was my first session lifting, I was conservative with the weight.

PS... I made up the 30minutes that I was short yesterday. I feel better now :)

Ride Stats -
Coming soon

We're even

I wasn't ready last week for mother nature but this week I am. Rain is moving in today and is suppose to keep raining for a couple days. I am not ready to spend long hours grinding away on the trainer. Save that for the snowy cold days.

So, the plan for today was to get up early and ride for 2:00hrs. It wasn't suppose to start raining 'til later but I check the radar just in case.

The radar showed light rain over Omaha???? The streets were dry so I headed out to the Keystone trail. I felt good. I was able to comfortably stay in my 137 - 148 zone2. I made it to the bridge by Twin Creek theater then turned up the trail towards Papillion for bonus miles.

I worked most of the ride to keep my HR in the zone. My monitor beeps slow if I am below 137 - 148 bpm and fast if above that range. I was able to keep it quiet for 55min. I was happy with that but my avg speed was lower than I thought. Ride duration was about 30minutes short so I may start my weight training tonight.



Ride Stats-
Duration 1:32hr, Distance 22.6, avg spd 14.8, avg HR 139, avg cad 96

Another Prep Week in the books

Finished out the week with a 2:45hr ride. Joining me was Craig & Dan. This was a relaxing ride although I was above my prescribed zone2 for a good chunk of the time. I didn't mind... tomorrow is a rest day.

I thought it was interesting. Dan is trying to build power by keeping his cadence low and I am trying to train with high cadence. Dan was the spin meister this past summer. He kept his cadence at 100+ rpm's. I on the other hand was comfortable with a cadence around 85.

Weeks Stats -
Training hrs 12:06, 128.6mi, avgHR 137, avgCad 86, avgSpeed 15.81

The Zorinski Hammer lives

I needed to get a 1hr ride in tonight. From work it is just a couple miles from Lake Zorinsky. Instead of riding the hills out west on "F" street I stayed on the trail around the lake. Along the way I saw Mark B. of Team Kaos. He probably thought I was a Z-Hammer until I yelled his name. I don't think he recognized me.

It was a good ride, kept the cadence up around 100rpm.


Ride Stats-
duration 0:55, distance 14.5, avg speed 15.9, avg HR 137, avg Cad 82

What happened?

I was just looking at my avg Speed for the two rides that I did yesterday.

What happened to my speed? I could cruise comfortably at 20mph towards the end of summer. I figure wearing heavy riding boots and a windbreaker are going to slow me down but the main culprit could be my training plan. This plan has me doing base miles for - Hills up to 4%, HR mainly in zone 1 & 2, and "comfortably high cadence".

I am a bit skeptical about two things. Where my zone 2 is and the benefits of "high cadence". We will see, I am keeping track of all my vital stats including Avg speed. If I stick with the plan, my avg speed should go up right? Only time will tell.

Tale of Two Rides

Today's schedule had me riding for 2:30hrs. I broke it up into two rides.

The morning ride started early at 5:00am. There was frost on the ground but It didn't feel so cold. Last year I was pretty good at putting on just the right amount of clothing for the different temps but that seem so long ago. So I bundled up more than I thought I needed. I tried my new bib winter tights... nice, I think I can go no problem into the 20s/teens temperature range.

This ride took me through Dundee, Elmwood park, and down the trail to the bridge by the Twin Creek Movie theater. Round trip about 17 miles. I felt really good for this ride. I suppose the cold has a tendency to wake a person. I did get a bit nervous when my headlight went dead... I forgot to tell my personal assistant, me, to recharge the battery the night before.

The second ride took me from my house down Cumming Street and back around the Airport. I wanted to ride while it was still light so I changed into my clothes quickly after work. I hit the road at 6:00pm. It was much warmer, in the 50s, and virtually no wind. I really need to bring a camera. The view of Omaha at sunset was awesome.

Ride Stats -
1:27hr riding time, 21 mi, avg HR 134, avg spd 14.9, avg Cad 88
1:05hr riding time, 17 mi, avg HR 136, avg spd 15.9, avg Cad 86

So it Begins -

My training as a Cat 3 roadie began last week. Was able to ride 12hrs last week and on my way to 12hrs again this week

I have done my annual Training plan. Well, I have my weekly hours computed but I have not written down my goals. If you ask me right now my goal would be "to survive" my first race as a Cat 3. Not surviving in this case would be falling behind the pack.


Things to work on in the off season - My Base endurance, raise my cadence to 95-105rpm and my 1 minute sprinting power... among other things.

Test Blog

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