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.