Thursday was a rest day, and I needed it. I threw my legs up and played video games all day. I ate lots of healthy tasty food, and drank a ton of water and massaged my sore legs.
Friday was scheduled to be harder than Tuesday (and Tuesday didn't go well).
Ride time: 2 hours at 138-160bpm and a cadence exercise.
My legs felt better than they had on Tuesday, and I made it to about the 1hr 15 mark without feeling sore or tired. My joints felt better than they had previously. Then at the 1hr 30 mark I did 5 sets of 1-minute high-cadence spinups with 2 minutes of rest in between. After the first two I remembered that I can really ramp it up when I focus. My pedal stroke is not where it was last year at this time, but these workouts will help. After the last one my legs were pretty tired, so I spun it out the last 15 minutes.
100 sit-ups and some good stretching.
Immediately following my workout I had some Clif Shot recovery (french vanilla, which tastes delicious to me) while I was stretching and doing sit-ups. I also had accelerade in my bottles during the workout instead of just water, so I felt way better than on Tuesday.
It wasn't an easy workout, I was just smarter about it this time so it was less hard. The biggest difference this time was that there was no doubt in my mind that I could do it.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
a less hard day
Ride time: 1hr 10 minutes (15 short of the scheduled ride time) @ 145 bpm.
Stretching, 100 sit-ups.
Legs felt tired, but not completely fried.
Food: oatmeal, coffee, PBJ on whole wheat, V8 and Clif Shot recovery drink. And LOTS of water.
My legs were pretty smoked from yesterday, I have to admit. I was able to warm up for ten minutes, do a short, high-cadence burst in my easiest gear and settle in for about an hour at 145 BPM.
It was hard to find a good cadence/gear combination that put me in the HR range I wanted. I was either just below 138, or at 155, which I couldn't sustain with legs like the ones I had today. At one hour ten, I called it quits. My legs were simply done.
A bit more about yesterday: I got home and went to bed at 10 sharp. I turned on a humidifier for some white noise and slept until 8 this morning and felt much better. My legs weren't nearly as sore as they had been yesterday, but I could tell right away this morning that there wasn't much in them.
Stretching, 100 sit-ups.
Legs felt tired, but not completely fried.
Food: oatmeal, coffee, PBJ on whole wheat, V8 and Clif Shot recovery drink. And LOTS of water.
My legs were pretty smoked from yesterday, I have to admit. I was able to warm up for ten minutes, do a short, high-cadence burst in my easiest gear and settle in for about an hour at 145 BPM.
It was hard to find a good cadence/gear combination that put me in the HR range I wanted. I was either just below 138, or at 155, which I couldn't sustain with legs like the ones I had today. At one hour ten, I called it quits. My legs were simply done.
A bit more about yesterday: I got home and went to bed at 10 sharp. I turned on a humidifier for some white noise and slept until 8 this morning and felt much better. My legs weren't nearly as sore as they had been yesterday, but I could tell right away this morning that there wasn't much in them.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Hard day
ride time: 2 hours @ 145 BPM.
stretching.
Food: chicken pesto sandwich, pasta salad, yogurt with oat squares, apple, V8, FRS chews, and tons of water. I drank a ton of it today.
Legs felt fine, until 1h30 when I started to feel like the ride was wearing me out. By 1h50 I was aching. I don't mean I was feeling the burn, but that I was aching. My joints ached, which was odd, so I just spun it out easily for the last ten minutes.
I don't think I'm getting a cold. Usually my sinuses are the first alarm, and they're fine right now. With a lot of stretching my aching went away. I guess I just haven't pushed that hard in a few months, so maybe I wasn't good at reading my body.
Perhaps it was that I was riding in the morning, which I am notoriously bad at. Waking up at 8:30 and riding from 10 to 12 was not fun. I think I need to get up and move my body a bit more before I try going hard. We'll see how tomorrow goes. I also dove into the workout with no warmup, which might have contributed.
On second thought: I've NEVER ridden for more than 1.5 hours on a trainer. ever. Maybe I just don't know what my body does in that situation. Oh, well, stretching helped and I learned some things:
don't ride within one hour of waking up. Always warm up. drink more while on the trainer, and eat more while on the trainer.
My training plan says that if I ride outside I should increase my ride time by 33%, so maybe this means that riding 2 hours on a trainer is like riding 2.666 hours outdoors, which is an okay ride, especially at a high pace. Also, I pedal the entire time I'm on the trainer, and the road usually has a few spots to just cruise.
Today was hard, but this season is about one thing: Hardening the fuck up.
stretching.
Food: chicken pesto sandwich, pasta salad, yogurt with oat squares, apple, V8, FRS chews, and tons of water. I drank a ton of it today.
Legs felt fine, until 1h30 when I started to feel like the ride was wearing me out. By 1h50 I was aching. I don't mean I was feeling the burn, but that I was aching. My joints ached, which was odd, so I just spun it out easily for the last ten minutes.
I don't think I'm getting a cold. Usually my sinuses are the first alarm, and they're fine right now. With a lot of stretching my aching went away. I guess I just haven't pushed that hard in a few months, so maybe I wasn't good at reading my body.
Perhaps it was that I was riding in the morning, which I am notoriously bad at. Waking up at 8:30 and riding from 10 to 12 was not fun. I think I need to get up and move my body a bit more before I try going hard. We'll see how tomorrow goes. I also dove into the workout with no warmup, which might have contributed.
On second thought: I've NEVER ridden for more than 1.5 hours on a trainer. ever. Maybe I just don't know what my body does in that situation. Oh, well, stretching helped and I learned some things:
don't ride within one hour of waking up. Always warm up. drink more while on the trainer, and eat more while on the trainer.
My training plan says that if I ride outside I should increase my ride time by 33%, so maybe this means that riding 2 hours on a trainer is like riding 2.666 hours outdoors, which is an okay ride, especially at a high pace. Also, I pedal the entire time I'm on the trainer, and the road usually has a few spots to just cruise.
Today was hard, but this season is about one thing: Hardening the fuck up.
Monday, February 2, 2009
It's on.
My training program started today, so from now on my posts will be a little more formulaic.
Ride time: 45 minutes @ 145 BPM
100 sit-ups and stretching.
Legs felt: good.
Food: Coffee, Sweet Potato, ravioli, wheat thins, Carrot and Mango juice, and lots of water. omelet with veggies.
Mind felt: good.
Sleep last night night: 7.5 hours. I slept fine, but waking up was rough. I felt tired for a few hours before I finally got going. Maybe I need to try to go back to 9 hours of sleep.
Ride time: 45 minutes @ 145 BPM
100 sit-ups and stretching.
Legs felt: good.
Food: Coffee, Sweet Potato, ravioli, wheat thins, Carrot and Mango juice, and lots of water. omelet with veggies.
Mind felt: good.
Sleep last night night: 7.5 hours. I slept fine, but waking up was rough. I felt tired for a few hours before I finally got going. Maybe I need to try to go back to 9 hours of sleep.
A weekend floating on water.
January 31st, and Feb 1st, 2009
This weekend was a break for me. My actual training program from Whale starts Monday the 2nd, so I took the opportunity to go with my family to an indoor water park in Wausau. It was a pretty good time, and I chased my nephew Elliot around a bunch and splashed in the lazy river. The water creates some serious resistance training, and I think swimming might be a fun cross-training method.
I did eat fairly well this weekend, though:
Caesar salad with grilled chicken, turkey sandwich (two of them) carrots, lettuce, tomato, cappuccino, ice cream, and TONS of water. Swimming really dehydrated me and I didn’t pick up on it right away.
In the car-search area, there are a few models I’d like to test-drive: the Toyota Yaris, VW Rabbit (or Golf, same difference), Subaru Forester, Honda Fit, or Saturn Astra. Can you sense the theme?
This weekend was a break for me. My actual training program from Whale starts Monday the 2nd, so I took the opportunity to go with my family to an indoor water park in Wausau. It was a pretty good time, and I chased my nephew Elliot around a bunch and splashed in the lazy river. The water creates some serious resistance training, and I think swimming might be a fun cross-training method.
I did eat fairly well this weekend, though:
Caesar salad with grilled chicken, turkey sandwich (two of them) carrots, lettuce, tomato, cappuccino, ice cream, and TONS of water. Swimming really dehydrated me and I didn’t pick up on it right away.
In the car-search area, there are a few models I’d like to test-drive: the Toyota Yaris, VW Rabbit (or Golf, same difference), Subaru Forester, Honda Fit, or Saturn Astra. Can you sense the theme?
Monday, January 26, 2009
Great Sunday, long Monday
Sunday was great. I rode home from work (I commute year-round) and immediately got on the trainer. My commute home is about 15 minutes in winter and is just enough to get me warmed up for riding the trainer. I watched a bunch of the Yeti Team World Cup DH videos and had a blast.
Time: 60 minutes
Avg HR: 140 BPM
Stretched and felt great and then hit the wall. So I went with John and Cindy to Chipotle. Halfway into my burrito I felt better so I took the other half for lunch Monday.
And what a good call that was: Monday was a long day at work: 7am to 7:30pm. I got a lot done and it was worth the long day, but I was pretty fried by the end of it.
ride time: 45 minutes
Avg HR: 105 BPM.
100 sit-ups (1x40 and 2x30) and stretching.
Time: 60 minutes
Avg HR: 140 BPM
Stretched and felt great and then hit the wall. So I went with John and Cindy to Chipotle. Halfway into my burrito I felt better so I took the other half for lunch Monday.
And what a good call that was: Monday was a long day at work: 7am to 7:30pm. I got a lot done and it was worth the long day, but I was pretty fried by the end of it.
ride time: 45 minutes
Avg HR: 105 BPM.
100 sit-ups (1x40 and 2x30) and stretching.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
I touched the floor!
Today I could touch the floor with my fingertips while keeping my legs straight. This is a big accomplishment for the guy who could hardly reach beyond his knees four months ago. It's the sort of visible result that makes it all feel worthwhile.
For those who don't know, flexibility is very important in producing power. Tight hamstrings prevent one from achieving an aerodynamic riding position while maintaining high power output. My new-found flexibility means I can remove the 17 degree rise stem from my road bike and replace it with a 7 degree rise one. Perhaps in another few months I'll be able to invert the 7 degree.
Today my training movie was Snatch, which is one of my favorite movies ever. Not a minute goes by in which the language slows down. And Brad Pitt is just hilarious in it.
ride time: 1:24, mostly at 120 bpm, and then about 20 minutes at 140.
I stretched, did 100 sit-up (in two sets of 30 and one of 20, no less), and felt pretty good.
Friday I did not ride. Friday was not a day to ride bikes.
For those who don't know, flexibility is very important in producing power. Tight hamstrings prevent one from achieving an aerodynamic riding position while maintaining high power output. My new-found flexibility means I can remove the 17 degree rise stem from my road bike and replace it with a 7 degree rise one. Perhaps in another few months I'll be able to invert the 7 degree.
Today my training movie was Snatch, which is one of my favorite movies ever. Not a minute goes by in which the language slows down. And Brad Pitt is just hilarious in it.
ride time: 1:24, mostly at 120 bpm, and then about 20 minutes at 140.
I stretched, did 100 sit-up (in two sets of 30 and one of 20, no less), and felt pretty good.
Friday I did not ride. Friday was not a day to ride bikes.
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