Training Continues…

So last year during the Powderhorn 24, I inadvertently left my Edge 705 computer running the whole time, and it ran out of juice somewhere around 5:00 a.m. And then decided that the Powertap was at-fault for this and that they were no longer on speaking terms. I haven’t really bothered to try to solve … Read more

Back At It: Training

empty gym

Officially, I’m back at training. My back, generally, is okay now…the cortisone shots seem to have resolved everything pain-wise, so I’m feeling about 90%. Every so often I get sharp twinges of pain, or tingling spreading up and down my back, but that’s the exception, rather than the rule. Sunday, I hit the gym and … Read more

My Health Strategy

empty gym

There was a time in my life when I could bang out 96 push-ups in two minutes, 120 situps in another two, and peel off a 2-mile run in 10:30. I miss being in that kind of shape. Realistically, I know it’s going to be difficult (if not impossible) to turn the clock back 20 years and be in the same physical shape I was in while stationed at Fort Bragg. But I want to get healthier and get back to racing again.

This year, I started riding again — more than I have since about 2007, and started logging all my data with Strava and a Garmin. My main thrust was trying to commute to work once a week — the route is mostly flat, and about 23-25 miles one-way (depending on the trail closure). Over the course of the summer, I got faster and faster at it, and enjoyed myself more and more as I could see serious progress happening in my Strava data. Even riding that once per week, I noticed not only my times improving (and setting several PRs per ride), but I noticed that I was dropping weight — my face was getting thinner, my pants were more loose, and the little beer belly I’d built up over the last decade was melting away. When I rode the Powderhorn 24 in August as part of a team, I felt super-strong and was happily cranking out the miles. Things have been on the upswing.

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Comeback Road

Yesterday I did my longest ride in two years, and while it wasn’t ideal — a couple of flat tires, $110 in repairs at the 25-mile mark, problems with my powermeter, bonking hard, etc., I still had a great time. During the ride, I had time to think a bit about what I was doing and how I felt about biking.

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Good Things

• My new heart rate monitor should be in at the shop today. The battery leaked inside my old Polar and killed it. Kate’s got a matching one in this order, too. • Apparently I am perfectly suited toward endeavors such as starting my own company. Rock on. • While I’ve been jonesing for an … Read more

Two Bike Items

Framebuilding. Yesterday, I made great headway on the work. I got Justin’s front triangle advanced quite nicely — I finished the hand-mitering of the DT/BB/ST intersection and got it brazed to together. All I need to do is check the alignment of the DT and take any twist out of the HT, and it’ll be … Read more

Training Underway

Prep for the 2011 racing season has begun. The training plan is outlined, and specific workouts are planned through the Base 1 period. Spent two hours in the gym this morning before work — an hour beating the shit out of my core muscles, and another hour on the bike (S2). Same amount of time … Read more

Pre-Race Viewing: 2011 Season

“Why don’t you ask Napoleon how he felt about coming in second at Waterloo?” Yeah, I’ll be watching this on the iPhone, pre-race next season. And then following it up with this: Always helps to be a little fired-up beforehand. And, man, Versus is pretty good at putting these things together.

Last Night

I am a terrible, terrible friend. Last night, I totally forgot MK’s birthday celebration downtown. I was eyeball-deep in getting a ton of housework done last night, and catching up on a few other things that have been stalled for a bit. What did I do? soaked bronze flux off the commuter’s seatstay caps soaked … Read more