Team McAlister

Hey Cyclemeter, you are my new favorite iPhone app.

Colin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:12:50 +0000

In my last post I briefly touched upon a slight problem with Fitnio. Specifically, it wouldn’t upload my ride. Well, after that happened on three or four more rides, Fitnio decided it wouldn’t even open at all. It would just crash, every single time I tried to use it. I reinstalled it, restored my phone, and cursed it up and down, but nothing would fix it. Not even the most creative curses I could muster. So you know what, Fitnio? You’re out. You suck and I never liked you much anyway.

I hereby declare Cyclemeter to be The New Hotness. I used it for the first time today, and it… it just… you guys, it is a dream. I won’t devote space here to listing its features, suffice to say that it does everything they say, and it does it well. If you check my Twitter you’ll see that it can tweet when you start and finish your ride. HOW COOL IS THAT?! It even uses less battery power than Fitnio. You hear that, Fitnio? You suck so hard.

The one flaw I saw was that it clocked my first couple of miles at around 79 mph, which isn’t entirely accurate. 7.9 mph would be closer. I’ll give it a pass though, because when I started out it warned me that the GPS signal was weak. Fortunately it allows the user to change any stats it records, so I scrubbed my amazing but untrue top speed from the record.

Oh and by the way, riding’s going well… Missed a couple of weeks because of jury duty, equipment failure, and weather (I will NOT ride in the rain, I don’t care if that makes me a wuss). But today was great, the weather is steadily improving, and I won’t have jury duty again for at least a year. Expect to see some more frequent rides tweeted, thanks Cyclemeter!

I did it!

Colin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:19:11 +0000

I rode to work. I RODE my BIKE to WORK . For some reason, after I used 70% of my iPhone battery to track the ride, Fitnio decided not to record it. But it was right around 45 miles, and took just over three hours. Pretty slow, but I’m happy with it since I haven’t done a real ride (or even been on a bike, really) since the summer. For anyone interested, here’s the link to the route. It says 42.5 miles, but instead of the Foster City route we took a bike path that added about two miles. Aside from being freezing cold until the sun came up, and completely worn out at the end, it was extremely pleasant.

I plan on doing this once a week for a month or two, and then moving up to at least twice weekly.

I am completely exhausted, so that’s all I’m writing.

If it keeps raining like this I’m going to invent Street Kayaking.

Colin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:55:51 +0000

Hey, remember last week when I said I was going to update every Sunday? Is anyone surprised that I didn’t stick to that even for just a week? No? Me either.

Anyway, I would have updated if there was anything to update about. The weather here has been horrendous. I’ve never seen it rain so hard for so long. When it’s like that, I can’t even make myself walk the block and a half to the gym. Gym clothes are just not suitable for cold, rainy weather.

The good news is we’ve gotten a little break in the rain, and tomorrow I’ll be riding my bike to work! That’s 42.5 miles from San Francisco to Mountain View. I have my Orbea, my Orbea has new pedals, I have a riding buddy, and I’m ready to do this. Wish me luck!

We’re supposed to get more rain over the weekend and next week but I promise I’ll take full advantage of every day that it doesn’t rain, so that I’ll have something to write about here.

I’m not a guy who does New Year resolutions…

Colin — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 21:43:19 +0000

But January’s as good a time as any to get this thing rolling again, I suppose. I’ve come up with a few blog-related goals that I hope will make training (and writing about training) a little more interesting, or at least more consistent!

1. I’m going to tweet about all my runs and rides. You guys will know if I’m slacking off. This could get really boring after a while, so we’ll just play it by ear.

2. I’m going to update this blog at least once a week. On Sundays I’ll post a summary of the week and how I’m coming along. Hopefully posting on a weekly schedule will keep this blog on my radar and influence me to post more often.

3. This is pretty hypocritical, at least for now, but I’m going to hassle everyone else to post more often too. Schuyler starts swimming soon, and I don’t know about you guys but I think he needs to write about it on the Internet.

4. More pictures! I got an awesome pocket-sized camera for Christmas and I want to put it to good use.

I don’t have any specific training related goals just yet, but I’ve laid out some vague ones. Once I work out the details I’ll start tracking my progress, but for now I’m just looking forward to riding my bike to Mountain View a couple of times a week!

Fun-Hour Playlist

Lou — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:53:28 +0000

If you like guitar music, this is a fun, fast-paced 1 hour playlist. I usually listen to this while on my rollers riding at a cadence of 85-105 and gearing of 50/15-14-13-12. It affords plenty of opportunities for sprinting as well as lighter, more relaxed spinning.

Deed I Do Chet Atkins & Les Paul Chester & Lester

I’ll See You In My Dreams Dick Hyman Group & Howard Alden Sweet and Lowdown (Music from the Motion Picture) [Instrumental]

Vivaldi: Concerto In G For 2 Mandolins, RV 532 – 1. Allegro Various Artists Vivaldi: Guitar Concertos

Limehouse Blues / Mystery Pacific Dick Hyman Group & Howard Alden Sweet and Lowdown (Music from the Motion Picture) [Instrumental]

Vivaldi: Trio Sonata In C, RV 82 – 3. Allegro Various Artists Vivaldi: Guitar Concertos

Vivaldi: Mandolin Concerto In C, RV 425 – 1. Allegro Various Artists Vivaldi: Guitar Concertos

Sheik Of Araby Charlie Byrd, Barney Kessel & Herb Ellis Great Guitars At The Winery

Vivaldi: L’Estro Armonico, Op. 3 – Concerto #10 In B Minor, RV 580 – 3. Larghetto Various Artists Vivaldi: Guitar Concertos

Vivaldi: Lute Concerto In D, RV 93 – 1. Allegro Various Artists Vivaldi: Guitar Concertos

The Talk Of The Town Charlie Byrd, Barney Kessel & Herb Ellis Great Guitars At The Winery

There’ll Be Some Changes Made Dick Hyman Group & Howard Alden Sweet and Lowdown (Music from the Motion Picture) [Instrumental]

Sweet Georgia Brown Dick Hyman Group & Howard Alden Sweet and Lowdown (Music from the Motion Picture) [Instrumental]

Air Mail Special Charlie Byrd, Barney Kessel & Herb Ellis Great Guitars At The Winery

Caravan Chet Atkins & Les Paul Chester & Lester

Caravan (Alternate Version) Chet Atkins & Les Paul Chester & Lester

Avalon Chet Atkins & Les Paul Chester & Lester

Lover Come Back to Me Chet Atkins & Les Paul Chester & Lester

The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise Chet Atkins & Les Paul Chester & Lester

I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles Dick Hyman Group & Howard Alden Sweet and Lowdown (Music from the Motion Picture) [Instrumental]

December 1 (nearly)

Lou — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:18:12 +0000

WOW! I just realized that it’s been weeks since the last update, although Twitter has been a pretty active place for me. Some good news on the training front – lots of good sessions – especially hill repeats and pace rides on the rollers. Those two types of rides plus some on-the-road intervals are building good power.

In addition, there are no injuries and the gimpy MCL in my right knee is nearly recovered enough to start running again….maybe by the first of the year. No significant damage from over eating at Thanksgiving. Maybe the early morning, pre-lunch ride helped.

Not much else to add here, except thanks to those of you who are following us, encouraging us, coaching us, advising us, and cheering for us. I’m dreaming of organizing a Lance Armstrong Foundation Livestrong event for Arkansas as well as building a team to ride in the Cape Argus event in Cape Town (both in 2011) as precursors to our 2013 IM Tri.

Lou — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:12:26 +0000

This year, I promised myself that I would be better about riding in cool/cold conditions. I have lots of gear to make it bearable. My riding buddy for today has zero cool weather kit, though. So, we punted on the morning ride. How cool is it? 50 degrees, 12 mph N wind, 90% humidity. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s a wind chill of about 35 degrees. In my book, that’s beyond cool (especially at the speeds I ride…..rofl, right).

Anyhow, we will ride and it will be fine.

I noticed that Colin said that running sucks. I heard confirmation from the Amen Corner on that one! I’m nursing a very slight MCL strain on the right knee. Nothing to worry with, really. It’s an old injury from teen age years. It does nag from time to time, however, and takes care. Of course, it only hurts when I stand, walk, or run. Cycling is no issue at all. :-) So, the usual formula of R.I.C.E. helps.

There are now 3 out of the 4 of us sporting VFFs. If you like going barefooted (and, hey, we’re from Arkansas, so what did you expect? lol), you ought to try them. I’m not sure the benefits outweigh the raised eyebrows of casual observers (not to mention the outright laughter of friends and acquaintances), but it’s pretty close.

Excepting the minor MCL issue, my running continues to improve (which I am sure is a result of abandoning running shoes). Weight loss is coming along nicely.

btw, if you don’t know about ITBS, you need to check it out. That’s Iliotibial Band Syndrome, and it is the main culprit in LOTS of knee pain. Read and heed!

Whoa, look who’s updating

Colin — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:55:03 +0000

Alright, I haven’t had a lot to write about training wise in what… six months? So I’m just going to take a few minutes to fill in our loyal readers on my boring routine and lack of progress.

Actually I have made a little progress, I suppose. I can run a solid five miles in about 45 minutes now, although I don’t that often because it sucks. Have I mentioned before that running sucks? I don’t remember. Anyway, running sucks, you guys. But I am getting better and it sucks less than it ever has before!

I’m making solid headway in the weight-loss department, too. I’m only seven pounds away from my long-term goal of 185. Turns out having a job where you’re on your feet all day, and there’s free coffee, can really slim a guy down.

Guys, Vibram Five Fingers. These are the Best Shoes (capitalization necessary). I run in them, I work in them, I wear them around the apartment and forget I even have shoes on… And my feet feel amazing. My legs are in the best shape of my life and I feel like my balance and agility have increased 100%. My feet never get tired, even after standing for 7+ hours. The only downsides are that I initially got some wicked blisters from running in them, and the smell. Taking them off is like getting punched in the face by a guy whose job it is to give bulls prostate exams, and I’m not someone who usually has a foot odor problem. But it’s worth it.

My Personal Blog

Lou — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:46:31 +0000

Apparently this has become my personal training blog. I know the other guys are doing stuff, but we’re gonna have to talk about why there aren’t posts.

Today was another Chamber of Commerce day in Little Rock. Days like this cry for a ride. So, I gave in and hit the road about 4:30 or so.

I did a different routine today to spruce things up some. The neighborhood here has a nice bike lane on the main street and some good little climbs. I planned out a loop that had good climbs to help build power and rode it completely 4 times with a hilly 3 miles home to finish. 1 hour 23 minutes. Not sure how many miles, but the climbing was worth it.

Just a quick update.

Lou — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:40:53 +0000

It’s been a couple of days since the last post, but I wanted to jot down a few random thoughts.

The weather here has been northern California-like and almost unbelievably fine. Never an August in Arkansas like this in my life that I can remember. Temps below 90 F, low humidity, clear skies. None of that summer haze or those temperature inversions that hit here in late summer.

Eating has become the main focus of my training program. I’ve experimented enough now to realize how important pre- and post-workout nutrition are. (Are those 2 things?)

Stretching is super important after any workout. Period. Why don’t we pay more attention to it?

It’s very cool when you improve cycling power! :-)

If your bike shifting feels funky, and making a little adjustment in the back doesn’t fix it, get to the shop! You may have a frayed cable in your shifter. Replacing a frayed cable before it breaks off in the shifter can save having to replace the entire shifter. (UGH!) I was experiencing the symptoms of maladjustment in the back and couldn’t get a good reset at home. The worn cable that they replaced (just in the nick of time) was the ugly culprit. Do you have a good mechanic? Better either have one or be one. My guys could be the TdF crew for any team out there! Thanks fellas!

Have I mentioned that running sucks?