Team McAlister

Where does one begin to tell the story of how great a love can be….oops…wrong beginning….but where to begin the story of the weirdness of the last couple of weeks?

I’m still paying for that little practice tri from a couple of Saturdays ago. The nagging tightness in the MCL and some other pain in the knee area are hugely annoying. Discouraging. Not to mention taking a toll on other training. I’m not throwing in the towel on running yet, but I am really, really close. I’ve received some swim coaching, but still need lots of technique work to master what I’m learning.

But get this. I’ve been thinking about a new bike and while simply moving the wheels from my bike to a test bike yesterday, the guys at the bike shop discovered that my bike frame is broken! I’ve been riding that bike quite a bit lately and doing a lot of hill climbing and DESCENDING on a frame with a broken chain stay! I’ve had a sixth sense about something being wrong, but I certainly didn’t think that.

One positive note is that the test bike is a 3/2.5 titanium in a standard configuration and geometry. With my wheels (but none of my other components), it is a fine, fast, stiff ride. Very responsive. Very strong. Gonna have to work on fit now and get my stuff off of the old frame. Not sure yet exactly what ti frame I’ll get, but even if it’s the one I rode today, it’d be a significant step forward.

Another exciting development is that I’m building a strong consensus for creating a signature road ride locally that I hope will be as fine an event as any in the country. Still, just a dream, but sneaking up on being a goal.

Tags: bikes, cycling, running, Training

The date is set for October 10. A sprint tri of 500 yd. swim, 13.5 mi. ride, and 3.4 mi. run. As a budding triFAThlete, I’m approaching this with some trepidation. Last Saturday, I went to the athletic club to work out and put together a small practice tri. It was about 100,000,000 degrees outside, so except for the swim, everything was indoors. Hit the pool for the swim – no problemo. Transitioned in the locker room….very clumsy. Had to fix a water bottle and adjust a spin bike. Rode like mad for 30 minutes at between 95-100 rpms and about 270 watts. The bike said 13.5 miles, but I was told later that was not accurate. Oh well. Anyway, had to wipe down the bike, fix another water bottle, and go back to the locker room for another transition. Then hit the track. Of course, track running is easy and simple, but all running is hard for me. I got my tunes cranked up and a running program that helps me decide when to alternate walking and running. Polished off the 3.4 miles in about 40 minutes. The entire workout, start to finish including transitions, water bottles, bike adjustments and all, took 1:50. I was happy with that. Naturally, since running was involved, I couldn’t walk afterwards for two days – cranky right knee. But I woke up this morning pain free and can walk normally. It takes a lot of massage to loosen up the muscles that control some of those knee ligaments.

So, no more running between now and the big day. Just lots of swimming and cycling. I think I’m beginning to look forward to this.

Tags: cycling, running, swimming, Training, triathlon

The day began with a little 500 yard swim.  Schuyler is ahead of me in the water and I need to catch up – especially since he and I are going to swim in SF Bay in a couple of weeks.  Yes, it was in a pool so I had lots of turns, but I don’t push off of the wall and get that good coasting/streamlining effect.  Not that it really matters since I coast like a barge going upriver.  I try to simulate never getting a rest or break on the turns.  That was a great beginning to the day and I was still feeling strong when I hit the bike trail later in the afternoon.

I set out on the route below fully expecting to ride a new personal best.  Not only did a personal best not occur, I didn’t even finish the route. Ouch!  Was it the wind?   Was it the nearly crushed testicle about half way up the penultimate (as it turns out the actual ultimate) climb?  Was it the powdered sugar doughnuts instead of a banana for my mid-morning snack?  Was it the fact that I ate only peanut butter and vanilla wafers for lunch? Or, drank only coffee all morning and not really any water?  Excuses abound.  The fact remains clear, though.  I came up short and was totally wasted at the end.

It was one of those rides that makes you fell like you’re gonna puke at the end.  And, puke you would, except for pride.  It’s been a long time since I was so toasted after a ride that it took several hours to recover, but this was one of those times.  I was too tired last night to even attempt posting this.  Today, is better than I thought it might be and I’ll go out again today, only for something a little shorter and easier.

http://j.mp/blr6sA

Tags: cycling, swimming, Training

I’ve been trying to work out how to post this from my new iPad – Macs – since last week when it actually occurred.  No luck yet, but maybe next time.

http://j.mp/cGDXiH This was my birthday ride.  I was going to jump on here and post it from Macs, but I’ve given up on that for the moment just to get it on here.  It was a beautiful day, although a little breezier than ideal.  It was such a beautiful day that I didn’t even put on a playlist to push me along.  And, I got a tweet from Colin via Cyclemeter during the ride.  Very cool!  I got tired at the end and shortened up, skipping the last climb in the interest of getting home and having some birthday dinner.  All-in-all this went pretty well and the best thing is that the 2 “big” climbs were easier than usual.  Payoff for extra training?

I feel like I’m falling behind.  Jett’s ahead on the running of course—and maybe the swimming.  Colin’s ahead on the running and probably the cycling… and he’ll always be ahead on the swimming.  Schuyler is ahead on the running and, now that he swims IN THE BAY—YIKES!—he’s ahead on that too.

So, today I went for a 500 yd swim and will cycle for about 2 hours this afternoon.  I’m looking forward to being in SF in 3 weeks.  Schuyler is taking me to swim in the Bay!  We’ll see how that goes—at least I’ll be in some sort of swimming shape by then.  And, we’re going in trunks only – no wet suits.  There’ll also be a good bike ride in there somewhere.  I can’t wait.

Tags: cyclemeter, cycling, swimming

…with the idea of riding hill repeats by shifting UP a gear on each successive trip up the climb.  If I ever meet him, I may have some comments for him.  If this is a good idea, I certainly hope it reveals itself to me soon.  Today’s ride was only 1 hour and only about 12 miles.  But, it was 4 climbs in gears from 34 x 23 to 34 x 21 to 34 x 19, and finally 34 x 17.  The first climb is always pretty easy.  I even passed a much younger and much smaller rider on it.  I was skeptical about hitting a larger gear for the second ride, but it worked out pretty well.  In fact, it was actually fairly easy also.

The third climb though in the next higher gear was another story.  That guy was hard!  About half way up, I decided that if I hadn’t already gone to the trouble of being half way, I’d just call the day a success and head home.  By the time I made it to the top I was pretty pleased with myself.  And, I wasn’t even that tired.

That made me think that making my pre-ride goal of 4 trips in successively higher gears might be possible.  I enjoyed that third descent, made the turnaround, and went in for the fourth attack – this time in 34 x 17, a first attempt.  That halfway thing got me again.  You know, by the time you’ve invested in 50% of a climb, the thing to do is just go ahead and finish it.

The good news is that around here, the climbs are almost all short, power-type climbs.  Maybe this will make me a better climber.

http://j.mp/dmnS84

Tags: cyclemeter, cycling, power training

Should’ve posted this yesterday, but I got to watching a documentary about the The Funk Brothers (the legendary studio musicians in Detroit that played all those superfine grooves on the big hits for Motown) and well, you know how it goes.

Anyway, Tuesday’s ride was a killer.  I needed a day of healing and meditation.  I put together a little playlist of “gospel” songs, which probably aren’t all technically “gospel songs”… but more of a mix of country, bluegrass, folk, and gospel… and hit the road for a short, flat, spin at a very easy pace.  Unfortunately, the head wind made keeping it chill difficult… and the inevitable tailwind made holding back a little tricky, but the resulting ride did the trick of recovering some toasted legs.  I followed it with a VibraFlex session and all is once again right with the world.  Taking the day off today… but planning something good for tomorrow maybe (if my rear end is recovered).

Tags: cycling, Vibraflex 550

I had some extra time today.  The longest ride this year so far, has been a bit over 2 hours – not the stuff of epic rides.  Oh, I’ve had climbing days and interval days; group rides and solo rides at brisk paces.  But, sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and start getting that saddle time in.  I was feeling pretty stout and studly after Sunday’s performance, so a steady 3 hours didn’t sound all that difficult.

Armed with a brand-new playlist crafted especially for this ride (see below), the iSport ready to go, Cyclemeter all warmed up and awaiting its instructions, I hit the road about 12:15.  The set up for the ride was perfect.  Great breakfast; plenty of hydration in advance of riding; snacks for the ride; beautiful weather; a route that is safe for a solo rider and has some teeth.

Predictably, I started getting hungry at the 1.5 hour mark, in spite of Jelly Belly Sport Beans (Lemon Lime, of course) every 20 minutes.  A small break for part of a nutrition bar and some water and back in the saddle.  Happily, at the 2 hour mark I was still feeling pretty strong.  That was just about the time, though, that the last climb hits.  No problem.  Climb. Ride around.  Descend.  Simplicity itself.

But the deal is that at the bottom of that climb, I had to turn back into what had been a strong and nasty headwind.  Granted it was only for 4 miles, but suddenly everything hurt – feet, neck, shoulders, butt.  Another short break at the turn point allowed for some adjustments in equipment as well as some stretching.

Then it was just a matter of letting that nice friendly tailwind shoot me back those last 10 miles to the finish.  Ah, yes….

Suffice to say, that back at the office it took a while to recover and now my office stinks, but I liked getting this one under my belt.

http://j.mp/b9Ptx0

Big Chief – Professor Longhair

Curly Haired Baby – Professor Longhair

She Ain’t Got No Hair – Professor Longhair

I Gotta Have It – Jace Everett

Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand – Professor Longhair

Looka, No Hair – Professor Longhair

From Four Until Late – Eric Clapton

Mardi Gras In New Orleans – Professor Longhair

Marie – Randy Newman

Longhair’s Blues Rhumba – Professor Longhair

East St. Louis Baby – Professor Longhair

Bad Things (Club Mix) – Jace Everett

Her Mind Is Gone – Professor Longhair

Rednecks – Randy Newman

Bye Bye Baby – Professor Longhair

Cadillac Style – Sammy Kershaw

Hadacol Bounce – Professor Longhair

Longhair Stomp – Professor Longhair

Louisiana Hot Sauce – Sammy Kershaw

Been Foolin’ Around – Professor Longhair

Back on My Feet Again – Randy Newman

Misery – Professor Longhair

Birmingham – Randy Newman

Little Queen Of Spades – Eric Clapton

If You’re Gonna Walk, I’m Gonna Crawl – Sammy Kershaw

She Walks Right In – Professor Longhair

Boogie Woogie – Professor Longhair

Accentuate the Positive – Dr. John

Willie Mae – Professor Longhair

Oh Well – Professor Longhair

Between The Night And Day – Professor Longhair

Right Place, Wrong Time – Dr. John

Tipitina – Professor Longhair

Hey Little Girl – Professor Longhair

Kind Hearted Woman Blues – Eric Clapton

Rockin’ With Fess – Professor Longhair

Let the Good Times Roll – Dr. John

Professor Longhair Blues – Professor Longhair

No Buts – No Maybes – Professor Longhair

Take Me Out to the Ballgame – Dr. John

In The Night – Professor Longhair

Walk Your Blues Away – Professor Longhair

I Can’t Stand Up for Falling Down – Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Ball The Wall – Professor Longhair

Bald Head – Professor Longhair

Getting Mighty Crowded – Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Boyd’s Bounce – Professor Longhair

Cry Pretty Baby – Professor Longhair

(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace,

Love and Understanding? – Elvis Costello & the Attractions

Who’s Been Foolin’ You? – Professor Longhair

K.C. Blues – Professor Longhair

Guilty – Randy Newman

Traveling Riverside Blues – Eric Clapton

Byrd’s Blues – Professor Longhair

Hey Now Baby – Professor Longhair

Gone So Long – Professor Longhair

Me And The Devil Blues – Eric Clapton

Look What You’re Doing To Me – Professor Longhair

Mr. President

(Have Pity on the Working Man) – Randy Newman

Louisiana 1927 – Randy Newman

Hallelujah – Ray Charles

Nothing But The Blood – Randy Travis

Tags: cyclemeter, cycling, iSport, Jelly Belly, playlists, Training

You may remember I started using Cyclemeter (Abvio, $4.99) about a month ago. I’d used a few other tracking apps in the past, and when I decided that Fitnio had failed me for the last time, I plunked down the $4.99 for what looked like the best cycling app out there. Continue Reading »

Tags: cyclemeter, cycling, equipment, iphone

I wish I’d had my camera with me today. I rode SF2G’s Skyline route and it’s my new favorite ride. It was pretty brutal for a first-timer though, by the end of mile nine all I could think was “What have I gotten myself into?” Oh, and before I go on, I’d like to note that the link I posted is 100% accurate as far as I know. Cyclemeter performed admirably today.

Usually when I plan to ride I bring a change of clothes to work the day before, and leave my laptop there overnight. But I just decided yesterday afternoon to do this ride, so I had to bring everything with me on the bike today. It was a bad day to travel with an extra ten pounds. Very little of the route is flat, and I am not in climbing shape. At all.

The good thing about climbs is, they always pay off. I absolutely love a good descent. Nothing like grabbing the drops and getting some face time with the handlebars. Sawyer Camp Trail (approx. miles 15.6-21.8) is the perfect combination of twisty descents, awesomely fun sharp turns, and gorgeous scenery. It is COLD though. The kind of cold that numbs your face until you can’t make consonants. The kind of cold that forces you to ball up your fists to save your fingers. The kind of cold that turns your nose into a total snotfaucet. Worth it though. Imagine if the forest portion of the Arkansas River Trail were five miles long, mostly downhill, and next to much prettier water.

And now on to the griping portion of this post. I am having a knee problem. It feels like my right patella is seriously bruised. It’s not, obviously, or I would know why it hurts. It was fine for almost the whole ride, but about three miles from Google it started bothering me, and it’s gotten worse throughout the day to the point that when I got up for water a minute ago it was hard to straighten my leg. I can walk just fine, in fact I don’t even limp… but it feels like I kneed The Thing in the crotch.

I also need a new saddle. I thought I just needed to get used to the one I have, but it seems like it’s taking fewer and fewer miles each ride to develop some serious ABS (that’s Angry Balls Syndrome). I picked up a used Fizik Alliante for my CX bike (just completed, pics forthcoming!) so we’ll see how that works out. If it’s good I’ll have to find a white and black one to match my Orbea.

Tags: abs, cyclemeter, cycling, equipment, iphone, knee pain, sf2g, skyline

I want to believe.  I really do.  Today, I was pressed for time, so I went for a little 1 hour ride, a bit over 16 miles, with 2 nice mile-long climbs.  Cyclemeter has handled this route, or a reasonable facsimile, before.  Supposedly good GPS signal.  But the result we got was a stinker.  No reason to post it.

So Cyclemeter remains at best a B student.  You really need a good bike computer if you never want a disappointment.   http://j.mp/cVz1Fk This is not real.  :-(

Tags: cyclemeter, cycling, Training

it’s a start of sorts.  Today, I jumped rope 6×100 on 30 seconds splits, then went out for a run/walk.  http://j.mp/cNzcCR So, that’s the run-only portion.  The walking added about another .75 miles for a total of about 1.6 miles.  Here’s the thing though: it was all PAIN FREE!  That’s right! For the FIRST time since early September, I’ve had a non-cycling workout without any knee pain.

After the run, the medial collateral ligament began to tighten and ache – as expected.  However, I’ve been sitting here with the massage ball working mainly on the vastus medialis muscle in the quadriceps and Mr. MCL is loosening up which makes the pain go away.  Further massage of the vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius, and the sartorius will complete the recovery.

This is really fine!  :-)

And, I used Cyclemeter on iPhone for the stats today.  Seems to have worked fine.

Tags: cyclemeter, cycling, knee pain, massage, Training

Had a pretty great ride today, but I only tracked half of it. Just totally forgot to restart Cyclemeter after my water break. Check it out! I really wished I had my camera, in fact I may get a second (or bigger) saddle bag so I can take it with me on rides. Fortunately Google Street View is a pretty good substitute. That picture’s from where I did my fastest mile.

I stopped at the 16 mile mark for a snack and some water, and noticed it’s time to replace my tires. If you don’t know how to tell when your tires are old, I’ve included this handy picture for your reference (click to embiggen):

Tags: bicycle, cycling, equipment, iphone

Tomorrow I should drag my fat, lazy old man butt out of the sack and hit the Carve ride at 7:00 am or maybe 7:30, if I just want the 30 mile option.  See, there are 2 starting options and two routes so you can go 30, 40, 50, 0r 60 miles on this fun-filled hammer-fest of a ride.  These guys usually don’t race until they’ve been riding for about 2 miles…..and then it’s a balls to the wall, take-no-prisoners sort of deal.  I need the ride and the training and the pace.  And, if not that ride, then what ride?

There’s a BBQ cook-off in the middle of the River Park ride route.  And, I’ve been on that too much lately anyway.  There’s the Tour de Rock Training ride which is about 25 – 30 mile no drop deal at paces for every type of rider.  But it had 70 folks on it last week and begins to look like the actual TdeR event itself.  I want to run, but that can be done on Sunday afternoon when the weather is too nasty to ride.

This is that time of year when real cyclists get out of bed, eat their oatmeal, and get those miles and hours in the saddle working.  Why am I reluctant?  It isn’t like I have to get home and mow the lawn or anything like that.  And the recovery should be do-able because that Vibraflex routine is the best thing ever for getting your muscles back to normal.

Okay, I’m gonna organize my stuff to hit the Carve 7:30 am, 30-miler.  Should be done by 9:30-ish which means that I can go vibrate and then hit the Trek/Gary Fisher test ride event being put on by Chainwheel (after some breakfast, of course!).

Tags: bicycle, Carve, Chainwheel, cycling, running, Tour de Rock, Vibraflex 550

Today’s plan was for a long-ish ride at a pace that would be on the edge for me.  The route is very similar to the last 2 rides – only a little longer.  As always I was testing out myself and my gear.  Cyclemeter was almost dead on with iSport today….go figure.

Here’s the skinny: iSport shows 35.9 miles, avg speed 16.3 mph, top speed 46.7 mph, 2629 calories. Cyclemeter shows 35.78 miles, avg speed 16.16 mph, top speed 47.45 mph, calories 3727.  Close enough for Cyclemeter to get a passing grade today.  Even better, Cyclemeter appears to have mapped the route correctly.

Check out the ride:  http://j.mp/9eF0uO

By the time, I hit the last climb on River Mountain Rd, my legs were toast.  I was hungry.  In short, that was perfect for the next part of the day – shaking on the Vibraflex.  I went straight to LRAC to jump on it for 2x 2 minutes at 26Hz.  Man, that feels good!  Vibraflex seems to be a recovery miracle!  No knee pain!  Better flexibility!  No sore muscles! YAY!

Tags: bicycle, cyclemeter, cycling, injuries, iphone, Vibraflex 550

I wanted to test some stuff today – me, Cyclemeter, and the Vibraflex 550.  I planned a ride that was pretty much the same route as yesterday, only instead of being flat it has 3 major climbs that are right on the path.  The idea being of course that it would test Cyclemeter to see it performed on a similar, but slightly different route while giving me more pop than yesterday’s route.  The climbs come in Mile 2, Mile 11 and Mile 21.

Now, I gave Cyclemeter some pretty good props yesterday and Colin is a fanboy.  I even hit ‘em on Twitter and they gave me a nice response.  I thought today’s route would be simple, but not so.  Not sure why, but it had me climb straight up the side of a hill and then sort of scramble around up top.  And I really just don’t trust the stats yet.  My iSport had me at 1:28 and change.  So did Cyclemeter.  But that’s just a stopwatch function.  Big whoop!  Cyclemeter had the ride at 22.77 miles and iSport at 21.8 miles.  Cyclemeter shows a top speed of 66mph and iSport has it at 45mph (much more likely).  The mph intervals posted on the server map just don’t look right.  Some of them look ok, but others don’t and I can’t explain why.  That 34.5 mph in Mile 2 isn’t possible for me at that point in that ride.

Map accuracy is maybe 80% (very unscientific estimate) on today’s route.  I don’t know enough about any of this to know why it’s inaccurate.  Probably something to do with GPS sensitivity and hillsides, and sunspots, and climate change.

But the ride was fun and felt great, even if it did have 3 relatively nasty climbs in a short time.  That was good though because I then stopped at the LRAC to jump on the Vibraflex 550.  It’s hyped as a sort of super-dee-dooper exercise machine that’s supposed to boost testosterone and HGH while chewing up Cortisol and flushing lactic acid out of your muscles.  I’ve used it a few times in the last couple of weeks and it does help loosen up your muscles.

I wanted to see what it would do for achy, dead, stiff legs after a brisk ride.  I’m told that marathoners and triathletes love it.  So, I did 2x 2-minute sets at 26 Hz, which is what was recommended for me.  I must say that my legs felt super afterwards and I think that thing may become a regular part of my stretching and flexibility routine.  Pretty impressive.

Tomorrow is a day off the bike and back to jumping rope, running, and weight stuff.

Tags: cyclemeter, cycling, iphone, triathlon, Vibraflex 550

I bit on the fan-boy hook that Colin dropped in the water as far as the Cyclemeter app for iPhone is concerned.  It all started when I saw his Facebook post on Wednesday and followed his ride mile-by-mile while he was on it.  Very impressive stuff.  Later in the day, we started talking about the app and I dutifully visited the App Store, read the hype, and plunked down my $4.99.  I read all about how it works and even touted some of the features to Colin.

Today’s beautiful clear skies, 70 degree temps, and mostly calm winds were a siren song for cyclists and I peeled out of the office about 3:30 to try out my new wonder app.  I like to test stuff out in controlled situations so that I have some basis for comparison purposes.  Like Colin, I’ve tried several iPhone cycling apps and have found them mostly unsatisfactory for one reason or another.  So far, I’ve ditched Fitnio, Bikenik, MotionX GPS, and iMapMyRide.  None of those impressed me as much as my basic Garmin Edge.  I know, a Garmin is really not a basic product and the apps are a fraction of the Garmin’s price.  The Garmin died on me after a couple of years though and I wasn’t ready to ante up another big batch of dollars for another one.

So the search for a good cycling app and a mounting bracket has been on for some time now.  In the meantime, I discovered the virtues of power training and after careful research purchased an iSport power meter.  As power meters go, it is value priced at $199 or so.  Other models top out somewhere around $800 or so, but even then they compare favorably to other power meters that can easily run between $1200 and $2000!  I’m not going to attempt to defend the accuracy of the iSport as that isn’t really the subject of this post.  The iSport is fine for me because it is CONSISTENT, which is the most important quality for me.

I took off on a base ride of 15 miles that is essentially 3x on a 5-mile loop.  I ride this loop so often that I can almost do it in my sleep.  I’ve literally ridden it dozens of times, often for the purpose of testing a piece of equipment.

Here’s the skinny on the Cyclemeter: Top Speed= 63 mph; Distance=7.5 miles; Average Speed=7.5 mph; Elapsed Time=47.52 minutes.  The iSport produced: Top Speed=36 mph; Distance=15 miles; Average Speed= 18 mph; Elapsed Time=49.12 minutes.

Guess which one I believe?  I rode this same exact ride 2 days ago in 52 minutes at an average speed of 17.3 mph (in a mad wind).  Both rides track with what I expect on this particular ride.

The Cyclemeter only picked up half the ride on the GPS.  Now, when I started I had poor GPS signal, but I hoped it would pick up and correct early in the ride.  I also had the “Remote Control” feature turned on and although it appears to work well, I’m not sure I used it properly at the outset.  The Cyclemeter kicked in some music that I really didn’t want, so I need to figure that out.  I also had turned off the Wi-Fi on the iPhone, so only 3G was working.  I did that in an attempt to conserve battery, but it may have had adversely affected Cyclemeter.

The result is that my initial ride was less than I had hoped for after seeing what Colin did.  However, it was only one experimental ride.  I’ll continue to use it and compare it to my iSport especially with different settings.  It’s too early to consider Cyclemeter a fail by a long shot, but it isn’t an automatic pass either.

Tags: cyclemeter, cycling, iphone, iSport, power training

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.

Tags: bike, cycling, san francisco

Yes, it’s been a long time since this thing was updated.  Motivation has been hard to come by.  Too much heat?  Too much work?  Too much humidity?  Too much weight?  Too much junk food?  Too many excuses?  Probably.  The dream is still alive though.  Seeing it may be a little difficult, but it makes appearances from time to time.  I find that getting external sources of inspiration and motivation are much more necessary sometimes than others.

Anyway, I’ve been working on that motivation thing.  Hitting some group rides to find company on the road.  Remembering that sometimes a nice social ride is just the ticket.  Racing around isn’t always necessary.  Getting some good music to help push you along is also good….just gotta be safe with the earbuds and the traffic!  Also, varying the training routine AND (big news) getting back to eating properly for energy during training, recovery from training, and to begin to shake some of this weight.

Just for the record, when I started cycling 3 years ago (and some 9000 miles), I tipped the scales at a svelte 282 lbs (128 k or 21 stone).  Got that down to 229 lbs. and was in pretty good shape – BMI etc – until The Wreck.  Long story short.  The Wreck took me out for long enough that 25 lbs jumped right back on.  Even though I got back into fair riding condition, the weight didn’t come off (poor eating, anyone?) and for good measure I went ahead and added 10 more pounds.  So, now my friendly scales insist on showing me around 264 or so.  Say it ain’t so!

Suffice to say that everything is out of whack at 260 lbs.  Low motivation.  Ill-fitting clothes.  Loss of confidence, hair, teeth, nails.  (Just kidding.)  Seriously, though with that much weight all sense of focus on training and the pain that goes with it are right out the door.  When someone talks about a downward spiral in their behavior, I know exactly what they mean.

It is with a renewed sense of mission that I am taking charge again.  Making a training plan.  Sticking to it.  Making an eating plan. Sticking to it. Taking one step at a time (is this anything like a 12 step program?) on the road to putting together a serious attempt at this triathlon goal.  I figure that for the tri to be achievable, that I must be much, much lighter.  Must have a different body composition.  I don’t think being below 200 lbs is truly practical.  Afterall, that is college track scholarship territory for me.  There was a time in my early 30′s when I did weigh about 205-207, depending on how much ice cream I ate in a week.  I’m thinking that 205-210 is a good place to be, even though it still places me in the clydesdale category.

As of today, I am on Day 2 of a better eating regimen.  More fruits, veggies, lean protein etc.  No choco chips, Oreos, powdered doughnuts, Famous Amos, etc.  More water.  Less coffee.  Fewer bagels.  More oatmeal.  Fewer chips.  More red peppers.  Fewer Cokes.  Ouch!  And the amazing thing?  I swam a half yesterday, cycled for 1.5 hours (with 4 big climbs), and ran for 30 minutes and today I feel great!  I ate correctly yesterday (especially post-workout); importantly, I have eaten correctly today.  Now, I am ready to do some spinning just to loosen up and shake out my legs a little bit.

I’m back!

Tags: cycling, running, swimming, triathlon, weight

is paved with good intentions, I’m sure.  I really meant to make the open water swim yesterday.  But, I was tired and over-worked, the weather was threatening, and the water nasty. So, I skipped it.  And, the weather was bad this morning, so I missed the Tri Training group ride.  BUT, this afternoon I did get in a nice little 20-mile ride in the first stages of a thunderstorm.  Didn’t get struck by lightning (obviously) and barely got sprinkled by the rain…but I was still leg weary from Thursday’s ride.  It was good to get that in though!

Tags: cycling, Weather

Okay, the weather has stunk!  And, the riding has been confined to elliptical rollers.  But, today the rain broke so I jumped out there for one of the usual 40-milers.  Great roll out…about 20 miles in the first hour.  I hadn’t counted on 100% humidity though, so I was totally under prepared.  No food… dumb.  Plain water… double dumb.  Hit the wall on the return and dark caught up with me… had to be sagged in.  Did I mention that I had to fight with my computer?  My usually reliable Garmin appears to be losing its mind and is practically useless recently.

Tomorrow has a 1000 yard open water lake swim available to the CARVE members that I’m thinking about.  I hear the lake is pretty nasty though.  yuck.

Tags: cycling, Weather

Last week was sort of lost due to a trip to LA. The highlights were crummy bikes in the Marriott workout room, a tour of dts Digital Cinema’s engineering department, and the porn convention at the hotel….seriously, there was an internet porn show at the hotel. Trés bizarre! Anyway, it was a good op to let my knee recover some….the trip, not the porn show. Since my last entry I’ve had a couple of good rides. Last Sunday was about 32 miles, decent pace, good rolling terrain. Nothing too strenuous and the knee held up well. Today was the bad boy though. 48 miles. 3:21 and change, about 3,000 feet of elevation gain with a westerly wind that nearly made forward progress impossible. Going East, I was a star. Knee is fine even after 4 significant climbs that averaged in the 11 -12% range – and 2 of those were directly into the teeth of the wind! It’s great to be back in the saddle and getting some quality miles in. The dodgy knee continues to improve.

Tags: cycling, health, injuries

something valuable – power, wisdom, Ding Dongs? Well, whatever else may accrue to me, I’ve learned that running as a recreational activity is not in my future. Here’s the deal: I know I can make a half-marathon distance at a 14 minute or slightly better pace. I also know that a shorter, faster run jacks up one knee pretty badly, at least right now. So, the plan now is to continue training on a very moderate program. “Real running” will only occur as an element of an actual competition. I need to have a much deeper running base and a lot less weight to stay serious about this. Today was a nice, short little ride that helped recover some athletic motion in the bad knee. About 18 miles. EZ pace. Nothing spectacular, but it was better than sitting on the sofa.

Tags: cycling, health, injuries, running

Getting back into a comfort zone is good. Today, I was able to get in an easy 3 hour ride and it felt great! About an hour in, I ran into a couple of regular riding buddies and we cruised for about an hour before I split off. There really isn’t anything special to report. It was just a fine day to be out and a fine way to spend 3 hours. Beats the stuff out of running.

Tags: cycling

I know this is not Chicago, but it was 28 degrees out there officially today. I think in the shade by the river (where I was) it was much colder than that. Today was scheduled for an easy 6 miles. I did a moderate, okay maybe it was easy, 5. All I know is that I was freezing at the end as well as in the middle and at the start. I think the new shoes help. I think the training is beginning to help. I think the activity is still ridiculous. Give me a bike any time! It’s been over 4 hours since I finished and I’m still cold. Please tell me that it gets better.

Tags: cycling, fitness, health, running, triathlon, Weather

In an effort to loosen up after yesterday’s insanity, I hit the rollers for about 40 minutes. It was a good spin; just the ticket to warm up some tired muscles and get the kinks out.

But, my toe is pretty sensitive. Guess this nail is coming off. It took having the bike shoes a little loose and some easy spinning to get comfortable, but at pace everything was fine. A little post-ride stretching and all’s right with the world.

Tags: cycling, injuries, rollers, running, toes, triathlon