I'm finally going on vacation. I've been going for 7 months straight now without a break. We're loading up the van and leaving to Utah to visit family and friends. I've put my bike on the back of the van so I can get some altitude training in. One of my instructors from BYU who happens to be my same age is training for the LOTOJA. It is a 206 mile race from Logan, Utah to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It starts at 4,000 ft and has three climbs over three mountain passes over 8,000 ft. I'll be riding with him for the next few weeks and getting back into the swing of things after taking two weeks off to rest my legs after the Seattle to Portland.
My legs felt a bit tired since the STP but they've recently been feeling a bit more bouncy and I'm really wanting to get out and ride. I would have gone yesterday but it was about 96 degrees and the family was all miserable. We've been sleeping downstairs for the past few days since it's about 85 degrees upstairs. The thermostat (inside the house)read 76 at 8am this morning. It is currently 102. Next year I will have an air conditioner.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Mile 68
This is about 30 seconds before a text was received stating that two members of our group had crashed and were out of the STP.
200 miles later...
Five days ago I rode my bike from Seattle, WA to Portland, OR. It was very cool. I decided to do this around Christmas giving me 6 months to train. This required that I buy a bike. January 7th I made the purchase and started my training in earnest. As my other posts show, I have been gradually improving each week/month and have really enjoyed the sport. On June 13th I rode in my first Century. (100 miles)(The Flying Wheels Summer Century) It took me 5:00:31.
As I got closer to the STP (Seattle to Portland) ride, I knew that I'd prepared myself physically but I was still concerned with my mental state. At that point I was hoping to finish in under 12 hours of riding time. 12 hours on a bike is a loooooong time and although I finished a marathon last year, I was very concerned with my ability to focus for 12 hours and not rub tires whith someone in front of me and take us both out of the race. You don't have that concern in a marathon. There's a lot more to worry about when you're going 20-25 mph while your front wheel is 6 inches behind the person in front of you.
I got to the starting line at about 4:55 am. The first wave of one-day riders left at 4:45. They don't want all 2,500 riders flooding the street all at once so they staggar starts in 10 minute increments. I noticed two guys wearing Utah State cycling jersey's and said hello. As we rolled across the starting line I found out there were six of them who were all riding together. Friends from various states who train for and then ride in big events. All of them are LDS and went to USU or BYU. I found out they were wanting to finish in a sub 11 hour time. With my initial goal being sub 12 hours I abandoned my plan and joined this group hoping that I could draft off of them and make up the extra time. At the mid-way point we had finished 100 miles in 4 hours and 50 minutes which was a good 10 minutes faster than the century I did in June. I ultimately finished in 10:23:30 of riding time. I was very surprized. At around mile 140 my right knee started to ache. I had to slow by 1-2 mph the rest of the day and was very sore for a few days. I still have a bit of pain in the knee, but I think with another week of rest, things should be back to normal.
I was directly behind 3 different people who blew tires, and I saw dozens of people on the side of the road repairing flats during the day. I was very lucky that I didn't have any mechanical issues. Two of the guys in the group I was riding with were taken out by a wild cyclist. They crashed and ended up with a bent rim bend derailer at mile 65 taking them out for the day. Including a few guys from work I connected with as well, there were 10 of us riding together. Two finished about a minute ahead of me, I was in a group of 5 who finished together, and the others didn't make it all the way to the end. Jennifer and the kids were there at the finish line with posters cheering me through my mid-life crisis. They've been very supportive of the entire training season as well. As soon as we got home Jennifer was online trying to find other rides for me to enter. There were about 150-200 who finished ahead of me, but I feel extatic about how it all went. I was not expecting to do that well at all. It's easy to see how a cycling team can work together for the benefit of the group.
I intend on doing this again next year. After my marathon last year, I expected to keep running too, but cycling is so much more fun. More expensive, but also more fun.
As I got closer to the STP (Seattle to Portland) ride, I knew that I'd prepared myself physically but I was still concerned with my mental state. At that point I was hoping to finish in under 12 hours of riding time. 12 hours on a bike is a loooooong time and although I finished a marathon last year, I was very concerned with my ability to focus for 12 hours and not rub tires whith someone in front of me and take us both out of the race. You don't have that concern in a marathon. There's a lot more to worry about when you're going 20-25 mph while your front wheel is 6 inches behind the person in front of you.
I got to the starting line at about 4:55 am. The first wave of one-day riders left at 4:45. They don't want all 2,500 riders flooding the street all at once so they staggar starts in 10 minute increments. I noticed two guys wearing Utah State cycling jersey's and said hello. As we rolled across the starting line I found out there were six of them who were all riding together. Friends from various states who train for and then ride in big events. All of them are LDS and went to USU or BYU. I found out they were wanting to finish in a sub 11 hour time. With my initial goal being sub 12 hours I abandoned my plan and joined this group hoping that I could draft off of them and make up the extra time. At the mid-way point we had finished 100 miles in 4 hours and 50 minutes which was a good 10 minutes faster than the century I did in June. I ultimately finished in 10:23:30 of riding time. I was very surprized. At around mile 140 my right knee started to ache. I had to slow by 1-2 mph the rest of the day and was very sore for a few days. I still have a bit of pain in the knee, but I think with another week of rest, things should be back to normal.
I was directly behind 3 different people who blew tires, and I saw dozens of people on the side of the road repairing flats during the day. I was very lucky that I didn't have any mechanical issues. Two of the guys in the group I was riding with were taken out by a wild cyclist. They crashed and ended up with a bent rim bend derailer at mile 65 taking them out for the day. Including a few guys from work I connected with as well, there were 10 of us riding together. Two finished about a minute ahead of me, I was in a group of 5 who finished together, and the others didn't make it all the way to the end. Jennifer and the kids were there at the finish line with posters cheering me through my mid-life crisis. They've been very supportive of the entire training season as well. As soon as we got home Jennifer was online trying to find other rides for me to enter. There were about 150-200 who finished ahead of me, but I feel extatic about how it all went. I was not expecting to do that well at all. It's easy to see how a cycling team can work together for the benefit of the group.
I intend on doing this again next year. After my marathon last year, I expected to keep running too, but cycling is so much more fun. More expensive, but also more fun.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Improvement
A few posts ago I mentioned that I had dropped my 15 mile loop time from 60 minutes to 49 minutes. About 2 weeks ago I did the same ride in just over 45 minutes. I did that loop twice today with both being around 46-47 minutes. By comparison, Lance Armstrong just did a time trial today in a stage race in New Mexico. It was 16 miles long and he got just over 34 minutes. This means I'm fast for a late 30's guy with 3 months of biking experience, but I'm a 3 year old with training wheels and an 8 foot tall orange flag when compared to Lance.
I'll just work on personal improvement. :-)
I'll just work on personal improvement. :-)
A Metric Century and Aerodynamic Legs
A few weeks ago I did what is called a Metric Century. It was 100 Kilometers or 62 miles. It went well. The first 50 miles took me 2:47 which is pretty good for a person of my experience (3 months worth). My legs are slowly rounding into shape but that ride pushed me a step back in my training. I overdid it a little trying to maintain my pace and my left knee was a bit sore for about 10 days. Hopefully it will stay away for good.
I have finally gone completely over to the dark side by shaving my legs tonight. I'd been thinking about it for a month now, but during one impetuous moment I grabbed my wife's razor in the shower and just went to town. I've never done that before, but now those babies are as smooth as can be. A little lotion and welcome to Supple City!
I did a short ride of 15 miles yesterday, 30 miles today, and I plan on doing about 40 tomorrow. I plan on stacking rides on Friday and Saturdays from here on out to improve my legs ability to handle long rides. I'm loving my bike. Riding just feels liberating with the speed and the exertion followed by the endorphins. Good for the soul.
I have finally gone completely over to the dark side by shaving my legs tonight. I'd been thinking about it for a month now, but during one impetuous moment I grabbed my wife's razor in the shower and just went to town. I've never done that before, but now those babies are as smooth as can be. A little lotion and welcome to Supple City!
I did a short ride of 15 miles yesterday, 30 miles today, and I plan on doing about 40 tomorrow. I plan on stacking rides on Friday and Saturdays from here on out to improve my legs ability to handle long rides. I'm loving my bike. Riding just feels liberating with the speed and the exertion followed by the endorphins. Good for the soul.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
768 Miles Per Hour!!
The speed above is that of the speed of sound. I didn't quite hit that on my ride yesterday, but I did get up to 42.5 mph. That was scary enough. I went a total of 52 miles and I could have gone for a while longer, but I felt my legs becoming sore and I didn't want to get into any over training problems. When I started my ride it was about 48 degrees. Cool, but not cold. Ten miles in I had to remove my long sleeve riding jacket. I went the rest of the way in just a riding jersey and riding shorts. It ended up about 58 degrees when I was finished three hours later. The loop I do had a few pretty wicked hills that are about a mile long and very steep. I have a compact crank set so I don't get to take advantage of a granny ring. The agony lasts for about 10-12 minutes when it usually takes me less than 3 minutes to go the same distance on a flat.
It would be nice to have 3 or 4 people to ride with but I think the drafting would make me too lazy. I'm having to do all of the pulling on my own and I think it will make me stronger once I get into some group rides. Currently I am pedaling almost constantly with no time to rest. My heart rate stays between 150-160 bpm the entire time. When I'm able to draft off of a few people that should drop by about 20 bpm.
With my marathon training, I think I had a solid program, but I think it assumed a better fitness foundation than I had when I started. I should have been running for about a year before just throwing myself into it. My body type wasn't meant for distance running so I should have given myself more lead time. Having said that, I am extremely happy I did it. It's pushed me into a better level of fitness that has continued since December of 2007.
Without doing all of that running, I would have never considered doing a 200 mile bike race when the opportunity presented itself. There are now about 5 of my friends who want to be involved as well. Lots of people are looking at expensive bikes and making their wives very uneasy.
Unlike a marathon, I think endurance riding is something anyone can do, once you get use to the saddle on your bike. ;-)
It would be nice to have 3 or 4 people to ride with but I think the drafting would make me too lazy. I'm having to do all of the pulling on my own and I think it will make me stronger once I get into some group rides. Currently I am pedaling almost constantly with no time to rest. My heart rate stays between 150-160 bpm the entire time. When I'm able to draft off of a few people that should drop by about 20 bpm.
With my marathon training, I think I had a solid program, but I think it assumed a better fitness foundation than I had when I started. I should have been running for about a year before just throwing myself into it. My body type wasn't meant for distance running so I should have given myself more lead time. Having said that, I am extremely happy I did it. It's pushed me into a better level of fitness that has continued since December of 2007.
Without doing all of that running, I would have never considered doing a 200 mile bike race when the opportunity presented itself. There are now about 5 of my friends who want to be involved as well. Lots of people are looking at expensive bikes and making their wives very uneasy.
Unlike a marathon, I think endurance riding is something anyone can do, once you get use to the saddle on your bike. ;-)
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Tin-Man or Ironman?
I went 40 miles on Saturday. It was pretty fun with the exception of a 30 minute segment during which it rained like a dog. I was a mess when I got home. It took me a little over 2:20:00. I went up the most wicked hill I've conquered yet. It was about 2 miles long and about as vertical as anything I'll ever want to do. After doing that hill though, it makes everything else I'm going up look like a speed bump.
Of course with a hill of that sort there is always an equivalent descent. I hit 39 mph on the way down and I'm not all that confident at high speeds yet so I was riding the brakes. I did break the speed limit in 2 or 3 locations however. The speed limit was 35 when I hit 39. I was also well over 20 mph in a few posted areas as well. I carry identification with me just in case. I bring my drivers license, my Visa, and a piece of paper that lists my name, address, my wife's name, her cell number and my blood type (in case I'm not able to tell them myself). :-)
I'm trying to convince my wife that it would be fun to go to Hawaii. For some reason she feels it would be a big chore. My 2nd great-grandfather served a mission there so besides the obvious attractions in Hawaii, I thought it would be fun to visit his old mission. I would really like to go during the first part of October. That is when they have the Ironman Triathlon. Jennifer is refusing to go, fearing that if I see it, I will be convinced I have to start training for it as well.
Would completing an Ironman be cool? Yes. The biking portion is 112 miles (a snap), the running portion is a marathon, 26.2 miles (trained for and ran one last year), the swimming portion however is over 3 miles and I am not a good swimmer. Putting all of these events back to back is another story. In order to be given the title "Ironman" you have to complete all 3 disciplines by midnight. I think that would be doable.
Swimming at 2 mph would mean 90 minutes in the water, followed by about 7 hours to complete the bike stage. Subtracting another 30 minutes for transitions, eating, and the possible flat repair, I would have about 7 hours to complete the marathon. It took me a little over 4 1/2 hours to complete my marathon last summer, so I think a brisk walk could get me over the finish line by midnight.
Don't tell Jennifer I've been breaking this down. ;-)
Of course with a hill of that sort there is always an equivalent descent. I hit 39 mph on the way down and I'm not all that confident at high speeds yet so I was riding the brakes. I did break the speed limit in 2 or 3 locations however. The speed limit was 35 when I hit 39. I was also well over 20 mph in a few posted areas as well. I carry identification with me just in case. I bring my drivers license, my Visa, and a piece of paper that lists my name, address, my wife's name, her cell number and my blood type (in case I'm not able to tell them myself). :-)
I'm trying to convince my wife that it would be fun to go to Hawaii. For some reason she feels it would be a big chore. My 2nd great-grandfather served a mission there so besides the obvious attractions in Hawaii, I thought it would be fun to visit his old mission. I would really like to go during the first part of October. That is when they have the Ironman Triathlon. Jennifer is refusing to go, fearing that if I see it, I will be convinced I have to start training for it as well.
Would completing an Ironman be cool? Yes. The biking portion is 112 miles (a snap), the running portion is a marathon, 26.2 miles (trained for and ran one last year), the swimming portion however is over 3 miles and I am not a good swimmer. Putting all of these events back to back is another story. In order to be given the title "Ironman" you have to complete all 3 disciplines by midnight. I think that would be doable.
Swimming at 2 mph would mean 90 minutes in the water, followed by about 7 hours to complete the bike stage. Subtracting another 30 minutes for transitions, eating, and the possible flat repair, I would have about 7 hours to complete the marathon. It took me a little over 4 1/2 hours to complete my marathon last summer, so I think a brisk walk could get me over the finish line by midnight.
Don't tell Jennifer I've been breaking this down. ;-)
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Improvement
About 6 weeks ago I went on my first long-ish ride. It was only 15 miles, but I hadn't been over 5 yet so it was a big deal. It took me 60 minutes and I was fatigued when I was done. I did that same ride yesterday and completed it in 49 minutes. I felt much better when I was done to boot. I still need to get a new helmet. The one I have was a cheapo when I bought it about 10 years ago in a bookstore. It weighs double what a good helmet would weigh and it creates quite a racket with the airflow around the sides of my ears. It always sounds like there is a car coming up behind me even when there isn't.
I got myself a heart rate monitor so I can be warned if I'm about to have a heart attack.
I got myself a heart rate monitor so I can be warned if I'm about to have a heart attack.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Spandex and Carbon Fiber
Seattle to Portland is a 3 hour trip in a car. It's going to be much longer on a bike. As some of you know, each year I pick a new "thing" to keep me physically occupied. Last year was the Ogden Marathon, this year it's the STP! The STP is a bike race that usually attracts close to 10,000 participants. About 8,500 complete the trip in two days taking a mid trip slumber overnight near Centralia. The other 1,500 attempt to make the trip in a single day. That is my white whale.
About a month ago I paid a king's ransom for an all carbon fiber bike seen here. My wife is not impressed. Since starting my training at the end of December, I have been officially labeled a disturber of the peace. (Me and Gandalf share that distinction.) A neighbor of mine who was training for a triathlon has decided to join and there are two or three others heavily considering it. Their wives are also unimpressed. I will post my training program in the next few days so you can follow along with my progress. I went about 27 miles on Saturday, and although I was a bit tired and sore on Sunday everything went well for a solo ride of that length at this stage in my training. I'm no Lance Armstrong so don't expect any world records to fall, and the only performance enhancer I am guilty of using is Gatorade.
I've been averaging between 17-20MPH on my rides, but those are only for 30-60 minutes. The entire race will be closer to 15 hours so I've got some work to do.
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