It's been months since I've posted; those that know me best know why. The situation has been resolved, so I am here again. Judge for yourself whether that is good or bad.
In the time I have been away, training has actually been pretty heavy in some areas, relatively light in others. In the running department I have been relatively light compared to my previous years of running. I just can't take high mileage anymore. Who am I kidding - I can't take medium mileage, either. I'm a 30-40 mile a week runner, and that's not going to change, other than for very brief periods of time.
Biking has been another story altogether. I've averaged right at 175 per week this year so far, with a high week of 255. I have ridden at least 5 centuries, and though most have been on trainer, yesterday's outside ride shows a very comparable performance level. My overall biking fitness is very solid.
Lifting has been good. I am rehabilitated with regards to my injured shoulder. It took a while, but I am now pain-free in both shoulders. I think I've found the balance there.
Body weight is excellent. I am running in the upper 170's, very light for this time of year. That should help out once the heat training begins.
I'm not the only one out there - every member of our running community has thumbed his/her nose at Mother Nature and made the most of the winter. Everyone rode or ran (or both), and the fitness level in the riding department especially is breathtaking. There are no slackers this year!
Strava still plays an important role in our daily fitness lives. Every month Strava hosts a Fondo, which is a fancy name for a public challenge. So far they've been distance goals, this month's distance being 100 miles. I made the first two challenges of the year, so I was certainly going for this month's. Allen joined too, and even promised to do the previous two challenges to make up for passing them before.
So Allen went away this weekend and put in 80 miles, the distance of the first two challenges. Being the troublemaker his is, he had to publicly harangue me for "lack of integrity" regarding my first two Fondos... he assumed I did them on a trainer. How short the memory! He was part of the first Fondo I did in January, an outdoor ride. I'm not going to pick (too many) nits, but I'm pretty sure an outdoor Indiana ride in January is a bit more challenging than an outdoor Alabama ride in March (#theresareasonitwasachallenge).
It could be Allen thought he might manipulate me into doing something, like riding outside yesterday. Whether or not it was his intent, he'll take credit for it. Let's face it, he'd take credit for air if we let him, but taking credit for me riding outside yesterday is like taking credit for making birds fly.
As fate would have it, I was in a bit of a mileage pinch. The week had been very busy, the weather not always great, and I wound up down on the numbers. I needed something big, because Sunday was going to be lousy for outdoor riding. Add to that March is half gone, and I realized the Fondo might be hard to get if I didn't get it soon. Saturday, with forecast highs in the 50's, looked like the day.
Heatherly and Scott bought in for the ride, if not the whole distance. Heatherly only planned 50 from the start; Scott kept his cards closer to the vest. I had a feeling he was tempted to go the whole way, but it's not up to me to push anyone into that. Remember the epic Dan Dyke and Rand century rides?
Scott had a riding plan - we would leave from Parkview, ride to Mitchell High School, then ride the 60-mile course from the fall charity ride. That would give us around 85 miles, and if things looked good from there, I could complete the 100. It seemed better than what I had, so we set out.
From the beginning I thought I might be in trouble. Scott is very fit, and he began to pull out ahead. Anyone who has run with him knows he doesn't look back often, so you you have to keep up or get dropped. The hills especially were putting me under a bit of stress early on. It wasn't as if he was blasting them, but he was aggressive - too aggressive for me knowing I had hours to ride. I resolved to take it easy up the hills and catch them on the flats. I told Heatherly it was to early to smash the hills and I would lay back, and that's what I did.
We had a slight headwind for much of the ride, though I wouldn't call it much of a factor. The ride wound first out of Mitchell to the south, into Amish country, and ultimately to Huck's where we parted ways with Heatherly. From there Scott and I continued southeast toward Leipsic, Campellsburg, and Saltillo. We wove in and around all the country lanes, and were really having a pretty good time of it.
There were signs that trouble might be coming. Scott never talks a great deal (I talk too much), but his conversation fell off entirely. The pace began to slow markedly, and I began to wonder if he was in trouble. I noticed my water was getting low, and we had a bit over half the ride to go, I asked if we could stop in Campbellburg for some water.
I finally worked up the nerve to ask about his drinking. "Are your lips getting kind of dry?", I asked. "Yes", he replied. I told him I'd yet to see him take a drink from his bottles. That's the thing about training in cool weather. You think you don't have to drink because you aren't sweating, but you are always perspiring - through your mouth. I suppose the word is really "respiring", but the net effect is the same - you are losing water when you breathe.
Scott is a soldier. Though I know he was suffering a great deal, we made the stop, and he finished the tour, leading me all the way. We stopped in Mitchell to eat a Cliff bar and drink a bit, then we took an easy trip back north. By the time we got to Parkview, Scott had a smidge under 85 miles, the longest ride he's ever done. I had a bit more (started from my house), but I was going to get the 100, so the last 15 miles were done around town.
Fondo Accomplished!
This week training looks a bit problematic again. There are plenty of conflicts on the schedule, the weather is looking spotty, so I could see another big day coming for the weekend. In the short term I plan on lifting and running tomorrow. Distance: 10 miles.
In the time I have been away, training has actually been pretty heavy in some areas, relatively light in others. In the running department I have been relatively light compared to my previous years of running. I just can't take high mileage anymore. Who am I kidding - I can't take medium mileage, either. I'm a 30-40 mile a week runner, and that's not going to change, other than for very brief periods of time.
Biking has been another story altogether. I've averaged right at 175 per week this year so far, with a high week of 255. I have ridden at least 5 centuries, and though most have been on trainer, yesterday's outside ride shows a very comparable performance level. My overall biking fitness is very solid.
Lifting has been good. I am rehabilitated with regards to my injured shoulder. It took a while, but I am now pain-free in both shoulders. I think I've found the balance there.
Body weight is excellent. I am running in the upper 170's, very light for this time of year. That should help out once the heat training begins.
I'm not the only one out there - every member of our running community has thumbed his/her nose at Mother Nature and made the most of the winter. Everyone rode or ran (or both), and the fitness level in the riding department especially is breathtaking. There are no slackers this year!
Strava still plays an important role in our daily fitness lives. Every month Strava hosts a Fondo, which is a fancy name for a public challenge. So far they've been distance goals, this month's distance being 100 miles. I made the first two challenges of the year, so I was certainly going for this month's. Allen joined too, and even promised to do the previous two challenges to make up for passing them before.
So Allen went away this weekend and put in 80 miles, the distance of the first two challenges. Being the troublemaker his is, he had to publicly harangue me for "lack of integrity" regarding my first two Fondos... he assumed I did them on a trainer. How short the memory! He was part of the first Fondo I did in January, an outdoor ride. I'm not going to pick (too many) nits, but I'm pretty sure an outdoor Indiana ride in January is a bit more challenging than an outdoor Alabama ride in March (#theresareasonitwasachallenge).
It could be Allen thought he might manipulate me into doing something, like riding outside yesterday. Whether or not it was his intent, he'll take credit for it. Let's face it, he'd take credit for air if we let him, but taking credit for me riding outside yesterday is like taking credit for making birds fly.
As fate would have it, I was in a bit of a mileage pinch. The week had been very busy, the weather not always great, and I wound up down on the numbers. I needed something big, because Sunday was going to be lousy for outdoor riding. Add to that March is half gone, and I realized the Fondo might be hard to get if I didn't get it soon. Saturday, with forecast highs in the 50's, looked like the day.
Heatherly and Scott bought in for the ride, if not the whole distance. Heatherly only planned 50 from the start; Scott kept his cards closer to the vest. I had a feeling he was tempted to go the whole way, but it's not up to me to push anyone into that. Remember the epic Dan Dyke and Rand century rides?
Scott had a riding plan - we would leave from Parkview, ride to Mitchell High School, then ride the 60-mile course from the fall charity ride. That would give us around 85 miles, and if things looked good from there, I could complete the 100. It seemed better than what I had, so we set out.
From the beginning I thought I might be in trouble. Scott is very fit, and he began to pull out ahead. Anyone who has run with him knows he doesn't look back often, so you you have to keep up or get dropped. The hills especially were putting me under a bit of stress early on. It wasn't as if he was blasting them, but he was aggressive - too aggressive for me knowing I had hours to ride. I resolved to take it easy up the hills and catch them on the flats. I told Heatherly it was to early to smash the hills and I would lay back, and that's what I did.
We had a slight headwind for much of the ride, though I wouldn't call it much of a factor. The ride wound first out of Mitchell to the south, into Amish country, and ultimately to Huck's where we parted ways with Heatherly. From there Scott and I continued southeast toward Leipsic, Campellsburg, and Saltillo. We wove in and around all the country lanes, and were really having a pretty good time of it.
There were signs that trouble might be coming. Scott never talks a great deal (I talk too much), but his conversation fell off entirely. The pace began to slow markedly, and I began to wonder if he was in trouble. I noticed my water was getting low, and we had a bit over half the ride to go, I asked if we could stop in Campbellburg for some water.
I finally worked up the nerve to ask about his drinking. "Are your lips getting kind of dry?", I asked. "Yes", he replied. I told him I'd yet to see him take a drink from his bottles. That's the thing about training in cool weather. You think you don't have to drink because you aren't sweating, but you are always perspiring - through your mouth. I suppose the word is really "respiring", but the net effect is the same - you are losing water when you breathe.
Scott is a soldier. Though I know he was suffering a great deal, we made the stop, and he finished the tour, leading me all the way. We stopped in Mitchell to eat a Cliff bar and drink a bit, then we took an easy trip back north. By the time we got to Parkview, Scott had a smidge under 85 miles, the longest ride he's ever done. I had a bit more (started from my house), but I was going to get the 100, so the last 15 miles were done around town.
Fondo Accomplished!
This week training looks a bit problematic again. There are plenty of conflicts on the schedule, the weather is looking spotty, so I could see another big day coming for the weekend. In the short term I plan on lifting and running tomorrow. Distance: 10 miles.
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