Too Old

I'm getting too old for some of the scheise I do at work! I've had talent show tryouts the last couple of afternoons and the first day my knees were screaming like I had been up in the hillcountry. Just the simple up and down off the stage helping contestants get ready for their auditions - I'm going out to see what I have to work with and go from there. Tomorrow's long ride may be curtailed. Vamos ver...

Scheduling Workouts

After a large number of miles in a single weekend and at the rate that I'm recovering from these long rides I believe my scheduled workouts needs to change.

Normally I take two days off, but not in succession. Yesterday the soreness was still screaming so I did not do my regularly scheduled interval session.

Doing away with a workout is not an option because I still need it to improve.

So let's say I do the interval workout today and bump all the other workouts right along with it, then the problem becomes how can I make Friday the day before my normally long ride an easier day? The answer is to move the single-speed workout normally done on Wednesdays to Friday because it seems like an easier workout. It could also be that it is easier because I'm not doing it at the level of intensity necessary, but I'll have to worry about that later.

So, after an intense mileage weekend the Schedule would be:

Monday & Tuesday Off to recover
Wednesday Intervals Reverse Ladder
Thursday AT and LT workout on hilly terrain
Friday Single-Speed Workout/Spinner Workout
Saturday Long or Long with Club (http://www.sawheelmen.com or http://www.bikecitychainreaction.com )
Sunday Short & Fast with Club (http://www.cyclelogic.net )

After reasonable mileage weekends the Schedule would go back to:
Monday Off Cycling/Run with the Dog
Tuesday Intervals Reverse Ladder
Wednesday Single-Speed/Spinner
Thursday AT & LT Workout on Hilly Terrain right now 2:1 Recovery
Friday Off Cycling/Run with the Dog
Saturday Long
Sunday AM: Short w/Cycle-Logic PM: Trail-Run with the Dog

I'm glad we had this little talk, but now I'm out of time for the interval session that I'm supposed to do today so If I bump today's workout...Nah - Cheesewhacking Happens!

Cheesewhacking (chizhuéking) the process of sitting on ones couch or in front of one's computer and placing cheeseballs in ones mouth and eating them without carrying out previously planned workout.

86 In the Bank

As opposed to 86ing the bank, but I digress! The morning started out cool 32 degrees so rather than freeze my tuckus(Oy vei - my Yidish spelling!) I layered for the extreme. It quickly warmed up! By 9:00 AM it was already in the 50s. My black gloves were just holding in that heat. I had just ridden out to the start of another http://www.sawheelmen.com ride. Lots of folks doing the 51 miler. I started with them - always the optimist! (In my defense I didn't go buy the team jersey until I could sustain the effort for the full 51 with the fast group and although that day we did a lot at 24 MPH my average for that day was still only 16 something. Oh Well!). I got dropped today in the first six miles. Man that sucks!

So then I hooked up with almost a time trial team all we needed was one more rider. If we had caught up to the tall lady that smoked me after getting dropped by the first group we would have had a full complement, but alas! Anyway, I pulled a couple of times with that group and kept jumping off the gap. Not good, I tend to do that with Cycle-Logic http://www.cyclelogic.net also (try the video tour - you can take control of the camera in the shop and like zoom in on the Airbornes, Calois, KHSs and blah blah blah it's fun!).

So then, we hit some rollers and it's too much for me. I actually redlined it!

(Aside: Did I mention that on Thursday I had been matched with a cancer patient for transfusion that was coming up Friday? I gave a full complement of platelets Thursday Night - rush donation. All of this came up within two days and it was my honor to be matched perfectly. Moral of this little story is donate and get registered for the bone marrow registry.)

Now that little aside was to give again an experiment of one and your mileage may vary (YMMV) the reason for the redlining is that I'm not all the way recovered from the blood letting. Some times it affects me a lot and sometimes it affects me very little. Today it was a lot! I even got nauseated, don't tell my wife. She'll kick my tuckus (sp?) I got nauseated towards the end of the 86, but at that point I think it was a hydration issue, but then the whole platelet thing is a hydration issue, but I ramble.

So, the better part of valor I slacked off from the paceline and proceeded to ride my own ride. At the halfway stop, or is the 1/3 of the way stop? I don't know, but in the beautiful river town of McQueeney, Texas. I took my time stowed all my outer layers. Ate some goomies standard fare of peanuts and sugar-orange slices downed some rocksalt to keep the cramp monster away, starbucks frappuccino, and two gatorades one to slug and one to put on the bike. I make my way!

I come to the two thirds stop at the Bakery/Cafe/Gas station/feed store/curmugeon hangout in the lovely little town of New Berlin (pronounced burlun not Berlin) and low and behold back behind the huge above ground Gas Storage tank there was the paceline that I got dropped from. Hum! I'm thinking! Did they fake something again to boost my self-esteem? (Earlier they said they were faking looking at the map to see where they were going, but their real reason was so that I could catch up to them. Nope, they almost went all the way to China Grove (of Doobies Fame "Woh, oh China Grove!" "Sleepy little town down around San Antone"). Oops! Lucky me, I thought I was going to be "Just a poor wayfarin' stranger" alone. But company, I thrive in company!!!

So I quickly got a Yoohoo http://www.drinkyoo-hoo.com no Starbucks Frappuccinos out in New Berlin and a gatorade and downed the yoo-hoo and got back on the bike to catch up with the paceline that was quickly taking-off.

I caught up quickly and started leading! Took a couple of tricky turns with them and then left them in the dust for a while. Then I slowed down for a questionable turn that they showed me and then again I smoked them. No bragging, these guys normally hammer and kick my butt regularly. Maybe they gave platelets Thursday night also? Nah! I smoked 'em!

Back in the town of Cibolo I hit 70 in 4:30 hours and averaging 15.4 and then proceeded home after refueling at a neighborhood Chevron because by then I was out of bike money (money used for goomies along the way). Checked in with my better half since by then it was already 1:00 PM no biggie one hour to toddle home and I did so.

I mentioned earlier to one of the guys too bad we can't get paid like normal and ride the hours that we work instead of getting paid for our work and ride when we can. They said it doesn't work that way! Once a dreamer always a dreamer...au revoir!

1st 100 Miler

It's been said that the Century is the 'thon of the cycling world. I say the Century is the ultra and the metric-century is the 50k of the cycling world.

I over analyze things when given too much time to prepare! So when the night before I pondered doing the century as part of the San Antonio Wheelmen club ride all I had time to do was plan and skipped the stressed out stage of the event. I got on to a service provided by google called GMAPS-Pedometer http://www.gmaps-pedometer.com where one can trace a route specifically to find out the exact mileage one way or roundtrip. (Just watch out for those curves).

It was 30 miles to the starting point in Boerne and I am determined to save gas-money therefore riding to the start is a necessity if I still want to get my long club ride in the bank. A lot of the http://www.sawheelmen.com rides start way the heck out in the boonies.

Nevertheless in the spirit of http://www.hellweek.com up in Fredericksburg where some of my friends from around the nation come to visit my neck of the woods for some hellacious hill-training I was thinking I could go up to Luckenbach and maybe catch a glimpse of the type of road warriors that head to Hell Week every-year as they zoomed past my sorry butt going around 30 miles an hour.

Well, GMAPS-Pedometer showed that I would finish with upwards of 100 miles if I went all the way to Sisterdale let alone Luckenbach. But I was undeterred, remember I hadn't had time to stress out about it and over analyze the crap out of it.

The morning started out fine a little behind the clock to make the 9:00 AM start, but no problem I'll make it up on the road. Ehhn! Thanks for playing! I get about 5 miles from the house when I go to adjust my goggles and boom boom boom, I fumble my rearview mirror that attaches to my glasses. To tell you the truth I feel very exposed when I can't periodically check what is behind me. South Texas drivers are not the friendliest lot to the spandex clad cyclist. But still after searching for about fifteen minutes and coming up empty I thought this would be a great opportunity to practice the looking under your armpit thing that I saw riders in the http://www.letour.com doing on the Champs Elyses (sp?). Honestly, it is possible to look out under your armpit and see whats coming up. Now can I do it fast enough to not end up splayed on the pavement?

So, I get to Boerne late and refuel, but I still manage to catch the slow group up in Comfort. I took the turn off to Little Joshua Creek that adds four miles to the route so I ended up with 51 by the time I got to Comfort (where the ranch can be found - miles and miles of mountain bike trails where I hear if you want to put some work in to it you get to use the ranch free) so I decided that's good enough. So, I refuel and head back again meeting up with some of the slow folk on the way back to Boerne.

Make a long story short, another refuel in Boerne and I'm out there when the sun is really hot so I get cooked to say the least. I made 100 in 6:51 averaging 14.5. I took it easy 'cuz I was going long and it paid off. I was not "Ded" as Ifiok would have told me, but I had a warm glow going.

Next couple of days I did a fifty something up to New Braunfels and it feels like 25. Woohoo! There are hidden benefits to logging a 100 miler.