Saturday, August 23, 2008

"In the Year Two Thousand" Falsetto from C. O'Brien

So before I get back to work full-time I'm checking out the log to see where I'm at for the Summer and come to find out that I'm less than 200 miles away from 2000 miles since May a little over two months.

By the time Sunday is done I'm down to 120 something left to hit Dos Mil Millas! So like a big dog I'm telling everyone that I know that I'm really close to 2000 miles for the Summer.

Right then the skies drop out. Major downpour for our area with no let-down in sight! First ride of the week, actually first rides are Thursday. I hit it hard in the AM, but end up with less than 20 at 16.6. So then that evening after working all day I go easy and just chill for 22 something at a sleazy-easy pace. (Ha! but I still managed to pass a couple of the slow groups on the group ride that I was thirty minutes late for but did not go faster than 13.3).

So now on Friday I realize I have 80 something to log to reach the goal when during the afternoon meeting again the bottom falls out of the sky. One of my buddies after the meeting says, "How you gonna do 80 something in this? and I'm like, "Very carefully!" Knowing fully that I'll probably be late for the 2000 miles. So the ground is saturated and I still have to log fifty plus on Saturday, but that is doubtfull and also 30 on Sunday which is totally doable, but I have no idea what the weather is going to do. Pahn Pahn Pahn! Tune in next to see if he accomplishes his 2000 mile Goal before the Chillin' come back to school.

Speaking of school I don't know when I can do the bike club with the kids because M,T,W,TH are all taken with other stuff and I don't want to do Friday because it is sacred between my wife and I and the date must go on!

100 On a lark part Deux

So I go out Sunday with my original club riders, the cycle logic gang, am as confident as I can possibly be, but unfortunately get dropped like a hot potato. Mind you with these guys this had never happened so I was not accustomed to telling the guys y'all go ahead without me I'll do my own ride. Ha! When we got to the wall it was all I could do to get up the darn thing. But there were the guys and all of a sudden I'm in front because they took the longer scenic route. At the time I turned off from their ride I was third in the group, but that didn't mean much because I was the one that got dropped earlier. So I'm feeling totally dejected and go ahead and do the Sunday church thing and get charged up.

The next day, Monday the lark visits again and I decide to go to Pleasanton again and take a different route that is less traveled, but should still give me 100 miles with less time spent on the chip seal shoulder that 281 offers.

Weather conditions are different than last time when the wind was 25 MPH. This time the wind was at 5 to 12 MPH from the South. I take a different tack than last time also. Rather than busting my butt going South I decide to just keep a decent pace not too hard and not too easy. I actually was going by feel rather than by sprocket.

I still get down there in about three hours which is alright, but I'm not wasted like I was last time. The portion of chip seal shoulder was still a pain in the butt, but it seemed to go a lot faster. I still only stopped three times and drenched myself for the cooling effect every time.

I basically fly home even better than the time before. I ended up doing 17.3 MPH with a maximum average of 20 MPH. Like I said I was flying! Total time for my best 100 PR and season PR 5:46 minutes.

What this tells me is that yes I may get dropped in the short ride going really fast, but I can sustain in the long ride going a moderate pace in comparison. Yes it's still a hard core pace for me, but it got me there and back in the least amount of time.

This was three days before I had to be back at work and served as a dedication to school starting up and I did it my way and ended the Summer on a positive.

Speaking of positive another PR for the Summer is in the works.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

100 Miler on a Lark

So I'm supposed to meet Chris South of town for a ride, I'm running late and when I get there no Chris so I decide let's see what it's like to go to Pleasanton since the wind is vigorously out of the South at 10 to 25 miles an hour this would be a good time to fight the wind on the way out and then fly home. I still hold out hope to run in to Chris somewhere on the route and averaged 17.4 on the way South.

Since I decided to head even further South I was taking a route I didn't really know. So I go out this route that gmaps says is there and come to find out it is not. I end up in a dead end by this farmers field with this farmer on a tractor giving me "such a look!" So I figured out another way to get there by spending a little bit of time on the access then hitting the road I was looking for in the first place.

As the morning goes on the rolling hills become harder and harder and fighting the wind all this way doesn't seem as fun. By the time I get to Pleasanton I think I was pushing 13.5 or something ridiculously slow. But then...we always have the way home to look forward to enjoying.

I must have looked a little ragged when I got down there, and because I mentioned something about making it back to SA before night-fall to the cashier of the Chevron I stopped at for refreshments and a bite. Then all of a sudden there's a paramedic that's into cycling talking to me to make sure I was OK. He was very smooth and non-chalant, but I wonder if that cashier called him to come by and see if I was OK :-) Found from this guy that there's no bike shop in
P-ton and that they drive 100 miles round-trip when they need to buy bike supplies tubes and cartridges and such! He finally said goodbye and I took off home.

I believe this is just like as Christians we are saved and even though we're suffering now we have the rest of time to look forward to enjoying in the presence of God. Yeah, fighting a 25 MPH wind is tough, but flying with that same wind on the way back will be a breeze. Pa duhm puhm!

Those rollers I experienced on the way South became undulations and nothing more. I told a friend, "flying up a hill at 24 MPH is an experience I will always remember!" And all the pain in my feet and other places became a distant memory.

By the time I got home I averaged 16.6 overall for the whole 100! I had no idea I would get the best time in a 100 miler ever. I started feeling like Super Man! Started to think the laws of physics didn't apply! Ha! Nevertheless, I ended up finishing in 6:20 minutes which is pretty good for me.

Previous attempts this Summer had me at that length of time at 74 miles, two weeks later 94 in an even loner time and then just two weeks later I was at 88 in that amount of time. Sometimes everything works out great and other times it's just a struggle and never gets better.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Oil spill ruling leaves Alaska victims stunned

I don't normally get into politics and economic issues here, but this is a travesty of justice and no Exxon has not paid for the damage. 3 Billion by their estimates spent on clean-up. Bologna!

That ecosystem is not back - life there has been altered for ever. I'm sure big business feels good about this, but heck what's a quarter's profit to big business. Nothing! With the latest oil prices these guys are making money hands over fists! The poor fisherman is left with peanuts!

Big business may think that the average consumer has forgotten about this, and this is how it relates to my cycling because I have not forgotten - since the Valdez fiasco I only pee and poo in an Exxon. I don't buy stuff there. I haven't been to an Exxon since this happened years ago to buy anything: no gas, no snacks, nothing! I have run the risk of running out of gas in order to avoid an Exxon and I can sleep at night!

I say let's boycott Exxon, renew our committment to our fellow citizens in Alaska! Justice Souter is wrong! You can't put a price on the environment and an ecosystem!

Exxon Gas Sucks - Ride a Bike!

Monday, June 09, 2008

Training Update

Just finished with May and I'm only a couple of weeks behind on where I'm supposed to be for the year. Mileage is somewhere over 1500. I'm having to do my well-known rides or just use gmaps pedometer to figure out my mileage because unfortunately a few weeks ago my computer was run-over by a few cars before I found it. Anyone have a cateye type II wireless computer sitting around collecting dust?

Friday, December 28, 2007

New Stuff

Well, I tried out the new to me mavic wheels and they have worked out great! Excepting the blow out yesterday, but that's what I get for running a tire past its prime.

I was gifted with Spurs Giftcard and the very next day Performance had a 20% off sale so I went right away and bought the airstrykes I was looking to get. Now all I have to do is get my body used to the low profile position again since it's been 2.5 years. They are working quite well and look forward to using them on one of these really windy days.

I actually had a couple of guys stop and compliment the new bike. A quality litespeed titanium steed is recognizable and I thank God. Found out the bike is from 97. I thought it was older than that, cool huh!? It turns out it was only ridden/raced for two years in 97/98. It should last a very long time and I'm blessed.

Monday, December 24, 2007

C'est Tout - The rest is gravy!

Well, 20 days later and I should hit four thousand miles on today's ride. I'm just a little gunshy since it's 28 degrees outside. I'll probably still get going here in a bit. The rest of the miles for the year are gravy and I look forward to putting in some long miles on the Litespeed these next two weeks.

I was gifted with some mavic wheels yesterday and will need to test 'em out later this week. I want to do it today, but there are still things to do and that would take time.

The litespeed titanium steed is officially mine thank you Santa. It's in crit setup right now and for a little added comfort I want to get it to a TT setup. Anyone have some airstrykes sitting around? Again I just can't see myself putting an old pos aerobar on a brandspanking bike so I will wait to get the right gear to make it right!

No word on the Caloi frame, all warranties say no satisfaction because of events this year. But that's alright because I now own a better bike. Il est un bon Dieu!

Saw National Treasure last night, very exciting! Happy Christmas to everyone!

Monday, December 03, 2007

My Longtime Running Partner of 18 Years is Dead

No I don't run that much anymore and neither did she, but after 18 years who can blame us! Gracie our Aussie Sheepherder went to run with her Bear Boy in doggie heaven. It is for the best because the quality of her life had deteriorated quite a bit of late.

Gracie was a running dog along with Bear they got me through marathon training. One of our long runs was 21 on a trail adjacent to a creek.

Life is good and we will share accordingly!

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Yearly Goal Revisited

Looks like my quarterly goals will be reached despite goal changes and all kinds of setbacks with crashes and frame problems. I'm less than 200 miles away from reaching 4000 miles for the year. I feel good about being able to take it easy thru the end of the year to reach 4k.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Caloing No More

Two weekends ago my Caloi Racing Stead, which is less than two years old, cracked at the bottom bracket weld traveling to the large down tube. I found one week later when I went to double check that my bottom bracket was tight enough - I did remember from the time before that my crank felt loose. When I saw a shiny line at the crank I found out that my crank was not loose because of loose bolts by because it was torquing due to the crack. I had about one half inch left on one side of the down tube holding it together. There was another crack forming on the lower part of the down tube. These I found the next day when I saw that the crack went all the way around. It was a gift from God that I did not injure myself and end up in the hospital.

The good news is that a friend of mine had a older titanium frame which he was fixin' to put up on ebay, but let me borrow with intent to purchase using a payment plan. Today I rode 35 miles at 17.5 MPH and still felt like I could do more!

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Not Bikin' to the Beach

Well, while everyone else has been bikin' to the beach I've been to a contest and two of my kids got in and I've ridden 75 miles in three days. My friends say I didn't even drive that far in three days!

Today I did 30 at 17.4 average, my maximum average was 17.7. I did this on a flat windless beatiful AM on the river.

With the addition of a seventh prep in my day I have found that I don't have the energy to get up at the crack of dawn most days. That has been difficult to get used to, but on the bright side of things I'm only about 325 miles off of my modified goal of 4k miles for the year.

If this change becomes permanent which it may I may just have to do 75 miles a week and know that the extra mileage will come from the Summer months and vacation weeks to still make the 4K for the year next year.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Recovery Happens

Well, I have recovered, but I just went back on induction on atkins and I have zero energy or it could be that I'm just stressed about work at school since we started late this year. We still have a competition in a month. When I'm stressed I sleep more when I sleep more I don't wake up at 4:15 AM to go train when I don't train I'm cranky and my work suffers and there we are back where we started!

Last weekend I did a long ride where I averaged 17.6 MPH which is pretty good. By the time I got home I was back down to 17 MPH which is still pretty good for me. That's a first this season. It's good but it could still be better.

Anyway K there's an update :-)

Monday, July 30, 2007

34 MPH Crash

Well you know how it's been raining, so on Saturday the 21st I went out and decided to make it short only an hour and a half and 22 miles. It actually had not rained on Saturday, but on Friday it had flooded.

I'm coming down this hill doing 34 mph (55KPH?!) and I'm fine I come out of the intersection at the bottom of the hill fine and trying to avoid some traffic. I get to the next light and I must have really been torquing the bike to keep up the speed because all of a sudden my front wheel starts to slip out from under me so I react, but overcorrect to the left in the direction of the slide, so then I react again the other direction and again overcorrect and boom boom I hit the pavement and end up sliding up on the sidewalk. The bike has a couple of scratches, my helmet cracked, but no sign of impact. My body on the other hand, four inch strawberry on left quad, 5-6 inch strawberry going from left shin to calf, I wrenched my thumb ( my hand was very swollen and some kind of muscle injury in my left ankle.

Went back there this passed Saturday the 28th (First day without rain since last Saturday the 21st) and looked at the area where all this happened. There's a puddle about 100 yards before all this happened and a wear pattern in the asphalt where it all happened. I'm guessing the asphalt was holding some water from the day before and the less than 1 inch tires just couldn't hold traction.

Lately on rainy days I run my tires about 5 lbs less than max for improved traction and it looks like I will need to do 10 in order to avoid this again. I'm still taking my glucosamine to help heal the soft tissue and such and taking aleve for the discomfort and daily activities' jarring. Well, K there's the whole story, this all happened about ten miles in to the ride and rode home with my @$$ hanging out like some of the racers on the tour, found a place that had a waterhose and hosed off the strawberrys and went on home. I've spent over four weeks injured this summer and this week is supposed to be Peak #2, but no dice, best I can do is toodle along at 12 MPH. I'm going to see if it improves today with the addition of my aero bars.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Resting Heart Rate

Training is going well, speed is increasing and my resting heart rate is going down! Both of these are signs of improved training effect.

Two weeks ago, the best I could do was 60 which in itself is not bad so I didn't lose that much training effect in the three weeks that I was off because of the accident.

Last week the best I could do was 53 which is a marked improvement. This is after a huge week of 160 plus miles. This past weekend the best I could do was 60 again. Obviously after a week of 160 miles then another of 100 plus I overtrained which is expected after a three week layoff.

Resting Heart Rate is your heart rate first thing in the morning before you even stretch while in bed. You count the beats for one minute. You can also count the beats in 10 seconds and multiply by 6 or count for seconds and multiply by 10. I feel you get better results with the minute count rather than either of the seconds.

Why is this important? If you look up at Heartzones by Sally Edwards, one of the pioneers of research and application of Heart Rate Monitor training you'll find that you resting heart rate number is very important in using the Karvonen Formula. The Karvonen Formula helps you find your percentages for training.

Friday, July 06, 2007

New New

Hey, I got a new top speed for the season yesterday as an average on a ride. I looked down after a spurt and we had done 16.8 yee haw. Feels good to be improving. Lots of miles last week 160 something.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Clearance

Well, folks, all the King's Men and Women have put humpty dumpty back together again.

My new porcelain crowns are so comfy and smooth! It's like I just finished brushing them all the time.

My hand doctor has given me the ok to get back on the bike, but to continue compression on each individual finger because swelling happens during excercise to a greater degree in extremeties. Why is swelling bad? Because if hinders healing and gives you more problems with arthritis later on in life. So boys and girls take your nsaids - the benefits are not always seen or felt. Example: The other day I didn't take my aleve before I did my second test ride and I could feel every little vibration. There is plenty of vibration on a bike, especially an aluminum one!

I will do my best to not do too much too soon. But I am back on track, I cheated and did 20 miles yesterday easy and am drinking my liquids more often and not on heavy drugs that I don't know about.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Que Pasรณ

Well, my nose we're not going to bother fixing. It will just be a little bumpy! My teeth, one of them a root canal because I killed it. The other a simple cap maybe eventual crown. My fingers are in a brace for three weeks with compression wrapping of each finger and taking nsaids with daily execise to regain full range of motion. Don't know when I'll be back on the bike?! Not being on the bike is killing me. I'll be 400 miles in the hole at the end of three weeks. Maybe Dr. Gayle will give me special dispensation.

It would seem that the various drugs did enough to change how I react to the heat and humidity. Oh well!

Saturday, June 02, 2007

The Results of Dehydration - Heat Exhaustion

Well, my friends, after over 25 years of cycling and hardly any ill effects from Heat Exhaustion on my rides I succuumed yesterday!

I did an easy 51 miler averaging 14.5 to 15 MPH most of the time on mostly flat terrain and finished in 3:25 drank four Large Bike Bottles of Gatorade in 85 degree heat with some humidity. I also had a couple of Starbucks Iced Coffees, and one bag of salted peanuts at my first rest stop at 3009 and Old Nacogdoches. Before the ride I was hydrated evidenced by my clear pee before I left the house.

Indicators during the ride that something was awry: Did not need to go during the ride and normally on a three plus hour ride I do. My heart rate coming back into town was up around 164 and 170 BPM when pokin' along at 14 - 15 MPH (I thought it was due to traffic woes in the city).

I get home finish off my last bottle, probably 8 ounces of liquid, put the bike away, take the dogs out front for a tinkle and no problem.

I go inside and crouch down to put the diaper on the 17 year old dog, I get up quickly and start to pass out, attempt to steady myself without success, and face plant in the blue bathroom, knocking a chunk out of the terrazite floor, breaking my two front teeth (Now I can sing Thither Thuthie thiting on a thithle from "All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" without having to fake it!), breaking my nose, dislocating two fingers in my left hand, a busted lip, a bump on my chin and a mild abrasion on my left knee. As I came to I realized my teeth were touching the floor and my hand was under me doubled back in the wrong direction. All I could think of was, dammit, it's Gayle's turn to go to the dentist. After a few expletives that I'll refrain from sharing due to the fact that my sister Kayzinha hates this word, I collected myself and called Gaylezinha for rescue. Lars, Gayle's brother brought me an ice compact and he and Gilbert were ready to take me when Gayle arrived.

I spent the next 7.5 hours in and out of the waiting room, triage, exam room, x-ray, cat-scan (meow) and the bathroom at the Awesome Northeast Methodist Hospital in Live Oak, North-East part of town.

Initial thoughts were that it happened because of low blood sugar in response to strennuous exercise on a low carbohydrate diet or because of a drug interaction between Claritin, Dextromethorphan & Guaifenesin (Cough supressant/expectorant) and my Lisinopril to lower my blood pressure. Ehhhhnnnn! Thanks for playin'!

I still felt hydrated in the waiting room because I was cold. When I went to pee (Tupi-Panambee, don't ask) the color was dark! Not good! Remember the pee clear speech?

When exercising vigorously one must be sweating and vacating your bladder (sorry, I got tired of seeing the word pee in this post). Heat exhaustion comes before heat stroke. Heat stroke can cause your heart to stop. I had a coworker suffer heat stroke ONCE. He learned his lesson!

Dehydration got me! Even a teacher can be taught!

Lessons learned: I normally time myself on when to drink on a ride, a good idea, but one must adjust the time to your sweat rate depending on conditions.

Rates can be derived through weight checks before during and after exercise. In-fact in ultra events one gets pulled off the course if you lose too much weight during the bout. My Winter sweat rate is anywhere from 12 - 15 minutes for 3 - 7 swallows. My Summer sweat rate is 10 minutes for 3-7 swallows. My race/redline sweat rate is 5 minutes for three swallows.

Plus, caffeine exacerbates the effects of heat exhaustion due to the fact that it is a diurretic just like alcohol. Even though the liquid is in you, it's on the fast track out and not accessible to your small intestines, remember your bioligy?!

Questions: If it's a diurretic then why didn't I have to pee? Does a diurretic affect sweat rates also?

Blessings: I was blessed to finish my ride before the appointed time Gayle and I had decided upon :-)! I am blessed that it did not happen going down a hill at 33 miles an hour! I am blessed that it didn't happen in traffic! I'm blessed that my fingers were not broken! (We'll see what the soft-tissue damage is on Monday). I am blessed that I had a clear cat-scan (meow)!


So, no riding for a while, bike camp is questionable. Doctor says stay away from the bike for a bit. Doctor Gayle says stay away from the bike for a long while. Time to walk the dogs or is it the other way around?!?

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Personal Best, Season Best

Was my personal best related to stress or new goals posted by my counterpart? I believe a little of both. Charmichael training systems says do more in less time. Higher intensity makes up for time in the saddle when life gets in the way.

Today, stuff at home and at school kept me away from rehearsals at church, but at the same time forced me out the door on the machine. The work out was a reverse ladder in the big crank at 2-3 level and then to 3-4 level. I realized that I was actually doing this same workout longer than needed in the past. It pays to read your training manual more carefully.

Temps were in the upper 70s and lower 80s. I treat this route like a TT and today it payed off when I persevered up the hills in Bell Meade. Max average was 16.1 and final average was right there at 16.

The pay off was almost three minutes less on the route! Maybe it all had to do with the fact that the Spurs http://www.nba.com/spurs were playing their second game in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The Spurs won Go Spurs Go!

More Change in the Works

Scheduling is always an issue and that's why Caloiknightrider came on the scene. It would appear that in order to do what's right more knightrides are in the works. This would mean that club rides are out. If club rides are out what's the point of belonging.

So, allow me to think aloud. Recently a change from 5 days of workouts to 4 days of workouts was made for skeleto-muscular reasons. If the max length of a ride changes to 2 hours then what is possible in training? Weekend rides would go to dawn till 10 which is thirty minutes more on Saturday than on Sunday with Cycle Logic. The maximum for the week would be 7 hours and what I could get done in that amount of time is a mystery. I need to see how that would change goals and such in the logbook.

I would go back to being the Lone Ranger like I was in college. Day rides would be few and far between. Once a week really. Long day rides would be on special occasions only. I could call myself the Lonerangercaloiknightrider and dreams of epic rides would be just that dreams. What dreams may come?

The other idea was that Caloiknightrider could become caloindoortrainer - for a hundred bucks I'd be on my way inside, but that's a problem because of lack of dedicated space. It would be hard not to have it set up all the time. I'll just have to figure it out and roll with the flow!!! C'est la vie en la grand citรฉ!