Sunday, May 31, 2009
Final Prep
Saturday was final prep day for the Team. Short ride of 40 miles was made very interesting because of the rain. I ended up riding most of the ride with my fellow mentor, Tom as we had a few no shows, one destroyed bicycle and rider take a messy spill and deciding to call it a day. We had a really fun and zippy little ride. We were supposed to take our Team photo after the ride, but 40 miles of riding in on wet roads killed that idea. I arrived back at the start soaking wet, with a big muddy stripe up my back. Luckily, my office was only a couple of blocks away and I was able to shower and get generally cleaned up for the pizza party. We received our event day jersey's and final instructions and generally had a lot of fun just hanging out. We're supposed to take it easy this week as next Sunday is showtime!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Team ride - 05-23-09
Saturday was our last "big" ride of the training season. The goal of our training program is to be able to complete the Tahoe Century, ie. 100 mile ride. Our training takes us very close to the 100 mile mark without actually hitting it. We save that completion of that milestone for event day.
The route is a straight out and back along the coast starting at on the UCSD campus out to San Clemente and back. We do this ride every program and it is pretty special. 95 miles of beautiful southern Cali coastline, a trip through the Camp Pendleton Marine Base and a stop at Carl's Jr for lunch at the turnaround point.
The last two programs, this has been historically one of my most difficult rides. We do 4000 feet of overall climbing but the course is mostly pretty flat. This makes for a lot different cycling than we normally do. The thing about very hilly courses is that you get to move your body position more while riding them. I sometimes scoot back on my seat or stand while climbing. When cresting the top, I can rest the legs and coast down with minimal pedaling. Not so on the flat climbs. It is pedal, pedal, pedal with no real chance to change body position or rest. 96 miles in the saddle usually results in a sore neck, stiff back and a sore butt. I was a little worried about it. Somehow, today's ride wasn't so bad.
I made a pretty radical change in my riding position this season after re-visting my bike fit at the beginning of the season. I raised my handle bars, raised and moved my saddle along with moving my shoe clips back towards my heels. The end result was a more upright riding position a smoother, more efficient pedal stroke. Magic.
The B3 group I mentor did very well and handled everything we threw at them today. They are ready for Tahoe. We had a nice surprise at the end of the ride. Our Team Coordinator, Laurie had champagne glasses of sparking apple cider at the end of the ride. Each group also took a team photo.
Totals for the day were 96 miles, 4100 feet of climb with 7 hours 12 minutes of riding time and over 9 hours on the road.
The route is a straight out and back along the coast starting at on the UCSD campus out to San Clemente and back. We do this ride every program and it is pretty special. 95 miles of beautiful southern Cali coastline, a trip through the Camp Pendleton Marine Base and a stop at Carl's Jr for lunch at the turnaround point.
The last two programs, this has been historically one of my most difficult rides. We do 4000 feet of overall climbing but the course is mostly pretty flat. This makes for a lot different cycling than we normally do. The thing about very hilly courses is that you get to move your body position more while riding them. I sometimes scoot back on my seat or stand while climbing. When cresting the top, I can rest the legs and coast down with minimal pedaling. Not so on the flat climbs. It is pedal, pedal, pedal with no real chance to change body position or rest. 96 miles in the saddle usually results in a sore neck, stiff back and a sore butt. I was a little worried about it. Somehow, today's ride wasn't so bad.
I made a pretty radical change in my riding position this season after re-visting my bike fit at the beginning of the season. I raised my handle bars, raised and moved my saddle along with moving my shoe clips back towards my heels. The end result was a more upright riding position a smoother, more efficient pedal stroke. Magic.
The B3 group I mentor did very well and handled everything we threw at them today. They are ready for Tahoe. We had a nice surprise at the end of the ride. Our Team Coordinator, Laurie had champagne glasses of sparking apple cider at the end of the ride. Each group also took a team photo.
Totals for the day were 96 miles, 4100 feet of climb with 7 hours 12 minutes of riding time and over 9 hours on the road.
Training Log - 05/18 - 05/24
Monday: Rest day
Tuesday: Big ring Tuesday on Fiesta Island. Very windy evening on the Island. Did the ole forgot to turn on the bike computer thing but the totals were right around 20 miles. Had a great group of 7 riders. I got there late again and met up with teammate Kathryn in the parking lot. We rushed out to the road and started our warm up lap. I think I see the rest of our group on the road up ahead so we speed up to try and catch them. The two of us average over 20 MPH into a headwind trying to catch them. Not them :(
We finally meet up with them and get in one sprint before we do the follow the leader game. DJ takes a turn leading us out steadily ramping up the speed. After one fast lap, he pulls off and I'm in the lead again. Round and round we go with a face full of wind. I do two laps pretty much as fast I can steadily go before I pull off gasping. Good time.
Wednesday: some small walking during lunch time.
Thursday: Two climbs up Soledad Mountain with Lisa and Natalie. We climb Soledad Mountain Road first and then do the Nautilus Street face. 15 miles, 1660 feet of climbing. Woo-hoo.
Friday: Rest day.
Saturday: Team Ride. 96 miles, 4100 feet of climb.
Sunday: only work out was doing 12-ounce curls at DJ's Summer Kick-off BBQ party.
Tuesday: Big ring Tuesday on Fiesta Island. Very windy evening on the Island. Did the ole forgot to turn on the bike computer thing but the totals were right around 20 miles. Had a great group of 7 riders. I got there late again and met up with teammate Kathryn in the parking lot. We rushed out to the road and started our warm up lap. I think I see the rest of our group on the road up ahead so we speed up to try and catch them. The two of us average over 20 MPH into a headwind trying to catch them. Not them :(
We finally meet up with them and get in one sprint before we do the follow the leader game. DJ takes a turn leading us out steadily ramping up the speed. After one fast lap, he pulls off and I'm in the lead again. Round and round we go with a face full of wind. I do two laps pretty much as fast I can steadily go before I pull off gasping. Good time.
Wednesday: some small walking during lunch time.
Thursday: Two climbs up Soledad Mountain with Lisa and Natalie. We climb Soledad Mountain Road first and then do the Nautilus Street face. 15 miles, 1660 feet of climbing. Woo-hoo.
Friday: Rest day.
Saturday: Team Ride. 96 miles, 4100 feet of climb.
Sunday: only work out was doing 12-ounce curls at DJ's Summer Kick-off BBQ party.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Team Ride 05-16-09
Way late in reporting this ride of two weeks ago so I'll limit it to a map and some totals.
90 miles, 5000 ft of climb in 6:15 hours of ride time on the bike. Beautiful route that I will definitely repeat in the future.
90 miles, 5000 ft of climb in 6:15 hours of ride time on the bike. Beautiful route that I will definitely repeat in the future.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Thursday Night Flight and Bike to Work Day
Been trying to get some extra miles in this week. Thursday was another night of climbing at Soledad Mountain. Met up with Lisa and Natalie at DeAnza cove for a couple of climbs before we lost daylight. First pass was the 3.5 miles long 800 foot grind up Mount Soledad road. Most of the route has a grade somewhere around 5-6% but it pitches up a to 9% for short sections. I felt much more comfortable this week than I did last week. Probably has something to do with all the climbing we did last Saturday. We stop at the top to catch our breath and enjoy the view. It's a little windy and the temperature has dropped at least 5 degrees. Having a sweaty jersey wasn't helping matters. Natalie decides to head home as she has already done some riding today and wants to save her "legs" for Saturdays long mileage.
Lisa and I chat with some other Team in Training alumi we meet at the top before we head back down for another pass. We decide to ride down Cardeno blvd. I've only ever done this ascent one other time. The last time was when I was training for the Tahoe last year. I remember it as being a very tough climb. The descent down is a lot of fun. Zero traffic and the road winds and rolls nicely. The last little bit drops down very quickly. We make the u-turn at the bottom of the hill and start the climb back up. Wow, this is steep! My bike computer says that this is an 11% grade. Nothing to it but to do it so I start humming and try to keep a steady cadence. We get past the big hump and then the rest of the road is a series of steadily rising rollers with nothing more than 4-5%. Back to the top of the mountain and than another speedy chilly decent back to our cars. Total are 1550 feet of climbing in 10.5 miles.
Today was bike to work day. I'm strongly in favor of cycling to work and would do it a lot more often if I could. I've got a 90 mile ride tomorrow and two repeats up Soledad Mountain took a bit of work but I still decide to ride. There were a few regular commuters with lots of first timers. I had to smile a little as I saw them struggling up the big pitch on Ruffin road crossing Aero drive. That was me a couple of years back. Today, I just flew up the hill. I've come a long way in the last couple of years of steady riding.
Lisa and I chat with some other Team in Training alumi we meet at the top before we head back down for another pass. We decide to ride down Cardeno blvd. I've only ever done this ascent one other time. The last time was when I was training for the Tahoe last year. I remember it as being a very tough climb. The descent down is a lot of fun. Zero traffic and the road winds and rolls nicely. The last little bit drops down very quickly. We make the u-turn at the bottom of the hill and start the climb back up. Wow, this is steep! My bike computer says that this is an 11% grade. Nothing to it but to do it so I start humming and try to keep a steady cadence. We get past the big hump and then the rest of the road is a series of steadily rising rollers with nothing more than 4-5%. Back to the top of the mountain and than another speedy chilly decent back to our cars. Total are 1550 feet of climbing in 10.5 miles.
Today was bike to work day. I'm strongly in favor of cycling to work and would do it a lot more often if I could. I've got a 90 mile ride tomorrow and two repeats up Soledad Mountain took a bit of work but I still decide to ride. There were a few regular commuters with lots of first timers. I had to smile a little as I saw them struggling up the big pitch on Ruffin road crossing Aero drive. That was me a couple of years back. Today, I just flew up the hill. I've come a long way in the last couple of years of steady riding.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Curses, foiled again
Got out of work late yesterday, rushed to Fiesta Island for episode number 2 of Big Ring Tuesday only to find that I missed everyone. The island has two different loops so I headed out to the intersection of both and waited. The group comes by after about 10 minutes looking a little peaked. They had started at 5:30 this week as opposed to the 6pm start last week so they had already done their warm up laps and two series of sprints. Bummer. Anyway, I jump on the line of 6 other riders and up my cadence to try and warm up in the 1/2 a lap I have before the next series. 2-miles later, we're at the sprinting area and I'm still not warmed up completely. The interval is two roadside signs "on" and two "off". I give it a go and hit it. It goes ok but the legs still feel dead. It usually takes me 5-6 miles to warm up.
We regroup after the sprint and start the follow the leader tempo work. I have a minor mechanical mishap starting up and am suddenly 30 feet behind the paceline. No big deal except we happen to be riding into a headwind. I measure my speed and slowly make up the distance so I can rejoin the line with minimal usage of energy. I finally get on after a mile or so just in time as the pace really starts picking up. We get to the "corner" of the island where there is a slight downhill and the headwind turns into a tailwind. It's the fast part of the island and you can pick up 4-5 mph very easily here. My back tire is suddenly very squirrely. It seems that my tire is going flat from a slow leak. I slow way down and limp back to the parking lot. The tire still has air in it. I check the pressure and I have dropped 20 PSI in the 15 minutes I had been riding.
I've got no spare tube on me, daylight is waning so I decide to call it day. My workout couldn't have more than 5 miles long. Frustrating.
We regroup after the sprint and start the follow the leader tempo work. I have a minor mechanical mishap starting up and am suddenly 30 feet behind the paceline. No big deal except we happen to be riding into a headwind. I measure my speed and slowly make up the distance so I can rejoin the line with minimal usage of energy. I finally get on after a mile or so just in time as the pace really starts picking up. We get to the "corner" of the island where there is a slight downhill and the headwind turns into a tailwind. It's the fast part of the island and you can pick up 4-5 mph very easily here. My back tire is suddenly very squirrely. It seems that my tire is going flat from a slow leak. I slow way down and limp back to the parking lot. The tire still has air in it. I check the pressure and I have dropped 20 PSI in the 15 minutes I had been riding.
I've got no spare tube on me, daylight is waning so I decide to call it day. My workout couldn't have more than 5 miles long. Frustrating.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Laurie's Mission Moment
We start each of our rides with a Mission Moment. This is when someone tells a personal story about how their life has been touched by blood cancers. Today's talk was given by our Team Coordinator, Laurie.
Laurie is a coordinator with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Her job is to recruit and retain participants like me and organize endurance events with the overall goal of raising money to find a cure for cancers. It's a lot of work, the hours are long and I'm sure the pay isn't very good, considering she works for a non-profit. She started out as a participant on the Walk team, just like I did. She recounts that at that time she had no direct link the the "mission" and joined the walk team for personal fitness reasons. She became good friends with two other participants during that season, including one that was a blood cancer survivor. That woman was mother to two little girls and was training for a marathon and was one of the Team's honored teammates. She had fought back cancer two times over the years. She lost her battle with a third bout of cancer a few days ago. It was heart-wrenching to hear the story but even more so for me to watch Laurie, struggling to retain her composure while recounting the story. Tears welled in her eyes, her face flushed, her lips quivered as she described how her friend's life changed from "is" to "was". She no no longer "is" she is now a "was". I don't think this is something you can ever get used to even if you work for the Leukemia Society.
Laurie is a coordinator with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Her job is to recruit and retain participants like me and organize endurance events with the overall goal of raising money to find a cure for cancers. It's a lot of work, the hours are long and I'm sure the pay isn't very good, considering she works for a non-profit. She started out as a participant on the Walk team, just like I did. She recounts that at that time she had no direct link the the "mission" and joined the walk team for personal fitness reasons. She became good friends with two other participants during that season, including one that was a blood cancer survivor. That woman was mother to two little girls and was training for a marathon and was one of the Team's honored teammates. She had fought back cancer two times over the years. She lost her battle with a third bout of cancer a few days ago. It was heart-wrenching to hear the story but even more so for me to watch Laurie, struggling to retain her composure while recounting the story. Tears welled in her eyes, her face flushed, her lips quivered as she described how her friend's life changed from "is" to "was". She no no longer "is" she is now a "was". I don't think this is something you can ever get used to even if you work for the Leukemia Society.
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