I had a good skate last night. For the first 20 minutes or so, I was just flying around. I didn't have anything to show for it, but it felt good. Then, I sort of hit the wall. We only had three guys on the bench, and I just wasn't getting enough rest. So, I took a pretty long (kind of easy) shift on defense, and that seemed to help. On the next shift I scored two goals! On the first one, I got my own rebound, but my momentum carried me behind the net. I shot the puck toward the goal anyway, and it ended up bouncing off the goalie and going in. On the second goal, I caught a nice pass in the slot, waited for the goalie to slide out of position, and then put it in.
I was OK for a few shifts, and then I started getting tired again and took another shift on defense. On the next shift, I got goal number three. I don't recall now how I got to the front of the net, but my shot rang off both posts before it went in.
At some point during the game, I got dumped (tripped?) pretty hard in front of the net. My feet were way over my head. It bent my back pretty good, but it feels mostly OK today. I felt fortunate that I'd been stretching my back quite a bit over the past week. I did land hard on my knees though, and they are pretty sore today. I spent some time icing everything before I went to bed (bags of frozen vegetables make good icepacks!), but it didn't help my knees as much as I'd like. I suspect I'll have some good bruises there.
My last goal was a garbage goal. I put a rebound in from a foot or so away. The Zamboni driver usually lets us play until the last goal, and mine was the goal that got us off the ice. So, I was happy about that.
So, what's with the sudden explosion in my goal-scoring and general improved play? (Recall, I got 2 at the last skate also, compared to 1 or 2 total in all of the skates preceeding!) It could be a lot things. From the technical side, I've been spending a few minutes during the week working on balance and stickhandling stuff, and I'm sure this is helping a little, especially the balance work. I think the main difference is in my attitude though. I wrote a few weeks ago about practicing my mental preparation techniques on the way to the rink. One of the ideas I had was that there was no reason I shouldn't be one of the best players at our skate. Yeah, I don't play hockey as much as everybody else, but I'm one of the youngest and one of the most fit. It makes a difference when you go out on the ice expecting to win the little puck battles, expecting to score, etc. Then, when you actually have the success you expected, your attitude improves even more. Sort of a positive feedback loop. This kind of attitude is something that I need to carry over to my riding.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Thursday, January 01, 2009
2009 Training Has Begun!
This week marked the beginning of my 2009 training. As I've discussed before, I'm switching over to a Morris-style plan for this year. It's not covered in the book, but I'm beginning with a short preparation phase before I start his Hypertrophy phase. I saw the idea to use a short prep phase on Ashwin's blog, and it makes sense. Coming off a long block of mostly light exercise, it doesn't make sense to jump right in to lifting heavy weights. So, for the next couple weeks, I'll be getting myself ramped up.
My other exercise this week has consisted of one short ride on the trainer and a couple of runs. The run I did on Tuesday was pretty terrible. I was pretty happy about the roads being clear of snow and ice; as a result, I paced myself badly. I went out way too fast and was suffering before I'd gone too far. To top it off, after a long downhill stretch, my knee started bothering me, even though I was well short of my target run time. So, I called it a day and walked home. After I got home, I checked the training log and found that I'd only run twice over the past two weeks, so I probably bit off too much. I had been doing some jump rope stuff, thinking that it was an OK substitute for running, but it doesn't look like that's the case.
I ran again today (on snowy roads), and it went much better. I paced myself better and took a slightly different route that didn't have me going down long hills. It wasn't a particularly comfortable run, but I didn't have any knee problems and I was able to hit my target run time.
My other exercise this week has consisted of one short ride on the trainer and a couple of runs. The run I did on Tuesday was pretty terrible. I was pretty happy about the roads being clear of snow and ice; as a result, I paced myself badly. I went out way too fast and was suffering before I'd gone too far. To top it off, after a long downhill stretch, my knee started bothering me, even though I was well short of my target run time. So, I called it a day and walked home. After I got home, I checked the training log and found that I'd only run twice over the past two weeks, so I probably bit off too much. I had been doing some jump rope stuff, thinking that it was an OK substitute for running, but it doesn't look like that's the case.
I ran again today (on snowy roads), and it went much better. I paced myself better and took a slightly different route that didn't have me going down long hills. It wasn't a particularly comfortable run, but I didn't have any knee problems and I was able to hit my target run time.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Difficult-Difficult
I wanted to post a link to this article on Alwyn Cosgrove's blog before I forget it. It's about stretching yourself and comparing activities that are difficult-difficult with those that are difficult-easy. Good stuff.
I'm nearing the end of my "transition" period of the off-season. I've been staying pretty active, but not taking things too seriously. Training resumes in earnest tomorrow. I will be following the Morris plan for 2009. It will be interesting to see how it all goes.
I'm nearing the end of my "transition" period of the off-season. I've been staying pretty active, but not taking things too seriously. Training resumes in earnest tomorrow. I will be following the Morris plan for 2009. It will be interesting to see how it all goes.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Confidence and Cleaning
I've been officially on vacation for the past few days. Unfortunately, I've still had to check work email a little and I had to call in to one meeting. Now I'm really on vacation until Jan 5th, as my customer's office is now closed. I've been spending most of my time cleaning up around the house. The family is all coming over for Christmas, so we needed to get the house in order. I can't say it's been fun, but it's nice to have a clean house.
My workouts have been pretty sporadic. We've been getting dumped on with snow, so I'm at least out shoveling, but I haven't done much else. That's OK though, I've only got another week or so of "transitioning" before I get going on the '09 training.
I had a decent hockey game on Sunday night. I ended up with two goals and a couple other good chances. I'm starting to play with more confidence, even though my skills (skating, puck handling, you name it...) are not where I'd like them to be. I think the confidence thing is key, even if you're just faking it. Fake it 'till you make it...
My workouts have been pretty sporadic. We've been getting dumped on with snow, so I'm at least out shoveling, but I haven't done much else. That's OK though, I've only got another week or so of "transitioning" before I get going on the '09 training.
I had a decent hockey game on Sunday night. I ended up with two goals and a couple other good chances. I'm starting to play with more confidence, even though my skills (skating, puck handling, you name it...) are not where I'd like them to be. I think the confidence thing is key, even if you're just faking it. Fake it 'till you make it...
Thursday, December 18, 2008
10,000 Hours
There's sort of a pop-pyschology theory floating around that says to become a world-class performer at any skill, you need roughly 10,000 hours of practice. Most recently, this theory has been publicized by Malcolm Gladwell, but it originated elsewhere. I'd heard about this before, but it came back to my attention due to this T-Nation article (note: T-Nation is not at all a work-friendly site... I'm almost embarassed to admit I read it, but they do post some very good articles).
The interesting bit in the T-Nation article (if I scared you off from reading it yourself) was that, in the original study, they didn't find exceptions. That is, there were no "naturals", people that were elite that put in significantly less than 10,000 hours, and there were no "grinders", people that put in 10,000 hours but were not elite.
Relative to cycling, there also seems to be anecdotal evidence to support this. There are plenty of stories about pro cyclists who rode many many hours in their youth. Interestingly enough, the pro cyclist stories usually are told with the idea that they probably rode too much. Maybe in hindsight they do feel like they rode too much, but I really wonder if they would have become pro's if they hadn't done it.
OK, so we're coming to my main question. If something like the 10,000 hour theory is correct, should we really be using low-volume, high-intensity training schedules? On the face of it, you'd have to say no. Low-volume means that you'd have to train much longer to hit your 10,000 hours.
Under further examination though, the answer isn't so easy, because I think not all training time is equal. To give a slightly absurd example, let's say I spent my 10,000 hours only riding on the trainer. Would I become an elite bike racer? Obviously not, I wouldn't have any handling skills. What about 10,000 hours doing LSD rides outdoors? Not as easy to answer, but probably still not. 10,000 hours racing or doing quality efforts? I think you'd have to answer yes there (although I don't know how long it would take to accumulate that time).
This suggests to me that there is some separation between the strength / conditioning aspect of racing and the skill of bike racing. (In fact, Jeff told me as much earlier this year, "You're finally starting to look like a bike racer..." What I didn't write in that post was his other comment, "Putting down power is easy.") So, the issue is the quantity of quality hours, not just the quantity of hours.
For the high-intensity plan, I see two ways this could benefit you: 1. You should spend more of your training hours training at race-like conditions. 2. The lower volume of hours spent working on the conditioning aspect of cycling could free up more time to work on other skill aspects.
Sorry for the long post, but there was a lot to cover...
The interesting bit in the T-Nation article (if I scared you off from reading it yourself) was that, in the original study, they didn't find exceptions. That is, there were no "naturals", people that were elite that put in significantly less than 10,000 hours, and there were no "grinders", people that put in 10,000 hours but were not elite.
Relative to cycling, there also seems to be anecdotal evidence to support this. There are plenty of stories about pro cyclists who rode many many hours in their youth. Interestingly enough, the pro cyclist stories usually are told with the idea that they probably rode too much. Maybe in hindsight they do feel like they rode too much, but I really wonder if they would have become pro's if they hadn't done it.
OK, so we're coming to my main question. If something like the 10,000 hour theory is correct, should we really be using low-volume, high-intensity training schedules? On the face of it, you'd have to say no. Low-volume means that you'd have to train much longer to hit your 10,000 hours.
Under further examination though, the answer isn't so easy, because I think not all training time is equal. To give a slightly absurd example, let's say I spent my 10,000 hours only riding on the trainer. Would I become an elite bike racer? Obviously not, I wouldn't have any handling skills. What about 10,000 hours doing LSD rides outdoors? Not as easy to answer, but probably still not. 10,000 hours racing or doing quality efforts? I think you'd have to answer yes there (although I don't know how long it would take to accumulate that time).
This suggests to me that there is some separation between the strength / conditioning aspect of racing and the skill of bike racing. (In fact, Jeff told me as much earlier this year, "You're finally starting to look like a bike racer..." What I didn't write in that post was his other comment, "Putting down power is easy.") So, the issue is the quantity of quality hours, not just the quantity of hours.
For the high-intensity plan, I see two ways this could benefit you: 1. You should spend more of your training hours training at race-like conditions. 2. The lower volume of hours spent working on the conditioning aspect of cycling could free up more time to work on other skill aspects.
Sorry for the long post, but there was a lot to cover...
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Screw Shoes Update
I've gotten in a few runs now with the screw shoes. The first run was on very hard-packed snow and ice. These are probably ideal conditions for the screw shoes. You definitely still slip a little (and I was being careful), but the screws slow down the rate of slip considerably. Even though everyone says it's fine, I was worried about feeling the screws poking me through my shoes; everyone is right, you don't feel them. The shoe is not real comfortable running on bare pavement though, since your weight is entirely focused on the screw heads. Probably more screws would help with that I guess.
The run I did last night with the screw shoes was a little different. There was a lot more unpacked snow on the ground, and the shoes didn't work quite as well. It felt like the sole of the shoe would pack up with snow so the screws wouldn't bite and it got a little slippery. Still, most of the time, it was vastly better than running on unmodified shoes.
Win Every Shift
There were a lot of good quotes in the local papers when Steve Yzerman retired. I thought one of the best discussed his desire. It went something along the lines of "... he wanted to win every game, every period, every shift."
On Sunday night, I decided that I should use my hockey games as an opportunity to practice mental preparation techniques that I also use for cycling. I thought I'd keep it simple and just come up with a few goals for the game, just like I have goals for my races. With the basic goals in mind, then the technique is to come up with a short, powerful phrase to get your mind in the right state to achieve them. Then, I used what my Mental Edge book calls a "success history search" to associate some emotion to them.
My phrases for the skate were:
- Win every shift
- Own the corners
- Get open (I had a little trouble coming up with a good #3)
Doesn't sound like too much when you read it, but, when you've spent 30 minutes in the car attaching emotions and positive images to those phrases, it gets you pretty fired up. In the game, I found that my phrases worked really well. One surprising result was that my focus during the game was much better than it usually is. Since hockey isn't my "main" sport and it's a pretty informal group, sometimes on the bench near the end of the game, I'm getting tired and I'm watching the clock and I'm just ready to go home. This week though, even though I was getting tired near the end again, my focus was much better. I didn't have any thoughts about the clock running out and going home, and I actually felt stronger near the end of the game.
Assuming that my fitness this week wasn't noticeably better than last week, you have to put the difference down to my attitude. Interesting result.
After some reflection on the way home, I think for next week, goal #3 will be "move your feet".
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Nebraska
After watching the Lions get spanked at home on Thursday, the family headed out to Nebraska for a wedding on Friday. The trip down on Friday went very smoothly, my daughter was pretty calm for our first flight (Detroit to Chicago) and slept the entire second flight (Chicago to Omaha).
The time we spent in Nebraska was fairly relaxing, aside from keeping my daughter up past her bedtime every night. We stopped by the bike shop in Grand Island, NE. It was a pretty decent shop; they had a cool kids tricycle that caught my eye. Maybe a first birthday present for someone? (I think this photo doesn't do it justice. I will try to upload the picture I took with my phone at the bike shop.)
Our trip back Sunday was pretty brutal. We left at 8:30am, and didn't get home until about 10:00pm. Both of our flights were delayed, and we sat on the ground in planes for quite a while waiting for gates to open up. Our checked bag also didn't make it to Detroit on our flight. It arrived at our house at midnight (!) last night. My daughter did OK on the planes, but it was a long day of traveling for everyone.
The time we spent in Nebraska was fairly relaxing, aside from keeping my daughter up past her bedtime every night. We stopped by the bike shop in Grand Island, NE. It was a pretty decent shop; they had a cool kids tricycle that caught my eye. Maybe a first birthday present for someone? (I think this photo doesn't do it justice. I will try to upload the picture I took with my phone at the bike shop.)
I was pretty happy to not be trying to stay in shape on the trip for the race next weekend. I managed to get some exercise in one day out of the three. I had planned to play hockey Sunday night also, but...
Our trip back Sunday was pretty brutal. We left at 8:30am, and didn't get home until about 10:00pm. Both of our flights were delayed, and we sat on the ground in planes for quite a while waiting for gates to open up. Our checked bag also didn't make it to Detroit on our flight. It arrived at our house at midnight (!) last night. My daughter did OK on the planes, but it was a long day of traveling for everyone.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Pain in the Neck
I was hauling around some 80lb bags of water softener salt Monday night, and today my neck and shoulders have just been killing me. I'm 99% sure it was the salt that did it...
Last night, I went for a run again. This time, I warmed up for 10 minutes on the trainer first. I was able to complete my run as-scheduled with no knee problems, so it looks like warming up properly is key. I was reminded of some facts regarding in the winter, in the dark, in a neighborhood that doesn't get plowed... it gets icy in spots that are driven over a lot. I didn't have any trouble, but I could feel the ice underfoot a few times. I figured that if I keep this up all winter, I'm sure to wipe out. So, I went in search of solutions...
Last night, I went for a run again. This time, I warmed up for 10 minutes on the trainer first. I was able to complete my run as-scheduled with no knee problems, so it looks like warming up properly is key. I was reminded of some facts regarding in the winter, in the dark, in a neighborhood that doesn't get plowed... it gets icy in spots that are driven over a lot. I didn't have any trouble, but I could feel the ice underfoot a few times. I figured that if I keep this up all winter, I'm sure to wipe out. So, I went in search of solutions...
There are a lot of add-on traction solutions available, but I'm going to try the DIY way, found here. The nice thing about this is that it's pretty cheap (I spent about $2 on sheet metal screws) and, if it doesn't work, I can take the screws back out . So, I took my old pair of running shoes and sunk a few screws in. I'm going to run tomorrow, but the roads may be clear enough that I'll use my normal shoes. Once I run on another icy day, I'll write about how it worked.
Also, for those in need of some "motivation", you might try, Nega-coach!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Done!
I decided on Wednesday night that I was done racing for the year. Just way too much stuff going on and my fitness had already slipped. It took me until Thursday before I felt recovered from the jet lag. I don't regret not racing this morning.
After I decided I was done, I actually had a pretty enjoyable week. I got a lot done at work, played with my daughter, and drank some beer... excellent!
Starting yesterday, I decided that I'd better not be a total slug, so I got out for a run in the morning. I had to cut it short when my knee started bothering me. I think part of the problem was that I wasn't warmed up enough. I think this isn't such a big deal in the summer, when just walking around outside will loosen you up a bit, but in the winter, just walking outside will probably tighten you up. I did some easy spinning on the bike after my run and everything loosened right up and I felt OK. So, for my next run, I'm going to spend 10-15 minutes pedaling the bike inside (or doing something else inside) before I go out.
This morning I got outside and finished raking the leaves in my yard. It was actually pretty comfortable, since it was sunny and I was working. I'm leaving for hockey in another hour or so. This will be the first time in quite a while that I've skated two weeks in a row... I'm expecting good things!
After I decided I was done, I actually had a pretty enjoyable week. I got a lot done at work, played with my daughter, and drank some beer... excellent!
Starting yesterday, I decided that I'd better not be a total slug, so I got out for a run in the morning. I had to cut it short when my knee started bothering me. I think part of the problem was that I wasn't warmed up enough. I think this isn't such a big deal in the summer, when just walking around outside will loosen you up a bit, but in the winter, just walking outside will probably tighten you up. I did some easy spinning on the bike after my run and everything loosened right up and I felt OK. So, for my next run, I'm going to spend 10-15 minutes pedaling the bike inside (or doing something else inside) before I go out.
This morning I got outside and finished raking the leaves in my yard. It was actually pretty comfortable, since it was sunny and I was working. I'm leaving for hockey in another hour or so. This will be the first time in quite a while that I've skated two weeks in a row... I'm expecting good things!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Struggling
This week has really been a struggle. I'm definitely having more trouble adjusting to the time change this week than I did going the other way last week. I only slept about 4 hours Sunday night, and then last night I was up for about 2 hours at 2am.
Work has been full throttle since I've been back. I haven't had any energy to train since I've been home (except for hockey Sunday night). I was pretty tired this morning, which may actually be a good sign, since I was very alert in the mornings earlier this week. I'm hoping to be able to get a trainer ride in tonight, we'll see.
I've pretty much decided that I'm not doing the Waterford 'cross race this year. I don't see me being able to stay in reasonable shape over the next few weeks. I'm also really questioning whether or not to race this weekend. I barely trained last week and I don't have much motivation right now. It will probably come down to a last minute decision.
So, that means that my cycling season will be over after this weekend, or, it's already over and I just don't know it yet. I've basically now recognized that it's difficult from a training standpoint and from a motivation standpoint for me to race in November and into December (I've had trouble with this in past years too). I'm taking this into account in next year's training plan. I'll try to be in good shape a little earlier in the 'cross season, and maybe not worry too much about the last couple races.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
2008 Cycling Review
As the cycling season is winding down, I'm starting to reflect a bit on this year and what I want to do for next year. I didn't accomplish all of my goals for the year, but I also knew when I set them up that they'd be pretty ambitious, especially given the arrival of my daughter.
My goals for 2008 were:
- Race well enough that I felt comfortable moving up to the Expert category in MTB racing for next year.
- Finish top 5 in the USAC MTB series (Sport category).
- Finish top 10 in the B category of the cyclocross series.
Despite some good finishes in some mountain bike races this year, I didn't meet any of these goals.
There were a couple of general trends that caused me to miss some of these goals. One was that I wasn't sufficiently motivated to do some of the MTB races. In fact, had I just entered all of the MTB races I planned to, I would have finished 5th in the USAC series. The second trend was that I felt like I was out of "racing shape" for a number of the races I did this year: 3 of the 5 MTB races and 3 of the 7 'cross races I'll likely do. That's not such a good ratio.
In terms of 2008 training objectives, I had two. The first was to improve my strength; I planned to do this by working hard on my off-bike lifting and by making sure I completed all of my scheduled Force workouts. I actually did pretty well with this, particularly in the spring before my daughter was born. I definitely felt stronger on the bike this year and I think it resulted in an improvement in my racing.
My second training objective was to improve my technical riding skills to the point where I would no longer consider them a weakness. I improved a lot here too, but I still consider technical skills a weakness (at least, for MTB). An important thing I did over the winter was to spend time in the garage just working on basic balance stuff; I think this helped a lot. I also practiced some basic cornering on a dirt road / parking lot, which was also helpful. One of the things I didn't do much was mountain bike group rides. I always put this on my list of things to do (and I'm sure I will next year too), but I just don't do very many.
My goals for next year probably won't be too different; expectations will be higher though. What I probably will change is how I go about trying to achieve them. I'm pretty sure I will be changing my training plan for next year. My idea is that by going to a higher-intensity plan, I will be in race shape for more races. It should also help me use my training time more effectively.
Execution
(Sorry, this post was made out of sequence, I originally wrote it on Nov 6.)
A poor training plan well executed is better than a good training plan poorly executed.
Once again, a few things are converging for me. One, the early sunset (about 5:30pm) has driven me inside onto the trainer for my weekday rides. Two, the book I'm reading about training with power has me thinking about setting up power targets for my rides (which I can estimate on my trainer). Three, I've been having a suspicion that part of the reason my fitness hasn't been where I wanted it this year was that I didn't execute my training plan very well.
So, Tuesday night I set out to do a 90 minute endurance ride on the trainer. I followed the power recommendations in my power book, 69-75% of my functional threshold (the upper end of Zone 2). At this power range, I was definitely working a little harder than I normally do for my endurance rides; I was having to be a little concious about putting pressure on the pedals to keep my power up. However, based on my breathing, I don't think I was working too hard. Even though my legs were pushing a bit, my breathing stayed pretty relaxed.
Wednesday night, I did my favorite Spinervals anaerobic workout, "No Slackers". It was tough, as usual. It got me thinking about how infrequently I'd done really hard rides this year.
Anyway, my thinking is that maybe I've not been riding hard enough in my training sessions. Or, maybe a better way to think of it, I haven't been necessarily doing good "quality" training rides. Things to ponder as I set up my schedule for next year...
A poor training plan well executed is better than a good training plan poorly executed.
Once again, a few things are converging for me. One, the early sunset (about 5:30pm) has driven me inside onto the trainer for my weekday rides. Two, the book I'm reading about training with power has me thinking about setting up power targets for my rides (which I can estimate on my trainer). Three, I've been having a suspicion that part of the reason my fitness hasn't been where I wanted it this year was that I didn't execute my training plan very well.
So, Tuesday night I set out to do a 90 minute endurance ride on the trainer. I followed the power recommendations in my power book, 69-75% of my functional threshold (the upper end of Zone 2). At this power range, I was definitely working a little harder than I normally do for my endurance rides; I was having to be a little concious about putting pressure on the pedals to keep my power up. However, based on my breathing, I don't think I was working too hard. Even though my legs were pushing a bit, my breathing stayed pretty relaxed.
Wednesday night, I did my favorite Spinervals anaerobic workout, "No Slackers". It was tough, as usual. It got me thinking about how infrequently I'd done really hard rides this year.
Anyway, my thinking is that maybe I've not been riding hard enough in my training sessions. Or, maybe a better way to think of it, I haven't been necessarily doing good "quality" training rides. Things to ponder as I set up my schedule for next year...
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Back from Asia
I made it back from China yesterday. I managed to stay awake until my daughter went to bed... about 7pm. Then I slept until about noon today. I'm still a little tired. So, I decided to skip the Munson race this morning, but I will go to hockey tonight.
I got a chance to do a little sightseeing before I left Korea on Thursday. I visited the Changgyeonggung Palace in Seoul. I also went to the cultural center on the same grounds. It was pretty interesting.
China was interesting. It is busy and crowded like a typical Asian city, and big like the US. Traffic was pretty crazy: cars, buses, pedestrians, bikes, and scooters everywhere. The air quality where I was, Shanghai, was not very good. I could always see smog, and my eyes and throat burned a little bit. Not good...
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Korea Update
So, the past week has been pretty crazy. I made a quick trip to Mattawan at the end of last week. I stayed up a little late Friday night to get some time in on the bike (on my dad's bike), and then got up early to do the same Saturday morning.
Then, a quick drive back to Detroit on Saturday morning to catch a flight to Korea. Given the current economic situation, I had to fly coach. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either. Fortunately, the other people in my row were nice... and skinny. So, a quick 13 hours later I was in Japan, then another couple hours and I was in Korea.
Korea has been good so far, but I'm not sleeping nearly enough. Probably too much of the day is wasted sitting in traffic... tomorrow I go to China, where I hear that I will come to understand a whole new level of traffic.
Most interesting foods this week have been "thousand year egg" and raw beef. Both were actually pretty good, but I'm not sure I'll be adding them to my regular diet.
I've only had the time to exercise a little. Some very quick bodyweight stuff on Tuesday morning, and some time on a treadmill this morning. The hotel has a very nice fitness center. I should have a little more time to exercise tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow I catch a flight to China. I'm there for only about two days, and then I come home on Saturday. Definitely looking forward to being home... not looking forward to how I'll feel once I hop on a bike again...
Then, a quick drive back to Detroit on Saturday morning to catch a flight to Korea. Given the current economic situation, I had to fly coach. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either. Fortunately, the other people in my row were nice... and skinny. So, a quick 13 hours later I was in Japan, then another couple hours and I was in Korea.
Korea has been good so far, but I'm not sleeping nearly enough. Probably too much of the day is wasted sitting in traffic... tomorrow I go to China, where I hear that I will come to understand a whole new level of traffic.
Most interesting foods this week have been "thousand year egg" and raw beef. Both were actually pretty good, but I'm not sure I'll be adding them to my regular diet.
I've only had the time to exercise a little. Some very quick bodyweight stuff on Tuesday morning, and some time on a treadmill this morning. The hotel has a very nice fitness center. I should have a little more time to exercise tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow I catch a flight to China. I'm there for only about two days, and then I come home on Saturday. Definitely looking forward to being home... not looking forward to how I'll feel once I hop on a bike again...
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Vet's Park Follow Up
A quick follow up to the Veteran's Park race stuff. Andrea and Bruce have posted some nice photo galleries from the race. I think you can see in the pictures from Saturday that I wasn't feeling good... maybe it's just in my head...
I'm reading the book "Training and Racing with a Power Meter" by Hunter Allen and Andrew Coggan. Even though I don't have a power meter, I'm finding this to be a really interesting book. OK, really interesting for a training geek. Lots of interesting ideas about how to interpret data, track progress, set up your training, etc.
I'm getting ready to head out for Korea this weekend. I should be able to keep the training up this week, and I'll do what I can next week. I'm thinking that I'll probably skip the Munson race (it's the day after I get back), and then I'll try to do the last two races. I can't imagine I'll be in very good shape for them, but we'll see what happens.
I'm reading the book "Training and Racing with a Power Meter" by Hunter Allen and Andrew Coggan. Even though I don't have a power meter, I'm finding this to be a really interesting book. OK, really interesting for a training geek. Lots of interesting ideas about how to interpret data, track progress, set up your training, etc.
I'm getting ready to head out for Korea this weekend. I should be able to keep the training up this week, and I'll do what I can next week. I'm thinking that I'll probably skip the Munson race (it's the day after I get back), and then I'll try to do the last two races. I can't imagine I'll be in very good shape for them, but we'll see what happens.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Vet's Park - Day 2
I ended up still feeling pretty decent last night, so I decided to go ahead and race this morning. Today was a little colder than yesterday, but still pretty decent weather for early November.
I could tell from my warmup laps that my legs were a little better today than yesterday. I spent a little time in the parking lot during the C race practicing my starts, basically just getting clipped in from a stop. I don't know why this has suddenly become a problem.
I got a decent start today... "decent" now being defined as not tipping over. Generally, the race wasn't too eventful. I rode most of it by myself, trying to catch up to a Giant rider and trying to hold off a Cycletherapy rider. All three of us put hard efforts in on the last lap, but we never got close enough for it to matter. It seemed like my advantage over these guys was that I was much quicker over the barriers; otherwise, we were very even (or maybe they were a little faster).
I ended up finishing slightly worse today, but it was also a bigger field. I got 24 out of 32. Looking at relative lap times, even though I felt better today than yesterday, I actually raced about the same. Neither performance was as good as Lower Huron.
I could tell from my warmup laps that my legs were a little better today than yesterday. I spent a little time in the parking lot during the C race practicing my starts, basically just getting clipped in from a stop. I don't know why this has suddenly become a problem.
I got a decent start today... "decent" now being defined as not tipping over. Generally, the race wasn't too eventful. I rode most of it by myself, trying to catch up to a Giant rider and trying to hold off a Cycletherapy rider. All three of us put hard efforts in on the last lap, but we never got close enough for it to matter. It seemed like my advantage over these guys was that I was much quicker over the barriers; otherwise, we were very even (or maybe they were a little faster).
I ended up finishing slightly worse today, but it was also a bigger field. I got 24 out of 32. Looking at relative lap times, even though I felt better today than yesterday, I actually raced about the same. Neither performance was as good as Lower Huron.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Vet's Park CX - Day 1
It's been a weird week for me. I rode at the track on Tuesday night. I was one of four people out braving the cold weather and sleet / snow. Late Wednesday, I noticed my nose was getting a little stuffed. Same thing on Thursday, I wasn't really sick, but I wasn't really feeling right. This week was supposed to be a rest week anyway, so I decided not to ride at all until I got feeling better. I felt about the same Friday. I started taking some vitamin C and Zinc supplement, which actually seemed to work pretty well. This morning, I felt decent, and so I decided to go ahead and do the Vet's Park race today.
I didn't feel very good on my warmup laps, which I expected, I hadn't ridden since Tuesday! As for the race, I botched the start again! This time, I missed the pedal with my right foot and bogged down. I really need to practice that. In general, I had trouble missing my pedal today, I kept hitting the pedal with the (slippery) arch of my shoe. This cost me lots of little chuncks of time. I need to practice that too.
Anyway, I felt good for about one lap, and then I was pretty miserable. My legs were just totally dead, it seemed like any little effort made them burn. I don't know if I was actually much slower than I would have been otherwise, but I definitely felt bad. I ended up 20th out of 28 or so.
So, the plan for this afternoon is just to relax and see what happens. I figure I'll either really get sick, and then I won't race tomorrow, or, I'll end up feeling OK, and then maybe today's race will be a good warmup for tomorrow. We'll see what happens...
I didn't feel very good on my warmup laps, which I expected, I hadn't ridden since Tuesday! As for the race, I botched the start again! This time, I missed the pedal with my right foot and bogged down. I really need to practice that. In general, I had trouble missing my pedal today, I kept hitting the pedal with the (slippery) arch of my shoe. This cost me lots of little chuncks of time. I need to practice that too.
Anyway, I felt good for about one lap, and then I was pretty miserable. My legs were just totally dead, it seemed like any little effort made them burn. I don't know if I was actually much slower than I would have been otherwise, but I definitely felt bad. I ended up 20th out of 28 or so.
So, the plan for this afternoon is just to relax and see what happens. I figure I'll either really get sick, and then I won't race tomorrow, or, I'll end up feeling OK, and then maybe today's race will be a good warmup for tomorrow. We'll see what happens...
Monday, October 27, 2008
Fried Legs
I do not like fried legs and ham...
I fried my legs pretty thoroughly yesterday. After it stopped raining in the morning, I did a short sprint power workout. It always surprises me that this drains the legs as much as it does. The work interval is just so short and the rest interval is so long, but, if you do them at the right intensity, your legs are tired by the end.
My legs were pretty fried for hockey last night too. I actually played reasonably well again, but I had a bunch of good chances that I didn't finish. It would be better if I'd play more than once every other week. We got 5 extra minutes from the Zamboni guy 3 times at the end, so everybody was pretty wiped out by the end.
I fried my legs pretty thoroughly yesterday. After it stopped raining in the morning, I did a short sprint power workout. It always surprises me that this drains the legs as much as it does. The work interval is just so short and the rest interval is so long, but, if you do them at the right intensity, your legs are tired by the end.
My legs were pretty fried for hockey last night too. I actually played reasonably well again, but I had a bunch of good chances that I didn't finish. It would be better if I'd play more than once every other week. We got 5 extra minutes from the Zamboni guy 3 times at the end, so everybody was pretty wiped out by the end.
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