It's funny how my blog-ability has dropped since I swore off declarations of Big Plans. I'm still conjuring up Big Plans in my head, but at least I'm keeping them to myself. I'm trying to break myself of the habit by breathing deeply and telling myself to focus on the task at hand. Plans are a good thing; Big Plans are a messy way to give myself a false sense of contol. Must learn patience...
I read this article this morning. I think it holds some good advice regarding Big Plans.
I also just came across this article, as well. I think it might possibly be the most awesome promotion ever hatched by a bike company. However, couldn't they ditch the cheerleaders (lame-o) and spend extra money on a "Sparkly Pink Bike Series" for the ladies?
Yeah...
I'm not sure how having cheerleaders is sexist but assuming all women want sparkly pink bikes is not. However, I'm sure if you gave any up-and-coming racer a free bike, pro race support, and paid his/her travel expenses, it would not matter what color the bike was.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
No Drama Rodkey = Boring Blog
After my big announcement on Tuesday, I've had surprisingly little to say. The fact of the matter is that my daily routine will stay pretty much the same until February 2nd, but my perspective about it has changed a lot already.
A couple of days ago, I saw a reference to "No Drama Obama" and it made me think. It wasn't the first time I'd seen or heard this nickname, but it really resonated with me on that occasion. I realized that my new job is a great opportunity to become No Drama Rodkey. Sure it doesn't rhyme, but what really rhymes with Rodkey?
There are several reasons for this. The most obvious is that I can stop applying for jobs for the first time in four years. Yes, I've pretty much been looking the whole time, because no matter what happened, I always felt like I was behind where I "should" be. I finally feel like I am exactly where I "should" be in regard to 90% of my life.
I guess that means that cycling is less important to me than I thought (<10%), because I'm sort of okay with the fact that it is the only area of my life that is not in place now. However, I figure that with everything else in place, it will fall into place, too.
It's funny because all the times that something didn't go the the way I wanted and someone said, "It will all work out for the best", I thought it was so trite and patronizing. However, as I've reflected on the past couple of years, I've come to the conclusion that *gasp*, things have worked out for the best. The new job that I ended up with is way better than all the other jobs for which I was turned down in the last two years. Also, I'm really happy that we bought our house two years ago when we could barely afford it, because now that we have more money, we get to spend on fun stuff instead of a big mortgage. It was hard finding something decent in our price range then, but it's a perfectly good house and I'm glad we didn't spend more.
I still don't plan on telling any distressed people that "it will all work out for the best" anytime soon.
The other part of the "no drama" equation is something that I've been thinking about for a while but I haven't been able to carry out the way I wanted. Adam and I were discussing when people have "epiphanies", which was his term for when people get big ideas about training, racing, vegetarianism, etc., but don't carry them out. I agreed with him that it was annoying, although I'll admit I'm one of the world's worst offenders in this category. When I started this blog, I wanted it to consist of rousing reports of my racing adventures and my training experience of what works and what doesn't. Unfortunately, it's mostly turned into Lindsay's Big Plans and the Excuses Why They Didn't Work Out. So I'm going to try to cut down on my "epiphanies" or at least try to keep them to myself more, although the blather above sort of falls into that category.
The only problem is that I'm not sure what I'll write in mid-winter about with no races to report and no more Big Plans, but I'm sure I'll figure something out. Maybe I can start taking more pictures once lobster glove season is over.
A couple of days ago, I saw a reference to "No Drama Obama" and it made me think. It wasn't the first time I'd seen or heard this nickname, but it really resonated with me on that occasion. I realized that my new job is a great opportunity to become No Drama Rodkey. Sure it doesn't rhyme, but what really rhymes with Rodkey?
There are several reasons for this. The most obvious is that I can stop applying for jobs for the first time in four years. Yes, I've pretty much been looking the whole time, because no matter what happened, I always felt like I was behind where I "should" be. I finally feel like I am exactly where I "should" be in regard to 90% of my life.
I guess that means that cycling is less important to me than I thought (<10%), because I'm sort of okay with the fact that it is the only area of my life that is not in place now. However, I figure that with everything else in place, it will fall into place, too.
It's funny because all the times that something didn't go the the way I wanted and someone said, "It will all work out for the best", I thought it was so trite and patronizing. However, as I've reflected on the past couple of years, I've come to the conclusion that *gasp*, things have worked out for the best. The new job that I ended up with is way better than all the other jobs for which I was turned down in the last two years. Also, I'm really happy that we bought our house two years ago when we could barely afford it, because now that we have more money, we get to spend on fun stuff instead of a big mortgage. It was hard finding something decent in our price range then, but it's a perfectly good house and I'm glad we didn't spend more.
I still don't plan on telling any distressed people that "it will all work out for the best" anytime soon.
The other part of the "no drama" equation is something that I've been thinking about for a while but I haven't been able to carry out the way I wanted. Adam and I were discussing when people have "epiphanies", which was his term for when people get big ideas about training, racing, vegetarianism, etc., but don't carry them out. I agreed with him that it was annoying, although I'll admit I'm one of the world's worst offenders in this category. When I started this blog, I wanted it to consist of rousing reports of my racing adventures and my training experience of what works and what doesn't. Unfortunately, it's mostly turned into Lindsay's Big Plans and the Excuses Why They Didn't Work Out. So I'm going to try to cut down on my "epiphanies" or at least try to keep them to myself more, although the blather above sort of falls into that category.
The only problem is that I'm not sure what I'll write in mid-winter about with no races to report and no more Big Plans, but I'm sure I'll figure something out. Maybe I can start taking more pictures once lobster glove season is over.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
M.I.A.
I haven't had a lot to say this week, because last Monday I tried to get back into my plyo routine. This was the first time since I tried it in the snow back in December. I was able to put out a much better effort when I didn't have to worry about slipping on the ice. I also added some Olympic lift action afterward.
It's kind of funny, because I did 3 sets of 3 clean-n-jerk. The first two sets I just used a broom handle to get my form back since I hadn't done it several months. On the last set, I only used a ~20 pound weighted bar like might be used in an aerobics class. Nevertheless, somewhere between the plyos and the lifts, I completely trashed my body. I was so sore I couldn't walk down stairs normally until yesterday, and my abs and triceps were still somewhat sore when I woke up this morning. Crunches are a joke; explosive jumping around appears to be a much better ab workout.
~~
My experiment for the coming week (considering I don't do myself in on Monday again), is to see how I like listening to an audiobook while riding rollers. A couple of months ago, a friend/mentor from work found out that I was Harry Potter illiterate and lent me the first book of the series in CD form, so that I could listen to it on my drive to Oklahoma. When I got back I realized that I'm really over my two-year-old indoor training soundtrack and thought I'd try listening to the second book over the next few workouts. I even had the sweet blog title: "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of the Bike Dungeon" picked out to post after last Tuesday's ride. Unfortunately, I only got about 20 minutes in because my balance was absolute crap (presumably from fatigue) and I kept falling off. Hopefully, things will go better this coming Tuesday.
It's kind of funny, because I did 3 sets of 3 clean-n-jerk. The first two sets I just used a broom handle to get my form back since I hadn't done it several months. On the last set, I only used a ~20 pound weighted bar like might be used in an aerobics class. Nevertheless, somewhere between the plyos and the lifts, I completely trashed my body. I was so sore I couldn't walk down stairs normally until yesterday, and my abs and triceps were still somewhat sore when I woke up this morning. Crunches are a joke; explosive jumping around appears to be a much better ab workout.
~~
My experiment for the coming week (considering I don't do myself in on Monday again), is to see how I like listening to an audiobook while riding rollers. A couple of months ago, a friend/mentor from work found out that I was Harry Potter illiterate and lent me the first book of the series in CD form, so that I could listen to it on my drive to Oklahoma. When I got back I realized that I'm really over my two-year-old indoor training soundtrack and thought I'd try listening to the second book over the next few workouts. I even had the sweet blog title: "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of the Bike Dungeon" picked out to post after last Tuesday's ride. Unfortunately, I only got about 20 minutes in because my balance was absolute crap (presumably from fatigue) and I kept falling off. Hopefully, things will go better this coming Tuesday.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Staying Hydrated
Adam just sent me this picture and I wanted to share. Apparently, it is now a "Campbell-back" hydration system. Actually, it was just sitting by the door to be thrown out. I didn't clean it out well enough after the Iceman and a couple of days ago I discovered the hose was clogged with black goo. I figure that it might be time to cut my losses and replace it.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Respect the Hill
I was going to steal the title from Adam's post from a few weeks ago, but it looks like I didn't remember it correctly. Yesterday was my first attempt at the Big McGowan Hill for the year, but it didn't humble me because I showed up already humble.
Of course, that didn't really help me get to the top. It didn't even help me get 1/3 of the way up. It was way harder than I remembered, but it was important that I got out there in early January. Now I have 9-12 more chances to make it up before the Ouachita Challenge. Ideally, I would be able to climb it 6-8 times in a row before the race, because only then will I get close to the level of difficulty that awaits. A 13-weeks-to-go reality check was just what I needed.
The only bad part is that I discovered an archive of free 60-minute horror films on our cable's "On Demand" channel. It's nice to be able to watch whenever I want without the commitment of a full-length movie, but I probably should not have watched two of them before my ride yesterday. The route goes through some remote wetland and forest in Brown County and it's easy to ride the whole thing without seeing a single car. Not seeing a car is a good thing, except that it does get kind of freaky riding in the middle of nowhere by yourself. There is one particular place that I hate, because there is a sharp turn in the road which leads up a very steep hill for about 100 meters and there is an old abandoned cemetery at the top. Extreme exertion plus old cemetery plus middle of nowhere is not my idea of a good time. I let myself get freaked out sometimes, but it's just such a good training route in the winter that it's hard to turn down.
~~
In other news, I got a haircut over the weekend. I seem to be changing my hair every three months now. I liked my last haircut, but I realized that it looked a little too much like the "the Rachel" circa 1995. So I decided to step outside my comfort zone a bit. The picture below is what I took to the stylist and the final result is pretty similar, except that my hair has less body and I didn't have a professional stylist fix it for me this morning.
Of course, that didn't really help me get to the top. It didn't even help me get 1/3 of the way up. It was way harder than I remembered, but it was important that I got out there in early January. Now I have 9-12 more chances to make it up before the Ouachita Challenge. Ideally, I would be able to climb it 6-8 times in a row before the race, because only then will I get close to the level of difficulty that awaits. A 13-weeks-to-go reality check was just what I needed.
The only bad part is that I discovered an archive of free 60-minute horror films on our cable's "On Demand" channel. It's nice to be able to watch whenever I want without the commitment of a full-length movie, but I probably should not have watched two of them before my ride yesterday. The route goes through some remote wetland and forest in Brown County and it's easy to ride the whole thing without seeing a single car. Not seeing a car is a good thing, except that it does get kind of freaky riding in the middle of nowhere by yourself. There is one particular place that I hate, because there is a sharp turn in the road which leads up a very steep hill for about 100 meters and there is an old abandoned cemetery at the top. Extreme exertion plus old cemetery plus middle of nowhere is not my idea of a good time. I let myself get freaked out sometimes, but it's just such a good training route in the winter that it's hard to turn down.
~~
In other news, I got a haircut over the weekend. I seem to be changing my hair every three months now. I liked my last haircut, but I realized that it looked a little too much like the "the Rachel" circa 1995. So I decided to step outside my comfort zone a bit. The picture below is what I took to the stylist and the final result is pretty similar, except that my hair has less body and I didn't have a professional stylist fix it for me this morning.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Happy New Year, Everyone!
I am working again today and I don't have much to say, but I thought I'd check in and kill a few minutes.
Last night I did my second roller ride of the season. I know, I'm a little off schedule with those, but I think it will be okay. It was exactly four weeks since the last one and last night's ride was 15 minutes longer, 15 average watts higher, and my average HR was 5 beats lower. Nice.
My New Year's Eve plans include a $12 bottle of sparkling wine from Spain that I'm pretty excited about, but there's not a lot on the agenda besides that right now. I'm sure we'll think of something. I just heard a radio story about inexpensive wines for the holidays and they said that Cava from Spain was good and inexpensive, so I'm wanting to test this out.
I don't really have any resolutions or official goals this year. The thing on my mind right now is to try to reduce my hike-a-bike time at the OC by about 80% from last year. This is a specific goal, but not too measurable because it's not like I hit my lap button every time I got off my bike last year. However, I think I will know when I'm close and I think I know how to make it happen. It involves riding a certain nasty dirt road climb A LOT between now and then. That will take care of the wussy related hike-a-biking and the remaining places that I have to get off for technical reasons I can live with. At least for this year.
Last night I did my second roller ride of the season. I know, I'm a little off schedule with those, but I think it will be okay. It was exactly four weeks since the last one and last night's ride was 15 minutes longer, 15 average watts higher, and my average HR was 5 beats lower. Nice.
My New Year's Eve plans include a $12 bottle of sparkling wine from Spain that I'm pretty excited about, but there's not a lot on the agenda besides that right now. I'm sure we'll think of something. I just heard a radio story about inexpensive wines for the holidays and they said that Cava from Spain was good and inexpensive, so I'm wanting to test this out.
I don't really have any resolutions or official goals this year. The thing on my mind right now is to try to reduce my hike-a-bike time at the OC by about 80% from last year. This is a specific goal, but not too measurable because it's not like I hit my lap button every time I got off my bike last year. However, I think I will know when I'm close and I think I know how to make it happen. It involves riding a certain nasty dirt road climb A LOT between now and then. That will take care of the wussy related hike-a-biking and the remaining places that I have to get off for technical reasons I can live with. At least for this year.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Weak
Not too surprisingly, I've not been able to keep up my massive training schedule that I had in Oklahoma. I managed to ride for about an hour yesterday and today, but I felt very weak and slow. I'm not sure if this is an after effect of my stomach bug, my long drive, or the fact that I rolled the crap out of my lower body with my long-abandoned TP Massage Ball kit Friday night.
Ever since I got back, it feels like every running injury that I had in college decided to come back and hurt all the time, even when I'm inactive, despite the fact that I haven't run in about three weeks. My only guess in that 15 hours of cycling, plus the muscle cramps when I was sick, plus the 12.5 hours of driving caused some serious knotting. I tried to work some of it out Friday night, but it was very painful and I think the subsequent healing might have contributed to my lack of power the last couple of days. I plan to keep up the routine and eventually it will become less painful and hopefully beneficial in the long run.
Ever since I got back, it feels like every running injury that I had in college decided to come back and hurt all the time, even when I'm inactive, despite the fact that I haven't run in about three weeks. My only guess in that 15 hours of cycling, plus the muscle cramps when I was sick, plus the 12.5 hours of driving caused some serious knotting. I tried to work some of it out Friday night, but it was very painful and I think the subsequent healing might have contributed to my lack of power the last couple of days. I plan to keep up the routine and eventually it will become less painful and hopefully beneficial in the long run.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
I Think My Appetite Is Back
I am sitting at work on Christmas Eve, because for HR reasons that I do not understand, we are open today and I have volunteered to be the sacrificial lamb for my area. That basically means that I need to catch up on a few things from my vacation and answer any questions about students loans that come in that the front-line people on the phones need help with. I doubt there will be many of those today and I'm procrastinating on the small bit of work that I do have to do.
While I am procrastinating I'm a looking over the blog for the Break Epic stage race that is set to debut in Colorado next summer. It looks like it's going to be really awesome, but unfortunately, I'm fairly certain that I will have neither the necessary money nor the fitness by July. Maybe 2010. Last night I read an article in the February issue of Velo News on the growing numbers of off road stage races in Latin America. I didn't really put me off of my La Ruta dreams, but it did get me thinking that I might want to keep my first big stage race within the confines of the United States border, since there are starting to be more options available within our own country.
Anyway, as I was perusing the various Break Epic details that are available at this early juncture, I was surprised to see that they already have the menu planned for the race. It would have sealed the deal for me if I had been more seriously considering signing up.
I suppose that means that my stomach is better. My breakfast felt a little weird going down this morning, but the desire to eat again must mean that I'm very close to normal. I have to say that my illness wasn't a completely bad thing. It happened during a stretch of time that I wouldn't have been able to ride much anyway, and luckily very early in the season. Plus, despite all my riding last week, I still ate a lot and was still feeling like a complete fatty from my long layoff over the fall. Even though the scale says that I only lost two pounds, the fatty feeling has completely subsided, which is quite liberating. So I got the kick in the butt that needed to get going again last week and then an effective, if unintentional "cleansing" period. I just need to not make a pig of myself the next two days and then by Friday I will have nothing else standing my way for the 14 week march to the Ouachita Challenge.
While I am procrastinating I'm a looking over the blog for the Break Epic stage race that is set to debut in Colorado next summer. It looks like it's going to be really awesome, but unfortunately, I'm fairly certain that I will have neither the necessary money nor the fitness by July. Maybe 2010. Last night I read an article in the February issue of Velo News on the growing numbers of off road stage races in Latin America. I didn't really put me off of my La Ruta dreams, but it did get me thinking that I might want to keep my first big stage race within the confines of the United States border, since there are starting to be more options available within our own country.
Anyway, as I was perusing the various Break Epic details that are available at this early juncture, I was surprised to see that they already have the menu planned for the race. It would have sealed the deal for me if I had been more seriously considering signing up.
I suppose that means that my stomach is better. My breakfast felt a little weird going down this morning, but the desire to eat again must mean that I'm very close to normal. I have to say that my illness wasn't a completely bad thing. It happened during a stretch of time that I wouldn't have been able to ride much anyway, and luckily very early in the season. Plus, despite all my riding last week, I still ate a lot and was still feeling like a complete fatty from my long layoff over the fall. Even though the scale says that I only lost two pounds, the fatty feeling has completely subsided, which is quite liberating. So I got the kick in the butt that needed to get going again last week and then an effective, if unintentional "cleansing" period. I just need to not make a pig of myself the next two days and then by Friday I will have nothing else standing my way for the 14 week march to the Ouachita Challenge.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
24 Hours of Woozy
It started at 1 a.m. on Monday. I stumbled toward what I thought would be the kind of routine middle of the night bathroom trip that is common among chronically well-hydrated people. However, as I inspected my tired reflection in the mirror, I was overcome with that "I don't feel so good" feeling and the realization that my dinner was not sitting rather strangely in my digestive tract.
I went back to bed and proceeded to spend the next two hours writhing in pain that started in my abdomen, moved to my chest and back, and then radiated through the rest of my body. This was not the situation I wanted to be in just a few hours before I was scheduled to depart on the 12.5 hour drive back to Indiana.
After two hours of writhing and looking through the kitchen in vain for something to ease my discomfort, the offending food, bacteria, or virus, I not sure which, began to make it's way out of my body in the most unpleasant manner. This required spending two more cold, boring hours in the bathroom, after which I finally slept for a short time before getting up and announcing to my parents that I might or might not be making the trip back to Indiana that day, but I that I would definitely not be making my planned 7:30 departure. Somehow, they had managed to sleep through the ordeal, despite my complete lack of effort to be quiet. I was somewhat disappointed that on one of the rare nights that my mommy was in close enough proximity to take care of me when I was sick, that I wasn't successful in waking her up to do so. For the record, I did stop short of yelling for her like I did when I was a kid, which did seem a little over-the-top for someone my age.
So I slept another two hours and then decided that I needed to suck it up and make my weak, wobbly way home, since I was supposed to be at work on Tuesday and the forecast was much better for a Monday departure. So I began the long journey at 9 a.m. central time, and made it the whole way on a cup of jello, a few crackers, and some tea. This lack of nutrition didn't help my focus any, and the trip back home was a hard one.
I finally made it home at 10:30 p.m. eastern time and it took me a while to get greet my husband and cats, get unpacked, get reoriented to my house, and take a shower. I managed to get everything put away, except for a few items of street clothing that weren't dirty enough to go in the hamper. All and all, I finally made it to bed at 1:00 a.m., weak and spacey, but proud that I had managed to get through my 24 hour ordeal in one piece.
~~
I feel about 80% normal today, since I slept until 8:00 and didn't go to work until 10:30. I managed to eat my normal breakfast, although a half-size portion. I didn't make me feel sick, but it didn't really make me feel better, either. I still don't have much of an appetite, but I'm not sure that's really a bad thing this time of year.
I went back to bed and proceeded to spend the next two hours writhing in pain that started in my abdomen, moved to my chest and back, and then radiated through the rest of my body. This was not the situation I wanted to be in just a few hours before I was scheduled to depart on the 12.5 hour drive back to Indiana.
After two hours of writhing and looking through the kitchen in vain for something to ease my discomfort, the offending food, bacteria, or virus, I not sure which, began to make it's way out of my body in the most unpleasant manner. This required spending two more cold, boring hours in the bathroom, after which I finally slept for a short time before getting up and announcing to my parents that I might or might not be making the trip back to Indiana that day, but I that I would definitely not be making my planned 7:30 departure. Somehow, they had managed to sleep through the ordeal, despite my complete lack of effort to be quiet. I was somewhat disappointed that on one of the rare nights that my mommy was in close enough proximity to take care of me when I was sick, that I wasn't successful in waking her up to do so. For the record, I did stop short of yelling for her like I did when I was a kid, which did seem a little over-the-top for someone my age.
So I slept another two hours and then decided that I needed to suck it up and make my weak, wobbly way home, since I was supposed to be at work on Tuesday and the forecast was much better for a Monday departure. So I began the long journey at 9 a.m. central time, and made it the whole way on a cup of jello, a few crackers, and some tea. This lack of nutrition didn't help my focus any, and the trip back home was a hard one.
I finally made it home at 10:30 p.m. eastern time and it took me a while to get greet my husband and cats, get unpacked, get reoriented to my house, and take a shower. I managed to get everything put away, except for a few items of street clothing that weren't dirty enough to go in the hamper. All and all, I finally made it to bed at 1:00 a.m., weak and spacey, but proud that I had managed to get through my 24 hour ordeal in one piece.
~~
I feel about 80% normal today, since I slept until 8:00 and didn't go to work until 10:30. I managed to eat my normal breakfast, although a half-size portion. I didn't make me feel sick, but it didn't really make me feel better, either. I still don't have much of an appetite, but I'm not sure that's really a bad thing this time of year.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Totals
Well, my vacation riding time came to a seven day total of 15 hours and 13 minutes. Today is Day 8 and I think there is about a 95% chance that the total will not go any higher this trip. It is 23 degrees outside and I have exhausted my supply of hand and toe warmers. I have really bad circulation in my hands and feet and they don't really make their own warmth very well, so chemical hand and toe warmers are a must below 35 degrees. I think I'm at the point where I'd just be riding to keep up my streak and try to pile on some more time to my total. Keeping a running total is cool, but in the end, it's kind of a meaningless number. I've still had one of the top three training weeks of my life, so as long as my motivation carries over into my real life this week, I'll consider my mission accomplished.
I got a copy of Off Road to Athens in my Christmas gifts last night and I had to watch it as soon as the festivities ended. It was really good, but it, combined with my sore legs, caused me to have really weird dreams.
I dreamed that I had been chosen to race 'çross in Europe with a large group of professional racers, including Katie Compton. I think won the trip because I was the only female to show up at some regular season race. Anyway, while I was at the race, a bunch of little kids came up to me and wanted my autograph because they thought I was a pro, too. While I was signing autographs, one little girl stabbed me with her pen. Sometime later in the dream, I went to her house to ask her why she stabbed me and it turned out that she was abused at home, so I decided to adopt her.
Needless to say it was not a restful night. I think the part about the little girl stabbing me came from having to be around my cousin's psycho 9-year-old son all day yesterday, but I definitely will not be adopting him anytime soon.
I got a copy of Off Road to Athens in my Christmas gifts last night and I had to watch it as soon as the festivities ended. It was really good, but it, combined with my sore legs, caused me to have really weird dreams.
I dreamed that I had been chosen to race 'çross in Europe with a large group of professional racers, including Katie Compton. I think won the trip because I was the only female to show up at some regular season race. Anyway, while I was at the race, a bunch of little kids came up to me and wanted my autograph because they thought I was a pro, too. While I was signing autographs, one little girl stabbed me with her pen. Sometime later in the dream, I went to her house to ask her why she stabbed me and it turned out that she was abused at home, so I decided to adopt her.
Needless to say it was not a restful night. I think the part about the little girl stabbing me came from having to be around my cousin's psycho 9-year-old son all day yesterday, but I definitely will not be adopting him anytime soon.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Oklahoma Pictures
I'm on Day 6 in Oklahoma with a total riding time of 12 hours and 48 minutes. It doesn't look like I'm going to make my 8 day goal of 20 hours, but I'm still doing pretty well. I'm starting to get pretty tired, but my early New Year's resolution for 2009 is to not be so terrified of overtraining. Plus, next week is going to be very light with Monday being consumed with driving and Wednesday and Thursday being consumed with holiday festivities.
Since today was the first day since Sunday that I haven't had to wear lobster gloves to ride, I decided to snap a few pictures.
Stonewall High School, my alma mater.
My bike laughing at me when I showed it where I used to play softball.
My awesome home town. Yes, that's pretty much the whole thing.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Pizza Belly
I actually managed to ride after all. It just required my practicing extreme restraint at the pizza buffet and keeping my consumption level at a place that would allow me to ride without feeling like I was going to throw up in my mouth. That is actually a pretty big accomplishment, as I tend to go way overboard in all-you-can-eat situations. We got back in time for me to sneak in two hours before dark and I'm still kind of on track for my goal this week.
When I was riding in the sunny warm weather on Sunday I was wondering wishing I'd brought my bike on a trip home sooner. It's a great training camp enviroment because of the utter lack of distraction. However, today I've discovered that it's not going to be quite as smooth of sailing as I had originally thought.
Tomorrow is still up in the air because my mom wants me to go to work with her, but I still haven't got a straight answer as to what time we will be back. I'm trying not to stress about it too much, as today worked out fine, but I'm just so happy with the work that I'm doing while I'm here that I don't want to mess up my streak.
When I was riding in the sunny warm weather on Sunday I was wondering wishing I'd brought my bike on a trip home sooner. It's a great training camp enviroment because of the utter lack of distraction. However, today I've discovered that it's not going to be quite as smooth of sailing as I had originally thought.
Tomorrow is still up in the air because my mom wants me to go to work with her, but I still haven't got a straight answer as to what time we will be back. I'm trying not to stress about it too much, as today worked out fine, but I'm just so happy with the work that I'm doing while I'm here that I don't want to mess up my streak.
Swept Down The Plain
Greetings from Oklahoma!
Sunday I rode in shorts and short sleeves because it was 75 degrees and sunny. The only drawback was the knock-you-0n-your-ass wind, which I rarely experience anymore.
Bloomington has lots of trees and hills and the roads tend to follow the lay of the land, so they are pretty curvey. All of this combined makes it very hard for the wind to get a clear shot at you when you're riding.
On the other hand, the area of Oklahoma where my parents live is pretty open. Not flat, because my ride can best be described as about a half-mile of going up a 4-6% grade and then going back down a 4-6% grade for about a half-mile. However, the the roads are straight and the trees are scrubby, so I could see for miles and miles at the top of each hill.
I just wanted to clear that up because when I first moved to Indiana, I got really tired of answering the question, "So is Oklahoma really flat?" This from people in the middle of cornland. Actually, the eastern part of the state is mountains and the western part is flat, but I grew up in between.
Anyway, I can't remember two more different days than Sunday and Monday. The temperature dropped over 50 degrees overnight, so yesterday I was riding in 25 degrees plus knock-you-on-your-ass wind. That was pretty unpleasant, since I'd only really come prepared to ride in mid-30's weather. At the time I packed, the forecast looked liked I wouldn't even need anything that heavy. However, I found myself being whipped all over the road with frozen nostrils and snotcycles on my gloves anyway.
Today is not much warmer, but the wind has died down. However, my grandma called me while I was having breakfast at 10:00 and asked me to go out to lunch at 12:30, so that kind of throws a wrench in my prime riding time today. I could have made myself get up and ride early knowing that there was a good chance this would happen, but without definite plans, I took a chance on squeezing a few more degrees out in the afternoon.
I'm surprised at how crappy of a mood I'm in about not getting ride in 25 degree weather, but I was just doing so well since I've been here. I had visions of monster hours of boring base-building rides on the road bike to kick-start my fitness before I got back home. I guess the important thing is to not let this one hiccup get me down. The weather is supposed to be much better the rest of the time I'm here, so I've got to take advantage of it.
Sunday I rode in shorts and short sleeves because it was 75 degrees and sunny. The only drawback was the knock-you-0n-your-ass wind, which I rarely experience anymore.
Bloomington has lots of trees and hills and the roads tend to follow the lay of the land, so they are pretty curvey. All of this combined makes it very hard for the wind to get a clear shot at you when you're riding.
On the other hand, the area of Oklahoma where my parents live is pretty open. Not flat, because my ride can best be described as about a half-mile of going up a 4-6% grade and then going back down a 4-6% grade for about a half-mile. However, the the roads are straight and the trees are scrubby, so I could see for miles and miles at the top of each hill.
I just wanted to clear that up because when I first moved to Indiana, I got really tired of answering the question, "So is Oklahoma really flat?" This from people in the middle of cornland. Actually, the eastern part of the state is mountains and the western part is flat, but I grew up in between.
Anyway, I can't remember two more different days than Sunday and Monday. The temperature dropped over 50 degrees overnight, so yesterday I was riding in 25 degrees plus knock-you-on-your-ass wind. That was pretty unpleasant, since I'd only really come prepared to ride in mid-30's weather. At the time I packed, the forecast looked liked I wouldn't even need anything that heavy. However, I found myself being whipped all over the road with frozen nostrils and snotcycles on my gloves anyway.
Today is not much warmer, but the wind has died down. However, my grandma called me while I was having breakfast at 10:00 and asked me to go out to lunch at 12:30, so that kind of throws a wrench in my prime riding time today. I could have made myself get up and ride early knowing that there was a good chance this would happen, but without definite plans, I took a chance on squeezing a few more degrees out in the afternoon.
I'm surprised at how crappy of a mood I'm in about not getting ride in 25 degree weather, but I was just doing so well since I've been here. I had visions of monster hours of boring base-building rides on the road bike to kick-start my fitness before I got back home. I guess the important thing is to not let this one hiccup get me down. The weather is supposed to be much better the rest of the time I'm here, so I've got to take advantage of it.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
A Long December
And its been a long december and theres reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I cant remember all the times I tried to tell my myself
To hold on to these moments as they pass
Okay, December is still only one third of the way through, but I have a feeling it's going to speed up a lot after today. I'm taking tomorrow off from work to prepare for my 10-day "holiday trip" to Oklahoma. I will be back before actual Christmas, so it's not really "going home for Christmas". By the time I get back, it will practically be 2009.
In keeping, I have posted my 2009 race schedule on the sidebar. I thought it was pretty important to get that out there early so anyone planning to do the same races can go ahead and start shaking in their Sidi's. Or not.
It's actually not very different from 2008. I definitely want another shot at the OC and the Lumberjack. My one change is that I'm leaning toward the Wilderness 101 over the Shenandoah 100 for the second half of the season. However, I've resolved not to pay an entry fee on any other hundred milers until I have actually finished the Lumberjack, so the decision won't be made until mid-summer and may be affected by which races are sold out at that point.
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I cant remember all the times I tried to tell my myself
To hold on to these moments as they pass
Okay, December is still only one third of the way through, but I have a feeling it's going to speed up a lot after today. I'm taking tomorrow off from work to prepare for my 10-day "holiday trip" to Oklahoma. I will be back before actual Christmas, so it's not really "going home for Christmas". By the time I get back, it will practically be 2009.
In keeping, I have posted my 2009 race schedule on the sidebar. I thought it was pretty important to get that out there early so anyone planning to do the same races can go ahead and start shaking in their Sidi's. Or not.
It's actually not very different from 2008. I definitely want another shot at the OC and the Lumberjack. My one change is that I'm leaning toward the Wilderness 101 over the Shenandoah 100 for the second half of the season. However, I've resolved not to pay an entry fee on any other hundred milers until I have actually finished the Lumberjack, so the decision won't be made until mid-summer and may be affected by which races are sold out at that point.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Rollin and Tunes
I considered using yet another punny title for this entry, but I decided to spare you. I'm not sure why I like punny titles so much, but it seems like I use them at least 80% of the time. This brought to mind my 11th grade English class where we were learning about comic devices in literature and how I remember the teacher saying, "A pun is the lowest form of humor." I never really got that because even bad puns require some wit, so I googled the phrase a moment ago. Apparently, it is true that some authors have called the pun the lowest form of humor, but I also came upon this quote: "A pun is the lowest form of humor, unless you thought of it yourself." - Doug Larson
I guess that explains everything.
Anyway, I finally knocked out the 2009 inaugural roller ride. After a fumbling start I was able to make it the entire 45 minutes without a dab. However, my hands were numb by the end from my death grip on the bars. It also got pretty uncomfortable because I wasn't able to adjust my chamois without crashing. Hopefully, my skills will improve before it's time to do the longer rides. Overall, it was okay. My power was about 30 watts below where I wanted it to be, my perceived effort almost exactly where I wanted it to be, and my HR was a lot higher than I wanted it to be. I guess that's what they call being out of shape.
However, the most important data that I gathered during this session was my mental notes regarding how my 2008 trainer play list holds up a year later. Starting roughly at the beginning:
My Dixie Chicks selections still hold up pretty well. "Wide Open Spaces" is an anthem about personal growth that struck a chord with me several years ago when I stilled lived in Oklahoma and was still exposed to country music on a semi-regular basis. I really had no further interest in the Dixie Chicks, but a couple of years ago I rented the documentary "Shut Up And Sing" about the backlash they got from country music fans after the lead singer spoke out against George W. at concert in England. Much of the filming revolves around the writing and recording of "The Long Way Around" and it was kind of stuck in my head afterward. Last year it became my a trainer staple as I imagined a punny narrative of how my first year of endurance racing would play out. Tonight the open-ended conclusion sounded like a non-punny narrative of how my first year of endurance racing did play out.
"Unwritten" was actually the song that caused me to start rethinking my "classic" play list. It was fun two years ago when riding in crappy weather was still a novelty and there was a lot more unknown factors in my racing future. Now it just sounds kind of played out.
"Little Red Corvette" is still good in that it can just be pleasant upbeat music when I want it to be or when I'm feeling a little more imaginative, I can draw out a few bike racing metaphors. If only I had a red bike or kit.
Really the whole sexual encounter=bike race theme seems to work out pretty well. When I first got my iPod, I just went through Adam's music library and pulled things in "All The Things She Said" by t.A.T.u. I just thought some teenage Russian faux-lesbian pop might be good for humor value. However, it didn't take much trainer time for my mind to turn what "she said" from teenage Russian faux-lesbian things to an imaginary scenario about chasing down a smack-talking competitor. This has never actually happened it real life, but it's a good visualization to get me through a hard interval.
However, out of all the songs I heard tonight the Flashdance theme "What A Feeling" struck the strongest chord with me. It starts out all depressing and moves on to "thing won't suck forever, I CAN have it all" upbeat goodness. It was just what I needed.
These were just a few of the random thoughts that went through my head tonight and this isn't a comprehensive list. I didn't even make it to "Eye of the Tiger" or "Livin' On A Payer" in the 45 minutes time period. They are embedded further along in the play list for when things start to get extra long and boring. I really should rearrange, edit, and add some stuff, but our computer was recently repaired and iTunes has not been working right since. Maybe I need to pursue a remedy for that situation more aggressively.
~~
By the way, I'm the first to admit that I probably have the most horrible music taste of any human being alive, so feel free to make fun all you want. I'm not really sure where this fits on the humor hierarchy, but have a good laugh on me.
I guess that explains everything.
Anyway, I finally knocked out the 2009 inaugural roller ride. After a fumbling start I was able to make it the entire 45 minutes without a dab. However, my hands were numb by the end from my death grip on the bars. It also got pretty uncomfortable because I wasn't able to adjust my chamois without crashing. Hopefully, my skills will improve before it's time to do the longer rides. Overall, it was okay. My power was about 30 watts below where I wanted it to be, my perceived effort almost exactly where I wanted it to be, and my HR was a lot higher than I wanted it to be. I guess that's what they call being out of shape.
However, the most important data that I gathered during this session was my mental notes regarding how my 2008 trainer play list holds up a year later. Starting roughly at the beginning:
My Dixie Chicks selections still hold up pretty well. "Wide Open Spaces" is an anthem about personal growth that struck a chord with me several years ago when I stilled lived in Oklahoma and was still exposed to country music on a semi-regular basis. I really had no further interest in the Dixie Chicks, but a couple of years ago I rented the documentary "Shut Up And Sing" about the backlash they got from country music fans after the lead singer spoke out against George W. at concert in England. Much of the filming revolves around the writing and recording of "The Long Way Around" and it was kind of stuck in my head afterward. Last year it became my a trainer staple as I imagined a punny narrative of how my first year of endurance racing would play out. Tonight the open-ended conclusion sounded like a non-punny narrative of how my first year of endurance racing did play out.
"Unwritten" was actually the song that caused me to start rethinking my "classic" play list. It was fun two years ago when riding in crappy weather was still a novelty and there was a lot more unknown factors in my racing future. Now it just sounds kind of played out.
"Little Red Corvette" is still good in that it can just be pleasant upbeat music when I want it to be or when I'm feeling a little more imaginative, I can draw out a few bike racing metaphors. If only I had a red bike or kit.
Really the whole sexual encounter=bike race theme seems to work out pretty well. When I first got my iPod, I just went through Adam's music library and pulled things in "All The Things She Said" by t.A.T.u. I just thought some teenage Russian faux-lesbian pop might be good for humor value. However, it didn't take much trainer time for my mind to turn what "she said" from teenage Russian faux-lesbian things to an imaginary scenario about chasing down a smack-talking competitor. This has never actually happened it real life, but it's a good visualization to get me through a hard interval.
However, out of all the songs I heard tonight the Flashdance theme "What A Feeling" struck the strongest chord with me. It starts out all depressing and moves on to "thing won't suck forever, I CAN have it all" upbeat goodness. It was just what I needed.
These were just a few of the random thoughts that went through my head tonight and this isn't a comprehensive list. I didn't even make it to "Eye of the Tiger" or "Livin' On A Payer" in the 45 minutes time period. They are embedded further along in the play list for when things start to get extra long and boring. I really should rearrange, edit, and add some stuff, but our computer was recently repaired and iTunes has not been working right since. Maybe I need to pursue a remedy for that situation more aggressively.
~~
By the way, I'm the first to admit that I probably have the most horrible music taste of any human being alive, so feel free to make fun all you want. I'm not really sure where this fits on the humor hierarchy, but have a good laugh on me.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Snow Plyos
Today was the first real snow of the year and my first real training for 2009. For the last couples of months, any exercise has either been racing or the "I feel fat and gross and need to do something variety". Tonight I started my plyometric routine that will be my Monday and Friday staple for the rest of the winter. I took it semi-easy tonight to test how sore I will be tomorrow, but it was still pretty hard. At least it's hard in a fun way and I think it's a good way to get my muscles ready for those puke inducing efforts during the Ouachita Challenge where I'm already toddling up a steep pitch in a full anaerobic stupor and then I have to muscle over some rocks. I'm going to have to work really hard if I want to reduce my hike-a-bike quotient next year.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Sunshine
I didn't do my one task of a 45-minute roller ride this week, and it probably won't happen seeing as tomorrow is Thanksgiving and Friday-Sunday are wonderful work-free days on which I can ride outside. I really was *supposed* to do the roller ride on Tuesday, but I put it off. I told myself I *had* to do it tonight, but it was just so sunny and not-that-cold and hardly anyone was at work anyway so I left at 2:00. Unfortunately, this not a reasonable solution for every time I want to avoid riding indoors this winter, but today it was just what I needed. I've been feeling fat and gross and down lately and this is about the worst time of year to start putting the training wheels in motion again, since there's dark and cold and junk food around every corner. In the past, I've really struggled until Christmas was over and then I could get down to business after the distractions died down.
However, I've been at the point of "I seriously need exercise" for a while now, but I've been in a nasty cycle of feel crappy, so I don't do anything, so I feel crappier and do even less since the Iceman. So I got out of work and did a two hour dirt road ride on my mountain bike and I'm feeling tons better. Somehow getting on my bike seems a whole lot easier when I'm missing work to do it. Too bad that can't happen more often.
However, I've been at the point of "I seriously need exercise" for a while now, but I've been in a nasty cycle of feel crappy, so I don't do anything, so I feel crappier and do even less since the Iceman. So I got out of work and did a two hour dirt road ride on my mountain bike and I'm feeling tons better. Somehow getting on my bike seems a whole lot easier when I'm missing work to do it. Too bad that can't happen more often.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Last Dance
Today I got one more singletrack ride in for 2008. It's getting to be the time of year when the trails could turn irreparably slushy at any time and stay that way until March or April (let's cross our fingers for March). It turned out to be a really nice day and I was surprised how many people were out in 30-something degrees. However, it was sunny and didn't really feel cold at all. I was actually overly warm except on the longest descents.
I've been thinking for several days that it's probably time to start my "prep phase" for 2009. Basically, if I want the Ouachita Challenge to not totally suck next spring, I need to do some serious winter training. If I don't want the serious winter training to suck, I need to start getting myself used to being on the bike again. For example, I have 90-minute roller rides in Zone 3 planned for every Thursday in January and February. I came to the conclusion that I need to get in a 45-minute roller ride this week and start working up if I don't want January to kill me.
Today was definitely a testament to the amount of work I have to do to get myself back in shape. I knew I rode badly at the Iceman, but I really didn't have any frame of reference as to how badly since I'd never been on that course before. As for today, Brown County tells no lies. I was climbing stuff in my granny ring that I would normally climb in my big ring in a race situation. I'm pretty sure I'm almost down to my beginner-class fitness from 2006. I'm definitely up to (and above) my beginner class weight.
The worst part is that I haven't found the self-fulfillment and emotional balance that I hoped this break from the bike would bring. This isn't to say that it hasn't benefited me; it just hasn't benefited me in the way I had hoped. Basically, the last couple of months have been an important lesson in how avoiding discomfort doesn't lead to happiness. I'm still not exactly sure what does, but I think I'm closer than I was this time last year.
The one bright spot of the day was the realization how it really hasn't been that long since my tires first touched Brown County dirt April 2006. It was my first time taking my clipless pedals off road and about my fourth time off road period. That first ride I was super proud of myself that I did two laps of the beginner loop without having to unclip. Today I felt like might actually be less fit than I was then, but with much better technical skills. However, when I think about how I made from two beginner loops in April 2006 to finishing a highly technical 60-mile race in April 2008, I realize that I'm not doing as bad as I thought. Furthermore, 28 is still pretty young in endurance mountain bike world, so hopefully, I still have plenty more years and plenty more big improvements left in me.
I've been thinking for several days that it's probably time to start my "prep phase" for 2009. Basically, if I want the Ouachita Challenge to not totally suck next spring, I need to do some serious winter training. If I don't want the serious winter training to suck, I need to start getting myself used to being on the bike again. For example, I have 90-minute roller rides in Zone 3 planned for every Thursday in January and February. I came to the conclusion that I need to get in a 45-minute roller ride this week and start working up if I don't want January to kill me.
Today was definitely a testament to the amount of work I have to do to get myself back in shape. I knew I rode badly at the Iceman, but I really didn't have any frame of reference as to how badly since I'd never been on that course before. As for today, Brown County tells no lies. I was climbing stuff in my granny ring that I would normally climb in my big ring in a race situation. I'm pretty sure I'm almost down to my beginner-class fitness from 2006. I'm definitely up to (and above) my beginner class weight.
The worst part is that I haven't found the self-fulfillment and emotional balance that I hoped this break from the bike would bring. This isn't to say that it hasn't benefited me; it just hasn't benefited me in the way I had hoped. Basically, the last couple of months have been an important lesson in how avoiding discomfort doesn't lead to happiness. I'm still not exactly sure what does, but I think I'm closer than I was this time last year.
The one bright spot of the day was the realization how it really hasn't been that long since my tires first touched Brown County dirt April 2006. It was my first time taking my clipless pedals off road and about my fourth time off road period. That first ride I was super proud of myself that I did two laps of the beginner loop without having to unclip. Today I felt like might actually be less fit than I was then, but with much better technical skills. However, when I think about how I made from two beginner loops in April 2006 to finishing a highly technical 60-mile race in April 2008, I realize that I'm not doing as bad as I thought. Furthermore, 28 is still pretty young in endurance mountain bike world, so hopefully, I still have plenty more years and plenty more big improvements left in me.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Birthday Girl
Okay, okay, so I've refrained long enough on my "down-low" birthday. By "down-low", I mean that I decided that I was too old to go around telling everyone "November 12th is my birthday. I'll be 28" two weeks ahead of time. It appears that word spread on Facebook anyway, so I might as well live it up. TODAY'S MY BIRTHDAY. I'M 28 NOW.
I don't have any exciting plans for tonight, since I wanted to delay my celebration until Friday night when I don't have to worry about going to work the next day. I'm actually off work for the morning because I'm cooking a 20 pound turkey for my office's "Golden Turkey" pre-Thanksgiving meal, so part of tonight's celebration will include brining a turkey. Woohoo!
Maybe the cats will make me another sign or something.
In other news, today is the first day of the La Ruta de los Conquitadores. It doesn't look like anyone in my immediate blogosphere is participating this year, but it will still be fun to read the updates on the Internet. Despite my slow start in endurance racing world this year, the La Ruta is still central to my future plans. It may just take a couple more years than I originally planned.
I don't have any exciting plans for tonight, since I wanted to delay my celebration until Friday night when I don't have to worry about going to work the next day. I'm actually off work for the morning because I'm cooking a 20 pound turkey for my office's "Golden Turkey" pre-Thanksgiving meal, so part of tonight's celebration will include brining a turkey. Woohoo!
Maybe the cats will make me another sign or something.
In other news, today is the first day of the La Ruta de los Conquitadores. It doesn't look like anyone in my immediate blogosphere is participating this year, but it will still be fun to read the updates on the Internet. Despite my slow start in endurance racing world this year, the La Ruta is still central to my future plans. It may just take a couple more years than I originally planned.
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