Training Log - 30 March 2009

I got to get on the trainer this evening. Here are the numbers:

• Ride Time: 1:02
• Distance: 17.3 miles
• Average Speed: 16.7 mph
• Max Speed: 22.9 mph
• Resistance Level: Medium
• Exercise Type: Climbing Intervals

I started with a 5 minute warm-up. Then I began a series of standing climbs. 90 seconds out of the saddle, 90 seconds recovery. I was holding 17-18 mph standing and 15-16 mph during recovery. I completed 10 intervals like this.

Then I started seated climbs. I rode 2 minutes in top gear, then 2 minutes recovery. I maintained 20-22 during the "climb", and again 15-16 during recovery. I completed 6 intervals like this.

I finished with a 5 minute cool down period.

During my last interval, I noticed that my indicated speed started fluctuating on the speedometer. About every 5 seconds, it would drop by 25%, then come back up after about 1 second. (The pattern was actually pretty rhythmic.) When I took my cyclocomputer off after the work-out, the bottom side where the contacts are was completely covered in sweat. Guess I need to watch where my sweat is falling a little better in the future.

Also, for the sake of observation, I weighed myself before and after the ride. I "lost" 2.2 pounds during the ride. Realistically, it was all water weight. More impressively, I drank a full "tall" bike bottle during the ride (28 oz, I think). So my real water loss was closer to 4 pounds. That is one-half gallon of sweat during 1 hour of exercise. Yuck!

Well, until next ride...

In God's Love,
JAy.

Training Log - March 28, 2009

I went to the local bike shop ride this morning. It is a thirty mile loop. I rode exactly 30 miles, according to my cyclocomputer.

I am not going to worry about the speed or time for this ride. The reason is that a new rider showed up, and I volunteered to stay with her to help her learn the route. Therefore, the ride took considerably longer than I had hoped.

However, I did learn one thing on the ride. I was cruising along and noticed that I was experiencing more leg fatigue than expected. When I started moving around a little on the bike, I realized that I was barely putting little weight on the saddle. I moved my hands, and that allowed me a more comfortable riding position while actually sitting. Therefore, I have ordered a new stem to pull my handlebars back slightly. I think that this will help with my overall riding going forward. Hopefully it will arrive before next weekend. It should only take a few minutes to swap out.

I also tried a new nutrition bar on this ride. Even though this wasn't a great test, I think I like the bars and am going to get some more. Even if I decide later that they aren't great for riding, they will make good meal bars for breakfast.

Well, until next time!

Training Log - March 22, 2009

Today I participated in the Guaranty Bank Tour de Houston, an organized ride that runs through various parts of the city of Houston. I road what was advertised as the 70 mile ride. The ride particulars:

• Distance: 67.5 mile
• Average Speed: 17 mph
• Max Speed: 29.8 mph
• Ride Time: 3:57
• Total Time: 4:45 (est)

I have to estimate the total time because I didn't notice what time I actually started. And had I seen that maximum speed on one of the down-hills, I would have pedalled a little harder to get to 30 mph!

It was an interesting ride. While it was neat to see some neighborhoods which I had not previously seen, it also did nothing to disprove a common perception of Houston roads. That is that they are all in poor to fair condition. I avoided and hit more potholes, cracks, etc. than I think I ever have. Thankfully, I only had one "near miss" with a fall, and no actual falls. That one was due to "wheel suck" where I almost got stuck in an expansion joint in a concrete road bed. Thankfully, I was able to get my wheel out of the crack without incident.

The ride started out really well for me. In fact, I was averaging 19 mph about 25 miles into the ride. Then the wind picked up some, and I slowed a little. Then I paid for my errors of not eating or drinking enough during the first part of the ride. By mile 45 I was hurting. I took a pretty long break at mile 50. By mile 60, I hurt some more, and by mile 65 I was starting to cramp. Thankfully, I made it to the end without collapsing.

Note that the ride distance was somewhat less than the advertised distance. That is because the ride was not well marked where the different routes split. The 70 mile riders were supposed to ride the same route that the 40 mile riders were on until mile 32 or so. Then the 70 mile route headed out on a 30 mile loop before going back towards the starting area.

The course officials and the riders didn't get these instructions clearly, so the vast majority of riders headed on the 70 mile loop the first time by instead of the second. While that didn't necessarily mean that the route would be shorter, when I made it back to where the routes converged, I headed straight back to the start instead of making the 2 mile loop around one of the break points. I figured the two miles weren't going to make that much difference.

So, my big learnings from the ride:

• Drink lots of fluids before and during the ride (I may where my digital watch to set a reminder of this for me on future rides)
• Eat during the ride (at least every hour); preferably, eat something with some protein
• I like my bike a lot; it road really well, and I was pretty darn comfortable

So that's it for this ride. I hope to get on the trainer at least once this week. Stay tuned to see if that happens!

Training Log - March 17, 2009

Got to ride on the trainer last night. It was a good workout, and I actually have more soreness today than I expected. The particulars:

• Distance: 12.5 miles
• Average Speed: 18.7 mph
• Max Speed: 27.7 mph
• Ride Time: 40 minutes
• Resistance Setting: Medium
• Exercise Type: Medium Intervals (1:00)

I started with a warm up (5 minutes) and then went into standing intervals (1:00 minute standing, 1:00 sitting). I was basically holding a steady 18 mph or so for both the standing period and the recovery. Totaled 8 intervals standing.

Then I moved on to speed intervals, still 1:00 interval and 1:00 recovery. I was trying to maintain a minimum of 25 mph on the speed interval. Initially I was holding about 18 mph on the recovery, but towards the end had to slow that down to really recover. Totaled 8 speed intervals.

I finished with a 4 minute cool down period.

Overall, it was a good workout. I was definitely tired by the time I finished. And like I mentioned before, I can actually feel it in my legs this morning. Guess that is a good thing.

I have registered for a ride this weekend, so I should have a post after I finish that.

In God's Love,
JAy.

Training Log - March 7, 2009

I went for a ride March 7 with my brother-in-law. It was a pretty good ride, but had to be cut short due to time (and daylight). The log info:

• Distance: 23.0 miles
• Average Speed: 16.7 mph
• Max Speed: 25.1 mph
• Ride Time: 1:22:28

We had a pretty stiff headwind heading out, then a nice tailwind for the shortened return. Probably could have boosted the average speed had we done more miles, since we had done the majority of the stop-and-go riding in the first half of the ride (most of my rides are suburban).

Overall, a good ride.

In God's Love,
JAy.