Heartrate and Cross

These weekly post it seems are about all I've been getting in lately. Hopefully I can get things back on track with both the blog and the training. I think I've got things pretty well caught up as I can and things can at work and get back to normal.

I'm really ready to get the training going again and am going to try being a little more structured this winter. I got in a new heartrate monitor/cycling computer this week. I got the polar cs300.

I'm still trying to figure it out but it's got a lot of cool features and some easy upgrades I can add to it as I move on through training like adding a cadence monitor etc. I have only used it a couple of times so far. The other nice thing is since I can wear it as a watch and mount it on a bike with 2 different settings for 2 bikes I can mount it to my road bike and wear it on my wrist for when I'm on my mountain bike( for some reason I don't like having a computer mounted to my my mountain bike) I can know keep track of my time, distance, speed etc. Like I said I think it will really help me have a bit more structured of a training plan. To add to that structure I'm thinking about using a coach. I'm just trying to figure out when.

I also had a new surprise today. It looks like I'm going to race again this season. I was working at the shop today and was hanging out chatting with the owner and we started talking about the local cross race that also serves as the state championship. Anyways he asked me if I was going to race it. I said I wasn't sure I had been thinking about it but I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it on my mountain bike. I mean I'm probably going to get smoked pretty bad and being on a mountain bike would only make it worse if I had a cross bike I could use I definetly would. So he then offered up the Surly Cross Check that is one of his many personal bikes that fits me perfect to use for the race. So it know looks like I'm going to be cross racing in a couple of weeks. Which means the next couple weeks of training for me is going to be on a cross bike with a lot of practice dismounting and remounting.

I took the cross bike out today for a ride through wilderness. With it's flat tight and twisty track a lot of people have said that it is a blast on a cross bike. They were right. The speed was awesome. It took a while for me to get used to it. Not having the full suspension and just the difference in bike geometry took a while to get used to but once I got the feel for it it was good. I still prefer the mountain bike but the speed is nice.

Today was also my first real cold weather ride of the season. Mid thirties with a nice wind was rough and a reminder that it is early and I got a while to go. The ride out wasn't bad but when I was on my way home and facing the wind it was a bit chilly.

Not sure what tomorrow has to offer yet. It's not supposed to be as cold and windy with a bit of sun but we are celebrating the kids birthdays with my wifes family so I got to work a bit of time in around that.

Harp

Almost Free Weekend

Like I said in yesterdays post I pretty much had the weekend off and free from work except for the 5 hours I pulled at the shop and like I said a good chunk of that time was spent working on the bike. I got my front brake running smooth and noise free again. The rotor had been rubbing up against my the brake pads and making a nice annoying sqeeky sound. It really drove me nuts on the ride into the shop.

After I rode home from the shop I hung with the fam for a while and then geared up and headed out for a ride through wilderness. It felt great to be out on the trails again after a couple of week absence. Today was the first time in a while I really pushed it on the mountain bike in the woods. Actually I think it is the first time I've ridden at a high pace since my last race on Sept. 27th. It felt really good. The legs felt good and loose but I could tell I wasn't going at the same speed I was a month ago. I stopped to put let some of the pressure out of my tires (fine for riding home from the shop but way to much for the trail) and a fast rider was coming up as I was getting going again and he went around and I tried to grab his wheel but I just didn't have enough to stay with him for long. This felt a little odd for me. I'm not used to getting dropped on my home trail. Probably for the best. Reminds me that I need to get back to training regularly and get back into better form.

I had a good 1 1/2 hours on the bike plus the time riding back and forth from the shop. Not a bad day. Tomorrow I'm planning on heading to Branched Oak for some real trail time and get a bit of climbing in while we are still getting the nice temps in the 70's.

Harp

Weekend Off

After reading my last post a couple of times I really realized that I've been whining again. But it doesn't matter cause I don't have to work at the school or at the Links. I got to pull a small shift at the shop (most times I don't consider it work since what I'm mostly going to be doing is working on my bike) but other than that I'm not doing anything but riding. I didn't even bring any school work home with me (which is unusual for me). I'm just going to ride as much as I can and spend the rest of the time hanging with the kids.

I got to go get my stuff ready for a early morning spin before I go into the shop. I'm going to try to get a real post together this weekend.

Harp

Sticky Note Hell

This is what my office looks like. Probably not much training this week. Still trying to get caught up at work from all that I've had going on the last couple of weeks. Most of these "reminders" (several are stacked on top of each other and on the rest of my desk) came up today from the 3 hrs I spent in my office in between lab classes. Looking like better weather later in the week. I'm praying for some trail time.

Harp

Maybe Training

In my mind I want to dive back into training but my work schedule is fighting me on it. It seems like I still have a bunch of stuff piling up that I got to finish this week so training is still going to be a bit off and on.

I did have a good day on Friday though. I was up before work to do my core routine. I haven't done that for a while and it was pretty rough. I remember right before the season started I was going through the workout with ease and was going to change it up to make it a but tougher. After not doing it so long it hurt and yesterday and today I'm really sore. I was so sore yesterday that I was having a hard time moving around the kitchen at work. When I got home from work on Friday I had time to head out for a quick 20 mile ride on the road bike. It seems that it is that fall season when the road bike is going to see a lot of action. I really pushed it on the ride which I'm sure added to my soreness. I didn't have a chance to get anything in yesterday. I went to the Nebraska-Baylor game with my uncle and then was at work at ArborLinks the rest of the night. I was probably to sore to really do much of a workout anyways.

Today after I woke up and noticed that it was really windy(25-35 mph with gusts of 40+) so I decided to go out and ride in Pioneers Park. I took it pretty easy and did a few intervals but mostly I just tried to stay at a nice easy pace and stretch out the sore legs. Hopefully pretty soon I'm back to normal and these workouts don't cause me so many problems.

Now it's off to get ready for work and try to get through this week. Later.

Harp

Trying to get back

The exam is finally over. I passed and am ready to move on. I did enjoy the prep and taking the exam but I'm ready to get back to training. I'm already getting super motivated for next season. The new Bike Pedalers team is moving along. Being on the team is going to change a lot of things for me big time but I'll talk more about that later. But I'm really looking forward to being on it. The small core group of guys on the team are all good guys and really motivated to work hard for next season.

I've been trying to get back on the bike some. The only real riding I've done has been on the last couple of Sunday mornings. I've hit wilderness park for a couple of long easy paced rides. I was hoping to start up training right away but that hasn't been as easy as I would have liked. I am really behind at the college. I spent all my office time practicing and got myself backed up along with my heavy load of classes since the fall term is when we get the biggest intake of new students. I also lost my chef de cuisine at ArborLinks so I'm having to fill the role of my full time person along with the resposabilities I already had. Lucky for me it's getting towards the end of the golf season. I need to get caught up so I have set my plan to get back into full blown training to Nov. 1

I did get back on the trainer last night for a little while. It felt pretty good and I was planning on getting up early this morning and get a core workout in but when I woke up I felt horrible. My head was pounding and my stomach was doing all sorts of crazy things. I went back to bed thinking if I got a bit more sleep I might be able to make it to work. That didn't happen but the problem was I couldn't find a sub so I willed myself into the car and tried to make it in. I felt really great when I got sick at a stoplight on the busiest street in town. I got lucky though when I got a call back with someone to cover my class and was able to get back home and into bed for about another 7 hours.

I'm finally feeling better now. But another day missing from school puts me even farther behind. But I'll make it through. I'm going to train as much as I can. I should have my training room ready to go in the next couple of days.

That's about all I can do for now. Still a bit tired.

Harp

Random Riding

I think this has been the longest I've gone without posting on this blog. Since I've started this process of getting ready to take the certified executive chef exam I've taken some time off from the bike and have focused on the exam. The riding that I've done in the past 2 weeks has been very random and relaxed. Really the rides are just a way for me to get out and think. No training of any kind just some relaxing rides in the woods. I'm really enjoying the fall weather. Way more this year than last year. It does remind me though that comfortable rides are about to be gone to be replaced with cold rides but I'm going to take the mild fall while it last.

This weekend I actually got out to wilderness park both yesterday and today. Yesterday I had a bunch of stuff to do before I went to work so the ride was only about 1:15. Today I headed out and was riding for about 2 hours. Both rides were pretty uneventful except today I ran into about 22 horses coming the opposite way on the trail and had to sit and wait for them to get by and then I spent the next mile dodging what the horses left behind for me.

Well I better get my stuff ready and get to bed. I keep telling myself I just got to get through this week and then I can get back to training which I'm really gettin antsy to do.

1st team Bike Pedalers meeting tomorrow night. That should be interesting to see what's going on with the sponsors and such.

Harp