Still in the prep phase of training and I have taken that to mean that I don't have to care very much if and when I ride. In general I hate the cold and can't seem to get up early for a cold training ride outdoors. Fortunately, I don't mind the trainer, but I have very little time to get the required endurance rides in.
This week Monday night I completed the scheduled 1.5 hour endurance ride, but missed Wednesdays ride and only rode 1 hour on Thursday. Hopefully this weekend I will get out for a couple of decent rides at Murphy. I usually don't have a problem with the cold once I am out in the woods.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Second Week of Weight Training
The start of the second week of weight training has begun. The body feels very good from last weeks light effort with the weights. It is now time to start increasing the amount of weight on each set while keeping the reps high.
Lifts today:
Upper Body
Side raises
Bent over raises
Lower Body
Leg Curls
Leg Extensions
Leg Press
Lifts today:
Upper Body
Side raises
Bent over raises
Lower Body
Leg Curls
Leg Extensions
Leg Press
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Weight training begins!
It is time to get back into the weight room for some all around strength training. This winter the focus will be on building lower body strength and transition that to power on the bike for next year. I will also focus on strengthening of my joints in my upper body.
Over the years I have taken a fair amount of nasty falls and surprisingly have come away with only a couple of cracked ribs. However, earlier this year I pulled a muscle in my left arm and it is still not yet healed. I can feel that my joints are not as strong as they were just a few years back and I attribute this to the lack of weight training. I will start out with light weigh and high repetitions with a focus on good form to ensure that I don't stress the joints too quickly. Because I have done a lot of weight training in the past my muscle strength progresses at a faster rate than the joints can take so I need to be careful.
Another thing that I am going to try this winter is keep the intensity up as much as possible, probably once a week with an intense ride. I still need to get in the longer endurance rides to build base, and I plan to keep the hours down during the transition phase to allow the body (and mind) some time to rebuild.
Over the years I have taken a fair amount of nasty falls and surprisingly have come away with only a couple of cracked ribs. However, earlier this year I pulled a muscle in my left arm and it is still not yet healed. I can feel that my joints are not as strong as they were just a few years back and I attribute this to the lack of weight training. I will start out with light weigh and high repetitions with a focus on good form to ensure that I don't stress the joints too quickly. Because I have done a lot of weight training in the past my muscle strength progresses at a faster rate than the joints can take so I need to be careful.
Another thing that I am going to try this winter is keep the intensity up as much as possible, probably once a week with an intense ride. I still need to get in the longer endurance rides to build base, and I plan to keep the hours down during the transition phase to allow the body (and mind) some time to rebuild.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Move over time to train
We are finally starting to get settled in our new house in Savage and many of the immediate tasks to get the house "livable" are mostly complete. For that past few weeks training on the bike has been non-existent and the last month and a half have been less than stellar.
Now that things have slowed down slightly I am getting my mind back into training. Part of the urge is to ensure that a repeat of last weeks DNF at Afton never happens again. Last year I made the choice to race expert and although it might take a little time to start competing with the other riders I will not except not finishing a race
Since I had to drive into work today to pick up Jordan at her friends house, I gave me the opportunity to bring the bike and go out for a ride over lunch. Unfortunately I forgot that I took my biking shorts out of my bag and had to ride in my work pants. I didn't realize how windy it had become and planed my ride to allow for a cross wind. I have come to the conclusion over the years that a cross wind is almost as bad a going directly into the wind and it seems to slow you down either way
The ride went fairly well and I tried to push hard for 20 minutes at a time with a slight rest in between. I was able to push fairly hard but on the return trip I was pushing into the headwind and I felt very slow. I am hoping the lack of sleep and training are the reason for this
I might try to get out to Murphy Saturday morning for some higher intensity efforts on the trails.
Now that things have slowed down slightly I am getting my mind back into training. Part of the urge is to ensure that a repeat of last weeks DNF at Afton never happens again. Last year I made the choice to race expert and although it might take a little time to start competing with the other riders I will not except not finishing a race
Since I had to drive into work today to pick up Jordan at her friends house, I gave me the opportunity to bring the bike and go out for a ride over lunch. Unfortunately I forgot that I took my biking shorts out of my bag and had to ride in my work pants. I didn't realize how windy it had become and planed my ride to allow for a cross wind. I have come to the conclusion over the years that a cross wind is almost as bad a going directly into the wind and it seems to slow you down either way
The ride went fairly well and I tried to push hard for 20 minutes at a time with a slight rest in between. I was able to push fairly hard but on the return trip I was pushing into the headwind and I felt very slow. I am hoping the lack of sleep and training are the reason for this
I might try to get out to Murphy Saturday morning for some higher intensity efforts on the trails.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Spin Ups and Single Leg Drills
A late training ride tonight. It was a busy evening with Taylor having girls scouts and Me spending time with Devon and Wyatt getting their bikes ready to ride. I wasn't sure I wanted to get on the ride tonight because my legs were still tired from Monday nights intervals and endurance ride. Despite the fact that I missed the ride on Sunday, I could squeeze in all the scheduled rides this week. With tonight's ride complete that I still might make it.
The way I have been doing the spin ups and single leg drills this year they are more of a recovery ride than a workout. By lowering the resistance and concentrating on form I get the intended benefit without risking over training during the week. I got on the bike at 9:15 PM and started with a 10 minute warm up. It felt good to spin some of the crud out of the legs before starting the single leg drills. I alternated 35 second with one leg then 25 seconds with both than went to the other leg. The SLDs took 20 minuets and then I changed to spin ups were I ramped up to a maximum cadence over 30 second and then maintained that cadence for 45 seconds. I started a new spin up every 5 minutes and finished at the 1 hour mark. The legs feel better today than yesterday so it was beneficial to do the workout. Endurance work tonight that should indicate how the legs are doing.
The way I have been doing the spin ups and single leg drills this year they are more of a recovery ride than a workout. By lowering the resistance and concentrating on form I get the intended benefit without risking over training during the week. I got on the bike at 9:15 PM and started with a 10 minute warm up. It felt good to spin some of the crud out of the legs before starting the single leg drills. I alternated 35 second with one leg then 25 seconds with both than went to the other leg. The SLDs took 20 minuets and then I changed to spin ups were I ramped up to a maximum cadence over 30 second and then maintained that cadence for 45 seconds. I started a new spin up every 5 minutes and finished at the 1 hour mark. The legs feel better today than yesterday so it was beneficial to do the workout. Endurance work tonight that should indicate how the legs are doing.
Monday, March 10, 2008
F2 Hilly Indurance
I missed Sundays F2 ride and have been missing a fair amount of the endurance rides this season. Therefore, I will try to squeeze in a longer ride tonight. I added 15 seconds to each interval making them 1:45 in length but will start each successive interval every 5 minutes meaning the rest period is reduce by 15 seconds. The goal is also to maintain 350 watts for each of the intervals
The intervals went fairly well, but the intensity was a little to high for the added interval length. I struggled through the 8th interval so 8 it is. The warm up and the intervals took about an hour and the remaining 1 hour I maintained a good endurance pace at approx 200 watts. The legs felt fairly good, but I could tell they were worked. Walking up the stairs a little while later I could feel the muscles tightening up. Not sure what the remainder of the training week will entail, but I would like to try to get all the workouts in.
The intervals went fairly well, but the intensity was a little to high for the added interval length. I struggled through the 8th interval so 8 it is. The warm up and the intervals took about an hour and the remaining 1 hour I maintained a good endurance pace at approx 200 watts. The legs felt fairly good, but I could tell they were worked. Walking up the stairs a little while later I could feel the muscles tightening up. Not sure what the remainder of the training week will entail, but I would like to try to get all the workouts in.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Long Endurance Rid
The weather did not cooperate today with the snow overnight Saturday and temps hovering in the low 20s with little sun most of the day. Andrea and I had hoped to get out for a long 3 hour ride on the hills towards Afton.
I will now need to find a way to work in a longer ride early this week so I keep the base going. So far I have been a litle behind on the long rides; it is hard to find the time to fit them in on Sunday (or any day for that matter). Part of the problem is the fact that Andrea and I have to share the trainer so we can't ride at the same time.
Hopefully the weather will warm up soon and we can start biking together again.
Happy Training.
I will now need to find a way to work in a longer ride early this week so I keep the base going. So far I have been a litle behind on the long rides; it is hard to find the time to fit them in on Sunday (or any day for that matter). Part of the problem is the fact that Andrea and I have to share the trainer so we can't ride at the same time.
Hopefully the weather will warm up soon and we can start biking together again.
Happy Training.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)