Training Log - 3/30/07

Distance: 30.1 miles
Max speed: 22.4 mph
Average speed: 14.5 mph

Total Training Distance: 468.0 miles
Total Time on trainer: 2.5 hours
Weight: 187.0 lbs

The training miles are starting to add up. I feel pretty good going into the 55 miles ride this Sunday. As for today's ride, I headed out on an overcast day and two miles into my ride the heavens opened up and rained. It rained all the way to and from the beach. At least it wasn't cold. I took the 192 causeway going over to the beach nice and easy. Then on the way back I decided to attack it. I ended up finding the right gear and maintained 12 mph up and over the causeway. And I never had to come out of the saddle. I thought that was pretty good. My legs are definitely getting stronger.

Speaking of Sunday's ride, it will be the fourth anniversary of my dad's passing. He died with lung cancer. It was rather ironic too. He had a heart transplant 8 years before only to die of lung cancer. If you knew my dad you'd laugh about him dying on April Fool's Day. He had quite a sense of humor and it would have been just like him to pull a stunt like this on purpose. Anyway, he was a good man with a work ethic that matched his sense of humor. I hope I have inherited even a fraction of both.

I remember a conversation I had with my dad when I was a teenager. I don't remember exactly what it was about but it had something to do with something I wanted to do but it was hard and success was a long shot. He told me, "Ya' know, the odds are against you but, if you give up, you are all done, brother."

Well, dad, I'll be thinking of you on my ride on Sunday. I promise, dad. I won't give up.

Training Log - 2/29/07

Distance: 20.8 miles
Max speed: 18.7 mph
Average speed: 15.8 mph

Total Training Distance: 437.9 miles
Total Time on trainer: 2.5 hours
Weight: 185.8 lbs

OK, sports fans, let's go over one of the basic rules of interaction between cars and cyclists at night. If you are driving a car and you are closing the distance on a cyclist at night do not, I repeat, DO NOT turn on your high beams! I just don't get it. What possible benefit is there to burning my retinas? Its not like you are going to sneak up on me. If you flip on your high beams it means you have already seen me. And, it's not like I am going to miss you either. All you do completely blind me and make me run into mailboxes (even worse than folding metal barricades).

So, I'm giving everyone fair warning. If you shine your high beams at me at night, I'm going to chase you down, pull you over and write you a ticket. Yup, there will be a $50 fine payable to my Team in Training fund raising site. And, if all you ladies think you can flirt to get out of this ticket... well... maybe! *wink*

We did it! We blew through our goal!

I came back from my bike ride tonight, sat down to check my email and discovered we not only met our goal of raising $5,000, we blew right past it! And, if my company comes through with matching mine and my co-worker's donations, it should put us at about $8,500!

So let's not stop here! We have plenty of time to keep this ball rolling.

Let's shoot for $10,000!

Awesome! Thank you!

Skip

Training Log - 3/27/07

Distance: 16.4 miles
Max speed: 19.2 mph
Average speed: 16.4 mph

Total Training Distance: 417.1 miles
Total Time on trainer: 2.5 hours
Weight: 187.0 lbs

Well... I meant to get my ride in before it got dark but an emergency home repair delayed me. Unfortunately, when it gets dark I have to slow down a bit in order to keep from running over my neighbors out walked their dogs.

Anyway, a good ride. Tomorrow night is the nutrition clinic in Orlando. So I get a break. I'll ride 20 miles on Thursday and, since I have Friday off, I think I'll ride 30 miles to the beach during the day.

Sometimes when I ride I get a song stuck in my head. Tonight, I had the following song stuck in my noggin'. It's one of my favorites...

Life Ain't Always Beautiful
Gary Allan

Life ain't always beautiful
Sometimes it's just plain hard
Life can knock you down, it can break your heart

Life ain't always beautiful
You think you're on your way
And it's just a dead end road at the end of the day

But the struggle makes you stronger
And the changes make you wise
And happiness has it's own way of takin' it sweet time

[chorus]
No,life aint always beautiful
Tears will fall sometimes
Life aint always beautiful
But it's a beautiful ride

Life aint always beautiful
Some days I miss your smile
I get tired of walkin' all these lonely miles

And I wish for just one minute
I could see your pretty face
Guess I can dream, but life dont work that way

But the struggles makes me stronger
And the changes make me wise
And happiness has it's own way of takin' its sweet time

No, life aint always beautiful
But I know I'll be fine
Hey, life aint always beautiful
But its a beautiful ride
What a beautiful ride

Training Log - 3/26/07

Distance: 16.4 miles
Max speed: 22.0 mph
Average speed: 17.2 mph

Total Training Distance: 400.7 miles
Total Time on trainer: 2.5 hours
Weight: 187.0 lbs

I was able to get my ride in a little early tonight. I made it before the sun set which is novel for rides during the week. I was able to push pretty hard and finished with probably the best time ever during training. Not a bad effort for being in the saddle for the first time in five days. I had a great recovery weekend though. I feel fresh both physically and mentally.

I have noticed there is quite a difference in riding in flat terrain versus hills. Personally, I think that riding the flats is harder as its a constant push, whereas riding the hills is "bursty". You push hard up the hills but get to rest on the way down. On the long team rides, I tend to be conscious of conserving energy to make sure I have enough gas to make the whole ride. So maybe that is why it seems a little easier than my nightly rides.

Anyway, I'm back in the saddle again...

Training Log - 3/21/07

Distance: 21.2 miles
Max speed: 19.1 mph
Average speed: 16.2 mph

Total Training Distance: 384.3 miles
Total Time on trainer: 2.5 hours
Weight: 185.6 lbs

OK, so I'm sound asleep last night and I start to dream about cycling. Yeah, I know, its taking over my life. Anyway, in my dream, I'm riding along just flying, legs pumping, sucking in air like a jet engine. I look down briefly to check what gear I was in and when I look up there is a barricade right in front of me. (If you have followed my journey you know there is some precedent there.) I swerve, and right when I think I'm clear, I feel my bike shorts snag a corner of the metal barricade. I hear a rip, a pop and then watch as my stretchy pants fly off me, like a rubber band launched from your finger, and land in a field next to the road. I am buck naked. That's when I wake up--laughing. Now, tell me, what kind freak wakes up laughing?! I mean people are supposed to have dreams of monsters, demons and falling from planes. Me? I dream of flying stretchy pants! LOL

OK, I just don't know how to follow that up. So I'm going to bed. Hopefully, my stretchy pants will stay put tonight. Ha!

Nite nite.

Training Log - 3/20/07

Distance: 238.3 miles
Max speed: 92.3 mph
Average speed: 70.2 mph

heehee... Wow! I guess I really am a Lance Armstrong! LOL

I set my bike computer down next to my laptop and it must have picked up the cooling fans I have under the laptop.

Here's the real numbers...

Distance: 16.4 miles
Max speed: 18.4 mph
Average speed: 16.3 mph

Total Training Distance: 363.1 miles
Total Time on trainer: 2.5 hours
Weight: 186.2 lbs

I missed my scheduled ride last night. To be honest, I was pretty sore. So, it wasn't a hard sell for me to go grocery shopping and delivering girl scout cookies instead of riding.

Tonight I started out and my legs didn't want to move. But, after I warmed up a little, my legs felt great. I felt very strong. Tonight's ride was a huge confidence builder as if I can feel this good two days after riding 55 miles, then I know I can finish the 100 miles in June.

Awesome ride tonight. I'll do 20 tomorrow and 25 on Thursday. I'll be out-of-town early Friday morning until early evening Sunday. On Sunday night, I'll ride and then next week its spinning.

Training Log - 3/18/07

Distance: 55.3 miles
Max speed: 31.6 mph
Average speed: 14.1 mph
Temperature: 46-69 degrees
Stretching

Total Training Distance: 346.7 miles
Total Time on trainer: 2.5 hours
Weight: 187.2 lbs

OK, I woke up at 4:30, left my house at 5:30 and drove to Windermere to bike our scheduled 50 mile ride. There were 22 of us, including the 4 cyclists from the North Florida TNT team. Mark called the team together before the ride to remember a cyclist, training for the same TNT event, who passed away from a brain aneurysm during this same ride two years ago. He and several of the members of that team stopped off at the spot this happened to remember their fallen team mate before continuing on with the ride. I think this speaks volumes to the character of the people I now ride with.

Anyway, we rode for a bit more than 50 miles. At 55 miles this is almost twice as long a ride as I have ever done (30 miles). And it was a hard ride on hills named "Taco Hill", "The Wall" and "Buck Hill". Buck Hill was a first for me, and let me just say, it was the first hill a shred of doubt had entered my head as to whether I would make it. It was tough.

The first third of the ride was tame, just some rolling hills. The middle third of the ride contained the challenging hills. Tough. And, the last third was a repeat of the first third except by then the legs were heavy.

It was a good ride. It was fun to be with the team to do it. It also taught me that I some work still to do before I am ready for Tahoe.

Training Log - 3/16/07

Distance: 25.2 miles
Max speed: 20.4 mph
Average speed: 15.4 mph
Temperature: 74 degrees
Stretching

Total Training Distance: 291.4 miles
Total Time on trainer: 2.5 hours
Weight: 186.4 lbs

Tough ride today. There is a cold front moving through. So there was a 20 mph wind out of the south with gusts up to 29 mph. That's OK though as I was riding on a circular route and one leg was directly into the wind which is kind of like climbing a hill.

I also wanted to make this a longer ride than the plan as I still feel like I am in catch up mode. So I added another 5 miles onto the ride. Tomorrow is a rest day. So an extra long ride today should be a good thing.

One thing I am constantly amazed by is the amount of energy you burn on these rides. I thought I had eaten a pretty good breakfast, but after about 13 miles into the ride I had to pull out an energy bar as my body was hungry for fuel.

Training Log - 3/15/07

Distance: 5.0 miles
Time on Trainer: 1 hour
X-Training: core strengthening
Stretching

Total Training Distance: 271.2 miles
Total Time on trainer: 3.5 hours
Weight: 186.4 lbs

Headed off on my bike ride but only managed 5 miles before a thunder storm hit. So I hit the trainer for an hour to make up for the last 15 miles I needed to do today.

Training Log - 3/13/07

Distance: 16.4 miles
Max speed: 18.2 mph
Average speed: 16.4 mph

Total Training Distance: 266.2 miles
Total Time on trainer: 2.5 hours
Weight: 186.2 lbs

I didn't get my ride in until late. Tuesday is Girl Scout night. My legs were a bit stiff tonight, but once I got moving they felt OK. This was the first ride in the last 2 weeks where I felt strong again. It will be very nice to have tomorrow off as a rest day. Hopefully, I should be in good shape to do the 20 mile rides on Thursday and Friday and then the 50 mile ride with the team on Sunday.

Training Log - 3/12/07

Distance: 16.3 miles
Max speed: 18.3 mph
Average speed: 14.8 mph
X-training: core strengthening
Stretching

Total Training Distance: 249.8 miles
Total Time on trainer: 2.5 hours
Weight: 187.2 lbs

I sure didn't feel like getting back on the bike tonight. I was a bit sore from my ride yesterday. But I did. It wasn't too bad once I got going. It was a nice night for riding.

Becoming a cyclist...

Ya' know at some point when you join Team in Training you have to accept that you have gone from being a recreational biker to a real cyclist. The evidence sneaks up on you but, at some point, you have to accept it.

Exhibit One: You are driving down the street and your daughter asks you what you are craning your neck at. You have to admit you are looking for streets with good bike lanes.

Exhibit Two: You are riding along and come to a fork in the road. You take the one with the incline on it.

Exhibit Three: Sometimes, when I go out riding, I start to think about my late wife. At times, a flood of memories hit me. I miss her still. Sometimes, I ride with a smile remembering and sometimes the tears come. So I'm riding along with tears coming down my face and I think, "Great, now I'm going to have to drink even more to hydrate!" *laugh*

Yeah, at some point, you have to admit you are a cyclist...

Training Log - 3/11/07

Distance: 30.5 miles
Max speed: 23.0 mph
Average speed: 14.8 mph
Temperature: 75 degrees

Total Training Distance: 233.5 miles
Total Time on trainer: 2.5 hours
Weight: 187.6 lbs

I intended to train a little yesterday but I ended up spending more time in Orlando watching my son in the Florida Regional FIRST robotics competition. It was very cool for the kids. My sons team didn't win, place or show, but they had a great time. It was my son's high school's rookie appearance at this competition. They learned a lot about technology and teamwork.

I came home last night with my chest all congested again. I fell asleep discouraged that I just can't seem to shake this virus. But, I woke up this morning and felt much better. Go figure.

Anyway, I headed off from my house to cycle to the beach in Indialantic. I didn't feel the need to set any land speed records, particularly as I am still fighting off this virus. The going was a little tough as the winds were coming out of the east. Since I started off around 1:00, I was afraid that the winds would switch to the west in the afternoon and I'd be fighting a head wind both going to and coming from the beach. But it turned out to be too early in the year for that. Not hot enough yet.

I found out that the route I took measured exactly 15 miles from my house to the beach. I rested and hydrated right before tackling the Melbourne causeway. My legs felt fine but I wanted to take it easy on my lungs. I didn't have much problem with the causeways in either direction.

The ride home was a bit easier as I had the wind to my back. On some stretches, I managed to get up some speed (23 mph) without even trying. The last few miles started to get a little uncomfortable. My legs started to protest. But I made it back. I can't say I had much left in the tank though. And, to be honest, right now I am feeling it.

Its a good thing I didn't attempt the 40 miles on the hills with the team today. Hopefully, given one more week of training, I'll be ready for the 50 mile haul next Sunday.

Training Log - 3/9/07

Distance: 11.5 miles
Max speed: 19.7 mph
Average speed: 16.0 mph
X-training: core strengthening
Stretching

Total Training Distance: 203.0 miles
Total Time on trainer: 2.5 hours
Weight: 187.6 lbs

I didn't go much further tonight than last night but I did push a little harder. It felt pretty good although I still had a bit of a coughing fit at the end. Tomorrow, I'll add a little more distance. On Sunday, I'll put in a long ride, maybe even ride to the Melbourne causeway to do a little climbing.

When I was in high school I was into the martial arts. That was quite a long time ago. But I distinctly remember this quote that was on the walls -

Step-by-step, walk the thousand mile road. Today is a victory over the self of yesterday; tomorrow is a victory over lesser men.
-Musashi: Book of Five Rings

When you are eighteen there is only one meaning in that. Every day you must push yourself past your limits to set new heights of performance. Its funny, that when you are older, more experienced and hopefully wiser, you begin to understand that sometimes periods of rest, or periods of recovery from illness, are necessary to push your performance to new heights. Its not all about the push. Sometimes, its about the pull back.

Training Log - 3/8/07

Distance: 11.1 miles
Max speed: 17.0 mph
Average speed: 15.0 mph

Total Training Distance: 191.5 miles
Total Time on trainer: 2.5 hours
Weight: 185.6 lbs

Took it nice and easy today. I wanted to put in at least 10 miles but take it easy at around 15 mph. Surprisingly, even though I can't really see my bike computer unless I am right under a street light, I ended my ride at exactly 15.0 mph. I'll increase the distance a little more tomorrow and increase the speed if I feel OK.

I'll end with one of my favorite quotes -

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure...than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
- Theodore Roosevelt

Training Log - 3/7/07

Distance: 30 minutes on trainer
X-training: core strengthening
Stretching

Total Training Distance: 180.4 miles
Total Time on trainer: 2.5 hours
Weight: 186.6 lbs

I'm baaaaccckkk... :-)

I had to bench myself for a few days as I was a bit sicker than I was admitting to myself. The problem revolved around all the congestion I had in my chest. Amazingly, if you can't breath well, you have difficulty cycling. Go figure. So, I had to just stop and wait until my lungs cleared up.

My legs felt pretty good on the trainer tonight. But this cold has taken some of the stamina I had. So I will need to gradually increase the workouts until I get to where I need to be. As I increase my workouts, I can add some cross training and stretching in.

I'm still coughing some, but I'm definately feeling much better. Now I need to get my daughter better too.

Good morning!

Yup, its a good morning. I woke up almost feeling normal again. Thank god! Still some congestion but Musinex and I have been good buddies the last few days. I will take today off again and see how things feel tomorrow. On the negative side, I feel like I've lost some of the strength and stamina I had worked hard to build. That will take some work to get back. On the positive side, I was in much better shape than I thought I would have been. I could have done 40 miles two weeks ago. Also, I have time to catch up again.

In the meantime, my focus has shifted to fundraising, which has been going well. I've even had neighbors flag me down in my neighborhood waving checks at me. I've had such wonderful support from so many people.

I am working on a catchy limerick to assist with the fundraising part of this adventure. Reply here and let me know what you think or suggest better wording.


There once was a man from Palm Bay
Who had a brilliant idea one day
Let's pretend I am Greg LeMond
And cycle 100 miles around a pond
Do your part and donate today!


I crack myself up! :-)

Training Log - 3/3/07

Distance: just 5 miles

No fever but still sick. I have a lot of congestion in my chest. I knew I wouldn't be able to ride for long but I wanted to do something to keep from sliding too far behind because of this bug. I made some adjustments to the bike and headed off. I felt pretty good to start. It was great getting back on the bike. Unfortunately, once I started breathing harder my lungs started bothering me. By the time I got to 4 miles, I started feeling a burning sensation in my lungs. It was time to stop. No sense in pushing too hard and giving myself pneumonia.

I can't tell you how frustrating this is. Tomorrow the team will do 40 miles while I ride my recliner. Oi vey...

Chambre de la mort

Or roughly speaking... house of death. OK, far be it from me to be melodramatic. ha! ha!

Everyone in my house, including me, has been sick with the flu. I've missed two days this week training. Its been rough. But my temps have been below 100 today and I am ever hopeful that tomorrow I will be in shape to ride again. I did force myself to eat and stay hydrated. All that Gatorade I've been buying lately sure has come in handy. So I haven't lost any weight. And tonight, for the first time in several days, I've actually wanted to eat dinner.

And, I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike too. Can't wait.