Day 68: Jan 16, 2010 - LSD (Base)

Today I accomplished a new feat. For the first time in a LONG time I kept my butt on the trainer for 2 hours in Zone 1. Well not exactly, I did have to take a bathroom / water bottle refill break but other than that - it was just me and the bike.

The heart rate stayed surprisingly low for the duration; even with trying to keep the wattage near the top of Z1.

AND

With staying at Keiser M3 gear 10 AND Zone 1:
Lap 1 = 30 km / hr
La 2 = 32 km / hr
I like very much :)
The bust is that it was all done at 0% elevation. Check out pics from next week to see how we combat this one :P

Day 64: Jan 11, 2009 - Yiiii

OK - so today was great.
I was up before the sun, wish it was a little earlier but it wasn't too bad.

If you still eat dairy (which I do in winter) wake up extra early so your milk or yogurt has time to digest. Otherwise you'll have to take a 5 minute poo break during your warm up (or at least I did this morning)! Other notes.... pre-pack EVERYTHING the night before if you're planning a 6am start. My body works a little slow in the morning so my last 5 minutes of packing / prep took 15.

On to the work out:
15 min warm-up (low)
15 min zone 1
05 min zone 3 + 05 min recovery x 5
10 min warm-down

With help of the Keiser M3 I was able to do every other Zone 3 at 70ish rpms to get a real cranker in (and tried to keep everything else at 105 rpm avg). I found however after the masher interval, I'd have to spin at like 115rpm to get my legs back. Which in turn meant my watts dropped (even as low as 100 some times) but hey, I was recovering ;)

Unfortunately with working on a spin bike it doesn't 'save' my data so I record it as best as I can, and have to judge by heart rate and perceived value for record keeping... but it's in the moment I know I hurt.

Keiser Averages:
RPM: 87
Watts: 178
Dist: 33.7km
Time: 70:05

(total work out was longer, but I lost a few sets of data along the way *bathroom*, however, this was the bulk of the work out.

Day 62: Jan 9, 2010: Watts are BACK!

I can't even describe how happy I was today!
New gym had the new Keiser M3 spin bikes - WATTS, CADENCE, TIME, DISTANCE... everything you want in a training partner.

Anyhow, here's the photos and stats.

Distance: 27.2km (if it was miles I would have been smokin fast!)
Avg Watts: 181
Avg Cadence: 102

This was an easy ride where I just went for a spin but had to play with the watts a little.
Next week I'm starting the 'real' base again, so this was just a play day.

Day 31: Dec 9, 2009 - Spin HARD (1:50)

Well today was the last day of my 'first month'.
There's a "guy" who calls himself "the bike guy" and says its hard to stay on a trainer for more than 90 minutes... You'll see me quote this "guy" a lot and do a LOT of his workouts. Most of the workouts I already know and do because they're good workouts; but its nice to know other comebackers are on the same page. None the less, my goal today was to break the 90 minute barrier.

Anyhow, today was 110 minutes on the bike.
Read: 12 mins
Music: 50 mins
I wanted to do the majority in silence because I needed to do this, for me.

There wasn't a real 'plan' but I wanted to work, hard.
Plan not to burn out, but plan to accomplish some serious work. There's no hills, no coasting, just you and a bike, you can do this. Get into your head. Forget about the boredom. Think of attacking a hill, think of bridging a gap... If you're having a tough time getting into it, STAND, burn your legs off for a few seconds, sit down, recoup and do it again.

Sunday drive on Sunday; today is NOT Sunday. No scenery; nothing pretty to look at, just you, a bike, a wall, and a stuffy gym - GO RIDE!

Day 27: Dec 5, 2009 - Track

Today is the day.
As we wind down the first month; I made the 2 hr drive out to London Ontario to get back on the track. Forest City Velodrome was hosting a Level 1 Track School, and with it being my first time on a track bike since my accident, I was a little excited and scared.

My weapon of choice was a 57 cm KHS Flite. Once I connected my Look Keo's, we were instantly friends and away we went.
Rob from Ontario Cycling was there running the clinic and he did a great job.
1. Starting & Stopping
Some guys were ambidextrous but I wasn't able to unclick my right foot, so I was left dominant.
2. Cones on ground level.
3. Riding on the track / cote
4. cones on the Cote
5. Cones on the track
SHOULDER CHECK! Up and Down
6. Group work

Feeling the speed and fluidity of the track was so refreshing.
Even though this little KHS loved me; if you're going to get a "base level" track bike; you NEED a Fuji Track Comp. Not only does it look fast; the rear wheel cut out and aero downtube help you cheat as much of the wind you're cutting through as possible. Fuji sports their own three piece isis bottom track cranks and 30mm deep wheels. For 'base level' you get a whole lotta pro built into it; no doubt with a lot of input from Advanced Sports Pan Am Games track girl. One day one will be mine!

In the skills session I was a little uneasy taking my hands off the bars; but that was because my collar bone was still a little sore from the other day, and the guy behind me went down. By the end I was okay to ride with my hand behind my back but it was still pretty unnerving.

I just wish it wasn't so far away - I can't wait to go back!

(there were three separate track classes - but here's the curve from the last one)

Day 17: Nov 25, 2009 - bike

With yesterday being a bit of a full day (with a bike and a run) I took it a little easier today.
I biked back to my buddy's house to get some air in these tires!
WOW did the bike ever ride differently. 30psi makes a huge difference. One thing I'll say for the Lightspeeds - they don't always feel the snappiest; but dang do they have great 'road feel'.

Got lost for about 10 minutes on the way there. There was a huge police check point in this small residential neighborhood (and I'm talking huge - 15 cops minimum, cars getting towed; INS on the scene, it was a pretty big deal) - anyhow it got me a little turned around. This made for a big negative split. That and I now had some proper air pressure in my tires.

Either way - my legs fell off on the big wall on the way home - check this out:
23.8km
1:03:39
HR 144 / 174
Speed: 22.8 / 68.1
(avg / max)

Day 16: Nov 24, 2009 - Bike & Run!

Ahhh Atlanta
Home of the 2003 National and World Duathlon Championships. Well, Alpharetta was, but I doubt many folks would know where that was. I made a great friend here who's an assistant coach of the Emery Woman's Swim Team. Amazing guy, even after all these years he still had a bike for me to borrow to get some training miles in!

It was a beauty trainer, a 56 Lightspeed with Campy Daytona shifters and a Maciv Cosmic Elite front wheel and CX 32 rear. It was great for the rides I was going to be doing. The bust is when I picked it up... I didn't have a pump so I rode home at 80 psi :P Safe enough for the tires; but a slug fest for the legs. This was really exciting for me though as this had been my FIRST ride on the road since my accident that cost me my collarbone and bike.

And then in the evening there was a run, with my best friend Billy. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have been able to push it this much. I know I know, I USED to be a duathlete, but now it's all WORK. Not that it wasn't fun; but check out those hills. I think my legs started screaming after 15 minutes. Lungs were working over time; but we're getting somewhere. Check out the elevation change - love it! Check out the heart rate - yowza.

Day 26: Dec 4, 2009 - Run in High Park

Last week I ran in Atlanta at my pace, where I didn't know where I was going, at whatever time I wanted to. Today was very different. Running with my buddy Ryan who's training for TPS is much quicker than running with Billy, who's an APD guy. I don't know why I only run with cops; maybe because they have time for it.
Either way, this pushed and pulled me outside of my comfort level and the heart rate was working again. Even with the frigid temperatures; I still had to take my top off because I was melting.

This is a great beginning to a Toronto Training Regime.

Day 18: Nov 26, 2009 - Turkey Day Atlanta (Ride & Run)

Turkey Morning - out on the bike. 90 minutes or so - more stats to come later. Click here for a map link. I LOVE Atlanta elevation. This was just a fun ride. I actually road a lot of the Atlanta Marathon route. This meant closed roads and lots of runners.
The pace wasn't really fast; I was just enjoying getting to go for a ride.
I also did a lot of one legged drills because with the constant elevation changes I realized how mush stronger my right leg was than my left and that's definitely something that needs to be worked on for next race season! (PS - this is now my longest outdoor ride of the year and I had a great time just having fun - even though I had to wear my arm warmers the whole time!)

38.7km
1:35:42.5
HR 146 / 176
24.7 / 52.7

AND - then there was another run... with Billy, because, well - we can't go on rides together, so running it is. 2 a days are kinda nice and a little intense! But the bike comes FIRST.

Day 15: Nov 23, 2009

Not a 'HotLanta' day but definitely nice. At 10C it's quite a bit cooler than I was hoping for, but it was still pleasant none the less. More rolling hills, great grass to run on and a high heart rate (avg for 45 mins was about 170 and again; not going that fast!).
Today I really feel like I made a bit of headway. After yesterday's rest day, I did a lot better on the run. Less sore muscles, less walking (potentially due to better stretching and not running with the dog).

The laps are where I WALKED - yes I'm still walking during my runs. It's not that I can't push myself; I'm on vacation, heart rate is through the roof; and I'm okay to give it time. When I've forced my fitness to come back too fast; it's always hurt me in the long run; so I'm learning. Taking it easy in the beginning is OK!

Equipment: Layers
10C is a great temp to run outside in, especially after a rain.
Good clean air, crisp and refreshing, great for your muscles, and you're not over heating.
The bust is; once you warm up and start sweating; it's easy to develop a bit of a chill. Many runners like to wear a long sleeved base layer; but I think I found something better. Today I ran with my ARM WARMERS and regular running gear (short shorts & loose sweat wicking dry fit top). I was completely comfortable the whole time. For the first 10 minutes when I was a little chilly I wore the arm warmers; then when I warmed up, I tucked them in my shorts.
No need to take off the shirt and be TOO cold, and I was in my comfort zone. It's a little cycling/running gear cross over, but give it a try!

Day 9: Nov 17, 2009 - Spin

The world's been a crazy place.
Trying to finally kick the sick so I took it easy for a couple days.
Back on the Spin Bike.
This was a bit of a fun one.

15:00 Warm - Up (10 minutes with book / 5 mins without)
5:00 Escalate
5:00 Single Leg Drill
(:30 left, :30 both x 3, :30 right)
5:00 kick
(:30 hard, :30 spin)

Day 4: Nov 12, 2009 - Stairs

OK - so I'm still home sick in bed - but I couldn't handle doing NOTHING for another whole day. Hmmm I can't go out, I don't want to make people sick, so what can I do at home.

Living in a 30 story apartment building has it's advantages. A short elevator ride took me to parking level B1 from whence I began my ascent.

Lap 1 - 30 flights UP
6:13, 129 avg bpm

Lap 2 - 30 flights DOWN
4:27, 138bpm - 105 bmp, what a drop!

Lap 3 - 30 flights UP
4:54, 160 avg bpm

Lap 4 - 30 flights DOWN
4:16, 147 avg bpm

Muscles worked: quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteal muscles, hip flexors, and calves.

I walked back up the few floors to my appartment after having finished in the basement as a cool down. A little short on breath, both from the work out and the local tenants that don't pay much attention to the "NO SMOKING" signs, it felt as though it had been a decent work out. Then the NEXT DAY I was walking down the front steps of my building and wow, my quads burned! Pretty exciting!

Some research on stair climbing led me to a quote by Martica Heaner, Ph.D., M.A., M.Ed., for MSN Health & Fitness. "climbing up stairs will not bulk up your legs. Rather, how muscular your legs are depends on your genes". She went on to expand that, "it is very unlikely that stair climbing provides enough resistance to encourage muscle growth". No wonder the article was listed on a website entitled "Free Diets . com", you couldn't pay me to listen to that advice.
After 1 day in the stairwell my legs feel like they want to bust out of my jeans. So maybe it's not quite Rocky.... but it's a start.

Check out these peaks!

Day 2: Nov 10, 2009

Slightly more glamorous than Day1. Except today the reason I was out of bed @ 6:00am was to take my mother in law to the airport... Alas, after husbandly duties were completed; it was off to the gym.

Warm Up - ROWING
4:05 (very short, running late)
120 - 135 bpm
44 calories burned
30 strokes/min average
824 meters
(Why Rowing?)

Work Out - Bike
12:00 - daily Bible reading (120bpm)
3:00 - finish warm up (escalate to 130 bpm)
5:00 - escalate to 145 bpm
5:00 - 40 secs hard, 30 secs soft
* wow - haven't done one of these for a while
5:00 - paceline tempo (moderate)
5:00 - 1 leg drills (3o secs left, 30 secs both x 3 +1 30 secs right every 4 sets)
5:00 - cool down (pedaling BACKWARDS - helps smooth out stroke)

40:00 mins today - now we're getting somewhere.
Now if I only remembered that I needed to be somewhere when I was on minute 10!

Day 1: Nov 09, 2009 - Lame

I'll be honest - I was hoping for a little more grandeur as I started my trek from 'office guru' to cycling super star... but alas. 6:00am came and went and I didn't get to the gym until 6:00pm.

5 minutes on the row machine.
This aint no warm-up; heart rate kicked up to 186bmp.
1212 meters rowed...





25 minutes on the spin bike.
Escalating heart rate.
0-5 mins (sub 137bpm)
5-10 mins (140 - 145bpm)
10-15 mins (single leg drills)
15-20 mins (150+ bpm)
20-23 mins (spin)

Ok so that was a lame blog, but so was the work out.
Seriously if the rest are this bad I wouldn't read my blog; but then again - it's not for YOU yet; it's for me - to make sure I work out and do more on day 15 than day 1. So check back then!