So it figures I would get sick right at the start of my training camp. I could feel it coming on last weekend and by Monday it was full blown. Such a shame because the weather has been so good. I decided the best thing was to just stay off the bike and get better. It paid off and by Thursday I felt a lot better and went out for a 3 hour ride up to some local trails. They turned out to be too muddy so just started back and did a few intervals.
It is raining today so just going to take it easy. Thinking about buying a spin bike for days like today and for use in the winter. Plus my wife says she'll use it as well.
Steve
Friday, April 14, 2006
Saturday, April 08, 2006
My version of Training Camp officially began on Thursday. I kicked things off with a 6 hour ride which was awesome but damn my body was sore on Friday. Since it was pouring rain on Friday and I was so sore I decided to just take it easy and recover.
I did the Donut ride today. The Donut Ride is a historic road ride in Toronto which used to begin at a local donut shop (but it is out of business now). It is a huge ride getting anywhere from 50-125 riders in the group. It is large enough that the group takes up one lane of traffic while we head out of the city....even the police leave us alone. This group is super competitive, yet gets so many different levels of riders out. This can make it sketchy at times but overall a fun time. Many local pro riders come out for this ride, even the infamous Michael Barry (Discover Channel) when he is in town. Back to the ride. It was below freezing when we started and my feet froze almost immediately. The ride started out very casual (more so than usual) and I thought it would be a mellow ride. Once we got out of the city it didn't take long for things to speed up and soon we were doing 45km/h into the wind and my legs were screaming. I held on for awhile but eventually gave up when a small break in the peleton occured. With the wind so strong once the group splits it is very difficult to get back. I ended up waiting for my friend who was in a group further back. At the halfway point we stopped at Mama's Bakery (the usual stop) and I had the best cup of Hot Chocolate ever. Unfortunately when we left to ride again I was so wet that I got very cold. We decided to take it easy the rest of the way....luckily with a tailwind all the way home.
I'm still debating on a ride tomorrow...probably depends how I feel as I don't think I was fully recovered from Thursdays 6 hour marathon when I went out and pushed to the limit today. Might just take it easy or perhap a short 60 min ride. The weather is supposed to be really good the next 2 weeks so I plan to get lots of riding in, particularly on the trails to hone my technical skills.
Steve
I did the Donut ride today. The Donut Ride is a historic road ride in Toronto which used to begin at a local donut shop (but it is out of business now). It is a huge ride getting anywhere from 50-125 riders in the group. It is large enough that the group takes up one lane of traffic while we head out of the city....even the police leave us alone. This group is super competitive, yet gets so many different levels of riders out. This can make it sketchy at times but overall a fun time. Many local pro riders come out for this ride, even the infamous Michael Barry (Discover Channel) when he is in town. Back to the ride. It was below freezing when we started and my feet froze almost immediately. The ride started out very casual (more so than usual) and I thought it would be a mellow ride. Once we got out of the city it didn't take long for things to speed up and soon we were doing 45km/h into the wind and my legs were screaming. I held on for awhile but eventually gave up when a small break in the peleton occured. With the wind so strong once the group splits it is very difficult to get back. I ended up waiting for my friend who was in a group further back. At the halfway point we stopped at Mama's Bakery (the usual stop) and I had the best cup of Hot Chocolate ever. Unfortunately when we left to ride again I was so wet that I got very cold. We decided to take it easy the rest of the way....luckily with a tailwind all the way home.
I'm still debating on a ride tomorrow...probably depends how I feel as I don't think I was fully recovered from Thursdays 6 hour marathon when I went out and pushed to the limit today. Might just take it easy or perhap a short 60 min ride. The weather is supposed to be really good the next 2 weeks so I plan to get lots of riding in, particularly on the trails to hone my technical skills.
Steve
Sunday, April 02, 2006
1st "Race" of the season
So I decided to make a last minute decision and do a local race called the Hilton Falls Time Trial. The course is a mixed of high speed fire road and low speed very technical rock garden sections. I've been battling a stomach bug the past few days but with the weather being so nice I decided to participate anyways.
The first real race of the season is always a bit nerve racking but I was surprisingly calm. I didn't have any real expectations of the race so that must have contributed to my casual attitude. I did a short warm up and then waited for about 20 mins for my number to be called. They were starting riders off in 30 second increments. They called me to the line and I was off. The course immediately begins with a short climb that gets very steep at the end. To my surprise I got to the top of the climb and could see my 30 second rider (#171 - remember this number) just up ahead. The course flattened out and I was now chasing. In a few minutes I caught and passed him. From there on it was all about catching people. The Asylum was going well and I could feel the momentum of the 29" wheels really carrying me through the corners and flying over roots and rocks. After awhile I hit the first of many rock gardens. Some of them rideable, some not (by me anyways). In many cases it was faster to run than ride as there were many moments the terrain was practically unrideable. Still a lot of fun anyways. I had passed about 7 or 8 people now and hit the last few double track sections. I was absolutely flying and passed some other riders alarmingly fast. The legs were starting to burn at this point but I knew I was near the end and wanted to finish strong. I came through the finish line and was happy to be done and thought I had placed fairly well.
We waited around for awhile to get the results and when they were posted I was stunned (in a bad way). Results showed I finished in 13th place....strange thing was my time was many mins slower than what I timed. Also #171 (who started 30 seconds ahead of me which I then passed 3 mins into the race) finished 5 mins ahead of me and in 8th place! Something was definitely up. It turns out there were a few recording errors and some riders who finished, then turned around for a warm down, thereby coming through the finish line again and getting 2 times recorded. It all ended up with me finishing in 6th place. I still think they got the results wrong and I should have been about 5 mins faster than the have but there isn't much I can do about it now. I'm still quite pleased with this result given my training is only starting to get into high gear.
Training camp begins later this week for about 2.5 weeks, then it is the first Ontario Cup of the year. Hopefully I can do even better at that race.
Steve
The first real race of the season is always a bit nerve racking but I was surprisingly calm. I didn't have any real expectations of the race so that must have contributed to my casual attitude. I did a short warm up and then waited for about 20 mins for my number to be called. They were starting riders off in 30 second increments. They called me to the line and I was off. The course immediately begins with a short climb that gets very steep at the end. To my surprise I got to the top of the climb and could see my 30 second rider (#171 - remember this number) just up ahead. The course flattened out and I was now chasing. In a few minutes I caught and passed him. From there on it was all about catching people. The Asylum was going well and I could feel the momentum of the 29" wheels really carrying me through the corners and flying over roots and rocks. After awhile I hit the first of many rock gardens. Some of them rideable, some not (by me anyways). In many cases it was faster to run than ride as there were many moments the terrain was practically unrideable. Still a lot of fun anyways. I had passed about 7 or 8 people now and hit the last few double track sections. I was absolutely flying and passed some other riders alarmingly fast. The legs were starting to burn at this point but I knew I was near the end and wanted to finish strong. I came through the finish line and was happy to be done and thought I had placed fairly well.
We waited around for awhile to get the results and when they were posted I was stunned (in a bad way). Results showed I finished in 13th place....strange thing was my time was many mins slower than what I timed. Also #171 (who started 30 seconds ahead of me which I then passed 3 mins into the race) finished 5 mins ahead of me and in 8th place! Something was definitely up. It turns out there were a few recording errors and some riders who finished, then turned around for a warm down, thereby coming through the finish line again and getting 2 times recorded. It all ended up with me finishing in 6th place. I still think they got the results wrong and I should have been about 5 mins faster than the have but there isn't much I can do about it now. I'm still quite pleased with this result given my training is only starting to get into high gear.
Training camp begins later this week for about 2.5 weeks, then it is the first Ontario Cup of the year. Hopefully I can do even better at that race.
Steve
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Got my mini time trial in on my favourite route with the intention of comparing my fitness to last year. As mentioned I am about 7lbs heavier right now so my climbing is still suffering quite a bit. Hopefully in a month or so the climbing will improve. The weather was nice but had a head wind 3/4 of the ride which was a bit demoralizing. I had set a target in mind but wasn't able to reach it with the wind (and fitness I am sure). The good news is I did the route 27 minutes faster than this time last year (a little bit more than 100km). I must have been pretty slow last year because I sure don't feel very fast right now.
The trails are pretty much dry now so I hope to put the Asylum through it's first real trail test this weekend. Depends on how much rain we get.
Steve
The trails are pretty much dry now so I hope to put the Asylum through it's first real trail test this weekend. Depends on how much rain we get.
Steve
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
The weather has been awesome lately so finished work a little early yesterday and did a HUGE ride. I ended up riding for about 5.5 hours and got in about 145km. Didn't quite think I would go that far but it just happened that way. I was pretty tired afterwards but happy I was able to make it. The next plan is to ride my 100km route on the road bike for a test of fitness. I will then compare to where I was last year to get a good indication where I stand. I know I am about 7lbs heavier now than last year but think my fitness might be a bit better. We'll find out soon enough.
Steve
Steve
Monday, March 27, 2006
Mission Accomplished
Got out for close to 4 hours yesterday....so 3 days in a row of hard training. It wasn't until about the last half hour that I really started to fade. I felt really good and seemed to be putting the power down. I was able to keep up with some roadies (I was on the 29er MTB) so that was kind of nice. Legs were pretty sore last night and this morning but this afternoon they feel fine. Should be up for some more training this week. I've really got to lose some of this winter weight....it is starting to worry me.
Looks like the Icebreaker race yesterday was just that with a whole lot of mud included. Glad I didn't go....to messy for my liking.
Steve
Looks like the Icebreaker race yesterday was just that with a whole lot of mud included. Glad I didn't go....to messy for my liking.
Steve
Saturday, March 25, 2006
I've been getting a fair bit of riding in lately including some back to back days. Typically I'm logging 2-4 hours each ride now which is good. The Recover-Ease stuff is working quite well. Got a solid 2.5hr fast paced ride in yesterday and then went for another 3 hours today and felt surprisingly good. Planning for 4 hours tomorrow which will be interesting to see how things go as the 3rd ride in succession. I have been using the Asylum primarily trying to get used to it. I am thoroughly enjoying it but really want to do some trails soon. I'll probably pull the road bike out soon, maybe when the temperatures get a little warmer.
I am planning a 2 week training camp in April, not sure of the weeks yet...work will determine that. Some restructing is happen and want to make sure I am around to understand what is going on. My hope for the training camp is to do 3 days "on" (100km+/day) and one day "off" (or recovery ride). That should get me about 50 hours on the bike which should really help bring up my base fitness. I think it is already okay, but want to get into the 4hr+ range and still have some energy at the end which isn't always happening right now. Plus I should loose the rest of my winter weight which will be good.
I am thinking of doing the first O-Cup at the end of April, but first we'll see how the training camp goes....it will probably be a last minute decision that will also be determined by the weather. I can't stand riding in wet weather and will avoid racing if I have depending on the conditions.
The first goal of the year is the 24 Hour of Summer Solstice in June. If I can get my fitness to where it was last year at that time or even better then I should have a good race. Second goal is the World Solo Championships in October (in Georgia). I haven't done this race in a long time but have always wanted to ride in Georgia and since I can drive down the expenses can be kept low. My last major goal is to hold onto my form for the Old Pueblo race in February. I really want to do well in that race but so far training just hasn't gone as well as planned. I am going to invest in some quality winter clothing and also get a set of rollers....I am really going to commit to keeping up 3-4 hour rides 4 times per week during the winter. That should help tremendously. That's the plan anyways.
Steve
I am planning a 2 week training camp in April, not sure of the weeks yet...work will determine that. Some restructing is happen and want to make sure I am around to understand what is going on. My hope for the training camp is to do 3 days "on" (100km+/day) and one day "off" (or recovery ride). That should get me about 50 hours on the bike which should really help bring up my base fitness. I think it is already okay, but want to get into the 4hr+ range and still have some energy at the end which isn't always happening right now. Plus I should loose the rest of my winter weight which will be good.
I am thinking of doing the first O-Cup at the end of April, but first we'll see how the training camp goes....it will probably be a last minute decision that will also be determined by the weather. I can't stand riding in wet weather and will avoid racing if I have depending on the conditions.
The first goal of the year is the 24 Hour of Summer Solstice in June. If I can get my fitness to where it was last year at that time or even better then I should have a good race. Second goal is the World Solo Championships in October (in Georgia). I haven't done this race in a long time but have always wanted to ride in Georgia and since I can drive down the expenses can be kept low. My last major goal is to hold onto my form for the Old Pueblo race in February. I really want to do well in that race but so far training just hasn't gone as well as planned. I am going to invest in some quality winter clothing and also get a set of rollers....I am really going to commit to keeping up 3-4 hour rides 4 times per week during the winter. That should help tremendously. That's the plan anyways.
Steve
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)