Sunday was my last long ride on the last day of a three week build cycle with a bike focus.
Tony and I decided to ride out toward Searchlight and back. Tony suggested this route for variety and because there aren't really that many hills out that way. Except that going out, after sailing down past the dry lake bed (30+ mph), it's pretty much a grinding incline the rest of the way. Nothing bad though.
When you start riding at 5:45am, the first couple of hours are actually pleasant. Plus most of the trucks on the road were extremely courteous, going into the far left lane when they passed us. Nice! We also got a "way to go" honk from some guy driving a Ryder truck and towing a car behind.
The way out was uneventful.
On the way back I got a flat. First flat since Silverman. Woot! Almost eight months with no flatting -- I'll take it!
Glenn chastised me a couple of weeks ago for not paying enough attention to how my bike handles. He was NOT impressed that I rode for four hours with the front tire rubbing against the fork. I should have noticed it pulling to the left, stopped, and fixed it.
Of course, Glenn is totally right! Pay attention to the damn bike, especially during long rides!
So, when I noticed that something felt a little "off" while cruising at a nice 18-20 mph in aero, I stopped. Sure enough the front tire was spongy. Slow leak. It pays to pay attention.
Tony changed the tire for me. He's so nice. By this time it was really HOT out and getting off the bike I experienced just a HINT of nausea. Oh God! I don't do well when nauseous. I looked around for a bush just in case but there really wasn't one large enough for me to hide behind. I silently cursed the desert.
Thankfully once I started riding again it disappeared and I had no problem drinking my hot Gatorade, hot Perepeteum and hot water. Sounds yummy right!! It WAS.
Not!!
Only the Luna bars tasted normal. But dry. Had to wash them down with warm water.
This ride was good overall and I was feeling strong until we got to the dry lake bed and had to grind up the hill we had sailed down about three hours earlier.
By this time it's about 95 degrees out and on that hill there was no breeze. No breeze at all. Not even a whisper. It reminded me of sailing downwind. When you sail downwind any breeze that exists is directly behind you and when it's hot out it feels even hotter. Like 10 times hotter and the air feels thick and still.
That hill was by no means the steepest or longest hill I'd climbed. But it seemed to NEVER END. I felt oppressed by the heat. A wave of heat moved through me, then another. You know how you can "see" the heat on blacktop if you look? It felt like THAT. I seriously got scared that I would need to stop and if I stopped there was no way I would start again and someone would have to come and rescue my ass. I couldn't let that happen.
It finally became unbearable and I screamed "FUCK," at the top of my lungs, started blubbering, whining, and breathing really hard. I was very VERY angry!!! At the heat, at the hill, at myself, at Tony, at everything. All rational thought flew out the window and I became worried about things like my brain melting, suffocation, and lying on the side of the road being beat upon by the sun with no one to rescue me in time.
Not my proudest moments. In fact I was a little ashamed. The only thing I kept doing that made any sense at all was taking in my nutrition. YUP. I'm just that paranoid that without enough calories, salt and water I will surely die out there.
When we finally reached the top of the hill the breeze reappeared, the road flattened out and everything got much easier. The breeze was there all along it just didn't reach us in that little pocket of hell.
I wasn't done though. I told Tony "I love you man" and proceeded to let out another string of curse words and obscenities. This time though they were chased by maniacal laughter, rather than desperation, fear and shame.
Tony asked me if I still wanted to run after the ride and I said hell yes. Liz will ream my ASS if I don't run after.
The run was a mixed bag. On the one hand, my nutrition had settled really well, my legs were there and I had energy. On the other hand it was terribly slow, and I still felt oppressed by the heat. This is how all of my longer runs off the long rides have been. I'm seriously concerned with how my run will go up in Utah.
It will come down to a choice of how hard I push myself. I struggle with that all the time and it frustrates me. This workout gave me confidence that I can certainly handle Utah. I can do the distance. The high up there should only be 90 or so and the race is billed as "flat and fast." It is approaching 110 here and will climb higher in the next few weeks. And here it is hard to find flats to practice on that are long enough to do any real distance.
What this means is I've been working hard. Some days harder than others but I've been getting all of the workouts in. I want to do better than just getting the workouts in, but some days my mind just doesn't like to cooperate. I'm also afraid I will be DFL in Utah and I don't want that. Though realistically I think that if that happens I probably wouldn't feel too badly about it in the moment.
This is only my second 70.3. I'm sure these thoughts and feelings are somewhat normal. They are certainly normal for ME. But still I feel like there are flaws in my approach that I want to correct. I guess it's a question of how badly I want to correct them.
Showing posts with label biking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label biking. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Changes!
Things are seriously changing around here!
Let's start with training:
I am LEAGUES ahead of where I was last fall! I can tell because Saturday at the Tour de Fire I had the most awesome and fun ride EVER!
Tour de Fire is a group ride sponsored by Pro Cyclery, ridden from Boulder Beach out toward the Valley of Fire. Ride lengths ranged from 20 miles to 138 miles! Fully supported with food at the start and finish line.
I signed up to do the 42 mile ride with Tony, his friend Natalie, and his other friend Jason. Our other good friends Leslie and her husband Kym signed up for the 20 miler. The 42 mile course is the same as the Rage 1/2 Iron course but turns around a few miles sooner. It was actually 46 miles, with the turnaround at mile 23!
This workout was to get in some endurance miles and Coach's only instructions were to fuel smartly and have fun. Well, I always fuel smartly! So, I concentrated on having fun. The weather was nice, the company was awesome and the best part was that I did not push myself hard on this ride. I let myself enjoy it. Because I wasn't worried about time, heart rate or any of that, I was able to let loose and just have fun.
And by doing that I arrived at the finish with a time that was faster than than both long Silverman rides last fall (on the same course)! While I felt like I wasn't pushing very hard yesterday, both Silverman rides I felt stretched pretty thin.
Yup! I am much less intimidated by the hills and much stronger than last year! The hills that ALWAYS give me problems . . . . really didn't. My legs said "we got this, just enjoy the ride!" So, I did!
This week I'm taking the bike in for a tune up. It was starting to shift funny -- nothing too serious but it needs to be in top shape for BAM which is next month already!
House Addition:
We are adding approximately 240 square feet to our home, on the kitchen/laundry room side. This will more than double our kitchen size and create a new home office for ME! The framing is done, doors are in and now Glenn just has to put the roof on. After that it's interior work.
Business:
Starting and running my new business is a lot like training. It takes persistence and consistency to see results. There are breakthroughs along the way, and some days it's very tiring and you wonder . . . . .
I love to write and have no doubt that white papers are the way for me to go. From there, who knows!
If you are interested you can click on Glenn Frank Design to see a sample of my work. I wrote a white paper about remodeling for Glenn's business and am about to launch a marketing campaign for it. The landing page does require an email registration to read the entire paper. Don't worry, no selling of email addresses and no spam!
Till next time, and take care everyone!!
Oh I wrote an article for the latest Swim Las Vegas newsletter!!! When it comes out I will post it here.
Let's start with training:
I am LEAGUES ahead of where I was last fall! I can tell because Saturday at the Tour de Fire I had the most awesome and fun ride EVER!
Tour de Fire is a group ride sponsored by Pro Cyclery, ridden from Boulder Beach out toward the Valley of Fire. Ride lengths ranged from 20 miles to 138 miles! Fully supported with food at the start and finish line.
I signed up to do the 42 mile ride with Tony, his friend Natalie, and his other friend Jason. Our other good friends Leslie and her husband Kym signed up for the 20 miler. The 42 mile course is the same as the Rage 1/2 Iron course but turns around a few miles sooner. It was actually 46 miles, with the turnaround at mile 23!
This workout was to get in some endurance miles and Coach's only instructions were to fuel smartly and have fun. Well, I always fuel smartly! So, I concentrated on having fun. The weather was nice, the company was awesome and the best part was that I did not push myself hard on this ride. I let myself enjoy it. Because I wasn't worried about time, heart rate or any of that, I was able to let loose and just have fun.
And by doing that I arrived at the finish with a time that was faster than than both long Silverman rides last fall (on the same course)! While I felt like I wasn't pushing very hard yesterday, both Silverman rides I felt stretched pretty thin.
Yup! I am much less intimidated by the hills and much stronger than last year! The hills that ALWAYS give me problems . . . . really didn't. My legs said "we got this, just enjoy the ride!" So, I did!
This week I'm taking the bike in for a tune up. It was starting to shift funny -- nothing too serious but it needs to be in top shape for BAM which is next month already!
House Addition:
We are adding approximately 240 square feet to our home, on the kitchen/laundry room side. This will more than double our kitchen size and create a new home office for ME! The framing is done, doors are in and now Glenn just has to put the roof on. After that it's interior work.
Business:
Starting and running my new business is a lot like training. It takes persistence and consistency to see results. There are breakthroughs along the way, and some days it's very tiring and you wonder . . . . .
I love to write and have no doubt that white papers are the way for me to go. From there, who knows!
If you are interested you can click on Glenn Frank Design to see a sample of my work. I wrote a white paper about remodeling for Glenn's business and am about to launch a marketing campaign for it. The landing page does require an email registration to read the entire paper. Don't worry, no selling of email addresses and no spam!
Till next time, and take care everyone!!
Oh I wrote an article for the latest Swim Las Vegas newsletter!!! When it comes out I will post it here.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Moving Forward!!
YAY! Things are good right now. :-)
I have taken a HUGE step in moving my business forward and fully expect things to blast off, in a big way. I am not ready to give details yet. When I am I will know it and I will talk about it to anyone that will listen, and that includes you guys!
The really significant part about this is that it all stems from Silverman. I told Tony this on our ride this morning:
"Silverman changed my life. It's because of that that I know I can do this."
Training is going well! About two weeks ago I asked Liz for a reduction in volume and it has PAID OFF in that mentally I was able to pull back just a little and go back to being consistent. Another couple of weeks of this and I will be ready to do what she tells me, no requests, ifs, ands, or buts!
I wrote in a status to Liz that I am enjoying the swims and runs, putting up with the bike and slacking on strength work.
This week I had I think my biggest volume of swimming ever! And I am occasionally starting to see isolated 100 times that read 1:xx!! Under two minutes! WOO HOO! I gave up Boulder City Masters and now have a schedule where Tony and I swim every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 7am (he does whatever work out I'm doing and makes me count the laps, rest times, etc) and then on Saturday I swim with Swim Las Vegas, the best Masters team ever invented. :-)
Tony typically runs with me, also in the earlier mornings, so that I can start working around 9am.
As for the bike, well . . . I've used the trainer more than I'd like to admit so far this season to avoid riding outside. The rides Liz is giving me are still fairly short and since Silverman I just feel ambivalent about the bike. I'm afraid to descend (again). I had made wonderful progress with this on the long rides leading up to Silverman and was really getting over the fear. Now it feels like I'm starting over. I'm afraid to go fast. Afraid a tire will explode and I'll wreck. There is a litany of other things that scare me about descending fast, all of which end in a huge giant wreck for me. I try not to think about these things but it's not working well lately.
So today when we rode out at Lake Las Vegas, I babied the descents while Tony and the others smoked me. Actually, Natalie and Sean smoked us uphill as well! They are good cyclists. It is so good for me to ride with others in this perfect weather. The only way I will surpass where I was before with cycling is to get out there and ride with people. A big part of it for me is really appreciating the landscape, the perfect spring weather, and the fact that I really love living in Southern Nevada. All that was there today. The faster descending will come with more time and practice.
I've changed my schedule around a lot and that means that I'm commenting a little less on the blogs that I like. Fear not folks, I'm still reading, I just don't always have the energy to comment. I've read something similar to this on a couple of my favorite blogs lately so I know I'm not alone in this. My excitement for my season and for my friends to reach their goals has not wavered. In fact it is increasing! I support you even though I may not comment on every post.
Till next time!!!
Train smart and safe and have FUN!
I have taken a HUGE step in moving my business forward and fully expect things to blast off, in a big way. I am not ready to give details yet. When I am I will know it and I will talk about it to anyone that will listen, and that includes you guys!
The really significant part about this is that it all stems from Silverman. I told Tony this on our ride this morning:
"Silverman changed my life. It's because of that that I know I can do this."
Training is going well! About two weeks ago I asked Liz for a reduction in volume and it has PAID OFF in that mentally I was able to pull back just a little and go back to being consistent. Another couple of weeks of this and I will be ready to do what she tells me, no requests, ifs, ands, or buts!
I wrote in a status to Liz that I am enjoying the swims and runs, putting up with the bike and slacking on strength work.
This week I had I think my biggest volume of swimming ever! And I am occasionally starting to see isolated 100 times that read 1:xx!! Under two minutes! WOO HOO! I gave up Boulder City Masters and now have a schedule where Tony and I swim every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 7am (he does whatever work out I'm doing and makes me count the laps, rest times, etc) and then on Saturday I swim with Swim Las Vegas, the best Masters team ever invented. :-)
Tony typically runs with me, also in the earlier mornings, so that I can start working around 9am.
As for the bike, well . . . I've used the trainer more than I'd like to admit so far this season to avoid riding outside. The rides Liz is giving me are still fairly short and since Silverman I just feel ambivalent about the bike. I'm afraid to descend (again). I had made wonderful progress with this on the long rides leading up to Silverman and was really getting over the fear. Now it feels like I'm starting over. I'm afraid to go fast. Afraid a tire will explode and I'll wreck. There is a litany of other things that scare me about descending fast, all of which end in a huge giant wreck for me. I try not to think about these things but it's not working well lately.
So today when we rode out at Lake Las Vegas, I babied the descents while Tony and the others smoked me. Actually, Natalie and Sean smoked us uphill as well! They are good cyclists. It is so good for me to ride with others in this perfect weather. The only way I will surpass where I was before with cycling is to get out there and ride with people. A big part of it for me is really appreciating the landscape, the perfect spring weather, and the fact that I really love living in Southern Nevada. All that was there today. The faster descending will come with more time and practice.
I've changed my schedule around a lot and that means that I'm commenting a little less on the blogs that I like. Fear not folks, I'm still reading, I just don't always have the energy to comment. I've read something similar to this on a couple of my favorite blogs lately so I know I'm not alone in this. My excitement for my season and for my friends to reach their goals has not wavered. In fact it is increasing! I support you even though I may not comment on every post.
Till next time!!!
Train smart and safe and have FUN!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Season 2009, Week 1
Happy to say that I thrived in week 1 of 2009 training! Not only did I complete everything 100% as Liz programmed it but I was nowhere near as worn out as I thought I would be! AND (equally important) I stayed one step ahead of my appetite all week!
Those that follow me on Facebook know that my status line occasionally lists what I ate for whatever meal of the day! I do that to motivate myself to stay on track and because I think it's also kind of funny. My tri buds on Facebook all seem to understand.
Monday is my day off and I'm GLAD! I like starting out the workweek not having to worry about a workout. A Monday "breather" if you will. This week was a little over seven and a half hours of training and next week should be about the same.
This week was important to me because I wanted to start Season 2009 off on the right foot and I did that. From here on out it will be all about consistency and getting it done. In training, in business, in life, in everything!
I have such good energy lately and intend to keep it that way. 2009 will be a much more well rounded year for me!
Today I got to ride with KELLY! It was so good to see her (she probably got tired of hearing me tell her that but I didn't care -- lol). The fact is I haven't seen her or Izaac since Silverman! Since they had to babysit their adorable niece today I wasn't sure which one of them would show up to ride until Kelly appeared next to me as I was getting my stuff out of Tony's van (she had ridden from her house to our meeting spot). We chatted nearly the whole way out and back until she left us to go back home. She looks GREAT it was so great to see her out there and catch up.
Hour long rides are fun! Not so long as to where you start dragging but long enough to get a workout in and catch up with friends you haven't seen in awhile!
After the ride the week caught up with me. I ate a bunch of pizza and took a nap! My eating has been going really really well and normally I allow myself one day a week (at least) where I treat myself, completely guilt free. I love pizza so . . . . there ya go!
Hope everyone has a good week! :-)
Those that follow me on Facebook know that my status line occasionally lists what I ate for whatever meal of the day! I do that to motivate myself to stay on track and because I think it's also kind of funny. My tri buds on Facebook all seem to understand.
Monday is my day off and I'm GLAD! I like starting out the workweek not having to worry about a workout. A Monday "breather" if you will. This week was a little over seven and a half hours of training and next week should be about the same.
This week was important to me because I wanted to start Season 2009 off on the right foot and I did that. From here on out it will be all about consistency and getting it done. In training, in business, in life, in everything!
I have such good energy lately and intend to keep it that way. 2009 will be a much more well rounded year for me!
Today I got to ride with KELLY! It was so good to see her (she probably got tired of hearing me tell her that but I didn't care -- lol). The fact is I haven't seen her or Izaac since Silverman! Since they had to babysit their adorable niece today I wasn't sure which one of them would show up to ride until Kelly appeared next to me as I was getting my stuff out of Tony's van (she had ridden from her house to our meeting spot). We chatted nearly the whole way out and back until she left us to go back home. She looks GREAT it was so great to see her out there and catch up.
Hour long rides are fun! Not so long as to where you start dragging but long enough to get a workout in and catch up with friends you haven't seen in awhile!
After the ride the week caught up with me. I ate a bunch of pizza and took a nap! My eating has been going really really well and normally I allow myself one day a week (at least) where I treat myself, completely guilt free. I love pizza so . . . . there ya go!
Hope everyone has a good week! :-)
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