We all know that Twister Jack had the knack for this bike thing, but he won a Championship in his first season of cyclocross! Imagine all of that confidence and power directed on the road...Wow!
Since 04, BikeWorks Racing has four Championship wins and a total of nine States medals. I think Jack is in the right place.
Congratulations to Jack Sparks aka Twister, MysteryMan, and now Champ!
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Great Bunch of Cyclists
What a way to cap off a great Thanksgiving week. Today, I stopped counting at 6 "Car Back" calls. Each and every time, we singled up. For those of you who clog your email with the Va cycling BB posts, you'll remember a few months back all of the ranting about cycling etiqutte regarding everything from not flipping drivers off to singling up when there is a car back. It is a privaledge to ride with such a great bunch of cyclists (I'm stopping before I say something stupid like, "I just love you guys." It is the endorphines talking).
I'm looking forward to a great December of training and torture. The Trade Zone crits are right around the corner.
I'm looking forward to a great December of training and torture. The Trade Zone crits are right around the corner.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Sat/Sunday rides 11/27
I have an idea for two rides. Perhaps one of them tickles your fancy. The Sat Team ride is only recommended for those that want to endure a complete pummeling(I'm getting my courage up) and will be a KOM effort.(expect many 1200 watt attacks throughout) If we have enough takers, we will divide up into small teams to work on countering and covering. This ride will leave at 10 from the Shop and will be about 2 hours.
The Sunday ride this week is certainly open to all levels of rider. There is usually a ride that leaves at 9:00, but this week I will not be available until 10:30 and will be 3 hours of Endurance riding and will work on paceline skills and pure fat burn. So there might be two rides to select as options on Sunday. Who is still planning to do the 9:00?
Please post up if you can attend.
The Sunday ride this week is certainly open to all levels of rider. There is usually a ride that leaves at 9:00, but this week I will not be available until 10:30 and will be 3 hours of Endurance riding and will work on paceline skills and pure fat burn. So there might be two rides to select as options on Sunday. Who is still planning to do the 9:00?
Please post up if you can attend.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Jordan's November Training
November 6-24, 2009
Yikes, time sure has flown this month! I need to get back into the habit of updating my blog entry. It's a lot easier to do when the summer is here and I don't have to go to work every day!
Well I closely monitored the sore throat and as soon as I saw the tell-tale white spots went to the doctor, since that meant a mild case of strep. Now I'm back to complete health and training once again. Fortunately the time off didn't destroy my fitness, a little rest is a good thing, FTP is already up to 320W, which is about +20W over last year this time and could mean hitting 350-360W during the season. We'll see.
Weight is now 73.9 kg (that's just under 162.9 pounds for you non-Canadians) so everything is on track there for reaching 160 by the end of the year. Huzzah!
Well, off to work! Have a blessed Thanksgiving everyone!
November 5, 2009
Throat is still quite sore, but everything else seems to have pretty much moved on, so got on the trainer today and did about 70 minutes of low tempo. Started at an easy 190W for 10 minutes, then 25 minutes at about 240W, and felt good enough to shift one more cog and do 260W for the final 30 minutes. No reason to rush back into the harder efforts at this point, better to simply maintain aerobic fitness for another week and then resume harder training when I'm completely healthy again.
November 2-4, 2009
Ess Eye See Kay for the last 3 days. Sunday and Monday were complete rest days, which made me glad I had done all the training I had planned to do last week by Saturday. Tuesday and Wednesday were hiking sessions on the treadmill - 40-60 minutes at 3.0 to 3.2 mph with the grade at 12-15%. Great way to burn calories, do something a little different, but not over-stress the torn meniscus in my left knee.
I just want to say to those of you that are partially/totally sidelined - you all have given me the motivation to train even harder this season than ever before. I cherish each time I get to train and ride my bike, and when I think about complaining or being lazy, I think about you guys and remember that it's a gift, being able to ride and race, and I shouldn't be so thoughtless about it.
Yikes, time sure has flown this month! I need to get back into the habit of updating my blog entry. It's a lot easier to do when the summer is here and I don't have to go to work every day!
Well I closely monitored the sore throat and as soon as I saw the tell-tale white spots went to the doctor, since that meant a mild case of strep. Now I'm back to complete health and training once again. Fortunately the time off didn't destroy my fitness, a little rest is a good thing, FTP is already up to 320W, which is about +20W over last year this time and could mean hitting 350-360W during the season. We'll see.
Weight is now 73.9 kg (that's just under 162.9 pounds for you non-Canadians) so everything is on track there for reaching 160 by the end of the year. Huzzah!
Well, off to work! Have a blessed Thanksgiving everyone!
November 5, 2009
Throat is still quite sore, but everything else seems to have pretty much moved on, so got on the trainer today and did about 70 minutes of low tempo. Started at an easy 190W for 10 minutes, then 25 minutes at about 240W, and felt good enough to shift one more cog and do 260W for the final 30 minutes. No reason to rush back into the harder efforts at this point, better to simply maintain aerobic fitness for another week and then resume harder training when I'm completely healthy again.
November 2-4, 2009
Ess Eye See Kay for the last 3 days. Sunday and Monday were complete rest days, which made me glad I had done all the training I had planned to do last week by Saturday. Tuesday and Wednesday were hiking sessions on the treadmill - 40-60 minutes at 3.0 to 3.2 mph with the grade at 12-15%. Great way to burn calories, do something a little different, but not over-stress the torn meniscus in my left knee.
I just want to say to those of you that are partially/totally sidelined - you all have given me the motivation to train even harder this season than ever before. I cherish each time I get to train and ride my bike, and when I think about complaining or being lazy, I think about you guys and remember that it's a gift, being able to ride and race, and I shouldn't be so thoughtless about it.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Jeff''sNovember training update
Now that I have reset my password and back on line, I will recap this month’s training.For the past three weeks I have been focused on power starts and tempo rides and of course the Low E. As I started this year’s training I was not sure what to expect after getting injured and having so much time off.If starting the power starts with over 1200watts was an indication of good things to come I was feeling pretty good about my fitness. well after three weeks duration and 58 power starts I notice every time I preformed a set my 5sec average power would increase, I managed to top out at almost 1300watts and the best thing was as I would complete a set my power would level at about 1200watts and hold, I notice no drastic drop in power, even after completing 12 during a set! My tempo rides would start at 2x 20 min and I worked my way up to 1x 45min with great improvements. My Hr started at 156 for a 20 min tempo and has now fallen to 146 for a 45min tempo with +10 watts!! Still have a long way to go, but I'm willing to work hard and wait for the bigger improvements as the training runs it course.I'm hitting the weights 3x a week and core every other day, for this week its rest with just 5 power starts at the end of the week, so I can compare the # after rest 1350PLEASE!!!!
Back from the Cross roads
Jack & I were back in cross action this past Sunday, up to Elkridge, MD to race in the Marbra. The Marbra series is without a doubt one of the premier series happening today - always large fields, run under UCI rules, true cross courses.
I was off first for BikeWorks in the Masters 35+/45+ 3/4 (Masters B race). Not quite 100 but with 99 you can't get any closer. Late registration had me on the last row looking at a lot of bodies in front of me. Early going had me riding from one log jam to another, rider’s bottle necking every chance they had. If this had been an actual fire we all would have surely perished!! The open spaces on the course allowed me to pick them off in packs. After two of four laps (it was a long lap), the people in front of me where getting to be solo riders. Also at this time the hill (a minute & a half jaunt) was becoming less of a friend and more of a foe!! My conditioning felt strong throughout which was good news after a week & a half off the bike being sick (H1N1). Picked one more off in the last quarter of the course, Jack screaming “pass his a$$!”
Jack would provide the sparks for the 3/4 race. Again in the last row, some 70 riders seemingly facing the same obstructions I did, not with the same results (if ever in a fire with Jack, follow him out of the building). Lap one of five had Jack from the back to 25thish. Lap 2 had him leapfrogging to 15th. About this time the race announcer had noticed the “bike rack” rider who was charging the field. After a second acknowledgement of the “bike rack” rider, I noticed he was referring to Jack. A quick visit to the race commentator had him squared with the facts -- that was Jack Sparks of BikeWorks Racing from Fredericksburg Virginia you were looking at. A few more references to our boy over the loud speaker and BikeWorks Racing is now known to Marbra. It was obvious Jack had been the most aggressive rider in the race.
In the end:
Jinks – 50th Masters 3/4 (18th 45+)
Jack – 10th 3/4
In the pedals, Jinks
I was off first for BikeWorks in the Masters 35+/45+ 3/4 (Masters B race). Not quite 100 but with 99 you can't get any closer. Late registration had me on the last row looking at a lot of bodies in front of me. Early going had me riding from one log jam to another, rider’s bottle necking every chance they had. If this had been an actual fire we all would have surely perished!! The open spaces on the course allowed me to pick them off in packs. After two of four laps (it was a long lap), the people in front of me where getting to be solo riders. Also at this time the hill (a minute & a half jaunt) was becoming less of a friend and more of a foe!! My conditioning felt strong throughout which was good news after a week & a half off the bike being sick (H1N1). Picked one more off in the last quarter of the course, Jack screaming “pass his a$$!”
Jack would provide the sparks for the 3/4 race. Again in the last row, some 70 riders seemingly facing the same obstructions I did, not with the same results (if ever in a fire with Jack, follow him out of the building). Lap one of five had Jack from the back to 25thish. Lap 2 had him leapfrogging to 15th. About this time the race announcer had noticed the “bike rack” rider who was charging the field. After a second acknowledgement of the “bike rack” rider, I noticed he was referring to Jack. A quick visit to the race commentator had him squared with the facts -- that was Jack Sparks of BikeWorks Racing from Fredericksburg Virginia you were looking at. A few more references to our boy over the loud speaker and BikeWorks Racing is now known to Marbra. It was obvious Jack had been the most aggressive rider in the race.
In the end:
Jinks – 50th Masters 3/4 (18th 45+)
Jack – 10th 3/4
In the pedals, Jinks
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Sunday Ride 11/22
E ride from the shop at 9:00. Route TBD. Bill, put your big boy pants on, get a sitter and come ride.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Jacks Training
Well its been a while since I've blogged . . . . I guess the most recent important entry should be about the cross race I did up in New jersey. The original plan was for me to race both days, but because the only hotel in and around Trenton was the Marriot and because I'm not too good with money I had to leave early.
The course itself was pretty flat, but intensely muddy. There were two road sections, one set of barriers, and one set of three steps. The rest was thick, playdough like mud and grassy sections that were in the process of being churned into mud.
During callups I thought they had forgot my name, but I soon realized that I was to start at the very back of the pack - 106th place or so. During the first lap I wheezed and moaned my way past as many riders as I could - grabbing wheels and then abandoning them if I felt strong enough. Sometimes I would try to coax the rider in front of me to close a gap or whatever, telling him "You look strong today man, get up there!" It seemed to be working, and I continued on until about one to go, where there didn't seem to be too many people still in front. Not sure where exactly I was, I called to a spectator and asked what position I was in . . . . when they yelled back "There's like 8 or 9 in front of you!" I was pretty psyched bc I thought that I was mid pack and that I just couldn't see the rest of the riders. Ended up finishing 9th, which made me pretty happy.
Afterwards I rode back to the hotel, showered, and then threw the bike in the shower and tried to clean off as much mud and grass as I could.
18th - I did yesterdays workout today - I must have ADD when it comes to looking at the schedule. I need to get together to do the workouts with the more experienced guys because I'm sure I'm doing something wrong . . . . but the effort was there so I pray that counts for something.
19th - Caught a ride to Quantico this morning, then rode back in a light drizzle. After work I rode home and was pretty beat. Seems like everytime it rains the real crazy drivers get out and see what they can get away with.
Still felt great to be on the bike though . . . . its like therapy at times . . . . .
20th - Switched the rest day with the workout so I can be fresh for Sundays Race . . . . looking forward to cross and all but the long winter rides hold as much appeal right now. Last E ride I went on I had a feeling that the team will be a pretty strong contender next year . . . . . so I'm looking forward to all of the preparation and then next season putting a hurt on all of the teams who were slacking during the off season!
21st - Did a short ride with Jinks today to open up the legs for tomorrows race. Tomorrow will be the first race on the newly built cross bike . . . hopefully its life span will be longer than my Bianchi's . . . .
22nd - Todays race was hard, but satisfying. The hard parts were:
The course itself - which was similar to DCCX, with alot of short, steep inclines, and a sand pit that could be ridden, but required significant talent to do so.
My starting position - 61st - which was pretty much in the back of the pack.
The efforts required to work my way up to the top 10 . . . . I had to dig pretty deep at times. I tried to play it smart and let other riders do work that would advance my position, but that didn't really work too well. The really big effort came when I moved from 11th to 10th, which really almost did me in. If it wasn't for Jinks screaming in my ear and giving me constant updates I might have curled up somewhere along the course and slept til the race was over - it was that tiring.
The satisfying -
Eating marshmallow feeds (frowned upon by a few, but better than beer feeds I suppose.)
Finishing 10th, which was a good day for me.
Watching the womens race and dreaming about meeting a cat 1 or 2 girl.
Getting to absorb more and more from Jinks . . . .
Tuesday Nov 24th - Worked out on the trainer this morning. Worked all day, then rode home. Right now I'm so dead tired its not even funny. Hope to see some team guys soon!
Thanksgiving - Rode with Joe and Ben today - really a tempo ride to work up an appetite. Quite foggy today, and just cold enough that you would only feel it when you stopped. A bunch of family went to Suffolk to celebrate and all, but I wanted to just get a ride in and recover before the rest of the work week. The high point of the ride for me was when Joe announced a sudden sprint on the bridge coming back into town (near the shop), and then proceeded to annihilate me. I rode home and spent the rest of the day with my feet up.
28th - Did a hard ride with Steve, Bill, Joe and Greg. Because of the intensity I have been spending the rest of the day recovering and hydrating so that I don't do anything embarrassing tomorrow.
Todays ride only made me think how I need to ride with less excitement and more smarts. Bill said something along those lines to me before it started . . . . . thats my immediate goal for the season.
Va States - During the ride down all my pops would talk about was how I shouldn't let the team down, especially since this was the championship and all. I thought about it and got pretty fired up, and went into the race with the attitude that I was going to bring home a win for BWR. I was in a mini frenzy at the start line almost jumped the line when the instructions were being given . . . .
Alot of my family lives near where the race was being held, so like 10 of my relatives came to see what cyclocross was. I didn't want to look like an ass, so I vowed to go as hard as I could . . . . . . From the get go I went with an attack. There was a long road section close to the start, so I put it into the 53 and hammered with every watt I could muster. The course itself was pretty muddy, and had alot of short inclines that were designed for motocross, or so I was told. The attack strategy worked, and the only chaser was a guy with a UVA kit. I would drop him in the road and flat singletrack sections, but he would work his way back in the really muddy parts. Once we were neck and neck with about three to go, and I waited to see if he would attack . . . . . but he sat on my wheel, so I figured as long as I could keep a distance of 25 meters I would be fine. I would glance back from time to time to see if he was in pain or what, and if he looked tired I tried to accelerate a little bit to make sure I could keep the lead. I would have gone with a more conservative strategy but I figured I should at least put it all on the line. At the end I was planning to do a cool pose when I crossed the line, but I wasn't sure if there was another lap to go or what . . . . all in all it was a good race.
The course itself was pretty flat, but intensely muddy. There were two road sections, one set of barriers, and one set of three steps. The rest was thick, playdough like mud and grassy sections that were in the process of being churned into mud.
During callups I thought they had forgot my name, but I soon realized that I was to start at the very back of the pack - 106th place or so. During the first lap I wheezed and moaned my way past as many riders as I could - grabbing wheels and then abandoning them if I felt strong enough. Sometimes I would try to coax the rider in front of me to close a gap or whatever, telling him "You look strong today man, get up there!" It seemed to be working, and I continued on until about one to go, where there didn't seem to be too many people still in front. Not sure where exactly I was, I called to a spectator and asked what position I was in . . . . when they yelled back "There's like 8 or 9 in front of you!" I was pretty psyched bc I thought that I was mid pack and that I just couldn't see the rest of the riders. Ended up finishing 9th, which made me pretty happy.
Afterwards I rode back to the hotel, showered, and then threw the bike in the shower and tried to clean off as much mud and grass as I could.
18th - I did yesterdays workout today - I must have ADD when it comes to looking at the schedule. I need to get together to do the workouts with the more experienced guys because I'm sure I'm doing something wrong . . . . but the effort was there so I pray that counts for something.
19th - Caught a ride to Quantico this morning, then rode back in a light drizzle. After work I rode home and was pretty beat. Seems like everytime it rains the real crazy drivers get out and see what they can get away with.
Still felt great to be on the bike though . . . . its like therapy at times . . . . .
20th - Switched the rest day with the workout so I can be fresh for Sundays Race . . . . looking forward to cross and all but the long winter rides hold as much appeal right now. Last E ride I went on I had a feeling that the team will be a pretty strong contender next year . . . . . so I'm looking forward to all of the preparation and then next season putting a hurt on all of the teams who were slacking during the off season!
21st - Did a short ride with Jinks today to open up the legs for tomorrows race. Tomorrow will be the first race on the newly built cross bike . . . hopefully its life span will be longer than my Bianchi's . . . .
22nd - Todays race was hard, but satisfying. The hard parts were:
The course itself - which was similar to DCCX, with alot of short, steep inclines, and a sand pit that could be ridden, but required significant talent to do so.
My starting position - 61st - which was pretty much in the back of the pack.
The efforts required to work my way up to the top 10 . . . . I had to dig pretty deep at times. I tried to play it smart and let other riders do work that would advance my position, but that didn't really work too well. The really big effort came when I moved from 11th to 10th, which really almost did me in. If it wasn't for Jinks screaming in my ear and giving me constant updates I might have curled up somewhere along the course and slept til the race was over - it was that tiring.
The satisfying -
Eating marshmallow feeds (frowned upon by a few, but better than beer feeds I suppose.)
Finishing 10th, which was a good day for me.
Watching the womens race and dreaming about meeting a cat 1 or 2 girl.
Getting to absorb more and more from Jinks . . . .
Tuesday Nov 24th - Worked out on the trainer this morning. Worked all day, then rode home. Right now I'm so dead tired its not even funny. Hope to see some team guys soon!
Thanksgiving - Rode with Joe and Ben today - really a tempo ride to work up an appetite. Quite foggy today, and just cold enough that you would only feel it when you stopped. A bunch of family went to Suffolk to celebrate and all, but I wanted to just get a ride in and recover before the rest of the work week. The high point of the ride for me was when Joe announced a sudden sprint on the bridge coming back into town (near the shop), and then proceeded to annihilate me. I rode home and spent the rest of the day with my feet up.
28th - Did a hard ride with Steve, Bill, Joe and Greg. Because of the intensity I have been spending the rest of the day recovering and hydrating so that I don't do anything embarrassing tomorrow.
Todays ride only made me think how I need to ride with less excitement and more smarts. Bill said something along those lines to me before it started . . . . . thats my immediate goal for the season.
Va States - During the ride down all my pops would talk about was how I shouldn't let the team down, especially since this was the championship and all. I thought about it and got pretty fired up, and went into the race with the attitude that I was going to bring home a win for BWR. I was in a mini frenzy at the start line almost jumped the line when the instructions were being given . . . .
Alot of my family lives near where the race was being held, so like 10 of my relatives came to see what cyclocross was. I didn't want to look like an ass, so I vowed to go as hard as I could . . . . . . From the get go I went with an attack. There was a long road section close to the start, so I put it into the 53 and hammered with every watt I could muster. The course itself was pretty muddy, and had alot of short inclines that were designed for motocross, or so I was told. The attack strategy worked, and the only chaser was a guy with a UVA kit. I would drop him in the road and flat singletrack sections, but he would work his way back in the really muddy parts. Once we were neck and neck with about three to go, and I waited to see if he would attack . . . . . but he sat on my wheel, so I figured as long as I could keep a distance of 25 meters I would be fine. I would glance back from time to time to see if he was in pain or what, and if he looked tired I tried to accelerate a little bit to make sure I could keep the lead. I would have gone with a more conservative strategy but I figured I should at least put it all on the line. At the end I was planning to do a cool pose when I crossed the line, but I wasn't sure if there was another lap to go or what . . . . all in all it was a good race.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Sunday Ride 11/15
A Sunday ride at 8:30 from the shop? Sure! I'm suggesting the Poplar Grove route. Great fun, great company. This will be a true E ride. The focus will be on the "journey" toward fitness. Please post up below.
Good luck Sat and Sun to Jinksy and Twister. Invading the North, armed with nothing more than Aluminum and rubber. Cross it up!
Good luck Sat and Sun to Jinksy and Twister. Invading the North, armed with nothing more than Aluminum and rubber. Cross it up!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Wed. PowerStarts
I'm trying to get in a confirmed ride during the week. For those not already obligated to a ride(etc), would you like to do the PowerStarts at 6:00pm? Bring your lights and let's meet at the shop. Last year we had great success doing them in the condo lot below Marye's Heights. Come on 1500 watts!!! Reflective materials should be a must!!!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Veteran's Day Ride
How many people have this Wednesday off for Veteran's Day? I plan on going on a nice long ride if the weather holds out. Anyone else want to join me? We can work out a start time later.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Sunday Ride 11/6 (REVISED)
It was brought to my attention by Steve that the start will be at near freezing, but will be 70 by noon. It would really benefit the wounded and my lungs if there is a chance we could start at 11 instead. What do you all think??? Is it possible to gather two hours later? I know how important it is to have a somewhat standard time for departure, but this might be the last chance for the short-sleeve jersey.
"Can we do a 9:00 start from the shop? Up to three hours of "E" with a few sprints in the 1st hour.
I might not last the entire ride, but ready to try."
Post up below!
Best of luck to the Cross Boys!!!
"Can we do a 9:00 start from the shop? Up to three hours of "E" with a few sprints in the 1st hour.
I might not last the entire ride, but ready to try."
Post up below!
Best of luck to the Cross Boys!!!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Bill's Training Log
On Monday I rode for 25 minutes on the trainer and it felt wonderful. I was just loosening the legs a bit. On Tuesday I received a portentous announcement about the antibiotic I am currently on. It can cause massive tendon damage. What the HECK!!! Ken said he had this one as well. At any rate, I choose to spin for a few minutes last night and decided to do some MT work. It felt good to work up a bit of a sweat and I accomplished 3x5min of PE1s without much difficulty, but pulled the plug even though I could have done much more. I'll take it slowly. One month off and I'm totally in uncharted waters, yet again. I Look forward to a nice E ride, even as soon as Sunday(weather???)
11/6
Today I took the entire 4th grade hiking and it was fantastic. My head got congested with the wind, but my body felt fine. Looking forward to some outdoor riding this weekend.
11/8
I was able to get outside for the 1st time in a month. Joining me were five other team buddies for a nice 2.5 hours. The pace was nice and the weather even better. We did throw in several fun sprints. I was shocked that I had even an once of fast-twitch left. Both times I've used that crank, my hip-flexors ached something huge. The length and the compact nature just is not my forte. The things that the bike does, however, are just amazing. Pushing a hard gear in TT mode is simple. Sprinting/climbing is a dream. I Have great faith in the training program to help make this bike do the things it wants to do. Back to the program!
11/10
Got up this AM at a nice 5:00 hour. I decided not to eat before I spun on the rollers for an hour in the E zone. I was quite hungry and scarfed down my breakfast when I returned out from the dungeon.(old fash. oatmeal w/ whey powder and a touch of unsweetened applesauce for flavor) I have dramatically cut back on caloric intake so I can get to an appropriate weight(8 fruits and veggies and smaller portions-less homebrew). This afternoon I will hit the gym for 4 circuits full body. Finally, I will do 1 hour of PE1s (5min on 4 off) to build up the connective tissue, fast-twitch, and muscle endurance. Just downloaded a new band called Amber Pacific to help get the most out of me!
11/11
I woke up at 5:00 to the sound of steady rain. Hamstrings had recovered nicely. I opted for an intense ab/core workout. I found this site that has a million videos by this amazing woman. Don't think that because she is incredibly beautiful she can't tow the line. I could only do half of what she does. http://www.bodyrock.tv/category/workout-routines/ Tonight I am doing 1 hour 15 min on the rollers. I'll be doing one-leg pedals to TRY to smooth out what years of MTB have done to me. As to diet, If someone didn't kill it or grew it, I'm trying not to eat it! (Perhaps brew it!)
11/12
I slept in today until 5:30, got up and did a bodyrock.tv workout. I did a variance of the upper-body and core videos. The balance component is great for full body strength. You need dumbbells, ball, and serious motivation. In 35 minutes, I could not lift my fork to eat the egg. Tonight it looks like the Belgium weather will continue, driving me indoors for a near PS workout on the trainer. 10 reps of 8 sec. with 5 min recovery. With the resistance knob on full, I'll never actually pick up any speed. Looks like it's ipod night and I'll be strutting some Future of Forestry! Tomorrow is complete rest.
11/14
I had a good day recovering yesterday. Today I met YoungGun for a 2 hour slugfest. I totally relied on my PE1 training to get me through the winds and rain on an otherwise crappy day. We did average over 20 in spite of it all. The resistance training really is paying off and I'm still in uncharted territory. Who'd have thought that I was able to go hard just two weeks ago. Not a single cough in the hard parts of the ride. It was quite a lot of fun. I earned these Bell's Two-Hearted Ales!
11/15
The team ride today was fantastic, plain and simple. We did more than 3 hours or so of good high E zone. The weather took its time warming up, but finally the 60 degrees came. We had a few sprints to enact the muscle memory. There were 5 of us who just pulled a strong rotating paceline for the bulk of the ride. We finished just under 50 miles. After the ride I got a bit of healthy chow and got on with the bodyrock.tv workout. I worked upper body, core and lower cardio. Here's how the work went. High-knee jump rope, Burpees, jumping lunges, ball ab curl, etc and BOY was I Cracking!!!! I will certainly be cut by the end of the year! Looking forward to total recovery tomorrow(except the bottle dance-Fiddler on the Roof). Almost 5.5 hours the weekend.
11/17
I got up quite early and got in a great run. Time was my main reason, since I'm doing an evening gig this week. It was chilly and I had on an old Schwinn over-top. Shortly into the ride I began to feel the tightness of the garment and was totally thinking about how "FAT" I had truly become. It was only after doing an extra 15 minutes added on(for total fat burn) that I returned home, feeling good about myself. I noticed that the top was a size Medium not a Large(I somehow ended up with Ken's). I did not press my luck so I stayed off the scale anyway. The PE1s really are getting easier. Try to stay seated during the 5 minutes for consistent muscle tension. Pandora Radio had me listening to everything 80s. Nice!
11/21
Back on the bike! We are at the point where we should really try to get in a hard ride every week or two to keep the boredom down and the muscle memory high. Today I choose to do a race situation for 30 min. After a 15 min warm-up I decided to use Bryan Vaughn's video of the Working Man's Classic(day 1). I felt that whenever the camera went off the front, I would attack out of the saddle and boy does BV attack OFTEN. That, combined with a quick coast through the lower corner and a full-on sprint up the long-gradual hill and over the start/finish had me seeing cross-eyed for the first four laps. At about 24 min into the race, BV attacked to go after a 5 man break. He was caught in no-man's land for about three laps and I was hitting the stride just over LT, and digging a hole to boot. As soon as he got picked up we were sprinting just to get back on. "Wait, that's actually me in the video!" looking about as bad as I was now. I followed me for about 2 laps before moving back up the field. I pulled the plug at 30 min by design and cooled down for about 20. Boy, I was carrying about 10 extra beers on my torso in that race. Glad I bought Fitzgerald's book, RACING WEIGHT.
11/22
I hooked up with Steve, Ed, Joe, Dre, and YoungGun for a nice 2.5 hour E ride. The weather was a bit chilly, but we choose a route into Stafford that had a few punchy climbs at the begining to warm us right up. After about 40 min into the ride, we formed up a rolling paceline drill and rotated like clockwork for most of the rest of the day. It was fantastic to get out and burn the phat! I still need to know Steve's kjs burned to write down my expenditure. I guess it to be around 1000kjs.
11/24
I finished the book entitled RACING WEIGHT. The text is chock full of new dietary understanding and I've been looking at timing of consumption in a completely different way. Have you ever been watching your weight and lifting weights and the lbs just don't come off? or the weight even rises? I'm now completely utilizing a complex form of body-fat % and it is more relative than just weight. As to the training, I did an amazing core workout and then did 6x5min PE1s with 3 min recovery. I was viewing the Reston Grand Prix 35/45 race and I spotted Jinksy a few times early on. Nice to ride with a buddy. The legs felt tight at first and then I was able to push one gear harder than I have this year. Usually this gear gets the cadence to 40rpms and then starts to ache a bit much behind the left knee, so I bail. Today, I tested that gear on the 4th rep per usual and it felt really fine so I did the final three reps in the 11. The cadence dropped from 50rpms to about 46avg. There is no real reason to add more than 30 total minutes here, so I dropped the recovery time down over the past few months. My adaptation is alright, and the reps are starting fairly fresh, which is important! Up tomorrow early to do the first of two workouts scheduled.
11/24
I got up at 5am to get in an upper body workout. I did a balance ball weight lift that really burns while you balance. Great for the core, hip, and lower back. This evening I am doing a BodyRock cardio and hope to be able to walk afterward. This rain has kept the bulk of my PowerStarts from happening. Hope to do a few while on the Friday ride. My bodyfat % dropped for the 5th day in a row. I'm quite positive that it will climb tomorrow after the feasting. I'm such a sucker for choc/pecan pie!!!
11/27
I met up with Ben and YoungGun for a nice three-hour tour of Caroline. Because of the soreness, I did my PowerStarts in the first hour. Each of the 10 reps felt fine, but the 3rd, and 10th felt the best. Boy, can you feel the muscle usage all over the entire body. My lats were pumped, as were my abs. The wind picked up on the last hour, but we got home just as it started to shower. Quite bizarre! Thanks for a good ride!
11/28
There were five of us that wanted to purge ourselves of any remnants of Thanksgiving dinner. My teammate for the day was Joe and he really worked to get the 3rd and 4th points. On the return trip, I was forced to ride with a "cross lord", who is use to anaerobic efforts. The compact crank was quite challenging on the rollers, but gave me just enough "umph" to hit the rev master on the trips up. I really tore deeply into the muscle and will feel this on Monday. Steve gets the ride of the day for me. Mere weeks back onto his bike and he is faster by a mile than he was last year. Remind me to rip my knee open next fall!
11/6
Today I took the entire 4th grade hiking and it was fantastic. My head got congested with the wind, but my body felt fine. Looking forward to some outdoor riding this weekend.
11/8
I was able to get outside for the 1st time in a month. Joining me were five other team buddies for a nice 2.5 hours. The pace was nice and the weather even better. We did throw in several fun sprints. I was shocked that I had even an once of fast-twitch left. Both times I've used that crank, my hip-flexors ached something huge. The length and the compact nature just is not my forte. The things that the bike does, however, are just amazing. Pushing a hard gear in TT mode is simple. Sprinting/climbing is a dream. I Have great faith in the training program to help make this bike do the things it wants to do. Back to the program!
11/10
Got up this AM at a nice 5:00 hour. I decided not to eat before I spun on the rollers for an hour in the E zone. I was quite hungry and scarfed down my breakfast when I returned out from the dungeon.(old fash. oatmeal w/ whey powder and a touch of unsweetened applesauce for flavor) I have dramatically cut back on caloric intake so I can get to an appropriate weight(8 fruits and veggies and smaller portions-less homebrew). This afternoon I will hit the gym for 4 circuits full body. Finally, I will do 1 hour of PE1s (5min on 4 off) to build up the connective tissue, fast-twitch, and muscle endurance. Just downloaded a new band called Amber Pacific to help get the most out of me!
11/11
I woke up at 5:00 to the sound of steady rain. Hamstrings had recovered nicely. I opted for an intense ab/core workout. I found this site that has a million videos by this amazing woman. Don't think that because she is incredibly beautiful she can't tow the line. I could only do half of what she does. http://www.bodyrock.tv/category/workout-routines/ Tonight I am doing 1 hour 15 min on the rollers. I'll be doing one-leg pedals to TRY to smooth out what years of MTB have done to me. As to diet, If someone didn't kill it or grew it, I'm trying not to eat it! (Perhaps brew it!)
11/12
I slept in today until 5:30, got up and did a bodyrock.tv workout. I did a variance of the upper-body and core videos. The balance component is great for full body strength. You need dumbbells, ball, and serious motivation. In 35 minutes, I could not lift my fork to eat the egg. Tonight it looks like the Belgium weather will continue, driving me indoors for a near PS workout on the trainer. 10 reps of 8 sec. with 5 min recovery. With the resistance knob on full, I'll never actually pick up any speed. Looks like it's ipod night and I'll be strutting some Future of Forestry! Tomorrow is complete rest.
11/14
I had a good day recovering yesterday. Today I met YoungGun for a 2 hour slugfest. I totally relied on my PE1 training to get me through the winds and rain on an otherwise crappy day. We did average over 20 in spite of it all. The resistance training really is paying off and I'm still in uncharted territory. Who'd have thought that I was able to go hard just two weeks ago. Not a single cough in the hard parts of the ride. It was quite a lot of fun. I earned these Bell's Two-Hearted Ales!
11/15
The team ride today was fantastic, plain and simple. We did more than 3 hours or so of good high E zone. The weather took its time warming up, but finally the 60 degrees came. We had a few sprints to enact the muscle memory. There were 5 of us who just pulled a strong rotating paceline for the bulk of the ride. We finished just under 50 miles. After the ride I got a bit of healthy chow and got on with the bodyrock.tv workout. I worked upper body, core and lower cardio. Here's how the work went. High-knee jump rope, Burpees, jumping lunges, ball ab curl, etc and BOY was I Cracking!!!! I will certainly be cut by the end of the year! Looking forward to total recovery tomorrow(except the bottle dance-Fiddler on the Roof). Almost 5.5 hours the weekend.
11/17
I got up quite early and got in a great run. Time was my main reason, since I'm doing an evening gig this week. It was chilly and I had on an old Schwinn over-top. Shortly into the ride I began to feel the tightness of the garment and was totally thinking about how "FAT" I had truly become. It was only after doing an extra 15 minutes added on(for total fat burn) that I returned home, feeling good about myself. I noticed that the top was a size Medium not a Large(I somehow ended up with Ken's). I did not press my luck so I stayed off the scale anyway. The PE1s really are getting easier. Try to stay seated during the 5 minutes for consistent muscle tension. Pandora Radio had me listening to everything 80s. Nice!
11/21
Back on the bike! We are at the point where we should really try to get in a hard ride every week or two to keep the boredom down and the muscle memory high. Today I choose to do a race situation for 30 min. After a 15 min warm-up I decided to use Bryan Vaughn's video of the Working Man's Classic(day 1). I felt that whenever the camera went off the front, I would attack out of the saddle and boy does BV attack OFTEN. That, combined with a quick coast through the lower corner and a full-on sprint up the long-gradual hill and over the start/finish had me seeing cross-eyed for the first four laps. At about 24 min into the race, BV attacked to go after a 5 man break. He was caught in no-man's land for about three laps and I was hitting the stride just over LT, and digging a hole to boot. As soon as he got picked up we were sprinting just to get back on. "Wait, that's actually me in the video!" looking about as bad as I was now. I followed me for about 2 laps before moving back up the field. I pulled the plug at 30 min by design and cooled down for about 20. Boy, I was carrying about 10 extra beers on my torso in that race. Glad I bought Fitzgerald's book, RACING WEIGHT.
11/22
I hooked up with Steve, Ed, Joe, Dre, and YoungGun for a nice 2.5 hour E ride. The weather was a bit chilly, but we choose a route into Stafford that had a few punchy climbs at the begining to warm us right up. After about 40 min into the ride, we formed up a rolling paceline drill and rotated like clockwork for most of the rest of the day. It was fantastic to get out and burn the phat! I still need to know Steve's kjs burned to write down my expenditure. I guess it to be around 1000kjs.
11/24
I finished the book entitled RACING WEIGHT. The text is chock full of new dietary understanding and I've been looking at timing of consumption in a completely different way. Have you ever been watching your weight and lifting weights and the lbs just don't come off? or the weight even rises? I'm now completely utilizing a complex form of body-fat % and it is more relative than just weight. As to the training, I did an amazing core workout and then did 6x5min PE1s with 3 min recovery. I was viewing the Reston Grand Prix 35/45 race and I spotted Jinksy a few times early on. Nice to ride with a buddy. The legs felt tight at first and then I was able to push one gear harder than I have this year. Usually this gear gets the cadence to 40rpms and then starts to ache a bit much behind the left knee, so I bail. Today, I tested that gear on the 4th rep per usual and it felt really fine so I did the final three reps in the 11. The cadence dropped from 50rpms to about 46avg. There is no real reason to add more than 30 total minutes here, so I dropped the recovery time down over the past few months. My adaptation is alright, and the reps are starting fairly fresh, which is important! Up tomorrow early to do the first of two workouts scheduled.
11/24
I got up at 5am to get in an upper body workout. I did a balance ball weight lift that really burns while you balance. Great for the core, hip, and lower back. This evening I am doing a BodyRock cardio and hope to be able to walk afterward. This rain has kept the bulk of my PowerStarts from happening. Hope to do a few while on the Friday ride. My bodyfat % dropped for the 5th day in a row. I'm quite positive that it will climb tomorrow after the feasting. I'm such a sucker for choc/pecan pie!!!
11/27
I met up with Ben and YoungGun for a nice three-hour tour of Caroline. Because of the soreness, I did my PowerStarts in the first hour. Each of the 10 reps felt fine, but the 3rd, and 10th felt the best. Boy, can you feel the muscle usage all over the entire body. My lats were pumped, as were my abs. The wind picked up on the last hour, but we got home just as it started to shower. Quite bizarre! Thanks for a good ride!
11/28
There were five of us that wanted to purge ourselves of any remnants of Thanksgiving dinner. My teammate for the day was Joe and he really worked to get the 3rd and 4th points. On the return trip, I was forced to ride with a "cross lord", who is use to anaerobic efforts. The compact crank was quite challenging on the rollers, but gave me just enough "umph" to hit the rev master on the trips up. I really tore deeply into the muscle and will feel this on Monday. Steve gets the ride of the day for me. Mere weeks back onto his bike and he is faster by a mile than he was last year. Remind me to rip my knee open next fall!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Steve's November Recovery & Training
11/30/09
Decided I need a rest day in light of tomorrow's PT and the weekend riding. That was fun and the capper was hearing about Jack's Victory. I still managed to get stuck hanging outdoor Christmas decorations. Yes in the rain, that was not fun.
11/29/09
Nice long E ride in the country and the only thing hurting was where the bike and butt intersect. (Slow rides are the worst for that.) That is until the end of the ride. Bill's "I am going to give it one effort" goaded me to chase Ken down with a TT effort. Then after saying "I'm taking it easy into town " Bill suckered me into taking second wheel for a rip your legs off pull down Route 2. Glad I was able to hang and still be able to stand at the end for the Dead Man Sprint. Thanks to all for a great day of riding.
11/28/09
Now I know how the mouse felt. Bill, Joe, Jack and Greg toyed with me like a cat playing with a mouse. These guys are fast! The taste of lung blood in the morning, and aching legs in the afternoon. This is training.
11/26/09
Did my 2 hour PT routine at home while watching football. I could only run for ten minutes because of the pain, but everything else seemed fine. Probably no ride on Friday, but is anyone around for Saturday and Sunday?
11/25/09
I found last October's workout schedule so I decided to try some PE1's. Not too bad. So I guess I will use that as a starting point for my workouts.
11/24/09
2.5 hour work out at PT today left me exhausted and the legs toasted. After reading the workout blogs from the BWR guys, it is apparent that I need to get going or be left way off the back. Thanks to all who post, it creates the fear I need to train.
11/22/09
A little over two hours of E riding with the BWR boys fueled by venison jerky. The Belle Plains loop is beautiful. Good to see Ed, Andre, Joe, Bill and Greg out and about.
11/21/09
Two hours of tempo in the Park with 6 sprints followed by a successful doe hunt (another 30 yard bow shot). It is just about time to get back on a real training routine.
11/19/09
I attended a full Marine military honors funeral at Arlington Cemetary. It was perhaps one of the most moving and impressive cerremonies I have ever attended. As with Veteran's Day, thank you guys for serving our country. Feeling humbled, I could not just blow off my workout for the day, so I hit the workout room and duplicated 90% of my therapy workouts and then added some bike time. Looking forward to the weekend.
11/17/09
Back at PT today. Of all the exercises I truly hate running the most. Both knees protest with each stride. Next time I will pre-medicate in preparation. Hoping the weekend weather allows for a ride or two.
11/15/09
New bike, new knee same old back of the pack. Great ride through the countryside with the BWR gang. Three hours or so and somewhere just under 50 miles. No real adjustment problems with the new bike, other than getting used to a really fast machine. Wow what a difference. Even though I have no sprint I could feel the potential for acceleration. Back to work strengthening and conditioning.
11/12/09
2.5 hours of physical therapy today. The legs were jelly by the end. My favorite new exercise is doing inchworms with small balance balls. Her is how it works: with two small inflated balls in your hands you assume the pushup position. Then you walk your feet up to your hands which puts you in the toe touch position, then you walk your hands back out to the pushup position. Repeat Sounds easy, but they truly suck, so I love them! Rain rain go away Steve wants to ride in safety.
11/11/09
More trainer time and exercises, stop the rain!
11/10/09
45 minutes on the trainer trying to work the kinks out of the legs. I'm not limber enough to have the confidence to get on the rollers yet.
11/9/09
Woke up not knowing what to expect with regard to how my knee would react to the first significant ride post surgery. Other than my usual morning stiffness (no pun intended) both knees felt fine. So with that encouragement I was off to therapy for a solid two hours of work, which for the first time included running on the treadmill. At first it was as if I forgot how to run, but it soon came back and I was on my way. The therapist watched me run and also bikes herself so she is going to design a program that will help me get to a real training platform. (Apparently we bikers let our hip muscles, adductors and abductors and some others, weaken, which can cause a number of additional ailments.) Tomorrow will be another test of how well I recover. Thanks to the BWR crew for asking how I am doing today. The answer from a fitness perspective is great.
11/8/09
I can't begin to say what a moral boost it was to get out on the road for the first time in three months. It may have been just an E-ride, but it still will be one I remember for a long time. It's good to know that the smack talk/Jack talk is still there. Another good thing was that my legs felt good. No real discomfort or pain following the ride. Only a sense of fatigue. Looking forward to next week.
11/5/09
Two hour workout today with additional weights and some new exercises. Although I could go to fewer rehab sessions now, I intend to stay with the twice a week because I can do more and work harder as long as I am under supervision. (Dr. orders.) Next week I will begin some easy running on the treadmill. I hope to get out Sunday for an easy ride and I do mean easy! Rehab is like climbing, keep your head down, ignore the pain and stay at it. The next thing you know you have reached the top.
11/3/09
Training at a new faclity closer to my office, so we had to recalibrate all of the weight exercises. My strength is coming back, but we have to be careful not to damage the tendon graft. Still it is a good feeling to be working hard and to be tired at the end of the workout. Highlight of the day, shooting a trophy eight point buck at thirty yards with my bow. To think I almost didn't go hunting because I was so tired from the rehab.
Decided I need a rest day in light of tomorrow's PT and the weekend riding. That was fun and the capper was hearing about Jack's Victory. I still managed to get stuck hanging outdoor Christmas decorations. Yes in the rain, that was not fun.
11/29/09
Nice long E ride in the country and the only thing hurting was where the bike and butt intersect. (Slow rides are the worst for that.) That is until the end of the ride. Bill's "I am going to give it one effort" goaded me to chase Ken down with a TT effort. Then after saying "I'm taking it easy into town " Bill suckered me into taking second wheel for a rip your legs off pull down Route 2. Glad I was able to hang and still be able to stand at the end for the Dead Man Sprint. Thanks to all for a great day of riding.
11/28/09
Now I know how the mouse felt. Bill, Joe, Jack and Greg toyed with me like a cat playing with a mouse. These guys are fast! The taste of lung blood in the morning, and aching legs in the afternoon. This is training.
11/26/09
Did my 2 hour PT routine at home while watching football. I could only run for ten minutes because of the pain, but everything else seemed fine. Probably no ride on Friday, but is anyone around for Saturday and Sunday?
11/25/09
I found last October's workout schedule so I decided to try some PE1's. Not too bad. So I guess I will use that as a starting point for my workouts.
11/24/09
2.5 hour work out at PT today left me exhausted and the legs toasted. After reading the workout blogs from the BWR guys, it is apparent that I need to get going or be left way off the back. Thanks to all who post, it creates the fear I need to train.
11/22/09
A little over two hours of E riding with the BWR boys fueled by venison jerky. The Belle Plains loop is beautiful. Good to see Ed, Andre, Joe, Bill and Greg out and about.
11/21/09
Two hours of tempo in the Park with 6 sprints followed by a successful doe hunt (another 30 yard bow shot). It is just about time to get back on a real training routine.
11/19/09
I attended a full Marine military honors funeral at Arlington Cemetary. It was perhaps one of the most moving and impressive cerremonies I have ever attended. As with Veteran's Day, thank you guys for serving our country. Feeling humbled, I could not just blow off my workout for the day, so I hit the workout room and duplicated 90% of my therapy workouts and then added some bike time. Looking forward to the weekend.
11/17/09
Back at PT today. Of all the exercises I truly hate running the most. Both knees protest with each stride. Next time I will pre-medicate in preparation. Hoping the weekend weather allows for a ride or two.
11/15/09
New bike, new knee same old back of the pack. Great ride through the countryside with the BWR gang. Three hours or so and somewhere just under 50 miles. No real adjustment problems with the new bike, other than getting used to a really fast machine. Wow what a difference. Even though I have no sprint I could feel the potential for acceleration. Back to work strengthening and conditioning.
11/12/09
2.5 hours of physical therapy today. The legs were jelly by the end. My favorite new exercise is doing inchworms with small balance balls. Her is how it works: with two small inflated balls in your hands you assume the pushup position. Then you walk your feet up to your hands which puts you in the toe touch position, then you walk your hands back out to the pushup position. Repeat Sounds easy, but they truly suck, so I love them! Rain rain go away Steve wants to ride in safety.
11/11/09
More trainer time and exercises, stop the rain!
11/10/09
45 minutes on the trainer trying to work the kinks out of the legs. I'm not limber enough to have the confidence to get on the rollers yet.
11/9/09
Woke up not knowing what to expect with regard to how my knee would react to the first significant ride post surgery. Other than my usual morning stiffness (no pun intended) both knees felt fine. So with that encouragement I was off to therapy for a solid two hours of work, which for the first time included running on the treadmill. At first it was as if I forgot how to run, but it soon came back and I was on my way. The therapist watched me run and also bikes herself so she is going to design a program that will help me get to a real training platform. (Apparently we bikers let our hip muscles, adductors and abductors and some others, weaken, which can cause a number of additional ailments.) Tomorrow will be another test of how well I recover. Thanks to the BWR crew for asking how I am doing today. The answer from a fitness perspective is great.
11/8/09
I can't begin to say what a moral boost it was to get out on the road for the first time in three months. It may have been just an E-ride, but it still will be one I remember for a long time. It's good to know that the smack talk/Jack talk is still there. Another good thing was that my legs felt good. No real discomfort or pain following the ride. Only a sense of fatigue. Looking forward to next week.
11/5/09
Two hour workout today with additional weights and some new exercises. Although I could go to fewer rehab sessions now, I intend to stay with the twice a week because I can do more and work harder as long as I am under supervision. (Dr. orders.) Next week I will begin some easy running on the treadmill. I hope to get out Sunday for an easy ride and I do mean easy! Rehab is like climbing, keep your head down, ignore the pain and stay at it. The next thing you know you have reached the top.
11/3/09
Training at a new faclity closer to my office, so we had to recalibrate all of the weight exercises. My strength is coming back, but we have to be careful not to damage the tendon graft. Still it is a good feeling to be working hard and to be tired at the end of the workout. Highlight of the day, shooting a trophy eight point buck at thirty yards with my bow. To think I almost didn't go hunting because I was so tired from the rehab.
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