Friday, December 30, 2005

A day of riding

It was a cold but glorious day to ride. I decided to roll out the Borthwick and ride the trails of greater Denver. The traffic was slim as most people were probably working. I do have a few observation on my day of riding.
1. 28 degrees is cold!
2. Lobster mitts take a bit of getting use to (as I dropped many things today)
3. Cyclist in Denver are NOT friendly!!!
4. Walkers/Runners ARE friendly
5. Riding Singlespeed is the only way to go

I have my plan for TI and it starts in earnest on Monday.

Sunday, December 18, 2005

I'm in

Made it into TransIowa....

Can't wait.

Friday, December 16, 2005

10 Degrees at 5:30 am

Brrrrr......
It was cold as I headed out for a hour run early this morning. It took a little longer to gain my stride as all the clothes I was wearing made me feel, well, immobile. I needed to run as I did not get the chance to head to Boulder for the IGSSC. It was okay as I was able to finish up some things around the house, so I can go skiing this weekend or at least head to Breckenridge and sit by the fire. It is suppose to be COLD up in the mountains this weekend.

Tomorrow is the big day for signing up for the TransIowa race. I am more than a little nervous that I will not be able to get in. If I am able to get a spot the training starts in earnest on Monday.

Peace and hopeful for warmer weather.

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Holiday season caos

Not time for anything but prepare for the holidays. The workouts are going as planned.
TransIowa registration opens in two days, so I will have to take some time on Saturday to ski in and sign up. Also, it is really cold know and the IGSSC is tonight in Boulder - should be fun.

Peace,
Mike

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

To the grindstone

My last race was only 3 days ago and I am already in my transition phase of my schedule. I have not nailed down my next 20 weeks but will by the end of next weekend. Until then I plan on hitting the weights hard and logging some spin classes or stationary bike workouts. I have added lunges to my leg workouts - I have muscles that have not been sore for years. The lunges will help skiing this year. I have developed a solid weight program for me that with 2 times a week during a power building period can build huge endurance as well as strength.

Attended my first spin class yesterday where I was not the only one there. It was almost fun and the pain was lost in the energy of the class. Hope to hit one or two per week. My plan of knocking out long slow runs is not as appealing as it once was.

Weight workout:
10-15 minutes warm-up (cardio)
Leg press or Lunges
Bench press
Military press
Leg curls
Tricep push-downs with hanging crunches between sets
Upright rowing
Calf raises
Lunges or Squats
Curls
Incline situps
Squats or isolated one-leg press
Dips alternated with pull-ups
Situp machine
Crunches (if time)
Basketball (if time)

This workout if done at an off hour can be completed in 1 hour 15 minutes.

It is frigid out there, so I be keeping warm inside. Peace!

Monday, December 05, 2005

Season is over

My season is officially over!
The last race was far from stellar as I had a slight fever and was lacking any kind of energy. It was a perfect course that I could have done well at but that is the way life is. As I look back at the season/year, I can am proud of what I accomplished. I race 16 cyclocross races finishing up in 6th place for the ACA state series and had a few top tens. Competed in 6 or more road races and one mountain bike endurance race. Also, I did pace my bro for 38 miles of running at Western States! The miles logged seemed to be down the past few years to around 4000 but the hours I spent running made up for that.

It is now time to relax for a week or so before I need to start hitting it hard for next season. I will be keeping motivated by reading Jason's Blog who use to dice it up with Will Black back in Texas. I still miss those old Lajitas days - long miles, good racing, and lots of beer. Kent , Jeff, and Dave will also help.

Off to prepare my schedule of pain.

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Pulling out the trainer

It wasn't my morning to head into the cold darkness, so I pulled out the trainer and sat in front of the tele. Not much on at 5:30 am except the news, which isn't all that motivating.

Next time the rollers come out...