Steady Training

Charles just getting up on the handlebars and cruising on a Sunday...digging the fancy red gloves
Chad says that a good traing regiment requires some high quality insect diet, and demonstrates how one goes about getting that diet
Is that a sharp looking bike right there or what?!

Well I have been able to keep a good training regiment going for the past week or so, just trying to keep my weight going in the right direction as well which seems to be the difficult part. I have managed to get in at least one workout a day with several days being a two-a-day workouts with a recovery day thrown in for good measure. Thursday night-Friday morning was a good high intensity day or 16 hours, I started Thursday night with a high intensity 45min climbing regiment on the Real Axiom Trainer, followed that with a 35min high intensity StairMaster session the next morning and then at lunch time hit a spin class for a good 45min high intensity work out. Took the following 42hrs off and then hit the road with Charles and Chad Sunday morning for a 36 mile road ride where Charles got my hear rate elevated with a few interval areas during the ride. It was a good ride and was early enough that the forecasted winds were not a factor to much at least. This week has started off well with a good effort spin session, another StairMaster morning and tomorrow morning I am taking the whole platoon in for Donna's spin class - sure to put even a strong rider to the test by the time she is finished, the guys will thank me for this NOT!
As for the weight, everyone says that last ten pounds is the hardest to loose which brings the question what do ya do when your at that last ten pounds when you start to diet? It is slow going I drop down to a 1/2lb below where I was previously only to bounce back up to where I originally started at the following day. It is difficult but I guess you just have to take the small steps as they come and stick with it hopefully by the time Ft Yargo rolls around I will be at my race weight which is 10lbs away right now. So I will keep working away at it and stick to the eating habits that seem to be helping and I should see the benefits. Well with the way the weather is acting this week I think any outdoor riding will be confined to the road and supplemented with some trainer time indoors as well. Hopefully the weather starts cooperating as I am looking forward to some trail time and working on the technical skills(which I need). So whether it is the road or the trail I Will See You on the Bike!

The Dublin 50, wait 55 oh no 59 mile ride

Well it was a choice between racing in Macon, or riding in Dublin out of the two I knew the race while challenging and fun I would be way out classed and my technical skills still aren't quite up to race level. So I thought I would just join Charles, his Dad, BK, Chad and a his brother, Bill and a couple of others for the century ride out at Dublin. We decided to do the 50 miler which then changed to 55 miler and then ultimately ended up at being 59 miles by the time we finished. It was a good ride through some really great scenic country and with some pretty good climbs and descents by the time it was over I had a pretty good workout in.
I figure since I am focusing on the endurance races this season I gain more from doing the long ride than competing in a XC race so I worked a couple of pulls at the start and at the end of the ride to get the HR up a little bit. Still working on my power endurance, on a few occasions I would start up the hill in front and end up in the back of the pack at the top of the hill. Hopefully the next month of StairMaster, spin class and riding laps out at Thompson to improve my technical skills will help make me a little more competitive come Ft Yargo. Not sure yet what this weekend will bring but hoping to find my way out to Dauset so if your out there I Will See You on the Trail!

Happy Snaps from Heritage Park

A couple of the shots this was one of the paticularly messy areas of the trail!

Heritage Park 6hr

Boy if I was as fast as this picture looks like I am I would be riding for a living!
Army Strong at least in the endurance part just need to work on that climbing strength
A few of the Macon Crew that were up for the race, hanging around the heater keeping warm

Well Today's event was outstanding, the weather was a balmy 39 degrees at the start and I am not to sure it got much warmer than that all day. I was able to wear snivel gear all day and was comfortable. There wasn't to much precipitation I would say it actually helped keep the trail just tacky enough to help the grip for 95% of the trail the one section it made nasty was exactly that boggy but it was only about 25ft across. As for my conditioning it definitely opened my eyes to the need to condition myself better and lose the extra half-a-bike I am carrying around. I managed to get 4 laps in but the climbs were killing me, I would tear down the hill only to get past coming back up the other side. The first lap had the usual parade lap followed by the inevitable back log at the first technical section of the single track and since I am no Jeff Kerkove I wasn't able to get to the front before we entered the single track. One particularly nasty section of roots sent me sideways into some rocks and bent the rear rotor so I had a enjoyable rubbing noise the rest of the day. The second lap wasn't too bad got to visit grandma a little more she was glad to see me, by lap 3 she was wondering if I had a gear of my own and by lap 4 granny was really tired of getting used and abused. The day ended with a total of 36 miles in about 5hrs and 15min, since they implemented the done at the 6hr mark and coming in after that doesn't count and I was running hr+ laps there was no sense in going out for a fifth lap which under last years rules I would have. They had Bruce out there doing some great announcing and some good photographers so there should be some good photos coming up. There was a strong group of OMBA riders out there doing some strong riding and having a good time, thanks to Mark for hooking us up with a good location at the start finish with a space under the pavilion. I am looking forward to doing the century ride this weekend with Charles from The Bike Store and getting in some mileage. I am going to focus on getting in some training time and make sure I am more competitive come The 12hrs of Yargo. Meanwhile I will be hitting the trail as time allows so if your out there I Will See You on the Trail!

Dirty Spokes Season Opener

The Only Pic I got from my 3 flat 2 mile hike, wasp stung round 3 of the Snake!

Well here it is the first of the 4 events I wanted to race in this season and the weather is as usual for the start of the season - rainy all weekend what better way to start off the endurance races?! Looking forward to starting this season in the Sport category however not sure I will be even close to as competitive as I was last year as my training regime was definitely less intense this off season than it was last year. Several factors impacted this not the least of them being the fact that I wasn't deployed,not that I would trade being home for more training time in the desert! Anyway I am looking forward to the race it should be a pretty good time regardless of the weather, running the Mud X on the rear and had to replace the front one with the Maxxis ignitor since I blew the sidewall at the Snake. Anyway i plan on getting there early on Saturday and hopefully get comfy with the fact that I will probably be muddy and soaked all day but I am looking forward to it so if your out there I Will See You on the Trail!