B's Mobile Blog

the recovery machine is complete...

2010-04-30T12:49:00.002-05:00

it took me a couple weeks but I finally finished my building of the new '08.5 Ridley Helium road bike...I took my time as I been slowly returning to riding outdoors via my suspended MTB which is easlier on the body...

the Helium weighs in at 16lbs...not bad for an XL frame and the components I used :-)

b

Some fiber for morning diet?

2010-04-21T08:17:00.002-05:00

the build continues on the Helium...

first outdoor ride in a long time...

2010-04-12T09:16:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I went out on my MTB for an easy ride to see how I am feeling this spring. This was my first ride since the biking accident last July. I felt decent out there and realized how out of shape I am but it felt great to just get out there and do it!

Today I am sore...

whats this...

2010-03-25T14:03:00.002-05:00

Guess that 17mm of CF ?

New Salomon Carbon Classic XC ski boots...

2010-03-05T06:19:00.001-06:00

New Salomon Carbon Classic XC ski boots are here in preparation of the 10/11 XC skiing season...

pilates night...

2010-03-02T10:38:00.002-06:00

I'm looking forward to session number two of my private pilates lesson this evening...the rebuilding of the core, gluteus and hamstrings continues!

b

it's snowing outside...

2010-02-24T22:29:00.002-06:00

Well we just got a late season 4" snowfall here in our region over the last two hours as it's tapering off now...Obi is sure enjoying it this evening :-)

Exercise has been on the back burner for the last 5 weeks but I hope to slow return it within the next several weeks...still seeing my sports ortho chiro plus now I'm taking pilates sessions as part of the rebuild process...

Obi is hoping for more snow!

b

Contador's time trial bike disallowed at Algarve | VeloNation Cycling News and Reference

2010-02-19T18:33:00.001-06:00

Contador's time trial bike disallowed at Algarve | VeloNation Cycling News and Reference

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treatment...

2010-02-19T09:45:00.002-06:00

MAT treatment by my sports ortho chiro last night was focused specifically on the left side of my head & face to help the long recovery process from the biking accident...painful treatment but it helps with recovery!

b

Obi enjoying the snow over the 3 day weekend...

2010-02-16T09:18:00.001-06:00

Obi enjoying the snow over the 3 day weekend...

one auto still buried in the snow...

2010-02-10T13:24:00.000-06:00

one auto still buried in the snow...

continued treatment...

2010-01-14T09:31:00.000-06:00

early morning appt with sports ortho chiro for MAT treatment towards continued injuries in the books...ouch but very good for healing!

b

Happy Holidays to all our Friends & Family - Kristen, Brian & Obi

2009-12-24T17:06:00.002-06:00

xmas present early...8.1mp SE camera cellphone

2009-12-23T14:44:00.002-06:00

Grinchy...

2009-12-18T15:48:00.001-06:00

the cabin were staying at for Tecumseh near Bloomington, Indiana...

2009-12-04T16:17:00.001-06:00

Obi got a haircut yesterday...plus it was a year ago we picked him up!

2009-11-05T17:06:00.001-06:00

ps...he does't like me to take his picture!

Obi the Squirrel down by the lakefront to watch the 50m/50k'ers.

2009-10-31T11:09:00.001-05:00

Obi down by the lakefront to watch the 50k...

2009-10-31T09:16:00.001-05:00

the deciduous conifer larch (larix kaempferi) is shedding...

2009-10-23T13:49:00.001-05:00

Waiting for the show...

2009-10-22T18:13:00.002-05:00

Waiting for the Race Across the Sky movie to start of the Leadville CO 100 MTB Race...incredible movie and very inspirational...would love to race this event one day in the future!

Obi enjoying lunchtime this nice fall day...

2009-10-21T13:40:00.001-05:00

I'm feeling the need to visit the 'old stomping grounds...

2009-10-06T16:32:00.002-05:00

An Alumni visit possibly? ;-)

by Lake Michigan today...

2009-10-04T20:06:00.002-05:00

Kristen and Obi near Montrose Harbor today...a perfect fall style day!

Good Luck Chicago to with todays IOC decision for the 2016 Summer Olympic bid!!!

2009-10-02T09:25:00.003-05:00

GO CHICAGO GO!!!

Wearing my shirt today for "Team Spirit"

Obi post Lake Michigan by Montrose Harbor dog beach park...

2009-09-19T13:39:00.001-05:00

Go Jess!

2009-09-18T20:27:00.001-05:00

Bruyneel Blames Vinokourov For His Astana Exit | Cyclingnews.com

2009-09-18T08:11:00.001-05:00

Bruyneel Blames Vinokourov For His Astana Exit | Cyclingnews.com

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blah, blah, blah excuses Johan as you have always LA team player...

IM Madison

2009-09-13T10:30:00.001-05:00

Wants to wish all those that are racing IM Madison right now to have a fantastic race!!!

b

Vino...

2009-08-27T07:25:00.000-05:00

Vinokourov To Head To The Tour Of Spain With Astana | Cyclingnews.com

2009-08-24T15:03:00.001-05:00

Vinokourov To Head To The Tour Of Spain With Astana | Cyclingnews.com

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...this is by far the best news I have heard in weeks...Vino's back!!!

Horner To Ride Elk Grove Solo | Cyclingnews.com

2009-07-31T10:38:00.001-05:00

Horner To Ride Elk Grove Solo | Cyclingnews.com

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look forward to seeing him out there later today in the Prologue TT after I ride the Charity Prologue TT...

b

Prologue TT tomorrow afternoon...

2009-07-30T16:47:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow afternoon I'm racing the Charity Prologue 4.5 mile TT at the Tour of Elk Grove...it will be fun!

http://tourofelkgrove.com/cm/PDFs/TOEG09coursesmap.pdf

b

threshold this...

2009-07-29T12:34:00.001-05:00

Tuesday evening:

Once again I set out on my next CompuTrainer workout on the schedule which was an hour & 45 minute ride with 10 by 5 minute threshold efforts with one minute recovers between each interval...an extra interval compare to last weeks session. As I used the CT ergo coaching mode on the system which allows me to control the watts resistance (load) to achieve a proper workout I started off with a progressive warm-up through minute 35 then I went right into my first 5 minute threshold blast followed up by a "short" recovery then right into the next 5 minute interval...repeat 10 of these this time but I remained focused and got through them just fine as usual :-)

At an hour and thirty four minutes into the ride finally came the cool-down portion after the intervals as I spun-out my legs to help recover them which believe it or not actually works.

Average HR for the ride was 120bpm with a max on a interval of 147bpm as my average wattage was 193 & max watts on last interval of ~340...at 1:45:00 and 28.3 miles into my ride my CompuTrainer ride was done for the night! Tonight’s workout was tough challenge as my HR didn’t want to go into my proper threshold zone even when I attempted to push a higher watts resistance but yet my watts average were more that in the threshold zone during the intervals…interesting :-)

b

Tour Of Elk Grove Expects A Full Field | Cyclingnews.com

2009-07-29T11:46:00.002-05:00

Tour Of Elk Grove Expects A Full Field Cyclingnews.com

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big news to promote the Tour of Elk Grove event this weekend with lots of Pro's showing up. I'll be racing the Charity Prologue 4.5 mile TT Friday afternoon...

b

still waiting on the announcement...

2009-07-29T05:53:00.002-05:00

Alexander Vinokourov has been legally ok to race again since July 24th 2009 so were still waiting on when he will race again and most important on which team?

http://www.linexlegal.com/content.php?content_id=95708

still spinning the wheels...

2009-07-28T15:02:00.002-05:00

Sunday evening:

Well since it turned out to be a no-run weekend for me again this weekend at the end of a busy day I hoped on the CompuTrainer in the house to get in about an hour ride minimum. I choose a 3D course from the software which was a two times lap of Powerman Alabama as each lap was a semi-hilly 17 miler. I focused just on one lap was this was to be just a longer recovery ride. The ride was pretty uneventful as my legs were still tired from yesterday’s outdoor ride at Verona WI. I watched a couple stages of the 2003 TdF via DVD to keep my mind occupied and focus me towards spinning cadence.

I ended up riding 17 semi-hilly miles in 1:03:52 with a low average HR of a low 96bpm and a max during a half mile 4% climb of 109bpm plus my average wattage was at 121. It was good I got in this ride at least but it does not make up for the weekend of no running for the second weekend in a row…

Monday evening:

Easy recovery ride via the CompuTrainer for 45 minutes on a flat course in which I controlled the wattage load I rode against. I covered 13.9 miles in this time duration with an average HR of 95bpm plus max HR of 101bpm and average wattage of 125. Very simple recovery ride to prep for Tuesdays ride…

b

back dating...

2009-07-28T09:58:00.001-05:00

Wednesday evening July 22nd:

After work at home I rode on the Computrainer via the Coached Ergo mode an easy recovery ride of 40:04 for 12.5 miles. Spun a higher cadence to flush out the legs with an average HR of 97bpm with max of only 108bpm plus average ride wattage was at 127. It was a comfortable recovery ride as I battling a summer cold that hit me like bricks later last night while I was walking Obi…

Thursday 7.23 & Friday 7.24:

I have been battling a summer cold since later Tuesday evening so I took both of these days off from any sort of exercising to help my body get a little quicker recovery from this sinus & chest cold…felt guilty the whole time but sometimes you just have to do these things.

b

Vision Quest ride at Verona...

2009-07-27T14:32:00.002-05:00

Saturday morning:

Woke-up super early to drive up towards Madison, WI to ride out of Verona with the support training ride put together my Vision Quest (Robbie Ventura’s company) as I rode in their event last month also on the IM WI bike course. This month they had about 65 riders signed up for the event and many of them were training for IM WI in later September. They had 4 different abilities groups as I mistakenly signed up to ride with the competitive grouping of about 10 riders as one of the guys I rode with last month was in this group also. Also they informed us of several sections of chip gravel & seal sections that were new since the previous month…nice!

So at the 8am roll out these riders were wide open throttle within feet of leaving the parking lot as my friend Paul and I realized these guys provide no warm-up time. The first hill climb was only a half mile into this 41.7 loop and they flew up this grinder hill. At the top of the hill Paul and I just let them go ahead and rode on at our own pace individually. He dropped back by mile one as I could always see off in the distance the group of fast riders. I pushed onwards solo as stubborn as I am until about mile ten when the large grouping of advanced riders slowly caught me from behind. I let the group of about twenty riders go by me as I hooked up on the back of the peloton style grouping to help recovery my HR and body for the remaining mileage. At about mile twelve is the first bigger climbing hill as I dropped off the back since I slightly shredded my legs from the earlier solo efforts. After that was done I was always able to re-gain the group on the longer downhills when at about mile 15 we hit the 1st of many chip gravel & seal sections on the IM WI bike course. Ever since my nightmare, wheel destroying training ride last summer on the Steelhead course I’m now very cautious on these gravelly roadways. After a mile of this I re-gained the group about a mile afterwards on the proper roadways as this would go on for several times throughout the remainder of this loop ride.

The quick rest stop is just around mile 23 but literally 500 feet before this on the two lane county road with gravel shoulders I saw a bunch of cars stopped in the gravel in both directions with numerous bikers stopped also. As we all rode close to this situation some Vision Quests coaches informed us the ambulance was called and to continue to the rest area. As I slowly rode by I could see it was one of the riders from the fast group, he was being attended as his face was all bloody as he was lying in the shoulder gravel. He was conscious, arms moving as the coaches had him staying relaxed till the EMT arrived just seconds later. Our group re-organized at the rest stop and headed out to finish off the loop after seeing this situation. No one knows what happened; did he crash because his wheel went in the gravel at speed or did a car force him into the gravel or worst did a car hit him? To this moment no one knows what happened…

As we started back out on the county roads to start on the second portion of the loop I hung around with the group as we all worked paceline single file before heading off on the last vehicle traveled back county roads. At one point we have a great rolling stretch that follows an active gravel pit quarry where I went off the front speedily in my TT positioning to hammer this section. The roadway eventually curves around the lake before setting up for a nice gradual climb of about a half mile. At the base of this climb I let the group catch me as I rode up the hill at my own tempo pace as my hamstrings were screaming at me at this point but I still rode the hill in my threshold zone. After that hill there’s only really one more really tough hill so since it was only about a quarter mile long and close to the end of the ride I stomped on the pedals just before it climbed upwards and pushed an the low end of my VO2 max while I climbed this hill. The rest of the ride I rode at pretty much cool-down level.

Once we got back to the Fireman’s park start point since I was only riding one loop I weighted myself back in and lost one pound only & signed out. The ride distance for the loop with a couple gravel road detours came in at 41.7 miles in 2:04:47 with an average HR of 141bpm and max during that last hill climb of 162bpm. For my HR charts I rode this distance in a higher level endurance zone burn with multiple times riding within my threshold zone and even VO2 zone.
My average watts for the ride duration came in at 208 with a max wattage at 932 during the stomp grind going up the last hill climb.

I wasn’t exhausted or beat up after this nice ride which is a positive indicator of my certain cycling abilities towards my A cycling race at the 40k team relay at the Chicago triathlon on August 30th 2009. Plus now I’m more comfortable just incase in the future I do eventually end up racing IM WI ;-)

b

IM WI course

2009-07-25T06:45:00.001-05:00

Up at Verona, WI this morning to ride with Vision Quest the IM WI bike course...

Mont Ventoux today...

2009-07-24T15:46:00.003-05:00

As in past years I have followed the Tour de France over the past couple decades in awe of the incredible cyclists that tackle the challenges that are thrown at them for 21 stages in the month of July...well tomorrows stage 21 is gonna be the icing on the cake stage for this 2009 TdF race...the race to see whom will win the awesome stage which includes the "brutal" climb up Mont Ventoux!

Be sure to DVR this stage if your not able to watch it live on TV because its one you cannot miss from this years event!

It seems like just yesterday that Marco Pantani & Lance Armstrong battled each other to the finishline along with this moonscape atmosphere in 2000...

Brian

always recovering...

2009-07-24T12:42:00.002-05:00

Monday morning :

Very easy recovery spin on the Computrainer device in the house via the Coaching Ergo training software I can control the about of wattage I am training at in 10 watt increments. The ride was quite un-eventful as I kept my HR in the very low zone 5 lever for full benefit of this ez, easy, recovery day…was a 45 minute spin for 13.5 miles, average HR at 96bpm & max HR at 108bpm plus average wattage at 119.

Tuesday evening:

I set out on my next CompuTrainer workout on the schedule which was an hour & 45 minute ride with 10 by 5 minute threshold efforts with one minute recovers between each interval...an extra interval compare to last weeks session. As I used the CT ergo coaching mode on the system which allows me to control the watts resistance to acheive a proper workout I started off with a progressive warm-up through minute 35 then I went right into my first 5 minute threshold blast followed up by a "shorty"recovery then right into the next 5 minute interval...repeat 10 of these this time but I remained focused and got through them just fine :-)

At an hour and thirty five minutes into the ride finally came the cool-down portion after the intervals as I spun-out my legs to help recover them which believe it or not actually works.

Average HR for the ride was 121bpm with a max on a inteval of 149bpm as my average wattage was 194 & max watts on last interval of 387...at 1:45:00 and 28.1 miles into my ride my CompuTrainer ride was done for the night! These workouts are tough but pay strong dividends come race day :-)

b

Beanzie...

2009-07-23T17:36:00.003-05:00

Sunday morning July 19th 2009:

Decided a couple days earlier I needed a change of pace on my weekend long training rides so I drove out to Dekalb, IL bright & early to participate in a very organized touring ride known as "Biking with Beanzie". K & I rode in this cycling event last year as part of our half IM training which we liked so I was up for the trip to participate once again. They offer various marked distances that you can ride; 23, 46, 64, and 101 Mile Routes for which I choose the 46 mile option which fit closest to my specific training routine perfectly. My training ride scheduled for the day was a two hour ride with a warm-up then 2 times twenty minutes threshold intervals with anywhere from 7 to 10 minute recovery between the two of them then a cool-down portion of the ride. After a very brief registration I was on the road by 7:10am via the county roads just west of Dekalb.

After a proper warm-up I started my first 20 minute interval just at about mile 9 of the ride as I needed to make sure there was enough county roads that would me to ride at threshold for that timeframe without having to stop. All went very well on the first interval as I road focused on the TT position for the duration along with other variables. My recovery was determined as my HR was recovered by 8 minutes as I turned around on the county road for my second 20 minute interval. I pushed this one slightly higher in my threshold HR zone as my turnaround point was at 10 minutes into this interval. After the second interval the rest of the ride was more of an endurance burn zone ride with an additional 5 minute threshold & 1 minute threshold burst thrown in at later in the ride time to test my recovery and legs from the earlier intervals. After the core of the ride I rode about the last 20 minutes of the ride in a cool-down mode.

My total ride distance on the Ridley Dean was at 52.1 miles in a time of 2:35:11 with an average HR of 128 and max HR during the second 20 minute interval at 157bpm as my average watts were 207 and max watts of 776 during an acceleration. On this ride I felt great from start to end which is a good indicator of all my focused bike training is starting to show benefits to my abilities. Besides the miles I log on the CompuTrainer at home the Ridley is absolutely a fantastic bike to ride and I smile more & more each time I get on the bike to ride it :-)

the chain catcher has arrived...

2009-07-22T16:38:00.002-05:00

Ever since late October 2008 when we had the chance to meet Kristin Armstrong - Team USA TT Gold Medalist in Beijjing 2008 at our friends running/tri-shop locally were she talked about many topics including this little device she had custom made for her Olympic TT bike I have kept this product filed away in my memory banks for future reference...below is my blog entry from the day we met Kristin Armstrong:

http://colkuv.blogspot.com/2008/11/kristin-armstrong-day-on-sunday-october.html

I rec'd my chain catcher this week as I will install it on the Ridley Dean before the weekend. I push SRAM Red chainrings on the TT bike of 54t & 39t which is a big steg between 'rings. A little ounce of prevention can go a long way in race time especially :-)

to the beach...

2009-07-22T16:32:00.001-05:00

Friday evening July 17th 2009:

Easy recovery spin on the CompuTrainer device in the house the Coach Ergo training software so I can control the about of wattage I am training at in 10 watt increments. The ride was quite un-eventful as I kept my average HR at 95bpm in the ultra low zone 5 level for full benefit of this easy, recovery day plus average wattage was at 125…a quick 41:04 minute spin for 12 miles!

Saturday July 18th 2009:

Absolutely no exercise today unless you call hanging out at North Ave Beach on Lake Michigan exercise as K & I watch our niece play in a volleyball tournament all day.

K got in her CARA long 17 mile run for the weekend where as I drove down with Obi to be at the courts to meet up with everyone by 7:30am…slacker Brian as it’s a no run weekend for me then ;-)

b

thats better...

2009-07-21T15:45:00.001-05:00

Thursday evening 07.16.09:

After the disappointing CT ride attempt earlier in the day I was planning on getting out with the Village Cycle Sport group this evening for some mile intervals plus basic mileage but Mother Nature would foil that plan yet again with a nasty t-storm system rolling through our region just as I got out of the office at 6pm…go figure!

So home I went to ride the old cannondale on the CompuTrainer for an easy 50 minute recovery ride in the house. Easy spin with an average cadence of 95rpm plus average HR of 103bpm and max of 117bpm. While working on spinning out my tired legs my average wattage was at 130.
Felt much better after this evening easy spin…

b

should have slept in...

2009-07-21T14:01:00.001-05:00

Thursday morning 07.16.09:

Woke-up early this morning so I was on my CompuTrainer just at 5am to get in my required VO2 workout for the day in before I left for work. 75 minutes of total ride time is what I got in for this intense ride for 19 miles total but the VO2 portions where the focus point of this training ride.

As usual I did a progressive warm-up to get the body going for the opening 30 minutes then I started my first of 5 by 4 minutes each VO2 intervals with 3 minute recovery sections between each one. On the first 5 minute VO2 interval I could sense my body &legs wanted nothing to do with this workout at all. My max HR values were absolutely no where near where they need to get at to do this workout properly. After they were completed I had some time to properly cool-down my heart & legs from these efforts.

My average HR from the ride was low at 108bpm which is in the zone 5 for me and my max HR was at 140bpm during the second interval. My heart & body was still recovering from the previous 5 days of workouts even with yesterdays complete rest day. My average wattage was decent for the ride at 164 but that’s slightly low for me and my max wattage on the last interval came in at 351 but my HR would not go higher…

b

brake pad review v.1...

2009-07-20T10:34:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note on the new brake pads I put on the R. Dean this past Friday. I rode a solo 52 miler yesterday and these yellow SwissStop yellow pabs worked absolutely awesome on my bike...their sooooooooooo much better than the Zipp brake pads on put on the bike in the springtime!

Now it actually feels like I have brakes that want to work on the Dean...this is important as this next Saturday I go back to Verona Wisconsin to ride the IM Wisc bike course once again for great training in the rolling hills of SW Wisconsin!

b
.

intervals then rest...

2009-07-16T17:39:00.002-05:00

Tuesday evening:

Threshold workout tonight via the bike on the CompuTrainer in the home. Tonight it was 9 by 5 minutes each threshold portion with a one minute recovery in between each one of them. After my usual progressive warm-up at the 40 minute mark I started the first interval until I completed all 9 of them as I was able to get my HR progressively higher on each one of them. After that I spun at about 95rpm to flush out my noodled legs.

I got in 28.3 miles in one hour and forty five minutes of riding the CompuTrainer with an average HR of 120bpm and a max HR on the last interval in the last minute of it at 152bpm. My average wattage for the night was a nice level of 182 and a max wattage hit on that same last interval of 360.

Felt tired before the ride but I was re-energized after the ride…

Wednesday:

Scheduled recovery day from any sort of exercising except for a long walk after work with Kristen & Obi :-)

b

new pads...

2009-07-16T11:57:00.001-05:00

...just came in! the Zipp pads on the Ridley Dean were just as bad unfortunately as the stock OEM pads that came on the Deans brakes...hopefully these are better and alot less noise!

recovery spin...

2009-07-16T09:26:00.004-05:00

Monday evening:

Rode the old TT/Tri-bike on the CompuTrainer after work for a 10 mile recovery ride. Choose the Coaching mode and an easy, slightly hilly 10 mile beginner course to keep a low HR with a cadence of 90rpm. My average HR for this recovery ride was super low at 97bpm with a max towards the end on a half mile incline of 5% to 120bpm. Total ride time was 35:35...

My legs were and still are very tired from Sundays longer training run!

b

once a week run...

2009-07-15T14:24:00.002-05:00

Sunday morning:

Headed up to Barrington Hills to get in my long run bright & early this Sunday morning as I was looking to run at least 15 miles today plus the fact that I haven’t run since the Fourth of July. I actually starting running at about 6:10am since my mileage was going to be long than the typical loop here of 10.6 miles. The morning started out bright & cool out so this I greatly appreciated also but the sun warmed things up within the last 4 miles. Also since there is no place to get water on this rural county road region I wore my larger Salomon Twin Bottle Trail Belt for proper hydration & nutrition over the LSD mid-distance run.

It’s an awesome fuel belt but do to the weight of the hydration & 5oz electrolyte it get’s heavy feeling really quickly on the run which I knew so I didn’t expect any quick mile times over this run duration. I ended up getting in 15.2 hilly miles completed in 2:21:42 with an average HR of 124bpm and max HR duration a climb at 149bpm. The run felt ok especially on heavily trained cycling legs on the days prior to this but I really have noticed a big drop-off in running speed as I have specifically focus on bike training since May 2009 but that’s ok as I knew this was going to happen when I made this decision to focus on biking.

Next scheduled run will be next Sunday :-)

saturday time...

2009-07-15T13:19:00.004-05:00

Saturday morning:

I planned on going up to southeastern Wisconsin to get in my proper Saturday morning bike ride but after checking the weather online for that region and the strong threat of rain/t-storms I altered my plans to stay home to ride on the CompuTrainer which Obi was very happy to see as K left early morning to pace her CARA marathon training group. So after a 10 minute CT calibration spin to warm-up the back tire I was ready to start my 2 hour training bike ride indoors.

The first 35 minutes were my typical progressive warm-up then at that time I jumped into my 1st five minute interval at cycling threshold portion with a one minute recovery session after that…I did my scheduled 10 intervals of this pattern which when added up 50 minutes of threshold level riding to continue working on bumping up my wattage and LT levels. After these were completed I had enough cool-down time to flushout my legs after that session and to get in my total of 2 hours ride time. But still after I got off the bike my legs were like cooked noodles…

I got in 35.9 miles in that time frame which is an average speed of 17.9mph as my average HR was at 124bpm and a max HR on my last interval at 155bpm plus my average wattage for the ride duration was at 179.

After the ride Obi & I went for a 2.5 mile walk as we waited for K to return from the lakefront. Then we all headed out to the dog park for a lot more hiking, zipping around for Obi and of course he played plenty of fetching especially the tennis ball in the lake at the dog park…he loves water!

b

what to do with them???

2009-07-13T20:10:00.002-05:00

Just a picture of what I have figured out to do with my Thermolyte tabs while on a longer ride when I need to consume them easily & quickly...started do this electrolyte tab set-up while training for Steelhead Half IM last summer!

It's pretty easy to set-up...drop a tab or two in a sandwich bag corner, twist the tabs three times then cut the baggie above the twist...next use some electric tape to attach the tab baggy to either a shifter and/or brake cable housing close to your handlebar or aerobar set-up...repeat this per the about of electrolyte tabs you need for the distance your riding and no more worries about fumbling thru a bento box or jersey pockets while at race speed ;-)

Just thought I'd share this little convenience tip for bike rides...

friday night biking...

2009-07-13T15:36:00.001-05:00

Friday evening:

Rode the old Cannondale TT/Tri-bike on the CompuTrainer after work for a 10 mile recovery ride. Choose the Coaching mode and an easy, slightly hilly 10 mile beginner course to keep a low HR with a cadence of 90rpm. My average HR for this recovery ride was at 101bpm with a max towards the end on a half mile incline of 5% to 131bpm. Total time was at 35:59...

Good ride to get ready for Saturday!

b

back at it...

2009-07-13T09:58:00.001-05:00

Thursday evening:

As I was feeling better from the cold & fever I had fought off over the last few days after work I headed over for some recovery cycling with the biking group over at Village Cycle Sports in Elk Grove Village. Large turnout once again for the mile intervals as the weather was good for biking this July evening. Also I was testing out some new specific cycling road shoes that I recently bought new for a steal via ebay – Specialized BG S-Works road shoe.

I took the ride easier this week as this is a bike training recovery week from Monday through Friday then back to normal training levels starting once again on Saturday. I rode the first 5 miles at a warm-up pace to see how my body & legs were going this evening then after that I stayed back of the main group about 300 feet each time they went into a mile interval session. On the recovery mile I would ride with the group benefiting from the group drafting as it brought down my HR nice and low. I pushed about 4 of the mile intervals with mild efforts as I focused on initial acceleration to get up to speed quickly and hold in there.

Total ride time was 1:08:39 for 21.7 miles which is an average speed of 18.9mph then a max during an interval push of 30.8mph. My average HR was at 125bpm and a max of 157bpm plus my average wattage was 178 for the ride duration and a max of 877 watts during an initial acceleration. Btw...the new shoes are awesome...no heal lift what-so-ever!

Great return to riding this evening!

b

days of rest and recovery...

2009-07-13T06:00:00.002-05:00

Tuesday:

Schedule recovery day from any sort of training...

Wednesday:

Un-planned day of rest as I broke a fever last night...recovery day for health reasons...

b

Obi chillin'...

2009-07-12T18:43:00.001-05:00

after playing some fetch.

quick note...

2009-07-10T15:12:00.002-05:00

Rode the VCS mile repeats last night in the new road cycling shoes are they are absolutely fantastic! Much, much more stable than my tri-shoes which I thought were great...now I can get all my power through the pedals, cranks, etc much more efficiently...absolutely no heal lift in the slightest bit...can't wait to use the new shoes via the Dean in a TT and/or hill climbing senerio also!

.
b

shoes...

2009-07-09T12:16:00.002-05:00

got some new "proper"road cycling shoes for an absolute steal on ebay! These road shoes fit like a perfect glove so my power transfer while riding/racing the Dean will be 100% from here on out...no heal lift what-so-ever which is the biggest problem I have with my tri-shoes (that fit right too)...now all my watt's will be transfered to the rear wheel :-)

signed up for my favorite trail marathon this morning...

2009-07-07T15:14:00.001-05:00

This is fantastic, challenging trail marathon which I really enjoyed racing in last December. I pass along the link to the website of this great race and registration information:

http://www.dinoseries.com/marathon.html

This morning I signed up for the marathon I have been waiting for all year for registration to open up online - The Tecumseh Trail Marathon near Bloomington, Indiana.

I know Kristen is strongly considering running this race (to get that Indiana Marathon Medal). If you have any questions please feel free to drop me a note :-)

Brian

the day after...

2009-07-07T14:21:00.001-05:00

Sunday mid-morning:

After a long fourth of July day I slept in this morning to start my indoor ride much later than usual at about 10am. Since I slept half the day away I choose to stay home and ride my 2 hour bike ride on the Computrainer as I didn’t feel like leaving the homestead today. My weekend long ride was identical to last weekends ride; w/u then 2 by 20 minute threshold sessions with a 10 minute recovery between the two.

After a 45 minute progressive warm-up while watching a DVD of the opening stages of the 2003 Tour de France for motivation I went right into my first 20 minute interval at this marker time. I was able to complete this with a decent HR range of intensity via the Computrainer by controlling the computer resistance load settings. A ten minute recovery was more than enough to re-energize, hydrate and gel up for the next session. The second 20 minute interval was done with the same amount of perceived effort plus a little more in the final 5 minutes of it. After all that was completed I spun-down the last 25 minutes to cool-down my body & mine.

So in that 2 hour training session I covered 34 miles with an average wattage reading of 168. My average HR during the ride was at 125bpm with a max HR towards the end of the second interval at 149bpm.

Glad that was over with as I could then relax the rest of the day!

Monday:

Complete rest day from any exercising as this is the start of a recovery week from cycling training till Saturday.

b

4th of July 10k Race note...

2009-07-06T16:47:00.002-05:00

Saturday morning:

K and I headed up to Barrington Hills for our annual 10k hilly race with our friend Bridget whom lives close to the start/finish line area. This is the 4th year now we have done this great 10k race as we know this region well from our longing training runs in this area. Kristen was going to run with Bridget today as I determined the day before I was just going to cruise this run for some training base conditioning plus my legs were completely trashed still race morning. With the lack of proper running speedwork training specifically I didn’t go into this event with any PR expectations. This year I didn’t even warm-up before the event as the weather was cold, damp and drizzling throughout the whole early morning.

As the race started I used the first two miles as warm-up to see how my body was working and I adjusted from there through the finish line. I cruised the race throwing in a couple surges after mile three to test my legs & body but I couldn’t sustain the effort longer than a quarter mile. So after a couple of these attempts I found a good pace for my current running abilities and at about mile 5 I decided to push myself no matter what my body was telling me was hurting. The last 2ths of the race I always think about it like a two hundred meter repeat which always gives me a good kick through the finish line.

I ended up with a 10k finish time of 49:51 which is a mile pace of 8:03. My average HR was at 141bpm plus I maxed out my HR at the finish line at 164bpm. Normally I have run this hilly race in the 45 minute zone so you can see by my result just how much my cycling specific training these last six weeks has affected my running speed…but its something I can accept ;-)

Bridget had a great PR race as Kristen ran with her the whole way! Great job ladies :-)

b

and it continues...

2009-07-06T15:27:00.001-05:00

Thursday morning:

Woke-up super early for me this morning so I was on my CompuTrainer just before 5am to get in my required VO2 workout for the day in before I left for work. 90 minutes of total ride time is what I got in for this intense ride for 26 miles total but the VO2 portions where the focus point of this training ride.

As usual I did a progressive warm-up to get the body going for the opening 40 minutes then I started my first of 5 by 4 minutes each VO2 intervals with 3 minute recovery sections between each one. By the 5th one my legs were getting tired but I pushed through it to actually record my max HR in the closing minute of this last interval. After there were completed I had enough time to properly cool-down my heart & legs from these efforts.

My average HR from the ride was lower at 116bpm which is in the zone 4 for me and my max HR was at 153bpm during that last interval. One thing I have noticed that while using the CompuTrainer is that I’m not able to get the high biking HR for myself like when I ride outdoors…if I had done these outdoors my HR would be 8 to 10bpm more…just a little fact I would share with you ;-)

the other thing is by the time I got to work my legs were like noodles!

Friday morning:

Since K and I had Friday off from work for the Fourth of July weekend we headed down to the lakefront for a mid-distance run with friends. K paced a lot of CARA runners that wanted to run on this day also as I ran solo for my down week training run. I noticed that there were a lot of people exercising this morning at 6:30am so the path was busy with exercises of all types. On very tired legs and body I slogged though an 11.1 miler in 1:39:03 with an average HR of 126bpm and max HR of 142bpm.

The best part of the morning was breakfast afterwards with friends :-)

b

Peep's at Thursday evenings GTG in ChiTown...

2009-07-06T12:51:00.001-05:00

Kristen, Jillian and Mike

threshold stuff...

2009-07-02T17:02:00.002-05:00

Tuesday evening:

I set out on my next CompuTrainer workout on the schedule which was an hour & 45 minute ride with 9 by 5 minute threshold efforts with one minute recovers between each interval...an extra interval compare to last weeks session. As I used the CT ergo coaching mode on the system which allows me to control the watts resistance to acheive a proper workout I started off with a progressive warm-up through minute 40 then I went right into my first 5 minute threshold blast followed up by a "shorty"recovery then right into the next 5 minute interval...repeat 9 of these this time but I remained focused and got through them just fine :-)

At about the an hour and thirty three minutes into the ride finally came the cool-down portion after the intervals as I spun-out my legs to help recover them which believe it or not actually works. Average HR for the ride was 116bpm with a max on a inteval of 151bpm...at 1:51:06 my CompuTrainer ride was done for the night! Glad that one was over with :-)

Wednesday:

Complete rest & recovery day from any sort of exercising as this has become my rest day of lately!

b

recovery spin...

2009-07-02T15:13:00.001-05:00

Monday morning :

Easy recovery spin on the Computrainer device in the house on a chosen 10 mile flat TT course where via the training software I can control the about of wattage I am training at in 10 watt increments. The ride was quite un-eventful as I kept my HR in the lower zone 5 lever for full benefit of this ez, easy, recovery day…about a 43 minute spin!

b

Vino will be back soon!!!

2009-07-02T08:52:00.002-05:00

Yes...gotta love the nature of Alexander Vinokourov...this is why I have always admired him as a Professional cyclist! ProCycling needs you back Vino!!!

http://tour-de-france.velonews.com/article/94137/vino--says-he-will-be-on-astana--or-heads-will-roll

and actually a run for the day...

2009-07-01T14:28:00.002-05:00

Sunday morning June 28th 2009:

K and I went up to Barrington Hills early morning to get in our needed long distance for the week. The day before K ran as usual as a pace leader at the lakefront for the CARA training group towards Chicago so she ran 10 miles on that day. I had a strong biking workout the day before in southern Wisconsin so both of us were tired this morning but we got out there to get in a decent hilly run.

I ran the opening two miles with Kristen then we ran at our own individual pace as she was going to run about 10 miles as I was going to run 14 miles. For me it was 7 days since I last got in a proper run as I been bike so much this last month so I didn’t expect to much from myself, just enough to get the LSD hilly run in the books. I chugged along the whole way getting in 14 miles 2:08:13 which a 9:09 mile pace with my average HR coming in at 126bpm and a max HR during a hill climb of 146bpm. As I returned to the car K finished up about ten minutes after me but it turns out she ran 13 miles for the day…she logged a lot of running miles this weekend!

b

Spanish Legends Analyse Astana Ahead Of Tour | Cyclingnews.com

2009-07-01T09:18:00.002-05:00

great note and thoughts about Team Astana for the upcoming TdF by one of my early cycling heroes - Miguel Indurain

Spanish Legends Analyse Astana Ahead Of Tour Cyclingnews.com

Shared via AddThis

b

more biking...

2009-07-01T06:13:00.002-05:00

Friday morning June 26th 2009:

Easy recovery spin on the CompuTrainer device in the house on a chosen 10 mile flat TT course where via the training software I can control the amount of wattage I am training at in 10 watt increments in the Coaching Ergo mode. The ride was quite un-eventful as I kept my HR in the lower zone 5 lever for full benefit of this easy, recovery day…a 40:45 minute spin!

Saturday morning June 27th 2009:

Long ride was scheduled for the day of a ~two hour duration with two interval sessions of twenty minutes each at threshold levels with a ten minute recovery between each.

So I headed up to southern Wisconsin up to the Bong Recreation area because I know this region well from the cycling TT I do plus it really the only place I know of where I can properly get in a specific workout ride of this nature without stopping in the rolling farm hill roads of theis region.

After a nice progessive warm-up ride on the county roads at minute 50 I started my first 20 minute threshold interval. The effort was as as much as my body would allow me to give on this day as I rolled along focused on this longer interval. After that one was finished I rode and easier paced 10 minute recovery segment rehydrating and taking gel for the next session. At one hour and twenty minutes into the ride I started my second 20 minute threshold interval focusing even harder on this effort...when it was done I gave it my all.

The rest of the ride was recovery & cool-down time to make my total ride time of 2:16:02 with a very nice average pace of 20.1mph with an average HR 128bpm plus a max HR during effort at 147bpm...total mileage covered was 45.6 miles.

I noticed three things during this ride...

1.) My legs & body were very fatigued.

2.) Even though I was giving 110% effort during the 20 minute threshold sessions I noticed after the ride my HR was getting no where near where it should have been.

3.) Even with these variables I rode a quicker average mph pace overall and didn't feel any more taxed than normal both during & after the ride (maybe my cycling conditioning is getting better :-))

My Polar HR chart from the workout:
http://www.twodogzdesign.com/cycle09/062709.JPG

b

a long day...

2009-06-30T16:10:00.002-05:00

Thursday morning June 25th 2009:

Woke-up pretty early to get in this morning’s Computrainer ride which was of only a one hour duration. With the a/c blazin’ plus the two fans going it kept me cool during this intense, short duration ride. Warmed up spinning for about 12 miles then right into my first mile interval right at a mile marker point on the CT program. Focused for that first mile was there then right into a mile recovery lap then follow that same routine up until minute 52 of the ride time as I spun down afterwards to cool-down to get in a one hour total ride. Only other data I wrote down was my max HR during a mile interval was at 146bpm which is kinda suppressed but maybe an indicator of over-training?

My mile interval times were going by in the range of 2:45 to 2:55 per mile (I’ve been quicker) and the recovery miles were right always around 3:45. To be honest I was feeling fatigued this early morning even after a day of rest yesterday…these hot, humid, muggy days with 100+ heat indexes were wearing on me also at this point of the week…but its good August weather conditioning!

Thursday afternoon and evening June 25th 2009:

Last weekend a friend of mine had lost his life suddenly at the young age of 28 years old. My friends whom own Village Cycle Sports; Vince Boyer and Joe Eberhardt I have known since 1988 and Joe’s son Jason worked at the bike shops also. Jason Eberhardt was a wonderful person to everyone and will be dearly missed by all. On Thursday afternoon I attended the wake to pay my respects to Jason plus to provide my condolences to his father Joe and the Eberhardt family.

Afterwards a bunch of us usual cyclists went back to the VCS bike shop to meet up for the weekly Thursday evening mile repeat group ride. About seventy cyclists showed up this week to honor our friend and fellow cyclist Jason. We all rode as a large group to the ride area of the repeats and rode the first two laps as this group slow and silent as a tribute to Jason.

After the tribute the group went into its workout mode as I hung back to catch my own clear air to push during my mile repeats. The direction of the wind tonight was out of the NW so our mile repeats were to the south which has the slightly uphill draw to it kicking up at a half mile in then at ¾’s of a mile in it pitches slightly more to the mile point. The last half mile of this mile blast was my focus point of the interval as I worked to keep the speed, cadence and HR up while climbing this gradual climb. I got in 7 decent mile intervals with a couple bumping into or just at the red zone.

I rode for 1:09:02 and got in 21.7 miles in along with an average HR of 123bpm plus a max on a climb of 158bpm.

Two biking workouts in a day are tough especially when their similar in nature…

Below is my Polar HR chart from the evening ride time:
http://www.twodogzdesign.com/cycle09/062509.JPG

b

continuing the cycling...

2009-06-30T06:16:00.002-05:00

Tuesday evening June 23rd 2009:

With the heat index outside well over a 100+ degrees the a/c in the home was working overtime to keep the house cool. I set-up two floor fans as always in front of me but this time on high as I set out on my next CompuTrainer workout on the schedule which was an hour & 45 minute ride with 8 by 5 minute threshold efforts with one minute recovers between each interval...something new for me in the books!

As I used the CT ergo coaching mode on the system which allows me to control the watts resistance to acheive a proper workout I started off with a progressive warm-up through minute 35 then I went right into my first 5 minute threshold blast followed up by a "oh my too short" recovery then right into the next 5 minute interval...repeat 8 of these this total seemed daunting to me but I remained focused and got through them just fine :-)

At about the an hour and twenty three minutes into the ride finally came the cool-down portion after the intervals as I spun-out my legs to help recover them which believe it or not actually works.Average HR for the ride was 123bpm with a max on the last inteval of 153bpm...at 1:45:00 my CompuTrainer ride was done for the night!

Glad that one was over with :-)

Wednesday June 24th 2009:

Complete rest & recovery day from any sort of exercising as the temps in our region were only getting hotter!

b

continuing catch-up...

2009-06-29T14:41:00.001-05:00

Sunday morning June 21st 2009:

I figure it’s about time to get in a training run this day since it has been 8 days since I last ran a training run. The Chicago marathon (proper training) has taken a couples steps down the priority training ladder this summer, well at least through the end of August so I’m not expecting a PR race at Chicago this October…it will be more of a fun run.

My choice was to go up to Barrington Hills to run the Home Economist 10.6 mile hilly run with a couple extra miles added to the distance. I decided to start running at 6:30am as the weather was hot, humid, muggy any no wind at all. My legs weren’t in too bad of shade from the previous days hard effort bike ride up in the hills of Verona Wisconsin. I chugged along solo at a comfortable LSD pace of an average 8:59 mile for a total of 12.4 miles. When I finished I had consumed all the electrolyte solutions in my running belt along with the 5oz of EFS liquid shot (gel) plus 4 electrolyte/sodium tablets…felt like I just finished running in the desert I was so thirsty!

Monday evening June 22nd 2009:

Hot and humid weather was still in our region so I waited till about 8pm to start my recovery run which I planned to be just 45 minutes long. Within a few short moments I knew things were not going to be pretty at all as my body was exhausted from the two days of hilly training over the weekend. I shut things down at 33 minutes it’s the run and was drenched with sweat and fatigue…this was one of those sloth style runs…oh well.

b

finally a note from Saturday June 20th 2009...

2009-06-29T11:03:00.002-05:00

Saturday June 20th 2009:

Headed up really early to a town just southwest of Madison Wisconsin known as Verona to ride with the Vision Quest training group out of Chicago. Robbie Ventura whom raced as a teammate to Lance Armstrong (on US Postal) for many years started up his business Vision Quest after he retired from Professional Cycling. He wasn’t present this day as he has about 8 coaches riding with the various abilities of cyclists. The ride for the day was either one or two loops around the Wisconsin Ironman bike course for which each loop was about 41 miles. I was planning on only riding the first loop as I’m really not training for any longer distance bike races this year. Also I was demo’ing a PowerTap rear wheel for the ride from VQ to see what my bike riding wattage was going to be for the day. So I swapped out the rear wheels on the R. Dean and set-up the bike before the ride was to start at 8am.

We were all set to roll off on the ride as a group when immediately I heard my chain fall off the small chainring on the cranks. I put the chain back on the ‘ring as the same thing happens again as it turns out the axle hob on the PowerTap was not going to work with my SRAM Red components on the bike…I was upset for about a minute and realized some things are just out of your control and you have to except it! So I went back to my car and switched over everything back to my own rear wheel/tire assembly but 35 minutes passed so I decided eat some more foods & hydrate properly as the weather was hot, humid and windy. I figured then I would ride the second loop with the Advanced group so I calculated about an hour before they returned to start the second loop I would ride some of the IM WISC bike course solo to warm up the legs and make sure everything was working on the bike which it did. So I finished up this warm-up ride about 20 minutes before the advanced group finished its first loop as I was able to eat and hydrate once again properly before setting off with them. W/U ride was 10.1 miles in 34:26 with an average HR of 121bpm and max HR on a hill climb of 145bpm.

So I set off with 6 of the advanced riders on the second ~41 mile IM WI biking loop in the rolling hills of southwest Wisconsin. Since this was my first time riding this course I was conservative and sat towards the back of the group as I did not know this route plus I had to patient as this mileage in the rolling hills is something new to me. The terrain is quite similar to the Galena region just a lot more miles of it to ride. A couple of the riders dropped off the back within the opening 5 miles as the winds, heat and humidity were quite taxing this day. At about mile 11 our coach stopped riding (which I found out afterwards) so the remaining four of us just kept chugging onwards up and down the hills of the loop. The group size then went down to three of us a couple miles later and as I was feeling good with the group and ride I decided to charge the next hill climb to get my HR near or tapping into the red zone right around minute 42 into the ride. I have to say that the Ridley Dean is awesome, stable and light at hill climbing especially with the 28 tooth cassette ring on the back keeping my cadence in the perfect zone…the bike is great in all conditions!

At about mile 24 we stopped at the feed stop actually to quickly fill up our water bottles and a couple moments later the three of us were off again riding. I continued to feel great so I pretty much charged the rest of the ride especially pushing the hills. With only about 10 minutes left in the ride distance I purposely pulled back my pace and brought up my cadence for a cool-down session. As we wished the ride and rode into the parking lot area of Fireman’s Park I felt great to have ridden so well on this challenging course. Total distance was 41.3 (with a missed turn in there also) in 2:15:13 with an average HR of 134bpm and max HR during a long hill climb crawl of 156bpm. I packed everything back into the car, hung around for alittle bit and then drove back homewards.

A rock solid day of bike training except for the mechanical issues early on…

Below is my Polar HR chart from the IM WI portion of the ride:
http://www.twodogzdesign.com/cycle09/062009.JPG

b

Obi's own mud puddle...

2009-06-28T18:19:00.001-05:00

stepin' out with style :-)

it's here...

2009-06-26T10:35:00.001-05:00

new prototype HP received...

phase.2 of catch-up...

2009-06-24T17:23:00.002-05:00

Thursday morning 06.18.09:

Speedwork number two for the week via the Computrainer since big t-storms were forecasted for the evening. When I woke-up I had enough time to get in part of my required cycling training workout which turned into 1 hour and 15 minutes of speedwork. On the plate was one mile TT style repeats with a one mile recovery segment to simulate the Thursday evening VCS mile repeat ride.

I started off with 15 minutes of warm-up in the Ergo mode of the coaching software getting my body & legs ready for this focused workout. On the computer screen I watched for the next even mile to turn up to start my first one mile repeat at that time giving it my all as I turned up the wattage resistance to an exceptable level to handle this blast into the lower end of my HR red zone tapping on anaerobic at this point. As that mile completion I went into a recory spin mode by bringing down my resistance wattage to a higher zone 2 HR level for me...repeat this process many times until I hit the cool-down timeframe at one hour and 7 minutes into this ride. The eight minute cool-down is more than enough to bring my HR down about 90bpm so that's fine.

For reference each speedy mile repeat was in the timeframe of 2:20 to 2:30 and the recovery miles took about 4 minutes each...it was a very good & challenging cycling workout!

I planned later that night to ride another 45 minutes but I was exhausted from the long day already and canned that idea...btw...it never rained that night ;-)

Friday morning 06.19.09:

Recovery day for a 41 minute spin on the Computrainer keeping my eye on my HR so it stayed in zone 1 during this shorter ride...mission accomplished!!!

b

blog catch-up...

2009-06-23T14:32:00.004-05:00

Well I've been slackin' on my blog entries recently so here's a couple of training days from earlier last week...remember my training is 95% cycling focus thru the end of August 2009 with very little base training in the running category...

Monday morning June 15th 2009:

Easy recovery spin on the Computrainer device in the house on a chosen 10 mile flat TT course where via the training software I can control the about of wattage I am training at in 10 watt increments. The ride was quite un-eventful as I kept my HR in the lower zone 5 lever for full benefit of this easy, recovery day…about a 40 minute spin!
.
Tuesday evening June 16th 2009:
.
Very specific biking workout via the coaching software on the Computrainer this evening as the ride time was a duration of 1 hour and 45 minutes of 4X10min threshold efforts (touch zone 1 in the HR zone) then two minutes rest between efforts. I used the first 38 minutes of the ride via the CT as a warm-up towards these threshold efforts by controlling the wattage resistance once again to ramp up my HR for these efforts.

Once I start my threshold portion I ramp the resistance wattage up to 300 watts and hold on as long as I can to get my HR to just at my red zone then I back the wattage down to about 260 and hold onto that 10 minute threshold effort…then repeat that 3 more times with 2 minutes recovery between each…these are leg burners but I know there only going to build my cycling conditioning to the next levels!

I get in about 15 minutes of cool-down which is greatly appreciated at this point…good stuff

Wednesday June 16th 2009:

I choose this day as my complete rest/recovery day from either cycling and/or running…much needed at this point!

b

Saturdays bike ride on the IM WI loop...

2009-06-23T06:46:00.002-05:00

.
Here's my HR chart from the Verona, WI ride on the IM WI loop course last Saturday...I really focused on pushing the hill's as there were plenty of them to climb...great ride! :-)

b

mech problems fixed...

2009-06-20T10:28:00.001-05:00

rode 10 hilly miles solo then will ride the 2nd 40 mile loop with the group...

up here in Verona, WI waiting for the VQ IM WI training ride...

2009-06-20T06:47:00.001-05:00

my new cycling jersey arrived...

2009-06-18T14:23:00.002-05:00

.
from Voler today. My neice goes to school here...

Harvard 33.3k TT race report...

2009-06-17T21:39:00.002-05:00

Sunday morning 06.14.09:

Well the Harvard 33.3k TT results from Sunday are now posted so I can right up a short (ha!)note about my race day…below is the link to the results:

http://www.ambikerace.com/2009/Results/Harvard_results_2009v1.pdf

This race is located about 75 minutes NW from our homestead in the Chicagoland region on county roads safely (for the most part) tucked away from vehicular automotive traffic in the lightly rolling farm field regions just a few miles south of the Wisconsin border. This was my first time at the specific TT so as usual I pre-register so race morning goes smoothly. I arrived early to pick-up my bib for which I had start time of 8:38am with riders going off every 30 seconds starting at 8:30am. The wind was light out of the NE with diffused sunlight at about 66 degrees but the humidity was high this morning. As I got in a warm-up ride on the county roads for about 6 miles slowly working my HR up to my LT zone to get the racing motor warmed up properly I headed over to the starting line.

I took off after my 5 second countdown timer and was within the proper HR zones within a moment or two is I was settled into my TT race pace. As I was at about mile 3 I noticed my average pace was at about the 26 to 27mph zone but it was deceiving as the outbound portion of this cycling TT course has a slight downhill trend to it for the most part. I road as hard as I could as I knew the return direction would be slightly uphill and into the wind that was starting to pick-up this early morning. At about mile 8 the course sent you on some really rough county roads until mile 12 when you returned to the decent roadway…these 4 miles were tough on me as it felt like I was riding on gravel!

Once I got beyond this section of the race I was mentally trying to remain as focused on my PEL level and HR range but the early race effort was paying a price on my maintaining my speed ability. The gradual climb back towards the finishline and the wind in your face now was a real challenge. At about 1.5 miles from the end of the race I hit some shaded area of roadway by trees typical 1” potholes, which on an all carbon fiber bike feels like the bike, is going to explode beneath my feet as my teeth were chattering also. Unfortunately this completely rattled my focus towards the race as I thought I destroyed the frame and wheels…after a couple moments of analyzing the situation I dropped the hammer to the finishline completely exhausted.

I finished the 33.3k TT (~20.68miles) in 51:24 for an average rate of speed of 24.16mph with an average HR of 150 and a max early on at about minute 14:20 of 155bpm. On mile number six I averaged 27.3mph with a max of 31mph, which calculates that mile going by in 2 minutes and 11 seconds. In my Cat.5 class (novice) I finished 4th out of 11 racers…not bad but this biking TT stuff is serious business just like running. Believe it or not if I want to win these things in my class I need to be at least 2mph average speed faster but I’m training towards that continuously as biking is my main sport right now through early September.

Below is my typical Polar HR graph from the race effort:
http://www.twodogzdesign.com/cycle09/061409.JPG

Afterwards I went for a cool-down ride of ten miles to focus on what just took place.

All in all I’m happy with my result and my new TT bike is absolutely awesome! Now I’m working on my own personal engine to propel it at a higher rate of speed!

b

sometimes ya just have to race a special event...

2009-06-17T15:59:00.002-05:00

Well online registration opened up today for the 4th Annual Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove so I signed your to do this event - Charity Time Trial Fundraising Ride of 4.5 miles and the monies are going to a very good cause...plus this TT is actually close to home and is for the most part the course we ride on Thursday evenings for the one mile repeats of the VCS training group...

http://tourofelkgrove.com/event_schedule.cfm

Looking forward to the anaerobic fun :-)

b

quick post...

2009-06-14T21:24:00.001-05:00

Sunday morning:

33.3k TT in 51:22 = 24.17mph this morning...

b

its been along time...

2009-06-13T15:26:00.001-05:00

Saturday morning:

K and I headed down to Montrose Harbor early this morning as its the first session of the CARA Chicago Marathon training group that leaves out of that Lake Michigan area. She is a group pace leader once again this year as I have choosen not to sign-up for CARA training since alot of my biking long rides will take place way out in the 'burbs on Saturdays.

So today I ran a solo 10 miler southward along the lakefront and back in the rainy conditions with a stout breeze in your face for the final 5 miles. I felt pretty decent considering on Wednesday evening and Thursday I had a fever which finally broke later on thursday evening. My 10 mile run time was 1:24:44 with an average HR of 136bpm & max HR at somepoint of 151bpm while I was passing a huge training group. The last time I ran was the Saturday before but I have cycled alot during this week...

Afterwards all us usual suspects went out for breakfast at Nookies to celebrate the kick-off of the training season :-)

Now I'm resting and recovering as I have a 33.3k Cycling TT up in Harvard, IL in the morning ;-)

b

Tecumseh via a stop or two in Chicago...

2009-06-13T15:23:00.001-05:00

Well it's about that time to start-up a new info for my upcoming races later this summer and fall. Normally the Chicago Marathon would be my goal race for the fall but this year it's taking a backseat to other racing endeavors. So I will use Chicago as one of my long training runs towards the race I'm looking forward to the most in early December - The Tecumseh Trail Marathon near Bloomington, IN...even though it really hurt last year it was my favorite race of 2008 :-)

As my biking is my focus sport through the end of August this summer I won't be able to do alot of proper training towards Chicago as I'm really gearing up for hammering the bike portion of the Chicago Triathlon with my teammates Jillian (swimmer) and Dave-O (runner) in the coed relay division. If all the stars are in alignment on 08.30.09 we have a strong shot of winning this division! Also I'm racing more cycling time trials this summer & fall ;-)

After the Chicago Marathon I can ramp-up my training towards the Tecumseh Trail Marathon and really enjoy this racing challenge!

Thanks for following along the journey!

b

computrainer ride on a rainy Sunday morning...

2009-06-12T21:36:00.002-05:00

Sunday morning 6.7.09:

As the rain was falling early this Sunday morning I choose to ride the 3D Computrainer on a semi-hilly ride of mid-distance length as it was a down week for my long run weeknd. My training watts were dialed in at 265 and the CT was calibrated then away I went on the trainer ride. Believe it or not the ride goes by rather quickly as your focusing on alot of variables such as ; gradient, shifting, rpm, watt range and etc...

I rode a 31.1 mile biking course through the rolling hills of out west in 1:42: 34 for an average pace of 18.2mph with a max speed on a nice sweeping downhill at 34.2mph. Average HR came in at 110bpm with a max on a climb of 134bpm plus a smooth average cadence of 88rpm. My average watts burned for the ride was at 174 plus a max wattage on a 12% climb of 491 and I burned off 1027 calories in the process...

I think I have for my ultimate training partner for indoor cycling :-)

b

Saturday morning June 6th 2009...

2009-06-12T21:20:00.002-05:00

Saturday morning:

I have fallen quite behind on my journal entries over the last week so heres my last run on 6.12.09 up in Barrington Hills Illinois. Our Fast Track Racing Team meets here every Saturday morning throughout the year for various distance runs in the rolling hills just NW of Barrington high school. This was the first time I ran this course and everyone was running 12.5 miles today so of course I followed suit...

Grace was kind enough to hang back with me throughout this new challenging hilly course at my pacing. My last longest run was the Indy Indy half in early May so I was already getting out of running shape as I dial in my cycling for the summertime racing challenges. Anyways we were the last ones to finish in 1:44:27 for 12.5 miles which is an average mile pace of 8:21 which was pushing it for myself this early, beautiful morning. Average HR was at 135bpm with a max on a climb of 151bpm...

I think I have found a nice new mid-distance group to run with as an alternative to running at the lakefront on Saturday mornings :-)

b

ct time on a friday night...

2009-06-09T05:57:00.002-05:00

Friday evening:

Rode the CompuTrainer in the 3D mode on a hilly 10 mile TT for a recovery spin with a little bit of kick to it. The profile of the course didn't look so bad but it had several 9% short burst climbs with one that through in 12% for 100 meters...ouch for this flatlander.

All went well though as I completed the 10 mile CT bike ride in 28:44 for an average pace of 20.9mph push a max at one point of 29mph on a downhill. Average HR was at 118bpm with a max on the 12% climb near the end at 140bpm and an average cadence of 94rpm. I averaged a solid 213 average watt reading with a max at one point of 437 watts.

The CompuTrainer is an awesome bike training device and I know it's gonna help me towards my goal 40k TT on August 30th 2009!

b

Official May 31st 2009 TT results are in...

2009-06-08T15:25:00.004-05:00

Just saw the results from the two 30k Cycling TT's were posted...in Cat.5 I finished 9th of 30 of 46:44.300...Masters 40-49 I finished 19th of 31 in 47:05.130. Very competitive field all around...guess 24mph is not quick enough ;-) but it was dang good base training...

Guess I have to work harder on my cycling personal engine to make the Dean really fly...

http://www.ambikerace.com/2009/Results/Bong%20&%20Half%20results%2009v2.pdf

b

Who's that critter?

2009-06-07T23:33:00.001-05:00

Obi helping out gardening this afternoon...

Thursday evening biking intervals...

2009-06-05T10:20:00.002-05:00

Thursday evening:

Went over to the Village Cycle Sports group interval ride that happens every Thursday throughout the outdoor riding season. The weather was cool but clear and quite abit of wind out east which made things a bit of a challenge it both directions but its all good it the training side of things. The area they ride at is about a 2 and a half mile rectangle box as each straight away is just over 1.2 miles long. Lots of people showed up again due to the nice weather which always leads to a large peleton group ride. This is fine if bike racing crit’s or stage racin is your main sport but for tri/du/tt'ers whom drafting is illegal it’s a challenge to get in a clean shot at pushing your own air. I saw Jen out there and chit-chatted briefly before we both got away from the group and rode in our own clean air to push.

Not much of a warm-up for me as I work till 6pm first so after two miles of easier pacing I went out front of the group on the recovery mile and jumped right into things. From there on out I made sure I was plenty far away from the peloton group to focus on TT positioning and my one mile intervals plus I also held an up-tempo on the recovery mile to help keep my HR from dropping down too low. Since my legs were lacking overall speed tonight this routine worked out quite well for me.

I rode for 1:24:44 for 28.7 miles which is an average pace of 20.3mph and a max speed of 30.9mph plus my average HR was at 129bpm with a max on the initial big push of 156bpm. Overall my performance was decent out there but my legs & body were feeling the fatigue from Wednesday night one track repeats plus residual effects from the two 30k TT’s on last Sunday…

Also while I was on my cool down 2 mile lap at the turn-around a wild rabbit casually ran in front of me crossing the street, stop looked at me briefly and hopped on along his merry way…boy I wish I had that kind of speed tonight :-)

b

da chart: http://www.twodogzdesign.com/cycle09/060409.JPG

morning run and track workout...

2009-06-04T14:32:00.003-05:00

Wednesday morning:

Ran a easy 8:30 minute mile pace for 3.7 miles in the morning within our neighborhood region before work...today is National Running Day!

Wednesday evening:

I ran at the local community college track with the group know as "Fast Track Racing Team" with had about 43 people show up of various abilities. They had on the schedule pending the group you run with anywhere from 6 to 7 one mile repeats. Since this is is only the second time I have run with the team this season and I was still recovering from the double 30k an-aerobic cycling TT's on Sunday I only ran 4 of them focusing on pushing the last 600 meters of mile to turn a nice negative split to fight though fatigue. Each one felt pretty decent for me as I was able to acheive this type of workout as planned...

Also I ran a 2.1 mile warm-up, 6 - 100 meter stride-outs and a half mile cool-down. Total mileage for the workout came in at 7.6 miles...

A double run day in the books for me :-)

b

Cycling TT's on Sunday May 31st 2009...

2009-06-03T12:53:00.001-05:00

Here's my Polar HR chart from last Sunday's 1st round of the 30k Cycling Time Trial in southern Wisconsin...~46:36 for an average speed of 24mph...not bad on the slightly rolling terrain ;-)

http://www.twodogzdesign.com/cycle09/053109one.JPG

here's my second round Polar HR chart from Sundays Cycling Time Trial in southern Wisconsin...~47:06 for an average speed of 23.75mph...acceptable considering the short time between the two races...did you notice my HR was higher in the 2nd race so maybe I was too conservative in the 1st race?

http://www.twodogzdesign.com/cycle09/053109two.JPG

b

Galena Duathlon pic from 05.16.09...

2009-06-01T20:14:00.002-05:00

First good picture of me on the new Dean in it's 1st race...5th fastest bike split out of 228 duathletes...13th Overall but I won my AG as a nice surprise!

Obi at the dog park last Saturday...

2009-06-01T12:50:00.001-05:00

before water time!

Continuing Obi pic's...

2009-05-31T22:48:00.002-05:00

.
And there goes Obi jumping & leaping into the lake after the tennis ball on Memorial Day 05.25.2009...he alsolutely loves water!
.
b

a proper chainring...

2009-05-29T05:10:00.002-05:00

now the Dean has a proper 54t chainring for big gear pushing on the flat TT's...the test will be at this Sunday's 30k Time Trial in southern Wisconsin!