brrrrrrrrr...

Saturday morning:

Kristen & I ventured down to the lakefront where we starting running together at 7am as it was 5 degrees with a very brisk wind out of the NW making temps coller than 10 below zero...brrrrrrrr! I ran the opening 7 miles with K and we met up with 2 diehard friends which started at 8am as they ran 10 with Kristen - she ran 17 miles for the day!!!

I ran 5 additional miles solo at a pick-up pacing to run 12 miles for the day in 1:51:35 with an average HR of 128bpm & max push during the last half mile at 153bpm.

First 7 miles: 1:09:44 - AHR 121bpm
Last 5 miles: 41:47 - AHR 139bpm

...the base training continues :-)

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calm before the blast...

Friday night:

Ran a recovery 4.1 miler in our neighborhood region afterwork in 35:30 with an average HR of 132bpm. The roads were clear due to the warmer weather over the last few days as I was able finally to wear my good 'ole Kayanos...

1st split 18:04 AHR 127bpm
2nd split 17:25 AHR 134bpm

massive coldfront moves through our region with big winds later tonight so it should make our lakefront run in the morning quite interesting!!!

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a brick in the wall...

Wednesday Evening:

In 2009 I set a new goal for myself to do more “Brick” workouts to help prepare myself for the up coming season of duathlons & triathlons. A brick workout for me consists of biking then getting in a run right afterwards to simulate a race scenario. Even with a TT/Tri-bike I find the bike to run change very difficult as my running legs are not trained properly for this racing…yet!

So I hopped on the tri-bike in the house on the Kinetic trainer for a pre-determined one hour ride with various drills & intervals thrown in for good measure to help get the HR going. I covered 15.1 miles in the 60 minute ride for an average pace of 15.2mph, max at 21mph plus average aerobic HR of 108bpm with a max at 142bpm on a push interval. Average cadence was at 90rpm with a max at 100rpm...

I watch the mountain stage 11 of the 2005 Tour de France DVD for inspiration as my favorite rider Alexander Vinokourov “Vino” crushed the competition this day…

...then I changed into my warm winter running clothes for an aerobic base run quickly after the hour bike ride. I ran for a time 50:13 which was a distance of 5.2 miles and average HR of 127bpm. As the streets and sidewalks are still messy from slushy snow & glazed ice I ran conversely as not to fall down…by the end of the run I was exhausted from the brick workout but it just what I needed...

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first bike shop computrainer class is in the books...

Monday evening:

First bike shop computrainer 90 minute coached workout is in the books for 2009! It's a 5 week course for me (since I signed up late) via the 8 rider set-up of various drills, intervals & routines. I wasn’t able to take the FTP 30 minute Time Trial a few weekends ago so I guess-ta-mated my baseline watts at used for my computer profiling at 240 watts. Also I’m still using my old Cannondale TT/Tri-bike so the rest of the values stay the same as last winter’s indoor biking sessions.

I rode 28.3 miles for an average pace of 18.3mph and a max pace of 33.6mph during a spin-up drill. Average HR was at 121bpm with a max HR near the end on an interval of 158bpm. My average cadence was spot-on at 92rpm with a max cadence during the spin-up at 165rpm. My max class wattage output of 353.

Below is a link to my Polar HR Program info from the 90 minute ride:
http://www.twodogzdesign.com/cycle09/011909.JPG

I had a fantastic class considering I have not ridden on my bike for at least 90 minutes since the half IM early August 2008…I’m already looking forward to next weeks cycling class :-)

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recovery run...

Monday morning:

Since we get the day off from work I decided to get in a simple 4.1 mile recovery run around our neighborhood region. There's still alot of snow & ice on the sidewalk areas but I used the Salomon trail shoes with some sheet metal screws in them for the ultimate traction. It took 37:21 with an average HR of 130bpm and a max HR within the last mile as I picked up the pace at 142bpm...this run felt sooo much better than yesterdays!

Bike shop 90 minute cycling class starts tonight on the Computrainers...yeah!

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the sloth returns...

Sunday morning:

Kristen & I headed down to Lake Michigan to get in our long run of the week. She needed to run 16 miles for her 50k race training and I informed her I would run as far as I could with her. It was 12 degrees and a strong WNW with the path being cleared for the most part. I was just barely able to run 10 miles with her as I informed Kristen I was headed back to the car as I was just plain exhausted that day and once again running like a "sloth"!!! My base training 12 miles was covered in 1:58:47 for an average HR of 125bpm, max HR at 135bpm while running thru snowdrifts near Montrose Harbor...K was a tough cookie and got in her 16 miler!

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new cycling helmet for 2009...

With some christmas monies I rec'd over the holidays I found an awesome deal on a 2009 Giro Astana issue helmet via ebay...my old regular helmet was about 15 years old and way too un-safe...so since Astana has been my favorite Pro Cycling Team since mid-2006 when they started as a Pro Team I now have a cycling helmet to show my team support :-)

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the last 24 hours...

I went to the bike shop last night to checkout the frameset...it sure is pretty as a frame can be...we didn't un-wrap her totally as we packed the Dean back in the shipping box for the day she will be built sometime in the next two weeks...I go to the swap today to see if theres any bargains on a few components needed...the main being a wheelset for training needs...update: got a really great deal on a brand new set of Bontrager Race Lite Aero training rims for my new bike at the swap
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Saturday afternoon:

Rode the tri-bike via the indoor trainer for 45 minutes today after returning from the bike swap locally. Recovery ride as I easy spun to 10.7 miles with an easy average speed of 14.2mph with a max of 19.8mph. Average HR was 108bpm with a max HR of 137bpm during a push interval as cadence average was kinda low for me today at 88rpm...my legs felt flat & heavy so I made it a simple recovery spin.

I watched 1st serious mtn stage 11 of the 2005 TdF via DVD as Lance cooked all the main GC contenders on the way up the last climb but Valverde won the stage...

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got the call...

Got the call from my buddy Vince over Village CycleSport that my recently ordered Ridley Dean frameset had arrived at the shop on Thursday...I asked him if he opened the box to take a peak and he stated no as the bike stays in the box till the customer stops by for the initial visit for which I will be visiting tonight...I will take some pictures of the frameset and post them up :-)

Below is a link to where I first learned about the Ridley Dean early last July when it was introduced via the ProCycling team that rides them which is Silence-Lotto and this is GC contender Cadel Evans ride:
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/pro-bike-cadel-evans-silence-lotto-ridley-dean-17438

On a different note it's minus 17 here this morning without the wind chill...I haven't run since Sunday ;-) these are old school winters were finally having around here!

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cabin fever...

Wednesday night:

Yet again another night of free spinning on the 'ole dinosaur tri-bike on the Kinetic trainer for 45 minutes while watching stage 9 of the 2005 TdF via DVD which was the first real mtn stage of that years tour...back to my ride which was pretty un-eventful as I covered 11.2 miles with an average pacing of 14.9mph plus a max pace of 19.6mph right around the 35 minute last interval push. Average cadence was spot-on again for myself at 91 rpm and an average ride HR of 104bpm. My max HR during that last big push was at 133bpm…the ride felt good indeed :-)

I have been riding more indoors since the first of the year because next Monday evening 1.19.09 I start my 90 minute Computrainer class at my buddy’s bike shop with the 8 rider station. These are similar to what I did last winter as it tremendously helped my cycling base training for the whole 2008 cycling season…can’t wait to get started!

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just spinning my wheels...

Tuesday evening:

Hopped on the old tri-bike via the Kinetic trainer for a 50 minute spin with no specifics at all...a what ever felt good kinda workout which it did. Covered 12.3 miles with an average speed of 14.7mph plus a max of 19.3mph during a smaller cassette ring pull for a few minutes. Average cadence was spot on at 91rpm with an average HR of 100bpm plus a max HR during the pulls at 132bpm...

Watched stages 5 thru 8 of the 2005 TdF via DVD for inspiration as Vino attacked a few times in the early mountain stages...

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make it a double please...

Sunday morning:

Decide to ride the tri-bike via the trainer in the house as puppy Obi watched me as he napped after his two mile walk. Watched stages 2 thru 5 of the 2005 TdF via DVD for inspiration. Really used this ride to flushout the running legs from the day before. Rode for 45 minutes for an easy average pace of 14.1mph as I coved 11 miles flat with an average HR of 100bpm plus my average cadence was at 89rpm...and Obi did nap the whole time :-)

Sunday early evening:

1st double workout day of 2009! Ran 5 miles in the neighborhood region on snow which was fine with me as that induced my quad usage more so...recovery run took 47:22 with an average HR of 129bpm. The base training continues...

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