Tag: bike

June 2012

Running

Will, Daddy, & Grandma

As I explained in the previous post, I intentionally stepped my training way back for the month of June. The good news is that I’m feeling good again now, so July should look much better. I still somehow managed to run my fastest mile since I was 18.

Month Distance # Workouts Avg per Workout
January 78.06 Mile 9 8.67333 Mile
February 75.2586 Mile 9 8.36206 Mile
March 126.15 Mile 14 9.01071 Mile
April 146.28 Mile 16 9.1425 Mile
May 166.75 Mile 18 9.26389 Mile
June 54.83 Mile 7 7.83286 Mile
Total 647.329 Mile 73 8.86751 Mile

Running 2012 6

Cycling

Headlands

Marin Headlands

I was able to get three good rides in on our trip to San Francisco, which really made the month. Two of the rides were just in the Marin Headlands, but I felt really good climbing some really big hills for a change. After the conference ended I went over to the East Bay and rode Mt. Diablo. I felt much stronger on that big ass climb than I did last time (three years ago). The heat was brutal though. It was 68˚F when I left downtown San Francisco and it was 98˚F on the unshaded slopes of Mt. Diablo. I drained both of my water bottles by the time I was halfway up the mountain. Luckily I found a place to refill them so I could continue on up. I flew past a number of riders closer to the top, which is always motivating.

Diablo

Summit of Mount Diablo (4000 ft, 98˚F)

After returning home I did a couple of the Tuesday night crits, finishing one of them in 7th place, my highest finish yet. I also rode the Wednesday night TT for the first time and did by far the fastest TT of my life, averaging 25.3 mph for the 9 mile course (with my chain rubbing the derailleur the whole time). I think I only hit 24 mph twice on the old Seymour 10 mile course. I’m definitely getting more and more accustomed to my (relatively) new TT bike.

Bike Distance # Rides Avg per Ride
Lynskey 14.44 Mile 1 14.44 Mile
Pocket Rocket 102.31 Mile 8 12.7888 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird 165.82 Mile 4 41.455 Mile
Total 282.57 Mile 13 21.7362 Mile

Month Distance # Workouts Avg per Workout
January 25.33 Mile 2 12.665 Mile
February 40.08 Mile 3 13.36 Mile
March 213.43 Mile 20 10.6715 Mile
April 253.27 Mile 23 11.0117 Mile
May 322.147 Mile 24 13.4228 Mile
June 282.57 Mile 13 21.7362 Mile
Total 1136.83 Mile 85 13.3744 Mile

Cycling 2012 6

Swimming

I made it to the pool a few times before taking several weeks off. The good news is when I started back again I picked up right where I left off. I love that about swimming. Maybe it’s harder to do if you’re actually any good though. I’ll probably never find out.

Month Distance # Workouts Avg per Workout
January 0 0 0
February 0 0 0
March 0 0 0
April 1750. Yard 2 875. Yard
May 8050. Yard 7 1150. Yard
June 4100. Yard 3 1366.67 Yard
Total 13900. Yard 12 1158.33 Yard

Swimming 2012 6

Walking

Month Distance # Workouts Avg per Workout
January 51.53 Mile 16 3.22063 Mile
February 42.92 Mile 18 2.38444 Mile
March 41.15 Mile 14 2.93929 Mile
April 31.89 Mile 12 2.6575 Mile
May 37.5107 Mile 13 2.88544 Mile
June 39.4 Mile 18 2.18889 Mile
Total 244.401 Mile 91 2.68572 Mile

Walking 2012 6

May 2012

Running

Remember how I said April was my highest mileage month in over 10 years? Well, I ran 20 miles farther in May. And I really only did one long run. I did a number of shorter races (5K, 10K, sprint triathlon), with good results in each. I’ve built up a level of base aerobic fitness I haven’t seen since college. I can run at a faster pace with a lower heart rate than at any time in the past 15 years. Of course, I do quite a bit of my training at a slow pace, which is one of the keys to such aerobic fitness.

Now I just need to avoid injury and burnout. I’m planning very deliberately to step back my mileage in June. After six hard races (nine if you count the three practice crits) in the past three weeks I’m ready to rest a bit.

IMG 0752

Additionally, I’ve fully acclimated to the summer heat earlier than ever before. I regularly run in 85˚-90˚F temperatures with sun blazing overhead and I think nothing of it. I used to do whatever I could to avoid that kind of nasty weather. Two minor changes have played a big role here.

  • I wear a visor instead of a hat, and I keep my hair cut super short (shaving it with a razor every couple of weeks).
  • I run without a shirt.

I never would have believed how much of a difference these two changes could make if someone had told me. I’ve mentioned over and over again that I run hot. I sweat more anybody I’ve ever met. Having more of that sweat evaporate in the breeze than soak in my shirt and hat cools me down like never before. The one downside is the increased risk of sunburn, but I can take preventative measures to avoid that.

Month Distance # Workouts Avg per Workout
January 78.06 Mile 9 8.67333 Mile
February 75.2586 Mile 9 8.36206 Mile
March 126.15 Mile 14 9.01071 Mile
April 146.28 Mile 16 9.1425 Mile
May 166.75 Mile 18 9.26389 Mile
Total 592.499 Mile 66 8.97725 Mile

Running 2012 5

Cycling

IMG 0735

My cycling continues to be hit or miss. All the additional time I’ve devoted to running lately has had to come from somewhere, and this is where. It’s not all negative, though, as my improved base aerobic fitness has actually applied equally to cycling as it has running. Additionally, racing makes for pretty decent training, and I’ve raced a fair amount lately (3 practice crits, 2 practice TTs, 2 crits, 2 tris). Somehow I’ve still managed to set a personal best average speed in both of my triathlons this year.

Bike Distance # Rides Avg per Ride
Bianchi 11. Mile 3 3.66667 Mile
El Fuego 6.73 Mile 1 6.73 Mile
Lynskey 53.9674 Mile 4 13.4919 Mile
Pocket Rocket 17.1 Mile 4 4.275 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird 226.05 Mile 10 22.605 Mile
Total 314.847 Mile 22 14.3112 Mile

Month Distance # Workouts Avg per Workout
January 25.33 Mile 2 12.665 Mile
February 40.08 Mile 3 13.36 Mile
March 213.43 Mile 20 10.6715 Mile
April 253.27 Mile 23 11.0117 Mile
May 322.147 Mile 24 13.4228 Mile
Total 854.257 Mile 72 11.8647 Mile

Cycling 2012 5

Swimming

It feels good to have a swimming section in these posts again. As you can see from the chart my numbers are modest, but it’s a good start. I always find it remarkable how quickly swimming comes back to me. Before I ever started swimming I always assumed success in the sport was solely the result of super strong, highly specialized muscles (that I don’t have), when in reality it’s almost entirely technique. I’m certainly not suggesting my technique is perfect (far from it), but simply remembering the technique does allow me to pick right back up (almost) where I left off.

Month Distance # Workouts Avg per Workout
January 0 0 0
February 0 0 0
March 0 0 0
April 1750. Yard 2 875. Yard
May 8050. Yard 7 1150. Yard
Total 9800. Yard 9 1088.89 Yard

Swimming 2012 5

Walking

More running also means less walking, but I’m still getting in a few miles on most days. It took me a while to fully realize this, but walking may just be one of the keys to my recent success. It helps build base aerobic fitness (super low intensity), while working similar muscles to running, all with near-zero risk of injury. In fact, when my legs are sore I always feel significantly better after walking a few miles.

Month Distance # Workouts Avg per Workout
January 51.53 Mile 16 3.22063 Mile
February 42.92 Mile 18 2.38444 Mile
March 41.15 Mile 14 2.93929 Mile
April 31.89 Mile 12 2.6575 Mile
May 37.5107 Mile 13 2.88544 Mile
Total 205.001 Mile 73 2.80823 Mile

Walking 2012 5

Trifesta

The Trifesta Sprint Triathlon was last Saturday at John Logan College near Carbondale, IL. Coming off a good sprint triathlon the week prior I had high hopes for this one. The distances were roughly the same, but I had a little more time to prepare.

My first order of business was to deal with the nagging problem that both pairs of shoes I wear during triathlons were literally falling apart. My bike shoes are 12 years old and the shoes I run in are almost 5 years old. A few days before the race I upgraded both sets of shoes to shiny new pairs. I did the minimal amount of due diligence by testing them each out once before the race. No real problems.

IMG 3718

Between the longer drive, my internal alarm clock, and my desire not to repeat last week’s late arrival I left super early and I was by far the first person to arrive at the race. I took my time and prepared all my gear. I warmed up running & biking without incident. I grabbed my goggles to go warm up swimming and noticed they were in two pieces. My first minor problem of the day was fairly straightforward to rectify. I was able to reassemble the goggles into working order. Crisis averted.

Unlike last week’s open water swim, this race had a pool swim. Each competitor estimated their 400 yard swim time and we lined up from fastest to slowest. My 6:00 estimate put me about 12th in line. The swim went reasonably well. The guy behind me caught up to me a couple lengths from the end, just as I was catching up to the guy in front of me. I made room for him to pass on the last length and we came out of the water together, my split being 5:48.

My first transition was good (I passed several people in the transition area), and I was quickly out on the bike. I passed a couple more right away. We started with a bit of a tailwind and my speed was high. About 3 miles in a guy blew past me on the bike. I tried to increase my speed to stay within reach of him, but it was hopeless. I rode the two fastest miles of the race at 27 mph and this guy kept pulling away. I slowed down a bit, though I still caught and passed a few more people. It was clear I wouldn’t be the overall winner, but I was doing quite well. Things got tougher on the way back into the headwind. Furthermore the roads were a bit congested with automobile traffic. The roads were in good shape, but the course took us through 3 small towns, which seemed a bit unusual for this sort of event.

About 2/3 of the way through the bike I noticed a problem with my (new) shoes. The velcro straps were a bit too long and they kept rubbing up against the cranks. The flapped up and down with every pedal stroke. It probably didn’t cause any delays, but it was hugely distracting, and not at all what I needed at that point. So my second minor problem the day I just had to deal with for the remainder of the 14 mile bike leg. I ended up averaging 23.5 mph, which was a wee bit faster than last week for a slightly longer, more difficult (on account of the rolling hills) course.

My second transition was good and I started the run fast to catch up with a few racers right ahead of me. At the first aid station 1 mile into the run I accidentally snorted some water up my nose. As soon as I got that under control and I could breathe again my shoelace came untied. Sigh. I was running fast enough that I really didn’t want to sacrifice the 10 seconds or so it would take to retie them so I ran the last two miles like that. I wasn’t in any danger of tripping, but they did slap my leg with every step.

The second mile was mostly shaded, which was welcome in the 85˚F heat. I made the most of it to speed up a bit and try to catch up with a guy way in front of me. I came within 20 meters or so, but I couldn’t close the gap before the finish. I averaged 5:57 pace for the run, which was about a minute faster than last week, though on a slightly easier course.

So the race was over, but due to the staggered start it would be quite some time before I actually learned how I placed. When I finally did see the results I was quite pleased. I finished 4th overall, 1st in my age group, and each of my swim, bike, and run were faster than last week for comparable distances. So it was a great race for me, in spite of the shoe, shoe, and goggle problems.

IMG 3720

Dutchtown Classic

The third and final race last weekend was Sunday’s Dutchtown Classic. This was a six-corner crit, but unlike the previous two courses, this one at least had a small hill. My legs were pretty toasted from the previous day’s run, but I decided to race anyway. My teammate Grant was racing again, and once again he had a good shot at winning. So I figured I’d try to do what I could to help.

Again the race started fast, then settled down a bit. There was a somewhat strong headwind on the downhill backstretch, so nobody really pushed the pace there. After a couple more turns we went up the somewhat steep, block-long hill where things would string out a bit. Then we would turn back into the wind and things would come back together. Grant tried a breakaway fairly early, but he was pulled back in. For some reason I still don’t quite understand I was having a terrible time with the corners in this race–much worse than Friday. I lost too much speed at every turn and I had to work harder to pull myself back up to the wheel in front of me.

IMG 0776

With 1.5 laps to go Grant was isolated at the very front of the field and nobody would go around him, so I shot up the side to set the pace. I was hoping a few people would come around him, but nobody did. So it was just me blocking the wind for him. A half lap later I was done at the front and unfortunately he was back in the lead again. So much for that. I spent the last lap on the back of the lead group, now half the size it was at the start. I had a good finish up the hill, but I started at the very back and still ended at the very back. Grant finished 4th. I finished 17th out of 35 starters.

Loop de Loop

Friday night was the Loop de Loop criterium, just a scant mile from my house. The four-corner course was straightforward, with two exceptions: the downhill backstretch had really sketchy pavement, and turn #3 off of the backstretch traversed a raised sidewalk (so there were 5 different pitches mid-turn).

I had two teammates in the Cat 4 race, Grant (who already has several wins this year) and Jason. We started near the front. Just as soon as the race started I was swarmed and ended up at the back of the field. The first trip down the backstretch I couldn’t see anything and it was utterly terrifying. The first time around the sketchy corner #3 was just as bad. Fortunately, it got much better after that. The race started fast and I was a bit concerned I wouldn’t be able to hang on. Fortunately, everyone else seemed to tire faster than I did and before long I was near the front of the race, where I stayed until the finish.

IMG 0727

With three laps to go I found myself at the very front as Jason passed me to set the pace. I grabbed his wheel. On the backstretch I heard Grant call up to us that he was on my wheel. So we were 1-2-3 in the field with Grant in great position. I feared we might not be able to keep it up for 2.5 more laps, but I felt strong and Jason was strong. Then disaster struck. Jason overcooked turn #4 and slid out. I narrowly avoided him, but Grant hit him and went down as well. We went from ideal position to me all by myself in front, kind of freaked out and wondering what to do.

IMG 0735

I waited for a few guys to catch up and continued on. I maintained my position near the front. On the final lap in turn #4 (200m from the finish) I was 7th wheel, hopefully ready to move up, just as the guy in front of me went down in the exact same place Jason did two laps earlier. This was harder to avoid and I had to come to a complete stop as 20 guys passed me. I soft-pedaled to the finish in 29th place. I had a good race with no results to show for it, as per usual.

Fortunately Jason and Grant were both okay, just a bit banged up. Counting these two mishaps, six times in my last five races a rider directly in front of me has crashed.

Don’t ride directly in front of me.

January – April 2012

Running

IMG 0635

Running has been going well. Extremely well. I almost hate to admit that because it probably means I will injure myself at any moment. But hopefully not. I’ve been focusing a lot on my form as I try to transition to a forefoot strike pattern (rather than a heel-strike pattern). It’s hard to try to correct 18 years of bad form. Really hard. But I’m making progress. I ran farther in April 2012 than I did in any other month in the last 10 years, and I haven’t had a hint of knee pain. Of course, some of that has come at the expense of really sore calves on account of using different muscles that are much less well developed. I’ll take sore calves for a few hours over semi-permanent knee pain 10 times out of 10.

I found a great place to run barefoot: the glorious artificial turf on the WUSTL track infield (some people might call it a football field). Of the 146 miles I ran in April, 19 of them were completely barefoot, and some of those were pretty fast (5:32). The majority of the remaining miles were in my wonderful new Luna Sandals (yes, sandals), with the rest in my Vibram FiveFinger Bikilas, Merrell Trail Gloves, and New Balance MT 110s. I guess I have something of a shoe fetish (yet I still run barefoot). I just pick the thinnest shoes I can get away with based on the route I have in mind, and take them off whenever I can.

Month Distance # Workouts Avg per Workout
January 78.06 Mile 9 8.67333 Mile
February 75.2586 Mile 9 8.36206 Mile
March 126.15 Mile 14 9.01071 Mile
April 146.28 Mile 16 9.1425 Mile
Total 425.749 Mile 48 8.86976 Mile

Running 2012 4

Cycling

IMG_4020

Photo by Jeff Schleicher

I’ve been a regular at the Tuesday night crits, though I did miss a couple. I’ve been lucky to get two training rides a week. Considering where I started at the beginning of this year I’ve already come a long way, but I still have a long way to go. Looking at my race results over the past year or so it’s pretty clear where my talent lies.

Single digit placings are better than double digit placings. If I want to achieve more success in cycling races I’m going to have to spend more time (which I don’t have) practicing. Or maybe blood doping.

Bike Distance # Rides Avg per Ride
Bianchi 34. Mile 9 3.77778 Mile
El Fuego 20.04 Mile 1 20.04 Mile
Lynskey 13.64 Mile 2 6.82 Mile
Pocket Rocket 27. Mile 6 4.5 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird 158.59 Mile 5 31.718 Mile
Total 253.27 Mile 23 11.0117 Mile

Month Distance # Workouts Avg per Workout
January 25.33 Mile 2 12.665 Mile
February 40.08 Mile 3 13.36 Mile
March 213.43 Mile 20 10.6715 Mile
April 253.27 Mile 23 11.0117 Mile
Total 532.11 Mile 48 11.0856 Mile

Cycling 2012 4

Swimming

Yes, the numbers are small. I just started late in the month. What’s promising, though, is just how quickly I was able to pick this back up after months off (and if you don’t count that week in September, years off).

Month Distance # Workouts Avg per Workout
January 0 0 0
February 0 0 0
March 0 0 0
April 1750. Yard 2 875. Yard
Total 1750. Yard 2 875. Yard

Swimming 2012 4

Walking/Hiking

Month Distance # Workouts Avg per Workout
January 51.53 Mile 16 3.22063 Mile
February 42.92 Mile 18 2.38444 Mile
March 41.15 Mile 14 2.93929 Mile
April 31.89 Mile 12 2.6575 Mile
Total 167.49 Mile 60 2.7915 Mile

Walking 2012 4

Eads Bridge Duathlon

Last Sunday was the Eads Bridge Duathlon. It starts and finishes on Eads Bridge (the oldest bridge across the Mississippi River) downtown, with a 1.5 mile run, followed by a 10 mile bike, and finishing with another 1.5 mile run. I haven’t ridden my time trial/triathlon bike since September, but I’ve been running well… so it should all even out. Right?

The race itself was very well organized, which almost makes up for the dearth of useful information on the event website. Answers to simple questions would have gone a long way. How do I get to the event with all the road closures? Where do I park my car and do I have to pay for parking? Is the event sanctioned by USA Triathlon (and therefore require an up-to-date USAT license)?

During my warmup I tried on my friend Mark’s aero helmet, which he was looking to sell. It worked well enough, so I decided to go with it during the race. I noticed my warmup on the bike was not as fast as it felt. I guess I’m more out of practice than I thought. I ran a short warmup, then headed up the hill from the river onto the bridge, where the start/finish line was.

It was cool, 48˚F. Moments before the start I began to feel raindrops. The announcer sent us off and I wasted no time rubbing shoulders with the leaders. The run was so short I knew it would be quite fast. We ran across the bridge, down to ground level on the Illinois side, then back up across the bridge in the other direction, down to ground level on the Missouri side for the first transition. About halfway through the run I ceded a little ground to two other guys. The run turned out to be a little long, 1.73 miles according to my GPS, and I averaged 5:23 pace.

I came into the transition area a little more hypoxic than I’m used to in a triathlon after swimming. I had a bad transition, trying to changes shoes while balancing on one foot and light-headed. The fourth runner passed me in the transition area, but I passed him right back as soon as we got on our bikes. I took the start slow, with the uphill, the railroad tracks, the rough corners. Finally we hit the long straightaway. Now a different rider blew past me. I picked up my game a bit and hung with him for a few miles. At the first turnaround I could see the two leaders had a sizable, but not insurmountable gap.

At the end of the first lap I lost my concentration a bit and dropped back from the third guy. As soon as we started on the second loop we were mixing it in with lapped competitors just starting the bike leg, at which point I completely lost sight of the guy. With each turn I could see the three people ahead me getting farther and farther ahead. I tried not to look down at my GPS to see my speed, because it wasn’t very reassuring. I wasn’t having a good ride. At this point it was pouring down rain and my shoes and socks were completely soaked. The advertised 10 mile course was short, only 9.4 miles, which means my average speed was only 21.5 mph. Even factoring in the awful weather, that’s weak, even by my standards.

IMG 0703

My second transition was a bit better, but still not great. I started out well enough on the second run. Then I immediately hit the large hill, and I slowed way down. Up on the bridge I could see the person in front of me off in the distance. The gaps were huge at this point, minutes in both directions. Cold, wet, tired, I found it difficult to push the pace and I just cruised into the finish line, averaging 6:18 pace for the second 1.73 mile run. I finished fourth place.

Melissa and Will were waiting at the finish line. In the rain. They were nice enough to come out to cheer me on. We didn’t waste much time on the bridge before we headed down to my car to dry off and warm up. The race went reasonably well, even if I was rather disappointed in my bike leg.

Tracks N Treads

One problem I’ve had living in St. Louis is that there are so many bike races, yet I hardly ever find out about them until after they’re over. Friends would keep telling me to check the calendar at STL Biking, but I’d always forget. I finally got around to checking it a few weeks ago and I came across a very interesting race, Tracks N Treads off-road “biathlon” (run/bike, not ski/shoot). So, an off-road triathlon without the swimming. I’ve been wanting to do an off-road triathlon for years, so this semi-local event seemed as good a time as any to start.

The problem with this idea is that, while I’ve run more trail races than I can count, I’ve never raced on a mountain bike before. And the thought of doing so kind of scared the hell out of me. So this was a bigger leap for me than it may seem. The most helpful thing was that I drove over to Edwardsville to ride the trails at SIUE last weekend. I can’t imagine racing those trails without the experience I gained from just that one ride. Although I didn’t know every turn like the back of my hand, I did remember the big picture, and I knew exactly what to expect.

The forecast was supposed to be warm, and it was over 60˚F when I left my house, but it was only 50˚F in Edwardsville when I arrived. I brought several possible shirts to race in, but they were all sleeveless. Whoops. Well, if that’s the worst thing that happens then I’m in for a good day.

I rode over to the trails and rode easily over the first mile of the course to reacquaint myself with it, as this part may be crucial during the race. Then I came back, put my bike and gear in the transition area, ran a little bit, then headed to the start line.

IMG_3793

Photo by TriGirl1964

A few young guys bolted off the front immediately. I was in no hurry to match their pace, so I hung back a bit. Once we got off the sidewalk and onto the single-track trail they started to come back to me. It was difficult to find a place to do so, but I eventually passed them one-by-one. I lead the race for the last half of the run. I was the first to enter and exit the transition area.

The bike started with about .75 miles on a paved path before entering the woods. I made sure to drink as much as I could and take some gel before the woods, because I knew I wouldn’t have a free hand once we hit the single-track.

One guy caught up with me just before the turn into the woods, but he didn’t pass me. I went hard once we hit the dirt and after a few turns I put some distance between us. There were a few times during the early miles I could hear a rider approaching, but nobody caught up. Until about half way through. A guy came up fast and, after tailing me for a while, he found a spot to pass and he overtook me. I raised my game a bit and I tried to stay with him, but he was just better than me. I couldn’t take the turns as fast as he did and he pulled away. So much for first place.

IMG_4020

Photo by Jeff Schleicher

A short while later another guy quickly caught and passed me. This dude was on a cyclocross bike. During the 30 seconds or so I was able to follow him it was obvious he was out of my league. I don’t feel a bit bad about losing to someone like that. I started to worry that maybe there was a whole line of people poised to rip past me, but that never came to fruition. A third guy caught up with me just before we dropped back out onto the pavement. I went out first and hammered the last .75 miles at 23 mph and he wasn’t able to get around me. I finished 3rd. I later discovered one of the guys who passed me was on a relay team, so I was the 2nd place individual.

The race really couldn’t have gone any better for me. The hard run effort didn’t slow me down at all on the bike section. I’m used to running after biking (as is customary in triathlons), so I wasn’t quite sure how fast I could get away with running. The bike leg pushed me to my technical limits, but I was fortunately pretty far from my physical limits. As scary as it was the first time, I could possibly get used to racing on a mountain bike. I just need to practice. A lot.

The Great Forest Park Bicycle Race

Bike racing season snuck up on me. I didn’t get a lot of training in over the winter, as I was focusing on running Fuego y Agua. I strained my back early in the year and didn’t ride at all in January, and only a couple times in February. I started riding more after we returned from Nicaragua. I did three easy training rides (20, 30, and 50 miles). I hadn’t even attempted to ride faster than 20 mph. Then races started.

Realizing I was ridiculously undertrained I decided I wouldn’t participate in the first two local races. On 3/10 I went to watch my friends at the Carondelicious Crit. It was a beautiful day. This was the second time I went to a race just to watch and decided I couldn’t not race.

Grant and Jason

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7192/6828770116_a22357aa8f.jpg

Mark & BJ

So the following day I decided to race The Great Forest Park Bicycle Race. After all, at just 2 miles away, this is the 3rd closest bike race to my house (living in a big city does have some benefits).

The bad news was it was raining, which was scary. The good news was… it was raining, which slowed people down in the corners. The race was much easier than I expected, even with my minimal training. Our average speed was only 23 mph, which is 1-3 mph slower than most Cat 4 crits around here. There was a big crash in front me early on. I slammed on the brakes and skidded to a stop on top of a crashed bike’s wheel (sorry about that). I took the free lap (for the first time in my life) and got back into the race on the next lap.

The last lap was fast, and I couldn’t really get around anyone. I was poised to move up on the final straightaway… before another crash right in front of me made me hesitate a bit too much. I strolled in near the rear of the main pack, 15th place. It was decent. I didn’t crash or hurt myself. All things considered, it could have gone much worse.

December 2011

Photo of the Day

December 2011

Like 2009, and unlike 2010 where I missed three days, I managed to get a photo every day in 2011.

Running

Trail run

I was able to recover from November’s setback, and I’ve been doing some pretty good running lately. All my long runs have been on trails, many of them with the SLUGs. The exciting news is that I registered for the Fuego Y Agua 50 km ultra-marathon on Ometepe Island in Nicaragua in February. It should be great fun, though extremely challenging. I’m not worried about the distance (31 miles!), I’ve run that kind of distance before (with less training). The two primary challenges will be the dry-season heat and the massive 4,000 ft ascent and descent of the volcano in the final 8 miles of the race.

Month Distance # Workouts Avg per Workout
January 13.54 Mile 3 4.51333 Mile
February 33.47 Mile 7 4.78143 Mile
March 71.64 Mile 10 7.164 Mile
April 31.12 Mile 6 5.18667 Mile
May 71.9569 Mile 10 7.19569 Mile
June 85.87 Mile 11 7.80636 Mile
July 49.47 Mile 7 7.06714 Mile
August 116.34 Mile 13 8.94923 Mile
September 82.89 Mile 12 6.9075 Mile
October 100.83 Mile 11 9.16636 Mile
November 56.36 Mile 7 8.05143 Mile
December 107.4 Mile 11 9.76364 Mile
Total 820.887 Mile 108 7.6008 Mile

Running 2011 12

Cycling

I’m also back on the bike after my knee problems, though I didn’t do much training. What little time I had available for training I chose to run instead. I need to toughen up and get out on the bike in the cold more often.

Bike Distance # Rides Avg per Ride
Pocket Rocket 11.4 Mile 3 3.8 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird 24.29 Mile 2 12.145 Mile
Total 35.69 Mile 5 7.138 Mile

Month Distance # Workouts Avg per Workout
January 35.32 Mile 4 8.83 Mile
February 0 0 0
March 3. Mile 1 3. Mile
April 36.25 Mile 7 5.17857 Mile
May 272.94 Mile 25 10.9176 Mile
June 344.02 Mile 26 13.2315 Mile
July 306.77 Mile 12 25.5642 Mile
August 418.39 Mile 25 16.7356 Mile
September 270.2 Mile 24 11.2583 Mile
October 321.64 Mile 15 21.4427 Mile
November 20.6 Mile 5 4.12 Mile
December 35.69 Mile 5 7.138 Mile
Total 2064.82 Mile 149 13.8579 Mile

Cycling 2011 12

Walking/Hiking

On a hike

I’ve still been walking a fair amount, but I’ve also started doing a bit more hiking. One of my primary rules for dealing with my on-and-off knee issues is not running on two consecutive days. So sometimes I go hiking on the off days as a substitute. Hiking will play an important role in the Fuego Y Agua race, as most of the volcano trail is far too steep to run up.

Month Distance # Workouts Avg per Workout
January 56.9 Mile 16 3.55625 Mile
February 47.6 Mile 14 3.4 Mile
March 83.4 Mile 24 3.475 Mile
April 84.3 Mile 26 3.24231 Mile
May 65.5 Mile 20 3.275 Mile
June 57.3 Mile 17 3.37059 Mile
July 23.75 Mile 12 1.97917 Mile
August 31.7 Mile 9 3.52222 Mile
September 42.2022 Mile 16 2.63764 Mile
October 44.5 Mile 16 2.78125 Mile
November 59.7 Mile 19 3.14211 Mile
December 63.46 Mile 21 3.0219 Mile
Total 660.312 Mile 210 3.14434 Mile

Walking 2011 12