Moronacity Cycling Journal » Entries tagged with "Training"
The Golden Carrot
I wasn’t particularly looking forward to my trainer workout, today; but I seemed to go into automatic pilot when I got home. I slipped on my cycling gear—the bonus being that it’s a hell of a lot less than what I would wear if I went outside—and mounted my green steed for an honest effort over the usual 60-minute period.As I warmed up, me debated with myself over what to do, but it was … Read entire article »
Filed under: Cycling
No Gung-Ho on Cycling
I’ve been doing quite well with my workouts throughout the holiday weekend. Wednesday, December 21 was the first day on the trainer (see Jake’s New Toy). I “trained” again on Thursday for 40 minutes. I sprinkled in three sprints, and my heart responded by saying, “No, not gonna slow down until you get off this damn bike.” Friday, I got out for a hike at Stony Creek with Kristi, Eric, Nick, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Cycling
Happy 33rd, Di!
Yup. Thirty-three. That is me age. Arrrrrrrr. Thomas Magnum – you know, Magnum P.I. – would head out on his surf ski in celebration of his birthday. It was his day alone. It was how he celebrated his life. I get it. My greatest gift to myself on my birthday, aside from winning the lottery, is to do that which proves I am truly alive. It seems as though the older I get, the more I have to prove to myself. I almost thought today was going to be a wash – literally, a wash. This is because we had some massively heavy thunderstorms which brought over two inches of rain to my neck of the woods. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Road Riding
On the Road, Again
I am capping my night with some wine and a piece of 86% dark cacao chocolate. Yum. I deserve this. I earned it. After all, I have been on the wagon for over a week. I started road riding to get back into cycling shape. The following is my progress: March 6 – 15.91 miles March 7 – 18.56 miles March 9 – 27.4 miles March 11 – 30.52 miles Today – 30.04 miles. My goal for March 11 was simply to log more than 30 miles. After that ride, I decided that I would hold at approximately 30 miles for the next few rides to evaluate how I felt and to see if there was any improvement. Both March 11 and today were quite windy. Both days had … Read entire article »
Filed under: Road Riding
Week in Review—Baseline Numbers
I follow the European school of thought that the week begins on Monday. Not only is my email program set up to follow this, but so is my workout log. Monday through Sunday counts as one week. With that said, let’s take a look at my workout log since the first of the year. Mountain biking was my only activity for the first three days of the year. Actually, I only rode … Read entire article »
Filed under: Cross Training
Di’s Surefire Iceman Training Program
When I was a runner of sorts, I read everything I could about training. I raced several 5Ks, the Crim, and a couple of marathons. I knew my stuff. A lot of the training concepts I learned from running translate into the mountain biking. I have four years experience with mountain biking, three of those racing, although I’m not really sure if you can count this year’s sorry racing performances and lack of involvement under the scope of “racing experience.” Nonetheless, I have learned a lot about putting together a brilliant training program. Hill Workouts Hill repeats? Pishaw. Really, now, who does hill repeats? That is soooo yesteryear. My hill sessions consist of taking Jake for a ride up a long hill, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Mountain Biking
Hard Work Ahead
With the most recent snow melt, and temperatures reaching the 60s in the Keweenaw, cyclists have already gathered together to ride the road. I just thought about riding, but I fully intend to begin my spring training this coming weekend. Tomorrow and Wednesday, I am going to hit the pavement for a couple of short rides ranging from 60-90 minutes. This will be a little wake-up call for my body – a little message that hard work is coming pretty quickly. Jake (cross bike) and I will be heading down to Marquette, next weekend. I am going to visit a friend, but I’ve decided that this might be the perfect opportunity to try out the bike paths in and around town. My goal is to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Cycling
Training Log Review
I was very disappointed when I looked at my training log for the year. I thought that I had ridden significantly less this year than last. Then I realized that I recorded my 1997 mountain biking distances in kilometers. The reason for this was that I did not own a bike computer, so I relied on the Michigan Tech trail map, which has all distances in kilometers. After calculating the mileage, I was quite satisfied, but the hours significantly lacked: • 1997: 212 cycling hours, 1520 miles; 292 total exercise hours • 1998: 178 cycling hours, 1610 miles; 276 total exercise hours I traveled 90 miles further by bike in 2008, but spent 34 fewer hours on the bike. This may be due to commuting, which covers more … Read entire article »
Filed under: Cross Training
Transitions
With the New Year come transitions. People make resolutions, clean things out, throw things away, and embark on new and lofty goals while I simply switch to a new training log. I created an Excel spreadsheet back in 2007 to track my exercise hours and distances. In 2008, it evolved to simply recording time for most activities, but recording distances for biking and skiing. Those distances help me to determine whether … Read entire article »
Filed under: Cross Training
Reboot
December. The year has yet to end and the winter has barely started. Yes, I know many of us have had snow since mid-November, but that doesn’t change the fact that we are still in the early stages of winter. Why, then, am I not surprised to find people asking about 2009 race training on internet forums? Well, because it is time to start training. I took the time, last winter, to develop a broad training schedule for the year. I wasn’t aware that my laziness was causing me to follow this schedule. I just looked at the training program, today, but I am on track, nevertheless. Under November, it says, “No training. Just do what you want when you want.” Well, I did … Read entire article »
Filed under: Motivation
