Training Log Archive: veinbusterIn the 30 days ending Jun 30, 2015:
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Tuesday Jun 30, 2015 #
5 AM
flexibility 16:00 [1]
7 AM
Note
It seems I would make a bad AR competitor. I had gear nightmares last night and I'm just going on a recreational adventure. I know I left everything I needed packed before I went to work last week, but the forecast has improved to the point where I could carry a fair bit elss stuff. Don't need to, but could.
Then there's the 'which camera(s) to carry on the bike'. How much space will be left on the bike to stuff clothes I take off....
Then there's the 'which camera(s) to carry on the bike'. How much space will be left on the bike to stuff clothes I take off....
12 PM
stairs 30:00 [3]
Sunday Jun 28, 2015 #
7 AM
flexibility 12:00 [1]
8 AM
Mountain bike tempo (Big Unit) 1:57:00 [2] 35.3 km (3:19 / km) +150m 3:15 / km
ahr:120 max:156 shoes: Gekko
Flight support ride.
After yesterday's rain, the road was really only suitable for the big single speed, so I went out with it and pocket camera to finish collecting local route pictures (I'll add them later).
As expected, there were a lot of tree parts on the road, but today nothing bigger than about 8cm diameter. And lots of standing water - some as much as 10cm deep. The road was still soaked and the air was damp enough that my glasses fogged up each time I stopped moving.
Very nice ride though with temperatures staying in the high teens.
I stood up for all the little climbs per Flight's guidance to her stoker. Here's hoping they have a good race.
After yesterday's rain, the road was really only suitable for the big single speed, so I went out with it and pocket camera to finish collecting local route pictures (I'll add them later).
As expected, there were a lot of tree parts on the road, but today nothing bigger than about 8cm diameter. And lots of standing water - some as much as 10cm deep. The road was still soaked and the air was damp enough that my glasses fogged up each time I stopped moving.
Very nice ride though with temperatures staying in the high teens.
I stood up for all the little climbs per Flight's guidance to her stoker. Here's hoping they have a good race.
Saturday Jun 27, 2015 #
8 AM
flexibility 18:00 [1]
2 PM
weight training 36:00 [2]
Day 3 resistance bands and push ups
Friday Jun 26, 2015 #
5 AM
flexibility 17:00 [1]
12 PM
Road cycle tempo (Smokie) 1:20:00 [4] 29.9 km (2:41 / km) +127m 2:37 / km
ahr:146 max:161 shoes: Specialized SWorks road
The plan was to get as many of the PA route photos as I could before the 2 o'clock thunderstorms. The road bike was the best chance to cover the paved road so inspire of the tires being closer to 5 bar than 7, I took it out. The travel pump is in Calgary and the uber-pump was left at home for Mrs. who didn't want to let the tires on the red car get low.
I almost missed the first photo because it came up so fast after the ride through Mechanicsburg. Then there was too much traffic to stop for another - I'll have to plan where to get off the road a bit differently next time. After the western country loop I was ready to head south to Carlisle, but heard the sound of a rock catching the tire the wrong way and it was time to change a flat on the side of the highway. Since I wasn't equipped to change another flat I looped back to the apartment. Quite a bit of construction on the way back with soft pavement and utility access 5-8 cm above the road surface.
And the rain seems to be holding off so it looks like without the flat I could have fit in the 60+ km ride I had planned.
I almost missed the first photo because it came up so fast after the ride through Mechanicsburg. Then there was too much traffic to stop for another - I'll have to plan where to get off the road a bit differently next time. After the western country loop I was ready to head south to Carlisle, but heard the sound of a rock catching the tire the wrong way and it was time to change a flat on the side of the highway. Since I wasn't equipped to change another flat I looped back to the apartment. Quite a bit of construction on the way back with soft pavement and utility access 5-8 cm above the road surface.
And the rain seems to be holding off so it looks like without the flat I could have fit in the 60+ km ride I had planned.
Thursday Jun 25, 2015 #
5 AM
flexibility 15:00 [1]
4 PM
Cardio hills (Trainer - legs) 1:07:11 [5]
ahr:154 max:169 shoes: Gekko
Rain came 4 hours early so I came home in rain and wasn't sufficiently motivated to knowingly go out and ride in it.
I reran my highwood pass profile again to compare it to recent real life. Maintained 200-250 watts on slopes over 3% and about 150 on lower slopes. Real life time to the summit was about 50% longer than trainer time! partly trainer error and partly willingness to maintain a higher heart rate when I could see where the end was (and there was no one to see me have to bail out on the hill).
I pushed the power to 350 for the last 1/2 km of the climb hoping to see where the new Garmin would alarm, but only got the heart up to 169.
I reran my highwood pass profile again to compare it to recent real life. Maintained 200-250 watts on slopes over 3% and about 150 on lower slopes. Real life time to the summit was about 50% longer than trainer time! partly trainer error and partly willingness to maintain a higher heart rate when I could see where the end was (and there was no one to see me have to bail out on the hill).
I pushed the power to 350 for the last 1/2 km of the climb hoping to see where the new Garmin would alarm, but only got the heart up to 169.
Wednesday Jun 24, 2015 #
5 AM
flexibility 14:00 [1]
5 PM
weight training 47:00 [2]
Day 2 free weights and push-ups
Tuesday Jun 23, 2015 #
5 AM
flexibility 16:00 [1]
4 PM
weight training 50:00 [2]
Day 1 free weights + abs
Monday Jun 22, 2015 #
5 AM
flexibility 16:00 [1]
4 PM
Note
(rest day)
Just reading about RAAM was exhausting.
Sunday Jun 21, 2015 #
7 AM
flexibility 14:00 [1]
weight training 30:00 [3]
Day 3 soloflex
Dips and chin-ups in good form today
Dips and chin-ups in good form today
Saturday Jun 20, 2015 #
7 AM
flexibility 15:00 [1]
8 AM
Mountain bike tempo (Stumpjumper) 1:18:00 [3] 19.7 km (3:58 / km) +151m 3:49 / km
ahr:134 max:164 shoes: Specialized S Works Mountain
Short ride to and through Sheppards Bush to get back in time for Mrs. trip to the Artisans Fair. Had to detour around Push for your Tush on the way back.
The bush is in want of an exploration if the side trails.
The bush is in want of an exploration if the side trails.
10 AM
Other warm up/down 1:01:00 [2] 6.7 km (9:06 / km)
Mrs. river walk to the Artisans Festival then on to the farmers market, then a little bit extra to get a continuous hour. At 1:01 stopped for breakfast. The more direct route back took 47 minutes. New foot declared cured, though the is this some range of motion to work on over the next 6 months.
Thursday Jun 18, 2015 #
5 AM
flexibility 15:00 [1]
4 PM
weight training 51:00 [2]
Day 2 free weights and push-ups (200 over 3 sets, wasn't feeling the spring 100)
Wednesday Jun 17, 2015 #
5 AM
flexibility 14:00 [1]
4 PM
weight training 44:00 [2]
Day 1 free weights.
Its funny how unappealing a bike ride after work in commuter traffic is after the fantastic rides out west.
Its funny how unappealing a bike ride after work in commuter traffic is after the fantastic rides out west.
7 PM
Note
Some photos from the west part 1 (part 2 in 2 weeks).
First of all, your bike needs protection if it is travelling outside. In the past I've always made this trip with just an inside bike.
Even though you think mid June should be warm, maybe not so much. This is the morning after the hail fell.
But there is a great path system. There are places where a compass is useful, and I might get a proper one to mount on the bike.
Calgary does green space in a BIG way. This runs close to a highway but it is a long stretch of green.
And lots of out of city rides. No shots of the Bragg Creek ride, but HIghwood is worthy of a pilgrimage - at least these people thought so.
I was alone much of the 17km climb, but when I stopped to put on my rain jacket, because it started snowing, a fair number of cyclists went by.
Eventually I made it to the top.
While I took some photos and socialized a bit, Flight and her tandem partner cruised up and wondered why everybody had quite riding.
First of all, your bike needs protection if it is travelling outside. In the past I've always made this trip with just an inside bike.
Even though you think mid June should be warm, maybe not so much. This is the morning after the hail fell.
But there is a great path system. There are places where a compass is useful, and I might get a proper one to mount on the bike.
Calgary does green space in a BIG way. This runs close to a highway but it is a long stretch of green.
And lots of out of city rides. No shots of the Bragg Creek ride, but HIghwood is worthy of a pilgrimage - at least these people thought so.
I was alone much of the 17km climb, but when I stopped to put on my rain jacket, because it started snowing, a fair number of cyclists went by.
Eventually I made it to the top.
While I took some photos and socialized a bit, Flight and her tandem partner cruised up and wondered why everybody had quite riding.
Sunday Jun 14, 2015 #
12 PM
Road cycle hills (Greenspeed) 1:38:14 17.01 km (5:46 / km) +572m 4:57 / km
ahr:152 max:166 shoes: DMT road
Highwood Pass from the North gate. I was reserving judgement about whether to do the 50km Flight was doing tandem or the 33km from the gate. The plan was to make a last minute call based on weather and how I felt. Mid way through the drive up, the mountains looked mean. There was some rain, but it brightened up a bit when I pulled into the 50km start. I decided not to risk an extra 45-60 minutes in cold rain - I could always do that extra distance at the end if it was nice and I wasn't too tired.
The ride started out quite friendly with less than 100m of elevation in the first 5km. Nice to warm up, but I was expecting to climb 600m so knew it would get worse. 2nd 5km had about double the elevation, still not bad. At 12km I picked up a bit of snow - not much, but after about 5 minutes I decided it would be a good idea to put on the rain jacket on the first flattish bit. From here the elevation started to add up. I was using this as a trail for Banff-Jasper so tried to keep a sustainable heart rate. I shifted to the granny at 7% and never observed a heart rate over 163, but Garmin appears to have seen a 166.
The last few km was where the mountain fought back. Grade mostly varied between 6&9% and I looked at my elevation every few minutes to see how much more I had to climb - and hoping that my Garmin was telling the truth. I was breathing heavy those last few km, but made the top feeling surprisingly fresh - no need to take a nap, or even elevate my legs. Walked around and took some photos and chatted a bit until Flight and her tandem buddy made the peak.
I had expected it could take me 2 hours to do the climb, and was prepared for it to stretch a bit longer than that.
The ride started out quite friendly with less than 100m of elevation in the first 5km. Nice to warm up, but I was expecting to climb 600m so knew it would get worse. 2nd 5km had about double the elevation, still not bad. At 12km I picked up a bit of snow - not much, but after about 5 minutes I decided it would be a good idea to put on the rain jacket on the first flattish bit. From here the elevation started to add up. I was using this as a trail for Banff-Jasper so tried to keep a sustainable heart rate. I shifted to the granny at 7% and never observed a heart rate over 163, but Garmin appears to have seen a 166.
The last few km was where the mountain fought back. Grade mostly varied between 6&9% and I looked at my elevation every few minutes to see how much more I had to climb - and hoping that my Garmin was telling the truth. I was breathing heavy those last few km, but made the top feeling surprisingly fresh - no need to take a nap, or even elevate my legs. Walked around and took some photos and chatted a bit until Flight and her tandem buddy made the peak.
I had expected it could take me 2 hours to do the climb, and was prepared for it to stretch a bit longer than that.
2 PM
Road cycle (Greenspeed) 40:34 16.85 km (2:24 / km) +66m 2:22 / km
ahr:135 max:163 shoes: DMT road
The descent from Highwood Pass.
As I was packing up my rain jacket I felt a nasty blast of north wind so I put it back on. The descent was very cold - frequent speeds of 50km/hr into the north wind. At one point there was a bit of sleet for a few minutes, then rain generally light - at least until I got the trike back in the car. The wind was strong enough at the end that I had to pedal on a 2% descent to keep the bike moving - no pedal, no go.
The big horn sheep I had not stopped to photo while climbing where gone by the time I got back down, so not photographic evidence. Maybe next time.
As I was packing up my rain jacket I felt a nasty blast of north wind so I put it back on. The descent was very cold - frequent speeds of 50km/hr into the north wind. At one point there was a bit of sleet for a few minutes, then rain generally light - at least until I got the trike back in the car. The wind was strong enough at the end that I had to pedal on a 2% descent to keep the bike moving - no pedal, no go.
The big horn sheep I had not stopped to photo while climbing where gone by the time I got back down, so not photographic evidence. Maybe next time.
Saturday Jun 13, 2015 #
6 AM
flexibility 10:00 [1]
7 AM
Road cycle (Greenspeed) 1:47:35 [3] 29.48 km (3:39 / km) +278m 3:29 / km
ahr:130 max:169 shoes: DMT road
North Calgary path scouting. Forgot to turn Garmin back on after a brief photo stop so time and distance are from bike computer. Elevation and average heart are a bit low, but from Garmin.
Along Nose Hill, east to Nose Creek then around that park a bit. South along Deerfoot until a construction barricade about half way to the city.
Nose Creek has a nice set of trails suitable for the trike. A couple of women with their dogs wondered what the heck they were seeing with just the flags showing over the bushes and were quite excited to see the answer pop into view. One down hill hairpin turned into an unexpected steep uphill and I almost pulled my shoe off trying to get enough spin to downshift.
Along Nose Hill, east to Nose Creek then around that park a bit. South along Deerfoot until a construction barricade about half way to the city.
Nose Creek has a nice set of trails suitable for the trike. A couple of women with their dogs wondered what the heck they were seeing with just the flags showing over the bushes and were quite excited to see the answer pop into view. One down hill hairpin turned into an unexpected steep uphill and I almost pulled my shoe off trying to get enough spin to downshift.
12 PM
Road cycle (Cross bike road mode) 2:07:00 [5] 48.4 km (2:37 / km) +258m 2:33 / km
ahr:154 max:173 shoes: DMT road
Flat part of the Bragg Creek ride with Flight. Heart rate is a bit high because I didn't drain my legs after the first ride of the day. This ride did show that there are great rides in the area that are well within my limits on a traditional bike. As a first ride of the day, I would expect an average rate in the 140s and a max below my 168 alarm, which I hit on 3 smallish climbs at 6%.
It will be interesting what Flight's heart monitor show - I expect a nice warm up level.
Very nice ride that a lot of cyclists were taking advantage of. Bonus that the rain missed us.
It will be interesting what Flight's heart monitor show - I expect a nice warm up level.
Very nice ride that a lot of cyclists were taking advantage of. Bonus that the rain missed us.
Friday Jun 12, 2015 #
6 AM
Road cycle (Greenspeed) 1:16:00 [3] 19.5 km (3:54 / km) +243m 3:40 / km
ahr:126 max:162 shoes: DMT road
Took the trike out for a run along the NW paths before the rain that was promised for the morning. A few big drops started almost right away, but they stayed few and far between. The rain jacket in my bag must have scared it off.
North on 14th I approached a coyote that started trotting away from the weird thing and eventually decided it would be better to run across the road and back into Nose Hill. I tried two east-west paths. The one at the north end of Nose Hill came to a long staircase fairly early so I bailed on it because the Greenspeed is far from stair friendly. The one near Berckley Gate seemed to end at what looked like the airport grounds. I might be able to find a way around that on the road bike.
Oddly, signs at the two north most entrances on the east side of Nose Hill said the park was closed. It was very quite up there.
North on 14th I approached a coyote that started trotting away from the weird thing and eventually decided it would be better to run across the road and back into Nose Hill. I tried two east-west paths. The one at the north end of Nose Hill came to a long staircase fairly early so I bailed on it because the Greenspeed is far from stair friendly. The one near Berckley Gate seemed to end at what looked like the airport grounds. I might be able to find a way around that on the road bike.
Oddly, signs at the two north most entrances on the east side of Nose Hill said the park was closed. It was very quite up there.
Thursday Jun 11, 2015 #
6 AM
flexibility 7:00 [1]
7 AM
Mountain bike (Fattie) 1:19:00 [3] 15.1 km (5:14 / km) +207m 4:54 / km
ahr:135 max:173
Tried out the oversized fat bike in the closet, about two sizes too big, but what the heck.
Started in to work with Flight but bailed before the big descent because I didn't want to have to climb back up it. Gearing on the bike was very low but I had to lean a fair bit to get a foot on the ground and that seemed less than ideal in commuter traffic. So I looped back and went to Nose Hill to see how the bike was in its element.
I had pumped the tires to 10-12 lbs for the ride into town on pavement, but that was no good on the gravel. It is hard to judge pressure that low but I reduced it to what I guessed was 7-8 lbs and looped around to try the same trail. It worked much better with no spinning uphill and a nice positive grip downhill. Getting back to pavement the lower pressure felt a bit bouncey on a power stroke.
All numbers are a bit low because I forgot to turn the timer on when I got back on after the pressure drop...by the climb from 64th st lot.
Nicely equipped Salsa with a 21in frame. I would be more suited to a 17. I have pretty much concluded that I'll stick with a mountain bike unless I can't settle into winter sports that suit me when I am home next winter. I'll be starting with skating and snow shoeing.
I should note that the compass reading on the Garmin proved useful.
Started in to work with Flight but bailed before the big descent because I didn't want to have to climb back up it. Gearing on the bike was very low but I had to lean a fair bit to get a foot on the ground and that seemed less than ideal in commuter traffic. So I looped back and went to Nose Hill to see how the bike was in its element.
I had pumped the tires to 10-12 lbs for the ride into town on pavement, but that was no good on the gravel. It is hard to judge pressure that low but I reduced it to what I guessed was 7-8 lbs and looped around to try the same trail. It worked much better with no spinning uphill and a nice positive grip downhill. Getting back to pavement the lower pressure felt a bit bouncey on a power stroke.
All numbers are a bit low because I forgot to turn the timer on when I got back on after the pressure drop...by the climb from 64th st lot.
Nicely equipped Salsa with a 21in frame. I would be more suited to a 17. I have pretty much concluded that I'll stick with a mountain bike unless I can't settle into winter sports that suit me when I am home next winter. I'll be starting with skating and snow shoeing.
I should note that the compass reading on the Garmin proved useful.
Wednesday Jun 10, 2015 #
6 AM
flexibility 11:00 [1]
7 AM
weight training 45:00 [2]
Decent hotel gym so I did 3 sets at each upper body station. It ended up being a mix of things I would do across my 3 normal workouts. A bit heavily biased to chest and shoulders.
Tuesday Jun 9, 2015 #
5 AM
flexibility 12:00 [1]
6 AM
Road cycle tempo (Cross bike road mode) 1:34:00 [5] 38.2 km (2:28 / km) +22m 2:27 / km
ahr:150 max:168 shoes: DMT road
Ride the prairies.
It looked like there was a nice country road right beside the hotel, so I headed south on it only to have it turn to gravel. That scrabbled the 10,000 dead bugs off my tires but wasn't suitable for 23mm rubber so I came back to the man highway and headed south. Once I cleared the town's two traffic lights the road smoothed out and it was a nice quick ride. In fact, lightening fast with sub 9 intervals. I was tempted to clock 30 km in well under an hour, but knew there would be a wind penalty on the return...and Mrs. might get up on eastern time for her birthday, so I watched for an opening to loop back into wind.
Ouch. I had run at 160 bpm with the wind, but settled to low 150s coming back. I'm more comfortable letting it run up a bit when I'm not working too hard, but when I know it is going to be a sustained effort back off a bit. Turbulence from the trucks didn't help. Nor did the wind channelling around the grain elevators. Looped through town to see if there was anything to entertain the birthday girl with - not really, and pulled in on target at 7:30.
It looked like there was a nice country road right beside the hotel, so I headed south on it only to have it turn to gravel. That scrabbled the 10,000 dead bugs off my tires but wasn't suitable for 23mm rubber so I came back to the man highway and headed south. Once I cleared the town's two traffic lights the road smoothed out and it was a nice quick ride. In fact, lightening fast with sub 9 intervals. I was tempted to clock 30 km in well under an hour, but knew there would be a wind penalty on the return...and Mrs. might get up on eastern time for her birthday, so I watched for an opening to loop back into wind.
Ouch. I had run at 160 bpm with the wind, but settled to low 150s coming back. I'm more comfortable letting it run up a bit when I'm not working too hard, but when I know it is going to be a sustained effort back off a bit. Turbulence from the trucks didn't help. Nor did the wind channelling around the grain elevators. Looped through town to see if there was anything to entertain the birthday girl with - not really, and pulled in on target at 7:30.
Monday Jun 8, 2015 #
7 AM
flexibility 20:00 [1]
Need some more of this to compensate for 10 hours a day driving. Nothing useful to me in today's gym, but I know tonight's is better equipped.
Sunday Jun 7, 2015 #
7 AM
flexibility 13:00 [1]
8 AM
weight training 43:00 [2]
First 3 bits from day 3, all of day 1: hotel gym free weights
Saturday Jun 6, 2015 #
6 AM
flexibility 15:00 [1]
Friday Jun 5, 2015 #
6 AM
flexibility 13:00 [1]
7 AM
weight training 42:00 [2]
Day 2 soloflex
11 AM
Note
Did the full river loop with Mrs. including hills. 55min walking with one 4 min pause on a bench.
Thursday Jun 4, 2015 #
5 AM
flexibility 17:00 [1]
6 AM
Note
Scales said a bit over 62kg of muscle - perfect timing. That is about where I peak.
11 AM
stairs 20:00 [3]
Wednesday Jun 3, 2015 #
5 AM
flexibility 16:00 [1]
4 PM
Note
Stayed late at work to finally start training a replacement for one of the things I look after - too much traffic for a bike ride so gathered the stuff that needs to go from work to home to get packed for the Rockies. Including a very cool new pump.
Monday Jun 1, 2015 #
5 AM
flexibility 14:00 [1]
5 PM
weight training 36:00 [2]
Day 3 resistance bands and pushups