Base - Aerobic - 2006-10-26

Man. I gotta chill. Or, possibly, I really need to check my HRM. Maybe I'm wearing it wrong because apparently today I managed a max HR of 232. Pretty amazing, aren't I? Still, I do need to chill more on my aerobic rides and stay in that aerobic zone. Route: Willamette to St. John's and back on Hwy. 30. Distance: 17.6 miles Time: 1:11 Avg. spd.: 14.8 mph Max speed: 36.6 mph (?? That seems wrong, too. I wasn't going THAT fast down the St. John's Bridge.) HR avg: 144 bpm HR max: 232 (!!) bpm Below zone 1: 2'49" In Zone 1: 50'36" Above Zone 1: 18'01" I did go too fast. I was on the front pulling like a madman because I'm stupid. But whatever. It's October. And tomorrow will be easy-easy because I'm lifting.

Base - "Aerobic" Hills - 2006-10-25

It's one of two things: The new HRM reads my pulse a little differently than my old HRM. -or- I'm tired. I didn't FEEL like I was going that hard, but apparently, I was. I definitely forced myself to go a little slower. And, ya know, it WAS hilly. Here are the new HR zones I've set up: Zone 1: 95-157 Zone 2: 158-165 Zone 3: 166-175 Apparently, I have to manually change the zones when I'm on the bike to record the time in that zone. But the new HRM DOES tell me the time spent above and below the zone, and my average and max heartrate. So I guess that's helpful. Today's ride: Route: Eastside to Sellwood, up the Cemetery, to Terwilliger, up to Fairmount via Dosch. Home via Vista and Salmon. Time: 1:07 Distance: 14.6 HR Average: 144BPM Below 1: 1:13 In Zone 1: 48:09 Above 1: 18:19 HR Max: 174 BPM (!! What?!?) Average Speed: 13.0 MPH Max speed: 33.3 MPH (I got stuck behind a slow truck on my favorite part of Vista. Alas.) I felt, well, fine. Tired. Sore. My butt hurt. And I was freaking out that on the Black Bomber with it's wall-climbing cassette, that my HR was so high. But whatever. I may test to see if I can wear both HRMs at the same time to "test" them. Did 40 sit-ups when I got back, and stretched out really well. The stretching felt AWESOME. I might do some more of that when I get home.

Base - Recovery - 2006-10-22

Spin with Amanda. 1 hour, 10 mph John's Landing to downtown to Waterfront, across the Steel Bridge and back along the Esplanade. Her knee was killing her on anything tilting skyward, which is worrisome.

Base - Weights - 2006-10-24

Oooh. New Polar S150 HRM and a bundle of new stuff from Nashbar. Nothing cures a mild case of bike burnout quite like a new toy. And some freakin' clothes -- my gawd my shorts are see-through. I can't believe how long I've been wearing the same three pairs of shorts and two jerseys. Jeez.

Anyhoo.

15 minutes on stationary bike. Boooorrrrrring!

40 sit-ups 2 x 20 reverse sit-ups on yoga ball 2 x 35 russian twists with 8 lb. med ball 20 Rocky sit-ups 20 Supermans

2 x lunge up series (1x with med ball) 2 x lunge down series (1x with med ball) 2 x lunch with 30 lbs.

And some nice stretching. Ahhh.

Base - Aerobic Hills - 20061021

Saturday Group Ride with VeloShop

Easy ride with a few short, hard efforts thrown in for good measure.

Distance: 47 miles

Average Speed: 14.9 mph.

Route: Hwy. 30 past St. John's Bridge, up Newberry Rd.. South on Skyline, then down Thompson. Then through town and south to the Cemetery. Then turn around and head back to town and then home.

HR: 130-140 on the flats. 155-163 on the hills. Three quick sprints/hammers where I shot up into the 170s.

Great ride, stunning day.

Rest: Tempo - 2006-10-19

Ow. Went out and did Kelley Point again, but with a group this time. So it was sort of a group ride, but a really hard one because there was some dude named Ricki with us, and he's F-A-S-T. Route: Roundabout through NE to Kelley Point, then back. HR: Climbed as we went: 150-160-170-180. The 180 part was only for a little bit. And we stopped about halfway through because I got a flat. Distance: Probably about 27 miles. Dang. I ordered some stuff from Nashbar, but forgot a cheapo cyclocomputer. Dang. Anyway, I'm totally gassed. That just hurt. We really flew for a while on the way back, and it hurt just to hang on. So much for my easy week. Well, whatever -- a good hard effort is still a good thing, and I probably won't do much tomorrow but lift and do sit-ups.

Rest - Endurance Hills - 2006-10-17

Aerobic Hills (short) Time: 1 hour Route: Sellwood, up through the cemetery, back across Terwilliger, and into downtown. HR: Didn't wear it. Long story, don't ask. But low. The new wheel I got for the Black Bomber had a 900 tooth cog on it, so I spun spun spun up the hills. Did some sit-ups and other core stuff for about 20 minutes when I got back. Then stretched really well for about 10 minutes. All in all, a very relaxing day. Did I mention this was gonna be my easy week? I don't KNOW if it's time for my easy week, but I FELT like it was.

Base - Endurance Hills - 2006-10-14

Aerobic Hills Route: Went up and over Rocky Butte, then up and over Mt. Tabor. Then down to Belmont for some coffee, then over to Sellwood and back via Springwater. HR: Low. 157 max on the hills, 145 max on the flats. Mostly in the 130s or lower on the flats. We talked most of the way. Good spin. Distance/Speed: Um, I'm a moron. I didn't reset my computer. So probably 30 miles -- I was out for about 2:45 (exluding coffee stop). I was pretty sore all day, which surprised me. I've been stretching today and drinking lots of water (it's the next day when I write this). It's pouring rain today, and I'd intended to ride. We'll see. May have to bust out the trainer for a quick spin or something. Definitely need to figure out the wheel situation for the Black Bomber, because I do NOT want to deal with this rain without fenders.

Base - Tempo - 2006-10-13

Masochistic Psycho Ride

So I'd been reading in most of my books that, though it's October and I'm building my base, I should still throw down about once a week to keep the skillz sharp and the legs strong.

Well, I can't do my group ride tomorrow due to other commitments, so I figured I'd do a hard tempo ride today.

Oy.

Route: Interstate to Marine Drive, around Kelley Point, and back via the Bluffs. 26.38 miles.

Time: 1 hour, 25 minutes!

Average speed: 17.8 mph (which, I should point out, included hitting damn near every light on Interstate)

HR: High. 165-174 for the really hard parts where I could open it up. And at all the little overpasses, I sprinted HARD. I mean, if it were a race, and I were breaking away and the other fugitives wanted to throw me to the wolves, that's where they'd do it. So, you know, when you're suffering, probably everyone else is, too. Just gotta learn to suffer more.

I'm a little zonked now. Dippy. Tomorrow, with Lawrence, we'll discover how well I recover. I'm sure I'll be fine. But it's gonna be early in the morning, so...

On Doping

Oregon-based pro Doug Ollerenshaw on the economic incentives to dope in the U.S. cycling scene:

"The point, though, is that here in the US at least, dopers are rare. Rare and sad. If someone feels the need to cheat in order to gain slightly more fame and no more money than a checker at Wal-Mart, all while wearing an uglier uniform, then I think the main emotion thatshould be collectively invoked for them is sympathy."

Nice.

Base - Endurance - 2006-10-12

Aerobic Hill Workout and... a New Back Wheel

Route: Up Lincoln to Mt. Tabor and then... my back hub blew up. Ball bearings everywhere. The cassette rattling around like crazy. My freewheel turned into a fixie, except nothing moved. Damn. The Black Bomber has been shot down.

HR: Stayed below 170 except for when I figured out what had happened. And I became very angry. Actually, when I realized it, you know what was weird? My HR dropped really low. Like into the 60s. Which, considering I'd just climbed Tabor, struck me as odd.

I dunno. Maybe it's a good thing. My legs were pretty dead. And tonight, I need to stretch.

Base - Endurance - 2006-10-11

First, a few links: Adventure Brew ideas at BS Brewing mmm. Pork. I can't wait for the Super Bowl. Bad bike lane idea. My comment on the matter. On to the ride: Aerobic + Flat Fixing Practice Route: Rode out by the Bluffs, then out on some N. Columbia Blvd. that took us out by Terminal 4. Lawrence flatted once, then twice. Bummer. Stupid rocks. Some jackass actually laughed out his window at us. Nice. Came home through St. John's and back along the Bluffs. It wasn't a hard ride, but I was starving by the time I got back. I hate that, because I feel like I'm in a hole the rest of the day when that happens. Time: 1:30 (not including flat changes) HR: Below 155 most of the time -- I'm using the ceiling feature on my HRM. Finally. It's annoying. I have to ratchet waaaaay back on climbs. My back is really sore today from the core stuff I did yesterday. I set up a massage appointment for Monday. My bum is pretty sore from the lunges and step-ups I did yesterday, too. *grumble*grumble* I hate getting old.

Base - Spins - 2006-10-10

Spins and Weights Aerobic spins through SE. A quick hour. I was having trouble not bouncing on my seat at about 120 RPM, which is weird. But more importantly, having ridden the Black Bomber more consistently than the Serrotta, I think the fit on the Serrotta's a little off. Seat's too low and tilted too far up, and the handlebars are too high. Annoying. Weights Lots and lots of sit-ups and lower back exercises. 20 minutes worth. Oof. Circuit of lifting 2 x 12 Reach-up lunges w/ 20 lbs. 2 x 12 Reach-down lunges w/ 10 lbs. 2 x 15 Step-ups w/ 30 lbs. 1 x 15 dead lifts w/ 20 lbs.

Base - Endurance - 2006-10-05

Aerobic Ride Went with Lawrence out on Williams/Vancouver -- which I've decided I hate b/c the timing of the lights there is The Suck -- out to St. Johns, then back on 30 and Yeon to Montgomery Park. Back on 19th-Everett-Broadway. Time: 1:15 HR: 130-155. Jammed up a little hill by Montgomery Park and went up to 172. Speed: ?? Probably not too fast -- the St. John's Bridge always slows me down because it's scary. And, frankly, I just wasn't hustling too much. Tomorrow's the last ride before the wedding weekend. *sigh* I can't wait to have more money to spend on food. We're broke, and we have no good food to bring to work. I ate like crap today because of it -- yesterday too -- and I feel blech. Garbage in, garbage out. Blurg. Gloob. Sploot.

F#&*%ing Soccer Moms

This post from Cleverchimp about a local farm near Portland getting the heave-ho to make room for a parking lot, dog run and ball field (astro turf, no less) in Lake Oswego makes me so angry I could barf.

"After all, the soccer moms and dog-walker lobbies are important constituencies in suburban Lake Oswego."

That said, no. We haven't begun to support a local CSA. Because we're utterly broke at the moment. But give us a month or two, and we're on it. Seriously. Grrr.

Zen at War

Or is it Taoism? Whatever. Anyway, learning the lessons of Iraq and other insurgencies, the Army and Marines have a new military doctrine (NYT, subscription req'd). Some choice quotes, thanks to the New York Times:

"The more force used, the less effective it is." "The more you protect your force, the less secure you are."

Apparently, our military will now make love, not war. Sweet.

Base - Stomps - 2006-10-04

Stomps Good hard warm up for 25 minutes. Got the HR up to 160s, 170s a couple of times. A couple of semi-stomps. 6 x 15 revolution stomps 5 minute recoveries. Time: 1:20 Route: Eh. Out and about in NE. Kinda on Vancouver. Somehow out by PIR. Eventually out on the Bluffs. Just wandering. Took me a while to get those stomps down. I definitely need to work on my form. I don't think I feel very confident doing that. I THINK that I could be more powerful than I'm allowing myself to be, but I feel really weird cranking that hard on my bike. Especially the Black Bomber with it's f***'d up back wheel. Stupid wheel. Anyway, I'm glad I warmed up hard. And I'm very glad I've been working on my hamstrings. Definitely felt those. I should've stretched. I'm gonna wish I'd stretched tomorrow. But I had a meeting I couldn't be late to, then tonight we went to some art thing and then went to Dave's house to bottle the newest beer. I'm a very busy man. And tomorrow, I'll probably be a very sore man. Maybe I'll be able to ride in early and stretch before work some. Or something like that. Dumb.

Wal-Mart's Liberal Makeover

Huh. Interesting article from AdAge about a well-connected Dem leading the image makeover for Wal-Mart. The question everyone seems to be asking is "do you believe?" However, I think the underlying question with Wal-Mart is still one of power: With so much selling power, do suppliers make unsustainable business decisions? And who pays for those decisions, ultimately? (A little background, including some bits about Hillary being on the board of Wal-Mart just prior to Bill's run for presidency.)

Oil and conspiracy theories

Hedge funds (read: rich, white, connected republicans) drove the price of oil up by buying like crazy. And now, just in time for the election, they're bringing it down to a kinder, gentler price. A price that unites, rather than divides. (from BusinessWeek)

Funny Old Guys

A guy in the locker room was telling this story about riding along the bike path and, randomly, looking over his shoulder. And there was a guy back there drafting off him. Said "ya coulda knocked me over with a feather." And another guy joked, "You know, one benefit of getting older is that it takes me a lot longer to react. And when I get startled, instead of panicking and crashing, I find the danger has usually already passed." Somehow the conversation then moved to "I want to grow old enough to..." There were a couple of good jokes but the best one was from a guy who's "older," but in such great shape that I seriously think he could whip me if he wanted. Anyway, he said he wants to get so old he has to think twice about buying green bananas. That's pretty damn funny.

Base - Endurance Hills - 2006-10-03

Council Crest

Went with Lawrence up Terwilliger to Capitol Hwy. to Cheltenham to Westview to Council Crest.

Time: 1 hour

HR: Below 165 the entire way. Really, it stayed below 160 for all but one little stretch.

Speed: Still no cyclocomputer on the Black Bomber. What can I say? We're broke. Maybe after the 15th.

I need to take it easy going down Vista. I nearly hit a parked car going around one corner a little hot. That'd be a stupid way to go. Also, I'm becoming increasingly freaked out about descending this winter. The brakes on the Black Bomber suck, and they're only gonna get worse in the wet. The more I think about it, the more I realize I NEED to save some money, and buy a cyclocross bike with disc brakes.

Lifted when I got back to the gym:

2 x 12 reach up lunges

2 x 12 reach down lunges

12 reps @ 20 lbs, 8 reps @ 30 lbs. dead lifts

45 sit ups, 30 russian twists, 20 sit ups, 12 reverse crunches (OW! OW! OW!)

work work work work

Work's pretty slow right now. It'll pick up tomorrow or the next day, I'm quite sure. Hence, all the entries.

So there's a person I know -- great personality, very funny, very smart -- and it's funny how she tries to get your attention. She'll talk to herself, out loud, and basically fish for people to interact with her.

"Gosh, I can't even hardly make out my x-rays!"

"These x-rays sure are funny looking."

"I don't even know what to look for on these x-rays!"

And finally, someone will throw themselves on the grenade. "So. Let's see the x-rays." And you're in.

And, again, she's a great person and a friend. It's just funny, that's all.

Base - Endurance - 2006-10-02

There's a few bike items I need to keep things moving along with the training. This list is just to help me organize and prioritize them. A shopping list, if you will.

Yellow wind vest. Or a Pink Veloshop one. Bike shorts (3 pair) Knee/leg warmers (1 pair) Jerseys (3) Cyclocomputer/HRM for Black Bomber Bar tape Rack Waterproof panniers Revive-X spray-on waterproof treatment (for my gloves)

Amanda needs a few things, too, depending on how much commuting she does by bike this winter.

Shoe covers Jerseys (2) Leg warmers (1 pair) Commuter bike w/ MTB pedals/shoes

I need to install lights on our bikes, too. The days keep getting shorter, dang it.

-------------

So yesterday, Amanda and I went for a ride in the morning. We were planning to meet up with some VeloShoppers to ride up to Alpenrose to watch the first Cross Crusade, but it was early, cold, and a Sunday morning, so everyone flaked. No biggie.

But it was such a brilliant morning. Very brisk, and the sun wasn't quite up yet, so there were lots of loooong shadows, which made the brief streaks of sunlight all the more welcome. And it was just kind of nice, you know? Blue shadows and red sunlight. Pedalling along at a good clip, sipping some steaming coffee outside of Stumptown, and just being happy that we were together.

I dunno. Just nice. We weren't out for long -- maybe an hour -- but it was perfect. Great way to end the weekend.

Base - Recovery - 2006-10-01

Recovery Ride Duration: 1 hour HR: didn't wear it. Speed: No cyclocomputer yet on the black bomber. Route: Across Hawthorne, north to Belmont. 20 minutes of coffee and freezing my butt off at Stumptown. Then south on 34th to Lincoln, to 26th to Sellwood. Cross through Sellwood and back on the Springwater Corridor. Ho-hum. Still a little sore from lifting. Was very tired all day. Considering a day off tomorrow, but I will be off Saturday and Sunday of next week, too, so... I dunno. Do I push through for five more straight days so I can take off two days next weekend? I'm tempted to. Maybe tomorrow is just another easy roll on the flats for an hour, plus some sit-ups. Or maybe tomorrow is just strength training, assuming I'm not sore. I dunno. I certainly didn't do much today, but then again, I did ride for an hour this morning (easy). *sigh* I hate it when I can't figure shtuff like this out. I think I'm gonna skip it tomorrow. C'mon. It's frickin' October. Chill, dude.