Lovely weather

I must admit, though I do dislike this city, being able to ride without arm/leg warmers on the day after Christmas is just wonderful. It was a perfect 70 degrees today. Anyway, I’ve been missing my weekend workouts to be with the family, but have still managed to put in my shorter (mostly 2-3hr) weekday rides. At the minimum, I get in the intervals that I have scheduled.

Next month should be pretty exciting. I’ve got my new bike coming in, training camp, and my first race of the season. We’ll see how it goes.

Riverside Update

Well, I’m mostly back on track when it comes to the training plan. It’s a bit tough getting the workouts in here because there are so many stop signs and lights, but I’m doing my best. I’ve been looking for a good hill to do repeats on (long, steady grade with little traffic) and I think I’ve found the best option around here. It’s got an average grade of about 8% and I think it’s around 2 miles long. Honestly, it’s a little too steep but I think it’s all I can hope for. I’m still doing a little under my planned training hours, but for the holidays, I think it’s acceptable. I just really need to commit when I get back to school… slacking off won’t pay off in the long run.

Oh, and come on… it’s the holiday season and people are still trying to run me off the road? Agh..

Rough Week, Missed Workouts

Well, up until last week I’d managed to miss very few workouts and had consistently put in lots of hours.  Unfortunately, the stress of finals hit pretty hard and I missed most of the workouts for last week.  I tried to go out and ride, but I had some serious mental fatigue and didn’t feel like it was a good idea.  I’m feeling much better now and will try to get back onto the plan.  I hope it won’t be too much of a problem, but I really don’t think I could have handled it any other way.  We’ll see… I guess life just has to interfere sometimes.

Goals Review

I figure this is a good time to review the original goals I set on this site at the end of last summer…

Short Term

•  Allow recovery from the racing season: Achieved. I was pretty spent after this summer and recovered well. However, originally, I only stayed off the bike completely for one week. After getting back on the bike again, I realized I needed another week of completely recovery. Next time I’ll take 2 full weeks off.
• Maintain fitness: Achieved.
• Maintain or reduce weight: Achieved. I think my body has settled into a weight of 130-135lbs.

Long Term

• Eat Healthier: Achieving. I now eat a substantial breakfast and avoid processed foods.
• Drop down to 130lbs: Re-evaluating. I don’t know if this is the optimal weight for my body, so I’m going to see where heavy training and eating right takes me. A healthy weight is the real goal here.
• Build strength in the weight room: Achieving. I’m at the gym twice per week and am feeling the benefits. I get less leg/knee soreness after hard rides now.
• Focus on climbing preparation: Achieving. I’m getting out to the hills regularly.
• Become competitive in Cat 4 (Top 10): We’ll see! First race will be next month.

I’m pretty happy about these results. Yeah, they’re all sort of subjective, but they were attainable goals aimed to improve my fitness in the long run. I’ll be changing them up now that serious training has begun.

Oh, the weather sucks.  It’s just too rainy/cold/windy this weekend to get in a decent long ride.  I’ve gotten the intervals in for this week, but my mileage is pretty low.  Oh well..

Winter Update

This is my first month of the year with a training plan and I’ve been able to follow it pretty well except for over Thanksgiving. I’m looking at 13-14 hrs/week average right now and I’m feeling pretty good. Unlike last year, I’m doing pretty well when it comes to recovery. After Sunday rides (6 days of riding) I feel cooked, but taking Monday off has me ready to go again. My nutrition has improved as well. I can’t wait for race rides to start — I’m definitely optimistic for this season.