Blog Archives

Endurace Block 2 is in the books!

1/27/2019

With some of the interruptions over the holidays to the training, I replanned the first two weeks of the Race Block to be more Endurance... sort of a addendum to Endurance Block 2. The first week was a bit of a bust, I missed Saturday completely, just did not feel like sitting on the bike for 8+ hours, and just stayed home. So I didn't. Somedays are like that. The next day I got in a ride around Park Link, 78 miles. Six months ago, this would have seemed like a long ride, now it seems like not much at all. This week, I got the wheels back on. My mood improved as the new RAW 2019 custom jerseys came in, Light & Motion offered to support me with discounted lighting, and I'm likely to be adding a charity partner for RAW 2019 supporting cause Cathy and I both feel passionately about. Uplifted by all of this, I finished up the block with back to back 7-8 hour rides, the first with 6400 ft of climbing, and the second with 5.5 hours of headwinds. It was a 503 mile/29 hour week of training. I'm tired.

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The Edge Update

1/24/2019

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I'm finally catching up on the Blog after a very busy week of work, training, and preparing for RAW. Lots has happened. The RAW/RAAM organization has all the 2019 information out, so there are updated routes, rule book, and the "Gear Book" to review. We have scheduled the required bike, wheel, and vehicle inspections in Oceanside, and the racer and crew pictures. The custom race and training jerseys for RAW arrived too. Look for more on the Blog about planning and preparation, the the story behind the "Yellow Guy" kit soon.

During our observing run, Edge Integrative Wellness and Maria hosted a New Year's Resolution Party to welcome folks to her recently remodeled offices. We had planned on updating my body composition analysis at the party. I really wanted to make the party, even with a 27 hour day, observing to sunrise the previous night, and only 2 hours of sleep. I also came down the mountain the following day for that spectacular ride through Arivaca AZ.

The trip the Edge well worth it. Cathy met me there (I was staying up at the summit of Mt. Hopkins in the dorms during the observing), and she got a free body composition analysis on the Inbody as well. She is also pretty lean, and the Inbody even picked up on her slight asymmetry between her two legs. It's a really impressive diagnostic tool. See the pictures and videos below!

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Progress and Reflections on Endurance Block 2

1/6/2019

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Finally, this week is a consolidation week in the training schedule--a time where I take a break from the back-to-back long rides, let the body consolidate the hard earned gains from over 1500 miles of riding over the last four weeks. Overall, it was a good training block, but the realities of holidays, family visits, and observing (in real life, I'm an astronomer), created some adjustments and compromises in the training plan. We also had an unusual dose of winter weather in Tucson, leaving snow in the foothills.

One of the advantages of being a self-coached athlete is that the plan can be much more dynamic, with weekly and monthly goals, and easily adjustment day to day. The challenge is maintaining the discipline and the objective independent assessment of progress, plans, and goals that a coach provides. Being self coached leaves the athlete with two roles. I've made a couple of adjustments going forward... adding two more weeks of endurance to work the long rides up to 10 hours, dropped the early season criteriums, and adding a third stage race, the Tucson Bicycle Classic, to the upcoming race block.

Over these four weeks, I was hoping for three big double back-to-back rides, with the longest finally breaking the 8 hour barrier. The progression beyond 8 hours provided difficult, not because of endurance, but time. There is only about 10 hours of daylight right now, and an 8 hour ride takes about 9 hours on the road. Literally, it turns rides into a sunrise to sunset endeavor. The Kitt Peak ride ended at sunset, so 7:45 was all I had time for. The final ride of the block finally reached the 8 hour point, but an unexpected second winter storm turned the final double weekend into two back-to-back 4 hour rides at a pretty good pace, followed by the 8 hour. I was encouraged that 8 hours was straightforward, even with the two 4 hour rides in my legs.

Looking at the training plan and the adjustments, what I find most remarkable is how short 152 days really is (as I type, there are 152 days left to RAW 2019). Racing starts... five racing days in five weeks. Then there is 8 weeks of "ultra-endurance". Then Tour of the Gila, then three weeks of final training, packing, preparing, planning, meeting with crew, then we head to California! It's really not much time...