A FIRST FOR THE YEAR AND A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE

This weekend marked the first time this year I have been outside on the bike.  After 11 weeks and countless hours on the trainer I just couldn't take it anymore and was bound and determined that my two hour ride Saturday was NOT going to be spent watching those damn penguins from Madagascar.  Not that I don't like them but I can only take so much.  Kerry was feeling the same sense of dread over yet another trainer ride so we hit the road together at 7AM Saturday.  It wasn't exactly balmy....a mere 44 degrees.  On a bike that is chilly.  I had
on from top to bottom...helmet, pullover hat, short sleeve shirt, long sleeve shirt, jacket, gloves (with hand warmers stuck in them), bike shorts, tights, socks, bike shoes and booties over my shoes.  See below


I felt a bit like the little kid in "A Christmas Story" with all the layers on

Riding in the warm weather is far easier in the clothing department.  By the way...did you notice the tennis ball, foam roller and stick on the floor.  I wasn't kidding when I said they are always there.  Anyhow  the ride went well with many good things.  First I wasn't freezing and did not lose feeling in any body parts.  Second I had no feeling of apprehension when I started riding like I had last summer after the accident. Third my wheel didn't fall off.  The only reason I say that is in order to switch from trainer riding to road riding I must remove my bike from the trainer, take off my back wheel, let the air out of the tube, remove tube, remove the trainer tire, put on road tire, reinflate tube and put wheel back on bike.  Seeing as how I am mechanically compromised this is a big deal for me.  I executed everything in a timely manner except getting the wheel back on.  It would be much easier if I had a bike stand but I don't so Quinn had to help.  This was only the first attempt of the season for this so I was happy.  My ride was supposed to be done at 65-75% of FTP.  For me this would be an average of no more than 120 WATTS.  Since it was the first ride out I decided I was just going to ride like I always ride and see how I felt.  As I suspected I have a tendency to ride far too hard which is why my legs want to fall off when I try to run after biking.  I ended up averaging 135 WATTS.  Oops my bad.  There are two kinds of bikers...spinner and mashers.  Spinners prefer an easier gear and pedal faster.  Masher like a bit harder gear and pedal slower.  I am a masher.  I need to become more of a spinner because mashing during a race is like riding and doing leg presses all at the same time.  Not good for that whole "Oh crap...I have to run a marathon now thing".  I will learn.  The one bad thing about the ride was my stupid *&@##% freakin powermeter.  It decided 52 minutes into the ride that it had had enough.  Memory full.  Really??????  How about a little advance notice?  Like WARNING WARNING memory is getting full please delete files WARNING WARNING.  I don't think that is too much to ask for.  In all honesty I didn't even know that could happen.  I thought the damn thing would just write over the oldest file when it filled up like a few of my other devices.  Lesson learned.  So I only had 52 mins of data to send to Jeff which considering I rode too fast isn't such a bad thing but I am sure he got the point from the data he had. So after my 9 hour recovery week of training I am back up to 13 hrs and no days off this week.  Even better the weekend has a 3 hr bike Saturday and a 14 mile run Sunday in store for me.  OUCH.  If you think this is bad look into my crystal ball.

  My coach does a training camp in Lake Placid about a month before the race.  I got the details last week and it will include a 13.1 mile run Friday afternoon, 112 mile bike Saturday followed by a 4-8 mile run and a 1.2 mile swim Sunday.  How's that for volume.  More on the camp later but those are the kinds of hours I will be putting in the last 10 weeks of training. One more thing before I sign off....it is now time for me to work on getting into race shape.  Yes I am in good shape but I am a few pounds over my usual weight and about 5lbs over my race weight.  Since I will have to carry every extra pound up and down countless hills on race day and attempt to squeeze them into a wetsuit I need to make it as easy as possible on my body so I need to buckle down and watch what I am eating a little better.  I eat insanely healthy for the most part but lately have been slacking a bit.  I made a little sign to put on my fridge which will serve as a reminder of what I am trying to do and why.