As I suspected, when I got up this morning I could feel that my legs and lungs were not recovered enough from yesterday's effort to do another ride. So, today became a rest day. I still feel like I'm getting back to where I was, when I was in the middle of riding on more days than I didn't ride, so I feel confident about getting the training where I need it to be for El Tour, and as a base, from which next season's training and racing can springboard.
In recognition of the need to migrate back into the cycling a bit more cautiously, I'm posting a more reasonable schedule for next week. It will incorporate some easy spinning on the recovery days, with some light weightlifting on two days (before spins). I do have two scheduled activities but should be able to cover those days as the recovery days with gym spinning and weightlifting days.
So, here's the schedule for next week's rides:
Monday:
Oro Valley/Rancho Vistoso short route
Approx. 18.29 miles
Tuesday:
Recovery day for ACLS teaching
Gym workout with light weightlifting and 1hour-ish of easy spinning (hr zone 2 only)
Wednesday:
Pantano River Park Sprint Intervals
Approx. 13.45 miles
Thursday:
Pistol Hill via Camino Loma Alta
Approx. 26.95 miles
Friday:
Recovery day for CE
Gym workout with light weightlifting and 1hour-ish of easy spinning (hr zone 2 only)
Saturday:
Broadway Bikes loop
Approx. 16.4 miles
27 October 2012
26 October 2012
Excess of ambition
I realized early yesterday that this week's schedule was too ambitious for just having come off of eight weeks of not riding due to injury and illness, and so I took yesterday as a rest day and moved that day's ride to today.
Which, it turns out, was a fantastic idea, because if I had done this ride yesterday I would be wiped out today (much as I am likely to be wiped out tomorrow, and may not be able to handle that ride ... I'll know more when I wake up tomorrow).
Today's ride, though rough as it was, still rocked hardcore. And I did change the route mid-stream; instead of taking Old Spanish Trail (OST) all the way to Pistol Hill RD (PH) and then turning back just after the crest of the hill, I elected to head southbound on Camino Loma Alta (CLA) past RVFD station #1 all the way down to Colossal Cave RD (a.k.a. Pistol Hill RD and other names), then head westbound up Pistol Hill the back way and back to OST.
I like this route, maybe better than taking OST all the way down. The route from OST to PH, once you get south of CLA, has several washes with steep descents and climbs, leading up to Pistol Hill proper. Because I'm not really in the kind of shape I would like to be in (or, soon will be), that extra climbing really wrecks my thighs before hitting Pistol Hill. Coming the other way, though ... CLA is a mostly uphill climb from OST, and the back side of Pistol Hill is a nice long climb.
I am wasted after that ride though. So I'm going to lie down and probably crash. Have a great Friday night everyone!
Which, it turns out, was a fantastic idea, because if I had done this ride yesterday I would be wiped out today (much as I am likely to be wiped out tomorrow, and may not be able to handle that ride ... I'll know more when I wake up tomorrow).
Today's ride, though rough as it was, still rocked hardcore. And I did change the route mid-stream; instead of taking Old Spanish Trail (OST) all the way to Pistol Hill RD (PH) and then turning back just after the crest of the hill, I elected to head southbound on Camino Loma Alta (CLA) past RVFD station #1 all the way down to Colossal Cave RD (a.k.a. Pistol Hill RD and other names), then head westbound up Pistol Hill the back way and back to OST.
I like this route, maybe better than taking OST all the way down. The route from OST to PH, once you get south of CLA, has several washes with steep descents and climbs, leading up to Pistol Hill proper. Because I'm not really in the kind of shape I would like to be in (or, soon will be), that extra climbing really wrecks my thighs before hitting Pistol Hill. Coming the other way, though ... CLA is a mostly uphill climb from OST, and the back side of Pistol Hill is a nice long climb.
I am wasted after that ride though. So I'm going to lie down and probably crash. Have a great Friday night everyone!
24 October 2012
24 OCT ride and notes
Since I had missed Tuesday's ride due to a forgotten item on my calendar, I needed to make up that ride and do it early enough to be able to make the beginning of ACLS New Provider, day 2.
It's definitely fall here in Southern Arizona, seeing that the ambient air temperature to start the morning, pre-dawn, was about 60 ° F, and dropped to 54 ° F where I passed through low-lying washes and riverbeds. Since I didn't realize it was fall yet, I hadn't bothered to put on or carry long leg covers or arm warmers, and I was flipping freezing for part of the ride.
But, it was still awesome. Even before the plumbers-crack of dawn.
I did the full ride as planned, got in all the distance I wanted, and got it done about four minutes faster than anticipated (I was moving about 0.3 mph faster than I planned. Go me!). Maybe because it was chilly! I've also decided that though I don't think I always want to have to get up that early to get in a ride, it's not a bad time to try. The route I took is very lightly traveled that time of morning, and since much of the route does not have street lamps, there's not much opportunity for me to sneak a peek too far ahead and get discouraged about how much hill there is left to climb.
So far, I haven't noticed any movement on the donation page for Brandon and Tu Nidito. I'm hoping that's because it's not quite payday yet! Remember that donations go to a great kid and a great cause!
It's definitely fall here in Southern Arizona, seeing that the ambient air temperature to start the morning, pre-dawn, was about 60 ° F, and dropped to 54 ° F where I passed through low-lying washes and riverbeds. Since I didn't realize it was fall yet, I hadn't bothered to put on or carry long leg covers or arm warmers, and I was flipping freezing for part of the ride.
But, it was still awesome. Even before the plumbers-crack of dawn.
I did the full ride as planned, got in all the distance I wanted, and got it done about four minutes faster than anticipated (I was moving about 0.3 mph faster than I planned. Go me!). Maybe because it was chilly! I've also decided that though I don't think I always want to have to get up that early to get in a ride, it's not a bad time to try. The route I took is very lightly traveled that time of morning, and since much of the route does not have street lamps, there's not much opportunity for me to sneak a peek too far ahead and get discouraged about how much hill there is left to climb.
So far, I haven't noticed any movement on the donation page for Brandon and Tu Nidito. I'm hoping that's because it's not quite payday yet! Remember that donations go to a great kid and a great cause!
23 October 2012
Slight shift
I had scheduled myself to help teach an ACLS New Provider class today and tomorrow, and forgot until I woke up today, so I was unable to get my morning ride in as planned. Instead, I made today a rest day, took out the rest day scheduled for Thursday, and moved today's ride to Wednesday and Wednesday's ride to Thursday.
I did my Monday ride as scheduled, mostly, with one slight modification: instead of backtracking eastbound on Moore RD all the way back to Rancho Vistoso, and then taking Rancho Vistoso south to Tangerine before turning around, I detoured onto Woodburne AVE. It shortened the ride by about 0.85 miles, but it allowed me to take a road I've never ridden on a bike and allowed me to ride right past Golder Ranch Fire District station 375, which was also nice. It looked like the guys were all inside doing a CE or some kind of training so I didn't disturb them, but it was cool to ride up to the station.
I felt pretty good during the ride overall. I am still pretty heavy, so climbing is still really my biggest weakness on the bike, though overall power and aerobic endurance are pretty poor right now as well (mostly due to my having had to miss two months of riding due to my back). Even on the climbs, however, I didn't really blow up my heartrate like I thought I might. I think I popped into HR zone 6 (anaerobic threshold, for the unaware) once or twice, but not for more than a few seconds at at time. Since I was trying to stay out of my anaerobic threshold, that's a good thing.
I really do enjoy biking up in Oro Valley, although I don't ride along Oracle RD. Ranch Vistoso has generous bike lanes, as does much of Moore RD. Rancho Vistoso is also not terribly jammed with traffic (at least, not at the times I'm on it), and in the places where Moore RD does not have a bike lane, it's very lightly traveled (again, at the times that I'm usually on it). The scenery is amazing, especially when you are heading back down Rancho Vistoso eastbound from the Sun City BLVD area.
Tomorrow, going to swing around on my Broadway Bikes loop route. Until then, good night!
I did my Monday ride as scheduled, mostly, with one slight modification: instead of backtracking eastbound on Moore RD all the way back to Rancho Vistoso, and then taking Rancho Vistoso south to Tangerine before turning around, I detoured onto Woodburne AVE. It shortened the ride by about 0.85 miles, but it allowed me to take a road I've never ridden on a bike and allowed me to ride right past Golder Ranch Fire District station 375, which was also nice. It looked like the guys were all inside doing a CE or some kind of training so I didn't disturb them, but it was cool to ride up to the station.
I felt pretty good during the ride overall. I am still pretty heavy, so climbing is still really my biggest weakness on the bike, though overall power and aerobic endurance are pretty poor right now as well (mostly due to my having had to miss two months of riding due to my back). Even on the climbs, however, I didn't really blow up my heartrate like I thought I might. I think I popped into HR zone 6 (anaerobic threshold, for the unaware) once or twice, but not for more than a few seconds at at time. Since I was trying to stay out of my anaerobic threshold, that's a good thing.
I really do enjoy biking up in Oro Valley, although I don't ride along Oracle RD. Ranch Vistoso has generous bike lanes, as does much of Moore RD. Rancho Vistoso is also not terribly jammed with traffic (at least, not at the times I'm on it), and in the places where Moore RD does not have a bike lane, it's very lightly traveled (again, at the times that I'm usually on it). The scenery is amazing, especially when you are heading back down Rancho Vistoso eastbound from the Sun City BLVD area.
Tomorrow, going to swing around on my Broadway Bikes loop route. Until then, good night!
20 October 2012
20 OCT training ride listing
For Monday:
Oro Valley/Rancho Vistoso short route (just over 18 miles)
For Tuesday:
Broadway Bike Shop loop route (just about 16.5 miles)
For Wednesday:
Escalante to Old Spanish Trail to Pistol Hill out-and-back (about 27.5 miles)
For Friday:
Escalante to Old Spanish Trail to Pistol Hill and back to Broadway Bike Shop loop (just over 39.5 miles)
For Saturday:
Broadway Bike Shop loop route (just about 16.5 miles)
If you're interested in pledging for a ride, just leave a comment below, or send me an e-mail, or head to the donation page! GPS links from completed rides will show up on the Strava sidebar, and I'll also be posting small blog entries when I complete a ride.
Thanks again for all your help!
Oro Valley/Rancho Vistoso short route (just over 18 miles)
For Tuesday:
Broadway Bike Shop loop route (just about 16.5 miles)
For Wednesday:
Escalante to Old Spanish Trail to Pistol Hill out-and-back (about 27.5 miles)
For Friday:
Escalante to Old Spanish Trail to Pistol Hill and back to Broadway Bike Shop loop (just over 39.5 miles)
For Saturday:
Broadway Bike Shop loop route (just about 16.5 miles)
If you're interested in pledging for a ride, just leave a comment below, or send me an e-mail, or head to the donation page! GPS links from completed rides will show up on the Strava sidebar, and I'll also be posting small blog entries when I complete a ride.
Thanks again for all your help!
el Tour de Tucson, and Tu Nidito
I'm signed up with Tu Nidito, a non-profit organization here in Tucson that provides support to children affected by serious medical conditions and to their families, to "Ride for a Child" in El Tour de Tucson on 17 November 2012.
Now, what that means is that Tu Nidito has registered my name for el Tour, in exchange for me fund-raising for one of the kids in their program. I have to raise $500 total by the middle of November, so that I can ride!
I'm paired with Brandon, a 16 year old boy with rhabdomyosarcoma (a cancer of connective tissue). The money I raise helps fund his therapy, the treatments, and the family support as well. He's an active kid, builds model planes, and is really a good young role model for the community.
I'm signed up for the 42-mile Tour, starting at the Savonti Aventis facility in Oro Valley, and heading generally down Tangerine to Silverbell and downtown from there. It'll be a good ride, and it's for a great cause.
But it can't happen without the donations. I have been able to get a few, but it's crunch time and so I'm making a plea to my friends, co-workers, family, and compatriots. A plea and a deal. A plea deal, if you'd like !
Here's the plea: please donate on the donation page, to help Brandon continue treatment, and to allow me to ride in el Tour.
Here's the deal. I'm going to put up a blog post each Saturday until November 10th listing my planned training rides, routes, and estimated distances. I propose that if you're interested in donating, to pledge to donate $1/mile for a given training ride (this also keeps me honest about doing the rides!), with a minimum of $10 (no training route is less than 10 miles) and a maximum of $50 (I don't plan any rides longer than this ... even if I manage to go through a long ride, and it ends up being more than 50 miles, I think capping it is fair to you if you pledge). If you wish, you can leave a comment on the ride you'd like to pledge, or send me an e-mail, or just donate anonymously on the donation page.
Thanks to everyone in advance for all your help!
Now, what that means is that Tu Nidito has registered my name for el Tour, in exchange for me fund-raising for one of the kids in their program. I have to raise $500 total by the middle of November, so that I can ride!
I'm paired with Brandon, a 16 year old boy with rhabdomyosarcoma (a cancer of connective tissue). The money I raise helps fund his therapy, the treatments, and the family support as well. He's an active kid, builds model planes, and is really a good young role model for the community.
I'm signed up for the 42-mile Tour, starting at the Savonti Aventis facility in Oro Valley, and heading generally down Tangerine to Silverbell and downtown from there. It'll be a good ride, and it's for a great cause.
But it can't happen without the donations. I have been able to get a few, but it's crunch time and so I'm making a plea to my friends, co-workers, family, and compatriots. A plea and a deal. A plea deal, if you'd like !
Here's the plea: please donate on the donation page, to help Brandon continue treatment, and to allow me to ride in el Tour.
Here's the deal. I'm going to put up a blog post each Saturday until November 10th listing my planned training rides, routes, and estimated distances. I propose that if you're interested in donating, to pledge to donate $1/mile for a given training ride (this also keeps me honest about doing the rides!), with a minimum of $10 (no training route is less than 10 miles) and a maximum of $50 (I don't plan any rides longer than this ... even if I manage to go through a long ride, and it ends up being more than 50 miles, I think capping it is fair to you if you pledge). If you wish, you can leave a comment on the ride you'd like to pledge, or send me an e-mail, or just donate anonymously on the donation page.
Thanks to everyone in advance for all your help!
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