tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7645231593973296282024-03-12T21:52:00.411-04:00Cycling with ScottMusings Along My Cycling JourneyScotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106063214946474393noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-764523159397329628.post-18918306609957967332014-02-07T08:00:00.001-05:002014-02-07T08:00:15.330-05:00Mosquito Lagoon 300k Brevet<span class="workout-distance">191.1 <span class="workout-distance-units">mi</span></span> <span class="workout-time">11:48</span> <span class="workout-pace">16.2mph pace</span> <br />
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6:00am start. 64 degrees, calm and foggy with very limited
visibility. Ready to roll on my first 300k Brevet.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This doesn't begin to show how foggy it was</td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.strava.com/activities/110504230" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.strava.com/activities/110504230</a></div>
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I decided to drive over late the night before the ride. I left my house at
9:00 and arrived at the hotel in Melbourne, Florida a little after 1:00. I found
a fast food restaurant still open so I went in to use the restroom. I then
returned to the hotel where the ride would start. I pulled in the back parking
lot to try to get some sleep in the car. (The hotel was booked by the time I
registered to ride.) </div>
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It took me awhile to get comfortable but I did manage to get a little sleep
before my 4:30 alarm got me moving. A little car camping never hurt anyone,
right? :-) Since I was in a very remote section of the parking lot, I changed in
the car and got myself ready for the ride. I tried to get the latest weather
forecast but I couldn't find anything local. The earlier forecast said it was to
be very foggy (and it was), low 60's (and it was) with temps climbing to the low
80's. The fog wouldn't clear until mid-morning. So, arm sleeves and short
sleeves should do it. </div>
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I got myself ready to go, loaded my pockets with the food I thought I would
need/want, back up batteries, and 3 back up power sticks for my iPhone and/or
lights. I rode the 150 meters to the lobby of the hotel and I was already wet.
Amazing. Riding in the clouds. A quick registration and a bathroom stop. Ready
to ride.</div>
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After some last minute instructions, the ride started promptly at 6:00am. I
saw a few people who I knew were part of the group I wanted to ride with. They
were all behind me though so I couldn't really settle in with them before the
ride. It was very dark with extremely low visibility. Error number one. I didn't
have a chance of reading my cue sheet. Fortunately, I could just follow other
riders. I loved this. There were about 45 riders weaving their way out of town
with lights galore. It was dark but there is no way a driver couldn't see us. </div>
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We wound our way through some of the downtown streets working our way out of
town. Very quickly we were heading west, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. It
was so dark. It was so foggy. A group of riders ahead of me were moving at
20mph+. I wasn't going to be able to stay with them. The group I wanted to ride
with was riding along at 18mph. Once the "fast guys" rode off into the fog, I
found myself in the lead. It was a very long straight away so kept the lead and
held the 18mph pace. I kept checking behind me to make sure the others were
there. All I could verify is that there were at least 2 riders behind me. I
couldn't tell who they were though. Even though I couldn't read my cue sheet
yet, I kept the lead since there were no opportunities to turn off this road. </div>
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It was really cool riding along in the darkness with that heavy fog. I was
soaked to the bone as if it was raining. I was dressed perfectly though. I was
quite comfortable with my choice of arm sleeves. I couldn't read my speedometer
unless I passed under one of the rare street lights. I couldn't read my odometer
at all. A group of 3 recumbent riders passed me. I was glad to see them go by
hoping they would show me my first turn. It wasn't long before their tail lights
disappeared in the fog. So that plan didn't work.</div>
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I slowed down a bit to encourage one of the riders behind me to take the
lead. After 1/2 mile or so, one of them finally came by. I told him I couldn't
read my cue sheet and didn't know where the turn was. He was okay with that. We
were quickly back up to 18mph and I was feeling a little more relaxed since I
didn't have to worry about missing the turn. </div>
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We eventually got to our turn. The roads were very wet ... and slippery. I
slowed to take the turn very cautiously since it was wet and I couldn't really
see too far down the road. It was very dark and virtually nothing around. It
turned out, the group of riders I wanted to ride with were behind me the whole
time. There were dozen of us riding in this group. Good stuff. We now had a
chance to ride side-by-side and chat a bit. I was feeling pretty good about the
group at that point.</div>
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I had 2 concerns early on. First, my knees were feeling the niggles I
normally don't feel except when I've done a hard workout. They didn't really
hurt but with most of the ride ahead of me, it was reason for pause. The second
concern was my bum. I have had more discomfort over the last week than I
normally have ... ever! From the very start of every ride, I have been so tender
in that area that it has made even short rides challenging. I was already
uncomfortable. I had a lot of miles to go for this problem already. All I could
do was hope for the best.</div>
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Dawn was breaking, or at least it was trying to. With the heavy fog, it
wasn't getting all that bright. But I was able to read my cue sheet and my
speedometer/odometer. </div>
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Even though I knew a few people in our current group, I really wasn’t sure
who all was there. I was either co-pulling or riding in the second position for
quite some time. There was a lot of conversation behind me but I only recognized
one of the voices. He is a guy I met during the 200km ride last month. Good guy
and fun to ride with. But I did not recognize the others. We hadn’t ridden 20
miles yet so plenty of time to meet them. </div>
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Now that it was light, it was an incredible morning. The heavy fog was still
with us but we could see some of our surroundings. There wasn’t much there
except for the beauty of rural, central Florida. I don’t think I will ever get
tired of seeing all the very cool birds you see here. Many of them are quite
large (relatively speaking) and it’s very easy to get a good view of them, even
while riding along at a nice pace. </div>
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At 30 miles into the ride, we hit our first “hidden” control. The first
published control wasn’t until mile 60 but it was nice to get a bit of a break
here. We had our Brevet cards signed and a chance to refill our water bottles.
This was also a good chance to see who was in our group. I introduced myself to
one woman I didn’t know and she said she wasn’t riding with us. She lived nearby
and just wanted to cheer on the riders with one of her friends. I thought that
was really cool. I did get to meet others. At this point, there were 10 riders
in our group. I met 3 of the others during the 200km so I felt like I already
kind of knew them. Very cool. </div>
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Soon, we were on our way again. I was surprised at our pace, still hovering
around 18mph. This was faster than our pace during the 200km so I wasn’t so sure
this was manageable for the whole ride. It was a flat route though so I was
willing to give it a go. Around 40 miles in, one of our group had a blowout.
Amazing really. He was the last in our peloton of 10. How is it possible 9
riders passed by unscathed and the last rider in the group hit the debris?!</div>
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After our little break, we got going again. I was still amazed at how rural
our route was. Very little traffic and almost nothing else. Not long after our
restart, we passed 2 large birds that I didn’t expect to see … even in Florida.
We saw 2 ostriches right up by the road. They looked at us with a curiosity that
said we were the oddity. On second thought, maybe they were right. At 50 miles,
we were only 20 miles or so from Orlando. You’d never know it based on our
surroundings. Very cool.</div>
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We continued our ride north to the first, published control at 60 miles. This
was a nice little, very old fashioned convenience store. The clerks were armed
with a stamp and willingness to sign, stamp and not the time on our Brevet
cards. Just to be sure, we also each made a purchase so that we would have a
receipt to turn in with our cards. They also didn’t mind our using their
restroom. I love how the people working in these stores just take this little
blitz in stride. Very cool. It’s also worth noting here that my knee discomfort
was gone. My knees felt perfectly fine. Odd how these things work. </div>
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A little confusion as we set out again but we quickly got our bearings. For
the first time on the ride, traffic was actually getting a little heavy. Road
construction didn’t make things any easier. We had a very narrow shoulder to use
with many areas of debris. Fortunately, the drivers were very respectful as they
passed us. I think riding in a group helped a lot. It wasn’t long before we were
through this area and onto our next official control. This was a post card
control where we had to take a post card given to us at the start, sign and time
it before dropping it in the mail. No one was there and there were no services
to be had. That was okay though since we had stopped less than 25 miles earlier. </div>
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Once again, it was a little tricky getting out of town on the right route. We
did manage though. We were finally heading east and a little north to our next
control, 30 miles away. Very quickly the traffic disappeared and we were back to
nature. This stretch took us through the Hickory Bluff Nature Preserve.
Beautifully paved roads took us through some beautiful Florida wilderness. An
osprey passed about 20 feet overhead with his fresh catch of the day. I love
seeing them so close. There were many other birds, most unknown to me. There
were lots of ponds, a lake and lots of streams and wetlands too. One unexpected
sight was a secure radar installation in support of Cape Canaveral. It seemed
very much out of place here but there it was.</div>
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The traffic was so light that we were able to ride in 2 columns. It was great
to be able to talk to the others as we pedaled along. Out of nowhere, an eagle
passed overhead. I couldn’t tell you what kind of eagle though. I really need to
study up on this stuff a little more. We passed under route 95, a major
north/south highway running along the entire east coast of the United States.
Even here, not much of anything to see. There was no exit off the highway so
there were no stores, gas stations, etc. around. Just a whole bunch of nature.
Nice! </div>
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We finally hit our furthest point north on this route and our next control.
110 miles in and the day had turned into a beautiful sunny day with temperatures
in the low 80’s. This was an info control so there was nothing here except a
RUSA sign with some stickers. We had to take a sticker and place it in the
appropriate place in our Brevet card and write down the time. Just a very quick
stop since we had lunch waiting for us only 5 miles up the road. </div>
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We pulled into the next control where they had a great lunch waiting. Lentil
soup and/or turkey soup. I thought it was an odd choice but I’m here to tell
you, the turkey soup was fantastic and really hit the spot! Plenty of other
great stuff to offer too. A bit of an extended stop here to enjoy all the
goodies. We were in a park with picnic tables, shade, restrooms, etc. There was
a lot of activity there other than us. I love seeing people taking advantage of
public spaces like this.</div>
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It had warmed up and cleared up enough by now that most of us removed our
reflective vests and in my case, I took off my sleeves preferring the short
sleeves of my jersey. It was comfortably warm and not really hot. There was a
nice ocean breeze so it helped keep the temps very comfortable. We took off and
my speedometer/odometer stopped working. Ugh! It was frustrating not knowing how
far we had to the next turn or landmark. I still had my Strava application
running on my iPhone, but that was in my pocket and not all that accessible
while riding. Oh well. That’s what these Brevets are all about. Putting up with
whatever the ride throws at you. </div>
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As we were approaching the Canaveral National Seashore, another flat for one
of our riders. What bad luck. The same guy that had the blowout earlier had a
flat. We pulled off so that he could deal with the issue. This time, his tired
was shredded pretty good. It might have survived the rest of the trip but one of
the guys in the group had a spare tire. He gave it to the cyclist in need so we
all felt a lot better about the remainder of the ride. I spent most of the time
trying to get my speedometer going. No luck. I did discover that what I thought
was telling me was a full battery was probably telling me it was a dead battery.
Oh well. That’s the way it is.</div>
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We got back on the road and continued our ride heading south along the water.
What a beautiful place to ride. Riding along the Merritt Island National
Wildlife Refuge on one side and the Canaveral National Seashore on the other was
such a treat. Beautifully paved roads, little traffic and lovely scenery. We
were riding alongside Mosquito Lagoon, the namesake of this ride. Very cool.
Soon we were heading over the causeway taking us into Titusville. </div>
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140 miles into the ride, I decided this was a great time to test out my legs.
I decided to ride hard to the top of the causeway. I had 2 reasons for this.
First, I wanted to test my legs. Secondly and perhaps more importantly, I had to
stand as much as possible. All last week, I had some terrible discomfort where I
meet the saddle. It wasn’t just sore, it was really uncomfortable from the
moment I started a ride through the end. Not a great way to start a 300km ride
but it’s what I had to work with. At this point, the discomfort was getting
almost unbearable. I was standing a lot. I would stand, coast, pedal while
standing, etc. Anything to try to feel better. When I would sit down again, I
was very careful to try to find a comfortable way to sit down. It wasn’t really
working. Ugh.</div>
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The ride up the bridge was easy. I got to the top and coasted down. This gave
me the opportunity to stand all the way down the bridge. Heaven on earth! The
last 45 miles might be tough. 20 more miles to the next control. On we rode. We
were riding through some beautiful areas with nice homes, nice neighborhoods and
nice views. Since we weren’t on the main roads, we didn’t have much traffic
either. Oddly, my speedometer began working again. I was able to figure out how
many miles I missed so now I could track where we were on the cue sheet a lot
easier. That helped a lot. Our pace had slowed significantly as a couple of our
riders were struggling. They were hanging in there but clearly it was not so
much fun for them at this point. I decided this was a great opportunity to lend
a little moral support. I spent a little time next to each of them encouraging
them and letting them know how great they were doing. I think the biggest
support I gave them was just a little distraction from watching the miles go by.
It helped me too. They were doing great, really. </div>
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We approached our next causeway. Several miles before we were there, lots of
complaints about the “hill”. I tried to get everyone thinking positively about
this. “Just think about how much fun the downhill will be”. “Just grab onto my
wheel” and anything else I could think of that I thought might help. </div>
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We hit the causeway and the pace dropped to next to nothing. I jumped into
the lead and rode up the hill with ease. I really wasn’t pushing at all. I was
pretty happy about how strong my legs felt. (My bum on the other hand was
another story.) After cresting the top of the bridge, I coasted down the other
side. I let my momentum take me to the left turn where I stopped to wait for the
others. As I turned around, I saw the next rider just cresting the top of the
bridge. I guess my legs still remember a little bit about riding those Vermont
hills. Side note: I was by far the strongest rider on the hills in our group. In
Vermont, I am almost always the weakest climbing. Funny how that works. </div>
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After most of our group got to the bottom, we crossed the road and waited for
the last few riders before pulling into the next (and last) control. They were
nowhere to be seen. Hmmm. I decided to ride back up to make sure they were okay.
Just as I started to cross the highway again, I saw the 3 missing riders coming.
One of the riders struggling earlier had a really tough time climbing. She was
fine, just slow. I was glad for her sake that we had a control to give all of us
some rest. </div>
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160.5 miles done. Except for my bum, I was feeling pretty good. We took care
of business getting out cards signed and stamped. I bought more to drink and
used the rest room. We took a little bit of a break here waiting for the
struggling riders to let us know when they were ready to ride. My feet were
starting to feel like they were getting cramps but not bad. In hind sight, I
should have taken off my shoes and readjusted them. My feet were swollen some
which is what I think was causing the problem. My toes were also a bit sore, as
if my shoes were a bit too small. Again, I think a little time with my shoes off
would have helped. </div>
<div class="entry-description">
</div>
<div class="entry-description">
It was getting dark again so I donned my sleeves and reflective vest and got
my lights going. Ready to go, we were soon on our way. We had an incredible view
of Cape Canaveral. We could clearly see the NASA buildings and the launch pad
from our spot across the water. What a great place this would be to watch a
launch. Too bad they aren’t doing that here anymore. </div>
<div class="entry-description">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKA0KfHQd3dMTA3eEHUmCGJyle_JEoteQe-H-3yUTkkJjM-afH69Rx6i_YYma5maNgnEas_8r33MeGx5tPLn2dA4MUH8km-IBMvyak5moPSnwWQ4GHYM5aMTORFPCNNysyDkn6iOxGax5d/s1600/300+-+NASA+Building.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKA0KfHQd3dMTA3eEHUmCGJyle_JEoteQe-H-3yUTkkJjM-afH69Rx6i_YYma5maNgnEas_8r33MeGx5tPLn2dA4MUH8km-IBMvyak5moPSnwWQ4GHYM5aMTORFPCNNysyDkn6iOxGax5d/s1600/300+-+NASA+Building.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="entry-description">
</div>
<div class="entry-description">
</div>
<div class="entry-description">
It was pretty dark now but we all had good lights and we were traveling in a
group. Most drivers were very respectful of our space and we had no real issues
as the miles passed by. One more causeway to cross and then the last couple of
winding miles home. Easy peasy. We got back to the hotel and checked in for our
final control. 300km done! In fact, I logged 191 miles for this ride. By far, my
longest ride to date.</div>
<div class="entry-description">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlS9Lrx1Efpv8flg3Ou66MylYA10bRPc_vGy_Aa00MFFhxpb0u7-_V_881NlOIP0ImHgh_dO47M2EE3cawaZ7WMlUOfZMBKuXuxFZJBLyePsz4_MVEUqMyLss-alxrCp0BfrtHR1GhzHwL/s1600/300+-+Route+Map.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlS9Lrx1Efpv8flg3Ou66MylYA10bRPc_vGy_Aa00MFFhxpb0u7-_V_881NlOIP0ImHgh_dO47M2EE3cawaZ7WMlUOfZMBKuXuxFZJBLyePsz4_MVEUqMyLss-alxrCp0BfrtHR1GhzHwL/s1600/300+-+Route+Map.PNG" height="313" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="entry-description">
</div>
<div class="entry-description">
</div>
<div class="entry-description">
Very wet fog, warm sunshine and cool evening darkness. What a fantastic day.
What a fantastic group of people to ride with. What an incredible day for a
ride. </div>
<div class="entry-description">
<br />I thanked everyone and made sure they knew what a great event this
was. I said my goodbyes to our close knit group of riders and returned to my car
for the 4 hour ride home. I got home at 1:00am. I took a quick shower and
checked out my tender bum. (More on that below.) I then did my standard core
workout. Only 12 minutes but very possibly, much tougher than the ride! In order
to keep a streak going, you are going to have days like this. It was really
tough, but I got it done.</div>
<div class="entry-description">
</div>
<div class="entry-description">
SPOILER ALERT: I apologize if this is too much information. Feel free to stop
reading here.</div>
<div class="entry-description">
</div>
<div class="entry-description">
I discovered that I was bleeding where I had the discomfort. Upon closer
examination, I had an open wound about an inch long that was incredibly sore and
tender to the touch. For that matter, it was just plain tender. It’s no wonder I
was having some difficulty on the ride. </div>
<div class="entry-description">
</div>
<div class="entry-description">
I know the best thing to do would be to stop riding. I hope to avoid that
with shorter rides and Neosporin. My ride on Sunday was very difficult. I think
I spent more time standing on this ride than I did sitting. We’ll see how that
goes. </div>
Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106063214946474393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-764523159397329628.post-962401490233351422013-03-17T10:50:00.001-04:002013-03-17T10:50:54.166-04:00The New Normal <span style="font-family: Calibri;">The move out of our Massachusetts home is complete. About half the household goods were moved to Vermont along with most of what was in the shed and the garage. The rest was moved to Florida. 3 round trips from Massachusetts to Vermont, 1 round trip from Vermont to Florida and another 1-way trip from Massachusetts to Florida later, I arrived in Florida to begin our new lives. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the last 3 weeks, I drove a little more than 7,500 miles driving through 14 different states. And that doesn’t count the state of the numb butt! </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> I got the boat moved down to Florida from Vermont. I got my wife’s car down to Florida from Massachusetts. I’ll never know how my wife managed to get 10 pounds of crap in a 5 pound bag, but the house looks great. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With all the packing, moving, unpacking, packing, moving, unpacking, packing moving and unpacking, most nights I managed only 3 or 4 hours of sleep. Many days, every muscle, bone and fiber in my body hurt. Somehow I managed to keep my riding streak intact, which now stands at 1,169 consecutive days. I can’t say most of my rides over the last 3 or 4 weeks were quality rides, but they were at least 10 miles and 30 minutes. Unfortunately, my core streak ended somewhere around 95 consecutive days. The good news is after 4 days, I was able to restart my core streak, which now stands at 19 consecutive days.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now the real work begins. I need to update dailymile. And then I will have fully arrived at the new normal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106063214946474393noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-764523159397329628.post-84303924557798047942013-01-14T01:51:00.001-05:002013-01-14T01:51:20.654-05:00Each of Us is Ordinary, Yet One of a Kind
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></u> </div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I</span> was thinking (again) about how wonderful dailymile is for
me. It's a place where I can come to blab on about my workouts, primarily
cycling, without driving those near and dear to me crazy with more talk of
cycling. As my online victims, you can choose to ignore my posts if you'd like.
No harm, no foul.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jHF98uzuT_A8HrU3Jm5kv5poNFUMJtScfqJZbeuJ5VXqstUTDUUK2idKhgwdkU0bxMiKyBLNXbcdDPciXsvz2NGNH2wE-RzD8SjlQtwrYhGBGOU9W0Tn3PkFr1Id9bU8IKBlMPH9g31c/s1600/St.+Albans+Hill+4+-+07022012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jHF98uzuT_A8HrU3Jm5kv5poNFUMJtScfqJZbeuJ5VXqstUTDUUK2idKhgwdkU0bxMiKyBLNXbcdDPciXsvz2NGNH2wE-RzD8SjlQtwrYhGBGOU9W0Tn3PkFr1Id9bU8IKBlMPH9g31c/s320/St.+Albans+Hill+4+-+07022012.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But more importantly, I was thinking about how much
encouragement, motivation and help I get here. Often that comes from comments
made to my posts. But many other times, it comes from reading your posts and
the amazing things you have achieved, are achieving on a regular basis or are
working to achieve. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It's also worth noting that inspiration doesn't only come
from the longest workouts or the fastest times. (Although those can be pretty
amazing!) Often times I get inspired by someone who managed to get their first
2 mile run done. Or a cyclist who got a new PR with their 20 mile ride. Or the
swimmer who managed their first 200 meter swim without stopping. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We are all at different places with our respective physical
activities. We all have different goals and expectations from our workouts. We
all have different challenges as they relate to our workouts. We all have a
different mental make-up. Essentially, we are each one of a kind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At the same time, we all know what it's like to have road
blocks put in front of us. We can all identify with the amazing feeling it is
to set a new PR. We all know how difficult it can be to balance life's
responsibilities of family, work and personal fulfillment. The differences
between us in terms of our chosen sport or activities, ages, gender and
abilities is nothing compared to what we share in terms of achieving our goals
in these endeavors. Essentially, each of us is pretty ordinary. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Recognizing how much we share with others promotes
compassion, humility and respect for one another. Recognizing our uniqueness
promotes pride, self-development and achievement. Thanks for being there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106063214946474393noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-764523159397329628.post-51661252857952841882013-01-01T11:44:00.000-05:002013-01-01T11:44:32.408-05:002012 Goal Review and New Goals for 2013
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b> </div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I managed to ride every day in 2012. I have a consecutive
days riding streak that is now at 1,096 days. Although I’m very happy with
this, I would not necessarily recommend it. But it works for me. I’ll probably
write more on that topic later.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have mixed emotions regarding my 2012 fitness goals. I only
completely achieved 2 of them. That’s not good. On the other hand, the 2 that I
did complete were the most important to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I suppose that just makes sense. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The summary is below.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2012 Fitness Goals</span></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ride
12,000 miles</b> – SUCCESS - I am particularly happy about achieving this goal.
When I set it, I felt it was extremely aggressive, but possible. I knew there
wasn’t a lot of room for goofing off here. I rode at least once every day and
some days I rode twice. My total miles for the year ended at 13,633! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Complete
3 century rides</b> – FAIL – I’m not upset about this one at all. I rode a Florida
century ride in January and a Vermont century ride in June. The fact that I
didn’t ride another one was mostly a scheduling challenge. I’ll spare you the
details, but the bottom line is it just didn’t work out and that’s okay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Begin
Brevet rides with a 200km and a 300km ride</b> – FAIL – This one bothers me. On
one hand, I had the same scheduling challenges here as I did with my century
rides. However I could have ridden these on my own anytime. They wouldn’t have
been official, but that wasn’t really the goal. A lack of proper planning to
make this happen prevented success here. </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">L</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Daily
core workout</b> – FAIL – I knew this would be tough for me. Even though it
would seem easier to do this than it would be to ride every day, I just have a
really tough time with these. I need them badly but I don’t enjoy them.
Weakness, that’s all that prevented me from achieving this goal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Complete
3, 5 minute planks</b> – FAIL – This is really part of the previous goal.
(Maybe I should have combined them so it’s only 1 fail instead of 2.) </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> I did manage to hold a
single plank for 5 minutes and 5 seconds, so that’s something.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Have fun!</b>
– SUCCESS – The more I ride the more I enjoy it! Like with most things, as I
get a modestly better and learn a little more about the sport of road cycling,
the enjoyment increases. I still have a long way to go on both fronts. So I
anticipate even more fun in the future! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2013 Fitness Goals</span></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ride
10,000 miles</b> – This number is significantly lower than what I achieved in
2012. However I would like to add more quality miles to my schedule. I believe
this will necessitate more “easy” days which will be at least partially defined
by lower miles. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Become a
Randonneur</b> – In order to achieve this status, I must complete a certified
200km brevet. Although I’m not sure which event I will ride, I have two
excellent possibilities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Complete
a 300 km brevet</b> – If I’m going to do the randonneuring thing, then I might
as well do it! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Compete
in a 24 hour ride</b> – Inspired by my dailymile friend Richard C., the
discipline to compete in, and the satisfaction of completing a 24 hour ride is
simply too much to resist. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Do a
daily core workout</b> – It doesn’t matter what I do as much as it does to do
something each day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Complete
100 Push-up program</b> – After 2 false starts in 2012, I feel like this is a
hurdle I must cross. I can think of no acceptable reason for not being able to
complete this program during 2012. I need to make this happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Lose 30
pounds</b> – I am not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions nor am I a fan of having
a specific weight loss goal. Normally, I feel that the goal should be restated
to “a healthy life style” or some such thing. In order to achieve the long term
cycling goals I have, weight loss is important. I feel that losing 30 pounds is
quite achievable and leaves plenty of meat on these old bones.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Have
fun!!</b> – After all, isn’t this what it’s all about?!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Initially, I was a little concerned about having too many
goals for 2013. As I review them, I realized that I really only have 3 or 4,
okay, maybe 5 goals. The rest are the things I need to do in order to achieve
my primary goals. Simply put, I want to become a randonneur and I want to
complete a 24 hour ride. I need the other stuff to get me there. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am very excited about tackling these goals. 2013 is going
to be a very fun cycling year! </span>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106063214946474393noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-764523159397329628.post-19926556942995949992012-12-21T10:44:00.000-05:002012-12-21T10:44:03.064-05:00The Times They Are A-Changin’
<br />
<div class="Publishwithline" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">BACKGROUND</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Shortly after my wife and I were married nearly 25 years
ago, we decided that when it came time to retire, we would like to spend the
summers in Vermont and the winters in a warm weather climate somewhere. We took
several vacations investigating possible winter retirement destinations. The
life of a “snowbird” didn’t sound so bad to us. We already had a summer place
in northern Vermont on the shores of Lake Champlain. About 10 years ago, we
found a place in southwest Florida that we fell in love with. It’s on a salt
water canal that has direct access to the Gulf of Mexico. All that was left was
for us to save up enough money so that we could actually retire. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We have spent almost every summer weekend driving from our
home in Massachusetts to our summer camp in Vermont. As you can imagine, the
weekends flew by. We would also try to spend at least one full week there,
usually over the 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> of July week. We have been doing this for more
than 25 years and never regretted any of it. For the last 10 years, we have
also tried to get down to Florida as often as possible so that we could spend
time there. My wife would usually manage to get down there 5 or 6 times each
year. I would get there less often. We tried to spend a week or more there each
year during January. We love it there too. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Earlier this year my wife was given the opportunity to retire
at the end of this month. We are thrilled! However, I’m not ready to retire
yet, so I needed to figure out how I was going to manage that. About 2 months
ago, I decided that I would start my own consulting business. I have been doing
this on and off for the last several years. But turning this into a full time
thing is a little different. So now it’s real. We will be making the transition
to “snowbird” status this winter. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Even though this has been our plan for many years, now that
it is becoming real it’s a little scary. The new life style, the new business,
etc. are all cause for some anxiety. We’re figuring things out and I know we
will be fine. Since this is a cycling blog, I wanted to talk about the good,
bad and ugly the impact this has on my cycling. Please understand that I know
most of these things are trivial matters. Having said that, I am still
surprised by the amount time I’ve spent worrying (needlessly I’m sure!) about
these issues.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">CYCLING IMPACT</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This move will do a lot of really good things as it relates
to my cycling. But it will also create some challenges for me personally. Part
of my reasons for writing this blog are cathartic. It helps to “talk this out”
even if it’s only through a blog post. So here goes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Good </b>– The
weather. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The vast majority of my rides will be in warm temperatures. One
of the reasons that I have not been willing to ride in cold and rainy weather
here is because I didn’t really have the proper clothes for it. Knowing that
this move was imminent, it was very difficult to justify the expense of good
winter riding gear. It pained me to have to get rid of most of my winter
running gear when I had to give up running many years ago. I didn’t want to go
through that again if I could help it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Good</b> – Time
to ride.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For the most part, having my own business will allow me to ride
when it’s convenient. There will be times when this isn’t possible but for the
most part, I will be able to control my calendar. I love that!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Good</b> – Group
rides.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our lifestyle of being in Massachusetts during the week and
Vermont on the weekends has made it senseless to join a cycling club. I have
been riding with an informal riding group in Vermont. I love the people and enjoy
riding with them but I have only been able to join them a few times. Living
there all summer will allow me to plan weekday rides with them as well as
justify a full Saturday or Sunday riding with them. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have already joined a cycling club in southwest Florida,
The Caloosa Riders (</span><a href="http://www.caloosariders.org/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.caloosariders.org/</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">).
Last year I attended one of their meetings to see what the people were like and
what kind of a group it is. Although it’s hard to tell from one meeting, they
seemed to be a good group. I’m looking forward to getting to know them and
riding with them in the future.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am also interested in becoming a Randonneur. Although
there isn’t a club exactly in my area, there are two that have events in my
area. The Central Florida Randonneurs (</span><a href="http://floridarandonneurs.com/wordpress/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://floridarandonneurs.com/wordpress/</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">)
are located in the Orlando area. I have spoken with one of their members so I
have the right contact there. The other group is The South Florida Randonneurs
(</span><a href="http://johnandjuliet.com/RUSA/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://johnandjuliet.com/RUSA/</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">).
They are located in the Miami area. Both groups have rides that would be
accessible to my area in southwest Florida. I haven’t been in touch with anyone
in that group yet but I suspect I will be. Again, I look forward to more group
rides. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Good</b> – There is
a new road bike in my future</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our plans are to drive back and forth some years, and fly
back and forth other years. As a result, I decided it made sense to have a road
bike at each location. (Doesn’t it always make more sense to justify another
bike when possible?) I will be driving my boat down to Florida in late
February. Shortly after I arrive, I will be looking for my new bike. I never
bought a new bike so this will be fun … and a little nerve racking! There are
so many good choices. My budget will get me into the low end of carbon fiber
bikes. As such, my short list includes Felt Z3, SCOTT CR1, Cervelo R3 and
Specialized Roubaix. I’m not sure these will all be in my budget, but they will
be close. I’ve only ridden the Felt, so I have some test rides to complete too!
Now there is something to look forward to.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Bad</b> – Lack of
hills</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I love riding the hills I have in Eastern Massachusetts. I’m
not particularly good at them, but I’m getting better. Regardless, I love
them!! I love the challenge of climbing the hills and the reward of the
downhill afterwards. And what could be better than riding quickly along rolling
hills through wooded and winding roadways! Sometimes I even notice the smile on
my face as I am riding along roads like this. Granted, I will still have some
beautiful hills when we are in Vermont, but I’m afraid my Florida rides might
be a little boring. I’m hopeful that my new riding club will introduce me to
some nicer routes than what I’m aware of now.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Ugly</b> –
Transition to the hills of Vermont</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I would imagine that the first few weeks riding in Vermont
each spring will be difficult. After spending 6 or 7 months riding mostly
flats, the hills will be tough! The first few hilly rides might get pretty
ugly!! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">CONCLUSION</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We are very lucky to be able to move into this new phase of
our lives. Although I am a bit anxious about many of these issues, I am looking
forward to making this transition to “snow bird” status. We have a lot to do over
the next several months, but a good part of the enjoyment comes from the
journey. </span></div>
Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106063214946474393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-764523159397329628.post-74309964794537640262012-11-19T04:44:00.000-05:002012-11-19T04:44:00.867-05:00Yes, but will you WIN?
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b> </div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In my running days, I ran somewhere between 25 and 35 races
each year. Most of my races were between 10 miles and the full marathon. Some
of these races were more important to me than others, but I tried to do my best
in all of them. One question I used to get from time to time was, will you win?
Granted, this question came from my non-running friends. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was in the Open division. The winner of almost every race
came from the Open division. So the chances of me actually winning a race was
somewhere between slim and none. Actually, my chances were much closer to none.
I really didn’t stand a chance of winning an age group either. So when
answering the question, I used to answer “no”, and then go to great explaining
that I had certain goals for each race and that meeting or achieving those
goals was my “win”. Their eyes would usually glaze over somewhere right after
the “no”. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then one Saturday, I found myself at the starting line of a
small 10k that I thought I might actually win. Recovering from 2 stress
fractures in my foot, I was not yet running my best. I was improving and still
had hopes of running Boston. The qualifying time for the Men’s Open category
was 2:50:00. Since I managed to qualify, I hated to waste it. Even though I
knew I wouldn’t be able to run my best there, I thought I should be able to do
okay. I digress. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The race was sponsored by the good people at <a href="http://www.wish.org/help?s_kwcid=TC|7333|make%20a%20wish||S|b|7755128066&gclid=CILtt57e2rMCFUWo4Aodn0oAOA" target="_blank">Make a Wish Foundation</a>. For those of you who are unfamiliar with them, they are a large charity
raising money through a lot of different ventures so that they can grant a last
wish to a terminally ill child. This was a first year event so I expected the
turnout to be small. That’s one of the reasons I chose this race. No pressure.
I did expect it to be very well organized since they had many resources at
their disposal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I showed up about an hour before race time. I am the first
one there. No one is there except me. I figured I must have screwed up and went
to the wrong place. As I was trying to decide what to do, a pickup truck pulls
up and starts setting up a table. I ask them if they are there for the 10k.
They are. Whew! So maybe this won’t be the best organized race going, but I don’t
really care. This was really a test of my foot and my recovery. People start to
show up and they are slowly getting their act together. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As race time draws near, it’s clear that we are not going to
start on time. My car was not close to the starting line. It was a cold, March
morning so I didn’t want to take off my sweats until the last possible moment.
But they are running much later than even I thought. There were 25 or 30 of us
kind of bouncing up and down in an effort to keep warm while they went into
great detail about what it is they do. They tell us that the course is an out
and back. There is a barrel in the road at the turn-around point. They remind
us that this is a marathon. What?! All the runners look at each other with
great concern. This is supposed to be a 10k! Finally someone points this out to
the race director who responds with a “yes, a 10k marathon”. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I guess they’re new at this. All the runners got a good
laugh out of this description but were quite relieved that it was in fact a
10k. Like I said earlier, I was sizing up the runners and I only saw one guy
that I thought was certain to beat me. Of course I’ve been wrong before. So I
tried not to get too excited. The race director asks us all to step up to the
starting line. The race was to go off in 1 minute. Just then, a full-fledged
press truck pulls out in front of the starting line. No kidding!! The truck was
loaded up with photographers and a video crew. Really!! It was quite what you’d
see for the Boston Marathon, but still! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The gun sounds and we’re off. My race strategy was that my
first mile was my slowest with subsequently faster miles as I ran the race.
When I say slower, I mean only a few seconds slower. This seemed to allow me to
stay relaxed and get into a nice rhythm for the race. I was hoping to run 6
minute miles so my goal was to run the race right around 37 minutes. I felt
like I was doing a good job of running my pace. I had the one guy I thought
would give me a run for my money running next to me. For the first ½ mile, we
had to run to the side of the press truck because they were moving too slow. We
did share a laugh with each other that they would even have a press truck for
this race.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We got to the first mile split and I checked my time. 6
minutes on the dot. Perfect. I guess it wasn’t so perfect for my new found
running friend though. He said something like I can’t hold this pace or this is
too fast or some such thing. At any rate, I immediately found myself running
alone. Well, me and the press truck. (Was I supposed to wave to them?) I
thought I might not ever win a race, but at least I’m leading for a while.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was really cool being in the lead, even if this was a
very small race. Around 2.5 miles a guy catches up to me and starts chatting. I’m
wondering who this guy is. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He just
caught me and wants to have a conversation. Clearly I don’t stand a chance.
Then he asks me if this is a race or something. I answer his question along
with a few others and then he peels off. Again, I am alone in front. I have no
idea how big my lead is, but I’m in front.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We get to the turn-around point barrel and I start heading
back. I was amazed to find that I had a huge lead! The person in second place
was 800 meters or more behind. I thought I might actually win! I was feeling
good and was certain I could maintain this pace if not actually get a little
quicker. I didn’t dare turn-around for fear someone would be on my shoulder. I
ran assuming someone was on my shoulder. I was running 6 minute miles, which
felt easy. After all, this race was like a sprint to me. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I managed to extend my lead during the second half of the
race and was shocked to find that I won my very first race! Although my time
was slow compared to my marathon-ready times, it wasn’t bad. Although I am
certain that I ran very close to 6 minute miles. My finishing time was 35:50,
which would be something like a 5:48 pace. I really don’t think I was in that
kind of shape so I suspect this was really closer to 6 miles even.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had my first win. I was hoping that I might get a ribbon or a little medal or
some remembrance of my first and probably only win. After everyone finished, they
made the announced the male and female winners. They said that they could give
us our plaques when they held their annual awards dinner in November. Don’t
worry though. We would each receive 2 complimentary tickets to the dinner. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At this point, I wasn’t too sure this was going to happen.
But as November rolled around, we did in fact receive our 2 tickets. We showed
up at the dinner. It was huge!! There must have been 500 people there! It turns
out that this dinner was for everything they did the previous year. It was a
very nice, upscale event. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres followed by a very nice
dinner. As people were finishing up dinner they began with the awards. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRZVZxnX-lf76CW-mLLOOJw-7BYNvJR4dZOL0dh2UdbqfggOpEOMi3EVtTxiuvxzXl8dw-sJzpqV-bTf5ktRxSzfki3iTU2WK7txhw2oHXyC3b3EU6msAuYhjlfqwVc-WbI1GFYGrxl7PJ/s1600/1st+Place+Plaque1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRZVZxnX-lf76CW-mLLOOJw-7BYNvJR4dZOL0dh2UdbqfggOpEOMi3EVtTxiuvxzXl8dw-sJzpqV-bTf5ktRxSzfki3iTU2WK7txhw2oHXyC3b3EU6msAuYhjlfqwVc-WbI1GFYGrxl7PJ/s320/1st+Place+Plaque1.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They went through a lot of awards for many very deserving
people receiving recognition for their hard work over the past year. At long
last, they got to the 10k Marathon! (They were still calling it this.) They
started off by running clips form the video they made during the race. It
seemed to go on forever. I was so embarrassed!! The video seemed to run long to
me so I can only imagine how boring it must have been to everyone else there. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Following the video, they announced the female and male
winners and had both of us come up to receive our plaques. I was shocked! They
made up beautiful plaques engraved with our names and of course, the 10k
Marathon Winner. We then stood to have our pictures taken with everyone there
who was anyone. Even though I was highly embarrassed by the extent of their
recognition, I was thrilled to have such a beautiful commemoration for what did
in fact turn out to be my only win.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yes, but will you win? Maybe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106063214946474393noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-764523159397329628.post-14706625610771877552012-11-13T19:31:00.006-05:002012-11-13T19:31:59.748-05:00Faith-based Training - You Gotta Believe
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 22pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> BACKGROUND<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I used to be a runner. I used to
be a marathoner. I used to love training. I used to love racing. It all seemed
so simple. It all seemed so black & white. It all seemed so natural. But
was it really? Or was I remembering what it was like towards the end of my
running career and forgetting what it was like when I first started?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">To me, the formula was pretty
simple. Build a solid base of miles in the “off season”. That meant running
about 45 miles per week. Marathon training required that I up the mileage to a
base of 70 miles 12 weeks before my target marathon. 8 weeks would do in a
pinch. 2 days each week of track intervals. 2 days each week of tempo runs. 1
day each week for a 20 miler. And 2 days where I let my body tell me what I should
to do. Simple.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Due to a running injury, I had to
have knee surgery to repair a simple tear. The expectation was that I would be
grounded for a week, maybe two. I never would have guessed that my short run
the morning of my scheduled surgery would be my last run. The surgery was a
complete success. In fact, I was walking 9 holes of golf and carrying my golf
clubs on a hilly course only 6 days after my surgery. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The problem was that my surgeon
found a different problem once he got a look inside my knee. I have no lubrication
in my knees. The result is bone on bone scraping with every step I take. The
wear and tear from running is anywhere from 20 to 30 times worse than it is
from walking. My surgeon estimated that I would like need replacement surgery
in 3 to 5 years if I kept running. That was more than 13 years ago.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Return to Rookie-hood</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I tried many exercise routines to
replace running. It was 10 or 11 years before I finally tried road cycling. The
initial investment just to try cycling was a bit steep. I didn’t want to make
that initial investment only to discover I really didn’t care for road cycling.
But once I tried it, I fell in love with it immediately. I didn’t really know
what I was doing. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My only goal early on was to ride
as often as I could and build a solid base of miles. I knew from marathon
running that anything I would want to try later on would require a solid base
of miles. It seemed logical to me that the same thing would be true of road
cycling. I didn’t know anything about the sport, not even from a spectator
perspective. But I knew it would take some time to build that solid base of
miles. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Organized Event</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When I first started riding I thought
I wanted to participate in bike races. I thought bike racing would be
comparable to road racing. I was very disappointed to learn that I could not be
more wrong. I think of the two kind of like this. RUNNER: I finished my first
marathon in 5 hours. REACTION FROM OTHER RUNNERS: Fantastic!! Congratulations!!
You are now a marathoner!!! And on and on it goes. Compare that to Cycling
races. CYCLIST: I finished my first Century bike race and I didn’t get dropped
from the peloton until the 80 mile mark. REACTION FROM OTHER CYCLISTS: So, are
you going to throw your bike in the dump and burn the cycling kit? Okay, maybe
a little bit of an exaggeration, but not too much. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A little over a year ago I
participated in my first century ride. With no previous long distance cycling
experience, I wanted to be sure that my training was going to be enough for me
to achieve my primary goal, to finish. At the time, I only knew one person who
had completed a century ride. Even he had only one century ride under his belt
so his ability to help me was limited.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was very fortunate to find a few
long distance cyclists on dailymile (</span><a href="http://www.dailymile.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">www.dailymile.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">)
who were able to provide some great information. I should take this opportunity
to specifically thank dailymile friend Richard C. for patiently answering all
my questions, sending me detailed information on hydration and calorie
requirements, Heart Rate profiles and pacing recommendations along with a large
number of other great bits of information. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I knew what I had to do as a
marathon running to be successful. I had no idea what I needed to be successful
as a Century cyclist. In fact, I wasn’t really sure what success was. Talk
about operating at a deficit! But I knew I needed to have a training plan.
Instead of being able to turn the information I was getting and turning it into
a solid training plan, I was becoming overwhelmed. I really just wanted a
training plan. How many days should I ride each week? How far should I ride
each day? What kind of intensity should I be putting into each ride? If I can
ride x miles in y time, how fast will my century ride be? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Clearly it wasn’t going to be that
easy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">TRAINING PLANS</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I did numerous searches for
century ride training programs for century rides. I found plans that talked
about how many days each week I should ride. I found training plans that told
me what my heart rate should be on each ride. I found training plans that told
me how many watts I should be pushing on each ride. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Not that it was part of the
training per se, but complicating all this was getting amazing, detailed
information about how many calories I should be taking in each hour, how much
water and electrolyte replacement drink I should be taking in each hour, and
the most critical of all, my bum hurt seemingly all the time! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Training plans seemed to go from
the ridiculously simple, very low mileage plans designed to get someone across
the century finish line. Eventually. Not that I knew what that would be for me,
but there was no emphasis whatsoever on time. Other plans were so ridiculously
complex and detailed, that I was completely lost on how I could possibly
participate in such a plan on my own. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Even though I had no previous
experience riding century rides, I knew none of what I found would be right for
me. What was wrong with these plans? Some of them were written by highly
respected cycling coaches. Some were designed by cycling teams and proven over
time. Some were far too conservative, or at least I thought they were. I wasn’t
really sold on tracking my training according to an HR monitor, so that wasn’t
going to work for me. I wasn’t going to buy a Power Tap, so using WATTS wasn’t
an option. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">That got me thinking back to my
marathon training. Why did I feel so confident in that? Well the bottom line
was experience, sure. But it was more than that. The real difference was that I
believed in what I was doing. It wasn’t even a question. It was a simple fact.
Talk about faith!! So I do I use this concept of “faith-based” training. That’s
what I needed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">FAITH-based TRAINING</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So what is “faith-based” training?
I think it’s pretty simple really. The components are:</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Believable</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Manageable</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Flexible</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Enjoyable</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u>Believable:</u> I honestly
believe there are any number of training plans that will help me be successful.
No matter which plan you choose, it has to be a plan that you believe in. If
this plan is coming from your coach, then you have to first believe in the
coach. If you don’t, it’s going to be difficult to buy into any plan that s/he
is proposing. Believing in the coach can go a long way, but you still have to
believe in the plan. That means that specific plan for YOU. Sure, that plan got
elite athletes to achieve their goals, but I’m not an elite athlete. So it has
to be believable … for you.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u>Manageable:</u> The training
plan has to fit your schedule and your life. We all give up certain things when
we are training. Expect to make sacrifices. Most of us have families and jobs
that require a certain amount of our time. Maybe drinks with the gang after
work, or you need to get your spouse to help get the kids on the bus in the morning.
But it can’t be such a drastic departure from our normal lives that we simply
can’t stick to it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u>Flexible:</u> The plan should
be specific enough to be clear on what needs to be done on any given day. But
it should be general enough to provide overall goals for the week. For example,
I used to plan my track workouts Tuesdays and Thursdays. Sometimes I had to
travel out of town. I could almost always get a run in while I was away. But to
get a long run or a track workout done was much more difficult. So I might have
to do my track intervals on Monday one week and skip the second one. I might
even do a little more since I would only be doing that workout once that
particular week. But I was confident that the plan still gave me plenty of
quality to achieve my goals.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u>Enjoyable:</u> You might have
thought this last item to be a bit odd. But I think this is essential to
faith-based training. Whether your goal is to run a 5k, complete a century ride
or complete an ironman, training is hard! That’s part of why these goals are
important to us. Because it’s hard! If you don’t enjoy the training that’s
required to get you there, it will be very difficult if not impossible to stick
with it over a period of many weeks. First of all, I competed in events that I
enjoyed the most. I did run the occasional 5k, but I much preferred longer
distances. As a result, almost all of my races were 10 miles or more. That’s
what I enjoyed. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Does that mean I always enjoyed my
track workouts? Absolutely not. Did I always enjoy my 20 mile runs? Usually,
but not always. I found that I preferred running 400’s on the track over
fartlek on the roads. I found I liked to compete against myself and the track
would allow me to do that. I found I enjoyed running with other people, so I
worked it out so I could run track intervals on days when others would also be
running intervals. On weekends, I would sometimes drive 15 or 20 miles to meet
friends who were also running 20 miles that day. Even though it was hard, I can
honestly say I looked forward to almost every workout. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">MY CENTURY PLAN</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So what did I do for my training
before my first century ride? I used faith-based training to develop a plan I
could believe in. It might not have been the most efficient plan or be the best
plan and it might not have allowed me to get the most out of my abilities. But
it did allow me to achieve my goals for my first century and have fun training
for it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Specifically, I “talked” to as
many people as I could find. I read as many articles as I could get my hands
on. I tried to ride as much as I could. And in the end, I believed I would be
able to complete my first century ride, complete it within a self-imposed time
frame and enjoy the experience. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Looking back a year and a half at that
first century ride, it remains a very special event for me. It is not my
fastest. But it is my favorite. I learned a lot from that first ride. I learned
that I was not doing enough high intensity rides. I learned that I needed to
incorporate more hills into my training, at least if I planned on riding hilly
century rides. And I learned that I loved it, all because I relied on
faith-based training. You gotta believe.</span></div>
Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106063214946474393noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-764523159397329628.post-91955384633794696752012-10-16T15:44:00.001-04:002012-10-23T10:55:32.986-04:00Vermont Cycling PicturesVermont Cycling Pictures - I was reviewing some of my cycling pictures over the weekend. I decided to put together a slide show for a nice summary from my weekend rides in Vermont. The video can be found on YouTube at <a href="http://bit.ly/SZpPc5">http://bit.ly/SZpPc5</a>. I hope you enjoy the photos.Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106063214946474393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-764523159397329628.post-45053855234202851392012-10-01T09:47:00.000-04:002012-10-01T09:48:06.585-04:00Thank You Notes from a CyclistThe following is my attempt at some dark cycling humor. The style is based on the "Thank You Notes" seen on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Enjoy!<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thank you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0;">The Law’s the Law</span></i>, for allowing me to clean your side mirror, because you refuse to cross the center line as you drive past, even when there is no oncoming traffic.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thank you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0;">Accident Free</span></i>, for giving me the entire lane, as you pass by me drifting into oncoming traffic leaving a wake of destruction in your path.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thank you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0;">Right is Right,</span></i><span style="color: #0070c0;"> </span>for giving me the opportunity to test my brakes, as you zoom by me immediately prior to making a sudden right turn directly in front of me.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thank you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0;">The Lane’s All Mine</span></i>, for letting me showoff my ability to ride the “high wire”, as you hug the shoulder at intersections.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thank you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0;">2 Wrongs Don’t Make a Right, but 3 Left’s Do</span></i>, for helping me demonstrate my quick reflexes, as you make your left turn in front of me as I enter the intersection.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thank you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0;">Horn Blower</span></i>, for help me attain my maximum heart rate, by honking your horn as you begin to pass.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thank you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0;">Share the</span></i><span style="color: #0070c0;"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Roads – NOT!</i></span>, for motivating and inspiring me to have the best ride possible, as you scream and yell as you drive by.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thank you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0;">Noise Maker</span></i>, for helping me to go deaf, creating a serine and peaceful riding experience, by installing excruciatingly load mufflers on your tin can of a car and gunning the engine as you pull up next to me.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thank you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #0070c0;">Quick Stop</span></i>, for constantly testing the maximum braking power of your vehicle, just before you enter the road I am riding. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106063214946474393noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-764523159397329628.post-90100598499785426972012-09-24T20:54:00.000-04:002012-09-24T20:54:04.120-04:00
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1,000 Days<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">September 26, 2012 will be my 1,000<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> consecutive
day of cycling. (Coincidentally, this is my mother’s birthday.) It wasn’t
always easy. It wasn’t always sensible. But it did always happen, at least for
the last 1,000 days. I have ridden a minimum of 10 miles on each ride. I’ve
ridden the road bike, the mountain bike, my Florida commuter bike, the
stationary bike, the Cycle Ops trainer and even my wife’s bike in order to get
a ride in every day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve also had my share of mechanicals along the way. Most of
these were flat tires that I managed to patch or replace the tubes and make it
safely home. A few times, I had to stop several times to pump more air into the
tire in order to make it home. During a Florida ride, I took 3 nails in the
same tire and had to call my wife to rescue me. And once I had to call a taxi
to get me home after discovering the unopened glue in my patch kit was dry as a
bone and my spare tube already had a puncture. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have enjoyed the beauty that is New England by riding many
of the roads in Northwest Vermont, Eastern Massachusetts, touches of Rhode
Island and New Hampshire, some of Southwest Florida and even a little smidgen
of Quebec. My trips have taken me past Walden Pond, Longfellow’s Wayside Inn, Little
Women and the Lexington Battle Green. I have seen ospreys, great blue herons,
great white herons, burrowing owls and egrets to name a few. I have also met
new cycling friends from Massachusetts, Florida and Massachusetts as well as my
numerous friends from around the globe on dailymile (</span><a href="http://www.dailymile.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">www.dailymile.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I managed to lower my blood pressure and cholesterol, drop
25 pounds and all but eliminate the severe pain in my surgically repaired
knees. To be honest, I’ve still got more gut to cut. Along the way, I have had
a few scrapes, bumps and bruises but no worse than what the average child gets
on the playground. I have had to work through extreme wrist tenderness and butt
pain. A focus on cycling form has done wonders for the wrists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And thanks to several dailymile friends, the
discovery of Chamois Buttr’ has proven to be a miracle ointment for the bum!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Most if not all of these things could have been achieved
without riding every single day. So why do I do it? Honestly, there is one
simple reason. When I miss one day of cycling, too often that turns into a week
or more before I’m back on the bike. By asking the question: “WHEN will I get
my ride in today?” instead of: “Will I get my ride in today?”, I can maintain
the consistency I desire and need in order to improve as a cyclist. Although I
am still a novice at this sport and not really very good at it, I have improved
and learned a lot. Although like many things, the more you learn about
something, the more you realize you don’t know. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Although I am very pleased with my cycling streak, I wish I
had the discipline of many of my dailymile friends to take rest days, recovery
days and incorporate a great variety of cross training into their workouts. I
know that would be much healthier and in fact, help me improve more quickly.
But for me, it doesn’t work that way. I spend too much time restarting my
training. For me, that isn’t the fun part. I love heading out for a ride on a
beautiful day where I feel like there are no limits to where I can go or how
long I can ride. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">During the winter months, I spend a lot of time on the
indoor trainer or the Cycle Ops trainer. It’s not always easy to sit in the
same place while pedaling 20, 30, 40 miles or more. What motivates me to sit
there and get the miles in during those cold and dreary months is the thought
of that first springtime ride. There’s nothing like heading out in March or
April for a long ride and feel good doing it! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve had a lot of help keeping this streak alive. Family and
friends have been mostly supportive, even if they don’t necessarily understand
it. My dailymile friends have been very supportive, motivating and inspiring
through thick and thin. My family also thanks the dailymile community for
providing me with an outlet for my cycling commentaries and providing me with
an ear so they don’t have to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I know the streak will end one day. I’ll be disappointed
when it does, but I know it’s bound to happen. Until then, I’ll keep cycling
and counting the days. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106063214946474393noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-764523159397329628.post-20541655280996467512012-08-08T11:47:00.003-04:002012-08-08T11:47:33.414-04:00<a class="workout-title" href="http://www.dailymile.com/people/sjohnsen/entries/17119294">Hollistion - Wayland Loop w/ Side Trip
to S. Natick</a> <br />
<span class="workout-distance">42.25 <span class="workout-distance-units">mi</span></span> <span class="workout-time">02:26</span> <span class="workout-pace">17.4mph pace</span> <br />
<div class="entry-description">
Another perfect day!! 85 degrees, sunny and virtually no breeze!! Even with
that, I didn't feel very motivated to do anything more than go for an enjoyable
ride. So that's what I did. <br />
<br />
I felt pretty good today. The only left over effect from yesterday's ride was
that my hamstrings were a little tired. That is unusual for me. It is usually my
quads that are tired or even sore when I have been riding hard or riding a lot.
Yesterday I was working on a better pedal stroke. I'm not absolutely sure, but I
think I am still pushing down rather a balance between pushing and pulling. The
exercise I have been doing is to imagine I am pulling my foot towards the rear
derailleur. This usually causes a cramp in my hammys after only a short while.
As a result, it is difficult to practice this for very long. I was able to work
on this much longer yesterday than I have in the past.<br />
<br />
Today was mostly about enjoying the time in the saddle. The ride through
downtown Framingham was better than average. I still caught some red traffic
lights but it seemed to me that drivers were much more courteous than usual.
With heavy traffic, tricky intersections and pedestrians darting across the
road, this made the trip through that section much more enjoyable. <br />
<br />
I had a very nice ride through Ashland, Holliston, Sherborn and into Natick.
I got a phone call in South Natick so I stopped to take the call. I still had
another mile to go before I headed back to my standard loop. After the call, I
made a right turn on a road I have never been on. As it turned out, most of the
mile was a gradual uphill leading to Lookout Farm. I pulled into their driveway.
Despite the climb, I failed to find a decent view from there. Maybe you have to
go onto the farm in order to see where they got the name for the farm.<br />
<br />
The return ride home was somewhat uneventful. "Uneventful" is something I
strive for when traveling by air. It's not always a bad thing with cycling
either. :-) The section through downtown Natick and Wayland has a lot of traffic
lights. I managed to catch most of them! Ugh!! I also had to come to a stop
because some idiot ... I mean impatient driver ... was across the lane waiting
for traffic to clear so that he could make a left turn. I gave him my best
glare, but he didn't really seem to care. But at least he was also on the phone.
SCREAM!!!!<br />
<br />
I started pressing a little more during the last 6 miles. I was getting tired
and a little low on fuel. I had planned on leaving for my ride earlier than I
did, so it had been quite awhile since I had eaten. It wasn't as bad as an all
out bonk, but I was clearly feeling a little low on fuel. <br />
<br />
This ride was just what I needed. An easy, no pressure ride. Just enjoy the
time in the saddle. Check!</div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08106063214946474393noreply@blogger.com0