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The Heel-Toe Express

My winter running as cross training has taken on a life of its own. I began training for the Heart Mini and the four-person relay in the Flying Pig Marathon. I really have enjoyed racing and riding with others so I thought I would use these events as goals to get back into running.

A year ago I had a scare where I though my knee was injured so I barely ran last year. It's funny to get back into it — my average speed is so much slower than it used to be. But as you can see in this post perhaps I wasn't all that fast to begin with! You have a good run at about 7:30 per mile and you start to think you're hot shit. But really, it seems I am lucky to do a nine minute mile...



For awhile I enjoyed training and improving my speed in five kilometers. It was fun to treat it like a time trial and to tick off target times for each kilometer. I might start running a five minute pace and increase my pace over time. I also enjoyed training for other middle distances and here are examples of some best yet slow times:

Seven Cycles Gateway program

Five choices. Truly beautiful bikes. Check it out here.

single speed project

I'm working on a SS project. I have purchased a 08' Fisher Paragon and am swapping out a few selected parts. Mostly a stem and bar. I'm not sure that I'd want to do much to it beyond that.

I sure am excited, it will be nice to have a back-up bike and I love the zen of the SS.*

Photo "borrowed" from Twenty Nine Inches

Bollocks it's winter

I took a nice vacation from the bike in December. Just road about 100 miles, mainly just for fun. Unfortunately my rest was followed by a sick week in bed and then a week on a ladder repainting our bathroom.

The past two days I have been getting back into it and I have had a couple of really fun rides. I took my Jamis road bike out and decided to take it off road. I have all weather tires and it was pretty fun sliding through the muddy spots.

Tonight I commuted home and did a "cemetary" crit afterward. There is a run-down cemetary near our house and the pavement is rough and fun to ride on. I did some laps for half an hour.

Here is a suggested week of off-season training I found:

Monday: Off
Tuesday: Cross training, walk, hike, run, row, swim, etc.
Wednesday: Rest or active recovery
Thursday: 1 hour: Upper end aerobic workout, either SST, threshold or vo2max intervals.
Friday: Rest or active recovery
Saturday: Group Ride
Sunday: Up to you: A group ride or mtb ride at moderate tempo or cross training.

Source: Cyclocross Magazine

New Kicks

I couldn't resist this super deals I found on the site backcountry.com. I got two pairs of super nice trail running shoes for $108. No shipping costs either. Awesome. I'll post my reviews of them soon here.

On a side note, I had to ride my trainer for the 2nd night in a row. I decide there are a few things l'd rather do (here they are in no particular order):
a) get a root canal
b) take a cold shower in the winter
c) have to watch rachel ray or kelly ripa for more than 5 minutes
d) ride a recumbent - okay, NOT!

What Lance has been up to

Lance looking mighty fit. (Might want to turn the volume down on the video, the music is awful!) Couldn't anyone tell him that his HRM strap is all jacked up in the back?

Can't wait to see what happens in July.

If life deals you lemons

Landis offers another of his philosophies, one that comes courtesy of comedy writer Jack Handey. "If life deals you lemons," Landis quotes, "why not go kill someone with the lemons, maybe by shoving them down his throat."

This one is good too:

"There's only one rule: The guy who trains the hardest, the most, wins. Period. Because you won't die. Even though you feel like you'll die, you don't actually die. Like when you're training, you can always do one more. Always. As tired as you might think you are, you can always, always do one more."

From an article in Outside Magazine, July 2006

Quotes that sum up my state of mind lately.

Dreaming of a Cycling Vacation

The DVD player has been my nurse for the past few days as I have been bed-ridden with an illness. I ended up watching a few Tours from the late 90s — at this time of year it is an unfamiliar concept to only wear a jersey and shorts as the warm wind caresses your face. The images on these video fill me with nostalgic memories. The idea of Summer seems distant.

As I was browsing the web I came across a reference for the "L'Étape du Tour". I did not realize this but each year they close the roads and invite cycling enthusiasts to ride a stage of the Tour de France for one day. This year amateurs will conquer Mont Vonteux on July 6th.

One year I hope Bridget and I can make the trip!
L'Étape Du Tour Website

Stupid Motivation

I started off todays ride in the rain. It was pretty warm out there and I felt pretty comfortable in spring/fall like attire. The ride started off pretty nice. It was raining but the temps were in the 50s-60s so I was feeling pretty good. I was actually feeling a little warm. Then about a half-hour into the ride my shorts, knee warmers, gloves, & shoe covers were soaked. Then it got about 5-10 degrees cooler. I wasn't the only cyclist with stupid motivation out there; I passed a dozen or so others. I turned back early after I realized my thighs were a bright shade of pink. My hands & feet were completely numb by the time I got home. Phew, I got home just in time.

Temps are supposed to be in the 20s this week. I am actually looking forward to it so I can hit the MTB trails. It has been a while since the Superfly has seen some action. Speaking of the Superfly, she is looking into some new crank bros quick releases.

In other news, the hubby is working on our new team kits. Stay tuned for their reveal.

Trainer Roadrash

Somehow I managed to get scraped up as I bumped into my trainer. As I walked past the knob took a chunk out of my knee! Idiot...