Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Commuting, Dog Walking, and some Photos

The only bike riding I got today was on my commute to work. I have to throw out a big thank you to our mayor and the city of Fayetteville for the wonderful trails that are being laid all over the city. Soon my entire commute can be done entirely on a paved bike path. Yea!


On my way in this morning, I see another cyclist up ahead of me. Of course I have to speed up to see who it is, gotta love a carrot. I pull up and immediately strike up a conversation, turns out he also is a daily commuter that works in Springdale. Commutes on a rigid, singlespeed Karate Monkey. Super nice guy, already forgot his name. I'm sure our paths will cross again. You can barely see him in the distance.Then on my way home, I got to see some Razorbacks running the xc course. Go Hogs!


Finally it was dog walking time. Smuckers had a great time.


Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Brick and a Tempo Ride

Sunday I took off on a 50ish mile loop to make up for the rain-out from Sat. I just wasn't feeling it, legs felt good but for some reason I didn't want to be on the bike for 3+hrs. So, I did my normal 32 mile loop and decided to go for a run of the bike. Damn I felt slow. Haven't done a brick in a while(IT Band Problems) A little over 3 miles and I was done.

Monday was a rest day, just the commute to work and an hour walk with Smuckers.

Today, road bike ride on my usual 32 mile loop. Legs felt great and I decided to throw down. My weakness in training is that I don't get enough high intensity effort into my rides. I tend to sit back in endurance mode and go for quantity. Today had the quads burning and the heart rate elevated. Note to self-more high tempo riding.

Tomorrow has me riding to work and an hour spin on the road bike, then another walk with the best dog in the world, Smuckers. We will do our favorite loop through the U of A campus and then down to Wilson Park for a dip in the creek.

Thursday is a road ride with the Jackelope. I'll try and through in a few high intensity efforts

Sunday, August 24, 2008

A New Level of Slack

I've only just started this blog and already have neglected to post on a regular basis. I promise to myself, here and now, I will post at least twice a week. I can't promise content will be worth reading, but I will post.

Yesterday was supposed to be a long ride with much climbing. A 70 mile loop with four lung busting climbs and plenty of rollers. Chris, George and I took off from my house around 7a to overcast skies. None of us actually checked a radar map, bad mistake. About 18 miles into the ride, the lightning caused us to can the ride and head home. At about mile 20, the rain hit us and was off and on for the next 12 miles. I don't mind riding in rain, just don't like lightning. 32 miles at a casual pace.

Last night was spent cleaning the road bike and enjoying a few glasses of red. She also got new brake housing/cables and tape. After a run of red and blue, I decided to go back to black. So, the bikes all cleaned and lubed, just waiting on me. I think I'll go for a bike ride.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Rainy Weekend= Good Riding?

I think it rained more on Saturday and Sunday than it has in the last month. All the rain usually leads to no riding but I timed my rides this weekend just right.

Saturday. Had to take the dog to the vet so I missed an early morning ride with my friend Dave. Smuckers had Conjunctivitis, got her some drops and was back at the house at 1030. Got my gear together, loaded the bike and was on the road to Hobbs State Park. This is where Dave and I were going to ride, he still went and I was hoping by chance I might run in to him. Temps were awesome, around 74 degrees and overcast. I was stoked to rip some prime singletrack. Got in a 20 mile loop in just over 2 hours. Good thing I stopped then because as I was loading the bike back on the car, the rain started to fall, and fall, fall some more, and finally it fell. It freakin rained the rest of the day and night.

Sunday. This was supposed to be a road ride with the Arsaga's group. Mother Nature wasn't going to let that happen. More Rain. I'm not complaining, we needed the rain. So Sunday morning had me hanging out with the dogs watching the rain fall. This went on till about 1pm, the rain stopped, the radar was clear-I started to kit up. Finally about 3 the roads were drying up and the radar showed no rain around. Time to ride. The plan for the day was a 55 mile effort at an easy pace. Felt great up to about mile 30, about then is when I started to notice the wind. It was in my face! That's ok, I'll turn soon and it won't be against me. Wrong, this was one of those rides that the wind is always against you. It gets better. At about mile 40 I noticed some dark, low clouds ahead. Surely not. About a mile later the rain begins, a heavy rain. I almost canned the trip, shy of my 55 miles, but decided to tough it out. It was actually fun riding in the rain. Ended up at 3hr 27min elapsed time, a break at a gas station to refill bottles. Great ride.

Lots of rain plus lots of riding, it was a good weekend. Sorry no current pictures, threat of rain kept the camera away. Busy training week ahead!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Clean House


No ride today. So many excuses, where do I begin.

1) Work. I love my job, it brings me much satisfaction. However, the work load has been nuts lately.

2) The Heat. It's been so damn hot the last few weeks. Come on Fall.

3) The Parents. Had to clean house in prep for their arrival.

4) Sinus. The sinus infection has not yet left the body.

5) Procrastination. Lack of a training schedule has had me off training and on the nightly six pack.

That's all I can come up with at the moment, there are many, many more. I did get a chance to write out a training schedule for the next week and a half. I need schedules to keep me in check with my training. If it is written, it should be done.

Nothing to crazy on the schedule, just a good mix of all three sports. The bulk of my training is still on the bike. I can't wait until I can start logging long runs again. Smuckers can't wait either.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

First Post

Here is my first post. I have many reasons for starting this blog, but the main reason is to keep track of my training and progress as a triathlete. Many plans are conjured while on the computer or elsewhere but don't always get put into action. My purpose with this blog is to lay out my plans publicly and then pursue them with great vigor.

I have no more triathlons planned for this year. I had knee problems(IT Band) early in the year that kept me from running for most of this year. Lesson learned. However, I plan on racing a few mountain bike events this fall, White Rock 100 and a few AMBCS races.

That's all for a first post. Tomorrow I will have a ride report and a little about my upcoming training schedule.