Over Tired

My body feels totally exhausted. I went to the gym yesterday and swam a mile in the pool. Then I went through the majority of the leg exercises that I do. Today I feel like that was a mistake. I just want to sleep. I know that in the long run, days like yesterday will be very beneficial, but in the short term, it's hard to stay motivated when I can't stay awake. And so I continue. I plan to do the saturday road ride but I don't know how long I will hang on. My friend is a personal trainer and he is sending me workout lists to rotate through each week. All for the quest to change fat into muscle and hopefully gain 15 more pounds of it. Clydesdale Sport, here I come.

Home Again

Back from a long but successful weekend of racing. We fought a tough battle and finished third in our division. It is quite an accomplishment as the teams continue to get stronger and stronger. 

I had a great time and truly enjoyed the visit from our friends as well. I also got in a nice and easy recovery ride this morning which is usually something I don't get to do. At this point I'm exhausted. I plan to unpack the car and take a nap.

Getting It All Together

I'm collecting up all my things and going through the checklists for the twelve hour this weekend. I will be heading out early on friday to ensure a good camping/pit area for the race. I have to do some last minute shopping tomorrow and plan to have the car packed tomorrow night to ensure a speedy exit in the morning.

I had the bike all tuned and dialed in for the race but decided to do one last ride yesterday just to have some fun. My friend's daughter is in town and went with us. She has only been using clipless pedals for about 2 weeks and is still a little sketchy getting unclipped. We rode about a mile and stop to regroup and explain the next section to her. As she pulls up along side of me, she forgets to unclip and falls. Normally not a big deal except for the fact that she slows her fall by bracing the end of her handlebar on my derailleur and hanger before hitting the ground. It couldn't have been more perfect aim and was equivalent to hitting the hanger with a hammer. We get up-righted and start to ride away and my drivetrain clunks and skips like crazy. NOOOOOOOO! A few cable adjustments allow me to finish the ride but a panicked call to the bike shop later that night arranges the necessary logistics for repairing the problem. Luckily the shop owner is good at calming my nerves and the bike should be back to race-ready by the time I leave. 

I'll recap the race when we get back.

Getting Closer

The twelve hour is a little over a week away and bad luck has struck one of our riders. She has fallen and dislocated her shoulder. Hopefully it was a minor dislocation, (she has yet to see a doctor) and she may be able to still ride. I know she has been training a lot for this race and I was confident that we would do well as a team with her on it. I have a back-up rider getting ready but I'm saddened to think it won't be our originally planned team that is racing. 

The course for the race this year will be the same as last year. That is good news. It was a fast course last year with the technical sections grouped together at the beginning and the end. I know that my friends daughter is a little nervous about riding the course, but she has nothing to fear. I know that her current skill level should get her through most of the course relatively unscathed. Once we ride through the tech sections with her and show her the lines, she should do well there too. She may have to walk one or two areas, no big deal.

I continue with my training program of riding, yoga, and lifting weights at the gym. I look forward to seeing if there is any improvement in my riding during the race.

Special Request

I have been requested by my adopted daughter to list the yoga poses that I do. So here they are in the order that I do them:

1. Half Moon

2. Warrior

3. Tree

4. Sun Salutation

5. Standing Knee

6. Palm Tree

7. Chair

8. Triangle

9. Downward-Facing Dog

10. Dance

11. Cobra

12. Bridge

13. Spinal Twist

14. Shoulder Stand

That's it. I don't know if the names are universal but I know the actual poses are ones I did when we were in an organized class.

Health Club Observations

I've been to the YMCA several times this last week and have made the following observations:

1. People will drive around the parking lot several times looking for the CLOSEST parking spot. Why don't they want to WALK very far to get to the gym?

2. These same people will start every workout with 30 minutes on the TREADMILL, STAIR MASTER, or ELLIPTICAL machine. 

3. People will stand  outside their car before going into the gym to finish their CIGARETTE!?!?

Now I know that I also have some strange ideas about fitness. Like I'll ride my bike to the gym, workout for two hours, ride home, and then eat chicken wings. But I think that is justifiable. My first three observations cannot be explained.

I have also continued with my daily yoga. I'm doing 45 minutes every day now, usually first thing in the morning. I recommend it to everyone.

Pitiful Results

Sunday's race yielded pitiful results. The race begins with a long road section, somewhere between a quarter and half mile. I was determined to stay with the pack during this section. Unfortunately, I geared the bike easy to enable me to make all the climbs later in the course. This proved my downfall in that the other guys in the class are much stronger riders. They used harder gears which allowed them greater speed on the road. I was able to hang with them from the start to the end of the road but quickly blew up after that. Once we hit single track, they just pulled away and left me breathing dust. I suffered through the three laps at a snail's pace, finishing last.

I try to stay positive and say that this was just a good training ride, but the competitor in me wants to do well no matter what. I'm just focusing on the 12 hour now. Its twenty days away and that's where I want to be the strongest. I'm going to add intervals and weight training, starting this week. I'll keep you posted.