Monday, October 11, 2010

Solid week of training and teams still moving towards goals!

I'll start off with the latest on the men and women's cross-country teams at Susquehanna University. The women had a great week winning the Goucher Invitational. Whether 6K or 8K, the course at Goucher College is brutal. Any runner would run probably their slowest time of the year there. It is one course that I am happy that I will never have to run. With 5 women finishing in the top 15 the women scored 42 points and beat 9 other schools. It was a strong showing by everyone on the team as they got a preview of the course that out conference championships will be held on. Even with sitting our top 5 men, the men finished 5th out of 12 schools. The men ran strong races but still making the mistake of getting out a little to slow and having to much ground to make up. We had good showings by a lot of young runners and I am sure as they get more experience the slow first mile will end. Our top runners did a workout on the course to get a feel for the course at race pace. I wish we did not have to go back.

The training for next spring/summer's rides continues to go extremely well. I have also run two times now in October. I have enjoyed a bit of this break from running. I really believe that my body in a way was telling me that I needed a break. I think I went 2 to 2.5 years without a day off from running. Now I think I have run a total of less than ten times the past month. Last week was a great week for cycling as I had a solid 6 rides. I also switched the bike from single speed to fixed-gear for this week. Today was one of my best rides to date. Totals thus far in training:

Today
32.35miles/21.33mph/01:31:00

Last week (6 rides)
195.05 miles/20.40mph/09:33:00

October (10 rides)
312.75 miles/20.40mph/15:20:00

Since start of training (38 rides)
1128.55 miles/ 20.15mph/56:01:30

I am also now prepared for raining or nasty days and the winter. I have purchased a set of rollers for the winter. They should be a ton of fun all winter.

http://www.treefortbikes.com/product/333222343505/741/Minoura-Rollers-Advance.html#navbar=pro___333222343505___741

The search for the new bike continues. A lot of research going into it. Feels like you always find something better every time you check another website. I am also searching places for getting a great fit.

Lastly, I am also going to pursue and start obtaining my coaching certification for cycling.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Training is rolling along extremely well!

Well, it is now 4 days into the 2nd month of training on the bike. The shoulder still impacts running and limits me to 2-3 days a week of 4-5 miles. I am still amazed how much the shoulder continues to be a problem given that it has been nearly a full month since the tumble.

Biking continues to go extremely well. A few rainy days have forced me inside to ride a stationary bike. It has killed me riding that thing for several reasons. Except for today, it has always felt like it was about 100 degrees in the fitness area and there is no air circulating. Today actually felt good but it is still mind and ass numbing to sit on those huge stationary bike seats. With that in mind, today I ordered some rollers for training during bad weather and the winter.

http://www.treefortbikes.com/product/333222343505/741/Minoura-Rollers-Advance.html

Last week was a very good week of training. I did get 7 rides last week with the longest ride being about 34.5 miles. For the week, I rode for 208.75 miles, 1o hours and 28 minutes or about 20mph. For the month of October thus far, in four rides I have covered 115.35 miles, 5 hours 46 minutes or 20mph. In 32 rides since I have started the bike training, I have rode 931.35 miles in 46hours 37 minutes for a 20.0 mph average. I have also been doing this on a single speed/fixed gear bike from Iro Cycles (46 x 17-18).

With some very good guidance, I have started a search for a new bike for training and racing. There are several bikes that are in the running, here are links to 2 of them:

http://www.vandesselsports.com/?page_id=25
http://www.cervelo.com/en_us/bikes/2010/S1/


I will keep you informed on the purchasing process. I am going to start it all of with a proper fit which should be a lot of fun.