Crazy Week, Base 2 & Landmark Championships All Over

What a crazy week? Crazy but the perfect week for a down week to end Base 2 and the month of February. I hope to have more answers about the craziness tomorrow and hopefully be able to explain better but until then I will speak of Landmarks and training for TdO 2011.

Maybe the teams did not win the championships, but they competed like champions throughout the entire meet. The team spirit was amazing also as I have never seen so much face and/or body paint at a track meet before. The noise they created in our fieldhouse to cheer all their teammates on was so loud at times you would have thought the meet was between 20 schools not the 6 that are in our conference. Both teams placed second but it was not from a lack of effort. When 75-80% of the roster sets their season best or personal best in at least 1 event, coaches can not ask for more from their athletes. The teams started outdoor track & field today with what will be an easy week to transition in the new season. Next week 45 or so of the team will be heading to Myrtle Beach for spring break training and a 2 day meet at Coastal Carolina University.

My training continues to go well despite the craziness. Now once again, with hosting the conference championships and the craziness that goes with that, I missed my lifting days but did not miss a ride. It was a very solid week on the bike to end Base Phase 2. As March draws near, dreams of getting outside around my crazy schedule get closer. I figure if I can handle all the time I have put on an indoor trainer I can handle anything outside. New training numbers:

Week 8 - 7 rides/ 191 miles/ 8hours 32 minutes/22.40mph
February - 27 rides/ 888 miles/ 39hours 36minute/ 22.40mph
Year - 59 rides/ 1931 miles/ 86hours 54minutes/ 22.20mph

Now as this week begins, the craziness should not be as bad. I am scheduled to get volume on bike back to the 10-10.5 hour range. I should be able to get back in the weight room at least twice this week. As sprng gets closer, I am getting more anxious to start finalizing some details for some races and get started back on pulling parts together for my cyclocross bike which is my ultimate goal this fall. It is also motivating to see all the bicycle racing that has started with several of the lesser known small tours throughout the world.

Keep training hard and smart!!!

TdO 2011!!

LANDMARK CHAMPIONSHIPS/RECOVERY WEEK/TdO2011 THE EPIC CYCLE!

As training keeps rolling along incredibly well, I am so happy that this recovery week falls on the week of our indoor track & field championships. This week will be crazy getting ready for the championships as we host the event every year. It is a very small meet of 6 schools but for some reason, despite hosting every year since we opened our indoor facility and hosting 4 other meets each year, people on campus seem to over think this one. And we all know when that happens, it makes my life so much more fun (insert sarcasm font there).

The past 2-3 weeks have been crazy with hosting 3 meets and this past weekend we had 16 schools compete in our facility. It was a great day for the team as they continue to progress nicely towards the championships. I have seen improvement each week from all disciplines and most importantly have witnessed a closeness developing between all the athletes that will come through quite loudly this Saturday at the championships! GO CRUSADERS!!!!!

Training on the bike could not be any better at this point of training. I just finished Week 3 of Base 2 and this upcoming week is a down week as Base 2 ends. Now, with the craziness of the past 3 weeks, the weight training has not been what it should have been but this week should allow me to get back on track with that. On the bike, nothing could be better. I can feel my fitness level on the bike grow with every ride. As it is snowing here right now as I write this, I can't help but think "damn - I can't wait to get outside and ride for hours."

New training totals: (not many details since the other guy in TdO is being so secret with his training numbers - LOL)
Week 7 - 7 rides/ 11hours 27minutes/ 255 miles/ 22.3mph
Feb - 20 rides/ 31hours 4minutes/ 697 miles/ 22.4mph
Year - 51 rides/ 78hours 22minutes/ 1740 miles/ 22.2mph

This week the goal is for 8.5-9 hours with just one workout. The plan will be to get in the weight room at least twice this week and try for a third day. I do not want to miss out another week of that as it has meant a world of difference in my training.

A lot of positives in life now that seem to make training even better. It is amazing when you keep life in perspective, how well training will go especially when you are sitting on an indoor trainer for a mind and ass numbing 2 hours or more.

TdO 2011 - TBA & added to added to Versus "The Epic Cycle" (Ha Ha)

Sunday Night Rant With A Beer!!

Decompression time!!!!! (Ithaca Beer Co - Apricot Wheat!!!!!!!)

Another week of training is in the books. It was yet another crazy week at school with hosting a meet on a Sunday and meetings throughout the week. The college meets are a littler easier since we do all entries done through Direct Athletics. It makes the week leading up to the meet so much more relaxing. Today we had 10 institutions competing in our indoor track & field facility. With two week till our indoor track & field championships, both team put up some great performances. We had 3 school records on the women's team and our top thrower on the men's team established himself as the top thrower in the conference in both indoor throws. The best part of the today was listening to the team support each other and taking control of our facility. It will be a fun meet to watch in two weeks.

Well, given the craziness at work, training went fairly well but I did miss my two days of lifting. I hated missing that this week. I have really enjoyed the lifting and can feel the benefits while pedaling. I also fell a little short of time goal but getting nearly 11 hours on the bike is still a very solid week. I am so anxious and ready to get outside. It looks like I may get a day or two this week to get outside. It is amazing how even a day like today when it got close to 40 that it feels more like 60 because how harsh the past few weeks have been. Yesterday, I did manage a two hour ride on the rollers but that was made easy by the ManU versus Man City soccer game. Man U won on a fabulous bicycle kick by Wayne Rooney!!! It was one of the most amazing goals I have ever seen!!

Newest riding totals:
Week - 7 rides / 242 miles/ 22.30mph/ 10 hours 52 minutes
Month - 13 rides/ 442 miles/ 22.50 mph/ 19 hours 37 minutes
Year - 44 rides/ 1485 miles/ 22.20mph/66 hours 55 minutes

This week I am scheduled to get close to 12 hours of cycling. I will get the 2 fays of lifting this week. This week is not scheduled to be as crazy with less meetings and a Saturday meet. Now Saturday's meet will be a big one with 18 schools coming to compete.

Keep training hard and smart!

Tdo 2011

Crazy week Over!!!

What a crazy week but life is really good!!!!!

Just finished a weekend of hosting a high school track & field meet. We had 750 athletes scheduled to compete in a complete indoor track & field meet schedule. Meet started at 10am on Super Bowl Sunday and lasted till 5pm. It was a busy day but a very fun day. My teams look forward each year to hosting the high school athletes. The hardest part of the week is entering all the athletes into the Hytek System and praying we did not make too many mistakes transferring the information from the coach's entry forms. Next year, we are going to Direct Athletics so I can have a little less stressful week next year leading up to the meet.

Despite the craziness, I was able to get a solid week of training. This past week was the first week of Base 2. I am now in the phase of training where I start to add some workouts where I get the heart rate into Zone 3. I can feel myself getting stronger on the bike each week. Last week was a great week as I got a solid workout on Tuesday with a 40:00 tempo in Zone 3 during my 90:00 ride. Now I did get one good day of weight training but I missed day 2 because of prepping for the high school meet. Here are the new training totals:

Week - 7 rides/ 231 miles/ 10 hours 7 minutes/ 22.90mph
Year - 37 rides/ 1243/56 hours 3 minutes/ 22.5mph

This week the goal is to get 11.5 hours and get back to 2 days of lifting. The week should be a lot less hectic as we get back into our collegiate meet schedule. They are so much easier to organize since we use Direct Athletics for those meets. We have 2 more home meets then we host our conference championships. Hopefully soon the weather will break soon, so I can get outside and ride. Training has been great on the trainer, but damn does it get old quickly!!!! It is almost like clockwork but it seems that about every 3 days or so some snow falls on Central PA and prolongs our winter. Good Phil says an early spring is coming but I am not to sure he will be right this year! Also getting closer to time to start really nailing down the race schedule. This week I will get my racing license to go along with my coaching license.

I figure it will soon be time to add to blog and randomly pick topics and maybe throw some midweek rants into the mix. Seems like a lot going on now that maybe just break my stress might be good to write it all down.....Stay tuned........

Here is to a great week of training!!! TdO!!!

End of Base 1 - Now Training Picks Back Up!

Well the first stretch of base is done. It was a very good 4 weeks and after a relaxing weekend, I feel ready for Base 2 to start. I am starting to get used to the craziness of trying to get all the hours around a coaching schedule. It can get a bit hectic, but at least it makes the time fly by. With each passing week though, it does get me more excited for the upcoming race schedule. I am really looking forward to the series in March. Yeah, it may be starting off as a Cat 5 but hey you have to start somewhere.

Last week was an easy week with just over 8 hours spent on the bike. The rides were steady rides with no ride longer than 1 hour 15 minutes. The legs feel very fresh after a good solid 4 weeks of training. The resistance program is really paying off. I can feel a considerable difference in my pedaling efficiency and power. I have been able to increase the weights at a pretty good rate. The funny about being in the weight room is the weird looks I get from my team. They are not used to seeing me in the weight room and often joke about having to show me how to use the equipment!!!

Here are the new training totals:

Week - 7 rides/ 8 hours 31 minutes/ 193 miles/ 22.4 mph
Base 1 - 28 rides/ 42 hours 26 minutes/ 935 miles/ 22mph
January - 30 rides/ 45 hours 56 minutes/ 1012 miles/ 22.1mph

With one more ride to go in January (today), it is already my biggest month of training since I have got back on the bike in September.

This week the goal for the week is back up to 10.5 hours with a long ride of 2 hours. I say 2 hours as the weather forecast looks like it will be one more week with no rides outside. The week calls for cold, snow and ice this week. This has been a brutal winter around here. I am so looking forward to getting outside and getting some 3-4 hour rides.

Track season is full swing now and I will be adding to the blog with some updates regarding the team within the next day or two.....I will be updating their quest for the "Triple Crown."


TdO!!!!

Training keeps rolling!!

Just returned from our first home indoor track & field meet of the 2010-11 season. It was a small meet and felt good to be done the meet by 4:30 but of course after some decompressing time finally get home around 7PM. Now it's time to relax and update the blog.

With the weather so far this winter, I am beginning to think I may not get outside to ride till maybe June. It has been bitterly cold here and it seems that every 3-4 days another snow or icy mix event rolls by. Even tonight, for most of Central PA the forecast calls for temperatures to dip below zero. That is way too cold for me. The chilly temps outside even made for a very cool fieldhouse today but made it made very nice for running. Overall the team did very well with several school records being set even one that stood since 1990.

Training this week went very well. For the most part I accomplished what I needed to (except for my running days - lol). I have been biking so much that sometimes I am finding it tough to get out and run. This week I will run, I promise. I did get my two days of lifting and may take it up to three this week. I have been increasing the weights and can feel a big difference in the legs when pedaling. I feel so much stronger since getting back on weight training schedule 3 weeks ago. This week on the bike itself was my biggest week since getting back on the bike and training regularly starting in September. The new training totals:

Week - 7 rides/ 11hours 50 minutes/ 264 miles/ 22.30mph
Year - 23 rides/ 37 hours 25 minutes/ 821 miles / 21.90mph

Yesterday, I did manage to get my highest amount of time on indoor trainer since starting with a ride of 2 hours and 10 minutes. To be honest, I could not imagine going much longer than that, so the weather has to improve sometime soon. I hope!!!!!

Now this next week, is the final week of my first phase of base training and a bit of a taper week. I will get my 2-3 days of running this and the minimum two days of lifting. The plan on the bike is to reduce the time on the bike to 8-9 hours. I am looking forward to the upcoming race season. It will a fun experience as I learn a lot and work my up the ranks. I am also still in the process of accumulating gadgets for my cyclocross frame.

TdO 2011!

Base = BORING!

As most endurance athletes will agree with me, Base Building is very boring but necessary. And to think, I still have 10 more weeks of Base Building - JOY! And I know this because I actually have my training schedule planned out till the end of June. I am not sure if I was ever this organized with my training, even when I was training for the Ironman World Championships. This first phase of Base Training is boring because it focuses solely on time on the bike without a lot of intensity. This first phase last two more weeks then in Phase 2 some tempo and hill workouts are added into the mix. Without access to a power meter (which I think would be interesting to train with), all workouts are based on heart rate and making sure I stay within the prescribed range. I am trying to be smarter about this than I was about my last few years of running, where I lacked a lot of patience.

This week was a very good week. I added some running back into my training by I missed one day so not the perfect week. I did get my two days of weight lifting as I was scheduled. I can definitely feel my pedal stroke getting stronger with the added weight training. This week I added some weight to each lift. On the bike it was a very solid week. Here are the totals for the week and year this far:

Week: 7 rides/ 11hours 5minutes/ 240 miles/21,7mph
Year: 16 rides/25hours 35minutes/557 miles/21.8mph

This week will be interesting as winter break ends for the school and my schedule will now be filled with coaching. And what a week to return to a normal schedule of work, the biggest week of Phase 1.

Goals for week: Biking 13 hours/ 3 Days Lifting/ 2 Days Running (3-4 miles)

Last thing to insert into training schedule are "B" & "C" races into Building Phases of training. Those races to be announced soon.

TdO - 2011