more than just another bike blog

Wednesday, March 31, 2004

Yogurt & Pedialyte.....Pedialyte & Yogurt

Okay, so I put myself on a strict regimine of yogurt & pedialyte to neutralize the bugs in my belly and try to regain a good hydration/electrolyte balance. I think it's working. Felt okay this morning. Not great, but better than I have in a while. 14 hours of sleep last night and I'm sure I don't have a cold (yippee).

I didn't train yesterday (Tuesday), but I stopped by the Pilates Studio and registered for sessions beginning this Friday. I'm planning two, one-hour sessions a week (Monday & Thursday) and this will include both strength work (Pilates) and flexibility work (Gyrotonics). I think it would be good for me to have the structure of working with a trainer. I'll actually be working with two different women. One focuses on athletes. She's a competitive speed skater and works with lots of cyclists and triathletes. The second woman focuses on rehab. Of all the trainers, I thought this would be a good mix.

Today I was to complete 2.5 hours on the bike, primarily in zone 2, with 2 20-minute intervals at AT. Started out with the Wednesday morning ride group and felt incredibly strong. I was torn between my desire to go climb Page Mill and my knowledge that I'm still a bit under the weather. So, I did my zone 2 and my two efforts. Maintaining zone 2 was super-easy. I was actually having a challenge getting up into zone 2, but once my heart woke up, it was good. Started my first effort about 1:30 into the ride. Averaged 149 with 159 max for the entire 20 minute effort. Was having a hard time getting my HR up into zone 4 on the flats, but was able to do it on the rollers if I really pushed it. Recovered down to zone 2 for 10 minutes and then began my second effort. Just couldn't get my HR up for this one. Averaged 143 with 156 max for another 20 minutes. Not bad for my first real efforts, but I'm anxious to get my PowerTap so I can do power-based intervals instead of HR-based intervals.

Still not completely sure that I'm defining my zones the same way you do, Giana, especially after the discussion of trainining with power last week. If I think my AT is now 159, could you give me zones based on your methodology?

Oh, note on bike fit. My bike feels good again. I think I had my seatpost just a tad low in Spain. Isn't it amazing that a tiny little change can make a HUGE difference in comfort and performance? I may still swap out to a shorter stem, but I'm going to wait a week or so and see how I feel.

Ride Stats: 37.66 miles -- 2:24:48 -- 15.7mph average -- 30.7mph max

Oh, for tomorrow, you've got me down for a 90 minute ride but no other notes about it. What would you like me to do for those 90 minutes? Hope you're feeling better.

Lorri

Tuesday, March 30, 2004

So, This is Jetlag (continued).......

Tuesday morning. Still tired. I've been going to sleep by 9:00pm since I got home and (unfortunately) waking up a million times in the night. Sunday and Monday I was up by 4:00am. This morning, woke at 4:00am and decided I was going to do everything I could to go back to sleep. Made it to 6:30.

Wondering if I might have a little cold. Just a little runny & sore throat and my body aches (or maybe I need to buy a new bed). Been upping my zicam & vit c with the hopes of avoiding something nasty. I just keep telling myself, "I never get colds."

Not getting caught up on work because I'm so darn tired. Not only have I been sleeping too much, but I'm pretty dazed & stupid when I'm awake. But, not stressing about it.

Anyways, did a one-hour recovery ride yesterday. Felt good to start, but then felt a bit off. Realized it was probably because I was a bit dehydrated and hadn't eaten much yesterday morning.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I've had diarrhea every morning since March 20th. Some days it's really bad and lasts throughout the day. Some days it's just a morning thing. I had attributed it to the food or water in Spain, but I've still got it and I've been home for three days now. Hmmmm.

Monday's Ride Stats: 15.72 miles -- 1:06:16 -- 14.2mph avg -- 23.5 max -- no HR monitor. Rode easy (although the headwind on the bay was pissing me off).

Oh, and I was so tired when I got home last night, I totally forgot to do my core work, so I'll do it today.

L

Sunday, March 28, 2004

So, This is Jetlag...

All in all, I think I've managed the travel, hydrate, eat, don't get sick, adjust your time zones pretty darn well. Went to bed early and slept well last night, although I did wake up a few times. Finally woke at 6:15am and knew I had to get up. Waded through the volumes of email for a bit this morning and debated about whether to go on the club ride. Finally decided just to hit the bay trail for my recovery ride.

My body feels great. My legs actually have some snap and I'm very comfortable on the bike. My mind isn't quite there (I guess this is jetlag). Sat staring at the computer for a while and it was tough trying to focus at the race. I'm glad to be home and heading to bed shortly to get some sleep.

Ride Stats: Recovery Ride. My goal was to keep my HR in zone 2 and spin 95+ rpms. 16.9 miles -- 1:05:04 -- 15.6mph avg -- 23.1mph max -- 128 avg hr -- 155 max hr.

PS I decided to do one harder, standing burst to see if my HR would respond as a way to gauge my recovery. As you can see, it did respond (yippee).

L

Tuesday, March 16, 2004

I'm leaving for Spain, when? I don't know how I'm going to get everything done before I leave.

First, the bad news. My FSA compact crank didn't arrive from Sinclair this morning. Not in a total panic since I got an octalink one directly from FSA, but I really, really want the Isis. So, now I'm two days behind on installing and testing it. That means we need to get it installed tomorrow, I need to do a ride, and then pack the bike. I was hoping to stay away from Summit tomorrow and just focus on tying up loose ends. Oh well. I guess the good news is that I've still got one day.....

So, today's program called for two rides -- 1.5 in the morning and 1.0 in the afternoon. Tight on time (as always), I only had an hour before I had to take Julie to the vet. Was supposed to focus on spinning and cadence (no HRM) so I hit the bay trail and spun 90+ rpms this morning. Same ride in the afternoon but tried to maintain 100+ rpms. Felt much faster this afternoon until I turned around into a HUGE headwind heading north (forgot about that afternoon headwind).

I'd left my Lemond at Summit yesterday so Josh could install my new cranks first thing, so I rode my Trek this morning. Argh! The fit just isn't right. My right quad/hip/glutes/piraformis are very tight. Could be a variety of things (the bike fit, the fact that I cleaned my right cleat and it's got more float, the different saddle on the Trek, and the fact that I just noticed it's tilted slightly left -- oops, the tiny little hamstring pull I got playing with Julie last week). Decided not to worry about it. But, when I got on the Lemond this afternoon, still had a bit of tension. No crisis yet.

Ride Stats (morning ride) -- 1:00:22 -- 16.7 miles -- 16.7mph avg -- 23.6mph max -- AVG HR = 124, MAX HR = 138.

Ride Stats (afternoon ride) -- 1:06:45 -- 18.2 miles -- 16.5mph avg -- 22.6mph max -- AVG HR = 132, MAX HR = 148.

BTW, I know Giana said no HR monitor. I wore it on my wrist and didn't look at it, but I like to keep stats just the same, especially since my HR seems so bizarre lately.

Oh, and while I'm on bizarre HR notes, my HR seemed pretty low this morning walking around the house (60bpm). I haven't monitored my resting, waking, sleeping, standing HR in a long time so maybe I'll see what my morning HR is just for kicks. Used to be 42-44 (pre-warfarin). In the fall (post-warfarin) it was always 48-54.

Lorri

Monday, March 15, 2004

Snot & Wheezing & Clicking

BTW, I've noticed in the past couple of weeks that I'm getting snotty & wheezy even when I'm not riding. Wondering if I'm acquiring allergies. Guess I'll think about it more when I return from Spain.

The other strange body thing I've noticed is that I have a pretty significant "click" when I turn my head to the left. It clicks when I turn to the left & when I turn from left to center. Doesn't click when I turn right or return or when I nod up & down. I can almost isolate the feeling in the back of my neck/spine (C4?). Guess I'll think about this more as well if it doesn't go away. First noticed it about 2 weeks ago and assumed I'd just slept wrong.

Is Running Around Like a Chicken with Her Head Cut Off Considered Cross-Training?

Whew! What a whirlwind weekend. Lesson learned -- never plan two big events within 24 hours of each other. Anyways, back to the training.

Saturday, March 13th -- My training called for a three-hour steady ride in zones 2 & 3. Cathy Wong is back on the bike and we planned to ride together for about 1.5 hours (all she can ride right now). She'd planned a flat route so Pennie and I decided to ride down to Menlo Park to meet her, adding in a little bit of challenge by climbing Polhemus and riding the rollers on Alameda. In Menlo Park, we met up with Cathy and Kim Perez and did an hour and a half of pacelining on Foothill and Alameda. Was wonderful to ride with Cathy again, and the four of us had a great time. Kim returned to San Mateo with me, taking Alameda and then dropping down onto Old County in San Carlos to lower the intensity and cool-down.

Ride Stats -- 50.4 miles -- 3 hours 20 mins -- 15.2 mph average -- 35.1 max -- AVG HR = 133, MAX HR = 153.

Better attitude today. I know I'm on track with my training and just need to be patient. My legs are getting very muscular again, and although I'm not losing weight, my body comp is redistributing. My fat clothes are too big!

Saturday night was the annual Velo Girls Birthday Party. My big task for the day was putting together the member gift bags. The committee was wonderful, so I didn't have much to do. The party was a blast. I'm very proud of everything we've done in just two years. Didn't eat enough because I was busy, busy, busy chatting it up with all the guests. Home and in bed by 10:30pm.

Sunday, March 14th -- The best laid plans......Up at 5:00am to finish up the final details for the track series finale. My plan was to meet Cayce at the track at 8:00am to go for a two hour ride before I had to prep the track. Well, somehow everything took much longer than it should have, and I finally made it to the track at 10:00am just in time to set up. Argh!

But, I had brought my road bike and my track bike, so I thought I'd be able to at least do the warm-up and drills with the women on the track. Didn't happen. And by the time we were finished with racing and the post-race BBQ, I was so tired and hungry that I didn't have the energy to ride my road bike either. But at least I was busy and active -- running around prepping, loading the car, working the track, lifting & carrying. I consider this cross-training, although I would've rather been riding my bike.

By the time I got home at 5:00pm and unloaded the car, the weekend caught up with me. My short nap turned into 4 hours and at 9:00pm I decided just to go to bed. Slept until the alarm went off at 5:00am and decided to let myself sleep in since this will be the last chance I have to do that for a long time.

Sleep stats -- 13.5 hours!!!

Monday, March 15th A bit fatigued today. I know I didn't eat enough either Saturday or Sunday and all the build-up to the party and the track series finale, along with all the physical work have left me a bit tired and achy. I really want to get on the bike for a short spin, but today's supposed to be a day off.

Working at the shop today, then I need to focus on tying up loose ends tonight and tomorrow and packing for Spain.

Friday, March 12, 2004

The Bottom of the Food Chain

That's what I feel like sometimes. Right now I'm having a down moment. Just read Giana's email from her first day riding in Spain and it scared the shit out of me. What the hell am I doing going to ride in Spain? I'm in no shape to do this and it's just going to be a humiliating experience. I got so upset thinking about it that I cried. Anyways, maybe I'm just tired. Or frustrated.

I felt great on my ride today, but still always the slowest rider. Rode with Dawn, Norma, and Marcie. I know not to compare myself to anyone else, but of course I do. It's so frustrating to have lost so much fitness, but this just makes me hungrier to train and excel. I am improving. I have muscles in my legs again. Dawn even commented on it when I was out of the saddle today. I think I need to train alone for a while before I try to train with others from the team right now. It just depresses me too much.

Anyways, today was supposed to be a free-ride (no HRM) for three hours. Another super-busy day and I only had time to get in 2:15. Sorry, Giana. I'll make up for it tomorrow. I've been feeling so strong that I actually suggested we climb Page Mill. Did okay, but of course was the last up. But I did it. In my double. It was a challenging route but I do feel much stronger.

I'm able to stand more as I ride and feeling very comfortable with jumps and short power climbs. For a while I was feeling awkward standing and worried that I didn't have enough strength, but I'm good now.

Ride stats: 2:14:52 -- 33.24 miles -- 14.7 avg -- 35.1 max -- AVG HR = 133, MAX HR = 162 (but again, I would think AVG would be higher since I was in the 140s and 150s for much of the ride. I wonder if my 15 minutes of warm-up and cool-down affect average that much).

Thursday, March 11th -- 60 minutes in zone 2 (active recovery). I actually like having a recovery ride mid-week. Made me feel fresh and strong and ready to go for the next day. I had to drop my car at Fast Signs, so I rode over to the bay and did the Bay Trail. Flat with just a couple of bumps, but a headwind on the northbound section. Felt good. Did a handful of jumps just because.

Ride Stats: 1:02:45 -- 16.6 miles -- 15.9 avg -- 23.5 max -- AVG HR = 125, MAX HR = 148.

Note on core: Giana has me scheduled to do core work three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I'm suffering a bit from DOMS every session and am going to take 48 hours recovery between sessions. Was still sore on Thursday from Monday's session, so I'll do core tonight and then shoot for Monday.

Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Training is on Track -- Blogging is a Bit Behind

Darn! I've been trying to write my Land Park race report from Saturday (soon, I promise) and have gotten a bit behind in my blogging.

Anyways, life is good. I'm feeling strong and healthy. Here's a quick recap since Saturday.

Saturday, March 6th -- Land Park Criterium -- I'll do a full race report soon, but I felt great, had a blast, and can tell that I'm going to be a kick-ass racer. This was a big success for me and a great little motivational tool to keep me going.

Sunday, March 7th -- Busy day. Knew it would be challenging to fit in my training because I was committed as promoter at the track and then had plans to see Cathy Wong for her birthday. Luckily, I run around a lot at the track so I fell like I got some good recovery activity in. Surprisingly, not fatigued from Saturday's race.

Monday, March 8th -- Off. Did about 30 minutes of core and stretching. Did half a dozen variations on abs/obliques/back and threw in some push-ups and biceps curls and triceps kicks. Am already regaining some core strength and my flexibility has improved significantly.

Tuesday, March 9th -- I did an AT test on the CompuTrainer. Joy Pinsky came over to "moderate" the test for me (it's hard to do the test on yourself and record all the data). Started with a pretty good warm-up. My legs felt very fresh and I had a lot of energy. I've been through this protocal a number of times with various coaches, and this is the first time I really felt the drive to push it and continue to complete failure. I think the events of the past couple of years have made me mentally tougher and less likely to give up when it gets tough. Hopefully this will serve me well in racing.

Anyways, I got to a point where I was above threshold and told Joy this was when she needed to start cheerleading. At that point, she said "you're doing great, Lorri, you're at 160." Doh! Don't tell me numbers, Joy! At that point, I thought "gee, this is hard" and only lasted another three minutes.

Anyways, the test data comfirmed what I'd suspected. My AT has changed significantly since my last test (a blood lactate test by Max Testa) in February 2003. My total WATTS at my new AT is lower than my WATTS at my old AT, so I've obviously lost strength. But this will be a good benchmark and will allow me to track my progress during the season.

After the test, Joy and I did an "errand" ride. Actually, I needed to go to Fast Signs in San Mateo to proof the art for my car wrap. Took the back streets over to avoid El Camino (didn't think Joy would do well on El Camino) and then tooled around the hills of Hillside for a while before heading back to Burlingame for lunch. The weather was beautiful and I wore a shimmel and shorts (no warmers) and unfortunately got a bit sunburned sitting on the patio at lunch. Stupid me. Total ride time (warm-up, AT test & ride) -- 2:04

Wednesday, March 10th -- Today I was scheduled for 2.5 hours in zone 2 with one 10-minute climb no higher than zone 3. 8 women showed up for the Wednesday ride. 5 of us were significantly faster than the other three so we split up and did separate rides. My HR was high from the very beginning. I think a number of factors contributed to this (DOMS from my strength work on Monday, sunburn from yesterday, the fact that I had to wear a long sleeve jersey to protect my arms even though it was 80 degrees out). But besides that, my effort also felt harder than normal for the HRs I was achieving.

We probably rode a bit too hard (sorry Giana) but it was a fun ride. When we finally stopped after the first 90 minutes, I noticed we'd averaged 17.2mph and realized I should back off a bit (no wonder it felt hard). Ride Stats: Time -- 2:32:11 -- 40.29 miles -- 15.9 average -- 34.8 max -- average HR = 138 (although this may be off a bit since it includes an easy warm-up and cool-down -- for most of the ride I was in the 140-150 range) -- Max HR = 162.

Friday, March 05, 2004

Never Thought the CompuTrainer Would Feel so Good

I finally woke up feeling ready to go!!! How the heck did that happen? Although, I will admit that I got a little more fatigued as the day wore one and I've got terrible dark circles under my eyes (I noticed them sitting on the trainer looking in the mirror).

Anyways. Good day. Decided to quit waffling and book the clinic with Giana in Spain. Too bad I waited so long to decide -- flights weren't cheap. Will be busy getting ready, but it will be fabulous for me.

Today I was to ride an hour in a half in zone 2. I spent so much time with work and booking flights this morning, and I had to go into Summit (since I blew it off yesterday), that I decided just to ride the trainer tonight.

So, home from work and set up the CompuTrainer. I was actually looking forward to it because I like to see how the function in my left leg is returning (although it takes so long to set it up that it's a pain in the butt). Was pleased to see that my left leg seems to be stabilizing and that almost all function has returned (at least that's what my spinscan looks like). And I'm shocked that I'm still able to produce so many watts, even though I haven't been training. Will be interesting to do my AT test on Tuesday.

So, 50 minutes was all I could do. Zone 1 & 2 with a handful of accelerations just to wake up my legs. Finished up with about 10 minutes of stretching & 15 minutes of abs. The good news is that I've regained lots of flexibility. I can now reach my toes again!!! My legs were a bit fatigued & achy today, so I'm hoping I've worked that out and I feel refreshed for tomorrow.

Tonight's training was just what I really needed to help me recover for tomorrow's crit. I'm feeling confident that if I don't psych myself out, I can hang with the pack tomorrow. Too bad I probably can't contribute to team tactics, since it's just Tracey and Susan, but I've got a good plan for them anyways.

So, tonight I decided to do something I never do. I got ready for tomorrow's race. Packed my pump & spare wheel & clothes in the car. Prepared my bottles (accelerade & endurox) and food. And cleaned my bike. I'm torn about replacing my tires. I think they look fine, although they do have about 1,400 miles on them, but Cathy Wong had commented at one of the EBs that they're history. I think she's wrong.

Anyways, I'm ready to go. Instead of my usual plan of getting up super-early and then trying to remember & pack everything, I decided to get it all done tonight and relieve some stress in the morning.

Had a JogMate & Endurox for recovery and then some whole wheat pasta, a chicken breast, and tomatoes. Found rice pasta in the grocery tonight, so I'll try that soon (Giana said eliminate wheat from my diet).

I'm excited about tomorrow. My only other crit experience (a SJBC training crit a couple of summers ago) wasn't so hot. It was only 6 weeks after I was hit by a car and I wasn't comfortable with the situation. But I've been working on my visualization and I feel good. My cardio is strong. Not much strength in my legs, but I think I can hang for a 40 minute crit. Guess we'll see tomorrow.

Ride stats -- 51 minutes -- 14.86 miles -- 17.5 average -- 25.9 max -- average HR = 122 -- max HR = 136.

Lorri

Thursday, March 04, 2004

I love my Lemond!

Well, I woke fatigued. This is nothing new. I used to wake up at 4:30 or 5:00am without the alarm, but for the past two weeks, I've been struggling to get up. The past two mornings, the alarm went off at 5:00 and I reset it to 6:00 and was still fatigued when I got up. Guess I really should see the doc. I don't think it's stress or depression -- just plain old fatigue.

Anyways, busy day ahead (work, vet, Summit, client) and wasn't sure when I could fit in a ride so I decided not to work at Summit today. Did a morning full of errands and was so tired that I came home and took a nap at 11:00! Woke just before 1:00 and really had to push myself to get out on the bike.

I'd decided to kill two birds with one stone. I needed to deliver a couple of CDs of photos for the birthday party to Heather Lilly in RWC, so I figured I could ride there. Supposed to do a two hour rolling zone 2, so I chose Polhemus, Alameda, Woodside for the ride south and returned via Woodside, Alameda, and then Old County. Not exactly rolling (a couple of pretty good climbs and also some city riding), but close enough that I could stay in zone 2 or low zone 3.

Decided to ride the Lemond today. Can't remember the last time I rode it (last fall?). Since I'm doing Land Park on Saturday and plan to ride the Lemond, I wanted to make sure it was in good working order and I felt comfortable on it and with the switch to campy (since my Trek has Shimano). I LOVE MY LEMOND! And I had no problem climbing with the double.

So, something's wrong with my Trek fit. My Lemond feels fine and there's no stress on my lower back. This is puzzling -- time to get out the tape measure. All I can think is that when Martin borrowed my Trek last fall, he did something to the fit that he didn't quite switch back, because it's definitely off.

Anyways, felt great on the bike and I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's ride. I'm supposed to do 90 minutes zone 2/3 so I'm actually going to hit the bay trail, try to stay in the drops for most of the ride (to simulate the following day's crit) and enjoy the morning view over the bay.

Ride stats (because I'm a geek this way): 2 hours 12 minutes -- 30.3 miles -- 13.7 average -- 33.7 max -- average HR = 138 -- max HR = 162.

Today was my father's birthday. Happy Birthday, Dad! Miss you.

Wednesday, March 03, 2004

Today is the First Day of the Rest of My Life

Okay, so here we go. I awoke very fatigued and a bit stressed since I'm way behind in my work, so I wasn't sure how I'd feel on the bike. But I was excited just the same. It's great for me to feel I have a purpose on the bike again and to be committed to focusing on my training.

Giana wanted me to do a 2 hour zone 2 ride today. I lead a ride on Wednesday mornings, and we typically do 3-4 hours, but the two women who were there are coaching clients of mine and were cool with doing a shorter ride.

I can't believe how incredible I felt on the bike today! My cardio finally seems to be returning. My HR isn't soaring out of control on rollers anymore. Makes me wonder how I would've done on the Headlands on Saturday if I'd actually had a warm-up (warm-up seems to be more important to me these days).

Anyways, we did the first half of our usual route, rolling down to Alpine Road in Portola Valley and I was feeling very strong & happy. Today was the first time I was able to climb that little stinker on Olive Hill without blowing up (yippee), and I was able to spin a good cadence (90+) on all the rollers and still keep my HR in zone 2.

Since I'm a bit faster than Joy & Winnie, I would ride ahead to keep my legs moving & HR in zone, and then double back.

When we got to Alpine Road (just over 60 minutes), I just wanted to keep going. So, I convinced Joy & Winnie that we should climb up Alpine. I've never climbed it before so I had no idea how long it was or where it led, but I was just feeling so darn good. So we did it! Turns out it's just about three miles and my guess is the first 2.5 or so is about a 3-5% grade with a little steeper grade at the end. I was able to spin in my middle ring until that last little section and still keep my HR down. What a beautiful, winding, green road -- complete with a babbling brook. Seems the preserve out there is a favorite dog place, so Julie and I will have to explore sometime.

Anyways, I can't remember feeling so good on the bike! Ride stats: 2 hours 33 minutes -- 36.63 miles -- 14.3 average -- 32.5 max -- 138 Average HR -- 166 Max HR.

I've thought for a while that my body has somehow changed in the past year and my AT seems to be higher. Giana emphasized the use of perceived exertion (I'm good with that) and I'd like to do an AT test on the CompuTrainer next week.

Oh, and I'm still having a little bit of lower back fatigue (not really pain) from the significant loss of hamstring flexibility. Giana thinks I should adjust my fit (shorter stem) rather than try to restore my flexibility.

I was also supposed to do 20-30 minutes of abs & core today. I HAVE NO ABS!!! Did 10 minutes and that was all I could do. I need to ask Giana about resistance training (I want to do it but she doesn't have it on my program at this point).

Oh, and Joy told me my face is looking thinner -- not all puffy as it has been looking. This was so good to hear, since I really don't think I look like myself when I'm this heavy.

Morning weight -- 164.5.

A little stressed about tomorrow. Need to fit in two hours, but I've got a vet appointment at 9:00, then off to Summit, and a client at 6:00. Guess it will be an early morning ride.

Tuesday, March 02, 2004

Hmmm. So, I've never blogged, however, I've kept journals from time to time in my life. But, Giana (my new coach) would like me to blog, so blog it is. Quite a change from keeping numbers and stats and charts. I think I understand that she'd like me to explore the symbiotic connection between the physical, physiological, and psychological aspects of training. Yeah, that sounds impressive.

Anyways, tomorrow I embark on a journey. A journey back to fitness and, hopefully, to new heights of my potential. I've always liked the transformation process, so I'm pretty darn excited to begin. It's been a long time coming and I'm ready to jump in and be all that I can be.

Lorri