I had to make a tough decision today.....

Friday, April 30th -- I'm sure you won't be happy. I know you said today was an important training day. No excuses, but I couldn't train today. I'm sorry, Giana.

Very Active Recovery

Thursday, April 29th -- Since I had the balls, I decided to join the guys tonight on the PV ride. Invited the team and Susan and Norma joined me. Since I've ridden with PV before, I knew it would be a race, but I just wanted to jump in while I was feeling courageous. Had planned to get there for about 30 minutes of warm-up (believe it or not, all the guys warm up for an hour or more before they come to the ride). When I arrived, Susan cornered me and made me change her flat so I missed my warm-up. Well, the ride started fast! With all my balls, I put myself at second wheel which was great until Scott (CyclePath owner) pulled off. The guy next to him didn't understand what was happening and everything got sloppy. That was the beginning of the end. After my pull, I jumped back in the middle of the pack because it was already stringing out a bit, but I was hurting and when we hit one of the longer, steeper rollers, I popped off the back. Made it to Edgewood.

Historical note. Two+ years ago when I first rode with PV on their Saturday ride, I made it to Edgewood the first week (and then flatted). Made it to Portola the second week, so we'll see how I do on Tuesday when I'm recovered and fresh and have a good warm-up.

Anyways, Norma popped off shortly after me so we rode together and eventually picked up Susan again. Although my legs were fatigued on the climbs, I felt good on the flats. My competitive edge got the better of me on Mtn Home. There's this great swoopy section that I just love and Susan and I were side by side, both pushing very hard to nose each other out. I just dug in from my glutes and kept going. Beat her over the bridge and sat up. She rolled up and said I got her. Wow! I beat Susan at a power sprint.

Like any good teammate, I let Susan and Norma drag my ass home. It was the best time I've had in the backseat since high school. Very nice recovery sitting in their sweet spot.

Put on my shorter/higher stem today. Felt good, but I've got a residual saddle "issue" from Saturday. I've welted where the seam of the chamois is. Thought I was just strange, even though I've never, ever in all my riding had anything like that happen. On the way back, Susan tells me she's done the exact same thing. I wonder if it's the new shorts? Needless to say, I've chafed the skin off this section of my butt with all the riding I've done this week, so I'm sitting on the bike a little "off" so it's hard to tell what's what as far as bike fit goes.

Anyways, looking forward to my long, hilly ride tomorrow.

Oh, and I did Pilates today. Worked with Jasmen and we talked a lot about my back and did some wonderful exercises and stretching. Back feels good today.

Ride stats -- 1:39:20 -- 28.34 miles -- 17.2mph avg -- 37.7mph max -- AVG HR = 127, MAX HR = 150.

Seven Bears

Wednesday, April 28th -- Okay, it's time to take this seriously. Back spasms slowed me down today on the bike. It's incredible that back pain can change your posture, make everything hurt, and even slow your legs down and affect your balance and comfort descending. Twice I had to get off and stretch and wiggle to feel better. I'm swapping my stem tomorrow (shorter) and also going to make a chiro appt.

Anyways. Good ride despite the pain. Still a bit dehydrated I think. I was terribly thirsty the entire ride (never happens to me). Finished two bottles in the first 90 minutes and then two more. Doc said just to drink water this week (no electrolyte) so I have to wonder if my absorption is okay, but since I'm not peeing a lot, I assume it is. My HR didn't respond as well the second lap, so this might be related (I typically drink calories in my bottles as well as electrolytes and just had GU today on the ride).

Pre-rode the Berkeley Hills Road Race course with Marisa and Lauren today. Damn! It's a good course. I need to pick up my cadence and gain enough strength to push a bigger gear. I tend to "settle in" when I climb and don't push myself enough. Not doing any type of hill intervals so I guess that's understandable. But, I do need to push more. My legs aren't even tired/sore and I did a bunch of climbing last night and a ton today. Thoughts?

Anyways, rode well despite the back. This will be a tough race but I actually think the course suits me better than Wente. And, there's 6 miles of flat before the first climbs begin, so at least I can hang for the first 20 minutes or so!

Ride stats -- 3:19:19 -- 44.8 miles -- 13.9mph avg -- 42.7mph max (my fastest in 2004) -- AVG HR = 135 -- MAX HR = 159

I feel good!

Tuesday, April 27th -- I realized this as I was riding today. I'm feeling pretty darn good about my riding these days. My confidence is up and I actually feel competent on the bike again. Yeah, I'm not in race shape and I'm not flying up the hills, but I'm strong, solid, and my training has been pretty consistent. Still need to up the volume, but I'm working on that.

Anyways, worked with Canaan today to prepare for his time trial on Saturday. Total ride time with him was 39 minutes averaging about 11mph. Then I needed to do a recon ride on some new camp locations for this weekend, so I headed out to Portola Valley to climb Alpine (one of the most beautiful climbs in the area). Then explored Willowood and Indian Crossing (all new roads to me). Nice gentle climbing. It's great that I can now keep my climbs in zone 2 and 3 (fitness returns!).

Tomorrow I'm off to pre-ride Berkeley Hills Road Race with Lauren and Marisa.

Ride stats (including my time on the bike with Canaan) -- 2:14:02 -- 30.52 miles -- 13.9mph avg -- 34.2mph max -- AVG HR = 131, MAX HR = 149.

Oh, and I'm definitely retaining water because my ring and shoes are tight. Hopefully I can get my balances back by riding and sweating.

Weekly Stats -- April 19th - 25th

10:38:59 -- 155 miles. Some good training but I feel like I missed a couple of important days (short on Wednesday and no ride on Thursday). Better this week!!!

A whirlwind week (again)

Okay, here it is Tuesday again and I'm just getting around to blogging last week. Good thing I still keep my training journal.

Wednesday, April 21st -- Today I planned another pre-ride of the Wente Road Race course. I decided to try my carbon wheels to see how they behaved with the wind. Since they're lighter and my 25 cassette is on them, I wanted to be able to race them.

Well, I think there were 30mph winds today. Even though the carbon wheels are super-deep-dish-aero, they were pretty blowy, so after the first lap I switched back to my other wheels to see how they responded in the wind. As we're riding out, I continue hearing this clickity-click and finally isolate it in the bottom bracket. Quick inspection and I notice the cranks are loose. Call Leslie to see if I would cause damage if I continued to ride them and he told me how to fix the problem. Rode back to the car -- didn't fix the problem so I ended my ride.

Turns out it was loose BB cups.

Ride Stats: 1:47:32 -- 24 miles (cleared computer and lost stats) -- AVG HR = 140 -- MAX HR = 164 -- Ride felt much harder than the week before so I'm probably not completely recovered from Sea Otter weekend.


Thursday, April 22nd -- Not a good day. Feeling very anxious and stressed. Didn't ride (sorry).

Friday, April 23rd -- 30 minutes easy around town then short hilly ride with new saddle, new shoes. Always a challenge duplicating saddle & cleat position, but since the new saddle has the same profile as my old one it was pretty darn easy. Did a great spin up Ralston, Provident, Bunker Hill, Polhemus to test out climbing legs & new shoes. Feeling excellent and strong and ready for tomorrow!

Ride Stats: 1:35:52 -- 19.8 miles -- 12.4mph avg -- 37.1 max

Saturday, April 24th -- Wente Road Race -- Okay, why do I question my own knowledge? There was an email thread on the race team group about leg cramps. Now, I've never, ever had a leg cramp. I've never even been truly dehydrated. But, I let this conversation and the impending heat make me nervous and drank 5 bottles of accelerade (pre- and during the race), popped a few Enervitine tablets, chugged my morning dose of pedialyte, and basically almost killed myself with hypernatremia. Of course, I didn't know what was going on at the time. Oh well. Long story short, after some research, I learned that if you OD on electrolytes, your body starts sucking all the water out of your muscles to try and correct the imbalance and it causes dehydration. I stopped sweating at some point early in the race, my skin turned purple, and I got chilled and goose-bumpy, and I was pretty stupid. I probably shouldn't have finished the race, but I'm a tough ass.

The race was hard. Road races have been frustrating for me because I get dropped on the first climb and then seem to be out in no-man's land for the entire race. I can never seem to find anyone to work with even though when I finish, I learn that there are lots of riders behind me. So, for Wente, I decided I was going to tough it out and push my hardest and try to stay with some other riders on that first killer climb.

Finished the climb up Carroll and there were three riders pacelining just ahead of me. Try as I might, I couldn't catch them. One of them pulled over to the side of the road and I could tell she'd dropped her chain (and didn't know how to put it back on). By the time I reached her (2 minutes later) she was just getting back on the bike. I noticed she hadn't spun her pedals and the chain was positioned to fall off again, so I slowed and told her to spin her pedals. She did and then caught up to me. I suggested we ride together and she rode next to me. This was her first race and she had no idea about pacelining so I tried to explain to her and also mentioned that I was a good descender even though I'm not a strong climber. On the next climb, she pulled away from me. As I came down the next descent (a pretty sharp right-hand turn over a bridge), there she was laying on her back in the middle of the road, unconscious, with blood gurgling out of her mouth and nose. There were two riders there with her so I rode off to tell the course marshalls so they could send an ambulance.

From there I pretty much tt'd the last 20+ miles. I'd get passed by little groups of juniors on the climbs, then fly past them on the descents. I know lots of the juniors so it was fun saying "hi" but I sure wished I had someone to work with.

At the last 5 miles or so, I caught Laurie McFarlane from Velo Bella. We pacelined a bit and decided to finish together. She was really struggling up Carroll and I talked her through it but pulled ahead on the final stretch.

Waited at the top because I knew Jackie, Marja, and Tracey were still on the course. When Jackie arrived, we decided to ride back to the start together. On the way down Carroll, we saw Marja walking up to the finish. Her left leg was cramped and her left foot was numb. Turned around and walked with Marja (me, Tracey, and Jackie) and then got her back on her bike for the last stretch up the hill so she could ride over the finish line. Lots of comments about how beautiful it was to see the three of us helping our teammate to the line. Felt good that I could help Marja finish her very first race.

Race Stats (including warm-up and cool down) -- 4:04:52 -- 58.14 miles -- 14.2mph avg (race only) -- 40.5mph max (race only) -- oh, and before we started the trainer warm-up, Norma, Dawn, and I rode out on the road for a bit to get our climbing legs moving. Very good choice.

Sunday, April 25th -- Wente Crit -- Body feels destroyed from dehydration. Not sure I could race but started the warm-up. Warming up on the trainer wasn't doing it for me so I got off and rode a bit. This didn't seem to do it for me either. My legs felt fine (muscularly) but my body felt like hell.

Rolled to the line not sure I would race. Perez tells me to start (sound familiar?). Got a good start and was in the first third of the pack rolling through turn 1. Mouth completely dry (like sandpaper), but I didn't take a drink because I was afraid I would fall off the pack if I did. In retrospect, I realize that I was doing fine physically and just need to work on the mental piece. Tried to move up into the front twice (as part of my assigned tactic), but chose a stupid way to do it (on the left into the wind) and was so exhausted each time that I just got swarmed again. Need to find a way to get "into" the pack once I move up, not just hanging out in the wind. Anyways, the race felt good, my skills are good, my lines are good, I'm very alert. Now I just need to work on my balls. Yes, this is only my third crit. Next time I'll have the balls.

Hung with the pack the entire race and actually had a sprint at the end. Unfortunately, I was at the back of the pack coming into the final turn so I had a lot of ground to make up, but I picked a good line (the one no one else was taking) and pushed and passed about half the pack before the line (and I don't remember anyone passing me). That's good, because I've always felt I was a sprinter. At the end of Land Park (my first crit), I didn't even try to sprint and just watched the pack pass me. Progress.

Race stats (including warm-up and cool-down) -- 1:55:42 -- 23 mile -- race average: 22.3mph -- race max -- 29.1mph (not quite a winning sprint speed, but getting there). Didn't start HR monitor before the race (again, afraid if I lost focus for 5 seconds I'd fall off the pack).

Post-race. Body is dead. Drinking a ton of water all day but not peeing. Everytime I eat my stomach seizes into HUGE cramps. This is a typical symptom of post-dehydration. But happy and this is a good race experience to carry me through for a while.

Tuesday, Tuesday

I feel good today! Alert, rested, no back pain, legs feel fresh, mood is good. Anyways, based on your program changes, I did a short recovery-type ride today. 45 minutes on my own and then 60 minutes coaching Canaan (ten year old). During my first 45 minutes, everything on the right side of my body hurt (hip, butt, knee, foot, hand). Am I out of alignment? Actually, it's funny because I often feel out of sorts when I take a day off. Anyways, after I stopped to start working with Canaan, I felt great! When we were finished, ran into Dawn & Kim. Thought about riding to Woodside with them, but decided not to push it since I've got a big, important ride tomorrow.

Oh, there's a group ride on Tuesday & Thursday evenings (the T&T ride -- Tuesdays & Thursdays -- get it). Anyways, I think it would be a great, intense workout on Tuesdays when you think I'm ready to add something like that into my calendar. Almost always all guys, most of them racers, and it would be good training for me to push and work on that survival instinct (mental toughness) which I think is weak right now. I need to learn not to let myself get dropped and remove the expectation that I will get dropped. I'll never be a competitor if I can't get over it.

Ride Stats: 1:23:15 -- 20.01 miles -- 14.7mph avg -- 28.3mph max -- HR data from first 45 minutes (before I was coaching) -- AVG HR = 132 -- MAX HR = 154

Training Question

Hi Giana! My direct email to you bounced so I thought I'd try this.

If I race on a Sunday, wouldn't it make sense to do a recovery ride on Monday and switch my day off to a different day? Maybe Tuesday?

Lorri

Weekly Ride Stats

10:33:38 (151 miles) -- a little short of program, but included two races and recovery on Saturday (instead of 3 hours as you'd suggested). I feel focused and am ready to have a challenging week this week!

Sea Otter & More

So, I should start by saying that the entire weekend was a blast. I'm not the type who usually enjoys going away and "working" but I made sure to also relax and have time with Julie and enjoy the weekend so it was a nice experience.

Thursday, April 15th -- Worked at home in the morning, packed for the weekend and then headed into Summit for a couple of hours. Decided to do my ride once I got to Monterey to shake the "car" out of my legs. Made it to Monterey in time to pick up my number for Friday's race, got to the hotel, and then headed out for a short ride with Dawn, Kim W., and Marissa. I knew exactly what I should do for my ride, but once again let the group influence me (ie we climbed too much and went too fast). On a side note, Kim & Dawn agreed the next day that their legs were dead becase of our ride on Thursday (some day they'll believe me). Team dinner that night and finished too late so I didn't get as much sleep as I wanted.

Ride stats -- 35 minutes (too cold, too short, too hilly, too hard). Legs a bit fatigued from my Wente pre-ride yesterday.

Friday, April 16th -- Sea Otter Road Race. I knew this would be hard and questioned my wisdom in doing it, but once I got out there I felt okay. Lost the main pack on the first climb up Barloy (no surprise there). Looked behind and didn't see anyone so I assumed I was at the back. Found out later that there were a bunch of riders behind me who got pulled after three laps. Felt good on the first two laps. Passed a bunch of riders from the masters women's fields so no one I could work with. A glance at my computer showed me that I averaged 17.2mph for the first two lap. Not bad, but with my final average, it's clear that I need to work on my endurance and/or pacing because my average for the last two laps tanked. Chased around two women about 200 meters up the road but couldn't catch them until the beginning of lap three. Asked them to work together but they said they just wanted to ride & finish so we didn't work together (bummer) but we did ride together. Was so happy when I finished lap four, but I guess I forgot about the 2.8 mile climb back to Laguna Seca -- it was damn hard! We were neutralized twice during the final climb when large men's fields were starting their race. When we finished, we didn't get to ride to the finish line because they were already starting the pro circuit race. Results only went 49 deep (I estimated the field to be about 70-80 women), but I wasn't riding for a result anyways.

Positives: My descending is very good. I felt very confident with all my descents and corners except the off-camber left-hand turns (need to practice my left-hand cornering). I was able to do it! 48 hard miles. My nutrition & hydration was very good and helped me ride pretty consistently throughout the race. Climbed Barloy 4 times!!!

Race Stats -- 3:28:36 -- 48.59 miles -- 13.9mph avg -- 40.8mph max -- HR monitor seemed to pick up crazy data so my average and max are way off. Total ride time for the day (including warm-up and cool-down = 4 hours & 43 minutes.

Saturday, April 17th -- Did a nice recovery ride with Shaun and Rob from the hotel to Pacific Grove and back. Legs are fatigued but not painful (except my shins which I actually think is from walking around and running around with Julie at the beach). Probably spent too much time at the expo on my feet to really recover for Sunday's race, but I felt it necessary to chat it up with sponsors and potential sponsors. 30 minute massage focusing on back, piraformis, and legs.

Ride stats -- 1:07:39 -- 16.58 miles -- 14.8mph avg -- 32.0mph max

Sunday, April 18th -- Santa Cruz Criterium -- Tired & achy. Not sure I should do this race. Couldn't get my HR up during warm-up. In retrospect, I probably should've gotten off the trainer and ridden the roads to get my HR to respond. Did a one-lap pre-ride and almost didn't start the race. Kim Perez said "let's just start" so I did (thank you, Kim). Started at the front of the pack but lost ground on the first lap. By the second climb up to the start/finish I was lagging off the back. Didn't have any fight in my (I need to work on the mental aspect of this). Even though I knew I'd probably get dropped, I need to teach myself to fight it. Good goal for next week. Anyways, ended up TTing it, but it's a great course with a very enthusiastic crowd, so it was lots of fun. Kim and Laurie (Velo Bella) were off the back just up the road from me but I couldn't seem to catch them. After the first prime (I was lapped at this point), some Squadra chick fell off the back. Lori Cox (on the sidelines) screamed at me to jump on her wheel. I didn't do it, thinking I couldn't stay (mistake -- will work on this). One lap later, I'd caught her and told her to get on my wheel and I'd give it my all to help her recovery and get back on. She sat on my wheel for two laps and that was it for me.

Positives: I think this course is very well suited for me and if I hadn't raced on Friday I think I could've hung. There's a nice little grade to the start/finish and a technical descent (which I nailed) and a short power climb on the back-side (which I also nailed). Tired legs did me in, but it was good training and lots of fun.

Race Stats: (forgot to check stats after the race so this includes my cool-down ride around Santa Cruz with Denise, Shaun & Kim) -- 0:59:09 -- 14.38 miles -- 14.6mph avg (race average was 16+) -- 30.7mph max -- AVG HR = 146 -- MAX HR = 162

Today is a day off with stretching and core. My body feels good today (legs aren't tired or sore). Back pain is minimal (I'm pretty sure it's been caused by the Pilates). Mood is fantastic. A bit mentally fatigued, but that's okay.

Questions for Giana -- my program calls for 3 hours tomorrow with intervals on Wednesday. Could I switch those since I'm planning another Wente pre-ride on Wednesday?

Today was a very good day

Monday, April 12th -- Day off but I did Pilates. Since the studio has a 48-hour cancellation policy, and I've already paid for ten sessions, I didn't want to cancel. Told the trainer what was going on with my back and we worked on some new exercises, however my back still hurt on Monday evening and Tuesday. I've cancelled my regular Monday/Thursday sessions for the next couple of weeks. Also decided I won't be working with my Monday instructor anymore (I don't think she knows what she's doing). However, I really, really like my Thursday instructor, so we're going to begin working together once a week on Tuesdays. Given my active race calendar for the next couple of weeks, I think Tuesday will be a good day.

Tuesday, April 13th -- Back was hurting me a lot (especially when I sit). Had a one-hour on-the-bike session with a client and decided not to try to do my own workout. Bought a heating pad and have also been using Icy-Hot on the area. Can't tell if it's piraformis or hamstring. Stretched for almost an hour and it felt much better.

Wednesday, April 14th -- Back pain was minimal when I woke up, but I'm still low energy in the mornings. I have a follow-up appointment with my endocrinologist next week, and I have a sinking feeling that the thyroid medication is causing the fatigue and diahrrea (however you spell it).

Did a pre-ride of the Wente Road Race course with Marja. Felt excellent. I think I'll actually do okay on this course. The only hill which will be challenging is the feedzone hill, which unfortunately is near the beginning of the race, so I'm sure it will blow the field apart. My climbing is good and my cardio is very strong. We did the first lap at a nice, easy pace and then picked up the intensity a bit for the second lap. Was good to go out and really learn the course. Marja doesn't descend as quickly as me, so I doubled back a few times to work on specific descents and corners again. We even decided to climb back up the long, technical descent to ride it again. There's one hairpin with icky ruts in the pavement where I just can't seem to keep my fingers off the brakes, but otherwise, my descending is really good.

I will say that my back was troubling me a bit so I got off the bike and stretched for a minute or so and then it felt fine. I'm hoping that backing off Pilates will solve this, but I'm going to make a chiro appointment for early next week just in case. I've never gone to a chiropractor, but I think it's time I solved this.

As I was riding, I kept thinking how damn hard Sea Otter will be, but I guess on the positive side, it will make Wente seem easy, right? And it will be good training.

Ride stats: 2:28:03 -- 33.8 miles -- 13.7mph avg -- 34.7mph max -- AVG HR = 131 -- MAX HR = 189 (I think this picked up Marja's HR -- the highest I saw was 163).

And the bonehead of the year is.......

Sunday, April 11th -- I hate when I do stupid stuff. So, it hadn't been a great training week, and I was really looking forward to my pre-ride of the Wente course with the team yesterday (Sunday). Met the club ride in the morning and then drove an hour to Livermore, only to discover that I'd packed my mtn bike shoes (SPD) which, of course, I couldn't wear with my speedplay pedals. (note to self, buy a new pair of road shoes and leave one in the car, along with a pair of SPD pedals, just in case).

So, back to Burlingame. I approached my ride with a vengence. Decided I was going to climb every hill I could find. Wasn't sure of my southern destination (Page Mill? Old La Honda? King's?) but I was going to make it challenging on the way there.

So, I climbed Polhemus, Edgewood, and eventually settled on King's Mountain. Believe it or not, I've never climbed all the way up King's. Felt great. Lungs and heart are strong. Legs are my limiters right now. I feel like I should be doing some strength work......anyways. Oh, and I even passed some guy in an Alto Velo jersey on the way up the mountain. At about 3 miles up the mountain, my back was screaming, so I stopped for about 30 seconds and stretched it out and continued.

Headed home on Skyline northbound to 92 (big mistake because it was freezing cold, foggy and there was a HUGE cross-wind).

Ride Stats: 2:58:26 -- 39.2 miles -- 13.2mph avg -- 37.5mph max -- AVG HR = 128 (includes nice easy warm-up & cool-down) -- MAX HR = 157.

Back status -- I think I should back off the Pilates (no pun intended). I think I'll stop for a week or so and see how my back feels and then once I'm recovered, start up one day a week. If my back still hurts without the Pilates, I think it's time to see a chiropractor or something.

Saturday, April 10th -- Busy day. Saturday was our monthly bike basics clinic. Coaching this clinic is one of my absolute favorite things to do in the whole world. Holly Roberts volunteered as a mentor and we had a nice, smallish group (probably due to the holiday weekend). Since the clinic was from 10:00 - 2:00, I decided to do my own training afterwards.

After the clinic, decided to do my warm-up for the LT Intervals by riding home to Redwood City with Holly. We stopped at my house on the way so I could drop off my "stuff" from the clinic. Not exactly sure what I did, but as I was hopping up onto the sidewalk, I boffed. I've only crashed on my bike three times (once when I got hit by a car and twice when I was first learning to use clipless pedals). Down I went in my own parking lot. Just rolled sideways, but I've got a great bruise on my hip and a bit of a bruise on my elbow. Yes, I was feeling a bit off on Saturday (still) and probably a bit hungry.

Anyways, picked my sorry ass up and rode with Holly to RWC. There's a new sport on the bay this season. At the point where everyone used to windsurf, there are now 100s of kite-surfers (I had to ask what they were doing). It's a totally cool sport. Not only do they surf around on the surface of the water, but they also get air (about 20 feet of it) and do all kinds of acrobatics.

Needless to say, there was super-huge headwind heading home on the bay. Tried to do my LT Intervals, but I just couldn't get my HR up there on the flats. This is definitely a leg strength issue, but I think my heart also wasn't into it. I think until my Power Tap arrives, I'm going to do my LT Intervals on the CompuTrainer.

Ride Stats (includes clinic time -- skills & 10 mile ride with the participants at a super-slow pace): 3:07:56 -- 37.0 miles -- 11.7mph avg -- 35.9 max

Training Week Stats (April 5th - 11th) -- 10 hours & 40 minutes -- 142 miles

Not a Banner Training Week

First, let me say I'm sorry for being a bad blogger. Writing takes emotional energy and I haven't felt I had much energy to spare this past week. Returning from Spain has been challenging -- I haven't felt well, I feel pressure in my own business and at Summit to get caught up, and my schedule has been very, very hectic.

Anyways, April......

Thursday, April 1st -- Again, very busy day. I work at Summit on Thursdays, the I was teaching a bike maintenance clinic at Sports Basement in the evening, and after that, had an appointment in SF to do a bike fit! Whew! So, I fit in my ride in SF before the clinic. Tooled around the Presidio and Ft. Point. Very easy intensity, felt pretty good, and did some climbing at an easy pace.

Ride Stats: 56 minutes -- 13.2 miles -- 13.9mph avg -- 29.0mph max

Friday, April 2nd -- Another busy day. Two bike fits, my first Pilates session, and my first private coaching session with ten year old Canaan. Also fit in some time at Summit. My only bike time was 55 minutes on the bike coaching Canaan (plus 60 minutes car time each way -- need to ride there in the future). Got my new carbon wheels and tested them out during the coaching session. So, so tired that I didn't get ready for Saturday's race -- decided to go to bed early and prep for the race in the morning.

Saturday, April 3rd -- Corporate Center Crit in Santa Rosa. In retrospect, I wasn't mentally ready for this race. Didn't prep, wasn't nervous, probably shouldn't have done it. But I did. Didn't hear the start and found myself near the back of the pack going into turn one. Couldn't seem to move up and felt super-uncomfortable at the back (probably questioning my own skills). Off the back, which gave me a great opportunity to ride the course, examine each corner, try each corner from multiple lines, and work some pacelining and echelons with other riders. Bummed that I lost contact with the pack (and wasn't fresh enough mentally to get back in either time I got lapped), but it was a good, hard workout and definitely a learning experience.

Ride Stats: total ride time was just over 2 hours (including warm-up and cool-down). Average mph during the actual crit was 19.6 (included 5 minutes cool-down). Forgot to write down my HR data, but if I recall, my average HR was in the 150s.

Sunday, April 4th -- Velo Girls Birthday Ride. This is a big day and I was working the pit stop. Lots of physical work -- lifting tents, food, water, etc. Played a lot with Julie. Didn't get my own ride in, but felt my recovery activities were okay.

Monday, April 5th -- Feel like I'm coming down with a cold. Argh! Didn't want to go to Pilates but since they have a 48-hour cancellation policy, I went. Felt okay during the session but fatigued afterwards. Also worked at Summit and had one bike fit in SF.

Tuesday, April 6th -- Yep. Definitely feel like I've got a cold. Bombing my system with zinc & vitamin C. Busy day. Cleaned the patio, laundry, lots of catching up on work, three coaching meetings. No ride. If I'm catching a cold, I don't want to make it worse by training.

Wednesday, April 7th -- Woke up feeling miraculously better (love that zicam). Giana wanted me to do the Wed. Night Ride, but I had to make a short appearance on the morning ride as well (two potential coaching clients were planning to ride). Felt really good to be on the bike and I kept my intensity low but felt super-strong. Isn't it amazing what a difference one day will make?

Morning Ride Stats: 1:22:35 -- 20.62 miles -- 15.2mph avg -- 29.7mph max -- AVG HR = 128 -- MAX HR = 153.

Ran some errands and rushed home to meet the carpet cleaners. Moved furniture, lifted, planted the garden, etc.

Wednesday night was the first night ride of the summer (yippee!). This is traditionally a fast-paced ride with both team and club members and lots of fun. Small group tonight (only 10 women) and almost all of them were from the team. Shaun was leading out and she doesn't know how to start at a warm-up pace (we know this from many past experiences), and since it was cold, my muscles weren't very happy. But, I rode hard and was able to hang with the team. Did some incredible rotations into the super-hard headwind on the way back. My back started feeling a bit tweaked. Was it the cold, the pace, the pilates, the lifting I'd been doing? Different pain than the hamstring tightness I had in Spain. Argh!

Evening Ride Stats: 1:10:47 -- 20.3 miles -- 17.3mph avg (19.2mph avg at the halfway point) -- 31.2mph max -- AVG HR = 144, MAX HR = 166.

Thursday, April 8th -- Another busy day. Back is definitely tweaked but feels okay on the bike (just hurts when I'm sitting in a chair). Felt better after Pilates (we addressed it). Worked at Summit, needed to drop my car at FastSigns to get the car wrap re-done, Velo Girls yoga clinic in Los Gatos. The only riding I could fit in was from FastSigns to Summit and return (took the Alameda so I could at least do some climbing).

Ride Stats: 43 minutes -- 10.1 miles -- 14.1mph avg -- 37.4mph max

Friday, April 9th -- Took Julie to the vet to get spayed, new client testing and initial consultation (ran long), short ride, massage, picked up Julie.

Have been excited all week to climb Page Mill. I know, sounds crazy since I'm not climbing well, but I've been very excited to climb. Unfortunately, didn't have a big window of time and I definitely needed a massage. Only had time to climb the first 3 miles of Page Mill (returned via Moody, Tepa, Arastradero, etc). Climbing very well. Pain in back is gone, but my left side has gone numb. Definitely proprioception issues and feeling very wobbly on the bike (can't hold my line). But my legs feel good!

I think I've tweaked my left piraformis, which is causing the back pain and sciatic issues (including the numbness). Suzanne worked wonders, but I'm feeling some discomfort today (Saturday). Will have to see how I feel later. This totally bums me out because I've definitely lost precious training hours this past week or so. I also need to work on my time management issues. Lots of new clients and lots of appointments, which is great, but it's definitely cutting into my training time.

Friday Ride Stats: 1:17:43 -- 14.7 miles -- 11.3mph avg -- 31.4mph max -- AVG HR (only recorded during first three miles of climbing) = 144, MAX HR = 166.