BFNIC Century............

Yeah, it is tomorrow. We are a group of roadies who hang out over at BikeForums.net. We have kinda formed our own Cycling Club. Tomorrow is our first Self Planned Big Ride. El Presidente has mapped us out a route and we will roll out the BFNIC Paceline at 8am sharp!!

I got all my stuff ready. Plenty of food and water as we are self supporting. Got the Arm and Leg Warmers out for the morning part, at least. Weather is looking real good with a forecast of 70 and SUN. Freakin Awesome for October in Chicagoland.

This ride will likely NOT be a hammer fest, but more of a social event. There are several new riders slated to show. I am really looking forward to this. A fancy Map and Stats post will follow the ride. Later.

Cross Training........

Crappy weather and work = no time to ride. I did get in a little run before dinner though. Funny, I just called a 3 mile run little. Did not push it too hard, but finished the 3 miles in 24 minutes for a nice quick workout. Legs felt good. My stomach was not so good. DQ last night and a burrito the size of my head for lunch today are not recommended for pre running food. Whatever though, I mean a guy needs a burrito every now and then.

AND cake, I do love me some cake. Later.

The End Is Near.......

I am really dreading the end of my riding season. I live in the Midwest and Winter is a part of my life and has been for 33 years. That doesn't mean I have to like it. We just passed the first day of fall and I am already depressed about the "Off Season."

With that being said, yesterday was a beautiful day for late September. I had originally planned a late afternoon 20 mile mountain bike trail ride, but the sun and light winds were calling for the Giant TCR C2. It was 70 degrees with minimal fall winds of 7 mph.

I headed out to Silver Springs State Park and back. This route actually has some hills, ok, rollers that provide a nice change from my normal flat 30 mile training route. I put in 48 miles at 18 mph in under 3 hours. Not to shabby for this noob. This was a real nice ride and likely my only one before this weekends Big BFNIC Ride.

The Ride.

Later.

It Is Official.........

I am a Runner
Originally uploaded by aham23.

My official time was 24:07 for a 7:47 pace and 12th place finish out of 35 in the Male 30 to 35 year old bracket.

Today..............

I ran.

I awoke at 7am and was registered shortly after 8am. This was my first Running Event, so I took some time to walk around and check things out. There was a kids 2k run that went off around 830am. Some of those kids were moving it. It was cool to see some parents running next to their kids offering them encouragement.

I normally do not do much warm up when running or riding. For this event I briskly walked 4 or 5 blocks and lightly ran 1 block. I really just needed to warm up the left knee and see how it felt. It was fine.

I must say I was nervous. There were a lot of people there and a lot of serious looking runners too. I did not really know how I would react around miles 2.5 and 3.

Would it hurt? Where would it hurt? Would I have to walk? Would I go out to fast?

Time to line up was called out at 845am, so I lined up. I was near the front in approximately row ten. The super fast dudes were all up front and center at the start line. Just prior to the start I noticed one of my neighbors in front of me. He is a fit guy, a runner, who completed a Marathon earlier this year. He has not been doing much running lately due to a motorcycle accident though. He said he woke up this morning feeling good and decided to give this run a go.

This start was crazy. We went out fast to get out in front and stay out of trouble. I basically followed him the first mile. I fell behind him a bit during that first mile, but caught up near the start of mile two. From there we ran side by side until mile 2.8 or so. At that point I felt really good and decided to pick up my pace.

There were two clocks out on course, mile 1 and mile 2, for split times. Both were under eight minutes when I passed. That put me on target for my goal. When I hit the final turn I spotted the clock and the official time was approaching 24 minutes. I should have sprinted full out, but did not. I crossed the finish line at approximately 24:10 on the official clock. I do not have my official time yet as they will be posted online later. The did the timing of runners without any Timing Chips and just used our numbers. I thought that was odd.

Of course, I carried my Garmin Edge 305 with me. When the Gun went off for the start I started the Edge and didn't stop it until I crossed the finish line. So, I am pretty confident in its numbers. They break down like this:

Mile ONE = 7:17
Mile TWO = 7:53
Mile THREE = 7:49
Finish = :53

5K = 3.1 Miles = 24:13



I feel really good about this run. My neighbor was impressed with my running and mentioned that with a little training I could be finishing in 21 minutes or less. That was a nice compliment. He knows where I came from, Jan 4th at 236 lbs and walking on a treadmill to Sept 24th at 177 lbs running a 5K Race.

I think I may have to do more of this running stuff as the weather turns colder. Then this winter maybe a little swimming at the YMCA. Then we will just see where we are at next Spring!! Later.

Tomorrow,

I run. My buddy has dumped me. I shall run solo. Well, I am sure someone else will be there. I just will not know them. Anyway, I will run and I will run fast. I have no idea what I am saying. Did I mention my knee hurts from all this running?

Anyone know how or what I need to do to warm up prior to this run? I am in trouble. Gotta Go. Later.

On to the Next Thing.......

5K Training time. Yes, I am running this Sunday in a 5K race. Just something I wanted to give a try. I am not out to win, but I am not out to finish last. I just want to push myself and do something I thought impossible ten months ago and run 3.1 miles at ONE time.

I really have no idea how to prepare for this event. I have done some research and received some great advice, but this is all new to me. I ran two miles Monday on the Treadmill in 16 minutes. Yesterday, after work, I did some street running with the Edge 305. This is a cycling computer, but small enough that I can carry it in my hand to track my runs.

5K Training Run

I ran the first 2.5 miles and walked the last 1/2 mile. I was getting a serious side pain and didn't want to blow up in a training run. My pace for the first two miles was really decent for me, a cyclist.

My goal for the 5K is 24 minutes, but anything under 27 minutes will be a success. I know 3.1 miles doesn't seem like much, but if you are not a runner, try it and you will think differently. I am in shape, but running is just so darn hard.

I hope to take a nice little 30 mile cycling ride this morning as my bike looks so lonely out in the garage. Then it will be a light run Friday, a light spin on the bike Saturday morning, then the big run. Should be fun. Later.

Look, very closely as these are small crappy pics, but this is the BikeForms.net Illinois Chapter representing with a stellar single file paceline!! Next we have yours truely helping to pull the crew through the winds of Lake Michigan on our way back from Kenosha, WI to Evanston, IL. Good Times. Later.

The Zone?

First, how cool is it that I can plug my routes into the blog via MotionBased.com? It is totally cool!!

I rode the Evanston Bicycle Club North Shore Century yesterday. As the map shows the route took us down the shore of Lake Michigan from Evanston, IL to Kenosha, WI, and Back. The BFNIC had a strong showing with 8 riders geared up and ready to go by 7:15 am. Six of us were gunning for the 100 mile route with the other two opting for the 50 miler.

This is a BIG ride with years of history and lots of participants. I think this was the 22nd running of the North Shore and some 13oo plus riders were expected.

Just based on the dynamics of the route area we encoutered numerous stop lights, stop signs, and turns. When we did hit a rural open road the road was crap. These were some of the roughest roads I have traveled this year (my first year of roadie life).

There were six rest stops, which I thought was two to many. The food was below par from the other rides I have done this year. I prefer more of the fresh or natural foods. However, they did have plenty of Snicker Energy Bars, Cliff Shots, and Power Gels for the taking. Some of us loaded up on these freebies and ended the ride with more food then we started with.

Now for the ride. I felt great. Physically and Mentally this was my best ride of the year. My ride time doesn't really reflect this fact, but it is true. The time issue was a result of us starting a bit slower then usual as we were all giddy with converstation. I never once suffered on this ride and hammered out (for me) the last 30 miles. The legs felt good and I thouht; "Hey, I better take advantage of this!" I did some drafting, but most of my day was spent pulling. It felt really good. It was like my summer worth of healthy eating, weight loss, and training all came together yesterday.

I should point out I did have a little mishap around mile 103. I came up on a T intersection way too fast with traffic to my left and right. I stopped, but only got one foot unclipped and down I went. Yes, I fell over. No real damage to the bike or me, well except for my pride. I was lucky enough to have 4 or 5 witness to the event :) One nice fellow ride did mention that it happens to all of us roadies one time or the other.

The Stats


Later.

Edge, Meet Century

North Shore Century 9.17.06

The Edge......Part Two

It rocks. My Two Rides.............here...............Later.

The Edge...........

Has arrived. I finally got my Garmin Edge 305 and I love it. As much as one can love a $300 dollar bike computer after only one 30 mile ride. I posted my initial review over at Bike Forums.net (here!).

I am testing out MotionBased.com for logging my rides. The Garmin Training Center software is kind of generic. It will be a nice back up though. Check out my ride today and all the 305 can track.

My Digest at MB.

Later.

My Running Friends.........

I have a question for you. As you may know I am roadie. A cyclist who has logged over 2000 miles and dropped 60 lbs this year. When the weather is crappy and I need to exercise the stresses of life away I run. Either on the basement treadmill or the fancy ones at the YMCA.

For something different I am participating in a 5k run Sept 24th with a good friend of mine. What do I need to do these last two weeks to prepare. I do not want to overt rain or under train and really have no clue how to prepare for a running event.

I am in shape. I can run three miles. My goal is 24 minutes, which may be a bit much considering I have only run outside twice this year. Plus, I have some cycling stuff in the mix too.

I ran 2 miles outside Saturday in 16 minutes. Tonight it was 2.5 miles in 22 minutes on the treadmill. Wednesday and Thursday I would like to ride to prepare for a Century (100 miles) on Sunday. Friday would be an off day and Saturday would be a light ride or run.

My question is what should my plan be next week. Obviously, I need to get at least one hard race like effort in of 3.1 miles, but when? Help me prepare. Later.

Finally...........

Got some sleep. Of course, I slept away my chance to ride this morning. Crappy weather is already moving in. That Sucks. I suck. Sleep sucks.

On a side note, last nigt while I couldn't sleep I came across this; a carbon fiber frame pump. Seems like a must have to me? Later.

Can't Sleep

Is it the wine or the beer? Really, it was not that much.

Is it life or is it death?

Is it the love or the hate?

Is it the cold and the rain?

Why can't I sleep?

Who Knew?

Back in college, say 1995, I purchased a Mr Coffee Espresso maker for my girlfriend. It was here birthday and I thought she really liked coffee/expresso drinks. I think we used it once or twice.

Fast Forward to 2006, the girlfriend is my wife of 9 years and this Mr Coffee machine has been nothing more then a kitchen counter top decoration. It has always been out on the counter, but I can not tell you the last time we used it. I would say it was back in college if I had to guess.

One more thing, I now love me some coffee and coffee drinks. I mean really LOVE me some. So, I looked up the instructions online for making Cappuccino and went to work last night after dinner.

I used Starbucks freshly ground Sumatra bold beans for the espresso. It took me two tries to get the milk to "Froth" properly. Let me tell you it was outstanding!! We even have these big oversized cappacino cups that we never use, but this Saturday the wife and me will be having a nice Venti Non Fat Cappuccino!!!! Who knew? Later.

See You Later.........

..........August. It was a good month for me. I set a new Personal Record for cycling mileage in one month. It broke down like this:

12 Rides, 472.7 Miles, 77:24:54 Saddle Time, AND 19,672 Calories Toasted.

I am running down 2000 miles for the season (started in April), which will put me way past my initial goal of 1000 miles for the summer.

I have logged 100 miles in the last three days. Tough miles as the fall winds have settled in. All three rides had a nasty headwind on the way back in. I hate that. I'ld rather have the help when coming back home!

I just ordered me one of those fancy Garmin Edge 305 bike computers things. Can NOT wait to get it next week.

Everyone have a great and relaxing holiday weekend. Get out and do whatever it is that you do that makes you happy. Later.