Motivation

January 31, 2009

"Motivation can't take you very far if you don't have the legs"
- Lance Armstrong

"Machines don't break records. Muscles do"
- Lon Haldeman

There you have it. Two quotes by two people i admire. You know who Lance is. If you don't know who Lon is, you should.

I seem to have plenty of motivation...that's not a problem. I have a great cycling machine, that's not a problem. I am lacking legs, and a proper cycling base in my muscles. I have work to do!

This past week was a bit of a challenge for me. First, i had a cold. I am a big whiner when i get a cold, so i am begging for forgiveness from those around me for my whiny ways. The good news about the cold was that it coincided with a prescribed rest week. about all the riding i did was some easy spins on Monday and Friday. To a guy who has been obsessed with being on the bike since last summer, it felt strange. The good people at the University who put me on this new program promised results from rest...i hope they are right. It is interesting how your mind thinks killing yourself day in and day out on a training program is the best thing, but your body requires rest and a change up in training plans to grow. Interesting.

I was back in the lab this past Wednesday, this time i did a 7k time trial to determine my "base" What ya do is warm up for 30 minutes, then get on your bike that is hooked to a computer testing thing, and once you get your HR up to you LA threshold, ride a 7k tt! The idea is to see how long it takes you to ride the 7k with your heart at LA. (you spin with your heart at LA, if you go above LA, you slow down, if you go below, you speed up) The time recorded sets my "base" Now with all of this information, i begin a new training program, now that i am all rested and tested. I go back in mid-April to check and see how my fitness is comming along. Looking forward to that! The object of all this is to have fun on my ride in August!

January in Review: I will end the month with about 350 miles under my belt. This is short by about 50 miles my goal i had set at the beginning of the month, but i had not anticipated the over training and the prescribed rest. So, its all good. Each month i will grow from here.

February's goal: increase my VO2 Base and LA threshold by following the training as prescribed for me. Going to the Tucson Area for Desert Camp on the 28th of the month, and yes, that week is included in my plan! ( see at www.pactour.com then "coaching week" I am sure its not to late for YOU to sign up! )

I am pumped! (see motivation quote, above)

"The will to win is important, but the will to prepare to win is vital"
-Joe Paterno

"Failing to prepare is preparing to fail"
-Wayne Gretzky

Insane?

Important Notice!
PAC Tour is rated by BICYCLING Magazine as "the toughest tour in the world". PAC Tour does not follow the flattest, smoothest or easiest route across the country. PAC Tour routes are designed to offer the best cycling routes each day between motels and points of interest. If you are looking for an easy, flat, tail wind tour across America do not sign up for PAC Tour.

That's a quote taken directly from the PAC tour website www.pactour.com
I received my travel credentials today from PAC Tour for the Eastern Mountains. Keeping the above quote in mind, this is what they say in the cover letter about Eastern Mountains:

"This is our most challenging PAC Tour Event..."

So, by my estimation, i have signed up for the most challenging tour with the toughest tour company. Am I nuts or what?

This past week I had my VO2 and Lactic Acid Threshold tested at WSU. The test quickly revealed that i was over training. Apparently my LA spiked at a relatively low Heart Rate. When your LA peaks, your blood can no longer absorb oxygen efficiently. Wow. I had NO idea. The PhD Dr. Guy who is following me ordered me to back off my cycling for a couple of weeks. I need to keep my heart rate below my LA Threshold and pick up my cadence, and ride no more than 3-4 times per week. He promises me that this recovery period will lead to a stronger and better cyclist in the long run.

This coming week i am going back to the lab for a controlled Time Trial test and again check the VO2 and LA. Since this study is being conducted as part of a Graduate Student class at the University, they are going to come up with a suggested training plan for me based on my goal of "riding the most challenging tour with the toughest tour company".

Oh, i have ridden with PAC tour before, so its not all scary...i highly recommend them!

"Believing in yourself is paramount to success"
-Ben Crenshaw, Pro Golfer

A Healthy Fear

January 20, 2009

"At times you're on top of the world. Other times you feel you can't turn the pedals even once more. You've lost energy and you're not going to get it back. Then comes perseverance and going beyond what the physical body can do"

-Ed Pavelka

Ahhh, Arizona in January. We were met by perfect weather for riding. by 9 am, the temperatures were in the mid 50's and rising. Light east winds. We rode 3 days in and around Cave Creek and Carefree. Beautiful. Though we didn't log alot of miles, we did manage alot of climbing. Totalling just at 70 miles for 3 days, we climbed 5, 100 feet in total, or an average of 72 feet per mile. The good news is that is comparable to the Eastern Mountains tour, which averages 65 climbing feet per mile. It felt good! and i have 7 months of training to go! Yea!

No riding for me yesterday or today, as tomorrow i am getting my VO2 and LA threshold tested, and they want me "fully rested" They promise to put me through the paces. The interesting part of this is that it is part of a graduate school study at Wichita State University: I will be tested in front of a crowd! Sounds scary, huh?

That's the big deal this week, hope for some longer rides later in the week, but its Kansas, and its January, so the only scenery i will probably get will be the basement walls... ah well.

Nothing is ever born afraid...young things- human and animal, boy or black lamb- have no experience with fear. They rely implicitly on parents- on someone bigger and stronger than themselves, to assure safety....on God as they grow older and threats to security multiply.

-Walt Disney

On Training

"There have been many studies of Elite performers - (in groups as diverse as) concert violinists, chess grandmasters, professional ice-skaters, mathematicians, and so forth- and the biggest difference researchers find between them and lesser performers is the amount of deliberate practice they've accumulated.

Indeed, the most important talent may be the talent for practice itself.

K. Anders Ericsson, a cognitive psychologist and expert on performance, notes that the most important role that innate factors play may be in a person's willingness to engage in sustained training.

He has also found, for example, that top performers dislike practicing just as much as others do. (That's why, for example, athletes and musicians usually quit practicing when they retire.) But, more than others, (during their careers) they have the will to keep at it anyway."

From "The Learning Curve" by Atul Gawande. Quoted from "High Intensity Training (HIT) for Cyclists" by Arnie Baker, MD roadbikerider.com

Yogi Berra is quoted as saying "Baseball is 90 percent mental, the other half is physical" When applied to Cycling, I couldn't agree more. Not only am i training my body, but i have started spending alot more time thinking about the mental aspects. I am currently reading "Mind Gym..An Athletes Guide to Inner Excellence" by Gary Mack.

The book is divided into 5 parts. Welcome to the Inner Game, Living the Dream, Mind Set for Success, and In The Zone. So far, so good. I know that going into my journey up the Eastern Mountains, i have to overcome all the negative thoughts that are soooo easy to come by, and win the mind game. I will keep you posted

This week Laurie and I will be in Arizona for some winter rides. The first of 2 trips this winter to ride in Arizona. We are really looking forward to going somewhere a bit warmer to ride, even if it is just for a few days.

As for last weeks training? It went good. Goal set: Goal Achieved. I find that rest days are the biggest challenge, but essential to proper training. I probably feel this way because now, in early January, i am all psyched up to ride. I hope my positive attitude stays with me for 7 more months! (mind games, you know...)

"Cyclists who train smart always beat athletes who train hard"
-Joe Friel "The Cyclists Training Bible"

In The Begining...

" No matter how one may think himself accomplished,
when he sets out to learn a new language, science, or the
bicycle, he has entered a new realm as truly as if he were a
child newly born into the world."
- Frances Willard, How I Learned to Ride the Bicycle

Monday.

Frances Willard is onto something. Yea, i know how to ride a bike, but do I? Lon and Lance make it look easy, i make it look, well, like work. I think it is time to re-learn. I heard once that John Wooden, of basketball coaching fame, used to start the first practice of the season by teaching his players how to tie their shoes. Learning from that, i tied my shoes correctly for the first time today. Perhaps tomorrow i will re-learn how to straddle the bike..?

Craig

State of the Mind Address

"People write and call me and ask me to describe a general
training week. But they don't need my general training
week, they need their general training week. They need to
figure their own situation"
-Ned Overend

Sunday.

Okay, this is it. Sunday. Not just any Sunday, this is THE Sunday. After today, the bike get priority. Does that mean ill i am going to do for the next 8 months is bike? No, what that means is for the next 8 months my day will revolve around my training schedule. Each month will get progressivly more intense between now and August 1st. The big ride starts August 8.

A bit more about ME>>>
My opening blog reads a bit like i have very little experience on the bike. Well, compared to Lon Haldeman or Lance i am very inexperienced. Compared to the average American walking around the shopping mall, i am, well, better than they are.

I have ridden across Kansas 3 Times ( 550 miles from West to East) Attended 3 PAC tour camps in Arizona, Cycled around the Big Island of Hawaii, Attended Lance's "Ride for the Roses" in Austin Texas -3 times, and traveled with my bike to places like Florida, California, and Pennsylvania. Every Summer we spend a few weeks in the Ozark Mountains and I take my bike there as well. (The Ozark Mountains are killers to ride on. after about 15 miles in the 90 degree heat and 90% humidity, you know you have done something)

So that's my experience base.

Oh, I'm not a great cyclist by any stretch. Put me in a pack and I'm not the fast one, I'm not the first one up the hill,and I'm not the most obnoxious one either ( i think a lot of racers are obnoxious....for whatever reason) My riding in the past has been sporadic. Sporadic leads to little improvement. Sporadic will not be allowed this year. Sporadic is not my friend. This year is about the bike.

I logged about 3,000 miles in 2008, with 900 coming in the last 3 months of the year. I have contemplated my goal a long while, and i am as ready to dive in as i ever will be. January and February will be working on base endurance, cadence and power. On February 28 I leave for Desert Training Camp with PAC Tour. (www.pactour.com) Fred M. from Roadbikerider.com will be one of the featured speakers and coaches. After this camp, I plan to re-asses my training for the remaining 5 months, based on what i have learned.

There we are, my state of mind on this day.

"The way to get started is to stop talking and begin doing"
-Walt Disney

What am i thinking?

Friday

Just got off my bike. Rode 32 miles today, and according to the Garmin, i ave 15.9 mph. i was within 30 seconds of averaging 16 mph. In my first mile, I was thinking "what am i doing, why did i sign up for the PACTour? by mile 10 I was thinking,...."Oh yea...this is fun...and its only January and you have until August to get in shape..." I will be fine. Off to Kansas City to see family, so i wont ride tomorrow. Have a great Friday........

Craig

Goals for 2009

Here we are. January 1, 2009. I have set a lofty goal for myself for 2009. I am going to ride a PACTOUR www.pactour.com in August in the Eastern Mountains of the United States. Untill now i have just fooled around with Cycling, I have never raced, competed, or anything else, and untill now cycling was something i did when all else was done. But now, for the next 8 months it will be my priority.

The Eastern Mountains ride starts in Atlanta, Ga in and ends in Portland Maine 17 days later. 112,000 feet of climbing and 100 plus miles a day. I have a healty fear of this, but i am guessing i will come out on the other end a different person. A better person, i hope.

I have no excuses. My kids are teenagers, my wife says "do it" and my partners at work think that they can do without me for awhile. I am my only stumbling block..........

So, i have decided to blog about this....if for no other reason than to have a diary of how i get from here to there. Wish me luck....


Craig