Monday, October 31, 2011

Run and Swim

I signed up for the Providence 5k Turkey Trot. Adding running into my exercise program to help deal with the snow and to change up my workouts to stay fresh and strengthen workouts. I know to all the hardcore roadies running is frowned upon!

I am also enrolled in a swim class. I like to compete every once in awhile in a Tri. I enjoy swimming, great anaerobic workout with little damage done to the legs. Before my swim class I normally do a weights session. I do 3 workouts during the winter involving weights. Need to increase my core strength and upper body strength to help fight off fatigue which sometimes hits me too early in rides. A valuable lesson I learned last year.

I did not expect snow to hit so early this year! Much too early, I am still determined to not be stuck on the trainer this early in the year. I plan on hitting up the roads 3 times during the week.

Until the next time!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Jamestown Classic

October 10th, 2011 I finished up my road racing season with the Jamestown Classic. Here is my write up from the race:

Jamestown, RI
Monday, October 10, 2011

Woke up at 5:30AM to get into Jamestown on time. Racing alone in the field. First time this season to not have a fellow BRcer in the field. The weather was unseasonably warm at 80 degrees. No complaining from me though.

The roads were pretty good, there was only a 1-2 mile section where it was rough. Other areas the road was tight but not bad at all. Traffic control was well done and the course had plenty of volunteers to guide us around. I warmed up for a bit longer than I normally do. I have been getting into races not warmed up enough. I think the routine I did helped me stick with pack longer than I ever have.

After the first mile the rider who won the race took off to never be seen again until we did the loop back. I was in the top 15 or so until we hit the section they warned us about it being rough. For some reason once I hit it, my legs lost all ability to turn at the same cadence and put me into a tailspin it took me awhile to recover. I did not have my HR monitor on today, would have been interesting to see how high it was at this point. I dropped out of the main group at this point. I was riding with a few guys from the group who were not working with me. After about 2 miles of pulling them along I took off on my own in the uphill into the final turnaround. I was happy that they did not catch up to me, at least that worked out for me! I never did see the main group again until they came past us on the way back into town.

The last mile or so has an uphill for about a 1/2 mile that puts some pain in the legs and once you crest it is downhill all the way into town. I saw no crashes, heard of a few in run into the finish line.

Lessons learned: Longer warmups are not a bad thing if done correctly. If other riders are not willing to work with you just ride away (If possible of course!).

This is my last race of the season until the return to Battenkill. Learned a lot this season. I will put those lessons to good use in my training until the season begins next year.


So that caps off my season. I am ready to hit 2012 running. I will be getting back into the pool, swimming and weights for the next month or so. I will be riding when weather is decent and am not looking forward to the trainer. Ugh.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

First Post

Hello World,

I am starting this blog to chronicle my workouts and life as I begin a new season of cycling which will start with the 2012 Tour of the Battenkill. Cannot wait for a fun year. I will also need to figure out if I should invest my time into triathlons or full on road racing. Only time will tell. Be back soon! Hope to have some exciting news on here at some point soon!