Tuesday, December 10, 2013

MBA Finals

Today is my finals for my first semester of MBA courses! Exciting times. Cycling/running/gym time has taken a hit. I laid down tile in my basement on Thanksgiving night and I still need to paint it and mount a TV and place molding. A lot to do and so close to Christmas.

Tour of the Battenkill might be on my radar, I just need to use my time better!

Stop being a putz! My mantra!

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Doping

Sick and tired of hearing all this doping "news" in cycling. It's all we talk about. Vicious circle. Granted the riders caused this phenomenon and they can't be trusted but with no doping positives in the recent Vuelta we keep on accusing Horner of cheating and any other winner. It is getting ridiculous.

With that I'll continue to enjoy riding my bike! Dope free of course!

Monday, November 11, 2013

Reinvigoration

This past week has been great! MBA classes going well, finished a major project and got about halfway done with another one. Feeling good.

Ive been on my bike twice this past week and hit the gym twice. Working on my core and upper body. I hate the sensation of fading and numbness in arms due to a weak core. I'll continue to hit the gym 2-3 times a week and then I'll incorporate 2 rides that are long and slow and 1 intense pace ride.

Cannot wait for my basement to be completed. That will be awesome to have my pain cave ready to go for the winter.

Also, wanted to give a shout out to the Veterans of this great nation who made many sacrifices to keep us all free Your sacrifices will never be forgotten.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Whirlwind

Got transferred from South Bay to Hingham.  New people & faves. Excited!

MBA program is going well. Two mid terms, solid B range, hope to get into 3.5-.3.8 range. I like my groups and class mates. Funny, good people.

Cycling & running is a wreck. It's been awhile for both. I've gained weight. Looking to get back on the wagon. Too much excess not enough exercise. Hope to have good news on this front next time. Have a ride planned for Friday.

Man cave being built. JB Builders screwed me & stopped project in middle. Im using my original electrician to finish job. Will be done soon.

Until next time!

Monday, August 19, 2013

End of Vacation

Just got back from my week in Laconia. A good week to unwind, run & bike. Lots of time on the boat with the family. Good times all around.

Now it's time to put nose to grind stone. MBA classes start soon. Grand Opening at work & Patriots season! Can't wait to use my season tickets!

Also in my new obsession Eve & Dust are doing well. For Eve I just got into Dust University. Working on jump clones & moving stuff back and forth. Dust is having a rough time, CCP needs to update and fix Dust before it dies anymore. They rushed on releasing it & now they are losing players at an alarming rate.

Long term, I'm debating signing up for Timberman Ironman 70.3 next August. I'll mull over that for a bit.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Return Back

Busy busy busy life.

Biking, home remodel work (installed my front walkway), 4th of July party, getting ready for grad school and work! Yikes! Love it.

Also, I have another addiction. Eve Online  and Dust 514 is my weakness. I cannot get enough of either. Debating jumping into Eve Online and getting sucked further into this universe.

I am also thinking of finishing my basement and having my man cave up and running.

Patriots season tickets will be in my hand shortly! I cannot wait!

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

March Fun!

So I havent been able to get in the huge mileage I wanted in March but I feel good. Went out this Saturday and was able to stick with the fast guys. Last year I'd get spit out of the group faster than an Apollo rocket. This Sunday we did 33 miles and I was with them and taking pulls. Felt awesome! I need to keep this trajectory going through May.

Some bad news is that I will not be doing Tour of the Dragons, scheduling snafu. I am using that weekend and will convert it to a team training camp. I am in early stages of planning a 3 day training camp in Northampton. Hopefully all goes well. I also want to turn this into an annual team trip if possible. We shall see!

Getting a lot done with our contractor to remodel our home. Hopefully tomorrow I get a final price on the scope of work. Then I also have to go to an interview at Northeastern to get accepted in the MBA program. A lot going on! Stressful but fun at same time. That is life!

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Mid-March Plans

Weather has been on and off. Looking at another possible 6-8 inches on the ground after getting a sneak peak of decent weather last week. I was able to ride outside Thursday and Saturday AM. Did 25 and 30 miles, on two very different courses. Felt good to mix it up outside. Saturday we were averaging 16 MPH. Not too shabby and I left some out on the course. I ended last week with four straight bike rides. Trainer, outside, trainer, outside.

This week I have a lot I am doing to get myself ahead so when the good weather comes I can be outside for hours. I am doing taxes and home design Thursday. Installing new TV this week. I have a lot going on at work, it should settle down once the Union votes on a new contract and I can go back to a normal schedule. My MBA apps will also be 100% complete this week. Exciting times!

My weight is staying at 153 or so. I want to hover around this weight and in the next few weeks, I am looking to lose 1 lb a week until I am to near 145.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Build Week

3 hours in last week. My weight dropped down to 155. Goal is to be around 145 by mid-April.

This is my first week in the build portion of my season. Going to continue with the hard rides on sufferfest. I also look to be outside for 2-3 hours on Thursday same for Sunday. Weather dependent of course. I am feeling great over this season I wish I had more time in the saddle. Mid-March should be my planned time to be in group rides, I look forward to the Saturday beat down rides.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Blizzard of 2013

So this storm but a dent in my riding. Good news is I got a ton of strength exercises and cardio with shoveling and fighting the snowblower. Since I work at Stop & Shop I did not get a day off this week so my ride time was 0. I did manage to go to the gym. This week I got 3 nights and my day off so I will be on the trainer and hitting it hard. I have 81 days until Dragons starts. Hopefully I can hit the roads in March and not be behind 8 ball too much. Time will tell!

Friday, February 1, 2013

Indoor Riding

Just to go on the record, I despise riding on the trainer. I will say though, Sufferfest videos have been great for me. Hard efforts with recovery periods. I am liking how my trajectory is going this year. Hopefully hit the roads more often in February/March. I am fully recovered now. Today I am doing the gym/trainer double. Not too bad. Dragons here I come!

If I can find group rides that are going out Saturday/Sunday I will be jumping in those!


Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Week of 1-28

What a dud last week was. Still recovering. I will be back on the bike Thursday. Been to the gym last week and I went today. I have 8 hours on the docket this week. Hopeing to hit it hard. Thursday I am hoping to ride with my good friend in the AM. Saturday I am praying for a group ride and then we'll go there.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Sick City

Stupid cold. Just recovered from my appendectomy. I hit up the trainer/road rides 4 days in a row with two gym sessions mixed in. Unfortunately my wife got some sort of illness from work that was passed on to me! Sore/clogged up throught, runny nose and my eyes feel likes I have allergies in them and get watered up.

This week so far I have been able to go for two gym sessions. Plenty of core, back, shoulder, and arm work. That has been my weak link. On long rides I would be tired not from cardio weakness but because my neck, shoulders and back would just not be able to do hold up any longer. I went on plenty of sites to look up exercises. A big help has been The Cyclists Training Bible. I mix uo my exercises as much as possible. I do not go with too much weight but lesser weights at more/faster reps. I do not want to bulk up but just have my muscles toned and ready for the long season. I am not focusing too miuch on my legs. I do some exercises but rely on big ring riding and group rides to build up that strength.

Laying on the couch will not be a good way to build up my cardio. As soon as I can go on the trainer I will be going with more intense rides and as the weather lets up I will go on long outdoor base rides. I will also hit up group rides as they are available. We have plenty of good rides on the South Shore of Massachusetts. One group the South Shore bikers has rides that are weather dependent on Saturday and Sunday. Another group I am a member of is the Charles River Wheelmen and they also run rides on the weekends. It is all weather dependent and what my work schedule allows me to do. As we get closer to race season my Team, Boston Road Club will also run some base rides. All I need to do is keep my high level intensity up, and get my base in once the weather allows it.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Week of 1-21

Last week was a good week for myself. Out of a planned 6.5 hours I did 6. Had to get a refitting on my new bike which cut into one of my trainer rides. Had my seat readjusted and my cleats got some more float. My right knee had sharp pain. Those fixes were all I needed. The folks at East Providence Cycle are great! I spent 1:30 in the gym. Working on upper body and legs. I did two easy trainer rides at 40 minutes each watching a youtube video of a race this year. I did one Sufferfest video for 45 minutes. Saturday I rode with my buddy for 14 miles to get used to riding outside. Today I went on a group ride in Hanson for 25 miles. Went with the slower group so I can work myself back in slowly.

For next week, I start working on Wednesday :( I have a 10 hour week planned. Need to be smart with my time and use my gym/trainer in a time friendly manner. Two gym sessions, plenty of time on the trainer. The weather looks to be sub 20 degree all week. This will be a good week to build up my intensity with Sufferfest videos. I am looking at doing a group ride Sunday.

I have General Contractors visiting my house this week. We are looking at an addition/remodel. That should be exciting. I will have my application to Suffolk and Northeastern completed this week as well. On 1-22 I go to my doctor for my physical.

Speaking of my physical I had my hematocrit checked last year I was at a measly 39%. This year before I had my appendix pulled it was checked and I was at 43%. Love it!

Get out there and ride!


Sunday, January 13, 2013

Week of 1-13

My new thing to hold myself accountable will be to write my planned workouts and then post what I actually did at end of week. I am using the training peaks annual training plan as well as using the Cyclists Training Bible for reference material.

This week I am planned for 6:30. It is the base week, week 4. Perfect week to get back into after surgery.

I also hope to post any midweek musings as I go. My biggest issue is remembering to post more often.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

My bikes



Just wanted to show you my two bikes.

 The Giant is my new carbon princess. Her name is Aria. It is a thing of beauty. Handmade in Taiwan. It is the TCR Advanced SL4, comes with the Ultegra gruppo. The ride was a major upgrade to my old bike. The size is a small ~52. Bike is much smaller than the Allez and weighs a nudge below 16lbs. I am staying with the Giant PSL-0 for now as wheels. If I can get the wife to agree I will upgrade to Zipp 303.

My first road bike is the Specialized Allez Elite. Her name is Belle It came with the carbon fork and I made some upgrades to it. Got a Ritchey 90mm stem for fit issues. The size is a 54 and was way too big and I learned that lesson when I bought the Giant. The Allez weighs 20 lbs. Belle had upgraded wheels. Bontrager Race X Lite. A major upgrade to the Mavic CXP-22 I was running.

Some similarities are the color scheme. Black with red undertones. Belle has a bit more red to give some extra flair. I liked the Giant with a blacked out look. The rear wheel is a trainer tyre on the Giant.

Belle will now be used as my winter/rain bike. Aria is my Spring-Fall bike and will not see a crit.

With these two steeds I hope to stick with the groups I ride with from here on out. My goals for the 2013 race season are to stick with the main peloton until the finish. Not looking for top 5s as of yet need sticking around power.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Lance

A lot is being written about Lance Armstrong. As USADA confirmed that he is a doper and stripped all his titles. It is tough for me to feel bad for the man anymore. He was one of my heroes. I was a Lance guy until the end. I should have known what was coming down the pike. I kept hoping that his great exploits would be doping free. The climbs up Ventoux, Huez, the dominating time trials, and the parades down the Champs Elysees with the American flag.

We can all say well everyone else did it! Does that make it right? No. No one should have been doping. The UCI could have done more, the athletes could have done more, the fans could have demanded more. Instead everyone went all in on this farce of an era. There were only a few voices going against the grain. We cannot understand the decisions that all of these men made to dope. If I had that money dangled in front of me and all I needed to do was blood dope to be rich and famous, who know what I would have done. Maybe I would have turned it down or not.

All we can hope is that the peloton is clean and that the new cyclists do not need to make those horrible decisions. Of course there will always be idiots. How can there not be, the only hope is that the non dopers outweigh the dopers. We need to question more as well. We all think Wiggins was clean but how does he dominate from the Volta ao Algarve all the way into The Tour de France and into the Olympics. He had no valley just peaks throughout the season. Am I skeptical? Yes I am, sadly. I hope in a few years that it goes away but for now I will not get excited over these Champions.

Alas, the other shoe dropped and we knew it was all a farce. No one should feel bad for him anymore. He refuses to apologize to anyone for his wrongdoings. He should have confessed when he had the chance. Now there are news reports that he wants to confess. Too little, too late. That also must be a mirage. He has too much too lose to admit to doping. What would be the point this late in the game?

Give credit where credit is due, what he did with Livestrong to give cancer patients hope is a great thing and gave cancer survivors a sense of community. That we cannot take away. What we can take away is how much of the money that is funneled to Livestrong is taken away for administrative costs. How much was used to finance Lance's lavish lifestyle?

What I can do is continue to ride my bike. Love to ride my bike. Enjoy the community of cycling that I am a part of. I have made great friends that I never thought I would. I love this new world and want to continue to grow in this world.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Recovering

As I sit at home bored. I have been going back and forth bewtween multiple cycling sites.

Here are a few that I enjoy the most:

www.inrng.com
www.velominati.com
www.velonation.com
www.redkiteprayer.com

There are a few others that I peruse but those are my go to spots for original content. Velonation is mostly news and its good to get random cycling news throughout the day. I have been doing other things but I have been obsessed with cycling and cannot wait to get back onto the bike.

Just got in new bottle cages. They are pretty amazing. Carbon ones of course! They are Arundel side-loader/other side-loader combo.

I will have to post a picture of both my bikes! Just realized I do not have that up here! I will indulge you with my two beauties. My first road bike is named Belle. My new bike is named Aria (Casino in Vegas). Both have personal meanings to the names.

I am hoping to be on the trainer tomorrow for a light spin. Nothing fast or crazy. Just starting to spin up. I am able to walk much easier now. Still pain as I walk around but not nearly as much as I had when I started. Lifting is still a pain. I drove to the Supermarket today, felt awkward on that drive. This all takes time unfortunately and I just want to be on my bike!

Friday, January 4, 2013

Surgery

Well, I was hoping to start new year off strong. Trainer time with plenty of base rides.  Last year I did too many long rides and no intensity. So throughout November and December I did pretty much easy rides with friends to not burn myself out. Then kick on the hard rides starting in January. I did 2-3 strength workouts in the gym a week throughout those two months.

That all got ruined when I was diagnosed with acute appendicitis on January 2 and got my appendix pulled that same day. Today is my first full day home and the pain is almost unbearable. It is tough to get up, using my core muscles are tough! Good thing I worked those out during off season! I hope to be back on bike light riding indoors next week. My next appointment is 1-17 and then I return to work shortly after that. Here's hoping this does not ruin my build up to Tour of the Dragons May 4-5. As I fill in my race calendar and vacations I'll add them in here. Still want to post weekly workout numbers on here.

My buddies Andy, Jay are also looking to do an Olympic distance relay. I would do the bike leg and hope to not be weak link. We did one last year, a sprint distance and came in second. Deeply disappointing result.

I will also be taking on applying to business schools for my MBA to start in fall/winter and get that over with in off season.

2012 was a great year for cycling. I rode plenty, enjoyed new cycling sites. I got married to the love of my life. 2013 starting off rough but I am optimistic!

Until next time. I'll write some goals for 2013 and get those up here!