Going nowhere fast

Today's workout:

Hour One
- warming up 15 minute warm up (160+ watts)
- 15 minute Single Leg Drill (1 minute left leg, 1 minute right leg, 1 minute both, repeat)
- 15 minute steady riding (183+ watts)
- 15 minute tempo riding (215 - 253 watts)

Hour Two
- big gear, low cadence work 4x (10 minutes of big ring, low cadence, 5 minute recovery)
** one gear harder after each 10 minute segment, so my cadence lowered throughout the set. #1: 70rpm, #2, 65 rpm, #3 60rpm, #4 55rpm

Hour Three - power hour
- ladder effort of 2x through:
- 1 minute easy, 1 minute hard,
- 2 minutes easy, 2 minutes hard,
- 3 minutes easy, 3 minutes hard,
- 4 minutes easy, 4 minutes hard,
- 5 minutes easy, 5 minutes hard
- REPEAT!
(I didn't actually get though the second ladder - the legs were pooched by that point, so I finished the last 20 minutes at endurance pace followed by 10 minutes of recovery)

My ass after today's 3 hour ride. How appropriate for Valentine's Day - a heart shaped ass.

Just an hour in - two more to go.

I didn't want to get off the bike mid way through the ride to swap cycling videos, so the only movie I had that was about three hours long was one of The Lord of the Ring movies. Watching it got me thinking that Gollum would make a good cyclist, especially so a climber - he's all small and wirey and lean.

Maybe if I had a body like Gollum I'd climb faster.
"Me wants to climb faster."

Today's numbers:
3:01:28 hrs
just a little over 85km (and I didn't go anywhere)
avg speed = 28.08 km/hr
aprox. 2000 calories burned

Saturday Morning Workout

What are you doing today?

My Saturday late morning and early afternoon will be spent here.
Weeeeeeeeeeeee!

Birthday r-tard best of blog

Happy Birthday Blog. It's two years old. I never would of thought that I'd keep this up for two years, let alone having people read what's in my brain for two years. Who's sicker - me for doing it or you for reading?!?

Back in January I mentioned about doing a "Best of" blog - a year in review dealio about the blog. All my contemporaries did theirs back in January. Not only am I a slower bicycle driver, but I am slow to catch on to pretty much everything. In my professional field, education (specifically special education), we would refer to someone like me as M.I.D. - meaning: mild intellectually delayed. 'Mild' is the key word here, and since I have not been formally tested so to pin point how delayed I am, 'mild' is open to interpretation by who ever experiences my intellect.

Whacked with a skipping rope. Whack. Whack.

Two years. Long time. If you're bored and got some time to kill, this is where it all began. Really though, I wouldn't bother - it's not very good. I'm always surprised by what people comment on when I post something. Some of the posts that I have spent the most time on (i.e. "How Iron Maiden and Professional Cycling Are Similar") usually get no responses it all and the ones I just throw up, put together willy nilly seem to get the most comments. Now I'm not posting just to receive comments which in turn validate my very existence and inflate my self esteem to a level equivalent to a depressed schizophrenic (somebody love me, tell me I am good, love me) . . . . okay, again, honestly I am - but I am bound by my contract with Blogger to say that I don't blog for that reason. What I have learned is not to try so hard in blogging and just 'blog' about whatever.

Fugg it. I don't feel like doing a "Best of". You do it for me.

Heart rate, schmart rate

There's something wacky going on with my PowerTap heart rate monitor. It seems to be working one second, the next it seems to turn off. Check out the peaks and valleys above in red.

I got a short workout in after work today (my third ride this week of four workouts planned for this week). Started out doing a 15 min warm up, followed by 15 minutes of isolated leg reps (1 min one leg, 1 min the other, then one minute spinning & repeat), 15 minutes of low'ish tempo, and finally 15 minutes of endurance pace. Breaking it up in smaller segments makes the ride go by that much quicker. It was actually a test run of the 3 hour workout I have planned for Saturday.

The Saris Cycling Group obviously sees some great potential in me and are very interested in my training because I regularly receive the CyclopsPower Training Newsletter by e-mail. Can you say that? I sound pretty important don't I? Yes, you'd better look up at me when I'm speaking as I tower above you in greatness. Actually, to be honest, they'll send it out to anyone who subscribes.

Saturday's workout is based on Lindsay Corbin's workout (clicky clicky to see her article). The only thing to do now is find a video long enough that I can leave in so I don't have to stop and get off the trainer.

I'm on crack

The conclusion of last weeks blog post of my cracked frame . . . . it's still cracked.

For about a half an hour I contemplated contacting the bike company about possibly getting a warranty replacement. I bought this bike in 2002 and have ridden the hell out of it. I've logged on average 3500kms per season on it (which by roadie standards isn't that much - but considering I wasn't riding seriously back then, it's enough), it's been my late winter/early spring training ride, and has sat on my trainer for the past five winters. It doesn't owe me anything. I'm also pretty certain that there was only a five year warranty on it anyway. The idea of taking it back to the manufacturer and expecting a replacement doesn't sit well with me.

You can see the crack right through the inside of the seat tube.

A little J.B. Weld worked into the crack and let cure seems to have fixed it. Maybe only a temporary fix, but it will do. I'm hoping that this will show up soon and become my new spring ride - along with cx racing, long gravel rides, commute, and touring rig.

Prego Poll

You may or may not know that my beautiful wife is somewhat pregnant.

By all scientific and medical know-it-all apparently we're (when I say "we're" I really mean 'she') due on March 3rd. We don't know if it's a boy or girl, but have been assured it's one or the other.

The time has flown by and I can't believe we're (again, I mean 'she') only three or so weeks away. So in preparation of a little baby coming home, I began tonight on the very difficult task of trying to figure out how to put together, make recline, add a bonnet, learn how to collapse and take apart a state of the art baby stroller. I can take apart and rebuild a hub, lace a wheel, build a bike, and so on . . . . but do you think I could figure out how this freak'in thing worked!?!

Even had a little practice with a proxy baby getting in and out of the car seat. Eeyore was very cooperative and didn't complain a bit . . . . I'm hoping the little baby on the way is as cooperative.

So in anticipation of this great event, I am putting up a poll on the side bar ----------->
where you can vote whether we're having a boy or girl on/before/or after our due date - you're guess is as good as ours.

Linkaging

Yesterday's blog post (heads up on that courtesy of Curvy Butt) on Svein Tuft was pretty cool - well, not the blog post, but the link to the wicked story about him. He's given me reasons to have a favourite road racing team to follow and cheer for this season:

1. he's a fellow Canuck
   
2. he likes dogs
3. David Zabriskie rides for Garmin (he's a pro with a stash!)
   
4. they got argyle race kits (what's not to love about argyle?!)
5. Garmin's team goal is to 'ride clean' (I'm hopeful, but the jury is out on this one)
   

David Zabriskie

Interesting Reading:

• In case you didn't read the comments from a few days ago, GregZ (not affiliated with or related to David Z [above], unless he has a stash too) linked this article by Bobby Julich on "Battling the Bulge" . . . . . I'm guessing it was directed more towards me than you.
• Clint Eastwood look alike has three narrow misses on one ride and forgets to pack this to deal with dipshits (remember, guns don't kill people, people kill people who are stupid)
• young rider dies in sleep at Tour de Qatar
• my little nephew's Tri training team
• hardest ski ever ends in an upset tummy

Svein

You need to read this.

How I Got Fat

Two broken bike items in just a week has got me thinking. I've either gotten really, really powerful in one month since really working out in my power zones with the PowerTap OR I'm a fat ass. After much consideration, I'm thinking it's the latter.

How can this happen every winter? Last winter I needed to shed almost 24lbs in order to get down to my 'ideal' racing weight. I know that everyone usually puts on a little weight over the winter - it's normal and natural. We become a little more sedenatry, we're not exercising as frequent, racing stops, there are all sorts of holidays that entice us to stuff our pie holes, and so on. It's also nature's way of helping us prepare for colder weather (those of us in northern climates anyway) - a little extra fat keeps us mosty toasty. However, I think that last winters gain of 26lbs actually started in August '07 - remember this? Was that Mother Nature telling me that I am a slower learner and needed to start early? Freak'in hell! I had boobs!

I made a little video explaining what happened/has happened again.

Use the force . . . . but not to break things

The "C" on the head unit of the PowerTap is cadence.

Short ride for today's training had me doing a 'force' workout - simulating hill work. Low cadence and semi threshold'ish riding for 3 minutes, followed by three minute rest at endurance wattage, and repeat four times (see power plateaus below in graph).

After the first forty minutes or so I did a few form sprints (the spikes on the graph) and some isolated leg intervals to finish off.

- soaked handkerchief, el cheapo wheel stand and my cheat sheet (all my power zones on one side and specific workouts on the other kept for handy reference during rides)

After one of the form sprints (10 seconds all out while maintaining good form and pedal stroke), I looked down between my legs and saw this. Earlier in the ride I heard a noise, sounded like a squeak, but paid no heed to it.

Could I be that powerful that I can break the seat tube?! It's not the first thing I've broken in the past week. I'm guessing it has more to do with my pre-season heftiness . . . . yes, I am fat.

Saturday's Skate Ski

PapaG and I just about to descend down Blacks on the Champlain Parkway Saturday afternoon.

Beauty day for a ski - the best of the year.
Report here.

Rest/Wax Evening

Sometimes you have to listen to the body, especially when it shouts at you. I don't think I've been over-doing-it lately, but if feels like it. Maybe yesterday's skate ski with PapaG wore me out - which by the way was a wicked awesome ski; best of the year for me! Hopefully he'll have a report up on the blog soon that I can poach some photos from.

So instead of getting a workout in I opted to get some necessary ski maintenance done.

I've neglected my classic skis lately and it shows with the amount of kick wax I was able to scrape off. How many colours can you make out?

Mmmm . . . . great big wax booger.

Three sets of skis to be done. One is Tanya's, who dropped by to get her skis ready for the CSM this weekend.

I work on them from the right to the left, and rotate through. Clean, brush, wax, cool - switch - clean, brush, wax, cool - switch . . . . then, scrape, brush, wax, cool - switch - and so on and so on. The trick is to keep them in order and remember what wax you've put on.

Java waxy birth ride

Skate skiing tomorrow in warm temperatures.
Glide should be awesome compared to last weekend's sandy beach like ski.

Started the morning off with a coffee (with my favourite mug) and a wax job.

Then spent the day at our last prenatal class . . . . next step, birth. I can't believe eight months have gone by so fast.

Returned home for a threshold interval ride.

Note the two plateaus: 2 x 20 minutes in low end threshold

What's in a name?

Yesterday's blog post got me thinking a bit . . . . what's in a name or where does a name come from or why do we have a certain name?

Take my blog for example, the original big ring. It started off as "Craig Barlow: Enurdance Mountain Bike Racer" - but who is going to remember that?! Generic and kind of lame. Then it morphed into, "big ring" (notice the smaller case lettering? Psychologists and headshrinks everywhere take note: is this self loathing or demented narcissism?) mostly out of a need to have a catchy, memorable blog title to keep the masses coming back for more. Finally, it turned into the present blog title, "the original big ring" (still small letters). This came after the formation of the team I helped form, manage, find sponsors for and ride for, Big Ring Racing.

Now I know what you are thinking, "You formed a team based on your self imposed nick name?!" No, or at least that's what I told the team and everyone else. That, and "Big Ring Racing" sounds like a team that can push the big ring and is fast! The real truth, in my warped little pea brain, is that the team is all about me - it's always about me. I changed my blog to "the original big ring" to distance my blog from the team . . . . and ensuring members it really wasn't "Craig Barlow Racing", which if I do say so myself, has a nice ring to it.

But I digress from what I meant to blog about. Maybe someone reading my blog for the first time yesterday might think to themselves, "Man, this guy thinks he's a powerful rider, bragging about breaking his big ring and calling himself big ring! I've looked at his photos and he's a big fatty McFats-Alot. And his race results are sub par, middle of the pack. What gives with the sponsorship and stuff?! He's a putz!"

And I would agree with someone saying all of that, especially the last part . . . I am a putz. But, in my defense, let me explain . . . .

Have you ever known someone, or known of someone, who was rather large in stature? A rather hefty bloke - big and tall? For example,

Derived from the persons physical attributes we can use the poetic device "juxtaposition" to come up with a name for the fella above, i.e. 'Tiny'. By placing the name Tiny to the obviously HUGE dude on the scooter, we can illustrate contrast.

Another example,

We might call this guy, 'Arnie', after Arnold Schwarzenegger. Two contrasting things: skinny dude and name associated with famous strong guy.

One more,

Maybe you remember this from 2007, Miss South Carolina. We might give her the nickname, 'Einstein', or perhaps 'Rocket Scientist'. Again, opposites.

My point is, my blog name (self imposed nickname) is "big ring" due to the fact that I am not a powerful rider and have great difficulty pushing the big ring. One might associate and be mislead by the name, thinking anybody with a name like "big ring" must be fast and/or powerful. This couldn't be further from the truth.

So to all of you who I have mislead in thinking you were reading the ramblings and going-ons of a fast and/or powerful cyclist, I apologize.

Feats of Strength

I must be doing something right in my training because I exhibited two extradorinary, beyond human, feats of strength today. First, on the way to work I snapped my large chain ring in half.

I was crossing a busy street, stood up to pedal and SNAP!
I've never seen that happen before.
You can see in the photo below that the head on the chain ring bolt broke off, probably causing the ring to bend away from the crank, weaken and break. The daily freezing temperatures probably didn't help either.

They don't call me big ring for nothing!

Then, on returning home from work I open my backpack and the zipper tears out and splits.
I've had this bag for the past 12 years and it has served me very well all over the world and at home - it will be missed. But the timing couldn't be better with the luck we had the other night.

Prenatal, skiing on a beach, intervals and Banff

Two days without a post. Yes, things have been busy to say the least. Well, a combination of things being busy and me being lazy. I will admit though it's more of the former than the latter.

Be thankful it's only a cartoon. You wouldn't believe the shit that's on the interweb on labour and birth!

Prenatal Nervousness

Chris and I spent all day Saturday at a prenatal class. I was certainly dreading the day. I have ZERO experience with birth of any kind and a weak stomach for any kind of discharge, human or not, below the female equator. It was certainly an eye opening experience and very humbling. Throughout the day I had a nervous giddy laughter that I had to keep in check for fear of bursting out in chuckles during class with ten other couples present. I felt like a carbonated drink that's been shaken, waiting to explode, while witnessing videos and hearing what's inevitably going to happen. It has made this whole baby thing very real and with five weeks to go (maybe sooner, maybe later) it's getting real-er by the moment.

Skiing on the Beach

Sunday I hooked up with Zamboni, Mason and PapaG for a skate ski in the park. From the onset I had a number of things working against my favour for a favourable ski: one, I suck; two, I haven't been doing a lot of skate skiing this winter; three, the fellas are all faster and more consistent than I am; four, the snow was very cold and thus slow; and five, I suck. I have two speeds for skate skiing: stopped and redline. Unfortunately for me, in order to actually ski, I had to go redline pretty much the entire outing. My only consolation was that the boys suffered a little bit too with the cold snow temperatures made skate skiing comparable to skiing on a beach.

Powertapping

I'm really digging the power tap and actually, somewhat look forward to my training rides (talk to me again about this in another month). The little yellow box on my bars keep my little grey coloured brain occupied with numbers and info making the time tick away that much faster. Thanks to 'coach' for helping me find my zones, I'm working on some lower end threshold intervals which beats sitting at the same wattage for an entire workout. There's no guessing or estimating involved, and as Warren puts it, "It's a no bullshit meter."

Analysis from one 20 minute interval session at 70% of my MAP. Not sure if I should show this as my competition for this upcoming race season is most likely scouting my every training move.

Banff

Yesterday right after work I shot home on the commuter pig bike and jumped on the trainer - weird, I rode home outside to ride inside. Anyway, I got a good ride in yesterday (see above interval for part of it) then got ready so Chris and I could head out to hook up with some friends for dinner and take in the Banff Film Festival. The Bytowne was a full house with the healthy outdoorsie types eager to see this year's presentation of climbing, base jumping, skiing, kayaking, etc. At in the intermission the film presenters had a door prize draw of items from the sponsors of the film festival. Chris and I scored this little baby(did I say 'baby'? man, what's on my brain?!?!):

I was looking at replacing an older pack that has done it's tour of duty over the past ten or so years.

Young Grasshopper

King came over last night to learn the art of waxing. Be patient young grasshopper.
I'm no waxing master (more like a waxing fool), but was happy to pass on what I know.
King's got a race coming up.

Hey Mr. Dejay

While racing out at the BC Bike Race last July, I had the good fortune to meet Dejay, hang out with him for a bit and ride with him (actually he rode past me . . . a few times) during the race. A lot of fast guys got chips on their shoulders with even bigger egos to boot. Not Dejay. Very down to earth, funny and super friendly.

Check out the interview with him and teammate, Fuzzy, over on Bike Rumor.
You can also check their links here: Dejay & Fuzzy

Redemption

Today's four minute MAP test was redemption for Saturday's time trial explosion.

Careful what you talk about. Via e-mail today I was chatting to 'the coach' about my testing with the PowerTap and trying to find my power zones. He suggested I do a four minute MAP test. Basically, it tests your Maximum Aerobic Power, needless to say it hurt like hell. By the end of it my lungs and throat felt like a noobie ganja smoker at a reggae concert, and I was as dizzy. It took me a good while to recover from it before I was able to push my lungs back into my body through my nose with a pencil.

No Mo

Don't know why, but I've been suffering from lack of motivation for the past two days. Feeling fat and slow will do that to you. And the best yet, while trying to get motivated I decided to review my training schedule . . . and realized that I'm two weeks behind schedule. D'oh.

**late edit: had to change the 'motivation' poster, some reason the other one disappeared