Friday, January 23, 2009

2009 Plans and Aspirations

After sitting down for a while, I quickly realized that my original goal of doing one or more double centuries this spring were probably unrealistic - I hadn't been riding consistently, much less the kind of disciplined training it would take to do a distance I'd never done before.

So, I needed some structure and some accountability to get my butt on my bike when the weather isn't perfect. I hired Kim Collier, a local cycling coach and nutritionist. She looked at my eating log for a week, highlighting anything that was just plain bad in pink. It probably would have been easier to print the damn thing on pink paper to begin with. However, she then took me through Whole Foods and showed me how to replace all that (What do you mean, no pizza or bagels? I'm from New York, damn it!) with healthy, but still good tasting alternatives that I'll have a fighting chance of getting my kids to eat.

She also introduced me to the joys of SFR's. I have no idea what the initials stand for, but these are hill repeats - not looking to go at lung busting speeds, but rather to build strength. Climb a hill for 5 minutes, at a slow cadence in a big gear that you'd normally use on flat roads. The goal is to keep your heart rate low (I failed miserably at that the first time, but I'm getting better!), and really work the muscles in your legs. Repeat 5 times, then spin easy for 30 minutes. For the last two years I'd worked really hard at learning how to spin up hills, using small gears and a high cadence. This training will build strength while giving me much more flexibility on how I attack a hill.

So, with all this going on, I also signed up for the Death Ride again. No, I'm not bored with it yet. I'm going to do it with Team in Training again, although this season will be quite different. Over the last two years there'd been lots of continuity on the Death Ride teams - same coaches, lots of participants and mentors did it both years, etc. It will seem strange, especially without some of the close friends I've made (and without coaches Jacqui and Mike, who showed me how I could get off the couch and get in shape to do this in 6 months). However, the new coaches are all great, and I'm going to be a mentor - I'll provide kind of a point person that team members can use to answer questions about administrative stuff and fund raising, while I'll also be asked to provide ride support - something I've never done before. All in all, this should be a fun and exciting season.

Further on in the year, I'll revisit that double century goal. I suspect it won't be a problem if I can stick with Kim's plan (especially combined with the TnT Death Ride training). Kim even mentioned as a possible the Everest Challenge, a 2 day race in Southern California that got it's name because over the 2 days you climb as much as if you'd ridden your bike up that mountain with the same name. Aspirational? You bet. But it's fun to think that I could still get in that kind of shape.....

So, stay tuned - I'll be riding a bunch again this year!

JB

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey Jon great helpful information here...Goodluck on all your endeavors
Pete

Sagebum said...

I have enjoyed reading through your blog....very nice pics and stories.