James Pearl Thinks Blogging is Dead
- Thread starter Norm
- Start date
This is annoying AF. I didn't have this issue on my mtb. Now that I'm putting my cross bike on, it's irritating.
I'll have to set up my road bike for a while I guess.
Hey ok! And we are back. Today I didn't wake up and write, nor work, nor do things on the list for the wedding. I woke up at 6:00 with the alarm and got up, ok yes I did make espresso, then we hit the road for Lucky Charm Cross, the return of racing for yours truly. First race since 2015, blah blah blah, Return of the Jedi, LL Cool J's don't-call-it-a-comeback. And so on. In the end, I was coming in with 999 points and predicted to be last. At the end of the day it's riding in circles in grass for less than an hour plus a shit ton of good food, good people, and much goodness in the vibe department.
Was there early, before 7:15, drove in, setup camp, then people started filling in the blanks. Tent area was good, we were in the middle of the action. Then a bunch of races go off.
@JimN goes at 8 then goes off to ride his MTB for 4 hours
@Dominique and @MissJR go at 9, D wins. Great job D!
@seanrunnette and @graveyardman67 go at 10. Sean is in full-on WFO carburetor-mouth intake. Bill drops his chain then makes his fun by passing people
@Magic and @Santapez and @StayHydrated go at 11 - thanks Tim for the breakfast sandwiches. Awesome!
@Delish and @MadisonDan go at 12. EO mixes it up with Keith, fun to watch. Props for Dan for lining up in this crazy race
@Dominos goes at 1:15. Awesome to see her out there
Then I line up with @UtahJoe - more details below.
Warmed up today like this:
1. Easy lap in plain clothes before the 10:00 race just to check things out.
2. The same before the 11:00 race. I skip the pre-12:00 race lap
3. Get dressed, do a reasonably warm pre-lap before the 1:15 race
4. Get on trainer. My legs were burning a bit on that last lap so I am going to just spin out a bit and drink my drink
5. Literally pee 3 times between 1:15 and 2:15. The downside of hydrating aplenty
Front row call up. Whistle goes, clip in with no issues. I make the selection and I am sitting in 4th coming through the S/F. Utah is behind me in 5th, and we're just riding bikes now. On the run-up he passes me because he is on the MTB and he rides it, I run it, where "run" is a poor word for it. I do not have it in me to run up this today. I am still lethargic on the mechanics of getting on & off the bike, though I will say that the barriers were a non-issue today. It comes back to you, just like that. But running up a muddy hill is soul-sapping and that wasn't happening today.
I am now in 5th. We do the off-camber then the off-camber and go down the hill. Brett, who would eventually win the race, goes by me. Now I am in 6th. I ride out the lap, and the 2nd lap, and it hurts but I am hanging in there. This whole pain thing is new-but-old, if you know what I mean. Call it an old friend? Not sure about that, but hello old friend, glad to see you, now go fuck yourself because this hurts. I am trying to find a groove in this race but I cannot. I don't know if it was me being rusty or the course did not flow especially well for me. I know for sure that massively taped section in the middle was hot & cold for me, and I could see my lack of having ridden the cx bike taking a little toll there. I was braking a tad too much and having to accelerate too much. Knowing is half the battle. I'll get better. It's been a long time since I pushed the edges of the tires. So I'm not all-in on how these tires operate right now. Good enough, not great.
Maybe in the middle of the 3rd lap @choop passes me, which puts me in 7th. At the far section of the lap you hit the low point of the course, and from there you climb all the way back up. At 200 pounds, this is obviously where I bleed my time. But this is a known issue, and there's a clear answer to that. No need to belabor that point. Lose weight, go up faster.
The last 3 laps are a sort of going through the routine of trying to find a groove, trying to ride as cleanly as I can. This is my first actual cross race in a long time so I don't have the mechanics of riding while suffering down yet. So I make a few mistakes, I get sloppy, I make up time on a guy in front then I lose it. All sort of what you would expect in a race like this. In all, a reasonably good assembly of solid-turn-followed-by-totally-shitty-turn. Nothing really that you can be surprised at. Nothing that can't be made better with practice. I have time.
A few sections of the course threw me for a loop, and I never figured them out. The big sweeping right hand off-camber was a bear. As much as that was the turn after it. No matter what I did, that 1-2 combination just never worked for me. The house-2-step was another one. I unclipped 4 times and ran it, and tried to ride it twice. The 2 times I tried to ride it I failed, 1 of which was a hard slamming of the wheel on the step, to the point I was afraid my race might be over. Both times I tried to ride it, however, the climb up after was easier. Running = hurt in my world.
The middle 4 leaf clover had something like 15 turns. Nothing in there really was difficult on its own, but the combination was a bit much. I never found a groove in there. But in talking with people after the race, nobody did.
In the last 2 laps I was then passed by a bunch of Bs, so I lost track of where I was. I came across the line, then went back to the tent to hop on the trainer and cool down. If I am going to do this right this year, I am going to do this right. I get on the trainer and look out, and there is literally nobody left on the course. "Did I actually lose this race?" I say out loud. @Santapez or @Magic say no, and I do know that at least 2 guys were behind me. I assume at this point I'm like 10th or 12th, IDFK. Whatever, I felt ok out there. I'll take what the day gave me.
I cool down and get changed and check the results. I look at the bottom and see no "MTBNJ.com" and think great, they didn't score me. Ok well let me go from the top down and look. 3rd...ok that's @UtahJoe who had a great race out there today. Good job to him. I move down 3 more spots and see my name in 6th. Somewhere in there Angelo bailed and I never got passed by another 40+ racer. Ok holy shit, 6th of 14 in the end. Turns out a good number of guys got pulled and only 8 of us were on the lead lap. Ok. Wow. I admit I am really surprised at this.
I could not have hoped for a better day. I'm totally stoked to see that.
Want to send a special shout out to 2 people here. First is @seanrunnette for being my partner in crime and pushing me and encouraging me to get back out there. I can say with 100% certainty, I would not have been this ready, nor this stoked, nor this driven, if it weren't for the big guy and his encouragement. Look forward to riding out this cross season and seeing how this all plays out. Today was a great first step on the race season.
Second is @Dominique who has tolerated my total immersion in this cross season endeavor, and for immediately agreeing to let me working towards nationals this season. Obviously this is not possible without support at home, and D has given me that. Today was our best combined finish ever as a couple. I guess this is a good omen with the wedding a week away. Thanks babe, love you and appreciate the encouragement. Also, great win today and yeah, I know that D winning sure helps raise the cross mojo at home.
I'm back in. I'm hooked again. This is a long day, and I am tired right now. And I have a slight headache. But damn today felt good. Felt good to be back out there again. I am now going to enjoy the F out of a bowl of ice cream.
Thanks @Magic for the pic:
Was there early, before 7:15, drove in, setup camp, then people started filling in the blanks. Tent area was good, we were in the middle of the action. Then a bunch of races go off.
@JimN goes at 8 then goes off to ride his MTB for 4 hours
@Dominique and @MissJR go at 9, D wins. Great job D!
@seanrunnette and @graveyardman67 go at 10. Sean is in full-on WFO carburetor-mouth intake. Bill drops his chain then makes his fun by passing people
@Magic and @Santapez and @StayHydrated go at 11 - thanks Tim for the breakfast sandwiches. Awesome!
@Delish and @MadisonDan go at 12. EO mixes it up with Keith, fun to watch. Props for Dan for lining up in this crazy race
@Dominos goes at 1:15. Awesome to see her out there
Then I line up with @UtahJoe - more details below.
Warmed up today like this:
1. Easy lap in plain clothes before the 10:00 race just to check things out.
2. The same before the 11:00 race. I skip the pre-12:00 race lap
3. Get dressed, do a reasonably warm pre-lap before the 1:15 race
4. Get on trainer. My legs were burning a bit on that last lap so I am going to just spin out a bit and drink my drink
5. Literally pee 3 times between 1:15 and 2:15. The downside of hydrating aplenty
Front row call up. Whistle goes, clip in with no issues. I make the selection and I am sitting in 4th coming through the S/F. Utah is behind me in 5th, and we're just riding bikes now. On the run-up he passes me because he is on the MTB and he rides it, I run it, where "run" is a poor word for it. I do not have it in me to run up this today. I am still lethargic on the mechanics of getting on & off the bike, though I will say that the barriers were a non-issue today. It comes back to you, just like that. But running up a muddy hill is soul-sapping and that wasn't happening today.
I am now in 5th. We do the off-camber then the off-camber and go down the hill. Brett, who would eventually win the race, goes by me. Now I am in 6th. I ride out the lap, and the 2nd lap, and it hurts but I am hanging in there. This whole pain thing is new-but-old, if you know what I mean. Call it an old friend? Not sure about that, but hello old friend, glad to see you, now go fuck yourself because this hurts. I am trying to find a groove in this race but I cannot. I don't know if it was me being rusty or the course did not flow especially well for me. I know for sure that massively taped section in the middle was hot & cold for me, and I could see my lack of having ridden the cx bike taking a little toll there. I was braking a tad too much and having to accelerate too much. Knowing is half the battle. I'll get better. It's been a long time since I pushed the edges of the tires. So I'm not all-in on how these tires operate right now. Good enough, not great.
Maybe in the middle of the 3rd lap @choop passes me, which puts me in 7th. At the far section of the lap you hit the low point of the course, and from there you climb all the way back up. At 200 pounds, this is obviously where I bleed my time. But this is a known issue, and there's a clear answer to that. No need to belabor that point. Lose weight, go up faster.
The last 3 laps are a sort of going through the routine of trying to find a groove, trying to ride as cleanly as I can. This is my first actual cross race in a long time so I don't have the mechanics of riding while suffering down yet. So I make a few mistakes, I get sloppy, I make up time on a guy in front then I lose it. All sort of what you would expect in a race like this. In all, a reasonably good assembly of solid-turn-followed-by-totally-shitty-turn. Nothing really that you can be surprised at. Nothing that can't be made better with practice. I have time.
A few sections of the course threw me for a loop, and I never figured them out. The big sweeping right hand off-camber was a bear. As much as that was the turn after it. No matter what I did, that 1-2 combination just never worked for me. The house-2-step was another one. I unclipped 4 times and ran it, and tried to ride it twice. The 2 times I tried to ride it I failed, 1 of which was a hard slamming of the wheel on the step, to the point I was afraid my race might be over. Both times I tried to ride it, however, the climb up after was easier. Running = hurt in my world.
The middle 4 leaf clover had something like 15 turns. Nothing in there really was difficult on its own, but the combination was a bit much. I never found a groove in there. But in talking with people after the race, nobody did.
In the last 2 laps I was then passed by a bunch of Bs, so I lost track of where I was. I came across the line, then went back to the tent to hop on the trainer and cool down. If I am going to do this right this year, I am going to do this right. I get on the trainer and look out, and there is literally nobody left on the course. "Did I actually lose this race?" I say out loud. @Santapez or @Magic say no, and I do know that at least 2 guys were behind me. I assume at this point I'm like 10th or 12th, IDFK. Whatever, I felt ok out there. I'll take what the day gave me.
I cool down and get changed and check the results. I look at the bottom and see no "MTBNJ.com" and think great, they didn't score me. Ok well let me go from the top down and look. 3rd...ok that's @UtahJoe who had a great race out there today. Good job to him. I move down 3 more spots and see my name in 6th. Somewhere in there Angelo bailed and I never got passed by another 40+ racer. Ok holy shit, 6th of 14 in the end. Turns out a good number of guys got pulled and only 8 of us were on the lead lap. Ok. Wow. I admit I am really surprised at this.
I could not have hoped for a better day. I'm totally stoked to see that.
Want to send a special shout out to 2 people here. First is @seanrunnette for being my partner in crime and pushing me and encouraging me to get back out there. I can say with 100% certainty, I would not have been this ready, nor this stoked, nor this driven, if it weren't for the big guy and his encouragement. Look forward to riding out this cross season and seeing how this all plays out. Today was a great first step on the race season.
Second is @Dominique who has tolerated my total immersion in this cross season endeavor, and for immediately agreeing to let me working towards nationals this season. Obviously this is not possible without support at home, and D has given me that. Today was our best combined finish ever as a couple. I guess this is a good omen with the wedding a week away. Thanks babe, love you and appreciate the encouragement. Also, great win today and yeah, I know that D winning sure helps raise the cross mojo at home.
I'm back in. I'm hooked again. This is a long day, and I am tired right now. And I have a slight headache. But damn today felt good. Felt good to be back out there again. I am now going to enjoy the F out of a bowl of ice cream.
Thanks @Magic for the pic:
This is all that matters. You can't do this sport half way, and for the long haul. Actually being passionate about it will bring the results, which makes it easier to do those BS intervals on the trainer. Just work on them skills...
Side note....
Today I made this. Cause I really want to bunny hop shit.
It's the last day of the month and I'm supposed to wrap it up today. But I can do that another day, I can do that tomorrow. I'll try to come up with a colorful way to discuss September tomorrow. But that's not today.
Today is nothing to do with cross, nor training (ok I won't belabor the point but it was a good endurance ride following a hard effort yesterday), nor work, wedding, or any of that stuff. Today is about JORBA's yearly festival, which happened this year at Ringwood, just like last year. The day is meant to be a celebration of sorts, a celebration of bikes, where all of us in the area who love riding bikes get together in the same place and ride bikes. Before we ride bikes, we talk about where we're going to ride bikes. After we ride, we talk about the ride.
Or we don't. We talk about life, other things. We just enjoy each other's company from when we arrive, to when we leave. But before we leave, pretty much to a person, we line up when we're going to see each other next. Thanks JORBA for the great opportunity to hang out and ride bikes today.
My role today was to sweep the official Sterling ride. This morning, I find out that we are going to ride over to Sterling, all the way to the north lot, then join a collection of runners & hikers and a few random other bikers to officially cut the ribbon on the new Sterling trails. Today they officially opened. And we are literally the group representing the bikers in the event. Ok then, a little more PR than I expected. But whatever, I'm game.
This was a pre-reg only ride, limit to 15. We start the ride at 9:15-ish, and we are 38. It is advertised as a an intermediate ride. I'm honestly not sure why they even bother putting ability level on these. I mean, there are guys that show up with the equivalent of an inoperable lawnmower up to these rides. As we would see soon enough, some of these guys would be best suited for a First Timers ride. I'm really not sure how you self-assess as an intermediate rider. I guess for some people this just means waking up. IDK. I'm not sure.
So we start this ride and @graveyardman67 agrees to sweep. He makes it to the Sterling lot and by then, it has taken so long to get there he needs to sprint back to make it back for the 11:00 advanced ride. I'll guess that he just motored out to lead a ride with half a crew of fast beginners. Anyway, with Bill gone, I pick up the sweep. After we ride up the technical climb, I fall to the back and ride with the crew of ~10 people as we climb slowly. I mean, really slowly. I mean, not a single 1 of the 12 rear guard guys can climb even half the hill.
At some point, I just pass them all and catch back up to the group because, against all odds, the 2 hours we had to ride 8 miles to the far trailhead may not be enough. I need to let the leaders know they need to head to the lot because, well frankly, they may be late for their own ceremony. We get to the split point and a bunch of the MTBNJ folks head back, with a few other guys. Thankfully @Glenn Rides After 4 PM CST stayed with me and we got a crew of ~25 to the trailhead just in time for the official ceremony.
In all, maybe 90 people are there for this - figure 1/3 each bikers, hikers, and trail runners. The talking lasts ~30 minutes, then they cut a blue ribbon. Then we are free to go. The ride had 2 ride leaders and 1 of them turns to me and says, "Ok I guess you guys are free to go."
Glenn and I then post a top 10 Strava time (of 200+) on a segment starting from the lot they had the ceremony in. We weren't about to give him any time to rethink that last comment. We cruise back to Ringwood, riding 1:15 in 1:15 to get back. On the way we ended up riding behind this guy who we later found out was named Ian, who is on the crew that @MurderBort rides with. This is the same crew that I was with when I smashed my face in the lot that day. Ian wasn't with them that day.
We get back to the fest and drink espresso, hang out with friends, and enjoy the day. As the day winds down, we say we'll see lots of people next weekend, and if not the following. We enjoy spending time with each other. So as a rule, we look forward to when we'll see them again.
Good to see so many people out there today. Tune in tomorrow when we either recap the month of September or resume our normally scheduled program of counting down the number of days until the madness comes to a conclusion. Or both.
Today is nothing to do with cross, nor training (ok I won't belabor the point but it was a good endurance ride following a hard effort yesterday), nor work, wedding, or any of that stuff. Today is about JORBA's yearly festival, which happened this year at Ringwood, just like last year. The day is meant to be a celebration of sorts, a celebration of bikes, where all of us in the area who love riding bikes get together in the same place and ride bikes. Before we ride bikes, we talk about where we're going to ride bikes. After we ride, we talk about the ride.
Or we don't. We talk about life, other things. We just enjoy each other's company from when we arrive, to when we leave. But before we leave, pretty much to a person, we line up when we're going to see each other next. Thanks JORBA for the great opportunity to hang out and ride bikes today.
My role today was to sweep the official Sterling ride. This morning, I find out that we are going to ride over to Sterling, all the way to the north lot, then join a collection of runners & hikers and a few random other bikers to officially cut the ribbon on the new Sterling trails. Today they officially opened. And we are literally the group representing the bikers in the event. Ok then, a little more PR than I expected. But whatever, I'm game.
This was a pre-reg only ride, limit to 15. We start the ride at 9:15-ish, and we are 38. It is advertised as a an intermediate ride. I'm honestly not sure why they even bother putting ability level on these. I mean, there are guys that show up with the equivalent of an inoperable lawnmower up to these rides. As we would see soon enough, some of these guys would be best suited for a First Timers ride. I'm really not sure how you self-assess as an intermediate rider. I guess for some people this just means waking up. IDK. I'm not sure.
So we start this ride and @graveyardman67 agrees to sweep. He makes it to the Sterling lot and by then, it has taken so long to get there he needs to sprint back to make it back for the 11:00 advanced ride. I'll guess that he just motored out to lead a ride with half a crew of fast beginners. Anyway, with Bill gone, I pick up the sweep. After we ride up the technical climb, I fall to the back and ride with the crew of ~10 people as we climb slowly. I mean, really slowly. I mean, not a single 1 of the 12 rear guard guys can climb even half the hill.
At some point, I just pass them all and catch back up to the group because, against all odds, the 2 hours we had to ride 8 miles to the far trailhead may not be enough. I need to let the leaders know they need to head to the lot because, well frankly, they may be late for their own ceremony. We get to the split point and a bunch of the MTBNJ folks head back, with a few other guys. Thankfully @Glenn Rides After 4 PM CST stayed with me and we got a crew of ~25 to the trailhead just in time for the official ceremony.
In all, maybe 90 people are there for this - figure 1/3 each bikers, hikers, and trail runners. The talking lasts ~30 minutes, then they cut a blue ribbon. Then we are free to go. The ride had 2 ride leaders and 1 of them turns to me and says, "Ok I guess you guys are free to go."
Glenn and I then post a top 10 Strava time (of 200+) on a segment starting from the lot they had the ceremony in. We weren't about to give him any time to rethink that last comment. We cruise back to Ringwood, riding 1:15 in 1:15 to get back. On the way we ended up riding behind this guy who we later found out was named Ian, who is on the crew that @MurderBort rides with. This is the same crew that I was with when I smashed my face in the lot that day. Ian wasn't with them that day.
We get back to the fest and drink espresso, hang out with friends, and enjoy the day. As the day winds down, we say we'll see lots of people next weekend, and if not the following. We enjoy spending time with each other. So as a rule, we look forward to when we'll see them again.
Good to see so many people out there today. Tune in tomorrow when we either recap the month of September or resume our normally scheduled program of counting down the number of days until the madness comes to a conclusion. Or both.
This sums up yesterday.
Ride time and paused time.
Ride time and paused time.
Im surprised I didn't have any KOMs follow @muddybike . She was absolutely ripping it around the Sterling loop.
Its funny how @seanrunnette motivates you, and you motivate me. I mean it was a race in memory of Lucky so I would have come for no other reason, but I probably would have just been content to watch my son race had you not entered. So thanks coach 
Plus it was really fun getting to line up with you again and you set a perfect pace for the first 5 or so minutes. Good times!
With regard to cross and training....Agree with @jShort at least on the doing workouts aspect....But one thing that was clear as day to me in that race....I had not dismounted for a barrier in 3 years...the actual race was my first attempt...I was just as fast as everyone else I was racing again. I did hop them on the first lap...first one was great, but then I found it hard to get a clean hop on the second with the short distance in between.....Make sure you factor that in Jeremy.
Oh and the dropper post was the most useful I have ever experienced in a cross race...I used it probably 50 times a lap I would guess.
Plus it was really fun getting to line up with you again and you set a perfect pace for the first 5 or so minutes. Good times!
With regard to cross and training....Agree with @jShort at least on the doing workouts aspect....But one thing that was clear as day to me in that race....I had not dismounted for a barrier in 3 years...the actual race was my first attempt...I was just as fast as everyone else I was racing again. I did hop them on the first lap...first one was great, but then I found it hard to get a clean hop on the second with the short distance in between.....Make sure you factor that in Jeremy.
Oh and the dropper post was the most useful I have ever experienced in a cross race...I used it probably 50 times a lap I would guess.
I need to make a correction on the number. It started at 38 but by the time the ride rolled out I had 48 not including me. We lost 5 before we even hit the connector trail. I was hanging WAY back for one guy that seemed capable but was all over the place in the greasy spots. I see the back of another person riding away uphill at the fork on light blue, SMH, chase them down (up the climb) and get them back on the right trail (This had to be a dozen guys). Cattle herded, at least it was downhill. All fun. I really don't mind these rides as I have no expectation of people knowing where they lie on the relative skill scale.
It seems to me that cycling, in general, is growing, racing, not so much. We are a relatively small group in a big ocean of cyclists. You don't realize the level we have become accustomed to riding at. Even with my son, he doesn't ride much, but he's always ridden with me. His own expectation level is pretty high and he's progressed to be very competent. I've been doing this a long time and have seen many people change dramatically as riders, including @UtahJoe and @Norm . What I'm getting at, is that encouraging people at these events is important for cycling and I enjoy doing it. We'll always have our days to drop the hammer.
It seems to me that cycling, in general, is growing, racing, not so much. We are a relatively small group in a big ocean of cyclists. You don't realize the level we have become accustomed to riding at. Even with my son, he doesn't ride much, but he's always ridden with me. His own expectation level is pretty high and he's progressed to be very competent. I've been doing this a long time and have seen many people change dramatically as riders, including @UtahJoe and @Norm . What I'm getting at, is that encouraging people at these events is important for cycling and I enjoy doing it. We'll always have our days to drop the hammer.
+1
What drew me more into mtbing were the group rides. Looking back, the quality of riding was not good but the social aspect made me feel connected.
To be honest taking beginners to Ringwood is probably not the best idea, getting through trails with large groups is a slog. However if this is the venue, slog we must. Hopefully those beginners are motivated to get better and keep riding, they are the future.
Be your future, See your future Danny.
ChrisG
Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
This.
Yes, once I clear this one, I'll build another. I agree it's the second one that will be harder. Especially at speed.
And funny you mention the dropper. I am tempted to put one on my cross bike. Not just for the techy and hops, but dropping around turns.
This is super that so many support the community and see value in growing our community of bikers. I have been on a mission to try and make Ringwood more multi level friendly, but it is not that easy to do with all the rocks and hills. Having more people encourage new riders through the learning process is huge! Thanks to the many rider leaders!
Best Tactic is if you mess up the first barrier, crash in Vos to clog her up.
StayHydrated
Swedish Chef
That was not the Waowdeal she was looking for...
September
As promised, let's recap the month of September
1. Sleep. I added sleep as a new metric this month, because I think this is the next step in trying to get where I want to go. Where do I want to go? I don't know. I guess Louisville. So far, I'm averaging 6.88 hours a night. Here's how I measure. I look at the clock when I turn out the light. Then I look at it when I wake up. Then I round down to the closest :15. I was all sorts of all over during Toothgate. But I have gotten a little more consistent. I feel like I am almost getting enough now.
2. Exercise. 47.57 hours, which is my lowest since May. That makes sense because summer is over and I'm focusing more on cross stuff, which is typically shorter. I also tend to do the work I need to do, then call it a day. This is one of the factors in not burning out, something @vanseggern1 asked about earlier. I did 13 rides of 2-or-more hours. I had 2 days of no riding when I went to the Oral Sadist. I have already attained my Strava goal of 400 hours on the bike. I imagine I should be able to hit 500 this year.
3. Blogging. 30 posts in 30 days. I missed the Sunday post when we went to Vermont with Alex & Mark, but I did 2 the next day (morning & night) to catch up. A long time ago, I read that writing every day is the way to become a better writer. Deep down I know this makes sense but I often blow it off for whatever poor reason. Well, drop phone in the river, and you'd be surprised how much more you can attain these little goals. 24/month on average.
4. Writing. On top of the blogging I have decided to try to start, and finish, a book. I started this on September 1st and I've put in some time to write every day of the month. Again, drop phone in river, get closer to the goals you always had in the back of your head. I feel good about this one. It's not the first time I've tried to write a book but the other attempts have been misguided youth thinking I could actually pull it off by just sitting down and hoping it works out. This time, I started with an idea, then let it happen and let it grow. Today I reached 70,000 words, and I'm about to start into the final run of the story. I have all the chapters outlined now. I feel pretty good about this. I will have the first pass done mid-October at this pace. Then I'll need to edit it profusely, and of course make sure it is logically consistent, which it gets less so every day. I'll also need to research some technical details here & there. I have no delusions it will be great. I just want to see if I can do it.
5. Non-work stuff. This is the lowest of the year by a decent amount. The wedding prep is keeping us at home more than usual, but the lack of work travel has also helped me have a more "normal" life this month. It was kind of nice not to be in a different state every week. Also, back to school tends to lock us down a tad. September is always a little sporadic with the back-to-school routine. On the year 23/month on average. Things we did:
* Canada to end summer
* KT with the boys
* Nox with D
* Pine Hill, Ascutney, Thunder Mountain with Alex & Mark
* Took a day off from work and just did stuff to do stuff. This is so abnormal it ranks as a thing. I need to do this more often.
* Dani's to hang out next to the pool
* Hike with Julia at CR
* Parents came down to help with some wedding prep
* Lucky cross
* JORBA Jam
6. Weight. Back to the month before last, a tad over 200 and saw a new low of 201. Have not really been worrying about this too much because with cross training here, it's hard to focus on weight loss as well as getting stronger at the same time. I think you need to choose 1 and right now, it's getting stronger. However, after Lucky Cross I have to ask the question, if Nationals are vertical at all, would it make sense to spend the next 2 months losing as much weight as possible? I think it's fair to say I can trim a solid 15-20 seconds per lap if I were at 180 now and not 200. It's also pertinent in all areas but when gravity comes into play, it makes a bigger difference. I know the answer is to split the difference but if you've done both, you know it's brutally difficult to balance.
7. Books. None. The monster I am reading is taking a long time. I'm about 150 pages from the end. I've also been spending a lot of time writing and doing wedding stuff. Also, as mentioned earlier, this Living Danishly eBook is boring. On a side note, the next Murderbot came out today or tomorrow. Still at 24 total on the year, which is a good number.
8. Movies. Watched a bunch this month, for whatever reason.
* The Darkest Hour - solid movie, would recommend
* Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - good movie, would also recommend
* Peter Rabbit - this was for the kids, though we watched. Entertaining in spots
* Ghost Town - D put this on last night. I didn't have any expectations, but it was actually pretty enjoyable
9. Drinking. 538 days without.
10. Friends. Only 10 days spent with friends. I like this number to be higher because I think it's good for your soul. But 10 is not a bad number of days spent with the people you like. Spent time with the following people:
* Oma & Opa in Canada
* Alex & Mark in VT/MA
* Dani at their house (Kristian was in Vegas for a conference)
* My parents last week
* Many people at LCCX
* Many of the same plus other people at JORBA Jam
October Preview
Here's what in store for October:
* Get married
* Maybe show up to a Bubble cross practice
* Start podcasting again
* Go see Disenchanted
* Hippo Cross
* Go to hike Mohunk
* 1 or 2 days of HPCX
* Go see the Jets play the Vikings
* Halloween
* Maybe hit up a CR ride again, totally missed September
* Plus who knows what else
As promised, let's recap the month of September
1. Sleep. I added sleep as a new metric this month, because I think this is the next step in trying to get where I want to go. Where do I want to go? I don't know. I guess Louisville. So far, I'm averaging 6.88 hours a night. Here's how I measure. I look at the clock when I turn out the light. Then I look at it when I wake up. Then I round down to the closest :15. I was all sorts of all over during Toothgate. But I have gotten a little more consistent. I feel like I am almost getting enough now.
2. Exercise. 47.57 hours, which is my lowest since May. That makes sense because summer is over and I'm focusing more on cross stuff, which is typically shorter. I also tend to do the work I need to do, then call it a day. This is one of the factors in not burning out, something @vanseggern1 asked about earlier. I did 13 rides of 2-or-more hours. I had 2 days of no riding when I went to the Oral Sadist. I have already attained my Strava goal of 400 hours on the bike. I imagine I should be able to hit 500 this year.
3. Blogging. 30 posts in 30 days. I missed the Sunday post when we went to Vermont with Alex & Mark, but I did 2 the next day (morning & night) to catch up. A long time ago, I read that writing every day is the way to become a better writer. Deep down I know this makes sense but I often blow it off for whatever poor reason. Well, drop phone in the river, and you'd be surprised how much more you can attain these little goals. 24/month on average.
4. Writing. On top of the blogging I have decided to try to start, and finish, a book. I started this on September 1st and I've put in some time to write every day of the month. Again, drop phone in river, get closer to the goals you always had in the back of your head. I feel good about this one. It's not the first time I've tried to write a book but the other attempts have been misguided youth thinking I could actually pull it off by just sitting down and hoping it works out. This time, I started with an idea, then let it happen and let it grow. Today I reached 70,000 words, and I'm about to start into the final run of the story. I have all the chapters outlined now. I feel pretty good about this. I will have the first pass done mid-October at this pace. Then I'll need to edit it profusely, and of course make sure it is logically consistent, which it gets less so every day. I'll also need to research some technical details here & there. I have no delusions it will be great. I just want to see if I can do it.
5. Non-work stuff. This is the lowest of the year by a decent amount. The wedding prep is keeping us at home more than usual, but the lack of work travel has also helped me have a more "normal" life this month. It was kind of nice not to be in a different state every week. Also, back to school tends to lock us down a tad. September is always a little sporadic with the back-to-school routine. On the year 23/month on average. Things we did:
* Canada to end summer
* KT with the boys
* Nox with D
* Pine Hill, Ascutney, Thunder Mountain with Alex & Mark
* Took a day off from work and just did stuff to do stuff. This is so abnormal it ranks as a thing. I need to do this more often.
* Dani's to hang out next to the pool
* Hike with Julia at CR
* Parents came down to help with some wedding prep
* Lucky cross
* JORBA Jam
6. Weight. Back to the month before last, a tad over 200 and saw a new low of 201. Have not really been worrying about this too much because with cross training here, it's hard to focus on weight loss as well as getting stronger at the same time. I think you need to choose 1 and right now, it's getting stronger. However, after Lucky Cross I have to ask the question, if Nationals are vertical at all, would it make sense to spend the next 2 months losing as much weight as possible? I think it's fair to say I can trim a solid 15-20 seconds per lap if I were at 180 now and not 200. It's also pertinent in all areas but when gravity comes into play, it makes a bigger difference. I know the answer is to split the difference but if you've done both, you know it's brutally difficult to balance.
7. Books. None. The monster I am reading is taking a long time. I'm about 150 pages from the end. I've also been spending a lot of time writing and doing wedding stuff. Also, as mentioned earlier, this Living Danishly eBook is boring. On a side note, the next Murderbot came out today or tomorrow. Still at 24 total on the year, which is a good number.
8. Movies. Watched a bunch this month, for whatever reason.
* The Darkest Hour - solid movie, would recommend
* Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - good movie, would also recommend
* Peter Rabbit - this was for the kids, though we watched. Entertaining in spots
* Ghost Town - D put this on last night. I didn't have any expectations, but it was actually pretty enjoyable
9. Drinking. 538 days without.
10. Friends. Only 10 days spent with friends. I like this number to be higher because I think it's good for your soul. But 10 is not a bad number of days spent with the people you like. Spent time with the following people:
* Oma & Opa in Canada
* Alex & Mark in VT/MA
* Dani at their house (Kristian was in Vegas for a conference)
* My parents last week
* Many people at LCCX
* Many of the same plus other people at JORBA Jam
October Preview
Here's what in store for October:
* Get married
* Maybe show up to a Bubble cross practice
* Start podcasting again
* Go see Disenchanted
* Hippo Cross
* Go to hike Mohunk
* 1 or 2 days of HPCX
* Go see the Jets play the Vikings
* Halloween
* Maybe hit up a CR ride again, totally missed September
* Plus who knows what else
came across this article which moves training from a taper mindset, to a peak mindset.
Think you touched on it early in your training plan, about how you feel on the lighter weeks of your sets,
and into race day.
https://www.mcmillanrunning.com/dont-taper-peak/
Think you touched on it early in your training plan, about how you feel on the lighter weeks of your sets,
and into race day.
https://www.mcmillanrunning.com/dont-taper-peak/
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StayHydrated
Swedish Chef
Will you be trying to change routines/environment/other variables to improve this? What number are you aiming for?
How much weight loss is too much to overcome without significantly changing training regime and diet? Do you think you could drop another 5 by the time Nationals rolls around by just doing what you've been doing?
That's a FULL month.