The Long Road Back

David Taylor said:
I feel like my HR has said I should vomit(206 at mooch for my first mtb race). But I never get that feeling. I have almost pissed my pants and or had the metal taste in my mouth but the only time I have ever even upheaved on a ride was when I tried using Beet Elite as a normal ride drink and not a pre shot. That was nasty. BTW are you doing Snowball's chance?
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Usually if I have dairy too close to riding I'm in danger of spewing it back up. If I'm going super hard I'll tend to get close to blacking out, especially if it's hot. That's a crazy feeling. I remember one year at the KVSP race gunning to the finish line with my vision blacking out. Good times...

As far as Snowball's chance...maybe. It's going to depend on conditions and family plans. As of now I have short track on my calendar for that weekend but it could change. Are you in?
 
I'm going to guess that a short-track lap is going to come in somewhere around 6-7 minutes this year for you crazy fellas.
So yeah, like your test, all out, about 7x. piece of pie.
 
fidodie said:
I'm going to guess that a short-track lap is going to come in somewhere around 6-7 minutes this year for you crazy fellas.
So yeah, like your test, all out, about 7x. piece of pie.
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True... but at least with other people around me and being outside I'll be distracted. Indoors on the trainer is just DUMB.
 
I'm hoping to get out tonight to avoid the trainer some more and go play in the woods. Up tomorrow is a longer ride. I'm doing the old version of the Hell of Hunterdon loop from Lambertville. It's one of my favorite loops and I usually do it twice a year. Tomorrow is the day. I hope the dirt section are in decent shape.
 
Not yet...probably
xc62701 said:
Usually if I have dairy too close to riding I'm in danger of spewing it back up. If I'm going super hard I'll tend to get close to blacking out, especially if it's hot. That's a crazy feeling. I remember one year at the KVSP race gunning to the finish line with my vision blacking out. Good times...

As far as Snowball's chance...maybe. It's going to depend on conditions and family plans. As of now I have short track on my calendar for that weekend but it could change. Are you in?
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xc62701 said:
I'm hoping to get out tonight to avoid the trainer some more and go play in the woods. Up tomorrow is a longer ride. I'm doing the old version of the Hell of Hunterdon loop from Lambertville. It's one of my favorite loops and I usually do it twice a year. Tomorrow is the day. I hope the dirt section are in decent shape.
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I am doing my hillier than thou road loop I made last year the week before short track starts if you want to join. I'll statt from the fire house near @jimmy g 's house.
 
Nope - back to the trainer tonight. I tried to get outside but the trainer was the smart move in order to save time and prep my CX bike for a long ride tomorrow. 5 hours of fun tomorrow.
 
I got the Hell of Hunterdon 2014 route in yesterday and man that's a fun loop. Two drawbacks though, it was cold and fn windy! Did that plus two more hours today in splitrock. Great riding weekend.
 
xc62701 said:
I got the Hell of Hunterdon 2014 route in yesterday and man that's a fun loop. Two drawbacks though, it was cold and fn windy! Did that plus two more hours today in splitrock. Great riding weekend.
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Think TK posted a pic on fb. Nice job. def had some brrr going.
 
Plus I found out it's not really good to do that route with worn out tires. Those rocks are vicious.
 
This past weekend was a good measure of progress. Since I've been dropping weight and feeling better my recovery and endurance has been getting better. Saturday I rode for 5+ hours, Sunday 2+, and Monday 3+. In the past year I could have done one of these rides but would have definitely been feeling it for the next ride or so. It was amazing that Saturday I felt good. Sunday felt good. Monday felt even better. It's definitely a sign that either training or weight loss is paying off.

Looking forward it's two weeks to Short Track #1, six weeks til the first H2H, and 7 weeks til my first 6 hour endurance race. Signs are looking good. Balancing home life with riding has been tough at times but I'm making it work. I've got to if I want to stay competitive in this game.

This weekend will be some tamer rides but the following weekend, President's weekend, I'm aiming to do some big hours. I usually try to load that weekend up with lots of mileage and climbing and I hope this one is no exception. I'm looking to do something like 18 hours over Friday - Monday and really give the legs a wake up call(or kill them) and fire it up for the rest of the season.
 
This week was kinda spotty with training. I had a decent trainer session Monday, Off Tuesday, Wednesday I had a workout but felt exhausted so I skipped it, made up for it on Thursday, XC skied Friday, Rode 2+ hours Saturday and a trainer session Sunday. So for the riding part it was pretty good and I hit my efforts during the trainer sessions. I was worried since I didn't feel well mid week. I did take off Monday and had a snow day Thursday which helped me catch up at least. Oh and let me say the whole XC skiing this is a great workout. I got in 34 minutes on Friday and it felt like I was riding my bike for 2 hours. I also figured out that I need to dress for it like I am riding. The whole sweat factor had me drenched 20 minutes in. I was breaking trail the whole time which could have accounted for that but I should have known better. It's only my 3rd or 4th time xc skiing so chalk it up to the newbie thing.

For my weight I have been staying pretty steady this past week in the 177-178 range. This seems to be the first plateau to break through. I've lost a considerable amount of weight so far but I have much more to go. Eating clean has been the most effective method to lose weight and get my fitness back. This morning I weighed in at 176.4 lbs which is my lowest weight yet. For entertainments sake I weighed myself after my trainer session and I was 174.6, which is crazy. It lets me know that mid 170's are here and in the next few weeks 170 should be attainable and 160's are on the near horizon. Hopefully I'm racing in the spring summer in the 160's. That would go a long way towards feeling like myself again.
 
On the bike side of things my stash of bikes is getting reduced again. I have my Cannondale FSI being sold as soon as the owner picks it up. Then I need to put my Scalpel up for sale. It's an amazing bike but time for something different. I've had my old dependable Lynskey for a few years now and this is going to be my primary race bike for now. I'm throwing a bunch of new parts at it and it's going to be the workhorse for a bit now and I'm excited to see how it turns out. I'll hopefully be riding on it this upcoming weekend. I want to get some miles on it before turning it loose for the short track races. It'll have new wheels, new grouppo, and a whole lot more fun on this steed coming up. That also means in addition to my Scalpel being up for sale I'll have a bunch of used parts for sale soon including a fork and drivetrain parts. More to come...
 
xc62701 said:
Today is my 45th day weigh in. I hit the scale this morning and I'm down 21 lbs since January 1st!

It's amazing how quickly the weight can come off with activity, discipline, and eating clean.
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21 pounds since Jan. 1 really is impressive, and evidence of your dedication.

I'm sure you're gonna be feeling good on the bike this year, given the focus and work that you're putting in.
 
ChrisG said:
21 pounds since Jan. 1 really is impressive, and evidence of your dedication.

I'm sure you're gonna be feeling good on the bike this year, given the focus and work that you're putting in.
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I'm hoping so - that's the payoff. I'm really diving back in head first and want to have a solid season. I've eaked out the last few seasons through some issues so I want to see what 2017 has in store for me. I did ok being woefully unprepared. Now I want to see how I'll do with some good fitness and the drive I've had in years past. I'm hoping 15+ more will fall off in the next few months. I'd like to hit the summer events hard and being light and powerful are where it's at. I miss being 155 in 2010/2011 before I had responsibilites...
 
It's been a crazy past few weeks with life going on but there's been even more in the works. Today I resigned from Team Bulldog after 10 years of riding with them and it's bittersweet. It's been a great time with them and I've learned a lot but it's time to move on to some more adventures. I'll be working on developing a MTB/CX race team with Hilltop Bicycles and I'm excited for what lies ahead. This season has been about a re-dedication to fitness, weight loss, and now a new cycling team. I must say it was a hard decision, but one that I think will be very good in the long run. I'm excited to see how we can design and build this team and make a positive impact on the cycling community. It'll be very odd to put on the different kit for the first time but I'll be out there doing my thing no matter what colors I'm wearing. Miles and smiles are what it's all about.
 
xc62701 said:
It'll be very odd to put on the different kit for the first time but I'll be out there doing my thing no matter what colors I'm wearing. Miles and smiles are what it's all about.
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This.

Congrats on the new team. Excited to see what they put together. Good luck!
 
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