Markleeville Death Ride Training Diary

This blog has moved

2007-01-08T14:48:00.000-08:00

See http://travelingtiger.com/blog/category/cycling/markleeville-death-ride/ for the continuation of this blog!

ALC kickoff ride

2006-10-12T18:12:00.000-07:00

So, I bought and printed out the book that Swampy recommended, and I can't wait to finish reading it--I flipped through the first half over lunch, but haven't gotten into the meat of the second half yet. It looks like it'll be useful.

And the first AIDS Lifecycle training ride is this Sunday! I'm doing the flat, 8-mile option, mainly to support a couch-potato friend who's just committed to do the Ride. Not sure if I'll get a "real" training ride in that same day, but I'll certainly do some more riding afterwards. I unfortunately can't train on Saturday since I have a work social function to go to (I'm with Miss Manners in despising essentially-mandatory work "social" events outside of working hours, but I can't skip this one), and I also have to go shopping at Made in France, prepping for this year's chocolate extravaganza! Yep, it's just about the season for chocolate again. More on that in my main blog.

I debated being a training ride leader for AIDS Lifecycle this year. It's more or less de rigeur for experienced riders/members of the community, but I think I will pass. There are a couple reasons for this, but the biggest one is simply that I have NO sense of direction--there's no way I could keep novice riders on track when I have no idea where *I'm* going! I also don't really enjoy group riding, and because of my Markleeville training I expect to do most of my riding on Mt. Diablo, which is not where the majority of the training rides will go. So it's unlikely I'll be a training ride leader this year. Oh well.

Ah, winter.

2006-10-08T21:37:00.000-07:00

Had to shorten the last two workouts, one due to rain and one due to a late start in the day. (I would have been just fine a month ago, but the days are getting shorter dammit!) However, I seem to be doing about as well as ever--1:18 going up Page Mill--so I'm not too worried.

I've also discovered that on days when I eat a hearty breakfast (like, a plateful of spaghetti instead of half a melon), I have much more energy and don't have to spend half the way up talking myself out of giving up and going downhill. Food = blood sugar = mood. Henceforth I will eat a big breakfast before working out.

Not much else going on--I'm doing strength training about twice a week, not as often as I'd like but better than nothing. I'm definitely adding strength in the glutes and my core, don't know about the quads. Well, keep working on it, I guess.

I have now finished my book proposal and am back to working on the book. If I find a publisher, all bets are off--I'll gladly drop Markleeville in order to finish it for publication!

But in the meantime, I continue with maintenance training and wait for December.

Skills Clinic

2006-09-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

(Duplicate of post from my main blog--skip if you've already read it)

Well, the Skills Clinic was mildly helpful, but didn't produce any major revelations (not that I expected it to). I did learn some interesting things about steering and countersteering, as well as some ascending and descending skills, but most of it I'd been doing instinctively already. Put in 8000 miles on a bike and you learn a *few* things...although, I still want to improve my skills on a bike. I may do some one-on-one work either with my coach or with the woman who taught the clinic.

We did have a crash at the end of the clinic, though--one of the women slid out on a turn and nearly ended up in a ravine. We waited for the ambulance to arrive, then went home--turns out she's fine except for some road rash and some nasty bruises. I'm relieved.

Unfortunately, this didn't do much to build my confidence in going around turns at high speed...the main reason I signed up for the clinic. So I guess I'll continue being conservative until I've had a chance to practice the skills I've learned. Not a bad plan, I guess.

I did find out that Velo Girls (the local women's cycling club) is having a Markleeville Death Ride training program! It starts in December (another starts in March), and I'm considering training with them instead of on my own.

Oh, and we rode 45 miles during the skills clinic on Sunday, so I'm counting that as my long ride for the week.

Skills clinic this weekend

2006-09-18T12:07:00.000-07:00

Just got the agenda for the Girls Got Skills clinic this weekend! Looks like it's going to be a pretty serious two days of cycling...the clinics run 9am to 5pm. Admittedly, much of that is not going to be on the bike (thankfully), but there will be enough cycling to count as a workout in my book.

A brief overview of what's in the class:

Day One

Bike handling skills

Mounting/dismounting
Starts & emergency stops
Looking behind you
Riding without hands
Bumping
Bike handling
Bunny hopping

Heart Rate based training

Determining HR zones
Background information on time trialing
HR monitor review

Cornering and counter-steering drills

Introduction to Pacelines (single, double, echelons, packs)

Time trial to determine HR training zones

Day 2

Climbing technique review/demonstration

Body/hand position
Pedal stroke and Cadence
Technical tips - how to read a hill - choosing your line

Climbing and descending drills

Sample workouts - Climbing accelerations and Strength Endurance Intervals

Technical climbing & descending

Training Plan design
Training vs. riding
Determining HR training zones
Developing a periodized program

Nutrition for Cyclists

Definitely suffering

2006-09-04T22:01:00.000-07:00

from the two weeks I wasn't able to ride. Made it up Page Mill (which has mostly been repaved now), but had to stop several times along the way, and got back home feeling drained and with distinctly sore quads. I'm hoping this improves after a few more weeks back in the saddle.

I'm feeling relatively uninspired by training at the moment, perhaps because I've made a conscious decision to put the book first, at least until December. Mostly I'm hoping not to lose too much form between now and December.

Honestly, I would probably kill the Markleeville Death Ride attempt for this year, in an attempt to focus on the book, except that I'm already committed to training for AIDS Lifecycle and I suspect that the additional time required to train for Markleeville is probably negligible. So I think I will get to do both anyway. :-)

Down sick

2006-08-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

Missed riding last week due to the Fabulous Fiber Fest, and this week I've got some kind of intestinal virus. Went halfway up Page Mill, felt rotten, came back down again.

They're repaving Page Mill, so I think I'm going to have to find somewhere else to train for the next few weeks. I think I'll try getting down to the Peninsula earlier, and doing the loop that goes up Congress Springs Road (Hwy 9). Either that, or go up Old La Honda to Skyline and back.

Bloody intestinal whatever-it-is.

Not too much to report this week...

2006-08-13T19:04:00.000-07:00

Did another round of Page Mill Road and was disappointed to find my performance down from last week--I attribute part of it to simply not eating enough (I was getting that "out of gas" feeling near the end), but am worried that I'm not riding often enough to keep my riding form, since I'm only out one day a week. I haven't thought much about what to do about it--it's likely I won't make any changes--but I'm contemplating.

The core issue right now is that during the week I'm spending three mornings a week at the gym, three evenings/mornings with Mike, and I really don't want to sacrifice one more evening day to exercise. My primary focus right now is the book, and I need the writing time. So I may just suck it up and do what I can with one long ride per week plus three days a week of weightlifting. I doubt I'll lose enough form to really hurt, and who knows--I might even gain some!

Page Mill is definitely getting easier, though--especially as I learn the twists and turns and get an idea of what to expect around the bend. And my descents on Old La Honda are getting faster as I gain confidence in descending. Can't wait for that skills workshop in September!

Stats for today:

Up Page Mill: 1:19 on bike, 1:30 total, 6.4 mph avg
Route: 37.9 miles, 3:09, 3:30 total

Yowza! that's fast.

2006-08-05T18:09:00.000-07:00

Today I had a double breakthrough: I made it all the way up Page Mill without resting AND I shaved eight minutes off my ascent time! I also took half an hour off my usual time for the entire 37-mile ride, finishing it in just over 3 hours on the bike vs. my previous 3:30. My average speed for the entire ride shot up to 12.4 mph, over 10% faster (!) than the first time I went up Page Mill a couple weeks ago. HUGE improvement.

So I'm pleased. More than pleased: downright smug. I'm improving by leaps and bounds, much faster than I'd expected to...I mean, I'm only doing one not-quite-40 mile ride per week, which isn't much in the grand scheme of things. And not only am I doing hills faster, but my overall speed has picked up as well: I'm cruising at 20 mph on flat ground, whereas before I was averaging closer to 16-17.

(I am trying very hard not to say that this just demonstrates what pathetic shape I was in before I started going up PM regularly...I *was* in good shape at the time, dammit, having just finished the AIDS Ride--I just wasn't training for hills. Nonetheless I am amazed by how fast I'm improving. Maybe Markleeville won't be that hard, once I get to it...)

Now that I've gone all the way up Page Mill without resting, and still came back feeling good, I'm thinking I may up the challenge...maybe go up Page Mill, down Old La Honda on my usual route, but then go back up Old La Honda again to make it *two* big climbs for the day. The two together would be just over 4000 feet of climbing...not Markleeville by a long shot but a good first step.

I'm also eyeing Mt. Diablo, which is reputedly a dead ringer for Monitor Pass (one of the big mountain passes on Markleeville)...once Mike moves up to the city and I don't have an easy ride site in Palo Alto anymore, I may start driving to the East Bay to go riding.

I can't *believe* I was thinking (sometime back in March/April) of hanging up my cleats after the AIDS Ride...this is way too much fun to stop!

Stats for the day:

From Arastradero to Skyline, 1:17 on bike, 1:25 total time. (Compare that to the two hours it took me a couple weeks ago!)
Avg. speed 6.5 mph going up skyline

For the loop:
3:02 on bike, 37.89 miles, avg. speed 12.4 mph

A few more notes

2006-08-05T18:25:00.000-07:00

Two more bits of news:

First, Velo Girls, a women's cycling club in the Bay Area, is holding a two-day cycling skills workshop in September, which covers all sorts of on-bike skills, including ascending and descending! When I found out about it I sent in my registration form right away--just hoping I got in: apparently it's filling fast. I'm really looking forward to it--I've been cycling for a long time but I haven't learned a whole lot of the finer points of handling a bike. I'd love to be able to barrel downhill without crashing, and I think the workshop will help me learn the skills I need to descend safely.

Second, my first session with the trainer went well. I was a little concerned because she seems to have me mostly doing core work, not weightlifting per se--but we worked hard enough to leave my hams and glutes sore for a couple days afterwards, so I suspect it's working better than I thought. She has me doing a couple of exercises, which I'll list later (once I get back home--I'm at Mike's place right now), and will probably give me a different set of exercises on Monday and Wednesday, when we meet again. After that I plan to meet with her about once a month to shake up my training routine.

Skipped the gym on Friday since I was still a bit sore, but planning to go regularly on Monday Wednesday Friday, then 1-2 long rides over the weekend (most likely 1 long ride, I seem to have quite a few social commitments). That should do it for the next few months--I don't have to get really serious about training until December. :-)

I like my new trainer!

2006-08-01T20:50:00.000-07:00

Spent half an hour talking to Carol, my new trainer, and I really like her. No attempts to sell me on a generic exercise program, no nonsense about drinking a smoothie at the bar every time I exercise, and no hand-waving gobbledygook. She knows her stuff. I'm meeting up with her tomorrow morning and we'll start in on a new program.

7/29 Page Mill redux

2006-07-29T18:07:00.000-07:00

Started the day feeling kind of sluggish (wondering if I really wanted to go up Page Mill), and had major problems clipping in and out of my new pedals, so I spent ten minutes fiddling with the pedals. (It's now fixed; I can clip in and out easily, thank goodness.) But the climb was much, much easier than I'd expected; it's a LOT easier to climb it when it isn't a zillion degrees out. I barely had to rest at all and all but the really steep portions were relatively easy--I think I'm actually getting into shape!

I had also built Page Mill in my mind up into a huge, difficult climb, which I think now was a mistake: it made it intimidating, rather than simply another goal to reach. (Of course, the fact that everyone, as soon as you mention Page Mill, looks awestruck and says "Wow!" doesn't help much.) I think now that I've been up it a couple of times, I'm much less intimidated than I was. Once it starts getting easy, I'm going to move on and tackle what my coach suggested: Mt. Diablo.

Mt. Diablo is supposed to be a near-perfect match for Monitor Pass, which is one of the mountain passes of the Markleeville Death Ride. So, one can judge likely performance in Markleeville by looking at performance on Mt. Diablo. This is really important because Markleeville isn't just a long ride, it's also a race against time: they close the roads for the event and reopen them to cars at specified times, so if you don't reach each checkpoint before closing time, you don't finish the ride. So I look forward to practicing on Mt. Diablo and getting an idea of how much faster I need to get.

Page Mill stats:

From Arastradero Road to Skyline Blvd:
1:13 on bike, 1:33 total time

38.75 miles, avg. speed 11.9 mph

Just spoke to the gym and got a new trainer

2006-07-28T16:19:00.000-07:00

I felt a bit bad about not giving this guy more of a chance, but I applied the very simple test of "Would I pay $75/session for what I think he can do for me?" and the answer was no, so I called up Gold's Gym and asked for a trainer with sports-specific training experience instead. I'm going to interview/consult with her next Tuesday, and it sounds much more promising--she coaches rowing and teaches spinning classes, so she's used to working with athletes and probably has a stronger background than the guy I talked to this morning.

I'm feeling pretty good about myself for having had the guts to go in and change something that didn't feel right to me, rather than meekly accepting the trainer I was given.

Meanwhile, Mike has introduced me to a cool site on weight training for women!

Not very impressed with my personal trainer (so far)...

2006-07-28T08:29:00.000-07:00

He seemed kind of slow on the uptake and was trying to "sell" me on a more generalized workout. He also wanted me to do one session a week focusing on specific body parts rather than doing a full, general workout each time...I'm not sure what to think about that. All the other trainers I've worked with, and the books I've read, suggest doing a full-body workout or at least working out each area three times a week. I'll have to do some more research on the Web.

I'm debating asking for a different personal trainer, but will wait a session and see what he comes up with w/r/t a workout schedule.

Planning to go up Page Mill Road again on Saturday, and Congress Springs Road on Sunday. I've been told that Markleeville is actually not as hard as Page Mill Road--it's a sustained 7% grade or so, and Page Mill gets up to 17% grade in spots--so it'll be good to train on slightly shallower grades as well.

My coach, though, told me that I only really need to train starting in September-October...I could laze around the rest of the summer and only go on one or two rides per week if I felt like it. I don't feel like it; I want to maintain my fitness level and lose weight, and the quickest way to do that is to do long rides on weekends.

I was particularly disappointed in that the personal trainer didn't have any suggestions on weight loss regimens, besides "eat 1200-1500 calories/day". I was expecting better than that; 24 Hour Fitness gave me more concrete suggestions and measured my basal metabolism for me.

So, so far I'm not impressed by the personal trainers, and I wouldn't pay $75/session for this one; but we'll see how it goes.

Starting a training diary for Markleeville...

2006-07-27T21:35:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't signed up for the Markleeville Death Ride yet, because registration isn't open, but I'm determined to do it. I have a cycling coach lined up for the ride already (Curtis Cramblett), and I'm starting to prep now. I just switched my gym membership from 24 Hour Fitness to Gold's Gym, because Gold's is closer to work and easier to get to. My objectives for the next twelve months (cribbed from the sheet I'm giving my new personal trainer this morning) are:

Complete the Markleeville Death Ride, a cycling event in July 2007. It is 127 miles long, has 15,000 feet of climbing, and traverses 5 mountain passes.
Ride and complete AIDS Lifecycle, a 7-day, 585-mile cycling event in June 2007. (This will be my fourth AIDS Lifecycle, so I'm confident I can do it.)
Bring left leg up to 100% strength compared to right leg. (Reconstructive knee surgery has left it—three years later—with only about 80-90% of the strength of the right leg. Knee stabilizer muscles also need work.)

Interim goals:

Lose 10-15 lbs of fat (to improve hill climbing speed)
Build strength in lower body, especially quads/hamstrings
Build cardio fitness
Learn good form in lifting with free weights.

Objective for four personal training sessions:

Set a basic plan for weight loss over the next 3 months
Lay out a weightlifting lower and upper body workout plan for the next 3-6 months
Learn proper form for free weight exercises such as squats, deadlifts, and other exercises for which proper form is vital
Get some references for independent learning afterwards

Timeline:

July – September: Lose weight, maintain cardio conditioning, maybe gain a little muscle
September – December: Put on as much lower-body muscle as possible; start working on cardio fitness
December-March: Taper off gym workouts and spinning classes in favor of road cycling, build strong cardio base
March – June: Advanced cycling workouts focusing on speed, hill-climbing, and endurance.
June-July: AIDS Lifecycle and Markleeville Death Ride

So that's my rough calendar...this blog will track how I'm doing along the way.