Bike commutin'

Late again.  I really should try to write these earlier.  Not going to write much tonight.

Spent most of last week commuting by bike.  27 mile round trip.  Did that 3 times last week.  Chilly, but not too bad.  Sunny and cold is pretty nice for a bike ride.  Should be able to do that all this week, too.

I decided to participate in something called the Icy Bike Winter Commuting Challenge.  Essentially a somewhat informal group united by their intent to bike commute through the winter.  I'm keeping in touch with them on their Strava and Facebook pages, and they have a log online to keep track of everyone's rides.  Seems like it's based nearby, maybe in Boulder or Longmont, so there are a lot of locals participating.  I think I'm pretty well-equipped for winter commuting, but I've still got some things to figure out over the winter.  We'll see how it goes when it gets really cold.

Recent stuff:

• Tuesday:  27 mile bike commute
• Wednesday:  27 mile bike commute
• Friday:  27 mile bike commuet
• Today:  2 1/2-hours on the trainer, Spinervals 30.0 - Muscular Endurance Plus.  Managed to increase my average speed for this workout from 17.3 mph to 17.7 mph since last time I did it a couple weeks ago.

Don't feel like weighing myself tonight.  Going to bed.

Run and ride tonight

No time to write a post tonight.

Exercise:

• 5.5 mile run during my daughter's soccer practice.
• 75 minutes on the trainer.  Spinervals 21.0 - Aero Base Builder IV

Today's weigh-in:  181.2

Couple weekend rides

Although the weather wasn't the best, it was nice to get outside for a couple rides this weekend.  According to my training plan, yesterday was supposed to be a couple hours on the trainer, and today was supposed to be about an hour.  Because my Thursday and Friday rides got switched, I decided to switch my Saturday and Sunday rides, too.

We had kids sports most of the morning and early afternoon on Saturday, which meant I couldn't get in a morning ride.  But once the sports were over, I was able to squeeze in an hour ride before dinner.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to get out last night to see Gravity, like I had planned.  We were planning to attend Parents Night Out at Lifetime Fitness, but they required us to register in person, before the activity desk closed at 1pm.  We tried to do it over the phone between football and soccer games, but no dice.  And with everything going on, there was just no way to get up there to register, so we had to skip it this time.  Maybe next time.



Today, I went for a ride with my friend Dale.  We rode together back in the spring, but hadn't had a chance to ride again since.  So, it was nice to get out again.  But, just like the last time, we had pretty miserable weather to deal with.  About 40 degrees, a little breezy, and completely overcast.  At least we managed to get in our ride before the rain, which came later.  The route itself was really nice.  It was a modification of a ride I did with Lifetime earlier this year, along some of the nice roads in east Boulder.

A couple weeks ago, I had a complete overhaul done on my bike.  Basically, they took it all apart, cleaned and adjusted everything, and put it back together.  But ever since it was done, my chain was acting a little funny.  It kind of had a little skip to it, wobbling a little bit while pedaling.  It was annoying, but not worth the long drive back to the bike shop to get it looked at.  And it really looked like the chain, not the cassette or chainring.  But the bike was still working ok, so I kept on riding.  Well, today I was riding pretty well, with just a little creaking from what I think is just a crappy rear wheel (I'm hoping to replace the wheels soon).  When we were about 10 miles from Dale's house, about 40 miles into my ride, my chain skipped really bad while pedaling off a stop light.  And from that point on, it was a complete mess.  The chain was skipping back and forth between gear, and just making all kinds of racket.  I had no idea what was happening, but it wasn't good.  But since I could technically ride, I figured I'd just limp back home and take a look there.  But about 4 miles from Dale's house, I decided to pull over and see what was going on.  I hopped off the bike, spun the pedals a little but, and saw this:

That's not good.

After seeing that, I decided I wasn't going to be riding home.  We decided to just get back to Dale's house, and he offered to drive me home from there.  In the car, I made a call to the bike shop.  Fortunately, they were open all day today, so after getting home I grabbed some lunch and then drove my bike to the shop for them to take a look.  They quickly put on a new chain while I browsed around the shop for a bit.  This one seems to be spinning nicely, so I'm looking forward to getting out for another ride again soon.



Also, today I decided to try my sample pack of Generation UCAN.  The taste was ok, and the texture a little thick, kind of milky.  As for how it worked, I have no idea.  I guess I felt fine during my ride.  No idea if it was any better or worse than I would have felt if I had just done my normal nutrition routine.  I'd be interested in trying it again to try to get a better sense of how well it works.  I can't really judge a nutrition product from just one test.

Today's weigh-in:  181.8

Not a rest day :(

Today was supposed to be a rest day, according to my training plan.  However, I ended up missing my workout yesterday.  Yesterday, I was supposed to do Spinervals 43.0, a 2-hour aerobic-endurance workout.  But I decided to attend a seminar at Lifetime Fitness with sport dietitian Bob Seebohar. Bob is the author of "Metabolic Efficiency Training", a book I read back in January or February, and I believe I have discussed once or twice here on this blog.  Basically, the focus of the book is how to use your body's fat for fuel during endurance sports, instead of using carbohydrates.

The human body can contain about 80,000 calories worth of energy stored as fat, and only about 1,400 calories of energy stored as carbohydrates, or glycogen.  Previously, endurance nutrition plans had been based on consistently replenishing the carbohydrates to provide fuel during training and racing, by "carbo-loading" for days before a big race, and fueling with carbs throughout the race.  This causes sharp spikes and crashes throughout the race, as these sugars provide fast energy, but get depleted just as fast.  Consuming calories in this method also tends to cause GI distress, especially in long-distance events.

The idea behind "metabolic efficiency" is to train the body to depend on fat-burning for long lasting energy.  If the body can use the fats it has already stored, you will not be burning as many carbohydrates, and will not need to consume so many calories during your training or event.

The presentation I went to last night at Lifetime Fitness was mostly related to "metabolic efficiency" as discussed in his book, but the event was sponsored by Generation UCAN, a nutrition product containing something they call "superstarch".  "Superstarch" is a kind of slow-release carbohydrate, and when used in the Generation UCAN products, it is a powdered drink mix that provides long-lasting carbohydrates for endurance training and races.  The idea is that your body is burning it's own fat for most of the energy, and using the "superstarch" for carbohydrates.  But these carbohydrates last for a long time, limiting the insulin spikes you get from other sugars.  It also lets you consume far fewer calories during your event, so you are not sucking down gel packs or bananas for hours as you run and ride.


So, there was a big push at this event for Generation UCAN products, and Bob's presentation was a mix of information from his book as well as promotion of Generation UCAN.  I really didn't want to sit through a sales pitch, but I knew this was a sponsored event, so I had to assume he was going to be pushing the product.  It was great to hear Bob speak, and I really like some of his ideas.  Not too sure about Generation UCAN, but they had free samples, so I may try some during a ride this weekend, and see what I think.  I'll post an update here when I get a chance to try the stuff.

Anyway, that's a long way of saying that I didn't get a chance to work out last night, so I moved last night's workout to tonight, which was supposed to be a rest day.  That's fine for now, but it kind of messes with my weekend, too.  This weekend is supposed to be a 2-hour workout on Saturday and an easier 1-hour workout on Sunday.  I may flip those to use the easier workout tomorrow as a recovery from this evening.  And I was already planning on a 60-mile ride on Sunday, so moving Saturday's workout to Sunday will actually work out perfectly.

Tonight's workout was Spinervals 43.0 - Aerobic Engine Builder.  I really like this workout.  It is basically a Zone 3 workout, but for some reason it doesn't seem as painful as other Zone 3 Spinervals workouts.  I was feeling pretty good the whole time.  It looks like I've done this workout two other times this year, and today was a slight improvement over those two other workouts.

Three sessions of Spinervals 43.0.  Not a dramatic change, but slight improvement each time.  Click image to enlarge.

I'm looking forward to getting in a couple rides this weekend.  We'll see.  Tomorrow, we have kids sports for much of the day, and then my wife and I are going to dinner and going to watch Gravity in the evening.  Hoping to get in my 1-hour ride between sports and dinner.  Sunday, I'm planning on a 60-mile ride with a friend of mine.  Stay tuned for updates.

Exercise:

• 2 hour ride on the trainer.  Spinervals 43.0 - Aerobic Engine Builder.

Today's weigh-in:  183.4.  I'm going the wrong way.

Just on the elliptical tonight

Quick one again tonight.  My program said to just do some light aerobic work, not necessarily on the bike.  So, I ran on the elliptical for another episode of Burn Notice.

Exercise:

• 45 minutes on the elliptical

Today's weigh-in:  182.0

Late night

Not going to write much.  It's late.

Did the wrong bike workout tonight.  My program said to do Spinervals 23.0(A) - which is part 1 of a 3-part, 30-minutes-each, set of workouts.  This was supposed to be a relatively easy technique set.  But I screwed up the filenames, and ended up doing workout (B) instead, which was a tempo/time-trial set.  Hard, anaerobic work.  I was a few minutes into the workout when I started thinking I might be doing the wrong one.  Oh well, it was a very good workout, even though it wasn't what I was supposed to do.

After the bike workout, my program said to get in a run and a swim, kind of a mini-triathlon.  If you couldn't do the swim, they recommended a strength workout.  I couldn't get to the gym tonight, so I did 45 minutes on the elliptical, followed by about 15 minutes of upper-body strength training.


Exercise:

• Bike:  30 minutes, Spinervals 23.0(B) - Time Saver, Tempo/Time Trial
• Run:  45 minutes on the elliptical, watching an episode of Burn Notice on Netflix
• Strength:  15 minutes of weights in the basement

Today's weigh-in:  182.6

A new Spinervals video

Tonight I did Spinervals 39.0 - Aerobic Base at 10,000 Feet.  Pretty good video.  Seemed like there was enough going on to keep it interesting for 80 or 90 minutes.  Not much else to say about it.  Looks like this might be the first time I've done this video, so I can't really compare it to other efforts.  But off-season is all about aerobic base work, so I assume I'll be seeing this video again soon enough.



Exercise:

• Spinervals 39.0 - Aerobic Base at 10,000 Feet

Today's weigh-in:  181.6

Run the Rocks 5k

I haven't posted for a few days, mostly because I hadn't really done anything very interesting.  But today was different, and figured it was a good day for an update.

I just checked the blog, and it looks like I last posted an update on Monday.  Like I said, I haven't done much since, but here's a quick update:

• Tuesday:  Commute to work.  This allowed me to skip the scheduled trainer ride that evening.

• Wednesday:  My training plan calls for a "wildcard day" on Wednesday, which means I should do something other than cycling.  I decided to do another P90X+ workout, "Total Body Plus".  I've posted about this workout before, and I really like it.  Upper body, lower body and core.  Just a great overall workout.
• Thursday was supposed to be an aerobic base workout on the trainer, but it got a little stupid.  I hopped on the trainer to start the workout, and had problems pedaling.  I looked around to try to figure out why, and noticed that I had a broken spoke.  I didn't really know how to replace a spoke, and besides, didn't have any spare spokes, so I had to give up on the workout for the evening.  Instead, I jumped on the elliptical and ran for 45 minutes.
• Friday, I took my wheel to the bike shop in the morning, hoping to get it back in time for a Friday night workout.  The shop called while I was driving home from work, and my wheel was ready.  Friday was also when I received my latest download from Spinervals, and I downloaded one of the few videos I didn't already have:  Aero Base Builder VI.  This was the workout I was supposed to do on Thursday evening, but was going to have to find a substitute.  Since I moved Thursday's workout to Friday, I had the video I needed.  After dinner, I got the wheel on the bike, and managed to get my workout in.

• Saturday:  Just no time to work out with all the kids sports going on.

That brings me to today.  This morning, my daughter and I headed out to Morrison, Colorado and Red Rocks Park to participate in the Run the Rocks 5k, a fundraiser for the American Lung Association.  This is the 4th race we've done together this year, and our third 5k.  She really loves to run, and I love to run with her.  And out of all the races we've done this year, this had the best scenery by far.  Red Rocks is a spectacular place to run, and even better early in the morning, with the morning sun and just a hint of fog.  My daughter did awesome, coming in 5th in the 10-and-under age group.

The race finishes by climbing the steps of the amphitheater.  Definitely the most difficult 5k we've done.

Showing off our finishers medals and bags o' swag.

On Saturday, I was supposed to do a 2 1/2-hour aerobic endurance workout on the trainer, but the training plan gives me the option for an outdoor ride instead.  Due to our schedule, I wasn't able to do anything yesterday.  Instead, I had some time to ride after the 5k and lunch today.  I went out for a nice 50 mile ride north of home a bit.  Not any climbing or anything, mostly a lot of flat with some occasional rolling.  A nice ride; sunny and cool.  A nice way to spend the afternoon.  Definitely better than sitting on a trainer in my garage.




Today's weigh-in: 182.6

Tonight's workout powered by: WingStop

Feel like crap right now.  Crazy night with kids sports, so decided to pick up some dinner instead of cooking.  Got a bunch of wings and fries from WingStop, then did a Spinervals workout.  Ugh.

I was actually feeling pretty good before dinner.  I did a nice 5-mile run during my daughter's soccer practice, and felt great.  Then ruined everything with a bunch of buffalo wings.  And just finished an 80-minute Spinervals aerobic base workout.  Feel like crap.  Wanna go to bed.

Exercise:

• 45 minute run, 5 miles
• 80 minutes on the trainer - Spinervals 17. 0 - Aero Base Builder II

Today's weigh-in: 182.2.  I'm that's partly from the wings, but mostly from all the water, milk and juice I drank because of how thirsty the wings made me.

Tough workout today

My wife is out of town for the weekend, which means I'm on kid duty.  And being on kid duty means I'm not getting to do any outdoor riding this weekend.  But I managed to keep plenty busy anyway.

Yesterday was my son's football, lunch, movie (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2), dinner, and froyo.  Today was a tough Spinervals workout, lunch, grocery shopping, a jog with my daughter, tossin' the football around with the kids, then dinner.  All in all, a jam-packed weekend.

Oh, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 wasn't very good.  I ended up napping through some of it.  First one was much better.  I really, really wanted to go see Gravity, but I'm pretty sure that's not one I can take the kiddos to.  Have to wait for the next Parent's Night Out for that one.

Today's Spinervals workout was pretty tough.  I just wasn't feeling it.  It was a long one.  Two and a half hours, all in Zone 3.  That's crazy.  Well, it was supposed to be Zone 3.  I just couldn't get there.  My heart was rarin' to go, but my legs just couldn't seem to push hard enough.  I basically ended up in Zone 2 for almost the entire time.  But a 2 1/2 hour Zone 2 workout isn't that bad.  Good aerobic base work, and lots of fat-burning, which I really need.

Looking ahead on the Spinervals Super6 calendar, it looks like I get to do this workout a few more times over the next month or so, so I've got some chances to get it right.

Exercise:
2 1/2 hours on the trainer:  Spinervals 30.0 - Muscular Endurance
2 mile run with my daughter.  We took it pretty slow, as we had bellies full of Chipotle, and she was cramping up quite a bit.  Just a few more days until the Run the Rocks 5K next weekend.  Can't wait!


Today's weigh-in:  179.6

Wildcard Friday

Another Wildcard day in the Spinervals Super6 program.  Today I opted for P90X+ "Total Body Plus".  This is a really fantastic workout.  It really covers everything.  Upper body, lower body, and core, with strength and balance moves, all while really keeping the heart cranking.  Love it.

I decided I needed a little more than just a 45-minute workout, so I jumped on the elliptical for 15 minutes.  Not much, but it's better than nothing, I suppose.

Exercise:

• 45 minutes:  P90X+ "Total Body Plus"
• 15 minutes on the elliptical

Today's weigh-in:  181.6

Bike fixed!

Well, the mountain bike is still broken.  Really broken.  Not sure what to do about that yet.  But my road bike had seen better days.  I've had it for two years, and it's had a couple tune-ups in that time, but that's about it.  After about 8,000 miles of riding, and a couple crashes, it was time for an overhaul.  Took it in yesterday, got it back this afternoon.  The folks over at Louisville Cyclery did a great job, and the bike it back in tip-top shape.

And just in time for an aerobic workout tonight.  After a day of work, kids sports, dinner, and putting kids to bed, it was time for an 80-minute ride on the trainer.  Today's workout for the Spinervals Super6 program was Aero Base Builder 16.0.

I was really happy with the workout today.  This was intended to be a pretty consistent aerobic-level workout.  Basically, Zone 2.  I managed to stay pretty close to where Coach Troy needed me to be, in terms of heart rate, gearing and cadence.  And I was able to compare my results today with the previous three times I've done this workout, and my performance today was significantly better.  Here is a comparison chart (you'll probably have to click on the image to see it full size, if you want to read it):

Weather is looking pretty crappy tomorrow, so I won't be riding to work.  Not sure if I'll get any riding in this weekend, either.  My wife is traveling for a couple days, so it's just me and the kids.  I'll probably get in a trainer ride, but probably nothing outside.  Who knows, maybe we'll try to get out and see some fall colors or something instead.

Exercise:

• 80 minutes on the trainer.  Spinervals 16.0 - Aero Base Builder I

Today's weigh-in:  182.0

Spinervals Super6 - Wildcard Wednesday

Still on the first week of Spinervals Super6 training routine.  Today was "Wildcard Wednesday", which involved doing something other than biking for an hour.  I opted to do P90X+ Kenpo Cardio Plus, which I really like.  Then, I followed that up with some various push-ups and pull-ups.  Pretty decent workout overall.

My road bike has been having some problems lately, so I took it to the shop for a complete overhaul.  I've had it for two years, and have only taken it in for one tune-up, I think.  I've probably got about 8,000 miles on the bike, and apparently you need to start thinking about replacing the chain every 2,000 miles, or you could damage the cassette.  So, I figured it was due.  I should have it back tomorrow, ready for my workout tomorrow night.

Exercise:

• 45 minutes - P90X+ Kenpo Cardio Plus
• 15 minutes of various push-ups and pull-ups, until my arms stopped working

Today's weigh-in:  182.4.  Oops.

Ride and run today

Day 2 of the Super6 training program was supposed to include a 1-hour, 5-mile run, and an aerobic bike workout, Spinervals 35.0.  Spinervals 35.0 is a 1-hour technique and aerobic-zone workout.  The training plan also offered the option of a 1-hour road ride instead, so I decided to do that.  My commute is about an hour and a half, total.  I was pretty spent after last night's workout, and didn't have much recovery time before getting up this morning and riding to work.  So, it was a pretty slow, steady ride.  But I suppose it counts.

And this evening, I got in my usual run during my daughter's gymnastics class.  I only managed my typical 4 miles, instead of the 5 miles recommended in the training plan, but that's fine with me.  I'm not a runner.  Four miles is plenty.

I'm having a few bike issues and not sure how to deal with them right now.  As I said yesterday, my mountain bike has a cracked frame.  So that's out of commission.  I need to replace it somehow, but don't really have the money right now.  Veloswap is coming up, and I could get a new frame there, and move all my components to the new frame, but that's a little beyond my abilities.  I may give it a try anyway.  Or, I could just get a whole new bike on Craigslist, for about the same price as I'd pay for a new frame.  Not sure how to move ahead with that.

Also, my road bike needs an overhaul.  I really need to take it to a shop to work the kinks out.  It's making a lot of weird noises, shifting strange, and I need to true the wheels.  I think my crash a week ago messed up my derailleur.  But I'm in the middle of this training routine, and don't really have the time to be without a bike.  I'll have to figure something out.

Here's today's workout info:

Exercise:

• 28 mile round trip to work, pretty easy ride.  Although I did get passed by a guy on a mountain bike, which annoyed me.  I let him pace me for a while, then passed him again.  Then he rode my wheel for a while, which made me go faster.  It was annoying, and harder than I wanted to ride today.  But I don't like getting passed by big mountain bikes when I'm on my road bike.  I did get a 9th-place overall on one segment, though, so maybe it was good that he was pushing me.
• 4 mile run during my daughter's gymnastics

Today's weigh-in:  180.4