The holiday riding for me

Wednesday: On the day before Thanksgiving, my cousin's wife gave him the day off from kid-duty (God bless her) so we could ride. I borrowed a fully suspended 26er and my cousin rode his SICK Niner. we parked a little southwest of the main Gambrill's area on a gravel road. My Garmin ride time said over 2.5 hours. It was foggy, it got rainy, it was cold, but it was awesome. I slammed some rocks hard. the 29 inch wheels are better for frederick rocks. My ankle is still swollen. Of course the sun came out some on the way home.

I woke up to cold rain on Thanksgiving, got suited up; rode by the Turkey Chase in Bethesda, found my brother in the pack finishing his first 10k; it was fun to see him (he is bigger than me). Continued to Hains Point for some pseudo-intervals- I just pretended it was a Thursday lunch time effort. Tried to see how long I could hold in the 400W range. Ankle hurt to really mash, out of the saddle was not an option. Rode all the way home, 3 hours. We had the best cornbread stuffing ever while my parents and in-laws got re-acquainted.


Friday was no pedal for me.

Saturday was power test day. I do think the swollen ankle slowed me down. Did I mention I hit the gym Monday of that week and went bonkers? I did. I was grunting and sweating for about 70 minutes; made me really sore. Squats/leg press/Inc dbell presses were all done until failure. Ouch. My power test was GREAT considering how trashed my legs were and swollen ankle. Tom and Bruno were with me as we each benchmarked our off-season wattage. made it a 3 hr day.

Sunday: Showed up way late to the 8:30; felt each pedal stroke deep in my quads. Crushed it while I could. Made it a 50 mile day after an easy cruise through Georgetown and back home.

Today: hopefully I can Hottub later. I am pretty sure my next power test can have 15 more watts (for the 20 min effort). The days in the gym are paying off. god bless noise blocking ear buds that have good bass.

I take the red pill. I pull the trigger.

This an analog for my off season training....




(no I don't really take an actual pill.... none like that)

the single leg, alternating , leg press (strength in numbers)

I do this exercise, BUT I ALTERNATE. Barely let the weights rest, switch feet, pull the non-working knee up, then press out with the working leg. As it gets harder, you can use the non-working leg to assist.. on your way to FAILURE.

Yes, I am hitting the gym. You're crazy if you think I'm crazy.

Shout out to Robb in Florida

Dear God, it's me... remember me? A year of 1min and 5 min power data. (How long can these blog titles get? Sheesh this is long, will it post on the..

Well, I clearly took some time off. Clearly, I have begun the pre-season. 1min and 5min peaks through yesterday 11/17/09; actual wattage numbers intentionally cropped out. Thursday is my birthday. My lovely spouse got me new speedplays, I hope.