Keith and the cube ride again

Winter training season just began for me. Even though it's not quite winter yet. The water freezing a little overnight in the garden water barrels just means it's still fall. Winter means it freezes solid.

Even after the bike fit I wasn't out on my bike much this year. Somehow it didn't work out what with all the swimming, and trying to be regular on the run. But I've promised myself to get on the trainer so that next year can be a good bike year. At last.

Starting with cats and coffee. I was watching a lovely sunrise, held down by cats, so this was the best photo I could get. I suspect if you lived a bit further east it was pretty spectacular.

This is where Estela lives between rides. It's time to get her on the trainer.

The semi-famous heat gun trick. Trainer tires are notoriously hard to get on the rim. I had one bad episode a few years ago that involved much swearing. Now I take the time to warm it up thoroughly before trying to mount it. When it's warm I can roll it onto the rim with my hands without working too hard. Do you notice the supervisory cat?

The old cube computer has been off since the last trainer ride. I'm not even sure when that was, but it fired up like a champ. I've got some music going for the ride. Anyone remember the visualizer? I'm wondering what I want to watch during the many rides I've got planned. Maybe the last season of Leverage that I missed.

Here she is, all ready to go.

Curtis likes to snooze on the red blanket. Here he is concerned about the slight humming sound the cube makes. I think that was when the cd was spinning up.

Celina loves to cheer me on and lick my sweaty skin.

I wasn't sure what to expect for the ride, and decided to go with the flow. It took a few minutes to get the trainer calibrated. 15 minutes warm up, gradually spinning faster, in an easy gear at about 125 watts. Heart rate still under 100, breathing very easy, gradually starting to sweat. Then 10 minutes at about 160 watts. Last time I was serious about training this was about the top of my endurance range. My heart rate was about 120, and I could easily breathe through my nose without getting behind. Legs are feeling good.

Then a couple minutes at about 200 watts, still not breathing hard, and my heart rate about the same. Then a couple minutes at 225, starting to notice the work, but still feeling good, heart rate up to about 130. Then a couple minutes at 250, and I can really start to feel it here. My lungs are fine, heart rate just over 140, and my legs are wanting to dial it back. Another 10 minutes of easy spin to cool down for about 45 minutes after calibration. My butt was beginning to talk to me about being on the bike.

Lots of stretching and rolling with the gear roller. Minor clunks and clicks from my back and hips.

I'm pleased and surprised by this. I was working off my old training effort list and I don't think it's too far off for now. I'll carry on with this for a few more rides, getting into the groove again, then I'll do another test to see where my current training zones really are.

My thinking over the winter is going to try to swim 3x a week, working on stroke and speed. Run a couple times a week at least, depending on weather, with one long run in there. Try to get on the bike 3x a week, working on intensity and strength for most of the rides, and one long ride at the top of endurance pace, whatever that is. All this is depending on my work situation of course. I might have  much more time for workouts.

I'm still scoping out races for next year, but I'm at least thinking about doing some. I haven't forgotten my goal of running a marathon. There are several to choose from, and at the moment Banff is calling my name. There are lots of Oly distance triathlons out there, and I might pick a couple of them. There don't seem to be many half-iron distance races here with a 2016 date. Just GWN and YYC70.3 and I've done both of them. I was hoping Sylvan was going to run again, but I can't find any info about it. Lets see how this goes.

There's a lamb roast lurking in the bottom of the pot, ready for a wonderful meal.

As I sit with some wine, post-meal, trying to work on my blog, and capture some novel thoughts, this is my view.

Or this.

I'm coming up on a blog milestone soon. I'm also starting to draft a primer about electoral system reforms. Stay tuned.