Estela goes to Longview

It's odd. It's 67.93 K to Longview, but only 67.67 K on the way back. I'll bet the intersection of 22 and 22X is the reason.

I got started just at the end of cold, about 9am. There were a few shady bits that were still cool at bike speed. Essentially no wind. It was a really nice ride heading west then south. Other than nibbling steady on nutrition, and avoiding a geezer doing a U turn in the middle of nowhere nearly right on top of me, it was steady going, trying to keep my heart rate down and pedaling nice and easy. I took 6 clifs bars, and have about 1.5 left, 2 bananas, a powerbar, and a gu that I didn't eat. Plus 1 bottle of my home made energy drink. I was sure getting sick of cars. There is a well known farmers market in Millarville, and there was a steady stream headed there.

At Black Diamond it was getting warm, and turning south produced a strong head wind. All you can see is a long stretch of pavement, with a hill. I knew there was a couple hills in the 18 K from Black Diamond to Longview. As Bogart famously says "I was misinformed." The hills keep happening, and so did the wind. I'm not in the mood to play with mapmyride to get the profile, but there's a lot of up. Including a surprise one just 1 K from town. About this point I abandoned my heart rate goals, and settled for riding up the hills at a safe speed. That 18 K took nearly an hour!

I got into Longview in 3:07 or so, quite pleased with the ride so far, and happy to be off the bike for a few minutes. There was a small group of people just finishing a ride and we chatted a bit while I swapped water bottles and ate the powerbar. That was quite the experience; I'm glad I didn't try that while riding. It had been in my back pocket. I was suspecting I was going to have to lick it to death but it peeled off the foil ok. After about 10 minutes I was back on the bike heading north, with the wind.

Getting back to Black Diamond took about 45 minutes, with my heart rate mostly under control. From there the wind got fickle, and I chugged along. There was a bit of a head wind going towards Millarville, which shifted around to a cross wind with a bit of tail wind. Things were going well, but I took my feet out of my shoes just to give them some air for a minute. My arms were starting to stiffen up.

The 13 K or so on 22X from 22 to 37 st was out and out brutal. There was a really stiff crosswind with some headwind. The bike lane is narrow there, and I was really twitchy about taking a hand off the handlebars. By now my arms were getting very tired, particularly the right tricep. I can lock my left arm straight and let the bones take the weight, but I can't do that with my right since I broke it. So there's something else to work on.

My heart rate was way up during the ride into the wind, but my breathing was still easy. In fact, except for the top of a couple hills into the wind where I was breathing a bit harder, I could have been chatchatchat the entire time. Breathed through my nose for a while, mainly to cut down on inhaling bugs.

I got home at 6:02:32 watch time, and 5:49:24 bike time, for an average speed of 23.3 Kph. 75 rpm was average cadence. There was lots of grinding up hills in the lowest gear. I seem to be settling into a slightly slower cadence since the bike fit; about 80 seems comfortable, and I've been starting to shift at 85 or so. Average heart rate ended up being 130, but that includes that 10 minute stop, so it's not really a good number. My watch says I burned just under 6000 calories. Lookout Sushi Boat!

Overall I'm really pleased. The 135.6 K is a new distance record for me as I close in on 180 K. My legs feel good, and probably could have carried on for a while yet, but my arms are killing me, especially the right. Towards the end they were beginning to tremble, so I'm glad the ride ended when it did. It looks like 6 hours is as far as I can go on a self supported ride, carrying everything I need. I think I'll settle back and do some more shorter distances for a bit, before attempting to bump up to 150 K or so. Any suggestions on where to ride for that? I'm tempted to use the house as a special needs stop, and do a long loop, then a shorter one.

A nice relaxing ride

Today was nearly a perfect afternoon for a ride. A bit windy, of course, but that's par for the course here. It turns out to be 32 K exactly to the High Country Cafe, and I got there in 1:20. (A year ago, near race pace got me there in 1:10.) This is high on my list of good breakfast places, especially if you like butter tarts. They have two kinds, both of which come with or without pecans. The first kind is huge. The second kind is dinner plate size. I kid you not, and they are excellent! The pastry is to die for. Though I've heard they've changed owners, so maybe it isn't good anymore, though I still see lots of cars there in the morning. Maybe during my long ride planned for Saturday I'll drop in there.

The ride back was almost exactly the same time, so I was being consistent and all the wind changes cancelled each other out. Or something. 64K 2:39 to be precise, average speed was 24 Kph, and tada! the average heart rate was 123 bpm! Even better, for about 10 minutes or not quite just after turnaround, I was totally in the zen bike zone. I was on the drops, 84-86 rpm, flat ground into the wind, going about 29Kph. I was relaxed, comfortable, spinning smooth, feeling great! Now to learn how to do that for 6 to 8 hours. Going up Richter's and Yellow Lake. After a long swim.

I think this bike fit is pretty close to exactly right. My legs feel great afterward. I could have gone on for much longer, and since Saturday is looking nice, I'll try that out. Oddly enough, the sorest muscles right now are the downward dog arm muscles, probably because I was on the drops for quite a while, and that's new to me. Even so I ran some cold shower water on my calves. They've been just a bit tender since after the run on Monday.

During the ride I thought of a great name for the ultra-marathon team that Jenna is getting together, but now I see that Shannon has come up with the winner. Print those T shirts!

Swimming madness

I don't know what came over me this morning. I KNEW that Canyon Meadows lane swim goes to hell about 7:30. Yet going for a swim worked out for my schedule this morning.

And so it was. Only 3 lanes were open. Just as I got there Mr. 8footwide slow breast stroker took up one entire lane. He's annoyed the hell out of me before, so I didn't go there. The next lane had two people at least trying to swim, flailing away with flippers and sometimes paddles. The third lane was a dog's breakfast, a walker, a couple floaties with flippers, and one long suffering girl that could swim, but seemed to be spending her time dodging the others. The rest of the pool was a wave generating exercise class.

The first thing I did was get my lane swimming in a circle. Then I pretended it was open water with the waves. Then, even taking it easy and relaxed, I regularly passed the other two in my lane. Often. She was very graceful about it. He was less so, but it wasn't a problem. Several other people quickly got into the lane with Mr. 8footwide and that lane turned into a total shambles. One guy was trying to keep up with me, flailing and thrashing and splashing, with more bubbles in the water than in a hot tub, and failing badly. He'd rest till I finished another lap, then he'd try again. Another lady was on speed. She must have been. I've never seen breast stroke done that fast. No, she wasn't swimming fast, just moving her arms and legs very fast. She wasn't going anywhere. Another guy had a beautiful looking breast stroke, except for it being nearly vertical, and very slow. My inner shark covered his eyes and went away. Said it wasn't sporting to go after such prey.

Toward the end of my swim, a guy that had been watching, and sometimes chatting to Mr. Flippers, joined us, and by golly, he could swim. After a few laps he passed me! I picked it up and drafted off him for a few laps. I was reasonably sure that I could keep up with him, if I was out for a hard workout. But I dialed it back to my easy pace, and finished out my 45 minutes before he caught up to me again. We had a nice chat afterward in the locker room. He'd been timing me to see if he could keep up, and used me as a reference to push himself for a fast swim. How nice for him. Buddy, come back and play when my inner shark is feeling frisky.

The dive tank was full, very full, of a deep water running class, but I still wanted to do some core work. With a bit of modification I could do it in the lane pool. Not as much fun, but did 15 minutes. Chatted with a nice lady just getting started her lane swim. She's learned the hard way about swimming between 8 and 9, and goes for a run instead, then swims. Hmmmmm.

Then it was off to donate blood. You have to make an appointment for this. I managed to get in just before a big group from Diversified Staffing. It's corporate challenge week. I'm sure the girl in the mini-skirt hadn't thought about the couch beds they put you on for the donation. The nurse loved the vein in my left arm. I was just getting ready to sit down and decide which arm, when my nurse said "I'm sure you're going to say left; I can see a nice vein from here!" So I did, and it all worked out just fine.

Yes GQH, Canada has cities, real ones, not just groupings of igloos. If Calgary were counted along with other American cities, it would be 10th biggest by population, between Dallas and San Jose. That said, the borders are pretty well defined, and it gets rural very quickly. From my house, a few hours bike ride gets you out of the city, through some ritzy wealthy gentleman ranchers, some real ranches, into a Provincial Park, then into the mountains. It's a nice ride. I've been meaning to take photos of it one day.

Two rides in one

I left for my ride a little early today. *NOW* it's beautiful out. Then it was cloudy and cool. I thought it would be perfect, but I didn't realize how windy it was outside the city.

The first 19.1 K (out to 22) took an hour, trying to keep the heart rate low. I was getting an ear ache listening to the wind. Even though I'd worn a long sleeved shirt I was wishing I'd worn another layer. Then I turned around, and made it home again in 38 minutes, hardly pedaling at all, it seemed. At one point I was doing 40 Kph, pedaling easy, heart rate below target, and it was dead calm for me. I'm guessing the wind was between 30 and 40 Kph.

Coming back was sure a nice ride, even if a guy tried to kill me at the lights as I was turning left at 37 st. Here's a screen shot of the intersection.

Sitting there, with his left turn signal on, the light turns green, and I'm coming down 146th. I get tucked in and all ready to follow him around and to the left. Then he turns right. He didn't look, he just did it. Fortunately I was just far enough away that I could move to the left to get around him and there was no traffic behind us. If I'd been 10 feet more forward I'd have been in his blind spot and I'd have been creamed. Just a reminder, pay attention to the traffic!

5 min for an easy relaxed transition.

Then I got set up, and started an easy run. I was thinking about the various elements of Chi Running, and it worked out fairly well. It seemed slow because I was trying really hard to keep my heart rate below 125, and didn't quite make it. Mostly it was between 125 and 130. It took a while to settle into an easy run, but I could feel the rust flaking off. The 5 K took 38:21. It felt good, but I wanted to run just a bit faster, and I think it would have been easier to settle into a stride.

Walked after and did some stretching and core for 30 minutes.

The delicious pleasure of sleeping in

The last few mornings have found me lying in bed, thinking about my options. My swim bag is packed and sitting near the front door. My swim suit is hanging in the bedroom where I can find it. However, swimming has not been a scheduled workout for a while now. I've been to the pool a few times, but nothing regular. I haven't even thought about going running, though just now I am.

So as I drift slowly awake, the thought process (if it can be called that) is something like this. Hello, here's another day, how nice. Nothing hurts, even nicer. How sleepy am I? Will I go back to sleep? Should I go for a swim? Or will I do a bike ride today? Hmmmm. I'd have to make a special trip to the pool, then decide what to do. And it's not the pool I like. Still, I know I'd get up and do it if it was scheduled. But it's not. Sleep is important. Being horizontal is nice. Maybe I'll try to sleep some more. After all, I'll be back on the workout schedule pretty soon. IMC will come soon. Life isn't just work work work. You need time to enjoy it as well. Like now. What should I have for breakfast? Pity I don't live near the beach. Lazing along, half asleep, listening to Amelia the cat meowing plaintively outside the bedroom. And so on.

So far, I haven't made it to the pool. I've rolled over and gone back to sleep for a while. And the sleep has been nice. Which isn't something I take for granted. Once upon a time I worked shift work, a rotating 12 hour shift, 3 days on, 3.5 days off, 3 nights on, 2.5 days off, repeat till sickness or death takes you. As it nearly did several times, falling asleep at the wheel. It's been almost 20 years since I worked that job, and I still have trouble sleeping more than 6 hours at a time. Doing a good workout schedule has helped me sleep because I'm tired. Most of the time. Then there are the times I start thinking about a race, or a big training day, or what I want to write in my blog, or what I should be doing tomorrow, and that's it, my brain is off and whirling. Susi has a gerbil; I'm not sure what I have.

I haven't been doing serious workouts since before the Calgary 70.3, until this week. Up till last week I just swam, biked, ran, walked, or did core workouts when I wanted, for as long as I wanted, as hard as I wanted, for the fun of it. Or I didn't. I've caught up on some of my reading. I have BBQ'd and drunk beer and wine. I have napped. And you know, I feel great!

Today I just finished some core work, maybe a half an hour or so. I'm still musing about a bike ride. Originally I wouldn't have done it, because we had dinner planned with some friends. But they've had some company drop in, and we have to reschedule. Now I feel like going for a ride with someone. Except I can't ask because they're all asleep and the most likely candidates all live way NW (and you know who you are). So maybe instead I'll give the lawn the last mow/trim of the year. Or I'll nuke more of the overrun flower beds. Or I'll work on organizing the basement - the never ending project. There are wine bottles to clean and de-label. Oddly enough, I'm caught up on laundry. Maybe I'll go for a run. Hmmmm. Or not.

I think the next thing to do is have an early lunch. Some chicken breast BBQ in a special Linda sauce, with Jalapeno Havarti cheese and a special mustard might be good.

Weekly Summary
Swim 0 hrs (yes! Zero!!! Unless thinking about swimming in Chain Lakes counts.)
Bike 10 hrs (sticklers can subtract 7 minutes if they like)
Run 0 hrs (though there's been a few brisk walks)
Core 1 hr
Total 11 hours

Stock at Large means only one thing

It means there's going to be fresh cow shit on the road. And there was. Though there was an amusing bit where a cow with two calves was stopped in the middle of the westbound lane. The nearest driver had tried honking with no result. Then he got out and started waving his arms and yelling. I told him to calm down. That thing weighed at least 5 times what he did and was in the grip of maternal hormones. He would regret it if he annoyed the cow. It would move out of his way in a few minutes. Sooner if he asked nice. Meanwhile I'm riding slowly through this herd of cows, talking to them in a quiet calm voice. Cows like this. That same driver flipped me the bird when he passed me a few minutes later. Asshole.

All this took place on highway 66 near the end of my outbound ride. I went a ways past the seasonal gates, then turned around when my odometer clicked over 60 K. It took 3 hours to get to that point! I tried keeping my heart rate down, I really did. But something about a 20 Kph headwind made that very difficult. To say nothing of how steep it gets out there.

At turnaround I carefully ate a banana, riding WITH the wind. Don't anybody say I don't learn. That hill was steeper than I thought, and I ended going about 60 Kph while still eating. Plus the gravel on the shoulders made that just a bit tense making.

The ride back took 2:13. I abandoned the idea of keeping the heart rate down, and just rode at a comfortable pace, though I wasn't really putting any more effort into it. The faster ride is a function of mostly downhill and a tail wind. The last half hour I was getting pretty tired.

However, I don't really have any one thing that is hurting more than anything else. Everything hurts a bit. Everything in the wind was covered with bugs. Estela needs a bath. It was a perfect day for a ride, mostly cool, though the last hour the sun came out and it got hotter. I sprayed my tailbone with sunscreen, but I think I missed a slice. There's a red stripe.

120 K exactly, 5:13 stopwatch time. Bike time a little less because I stopped to pee three times. Maybe I shouldn't have had coffee before starting. My average heart rate ended up being 129 bpm, which is better than I thought it would be. This is my longest ride to date, both distance and time! And no, I didn't even think about going through the special needs cookie jar and heading out for another 60 K.

A disciplined bike ride

Some of you have the wrong idea and I might as well get this out of the way right now. There was no hawt blonde in black leather with a whip riding with me. It was 30+ C out and leather would chafe horribly. There was just me.

My first thought was to get a nice long ride done before the heat of the day, then it occurred to me that I need to start learning to ride and run in the heat, and there's no time like the present. So I waited till nearly noon. Putting my stuff out into the south facing patio had me wondering if I'd made a mistake, but it was ok once I started riding.

Today's goal was a longer ride to continue to assess the bike fit, try to keep my heart rate between 120 and 125, and try to spin as easy as possible. I had no idea how far I'd be able to go, but I figured I'd turn around at 2.5 hours or when I finished the first of my drink bottles. I usually have a water bottle and an energy drink bottle going at the same time. It all worked out pretty well.

It took about a half hour to feel warmed up and smooth. About then my heart rate dropped fairly abruptly, and I was able to pick up the pace considerably. After that I got settled in for a nice consistent ride in my desired heart rate. I was on the drops quite a bit and felt quite comfy. There was a bit of chafe in the shorts; a feeling like there was an extra layer all guddled up between my thighs.

I rode south past Black Diamond and turned around at the 54 K mark. I can't remember what the time was. The wind had picked up and I was beginning to feel my legs tiring a bit. So far I'd been really good about staying in my desired range, but it got harder and harder on the way back. By the 3 hour mark there was no way it was going below 125 unless I was coasting, and I was spending more and more time above 130. However, my breathing was still under control. I did all but about 100 m breathing through my nose. The exception was a brief spurt to clear a light.

My speed was the least of my priorities, but I was surprised that my average speed wasn't that much slower than a recent ride on the same road. That was at a hair over 25 Kph, and I had to work at that. This ride was 23.5 Kph average at a much lower level of effort. Here's how much lower - I wasn't sweating much. In fact, what with breathing through my nose, and not sweating much I was so far ahead on hydration I had to stop to pee three times.

My ride was 108 K in 4:40. Toward the end it was harder and harder to stay seated, spinning easy. I wanted to pick up the pace to get the ride over with earlier. I was feeling like it would be easier to ride faster. I talked to myself a lot about sticking to the plan. At the 90 K mark I was thinking what it would be like if I had to turn around and ride back the way I had come. Of course I didn't have the nutrition or support to do that, but it was a daunting thought. 180 K is a long way. Still, I'd like to work my way up to that this fall if the weather cooperates.

In the bike fit department, my legs felt good throughout, and feel great afterward! They would have been happy to continue on for a while yet. My toes weren't so happy. I ended up taking my feet out of my shoes for a while during a long downhill. They were feeling cramped and pressured, even though the shoe strap was loose. My hands never felt numb throughout, but it's clear I need to do more downward dog in yoga. My arms and shoulders are taking a bit more of my weight, I think, or the weight distribution is different and I'm feeling it now. My crotch felt like it was on fire, so I think this is the last time I'll wear these shorts. Any feedback here on the lifespan of tri-shorts?