From the Blog...

Last weekend I went on training ride #2. Yes, #2. That makes two weeks between my first and second training rides.

Completely unacceptable.

There’s always a reason to miss a training ride whether it be work, errands or a friend who’s come to town that you haven’t seen in ages. (All happened.)  However training doesn’t mean going out for a little bike ride when you feel like it.  It means riding on a regular basis and pushing yourself beyond your limits.  That being the case, I made an effort over Memorial Day weekend to dedicate myself to legitimate training.

On Saturday I rode 30 painful miles.  A bowl of cereal was all I had in the morning leaving me with very little energy throughout the ride.  I felt nauseous at times and struggled to recover to full strength until a few hours after finishing.

Sunday I took a break from biking but went to the gym to for a cardio and ab workout.  I’m trying to do everything I can to combat back pain so mixing in a core workout at least once a week is key.

Monday brought quite a bit of rain but I was able to find a 90 minute pocket of sunshine to complete another 20 mile ride.  Thanks to a hearty lunch and a well planned stop during the ride for Powerbar nutrition, I was able to finish this ride with ease.

Feeling a little better about my effort, I found resources on the LIVESTRONG race website offering up a 12 week training program.  I now sit 13 weeks away from race day.  Despite being quite intimidated by the course map, I have faith that I’ll be make it through if I stick to the program.

Tomorrow I look forward to some eggs and bacon before another 30 mile ride.  However this time I’ll be joined by my Northern Virginia training partner, Mike.  An old college friend of mine, he’s known Gerald since they were very young.  Looking forward to the company.

The course map for the race was just released.

Gerald (our seasoned pro) referred to it as “omninous”.  I am now officially scared.

Pictured above is the new Trek 2.3 road bike that I recently purchased from Revolution Cycles in Clarendon. Thankfully tax time brought me a bit of a refund and if I was going to do this race, I wanted to have a somewhat legitimate bike to ride. I went the full nine by getting clipless pedals. These are the kind that lock you into the bike providing much more efficient movements by allowing your legs to both push and pull as you pedal. I’ve been warned that very embarrassing 0 mph falls are inevitable as I get used to clipping in and out of the pedals at stop lights, road crossings, etc. I’m prepared to take my lumps.

This past weekend I took the new bike out on my first training run. My condo is located about a block from the W&OD trail which runs pretty flat from east to west. It makes for a good beginners course. I made it about 12.5 miles all the way out past the Reston Town Center before deciding to turn around and head home for a total of just over 25 miles for my first ride. Overall, not a bad start.

A few quick observations from training session #1:

• My legs felt fine during and after the ride. This is a great sign.
• My rear end is just now recovering. I need shorts with some padding as well as a softer seat.
• My lower back has been sore since. (One soccer and two softball games haven’t helped.) This worries me. I’ve had lower back pain on and off for the better part of 12 years. Regular chiropractor visits helped a bit but I haven’t been in a while since insurance no longer covers it. Not sure how to handle this yet.
• I hate going uphill. Hate it. Borderline depression while I’m riding uphill. I need to learn to enjoy the ride and push myself a bit as the Philly course is described as “challenging”.
• I need to take some food with me on rides. When I turned around in Reston I realized I was pretty hungry and could have used an energy boost.

This weekend I’m headed back out for training session #2 with 30 miles as the goal.

Session Miles: 25
Avg Session Speed: 15.7 mph
Total Miles: 25
0 mph Falls: 0

In June 2008, my friend Gerald was diagnosed with a rare form of head & neck cancer called Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma. As must be the case with every cancer treatment, Gerald has had his share of ups and downs, good news and bad. Surgery and radiation treatment have made the past year a challenging one but thankfully as of late, his tests have come back clear and he seems to feel pretty good. (At least that’s what telling us.)

A few months ago, Gerald signed up for the 2009 Philadelphia LIVESTRONG Challenge that will take place this August. He and a few friends will be participating in a 70 mile bike race to help raise awareness for cancer and money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Within Gerald’s email asking for support, came a good-natured invitation for anyone to join his team if they were so inclined. Originally I was content with supporting Gerald from only a financial perspective but the more and more I thought about it, the more I wanted to share the experience with him. I have had but a few visits with Gerald since his diagnosis and missed out on the lone group trip down to North Carolina with some old baseball teammates to see him. Aside from all of the positives associated with this race and cause, signing up to participate would selfishly give me some quality time with an old friend that I just don’t get to see enough.

Last week, my buddy Mike signed up giving me a potential northern Virginia training partner and the nudge I needed to commit. So with all of that being said, I just completed registration for the race in Philly joining Gerald’s “Wannabe Riders Against Cancer” team.

My current goal is to raise $250. A small amount in comparison to the $5000+ that Gerald has already raised. If you are interested in supporting the cause, donations can be made online here: http://philly09.livestrong.org/dascentral. Any amount you give, no matter how small, is greatly appreciated.

I find I do much better with this blog when I have a purpose (e.g. SE Asia trip) so I’ll do my best to keep you up to date with training and events leading up to the race.