Its been a rough couple weeks. After the last good bit of training I found myself semi sick. Over the course of a week it just got worse and worse, and now I find myself with an ear and sinus infection. Im on the tail end of it now, but I really haven't ridden my bike in 2 weeks!
Its hard to deal with because its taking sooooooo long to go away. Im on antibiotics now, but it still seems to be lingering. On a good note, today was the first day that I woke up without having an ear ache, and being able to hear properly. So that's good at least!
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Life goes on.
Its been awhile since an update, and few new things to report. Im slipping into my consistent life here in Penticton, which any athlete will tell you is the recipe for a sound mind and good training The weather has been unbelievable the past few days. We are going on a week of 25 degree temps, and I find myself barbecuing in shorts in March!
Training has been decent, but not unreal. Ive been following the plan of my new coach Keith Wilson pretty regularly doing about 17-22 hour weeks. I feel my training could be better(Ie doing more, more stretching, better recovery, better nutrition etc etc), but I think as an athlete you think that every year no matter how good your training is. Im still fighting off the cruise weight, but its slowly coming off. Id like to loose another 8 pounds or so before the real races hit. I think as I get older as a male Im going to put on muscle density weight naturally, simply by getting older, but its a hard concept to be comfortable with as a cyclist!
A couple of us raced one of the Spring Series in Vancouver a couple weeks ago. It was a quick trip as we were in and out doing 2 races. To be honest I got my ass handed to me. With 2 weeks of real training in my legs its not unexpected. On top of that Ive been having some fit issues with the new bike/shoes and rode my saddle a bit too high. With the first race pace of the year, I totally destroyed my back and pulled out both days as it was reallllllllly sore.
I have a fit session with Retul bike fit guru Jim at the shop later this week, so Im hoping I can get everything ironed out. Other than that its been ok.
Clayton and I did a pretty sweet 165km ride last Sunday to a mountain pass called Anarchist. As you can imagine its a pretty solid climb, being about 13ish km all the way up with a lot of switchbacks at a steady(and nice) 7ish % grade. Ive been feeling good on the climbs but have still been keeping my HR pretty low to build a good foundation this year. All the way back to Penticton we had a horrible 65km of headwind to fight. By the end of it I was definitely cooked. Luckily the weather was unreal and my tan lines got off too a great start!
Im pretty happy overall with my life. The lady is scheduled to come out the first week of May, and we have an unbelievable apartment lined up. It is my dream apartment to tell the truth. We can afford it, but it doesn't come with furniture, which was a bummer but expected. Ive been looking for furniture the past week or so and a few good friends are loaning/giving us most of the furniture we need, so Im super stoked about that. I love this town and everything about it.
(The new apartment!)
Penticton
Im pretty happy overall with my life. The lady is scheduled to come out the first week of May, and we have an unbelievable apartment lined up. It is my dream apartment to tell the truth. We can afford it, but it doesn't come with furniture, which was a bummer but expected. Ive been looking for furniture the past week or so and a few good friends are loaning/giving us most of the furniture we need, so Im super stoked about that. I love this town and everything about it.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Progressing
Well! Steve and I have been here about a week and things have been going great. We do some rides together, but both being only children we occasionally venture out solo. Ive logged about 500km over the past week, which isn't insane, but the fact that the riding in Penticton is basically alllllllll climbing it throws an edge into your rides. Most rides over 75km will have over 1500m elevation gain....throw that in day after day(especially coming from the east coast) and it leaves a man quite fatigued(especially a heavy one).
(exploring the local backwoods Mtns)
The weather has been great as well. Temps are usually hovering around 8 degrees but today was 16! This was very welcome as you can imagine. Because of the pre-mentioned insane climbing you always have to wear extra clothes though because during the ride its not uncommon to encounter snow and to be pretty high up....and much colder.
Living with Steve is pretty good, other than his consistent farting which goes off like clockwork every 43 seconds 24 hours a day(I can hear it in my room even when he's sleeping).Ive made a deal with him that as long as he farts, Im going to jump out and scare him at any opportunity...which has been a useless tactic to stop the farting, but pretty fun on my end. He also uses odd feminine products I find in the bathroom.
The cats are hating each other.....Henry is usually in about 23 fights a day. If its not with the fat grey cat, its with the skinny orange one...or the black female cat. At least hes getting some exercise.
The bikes are great! Ive never ridden a Norco before, and its far from the first brand you would think of when you say "high end road bike" but I think that may be changing. Ive ridden lots of bikes, and Im very happy with the Tactic. (Not just saying that)
The Bike Barn is swamped so Steve and I are going in tonight to pull a couple hours of repairs. Its a great shop, and I love working there so its almost like not working(especially when you throw in a legit espresso machine(free) and a beer fridge(also free after hours of course...))
The weather has been great as well. Temps are usually hovering around 8 degrees but today was 16! This was very welcome as you can imagine. Because of the pre-mentioned insane climbing you always have to wear extra clothes though because during the ride its not uncommon to encounter snow and to be pretty high up....and much colder.
Living with Steve is pretty good, other than his consistent farting which goes off like clockwork every 43 seconds 24 hours a day(I can hear it in my room even when he's sleeping).Ive made a deal with him that as long as he farts, Im going to jump out and scare him at any opportunity...which has been a useless tactic to stop the farting, but pretty fun on my end. He also uses odd feminine products I find in the bathroom.
The cats are hating each other.....Henry is usually in about 23 fights a day. If its not with the fat grey cat, its with the skinny orange one...or the black female cat. At least hes getting some exercise.
The bikes are great! Ive never ridden a Norco before, and its far from the first brand you would think of when you say "high end road bike" but I think that may be changing. Ive ridden lots of bikes, and Im very happy with the Tactic. (Not just saying that)
The Bike Barn is swamped so Steve and I are going in tonight to pull a couple hours of repairs. Its a great shop, and I love working there so its almost like not working(especially when you throw in a legit espresso machine(free) and a beer fridge(also free after hours of course...))
Friday, March 8, 2013
Onto the New World!
Whoa! Long time no post!
So after a month of fighting through the snow in February in Halifax I have made it to BC to join my team, RideOkanagan.com! This is my second year with the team, so the adjustment is much easier knowing what to expect.
The weather was mostly horrible in Halifax all February this year. Usually you can ride and have a decent training regime but snowstorm after snowstorm delegated me and the cycling house to the basement for hour after hour on the trainer. I spend quite a bit of time in the gym as well. With the lack of riding though I feel like I'm playing catch up though as I sit here in BC in the first week of March.
I also went on a cruise with my mom, aunt and uncle, for the last week or so of February! Ive spent so much time away from my family the past....6-7 years that I try to see them as much as possible. With Moms cancer scare a few years ago, that time means more to me than a week of training at the end of February.
That being said, I was very happy with my weight when I left for the cruise....but not so much now. It just means a lot of work..and starving in the next few weeks.
It feels really, really good to be in BC again. I am in Penticton living with my team director, in the basically the same set up that I had last year. Ill working a couple days a week at a great shop, The Bike Barn bikebarn.ca where I worked last year as well.
To be honest it feels that I never left last year, and I am super happy to see everyone and live in this small town that was voted best riding in all of Canada! The basement(Where me and Steve live) got a reno as well, so I'm living in style now!
Which brings me to my other bit of news, that my buddy Steve Flanagan from PEI/Halifax has also joined the Ride Okanagan team this year. We are now room mates, team mates, and work mates. His blog is at summerofstevie.blog.ca.
Steve and I hopped on our new rigs from Norco, which is the new bike sponsor for the team yesterday after many painful hours of travelling. To be honest we both felt terrible! A combination of jet lag, with days of travelling and also the altitude in Penticton had us riding like little girls. I never noticed the altitude that much before, but with our heart rates many many beats higher than normal just cruising around it might take some time to get use to it, and also to the new bikes.
Because Im planning on staying out in BC longer than last year I thought I would take my best buddy...Henry this year. So now the house has 4 cats, and Henry is fighting for his place in it to show who's boss! Also coming out in May is M'Lady Meaghan! So hopefully this year will be much less lonely than most years away cycling.
So after a month of fighting through the snow in February in Halifax I have made it to BC to join my team, RideOkanagan.com! This is my second year with the team, so the adjustment is much easier knowing what to expect.
The weather was mostly horrible in Halifax all February this year. Usually you can ride and have a decent training regime but snowstorm after snowstorm delegated me and the cycling house to the basement for hour after hour on the trainer. I spend quite a bit of time in the gym as well. With the lack of riding though I feel like I'm playing catch up though as I sit here in BC in the first week of March.
I also went on a cruise with my mom, aunt and uncle, for the last week or so of February! Ive spent so much time away from my family the past....6-7 years that I try to see them as much as possible. With Moms cancer scare a few years ago, that time means more to me than a week of training at the end of February.
That being said, I was very happy with my weight when I left for the cruise....but not so much now. It just means a lot of work..and starving in the next few weeks.
It feels really, really good to be in BC again. I am in Penticton living with my team director, in the basically the same set up that I had last year. Ill working a couple days a week at a great shop, The Bike Barn bikebarn.ca where I worked last year as well.
To be honest it feels that I never left last year, and I am super happy to see everyone and live in this small town that was voted best riding in all of Canada! The basement(Where me and Steve live) got a reno as well, so I'm living in style now!
Because Im planning on staying out in BC longer than last year I thought I would take my best buddy...Henry this year. So now the house has 4 cats, and Henry is fighting for his place in it to show who's boss! Also coming out in May is M'Lady Meaghan! So hopefully this year will be much less lonely than most years away cycling.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Making it through....
Whoa! Over a month since a post! I will update more often when my life calms down but at the moment Ive been training and working and feel like my life is made up of running from one place to another.
I leave for Penticton on March 5th. There are many things I am going to miss in Halifax, but Im also looking forward to a life change toward a simpilar life. I find it hard to fully focus on training and racing if I have a lot of distractions. I find I get in the best place mentally and physically when I limit the amount of life tasks I have. Basically it boils down to riding, working enough to live, and racing.
Alllllllll that being said Ive been lucky to get a few warmish days the past month in order to put in some big miles. I got a good 150km in last weekend preceded by the WBL(winter bike league) the day before. Other than riding a couple times a week Ive been throwing in a few gym workouts a week and of course the damn rollers.
Other than this there is not much going on. The team is coming together and bikes and kits are ordered I told. This year we are on Norco and Ill be riding their new Tactic frame. Siiiiiiick.
More updates more often.....promise!
Check out fellow Maritimer Steve Keeping as he rides from Ottawa to Florida
Hilarity ensues....
http://floridaorbust.wordpress.com/
Other than this there is not much going on. The team is coming together and bikes and kits are ordered I told. This year we are on Norco and Ill be riding their new Tactic frame. Siiiiiiick.
More updates more often.....promise!
Check out fellow Maritimer Steve Keeping as he rides from Ottawa to Florida
Hilarity ensues....
http://floridaorbust.wordpress.com/
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