Jeni's Training & Recovery Schedule

NEW BLOG ADDRESS!

2006-10-07T18:21:00.000-06:00

Well, my new blog is definitely at:
http://jttrain.wordpress.com

WordPress is awesome!! I even get stats on people who surf my blog, links made to my blog, traffic to my blog, etc. It's definitely worth the switch. I'll keep this one here for archival, but otherwise, you're gonna have to come to the WordPress site for updates. See ya there!!

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If you are looking for info on Periacetabular Osteotomies, go to my archives (right hand sind, scroll down a bit) and start with the oldest ones first. You can follow some of the training I did to recover, get info on my spectacular surgeon, and more. I've also got some useful links off to the right as well for additional information. It was a long journey, but well worth it. Leave a comment at this post if you have questions and I'll respond!

NEW BLOG!!

2006-09-04T16:43:00.000-06:00

I'm back! After an entire week (it felt like an eternity), Blogger has finally fixed my account. I got mixed up with the Beta Blogger version they are creating. Turns out, they are synching Google accounts with Blogger accounts. My problem? When I originally created my Blogger account, I had used my Google account username and password for Blogger. I've got so many usernames and passwords floating around in my head that I just wanted to keep things simple. Bad move, but who would have known that Google and Blogger would join forces?!?

In the meantime, I started a new blog:

http://jttrain.wordpress.com

I haven't decided if I'm going to stay with WordPress or come back to Blogger. I'm leaning toward WordPress because they have been absolutely awesome! I submitted some feedback with a question (knowing full well I'd never get a response), and lo and behold, I got an answer in probably an hour! I'm thoroughly impressed. Spokin' Sportsman uses WordPress, and we use a version of it at work. Seems to work well, so in the meantime, bookmark the above site until I make up my mind, which could be never. ;o)

So, help me out! Leave a comment and tell me which site you like better, the Blogger one or the WordPress one. Thanks!

Durango 100

2006-08-27T22:45:00.000-06:00

The results are already posted! Matt and I spent a dirty, muddy, rain-infested day in Durango doing a mountain bike race on Saturday. Matt signed up for the 100-miler and I, the 36-miler.

We rolled into Durango Friday evening and registered. I'd checked the weather before heading out that day--20% chance of rain. We're gonna have dry weather! Or, worst case, it'll rain in the afternoon. I can live with that. When we picked up our swag bags at registration, a sheet with the race rules indicated that there was actually a 30% chance of rain, high of 78 and low of 40. Okay, I can live with that too...

We unloaded in the hotel room, Purgatory Village Hotel, got the packs and clothing set out for Saturday's race, and arranged the wake-up call, 4:00 AM. Uggghhhhh......We climbed into bed and tried to doze off. It's hard to sleep when you have the race jitters; they're something I haven't been able to overcome as of yet. I think I finally fell asleep, but was awakened to loud thunder and lightening. I looked over at the alarm clock, 1:00 AM. Well, hopefully the rain will pass by the morning. It didn't.

We hit the starting line and checked in with thunder and lightning going off all over the sky. Matt and I huddled under an overhang of a building contemplating whether we were out of our minds or what?!? We had a 30 minute delay in start and the storms had cleared for the moment. We were off...reluctantly.

The 100 milers took off first, then the 100K, then me, the 50K. Matt took off with lots of energy and strength. Me? Not so much. The initial climb up the Worlds Course left my wheels mud covered and seized. I had to hop to the side of the trail and scrape off the crap. This put me in VERY LAST FRIGGIN' PLACE!! It took every ounce of effort in my soul to not turn around and call it quits. Believe me, the though went through my mind several times that day. I jumped back on the bike and hauled ass, hoping to catch up with some. It wasn't until the dirt road that I started to pick off the riders. Of course by this time, since I was riding hard to catch up, I was already getting pooped. I felt like I was gonna hurl at any moment. I had this feeling with me through the majority of the race. I'm thinking maybe part of it was the altitude. Who knows.

Well, I made it up to the 1/2 way sag point and filled up the water bottle (I had Sustained Energy in there with about 1/4 of the bottle left). I crammed a Hammer bar down my gullet and managed to keep my break under 3 minutes. More single track. Today, single track was not my friend. It was muddy, slimy, wet, slick, gooey, sandy, and just plain sick. Heading up to the highest point on the Colorado Trail was brutal for the lungs. I could hardly breath and kept wishing for more road. A good majority of this was hike-a-bike for just about everyone. You saw more footprints in the "trail" than tire tracks. Once I hit the road, I picked off some more people, but all guys. My place in the women's standing was set...it had been by the time I had hit the Graysil Mine sag spot. Bummer.

I managed to make the ride crash-free until the very last leg of my journey heading back down the Worlds Course to the finish line. I was screaming down this gloppy, mud-infested excuse of a trail at a pace that even shocked me. I think I just wanted it to be over. There was a huge sign off to the right that said S-L-O-W. Well, duh, most people would slow down. Not me. I was getting ready to make the corner, banked to my left (uhhhh, you don't do that in slick mud) and slid out to my left. This "smart" move propelled me to my left and down the mountain. Holy crap! I landed on my chest, pushed apart some weeds to see where I was, and saw nothing but straight down. Ahhhhh!!!!! Scary as hell, let me tell you. The weight of my bike on me was starting to cause me to slide down the mountain, yes I was on mud, grass and weeds for the most part on a very steep incline. I managed to gingerly turn myself around while holding my bike in my right arm above my head at all times. I thought my arm would fall off. I tried to climb back up to the trail, feeling my feet give way in the mud with each push. I stopped and realized I needed to get rid of the bike. I just couldn't move well with it in my hand. I rested a sec and with one huge push, I threw it back on the trail, hoping it wouldn't bounce off the dirt and come falling back on me. I made it and the bike rested peacefully on the trail. That made it much easier for me to grab onto weeds and pull myself back on the trail.

YOUCH! My knees were killing me. I think I landed on them first. I shook off the pain, hopped back on the bike, and made it down to the finish line with Matt at the bottom clapping and smiling. I was really glad to see him there! He took my bike, handed me a recovery drink, and then left to spray off all the mud I'd collected from the day.

Final stats? 6 hrs, 31 minutes. I was 82 out of the 101 people stupid enough to race today. I placed 4th in my division. My only consolation? The women ahead of me were all big racers who do this crap on a continual basis. I'm glad it's over with and happy with the fact that I didn't bail out.

New Wheel

2006-08-22T21:19:00.000-06:00

Got a new rear wheel on the singlespeed that is lighter and tad noisier--not as noisy as my Chris King hubs though! It's a Velocity Aeroheat 24" rim with a Paul Word SS hub. I actually had the front 24" wheel built up along with this wheel, but I am keeping it off for now and still have the 26" wheel up front.

Had another great ride on the SS tonight! I'm beginning to really get into the bike when I'm well rested. On days when I'm pooped, that thing can be a serious workout! Tonight, it was just plain fun!

We did the combined Chica Ride and the Timid Tuesday ride. Randy wants to start calling it the M&M ride since Jim always brings M&Ms. Randy doesn't like the word "timid". Guess I can't blame him. ;o) Anyway, had a great crew tonight, Jim, Randy, Mitch, Kiyoko and me! Evan stopped by to wish us well, but his ankle is one swollen mess! He twisted it 2 times on last week's ride and it started to swell. He said he's gonna see a doc soon, so I hope it heals. If I recall, this is an old injury that keeps coming back. His mom is an RN, so I'm sure she's on his case to get that thing taken care of too. Bummer, he's a great addition to the Tuesday rides.

So, we did some Elena riding tonight, bypassing the more technical north Foothills. Lots of fun, swoopy trails, and tons of riders! More riders than we usually see on the Tuesday night adventures. Great weather, great friends, great ride!

I'm hitting the trails with Denise tomorrow night...should be fun! We'll either be doing King of the Mountain or North Foothills depending upon the weather.

Stonewall Century

2006-08-20T18:33:00.000-06:00

The Stonewall Century was a blast! Paige and I took off from NM at around 5:30 PM, a bit later than we wanted, but oh well. We rolled into La Veta, CO at about 10:30 PM after stopping for a quick bite to eat on the way. We took I-25 all the way there...talk about a boring drive! So, we're trying to find somewhere to eat (Paige hadn't had dinner yet and wanted some pre-ride chow). We decide to get some gas and check out Springer, NM...don't ask why, there was just nothing else out there, and we figured we'd check it out before hitting Raton, the next town down the way.

Springer, home to male juvenile delinquents (some of whom were my ex-students from my principal days), was a bad idea...we rolled through town, apparently at 37 mph, where the speed limit was 30. We get pulled over by the po-po at a gas station. Being girls, we decided to put on the charm, you know, smile, be sweet, make a little small talk, act a tad on the ditzy side. It worked, the police officer was very nice. After finding that Paige had no warrants out for her arrest, we were free to go with a warning.

So, we made it to the next town, Raton, and grabbed a bite to eat at Denny's. Then on to Sammie's Motel and RV Park in La Veta. We thought we were pulling into a trailer park. Turns out, that's the motel. Each trailer is split in half to form a motel room. Actually quite roomy and clean. Refrigerator, 2 beds, room to store our bikes, great showerhead, can't ask for more than that...oh, an alarm clock would have been nice. Well, I had an alarm on my heart rate monitor and another on my cell phone. We didn't quite trust those, so we called my sweet, loving husband and asked if he'd set his alarm for 4:45 AM and call us too. Paige and I owe him big time for that one!

60% chance of thunderstorms--
4:45 AM rolled around way too quickly, and all 3 alarms worked. We ate breakfast we'd brought with us, got showered, and rolled out of the motel. The tour starting area was only 2 blocks from where we were staying. It was wet outside and it had been raining all night. The temps were pleasant early in the AM, so we decided on arm warmers, rain jackets, and that was it. The directions were easy, the lady at the start pointed to her right and said, "You go that away, turn left, and keep goin' straight. You'll get to Segundo for lunch, then you'll come back the same way." Hey, even I can follow those directions!!

This was an exceptionally run event for only $40! We had break spots about every 12-15 miles along the way (with home baked goodies at every stop--boy did I ever want to eat some of those brownies and cookies, but I refrained), and there were SAG vehicles driving up and down the route the entire time. Not only were there SAG vehicles, there were also about 4 motorcycle cops that drove up and down the route, making sure drivers were cautious of the bikers. I don't think I ever went more than 5 miles without seeing some sort of tour support. About 10 miles out of town, there was an area where dirt and mud had washed into the road overnight. The tour crews and a police officer were out there shoveling and sweeping the road for us!! Talk about service!

Well, the ride outta town was a climb, but only for the first 24 miles or so, then mostly downhill to Segundo (50 mile point). Nothing too significant, other than a ton of earthworms that had washed into the road. At lunch, Paige and I noticed that we had earthworm all over our bikes--yeck! We made our own sandwiches for lunch. I should have made it to the lunch spot extremely fast, but my bladder had other things on its mind. I don't think I hydrated THAT much for the ride, but I was going to the bathroom about every 30 minutes.

The ride back was almost all climbing. I was very glad I had invested in a compact crankset for this tour. It did wonders for the knees, and allowed me to ride in the big chain ring almost all day. Paige and I ran into a couple of guys, one from Durango, and one from Colorado Springs. We took turns pulling for a bit, but the CO Springs guy was beat...his Durango buddy hung back with him, and Paige and I continued on. From here on out, I continued to have bathroom issues...I didn't think I was drinking too much, but who knows. Paige pedaled on, and we didn't see each other till the end. I'd been leap frogging these 2 "Ward Cleavers" along the way. Seemed they had to go to the bathroom about as much as I did so we'd say hi as we took turns passing each other. Anyway, it seemed that every time I'd get close to their rear wheels, they'd take off like bats outta hell and I poop out. Turns out one of them, Robert, was really afraid of snakes. There were several on the road today, so I yelled out "Snake!" as I passed one on a climb. Robert thanked me as they passed and went whizzing by, too fast for me to catch onto the rear wheels--again!! Finally, on a steep climb, I pushed it fast, literally blowing by everyone (I have no idea where I got the energy). One of the Ward Cleavers yelled out, "There she goes!!" They eventually caught up to me, as usual, and this time, I grabbed their wheels and hung on...for about 12 miles, until one of them had to pee. It was a great pull, and just what I needed to finish the last big grunt up to Cuchara Pass.

I got to the top and a support lady came up to me and told me that I'd better put my rain jacket on because there was lots of rain ahead and there was a lot of water running across the roads. She wasn't kidding. For the last 20 miles, I was pelted by rain that really hurt when it hit you in the face! I kept a pretty fast pace on the downhills, which didn't help. There was dirt and mud everywhere in the road. I had to take the lane all the way down. People were bailing left and right, hitching rides from SAG vehicles or spouses who had been following them all day. There was no way in heck I was gonna bail now, so I hunkered down and made it to the finish, totally drenched. There was a BBQ at the end of the ride, but Paige and I were going to meet at the car and change first. I get to where the car was supposed to be, but no car!! What the?!? Well, I was a tad concerned that something had happened to Paige, but I was wet and cold and needed to get warmed up, so I went over to the BBQ in the park. I got my chow and sat down to a picnic table under an awning (still raining out) with some other folks. My shorts squished out water when I sat down...that's how wet they were. Eck! Turns out Paige had gotten to the car just before me, and had driven back to the route to see if I was okay. We missed each other, probably by seconds!

After drying off and getting warm clothes on, the sun came out, of course. We saw the CO guys we had ridden with on the return home and chatted with them a bit, then headed out to find a coffee shop for some java for the ride home. On the way home, we saw a huge brown bear walking along a creek, probably fishing. It was a really neat site! We arrived home to find Matt had put a new wheel on my Kind SS. I'll take it for a test ride on Tuesday.

The Stonewall Century was 102 miles of pure fun. Paige and I are planning on coming back next year to do it again! Ride time was 7:16, total time 8:48, average speed 14 mph, max speed 37 mph, almost 3000 calories burned, average heart rate of 142. Yep, I've got lots of room to improve. Nothing to brag about, but I'm just thrilled that I got in my 2nd ride post-surgery over 100 miles long!

Biking and Such

2006-08-16T20:21:00.000-06:00

Holy cow, I just checked my blog and my last entry was on the 8th! I've definitely been slacking, but I have a good excuse...we've been on the road almost every weekend! Hard to keep up with the blog and travel and ride and work and....well, you know.

So, here's the recap: I've been doing lots of riding!

Tuesday Chica rides have been in low attendance, but not to worry, Jim's Timid Tuesday ride keeps me occupied! Glad I decided to do my ride on the same night as his. I've been taking out the singlespeed and doing all sorts of damage to my quads...they burn every time I try to pedal!

Last weekend we were in Leadville, CO--Matt did an excellent job in the LT100, as did other local folks like Nate, Travis, Brent (and Brent's dad and stepmom!), Rick, our former governor Gary Johnson, and his friend Deb did quite well representing the state too.

In the morning, I woke up and headed to the starting area for the race. We stopped in Provin' Grounds for some morning java, and Matt caught a little more shuteye before the race start. Once I saw him off, I hooked up with Paige and some of her old Texas buddies. We got a bite to eat, went to hang out with part of their Leadville support crew friends, then Paige and I took off for a ride of our own (after the other 2 bailed on us due to fear of rain and altitude sickness). So, we had a great ride together, even though we DID get drenched. Paige is always fun to ride with though...fun, great sense of humor, and never one to shy away from a ride in the dirt!

We started out from Paige's camp site at Sugar Loafin' and took the road to a trail that goes around the perimeter of Turquoise Lake. The dirt trail is on one side of the lake only, so we biked through the Turquoise Nature Trail to warm up the legs (reminded us of the super fast stuff in the Bosque trail in NM). The edge of the lake actually had a very nice beach! After messing around on this very short piece of trail, we then took the road up to the point where the Leadville race came through. On our way, we saw a beautiful nest of Osprey--the mom, dad and baby. It was amazing to see! Wish I would have had a camera with better zoom.

Anyway, we picked up the dirt trail from there, and found it to be surprisingly fun and even had a couple technical areas. CO has been getting its fair share of rain, just like NM, so there were some nice creeks and waterfalls that went into the lake. The rain hit as got about 2 miles into the trail, coming and going, then just dumping on us.

We finished up the ride, wet but happy to have been out on the bikes. I had to haul tail to get to the finish line...I wanted to be there when Matt came through! Saw most of our friends make it, including the hubby! I also got a chance to meet Jenn Dice, IMBA Government Affairs Rep in Boulder, CO. That was nice since we've always exchanged emails and talked on the phone, but never met!

This was a great weekend. Matt's trying to talk me into doing Leadville next year. Paige wants to do it, so why shouldn't I??? Okay, peer pressure has set in. Guess I'll try to get in next year--it is a lottery, you know. The race was nicely organized, even though it was stretched over 3 days. We were fed well and the ceremony on Sunday morning was really nice. It definitely supports the "little guys" who come out to ride much more than the top finishers. In fact, the awards are given out from the last place finishers up to the first. I liked that idea! Many of the top finishers weren't there anyway.

Well, next weekend is La Veta, CO for me and Paige...got the Stonewall Century to complete. Week after is the Durango 100. I may try the 30+ route while Matt does the 100. Hopefully it's a dry day!

Interval Training

2006-08-08T09:18:00.000-06:00

Well, woke up Tuesday morning and decided to ride before going into work. We're moving into a new building, so all my stuff was in boxes...not much work to be done. I figured if I went in a little late, the boxes would be in the new place and then I could start unpacking!

So, decided to take the road bike for a spin since the Stonewall Century I'm doing with Paige is coming up soon. Matt suggested trying 3 sets of 3 20/40 intervals, so I gave it a go...this training stuff, while beneficial, can take the enjoyment of biking right out of you. You definitely need to do it in moderation--guess that takes me out of contention for becoming a pro biker (not that I would ever do that anyway).

So, here were the stats--very poor, but I suppose lots of room for improvement is the upside of the whole thing. I went down to the Casino, did the intervals on Tramway, then climbed to the Tram, then through the neighborhood and back home. RT: 1:00 TT: 1:01 (light at Casino) Max speed: 37.7 Avg speed: 13.3 Distance: 13 Avg HR: 145 Cal: 344 No food (1/2 cup coffee), recovery drink at end (180)

Wednesday I rescheduled the Chica ride, since Tuesday evening we met with Heather Wilson's reps, Carri and Colin. Nobody made the Chica ride, so I did a solo on the SS in the Foothills to try out the new 20 in back. What a difference that made!! With the 18, I was working way too hard...I couldn't gain any momentum on the climbs. The new ring makes SSing much more enjoyable! I spin a bit in the flats, but not to the point that it annoys me, so I guess that's a good thing! NOW I can see the enjoyment in a SS. Before, I was beginning to think it was just gonna be pure torture...kinda like intervals. ;o)

Anniversary Weekend

2006-08-06T21:42:00.000-06:00

We went to Flagstaff this weekend...what a blast! It's been a long time since I've ridden out there, so it was an especially nice treat to be there. This was the anniversary celebration for Matt and me. What better spot to go? The weather was beautiful! Plus, there had been rain the past couple of days, so the trail conditions were superb. Nice, moist, tacky soil...perfect for mountain bikes! No pics from the Flag ride, but lots from Gallup...

We took off on Friday and stopped in Gallup to ride the trails out there. Matt took me on the loop used for the Dawn Til Dusk race, and then a little more.

Wow, these trails were really fun! Fast swoopy stuff with some small little technical challenges every once in a while, and views you wouldn't believe! There was a lot of TLC that went into building this trail system. Nice little details you wouldn't expect to see, like decorated cattleguards, custom-made trail signs, and miscellaneous trail sculptures/art. The town has taken a lot of pride in this area, and I'll definitely come back to ride this again! We got in about 20 miles in just short of 3 hrs of riding. We went at a pretty good clip (for me)...enough to make the legs tired!

The next day, Matt and I hit the trails in Flag. We had planned on doing a rather long 50-miler, but with pending storms brewing in the sky, we took an alternate route. We started from the hotel, took the road to Buffalo Park, and did the usual climb up Oldham...painful for me, I've done much better before. We rode Schultz Pass Road up to the top and climbed some roads out there before deciding it was time to head back down because of the storm clouds. We flew down Elden (fun, fast, swoopy, with rocky stuff here and there) and continued down Little Bear. Then came the climbing up Shultz Tank and Brookbank. That was a leg buster! After yesterday's intervals in Gallup (I did 3 rather hard intervals while out there), my legs were jelly...but I digress...we headed back from whence we came through Buffalo Park and back to the hotel. By that time, we were hauling on the road. I think we got up to around 27 mph in a couple of places. Not bad on a mountain bike! We ended up with about 40 miles today and 5000 ft of climbing...a new max for me. More pics and another write up on the trip are on Matt's Blog.

After the ride, it was time for a nice soak in the hot tub, then dinner at Alpine Pizza and beers (of course) at the Pay 'N Take.

More Rides

2006-08-02T21:20:00.000-06:00

August 1 was the 14th anniversary for Matt and me. We're celebrating this weekend in Flagstaff! Should be a great time. We haven't ridden out there together this year, so should be a lot of fun. Got a smokin' deal on the Residence Inn (I'm crafty at these things, I tell ya!), so we'll be sleeping well! No noisy train, no funky bed.

So, Tuesday, Aug. 1, I did the Timid Tuesday ride. All my Chicas bailed on me, so I rode with the ride leader, Jim, Mitch, and Evan (kid from last week who lasted about 7 miles). I took the SS and had a great time! Evan actually rode the entire ride with us. He actually listened to me and didn't try to chase me on the climbs. Amazing what a little energy conservation for the body can do. We even took him up through the technical North Foothills, up to the watertower at the Tram, and down Dan's trail. I was impressed.

Got a good workout in with the SS. Still had a heck of the time with some of the climbing. Matt switched out the gear now, so I'll try that out. I'll suck on the flats, but I'd really like to try to nail more of those climbs!

Wednesday, Denise and I headed out on Dan's trail to La Cueva and on to Juan Tabo Basin. It was a shorter, hard ride today with lots of technical stuff and climbing (old pics, but you get the idea). Brought the Moots, but would have enjoyed the Intense in several areas. La Cueva and Juan Tabo have been beaten down by the rain leaving lots of water ruts, loose rock, and very difficult sections. Some areas are just new challenges. Other parts of the trail (water ruts) need some loving care...perhaps when the weather cools a bit.

Got home from the ride and Matt had just finished dinner! He had enough for three, so Denise hung out for dinner and then took off to learn how to kayak at a local pool.

Can't wait for the weekend in Flag!

East Mountains...no, wait, White Mesa

2006-07-30T18:01:00.000-06:00

Recovering from Quemazon's beating on our legs yesterday, Denise and I had planned on another ride today in the East Mountains. We were thinking possibly Cedro, Otero or a 10K loop of some sort. Denise and I had coffee at Donna's before leaving Los Alamos yesterday, so neither of us got to sleep at a decent hour last night. We decided to meet at 10:30AM at Einstein's for the ride.

Both of us had been watching the weather and there was about a 60% chance of rain in the mountains. Marc, Denise's other half, was riding the White Mesa today, so we decided that may be a better bet. Afterall, looking out at the sky, there were storm clouds to the east, and blue sky with puffy white clouds over White Mesa....so that's where we went.

Interestingly, with all the cloud cover, the clouds never really seemed to block the sun today...except at the end of the ride. Regardless, we headed out on Dragon's back, leaving the very nicely built parking lot created by FooMTB. This was the first time I've been to White Mesa since the surgery. In fact, the last time I rode out here was with Matt and the KC boys--Scott, Brad, Q and Mike. Anyway, we finally approached the super steep hike-a-bike area and contemplated going around, rather than up. We'd always had a guy at the top of the climb who would pull our bikes up for us...we decided to give it a shot, and made it! Guess we had more upper body strength than we though we did. The pic doesn't do the climb justice, but if you see the trail in the upper left hand side of the 2nd image, you can get an idea of how steep the hike was.

It was a great time! As usual, White Mesa delivered the awesome scenery and climbs we needed to thoroughly wear us out. We did a LOT of climbing today. In fact, up to the soda dam area, we climbed BOTH ways to the top; 1 way on double track, the other way on the more traditional route. Why? Cuz we wanted to. We weren't pooped out at that point. We took a break at the high point; the very large sink hole--it had a lot more water in it than usual; refreshing pic, huh? Makes you want to go for a swim. Denise knows a rock climber and said she wanted to see him climb down the hole and back up again. I think it would be rather entertaining too. After a snack, we continued on...

We lucked out having Marc out there riding before us; we followed his tracks most of the day. While we knew the general routes through the White Mesa, there were some new areas I hadn't explored and Denise had only ridden once. Did I say that we did a LOT of climbing?!? With all the sun and probably some slight dehyrdration from yesterday's ride, we were not the fastest today, but we still managed a hard ride that left us feeling like we'd definitely gotten a very good workout for the day.

So, we stopped in Bernalillo for some beverages--yep, we finished off the Camelbaks today--then made it back to the cars. Matt had left me a message on the phone just about the time we were done unloading. He'd finished his day in Durango and was heading home.

Ride Stats

Total time: 3:27 hrs (trail cleanup)
Ride time: 2:33 hrs
Distance: 15 miles
Average speed: 6.7 mph
Max speed: 24.3 mph
Calories: 1231 (356 cal/hr)
Average heart rate: 145

Los Alamos

2006-07-29T21:45:00.000-06:00

I awoke to rain this morning. Its soft pattering on the windows was enough to make me want to curl up and sleep in...but today was a ride day, so up and at em'! Denise and I loaded up her car and headed out to Los Alamos for a dirt adventure on some super fun trail treasures with 2 friends of mine that I hadn't seen in ages--Donna (hadn't seen her in 2 years--GITA) and Carrie (hadn't seen her in about 1 year--Taos). They also had another friend along for the ride, Amy. Talk about some awesome riders!!

It turned out to be a perfect day for a ride in Los Alamos; the clouds were out, blocking the sun from our backs, and there was an occasional breeze to dry off our "glistening" bodies--as Denise would say.

Our ride started from Donna's place. We headed out on the Walnut Canyon Rim Trail and over to Bridges, then snaked our way through some residential areas to Quemazon Trail where we began an unbelievably fun climb loaded with technical, rocky terrain. After about 3 miles and around 1500 ft of climbing (in about 1.5 hrs!!), we'd gotten to the intersection of Quemazon and Pipeline Road. We headed down Pipeline, and hooked onto the Perimeter Trail. We continued on to Rendija Trail, heading down Shoeshine--one of my favorites--and down towards Bayo Trail (I think) and back to Donna's place for treats to reward us for our workout on the trails.

Back at Donna's, Scott and Joe were there with the BBQ grill fired up! We all got a hot shower and settled in for some bratwursts and chicken--can't beat that! We filled our stomachs with delicious food and beer and chatted the day away.

Got a call from Matt on the way home. He'd managed to head out on loop 1 of the Durango 100 course, then snaked over to loop 3 to avoid a pending rain storm that he managed to escape just in the nick of time. He'll be riding with Dave Harris tomorrow.

Denise and I are heading over to the East Mountains for a ride tomorrow. We'll see how I do with that one. I've gotten into the habit of abusing the hip during the weekend, then going lighter on it during the week with 1 tough ride somewhere in there. I'm going to start upper body weight lifting again too. I've been slacking in that area--weightlifting sucks.

Off to bed for some well-deserved zzzzz's.......more pics to come once Scott gets Carrie's pics up on his blog. ;o)

Ride Stats

Ride time: ~2:33 hrs
Total time: ~4 hrs
Distance: ~19 miles
Max speed: 33.4 mph
Avg speed: 7 mph
Avg heart rate: 146
Calories: 1495 (373.75 cal/hr)

Girls on singlespeeds; you don't see that very often!

2006-07-26T21:00:00.001-06:00

Tuesday night was the Chica ride and Paige and I were ready to roll with 1 other non-chica, Evan. Evan's a nice 19-year old kid that Matt and I met at our favorite restaurant, Il Vicino. Matt's been trying to get Evan into mountain biking and had suggested he show up for the FooMTB Timid Tuesday ride. Unfortunately, the ride was canceled at the last minute, so Evan joined Paige and me instead.

Rode the Intense tonight. I've been having problems with the shock not having enough sag. Called Progressive today and they gave me the correct psi for the shock (70-75 in the IFP; 90 in front). Then they recommended I ride it around a bit since the oil starts to settle if it hasn't been used in a while. The frame is an '03, so this could be the case.

After adjusting Evan's rear brakes so that they'd work, we were ready to roll. It started out with the typical warm-up along the paved Tramway bike path. Evan's first comment, "Hey, you guys are going a little slow, aren't you?" You can speed it up if you want." I told him that the first lesson in mountain biking is knowing how to conserve your energy; you should never go full blast at the beginning unless you know what you're getting into.

Well, Evan decided to chase me up the dirt climb to Elena. We got to the top of the climb and had to adjust Evan's rear derailleur (chain kept dropping). He insisted I didn't need to help, after all, "We're almost done with the ride, right?" I looked up at him kindly, replying, "Oh no, my friend, we've just started." Evan managed to tough it out for the next couple miles. Eventually, he'd had enough and we took him back to a good turn around point. I think he managed a good 7 mile ride. Not bad for his first time out on the mountain bike. He's got great skill. If he keeps this up, he'll be the one dropping me on the trail very soon.

Paige and I got in a great 14 mile ride; total time-2:12; ride time-1:41 (fixing the derailleur for the most part); avg speed-8.2 mpg; max speed-26 mph; avg heart rate-136; calories burned-710.

Wednesday rolls around and it's time to ride with speedy Chica, Denise! We decided to singlespeed through the Foothills. We headed up Dan's trail, which is a tad on the painful side for starting a ride--no warmup, just instant climbing! Anyway, headed over to Elena, did the little whoopdie-dos and headed back to the house via the water tower again.

Holy cow did I ride hard!! Denise is super fast, so I cranked it as hard as I could. I managed to match the pace on my hardest road ride so far since the surgery. I manage one advantage with my tiny 24" wheels...I can accelerate extremely fast. Matt noticed it as did Denise. I notice it on the flats especially. I think I am going to have Matt help me get 1 easier gear for climbing though...at least until I build my strength back up. I can't climb the steep stuff, as hard as I try...even standing up. So, we finished the ride and stopped to catch our breath at the water tower where we ran into a group of 3 or 4 guys...can't remember now. They were stunned to see a couple of chicks on singlespeeds--"You don't see that very often," they noted. :)

SS Stats

Total time: 1:31 hrs (no ride time, don't have a bike computer on the SS)
Average heart rate: 160
Calories: 620

Awesome ride, sore hip, smile on the face. Guess that's what it's all about!!

Taos: Mondragon--South Boundary Ride

2006-07-23T20:57:00.000-06:00

Went up to Taos today with Matt and Denise. I only semi-remembered the route, so Denise was coming along for the ride and to help me recall all the turns...we figure 2 heads are better than 1?? We'll see next time we take the route on our own!

So we started out from the SBT parking area, taking the road about 7 miles up to the Mondragon Trail Head. We climbed, climbed and climbed some more up to the SBT. From there we did a tad more climbing and then had super fun technical downhill for the rest of they way out. Matt took me on this route a little over a month ago. I've got some great pics at that link.

Beautiful day to ride, but my legs sure got a workout!! After yesterday's climbing at Santa Fe, I had lactic acid in the quads all stinking day! I definitely built some muscle today. I also found a new limit for the ole' hip. It was pretty sore from yesterday, and now it's very sore...good news though; I rode more of the technical downhill stuff on South Boundary than last time!! We had a hint of rain on the way down, but it decided to leave with only a few drops. Much dryer than the ride yesterday in Santa Fe with Paige!

As always, we finished the ride with a visit to Eske's for dinner and beer, then went home to Albuquerque. Tomorrow is going to be a very well-earned rest day!

Ride Stats

Ride time: 3:33 hrs
Total time: 4:26 hrs
Distance: 27.4 miles
Elevation climb: 3600 ft
Average speed: 7.7 mph
Max speed: 37 mph
Average heart rate: 146
Calories: 1569

Santa Fe Ski Area Loop

2006-07-22T20:52:00.000-06:00

Paige and I decided to take a ride out in Santa Fe. It’s a loop I’ve done several times with Sue, but this time, Paige and I decided to add on some more miles by starting at the Chamisa Trail Head. We started up an immediate climb that would bring anyone’s heart rate to inhuman levels. Thank goodness, that plateaus after about 15 minutes or so.

We took Chamisa to the Windsor Trail, and from there, I started dealing with a slow leak in the rear tire. I kept hopping off the bike and pumping the tire up with air hoping the Stan’s would fill the leak—no luck. I eventually had to hop of the bike and deal with removing a tubeless tire off its rim…not easy at all. Eventually, some guys came biking by and were able to get the thing off from me, and I was good to go from there. Yes, I played the “helpless female” because I was sick and tired of working on the thing…being a chick has its advantages. Turns out Stan’s wasn’t working because it had turned into some sort of fungi looking Stan’s turd rather than the nasty milky/oily substance it normally is. Guess it’s time to add new Stan’s in the front tire if the rear is like that already.

Well, with totally cold legs by now, we headed back out on Windsor to the Big Tesuque Trail, coming out at Hyde Park Road and the little camping/picnic area. Great spot for a quick pit stop, then on with the ride. The temps were remarkably nice and the shade on the trails was very pleasant. Some storm clouds were brewing far off in the skies, but for the most part, bright blue! We made it up to Aspen Vista Road and climbed and climbed (Matt says about 4000 foot elevation for us today!!) until we were ALMOST at the radio towers ready to take Sunset Trail at the Santa Fe Ski area down to the ski base and then hook back into Windsor from the road.

Unfortunately, the last of the plan was foiled by rain, and lots of it!! We decided, smartly, to turn around on Aspen Vista Road. We took that to Hyde Park Road and had to take pavement back to the car. On Aspen Vista Road (dirt road that is no longer accessible by motor vehicle), we got a nice down pour. It caught everyone by surprise. I was shocked at the number of bikers, hikers, dogs, babies, kids—you name it—out there on the trail still! Everyone was making a mad dash back to the base. Well, it was a good ride nevertheless!

We topped off the bellies at the Santa Fe Bakery. I had a burrito and Paige had a chicken wrap. Excellent food! I brought home some good fruit bars for breakfast tomorrow and Paige snagged some croissants. Good enough to call it a day!!

Ride Stats

Ride Time: 3:23 hrs
Total Time: 5:30 hrs (my flat didn’t help matters)
Distance: 24 miles
Average speed: 7.8
Average heart rate: 148
Calories: 1706

Am I Stronger Than Before?

2006-07-19T21:13:00.000-06:00

8 months after the periacetabular osteotomy, and I'm feeling great! Today was another "first" as I made it up the La Luz hill climb on the road. I did the new Triple Lindy: Tramway from the Casino, La Luz, then up to the Tram and home.

Here's the coolest part...even before my hip started hurting, I usually had to stand in the saddle for most of La Luz. Plus, my typical speed was about 4.3 to 4.8 mph. Today, I sat during the entire climb except for the very last, super steep climb. My typical speed except for that section was about 5.5, dropping once to 5.0 mph.

I managed to wait out the rain for the most part, but got a slightly later start than I wanted. Light drizzle on the way down to Tramway and back up again, but afterwards, nice and dry! Got home and Matt was already starting dinner. What a sweetie, he's done the grocery shopping and made dinner every night this week!

Ride Stats

Total time: 1:26 hrs
Ride time: 1:24 hrs (stop light at the Casino, and a short break at the top of La Luz for a drink)
Average speed: 11.8 mph
Maximum speed: 46.5 mph (tail wind heading down Tramway)
Distance: 16.5 miles
Average heart rate: 160 (holy cow, that's high!!)
Calories: 618

I'm getting good at the short, hard rides, so the next thing I need to build back up is my endurance. That's it for the ride report. I'm off to bed...I'm beat from the ride!

More Rain!

2006-07-18T20:40:00.000-06:00

Well, today was the Chica Ride--me and Sue. We are the original Chicas, and it's fitting that we got to do a ride together today, especially since her days are numbered with that bun in the oven. Drat! I hate it when my bike friends get pregnant!!!!

So, I was on the singlespeed today and Sue felt like kicking my ass and taking advantage of me (okay, she's really not like that). We headed up Dan's trail and I made my best go at it. I actually made some climbs I didn't think I could do, but I also had to walk some sections. Definitely a challenge to be conquered! We made it to the water tower when the lightning started rolling in. Sue and I have ridden many a time in the rain, but lightning is a true sign it's time to call it quits. We didn't get too far past the North Foothills when we turned around and took road back to the house. Still got in a decent 50 minute ride (an not much gabbing today), so not bad at all.

I jumped on the elliptical machine as soon as I got home and did 25 minutes on it. 5 minutes of warmup, then 20 minutes with 40/80 intervals. 40 seconds as fast and hard as I could go, then 80 seconds rest. Back and forth...in the 40 seconds, I could get the heart rate up to 170, then drop to about 150 in the 80 break. As would be expected, I couldn't hit the 170 each time...slowly I dropped during the 40 intervals until the highest I could get was 167. Definitely a good workout! Not much fun though.

Some sad news in the biking community. A woman I've heard much about but didn't know personally, Paula Higgins, was hit by a car and killed yesterday. It's a reminder that we always have to be careful when riding on the road. A few times while on the road I've darted through a yellow light, sped through a 4-way intersection, etc. Losing a few seconds of momentum or having to unclip out of the pedals is a simple inconvenience compared to losing my life. Lesson learned.

Breckenridge Weekend and a Monday Night Ride

2006-07-17T21:36:00.000-06:00

Did I mention that my husband is a freakin' stud?!? Check out these stats for the Breckenridge 100! The race started with 98 people. 40+ didn't even have it in them to finish. Matt finished, and got 6th in his division, and 17th overall!! OMG, my man is pretty damn scary!

So, we were in Breckenridge for the weekend at the Beaver Run Resort, and I crewed for Matt. Cool thing is, we ran into some KC boys, Brad was racing, Joel was crewing for Brad. Joel, an employee at the Trek store in KS and a partner in the Heartland Mountain Bike Race group, had a nice little tent set up and all the tools a good mechanic should have. He let me camp out at his site and we chatted the day away. Joel is just what you'd expect from a KC bike boy...a tad on the nutty side and totally in love with the boutique singlespeed and 29er.

Here's Matt's blog post on the race to get the whole story.

So today, I did a ride with Denise! It's been ages since we've been able to ride together, cause she's crazy fast and until now, there was no chance in keeping up with her. I'm still a slug, but not too far in her dust. We went out and did a Tunnel/Otero loop--talk about a workout! First time I've been out there since the surgery. I'm nice and sore right now, but only in the hip joint. The muscles seem to be just fine right now, but we'll see in the morning. I think we're going to make our rides a weekly event, so I'll have a hammer partner 1 day a week, the fun Chica ride another day, then I'll be commuting to work (after August 8 when I move to a new work building much closer to home), plus I'll do some hard solo rides on the road as well. Riding is starting to get back into full speed! King of the Mountain may be a fun Denise ride for next week--I haven't done this ride since the surgery either. I'm really ready to start testing the waters. :)

So, here are the ride stats for tonight--

Ride time--1:12 hrs
Total time--1:37 hrs (hey, a girl has to have *some* gossip time)
Avg heart rate--152 (that's pretty high for me!)
Avg speed--7.2 mph
Distance--9.82 miles
Calories--671

Timid Tuesdays and Such

2006-07-11T21:43:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, new FooMTB member Jim led the first FooMTB Timid Tuesday ride. Had the Chicas (Paige and me) not been there, only Randy would have shown up for the ride. I'm one of the most positive, upbeat people in the world, but this is starting to piss me off. So, members of the club bitch and moan because we don't have easy rides for them...we establish one, and only 1 person shows up?!? What a bunch of freakin' whiny-assed babies. Really...and they're almost all guys too (not that it should matter, but stereotypically, you expect guys to have some balls and get out and ride if they claim to be mountain bikers--LOSERS! Posers!). No excuses!!

An old member from Save Otero, Gary, once told us how tough it was to be part of a bike club. I thought he was filled with negativity and bad vibes, talking about how much work it is, how lame and worthless people can be, and how much it wears you down and tires you out. I have to say, he was right. I was thoroughly optimistic and totally clueless when it came to understanding what it takes to lead people. I now understand. Maybe I'll remove these first 2 paragraphs from my blog later, but for now, it's how I feel and I'm tired of shutting up about it. I can't even get people to volunteer to help for the IMBA Trail Crew visit. So far, 5 people. That's it. Out of a club of over 70?!?

UPDATE: Okay, so I feel better now. I know that people in Albuquerque are naturally apathetic. It's just something I all have to get used to. I won't let it get to me anymore. Some people volunteered to help with the IMBA Trail Crew visit at the last FooMTB club, which is great! I won't be the one requesting visits anymore in the future though. Someone else will have to be in charge of that.
So, now that I feel only mildly better after venting, I did have an excellent ride. Jim's a great guy and the perfect person to lead the Timid Tuesday ride. He's mild-mannered, easy going, and a fun person to hang around with. We headed toward Elena, did some loops around that area, then finished up by riding to the water tower and through Dan's trail back to the old Circle K. My bike computer kept shutting off and I'd forget to turn it on, but the stats, as far as I can tell are as follows:

13-15 miles (computer kept turning off)
8 mph avg
2:30 total time
Calories burned: 801

I ran into some female bikers while we were out there, Ada, Stacy and Katie. I'm hoping maybe we can do a ride sometime together. It's always good to see strong women riders on the trails!

So, to recap on the fitness thing, biked road on Saturday, mountain on Sunday, bike rollers on Monday, Timid Tuesday ride, bike rollers Wednesday. Thursday is gonna be a rest day. Not sure what I'll do Friday yet. Matt and I will be heading to the Breckenridge 100. Matt's gonna be racing, I'll do some solo riding on my own. Should be nice. I hope it's dry!!

Oh, this has nothing to do with my post, but I love this pic!! Matt took it on his last ride in Placitas with Nate. I hope I never see one of those on a ride. Yeck!

Juan Tabo & the Foothills

2006-07-09T18:56:00.000-06:00

Did a big ride with Sue and Paige today. We had wanted to go to Santa Fe to do the Borrego, Windsor, Big Tesuque, Aspen Vista Rd and back ride, but we were nervous about pending rain. Bummer...we're quickly approaching the last time we'll be able to do a long ride with Sue for a VERY long time. She's pregnant and won't be able to do the tough stuff much longer. Plus, after the baby comes, she's going to be moving to Oregon! :o( I'm bummed that I forgot the camera today--am including some pics from the past.

So we headed out to Juan Tabo, but didn't actually climb it. The trail out there was pretty washed out and technical. It made for a very tough ride for Sue, so we took the road back and headed to Elena. Got up to the top and took a break at the covered picnic tables, then headed on toward the Montgomery trailhead. We dropped Sue at this point and she headed back to the car. Paige and I carried on to the South Foothills, getting as far as the white water tower near the Indian School trailhead. Tired legs had done us in, so we decided to call it a day and head back. Took pavement from Comanche back to the house, using the dirt trail that parallels Tramway as much as we could.

Great day for a ride! A tad humid, but as long as you were moving, not bad at all. The trail was great! Tacky, and perfect for some fast cornering today. We got back to the house just as a storm was moving in, which was great timing! Paige wanted to try a taco joint called Bumble Bee's Baja Grill, which is very much like Taco Tote. I had a fish taco (mahi-mahi NOT fried, yum!) for a snack, figuring I'd eat dinner later with Matt, who was out riding in the East Mountains today. It really hit the spot!

Ride stats for the day weren't too bad, 26 miles, 3:22 hours ride time, and about 1400 calories burned away!!

There's the first FooMTB Timid Tuesday ride day coming up, so the Chica Ride will be joining this one next week...should be fun!

My Morning with the Congresswoman

2006-07-08T18:15:00.000-06:00

Every time I get annoyed by politicians (and that's pretty easy to do), Congresswoman Heather Wilson does something that makes me think that perhaps our political system can work.

This time, she has managed to get $300K to support an addition to the DIRT Bosque trail!! The deal needs to go through on the final Transportation Appropriations bill, but if it does, we're getting some new trail! This will be an extension to the very very cool little Bosque trail network that you can zip around in within 2 hrs. Heather would like to see the trail extended all the way to Corrales at least--this is great!

We got a brief chance to discuss Otero Canyon as well. Heather feels that the current Air Force folks in charge (those much further up the chain of command than anyone at KAFB) understand the "common sense" issues about the fence. She believes that there are a few areas that should be protected/secured, but feels that if a fence goes up, most of the trails will be saved. She still seems to be leaning toward no fence, especially since DOE isn't interested in building a fence around their part of the land, which is the only way the KAFB/DoD fence can be a real fence. Without DOE cooperation, KAFB would essentially be erecting a fence that secures and contains nothing. It just stops, allowing anyone to continue beyond it if they felt like it. We have another base commander coming to KAFB too...that will make #4 since this issue first started in 2003.

Colonel Kathleen D. Close, January 25, 2002 - July 10, 2003
Colonel Henry L. Andrews, Jr., July 10, 2003 - July 7, 2005
Colonel Terrence A. Feehan, July 7, 2005 - Present

Heather said that the new BC could make things easy and decide not to have a fence at all, which she would prefer. If he decides to listen to the current civilian employees at KAFB rather than his Congresswoman, she will still ensure the final decision goes to the Secretary of the AF rather than the locals.

So, today, I biked from the house to the Bosque trail to meet Heather and others who were invited to go on a short ride/walk. Turns out the press was there (Channel 4 and 13). Heather gave a quick press conference, then she had Diane Scena, Trails Planner for the Mid-Regin Council of Governments; Tom Baltes (in the pic above), president of the Double Eagle Hike and Bike Club; and me, representing IMBA and FooMTB speak to the press as well.

It started raining by the time we were ready to head out, so we split up. Heather and family went home, Tom and his wife Louise continued for a 6-mile walk, and I took off for Bernalillo on NM313. It kept raining as I biked, but I thought it might turn to a light drizzle...no such luck, so I eventually headed home, did a spin on the flat Tramway to Elena, then headed up and back to the house. I think I got about 35 miles in, although the bike computer stopped while I was with Heather and it didn't restart on its own like it's supposed to.

Tomorrow I'm doing a ride with Paige and Sue. We had wanted to go to Santa Fe, but the rain is just too much! I'm thrilled we have it, so I won't complain. We're going to ride Juan Tabo and all the Foothills instead...the soil should be great with all the rain we've had.

Four Hills

2006-07-02T18:43:00.000-06:00

Got in a nice road ride today, heading out to Four Hills and back home again. Still got the stomach bug, but Matt gave me some pills he got from Mexico a long time ago when he had a similar affliction. The stuff cleared him up right away, so I thought I'd give it a try, even though the expiration date on the stuff is 2001. It's been helping, but I still have stomach cramps...yeck. The riding was slow because I kept getting light headed, but I managed to do a short spin through 4 Hills and then back to the house.

Went to the doctor's office on Monday after waking up and hurling my guts out several times. I figured that 3.5 days was a bit long for food poisoning, and when I throw up, it's time to see the doc. She couldn't attribute it to anything...5 possibilities, the most probable being a stomach virus. She took some blood, gave me a script for anti-nausea meds and sent me home for more rest. She also said to lay off the bike a couple days because I'm dehyrdrated and probably have an electrolyte imbalance with all the you know what that comes with stomach viruses. So Monday and Tuesday were off. I'm hoping for the Chica Ride Wednesday.

I decided to look up the Mexico meds I was taking on the Internet. Lomotil (2.5 mg/8 hrs) and Chloromycetin (250 mg/8 hrs). Turns out the 2nd med is banned in the US. The only acceptable form of the drug is intravenously and only in life-threatening cases where other antibiotics aren't working. We can't even use this in food-producing animals, as the FDA banned it as well. One side effect is fatal aplastic anemia. This apparently affects 1 in 24,000 - 40,000 people. Who knows how they got that range. The first med is just fine, but overkill for my situation.

Needless to say, I stopped taking the drugs and am sticking to what the doctor prescribed.

Well, Matt and I took a short trip to Santa Fe tonight to get out of the city. We had dinner at 2nd Street and then came back home to all the locals parking there vehicles at gas stations and along Tramway to our house...just to see the fireworks. To me, fireworks are boring. Once you've gone to Disney Word and seen their display of fireworks, it completely takes all the "oohs and ahhs" out of ordinary displays. It's a shame, really. Well, off to bed.

Kicking off the 4th of July Holiday

2006-07-01T21:32:00.000-06:00

4 days off, yeah! I've been looking forward to the long break, and with my luck?? I get hit with some sort of wicked stomach bug. It started Thursday evening. I won't get into the particulars, but I can't seem to keep much food in my system for very long...we can leave it at that. Friday I went into work only because I had a some reports to go through that were due Monday for people who, for some odd reason, will be coming into work. Got those done and decided to call it a day. I felt like crap and was starting to get the chills, even though our building is a balmy 78 degrees thanks to malfunctioning air conditioning. I went home, took some ibuprofen for the chills and fell asleep, waking up when Matt got home from work. Fixed some dinner for us, then back to bed.

This morning I woke up still having cramps in the gut, but feeling better--no more chills. Matt took off with Rich for a nice Santa Fe ride, so I did a Foothills ride on my own. It wasn't the best ride I've done, but it was nice to get out. I ate a little breakfast, at least what I could stomach, but I'm still obviously pretty weak. I got light-headed on just about every climb and had to stop frequently to shake it off. I only made it to the Elena guard shack and then headed back home vial Tramway. I started from Dan's trail, which was a bit of a push to start off. In hind sight, I probably should have done the same ride but backwards. That might have given the body a chance to settle into the ride...oh well.

Met with Chris B later in the afternoon after the ride. He's finally back from the IMBA Conference in British Columbia. I guess he had a great time! He definitely came back with some great ideas for getting the club motivated. I sure hope they work. I think he and I and Matt are getting way beyond burned out. We could really use some more help.

Well, did some errands and got home about the time Matt did. We had a nice BBQ outside on the deck with a beautiful view of the Sandias. Nice way to end the day...

Time to hit the sack. Maybe I'll shake this stomach bug I still have by then.

I am a Singlespeeder!!

2006-06-28T22:37:00.000-06:00

The Chica Ride was small tonight, just Kim and me. Randy had come along with Kim and was planning to do a solo, so Matt suggested the 4 of us take a ride together. This would be a great time for me to try out the new singlespeed too! I was a little nervous about using the singlespeed...I'm doing great on the road bike, but am still not up to par on the mountain bike. Turns out, I had nothing to be worried about, it was much easier than I thought it would be.

I gotta get a pic of the singlespeed for the blog. The pic I have up now is my bike with gears. Matt transformed it for me and I'm back on the 24" wheels. I love it!! It's a perfect addition to the stable...Moots YBB Superlight, Intense Spyder and Kind Cycles Jeni for the dirt; Giant TCR1 and Surly Pacer for the road...oh, and the Specialized Rockhopper beater for taking to the bar, so I'm good to go.

Important things to remember when riding a singlespeed:

Look ahead and anticipate upcoming climbs. Either spin fast to get a good start or stand up and crank it hard.
Spin, even when you don't want to. You need to keep your momentum going.
Use every little downward slope to your advantage.

I'm sure there's more to it, but hey, this is my first ride.

So we headed to Elena, biked up, rode around in the Elena area, then headed to the North Foothills and then back to the house.

Ride Stats

Distance: 15 miles
Total time: 2 hrs (lots of stops)
Average heart rate: 133
Calories: 700

I'm Back!!!

2006-06-27T20:16:00.000-06:00

I rode 125 miles on the road bike at the Grand Tour in Malibu, CA! How about them apples?!? Matt's shocked that I'm not more excited, but I guess I'm still in a state of shock. My longest ride since the surgery was 40 miles in Durango. I got the ride done in 11 hours, 53 minutes...definitely not a race time, but hey, I'll take it! I ended up burning 3404 calories and had an average heart rate of 133, so I definitely took it at a leisurely pace. No results posted on the website yet....arggghhhh!!

I had a blast on the ride. Started out going solo, and rode with a woman who was out on the course for a leisurely weekend ride on her own. We talked and rode through the more "gruelling" climb on Latigo Canyon Rd together, which was nice. She was one tough rider too! When we parted ways, I rolled down the hill and ran into a guy, Bart, with a soggy course map he could hardly read. Since Matt had prepped me the night before with a laminated map we put together at Kinkos and clipped onto my brake and shifter cables, I had the perfect navigation system (and a record of an awesome ride that can be done again and again). Bart, not knowing me and my directional deficiencies, willingly allowed me to navigate the ride. Anyway, turns out Bart is from NY and on travel in CA for 2 weeks doing business, so he decided to do the Grand Tour. Pretty cool!

So, we made it to the first rest stop at about 35 miles or so. I felt really good! I grabbed some orange slices and 1/2 a banana and we continued on to the next checkpoint at about mile 65 where we were given a great lunch. 2 other riders, Ron and Ray both from CA, joined us for the next part of the ride. They said they were going to go for a group run the next day, which I found to be highly unlikely...they ended up running 17 miles the next morning!! So, after hearing the story that Ron and Ray took a wrong turn right from the starting line, we still let Ray lead the pack. We ended up missing a confusing turn and got a "lovely" climb that added about 2.5 miles to our journey. No biggie, we got some great downhill on the way back to the correct turn. Ray had ridden like a bat outta hell and totally dropped us...he got a 151-mile ride reward for that one. The rest of us made it on to the 3rd and last checkpoint. This stretch seemed to be the longest to me. I was glad to take a break!

Check point 3 was my last bailout point. I had a respectable 87 miles under my belt and my hip was starting to hurt a bit, but hey, I only had about 35 miles left, so why not go for it? We ran into Matt at this checkpoint as he was finishing up his double century. We saw Richard and Dave, who were riding tandem on Dave's new bike too. Matt offered to pull me the rest of the way, but I didn't want to hold him back, plus I wasn't quite ready to get back on the bike yet. I popped a few ibuprofen, and Bart and I hit the road. Ron hung back to wait for Ray who was still returning from his wrong turn.

On the last leg of the tour, I got some sort of crazy burst of energy and was hauling tail (for me) at about 21 mph for well over 10 miles. I turned around to see if Bart was still behind me and he was nowhere to be found! I was a tad bummed, because I'd lost my riding buddy and now I'd probably have to finish the rest of the ride on my own. As I hopped back on the bike to get ready for the solo trip to the finish line, a guy from Rancho Cucamonga, CA came up and we rode together for a bit until we hit the PCH. I had to bail to use the restrooms, so I said goodbye to him and the rest of the ride was on my own. There were 6 climbs on the PCH that I wasn't really expecting, but I managed them all just fine!

I rolled into the finish line to see Matt fixing a plate of BBQ for himself. Richard and Dave were there too. Matt quickly set his plate down, grabbed my bike, and told me to hurry and check in--they were timing us! Matt had a recovery drink and a warm plate of BBQ he fixed, just for me upon my return. What a sweetie. ;o) He finished his 200 miles BEFORE I finished my 125, starting about an hour before I did.

I had a great experience and I would DEFINITELY do it again! Matt talked me into entering at the last minute. I had planned on doing a solo ride while I waited for Matt to complete his double. What a great change in plans! I think I'm ready for the doubles now!!

Tomorrow is the Chica ride--it may be a small one, Sue is in Japan for work, Kiyoko's son has pink eye (iffy) and Kim may have her son. That leaves me and Paige! Regardless, should be a fun ride. It's raining now and it rained yesterday. The trails should be in nice condition!

It's That Time Again!

2006-06-20T21:18:00.000-06:00

So I'm counting down the minutes till it's time to head home for the evening ride, trying to ignore the smacking sounds coming from Noisy Eater's office (if you've been reading my blog, you know about this already). I'm starting to pack up when Noisy Eater lets one rip--I mean RIP! It was one of those really loud ones that reverberated from ass to chair like there was no tomorrow. I busted up laughing and quickly realized that since I'm in a cube, everyone can hear me, so I follow up the laugh with some profuse coughing, hoping to disguise my immature, yet totally acceptable--in my opinion, response. That's it, I'm not sticking around for the aftermath, so I take off, holding my breath, hoping I don't breath in any noxious fumes on the way out.

There's nothing like being outside, riding your bike to unwind from yet another uneventful day at work. It's even better when you have someone around to share that ride with. Tonight, Paige, Kiyoko and Sue met up at my place for the weekly Chica Ride. We did Kim's ride, which was perfect since Kiyoko's shifting wasn't working all that well. The bike needs some lovin', that's all I gotta say. Hopefully Bike World will treat it right and get it back up and running! The ride was fun, although there are increasingly more sandy spots on the trails from overuse. Sure wish it would rain!! I think I will venture out on the singlespeed when we do this ride again. There will be parts I won't be able to make, but might as well try!

Ride Stats

Distance: 15 miles
Max speed: 22.5 mph
Avg speed: 7.1 mph
Ride time: 1:55 hrs

Well, Matt and I are ready for Malibu, CA this weekend. Matt's doing another 200 miler, and I'm going to do some nice riding on my own, that won't even come close to 200 miles. I've ridden part of Mulhulland Hwy out there, so I may ride more of that or ride from Agoura Hills to Malibu and back. Haven't really decided and will play that one by ear.

Taos

2006-06-18T16:59:00.000-06:00

It's been a long time since either Matt or I have been back to Taos, so we decided to make a day out of it. Pretty hot in the Burque, and nowhere really to go mountain biking with all the closed Forest areas in the area, so we loaded up the vehicle and drove to Taos. Once in town, we headed east on Hwy 64 and parked in the South Boundary Trailhead parking lot. We biked along 64 on the pavement about 7 miles, passing Shady Brook, which is being totally renovated, and veered off to the right. Directly across the road was a small spot to park. We were now at the Mondragon Trailhead, trail 164, and ready to begin our journey. This was a nice steady, 15-mile climb. There were a lot of dirt roads that intersected along the way, so I'm not sure if I could take the correct turns or not if I went at this solo...but, with Matt navigating, we came right up to Trail 164, the South Boundary Trail. We headed up this...one more quick climb. I can't remember if 15 miles was at the beginning or end of the South Boundary climb, but I think it was at the beginning. We were near Garcia Park, Trail 437, and Jaracita, Trail 121, around this area.

Well, 16 miles is my maximum distance until this day, so I was a tad nervous, but not much since I knew that the rest of the ride would be downhill...parts of which I could have benefited from riding the Intense rather than the Moots, but the Moots was perfect for the climbing! So after a very short climb up South Boundary, I switched my 80mm Marzocchi Marathon Race to full squish and headed downhill. There were only a few sections where I could have benefited from a full suspension bike, but for the most part, the YBB did its trick!

Biking downhill, I walked over an area I had biked 2 years ago. I can't believe I made it look that easy in the pic! Course the Juliana helped me through that one. Oh, and yes, that's mud on my face. We got dumped on during that infamous 2003 "Gaspin' in the Aspens" ride (founded by none other than one of the original FooMTBers, B Cherry)....yes, we really do get rain in NM!! Anyway, Matt and I decided to take the South Boundary trail all the way down rather than turn off on Ojitos. It was the better way to go because in the end, we plop right out in the parking lot where we started. Had we taken Ojitos and the whoopty-dos, we would have had to take some road back to the vehicle.

So, Matt sheep-dogged me all day, woof-woof!! But I suppose he got a decent ride out of the whole thing. I certainly did! The last pic shows the road, way down below...long climb!

Had some trouble walking after finishing off a Brown-eyed Ale at Eske's, and it wasn't because I was drunk. Definitely sore and stiff in the joint, but not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. So I've set a new record--27 miles! Guess doing a 30-mile loop at the Crested Butte grassroots race July 15 (if that's where we end up going) isn't out of the question now!

Ride Stats

Distance: 27.1 miles
Climbing: ~4000 ft
Ride time: 3:49 hrs
Total time: 4:30 hrs
Max speed: 27.6
Average speed: 7.1
Average heart rate: 148
Calories: 1700

Matt's got some more cool pics from the ride and a write-up of his own on his blog. Check it out:
More pics
Tacos Fanta Se

Revisiting Old Stomping Grounds

2006-06-14T20:42:00.000-06:00

Kim and I did the Chica ride this evening, and decided to take an alternative from the route we normally take...one that Kim and Randy ride, but that I haven't ridden in a very long time. We headed down to Spain on the paved Tramway Trail and then rode the dirt up to the Spain parking lot and continued up, doing a loop in the Foothills. Then we headed back down the trails and rode around in Bear Canyon Arroyo. On the way home, I showed Kim the dirt trails that parallel the paved trail--pretty fun! Kiyoko will love this route. We'll have to take her on that next time she rides. :)

It was a quiet night on the trails. I think the looming rain clouds scared people away. But, as usual, the clouds were there only to taunt us. We got some sprinkles on the way out for the ride, but then nice weather the rest of the time. This was the perfect ride to follow after my Triple Lindy--Light from last night. I was pretty sore this afternoon and a tad bid nervous about riding, but this route was just enough to get my muscles loosened up without adding to the joint pain. I'm thinking that I could probably take the singlespeed out on this route for my first time on that bike. Not quite ready for it yet, but soon!

Ride Stats

Distance: 15.2 miles
Max speed: 25.5
Avg speed: 8.7
Ride time: 1:55 hrs
Total time: 2:07 hrs
Calories: 550

Well, I've been in 2 days of training off site from work. It's been nice to be away, but it's back to the old grindstone tomorrow. Blech!

Triple Lindy--Light

2006-06-13T21:23:00.000-06:00

So I made another riding milestone today! It's the most climbing than I've done in a concentrated period of time since the surgery. I took the Giant down to the Casino and climbed back up Tramway, then headed up the 2nd climb to the Tram and around that and headed back to Tramway. My 3rd and final climb for the afternoon was up Elena Gallegos, past the guard shack and around the little look where the picnic areas are.

I was going to call this ride the Triple Lindy, but the *real* Triple Lindy for me will be the Casino climb, La Luz, and then the Tram. I never even did that before surgery!

So, I'm heading up the Casino climb (the pic is actually heading toward the Casino) at about 12.3 mph (fast for me--I'm usually around 10 mph at this point of the climb) and huffing and puffing when I see this huge shadow creeping up behind me. The biker behind me decides to draft me, doesn't say anything, just starts hanging onto my wheel to catch his breath. I say hi, he responds, and eventually rides next to me and stirs up a bit of small talk before heading on ahead of me. This dude was huge (tall, not fat)!! I'm telling you, the length of his legs had to have been about as long as my body, minus my head. I've seen him before, Trek bike, freak of nature legs. There's no way he could have been getting any drafting benefits off me, considering my size. Matt says he was probably just checking out my ass. Guys are perverts.

Heading up to the Tram was uneventful, other than almost getting hit by a car backing out of a parking spot behind the Tram building. I sped back down from here and road Tramway Blvd slower than usual...I was definitely starting to run out of energy. I think at this point, my ride time was 51 minutes. So I sucked down some water, tried to recover without going too slow, and headed to Elena.

Again, another uneventful climb, not many roadies out today. I made it past the guard shack (I think I was at 1:08 hrs here) to the top of the picnic area and see an Albuquerque Police Dept SUV parked with an officer working on paperwork inside the vehicle. I give a nod to say hey--it's cool to see them out there keeping the areas safe! I keep going on and the cop follows me and rolls down the window...turns out it's Pat. He's one of 20 police officers that works with Open Space. He came to one of our FooMTB meetings a while back ago. He's busy as usual, but had just gotten in a Foothills ride before getting back to work. How cool is that?!? So, after chatting a bit with Pat, I head all the way back to Tramway Blvd. On the climb up, the hip started to hurt right as I passed the turn off to Eagle Ridge. This is good to note, as I think I'm going to do this ride more often to mark progress. I decided against riding the neighborhood because that would have entailed more climbing.

Got back to the turn off to the house and I had in 19.4 miles. Doh!! So close! So I turned onto Tramway Vista and wrapped around...not enough, 19.8!! I biked around our condo and came right in at 20. Yeah!! Oh, and yes, that's a picture of the turnoff to our house. No, I didn't take it. I found it searching for Albuquerque images. Some person actually took pictures of their drive around Albuquerque and posted them online. Good grief!

So, here are the stats for today:

Distance: 20 miles
Max speed: 37.1
Average speed: 14.7
Total time: 1:30 hrs
Ride time: 1:25 hrs
Average heartrate: 163 (Damn that's high!! It's usually around 140ish.)
Calories: 641 (this seems VERY low. I'm not believing that reading considering how hard I rode today--who knows)
Casino climb stats (1st climb): max--13 mph; min--7.9 mph
Tram climb stats (2nd climb): max--8.9 mph; min--4.0 mph (yep, I was a hurting puppy here, no break time really between the Casino and here)
Elena climb stats (3rd climb): max--10.1 mph; min--7.0 mph (pretty typical for me, so it looks like the short flat across Tramway was a good recovery)

Tomorrow is the Chica ride!

Albuquerque Criteriums

2006-06-11T20:40:00.000-06:00

Today was Matt & Jen ride day, so we decided to head downtown on the road bikes to watch the Albuquerque Crits. Matt took the Bianchi San Jose singlespeed and I took the Surly Pacer. It turned out to be a great match for us since I'm still really slow. Matt didn't have to sheepdog me on the San Jose, he just had to ride a little slower. :)

Well, after a nice 18 mile spin down Tramway Blvd and then south on Rio Grande, we made it to 4th and Roma where the crit starting line began. We ran into an old coworker of mine and friend of ours, Larry! He's just come back to the states after a nice vacation to Spain. I'm jealous. He was with a friend of his, Alex, who knows another of our friends, Scott. Geesh, it's a small world when it comes to the bike community! We ran into Jackie while we were down there as well, and tons of other bikers that Matt knows.

By the time we were done watching the first round of crits, we were hungry, so we took off for lunch at the Rolling in Dough Bakery & Cafe. The food hit the spot and we were ready to go back to the crits. Bummer, we only caught the tail end of the women's crit. There was only 1 group of only 5 women. I'm used to seeing multiple categories--of course that's in Durango at the Iron Horse. Guess it's more popular. Got to watch 2 of our friends, Dan and Travis race in the A and B crits.

Got home with 37 miles and 2:30 hrs total ride time. Just in time to catch the Miami Dallas basketball game on the tube and fire up the barby for some dinner.

~It was a wonderful day~

????WTF????

2006-06-10T21:45:00.000-06:00

I don't feel I need to say anything.

Article

Video

Playing in the Dirt

2006-06-10T15:57:00.000-06:00

Went back to the Foothills again for a ride. Not much around here I can ride right now. Still, had a good time. I decided to attempt the North Foothills again. Last time I did this I walked most of the North side. This time, I took off from the house, starting out on Dan's trail. I made it to the Tram parking lot with only 3 stops. Not bad! Took a break at the start of the climb up to the water tank and made it to the top without a stop. Impressive (for me)!! The terrain is still too rocky for me in parts, but the good news? The rock garden is now a challenge again! I ended up walking through that too. It hurt too much to be bouncing around in that. Maybe I should have taken the Intense, but I don't care, I still had a blast!

I rode all over the central part of the Foothills, then back down the dirt trail along Simm's Park Rd and paved Tramway trail back to the house.

Ride Stats

Distance: 16 miles
Ride time: 2:00 hrs
Total time: 2:20 hrs
Max speed: 30.5 mph
Avg speed: 7.5 mph
Avg heartrate: 148
Calories: 800

Ouch--I'm very sore right now. Took some ibuprofen, but that didn't do the trick, so I took something a little better. That's at least masking the pain, but I can still feel it from the inside out, right at the hip joint. I think I did enough to inflame it just a tad today. Ahhhh, such is recovery. :)

So, waiting for Matt to get back from his century ride. He should have been back an hour ago if he was doing a century, so my guess is that he's decided to make it a 100+ ride today. Surprise? Not really!

Rain to the South!

2006-06-09T20:19:00.000-06:00

Went on a road ride today. I was hoping to get in about 35 miles or so, but was stopped for a bit by an incoming storm that brought lots of rain, thunder and lightning! I saw the storm approaching, but had hoped I'd be able to miss it...no such luck!

I made it to 4 Hills and did the ride around the neighborhood out there. The winds were really building and I could hear the thunder around me. I was still being optimistic, thinking the storm might go around me. The winds just kept getting stronger and then the lightning came, which was a tad scary, even though the rain was going to be a welcome sight. Heading down hill back to the Smith's, it started to rain hard--really hard! I made it to Smith's and ducked inside. The lightning and absolute downpour turned me into an instant wuss. I waited until the storm died down and then headed back out. Still raining, but not as hard. I got to the light at Central and Tramway and was stopped. The wind was really, really blowing, but thank goodness it was at my back--rain blowing in the face wouldn't have been fun. To give you an idea of how hard it was blowing, I rode up the little climb from Central & Tramway at 26.5 mph without any effort!! I'm normally lucky if I can get up that at about 15 mph. I rode the Surly today and it made a difference with the wind. The other day, riding on the Giant in the wind was uncontrollable. Today, I felt in control, even though I was getting pushed around...the extra weight of the bike did the trick.

So the wind pushed me along until I hit Lomas, and then, as always, it switched directions. So I got rain from the side and from the front now. Luckily, by the time I hit Montgomery, it had stopped. I was really drenched, but the wind (with no rain now) dried me out by the time I was at the bottom of Simm's Park Road! Headed up to Elena (where it was sunny!!) and rode around the guard shack. Then did the neighborhood climbs/ride. I decided to go to the neighborhood north of the road to the tram. Did fine until I tried to climb Rock Ridge. That was a bad idea...I stayed in the seat, but was pushing the pedals way too hard. I heard something pop in my right hip joint. I have no idea what it was, but it hurt, so I decided to call it a day and headed back home.

Ride Stats

Distance: 30.6
Ride time: 2:10 hrs
Total time: 2:30 hrs
Max speed: 49.5 mph (I'm questioning that speed--I went fast in the hood, but I don't think that fast!!)
Average speed: 14.8 mph
Average heartrate: 150
Calories: 940

Got home and Matt was working on the new singlespeed for me! Yeah! Got a chance to ride my transformed Kind Cycle and it's cute little 24" wheels. I'm riding on gearing that most singlespeeders would call wussy--even plus 2, I believe is what you are supposed to say. I've got a 36 up front and a 20 in back. Well, I guess I deserve a little help since I'm still injured. ;o)

Las Chicas

2006-06-07T22:04:00.000-06:00

We had the weekly ride tonight and Kiyoko (the frog is her blog pic) was able to show up! Usual suspects, Paige and Sue were there too. What a great night for a ride! Overcast skies, not too much wind, nice temps. You sure can't beat that! so Kiyoko hasn't been on a bike since '99, yet she managed to keep up with us the entire time. Longest wait? Maybe 1 minute, tops. Quite impressive to say the least! She's gonna be a great addition to the group.

So, here are the stats for the evening:

Distance: 14.6 miles
Max speed: 25.5 mph
Average speed: 9.1 mph
Ride time: 1:33 hrs
Total time: 2:00 hrs
Calories: 700

Not too shabby for someone who hasn't been on a bike in years! The girl is gonna be scary once she's used to the altitude and has ridden some more.

We stuck to the Elena Gallegos area, heading out from the house. The usual weekly night ride. Not too many bikers out tonight, and the chuckheads decided to stay home, which was a pleasant relief. Sue is now riding middle of the pack, we don't want her getting knocked over by an out-of-control fatty! Gotta protect her and the new cargo she's got growing inside.

Well, tomorrow is my Friday. Yeah! No plans yet for the weekend, but we shall see. I'm sure I'll be riding somewhere. Good news? No painting!!

Wind and Sprinkles

2006-06-06T21:30:00.000-06:00

It rained today! Unfortunately not enough to get us the moisture we really need, but I guess every bit counts. I had planned an after work road ride, so despite the wind, I decided to get out and do it. I attempted to head down Tramway Blvd. toward the Casino, but a side wind kept pushhing me toward traffic. I had absolutely no control of the bike and was freaked out to say the least. I decided to head back and do some neighborhood riding instead. I was hoping I'd be blocked from some of the wind...for the most part, it worked.

Took the road to La Cueva campground since the La Luz road was way too hard for me...still can't stand in the saddle, so needed something with less of a grade. I stand for most of La Luz, even on my better days! Anyway, got to the top of La Cueva and immediately headed down. I got creeped out by the fact that each camp area (these are picnic areas, not overnights) had 1 vehicle in it. Nobody out, just the vehicle. What does someone do solo at a picnic area?? To top it all off, this guy on a small motorcycle came creeping up the road at a very slow pace behind me. He had a full helmet on with a totally black visor so I couldn't see his face. I was at the top of the road, turned around, and got the hell outta there. Don't think I'll be riding that road anymore.

Finished up with a neighborhood ride. Forgot the stats, but I think it was about 19 miles, 1 hr, 40 minutes.

Time for bed.

Catching Up

2006-06-04T19:46:00.000-06:00

Wow, it's been a while since I've had a chance to catch up on the blog. I've been doing nothing but catching up all around...catching up on sleep, work, biking, you name it! Guess that's a good sign though. If I can't get to the blog, then I'm probably out on the bike. ;o)

Tuesday I got a chance to get up early and ride with Sandy. If you recall from my previous blog, Sandy is recovering from surgery as well. As expected, she was pretty scary fast (even at 1/2 of what she used to be able to do on the bike). We meet at the corner of Montgomery and Tramway and pedaled our way up to the Foothills. Sandy let me lead on the climbs for a bit, and never left the back of my wheel. When she led, I could keep up for the most part, but not for sustained periods of time. Then came the downhill. Holy crap! Sandy wisked through the Foothills faster than anyone I've ever seen before! I tried to to stick to her rear wheel, but just got scared and slowed it down. I've seen some dumbass chuckheads speeding through the Foothills, but they are fat and completely out of control. Watching Sandy ride was amazing. She could cut turns without skidding, and effortlessly slow down when approaching hikers were near--again, without skidding. It was like she wasn't even really touching the ground. It's hard to explain, you just have to see it.

Wednesday was an elliptical machine day--blah. I need to work in other cardio besides just biking, according to my PT. Guess I work different muscles if I switch cardio types, which better improves my hip strength. So I caught some news and a bit of this thought-depraved Deal or No Deal TV show--I'm glad I don't watch TV much. If this show is any indication of what the American public wants to see, I'm afraid of what the country is becoming. Surely we'll outgrow this trend of thoughtless, homogenized automatrons who display "patriotic" bravado by putting stupid ribbon magnets on vehicles to prove to everyone that they're on the "winning team". We got spirit, yes we do! We got spirit, how 'bout you!?! Mark Twain said it best, "Patriot: the person who can holler the loudest without knowing what he is hollering about".

Thursday was the chica ride! The usual suspects showed up and we had our fun in the Foothills. The skies were overcast, making for a great day to ride! Nice and cool. Ran into Randy, Kim's other half, who was out doing a solo. Then we saw Matt, out on the new Bianchi San Jose singlespeed!

Went to Il Vicino (as always) for dinner, and ran into Denise. She's going to do the Crested Butte 100 with us July 15. I'll be sticking to the short version...very short, but Matt will do the 100, I'm sure.

Friday was a rest day.

Saturday Paige and I went to Santa Fe and rode Dale Ball Center and North. It was slightly cooler in Santa Fe, so the ride was pleasant. We stopped at 2nd Street Brewery for a treat on the way home. Sue was supposed to come along, but morning sickness hit...yeck, sure am glad I'm not her.

Sunday was paint day. Matt and I managed to get most of the outside of the house completed. What a pain that was! The coyote is back too. He decided to leave a dead rabbit near the doorstep this time. Glad Matt always finds the carnage because I would just freak out anyway.

I'm tired now! Time for some shuteye. Gonna ride the commuter into work tomorrow. This will be a first!

Memorial Day

2006-05-29T17:02:00.000-06:00

Just hanging out at the Steaming Bean right now in Durango. It's my usual hangout spot when I'm waiting for Matt to finish a ride, since they have free wireless here. Matt should be coming back from his ride any time now. He decided to ride up the part of the Colorado Trail he did yesterday. He lost his new FooMTB long sleeved jacket somewhere on the trail, more than likely the part he's doing today, during his ride yesterday. What a bummer!

For me, it was an off the legs workout day, so I went to the Durango Community Rec Center to do some upper body lifting. What a nice place! We've used it before to shower when we camp in Durango, but I'd never gone upstairs to look at their workout facilities. The equipment is new and clean. It's also not crowded, which is a plus. Guess most people here have sense enough to go outside to workout when the weather's nice. They have a pool area that's amazing if you have kids...kiddy pool has a lazy river you can float around in with inner tubes and everything. Reminds me of a mini Wet N Wild with the water fountains, colorful animals, and water slides. Very cute.

For only $4.50, I was able to use all the facilities there. After working out, I went back to the hotel, packed up the Element, and headed downtown. I've never really shopped there before since I'm usually out riding, so I figured I'd walk around. Managed to walk the entire area in about 2 hours.

Tomorrow morning I'm riding with Sandy, bright and early. I'm meeting her near the Foothills at 7:45 AM. I'm gonna have to dig out my cold weather clothes! I'll go for a short ride with her, then head to work. I'll just work late to make up the time. Maybe tag on a little more time throughout the rest of the week to make it fair and square.

Sandy, by the way, is a serious bad-ass rider. She used to mountain bike competitively until her unbelievable strength caused her to rip some muscle from the bone. She was even in Switzerland for one of the World Mountain Biking Championships...competing against Marla Streb no less!!! Unfortunately, she's been down for the count for 3 years now. I can't complain about my predicament compared to hers. She's had an amazing recovery and is now back on the bike. She's also a PT and has been giving me tips for my recovery. I'm even borrowing the cane she used a bit for her recovery. :O)

It's pronounced Floreeeda

2006-05-28T21:34:00.000-06:00

I took Florida (don't pronounce it like the state, or you'll get funny looks from the locals) Road all the way out toward the reservoir, but decided to keep on chugging along toward Bayfield. I wanted to set a new goal--40 miles. I got in 43! I'm paying for it now though. My entire body is sore. Feels like I have the flu or something with the all over achiness. Just popped some pain meds, so soon, all will be good. ;o)

The ride was awesome! The pic you see was heading out to the reservoir at mile 10. Had to take a nature break, so I got a picture as well.

As I got to about mile 15, the dark clouds really started rolling in, as did the wind. Luckily, it was a tailwind for the climbing, so I got a little boost, which was nice. On the way back was another story. I wanted to stop and take some pics, but I wanted to avoid the potential rain even more, so I chose to bypass the scenery. I rode part of this ride yesterday, with one descent I distinctly remember being 35 mph. Today it was 20 mph and I was hauling ass just to get that. It was brutal coming back, but a very good workout.

Ride Stats (a new record since the surgery!)

Distance: 43 miles
Ride time: 3:07
Total time: 3:34 (includes a short stop in town to get a glimpse of the crits before heading to the hotel)
Avg speed: 13.8 (blasted wind!)
Max speed: 38.3 (blasted wind!)
Avg heartrate: 145
Calories: 1254

Made it back to the hotel room, downed the recovery drink, ate a banana with peanut butter, and a hardboiled egg (mmmm, yummy lunch--not--but no appetite after the recovery drink) and took off downtown to watch the men's crits. I missed the women and was bummed by that, but did get to see Luna Chix Shonny Vanlandingham and Crazy Cat/Yeti's Shannon Gibson hanging around after the women's crits. Definitely 2 of my road and mountain biking heros!

Got a call from Matt (that's him stretching for the ride yesterday) about 20 minutes before the men's pro crits were to finish. I headed back to the hotel, and sure enough, he was all in one piece and happy to have had one epic of a ride. He got cleaned up and we headed out to STB (Serious Texas BBQ) for some sammiches, then off to Steamworks for some good beer!

Well, I'm wiped, Matt's wiped, it's been a great day, so it's time for some shuteye.

Hasta!

Faster than a Speeding Train!

2006-05-27T20:53:00.000-06:00

As expected, Matt beat the train today. He took off at 8:15 AM from Durango, along with all the other riders in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic Citizen's Tour, with the challenge of beating the infamous train into Silverton. 2:56 I believe was his time; the train generally takes 3:30 to get to Silverton, so he had lots of time to spare. You'll be able to get the details from his blog pretty soon. I got some good pictures of him at the starting line.

The weather is great here. A nice respite from the pounding heat and wind in Albuquerque. I took a slower ride out on Florida Road today, only covering about 25 miles. I was sore today, so I didn't want to push it, especially since I want to go on the longer ride tomorrow. I'm planning to take Florida Road all the way out to the Lemon Reservoir. I thought it was 40 miles, but just Googled it from the hotel and it's only about 30. There's some ass-kicking (at least for someone in my physical state still recovering from the hip surgery) climbs involved, so that may be all I need. If I need more, I'll go a bit more on County Road 240 to get in 35 or so.

To avoid doing any damage to the body, I have to remember to sit and spin...sit and spin. No more standing on the climbs. Reminds me of a toy my sister had when she was little.

Matt will be doing a hammerfest tomorrow, and I'm hoping he comes back with no mechanicals and a big fat smile on his face. Should be fun, as he's planning to ride with a very good rider from Durango, Dave Harris.

Time is a Relative Thing...

2006-05-25T21:48:00.000-06:00

I was sitting in the office today, working on some "stuff" as usual, thinking to myself, "Wow, I've been here a long time...I bet it's about lunch time!" I looked up at the clock and it was only 9:30 AM. Today is my Friday since it's my 9/80, so that must have had something to do with how slow it felt my day was going by. 4:30 rolled around and I was packed and out the door! It's ride night with the gals, so I wanted to get home.

Had a good group ride. Paige, Sue and Kim showed up for the Foothills, heading out from the house. A bit hot to start out, but as the evening progressed, the weather wasn't bad at all. Ran into Dan's ride group--Dan, Mike and Randy--while out there. They'd started at Juan Tabo and were doing part of the Foothills too. The gals had a great spin and got a chance to yack it up, as usual, in the driveway afterwards.

I'm really enjoying these rides and am glad I'm getting the opportunity to ride with friends again. I think Kara (another beginner we're trying to recruit) and Kiyoko (a newbie to Albuquerque, but not new to mountain biking) may try to make next week's ride, so this should be lots of fun!

Ride Stats

Distance: 15.7 miles
Total time: 2:12 hrs
Ride time: 1:44 hrs
Avg speed: 8.8 mph
Max speed: 23.5
Calories burned: 761
Avg heartrate: 141

Well, got the "honey do" list from Matt this evening, so it looks like he's planned out my chores from afar. My Friday off and he puts me to work!! Yep, he's gonna owe me one for this! :o)

We're off to Durango for the Iron Horse Classic. I rode it last year, but won't be doing it this year. Defintely next year though!! Regardless, I'll have a nice few days of riding on my own. Not sure if I'm going to bring a road and mountain bike or just road. I'm leading toward riding the road this go around. We'll see...

New Mexico Summer

2006-05-21T21:38:00.000-06:00

Damn it's getting hot around here. The high was 92 degrees, with a "RealFeel" of 95. It felt like friggin' 95 all right. It'll be in the upper 80s to 90s all week, with no rain in sight. I can't believe people run around like Chicken Little dreading this "pending" bird flu when we are running into a drought and could be out of water well within my lifetime in this part of the country. Enough ranting...

Got in a good mountain bike ride today while Matt took off for the Sandia Crest. Of course, Matt doesn't start from Tijeras like the map in the link shows...he starts from home! I've done that ride once. Once!! I'm not jumping to do it again any time soon either.

Elena Gallegos wasn't too bad today bike traffic wise. Guess that was in part due to the fact that I actually took off earlier than I usually do. I think I made it out the door at 9:45 AM!!! Can you believe that?!? I'm usually not out the door until after 11 AM. I was quite proud of myself and Matt almost didn't believe me when I told him what time I left. ;o)

The hikers were nice today and so was I. The only grouchy people I ran into were pretty much bikers. You know, the kind that totally ignore you when you say, "Hi!". What a bunch of posers. The only rude hiker today was some fatty having a tough time getting up a climb. Maybe she didn't move or acknowledge me because she couldn't breath. I don't know...she was just being a jerk, but I refrained from being a jerk back to her and just smiled and said hello.

So, stats for today's ride are below:

Max speed: 22.8
Average speed: 10.2 (riding along the pavement on the way to Elena really boosted up that stat, not usually that fast on the MTB)
Ride time: 1:33 hrs
Total time: 1:41 hrs
Distance: 15.7 miles
Calories: 584
Avg heart rate: 143

Team MJ Inc

2006-05-20T19:32:00.000-06:00

Got in a great road ride with Matt today! I took out the new Surly for a spin. Mike, from Bike World, gave me a ring right at 6:00 PM last night, 30 minutes before they close, so Matt and I went out immediately to the shop. I had to have my new bike!! It's a Surly Pacer with the Fatties Fit Fine design--perfect for my new commuter machine.

This bike is a work of art! The steel frame is an unbelievable ride. Mike and Matt told me I'd really like the ride of a steel frame, but you just don't know what to think until you try it. Honestly? I didn't think I'd notice much of a difference, maybe something slight. In reality, what I observed immediately after riding around the neighborhood is that the damping effect is superb. It's like running on a padded running track instead of concrete or asphalt. Total bling for a mountain biker, trailer park trash-like for a stuck up roadie. I love it!

Now I have 2 awesome options for the road. I can be race ready on the carbon Giant TCR 1, or go for a comfy (yet still fast) ride on the Surly.

I got this bike so I could commute to work a couple times a week. I'm waiting for my new building to be built...it's closer to home. But I'm tempted to ride all the way out to BFE where my current building is now, considering how fun this bike is.

So...back to the ride for the day. Matt and I took off from the house and took Tramway to work. The idea was that Matt was going to show me the route, I'd head home, and he'd head out to the Crest and back. Turned out, we went to work, turned around, then headed to Einstein's for a bagel, cuz Matt's stomach was growling. He decided to hang out with the slow poke today, so after a quick break, we headed back toward Tramway, and did the neighborhood climbs back to the house. It was a fun ride! We ended up with about 30 miles, probably about 2:18 hrs ride time, and a little over 3 hrs total time. I managed to burn about 1150 calories and had an average heartrate around 130. I think I maxed at about 171 today.

I'm hoping to hit a short ride tomorrow, but I won't push it. 1) I don't want to be grounded to the trainer, and 2) gotta be ready for the Thursday mountain bike ride I'm leading. It's be the usual suspects, me, Paige and Kim. I'm hoping Kara will show up, and maybe even a newbie to Albuquerque, Kiyoko!

Noisy Eater

2006-05-17T20:11:00.000-06:00

So, I got nuthin' to report progress-wise. I overtrained--again!! And now I'm taking it easy. Yesterday was upper body lifting at the gym. The pudgy muscle heads that walk around with their chests sticking out crack me up. They're just about as bad as the pot-bellied barbie doll chicks with hardly any clothes on that strut around trying to pick up the muscle heads. It can be quite a spectacle sometimes.

So today, did some time on the elliptical. Tomorrow I'll spin. I'm planning to do some real riding on the weekend that won't over-fatigue me. My MTB beginner ride group I'm leading is planning a ride next Thursday, and I plan to be ready for that!

So yesterday, I'm sitting in my office trying to mind my own business when a coworker--I call this person the "noisy eater"--starts smacking away as usual. It's always noisy. I'm in a cube (with a door), so the sound goes right over the walls and into my cube. Sometimes it's slurping, but most often it's more of a smack-thwuuupp kind of a sound. Yesterday it sounded like shelled sunflower seeds were being downed by the handful. It was bad! So I couldn't help myself. I exited my cubicle, casually looking into this person's office to see what the fare of the day was. Turns out the coworker was chewing gum. That's it!!!! Never heard anyone chew gum like that before. It's sad and hopeless all at the same time. I will say that it wasn't as bad as the farting coworker. That was THE WORST!! Must have had some bad Mexican food the night before because this person was unloading the SBDs like there was no tomorrow. The stench was gut-wrenching. Nothing I could really do because the smell just kept wafting over my cube walls. The door did nothing to protect my olfactory glands on that day.

I finally emailed Matt to tell him the hell I was going through. I was looking for a sympathetic ear, but got nothing but laughs and later an offer to use his office fan. I was ready to call it a day and find somewhere else to work, but the coworker must have gone home to unload whatever foulness was dwelling in the belly. End of that torture.

Enough said. I'm ready to go to sleep.

The Manitoba Loop

2006-05-15T21:35:00.000-06:00

Ouch! I can't believe I've done it again. My strength and cardio far outweigh the ability of my hip. Today, after a day's rest, I was feeling very strong and ready for a hard ride. I was planning on a short one, since I got home late from work, and generally, short rides are fast with lots of climbing. That was in the old days...I gotta remember that I can't do that yet!

So, headed down to the casino and climbed back up. I had to pedal into a headwind, so I think my max speed going downhill was maybe around 30 mph. I figured I'd have to ride harder to make up for the lower speeds. Climbed back up, trying to stay over 11.5 mph, but started to make 10 mph as the grade increased. I was a pathetic 8.5 at the steepest part. Oh well, I got another challenge as I started climbing toward the La Luz road turn off. Some guy was coming down from the road and hooked up on Tramway. He wasn't too far ahead of me, so I decided to push it and planned to catch him before we got to the stop sign at the top of the climb. I caught him, right before the sign! Pretty happy with that, so I let him pull me for a while along the flat part of Tramway. At first he was a little miffed (who knows why), so he tried to drop me. He couldn't, so he finally gave in and tried to be friendly. Eventually, he turned up Manitoba and I was ready to turn around and head back home. This usual after work loop is 16 miles, and I wanted to make it an even 20, which is why I had biked to Manitoba rather than heading up Elena on Simms Park Rd.

Went back to Simms Park and rode up to the check in shack, turned around, and did the usual climbing back through the neighborhood. I realized I wasn't quite at 20, so added 1 more mini climb up Cedar Hill. Got back home and I knew I'd overdone it. A nice sharp pain in the hip joint reminded me that I'm a bit "stubborn" when it comes to following the directions of my PT and my surgeon. I guess that's just a part of my heritage, according to Lee, a fellow Asian who was kind enough to spread more stereotypes by telling Matt that Asians are "stubborn" and "cheap".
Ride Stats

Max speed--42.1 mph
Avg speed--16 mph
Distance--20.3 miles
Ride time--1:16:27
Total time--1:17:00 (stop light at the turn around by the casino)
Calories--529

So, the plan? Start riding the trainer again during the week--shoot for 2 times, then add in the upper body cardio workouts during the week. I'll save the longer rides for the weekend, where I'm less apt to push it because I've got more time

Fanta Se

2006-05-13T18:23:00.000-06:00

Matt's doing his SFBFL ride today with some friends as I sit down to type this blog. I got us a hotel in Santa Fe near the plaza, the Old Santa Fe Inn. It's just a couple blocks from where Matt and crew met at the Zele Cafe bright and early this morning at 7:30AM.

I tried to get back to sleep after Matt took off, but couldn't. Friggin' inn workers were laying bricks on the ground outside our room! Geesh, this is a local Inn, but come on! Do you have to start manual labor at 7:30AM?!? I'm pissed--I was looking for some more shuteye.

So, rather than be lazy, I woke up, enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the inn, eggs, potatoes, etc., then came back to the room, threw the hair in a ponytail and put on some shorts and a t-shirt and headed to Zele myself to get an Americano and read the newspaper. I finally made it back to the hotel and out the door for a ride on my own at about 11AM. Wow, what a ride it was!

I decided to ride Dale Ball Central. It's probably been a year since I've been out there! I pretty much had the trail to myself until toward the end of the ride; a very peaceful day with a slight breeze and just enough clouds to keep the temps reasonable.

I left from the hotel, taking Alameda to Upper Canyon Road, to the trail head at Upper Canyon Road and Cerro Gordo. From Alameda, I picked up the Santa Fe River Trail. It was completely dry! Not a puddle to be found. Very sad considering the amount of water I've seen running through there in the past. The two pics look like totally different trails!

My ride today had a heck of a lot of climbing; the toughest I've done on the mountain bike since the hip surgery. The Moots rode like a dream after I let out some air in the tires. I had loaded them up to 35 psi before the ride--way more than necessary--it's been long enough that I couldn't remember how much psi I normally ride with on the Bontrager Jones XR TRs. I love these tires, lightweight, and perfect for the terrain I ride.

Ran into Bugs' cousin on the trail. He saw me coming and hopped to the side, but not too far off. He didn't seem to be very afraid of me, so I snapped some pics. I continued to the top of one of the many climbs and decided to take a breather and swig down some water. There was a silly little trinket shrine (something quite common in NM), so I thought I'd get a picture of that. While trying to focus in on the shrine with the camera, I heard a large bird calling at me from above. He continued to call loudly, circling around the area where I was. My guess is that I must have been too close to its nest. The last of the wildlife today was a tailless lizard that quickly scurried by my front tire. Gee, I wonder how he lost that tail?!? Had he had one, I probably would have ridden right over it.

Ride Stats (forgot to put the bike computer on, so the miles are an estimate)
Calories: 1355
Avg HR: 138
Ride time: 4 Hrs
Distance: 17 miles

Back at It

2006-05-10T21:22:00.000-06:00

Well, I managed to take the 3 consecutive rest days in a row. The human body is a strange organism. Before the rest days, I was working out every day and craving more exercise. I did it until the hip couldn't handle it. After 3 days of rest, my body is tired and I'm lethargic (okay, more so than normal). I didn't want to exercise at all! I managed to drag my ass to Defined and rode the stationary bike and then did an upper body weight lifting session. Hopefully I get the drive back to exercise again.

Stats for the Bike

Time: 30 minutes
Pace (1-5): 4
Maximum heart rate: 174
Calories burned: 204

Stats for the Weights

Time: 45 minutes
Pace (1-3): 2
Calories burned: 189

I'm going to go riding in Elena Gallegos starting at the Embudito trailhead with Paige and Kim tomorrow after work. I could be asking for trouble since all the chuckheads like to ride that area after work too, but I'll take my chances. I'm more agile now and can manage to get out of the way a bit faster than I have been in the past. This is the first time I've ridden with Kim, and Paige is always a blast to ride with, so I'm looking forward to it! Hopefully I'll be able to ride with Sue before she's grounded due to her newly pregnant status. :)

Painting

2006-05-07T21:12:00.000-06:00

So I suck as a painter. It's quite evident now. It took me all day (well, as long as Matt was out riding in Cedro/Otero) to paint just the upper part of the house from the deck--leaning over the side--and part of the backyard area...and it only looks so-so. I couldn't choose the correct tool (brush size, roller, whatever) if my life depended upon it!

It was a rest day today. I'm taking Matt's advice and will take a 3 day consecutive rest to see if I can reduce the hip pain. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I've got more than enough to do this week, so I shouldn't go too stir crazy.

Well, another week is about to begin. Having 9/80s is great until I get the short weekend. It seems way too short. Saturday and Sunday. That's it!! At least I only have 4 days at work this week. 1 day will be shot at a conference being held where I work. I have 2 presentations for that, so I still need to prepare.

I have a meeting with Danny Milo, Senator Bingaman's Albuquerque Field Representative Monday afternoon. I'm meeting him with Chris and Russ from the club, FooMTB. We'll be talking to him about trail issues: Wilderness, Save Otero, and a national IMBA issue for RTCA.

Living the Sterotype

2006-05-06T21:10:00.000-06:00

"I'm coloring the text, just like a karaoke screeen," says Frank, with a big grin as he edits a script we are going through for an upcoming Asian Pacific American Annual Celebration. I wouldn't have had a freaking clue what he was talking about had I not heard this ridiculous display of misfits (none Asian, by the way) singing karaoke in Santa Monica at both the King's Head Pub and Barney's Beanery a couple weeks ago.

So the next day, I'm given some free swag from this Asian committee I serve on...it's a a camera carrying case! WTF?!? Somehow I've got to find a way to tell my new found colleagues that they need to stop perpetuating the stereotypes. Good grief!

Well, the Celebration went well. Interestingly, there were more Asian spectators than there were Asian performers, even though each performance reflected an Asian culture.

Met Paige for a ride after the Celebration. Went to our usual route along the Bosque. We're increasing speed each time we ride, so I know I'm improving. I'm increasing speed at an acceptable rate too (no more than 10% a week--PT's orders).

Bosque Ride Stats

Ride Time--2:19
Total Time--2:22
Max Speed--21.2
Avg Speed--15.3
Distance--35.4
Calories Burned (I got my heartrate monitor back!)--780

I've been pushing it way more than 10% a week in terms of overall exercise though, and my hip is paying a price. I jumped from about 2-3 days of very strenuous exercise to 5-6 days. I think that's what did it. Matt has prescribed 3 consecutive rest days. I think I'll take the advice.

I think I'm going to start charting some of this stuff to get a visual image of my progress. Could be cool in a geeky, Asian kind of way. ;o)

Mmmmmmm Beeeeeeer.......

2006-05-04T23:10:00.000-06:00

I guess I should have said something like, Mmmmmmmm Wiiiiiiiiine for my title, since I can't drink the beer at Il Vicino, my favorite watering hole, but the Homer quote sounds better. I'm allergic to the stuff! Guess it's some Asian thing. Dr. David (Matt's double century riding partner from CA) said it's an Asian thing. He had a med school friend who had the same problem. Our Asian blood can't tolerate alcohol, go figure!

So we just got back from Il Vicino after delivering the new FooMTB jerseys to the club members. The jerseys are awesome! If you didn't get a chance to order them, we'll be placing another order some time in the future. These ones are definitely worth the $$. Check out the link and see for yourself! Matt did an awesome job coordinating that effort again.

Didn't get a ride in today. My hip is killing me from the road ride I did on Tuesday. It was short too, but the climbing did me in. I should know better by now, but I really like doing the climbing, so I did it anyway.

Today, hit the elliptical for 30 minutes, did some ab work and some upper body. That's it, just enough to get the heart rate elevated to make sure I stay in half way decent shape.

Yesterday was a REST DAY! I felt just like the dog in the picture. Totally wiped after the road ride! The alarm clock went off in the morning and I felt like I'd hardly placed my head on the pillow.

Stats for the Tuesday Road Ride
This ride started from the house, went down to the casino on Tramway, headed back up on the climb, continued on Tramway Blvd, headed up the climb to Elena guard shack, then back down to the Eagle Rock (or whatever the name of that road is), then the neighborhood climbs back to the house.

Total time: 1:06
Ride time: 1:04
Distance: 16.5
Max speed: 35.4
Average Speed: 16.5

Monday (I'm going backwards in time) I went to Defined Fitness and did an upper body workout (arms still hurt!) and 30 minutes on the stationary bike.

Rollin'

2006-05-01T21:50:00.000-06:00

Riding is becoming easier and easier!

This recovery thing seems to be working! I went on another roadie ride with Paige on the paved Bosque. As usual, I seem to bring the wind along with me. Paige indicated that when she rides alone, she has better luck with the wind...hmmmmmm.

Stats for the road ride

Ride Time: 2:10:32
Total Time: 2:22:30
Max Speed: 23.6
Avg Speed: 14.7 (we had 15.6 heading out with a little less wind)
Distance: 32.1

Forgot the stats from the MTB ride I did last Wednesday as well in the Elena Gallegos area (there's a pic of the Sandias from Elena)--

MTB Stats

Ride Time: 2:09
Total Time: 2:20
Max Speed: 29.8 (I rode some pavement, duh!)
Avg Speed: 7.7
Distance: 16.72

I'm pretty stoked cuz riding is getting better. I haven't managed to up my miles much. Seems like 35 on the flats for road and 16 on smooth dirt is my max right now, but I'm lifting light weights with the legs at the gym now, so I think my strength will start to improve soon!

The Last PT Visit

2006-04-29T12:39:00.000-06:00

I've graduated from physical therapy! Actually, I graduated on April 17, but forgot to post that I had finished. Here's the lowdown--
4/17/06 Routine 9

New Stretches

Knee to chest (right and left knees)--pull knees as far as possible toward chest
Cross Ankle--across the opposite knee, sitting upright in a chair. Do with both legs.

New Exercises

Continue the hip flexion exercise where I lay on my back, right leg hanging off, with weight. Lift the leg up on bench with knee bent.
Hip flexion at gym--with knee bent, lift weight up with quad parallel with the floor
Lunges--use a 30" stride by marking the length on the floor with tape. Do with both legs and add weight as I become stronger.
Step ups--on an 8" step, one leg "floating" over the ground, drop the leg until the heel hits the floor, then straighten the leg on the step. Do with both legs.
Heel to Hand--standing, bring the right heel up to the left hand quickly and return heel to floor. Work this to improve fast twitch muscles in both legs.
Heel Lifts--1 leg at a time, add weight as I become stronger

Things to continue from previous Routines--

Leg Presses
Knee Exercises
Advanced Stability Ball
Pulleys

Cruising Along the Beach

2006-04-24T19:49:00.000-06:00

Great day today...sunny, slight breeze, perfect for riding along the paved bike trail along the beach in Santa Monica! So I cruised up and down it's entire length. Unfortunately, it was shut off at the end of Venice Beach for some construction. I still got in a good hour of pretty fast pedaling, so I'm pretty happy with that.

It's cooler than I thought it was going to be, but it's still very nice. Matt and I have been hanging out for the most part. Matt's still recovering from his Mullholland Double Century. He ended up getting 8th place! His friend David, got 7th. That's pretty darn awesome considering the broken front derailler he got at mile 70!

We're at Barney's Beanery now, enjoying Happy Hour. $2.50 Blue Moons! Can't beat that. We were planning on just surfing the net since they have free wireless internet. Maybe we'll just get drunk instead.

Tomorrow we're heading home. I'm enjoying myself too much to really want to go home, but I guess all good things must come to an end. Bummer...work awaits me. Eck, I think it's time to go buy another lottery ticket.

Waiting...

2006-04-22T19:08:00.000-06:00

It's Saturday and Matt's riding the Mullholand Double Century. He should be back in a little over an hour. Since I'm still a cripple, I'm hanging out. But hanging out ain't so bad, really. There are much worse things to do. So this morning at about 5:50 AM, Matt and I headed out the hotel room to the 6:00 AM mass start. Matt's riding with Dr. David, so we found him and the guys got in line. Not much of a line since most of the group decided to start earlier than the mass start, but there were at least 20 there. I took some pics, said hi to Bill (a guy I've seen at all the DCs Matt's done so far), and then headed back to the room.

Took a leisurely ride from Agoura Rd to Las Virgenes to Mullholand Hwy. What a beautiful road to ride on! This entire town is just made for road riding! Lots of long, smooth roads that wind through trees with very few stops along the way. I had a great time riding, even though my gearing still isn't working. Bike World took a look at it and thought we'd fixed it, but no. Found that out when I was climbing today. What the f&*% do I have a 27 in back for if I can't use it?!? The second to largest cog in back didn't work either, so I was climbing in a not so easy gear. I managed okay, but it definitely cut the ride short as my hip wasn't up for the challenge. Managed to get in 21 miles, 13.4 avg speed, 34.6 max speed, 1 hr 34 min ride time, 1 hr 45 min total time.

I immediately went for a soak in the very HOT hot tub at the hotel. Hot enough to bake me from the outside in, but it definitely felt good! Laid out in the sun a bit and took a nap. It was partly cloudy, so I wasn't too worried about turning into a lobster. I've been biking in knickers lately, so I got a really messed up tan line I'd like to get rid of soon.

Tomorrow we head for Santa Monica! I love that place. We're gonna risk it and try the low-end Bayside Hotel. We'll see if it's worth it. It's closer to the beach, so we thought we'd give it a try over our normal Sheraton that we stay at. Keep your fingers crossed!

Bosque Biking--Take 2

2006-04-15T17:07:00.000-06:00

Biked the Bosque paved trail with Paige again today. As usual, another great NM day--a bit windy though, but that's just a part of living here. We took the paved Bosque trail as far as it went and then headed back. Ended up with 35.6 miles, 13.5 mph average (we got a headwind going both ways! another unique NM feature), 2 hr 38 min ride time, 2 hr 47 min total time.

We planned on doing a light spin on the way out (since we were going into a headwind), staying in our small ring and averaging 15 mph--I guess this is a coaching technique Paige had learned for recovery rides--I was still recovering from my Foothills ride yesterday, and the spin seems to help loosen up the joint and the muscles. On the return, we'd hit it a lot harder in the large chain ring. The wind of course changed that plan, but we still had a great time. Not as many people out on the trail as last weekend.

Paige, Sue and Denise came over for brew and chat at around 5 PM. We hung out, hoping Matt would get back from the San Ysidro Dirty Century soon so we could eat. Unfortunately, nobody had eaten much since riding (Sue and Denise were at the White Mesa today), so the stomachs only had so much patience. We threw on the burgers and chowed away...waited for Matt "just like one pig waits for another" as my Grandpa used to say.

Matt got back as we were finishing up, so we threw on another burger for him and poured him a cold one--Il Vicino's IPA, no less for a man who has just come back from a 105 mile ride!!

What a great way to end the day. We all sat out on the deck and watched the sun set. The wind had died down, and it was warm enough to be outside with a jacket on. That's the way life's supposed to be.

"Spend everyday casual, but industrious; Every moment alert, but relaxed." --Guy Finley

Foothills Fun

2006-04-14T20:20:00.000-06:00

I took the Intense out for a spin in the dirt today. First time I managed to get in some good singletrack!! I did make one big mistake though. I forgot that Matt and I hadn't dialed in the fork or shock, so that was definitely not good for the gear. I rode pretty light today, so I hope I didn't do any damage.

Took the paved Tramway Trail to Simms Park Rd and rode the dirt trail up to the Elena Gallegos check-in building (you can see the trail along the road in the pic). Headed right on Tr. 365 and took that to the parking lot off Montgomery. Turned back, then headed down toward Bear Canyon Arroyo and took a short cruise down there. By the time I hit Bear Canyon, my hip was pretty sore and the muscles were getting stiff too, so I took a short spin through there and headed back on the dirt trails that parallel the paved Tramway trail. Cut into another dirt spot to the hood and took the back streets home.

Overall, a great day!

Ride time: 1 hr, 46 min
Total time: ~2 hrs, 15 min (I had to stop a lot)
Total miles: 15.32
Average speed: 8.3 mph

Going for a road ride with Paige tomorrow on the Bosque paved trail. Then at 5 PM, we're having a girl party--Paige, Sue and Denise are coming over for some brew and chat. Matt will be coming back from the San Ysidro Dirty Century at the White and Red Mesas around that time, so I'll make some food for him and we'll share what's left of the brew. ;o)

Road Toads

2006-04-12T20:16:00.000-06:00

So, I don't know if they were toads or not, but I saw 3 of them smashed on the road during my ride this evening. Poor toads...they really need to look both ways when crossing the road.

They're as bad as the suicidal bunnies running around on the mountain bike trails and the roads in my neighborhood. I'm constantly worried that what happened to the poor little squirrel in the picture will happen to Thumper when he inadvertently runs into my path when I'm cruising through the hood.

Lots of roadies out tonight. The weather was great, as usual. My bike computer marked the temp at 77 degrees F. I decided to ride down to the casino on Tramway (first time since the surgery). Turned around at the casino and headed back. Managed to keep my pace at between 10.5-11.2 mph on the way back up until my chain slipped off on a steeper part. That slowed me down and I rode around 8.5-9 mph along that short bit. Continued on Tramway, turning on Simms Park Rd to the checkin building. Turned around and took the neighborhood back home, skipping the really big climbs and taking Tramway Lane back to the house.

Stats for 4/12/2006

13.6 mph average
36.8 max speed (I could have sworn I hit 39)
16.4 total miles
1 hr 16 minutes ride time

Let's see, yesterday I did the PT exercises and stretches, then Monday, I went to Defined. Did 30 minutes on upright bike, 30 min on recumbent, then all the upper body weight lifting I normally do and the pulleys. I'm up to 20 lbs for extension and abduction; 10 lbs for flexion and adduction.

Gonna go riding with Paige and maybe Lisa again this Saturday. Friday is a 9/80, so I'll ride hard that day and make Saturday my light spin day. I hope to ride Sunday too. Before I know it, I'll be good as new! I think I may start trying to hit the mountain bike again.

Biking in the Bosque

2006-04-09T21:34:00.000-06:00

Got to go road biking along the Bosque today. It was another gorgeous NM day, providing absolutely no excuse for staying indoors. There were lots of people out enjoying the weather, but we had no issues with sharing the trail today. That was a pleasant surprise right there!

Met Paige and Lisa in the Alameda parking lot, and we took off for our ride. I took off from the house wearing my long-sleeved Crazy Cat jersey, but quickly shed that for the short-sleeved version once I got to the parking lot. We did 20 miles at a nice, leisurely pace a bit past the bio-park and back. We dropped Lisa off and did a harder ride for about 10 miles. It was a great way for me to get in the miles without the pain that usually goes along with it.

Stats for the Ride:

11.7 avg mph (I know it's slow, I'll pick up the pace next time--I'm drinking my milk, remember??)
21.5 mph max speed
31.4 total miles
2 hrs, 40 min ride time
2 hrs, 53 min total time

Matt and I headed out to the usual for food and beverage. I could have cooked dinner, but I just didn't feel like it tonight. Not sure what I'll do tomorrow. I've got a bag packed for the gym, may just do upper body to give the hip joint a rest. It's sore now and I'm back to depending upon the cane, but it doesn't hurt as bad as the last ride. I'm either building more strength or riding smarter. Who knows?!? I'm riding, and that's really all I care about anyway. The rest will come in due time.

"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."

-- John Quincy Adams, U.S. President

Big, Big, Big, BIG Rabbits!!!!

2006-04-08T22:40:00.000-06:00

Can you believe the size of that rabbit?!? His name is Roger, and the guy holding him up is his breeder. By the way, according to a website on Giant Rabbits, Roger's owner is being a jerk, as holding giant rabbits by the scruff of the neck is "painful and stressful". Apparently, there are some brits who really get a kick outta these massive bunnies and even show them in competitions. There's even a Rabbit Rescue for these bohemoth beasts that need to be adopted "because rabbits deserve better".

What the hell does anyone need a rabbit that size for?? How on earth do you breed a rabbit to be that big??? Well, news on the street is that some of them are running wild and are wreaking havoc on local London gardners. More power to them, I say...stick it to the man, Bugs!!

Bright Sunshine

2006-04-08T20:28:00.000-06:00

Okay, so maybe I'm not quite at this pace yet. In fact, I'm probably more along the lines of this pace.....
But it's all riding and it's all good. Today was an awesome day! The sun was out, temps were in the upper 60s to lower 70s during the ride, and the wind was light. Matt was in Gallup, NM at the Dawn Til Dusk bike race with Dan. They decided to race duo on their singlespeeds. Since I was on my own today, I went at my happy-go-lucky slow as a snail pace today. It woulda driven Matt nuts! ;o)

Woke up, had a light breakfast, surfed the net...got bored. Too chilly out to get on the bike yet. Okay, so it was in the mid 50s. I could have handled it, but I was too lazy to dig out a jacket and then layer so I could strip down as the temps rose. So, I sat out in the sun on our deck and read a book for awhile. We have some evil birds living in the walls of our house that kept me occupied part of the time. They chase each other out of their nests, then kill each other's babies. It's really sad. I found an egg out in our driveway that had been tossed out of a nest.

I started to get ready to head out for a road ride around 11:30, but I didn't hit the road until 12:30. I got distracted...finding clothes, doing some laundry, filling up water bottles, talking to Isabel, the neighbor...it all adds up. Anyway, geared up with shorts, short-sleeved liner under the SS jersey, and arm warmers, I was ready to hit the road!

I headed down Tramway Blvd, and ended up meeting 2 other women riders, Rita and Lynn. Rita works where I do, and Lynn works as a PE teacher. Pretty cool. I ended up riding with them to Tramway and Central. We turned around and headed back. They dropped off at Tramway and Live Oak, and then I hit the neighborhood for a little bit of climbing. I needed to really test out the gearing as Matt was sweet enough to put on a 27 cassette in back for me so I can wuss my way through some rides while the hip heals. I noticed a slight difference. For one, I could actually use my hardest gears, whereas before, it was too difficult to pedal. Had some slipping in the 3rd and 4th back ring (from the largest in). Otherwise, not bad!

I tried not to climb as hard as I did last time, and it paid off. I'm sore and have to definitely use the cane to walk, but I don't hurt like I did last time. Plus, I'm good to go for a light ride tomorrow. Paige and Lisa are going to go riding with me on the paved Alameda trail. I'm looking forward to it!

Stats for today--
Ride time: 1.5 hours
Avg. mph: 13.8 (don't laugh, I'll get better--I'm drinking my milk!!)
Distance: 20.3 miles

Working Out

2006-04-06T07:50:00.000-06:00

This quasi-working out thing is starting to get to me. I can't wait until I can ride for real and for as long as I want without paying for it the next day by not being able to walk straight...well enough complaining. Time to get out and do something about it, so here's the work that's going to get me to that state.

Tuesday, 4/4/06

Stationary bike at the gym (upright) 30 min, 6-8 resistance level, around 80-90 rpm
Recumbent bike 15 min, 4-6 resistance level, around 90-100 rpm
Leg press, 3 sets of 6, 45 pounds, on each leg

Wednesday, 4/5/06

Trainer, using the Giant, 1 hour

Riding the Paved Trail

2006-04-02T20:27:00.000-06:00

Well, another new milestone has now been met. I got in my first road ride since the surgery on the Giant TCR1. I was ready to head out on my own, but Matt decided to warm up for his big ride with me. So we headed out on Tramway Blvd and then turned off toward the Elena Gallegos entrance. Got to the check in building and headed back down, taking the neighborhood streets back to the house. The weather was great! Lots of sun, temp at 68 degrees according to my bike computer, slight breeze. I wore my very cool Crazy Cat gear. I have a long sleeved jersey with wind block in the chest. That's one of the coolest piece of clothing I own!

So I don't forget, here's the route:

Simms Park Rd NE (Elena Gallegos Rd)
Rt on Eagle Ridge Ln NE
Lt on Eagle Ridge Rd NE
Rt on Rockrose Rd NE
Rt on San Rafael Rd NE
Lt on Bobcat Blvd NE
Lt on Deer Dr. NE
Rt on Tramway Lane NE (I'll pass Bobcat Blvd)
Rt on Big Horn Ridge Rd NE
Lt on Big Horn Ridge Dr NE
Rt on Juniper Hill Rd NE (cross Tramway Rd NE)
S on Juniper Hill Rd NE
Rt on Cedar Hill Rd NE
Rt on Tramway Lane NE

I could have continued on Juniper Hill Rd, but the hip had really started hurting, so I sent Matt on his way and headed back home. There was a lot of climbing on this ride...more than I probably should have done for a first ride out, but it sure was fun!! I was weak enough in the hip muscles at the end of the ride to make it impossible to put full weight on my right leg (pain level 6 out of 10) and walk without the cane. I'm still sore and stiff in the joint, so I'll take it easy tomorrow. I need to still work on strengthening the muscles around the right hip. I've started the leg press, so that should help. Standing in the pedals was very difficult too. This was a good baseline for future rides.

Total Ride Time: 1 hour!

Rain--Yeah!

2006-04-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

It's raining today. I thought the weather was supposed to be beautiful like yesterday. Well, Sunday is supposed to clear up. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. We really need the rain!

So, it's probably a good idea to record a follow up report on how I feel today since yesterday was a monumental milestone in my recovery.

Sore and stiff hip joint, mostly with flexion, adduction, abduction and external rotation movements.
Muscle soreness in all the adductor muscles, especially in the gracilis.
I need the cane for walking right now; walking on my own is uncomfortable when bearing weight on the right leg. Pain is a 4 on a scale of 10. I've had a lot worse. :)

Singletrack SUCCESS!!

2006-03-31T18:45:00.000-07:00

I did it! I rode on some singletrack today, all be it just a tiny bit. The day was gorgeous out. Sunny, upper 60s, light breeze. I was planning on lifting weights today, but there was no way I was going to go into a gym on a day like today. So, rather than pull out the bar bike, I decided I wanted to give the Moots a spin...duh, who wouldn't?!?

I get the bike out, hop on, and DOH!! Where are my freakin' pedals!?! Ah, that's right, Matt stole them from me and put them on his 29er. They were EggBeater pedals, so I wanted to try them out on a ride. Well, all his pedals were on the bikes so tight, I couldn't get them off, so I stole my Candies from the Intense and was on my way.

I told myself I'd be good...I'd stay on the paved trail. I rode the trainer and did the elliptical for a bit last night, and my PT told me I need to be careful about overdoing it. The plan: ride the paved Tramway Trail. I was bad. Who cares...I decided to ride through the neighborhood a bit, then dropped down for a segment of the Tramway Trail. I got to the road that leads up to Elena Gallegos and decided, what the hell? There's a nice, steady, low-grade climb in the dirt up to the park check-in building. I took that up, slow and steady. I needed a couple of breaks due to some mild cramping in muscles I didn't realize I had. I made it to the top, and decided to try out the actual trail. It was cool! Swoopy, sweet, then rocks! Ouch! That isn't comfortable, even on the Moots right now. Too much jostling on the hip joint. I didn't go very far, but did enough to make myself happy. I rode down the same dirt trail I came up, which wasn't very comfortable either, so I took it slow to avoid the bumps. I'm slow and have lost my agility, but it will come back as the muscles strengthen up, I'm sure.

Total time: 1 hour
Total ride time: Who cares??

Tomorrow...the road bike!!

Taping up the Knees

2006-03-29T20:19:00.000-07:00

Old age sucks!! I'm recovering from this ridiculous hip surgery, and now my knees (both of them) are giving me problems. I've noticed it for many years, but lately, they've really been bothering me, right in the front just below the knee caps. I saw Sallie today and asked her about it. She said I'm just slowly rubbing away the cartilage between that area. I need to strengthen muscles around there as much as possible...so today, PT was about knees more than the hip. Might as well just shoot me now!!!

So, here are the new routines from Sallie for hip AND knees.

3/29/06 Routine 8

Hip Exercises

Modified Hip Flexor from Routine 6--add 2 lb weights to the leg. Do 3x6-10.
Advanced Stability Ball from Routine 7--try to start doing this exercise. Make sure I'm not wobbly. "March" my feet slow enough that I keep my balance. Do 3x6-10.
Leg Press--no more than 45 degree angle at the back of the knee. Start with 40 lbs. Do 3x6-10.
Massage-have Matt massage the inner, front muscle of my hip. Apply pressure while working the leg (knee bent) up and down.

Knee Exercises

Lying Quad Set--on my back, legs straight, tighten quad muscles, hold for 6 secs, release. Follow with quick twitches of the same muscle. 3x6-10.
Sitting Quad Sets--while seated, legs in front, knees bent, push feet down into floor (place ball between knees for advanced move) and hold for 6 secs, release. Follow with quick twitches. Move feet slightly out and do the same. Do 5-7 positions. Do this several times a day.
Standing Quad Sets--Stand with back to wall, heels against wall. Place 6 inch diameter towel behind knee. Push knee toward wall and hold 10 sec. Do 3x6-10. Repeat with a smaller diameter towel.
Standing Wall Squats--With back against wall and heels about 6-10 inches from wall, slide down wall slightly (as far as I can without pain). After initial squat, shift weight to right leg, hold for 10 secs, shift weight to left leg, hold for 10 secs. Do different feet positions as with Sitting Quad Sets.

Taping the Knees

Start with some Skin Prep (it comes in a tube).
Start with White Cover-Roll Stretch tape. Piece should be long enough to start at R edge of knee (Right leg) to around knee, but NOT onto the hamstring tendon. Center the bottom edge of the knee cap under the white tape.
On top of the white tape, I'll be using the brown Leukotape. Start with a 5" strip, anchor onto right edge of the patellar tendon, leave the rest hanging. With a new 3" strip, anchor onto L side of knee, lined up with the inside edge of the kneecap. Leave the rest hanging.
Take the 2 hanging pieces of tape and form a tent while pulling tape anchors out, away from kneecap. Tape brown edges together, the lay the remaining sticky edge of the 5" strip of tape on the left edge of the knee.
Do this same procedure on the left leg.
I can wear this for as long as tolerated, and can even shower in the tape. Remove carefully or I'll end up removing some skin along with the tape!! OUCH!

Stats for Today

2006-03-28T21:22:00.000-07:00

Nothing much to say, so I'll just post the stats so I don't forget.

Trainer, using road bike, 5 min neutral, 2 min upright; 5 min hoods, 2 min upright; 5 min drops, 2 min upright; 7 min neutral, 3 min upright

Positive step--I should be ready to try out the road bike on the real road now with these stats. I'll shoot for this weekend for a ride...or whatever day turns out to have some sun and no wind!

Elliptical--4-2 minute intervals, switching between forward and backward stepping. Incline 2, resistance, 3. This is up from last time when I was only able to do 3-1.5 min intervals!
Ab crunches
All PT stretches

I have an appointment with Sallie tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes...maybe I can get rid of the cane! I'm sure Sandy won't care when she gets it back, but it will feel good to return it to her.

It's been a long recovery, but I'm still on schedule with what Dr. Santore predicted, so I'm not too antsy yet. It will be good to cruise in Elena Gallegos for the first time in the dirt though!

Solvang, CA

2006-03-25T11:13:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in the Bulldog Cafe in Solvang, CA right now. It's a nice morning, but overcast. I'm beginning to think that Matt and I bring clouds to CA whenever we come to this state; the day was gorgeous yesterday, sunny and the mid 70s. Go figure...

Matt took off on his race this morning at 6 AM. He should be able to finish in 10 hours or less, since this is supposed to be an "easy" double century. He took off with a small crew led by Richard, a fellow he met at the Butterfield Double Century. Richard will be the tour guide since he knows where he's going and the route is filled with turns that could get anyone new to the area totally lost.

I was good and didn't go back to sleep. I checked email in the morning, then headed down to the hotel fitness center when it opened at 7 AM. Did some light weight lifting and 20 minutes on the stationary bike in the hotel fitness room (Royal Scandinavian Inn), and got cleaned up, then walked around the town a bit. Everything was closed, so it was nice and quiet, no traffic or people. Guess the tourists like to sleep in!

I took it easy on the stationary bike this morning because I'm planning on doing a lot of walking around the town today. It's a quaint area, and perfect for those who like to shop. I'm not a big shopper, but I'm up for a walk in some non-windy weather at a comfortable temperature. My sister's birthday is coming up soon, so I'll see if I can find something for her. She always remembers my birthday and sends me something. I should be better at that myself.

Running in Circles

2006-03-22T22:32:00.000-07:00

You know how funny it is when you see a dog chasing its tail? It's even funnier when it's a cat. However, when you realize that it's you who has been chasing the proverbial tail, it's not so funny anymore. I just had an epiphany at work today, and realized that a team I've been working with has been chasing it's tail for some time--and I'm dizzy. Now the question is, can I jump out of the circle after I've been asked to lead the chase? We shall see...

Well, on to the real reason why this blog was created...got on the trainer today using the road bike. Rode for 30 minutes, 2 minutes straight in the neutral position. Still have difficulties riding in the drops. Afterwards, did the PT stretches and then hit the shower.

We're heading to Solvang, CA for Matt's second double century road race! I think that if he could ride 24 hours a day every day without becoming exhausted, he'd do it. He's really amazing (or crazy). :) There are 544 riders registered for this race. I guess it's a record breaker for the event.

So, we're packed and ready to go. We'll head to work tomorrow, do the dirty deed that keeps food on the table, then cut outta town and start the road trip. It's going to be a long drive!

Smooth Riding

2006-03-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

Nothing rides like a titanium bike! Matt told me that, but now I truly understand. I got to take the Moots for a test ride Sunday through the neighborhood--about 15 minutes. The stormy weather was slowly rolling in across the horizon from the West, but I was able to take advantage of a brief respite of sun before the long-awaited snowfall. What a beautiful day!

Not only did I get to ride the Moots, but I also hopped on the Intense. This bike is gonna fly on the single track. I can't wait to take it out to the Cedro/Otero trails! This bike is totally tricked out with a Manitou Skareb fork that has a trigger on the handlebar that allows you to go between 80 and 100 mm of travel. Pretty sweet!

Other than the short spin, Sunday was a rest day.

Monday it was time to hit the gym for some upper body weight lifting. Checking in was a hassle. Turns out that even if you scan your little membership card and the computer says, "Welcome", it doesn't mean you're good to go. You actually have to read the computer screen (which you can rarely see because of the glare from the sun that reflects off the screen) to see if you need to pay your membership dues for the month. Turns out, I used the gym 4 times and needed to renew. The club tried to charge me for 4 separate days ($32) of use PLUS the 1/2 month membership of $22, PLUS a $3 late fee. Anyway, had to talk with a manager to get that taken care of. What a bunch of BUTT WIPES! Defined Fitness is a FooMTB sponsor, but they totally suck! I can't wait until I don't have to go here anymore...

Ran into Nat, my old boss from Honeywell, at the club. I figured he'd be there since the weather hasn't been the greatest lately. He's a heck of an athlete! Basketball, Tennis, Golf, Cycling, Mountain Biking, Gym Rat...you name it, he does it! Very impressive individual.

Stats for the day (3/20/06)

Stationary bike 45 minutes--too lazy to cross train today on different machines
Pulleys for legs
Upper Body (dips, pull ups, pull, push, chest, flys)

More Wind!

2006-03-18T13:20:00.000-07:00

The wind is brutal today! Regardless, I managed a new record on the bar bike. I went from the house to Spain Rd. on the paved Tramway Trail. Heading toward Spain, I sometimes felt like I was barely moving. There was one guy running in front of me at a mad pace. I wondered if I'd ever catch him...on the bike! It was granny on the way out. On the return, I had the wind at my back (and the big chain ring in gear--another first!), which made life a lot easier, but I still didn't ride any faster...probably because I was tired from pushing into the wind. Overall, 30 minutes on the bike (15 out to Spain, 15 back).

I'm pretty happy with the ride. I'm very sore right now, but I did all my PT exercises before heading out, so it's to be expected. I'll know by late tonight or tomorrow whether or not I pushed it too hard. I'd rather push it and then back off rather than not do enough. I'm sure Sallie, my PT would argue with me on that one. :)

So, I really need to get my workout schedule cleaned up again. Maybe I'll do that later today or tomorrow. It's getting to be a pain to scroll through the blog to find the Routines. Plus, some of the exercises have been replaced with others. I just need to clean things up a bit. Oh, and NO MORE UBE (Upper Body Ergometer)!! Yeah! That machine is from hell. I hated it. Pedaling with your arms is just not natural. It's almost as bad as swimming...and to think that I'm a Pisces! Doesn't make sense.

More PT

2006-03-14T21:09:00.000-07:00

Met with Sallie today, so I need to get the routine down before I forget it!! Surprise, surprise...I'm overdoing it again. That explains the groin pain I haven't been able to get rid of for over a week now. It's the reason for the pain described in the last post.

3/14/2006 Routine 7

Modification to leg lifts in Routine 3 --lie flat on back, left leg bent. Flex quad muscle so calf is slightly off the floor/bench. Lift leg up to approximately 45 degrees, then return leg to table. Do 3 sets of 6, then build from there. If it becomes too easy, add 1/2 pound weight increments.
Modification to hip lift in Routine 3 --place feet on chair, about 4 inches lower than the bench. With both knees bent, lift left knee up off chair. Lift hip up until back is straight. Return to bench. Do the same with the right leg. 3 sets of 6, building up as tolerated.
Stability ball while seated on ball, place feet together. Lift right knee up, and place directly back down. Lift left knee up in the same fashion. Do this as quickly as possible without losing balance.
Stability ball--only after above exercise gets easier--rest shoulders on ball, lift knees up in same fashion as above.
Change to cardio machine routine--try 3-3 minute sessions on the elliptical machine. This is NOT for cardio, it is for strengthening, so go light on resistance and stabalize myself as needed using the railings. Mix this in with 15-20 minutes on a recumbent and 15-20 minutes on upright.
Hip tilt--Stand facing wall, fingers on wall, ONLY for stability. Otherwise, hands on hips. Lift right leg. Tilt hips up toward the right, then sway to the left. Working small muscle in glutes. Do the same with the other leg. Start with 3 sets of 6, building up, as tolerated. Do this exercise at the end of all others as it will fatigue muscles quickly. DON'T do on same day as pulleys.
Calf Raise--Standing, facing a wall, bend left leg at the knee (5-10 pound weight on ankle), then return to standing position. Do the same with the right leg. Do 3 sets of 6-10.
Lying hip adduction--lying on the operated side, bend right leg with foot flat on the floor, left leg out straight. Lift the left leg up and then return to the floor. Do 3 sets of 6-10.

Monday

2006-03-13T22:11:00.000-07:00

I've ditched the single crutch and am now officially on the cane full time. Before, I was just using the cane at home for short distances.

Otherwise, not a very exciting day. Boring, long drawn out meetings at work all day. I guess it makes the time pass by fast, so that's the upside to them.

I have an appointment with Sallie tomorrow for PT. I'm going to see if I can start adding some light leg weights to my routine. The stuff I'm doing now is getting boring (exercise wise). I also need to find an exercise that strengthens the groin area since this is an area that I keep getting sharp pains.

I'll be meeting with Dr. Grady tomorrow too at Sandia Medical. I'm hoping she lets me continue my sickness absence plan for my rehabilitation. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Went to Defined with Matt tonight. Had to pay my membership. I've been going for free for a while because none of the employees noticed that my membership was expired...until tonight. Drat!

3/12/2006 Results

Trainer/Giant, 30 minutes, 4 minutes cool down, very slow cadence
PT Exercises and Stretches

3/13/2006 Results

Stationary bike (6-7 resistance level), 30 minutes
Upper body (asterisks only)
Pulleys

Hip abduction is the most painful on the groin (I think somewhere around the inferior pubis ramus--see image below, which may be where one of the cuts was made in my pelvis), I can lift 5 lbs, barely, 10 reps
Hip extension is the easiest. I can lift 10 lbs, 15 reps
Hip flexion has always been difficult, but is slowly becoming easier. I can lift 5 lbs, 10 reps
Hip adduction about the same as hip flexion, but a little easier. I can lift 5 lbs, 15 reps; interestingly, it doesn't hurt that groin area as much as the abduction

Keys

2006-03-11T20:16:00.000-07:00

Keys....you can't get far from the house without them, and I was stuck at home all day because I didn't have mine. Some how they ended up in the Element, which was with Matt at Cedro. Oh well, no biggie, I improvised and worked out at home.

Got on the trainer for the first time since the surgery. Rode the Giant TCR Composite 1. I really like this bike! Didn't get to ride too long. My butt hurts on the seat. It's not really my butt, it's my sit bone on the right side of my butt cheek. Too much pressure on it too long starts to lead to some serious discomfort in that area. I can adjust my position in the saddle, but that only goes so far. Dr. Santore said this would happen and it would eventually go away, so I'm not too concerned about it. Riding in the regular bicycle riding position was refreshing. You get a very upright position when riding the stationary bikes. It's not at all like riding a real bike.

So, I decided to learn a bit about those "sit bones", actually called the "ischium" (note the blue arrow). Turns out they are directly behind my acetabulum (that cuplike shape in the middle of the diagram on the right), where the cuts were made. That explains the discomfort.

So, here are the results for the day...

3/11/2006 Results

Trainer/Giant 25 minutes, alternating positions with hands in the neutral position, in the drops (most difficult), and upright with hands on hips
PT exercises/stretches

When I got back home last night from my trip to TN, Matt showed me a beautiful sight. My Moots is almost complete, minus the front derailleur. It's absolutely beautiful! A work of art. Titanium and silver colors blend together to make one sweet looking sub 22 pound bike!! I'll get a pic up soon as well as the built up Intense that also looks great!

Rest Day

2006-03-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

I didn't take my rest day on Tuesday like I normally do, so today is a rest day. Can't wait to get home!!

Conference Lesson

2006-03-09T21:42:00.000-07:00

One thing you should never do when you are on a crutch, is get in the way of people trying to get to the snack table during a break at a conference. You're more than likely to get run over. I wish they'd put the drinks on a table other than the food table...then maybe I would have been safe. All I wanted was some freakin' decaf coffee, since they don't serve bottled water. The tap water the hotel serves out of pitchers tastes like the air smells. That's really strange to me. The only day I didn't get pushed out of the way was the day the hotel decided to serve fruit for the snack of the day. There were some ticked off people that day!! I managed to snag a banana for breakfast the next day, so I was happy.

Lots of thunderstorms here in TN today. The weather has been pretty much cloudy and rainy the entire time I've been here. There were even warnings of some possible tornadoes...nothing so far though, and it's almost midnight. Yikes! I need to get to sleep. I shouldn't have had that Americano today during the break. Doh!

The one thing I do like at this hotel is its brand new spa and fitness center. It's the cleanest fitness center (and pool) I've ever seen and all the equipment is brand new. Apparently they just recently remodeled it. I was able to do all my PT stuff, including stretches/exercises on really nice new yoga mats. I'd actually like to have a yoga mat for myself.

3/7/2006 Results

Upper Body--the full workout minus the dips and chin ups--no machine for that
Stationary bike, 30 minutes
PT Stretches only

3/8/2006 Results (morning workout!)

There was an invitation only reception I needed to go to in the evening to "network" with Joan, the Lockheed Martin Corporate SSRC Director. She's the one who maintains contact with the SEI for all CMMI appraisers...she's good to know, obviously. Anyway, thought I would try a morning workout so I wouldn't miss it in the evening--no breakfast, just a cup of black coffee
Stationary bike, 30 minutes
PT Stretches, Exercises and Pulley
I felt a little dizzy when on the bike, guess that happens when you haven't eaten--otherwise, a good workout

3/9/2006 Results

Upper Body--the full workout minus the dips and chin ups--no machine for that
Stationary bike, 40 minutes!!
PT Stretches, Exercises, Pulley
Swimming--2 laps each breast stroke, kick board, backstroke

Home tomorrow and back to the Mattstar and Fiev. It will be good to be there!

Riverboats and Rednecks

2006-03-06T18:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, making fun of rednecks and stereotyping these folks is probably not nice....dear Lord, please forgive me for making fun of the fat-assed rednecks floating along the fake indoor river on theme park riverboats for tours (that they PAID for) inside the Gaylord Opryland Hotel...and please save all the starving Pygmies in Africa. Oh, and Mom & Mike...if you rode that boat when you were here for the Flute Convention, I don't think the 2 of you are fat-assed...just rednecks. ;o)

Here's a view from my hotel room balcony. It seems really cool, but they play the piped in music ALL NIGHT LONG! Every time the music hits a certain high-pitched tone, it wakes me up. Uggghhhh......

That said, there's nothing more to report about my trip to Nashville, TN so far. The Software Engineering Process Group conference is good, which is the only reason why I'm here. I present (you can see me in the bottom left hand corner of the program) on Wednesday, so I need to pull out my slides that I submitted back in December so I can remember what the heck I'm going to be talking about. So that's all I got to say about that.

So, on the upside, the hotel has an excellent workout facility and indoor pool with lap lanes. Nice and warm. Even has a life guard! The sucky part about the thing is that my locker (electronic) didn't work and I had to wait around in my bathing suit for security to let me into my locker. That ticked me off because they took their slow southern time getting over to the locker room...and they say NM is the land of manana. Puhleeze!!

Stationary bikes are cool at this gym. They have the TVs built right into the screen so you can watch the tube and track your stats (time, speed, distance, calories, heart rate, etc.). Very nice...

3/05/2006 Results

Stationary bike 30 min

3/06/2006 Results

Stationary bike 40 min
Pool 30 min (front & back cross, braiding, side stepping, marching, boxes--the remaining pool moves that are still a little painful)
Swimming 3 laps breast stroke, 3 laps kick board, 2 laps backstroke
Hot tub 15 min

Just Riding Along...

2006-03-04T20:10:00.000-07:00

Finally!!
I got on the bar bike and did some riding for the first time since my surgery! The bar bike is my trusty old Specialized Rockhopper that I bought used for $60. It's just right for transport between home and the local watering hole during the summer time. It's now the perfect recovery bike too!

Matt went riding with Dan at Cedro, and I got to pedal along the paved Tramway trail. It was all together a great day, topped off with dinner at Ragin' Shrimp.

3/3/2006 Results

UBE 45 minutes
Full Upper Body (I've increased all my weights except for chinups--I'll post those increases later)

3/4/2006 Results

Stationary Bike 30 minutes
Pulleys (still at 5 pounds)
PT exercises/stretches
15 minutes on a REAL bike!!

Rain

2006-03-02T22:16:00.000-07:00

It's raining...a little. Regardless, it's nice to see. Cibola National Forest already has fire restrictions. Summer time will be no fun if we don't start getting some preciptation ASAP!

Nothing significant to report, so on to the training log.

3/1/2006 Results

UBE 47 minutes (I started out stronger than normal, but I was more tired than usual at the end)
Upper Body workout (asterisks only)

3/2/2006 Results

Stationary Bike 30 Minutes
Pulley exercises
(I'll do the PT exercises and stretches tomorrow along with my normal full Upper Body routine)

MOOTS!!

2006-02-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

My bike is here!

It came in last night after dinner. To top it all off, Matt got me the Moots seat post and handlebar for my birthday. How awesome is that?!? He took it into Fat Tire today, got me a silver head set, and is already working on putting the parts we have together. This is one sweet bike!! I've decided to go with the gray fork,
rather than the white fork.

Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to get on the Intense, and the single speed looks like its gonna be lots of fun, but the Moots...it's just a work of art!

So, Matt decided to join me at Defined tonight. It's always entertaining to go to the health club because people there think they are in shape. Unfortunately, they have no idea just how OUT of shape they are. Guys with huge, muscular arms have huge, jiggly bellies that they seem to forget about. Girls are there just to show off their tattoos, generally located on the lower back. Geesh, that's original...it really can't get more pathetic. BUT, the gym is where I have to be until I can get back on the bike like I used to, so I'm not going to complain too much. It's helping me keep my cardio in semi-good condition, and I am strengthening my hip muscles.

2/27/2006 Results

Stationary bike 40 minutes (2 breaks, one at 15 and one at 25)
Leg pulley exercises (3x20, 15, 10)--ouch, that hurt afterwards!

2/28/2006 Results

PT Stretches and exercises, minus the pulley stuff
(Yes, it's a rest day, but because the Moots came in, I didn't do these yesterday like I should have)

If Sally were reading this, she'd tell me I'd overdone it again. She's right, as my right hip has been killing me today.

Saw Dr. Schwend today and he's very impressed with my progress. He said the pain in my hip joint isn't inflammation. It's a scar tissue ache from me moving the muscles. The bruised feeling I have along the side of my leg where the arthroscopy and drain holes were are another scar tissue kind of thing. As the scar tissue forms and I move the muscles around where it's trying to form, it's going to cause mild pain. Take a pain reliever and be done with it, is what he said. I don't need to start on the anti-inflammatories again, which is good. I got another round of x-rays that show the bone healing, and no inflammation.

One crazy thing...right near the crest of my ileum, I've been getting a lot of itching. Turns out it's my screws!!! Yowza! Those 3 annoying little buggers are protruding from my bone. I just assumed they'd be recessed into the bone, but they are actually sticking out. The x-rays show it. Dr. Santore did this intentionally since he plans to remove them in a year. If he recesses them, bone often grows over the tops of the screws making the removal much more difficult. As usual, Dr. Santore knows what he's doing. I'll just need to be careful not to rub that area too hard or crash on that side of my body. Lucky for me, I'm a lefty when it comes to crash sides of the body. Better yet, I think I'm going to try not to crash at all.

Oh, here's a picture of Dr. Muldoon too. He's the one who ripped out a lot of my ligaments in the right hip joint--the arthroscopy. His work hurt the most in some ways. The little hole where his scope went in hurts and is quite noticeable on my leg. Eck. He was surprised how much damage I had done to my joint, according to Matt. I don't recall much of a conversation with him. I was still pretty heavily sedated.

Allergies...Uggghhhh!!!

2006-02-26T19:28:00.000-07:00

It's time to see the allergist again. My hive-ridden eyes have been swollen and itchy for the past 3 days. The hives set in during a phone call I had with Matt at work. I'm sure that's a coincidence though. ;o)

I stopped getting my allergy shots when I went in for surgery, which means it's been over 3 months since I had a shot. I guess the stuff has finally worn off and worked its way out of my system. I'll make an appointment with the allergist tomorrow!

So, Matt went out with Jim and FooMTB crew to do some more trail work at the White Mesa. That place is going to be one beautiful trail system when the club is finished with it. It already is a wonderful place to ride!!

Anyway, I stayed home and did my exercise routine, laundry, grocery shopping, and other house type work that needed to get done. Fun, fun, fun...

Results 2/25/06

UBE 45 minutes
Stationary bike 25 minutes, no breaks!
All PT stretches/exercises
Upper Body (areas with asterisks only)

Results 2/26/06

UBE 47 minutes (300 calories!)
All PT stretches/exercises
Upper Body (everything in my training log and then some!)

Progress

2006-02-23T19:51:00.000-07:00

Had another PT appointment today. It's been almost a month since my first visit on 1/26/06 (thanks to this blog, I have it all recorded). When I first went in, I could only put 40 pounds of weight on my right leg when standing. I'm up to almost 100 pounds! That's a huge accomplishment, according to Sallie, my PT. She contorted me again and measured my ability to move in certain directions...all of my angles have improved, some more than others. The new goal is focusing on strength while continuing with the range of motion.

2/23/2006 Routine 6

Exercises:

Hip Flexors-Lie along the right edge of a bench, hanging right leg off to the side, knee bent. Left leg should be straight on the bench. Slowly lift leg up on bench, knee still bent. Foot should be rest near the left knee. Make sure I don't slowly bring my foot up and start resting it lower than at my left knee. (3x6-10)
Hip Lift--This is an advancement on Routine 3. Hip Lift--lie face up at edge of right side of bench. Place chair (about 2 inches lower than bench) beside it and put both feet on the chair, knees bent. Back should rest entirely on bench. Push with left leg first, bringing hips and right leg up. Switch and do the same with the right leg. (3x6-10)
Quads 2--This is an advancement on Routine 5. Lie on back, prop right leg up on bolster. Add increasing weight on foot (5, 7, 10 pounds) and then back down again, (3x15). Lift leg up at the knee. Concentrate movement on the quad. Make sure knee cap is straight up and not pointing inward.
Hamstrings--Lie on bench, face down. Place folded towel underneath quad, above knee. Place weights on foot (2, 4, 6 pounds) increasingly and then back down again. Lift leg up as high as comfortable. (3x15)
Marching (kind of)--Standing straight, align my head with a central point in a mirror. Begin to slowly raise right leg up and place immediately back down on the ground. Do the same with the left leg. This should resemble marching, but should not be as fast as marching. Make sure my body stays as still as possible and that my head stays in contact with that "central point" in the mirror at all times.

As for my gait, I can start using a cane around the house. I should experiment walking without it, but only for VERY short distances. The key is to ensure I don't start over correcting and walking with a limp or sideways.

I tried to get on the Hardrock bike in the driveway at home yesterday. It hurt: 1) hard to swing my leg over saddle, 2) hard to pedal (I was able to get about 10 pedal rotations in).

I see Dr. Schwend next Tuesday and will get another referral to continue seeing Sallie. We may slow our visits down to every other week. We'll see. I'm really happy with my progress and am glad I decided to see a PT.

Bikes

2006-02-21T23:01:00.000-07:00

Matt just showed me my very cool, new Intense Spyder XVP. It's almost complete. Once I get it done, I'll put up a pic. Very sweet with the tricked out Skareb 80/100 mm fork.

The Moots YBB SL isn't in yet...need to follow up with Moots to see how its going.

The Single Speed (my custom built Kind Cycle by Brandi Fabian) will need some work, but will be beautiful when done. It will look a bit odd with a 26" front wheel and 24" back, but I like the front end up higher anyway.

Oh, and then there's the old Hardrock bar bike and the Giant TCR Composite 1 road bike too...I'm very spoiled!!

I can't wait to get on the bikes!

On to the workout...
Results for 2/21/2006
UBE 45 minutes
Upper body workout (dips, chin ups, triceps, pull, shoulders, push)

Work Sucks!!

2006-02-20T21:05:00.000-07:00

I'll tell you what, work is really starting to infringe upon my PT time and my screw around time. I'm not too happy about it. I wish I were independently wealthy. Maybe I should go buy a lottery ticket...the jackpot is up to $365 million.

So, I'm already NOT following my workout schedule. Oh well...

Results 2/20/06
UBE 45 minutes before I went to work
PT lower body exercises and stretches in the evening

Wednesday night is the FooMTB meeting, so I'll use that as my REST DAY rather than tomorrow.

Anaheim

2006-02-18T12:32:00.000-07:00

We're in "sunny" Southern CA...Except the sun decided to take a vacation or something. Actually, it's been peeking out every now and then, but for the most part, it's been cloudy.

I sent Matt off for his Butterfield Double Century this morning at 6:15. Didn't look like 198 riders started, but some could have taken off at the earlier 4:45 start time (Matt, no need to tell me my photo skills suck, I realize that, as evidenced by the pics included here). I think the rain and cold weather scared some away. Apparently, they had a really crappy day last year. So far, the day has been on and off showers that don't last too long. I'm thinking Matt shouldn't be too bad, although it would have been nice to have rain pants, I'm sure.

So, yesterday, I decided to try out 24 Hour Fitness (sucks) in Anaheim. They had this offer for a 10-day free membership, so I thought that would be a great idea! Unfortunately, I had to prove residency!! I ended up paying a $15 one-day fee for a gym that wasn't nearly as nice as Defined. Plus, their pool was outdoors! With the storm rolling in, it was too chilly for me to do the swim exercises, so I did the following below instead.

Oh, took Wed and Thurs off. I've been having a lot of joint inflammation lately. I need to see if I should still be taking my prescription anti-inflammatory meds.

Part of the issue could be that I've started to consistently use 1 crutch rather than 2. This will work out the muscles more and could cause the pain.

Results 2/17/06

UBE 45 minutes
Stationary bike 20 minutes (2 breaks at 10 and 15)
Upper body workout (the entire one)

Results 2/18/06

Decided to use the gym at the hotel instead. Not bad, but not that great either...
Stationary bike 20 minutes (2 breaks at 10 and 15)
All Lower body except the pool stuff and exercise ball. I used a Theraband (red) instead of pulleys for the leg weights.

UPDATE
Matt did awesome!! Here are the results of the Butterfield Double Century.

Nothing New

2006-02-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

No significant news to report on the recovery process. Monday I worked out LB and today I did UB. Tuesday is supposed to be my rest day, but we'll be heading to CA for Matt's Butterfield Double Centur y on Thursday, so I decided to work out; I don't want to end up with 2 rest days for the week.

I'll have to find somewhere to work out in CA.
24 Hour Fitness, 300 South Festival Drive, Anaheim, CA 92808, (714) 637-4262
LA Fitness, 5757 Santa Ana Canyon Rd, Anaheim, CA 92807, (714) 282-3931

Training Schedule

2006-02-12T11:52:00.000-07:00

Well, here's my attempt at getting my workouts into a reasonable time frame. I'm hoping I don't have to be at the gym longer than 2 hours any day (except weekends). The 2 hours includes the time I need to shower and get dressed as well.

I'm going to alternate upper and lower body exercises and see how it goes. Using this schedule allows me to cut the gym time down to about 1.5 hours, including the shower. Below are the descriptions for the Upper Body (UB) and

Lower Body (LB) workouts.

The Upper Body Hypertrophy exercises don't all have to be done. Those with the asterisk are required. I'll plan on doing all of them on the weekend, but only some during the work week.

Results: Saturday and Sunday I followed the schedule. My arms are killing me from the UB workout. A good sore though...it's been a while since I've done some good weight lifting.

I've been trying the cane around the house. I'm still shaky when using it, but can manage from the dining room to the kitchen.

Small World

2006-02-10T21:24:00.000-07:00

I saw Mike M and Nat at the gym tonight. Got to talk to both of them! Mike's getting ready for the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo and is hoping the weather is good this year. He's going to be racing solo with his Dad crewing for him and the 2 dogs there for moral support.

Nat was working out at the gym since the weather is a bit cool out in the evenings...can't play golf in that! He came by and reminded me that I still need to donate money to Big Brother Big Sisters for him. He's doing the annual bowling event, which is actually a pretty big deal for the organization. Lots of people turn out from different companies.

Well, I've been slacking on the workouts, but will be doing the full thing Saturday and Sunday. Then I'm going to start breaking things down and alternating upper body and lower body every other day. Sallie told me that I'm working my muscles too hard and need to give them a rest in order to maximize my benefits. She sounds just like Dr. Ross in the Maximum Performance for Cyclists book. I'm going to try out his training program once I can get back on the bike.

Results for Thursday:

UBE for 45 minutes
Stationary bike for 15 minutes, 2 30-sec breaks, one at 5 and another at 10
Pulley hip exercises--I had to do 5 pounds since that was the lightest weight. I used around 3 pounds in Sallie's office. I was able to do 3x6 with this weight, although I didn't have very good form on the last set. I may drop down to zero weight on the last set next time.

Results for Friday:
I was really tired today. Not sure why. I still squeezed out a small workout though.

UBE for 40 minutes
Stationary bike for 10, no breaks

Mr. Tokyo for dinner on Friday--salmon was great! Il Vicino for our normal Thursday ritual. I tried the Insalata Fresca--they have a new menu. Salad wasn't bad, but not my favorite.

10% Increase Max per Week!

2006-02-08T13:08:00.000-07:00

Went in for visit 3 to Sallie. She said that usually, 6 visits is the point at which patients no longer need support, but it is sometimes different with those who have had surgery. The cool thing is that my sessions with Sallie don't count against my insurance, which probably has a definite limit on the number of visits.

I told Sallie that my 3 hour workouts are getting a little tough to manage. She's having me cut out the exercises that are too easy, and we added some tougher ones today. Also, I don't need to be doing redundant exercises in the pool and on the land, so I can cut out all of routine 1, except that I'll continue walking in the pool.

General rule of thumb from Sallie...don't increase ANYTHING more than 10% a week; otherwise, I'll be waking up in the middle of the night with lots of pain...just like last time. On that note, she also said I'm working out too hard and not giving my body time to rest and rebuild. I need to start alternating upper and lower body exercises, especially now that I'm going to be adding the upper body weight lifting. I need to give my muscles at least 1 day break for the exercises I've been doing in Routines 3-5. I'll start working on a routine for myself tomorrow.

2/8/06 Routine 5
Continue stretches and strength exercises from Routines 3 & 4, but feel free to cut out that which is too easy. The only one I can't cut out is the weight shifting exercise.

Here's a great link to remind me of what I'm working on.

Exercises:

Quads 1--Lie on back, legs straight, lift right leg up, move out toward right as far as I can. Return leg to start position, (3x6-10). Make sure knee cap is straight up and not pointing inward. My foot will lean outward slightly.
Quads 2--Lie on back, prop right leg up on bolster. Add increasing weight on foot (0, 2, 4 pounds) and then back down again, (3x6). Lift leg up at the knee. Concentrate movement on the quad. Make sure knee cap is straight up and not pointing inward.
Gluteus Medius--Lie on stomach, left leg straight, right leg bent at knee; lift leg up, move out toward right as far as I can. Return leg to start position, (3x6-10).
Abduction, flexion, extension--Using a pulley weight system with approx. 3 lbs and ankle strap, extend leg for full range of motion, (3x6). Sallie said that using a pulley is better than using Therabands because the weight is more consistent. This can replace the pool exercises I've been doing on these muscles.
Upper Body--I can begin lifting lighter weights with my arms as long as I don't use the hip to lift weight. Basically, lift light enough that I'm not putting stress on the hip.

Pool:
I can use a buoy belt to do different leg exercises.

Scar:
This is healing very well. Continue as I have been using Karen's scar cream and the Neosporin Silicone Strips.

Don't Forget--I still need to address tip number 1 in the previous blog.

Good Tips

2006-02-07T21:35:00.000-07:00

I couldn't help myself. After typing my blog last night, I went straight downstairs and did parts of Routine 3 & 4. I must have eaten something bad, because a stomach ache stopped me before I could finish. I didn't do any ab exercises (crunches/obliques), no stability ball, no weight shifting and no kneeling stretch from Routine 3.

This morning, I woke up bright and early, ate a light bite, fixed Matt's lunch, then headed to Defined Fitness to workout. Arrived around 6:45 AM, giving me 1 hr and 30 min to exercise, shower and dress because I have a conference to attend today.

Results: UBE 25 min, Stationary bike 12 min (no breaks, resistance level 2), 2 laps each for all "walking" type pool exercises in Routines 1 & 2, plus everything else I normally do. Nothing significant to report...no real pain today. Yeah!!

After the rather boring conference, I went to visit Sandy. Got some more great advice from her and notes to myself for my visit with Sallie tomorrow. Borrowed Sandy's cane and am actually looking forward to using it! Hair cut at Laru Ni Hati ended the day. Nothing major, but enough change to make Matt crinkle his nose at it.
Some things I need to remember for my next visits with Sallie. Great suggestions from Sandy:

Make sure Sallie is aware of the fact I'm meeting with SNL doctor for follow up end of Feb. I need to make sure the doc knows I need to continue therapy.
Ask about more advanced pool exercises.
Ask about any limits on # of visits I'm allowed.
Ask about what I should do to work on my scar.
Ask about upper body weight lifting.

Bad Idea

2006-02-06T19:26:00.000-07:00

Note to self...don't push it TOO hard. I decided that since I was able to ride the stationary bike for 15 minutes, it was time to start increasing my resistance level next. What the heck, I decided to go from my usual Level 1 up to Level 7. Stupid.

Somehow I conveniently forgot that my surgeon said I wouldn't be able to do cardio with my legs until at least the end of February. He said I'd just cause too much inflammation on the joint.

I remembered him saying that early this morning around 2 AM when I was awoken by the pain from my inflamed hip joint. Duh....

Today is a forced rest day. I'll be working out first thing in the morning, bright and early, tomorrow. I have a long day ahead of me...workshop, visit with Sandy to pick up a cane she's loaning me, and a haircut at Laru Ni Hati.

My Arms Hurt

2006-02-05T20:30:00.000-07:00

My arms hurt. They ALWAYS do. I guess I'd better just get used to it. I figured the soreness would go away after I got used to using the upper body ergometer (UBE), but that doesn't seem to be the case. I use it almost every freaking day, WTF?!? Oh well, I'll stop complaining and be happy with the fact that I can actually get some cardio into my routine.

So, here's the update:
Saturday--Routines 1-4 completed entirely. UBE for 30, stationary for 12--3 30 sec breaks (muscle pain at end of 10, pain level 4; pelvic discomfort near sit bones at 10 too). Nothing significant to report other than that.

Sunday--Routines 3-4 completed entirely, stability ball (can't remember if I recorded that in routine 4 or not, I'll have to check), UBE 45, stationary 15--2 30 sec breaks (muscle pain same as Sat; pelvic discomfort same as well--I'm alleviating some of it by pushing my feet far into the foot straps so that I'm pushing with the arch of my foot rather than the balls of the feet).

The Referral--Sallie

2006-02-04T13:06:00.000-07:00

My job has a medical center it offers to its employees. That center includes a group of PTs. Sallie, whom Sandy recommended, works there. I got the official referral from my local surgeon, and now I'm off and running!

1/26/06 Routine 3
Stationary Bike--3 minutes, no resistance up to tolerated time limit

Stretches:

Quadriceps--lie face down, bring R heel to bottom, hold 10+ secs (1x3); repeat with left
Quad/Back/Hip--on hands and knees, sit on heels and bring shoulders toward knees, hold 10+ secs (1x3)
Abs--After the Quad/Back/Hip stretch, stretch out on stomach and push up on lower part of arms (1x3)
Groin/Adductor--lie on back with knees and feet together. Let knees fall apart as soles of feet come together. Use gravity only to stretch groin area. (1x3)

Exercises/Strengthening:

Shift Weight, side-to-side, front-to-back (1x10)
Hip Lift--lie face up, bend R knee more than L, push with both feet to lift hips (3x6)
Leg lift--lie face up, bend R knee, lift thigh to vertical, straighten knee to 45 degrees, fix knee at that angle and lower foot to bed (3x6); repeat with left to greatest angle comfortable

Results: After 1 week, these became progressively easier, so I bumped up the reps for hip lift and leg lift to 3x10 for each. I had a lot of lower back pain after doing these, so will consult Sallie on this. I've added this routine to Routines 1 & 2 from Sandy. It's taking me about 3 hours total (including transportation, shower, dressing) to complete the entire routine. I'm up to 10 minutes on the stationary bike: 5 min (rest 30 sec); 3 min (rest 30); 2 min (stretch).

2/2/06 Routine 4
Continue Routine 3 and add the following.

Stretches (use a folded towel at top of sacrum for both):

Hamstring--hold R thigh at vertical, straighten knee, pull toes down, hold for 10+ secs (1x3); repeat with L leg
Hip--pull R knee toward L shoulder to stretch hip; stop if it hurts in front, hold for 10+ secs (1x3); repeat with L leg

Exercises:

Add a plumb line to the weight shifting from routine 3; side-to-side, line should go from middle of body to the right, don't let it go to the left when standing straight; front-to-back, keep line in the middle as much as possible
Knee Lift--lie on left side, knees bent. Lift R knee, but NOT foot (3x6) repeat with left
4 Point Crossed Extension--on hands and knees, lift and extend right leg to horizontal. Legs ONLY, don't use arms; hold pelvis still, imagine a water glass tray balanced on my back; repeat with left
Stability Ball--sit on ball with legs hip width apart. Move legs/feet closer together and maintain balance. Lean forward and back, side-to-side with feet together, all the while attempting to maintain balance and keep even weight on both feet.

Results: As of 2/4/06, I've been doing these as prescribed. I haven't done the Exercise Ball yet. I need to get that out! I got up to 15 minutes continous on the stationary bike. Pain at 12 minutes. Lots of soreness/stiffness the next day, I may have pushed it too hard, so will back off a little on the bike.

You Have to Start Somewhere--Thanks, Sandy!

2006-02-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

Hip surgery, actually, a periacetabular osteotomy and a hip arthroscopy. That's what I'm recovering from. The surgery was Nov. 11, 2005. I'm finally able to get into a fitness routine, so I feel it's time to start tracking what I'm doing.

PTs--my surgeon doesn't recommend them. He thinks they tend to be a little over-zealous with their work. However, I believe that's a bit of a generality, and have decided to seek the advice of a PT against my surgeon's wishes. I'm a creature of habit and tend to do better when given a regimine to follow, plus I've got a lot of PT friends, so I'm not hurting for advice.

I've noticed remarkable changes in my flexibility and muscle strength since working with PTs, so I think it's time to start tracking my progress!

My first session--Sandy
Sandy has been a pro mountain bike racer. She's an unbelievable athlete and someone whose advice I trust. She was the first to help me out with a exercise routine in the swimming pool.

1/13/06 Routine 1
UBE 15 -20 minutes

Pool exercises:

Frontwards walking - concentrate on good form, heel to toe foot strike, neutral hip position (i.e. don't let your foot turn inward). 15 "1/2" laps or as deep as you can go
Partial squats 2x20, increase to 2x30 as tolerated
Heel raises 2x20, increase to 2x30 as tolerated
Hip abduction 1x30 each leg (this is the motion where you take your leg out to the side)
Hip extension 1x30 each leg (this is the motion where you extend your leg behind you)
Hip flexion 1x30 each leg (this is the motion where you kick your leg out in front of you)

Results: By the end of 1 week, I was up to 25 minutes on the UBE and had increased to the max sets/reps recommended. Workouts were difficult at first and became easy by the 4th day.

1/24/06 Routine 2
Continue UBE

Pool exercises (do the above as a warmup and continue with the below):

Backwards walking (4 laps)
Marching (4 laps)
4 points (1x10)
Squares (1x10)
Sidestepping (2 laps)
Front cross overs (2 laps)
Back cross overs (2 laps)
Braiding (combining front and back cross overs)(2 laps) - wait until you are comfortable with the cross overs before starting this!

Results: By the end of an additional week (2/4/06), I'm up to 45 minutes on the UBE and can do all the above exercises. I forgot about the Sidestepping!! I'll add that into the routine. In the interest of time, I've reduced the forward walking in Routine 1 to 4 laps.

Sandy encouraged me to see Sallie for some formalized PT assistance. I'll cover Sallie's routines to date in the next blog.