I've created this blog to document my experiences & training as I prepare for my cross-country bike ride with Ride for World Health. I need to catch up from the summer, so please forgive the length of this post. I will try to post more frequent, shorter entries as I figure out how to use this site better.
I found out about R4WH on Memorial Day 2008 when Kathie C. came to visit us & she & Margie went to DC to meet Kathie's friend, Marianne, as she finished her ride. I decided to apply & was accepted as a national team rider for 2009. You can ride all about the ride & the organization at the R4WH website & more about me on the team at my team profile.
I was able to do a good deal of cycling this season. In July, I rode in the annual American Cancer Society Ride. Most of the summer, I was on an assignment in NE Ohio & would do a spinning class 1 or 2 nights a week while away from home. I would ride with friends or on my own on weekends. I rode a few rides with local bike clubs. In September, I once again rode with the great folks at Team Tania in the MS150 2-day ride to Ocean City, NJ.I bought a bunch of books & started reading about long distance cycling, nutrition, weight loss, cardiovascular training & strengthening for cyclists. Flying to work every week is a great way to get in some personal, non-work related reading.
So, I've learned that carbs are good at the same time that I'm trying to lose a few pounds. Increase your activity, eat the same & you'll still lose weight. Pay attention to both diet & exercise & you'll be good to go. I also bought a heart rate monitor for my bike & try to keep my HR in the aerobic zone as much as possible. I drink before I ride, try to drink more during the ride & drink more right afterwards. I also make sure that I eat some carbs beforehand. When I'm leaving home at 7am, I'll down a bottle or 2 of Ensure. During the ride, besides water or Gatorade, if I'm on my own & unsupported, I'll use a carb gel pack every hour or so.
But it's all good. Even though I'm taking in more, when I ride 4+ hours & burn 2500 calories, everything I'm eating or drinking is used. I'm also finding that while I might be tired or struggle on the climbs some, I haven't bonked or gotten close to feeling like the work was too much to do. Overall, I've lost about 6-7 lbs. so far & feeling pretty good.
In November, I joined LA Fitness to be able to do some winter spinning & start some weight training. Every book I've read advises cyclists to hit the weight room. Now, just to be clear, I've been active my whole life between swimming as a kid, cycling for the last 12 or so years & practicing & teaching Kokikai Aikido for 25 years. But I've never....never...done any weight room work. It's pretty intimidating to me to be beginning at age 48 & I wouldn't know where to begin. So, I bought a personal training package & have been going once a week for the past month or so. While on the road, I plan to use the workout room at the hotel, although where I'm going right now is pretty crappy & limited equipment-wise. We'll see what January brings to my travel schedule.
I've been riding weekends so far, even though it's getting colder around Bucks County. I've got some cold weather gear already & just got more gear recommended by R4WH. In fact, I rode about 25 miles one Sunday when it was 23 degrees F. when I started out at 7:30 AM. Thing was, I was supposed to meet up some Team Tania friends & missed the emails that they had decided not to ride. I probably would've bailed myself, but since I'd already woken up & driven out to Valley Forge Park, I decided to head & out & see how it felt. Dress correctly & anything's possible!
I need to get stronger in my climbing skills. Riding in my own area is great; there are plenty of challenges. But I'm also hoping that my weight work (both losing it & lifting it) help me here. In my weight training, I'm trying to strengthen not only my legs, but also my core, arms & low back. All of these are needed to climb, but not improved by cycling itself. I think I'm progressing. Last week, I did a little climb that I've always done in my small chainring (Granny gear) in the middle ring & did it at a comfortable pace without getting fatigued. Continental Divide, here I come!
That's it for now. That's enough. Come back in little while & I'll have an update for you.
Steve
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