Sunday, November 14, 2010

Single Speeds and Early Morning Runs

Pikes Peak from Ute Park
This week took some adjusting. After a month of not working, I became real comfortable with sleeping in until 6 – 6:30 and hitting the trail at 7:00 or so. So it was rough going back to getting up at 4 every morning. I’m sure glad Veterans Day came around as it was a good place for a break. As much as I tried to keep the workouts consistent with pre-employment, I just didn’t get a lot of cycling in. At the new job, I’m still getting adjusted and figuring out the logistics for commuting. I finished building my single speed, mostly from spare parts, which will be my commuting bike. I tested it Thursday and found its geared way too big. I was barely turning the cranks on even the smallest climbs. I put a bigger cog in the rear, we’ll see how it goes when I start commuting next week. Have a great week!
Training Log
Monday Nov8
AM: Recovery run, Delmonico/Rockrimmon Loop, 0.7 hrs, 4.4 miles
Very easy pace, very early in the morning. Ran roads and sidewalks since it was dark. Felt pretty good once I got warmed up. Strength workout after run.

Tuesday Nov9
AM: Middle distance run, Santa Fe Trail/Delmonico Rockrimmon Loop, 2 hrs, 13 miles
On the road by 4:30 this morning. Stayed mostly on the roads, but ran the paved section of the Santa Fe Trail due to it being dark and the batteries in my headlamp were dead. Very quiet this time of morning, even in town.

Wednesday Nov10
AM: Tempo Run, Santa Fe Trail, 1.2 hrs, 8.7 miles, Strength workout
The trail was nice and bright this morning from the new snow that fell over night. I also had fresh re-charged batteries in my headlamp. Warmed up with a little over 2 miles then ran 4 miles at tempo (2 miles out and back) then home. My watch lap counter didn’t work right on the tempo run so I have no idea what my time was. The purpose of this run was to get a baseline. Guess I’ll have to wait until next week.

Thursday Nov11
AM: Medium distance, Santa Fe Trail, 1.5 hrs, run 10 miles
Happy Veterans Day! Got to sleep in this morning. I have to admit, these 4 AM mornings are starting to get to me. Pretty cold this morning and the legs felt pretty beat up and tired. Still had a good run, as I spent almost the entire run deep in thought, contemplating the new job, life and the future.
PM: Single Speed Ride, 2 hrs, 26 miles
Well I found out today that I have my single speed geared way to high; 44 on the front 17 on the back. I rode most of the way to work and back on my “newly built mostly out of spare parts single speed” to test it out. It rides fantastic but the gear is too hard. It goes great on the flats and down hills, but on some of the climbs, I could barely turn the pedals. Coming home was against a really strong wind, so I was having problems pushing that gear even on the flats. I think it will be too much with the load I carry back and forth to work (food, clothes, shower stuff). I need to either put a 42 on the front or a 19 on the back. So I guess I won’t be riding to work tomorrow.

Friday Nov12
AM: Recovery Run, Delmonico/Rockrimmon Loop, 0.7 hrs, 4.4 miles, Strength workout

Saturday Nov13
AM: Long Run, Ute Park/Air Force Academy, 2.8 hrs, 18.4 miles
Today was a “No dog day” on the CRUD run. The reason being is that the run was in an area known for bighorn sheep. The Forest Service would not appreciate (nor would the bighorns for that matter) dogs chasing them around. So I ran from home with Max in Ute Park. I dropped him off at home after 8 miles and headed to the Air Force Academy. Max was limping later in the day (my guess is from all the sidewalk running this week) so we iced his leg for a while. He's going to have to take a few days off and let his foot rest awhile.
PM: Easy Road Ride, Around Town, 1.3 hrs, 17.4 miles
Very easy ride around town just doing errands. Picked up a 19 tooth cog for the single speed. A 42 chain ring probably would have been the better way to go, cause I had to add a couple links to the chain to get the 19 cog to fit.

Sunday Nov14
AM: MTB Ride, Ute Park/Palmer Park, 4 hrs, 32 miles
Today was one of those days that everything just seemed to come together and flow. I rode with some great technical riders today; James, Lynn, Ian, Dana, Sharon, & Kevin. There must have been some osmosis because I was clearing stuff with seeming ease that I normally have problems with or can’t clear at all. Templeton Trail, which is always very challenging for me, seemed easy today. I also rode a section of trail I’ve never been able to ride before. The whole ride though technical, was smooth, relaxed and fun. Its days like this that all the hours of frustration and practice on technical stuff pay off. Great ride! Also, Max isn't limping any more, but I'm still gonna let him heal for a few days.

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