Tag: Tour de Victoria Training

Pool Days

Tuesday night is swim night. I at a light dinner and after Amy was in bed headed out for the pool.

The lanes were pretty clear tonight, making a much nicer experience for me. My first leg of swimming I went non-stop for 300m. I took a quick break, then jumped back in for another 300m. I finished off with 200m where I was swimming as hard as I could. I know I could have swam more tonight, but I wanted to end on a high note.

I’m definitely feeling stronger and healthier these days. For the entire ride on the weekend I felt strong and had some gas in the legs. Tonight I could have kept going. I’m really looking forward to the Tour de Victoria.

Plan Drained

Fantastic ride today. Sue and I were able to knock off three birds with two stones today. We had a lot to do, but I figured out a plan to get the all done in the shortest amount of time.

I wanted a long ride, Heart needed a walk badly, and we needed groceries. My plan? Ride my mountain bike to the dump, and Sue will drop the dog off. While Heart and I hit the trails, Sue and the kids go grocery shopping. When they are done, they come pick up Heart, and I ride home. Nice!

The plan actually worked too. I got in my three hour ride, Heart got her walk, and we got the groceries we needed.

My route:

View Tour de Victoria, March 19, 2011 in a larger map

The stats:
Total Distance: 41.22 km (25.6 mi)
Total Time: 3:38:05
Moving Time: 2:51:42
Average Speed: 11.34 km/h (7.0 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 14.41 km/h (9.0 mi/h)
Max Speed: 50.40 km/h (31.3 mi/h)
Min Elevation: -12 m (-40 ft)
Max Elevation: 261 m (855 ft)
Elevation Gain: 479 m (1573 ft)
Max Grade: 10 %
Min Grade: -7 %
Recorded: Sat Mar 19 14:26:00 PDT 2011
Activity type: mountain biking, cycling

So I rode a little over 40 km, and as you can see by the map, my phone lost the GPS signal a few times; perhaps my distance is a little higher. My average speed is pretty low since I took a few breaks while waiting for Sue to drop off Heart, and after we met up again.

I was surpised that it only took me a little over 45 minute to get from my place to the start of the trails at the dump. Heart and I then spent about an hour and 15 minutes on the trails. The ride home took about 54 minutes, but I took a much different route back. For the ride home I pushed hard and kept my bike in the big ring almost the entire way.

By the time I got home I was sweaty, muddy, drained, and very, very happy. I really enjoyed this ride.

Overhead Wobbly

The training continues. There was a slight change to my schedule this week. I normally swim Tuesday nights, but I was late getting to the pool, and when I arrived there was only one lane open, and that lane was very busy. Instead I swam Wednesday after work.

I got in a quick 600m swim. It was odd swimming that time of day. It was actually darker in the water than when I swim at night. The sun was streaming in the windows and the overhead lights weren’t on. My swim was pretty good, but I was fighting a stitch the entire time. If I had pushed any harder I would have felt pretty bad. Also on one turnaround I messed up on my breathing and ended up swallowing a huge mouthful of water. That didn’t sit well with me and made my tummy upset for quite a while.

Tonight was a ride night for me. As soon as I got home from work I set up the bike on the trainer and had a good, hard spin there. A couple minutes warmup, nearly 50 minute ride, then another couple minutes of cool down. Wobbly legs afterward too.

Shower Hill

Wow, that shower felt great today. I certainly earned it. I did a training ride for the Tour de Victoria. I wanted to get a longer ride in, and so I headed out with a couple buddies that do a lot more riding than I.

Here is the route:


View Tour de Victoria, March 3, 2011 in a larger map

Awesome ride though. The weather held off nicely and I felt strong until I was a couple kms from the house. I probably should have dove into my second Cliff Bar while I was still riding. Things I need to learn. Oh and the only time I didn’t feel so great when when I left the house a little late and sprinted over to a buddies house on a full tummy of eggs and toast. When I stopped moving my tummy complained a little.

I broke off from T at Willis Point Road. He was heading up and over into the Highlands and I didn’t think I could make it. I was also running short on time. Instead I climbed up the hill on Willis Point Rd, then turned around and made my way home.

From the stats below you can see that I did pretty good. I got some good distance in, and a decent avg speed. I’d like to bump up the avg speed, but that will come as I train more.

Total Distance: 63.62 km (39.5 mi)
Total Time: 2:56:09
Moving Time: 2:39:13
Average Speed: 21.67 km/h (13.5 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 23.98 km/h (14.9 mi/h)
Max Speed: 59.40 km/h (36.9 mi/h)
Min Elevation: -13 m (-44 ft)
Max Elevation: 86 m (282 ft)
Elevation Gain: 631 m (2072 ft)
Max Grade: 7 %
Min Grade: -8 %
Recorded: Sat Mar 12 08:14:33 PST 2011
Activity type: cycling

Lessons Pass

Tuesday night. That means swimming. The pool was pretty good tonight, though I had a hard time warming up.

I am wondering how I can improve my swimming technique. Either I keep swimming more, or maybe I think about taking lessons. Something to consider. I am constantly wondering if my form is off.

My swim consisted of a 200m warmup, 2 X 100m swims (it was supposed to be 200m without stopping), then a 400m stint with tiny breaks to allow a much faster swimmer to pass.

The sad part of the evening was that the hot tub was closed.

Significant Soak

Tonight was my regular swimming night. There is something odd about the pool though. Last Wednesday and tonight I noticed them playing Phil Collins – In The Air Tonight. Odd coincidence.

The swim tonight was good. I got off to a good start, but I pushed too hard before warming up. By the end of my first 200m, I was too winded, and needed to take a significant break to catch my breath. When I got going again, I managed to get in another 500m without stopping. The trick here was to not push too hard, and to concentrate on breathing and on my form. Nearing the end I did push it a little though. The swim felt good. It was also really, really nice that I had the lane to myself for most of my swim. I really enjoy swimming and not having to look out for other people.

After my swim I had a short soak in the hot tub, then it was off to the shower and then home.

As I passed La Belle Patate I couldn’t help but notice their 2 for 1 Poutine Tuesday sign. It was hard to resist.

Then as I was walking through the park I couldn’t help but think about the cougar sightings int eh area the last few days. Rather spooky walking through a brush lined path that is pitch black, knowing that a cougar is in the area. Obviously I made it home fine though.S

Snow Clip

It snowed on Wednesday, and it has actually stuck around. Coming up to the weekend I was hoping the snow would melt so I could get in a training ride.

Sadly this didn’t happen. The snow melted a little, but there is still too much ice on the roads to safely ride. Instead I jumped on the trainer in the basement and went for a spin that way.

It’s been too long since I was on a bike. It hurt a little making my legs spin in circles for so long. I sure put on a sweat. It felt good. I did a 5 minute warmup and a 45 minute ride. In that ride I did a few standing stints, a few hard sitting sprints, some rest periods, and the rest I cruised along at a pretty good clip.

Passed More

My swim last night was pretty good. After the kids were in bed I walked down and quickly headed for the pool deck. Of course the slow lane was packed with really slow swimmers and the fast lane had two people in it that were pretty fast. What to do?

I started off in the fast lane and got passed pretty quickly. I then tried the slow lane, but caught up to the woman doing the backstroke very quickly. I settled on the fast lane and did my best to stay out of the way of the others. It meant I took a few more breathers than I would have liked, but it also meant I wasn’t trying to dodge people.

In total I swam 650 – 700m. I’m pretty happy with that. I just need to work on my speed and endurance a little more. For now I don’t think I will increase the total distance until I can easily do 350m or more without stopping. Right now I pretty much have to take a break every 200m.

Timing Element

I went for a great ride today. Mountain biking with some friends who are just getting back into the sport. The temp this morning was pretty chilly, but if you dress for it, there is no problem. I was dressed properly which made the start of the ride much more enjoyable.

Heart came as well and had a great time. She is actually a pretty good trail dog without any training. The only thing she needs to learn is how to handle other bikes coming towards us on the trail.

We did the normal loop up to Snakes and Ladders, then went for a rip down there. My timing for jumps and riding was perfect. My legs felt strong and my cardio was not hindering me at all. I was having a great time.

My compatriots were not as well off. One of them had just come off a month long bout of bronchitis, and the other hadn’t ridden in over 4 years. They zipped back to the cars after snakes and ladders while I continued on.

My extra loop took me to the far end of the park and back again. I rode hard for this loop which isn’t easy on my big bike. It was fun though and Heart really enjoyed it. She really seems like she is in her element when she is out riding with me.

Here is our route:

View Tour de Victoria, Feb 20 2011 in a larger map

Stats:

Created by My Tracks on Android.
Total Distance: 9.93 km (6.2 mi)
Total Time: 2:13:59
Moving Time: 1:06:44
Average Speed: 4.45 km/h (2.8 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 8.93 km/h (5.5 mi/h)
Max Speed: 25.20 km/h (15.7 mi/h)
Min Elevation: 109 m (358 ft)
Max Elevation: 272 m (892 ft)
Elevation Gain: 446 m (1464 ft)
Max Grade: 14 %
Min Grade: -15 %

Weird thing is that this 10Km ride made me way more tired than my 45+Km rides on the road.

Zapped Mileage

First ride after the trip to Ottawa. When I was woken up this morning it was pouring rain. Enough to make me think the whole day was going to be like that. When I actually got up the rain had stopped and it turned into a nice day.

The plan was for me to meet Sue at work, and we would go for an hour ride together. When the time neared for me to leave, I felt less and less like going. I was still feeling pretty zapped from the trip home.

I went anyway and met up downtown. Our route took us out to Oak Bay via Rockland, then along the water to downtown. It was a pretty nice route, but I never really felt all that great. I never warmed up and my legs were definitely not there. Sue said I should just call this an easy ride, but truth is I was suffering a little.

On our way back towards downtown, it started to rain on us. I was sure glad to get home though. I rode for an hour and 20 minutes for a total distance of 26 KM. No record for me, but it is something. Hopefully I can get more mileage this weekend. I may go mountain biking again. Not sure though.