"The Art of the Ride"

From Bicycling Magazine's "Great Moments in Cycling, Being a Cyclist" booklet:


    "It doesn't occur on every ride, but sometimes, especially on solo outings, something special happens on the bike. You're fully engaged with the task at hand, but by the time you tilt into the first climb of the ride, the fog of ordinary life begins to steam away. As the ground passes under your tires, you're seeing problems with fresh perspective, making sense of the day's events, and unwinding the that metronomic rhythm of turning cranks.
    It's been said that human beings actively use only 10% of their brainpower, and that the  rest isn't actually dormant but fully, unconsciously committed to keeping the body oriented in space relative to gravity. It's a synaptic orchestra of micro-adjustments that keep our bipedal selves from flopping over like primordial fish.
    On some rides, the familiar act of cycling rearranges the orchestra, and the bike is put on autopilot while you're offered a fleeting moment of clarity. It's so subtle you may not always be aware of those peaceful, meaningful seconds. Yet when it's over and time slips by, you eventually find yourself feeling slightly off-kilter again, your thinking muddled by ordinary, everyday life, and you feel a powerful urge to get back on the bike."


Sometimes, someone else says it so well that it bares being repeated and shared. Maybe, just maybe, this will inspire someone to try...only to try. And who knows, they might actually fall in love...

Two-A-Days, Week 1, In the Books

This first week was a little rocky, mainly because of some events that caused me to rearranged my training schedule each day. I still got in all the workouts I planned on, and here they are:


Monday:
AM - 4 Mile Run at 10k pace
PM - Upper Body Circuits in Gym at work


Wednesday:
AM - Machine assisted upper body and lower body isolation lifts
PM - 23mi ride with GCC Developers group, average pace 19.5 mph


Friday:
AM - Postponed
PM - 5 Mile Tempo Run, Lower body Double Sets (12-15 Rep Range)


*PLUS*
Saturday Morning Hammer Fest:
- 20 Mile "Hilly" route. Hammered the hills and also rode (1:00 on, :30 rest) intervals on flats.


Going to rest tonight and tomorrow. Week two will have 4 two-a-days worked in...Gonna get crazy with it!!!


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Still Chugging Along

I'm still chugging along. Although I have hit a platue at about 210lbs...which is a bit frustrating. I rested much of last week and now I am cranking up for a 3 week cycle of two-a-days.


THis being the first week, my schedule is M-W-F for TADs. Next week will be M-T-Th-Sat and the following week will be M-T-Th-F-Sat. Each day is different and consists of different combinations of running, cycling, weightlifting, circuit training and plyometrics/calisthenics.


This should get interesting.


Anyway, check out the picture below. This is me from after last night's 40k ride. 210lbs in my cycling kit. Gotta represent for the home bike shop!

Follow Paleo-Me!

Be sure to follow my nutrition lifestyle blog at: http://paleo-me.blogspot.com/

Going Paleolithic?

Since I quit smoking in February, I have been making incremental changes to my dietary intake. Adding exponentially more fruits and veggies because I ate almost none, nearly eliminating all alcohol, processed grains and even minimizing the amount of whole grains I was taking in. I noticed that the foods that I have been eating daily had begun to lean much more to both an eastern style diet or a paleolithic one. I'm not about to try an explain a paleolithic diet for anyone who does not know what it is at this time, mainly because I don't have the time or all the detailed knowledge about it yet.


Anyway, I bought this book the other day and have begun reading into it fervently. It is called "The Paleo Diet For Athletes" and I have to say that many of the things they wrote about regarding what humans are actually designed to eat and not eat is really making a lot of sense. Think about it this way: 15,000 years ago (paleolithic times) what were homo sapiens not able to eat, ever?


The answer: processed and refined foods.


Have you ever tried to actually eat a whole grain right from the plant? It's like munching on a rock! You wouldn't eat something like that! And then there is dairy. Cows have only been domesticated and producing milk in which we have to pasteurize and homogenize just to be able to drink it, for much less time than humans have been around, so the logic is that our bodies cannot metabolize cow milk and it is much more detrimental then helpful to our bodies.


So, what do I think about this diet? I don't know, I'm still learning. I do know that I will be very soon eliminating dairy from my intake as that had been a part of my plans anyway. Considering giving up all whole grains except on rare occasions and for pre and post workouts and races is still very strange to me.


All things in moderation I guess. We shall see what we shall see as I continue along on my life change journey.

Steady Progress Pays Off!!!

This is what it's all about. Making steady progress. Setting small short term goals that, when they are all met, become melded together into a larger picture. My goal weight of 185lbs seemed so far away when I first started changing my intake and exercising. Starting at 245lbs seemed so daunting at times. But my first group of small, incremental goals have finally come together to meet my first of several "bigger picture" goals.


I have lost 30lbs and I weighed in for the last two days at 215lbs!!! I am officially half way to my goal weight, which is right where I wanted to be as I begin adding more miles cycling and running. I have put myself into position and built a solid foundation for progressing to the next levels of fitness for the rest of my life!!!


I did it!


Now, on to the next step. CFDS Race #3 in July and possibly the Key Largo Bridge Run Half Marathon in early November. Here we go!

Successful Failure

Okay, so a few days ago, I ran my first ever Duathlon. You've all heard me talking about it. The Central Florida Duathlon Series Race #1. I was a little anxious before the start, I'll admit, considering I was going about the whole thing alone. But doing it alone only seemed fitting for me since virtually all of my training has been alone in the early morning hours. Everything went as expect and the race for the most part was fine.


Except for the flat tires... Yes, plural, my rear tire went flat twice during the ride portion. In only ten miles too...which is why I've aptly named this post "Successful Failure." I finished without any problems, but I failed to even come close to meeting any of my time goals because of the mechanical problems.


In retrospect, I had a great time! Everyone I met there was very friendly and seemed to love hearing that this was my first ever race. They were all quick to divert all of their preparation attention from their own selves to me for a moment to offer advice on equipment, clothing, pacing, nutrition, etc. I couldn't believe it! I really thought that I would be met with many cold shoulders but this totally wasn't the case. I was also surprised at how many other people I met that were also participating for their first time.


I also couldn't believe how many people participated in both the Duathlon and Triathlon that morning. The turnout was incredible, at least from my point of view, and ages ranged from 14 to 91 years old. There was even a course record set as a 91 year old man became the oldest finisher in USAT history, having completed the Duathlon (which, as it turns out was his first "du" but had over the last 40+ years competed in 116 Triathlons and 6 Hawai'i Ironman Competitions). I suppose he took first place in his age bracket...


I was aiming for 80 minutes overall but ended up at 119' 11" as my unofficial finish time because of the flats.


Unfortunately, even though I finished and was excited to compete in my first multi-sport race and I had a great time racing and meeting a lot of like-minded people, I left there a little disappointed. Not because I had not won, but because of the mechanical failures that cost me a goal. Regardless, it's now time to pick up and move on and get ready for the next event.


I think I may enter the CFDS Race #2 on June 11th...


Unfortunately, my pictures from the race are being held hostage and they're demanding extremely high ransom, even for a cheap 72dpi digital download only. Click here to see small image tabs of me during the race.