Oct 19th - Oct 25th: Training Ramblings

Another not very big week in terms of training volume.  The week started off poorly with a very short 'cross race at DCCX. I raced the 3/4 race and on the 2nd lap whilst carving through a corner my rear tubular rolled.  Down I went and back to the beer tent to find Sarah, race over after 11mins! DCCX has built itself into the biggest race of the MABRA Super8 calendar and is a ton of fun to spectate as well as race. 

                                                          Video from DCCX by CycleBoredom.com

That's the good thing about my cross season, yes I want to do well in races, who doesn't, but in the end it is just a bit of off-season fun. There is always another one next week. It's not like an Ironman or 70.3m where you train all year for just two or three goal races.  Perhaps that is why I like the cross season so far, no pressure! After all  no-one expects a triathlete to be able to cyclocross do they?

The rest of the week was pretty hit and miss, we have friends visiting from the UK, which is awesome and it's great to be able to spend time with them without having to head out for long training hours (hint for anyone wanting to come visit....the Fall is best!)

 As such, weekly volume was low, but I did get two swims in and increased the run mileage for the 4th consecutive week.

My weekly swim, bike, and run totals:

Total: 37 Miles / 5 hours 17 minutes
Swim: 4,350 yards / ~2.47 miles / 1 hours 25 minutes

Bike: 14 miles / 1 hours 01 minutes

Run: 20 miles / 2 hours 31 minutes

Core: 20mins

Oct 12th - Oct 18th: Training Ramblings.....

 As you can see from the weekly totals, nothing crazy this week and in fact it was bloated by a 5hr, 92mile ride on Friday over on the Eastern Shore.  The training at the moment is purely getting some consistency back and a little structure.  It will remain this way until November when more detailed structure will be put in place and the overall volume will begin to increase as well.

Riding the Eastern Shore with Allison LaRochelle

Tacchino CX Race

The good thing about this past week was racing twice at Tacchino cyclocross on Sunday and winning the 4/5 race.  Whatever the race or the category, it's always good to win!

The bad thing about this week was the fact that I only got to the pool once and I also didn't find time to hit the gym for any strength action.

Onwards.........










My weekly swim, bike, and run totals:

Total: 151 Miles / 10 hours 56 minutes
Swim: 2,000 yards / ~1.12 miles / 0 hours 37 minutes

Bike: 132 miles / 8 hours 07 minutes

Run: 18 miles / 2 hours 11 minutes

Cross Fever....it's that time of year

After a little break from training and racing, I am back to it with a little more structured base training through October.  Nothing exciting to add to that as it is all base training for this month before I add some more details and intervals into training next month.   By next month I may have more of an idea of the racing schedule for 2014 aside from IM St George 70.3 in May.

On the fun side I have been racing cyclocross this season after dabbling a couple of times at the end of the 2012.  It's nice to be racing low key with no expectations and just purely to have a good time.  So far I have raced a handful of times and will continue to do so through the Fall.  Aside from it being fun, it's an awesome workout and will dramatically improve your bike handling skills.  Where else can you race for 45mins on your bike in the Fall and average 165bpm's? 

Racing at ProvidenceCX in early October

Generally I race in the 3/4 category races (I am a Cat 4 for 'cross) and finish middle of the pack, always fighting someone for that all important 30th spot.  However, this past weekend I stepped down a level and raced the 4/5 category which was immediately prior to the Masters 3/4 race.  It was primarily as a good warm-up and to get some laps of the course before the 2nd race.  Fortunately I had a good starting position and after sitting in the top 5 for the first two laps, pushed away on the final lap and ended up winning the race.  Bonus!  For the 2nd race in the Masters 3/4 I was back to battling for 30th spot and got 31st :-)

Top step of the podium at Tacchino CX 4/5 race

If you haven't seen a cross race, why not head out and watch one (they generally serve beer), or better yet sign up and race one, mountain bikes are allowed.  The closest one in the Annapolis area is on Sunday Oct 27th at South River Farm Park and is being hosted by ABRT. 

Anyway, in the next month or so I'll be changing up the blog a little to add in weekly training updates....it will keep me honest as we target the 2014 season.