Saturday, May 6, 2017

March 2017: Training Ramblings......Building on the Foundation

The days of March are all about laying the foundations for a good race season....getting that blend of form and fitness so you are sharp enough for the early season goal races.  For me this means getting time on the mountain bike and jumping into some local races to get the race pace efforts both on the road and the trail.

The first race was at a very cold (20℉) trail race at Xterra Brandywine (race report here) and then later in the month the Black Hill road race. If you didn't read my post about road racing this year it is here and highlights how it will be a little different.  However, as usual road racing isn't a priority at all so it's good to just go out and try to destroy myself (and others if I can) for a training effort. If you want to head out to D-Ville on Tuesday nights I'll be there trying to do the same thing.....

Most of the rest of the month was the daily training efforts and getting on the Hammer with the MTB which has been awesome to do. When the trails are wet or it's dark after work, it's been invaluable to still get time on the MTB and keep that muscle memory going.

The big weekend of the month was the 1st Annual Parvilla Cycles Gravel Grinder followed by the Black Hill road race the next day.  We had perfect weather for the Gravel ride and the roads surrounding Leesburg are great with some decent hills.  With the continued goal of getting on the MTB as much as possible I rode it for the 72mile day to get a solid workout. Definitely need to get back to those roads for training!




The following day after Black Hill, we headed out to Waredaca Brewing Company and sampled some of their brews!  I think we have started a post-race traditional in searching out a local brewery.....






What I am drinking this month:
Peaks Coffee CompanyCosta Rica Don Alexis: Sitting 1600 meters up in the mountains of Tarrazu, Costa Rica lies Don Alexis. His farm neighbors, Jorge Brene’s farms. One of the leaders in specialty coffee for his innovation in processing. Together, they produced a semi-washed coffee that truly shows the characteristics of the Tarrazu region. Subtle toffee and chocolate notes, with a rich sugary sweetness, floral aspects, and a bright red berry finish. This is the base to our current mountain climber blend but stands out regardless for its complexity as a filter.

March 2017 Total: 575miles/43hrs 47mins/2911 TSS
Swim: 11.9m/5hrs 36mins/ 425 TSS
Bike: 475m/26hrs 35mins/ 1566 TSS
Run: 87.6m/11hrs 05mins/ 890 TSS

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