"...In the end, people either have excuses or experiences; reasons or results; buts or
brilliance. They either have what they wanted or they have a detailed list of all the rational reasons why not."

~ Anonymous
(taken from Matt Erbele's, It Takes Time to Get Good)

Monday, January 18, 2010

Training and a little reflection

This weekend was the first training ride of the Cinderella Challenge Training Group put on the the Fremont Freewheelers.

A little info and commentary on the training series

It starts with an informational meeting where they talk about everything from what to expect during the training, to cycling nutrition, to what to wear to be comfortable. It is geared toward beginners, but they work to make it pertinent and interesting to more experienced riders as well which, lets be honest, can be tough to do. I applaud them. Then before the ride, they do a bike rodeo to help you learn about your bike, check for safety and learn some basic skills. The volunteers are patient, fun, and a wealth of knowledge.

Everyone involved in this HUGE undertaking are volunteers. The whole club comes out to support this. For basically, like 6 dollars, you get a year membership to the club, and registration to a new ride they are holding called the Wordly Wanda Tour de Fremont. (I am being facetious, the training series actually costs $75, but still ridiculously cheap for all of the training and advice you get. I do a lot of this shit, bargains are rare in this money pit we call triathlon, so I thought I would mention it.)

Seriously good peeps, in this club. Seriously good peeps.

Saturday long-ish ride

LA Run Buddy is doing it with me this year! Last year I had to do all of this alone. I met some really great people and I am very glad I did it, but I can not tell you how excited and grateful I am that she is helping me train for this iron distance.

The Challenge group is the faster group that does a lot of climbing and we were scheduled for an easy 20 miler with some climbing up what are affectionately called "the animals." (goes up two hills called Boar and Cougar) only one is steep and very short but it was my first steep climb in the compact double.

My initial assessment of the compact double:

My husband is toast * and I am fucked on any climb longer than my hair.

*for you that do not know, he HOUNDED me about switching me from my triple to a compact double, which I emphatically refused, and then bought it for me as a Christmas present.

It does seem to make me a little faster on the flats, which I needed badly, but Crimey! Losing your three lowest gears? You WILL notice that on a climb.

We ended up riding 26 miles (Math is not a strong suit of the Cinderella people. I have learned to get over it) and it was nice.

Sunday Run

LA Run Buddy is back from the frozen tundra known as Minnesota, and we ran 10 easy miles at Baylands.

Not from this Sunday. I had my camera, I did not use it. *shrugs* Hmm.... need to get my picture taking mojo back too it seems.

Her knee was giving her trouble at about 8, which has been her Achilles heel for all runs over 8 miles. I am not sure she is going to be able to do marathon distances with me, but we will work it out. I have route ideas where she can do 1/2 mary distances and we can run most of it together. She will just need to bring her own car or a VERY big book to read while she waits for me. Again, yes, I am very aware of how lucky I am to have a friend like her.

Not from this Sunday's run. This is from a few weeks ago, but she is still just as adorable.

Gorgeous run, a little rain, great friend, lots of adorable waterfowl. It just does not get much better than this.

16 comments:

Alisa said...

Awesome that you have someone to train with that is key. I know if I didn't have so many running buddies I wouldn't get out the door half the time.

Anonymous said...

For your compact crank get a 11x28 cassette. Assuming you had a 12x25 w/ your triple. A 34 front and 28 back has the same gearing as your old 30 front, 25 back. Have a look at this gear chart http://www.konamultisport.com/uploads/articles/GearChart.pdf

ShirleyPerly said...

Yes, you can get a climbing cassette in the back (like Anonymous mentioned) which will give you the gears you need to climb most of the hills you could with your triple. I have that setup on my road bike and while it may seem like I'm wimping out by not simply getting stronger to climb the hills w/o one, I spin past people going up and have plenty of legs left for the run afterwards. Now is not the time to play hero!

Jo Lynn said...

You joining the Fremont Freewheelers is kind of like me joining SVTC and NOT TELLING YOU ABOUT IT!! Hmph!

Becca said...

It's not too hard to get that picture taking mojo back! Whether those are recent or not they are great and the weather looks nice! I carry my camera in my purse and I'm constantly snapping pictures!

Aileen said...

It's great to have someone to train with and race with that you really, REALLY want to train and race with!

I know nothing of bikes, so I will just say, good luck!

SteveQ said...

Ask training buddy - Minnesota does not look that nice this time of year. Bet she's glad to be back.

Anonymous said...

Ha!! Lovin the hell out of your blog. You say what most of us think. Love it!!! Keep it up~ I will be adding you to the blogs I check daily. Run Bitch Run...LOVE IT! :)

Jo Lynn said...

Oops, totally MY BAD! I over reacted, I'll admit it. *sigh*

By the way, I'm thinking of joining the SVTC. ;)

Generation X (Slomohusky) said...

Nice posting. I wish Vegas had better clubs like this. I have not officially check them all out - time? Yet, I have not heard anyone rave about any of them. Yet, there is one trail running club that is high on my lists to do this year.

trailturtle said...

Glad you still haven't lost your mojo for descriptive humor!!
And, yes, make sure you have at least a 27 tooth largest cog on your cassette (you might have to change the chain length if this is a change from what you have on now). Larger than 27 rear cogs might cause some rear deraillier/shifting issues--check for compatiblity before you go larger than 27).
Have fun riding, Ann

Jessica said...

so glad you are back! good to read you again!

Formulaic said...

What have you done??

Look at your comments...12 x 25; 30 ; 22?

What are you a thug now? Rolling around on your '22s?

I hope you know how to read that stuff!

Missy said...

My husband does that shit all the time - I ask for one thing and then HE gets me what HE really wants or thinks I should have. Blasted!

Calyx Meredith said...

Look at you, ya big gearhead. :D Sounds like a great group to be a part of.

SteveQ said...

As I eagerly await the next post, here's another silly science joke. "President Obama gave his State of the Union address last night. Unfortunately, his speechwriter's instructions had a typo and it became State of the Anion. The speech: "It's negative. It'll always be negative. We can try to find a solution where we match it with something positive, but it'll be negative nonetheless."