Week 6 of Training

So week 6 really wasn't too exciting for training... I've spent the last week doing nothing but trying to recover the knee and get back on the bike. Every single day I've been icing, stretching, and doing exercises. I went and saw the podiatrist on Friday and got some custom insoles made and he prescribed me a anti inflammatory called Ketoprofen. It has SO FAR done wonders for my knee and I'm planning on getting back on the bike come Tuesday next week. I'm hoping by the 1st I can go out and do the WBL ride again and start the long distance training.

Week 5 of Training

 

Monday- 1 Hour on the rollers. 10 min warm up. 20 minutes at 160 watts. 10 minutes of ILT's. 10 minutes at 160 watts, 5 min at 180 watts, 5 min at 200 watts.

 

Tuesday- OFF!

 

Wednesday- 3+ hours outside.. started out 62 degrees ended 50 degrees. Today was by far one of the hardest rides I have had. It was so windy outside and I was facing either a 25-35 mph headwind, tailwind, or cross winds. There were times where I was cranking my "granny gear" on the flats because the head wind was so strong! I was just laughing at myself because it was just ridiculous winds and to think I could be facing something like that on my coast to coast ride so I'm glad I went out and did it.

 

Thursday- 1.5 Hours out on the road with Reggie. It was one of those rides where we were like bring your rollers just in case because it was 42 degrees with 34 degree wind chill when we started. However I didn't bring them on purpose because I knew there hasn't been many sunny days. Did a couple "yellow sign sprints" and the new bike felt awesome and the 175 cranks made a huge difference

 

Friday- OFF!! However I did suit up for the Aspen newspaper article! More info later...

 

Saturday- First ever WBL ride with David and Art.. What a great ride it was. There were 150 plus people and Ive never been in a ride that organized with 20. We ended up riding 5 hours in the 32-26 degree weather and there was a little sleet towards the end of the ride. A couple pros were off the front powering the 150 man train keeping an average of 20mph and on the flats it felt as if we were going 30. There is one thing that didn't go well on the ride and that's my left knee.. no not my right anymore the right one is fine however my left knee isn't.. This whole fit thing on the bike is driving me crazy. I'm going to take Sunday and Monday off in hopes of being able to ride with the jittery joes team on Wednesday and Thursday.

 

Sunday- Off knee recovery!!!!

Week 4 of training

Monday- 1 hour on the rollers 

 

Tuesday- Off day

 

Wednesday- 1 Hour on the rollers at Ed's house. We had a "TEAM MURRAY" ride. It was myself, Ed, Art, and Derin :) we just did a simple 1 hour ride with a few intervals

 

Thursday- 1 Hour on the rollers. This was by far one of the best rides ive had on the rollers. I just felt really really good and did 5 min efforts at 180 then 200 then 220 then back down to 200 then 180. Just felt awesome!

 

Friday- Off Day

 

Saturday- 1 Hour on the rollers

Sunday- 3 Hours outside 41 degrees. I also took out the new bike for the first time! The kestrel is awesome and it took some getting used to but after a few tweaks I fit on it like I was part of the bike. Thank you Reality bikes and Kestrel for all your help and support!

This week was a good week of training. There was a couple of nights where I really had to just get on the bike to be motivated. Once I got on it then the hour went by quick. Pretty soon I will be doing 1.5 and 2 hour rides on the rollers. They say an hour on the rollers is equal to 1.5 hours outside because of continuous pedaling and no downhills to coast. Ed, Art, Derin, And I went out to 3-D on Saturday and cut down 3 Christmas trees, one for each of our houses. A picture will be posted soon! It was a lot of fun cutting down my own tree and it was nice to have Jordan give all of us a tour of the house after. Week 5 of training coming up and I'm really starting to feel good on the bike. Also Saturday I might be going to Athens for my first WBL ride which isn't an official WBL ride but its still a 80 mile ride.. 30 more then the 50 I did Sunday... and at an average of 20 mph not 17...

Week 3 of training

Last night I was thinking of different ways that I can keep everyone informed on my training and what kind of riding Ive been doing weekly. So starting last week I'm going to do a blog entry every Monday to reflect on the past week of riding, eating, racing, and charity stuff. Also I was thinking about what kind of food I can use as a comparison to how many calories I've burned. So Eric and I were talking maybe I should do like cereal because there would be so much that I could fill a car or a room in my house. If you have any ideas on what food I should do let me know!!! So my week in training:

 

Monday- 1 Hr on the rollers working on ILT's (individual leg training)

 

Tuesday- Rest day

 

Wednesday- 1 hr on the rollers. Warm up with ILT's then 30 min effort at 200 watts along with cool down and more ILT's

 

Thursday- 2 hrs outside with Eric easy pace kept a 17.5 mph average with a couple "yellow signs sprints" :) there really wasn't much effort in the sprints at all it was just for fun to see what it would feel like. Followed by a 1.5 hr night ride at Fort Yargo with Art. I only managed to crash ohhhhh.... 3 times its been a while since Ive done a good night ride like that and it was a nice pace good tempo.

 

Friday- 3.5 hrs on the mountain bike at Fort Yargo again. Did the first lap with Art and Ed then went on and did another with Ed. Great time my legs were really feeling good at this point in the week. No crashes for the first time!

 

Saturday- Rest day

 

Sunday- 1.5 hrs on the rollers. I worked on ILT's and did  3 sets of: 5 min at 180 watts, 5 min at 220 watts, 5 min at 180 watts. Really got the legs opened up and feeling good. Its the longest Ive spent on the rollers and did something different this time. I put the TV on mute and read close caption and had music playing in the background. I like that a lot more then just listening to the TV. Pretty soon I will be watching movies.

 

So the week was a great training week. I got in the most riding I have done since August and it felt good. My focus now is to be peaking in February and to treat April and May like my winter months since I will be doing long base miles. Then to follow it up July and August peak again. My main goal is to come out this season and win some races right off the bat so I can cat up to a 3 before my ride. I think if I stay focused on my short term goals I should be successful in doing so. I had such a great time spending thanksgiving with the family camping and just relaxing and riding. I'm looking forward to more weeks like this and also I'm looking forward to picking my bike up this week!

Just another day another dollar...or so...

Its now been week two of my training.. Things are actually going very well and the knee is doing awesome! Ive been riding on the rollers a lot and working on my pedal stroke and making sure I'm using my right leg the same as my left. For a while I started to realize when I was riding I would use my left leg more to compensate the pain in my right. Also last week on Saturday I was able to go out and do some mountain biking with RT, Eddie, Chris, and Stephen. It was a blast and come to find out big creek is a great trail. I haven't been there in YEEARRSSS and it was a lot better then I remembered from before. I got some awesome video footage and will post it soon!

 

And for the good news.. we had our 1st annual 3-dimensional life Golf Tournament finally on Tuesday. I want to go ahead and thank the sponsors that made it all possible and the guys that helped get pledges and raise........... $42,000 DOLLARS!!! Nope not a typo that is legit. Greg, myself and all the guys from 3-D are just blown away! It was a good hit and my team.. no need to brag Tim and Greg.. won the second round shooting a 59 in a scramble. Ohhhh yeah and that was just as a two-some. We are looking forward to setting it up for next year and raising even more money then that. We also got to meet a couple new guys that are in the program. The demand for a place like 3-D right now is HUGE. and the fact that the money is also going to a girls program is awesome. I'm looking forward to continue being a part o 3-D for a very long time.. They have taken a huge place in my heart and I love everyone that works there and the kids that ARE recovering.

 

THANK YOU:

 

Chick-fil-a.. (Steve Williams) for breakfast

RBM North ( Bill Favini) for the Hole-n-one Prizes

Phillips Arena ( Rachel Wannemacher) hawks, thrasher tickets

Echelon, Chestatee, and Alpharetta Atheltic Club for the rounds of golf

And again THANK YOU to all the sponsors and people that made it all possible and put their time and effort to making this tournament a success!

 

 

 

Savannah Bound and Tournament canceled

So this past weekend myself and 3 other teammates made our way down to Savannah. Now I planned on going down there because I haven't been and I figured it would be a great chance to see where my ride was ending. Well we had a blast down there and got to meet up with some old friends and hung out and watched Eric, Reggie, and David race.  On Saturday night Eric pulled a 3rd, and Reggie placed 2nd. On our way back to the venue on Sunday morning as we were pulling in I decided right then and there I was racing. I signed up and used Eric's kit, shoes, and bike.. ohh yeah and a water bottle and I used Davids helmet.. Now I have never ridden Eric's bike before nor did I pre ride the course. So we were off I was in the back of the pack until I decided this isn't where I want to be put me in front! So I pushed it through some straights and around some corners and made my way up to about 5th and right on Reggie's wheel. We made a right hand turn and about to go over some WHOOPS and bam a guy hits my from the right side. I swerved to the left hitting another guy and I got taken down. Well jumping back on the bike I noticed two things right off the bat.... handle bars were crooked and the right shifter was jammed. So needless to say I didn't finish the race and my first cross race I went down! Other then the bike be jacked up which we go back to working I was okay. My ribs hurt a little and my left shoulder and elbow hurt also. All and all I really enjoyed my time down in Savannah and wish I could have stayed one more day.

 

And as you heard the golf tournament that was supposed to be today was canceled due to the rain. We pushed it back to next Tuesday. I have been able to raise so far 2,520 dollars and looking forward to having this extra week and try to hit 3000. I couldn't believe what all I was able to get from talking to people and spreading the word about 3-D. I got rounds of golf to Echelon, Chestatee, and Alpharetta Athletic Club. I also got Chick-fil-a to donate breakfast, RBM North to donate a hole-n-one car along with 3 other hole-n-one prizes. The thrashers gave me 3 sets of two tickets to games and Hawks did the same along with signed basketball and signed puck. So all and all I really feel like I've done really well with the tournament and prizes for the first year. I'm already looking forward to next year and finding ways to improve it!