Saturday, January 21, 2012

Race Weight

202 Days Until LT100

I made the decision after much research that my race weight for the LT100 should be 155.  If you think about it, this is a very big factor for race day as you only have so much power in your legs and every extra pound takes some of that power away.  I raced last years Silver Rush 50 in Leadville at 162 and made that weight pretty easy just cutting out sweets and eating "healthy"

Todd and I
However, 155 will be a bigger challenge.  At the beginning of the year, my buddy Todd (PRiDE Fitness) and I started on the Caveman (Paleo) diet.  This diet consists of what a Caveman could eat: nuts, eggs, meat, fruits and veges.  The obvious hard part is lack of grains (carbs) and processed foods are out.  On the long ride days (over two hours) I do take on carbs that Cavemen would not have had but Cavemen also didn't ride a bike for 6 hours at a time.  I have to keep fuel in the tank to keep pedaling.

Since the beginning of the year I am down 9 pounds.  I started at 174 and am at 165.  I occasionally get light headed when I get up from sitting for a while but that is all I have really noticed, other than carb cravings which is just part of changing your lifestyle.  I do have a cheat day over the weekend where ice cream is in order.....come on, I'm not completely crazy.

Andy
Today, my coach Andy Gibbs (AG Coaching) is coming over to my house to make sure my computrainer is set up correctly for my power tests today and tomorrow.  He will also stay through today's test to make sure my effort is where it should be.  These tests will then help set my training for the next period of training.

On a personal note, my son and I are going to the Murray State vs SIUE basketball game tonight.  My wife has her Masters from Murray and undergrad from SIUE.  Furthermore, Murray State is undefeated this year and ranked number 14 in the nation or so.....Should be a blowout but fun for us.  ps. my dad is an usher at the stadium, he will be "in charge"

Go Big or Stay Home

Thursday, January 19, 2012

204 Days Till LT100!!

204 days until Leadville Trail 100

I have another goal besides the LT100 on August 11th.  That is to post everyday until then.

Leaving the Simmons House Brrrr
Family weekend gametime
Last week was a big week of training but I had a fever for a day and a half which cut into my training time.  By the weekend I was back on the bike.  This past weekend was Simmons family weekend.  That is where all of Bill and Carolyn's kids, their spouses, and kids go over to their house with bags packed and spend the weekend.  The boys usually go shoot guns and the girls go shopping.  BTW, ask any of the boys who won the skeet round with 17 out of 25.......This year the Simmons' got to see what a Computrainer looks like and sounds like.

Family Pullups
On Saturday we went to the circuit at PRiDE Fitness (in the snow) and then I rode later that night for 2 hours on the computrainer watching playoff football.....Tebow didnt do so well.....

Mississippi River in background
Sunday I rode for three hours and finished at my sons basketball game in Godfrey.  It wasnt that cold but it sure was windy.   However, you had to watch out for snow patches.

This week is a down week with only about 8 hours of workouts but Sat and Sun are power tests.  Tonight was 1.5 hours on the trainer.  It went pretty good, Hudson hung out with me and we talked through it and watched the top 40 FAILs on VH1 (kinda appropriate for a 10 year old) Hey, mom was at Tae Kwon Do with Madi.....

This past week my wife sent me out to buy my Christmas present (even though the Superfly 100 was my bday and Christmas gift) it is a GoPro Hero camera.  This camera will allow me to take video of my rides this year to post on here and document my training from an onboard point of view.....very exciting.  In February I have a trip scheduled to the Berryman trail (couples weekend) (yes we plan a couples weekend around where the trails are) and another one to Georgia with about 10 other guys to kick start the hard core training for the spring.  They are staying for 6 days, I will go for 4.  There will be some elevation change down in them there mountains and you will get to see some footage of the pain.....

Looking forward to daily posts to capture my moods......



Go Big or Stay Home