The Dream is not Dead Just Detoured!

Things have not gone as I would have liked.  Job's seem to be very hard to come by.  One would think that it wouldn't be that hard to find even a minimum wage job but it is not as easy as it sounds.  I have put out scores of online applications and resumes and have yet to get even an acknowledgement.  It has been very discouraging.  However, I have not given up hope!

I did run the St George Marathon in October but fell well short of my goal to qualify for the Boston marathon in 2013.  I was only able to do 4:29:03 at St George partly because of the temperature which had reached 82 degrees by the time I finished.  Still, I think the best I could have done would have been about a 4:05 finish.  I will need a 3:55 to qualify for Boston in 2013, but probably more like a 3:45 to be assured of an actual entry based on the new system of faster runners getting early signup preference.  I am planning on trying to qualify again in February while running either Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach, CA on Feb 5th 2012, or the Sedona Marathon in Sedona, AZ on Feb 4th 2012.  Surf City is a flatter and faster course and close to home but is rather boring.  The Sedona Marathon has 1100 feet of vertical ascent with spectacular views and is an out and back course.  It would probably be easier to qualify at Surf City but the scenic panorama view offered on the Sedona course is very tempting.  Decision, decisions, decisions.  I probably won't make a decision until after Christmas.  Of course the cost of both marathons goes up by waiting that long to decide but I really want to know that I can have a reasonable chance of qualifying at Sedona as opposed to Surf City.  You can check out both marathons using the links below.

Surf City Marathon: http://www.runsurfcity.com/Default.asp

Sedona Marathon: http://www.sedonamarathon.com/index.html

Ok, enough on running.  I have not actually ridden my bike in over three months.  It is time to get back in the saddle and hit the pavement, not literally of course!  The cooler weather will make it easier to do mid morning rides, of which I should have plenty of time, until I find that elusive job.  I plan on starting by riding 20 miles three days a week with a longer ride of 40 - 60 miles once a week, added after the first two weeks of riding.  This really isn't that difficult for someone who is close to marathon shape already.  The hardest part is actually getting used to sitting in the saddle for that long of a time.  It takes time to adjust to being in the saddle for long periods.  That will come with time.

I am really looking forward to this holiday season and the fall and winter weather.  Being in sunny Southern California the winters are quite nice.  Other than the occasional rain and some bothersome wind at times, it is generally quite nice this time of the year.  Definitely better than the snow and freezing weather of the northern regions of the US.

If any of you know of any employment opportunities I would appreciate you steering me in the right direction.  I have no problem with minimum wage although I would prefer to have most weekends off.

Till next time,

Cheers,

Russ

Riding On with Disappointment!

Well it has been way too long since I last made a post.  It is sometimes hard to write when things aren't going the way you would like them to go.  Such has been the case these last few months.  The ride will not be taking place.  At least not this year.  I am way to underfunded to make it happen.  In addition I have had a few setbacks in training but still feel that if funded I could manage to get in shape in time for a June start.

So barring a miracle, like winning the lottery, I will have to settle for getting in shape and doing some shorter rides closer to home.  I am back to riding almost every day now as the weather has begun to cooperate as of late.  I am hoping to be up to riding around 70 - 80 miles a day by mid-June.

I have a few other things planned so far for this summer in addition to doing a lot of riding.  The first is hiking to the summit of Mt Whitney, with height of 14,497 feet in elevation on September 24th.  It will be a one day hike of about 22 miles in length.  Then the following week I plan on running the St George Marathon in St George, UT.  My goal is to break 3 hours 45 minutes and qualify again for the Boston Marathon.

Mean while I will keep on riding, running and hiking as well as looking for a job in order to finance my bike ride next year.

At the moment I am looking out my window and seeing the rain pour.  For about 30 seconds there was a little hail.  Glad I wasn't in the middle of a ride during this.

Thank you all for your encouragement.  I will try to blog more often, starting from this point.

Pedal on,


Russ

Progress is Progress

Progress, in this case, is a steady but sure improvement in both endurance and fitness.  This week rode a total of 129 miles.  That total distance approaches the total I would have ridden had I accomplished my goal of riding 20 miles each day.  All in all I am happy with what I accomplished this week.  I did a ride of 36.4 miles without a break.  I did a 26 mile ride at a pretty good clip with only one break.  I did a 30.3 mile ride hard out and easy back and the next day, Yesterday, I did 36.4 miles at a relatively hard clip, for me, of 17.3 mph average riding time.  That is contrasted with Monday's ride of the same course and distance with no breaks and a moderately hard pace of 15.2 mph average.  The difference being that our group took four breaks on the ride yesterday, giving the legs time to recuperate and thus making it easier to ride at a faster pace.

I feel that I have adequately pushed myself this past week so as to spur more conditioning but not so much that I risk over-training.  My legs are mildly sore this morning which is to be expected after pushing myself on the ride yesterday.  I feel that I need a day off today, so I will not do the 13 mile run that I had planned on doing. Since riding is my primary goal at the moment running will have to take a backseat to riding and rest.  In order to improve one has to have the right balance between exercise and rest, gradually increasing the work load while the body adapts.  As one adapts to a specific amount of work and rest in combination, then the workload is again increased giving the body another challenge to adapt to.

Next week I hope to get in 160 miles or more of riding.  I may not ride every day but I would like to get in at least one more day of riding than I did this week.  That would make a five day week of riding.  When I do my trip I plan on riding an average of six days a week.  I may occasionally take an extra day or two off to visit and explore in a few places but for the most part six days of riding a week will be the plan with one day off for rest and recuperation.

Happy to be riding again!

I got sidetracked from my riding plans with a cold virus last week.  That was a bit of a bummer.  I only got in one ride.  Today however, I got in almost two and a half hours of riding for a distance of 36.4 miles.  Not fast, but at least I stayed on the bike the whole time without stopping for a break.  I averaged 15.2mph with a little stronger wind in my face on the return trip than when I went out; The wind tends to pick up as the day goes on.  All in all though it was a mild wind and a very good ride.  I plan on using this ride as a base with which to judge my overall progress through my training.

So far, I have not done any really tough rides and don't really plan on that until late November or early December. At that time I hope to have built up a good base mileage and have gotten stronger at the same time.  I will probably want to do some rides with a goodly amount of hill climbing by that time to build my strength even more.

 I did notice that my left leg felt a little strained on the return trip and will probably have to take it easy and not push myself for the next few days.  I believe it is the Vastus Medialis muscle, which is on the inner top of the lower thigh.  Not sure, but I may have to adjust my clip on my shoes.  It could also just be that I pushed it a little harder than I am really ready to ride.

Tomorrow morning I plan on riding an easy 20 miles or so and perhaps do a little running in the evening.  Would really like to ride at least 20 miles a day this week and it looks like the weather will be perfect until next Monday when there is a 30% chance of rain.  I may do a long ride on Saturday but will have to see how it goes. 

Minor Training Woes

Well the last week has been a bit of a disappointment as far as training goes.  It has been overcast and humid, with inconsistent periods of rain and almost no sunshine!  As it has been hard to time riding with the weather breaks I really didn't get in any training rides this last week. I am hoping to get in a short 20 mile ride later today.  I did get in one 10 mile run, which is training, albeit cross-training!

This coming week is looking much better for riding, with the possible exception of Monday ( 30% chance of rain in AM ), so I am really looking forward to it!  My goal is to ride at least an hour or more a day next week with at least one ride in the 2.5 - 3.0 hour range.  Although it is not super important to get my mileage up really fast, I do need to develop the daily consistency and discipline of being in the saddle.

As I look forward to doing the actual cross county ride this summer I know I will have many days of weather I would rather not ride in.  While I know that I will need to train in, and for, all kinds of weather, I really would rather work on just riding for the time being.  There will be plenty of time to practice riding in the wind and rain and I really don't see the need to practice it this far out from the event, especially the rain.  If you are not familiar with wet weather riding then you might be unaware of how much more dangerous it is!  In addition to not being as visible to vehicle drivers there is almost twice the chance of getting a flat tire because road debris and thorns are more likely to stick to the tires.  There is also the slicker roads, and road bikes don't have great traction when the roads are wet.

Wind on the other hand presents other challenges.  I would usually rather ride into a headwind than a cross wind.  Couple that with riding a bike loaded with panniers and it makes for a very cumbersome ride making the bike very hard to control and much more tiring overall.

So for right now I am going to concentrate on just trying to get in as much riding as possible on a consistent basis and let the weather take care of itself.

Tomorrow I am planning on running 12 miles in the morning, with the Loma Linda Loper's Running Club, and perhaps a ride later in the afternoon.  I am hoping for some actual sunshine on the ride!  Wish me luck

A New Beginning!

Today marks the beginning of my training for my attempt at a doublecross bicycle ride across America.  Today I rode 26 miles at a 15.2 mph average.  Back in late January of this year, I rode the same bike path and distance with a 16.8 mph average.  I guess you could say I am out of shape.  Since cycling in my 50's I have never really been a great cyclist and probably never will be, even for my age.  I simply enjoy cycling and have always dreamed of doing this kind of trek across country since I was a teenager.

When I was in my mid teens I was acquainted with a young woman by the name of Becky.  I presume that was short for Rebbecca but don't really remember, or know if I ever did know.  Her last name also escapes me but I believe it was Wilson.  I remember being impressed with her as a single woman doing a doublecross across the US by herself.  Sometime, I may try and research this as I believe she may have been the first woman to have done this.  She started and ended in Denver, Colorado. I believe it was sometime in the mid to late 60's.  Her accomplishment left me with a feeling of awe and inspiration!  The cycling equipment at that time was nowhere near what it is today making the feat even more amazing.

Since that day I have always wanted to do such a ride and now, once again, I am starting the training and making the plans to do just that.  I plan on riding from Grand Terrace, CA to Sedona, AZ to Denver, CO and from there heading almost do east to Washington, DC.  From Washington I plan on returning to the west coast, taking a more northerly route, until I get to Seattle, WA and from Seattle, WA back down the coast to home.  I do not have the complete route mapped out, and even if I did I know that there will be some slight changes from time to time for various reasons.  I estimate that the complete ride will be between 7,000 and 7,500 miles.  It would be nice to average 75 miles a day or more, including non riding days but I know that will be tough to accomplish.

Am I in the least bit apprehensive?  Yes I am, but I am much more excited than apprehensive.  My two biggest tasks from here on out will be training and saving the money.  I am planning on doing this alone, as I know that it will probably be hard to find someone that can get away that long to do it with me.  However, if you are reading this and think you might be able to do it with me let me know.


Training Log:

10/11/10  26 miles 15.2 mph avg. Terrain: Easy bike path.  Weather: mild 70-80 Deg.

Preparing for Next Year

I have decided to work on getting ready to try again next year in the late spring or early summer. I will be working on ramping up my cycling mileage and saving as much money as possible. As I see it, the hard part will be saving the money. To do the full 7500 mile, double cross across the US, trip will probably cost around $10,000 to $12,000 as I plan on mostly staying in motels. That is a lot of money to save between now and June of 2011. I would also like to make a few smaller trips in the meantime say somewhere between 500 and 1000 miles. That would give me more experience for what I will be up against in trying to do 7500 miles in 3-4 months.

I will be posting from time to time letting you know how my plans and training are coming along, as well as how I am doing in the savings department. Feel free to offer suggestions and give input especially if it is positive.

I will have much more time this time to plan my route and get in shape. Last time, while I had a general route plan, I was not really in shape and was hoping to ride myself into shape and gradually build my daily mileage. This time I plan on both being in shape and having done several longer trips already to gain experience!

So far I am planning on doing the trip by myself, but I am open to the idea of one or two others joining me, either one way or the entire distance. This would also help in making the cost of the trip much less by sharing the cost of motels etc.