Maintenance Time!

Loyal readers (I know there is SOMEONE out there), as you can tell, we're doing a bit of upkeep on the blog.  Not sure what the final format will be, but this space will be changed to accommodate our most newest thoughts, ideas, and generally anything related to what it is we do-most notably, endurance mountain bike racing.

Both Anne and I will be posting here on a consistent basis.  Hopefully having a "partner in crime" on this blog will keep things up to date a bit more than they have been in recent past.  

Anyway, we're both looking forward to sharing some of our adventures and we hope that whoever is interested in reading about a crazy and wacky couple will enjoy it!

So this is what it feels like...

Training hard on the bike(s) for the first time in I can't remember when.  It's not like i've been unfit in my time away from endurance training.  I've done plenty of strength training and trail riding.  I wasn't off the bike for anything more than a few days, but still, it was not focused, "time in the saddle" type training.

It feels good to be back. I'm still a bit hesitant though as I don't want to give up my (to me) much more fun trail riding, full of jumps, drops, and technical sections.  I will say though, there is an aspect to feeling very fit that drives me to push a bit more and scratch the itch of longer distance XC racing.

So the race schedule, even though small, looks right now that it will include 2 Xterra races (the first of which is next weekend), and a 6 hour endurance race in late November.  The Xterra's will be nice little tune ups, nothing overly long, just more for fun, with the 6 hour race being the focus.  The last time I did said race I came in fourth.  With the way things are going, I'll be disappointed with anything less than that.  My technical skills have grown in leaps and bounds, and by the time late November comes around, I'll be just as strong if not stronger from a fitness point of view than I was years ago when I raced.

One of the oddest things, from a training standpoint is how quickly my body has adjusted to riding for extended periods of time.  I've lost a pretty substantial amount of weight in the last few weeks, and I'm looking "skinny" like an endurance racer again.  When I last raced seriously, I was 168lbs.  This past spring I was tipping the scales at about 205lbs.  I'm not about 180lbs 'ish, and feeling faster by the day.   Fun to see that my body is following in line.  Almost as if saying, "Ok, if this is what we're gonna do..."

Equipment wise I'll be rocking a Niner Air 9 29er XC hard tail for my adventures.  It's odd riding such a big bike after being used to the long traveled, 26 inch wheeled variety for the last couple years.  While I enjoy the smaller wheels and the more cushioned ride much more (not to mention I feel like I ride those bikes much better), there is nothing better suited for XC riding and racing that a 29er, hands down.  I'm not going to say I love the big wheels, but it's a necessary evil for what I'm choosing to do.

So that's about it for now.  I've just been stuck into my training, working as much as I can, and trying to keep my wife happy. :-)  Hopefully the future will hold more time for writing and sharing some of my adventures as they happen.  Time to head into work!

Rest Day

Pretty self explanatory really.  Rested today.  Put together a solid three days of riding at the end of last week so, as my custom in the past, Monday is a day to catch up on life stuff and give the legs a rest in order to prepare for more training to come.  Did I totally need it today?  Probably not, but I think it's a good habit to get in the mode of taking at least one full day of rest-weather I feel I need it or not.

Tomorrow is back on the XC bike.

False Start

Not exactly the start I wanted to get off to regarding my endurance training.  I've gotten in a couple good road rides the last few days, a sluggish run, and an ok weight training session, but my lack of adequate rest has already created a bit of a road block.  Simple fact is, you can't train what you don't recover, so I had to take a bit of a step back this morning and sacrifice good free time I planned to use for training in favor of getting some well needed rest.  Once I've got the sleep part of things figured out, I'm sure I'll hit the dirt spinning.

On an exciting note, I should be getting my new (new to me anyway) race rig tomorrow.  Though I said I'd never straddle another 29er, I'm getting a great deal on an Orbea Alma Carbon bike from a really good friend.  The frame is a smaller size that I'd usually ride, but in checking out the geometry and fitting standards on the Orbea website, it should just about fit.  Either way, the deal is so good it's not worth passing up, even if after getting it I need to make some other arrangements to get a larger frame.  Nothing like getting some new wheels!

Focus wise, it's really interesting swapping over, back to endurance.  The good thing, as I see it, will be that I'll be fitter for any downhill/enduro races that I do.  In addition, my bike skills are the best they've ever been, making for what will be an interesting combo if I can get my fitness back to where it used to be.  After my last stint in XC racing, I realized that though I was fitter than most other racers, my skill were seriously lacking.  In fact, that's what got me into the whole downhill thing.  I had so much fun trying to improve my skills for XC, I fell in love with DH and just kept it moving from there.  Now though, in deciding to pull off a piece of the pie from every angle, it's going to be a whole new ballgame.

At the end of the day, I'm just at my happiest when I'm riding bikes.  I've got a long travel bike, a dirt jump bike, and (soon to have) and XC bike.  Why in the world would I choose to limit myself to riding and racing just one???

And here I am again...

I can't even begin to share the adventures I've been through on this blog just yet.  Everything has been a blur for about the past three months but the speed seems to be slowing to a comfortable pace.  Things are getting settled and new adventures are on the doorstep of beginning.

I've decided to throw my hat back into the endurance mountain biking ring once again.  Following Anne around to all of her races has got the endurance bug biting me in the ass once again.  I won't go the triathlon route again just yet (not quite ready to get back into the water), but I'm excited to get back onto the bike and put in some miles in the dirt.  The plan isn't to focus ONLY on endurance though, as I'm still quite keen on racing enduro and downhill before this years season comes to a close.  Maybe it's silly to be a jack of all trades on the mountain bike, but I can't see (in my head anyway) any way in which I'd be at a specific disadvantage.  My bike handling skills are back up to snuff, and I've spent two years working almost exclusively on riding fast down hills.  Now I've just got to get back into that pedaling thing.

I'll write more as I've now begun "formal" training, and update more regularly before the first endurance race, the Wilderness 101 (NUE series)-which was oddly my last endurance race completed. Looking forward to the new journey!

And the beat goes on...

Not much in the last days.  Great workouts and lots of "life stuff" going on.  Looking forward to the warm weather and FINALLY being able to spend some time with my beautiful fiancee Anne, who will be here on a visit while we wait for her visa to come through.  We haven't seen each other since January 3rd, so this reunion is well overdue.

Today will be a rest day from exercise, but not from cleaning and preparing the house for her arrival.  Women, funny as it may seem, often have a different definition of what constitutes a clean home.  Now that I'm closing in on my last moments as a bachelor, my window of chaotic living (my apartment being dirty) is coming to a fast close.  It's been a good run, but now it's time to harden up and CLEAN UP.

Such a busy day I forgot I worked out!

In these days of trying to grow my business and prepare for the future ahead, more times than not I'm trying to find inventive ways to fit in a workout in the midst of running back and forth from wherever to wherever.  Just about every day of this I remember my workout, not always because of how hard it was, but merely for the fact that it's a HUGE priority in my life and I ALWAYS make time for it.  Today though, the workout just sort of fit in.  It wasn't the "event" of the day, but rather just another cog in the machine of movement that went into making today what it was.

I had to get in something quick.  By the time I got into the gym I had about 30 minutes to not only warm up (which I almost never do), but also complete a tough workout, and get changed and ready to meet with my next appointment.  Long story short, after a quick warmup of some push ups, sit ups, and pull ups, I completed the following:

3 rounds of 2 minutes work, 1 minute rest of:
5 Burpees
5 Pull ups
6 Sandbag shouldering (alternating)
3 rounds of 2 minutes work, 1 minute rest of:
Sandbag getups, alternating sides on the "stand"

In comparison to the workout I did Saturday, this looks like nearly nothing (at least to me).  But, and that's a big "BUT", when done to max effort, this little nugget becomes quite the female dog.  It's easy enough to allow you (me) to continue work without interruption, yet tough enough to let you know you really did something by the end.  Also, it's convenient in the way that it takes up little time as well as uses little equipment.  Nothing but a pull up bar is necessary, and if that's unavailable, sandbag bent over rows can be substituted.  Simple, basic, and unconventional-everything that I believe in!

When I first found kettlebells I thought that would be it for me.  I loved them (and still do), but have found a real gem in sandbag training.  There's nothing else that I've ever come across in all my years of being in the fitness industry that challenges you in a similar way.  To me, sandbags are the closest thing to grappling (or wrestling) as you can get-and THAT, my friends, is one of the hardest things you can physically do.  When you actually "fight" another human being, you're bringing yourself to entire new levels of strength and conditioning.  It's no wonder that combat athletes are some of the fittest people in the world.  The human psyche, in most instances, doesn't quit.  Our survival instincts kick in and we're literally fighting for our lives.  Pain and "the burn" kind of become secondary when someone is trying to choke you unconscious.

So, with sandbag training, you're "fighting" that dead weight in a similar manner as you do when grappling.  It's moving an object that's got it's own idea of where it wants to go.  No dumbbell, barbell, or even kettlebell demands the absolute control of a sandbag.  While kettlebells are a close second, they are still second.  Long live king sandbag!