A Rough Week

This was a pretty rough week. The weather was cold and windy all week and on every group ride I got spanked. I’m sure the running has a lot to do with that. I sure am starting to feel old riding with all these young fast guys. Next week is the first big test. The DawnTillDusk Mountain Bike Race in Gallup, NM. Total for week:

Run: 8 hrs, 50 miles
Bike: 12 hrs, 142 miles

The Old Guy with ProCycling Studs (Click to enlarge)

Sunday: After dealing with the wind and trying to keep up with the young guys yesterday I was completely exhausted. I crawled to bed around 8:30 and slept until 8:00. Woke up feeling pretty good. The sun was shining, but it was still windy and cold. I decided to run and not really plan where. Make it up as I go along. Headed for Ute Valley, ran a loop, then over to the middle school where Roswitha was running laps on the track. Ran a couple of miles with her then headed back to Ute Valley. I was feeling really good today and even though there was a stiff cold wind, it didn’t bother me. I was enjoying the run and so was Max. We ran several long loops and after 18 miles started heading toward home. Max is incredible. We had just covered 20 miles and once we got to within a mile of the house, he started sprinting through all his "known rabbit hideouts" like we had just started! When we got home he absolutely had to go clear the back yard of any rabbits or squirrels.
Run: 3.6 hrs, 21 miles 2,260’ climbing

Max, My best Running Buddy

Saturday: Saturday was a tough day. I could hear the wind howling from my bed. Got up to see light snow blowing sideways, not good. Went for a 5 mile run with Max and the wind was ridicules. Strong, frigid and miserable. I also felt tired. Got home, ate and headed for the team ride. It was about an hour ride to where we met and I had a tail wind so even though I was tired, it felt like I was flying. Because of the weather, we had a rather small turn out; six. With the exception of me they were all young fast guys and at least two of them, Doug & Kalan, pro.

Doug Ryden

We had a good ride in Cheyenne Canyon, although I was getting dropped a lot and when I did hang on I was struggling. Going home was rough. Against an even stronger & colder headwind. I got caught by a side wind and was actually blown off the bike path. Shortly after that I came upon the always-comical group of Hash House Harriers. They were spread out all over the woods looking for beer. I’m sure when they found it, it was cold! Ducked into Ute Valley to get some more single-track riding and escape the wind. Once I got home I was exhausted both mentally & physically. For the first time this year, I felt like I was my age.

Run: .8 hrs, 5 miles
Bike: 4.8 hrs, 42 miles, 4,140’ climbing

Friday: An easy relaxing ride to work. Left around 5:30. Weather was beautiful, clear and in the 30s. Again, the mountains looked pristine as the early morning sunrise reflected their snowcaps. Makes you feel great to be alive! In the evening got an unexpected ride. As I headed for my truck after work, I realized I forgot my keys. Not planning on riding home, I stuffed my morning riding clothes in my backpack. Pulled them out and they were soaked. Yuk! Rode home in wet smelly clothes in a pretty stiff head wind. Luckily it wasn’t super cold.
Bike: 3.1 hrs, 39 miles

Thursday: Got up at 4:30 and went on 12 mile run with Max in fresh snow from snowstorm last night. Absolutely beautiful! Nothing like running in fresh snow on mountain trails early in the morning. Treading the first footprints and being dark, sometimes I had a hard time following the trail. As in the past I just relied on Max and let him show me the way. Every now and then we came upon Coyote tracks so I made sure I Max was always in sight. At about 4 miles we came upon very fresh, what I believe to be, mountain lion tracks. Yikes! From that point I made Max run at my side. I certainly don’t want Max becoming mountain lion breakfast. As the sun rose, I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be out here running. The scene was simply amazing. What a way to start the day.

In the evening, rode home from work at a good tempo. Lengthened the route so I could get two 30 minute tempo sections without having to stop for traffic lights or stop signs. The route home from work is pretty good for tempo riding as home is a few hundred feet higher than the office. It was a great ride, and it is obvious that taking it easy yesterday was the right thing to do. I feel totally recharged!
Run: 1.7 hrs, 12 miles
Bike: 1.6 hrs, 22 miles

Wednesday: Felt really tired today. I had planned on riding to and from work but just couldn’t drag my tired but out of bed early enough to ride, so I drove. My plan for riding home was squelched when another snowstorm hit right about time to go. I was still feeling pretty run down and decided to listen to my body. I went home and rode 1 hour on the trainer focusing on relaxing and hi rpm spinning. This helped work some of the stiffness out of my legs and hopefully will give me a nice rest to get recharged.
Bike: 1 hour, ? miles