All posts tagged "biking"
The stationary bike seemed like a safer option than the treadmill at sea, so I did some timed intervals:
Repeat 8x
I did a ladder with the resistance to keep things interesting. So nice to be able to take a dip in the pool to cool down after this one.
Today we participated in the inaugural New York Muddy Buddy event, held at Harriman State Park in Stony Point. Since Zach went down with a broken metatarsal (thanks Vibram!) a few weeks ago, Dave took some time out of his busy triathlon schedule to be my replacement buddy. Team Cotton finished in a disappointing 47:25, 10th place in our division.
I ran 3 out of the 5 legs but also got stuck with the toughest biking leg, which really took the wind out of my sails. I’m a terrible mountain biker to begin with, but after the pounding my ass took in that fourth leg, my last run was just a disaster. Note to self: next year, the weaker mountain biker (me) has to start the race on the bike and run legs 2 & 4.
Past Muddy Buddies: 2009 Richmond, VA; 2008 Richmond, VA
Since I tweaked my upper back, I couldn’t do any kind of weight-related conditioning workout like I planned. I tried pullups and pushups and both were right out. I hopped on the bike since it was the only thing I could do comfortably and I wanted to get a sweat going:
Repeat 6x
I wasn’t even able to hit max intensity here since my back felt like crud. Still got a decent sweat.
I completed my first ever triathlon today - the Schiff Scout Off-Road Tri in Wading River, NY. I’ve done swim races, road races, swim/run races, and bike/run races, so it was only a matter of time before I took on a full triathlon. The Schiff Scout is a .5 mile swim, 10 mile mountain bike, and a 3.1 mile trail run. My total time was a sluggish 1:59:30, which was good for 53rd place out of 138.
I did pretty well on the swim (16:17, 35th overall) and ok on the run (26:53 - it was pretty tough to climb the hills after my legs were shot from the biking), but it took me a miserable 1:13 to complete the bike course (137th overall). I was totally out of my league and I wasn’t even sure I would be able to finish the 10 miles. I kept the mantra “it doesn’t matter how slow you go as long as you don’t stop” running through my head and pushed through to finish, but it sure wasn’t pretty.
Zachy and Dave also competed - they teamed up to form the Gorgeous Angels and did way better (1:43) since Zach is a master bikeman and the triathlon is all about the bike leg.
The thing is, I’m not even motivated to get better at biking and to redeem myself because it was really no fun at all. I’ll stick to swim races and the occaisonal run, thanks.
Trying to incoporate biking into my conditioning workouts:
Repeat 3x
Total time: 16:03.
Cooked up a quick circuit after my front squatting:
Untimed since I forgot my timer today. I sure was sweating good though.
Zach and I trekked down to Richmond, Virginia for our second Muddy Buddy Ride & Run. We learned some lessons from last year’s race and had a decent game plan to win it this year:
We also planned on getting to Pocahontas State Park early so we could relax a bit before the race, but since Google Maps failed me again (for the last time), we pulled up very late and got our packet and numbers affixed about 30 seconds before our wave started the race. Yikes.
Despite the frantic start, things went well until we blew a gasket on the bike. I rode my first leg of the race with one gear (the lowest), which made it a bit more difficult than it should have been. Apparently Zach had even more troubles because I was left waiting at the last checkpoint before the infamous mud pit for about 10 minutes. Usually the bikers finish first and wait for the runners there. The most upsetting part is that I finished the run before the team that came in third place in our division so we would have gotten in the top three without all the bike problems. Ah well, there’s always next year.
Designed an impromptu workout to work on my bikemanship:
Total time: 18:17. My bikemanship needs a lot of work.
At the lovely Zermatt Resort in Midway Utah for business. I decided that I need to spend some time on a bike (even if it is stationary) to prepare for this year’s Muddy Buddy race with Zach. Started with some mobility exercises and 3x3 Turkish Get Ups with 65lb to warm up. Then onto the bike:
Total - 18 minutes of work. I didn’t get winded at all, but my legs were burning pretty much the whole time. I tried to vary the resistance on the bike to simulate hills and I realized that I have a lot of work to do before this race. Maybe next time I’ll mix it up with running and biking intervals so I catch more of a conditioning workout. Finished up with 10 minutes in the steam room which is always welcome.
I temporarily lifted my shun on Zach so we could team up for the 2008 Muddy Buddy Ride & Run in Richmond, VA. After lots of driving and very little sleep, we made the check-in at around 6:00am on Sunday. Team Science & Science finished the course in 49:37 - good for 12th place in our division. But hey, they don’t give medals for 12th place.
We both agreed that the distances were shorter than we expected and we could have pushed harder, but it was also my first time biking in any competition and Zach’s pedals stink. The whole course was 6-7 miles with 5 obstacles - including the famous mud pit at the end. The hardest part of the day was finding the GD bike at the checkpoint - we need to devise a system for this next year…when we come to win this thing.
