my garmin froze.....but its not frozen

got an encouraging call on friday afternoon, seems i have been hit up for a job interview for tuesday the 20th in toronto. its at another tool and die shop but seem pretty checked out from their website. i hope that it goes well, as it is a temporary position but the money could come in hand right now.

as for fridays workout, pretty simple as it was a recovery day:

75 mins h.r. zone 2 keep below 136

just watched battle star galactica for the ride duration. kieth sent me a meassage about joining a local bike store with their indoor rides, sounds like a plan as it would help with any problems on staleness and keeping things fresh. incredible cardio workout without the pounding of miles in the legs.

as for todays workout:

2.5 hrs computrainer course was really draggy at the end with ramps up to 3.5 to 6%, maybe 3 mins max at length, just real power climbs. was able to hold about 280-320 watts for most of them, but the legs are heavy from this weeks interval work. i have been just using the weekend computrainer ride as my main "hard" workout with the rest of the time just aerobic base building. now the intensity load is higher and my legs were feeling it at the end today because of the the 2 other workouts this week.

i wanted to download the garmin info, but the damn computer is froze.....or the computer was left on and it drained, but i just recharged it last night....so i dont know whats wrong, but i cant get to the info in it to download to view.

oh well......

stick to the plan, stan!!!

late night workout....like my good bud kelrock, i too have been let go from work. such a contagious disease this downturn. ended up having to fax a job application to a temp agency in milton, who r helping to replace workers at company that are in a strike situation...bad for them, good for me.
as i got back home from faxing the application at staples, i realised that i have to stay on track with the training because right now, its the only constant in a bad situation. but i also have to realize that alot of what has happened to me in the last year is not within my control, and i have to roll with the punches. I wish kieth all the best cuz i know what he is going through. it sucks but thats life......
so....here is last nights workout, indoors as usual, because its been hovering around -15 in the day and -30 at night....eeewwwww..

TOTAL TIME 90 MINS
30 MIN WARMUP
3MIN SEMI HARD INTENSITY
2 MIN REST
8 * (3 MIN HARD INTENSITY/2 MIN EASY RECOVERY)
10 - 15 MIN COOLDOWN

gotta stomp on the pedals and get the h.r. up to l.t. as fast as possible and then hold and control h.r. just a few beats below.....

keeping a log....seriously!!

monday january 12 2009

1 hr spin indoors zone 2 h.r. 116-136 not much fun, but important. all endurance.

tuesday january 13 2009

1hr spin indoors emphasis on zone 4 h.r. 155-175 lactate threshold
10 min. w/u
3min (semi high intensity)
2min recovery
4*(6min high intensity/4min recovery)
5-10 min cooldown.

this workout gives you 24 mins at a very high aerobic oxygen consumption.

so far, so good....today i am off to the y.m.c.a. for a start on the treadmill as it is -27 deg. right now and windless...if the wind picks up, watchout. as for todays workout, it is pretty simple.....

wednesday january 14 2009

90 mins spin indoors zone 2 endurance ride.

so it begins......

went over some sample training programs for indoor winter riding over the weekend. need a definite focus for about 12 weeks, something that has structure to allow me to come into the early eseason prepared right. i am going to try to race at a higher level this year, with the focus on trying to get into senior 1/2 race category and have a try with the pros for 2009. but first, i have to start in sen.3 and move up based on points and placings......should be a good diversion from the situation i find myself in right now. I find inspiration from my fellow blogger kieth kelly who has strong belief and dedication to his goal.

so i have started a 12 week program to gain the fitness and confidence needed to roll strong in april. there are 2 significant races in april......april 10, good friday road races, a tough undulating road course and the following weekend the Paris to Ancaster road/offroad race. as i will be riding the good friday race as a sen. 3, it will be shorter in duration and my start time will be late morning unlike the 1-130 start times for m-1.

i would die for legs like that above.....

sometimes pictures worth a thosand words.....

top pic is me after our 4.5 hrs indoor trainer charity ride..........not good.

my calves r doing their own thing......

light brick workout today.....75min indoor spin with an evening run of 30 mins. my damn calves keep cramping up near the end of my runs.......its a creeping pain that centres itself deep into my calves, probably the soleus muscle and get s worse as i climb up onto my toes. made an appointment to see john "hands" carson, my good buddy and top notch massage/pyschologist to get me thru this peroid of hurt. i want to be pain free, and i know that it is not a serious problem, just keeps flaring up now and then.

i saw this pic above and thought how awesome that is......

all things bloody and blistered.......

temps were good today, only -4 with a windchill of -14...ha ha, cant wait for the summer. my feet r still in the throes of dealing with the loss of some toenails. the blisters r starting to harden up, and i should be able to double up on wednesday with a good bike and run. today is just a day to recover and look forward to tommorrow. just trying to catch up on kelrocks techno picks and get them into my song rotation for the computrainer rides. that hypnotizing beat helps to focus your mind into the hard efforts that r needed to get thru some of the longer hill portions of a ride. i agonize on not being able to go out and run when the groups meet on tuesday, wdnesday, or thursday because of one of my fuck ups......should have turned back on sunday morn but the old ego wouldnt let me. damn.

IHOP (INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PAIN)

AM 13 miles 1hrs 42mins (hilly)


today was the longest run i have put in in 5years. total time was 1hr and 42mins. left from scott hamilton's house near erbsville and proceeded to hiedelberg/bamberg loop. about 20-21kms of really rolling terrian. the guys were great and the groups split into 2 as the faster lads picked it up about halfway. the course is a real test of mettle. the loop is where alot of us ride in the summer because of the undulating hills and changes of rythm. there was a slight north wind blowing that only instigated a windchill of -15deg. at the end of the run, i took off my jacket and ice fell to the floor of the garage. my sweat had frozen inside the jacket and onto the sleeves of my shirt. i had already felt the burning sensation on both feet from blisters as the shoes had not really been broken in.....3 toenails gone, some big blood blisters on the ends of the toes and 2 large blisters on the arches of my right and left foot. gotta love this self induced masochistic pain machine called running. so different than cycling. well....time to let the feet heal up abit and soldier on. miami, here i come.

The "Brick"

AM 70km bike (computrainer)
AM 4 miles treadmill


well, i am really hurting right now from a big brick workout this morning. since i started about 4 weeks ago, my body has been adapting to the rigors of the bricks on saturdays with the hammer heads at dearborn health. this was not done outside, as the weather is still too unkind to me and my ankles. i did a fairly hilly workout on the computrainer, thank god for the computrainer and a few friends to be around, all in all, about 70 kms done. avg 235 watts for the ride. kris kraemer just spanked us on it today, he was one with the machine!!!.......then off the bike, quik change, and then 4 miles on the treadmill, at about 8.15 to 8.30 mile pace. the legs take abit to get the "deadness" out of them, but they slowly come up to speed. now, i just throw food into my gob all day as the body is still jacked for a few hours after the workout. great day.

just some images that i thought i would share.....bart wellens drinking from bottle, sven nys with arms aloft, klass van tournout.....all cross gods.

january 2/2009

i have a nasty head cold. this sucks. hope to run this afternoon. this really sucks.

WALTER GODEFROOT

WALTER GODEFROOT left 1969 paris roubaix winner, right, beating merckx at henniger '74 and bottom godefroot's nemesis merckx at roubaix.

What is a "Flahute"???

imagine the fastest rides that u do - racing or training. u r on the rivet, eyes glued to the wheel in front of u as tiny rivulets of sweat sting your eyes. now imagine upping the pace another 4-5mph and staying there for another 100miles. the road breaks up into long cobbled sections, rough and uneven with many potholes. the bunch, over 100 strong, looks for every tiny respite from the cobbles. u dive left into a narrow sandy strip 6inches wide. suddenly everyone dives to the other side of the road with a smoother bit of track, the track finishes abruptly as u enter the outskirts of a small town. the twisitng road offers numerous corners. u head into them at full tilt. u sprint out of them even faster. riders bunny hop sideways onto the sidewalks so as not to get their wheels caught in the tram tracks. back out of town the countryside opens up to a bleak, featureless flatlands. now the road is an endless strip of concrete slabs. about every 10 seconds for the next 20 mins. the gap between each slab sends a sharp shudder up through your forks and through your arms to rattle the teeth in your head. all this time a strong wind is buffeting the peloton coming in off the ocean. echelons form and no quarter is given in trying to find a place in them. those hanging onto the tailend of the echelon will soon lose contact. for the majority of the riders this infernal cocktail is an exercise in survival. hold the wheel in front and get whatever draft that u can. up front the elite riders r holding an incredible tempo and look at ease doing it. its starts to rain as you approach another set of cobbles. the speed is increased as u try to stay upright on what feels like slabs of ice. seventy miles done and the final phase of the race heads for the "bergs". nasty, short climbs that r usually cobbled. forget the pacing; it is now a war of attrition. at the top of each berg the group trys to form into a cohesive unit. the strong make it, the weaker r shelled out and r done for the day. coming into the finishing town or village there is a long cobbled main street with the finish at the end. you r wondering where u r going to get the strength to sprint. the top twenty riders recieve a cash payout. the winner is the hero for the day. four hours or so of racing at insane speeds. cobbles, concrete slab roads that never seem to end, brutal cobbled climbs and an endless struggle to stay on the wheel in front of u all the while performing great acrobatic tricks to stay upright. all the while mother nature hurls powerful winds into your face and every now and then it rains hard. mud and manure from farms r sprayed all over u. on a really bad dya it looks like u have a face pack on. everyone goes home exhausted. the bikes r in need of some serious repair. ON AVERAGE U WILL RACE LIKE THIS 4 TIMES A WEEK.

A FLAHUTE THINKS THAT THE TOUR DE FRANCE IS A BUNCH OF LONG TRAINING RIDES. A REAL RACE IS ONE WHERE IT IS RAINING, ITS COLD, AND THE ROADS R TREACHEROUS AND THE PRIZE LIST IS ABOUT THE SAME AS AN 8 YEAR OLDS ALLOWNACE. WHEN YOU R A FLAHUTE, THATS RACING!!!!

8 miles 9 am, 65 mins jan 1/ 2009

me and the little missus stayed in last night, drank a bottle of wine and watched the canadian juniors beat the u.s. 7-4. i had promised theresa that i would not go out and get too silly, which i didnt, and start the new year off right with a run. since kelrock has gotten me back into it, and no problems from cramping calves, i was able to do my first long run in 4 years in the company of jeff ruigrok. we talked about the flow of the run, hills for strength, and the possible staple long run on sundays....at the end i was very happy to have run for that long. i now have to deal with runners' toe, all black nail and blood, and a nasty, broken blister on the arch of my left foot. the weather was very cold at -18 deg., but thank god there was no wind. i also have some nasty nasal flow after the run, must be my body's way of saying welcome back!! everyone from the run headed to timmy's for coffee and donuts, i just went on home and enjoyed my own home made dark roast coffee..ahhhhhhh. as for the cycling aspect, i still have some very specific goals for 2009 and this afternoon calls for a long ride indoors possibly of 2 hrs....we'll see what the doctor orded!!!