Double workout, I'm exhausted

It's confirmed. Those strenuous hours on the exercise bike on the Oasis of the Seas made me stronger. Training with data makes a difference, I'm convinced. Monitoring my wattage was the key, or at least that's my theory. I was much stronger on the commute today, especially on the way home when I didn't leave anything on the table. I was passed coming up Broadway today after pulling away from a light. I could tell that the other rider thought he was superior by the way he passed me. I kept him in my sites and caught him on the early slopes of Terwilliger. I was running 12 to 13 mph on that section of the west hills where I had been running 9 to 10 before the trip. He caught on to my wheel and went straight at Capitol highway and I turned right. On Multnomah, I got another hanger on as I hit 28 mph on the long slow downhill section. He turned off somewhere on Olson road as we crested a rise. Turning onto Hall, I got a flat and was able to make it an Albertsons where I called for a ride. I got almost 2k miles out of that rear tire. Those Continental Ultra Gator Skins are amazing! I knew it was going to go soon, it was just a matter of time. If I'd been farther from home, I had a foldable and a tire pump in my bag.

I couldn't rest though, since tonight is the first night of the Insanity workout with Shaun T. The fit test night. I was pretty toasted from the two 1 hour rides today, but I gutted it out and recorded my numbers. It's very different from cycling so hopefully it will round out my fitness.

A Cruise on the Oasis of the Seas

My lovely wife earned a cruise on the Oasis through Beach Body. So I haven't been on the bike in over a week. But I did have plenty of time on the ship to workout. They have a cool exercise bike called the Expresso that provides a video screen of a route, complete with hills, competitors, and a pacer. It tracks your instantaneous and average watts. I improved by 30 watts over the course of the cruise! I'm anxious to see if I can feel that on the 'real' bike.

Meanwhile, being around all of those super fit beach body people has me motivated to hit the Insanity workout to improve my overall fitness, not just leave it all to the bike, and to clean up my nutrition a bit!

Another great weekend ride and Spring Commute

It sure is nice not have to turn on the lights in the morning and ride during daylight hours. It's the little things ya know? The Monday commute was clear, dry, bright, and crisp. I arrived at work in an incredible mood, ready to take on the day. With a fresh cup of coffee from Floyd's, nothing could stop me! I ended up having to work late to get an RFP response out the door, so I missed the chance to ride in the waning hours of light, and the dry roads as well. By the time I was suited up and ready to ride, it was dark and pouring rain. Oh well, it was still a great ride.

Saturday served up some sunshine and a few hours by myself while the rest of the family went to the mall. That weekend lazy bug can sure be strong. I overcame the urge to waste the afternoon indoors and hopped on the bike. I immediately felt better, and, I should have guessed, the weather immediately changed for the worse. The sky clouded over and it began to rain. But I was committed now and spun out an easy 25 miles in the country side. I took the climbs easy as well, just pushing hard enough to keep up a reasonable forward momentum, making no effort to set a PR or anything like that. Just a nice day on the road.

Am I getting stronger?

Wow. I had an unexpected great ride home tonight. I may be starting to come into form for the spring. I had a tough day at work. I didn't drink enough, and got on the bike dehydrated and thirsty. I felt like I was getting a little winded easily on the climb up Broadway. The first few hundred meters up Terwilliger were shaky, and I was still thirsty. But then almost without noticing it, I was spinning out my first gear and had clicked into second. Hmm..maybe I'm getting stronger! As usual, I was dancing right on the edge of my anaerobic threshold. And then...I saw the blinky light in the distance of another bike. Could it be? Could I be climbing faster than another rider? I know this person isn't racing me. But you know, I still wanted to catch him, and I did. I blew by him, and as I did I noticed he was trim and fit looking, wearing serious gear and riding a serious bike. Wow! Yeah, I know he wasn't racing me. But still! Energized, I unconsciously spun out second gear and shifted to third, and I was still feeling OK. Could it last? Turning onto Capital highway, I recovered briefly with soft pedaling before hitting it hard again. I rode in one or two gears higher the remaining distance to the top of the hill in Multnomah Village.