Long work weeks

Well, unlike some I live in Canada and we already had our Thanksgiving so this week has been just working like crazy trying to get everybody's house and mill work finished and perfect for the Christmas season. I have been doing floor workouts, no squats or anything to aggravate my knee. I've bought pants that have knee pad inserts and this is the first week my knee has not hurt, so I'm going to try some Hindu Squats, and Hopefully the week is not going to be so wild that I can get on to the trainer.

It seems with this fall after I crashed it has been a battle finding time with work, church, recovery, family, morning quite time (which I had more time for while the workouts were being drooped). My riding buddy is having the same issues. December is here and Off Season has to start to be ready for the early races! I have Coach Al's Off Season Plan, I know it works, and I have the Cyclo-FUEL and know it works, it is now time to once again fit these into my life and get back in to the swing of things.

Trainers and woes of work

Well, Sunday night I went over to my friend's house and beat myself up on his virtual trainer. That was fun... Wish money grew on trees! Lots of fun, and got a great work out... NOW I've got to get on my (very good, but boring) trainer and work on my off season techniques! I've done my stretching and I've kept up my core work... not only is it the secret to kicking butt on the bike but it also the secret to be 47 and kicking 20-somethings butt on the job site! Now if I can just get home before 9:30 pm at night and get some sleep!

Coach Al’s Year End Evaluation 2008 Season

1. What do you consider your greatest success/highlight this season? Why?

Getting 3^rd in the “We need more cowbells cross race,” it proved to me I’ve learned how to race cross and that I was in good shape. It made me keep track of my potion and laps in the next races.

2. What do you consider your greatest disappointment? Why? What things (e.g. skills/technique/strength/endurance in any area) do you think you should change/improve upon in preparation for next season and beyond? Be specific.

First would be breaking my clavicle; that just makes me mad. Second, would be my self doubt. Both could be improved by technique off road. Practice corners and off camber, riding in ridges on descents. Take up J’s offer to ride through the woods with him on a cross bike.

3. How could you have better prepared mentally?

Believe my friends, they are not wimps that I’m thrashing in sprints and on hills… it took them two weeks to convince me to race M2, one still thinks I should have raced M1

4. How could you have better prepared with regard to race nutrition? Day in/day out eating habits/nutrition?

Less Beer, I know but I do construction and nothing tastes better than cold beer after a hard day at work.

5. How would you have changed race tactics and strategy to improve race performance?

For Cross: Work on Starts, I’m slow off the gun, Down hills and corners. This all means that I need to get off the road during the summer and ride on some dirt.

6. List at least (3) three specific goals you would like to accomplish for next year? Again, be specific.

1^st: Break 22 minutes for the 15 km Tuesday night time trial.

2^nd: Ride Hamilton’s two 40 km ITT (beginning and ending of season)

3^rd: Kick some major but in next years M2 Cross season (maybe even get booted up to M1).

4^th: Time and money permitting Upgrade to M2 in Road.

5^th: Don’t break anything! 2007 I broke both bikes and this year my clavicle!

7. In your opinion, what do you consider to be your biggest weakness as an athlete?

I don’t realize how strong I am and my ability to push myself. So I need to work on my self-esteem.

8. What do you feel is the single most important thing you should do next season to increase your chances of going to “the next level”?

1^st: get into this off-season, I’m not really into this year…

2^nd: My purpose for racing: I’m a Christian I race as an analogy to my Christian walk (1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Hebrews 12:1). I race for a prize but I live my life for Christ for the greatest prize.

9. List the races you would like to train for. List them in the order of their priority (A, B, & C). Of course, this is only tentative and obviously can be changed if you desire.

1. Paris to Ancaster http://www.parisancaster.com/P2A/HOME.html “A” Race (top 75, there are 1200 entrants. I have my friend Greg getting a cross bike to ride with me)
2. Ontario Provincial Cross. “A” Race
3. Kelso Halloween Cross Stage Race. “A” Race
4. Hamilton CC race. “B” race
5. Westover Road race (first road race of the season). “C” Race.

Graphic Photo of body

Oh I'm so good looking with bruising. My daughter took this photo for me and I finally got it off the camera. it was a couple of days after the crash. I look much better now.

Now if I can only figure out how to get the Cyclo-CORE logo on. it just made a mess of my layout. But I did add a lot of other stuff.

Next Posting (I hope) is going to be Coach Al's year end check list.

Cold and Wet

Oh, how I forget so easily. There is always one or two weeks in the fall when all my joints are swollen and hurt. This year my right knee swelled up like a grapefruit. I think it is because I'm doing a tenant build out and I'm up and down off the skyjack. I played it safe and took the rest of the week off. Saturday was to take critters (a dog and the cat) to the vet then ride, it was COLD and Pouring Rain. Funny if I was racing cross I would be out in it and not care, and then today woke up tired and did not do my recovery Yoga. We went to see James Bond, and I saw all my cycling buddies and the shop owner as we all were leaving.

I have to say it sucks getting older as I know one part of this week is I was tired from last week and it's taken this week to catch up. So next week if the joints don't hurt too bad back to Off season in full (unless it hurts my shoulder) otherwise just modify it for my knee too.

The "Off-Season"

Well, it almost seems anti climatic starting off season so early. Toronto hosted two days of UCI C1 Cross this weekend... I wanted to be there, to win? I don't know but just to be there in the mud and cold and well it takes a sick mind to love cross.

I got on the trainer yesterday and this mornings floor workout had to be cut short, Hindu squats out my knee hurts (cold and damp out), and I'm not doing push-ups till the doc says I'm healed, and man I still hurt from working too hard last week, I sure hope I did not knock the thing loose.

I'm going to have to sit down and do some work on my page as Josh has given EDC some homework to fix up their page. I do have a Facebook but to me it's just a way to waste time, of which I have so little of. Maybe I'll just add something as a few school mates are there, and I'm hoping to find others.

Drywall, and Tarmac

Well, this week was a Cyclo-FUEL Fat loss week. I had to make some modifications because my work requires so much energy I lived off of the coffee mocha protein drink. I got addicted to these this summer would not leave for work w/o one. Last time I did the Fat loss week I was so weak on Thursday I could not get my work done. So I ate apples and drank mocha's... This was one hell of a week w/ all the drywall up and plastered and sanded ready for painting by Friday afternoon. 3000 sq ft of space. The drywall was not over the whole area... I'm good but not that good, just patching. I did my core workouts on Monday and was hoping on Tuesday to get a Cyclo-CLIMB in the morning, but the dogs would not let me... same as kids "passion to ride" The Thursday night booster meal always makes me loopy a little buzzed better than coffee, and I had trouble sleeping that night. Ya know the system works. Next week we start Off season. I also have to admit I over did it with the drywall, and Friday morning the Orthopaedic Surgeon gave me what for as I should be further along in my healing. Well, let me tell you my arm hurts like HELL. My work is hard when I do drywall or demo, and I don't try to do workouts... But a good job pays a lot of bills.

My buddy and I went riding yesterday "easy" to the Bike shop to look a cross bike for him and I was just going to gawk at a new road bike (mine is 18 years old steel/8 speed). I rode a Tarmac w/ 105 and I took off on a sprint with my cross shoes on flat pedals, not clicked in.... WOW, my friend says he's not going to ride with me if I get the bike... One kitchen company has not paid me for 3 kitchens and 4 bathrooms. And I owe a couple of my sub trades on another job, so if everyone gets paid... The ride home there was a 35 km/hr head wind and rain, and we worked back it was a good ride home, its November in Canada, and we were out riding, makes getting home to a cup of hot coffee and a hot shower all the better.

After all this week I did my Zen 30' recovery Yoga... and realized next time I work a week that hard, I need to at least get some of the stretching programs done in the a.m. If I treat a hard week as workouts, I should recover from them the same way.

Fat loss and Drywall

Well, I got board trying to figure out what to do each week so I figured I'd do a fat loss plan this week as a transition.

Yea, as I've got a Commercial Tenant turn over. Drywall and Sheetrock 45 and move move move! Whew.

Well, Monday I did start off with OTG #2 Never used the workouts Just the Abs, Breath and Al's Knee fixer. Interesting workout, but I then added the Back in 5' and Cyclo-Breath w/o the video... Graeme says do it on your own, plus it on DVD and I'd have to get the power supply for my note book to run it and too lazy at 6:oo a.m.

Tuesday I was up and going to do the Climb Tuscany, I love that video/workout, but the Dogs (3 year old lab, 10 month old border colie, & a 11 week old Lab) were in need of a dog sitter before I went to work so I worked on a Bible study instead. The trainer workout are down stars and I'm a little bit too involved with them... The Core workouts I can do w/ my laptop in the living room and the dogs just lay around me. When I'm down stairs the destroy the house.

Thursday night's work out (According to Fat loss) is going to Cyclo-CLIMB unless I'm wasted from work, which is a good posiblity!

Sunday Morning Yoga

If I have not raced I've done Kate's ZEN-30' Recovery Yoga every Sunday since it was released. Then get breakfast for the family and off to church. Today's no different. I do feel stronger doing the workout than last week.
On yesterday's post I do have to be fair to the guys and one gal I was also tired yesterday and the smooth tires on the trail were a little "loose" which with a repairing clavicle made me a little nervous and in a grumpy mood. So yes they were slow, but it is off season.

Cyclist all around and no one to ride...

Well, I went out to ride on my road bike with the "guys" in 9°C (for Americans 45). They are usually a little slower than I am, even with my handicap. Well, they showed up on cross bikes and wanted to ride the trails, SLOOOOWLY.

I mean really; I trimmed a living room and dinning room Monday, installed a kitchen Tuesday, Waited on Dumpsters, electricians, HVAC guys, and the fire alarm guys on Wednesday, then went and did a small project and then on Thursday and Friday I had a crew of four and tore out one 20 yard dumpster of drywall etc, and a 16 yard of metal studs. So I was a little tired today (and BTW I did not get a ride in this week, did abs on Monday).

All that to say is how slow can you ride in the "off-season," when its still nice and enjoy it? My regular buddy is running around his son and the others are still racing cross (bastards). I don't want to begin my off season training yet because it won't work with a Canadian winter for another couple of weeks and the Transision Plan Coach Al made just does not really float my boat. I can just ride but that plan does not "click" with me. The off season plan does, but now my worry is I'm getting so busy with my work (which is good), but not busy enough to hire a "lackie". And then did I mention the Beer... I like my beer but I liked it too much this week working so hard, excpt Friday, I only had one... much better.

Well, this one turned into more of a rant, but I think it's allowed in Blogs. Now off to try and get my daughter to do her homework...