Off Again, On Again in Training

 Week of July 12 to 18

Saturday – 32 miles with Rick from Chaska

Sunday – Walked 4 miles around Cleary Lake

Monday – Ack! Got up at 5:30 to drive to work in Foley and didn’t leave work until after 11:00 after a loooonnnngggg Board meeting.

Tuesday -.Nice casual 31 mile ride from Avon to Albany to Holdingford and back with Bea and her son Chris.

Wednesday – Got home late again after work due to a negotiations session that went nowhere. Went for a 2 mile walk.

Thursday – 34 mile ride from Albany to Bowlus and back with Joel.

Friday – Rest day. Not that I needed it with so few miles this week

Saturday – 52 mile ride from Chaska with Rick and two good female riders who left me behind on each hill. Got hot. But otherwise, a great ride.

Sunday – Walked around Cleary Lake with Linda

Goal: 80-100 miles during the week, plus whatever on the weekend

Total week miles: 65 during week, with 52 on the weekend.  Not my best week. But, when you don't succeed in sticking with the training plan, all you can do is get right back on!

Week of July 19 to 25

Saturday and Sunday – See above

Monday – 34 miles with Joel from Albany to Bowlus and back. Met long distance riders from Colorado who stayed at the Laser’s as part of the Warm Showers program. The trail sheltered us from the strong headwinds on the way north, then the winds died for the return.

Tuesday – 58 miles along the Heartland Trail. From Albany to Bowlus with Joel, back to Holdingford with the group celebrating Jan and Jen’s 19^th anniversary with refreshments in Holdingford, back to Bowlus for refreshments and food, then back to Albany with Joel in the dark along the trail with our lights. A marvelous evening with friends. Fabulous weather.

Wednesday – 35 miles with the Central MN Bike Club joint ride with the Paul Bunyan Cyclists Club from Brainerd. I meant to go 40 miles with the 18-20 mph group but got dropped before 2 miles ridden. They went the 40 miles at an average speed of 21 mph. Oh, well, it was a beautiful night to ride mostly by myself.

Thursday – Walked around Cleary Lake with Linda

Friday – Walked around Cleary Lake briskly by myself.

Saturday - Only did 18 slow miles with the fat bike group today from Michael’s Cycles when all the roadies didn't show. Interesting trail from Chaska to Shakopee along the Minnesota River bottom past Valley Fair on Hwy 101, however, so nonetheless fun, even if not much of a workout.

Sunday – Walked around Cleary Lake with Linda

Goal: 80-100 miles during the week, plus whatever on the weekend

Total week miles: 127 during week, with only 18 on the weekend.  A good week of riding, even if the Saturday ride was a bit of a disappointment.

Next weekend – Tour de Tonka Century! Then the following Saturday, the 147 mile One Day Ride Across Michigan. Woo weee!

Training Back on Track

Saturday – Rode the Great Scott 50 Classic at a good pace. Rolling terrain, so the hills were good training as well. Felt wiped out the rest of the day, perhaps due to the 80+ degrees.

Sunday – Lazy day. Did not feel much like doing anything. Family all left for their homes – a very successful gathering at our lake home.

Monday – 40 miles with Joel up the Heartland Trail from Albany to Blanchard Dam and back. A bit buggy on the way back, but it was a good route to avoid the wind going out, and then the wind died.

Tuesday -.19 miles with the Central Minnesota Bike Club. Great social time after, but ate too much.

Wednesday – Worked until 9:00 p.m. then walked about 2 miles after I got back to the apartment. Tired.

Thursday – Rode 32 miles from Gary Westrup’s house with Joel, Gary, and Jen. Relatively easy pace followed by Lorraine’s yummy after ride treats. Ate too much, but I wanted to show appreciation for her efforts, right? J

Friday – Rest day.

Saturday – Rode 32 miles with Rick and Nancy from Michael’s Cycles in Chaska. They were courteous and slowed the pace for me. 16.2 average was all.

Sunday – Not planning to ride, but will go walk 4 miles around Cleary Lake.

Goal: 80-100 miles during the week, plus whatever on the weekend

Total week miles: 91 during week, with 32 on the weekend.  

I felt sluggish all week, not sure if I just plateaued  or whether I got some kind of bug last weekend. After my Saturday ride, I weighed 186.5. so while I did not make progress on my weight loss, at least I did not regress as far as I had feared with all of the good and ample food..

Unplanned Recovery Week - Trying to put the best spin on an off week.

Saturday and Sunday – Back to back Centuries – See last week’s post.

Monday – 19 pretty fast miles with the Central MN Bike Club, but waaaayyyyy behind Joel and Gary

Tuesday -.Room exercises, drove home to join the beginning of the family reunion.

Wednesday – Rest and recovery, other than walking 4 miles around Fish Lake, kayaking around the lake and yard work.

Thursday – Rest and recovery, other than walking 4 miles around Fish Lake and yard work – yep, even more. Kayaked again.

Friday – Rest day other than kayaking.

Saturday – Rode the Great Scott 50 Classic at a good pace. Rolling terrain, so the hills were good training as well. Felt wiped out the rest of the day, perhaps due to the 80+ degrees.

Sunday – Lazy day. Did not feel much like doing anything. Family all left for their homes – a very successful gathering at our lake home.

This week’s family reunion and wanting to be stay around them knocked me off my training schedule. Will need to rededicate myself for the coming weeks as I aim for the 147 mile ODRAM on August 8, with  4,396 feet of climbing

Goal: 80-100 miles during the week, plus whatever on the weekend

Total week miles: 19 during week, with 50 on the weekend. Not the best training week, but at least I got in two faster rides.