Monday, 19 April 2010
Getting Back Up On The Bike
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I pretty much took last week off from training. I did some strength training with push ups and pull ups. I did some Kenpo X to try and maintain some of my cardio conditioning. I did some 10-15 minute drilling in the hotel pool. I did some yoga and stretching. But for the most part, my effort was more random and not very intense. I was resting my body so it would heal quicker.
Over the weekend, I decided to test myself on the bike. I was in Mississippi and wanted to get out and see the country side. What better way to see the countryside that on the back of a bike. Saturday, I went down from Jackson, MS to Prentis MS to ride the Longleaf Trace (Rails to Trails) riding path. I don't have my aerobars on the bike so I wasn't tempted to push hard on a training ride. Instead, I decided on a high zone 1 / low zone 2 effort for 50 miles.
It was a flat ride on a beautiful day. I thought I wouldn't have any problem. Right... About the 40 mile mark I was done. I had nothing in the fuel tank. I don't know if it was proper nutrition or just being out of shape that caused me to hit the wall. I imagine it was a combination of the two. I was exhausted by the time I finished and my thighs were on fire. I realized two things from the ride. 1) it is going to take some effort to get back my base fitness. 2) My IT band wasn't hurting.
Sunday I went over the Vicksburg to ride around the Vicksburg National Military Park. The park is on a 15 mile loop that travels up and down both battle lines. It is an amazing park with tons of memorials. It was cool to see how close the two sides were during most of the conflict. Anyway the ride is fairly hilly with a couple of nice climbs which took me into zone 3 and zone 4. I wasn't trying to get up in those zones it was just a by product of the hills. Even though there was a good deal of climbing I still felt strong after the ride. Heck I was feeling good enough to play four hours of cricket afterwards. Maybe Saturday was more nutrition and less being out of shape. I can only hope so!
Anyway, I am happy to report that my IT band felt no soreness after the weekend. I am hoping that is a sign that it has healed. I am not going to take any chances and have plans to ease back into running. I intend to slowly add pace and distance to my runs. If it flares up again I am going to have to go visit a physical therapist to receive treatment and I don't want that.
Over the weekend, I decided to test myself on the bike. I was in Mississippi and wanted to get out and see the country side. What better way to see the countryside that on the back of a bike. Saturday, I went down from Jackson, MS to Prentis MS to ride the Longleaf Trace (Rails to Trails) riding path. I don't have my aerobars on the bike so I wasn't tempted to push hard on a training ride. Instead, I decided on a high zone 1 / low zone 2 effort for 50 miles.
It was a flat ride on a beautiful day. I thought I wouldn't have any problem. Right... About the 40 mile mark I was done. I had nothing in the fuel tank. I don't know if it was proper nutrition or just being out of shape that caused me to hit the wall. I imagine it was a combination of the two. I was exhausted by the time I finished and my thighs were on fire. I realized two things from the ride. 1) it is going to take some effort to get back my base fitness. 2) My IT band wasn't hurting.
Sunday I went over the Vicksburg to ride around the Vicksburg National Military Park. The park is on a 15 mile loop that travels up and down both battle lines. It is an amazing park with tons of memorials. It was cool to see how close the two sides were during most of the conflict. Anyway the ride is fairly hilly with a couple of nice climbs which took me into zone 3 and zone 4. I wasn't trying to get up in those zones it was just a by product of the hills. Even though there was a good deal of climbing I still felt strong after the ride. Heck I was feeling good enough to play four hours of cricket afterwards. Maybe Saturday was more nutrition and less being out of shape. I can only hope so!
Anyway, I am happy to report that my IT band felt no soreness after the weekend. I am hoping that is a sign that it has healed. I am not going to take any chances and have plans to ease back into running. I intend to slowly add pace and distance to my runs. If it flares up again I am going to have to go visit a physical therapist to receive treatment and I don't want that.
Posted by at 7:27 PM in Training
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