Life Gets in the Way

That's the title of a song.

Is it ironic that we become so busy trying to make life happen that it often gets in its own way? I had plans of how I would train for my cycling tour and map out my progress on my blog. Each week, I'd post my mileage schedule from the America By Bicycle Century Challenge & Endurance Training Guide, and each day, I'd post the cycling stats from my ride. On my "off days", I'd be ready to blog about some arbitrary subject that was vaguely relevant to my life. I was pretty consistent for the first few weeks. My improvement was even apparently obvious to the other cyclist who regularly joins me and my cycling coach in Brooklyn on Sunday mornings.

And then life got in my way.

Job #1, job #2, weather, springtime allergies, sleep-deprivation. And my six-day cycling schedule began to suffer. I made it through 65 miles last Saturday, and have another 65 coming up on May 15. Despite working in a lounge from 9pm to 5am on the weekend, my Saturday and Sunday rides have remained remarkably uninhibited.

But what do you do when life gets in the way? I suppose that a well-adjusted individual goes with the flow, rolls with the punches, keeps calm and carries on. However, I am banking on 50 days in my life where I hope life just lets me live ... from the seat of my bicycle with my next pedal stroke being my only care and the sights to be seen being my only desire. I'll be at the whim of the wind, weather and the hill index.

America By Bicycle's tour and rider kits claim that your worst day on your bicycle will be better than your best day in the office. I'm paying them over six grand to show me that they are right.

Century Training - Week 9; Days 6 & 7

Week: 9
Day: 6

Ride: Pace

Route: Combination of hills, flats and city traffic

Scheduled Mileage: 65

Actual Mileage: 67.71

Average Speed: 13.6 mph

Max Speed: 25.1 mph

*Includes city street speed average

Average BPM: 149

Max BPM: 187

Calories: 2323

Random Notes to Self:

• Katie versus spectators of the New York Road Runners' race in Central Park = NYRR race spectators, 1 ... Katie, 0.
• Maneuvering through pedestrian traffic in Central Park during an early-morning NYRR race, even when going with the flow of other agitated cyclists is no bueno and will likely result in something like this:

(I'm a little disappointed that it doesn't look as bad as it did in person;
maybe it looks like an awesome, hardcore cyclist road rash from this angle ...)

 (Meh. Still looks like a scratch.
At least I started getting a tan later in the ride.)

• When a spectator suddenly steps backward out of a pedestrian crowd into a row of relatively slowly coasting cyclists, you - in your novice state - will probably be the lucky one with whom he'll collide. Then, while the 6'0" man-wall with whom you crashed stares down in stunned silence at where you are lying on your back, you will stand up and roll your shoulders stiffly while his wife begins yelling at you about cycling too fast (she was probably right), and you will reply, "It's alright, ma'am; what I think you meant to ask first is if I'm ok. Yes, I am, thank you." Then, you will nod at her man-wall and say, "And it looks like he is, too." And she will storm off in a huff, dragging her man-wall by the arm.
• My helmet works.
• Poor Maddy.

 

Week: 9
Day: 7

Ride: Pace

Route: Hilly

Scheduled Mileage: 20

Actual Mileage: 22.12

Average Speed: 13.3 mph

Max Speed: 31.0 mph

*Includes city street speed average

Average BPM: 130

Max BPM: 177

Calories: 627

• This was the last Sunday morning that I had to cycle on 0-2 hours of sleep with my cycling coach because my last night at job #2 was on Saturday night! No more clocking out of a Midtown Manhattan night lounge at 5am before meeting my cycling coach in Brooklyn for a 7:30am ride. However, due to upcoming weekend travel and other plans prior to my cycling tour, I probably won't get to resume cycling with him and/or my other new cyclist friends until August or September.
• More to come on the challenges of finding time to train for a cycling tour when life gets in the way.

Century Training - Week 9

Total Miles Cycled in Week 8: (I'm too embarrassed to post it)

Mon: Upper Body Strength Routine #1; 15 miles (easy)
Tues: Lower Body Strength Routine #3; 15 miles (pace)
Wed: Upper Body Strength Routine #2; 25 miles (brisk)
Thurs: Lower Body Strength Routine #2; Off
Fri: Upper Body Strength Routine #3; 15 miles (pace)
Sat: 65 miles (pace)
Sun: 20 miles (pace)

Week 9 Scheduled Mileage:155

Strength training routines at the gym: M-F, 6am
Century training rides: M-W, F, 7pm; Sat, 9am; Sun, 7:30am
Core-specific exercise routine: M, W, F after evening rides (3x per week)

Random Notes to Self:

• The one note to self that I made last week, as I cycled 65 miles on Saturday, is to pay as much attention to the lapsed time as the miles covered. The training guide stresses the importance of staying hydrated and energized by drinking every 10-15 minutes and snacking every 20 miles. Every 30 minutes, stretching on the bicycle is recommended. Standing on the pedals, arching your back and stretching your legs - as well as other mid-pedal stroke stretching techniques - are outlined in the guide.

"'Easy' means taking a leisurely ride, 'pace' means matching the speed you plan to maintain for the century, and 'brisk' means cycling faster than your century pace."
- America by Bicycle's Century Challenge & Endurance Cycling Training Guide, reproduced with permission by Rodale Press

Century Training - Week 8

Total Miles Cycled in Week 7: 73.68 (for shame!)

Mon: Upper Body Strength Routine #1; 13 miles (easy)
Tues: Lower Body Strength Routine #1; 15 miles (pace)
Wed: Upper Body Strength Routine #2; 25 miles (brisk)
Thurs: Lower Body Strength Routine #2; Off
Fri: Upper Body Strength Routine #3; 15 miles (pace)
Sat: 65 miles (pace)
Sun: 20 miles (pace)

Week 8 Scheduled Mileage: 153

Strength training routines at the gym: M-F, 6am
Century training rides: M-W, F, 7pm; Sat, 9am; Sun, 7:30am
Core-specific exercise routine: M, W, F after evening rides (3x per week)

Random Notes to Self:

• As with last week, I would likely have notes if I had been able to closely follow Week 7 of my 10-week century training program, but I was excited that I completed my long-ride on Saturday (65 miles) with relative ease.

"'Easy' means taking a leisurely ride, 'pace' means matching the speed you plan to maintain for the century, and 'brisk' means cycling faster than your century pace."
- America by Bicycle's Century Challenge & Endurance Cycling Training Guide, reproduced with permission by Rodale Press

Century Training - Week 7, Day 6

Week: 7
Day: 6

Ride: Pace

Route: Combination of hills, flats and city traffic

Scheduled Mileage: 59

Actual Mileage: 60.39

Average Speed: 14.8 mph

Max Speed: 30.9 mph

*Includes city street speed average

Average BPM: 159

Max BPM: 189

Calories: 2077

Random Notes to Self:

• Helen was right; long-sleeve cycling jerseys are pointless. I'm going to forgo the purchase of long-sleeve jerseys and stick to short-sleeve and sleeveless base layers and jerseys. And I'll add some arm and knee warmers that I can shed and conveniently stow in back pockets.
• And while I was thinking about attire, Helen was right about something else. Yellow is better for rain gear. I should have purchased a yellow rain jacket instead of a black one, but that's largely what happens when you shop for clothes in New York City. Your instincts follow black.

It was an incredible morning for a bike ride. I was in full cycling regalia and on my bicycle before nine o'clock. There were no headwinds in any direction. The leaves on trees were barely rustled by light summer-like breezes. But after three laps in Central Park, the cyclists were driven out by the 13th Annual EIF Revlon Run/Walk For Women. There has to be a way that we can all coexist peacefully, I thought out loud. An adjacent cyclist smiled at me, "Not today."

Another cyclist lamented in frustration as we exited the park at the graveyard of Tavern on the Green, "I give up! They win!"

I cross the Upper West Side and followed the cycling lanes along the Hudson River for a few hours and then returned to the park when I assumed the walk/run would nearly be over. Today - despite my lack of weeknight rides due to work and weather - was the first day that I felt confident about my upcoming transcontinental tour. I rode 60 miles today, felt good the whole way, and I think I'm going to be ok!

Century Training - Week 7; Day 4

Week: 7
Day: 4

Ride: Pace

Route: Hilly

Scheduled Mileage: Off-Day

Actual Mileage: 13.29

Average Speed: 17.3 mph

Max Speed: 29.9 mph

*Includes city street speed average

Average BPM: 165

Max BPM: 197

Calories: 425

Another week of cycling training was completely thrown off by corporate commitments at job #1. Long hours in the office resulted in insufficient daylight to complete my evening rides. Thus, I have only gotten in roughly 13 miles so far this week in preparation for my long day on Saturday. And it's Thursday! 59 miles coming up.

But I had a fantastic ride this evening. A paceline passed me on the East Drive in Central Park. I have been learning the basics of pacelining with my cycling coach, but I know I have much more to learn before I get comfortable. And if Maddy has taught me anything thus far about becoming too comfortable on a bicycle, it's don't. Despite those facts and the fact that I did not know any of the cyclists in the paceline before me, I inadvertently fell in line with no intention of remaining in their formation for more than a few yards. However, my pedal strokes were so much easier in their draft that I stuck around a little longer. Just when I began to worry about overstaying my welcome and was about to fall off the line, I heard a cyclist say to another cyclist behind me, "This looks like the place to be."

Peering over my shoulder, I realized that three other cyclists were joining the paceline and it was obvious that none of us really belonged. So I shrugged to myself and stayed on line. I was going nearly twice the pace for virtually half the effort in the line's draft. It really was the place to be.

When we got to the Great Hill, I began to struggle a bit, but my pride would not let me create a gap in our line or pull off to the side. My heart was nearly pounding out of my chest as we neared the crest. This was definitely the fastest I had ever climbed a hill, and I was rewarded by a long coasting ride down the backside. The leader signaled to the group that she was done pulling and veered to the left to allow the second in line to take the lead. As she slowed to assume her place at the end of the line, she seemed vaguely startled to see that the line had grown to include cyclists she had likely never met, but she didn't seem to protest.

I hung with the line all the way down the west side of the park. Just before Columbus Circle, I signaled to the cyclist behind me that I was slowing and pulling out. As the line sped away, I let my gaze follow them for a second with only one thought: Pacelining rocks.

Century Training - Week 7

Total Miles Cycled in Week 6: 93.43

Mon: Upper Body Strength Routine #1; 12 miles (easy)
Tues: Lower Body Strength Routine #3; 15 miles (pace)
Wed: Upper Body Strength Routine #2; 24 miles (brisk)
Thurs: Lower Body Strength Routine #2; Off 13 miles (brisk)
Fri: Upper Body Strength Routine #3; 15 miles (pace)
Sat: 59 miles (pace)
Sun: 18 miles (pace)

Week 7 Scheduled Mileage: 143

Strength training routines at the gym: M-F, 6am
Century training rides: M-W, F, 7pm; Sat, 9am; Sun, 7:30am
Core-specific exercise routine: M, W, F after evening rides (3x per week)

Random Notes to Self:

• I would probably have notes if I had been able to closely follow Week 6 of my 10-week century training program, but I was relieved that my long-ride on Saturday (53 miles) was relatively comfortable.

"'Easy' means taking a leisurely ride, 'pace' means matching the speed you plan to maintain for the century, and 'brisk' means cycling faster than your century pace."
- America by Bicycle's Century Challenge & Endurance Cycling Training Guide, reproduced with permission by Rodale Press

Century Training - Week 6; Day 7

Week: 6
Day: 7
Ride: Pace Off-Day
Scheduled Mileage: 16
Actual Mileage: 0

Rain, rain, go away! On a sunnier note, this was the first time I had a decent "night's rest" between 5am and 1pm on a Sunday after a Saturday night at job #2.

Century Training - Week 6; Day 6

Week: 6

Day: 6

Ride: Pace

Route: Combination of hills, flats and city traffic

Scheduled Mileage: 53

Actual Mileage: 54.86

Average Speed: 12.7 mph

Max Speed: 26.7 mph

*Includes city street speed average

Average BPM: 143

Max BPM: 174

Calories: 1889

Central Park at nine o'clock in the morning was full of wonderful sounds. A beautiful wailing violin when I passed the East Drive entrance to The Mall on each lap. The cheer from Little League baseball games in the North Meadows. The brief chime of pedicab bells. The clip clop of horseshoes, followed by the rickety scrape of carriages on the pavement. The hum of light, breathy conversations between joggers and other cyclists.

After three laps, I exited the park on West 59th Street and pedaled north on the Hudson River. I reached the 25-mile mark under the George Washington Bridge so I took a break next to the little red lighthouse that inspired this children's book. There are two short hills near the George Washington Bridge that deserve mention because the sharp incline will kick your ass and shoot your heartrate up to the 170s within seconds. After eating a Clif Bar energy bar, I continued north for another mile, attacking those hills, before turning around and heading toward Battery Park and the South Street Seaport at the bottom of Manhattan. The diversity of my first half-century might best and most easily be depicted by the following photos.

Central Park in the morning

Riverside Park on the Upper West Side

West Harlem

 

Along the Amtrak lines to Penn Station

Jeffrey's Hook Light under the George Washington Bridge

Looking south on the Hudson River under the GW Bridge

Along the Hudson River in Inwood

Little League baseball in the shadow of the West Side Highway

Ground Zero

Financial District

Chinatown

Cruising up Third Avenue in Gramercy Flatiron

Hit a street fair at East 23rd Street and cut over to First Avenue

Central Park in the afternoon

 

It's still incredible to me that all the above photos were taken with twelve miles of each other.

For the sake of pace, target heart rate and maximum calorie burn, I could have finished my first half-century in a lot less time if I hadn't gone all Dora The Explorer on mi bicicleta in Downtown Manhattan. But I found a second wind while heading north on First Avenue, keeping speed with the traffic and weaving in and out of lanes when necessary. I meant to pause along 34th and 42nd Streets and take photos looking west toward the Empire State and Chrysler buildings, but the next time I peeked at the street signs passing overhead, I was suddenly at East 70th Street.

Though the Upper East Side is generally more posh than other neighborhoods, I'm always surprised when the streets aren't paved in gold - considering how the cast members of reality TV shows like The Real Housewives of New York City and High Society make their tiny world, which virtually exists within less than a 20-block radius, seem larger than life. I often wonder if these masters of the universe ever realize how small their world really is and how little it truly impacts the deeper, diverse and more culturally rich nature of New York City, dwindling though it may be at the hands of inflated real estate value and of the trite and contrived. Do the people in those worlds ever form genuine relationships or are all of the "friendships" simply networking opportunities with agendas? But I digress.

I was shocked at how good I felt when I re-entered Central Park at West 90th Street along the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. I tackled the Harlem Hill for a fourth time just to feel like I was rounding out my 53 miles with a real workout - since I had broken pace for so many photo opportunities throughout the morning. Exiting the park at Columbus Circle, I cruised down Broadway through Times Square, made a right and I was home.

Century Training - Week 6; Days 1, 2, 3 & 4

It's rounding out to be another sad cycling week in the world of Blog-By-Bike.
 
Week: 6
Day: 1
Ride: Easy Off-Day
Scheduled Mileage: 11
Actual Mileage: 0 

Week: 6
Day: 2
Ride: Pace
Route: Flat
Scheduled Mileage: 15
Actual Mileage: 16.53
Average Speed: 14.7 mph
Max Speed: 20.1 mph
*Includes city street speed average

Average BPM: 142
Max BPM: 173
Calories: 486

Week: 6
Day: 3
Ride: Brisk Off-Day
Scheduled Mileage: 21
Actual Mileage: 0

Week: 6
Day: 4
Ride: Off-Day Brisk
Route: Hilly
Scheduled Mileage: 21
Actual Mileage: 22.04
Average Speed: 15.2 mph
Max Speed: 24.3 mph
*Includes city street speed average

Average BPM: 149
Max BPM: 175
Calories: 714

Due to continued commitments at the office [job #1] when my temporary assignment to assist the Executive Chairman was extended through Monday, I didn't finish my workday until nearly 9pm since the workloads under the two women I primarily assist still need to be handled when I've covering for the Executive Chairman's assistant. Though I hated to miss another evening of cycling, the professional in me enjoys the challenges and demands in the corporate New York City environment.

I did breeze through 15 miles on Tuesday evening, thanks to some nice tailwinds on the Hudson River (though I did have to deal with some uncomfortable headwinds when I retraced my pedal strokes back to my Midtown Manhattan apartment).

And Wednesday, due to a colleague's ambitious motivation to pursue new professional opportunities (thanks, Vanessa) and further solidified by evening rain showers (thanks, God), I forewent cycling in order to consume voluminous bar food calories at The Half King in honor of Vanessa's new job. We'll miss her and her contagious laugh in the office, but my expanded waistline and idle legs are not feeling quite as sentimental.

Thursday was no longer a regularly scheduled off-day. 21 miles!

Century Training - Week 6

Total Miles Cycled in Week 5: 75.55

Mon: Upper Body Strength Routine #1; 11 miles (easy)
Tues: Lower Body Strength Routine #1; 15 miles (pace)
Wed: Upper Body Strength Routine #2; 21 miles (brisk)
Thurs: Lower Body Strength Routine #2; Off 21 miles (brisk)
Fri: Upper Body Strength Routine #3; 15 miles (pace)
Sat: 53 miles (pace)
Sun: 16 miles (pace)

Week 6 Scheduled Mileage: 131

Strength training routines at the gym: M-F, 6am
Century training rides: M-W, F, 7pm; Sat, 9am; Sun, 7:30am
Core-specific exercise routine: M, W, F after evening rides (3x per week)

Random Notes to Self:

• Since I was able to pedal 47 miles relatively comfortably on Saturday after four consecutive days off the bicycle last week, I've decided to move on to the scheduled mileage in Week 6 instead of repeating Week 5.
• Don't forget the chamois cream!
• Need to purchase real cycling sunglasses; the $5 immitations I purchased from a street vendor in Midtown are not going to hold up much longer. Considering transitions lenses.
• iPhone or Droid? My Verizon contract ends in May and - while I could wait for Verizon's version of the iPhone to be released later this fall rather than switch to AT&T - I'd like a Smartphone for my big cycle adventure. Comments?

"'Easy' means taking a leisurely ride, 'pace' means matching the speed you plan to maintain for the century, and 'brisk' means cycling faster than your century pace."
- America by Bicycle's Century Challenge & Endurance Cycling Training Guide, reproduced with permission by Rodale Press

Century Training - Week 5; Day 7

Week: 5
Day: 7
Ride: Pace
Route: Hilly
Scheduled Mileage: 14
Actual Mileage: 17.38
Average Speed: 14.0 mph*
Max Speed: 28.1 mph
*Includes city street speed average

Average BPM: 144
Max BPM: 177
Calories: 544

Random Notes to Self:

• Spinning drills can suck!
• Scraped my beloved (= code for expensive) Specialized Toupe Team Saddle 2010 when I stopped at a redlight in Times Square while returning from this morning's cycling lesson, and - in my exhaustion from a strenuous workout on less than two hours of sleep - forgot to unclip my pedals and fell over.
• Update: Thanks to Mark, I now know that when you fail to unclip from your pedals fast enough and fall over, you have "turtled".

I actually got off work at job #2 early - at 4:30am. And I was able to get a full one hour and 45 minute nap since my cycling coach moved our session in Prospect Park back to 8am. The extra sleep might have made my morning a little rougher - though I'm not sure how or why it often works out that way exactly.

My cycling coach had me paceline in between two of his more seasoned riders while I was spinning and floating my pedals at 39/21, 39/19 and 39/17 (depending on the hill index) and they made steady, even pedal strokes at 53/19. It was hard work to keep up with them. After 12 miles, I was beat. During the last five miles of our session, we followed my coach as he called out the gears on various inclines and declines to help us gain more understanding of gear shifting.

Despite the crowds in Times Square, while returning from Brooklyn (I rode the F train to Rockefeller Center and pedaled across Midtown to my apartment in Hell's Kitchen), I was not even remotely embarrassed when I fell over at an intersection. It reminded me of notes I had made in "The Lessons of Living Here" (the 'here' being New York City), where I had mentioned that if you fall in any public areas regardless of alcohol consumption - or lackthereof - you will not feel embarrassed because you will likely never see any of the witnesses again. I guess I should now also include - regardless of a good night's rest or lackthereof.

As I moaned and groaned over the noticable scrap on my new Specialized Toupe Team Saddle, my roommate remarked: "You sound like one of those new car owners, who freaks out when they scratch their car for the first time."

There will be many more scratches and each one will be less significant than the prior. Maybe they'll even have cool stories to accompany them. Like the one on my rear derailler is from when I toppled over while I was seated on my bicycle and propping myself on one leg while chatting with other cyclists in Prospect Park. Ok. That's not exactly cool. It appears that my falls thus far have been associated with low levels of sleep and speeds of 0 mph. But I suppose that's a good thing. Sort of.

I slept 15 straight hours once I got home this afternoon (I know this because this post is backdated to yesterday at 1pm).

Century Training - Week 5; Days 2, 3, 4 & 5

It was a sad cycling week in the world of Blog-By-Bike.

Week: 5
Day: 2
Ride: Pace Off-Day
Scheduled Mileage: 15
Actual Mileage: 0

Week: 5
Day: 3
Ride: Brisk Off-Day
Scheduled Mileage: 19
Actual Mileage: 0

Week: 5
Day: 4
Ride: Actual Off-Day
Scheduled Mileage: 0
Actual Mileage: 0

Week: 5
Day: 5
Ride: Pace Off-Day
Scheduled Mileage: 15
Actual Mileage: 0

Sigh. Four off-days in a row due responsibilities at job #1. I was assisting our company's Executive Chairman while his executive assistant was away, and the demands associated with her role resulted in long hours and sunsets before I left the office. It was a sacrafice in Week 5 of century training, but it continues to be an honor that I am the only person that our Executive Chairman's assistant "trusts to sit in [her] chair" whenever she is away. In fact, she will be out again next week and has asked my bosses if she could borrow me again - as well as three more days in May. I am taking it as a credit to my professional performance that she is intentionally trying to take the majority of her vacation and personal leave before I depart on my eight-week adventure this summer. That - or I'm the only sucker who will agree to fill in (just kidding; the gentleman whom she assists is the richest "salt of the earth" you will ever meet - and I'm not just saying that because a few coworkers know about my blog).

I did get a 9-mile ride in on Monday, and depending how tomorrow's attempt at 47 miles goes on my 4-day idle legs, I will determine whether I should repeat Week 5 entirely or move forward with the scheduled mileage in Week 6.

Century Training - Week 5; Day 1

Week: 5

Day: 1
Ride: Easy
Route: Flat
Scheduled Mileage: 9
Actual Mileage: 10.27
Average Speed: 13.4 mph*
Max Speed: 21.3 mph
*Includes city street speed average

Average BPM: 133
Max BPM: 167
Calories: 302

Random Notes to Self:

• I have been chaffed - and not for any of the reasons on UrbanDictionary.com (geez). Made a mental note to really lather on the chamois cream.
• Really can't get enough of spring in Central Park - though I had to switch from 1-pill-per-day Claritin to 4-hour Chlortrimeton to better combat my demonic allergy symptons. So far, so good.

Century Training - Week 5

Total Miles Cycled in Week 4: 102.27

Mon: Upper Body Strength Routine #1; 9 miles (easy)
Tues: Lower Body Strength Routine #3; 15 miles (pace)
Wed: Upper Body Strength Routine #2; 19 miles (brisk)
Thurs: Lower Body Strength Routine #2; Off
Fri: Upper Body Strength Routine #3; 15 miles (pace)
Sat: 47 miles (pace)
Sun: 14 miles (pace)

Week 5 Scheduled Mileage: 119

Strength training routines at the gym: M-F, 6am
Century training rides: M-W, F, 7pm; Sat, 9am; Sun, 7:30am
Core-specific exercise routine: M, W, F after evening rides (3x per week)

Random Notes to Self:

• Adding a short evening core-specific exercise routine from the March 2010 issue of Bicycling Magazine after my Monday, Wednesday and Friday rides.

"'Easy' means taking a leisurely ride, 'pace' means matching the speed you plan to maintain for the century, and 'brisk' means cycling faster than your century pace."
- America by Bicycle's Century Challenge & Endurance Cycling Training Guide, reproduced with permission by Rodale Press

Century Training - Week 4, Day 7

Week: 4
Day: 7
Ride: Pace
Route: Hilly
Scheduled Mileage: 13
Actual Mileage: 11.89
Average Speed: 10.5 mph*
Max Speed: 28.5 mph
*Includes city street speed average

Average BPM: 116
Max BPM: 178
Calories: 351

Random Notes to Self:

• There are four quadrants of pedal stroke efficiency: push forward, push down, pull back, pull up.
• Learned about gear shifting and usage for the 53 and 39 plates on my crankset, which shed more light on the purpose for clearing chainrings (the cause of the pesky, little tick Maddy had last week).
• Practiced spinning pedals in low gears, rolling pedals in high gears.

My cycling coach went easy on me and two of his other clients this morning. We spent most of our laps around Prospect Park doing various drills to improve pedal stroke effeciency and understanding when to use the 53 and 39 plates on the crankset in combination with various gears on the cassette. Afterward, as pictured above, we had breakfast at Connecticut Muffin.

Century Training - Week 4; Day 6

Week: 4
Day: 6
Ride: Pace
Route: Combination of hills and flats
Scheduled Mileage: 42
Actual Mileage: 43.81
Average Speed: 13.2 mph*
Max Speed: 24.0 mph
*Includes city street speed average

Average BPM: 133
Max BPM: 162
Calories: 1278

Random Notes to Self:

• Still experiencing some muscle fatigue, but feeling better.
• Need to continue researching dietary suggestions for athletic performance.
• Don't forget to stretch after rides.

I love the cherry blossoms in Central Park. But I love even more when the cherry blossoms begin to fall off the trees. Even though the fleeting beauty of the cherry blossom season is a subtle reminder of how few things in this life truly last, it can be a surreal experience to see hundreds of petals lifted by a spring breeze and swirled like drifting snow. Suddenly you're surrounded by a light, pink rain. On the most spectacular occasion that I was witness to the soft pink flurries, I was sitting in Columbus Circle.
 
My 42-mile long ride could easily have raised breast cancer awareness for Pink Ribbon. I was in my pink and black Pearl Izumi Women's Insula Tour Jacket, cycling circles around a sprinkled-pink Central Park. Half way through my fourth lap, I exited the north end of the park for a change of scenery along the Hudson River, where Maddy and I took a break with a Cliff Bar energy bar and low-calorie Gatorade. Even Jersey (the armpit of the northeast ... hey, I wasn't the first to say it) looks beautiful on days like today ... from a distance.

I concluded my 42 miles with one last pink lap around Central Park. It would have been a gorgeous day for a century ... but I'll get there.

Century Training - Week 4; Day 5

Week: 4
Day: 5
Ride: Pace Off-Day (muscle fatigue)
Scheduled Mileage: 14
Actual Mileage: 0

Random Notes to Self:

• Overtraining?

Despite the beautiful weather this week, my rides were slightly less enjoyable. Instead of the fresh legs I had on last Saturday's long ride, I have been fatigued and sore - generally from the waist down, which I think I can thankfully attribute to the good fit of my bicycle (e.g. no backaches or joint stiffness). And my legs have been particularly shaky when ascending stairs. I climb in and out of subway stations regularly and deal with a four-floor walk-up apartment at least twice a day; if extreme stair climbing were a sport, I'd be an Olympic medalist. So the fact that I have been struggling to get from street level to the front door of my home is mildly concerning.

I used the cold front that is currently sweeping across the northeast to further pad my excuse for a second off-day this week. But I also remembered that I have been doubling the scheduled mileage on Day 7 over the past few weeks - the Sundays after my long days. I wasn't intentionally upping my mileage, but following my cycling coach in circles around Prospect Park on Sunday mornings caused me to exceed my recommended mileage on more than one occasion. Focusing on various drills while staying on his wheel, five miles can become 25 rather suddenly.

America By Bicycle's Century Challenge & Endurance Training Guide notes that cyclists should "resist the temptation to drastically boost your weekly mileage, especially as the ride approaches. Overdoing it can lead to staleness, fatigue and injury. Watch for such overtraining warning signs as restless sleep, fluctuations in morning pulse rate, a sudden drop in weight, and fatigue or listlessness during workouts."

My cycling coach has been sensitive to my physical condition on Sunday mornings because he knows that I leave job #2 in Manhattan at 5am and meet him for 7:30am rides in Brooklyn. He has an equally inviting and threatening way of alluding to what our sessions will be like after I quit my second job. In the meantime, I'll be sure to mention my recommended post-long-day mileage moving forward - while I can still squeeze some pity out of him.

Tomorrow is Day 6 of Week 4. My next long day. 42 miles!

Century Training - Week 4; Days 1, 2 & 3

Week: 4
Day: 1
Ride: Easy
Route: Flat
Scheduled Mileage: 8
Actual Mileage: 8.89
Average Speed: 13.1 mph*
Max Speed: 20.3 mph
*Includes city street speed average

Average BPM: 126
Max BPM: 148
Calories: 243

Week: 4
Day: 2
Ride: Pace
Route: Hilly
Scheduled Mileage: 14
Actual Mileage: 18.34
Average Speed: 15.3*
Max Speed: 26.4
*Includes city street speed average

Average BPM: 134
Max BPM: 161
Calories: 475

Week: 4
Day: 3
Ride: Brisk
Route: Hilly
Scheduled Mileage: 17
Actual Mileage: 19.34
Average Speed: 15.2*
Max Speed: 25.3
*Includes city street speed average

Average BPM: 135
Max BPM: 166
Calories: 509

A beautiful three days of riding.

Century Training - Week 4

Total Miles Cycled in Week 3: 108.53

Mon: Upper Body Strength Routine #1; 8 miles (easy)
Tues: Lower Body Strength Routine #1; 14 miles (pace)
Wed:  Upper Body Strength Routine #2; 17 miles (brisk)
Thurs: Lower Body Strength Routine #2; Off
Fri: Upper Body Strength Routine #3; 14 miles (pace)
Sat: 42 miles (pace)
Sun: 13 miles (pace) 

Week 4 Scheduled Mileage: 108

Strength training routines at the gym: M-F, 6am
Century training rides: M-W, F, 7pm; Sat, 9am; Sun, 7:30am

Random Notes to Self:

• Don't bend wrists when cruising in hand positions 1 and 2.
• Avoid pumping my upper body for momentum when climbing hills; keep upper body as still as possible and let the core and legs do the work.

"'Easy' means taking a leisurely ride, 'pace' means matching the speed you plan to maintain for the century, and 'brisk' means cycling faster than your century pace."
- America by Bicycle's Century Challenge & Endurance Cycling Training Guide, reproduced with permission by Rodale Press