The Workout:
12 mile road/track ride
5 hs push-ups on wall
Since Jason and I were rained/snowed out of our mtn bike ride Sunday morning, I was eager to get out and do something when I got back to Asheville yesterday afternoon. I mounted some slick tires on the hifi and rode an easy 3.6 miles down to the velodrome on Amboy rd. Temps were in the low 40s so I bundled up pretty well with 2 pair of gloves and a warm hat. Once on the track, I rode one mile warm-up that included a lap with each leg individually (harder than I would have expected) and a lap focusing on efficient spinning. I pulled off in the center grass for about 10 minutes, did some push-ups and crunches and loosened up with some good stretching. Back on the track, I got into a good rhythm and zoned out while reviewing my Windows Server study in my head. My goal was to ride 10 miles but after 4, my phone rang. I have been on high alert lately waiting for Bethany to call and tell me it is go time so I careened back into the grass, threw off my pack, dumped it out and caught the last ring. Fortunately it was just Dad. I attempted to get back on and ride and talk at the same time but the wind noise was too high for him to hear me. I ended up getting off and chatting for about 20 minutes. That interruption really ate into my time so I finished up with one more mile and hit the road back home.
While the scenery doesn’t change much at the velodrome, the not having to worry about traffic, pedestrians, dogs …etc makes it easy to crank and just focus on riding technique. Have I mentioned that I L O V E my bike?! With slick tires and locked out suspension, it totally mitigates the need for a road specific bike and is f a s t.
Once I got home, I spent about 15 minutes doing lots of handstands, with varying success, and attempting to to a balanced hs push-up. My best effort resulted in a smooth descent but I started to fall over about 1/3 of the way back up. Before my energy was totally shot, I eeked out 5 hs push-ups against a wall. After my 4th up, Ellie walked right up to me, turned her head upside down and asked me to put more chips in her bowl. It was so funny seeing her right side up while upside down that I barely got up again.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Lunch Run
The Workout:
run easy pace - 50min
Today I jogged over lunch for 50 minutes. It was a easy but steady pace. I started out by running down to the graveyard and doing a couple of the loops in there. Next I took the sneak through to Rosewood and Tacoma and ran the outer loop. Lastly I made a b-line straight back down Montford all the way into town. I did this because I detest running in a straight line for long distances and I'm trying to break myself of the "take an alternate route" addiction that screws me in Adventure Races.
run easy pace - 50min
Today I jogged over lunch for 50 minutes. It was a easy but steady pace. I started out by running down to the graveyard and doing a couple of the loops in there. Next I took the sneak through to Rosewood and Tacoma and ran the outer loop. Lastly I made a b-line straight back down Montford all the way into town. I did this because I detest running in a straight line for long distances and I'm trying to break myself of the "take an alternate route" addiction that screws me in Adventure Races.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Ten on a wall
The workout:
10 hs push-ups against wall
Last night I put a pillow on our wood floor to pad my head, did a handstand against the wall and busted out 10 hs push-ups. It amazes me that I can do 10 on a wall without leaning on it all that hard but ZERO from a balanced hand stand. I think my posture and hand position must be different in the two scenarios. I'll have to check out that theory tonight.
10 hs push-ups against wall
Last night I put a pillow on our wood floor to pad my head, did a handstand against the wall and busted out 10 hs push-ups. It amazes me that I can do 10 on a wall without leaning on it all that hard but ZERO from a balanced hand stand. I think my posture and hand position must be different in the two scenarios. I'll have to check out that theory tonight.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Hike a Bike
The Workout:
3 miles road riding
2 miles hiking w/ bike on shoulder
Last night:
15 seconds hs balancing
5 hs pushups on wall
This morning, I rode in to work... sort of. First I rode down to the French Broad River velodrome and cranked out a mile around the track on my mtn bike. From there I rode the river system trails and then river road towards town. A mile later, I heard a hissing sound and found a metal shard sticking out of my back wheel. It flattened my tire in about 10 seconds. Not having a patch kit or pump with me, I resolved to hike the remaining 2 miles to work instead of calling Bethany for the pick-up. Since my bike has a rear shock smack in the middle of the front triangle, carrying with my shoulder through there is not an option. I eventually just picked the bike higher and rest the down tube on my shoulder with the chain ring cassette just behind my back (bike facing forward). It wasn't ideal but at least I could balance it there and only needed one arm to hold it in place. I carried it about a quarter mile each time before switching shoulders. My shoulders started getting a little sore from the metal tube sitting on my thin jacket so I used my wool hat as a shoulder pad. It wasn't going to get much better than this so I pounded the streets with a brisk walk and actually made it to work on time by the skin of my teeth.
Next time I'll be more prepared but it is good to have figured out how to carry my bike in a pinch and that it isn't all that bad.
On the hand stand push-up front, I can do ~5 hs pushups on a wall but am really more interested in getting them done from a true balanced hand stand position. I do several hand stands most nights and am getting much better at it. Usually by the time I finally get stabilized, my arms are tired from adjusting (walking around) and I can just lower myself, touch my head to the floor and then fall down. I am progressing and don't think it'll be long before I get one in the bag. Once that happens, it's on like the break of dawn baby!
3 miles road riding
2 miles hiking w/ bike on shoulder
Last night:
15 seconds hs balancing
5 hs pushups on wall
This morning, I rode in to work... sort of. First I rode down to the French Broad River velodrome and cranked out a mile around the track on my mtn bike. From there I rode the river system trails and then river road towards town. A mile later, I heard a hissing sound and found a metal shard sticking out of my back wheel. It flattened my tire in about 10 seconds. Not having a patch kit or pump with me, I resolved to hike the remaining 2 miles to work instead of calling Bethany for the pick-up. Since my bike has a rear shock smack in the middle of the front triangle, carrying with my shoulder through there is not an option. I eventually just picked the bike higher and rest the down tube on my shoulder with the chain ring cassette just behind my back (bike facing forward). It wasn't ideal but at least I could balance it there and only needed one arm to hold it in place. I carried it about a quarter mile each time before switching shoulders. My shoulders started getting a little sore from the metal tube sitting on my thin jacket so I used my wool hat as a shoulder pad. It wasn't going to get much better than this so I pounded the streets with a brisk walk and actually made it to work on time by the skin of my teeth.
Next time I'll be more prepared but it is good to have figured out how to carry my bike in a pinch and that it isn't all that bad.
On the hand stand push-up front, I can do ~5 hs pushups on a wall but am really more interested in getting them done from a true balanced hand stand position. I do several hand stands most nights and am getting much better at it. Usually by the time I finally get stabilized, my arms are tired from adjusting (walking around) and I can just lower myself, touch my head to the floor and then fall down. I am progressing and don't think it'll be long before I get one in the bag. Once that happens, it's on like the break of dawn baby!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Hand Stand Push-ups
The Workout:
2 sets of 3 hand stand push-ups
About two weeks ago, Jason challenged me to see who could get to 20 hand stand push-ups first. I busted out 3 that first night and then just eeked out 6 a few days later. I lost some ground with the flu and it was all I could do to get out 3 last night. About an hour later I got fired up and did another 3. So it goes...
2 sets of 3 hand stand push-ups
About two weeks ago, Jason challenged me to see who could get to 20 hand stand push-ups first. I busted out 3 that first night and then just eeked out 6 a few days later. I lost some ground with the flu and it was all I could do to get out 3 last night. About an hour later I got fired up and did another 3. So it goes...
Monday, March 17, 2008
Night Ride
The Workout:
biked 5 miles to town to study
10 push-ups
1 hs push-up
20 crunches
30 push-ups
30 sit-ups
biked 5 miles home
2 hs push-ups
Tonight I jumped on the bike and headed into town to study at work. A quarter mile and I discovered that my large chain-ring is bent enough to completely throw off my chain once every pedal stroke. I must have done that at the skate park. !@#$%. At least the middle ring was fine and I was able to cruise on in with it. I'll have to get that into the shop tomorrow. Hopefully it isn't to expensive!
biked 5 miles to town to study
10 push-ups
1 hs push-up
20 crunches
30 push-ups
30 sit-ups
biked 5 miles home
2 hs push-ups
Tonight I jumped on the bike and headed into town to study at work. A quarter mile and I discovered that my large chain-ring is bent enough to completely throw off my chain once every pedal stroke. I must have done that at the skate park. !@#$%. At least the middle ring was fine and I was able to cruise on in with it. I'll have to get that into the shop tomorrow. Hopefully it isn't to expensive!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Skunked at Max Patch Bald
The Workout:
none :o(
This morning, the Hagberg's charged out of bed, whipped up some PB&J sandwiches and loaded our packs with a few waters, spare clothes and treats. The destination was a high mountain field called Max Patch Bald, near Hot Springs, NC and very close to the Tennessee border in the North-most area of the Smoky Mountain range. Skies to the North and West were looking pretty cloudy and windy but the weather was forecast to hit the high 60s and be clear and sunny so we jumped in the car and rolled out.
We headed out Highway 40 to exit 7, near the Pigeon River and turned North up Forest Service road 148. This road headed up into the mountains. Up. Up. Up and more up for 7 miles dumping us off at the Max Patch parking area. When we got there we were completely socked in with fog and the Vibe showed an outside temperature of 33F. We downed some sandwiches and decided to give it a go anyway. Bethany rounded up some socks for her sandal clad feet and we broke into a trash bag of old clothes to find Ellie a spare pair of pants.
We popped over the stairs that crossed over the gate and paused for a quick picture. Ellie had no interest in poking her head out from under the blanket so we let her be. A few minutes of walking and the writing was on the wall... We just weren't prepared for the cold and windy gusts on the Bald. We paused to take some pictures of Bethany sticking her beautiful pregnant belly out into the wind and scampered back to the car.
On the way back down the mountain we took a deviation down the Hot Springs watershed. After descending 1,000 ft or so the temperature got up to around 40. We stopped at a cool little campsite and walked down to the creek to throw in rocks and sticks (Ellie's favorite past time). After that we piled back into the car and cruised down 40 miles of very winding mountain roads in backwoods Appalachia.
Bethany and Ellie slept the second half of the ride home but I got to check out some old paddling spots on the way. It was a bust for the most part but we enjoyed each other's company and all agree that we'll have to hit up this hike this summer when it is too hot to hike in the low lands.
none :o(
This morning, the Hagberg's charged out of bed, whipped up some PB&J sandwiches and loaded our packs with a few waters, spare clothes and treats. The destination was a high mountain field called Max Patch Bald, near Hot Springs, NC and very close to the Tennessee border in the North-most area of the Smoky Mountain range. Skies to the North and West were looking pretty cloudy and windy but the weather was forecast to hit the high 60s and be clear and sunny so we jumped in the car and rolled out.
We headed out Highway 40 to exit 7, near the Pigeon River and turned North up Forest Service road 148. This road headed up into the mountains. Up. Up. Up and more up for 7 miles dumping us off at the Max Patch parking area. When we got there we were completely socked in with fog and the Vibe showed an outside temperature of 33F. We downed some sandwiches and decided to give it a go anyway. Bethany rounded up some socks for her sandal clad feet and we broke into a trash bag of old clothes to find Ellie a spare pair of pants.
We popped over the stairs that crossed over the gate and paused for a quick picture. Ellie had no interest in poking her head out from under the blanket so we let her be. A few minutes of walking and the writing was on the wall... We just weren't prepared for the cold and windy gusts on the Bald. We paused to take some pictures of Bethany sticking her beautiful pregnant belly out into the wind and scampered back to the car.
On the way back down the mountain we took a deviation down the Hot Springs watershed. After descending 1,000 ft or so the temperature got up to around 40. We stopped at a cool little campsite and walked down to the creek to throw in rocks and sticks (Ellie's favorite past time). After that we piled back into the car and cruised down 40 miles of very winding mountain roads in backwoods Appalachia.
Bethany and Ellie slept the second half of the ride home but I got to check out some old paddling spots on the way. It was a bust for the most part but we enjoyed each other's company and all agree that we'll have to hit up this hike this summer when it is too hot to hike in the low lands.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Endurance training
THE WORKOUT:
2 hrs 3 min of jogging
This morning I jogged back over to Richmond Hill discgolf course. I stuffed a granola bar in my shorts and took a full water bottle. After 15 minutes I dropped the bottle behind a tree by the Clear Channel broadcast station. I made it to the first hole of the course at the 42 minute mark.
Halfway around the dg course I deviated to a trail system that descended to the French Broad river. I scrambled down a steep bank, jumped the railroad tracks and slid down another bank to the river. After splashing my face with cool water I went back up and followed the trail to its end heading South. I circled back around to where I picked up the trail and followed it North to a small drainage. There are tons of trails down here that are begging to be explored but I think I'll do it on my bike next time to cover more ground. From there I headed West for about a mile and ended up on the old Richmond Hill course. That was awesome as no one goes back there anymore. The carpet pads that made up the tee boxes are all still there but everything else has been torn down and the woods are quickly reclaiming the area. The trail portion added some distance to the run but was really nice cruising along single track in the woods with no-one around. It was also eerily quiet from the recent rain. At the 60 minute mark I started eating the granola bar until it was gone and at the 1hr 45min mark I was back to pick up my water bottle.
I ran slow but steady the whole time and broke the run down mentally into smaller manageable distances varying from 7 minutes to 15 minutes.
* I've been thinking more and more about the Impossible Panther on May 4th. Need to check with the posse.
2 hrs 3 min of jogging
This morning I jogged back over to Richmond Hill discgolf course. I stuffed a granola bar in my shorts and took a full water bottle. After 15 minutes I dropped the bottle behind a tree by the Clear Channel broadcast station. I made it to the first hole of the course at the 42 minute mark.
Halfway around the dg course I deviated to a trail system that descended to the French Broad river. I scrambled down a steep bank, jumped the railroad tracks and slid down another bank to the river. After splashing my face with cool water I went back up and followed the trail to its end heading South. I circled back around to where I picked up the trail and followed it North to a small drainage. There are tons of trails down here that are begging to be explored but I think I'll do it on my bike next time to cover more ground. From there I headed West for about a mile and ended up on the old Richmond Hill course. That was awesome as no one goes back there anymore. The carpet pads that made up the tee boxes are all still there but everything else has been torn down and the woods are quickly reclaiming the area. The trail portion added some distance to the run but was really nice cruising along single track in the woods with no-one around. It was also eerily quiet from the recent rain. At the 60 minute mark I started eating the granola bar until it was gone and at the 1hr 45min mark I was back to pick up my water bottle.
I ran slow but steady the whole time and broke the run down mentally into smaller manageable distances varying from 7 minutes to 15 minutes.
* I've been thinking more and more about the Impossible Panther on May 4th. Need to check with the posse.
Cross training - 30 minutes
THE WORKOUT
10 minute jog warmup
20 minutes of running drills
10 minute jog cool down
Thursday I was feeling fairly recovered and jogged down to memorial stadium. It is one mile mostly downhill from work. I ran around a half of the soccer field alternating sides of the box between jogging and doing the following
running backwards 1 lap
side-to-sides 1 lap right
side-to-sides 1 lap left
high knees 1 lap
butt kickers 1 lap
karaoke 1 lap left
karaoke 1 lap right
chi-running focus 2 laps
Afterwards I practiced doing a few handstands and did a couple of lat pulls using the bleachers. It was 70 degrees and I had seriously forgotten what it is like to constantly have sweat in your eyes.
All in all a good workout but it really blew apart the idea that I'm still in good shape as my hamstrings and butt were VERY sore for the next two days.
10 minute jog warmup
20 minutes of running drills
10 minute jog cool down
Thursday I was feeling fairly recovered and jogged down to memorial stadium. It is one mile mostly downhill from work. I ran around a half of the soccer field alternating sides of the box between jogging and doing the following
running backwards 1 lap
side-to-sides 1 lap right
side-to-sides 1 lap left
high knees 1 lap
butt kickers 1 lap
karaoke 1 lap left
karaoke 1 lap right
chi-running focus 2 laps
Afterwards I practiced doing a few handstands and did a couple of lat pulls using the bleachers. It was 70 degrees and I had seriously forgotten what it is like to constantly have sweat in your eyes.
All in all a good workout but it really blew apart the idea that I'm still in good shape as my hamstrings and butt were VERY sore for the next two days.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Kickin it Old School at the Skate Park
The Workout:
2 hrs doing silly stuff with ramps and a bike
This weekend Pat talked me into heading to the skate park down under the 460 bridge in Roanoke. He got a new full suspension Cannondale mtn bike over the holidays and has spent more days at the park with his friend Randy than on actual trails and mountains. I was just coming out of the flu, thought it would be less taxing than a crosscountry ride, and wanted to break-in my bike a little more before taking it back for the free tune-up.
We rolled up to the park in Pat's truck and assembled our bikes. Pat had body armor and pads conveniently concealed beneath his stylish bagy street wear. Randy showed up with his tricked out single speed park bike and also had some cool gear on. I had been threatening to wear head to toe spandex, a yellow safety vest and a sock in my bike shorts on the way there but ended up tossing on my usual ensamble for riding including some board shorts and a long sleeve shirt. I was laughing over the fact that the three of us had collectively raised the mean age of the park by about 15 years. I went to bunny hop the railroad tracks to get over to the park entrance, got front and back tires wedged between the two tracks and promptly fell over in a pile of foolishness. Those guys just chuckled and said they both did the exact same thing on their first time there and proceeded to just carry their bikes over the tracks.
The park is 100 yds long, 50 yds wide and surrounded by a chain link fence like tennis courts. On one end, there is a 10' tall half pipe ramp and some boxes and rails to play on. The rest of it is made of between 4' and 10' high rollers, tabletops and quarterpipe ramps. For the first 15 minutes or so, I cruised around watching Pat and Randy drop in on the QPs, pick up speed, jump some tabletops and hit some of the other features. First I practiced riding up and down some of the larger entry ramps to pick up speed. I still got a "dropping in" feeling but it just wasn't as vertical as the quarterpipes. Once I was comfortable with that I would pick up speed and ride the rollers over and over again. They are ramps with concave curves on the way up and convex curves over the top. It's just like riding rolling hills on a roller coaster. This was a good step because I got to feel out how much my suspension would compress on the way up and down depending on how I positioned my body or weighted the bike. After about a half hour, I got up the nerve to ride up one of the smaller quarter pipes. I was tentative about my largest chainring banging on the rail that is on the lip of the ramp, getting stopped and falling off backwards. It went fine with no scraping so after a few tries of riding up and walking down, I rode up one, carried speed across the platform and dropped in off the qp on the other side. I was expecting a yard sale but the bike took the hit no problem. After that it was pretty much on and we did what boys do... rode around and tried to one up each other with higher jumps or better tricks. I wasn't really in Pat and Randy's league but I had fun and let it hang out there plenty of times.
The only thing I really backed down from was more of a physical reaction than mental decision. I had just come around my 2nd lap of nailing the quarterpipe transitions and still had speed heading towards a 10' high quarterpipe. I just felt like it was going to happen and cranked out a few quick pedal strokes. About 15 feet from the ramp hauling ass I just locked up both brakes and came to a screeching hault. My brain just didn't believe I would have enough forward velocity to make it up onto the platform and would just fall backwards 10' onto my back. Pat was hot on my heels and saw the whole thing happen. We laughed about it and I cut myself some slack it being my first time out and all.
I didn't attempt that one again but there was plenty of other stuff for us to play with. I finally got to that point we all know so well where we're too tired to be trying the stuff we're doing and barely smart enough to recognize it. I rolled out on the grass and practiced track stands and nose wheelies while they squeezed out the last of the goodness for that day.
Man I wish I had taken some pictures or video. That was so fun I just plain forgot about my camera. I'm writing this two days later and my back and shoulder muscles are still tight. What an unexpected upper body workout manhandling my bike up and over those ramp lips. I can't wait until next time.
2 hrs doing silly stuff with ramps and a bike
This weekend Pat talked me into heading to the skate park down under the 460 bridge in Roanoke. He got a new full suspension Cannondale mtn bike over the holidays and has spent more days at the park with his friend Randy than on actual trails and mountains. I was just coming out of the flu, thought it would be less taxing than a crosscountry ride, and wanted to break-in my bike a little more before taking it back for the free tune-up.
We rolled up to the park in Pat's truck and assembled our bikes. Pat had body armor and pads conveniently concealed beneath his stylish bagy street wear. Randy showed up with his tricked out single speed park bike and also had some cool gear on. I had been threatening to wear head to toe spandex, a yellow safety vest and a sock in my bike shorts on the way there but ended up tossing on my usual ensamble for riding including some board shorts and a long sleeve shirt. I was laughing over the fact that the three of us had collectively raised the mean age of the park by about 15 years. I went to bunny hop the railroad tracks to get over to the park entrance, got front and back tires wedged between the two tracks and promptly fell over in a pile of foolishness. Those guys just chuckled and said they both did the exact same thing on their first time there and proceeded to just carry their bikes over the tracks.
The park is 100 yds long, 50 yds wide and surrounded by a chain link fence like tennis courts. On one end, there is a 10' tall half pipe ramp and some boxes and rails to play on. The rest of it is made of between 4' and 10' high rollers, tabletops and quarterpipe ramps. For the first 15 minutes or so, I cruised around watching Pat and Randy drop in on the QPs, pick up speed, jump some tabletops and hit some of the other features. First I practiced riding up and down some of the larger entry ramps to pick up speed. I still got a "dropping in" feeling but it just wasn't as vertical as the quarterpipes. Once I was comfortable with that I would pick up speed and ride the rollers over and over again. They are ramps with concave curves on the way up and convex curves over the top. It's just like riding rolling hills on a roller coaster. This was a good step because I got to feel out how much my suspension would compress on the way up and down depending on how I positioned my body or weighted the bike. After about a half hour, I got up the nerve to ride up one of the smaller quarter pipes. I was tentative about my largest chainring banging on the rail that is on the lip of the ramp, getting stopped and falling off backwards. It went fine with no scraping so after a few tries of riding up and walking down, I rode up one, carried speed across the platform and dropped in off the qp on the other side. I was expecting a yard sale but the bike took the hit no problem. After that it was pretty much on and we did what boys do... rode around and tried to one up each other with higher jumps or better tricks. I wasn't really in Pat and Randy's league but I had fun and let it hang out there plenty of times.
The only thing I really backed down from was more of a physical reaction than mental decision. I had just come around my 2nd lap of nailing the quarterpipe transitions and still had speed heading towards a 10' high quarterpipe. I just felt like it was going to happen and cranked out a few quick pedal strokes. About 15 feet from the ramp hauling ass I just locked up both brakes and came to a screeching hault. My brain just didn't believe I would have enough forward velocity to make it up onto the platform and would just fall backwards 10' onto my back. Pat was hot on my heels and saw the whole thing happen. We laughed about it and I cut myself some slack it being my first time out and all.
I didn't attempt that one again but there was plenty of other stuff for us to play with. I finally got to that point we all know so well where we're too tired to be trying the stuff we're doing and barely smart enough to recognize it. I rolled out on the grass and practiced track stands and nose wheelies while they squeezed out the last of the goodness for that day.
Man I wish I had taken some pictures or video. That was so fun I just plain forgot about my camera. I'm writing this two days later and my back and shoulder muscles are still tight. What an unexpected upper body workout manhandling my bike up and over those ramp lips. I can't wait until next time.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Quickie Night Ride
The Workout:
5 miles mountain biking (2.5 out and back)
1000' climb
Last night I got home and was completely restless from not having ran or rode this week. I skipped dinner and hopped on the bike and rode from my house to the end of the road up Spivey Mountain. It was just what I needed. 1000 feet of climbing over 2.5 miles. On the way back down I practiced going fast and then braking with just the front or back brakes and trying to stop as fast as possible while still maintaining control and not skidding. I was a lot more timid using the front brake but started to get the hang of it. Next I experimented using both brakes and realized that I under utilize my front brake most of the time. Once I got it dialed in, I could go from 25 mph to stopped on a 14% grade in 20 - 30 yards.
5 miles mountain biking (2.5 out and back)
1000' climb
Last night I got home and was completely restless from not having ran or rode this week. I skipped dinner and hopped on the bike and rode from my house to the end of the road up Spivey Mountain. It was just what I needed. 1000 feet of climbing over 2.5 miles. On the way back down I practiced going fast and then braking with just the front or back brakes and trying to stop as fast as possible while still maintaining control and not skidding. I was a lot more timid using the front brake but started to get the hang of it. Next I experimented using both brakes and realized that I under utilize my front brake most of the time. Once I got it dialed in, I could go from 25 mph to stopped on a 14% grade in 20 - 30 yards.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Trace Ridge - Biking
The Workout:
Mountain Biking
Spencer Gap -> Trace Ridge Loop (6 miles, 1200 ' el gain)
Fletcher Creek Rd -> Fletcher Creek Trail (7 miles, 900' el gain)
Duration: 4 hours
Sunday, Paul and I hit up the first semi-epic mtn bike ride of the season in which I got to try out the new ride. I could go on for an hour on the topic but it suffices to say that I was not disappointed. OK, OK... I will also say that it was fantastical, bordering on ridiculous. It was a beautiful bluebird day in the mid 60s and barely any traffic on the trail. Trace ridge is a super fast, long downhill with plenty of whoop-de-doos and water bars to jump/drop off of. The other highlight was checking out the myriad of beaver dams along fletcher creek trail. Cold New Castles from a cooler at the end definitely helped take the day to a new level.
I don't know if riding can get any better than that :o).
Mountain Biking
Spencer Gap -> Trace Ridge Loop (6 miles, 1200 ' el gain)
Fletcher Creek Rd -> Fletcher Creek Trail (7 miles, 900' el gain)
Duration: 4 hours
Sunday, Paul and I hit up the first semi-epic mtn bike ride of the season in which I got to try out the new ride. I could go on for an hour on the topic but it suffices to say that I was not disappointed. OK, OK... I will also say that it was fantastical, bordering on ridiculous. It was a beautiful bluebird day in the mid 60s and barely any traffic on the trail. Trace ridge is a super fast, long downhill with plenty of whoop-de-doos and water bars to jump/drop off of. The other highlight was checking out the myriad of beaver dams along fletcher creek trail. Cold New Castles from a cooler at the end definitely helped take the day to a new level.
I don't know if riding can get any better than that :o).
Stair Master
The Workout:
Stair warm up - 1 to 20 build
5 laps x 6 flights of stairs (up and down)
walk around building cool down
Friday I didn't get a lunch break because of the usual Friday broken stuff frenzy. I needed to do something so I slid into the grove arcade stairwell and walked some stairs. To start off, I went to the first floor and did a stair build to 20. This is where you step up once and back down again. Now do two stairs and back down two, continuing until I hit 20 up and 20 down. Next, I descended to the basement and then hiked up to the 5th floor, stepping on every stair. Now back to the basement hitting every stair. On the next lap, I went up two stairs at a time and down on every stair. For the next 3 laps, I alternated between hitting every stair on the way up and every other stair on the way up but always hit every stair on the way down. It was pretty chilly outside but felt great just walking around the building for a cool down. The whole exercise took about 15 minutes.
Stair warm up - 1 to 20 build
5 laps x 6 flights of stairs (up and down)
walk around building cool down
Friday I didn't get a lunch break because of the usual Friday broken stuff frenzy. I needed to do something so I slid into the grove arcade stairwell and walked some stairs. To start off, I went to the first floor and did a stair build to 20. This is where you step up once and back down again. Now do two stairs and back down two, continuing until I hit 20 up and 20 down. Next, I descended to the basement and then hiked up to the 5th floor, stepping on every stair. Now back to the basement hitting every stair. On the next lap, I went up two stairs at a time and down on every stair. For the next 3 laps, I alternated between hitting every stair on the way up and every other stair on the way up but always hit every stair on the way down. It was pretty chilly outside but felt great just walking around the building for a cool down. The whole exercise took about 15 minutes.
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