Scott Adcox

Doing More With Less Since 1972

Tag: cycling (Page 4 of 5)

Grinding Out Swims

April 20, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Four weeks out from Ironman 70.3 in Haines City, and my training (at least parts of it) has fallen into it’s normal pattern. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

What’s happening is I’m falling into my normal M/O with the swim. Forget doing a bunch of laps kicking (which I hate), and forget drills. It’s time to get mentally prepared to do the distance comfortably. The best way for me to do that in the pool is to jump in knowing I have a lot of laps in front of me and decide that I’m going to just keep swimming until I’m done.

That still doesn’t really get me as ready as I want to be. There’s still a HUGE difference between getting in the pool and knowing I’m about to swim 100 lengths and looking out at the open water course on race day and knowing I have to do one BIG lap. Big swim courses intimidate me in a way the thought of lots of laps staring at the bottom of the pool doesn’t. Even open water swims can’t remedy this for me because I don’t go out and look at a course that’s laid out; I can’t see exactly how far it is I’m going to be swimming…I just see a lot of water.

It’s almost like the reverse of what happens on the bike. I like to train with multiple 5-7 mile laps for my bike rides. It is very boring. And it builds all kinds of mental toughness for race day. On race day, you only have to do 1 or maybe 2 laps. It doesn’t matter how long those laps are. At least you aren’t looking at the exact same thing 10-12 times over. And it’s not the same thing you saw yesterday and in every ride you’ve done for the past 2 months.

And unlike the swim, you can’t actually see how long the bike race course is when you start out. It’s just a road in front of you.

So I feel like the best way I can prepare is to show up at the pool knowing I’m going to finish the entire length of the swim with no stopping to rest between sprints and no drills to mentally break it up. Just grind. I’ll vary my speed for 250  yards here and there and breathe every two strokes, and sometimes I’ll do a few laps where I practice spotting looking forward and keeping my eyes closed underwater so I can’t follow the line on the bottom.I know I’m probably giving up a whole minute or two by bailing on the drills and kicking.

Or maybe not. Maybe I’ll be saving my legs for the bike where I can gain real ground.

The Post-Cycling Wine-o

March 9, 2012 / / 0 Comments

I’ve been doing a lot of my cycling at night lately, and I’m fortunate to be able to do that. The only problem is that riding the bike really wakes me up. I’m typically very alert and awake for at least an hour after getting out of the saddle. It’s like the anti-swimming. And that’s great for morning rides, but when I finish a workout at 11:30 pm, I just want to go to sleep…but I can’t.

If I had unlimited time and access to a lap pool, I’d handle this solution like Elvis–jump into the pool and swim for a while to induce sleep. Then I’d also need to jump on the bike after swimming to get my energy levels back up. It’s a vicious cycle.

Since I can’t go for a quick swim to make me sleepy, could a list of great post-cycling wines be the solution?

I just have to be careful not to partake when I have a workout the following morning…running with a headache is no fun, and even a glass affects me these days.

I’m reading– February 3rd through February 29th

February 29, 2012 / / 0 Comments

How to make hard-to-obtain Sudafed from readily available street meth. – I’m on week 3 of a cough/cold. Haven’t resorted to medication yet, but at least this gives me options.

U.S. water bills to triple – Don’t worry…someone will declare it a right since it’s necessarily for life. That will magically make it “free”.

Skateboard Swing – Building this in 3, 2, 1…

Acer Iconia Tab A500ICS updates coming in April – This article complains that the update isn’t coming soon enough. I’m teaching my kids to be happy with what you have. Not everyone is getting ICS.

HTC: Updates to Ice Cream Sandwich in March – This will make March creep by. Maybe I should take out a 30 day loan to speed up time?

Contador loses Tour de France title – Finally someone else will get the chance to be crowned the best dirty cyclist in the game.

Masters athletes keep their muscle with age – “The authors also note that it’s these aspects of aging that tend to increase health care costs, so if each individual continues to develop their muscles as they age, the exercise could channel those unspent billions back into the economy.”

Does this mean taxpayers should be subsidizing my training?

Link Dump From Stuff I’ve Been Reading

January 31, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Denso (and others) Plea Guilty To Price Fixing – Coming soon, “Shame on Denso” signs in front of Alcoa Highway Wal-Mart.

Has the Higher-Ed Revolution Begun? – I’ll take advantage of the CS courses, but I’d really love to see a business school offer this type of program. We may have to wait all the way until next year for something like that.

What’s Wrong With the Teenage Mind? – In summary (I think), they need to be taught responsibility and experience in addition to facts.

A future President

It’s time for us to get to work. To get busy. My advisors and cabinet members are going to sit down to find ways to help get out of your way. To encourage you.

Re-elect this guy. If we ever elect him.

Whatever happened to: Rucking?

The key advantage of ‘traditional’ rucking was that it produced quick ball. It also occupied forwards who might otherwise loiter in midfield clogging up the pitch.

The game started changing in this regard as my career was ending, and I remember that feeling (we’ve all had it) just KNOWING that the boots were coming after doing something on the edge of the law in a tackle in order to steal or secure the ball for my team.

And then…nothing would happen. Occasionally someone would curse your actions, but they wouldn’t dream of chucking boot and letting you know that was not acceptable.

I do know of at least one referee who was more than happy to have the game become more about him than the players on the field and welcomed the changes in rucking.

10 Things You Can Do to Raise a Reader – On of the most important things you can do as a parent.

Sweden Plans A New Superhighway For Cyclists – Not going to pretend I wouldn’t like to see this here. Privately funded of course.

Federal government debt site – But it doesn’t track the federal government’s massive debt. Instead, it gives them information on decreasing their own debt. Isn’t that rich?!

So Why Read Anymore? – Damn. Just…damn.

Somehow we must convince this new wired generation that speaking and writing well are not just the DSL lines of modern civilization, but also the keys to self-mastery, a sort of code that one takes on — in addition to others, moral and legal — to uphold standards of culture itself, to keep the work and ideas alive of our long gone betters for one more generation — as if to say, “I did my part according to my time and station.”Nothing more, nothing less.

The Future of Personalized Medicine – Can’t wait for this to be widely available. Can I get a GPS add on?

QUnit – jQuery JavaScript Library – Free, and a time saver down the road.

Spotify Free Unlimited Music Streaming Ends After Six Month Promotion – Sadness. Extreme sadness.

On Missed Swim Sessions

January 19, 2012 / / 0 Comments

I know the general rule for missed short workouts is to just move on without worrying about picking them up. I usually follow this to a fault.

I’m rethinking this a little right now though, at least for the swim. I usually don’t place a huge amount of importance on the swim anyway…those are definitely workouts I don’t stress about missing since it’s the shortest leg of the race by far. This time around though, I’d planned on concentrating more on the swim for no other reason that it provides low-impact time training. I’m thinking of them as heart workouts as much as they are swim workouts.

But due to my inability to buy tickets for weekend youth hockey games in advance, I’m one week into a training plan with no access to a pool.

Long story.

What I’ve been doing instead is jumping on the spin bike and knocking out very light and short rides in place of the swims. My logic here is based on three ideas:

  1. Swim workouts are short periods at low heart rate, so I can ride the bike for 20-30 minutes at this low work rate without burning myself up and still get the heart benefits I’d have gotten from swimming, even if I’m not getting the swim technique benefits.
  2. The spin bike is available to me 24/7 and I don’t have to drive to it. It’s no problem to get on it at 2 am for 30 minutes if I have to.
  3. I’ve never (Ever!, EVER!!!) reviewed my performance in a race and concluded I spent too much time on the bike in training. Ever.

I still plan on abandoning scheduled short rides I miss, and definitely short runs. Missed runs are usually the result of being so whooped and beat up that I legitimately need the rest.

Image Credit

 

Another Daggum Link Dump!

December 7, 2011 / / 0 Comments

‘Blue Christmas’ drug bust targets illegal prescription drug sales in Brevard – Big day tomorrow for mugshots!

Tools vs insight – I am Jack’s complete astonishment that Seth Godin can come up with these amazing posts for his blog on a daily basis. I would read it in a box, and I would read it with a fox.

Does Beer Affect Your Training? – I was warned not to read this, but I did anyway. Dammit.

Rethinking the Value of the Brick Run for Long Course Triathlon – And here I was thinking I was bucking the system by doing “rested bricks” on the weekends. Sounds like I may have been on to something.

How to Make a Citizen’s Arrest – Yes!

If Everyone Else is Such an Idiot, How Come You’re Not Rich? – Atlantic Mobile – Great article from someone who is NOT an idiot.

Stop Trying to Coach People Who Shouldn’t Be Coached! – This applies to so many people in so many situations. And I’ve been all four of these people at one time or another as well. I try my best to be coachable though.

Proper Pacing for Your Best Run – I’ve always just used HR control on the bike and tried to build a good run with negative splits with whatever I had left. There are some good ideas here I could definitely use to improve at different distances.

Cuba Libre! – Check out @hungrymother featured in this article!

A Food Label That Actually Teaches You About Food – There should be a “nom nom” graph on there somewhere too.

I’m reading– September 27th through October 17th

October 17, 2011 / / 0 Comments

Facebook Missteps and Shortcomings – Exhibit F.

Heart Rate Training Zone Calculator – Will have to do until I write one. Which will be tomorrow plus infinity.

Page Speed Online – Woot…super useful tool.

Will the New Facebook Lead to Information Overload? – What he said.

Google Financing Solar Installations – This looks interesting. If the cost is the same as your typical electric bill and you don’t have to worry about the maintenance, what’s the downside? Thinking you could also get your pool heated this way. Yeah…I’m thinking.

Get Off The Sidelines, Google + Button Update Coming, and Netflix for Kids

August 30, 2011 / / 0 Comments

These link dumps every few days make it nice for me to keep some fresh content coming, even when I don’t have a ton to say. Of course, if you follow @sadcox on Twitter, you get this stuff almost-real-time…for FREE!

You Can’t Become a Man From The Sidelines – Join your local rugby club this season. Or learn to play an instrument. Or grow and kill your own food. Build a house. Paint a self-portrait. Anything is better than just watching other people live their lives.

Van hits, kills bicycle rider near DeLand – This is Sara McLarty’s father. Be careful out there.

Google+ Share to Specific Circles – Big news for publishers…you’ll be able to decide what images and descriptions are shared with Snippets.

Twitter Based Hedge Fund – Has someone finally found a way to tap the emotions of the market? I’ll stick with logic.

Tenured Professors: Get Out While You Can – This doesn’t seem outside the realm of possibility to me. “Get out while you can” may be a little strong, but contingency plans are never a bad idea.

90’s 411: Music, Fashion, Timelines, Movies, TV and More – I’ve perused this site to see if I can find the phrase, “Congratulations Possums on your 1998 Midwest Championship…” Nothing’s turned up yet.

New Swype Keyboard Makes Tweeting And Mapping A Breeze – Best text input method for Android gets better!

Netflix, Now For Kids – Out Netflix is already set up “just for kids”. All of the suggestions are for kids’ shows, because that’s pretty much all that gets watched. Seriously, this is a cool feature!

I’m reading– January 11th through January 12th

January 12, 2011 / / 0 Comments

Fight Club: The Musical – I am Jack’s feeling that Tyler Durden would not approve. HT to @raowen!

10 Reasons Why Socrates is Still Relevant Today – I’m glad the title of this article isn’t “10 Reasons Why Socrates is Still Alive and Kicking”. Someone would assuredly be shocked that he’s still walking among us. Saw someone make that mistake regarding Shakespeare. True story.

General Knowledge on Oil and Gas – Found this looking up the term “middle of the barrel”. Pretty interesting. Ok, not really, but I didn’t know the whole process.

339 Puke Synonyms – Because we’ve been overusing all the standard material at our house lately.

Digital Distractions – I like this Seth Godin post. I do–I really like the point of it. What I like best is how many times it’s been Shared and Re-Tweeted. And I just added another. 🙂

Most Productive Home Working Location? – For me, there has to be a desk. Actually, a complete office environment, just like you’d have at the Office-office. Bookshelves, printer, filing cabinet, etc. But, longer reading works better on a couch/futon.

Little Debbie Sushi – We have reached the pinnacle of food. There’s nowhere left to go.

WordPress Theme Anatomy – Great quick reference if you are just getting started with WP or need a quick reminder of how everything is structured.

Stuff You Should See– August 26th through September 3rd

September 3, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Higher Ed Bubble Dwarfs Housing Bubble – There's an even bigger bubble in the amount actually learned. Not casting stones or anything, just sayin'.

Provide 30,000 rugby balls to youth&high school players – A Ball for All!

Does Stretching Before Running Prevent Injuries? – Short answer–no. The only thing I stretch is my running clothes.

Inspiration and Chai – "Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it."

How the Commerce Clause Made Congress All-Powerful – Must watch

The U.S. Postal Service Is Dying. Why Not Radically Rebrand It? – Actually makes more sense than doing stuff like sponsoring a cycling team in a largely international event.

How Heat Affects Heart Rate, Or At Least Mine

August 26, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Filed under “Experiments With Bodily Functions”

I’ve been riding the spin bike a lot lately. I had some self-induced mechanical issues with my TT bike for a while. And it was hot. And I usually don’t get a chance to ride until after 10 pm anyway. So it’s been really convenient. But I’ve noticed that I have a really hard time getting my heart rate up on the spin bike. I’ve done some interval workout videos where the folks on the video are working in the mid to high 160s, while I’m at a perceived effort level of 4/5 and not getting over 140. And the averages for these rides are always in the 120s. I know what pushing feels like, and I “feel” like that’s what I’m doing, but the HRM doesn’t show this work I’m feeling. And when I’m just spinning at a perceived level of 1/5, I’m lucky to break 110.

Yesterday I went out on my TT bike for the first time in a looong time. Weird, but no problem getting my heart rate up there. I was sustaining ~160 on 3 minute intervals, and averaged 144 for the 20 mile ride. During the cool down portion of the ride, my heart rate was ~133, and that was with a perceived effort level of 1. I could have sung opera (if I could sing).

The one major difference between riding the spin bike inside and riding a real bike outside is temperature and humidity. With the spin bike, I ‘m sitting directly beneath an air conditioning vent and a ceiling fan. But still, riding in a cool and humidity-free environment couldn’t have that much effect. Or could it?

I must employ the scientific method to find out for sure–had to collect some data.

During lunch today, I put on my my HRM and sat in the floor, leaning against the sofa for one minute. I then started a split and collected HR for one minute, and got an average rate of 52.

Then I went out to the driveway and sat down, leaning against the car. I waited for 5 minutes…just long enough that my feet were no longer cool and I felt like I was about to start sweating. Another minute with my HRM, and I got an average rate of 67.

So it takes me 15 more beats per minute to do nothing in the heat than it does to do nothing in the cool! And it was only in the mid-80s today!

One thing I’m not exactly sure about is how I can accurately extrapolate that data based on temperature though. Do I use a constant change of ~15 bpm when comparing hot weather workouts to cold weather workouts, or do I use a percentage (30%?!?!) difference. I’m leaning towards the first option, but I probably need to collect more data.

That means more spin bike. Outside. In the heat.

Torture.

Keeping Your Own Training In Perspective

July 15, 2010 / / 0 Comments

The next time someone thinks you are crazy for going on a “short” 10 mile run or spending three hours on your bike, let them know about Charlie Wittmack’s World Triathlon.

12,000 miles total, beginning with a 275 mile swim down the River Thames and ending with a climb of Mt. Everest. And sandwiched in between:

The 9,000-mile bike ride might seem relatively easy compared with the swim and the climb up Everest, but even there Wittmack has his work cut out for him.

“I have to get to the border of China and Kyrgystan by the end of October in order to get over the Tibetan plateau to India,” Wittmack said. “I’ll be riding over harsh deserts through areas with political instability.”

So…(talking to myself now)…you probably can squeeze in that workout today you’re not sure you have time for.

The Spin Class I Want To Go To

July 12, 2010 / / 0 Comments

I was chatting over email today with an old rugby buddy of mine about the benefits of spin class. One of the ones he pointed out was that “mean” instructor who you love. In his case, it’s a South African who reminds him a lot of our former rugby coach from SA. This guy was a real jerk. His name was Eugene. I don’t think I ever knew his last name. None of us liked him at all–at least not as a friend.

But we loved him as a coach. He squeezed more out of us as a team and individually than we could ever have imagined. We lived out of our comfort zone for the duration of every training session, and it made us better. We never knew from day to day what kind of crazy fitness drills he’d have us do or what new and creative way he’d contrived to expose our weaknesses and punish us for them.

Two of the things I really like about spin classes are that I never know what’s coming next, and there’s a little bit of an extra push implied just because someone else is telling me how to ride and what to do. So I was thinking, if I could create the ultimate spin class, what would it be like?

A lot like Fight Club.

  1. You do not talk about this class. It’s not on “the schedule”. You have to ride your way in and be invited to attend. (This probably keeps me out of the class, thankfully)
  2. Bikes are arranged in a circle, so everybody can see everybody else. That turns the level of competition up about two notches automatically.
  3. No verbal cues. The class is too hard for that. The instructor is too gassed to tell you what to do. You just have to watch and follow.
  4. Better yet, there isn’t even an instructor. The lead moves around the circle with each person trying to kill the group more than the last person did.
  5. The lights are on. Again, everybody can see what everybody else is doing…or not doing. (Plus I like to be able to see my HRM).
  6. The door is locked. Can’t hang? Get off your bike and stand in the middle of the circle until the session is over. Oh, and the first one to quit has to clean up everyone’s bike when it’s over.
  7. Class will go on as long as it has to.

Some of these are obviously a joke, but I think there’s some actual merit to an idea like this. If a gym offered a two hour class that you had to ride your way into and was super tough, there are plenty of people who’d be happy to subject themselves to that kind of suffering. Unfortunately, the gym I go to has a high population of older folks, and there probably wouldn’t be much of a market for it, but I can honestly say I’d pay by the class for a chance at that kind of punishment.

Seats, Rashes, and Butt Paste

July 12, 2010 / / 0 Comments

It’s crazy to me that the hard and uncomfortable seat on my bike is actually much more comfortable than the cushy seats on the spin bikes. I think it has much more to do with the shape and width of the seat than the cushiness.

Butt there’s a fix. And apparently, I’m not the first one to try it out.

Let’s just say I slept like a baby last night.

<a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006OG6RQ?ie=UTF8&tag=opensidesolut-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0006OG6RQ”>Butt there’s a fix.</a><img src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=opensidesolut-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0006OG6RQ” width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”” style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” />
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