Exercise Calendar - In The Table Below The Dates Are Color Coded:
 Green Date Is A Walk,
 Yellow Date Is A Bike Ride,
 Blue is a visit to the GYM and
 Grey is a swim in the lap pool. Finally
 Black are times when my knees are in a crashed state.
 And --- You can click on some of the dates
 that have a color and go to a description of that day/event.
 

Sports Instruments Fit3 Heart Rate Monitor Results For The Event Listed

Comment

Scheduled Events And Notes For 2007

SAT.26.AUG.2007 - A Two Bridge Ride - To start to make sure I can make it around a 75 mile loop I set out early Sat AM for a 100K For-Bridge-Ride.  The weather here in North Carolina has been extremely hot and I thought up front that I could cut 40K off the ride pretty easily if it got too hot.  Well it did and I did.  When I got back I felt strong and when I passed 25 miles I felt like I could do another two copies of that amount so I fell well prepared for the ride coming up on the 8th and 9th of SEP.  The ride itself took off from Fisher Street over the bridge to Beaufort then onto 101 to the Harlow Canal then to Newport then down Higgs Road to NC24 then back to Morehead City and Fisher Street via Bridges Street.

THU.02.AUG.2007 - A Visit To Raleigh Orthopedics - I visited the same doctor a couple of months ago and he offered to give me a shot of cortisone for my knee.  I told him to let me try exercise first.  Since that time I have gone five days a week to the gym and done aerobic and resistance training for three of the days and lap swims two days of the week.  Well, I feel great, but when I attempted to ride the bike any distance over thirty miles or even walk any distance (over a 100 yards) I found that that evening and the next few days I was in for extreme pain in my left knee.  It got so bad that the pain was constant and I took the week of July 23rd off and scheduled a visit with my orthopedic surgeon.  This time I got the shot and was told to stop all resistance exercises that flexed my knees more than thirty degrees and if I found myself in the same pain again I could come back, no sooner than three months from now, and get another shot.  Even as I walked out of the doctors office my knee felt relief. I plan on doing just as he says to keep it as pain free as possible.

SAT-SUN 14-15 JUL 2007 - North Raleigh Loop Ride And The NCBC Summer Rally - I got an email this week from the NCBC reminding all the members of the Summer Rally.  It is always on a Sunday Morning and it leaves from the visitors center of the Shearon Harris Power Plant.  The roads around there are grand for cycling because they are somewhat flat and not many cars.  I decided to use Saturday as a test ride and headed out not really knowing what route I would take it was 7:40AM and the day was beautiful and I found myself making my way up the greenway around Shelly Lake and onto Longstreet then to Sawmill then to Morning Dove to Falls of the Neuse and onto my N Raleigh Loop.  On Sunday I got up early and drove over to Laviece's house where we loaded up both our bikes and headed out to the starting point just eight miles away from Holly Springs.  The ride was everything we thought it should be.  An beautiful Sunday morning summer bike ride.

SUN 27 MAY 2007 - A Greenway Ride - The Gym does not open till 1pm so I thought I would give the mountain bike a spin on the greenway.  Everything went fine except for the left pedal.  Apparently the ball bearing race had become loose and over time they dribbled out and finally the outside race had come loose altogether.  I stopped once and getting off the left side of the bike was surprised to see the pedal slide right off onto the ground.  So I spend the rest of the ride carefully making sure that it did not come zipping off while actually pedaling (it did not).  It was a nice ride my knee feels great. I skipped the GYM today and went to see Spider Man III with my son and I'll pick up some new pedals tomorrow for this bike.

FRI 25 MAY 2007 - First Day At The Gym - First day at Rex Wellness Center.  I've joined this in hopes of getting my knees in shape as well as the rest of my body.  Since 28th of April I've been to see the knee and hip man at Raleigh Orthopedics and he said I have degenerative arthritis in my knees and am not a candidate for any sort of surgery or replacement.  Additionally he said to "Let Pain Be Your Guide".  That seems like pretty easy advice to follow.  I found myself caught in the loop of 'not-exercise-knees-hurt'/'do-exercise-worry-about-knees' so I have joined the gym and they give you an appointment with one of the fitness trainers there and today was the appointment where my training program was set up that I am to follow. 
My goals are:
[1] Get rid of as much knee pain as I can by some sort of exercise regime,
[2] Gain flexibility and general conditioning improvement,
[3] Loose weight. 
My weight goal is about 40lbs lighter than I currently am.  This will involve a change in fat content and in muscle mass in my body due to my percent body fat.  If I can achieve these three goals then I am happy.  The gym is a fabulous place it has a swimming pool and a workout room.  I'm starting on a 90min/3-day a week program on three aerobic machines and three weight machines and a set of stretching exercises.  The other days of the week I'll do swimming and cycling.  I am really excited about this and hope it all comes out ok.  Sadly PBP is 'out-the-window' but I am still in training for the end of the summer MS150 bike ride and hopefully the October CycleNC ride. My walks around Lake Lynn at lunch are probably over because of the pounding that walking was doing to my knees. 
I hope to get to the gym early in the morning before work.

2007.04.28.SAT.AM - North Raleigh 50K Loop - First time on the bike since the 300K disaster.  My knees have been a total mess.  I even went as far as making an appointment with Raleigh Orthopedics about them.  I think I have figured out what is going on with them.  If I do not keep them moving they just seize up.  The knees were fine on this morning's ride.  My general physical conditioning is total crap because I've not been exercising and because I'm scared I've damaged my knees. So I am in this loop that I have to break out of. To keep my knees from hurting I have to exercise them.  I do not know how I will feel by next Saturday morning if I'm good I'll go if not I will not and that will be that.  PBP will have to wait until 2011.

2007.04.14.SAT.AM - The Second Brevet 300K - I did not do much between the first brevet and this one, I had some concerns about my knees and was too timid to properly train.  I paid for it dearly.  I arrived back in Morrisville just 45 minutes before the time expired.  I rode many miles in the pouring rain and the dark.  The ride was, simply put, a complete disaster.  I arrived in Siler City (at the 100K point), not in good shape, I walked around a bit had a drink and decided to head out for Seagrove (the 150K mark and the turn around point).  I met all the folks who were doing the 300K well before I arrived in Seagrove.  When I arrived near Seagrove was so disoriented that I turned the wrong way on NC705 and went 1.5 miles out of my way.  After turning around and getting back on track and just before arriving in 'down-town' Seagrove I saw a Rav4-Compaq-SUV with a bike rack on it approaching me.  As it passed it pulled off the road and did a U-Turn.  I knew it must be someone from the control point heading out to find the straggler (me).  When I arrived at the control point I met the driver of the Rav4, Mike Dayton. So here I was the last rider in and meeting the most famous Randonneur I know.  If it had been anyone else there I would have begged for a SAG instead I sucked it up turned around and headed back to Morrisville.  I got back to Siler City in the late afternoon and knew I had two choices, ride to Morrisville or call a CAB.  I got back on the bike and headed home.  By the time I arrived at "Chicken Bridge" the 1/2 point from Siler City to Morrisville it was pitch dark.  I arrived at the 15/501 store and it was so late it was closed.  When I left the 15/501 crossing and headed down to Jordan Lake it started to rain.  By the time I arrived at Martha's Chapel at NC751 the rain was streaming down.  I had to remove my glasses and ride with out them.  Well I spent quite some time in the rain peering at signs making sure I did not turn the wrong way.  The rain sort of perked me up and by the time I got back to Morrisville I was ok.  Arriving back at Alan's house I found him still to be awake and up watching TV, Alan even had an extra piece of pizza he offered me, and some perspective on what it takes to be a successful Randonneur.  I felt bad about keeping him up so late.  I did have some problems driving back to north Raleigh I almost fell asleep a few times.

2007.03.31.SAT.AM - The First Brevet 200K - 4:39AM Wake Up, Since registration started at 6am the ride was to depart at 7am so I figured to get up bathe, dress, get the bike on the back of the car and get there at 6 I figured it was about time to get up (Turns out, I could have waited a bit longer).  There were over 30 folks on this ride.  Sadly I was a bit slow and arrived at the turn around point as the last riders were heading out and back in Morrisville dead last.  These rides are not required to have any sort of SAG but we did and the wonderful young woman stuck it out until about 32km from the end (she did leave me her cell phone number in case I had to abandon). However, I made it back and was treated to one of Alan Johnson's famous tomato sandwiches, as well as a great visit with Alan.  In the next two weeks I hope to get in as many rides as I can in preparation for the 300K which, hopefully, will go a bit quicker than this 200K.  One thing about Saturday's ride and going (slowly) through the 12,000 feet of climbs was the piedmont of North Carolina in early spring with the temperature in the 70s and the wind light is probably one of the most beautiful places on the planet to ride a bicycle.

2007.04.24.SAT.AM - The Four Bridges 100K - 8:20AM Depart - NC101 & Harlow Canal 1:06 24km - NC24 & Hibbs Rd 2:15 48km - Emerald Island 3:22 72 km - Fisher Street 4:42 104km - A beautiful day for a ride.

2007.04.10.TUE - 17.53 Mi 1:26:38 h:m:s 33 max 1:30:00 elapsed -- Up to Rex On Blue Ridge to Umstead To Art Gallery to Ridge Road to Glen Eden to Yadkin to Davidson

2007.03.19.SAT.PM - N Raleigh Loop And Back 101km - I left Davidson Street and headed for the greenway then up toward Shelly Lake and on to Longstreet.  Then down Sawmill cross 6-Forks Morning Dove over to Falls Of The Neuse.  Up to Honeycutt then over to 6-Forks down to Norwood over to Leesville then down to Westgate.  Westgate to Ebenezer Church to Duraleigh to Edwards To Reedy Creek then to the NC Museum of Art.  Cross the new bridge over I440 around the Meredith College campus to the corner of Gorman and Hillsborough.  That's about 50km.  A good place to buy some Fig Newtons, a litre of water a can of Red Bull and a pit stop.  The retrace the route.  This day was a beautiful day for a bike ride.

2007.02.24.SAT.PM - The Entire Greenway Ride - I left Davidson Street and headed up to Yadkin and turned south. After crossing Crabtree creek I turned left onto Alleghany Drive.  I then rode down Transylvania Ave where I took a left then a quick right onto Orange St.  Orange St dead ends into Rutherford Dr. where I turned right onto Scotland and headed down the hill to the Lassister Mill Road White Oak Road stoplight.  I took a left at the stop light and re-crossed Crabtree Creek at Lassister Mill.  The greenway turns right and winds along Crabtree Creek to Anderson Drive.  I crossed Anderson on Oxford and just down the street the greenway takes off to the left.  Following this I continued on the greenway going under Wake Forest Road, under Atlantic Avenue, up a really cool deck-climb to go under Capital Blvd and continue on across the swamp that borders Raleigh Blvd.  I popped up on Raleigh Blvd and turned right and headed south down the blvd crossing Crabtree Blvd, the greenway took off on the other side of Raleigh Blvd just after I crossed Crabtree Blvd.  Down the greenway I went following Crabtree Creek all the way to Milburnie Road where it ends.  I could have climb up the hill where there is a nice drug store just across from Wake Medical Center where where one can purchase some water or sports drink. Here is a GMaps Pedometer route for the first part.  According to my bike odometer I was nine miles from my start and an elapsed time of 41 minutes (counting stops).

After turning around at the end of the greenway I headed back the same route to the corner of Yadkin Drive and Allegheny Drive.  Instead of turning right and heading back up Yadkin and home I stayed on Alleghany about 1/8 of a mile to the greenway entrance.  Back on the greenway I go crossing over Crabtree Creek and under I440 where it crosses Crabtree Creek.  The next little bridge is over Lead Mine creek where it empties into Crabtree Creek.  Once over the Lead Mine Creek bridge I turn left on the greenway and head toward Crabtree Valley Mall.  The greenway goes under Glenwood Avenue then under Blue Ridge Road and up a little slope behind the McDonalds Restaurant and then parallels Crabtree Valley Avenue which runs on the west side of Crabtree Creek behind the mall.  The greenway dips under Creedmoor Road and continues west along Crabtree Creek for about a mile where again it ends.  This ending point was according to my odometer 20.3 miles from my starting point and 1 hour and 40 minutes of total elapsed time (counting stops).

After turning around at the end of the greenway (you can see that this end of the greenway will eventually extend to Duraliegh Road and even further eventually to Ebenezer Church where it will enter the William Umstead State Park, that will really be cool).  Anyhow I take off back the way I came to the corner of Lead Mine Creek and Crabtree Creek.  Instead of heading back over the bridge I head on up Lead Mine Creek toward Shelly Lake.  The greenway crosses North Hills Drive and continues along Lead Mine Creek where it crosses under Shelly Road and Millbrook Road at the Shelly Lake Dam.  You turn right on the greenway at the dam and head up the hill and along the greenway on the east side of Shelly Lake near the swampy end of Shelly Lake you cross Lead Mine Creek as it heads toward the lake and turn right on the greenway toward North Hills Drive.  At North Hills Drive you pass through a tunnel.  After the tunnel you follow the greenway beside Lead Mine Creek where it eventually crosses under Lynn Road.  The greenway continues on along side of Lead Mine Creek until it ends a the intersection of Longstreet and Bent Creek Drive.  The is the end of this branch of the greenway my bike odometer read 26.8 miles and 2:22 elapsed time (counting stops).

After turning around at the end of the greenway at Longstreet I headed back to Shelly Lake back around the east side (same side coming out) and back to the dam and under Millbrook and Shelly and back down Lead Mine Creek crossing North Hills Drive and following on to go under I440 again and back out onto Allegheny and to Yadkin then back up the hill to Davidson Street and home.  My Odometer read 32.00 miles and 2:54 of elapsed time (counting stops).  A wonderful ride.  Two of these make 100K and if I repeat it 4 times it is 200K (that would probably get a little boring by the end of four repetitions).

By-The-Way: At Longstreet there is a nice jumping off spot: You can head up Longstreet to Sawmill turn right onto Sawmill and head back toward Six Forks cross it and wander around on Mourning Dove road over to Falls of the Neuse and head up that Falls of the Neuse to Honeycutt and on Honeycutt back over to Six Forks down to Norwood then to Leesville then to Westgate, Ebenezer, Duraleigh, Blue Ridge and onto the NC Art Museum campus and over the cool bridge over I440 at Wade Avenue and around the Meredith campus to the corner of Hillsborough and Gorman and Faircloth.  Then onto Faircloth back to Wade Avenue crossing it and heading around the Ridge Road Shopping Center by All Star Bike Shop and coming out on Ridge Road, then head down Ridge Road to Glen Eden down Glen crossing Glenwood onto Granville Drive down to Pasquotank Drive to the corner of Alleghany. Then it would be onto Yadkin and back up the hill to Davidson.  This I think would be about a 100K ride.

BAG BALM
Here is a year's supply (The small one will fit in the back pocket of a jersey and the big one can be used to refill the small one.) I purchased this from a horse supply web site (same stuff except a few dollars cheaper than getting from a a bike supply store).

(SWIMMING (From An MSN Article Written By A Fellow From totalimmersion.net)

A swimming pool—the kind with lanes, not a swim-up bar—triggers a negative twinge in many men. Too cold, too inconvenient, too... wet. And that's too bad. Swimming gives you a great cardiovascular workout with none of the joint-jarring of running. You'll burn roughly the same number of calories per minute as you would biking, without the traffic risks. You'll get a restorative workout that helps you come back strong in your other sports.

Swimming builds functional strength, starting with your core muscles—back, chest, abdominals. "People think it's about making your arms and legs strong, but those are simply extensions of what the core does when you swim properly," says Terry Laughlin, a veteran swimming coach and author of Triathlon Swimming Made Easy. Problem is, many men can't swim properly—they thrash, struggle, sink, and give up. Not you. Your swimming lesson, adult version, begins here.

You've seen those old guys at the YMCA who swim lap after lap after lap, never tiring. They're efficient. If you're out of breath after one lap, it's not that you lack "some sort of elusive or special swimming fitness," says Laughlin. You're just inefficient.

LEAD with the top of your head, not your forehead, for better head-spine alignment. Look at the bottom of the pool, not ahead.

PUSH DOWN with your chest until your hips and legs feel light. That "sinking feeling" you may notice is just your legs and hips naturally riding lower in the water than your upper body. Pressing your chest down gives you better balance. With each stroke, press each armpit into the water.

SLIP your arm into the water with each stroke as if you were sliding it into a sleeve. A longer body line reduces drag. Extend your arm until your shoulder touches your jaw.

BE QUIET with your body. Waves indicate wasted effort. Imagine you're piercing the water and slipping through a small hole.

The Starter Swimming Workout
If you get winded, just hang on to the side; it's better than struggling with poor form, says coach Terry Laughlin. This 30-minute workout allows for lots of rest.

SET 1: Swim 8 x 25 yards focusing on head and chest position, resting for five deep breaths after each length. Then swim 25, 50, 75, and 100 yards. (Take a five-breath rest after each distance.) Note how many strokes you take on the 25. Swim the remaining laps at a consistent effort, counting strokes. A tired swimmer uses more strokes.

SET 2: Swim 8 x 25 with a focus on a longer body line. Then swim 100, 75, 50, and 25 yards. (Take the same rests as above.) Swim the 100 very easily. Count your strokes and divide by 4. That number serves as your benchmark for the rest of the set.

SET 3: Swim 8 x 25 with a focus on "quiet" form. Then swim 25, 50, 75, and 100 yards. (Take the same rests as above.) Note the number of strokes you take on the 25. See if swimming quietly improves your efficiency.
 

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This page last updated 09/25/2007 02:07:57 PM -0400