It’s Coming: 5 Indications that Spring is Around the Corner

There are many signs that spring is making it’s way to our frozen part of the world.

For starters, I’m hearing song birds in the trees, even on these chilly mornings. And we’ve seen a plethora of robins in our neighborhood lately. Funny that they don’t seem to be hitting the feeder but they are foraging for food in bare patches of ground.

Second: it just feels warmer. The thermometer might read 20 degrees but it doesn’t feel like the normal 20 degrees. Why is that? In the fall at 40-50 degrees we are bundling up. In the spring when it’s the same temperature we are shedding clothes like mad. It is because we have just acclimated to the cold for so long that anything else feels balmy? Or perhaps it’s the angle of the sun to make it feel warmer. Either way, if feels good!

Third: the snow storms don’t seem to be sticking around long and they are a bit wet in nature. We received 3-4 inches of snow Friday and by Saturday afternoon it was pretty much all gone due to the bright sunshine.

Forth: we set the clocks ahead in two weeks.

Five: Portland Velo Club is starting up with their Saturday morning rides next weekend. Geez! Even without all the other aforementioned signs of spring, this one is the best sign of spring. No, I won’t be participating in those rides. They are some serious training rides. However, if everyone has lost a bit of their form from the previous year it might be a good time for me to go just to see if I could hang on. Wishful thinking!

But I’ll be out there soon, very soon.

Tour of California’s Biggest Fan

No, it’s not me! As much as I like the Amgen Tour of California, I’m certainly not it’s biggest fan.

The Amgen Tour of California’s biggest fan is, of course, Big Hair Super Fan. Who knew he had his own website, with photos and videos. Now, it’s not my kind of website, but it’s a pretty comprehensive website.

If you have watched any of the ATOC then you might want to check out his site, too. Thanks to VeloNews for informing me about it.

It’s Official!

Today I received the word that my vacation in April had been approved. Within a couple hours my husband found a good deal on flights to Atlanta. So it’s official: we’re going to the Tour de Georgia!

Watching the Tour of California makes me so excited to think that I’ll be seeing those same guys in April. Man, I’m so excited! Don’t worry, there will be many photos that will be posted from the experience.

Fabian wins Tour of CA Prologue!

The reigning world champion time trialist won the prologue stage of the Tour of California yesterday with a world class performance! This guy is amazing!

It looks like a repeat of the Tour de France start with Cancellara in yellow. Though it won’t be long before he loses it I’m sure. I’m not convinced it’s a race that Cancellara can win. But I’ll be happy to see yellow on a CSC team member for as long as possible.

I’m counting the hours until the coverage starts on line. It’s terribly exciting stuff! I love race season!!!

No Cheating in Spin Class Today

Yesterday was my first day back on the spin bike at a decent effort after some time off and some recovery rides. It felt great and wasn’t sure how it was going to affect my long spin class today.

Last week I skipped the 90-minute spin class and was looking forward to today’s. It was going to be a simulation of a group ride that takes place on Tuesday nights. It was good because I knew some of the route so when I was told to simulate a particular climb I could make it as hard as it normally feels to me.

The worst part, or perhaps the best, was that the spin instructor (and fellow rider), instead of teaching from the front of the class, set up his bike right next to me. Well, that gave me incentive to push a little harder than I might have, and to keep my cadence up.

My average heart rate for the duration was 148. With my heart rate at such elevated levels it felt more in line to what I have during a normal ride.

Luckily tomorrow is a holiday so there are no classes at the gym. It will force me to take the day off and focus on a bit of recovery.  I will miss my yoga class! Bummer!

The one drawback to this simulation ride is that it makes me long to actually ride it outside. Soon, very soon!

Now THAT was great!

After a week of recovery spin classes and a week off from the gym I finally had a great workout. Taking the time off was really what I needed. I woke up before the alarm this morning and was excited about going to the gym.

I was leary about the way my workout with go but I kept the faith and turned out to be a very good effort. I had the energy and enthusiasm to push hard and even hit an anaerobic threshold level. I feel I’m back on track and will focus on my recovery periods more in the future.

On another cycling note, the Tour of California starts tomorrow. I’ll be glued to the TV coverage tomorrow and then follow the race on line during the day. I prefer to do it that way than to just watch the hour coverage Versus will give it.

So with the Tour of California the race season is underway. Now I know it’s already started but I don’t think the Tour of Qatar counts. After the ToCA the classics will be starting up. Again, I’ll be following them on line.

Then it’s the Tour de Georgia. We are working on plans to go see some of the stages. My husband has a friend in Atlanta that we’ll stay with, making it a very enjoyable time. The two stages I really want to see is Stage 4, the TTT at the Road Atlanta, and Stage 7, the circuit race in Atlanta. If we can swing Stage 6, the Brasstown Bald finish then we’ll do that one too.

The Never-Ending Funk

I’m in a major slump. I don’t seem to have much energy or interest in anything but sleep and lounging these days. I feel like I’m fighting something but it never seems to come to fruition. I’d much prefer that – be sick and get it over with so I can move on to back to normal. I’ve either skipped spin classes lately or done a recovery workout. Not only do I not have the energy for it but I don’t have the enthusiasm for it either.

I really hope this all passes and soon. I really hate this feeling. It’s hard for someone like me that can’t seem to sit still most days to feel like they can’t seem to get going every day. Every day I get out of bed and think this is the day it’s going to turn around and I’m going to be back to myself, and every day I seem to go downhill. I suppose I’m just trying to rush it and that’s the source of the frustration.

To add to my mood, it’s going to snow again! OMG! How much snow can one person take. I mean, seriously???

Zone 3 Syndrome

One of the spin instructors at the gym emailed me and told me to be aware of the Zone 3 Plateau. After a bit of research, I found it was also called the Zone 3 Syndrome. So, here are the questions and my answers to qualify me for this plateau:

• Are you exceedingly proud of the average speeds of your rides and do you gauge your training progress by the improvement of your average speed from one ride to another? Answer: YES.

• Do you find group rides fairly easy, even when the pace picks up, yet you can’t seem to make that final acceleration or stay with the group over the steepest part of the climb? Answer: YES.

• Do you have a maximum heart rate of 195, yet you haven’t seen it go above 180 since the season began? Answer: Sometimes.

• Does the thought of letting a rider pass you on the bike path make you ill, or do you pride yourself on the fact that no rider has ever passed you on a training ride, even on your recovery days? Answers: YES. (First part of question applies.)

• Do you often leave the house with one ride in mind but more often than not find yourself in the middle of the weekday morning world championships? Answer: Sometimes

• Do you find it impossible to imagine that riding at 130 bpm could possibly be anything other than an utter waste of time? Answer: YES.

These questions really rang true with me. And it explains the “level of sustained exhaustion” that I’ve been experiencing lately. At first I thought it was an iron deficiency so I at some steak. I also thought that perhaps I was fighting one of the ubiquitous nasty bugs. But with more research I think I’m suffering from Zone 3 Syndrome.

I really don’t take much time off the bike – not like I should. I never focus enough on slow recovery rides. I’m just go, go all the time, and at the same intensity. Because of that I can’t ever seem to get much faster.

I focused on a recovery ride yesterday. My average heart rate was only 91, with a maximum of 111. Today I figured I’d give a decent effort for the 1-1/2 hour spin class. I couldn’t manage to get my heart rate up much, and if I did, it didn’t last long and would drop very low. (This phenomenon has happened to me before on the road.)  That’s an indication that I need more recovery time. I’ll go to class tomorrow but work on a recovery ride, followed by yoga. I might take the rest of the week off, with the exception of yoga Friday. No running, no elliptical, just time off. I’ll just have to be very careful what I eat during this time so I don’t put on any weight.

There is also a theory where you should take a month or two off. This article gives the examples of the Tour winners who start their recovery right after their win and take a few months off the bike. I guess that’s why we didn’t hear much about Alberto after the Tour, which we thought was odd, but now makes perfect sense.

So I’m looking forward to a little time off. It should renew my enthusiasm for the bike and for spin classes. And I’ll work on official recovery rides this year. My main goal with the women’s ride I’ve decided to lead on Tuesdays will be to have a recovery ride. Many of the women that will be riding will probably not want to hammer out any rides so I’ll take it easy, recover, and act as the sweep. (More on the women’s ride later.)