Thursday, November 22, 2007

Feel The Burn

First, let me say Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. I hope your day is filled with family, food, and safe travels.

My off season weight program is in its 8th week and is going well. I can definitely see improvements and in the sparse riding I am doing in November, I feel pretty strong. Right now I am in the Hypertrophy phase of the program. The workouts are hard, but manageable. Weight training (and lack of bike miles) has stalled my weight loss efforts. My weight has stayed the same, but I feel my body is leaner and better defined. The plan is supposed to add strength with minimal mass gains. We shall see.

I went to RunTex and bought a new pair of running shoes last week. This is the first pair of running shoes I bought on fit rather than looks. I wanted to go to a specialty store to get fitted for shoes because when I run I often have lower back pain. They analyzed my old shoes and picked out 3 pairs for me to try. I ended up with a pair of Brooks. I took them out for my first run which was a short 3 miles and found them to be absolutely superb. What a difference. Maybe the best $90 I have spent in ages.

My official cycling program starts in December. I delayed it due to the arrival of the new baby. The first few months are basically just base building. I should be able to take lots of pictures on those slow steady rides. I am supposed to get out and ride on Saturday with a few guys that I raced against this year. They are already in their base building phase and invited me along for some easy miles.

It is cold here in Texas - 38 degrees right now. It feels like a Thanksgiving in Pennsylvania when I was growing up. Except for the fact that I have a child running around the house spilling his dry cereal all over the floor and hammering on his toys with his Oscar the Grouch hammer. The baby is still sleeping too much to be too disruptive. It is now 10:30am and I am wondering if that is too early for a Red Stripe.

Stay safe.

20 Comments:

Blogger Eclectchick said...

Happy Save a Turkey Day to you, too.

I'm off to guard the penguins now.

11/22/07, 10:57 AM  
Blogger ~ lauren said...

i was just thinking the same thing - it's 11am here and is it too early for a drink i sure wish i was out riding instead of morgan.

happy t-day!

11/22/07, 11:01 AM  
Blogger bryan said...

hope the weather behaves -- everybody deserves some weekend miles.

11/22/07, 7:58 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

It is never too early for beer; you know that!
Good to hear that your training is coming along well, but sorry about the cold temps; NOT!
We had snow on Thanksgiving.
I plan to get out and ride today, no matter how cold it is. Hope you get some miles in too! :^)

11/23/07, 7:17 AM  
Blogger bluecolnago said...

red stripe at 10:30 a.m.? why are you waiting o long? have at it!

:)

11/23/07, 8:57 AM  
Blogger Chris said...

Eclectchick - the penguin was a bit chewy. I am sticking to turkey next year.

Lauren - I made a Bloody Mary at 11am.

Bryan - I am not sure it is going to happen. Not only is it cold, but it is supposed to be cold and raining tomorrow.

Oldman - I know, but I wanted to raise the question to keep up my perceived reputation as a responsible adult.

Blue - I started looking at them in the fridge at 10am if that counts for anything. I opted for the Bloody Mary instead. It seemed more civilized. HA!

11/23/07, 2:58 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Bloody Mary; good choice.
It has tomato juice and celery in it. What could be better for you than that? :^)

11/23/07, 7:20 PM  
Blogger Ron George said...

Interesting Chris. When do you plan on racing? I would suggest reading Joe Friel's training bible for ideas/inspiration but if you're experienced with knowing what works for you, that hardly matters I guess.

11/24/07, 10:18 PM  
Blogger Chris said...

Ron - my first race will probably be in April. I have seen that book and may read it. I have a coach that makes up a workout schedule for me.

11/25/07, 9:32 AM  
Blogger jahowie said...

Happy Belated Thanksgiving to you too!! I'm glad that the weight program is working out for you. I'd go with a Bloody that early, but a nice Red Stripe might just have to do. :-)

11/27/07, 4:43 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Howdy Chris,
Just found your blog on another link. Congrats on your son! We are expecting our second son as well in March. I was reading your training update and I'm wondering how much our new additon is going to set me back. Well worth it though! Maybe I can master diaper changing on a trainer. I'll be adding you on my blogroll. Look forward to reading more. Donald

11/27/07, 6:57 AM  
Blogger Chris said...

Donald - thanks for stopping by. Having young kids puts a damper on training. I wish I could tell you different, but I would be lying. The key is training when you can and not when you want to. For instance, most times I go to the gym after I put the oldest to bed. So I get there around 8:30pm and am home by 10. Of course I would like to go right after work, but that is not going to happen. I also use my lunch hour which I can usually stretch to an hour and a half for riding and the gym. I think the biggest key is the weekends. Make sure you get some solid bike time on the weekends. Good luck.

11/27/07, 6:57 PM  
Blogger ~ lauren said...

hey! how's the baby doing?

more posts on the baby please! how's the sleeping going? and how's bug handling having another little person around.

11/27/07, 8:45 PM  
Blogger bluecolnago said...

bloody mary.... mmmmmm....... yummy!

11/28/07, 4:43 AM  
Blogger TCA said...

I've had three or four pairs of Brookes Adrenalin GTS in a row, and a pair of the corresponding trail shoes. I've run two marathons in them and never had any problems, not a single blister! They must sell literally millions of pairs as I see a good proportion of competitors wearing them at events.

11/28/07, 8:26 AM  
Blogger Alicia said...

get that iPhone out of bug's ear, dude!

Yeah, the massive consumerism is indeed getting to me.

have fun with the wee nipper!

11/28/07, 11:29 AM  
Blogger How do i get to my old stuff said...

Isn't Red Stripe a breakfast drink? If not I'll have to quit putting it in the blender with my whey protien and bananas

11/30/07, 10:39 AM  
Blogger The SullaVinos: said...

Nope, I make him make a long "wish list" every year for his birthday (Dec. 10) and for Christmas. Between me and my Mom, we try to get him everything on his wish list. This year his wish list was all golf stuff. The year he got the Excursion it was all Ford stuff. Anyway, no bagel cutter for suLLy.

12/1/07, 7:23 PM  
Blogger Michelle said...

Congratulations on your additioin!! I'm still recovering from Thanksgiving Duckfarts....Tequila and OJ do the trick for me as a morning drink :)

12/2/07, 2:28 PM  
Blogger EB said...

It is NEVER too early for a red stripe.

12/5/07, 3:54 PM  

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