MS'ers Training in 2013

[teena marie]

Hi all,

So the triathlon was today. I did it-rough water, not too cold, about 750m, came in last, but I was so delighted to have completed it without having to be hauled out. The training helped. I've learned so much about pacing-it was so good to taper down this week-I've never done this.

Now, I will coast a bit-still swim-then pick up the training pace next week.

Take good care, all,

Teena Marie

[AMFADVENTURES]

Hi all,

So the triathlon was today. I did it-rough water, not too cold, about 750m, came in last, but I was so delighted to have completed it without having to be hauled out. The training helped. I've learned so much about pacing-it was so good to taper down this week-I've never done this.

Now, I will coast a bit-still swim-then pick up the training pace next week.

Take good care, all,

Teena Marie

Congratulations TM! Hard to imagine you've never done this before, your training was so good. Considering where you started this year and where you are now, your entire effort has been very inspirational. Congrats again, really, really well done TM.

Larry

[teena marie]

Thanks, Larry. Small correction, I have always been a swimmer and have done these swims before but it's been a while. I plan to make swimming a part of my training throughout the year because it is so beneficial to my walking. Plus, I love being in the water.

I'm off to the beach-high tide so the best swimming.

Take care,

Teena Marie

[teena marie]

post triathlon

Hi to all,

I was pretty exhausted the following day plus it was very hot and extremely high humidity. My sticks were sliding on the floor. Getting to the beach was a major effort but I needed to get in the water. I just floated and swam a little. The next day was better and today wasn't a beach day. I felt sort of let down which I know happens on occasion after a build up. Today, I did my 12 stairs and have just completed 2-3 sets of 3 strengthening exercises. It feels good to be focused again and I hope to train in the water tomorrow.

Larry, how's the preparation for next week? Do you taper down? I think it's August 3 so I will be thinking of you.

How's everyone else?

Take good care, all,

Teena Marie

[AMFADVENTURES]

I ended the last build period with 165 miles and 7,000 ft. of climbing. My long ride was 78 miles with 4,900 ft., it was supposed to be a little more but we ran out of time, water, and I ran out of leg before we reached the peak. Still it was almost a 20 mile climb. I feel like I have slightly better strength this year but a little less endurance which probably corresponds to the way I've trained ... less saddle time and mileage, more intensity. Anyway, the moment of truth is at hand. I have no prediction.

I am familiar with the "let down" you mentioned after a build up TM, the pro's even talk about it, but I've never seen an explanation. I experienced a pretty big one after the last MS ride which lasted about a week. For me, bike buddies were an important part of getting going again.

I'm definitely ready for a taper, I can usually tell because I have trouble getting my heart rate up. With a little luck, a day off, a tempo ride, another day or two off and a short easy ride will set me up for the "Copper". We'll see.

On a side note, after a short climb last week I tried to follow a pro back down the mountain. I did fine for the first couple of miles, but they weren't very technical. When we got to the hairpin curves and switchbacks, he gained 30 or 40 feet on me coming out of every turn! Not only that but he held a very narrow track right next to the edge of the road while I tended to be all over the place. In one curve, my rear wheel even slid out a little. Obviously, I have a lot to learn about technical descents. I'm thinking I'll need to join a club or team if I want to improve my skills. Pell and her husband have also mentioned the benefits of a club to me. It may take a little trial and error to find one that can tolerate my generally slow ascents, but I've started looking.

Anything else on your agenda this year TM? Anybody else?

Later,

[penkalet]

Bravo for the effort, TM. Way to go!! I went swimming the other day at a lake for the first time since I have MS (4 years) and I was surprised how bad I was doing ….I guess swimming is closer to walking than bicycling!
Larry, that bike will stay in France because in Texas I have a new Trek Madonne .
I rode 150 km with the new bike and what a difference of comfort! Except I damaged my butt so much my with the old cheap bike and then overdid it with the new one, that I had to take a 6 day break… Finally, today I rode 35 km and everything feels fine!
I don’t know when I will come riding with you in the Rockies, but don’t worry, it is on my bucket list!
What is your first event next year? Maybe I would be able to do one after the April BP 150 in Houston!?
Good luck with your BIG Ride.
Great time to everyone

Alain

[AMFADVENTURES]

Copper Triangle 2013

What a beautiful day for a bike ride in the Rockies! None of the gloom and doom the weather forecasters predicted came to pass, not for the “Copper Triangle” anyway.

Temperatures were in the low 50’s when we started the early morning climb up Freemont pass, giving us a little more incentive to pedal a smidgen harder and generate a tad more warmth. At that time of the morning, the road up the pass sits in the shadow of the mountain allowing only the diffuse light of the sun to navigate by. But as we approached the top the sun began to display its full glory over the mountain peaks. The next few miles saw the crisp morning air heat up considerably but the descent into Leadville quashed any ideas of stripping layers away. Again the classic Rocky Mountain scenery down highway 24 from Leadville to Minturn was captivating. That stretch deserves “Scenic Byway” classification. Sometimes on that descent, I just have to sit up and go slow to take in all of nature’s beauty.

While Tennessee Pass isn’t a formidable hill, I had been dreading the Battle Mountain climb. For some reason, I’d had somewhat of a crisis of confidence this year and was afraid Battle Mountain might portend things to come when we reached Vail Pass. But new hope sprang up when Battle Mountain didn’t turn out to be as tough as I had feared and the downhill run from there to Minturn was effortless.

I’ve come to look forward to the slight uphill from Minturn to the base of Vail Pass because, in my experience, it is always attended by a small tail wind. This year, I didn’t even notice that I hadn’t shifted into my small chainring until the base of Vail thanks to that little wind. That stretch typically provides an opportunity to talk to riders around you a bit too, since there is neither the hypoxic gasping for air of the high altitude climbs nor the white knuckle alertness of the screaming descents for distraction.

Now, in all honesty, I had been planning to sag Vail Pass. It’s not so bad when you’re fresh but it’s a tough SOB when you’ve already ridden 65 miles and climbed 3,000 ft., and like I said, my confidence was flagging this year. But, the Hot Blond Yoga Chick was with me and she wouldn’t have it. When I started to whine, she looked at me and stated frankly that we HAD done enough training and I could damned well stop psyching myself out about it and get my butt up the hill. So, that is what we did. There was one little super steep piece of the pass that stopped me again this year, but I only walked the last 25 feet of it as opposed to the one hundred or so the previous year. It took two or three breathers to reach the top of the pass but, for another year at least, it has been climbed.

At the end of the day, we cut 12 minutes off of last years saddle time and over 30 minutes off of our elapsed time. Small improvements it’s true, but still, moving in the right direction.

The Copper Triangle is almost 80 miles and includes nearly 6,000 feet of ascent. It climbs over Freemont Pass, Tennessee Pass, Battle Mountain and Vail Pass. It is a classic bike ride in its eighth year that takes the rider through Colorado’s scenic Rocky Mountains.

AMF

[pawpaw]

amazing!

I am truely in awe of your stamina and perserverance. It doesn't seem to hurt to have Hot Blond Yoga Chick along either. Congratulations on a great ride.
We rode 54 miles yesterday and had a good time. Mike did well and it finally seeing some hope for recovery. He has a TENS unit that seems to help the pain and he is having much less pain. I am still pretty happy with my strength on the bike even after a 5 week break. I'm not fast but I can go fairly far. I was even strong enough to help pull us home as we rode for 10 miles into a 15mph head wind. Two of us alternated and pulled the rest in. Yesterday we had over 3000' of climbing as well- hill after hill after.....
TM- How is the training going? Are you seeing improvement?

Pell

[milesandtrials]

AMF, sounds like a gorgeous day of riding. And way to come in faster than last year. I've been getting in some training rides for the New Mexico MS150 in a few weeks, but nothing close to 3,000 feet of climbing. Way to go! Will I get to see you this year in NM?

[teena marie]

Hi all,

I've been away.

Larry, your ride sounded amazing and you did so well. Truly inspirational. I beamed you some vibes on the weekend.
My training has slowed a little. Still doing some major swimming and a little strength work. I've had a little motivational issue. So, I'm trying not to be too hard on myself-working at maybe 30%. It's the issue of doing it alone. But, ultimately that's what we all need to do-not to rely on anyone else to motivate oneself.

Thanks for the well wishes and hello to all.

Teena Marie

[AMFADVENTURES]

Thanks for your support guys, it is definitely one of the big things that keeps things going. Of course, it's not really about what we accomplish or how much faster we do it, for us, it's more about the training. Don't stop.

Alain, the season opener here is the "Elephant Rock", in early June. Colorado's largest ride, not too hilly since it's in the foothills as opposed to the mountains and has Multiple route options. I've personally never done it. The first one I usually participate in is the MS 150 at the end of June. It's along the foot hills too so not too bad on ascent. I'm sure there are others too, I'll just have to look.

Pell, I can't believe you just get back from a long vacation and go out and ride 54 miles, with hills! You're good Pell. I hope we get a chance to do some more riding together one day. Glad to see Mike's knee is finally coming around, hope it continues. I'm off to try an 80 mile ride with a big hill, in my Blue Grass Jersey. It's become my jersey of choice!

Beth, we're really looking forward to New Mexico, and will definitely look for you. In fact, I hope we get a chance to sit down and talk a little. I don't plan on even trying to keep up with you on Truchas though!

TM, thanks, I am actually looking forward to slowing down my training after New Mexico. Sometimes I find my biggest improvements show up shortly after an extended break. Plus it provides an opportunity to change up the routine. I'm probably more or less on my own now too. I enjoy riding on my own but on those days where it's hard to motivate, I am way to likely to just not go out.

Take care all,

Larry

[teena marie]

Hi all,

To get me out of my little slump, I'm planning another swim. A short beach to beach across the channel to the other side of the harbour. I'm looking at this as a fund raiser for my local community centre. I'm recruiting other swimmers and have 2 kayakers that will accompany us. The long term plan is to make this an annual event.

I had 2 amazing swims yesterday so I'm off to the beach for more of the same. Tonight, I will complete the training with some strengthening exercises although I use the beach as much as I can for pushups, crawling, stretching, etc.

Take care all-your biking endeavors are admirable.

Teena Marie

[teena marie]

training continues

Since swimming has been my focus, I haven't been doing squats, hamstring work with a theraband, etc as much. This past week, I've returned to these exercises, as well as stair climbing and sand dune climbing and walking through challenging woods and fields. I'm noticing some increased strength and stamina. It makes me realize the importance of varying one's routine. I've also I increased my focusing on the image of me walking without sticks. All with the aim to help the nervous system remember or build new pathways.

Take care all,

Teena Marie

[AMFADVENTURES]

TM, I could not agree with you more! A good all around exercise regimen is the best way to go. Thanks to you, I've also been doing stairs and occasionally lunges, they are great for developing leg strength. But I need to find something to help with picking my leg up as I walk (hip flexors?), maybe about due for a visit to my PT. Also, love your fund raising idea, very cool and good luck, hope it works out well.

I got a lot of miles in last week and one long climbing ride, 80 miles and 4,200 ft. I'll try to do something similar this week but my overall focus will be on staying healthy. The New Mexico MS 150 is only two weeks away! Also I found a small group of old guys and girls to ride with. They're pretty relaxed riders but they do like distance. Very enjoyable. There are so many different ways to ride a bike!

Stay healthy everyone,

[teena marie]

Hi all,

Strength training has definitely helped, especially squats. I'm also doing a lot of backstroke when swimming and general floating and stretching on my back in the water. I'm feeling that my core stabilizers in the back are more engaged. I've had a few occasions when moving my left leg forward has been slightly less laborious.

Larry, for improving leg lifting, even going up and down 2-3 stairs in 2 sets of 20 reps would be good. even seated leg lifts would give the hip flexors a good work out.

I'm hoping the fundraiser swim will be next week.

When is the next ride?

Teena Marie