Training Keeps Pace With Todd's Commands

This gorgeous Sunday is spent with COMotion Sports teammates Matt, Boni and Rob doing what team trainer Todd calls "mandatory base miles" before we actually start torturing our bodies into shape.

This week I made the 10:00 am start beginning at COMotion's only 10 year sponsor's shop Green Mountain Sports off Morison Road and Bear Creek Road. Corky sleeps in until 5:00 pm on Sundays but we used his parking lot anyway.


Our route began north on Morrison road then quickly turned northeast along pedestrian and canine infested trails until we cruised into our legal potty spot- the REI Flagship store in downtown Denver. We passed on the lattes and scones opting for POWERBARS and gel packs from the jersey's back trunks. A few garment were shed thanks to the 55 degree weather by noontime. On to scenic Commerce City, Thornton, Arvada, Golden and back to Lakewood completing the loop.
It may be my imagination but Rob seemed to draw all the barking dogs and middle finger salutes because of his red Specialized garb. Freshmen often have to endure such ridicule until they received their cool YETI splattered COMotion kits and race bikes.

Stats from the Garmin read 55.35 miles with 4,308 feet of climbing and a ride time of 3 hours 17 minutes. Average speed was 16.8 mph. Beautiful January numbers. Boni's computer reads 59 miles so that's what we're feeding Todd.

Training and Rehab In Style

This winter if you can't get out to ride on Colorado's unbeatable mountain bike trails and endless scenic roads, you just have to suck it up, get on the stationary trainer or spin bike and make the best of it. But why not do it is style? This winter I'm doing just that. I said good bye to the local crowded "rec" center and adopted Mountainside Fitness http://www.mountainsidefitness.com/ as the early morning workout location. The Arizona based company opened the doors to a brand new 40,000 sq. ft. facility on December 15th in Westminster just 5 minutes from la casa.

Tops on the training arsenal is the 25 station (Star Trac) flywheel bike equipped studio that features blacklights, thumping music and an I-MAX style theater screen.

Workouts vary between traditional follow the leader (New Year's resolution crowd) basics to specific Tour de France stage races with you in the mix. I just passed the Phonak dude...Much, much more tolerable than the basement wall and the stationary trainer.

Last Wednesday's DVD was a locally produced ride beginning in Boulder, heading up Lee Hill, back to Hwy. 36 and ending via return route on 63rd street. Having actually ridden this route, it was fun to sit in the fan cooled studio watching the familiar sights fly by. No flats this ride.

Ad in 120 pieces of cardio equipment each with a TV monitor, every conceivable weight machine and a coffee/smoothie shop and suddenly winter outdoor workouts become second choice. Yes there is also massage, steam room and sauna rooms and a salon attached. Bring on the snow...

First Training Ride of 2008

Beautiful thing about the Denver area is on occasion, you get to steal a warm sunny day in the middle of winter while the mountains and eastern prairies are getting pounded with snow and wind.

Saturday , January 5th was one of those days and provided the first real training ride of '08. For the first time since the end of the race season I felt worthy of calling myself a racer in training.

Having blown the 11:00 am start time to ride with a half dozen other COMotion Sports racers, I opted to just take a couple of laps around Bear Creek Park and Reservoir. Sitting at the edge of the southern metro, the wide open space has few trees, gets plenty of sun and has a great system of hiking and biking trails.

NO SHORTAGE OF BIKE STANDS AT BEAR CREEK!!

The my-own pace allowed me to fiddle with the new Garmin bike mounted GPS a gift from Teresa Claus. I was sceptical about it's accuracy so for the first few miles, I carefully compared speeds and distance to the tried and true Shimano Flight Deck setup. At the 12 mile mark, the difference was a mere 2 hundreths of a mile between the two instruments. Good enough. The GPS data can be downloaded to my PC and processed with a 3rd party mapping software. From there, I can get other information about the route including total elevation gain and loss. The route tracking feature and compass will come in handy when trying to re-trace steps and return to point "A". Or in the case of Bear Creek, I could also look down from the top of the dam and see the parking lot on E470 where I parked. GPS results were 21.38 miles in 1:34 minutes. Max speed 32 mph...I can beat that.

Great to be back in the saddle...more snow is due in today so back to the stationary trainer and Mountainside Fitness until the next gift of sunshine.