Speed laces

Lacing up some shoes. I have been transferring these quick laces between new shoes for a couple of years - this is about the 6th pair to have these laces. I also use the yankz laces for racing. Who has time to tie shoes in a transition area.

I have been riding the rollers each morning for the past couple and I am actually getting used to it - although I am only riding for about 30 minutes. I continue to try to push a bigger gear - tough work but I think it will pay dividends come spring.

I have been staying off on the ankle. Still a little tender. I am doubling up on the bike, however, by riding the exercise bike at the gym. It has also let me read some bicycling and triathlon magazine (I know I am a little obsessive). Still doing the strength training - I know this is in complete contrast to my other goals but I can not waste muscle mass - I have too little to begin with.

I have been following the diet and it has been pretty easy. I have strayed a little this year with all of the racing an training a forgot about feeling hungry. Once you get used to it, it's not such a bad feeling. I would like to lose a little body fat for the coming half marathon. Lite makes right and I am looking for any speed I can gain.

I will, however, go off of the diet tomorrow night for Halloween. There is a special 'Track on Tap' Halloween edition (costume mandatory). T on T is a month get together of the pine belt pacers where you get together and run from pub to pub. It is really a lot of fun. This one will be downtown with a lot of neat bars that I have not frequented.

Ugg - the boots cometh...

What is the opposite of an Indian summer? Maybe a cold snap? That is what we are experiencing here in Mississippi. You would think that the rivers had frozen. The days of sandals and flip flops seem to have (briefly) come to an end. The age of Ugg Boots is upon us!




I rode the rollers this morning for 30 minutes (nursing the tendon - if you know what I mean). It is dull, dull, dull but I read a magazine and did intervals to pass the time. I would pedal along at a cadence of just over 100 at a comfortable level. Watching my heart rate monitor / watch I would then click into a higher gear and maintain the same cadence. Drop back down after a minute and repeat.

It made the time pass by much quicker. I am trying to adapt to pushing a bigger gear at high cadence. When I first started riding I had a low cadence and I worked from the very beginning to bring that up to the low hundreds. That was pretty easy to accomplish because it relies more on cardio endurance than leg strength. So now I need to increase the strength while keeping the cadence which will equal faster cycling. I spun out the gearing of my road bike for about 5 minutes. (I was in the highest gear pedaling at a cadence of 100+ / this equaled a little over 35 MPH - not real since there is no wind resistance.) I would like to try and add a minute or two to each workout and become a cycling god.