Off-season training: savoring the sun
This wee missive belatedly finishes my training updates from Arizona.
For almost all my stay in Phoenix, starting December 3, it was sunny and between 65 and 70. Really my kind of weather. Good for my speckled, fair flesh. Pleasant temps for nice, long rides. Perfectly agreeable base-miles bliss.
I know some prefer it hot, about 85 or 90, but I melt like butter when it’s that high, hence why I do not go anywhere near Arizona come summertime, where it’s 110 in the shade and the locals scuttle like critters across a desert road from one air-conditioned environment to the next.
Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009
Coach has been saying that, given the bad weather in Chicago and New York, I should essentially just get in as many miles as I can while I’m able. For me that means three- to four-hour rides, mixing endurance with recovery rides, as needed. Doing as much climbing up the mountains as I like, without going too hard. As such, I rode an alternative route due west of Tempe, past Phoenix, on a pancake-flat wind-swept road, then headed back home, making a quick southerly stop to ride up South Mountain for some elevated heart rate. Three and a half hours later I was back home with a solid endurance ride done. I hit the gym for an hour but kept things fairly chill with some core and upper-body resistance. Nothing heavy weight-wise—just trying to tone up some. I’ll never be a “gym person” but have to say I think I can feel some difference after having gone to the gym consistently the past few weeks.
Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009
Rest day. After the previous night, which included a Suns game (King James and Shaq had their way with Steve Nash and Co.) and a visit to try some local taps with some local drinkers, I took a day off and cleaned the bike and stretched. Lots of sitting around, which is good now and then. Relaxing can be challenging sometimes, like when you want to train hard and get better all the time.
Monday, Dec. 21, 2009
I headed out on my last ride, toward the climb I’ve grown to love, South Mountain, south of downtown Phoenix, on a route that I’ve grown familiar with. I rode the hour or so it takes from Tempe to South Mountain at an endurance pace, 140 bpm or thereabouts, and decided to stay in the big ring as I began the climb.
South Mountain takes you from about 1,100 to 2,600 feet elevation in five miles, with an average grade of six percent or so. It’s a smooth, steady road all the way up, with a few sections that pitch to over 10 percent, like near the TV towers at the summit.
I hadn’t gone up the climb in the big ring before, so I focused on keeping good form and smooth pedal cadence. Going up in my 53×18 felt like lifting weights, but it felt good, my cadence at 60 or so. Once I hit the towers I zigzagged my way down again, turned around at the base of the climb, and started my way back up. I enjoyed the second time more than the first, and it was a good burn in my legs that I got as I kept my heart rate up around 170.
I was going to do the climb a third time but there was an accident on the mountain, and the emergency vehicles delayed me. Once at the bottom I realized I had to head home for lunch with my uncle. But the three-hour-plus endurance ride with 10 miles of climbing in the big ring made for an awesome workout, and I was feeling good, if a bit sad knowing it would likely be my last fair-weather ride for several months.
AZ in sum
Got in something like 18 days of riding on a 21-day trip. Roughly 60 hours on the bike, with a dozen or so hours more in the gym. And lots of sunshine. A fair bit of climbing to boot. I have to get back this way again. It’s simply awesome for training.
