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The 2020 Accountability Thread

E. Bryant

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Minuteman
  • Oct 25, 2010
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    This is simply a place to hold each other accountable throughout the year. I plan on updating this thread when workouts occur; not everything will get a post (this ain't Strava!), but hopefully there will be enough content here to get an idea if I'm getting after it.

    This isn't a "resolution" thread for useless blabbering about stuff that won't get done.

    My to-do list for this year:

    3600 miles on the bike (roughly 75 miles/week with a bit of slack time for illness, vacations, whatever). This works out to be about 200 hours, and if I shift too much of my riding to the mountain bike, then maybe it makes more sense to look at time in the saddle instead of distance. Always, I put in 3100 miles and 230 hours in 2019, so this is a reasonable goal.

    Maintain something like a 80/20 balance of easy and hard workouts. One would think this to be easy, but every summer, I spend too much time at 90%+ on the mountain bike and then I'm smoked by September.

    100 days in the weight room. Didn't come close to this last year, since I really slacked off the weight training during the cycling off-season. No specific 1x rep goals for this year; just looking to pack each ~1hr workout with plenty of functional lifts (particularly targeting the stuff that doesn't get worked on the bike, which is damn near everything other than the quads and glutes). I also do better with stretching when I'm lifting, so that's another good reason to hit the gym.

    Spending two days/week in the gym is not a reasonable expectation in the summer, so I need to add some additional days in the off-season, or at least bust out the dumbbells and resistance bands on rainy days to achieve this goal.

    Straighten out the diet. It's easy to consume and burn carbs on the bike, but then I carry the pattern into off days. Gotta eat less sugar and grains, and more high-quality fats, protein, and veggies. I'm not going to play with any gimmicky diets; experience says that a macro balance of 33/33/33 works well if I'm active. That might slip to 50/25/25 on days when it's time to hammer, but that can't be the norm.

    Lose a few pounds. This needs to be balanced with the goal of functional strength, but I think there's about 15 lbs of extra mass in this chassis that can be shed without much more than some diet clean-up. Hell, probably 5-7 lbs of that is water weight from the holiday sugar-and-salt binge. I'm at 188.9 lbs as of this afternoon.

    So there we go - the big stuff that's going to get done this year. Feel free to add your own, or just light me up if I'm slacking.
     
    I didn't work out yesterday due to holiday travel, unless we count loading/unloading a van (we won't count that).

    Today, I got in 15.2 miles on the fat bike. The trails were a slushy mess due to melting snow so this took just over two hours, but I kept my heart rate at an average of 137 BPM (with a couple short excursions to 160) so this qualifies as a low-tempo ride. Not a bad start to the season.
     
    Today's gym workout:

    Deadlifts
    Dumbbell bench press
    Sit-ups
    Bent rows
    Static lunge with curl and overhead press
    Asymmetric walking lunge (kettlebell in one hand, nothing in the other)

    IMG_20200103_114614.jpg
     
    Got it done this morning. The gym was packed, but most of those people won't be there in another 2-3 weeks.

    IMG_20200106_095816.jpg
     
    I was doing good since the second week of November. The crud kicked my ass the last two weeks. I think this is the first day I can say I'm back at 100%.
     
    Good work E Bryant. I’ll check this thread daily to hold you accountable!
     
    Good work E Bryant. I’ll check this thread daily to hold you accountable!

    Thank you - someone needs to be kicking my ass on a regular basis!

    Got out for a easy gravel ride today:

    Screenshot_20200107-143721.png
    Screenshot_20200107-143807.png


    The weather was a bit of a bitch, as I guess should be expected this time of the year. It started off overcast, 35F, and moderately windy - tolerable for January. That lasted all of 20 minutes before the freezing rain started, and then changed to lake-effect snow with a 15-20 MPH wind. After more than a hour of wet, slushy mess, the clouds parted and the sun came out. At least it was better than another indoor workout.
     
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    Thank you - someone needs to be kicking my ass on a regular basis!

    Got out for a easy gravel ride today:

    View attachment 7219694View attachment 7219693

    The weather was a bit of a bitch, as I guess should be expected this time of the year. It started off overcast, 35F, and moderately windy - tolerable for January. That lasted all of 20 minutes before the freezing rain started, and then changed to lake-effect snow with a 15-20 MPH wind. After more than a hour of wet, slushy mess, the clouds parted and the sun came out. At least it was better than another indoor workout.
    That’s good man! My old ass will join in and be held accountable tommorrow!
     
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    Light day today in anticipation of a fat bike night ride with some buddies this evening.

    IMG_20200108_094941.jpg


    Did some asymmetrical and single-sided stuff this morning - walking dumbbell lunges, single-arm cable rows, etc. Little bit of transverse planes stuff, too (both static and dynamic).
     
    Wrked my ass off shoveling today! Rode by the gym. Tommorrow I’ll stop by and walk on treadmill 25 min. Do 40 sit-ups!
     
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    Nighttime fat bike ride!

    Screenshot_20200108-222301.png
    Screenshot_20200108-222324.png


    I forgot to restart my Garmin bike computer after a quick stop so I didn't capture the whole ride... but that's not really what matters, right? Good times with some good friends.

    This was supposed to be an easy ride. There may have been a bit of flexing that resulted in heart rate slightly above my target :p I'll do better next time, I promise.
     
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    Didn't ride yesterday due to poor time management, so I hit the weights especially hard for a Friday morning:

    IMG_20200110_101705.jpg
     
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    First real ride after having the crud go through our house. Mother nature decided to cut my ride short, that brown clay at this place turns to snot with just a little rain on it. I was a muddy mess after just a short ride. Gonna do some strength training tonight to fill the gap.
     
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    I just noticed the elevation gain was way off on my Friday ride, its about 894' for the full 7 mile loop, which about 500' is in the first 4 miles and the rest of it the last 2 miles

    Got almost 11 miles in Saturday and another 7 miles today with the kiddos.
     
    I just noticed the elevation gain was way off on my Friday ride, its about 894' for the full 7 mile loop, which about 500' is in the first 4 miles and the rest of it the last 2 miles

    Got almost 11 miles in Saturday and another 7 miles today with the kiddos.

    Nice! I don't know what you're using to collect data, but my Garmin units haven't been all that great with regards to elevation accuracy.

    I didn't ride this weekend because of the weather (not exactly a pussy, but 32F and rain/snow mix ain't a great combo when sharing the road with cars). The day job attempted to foul my workout schedule today, but I made things fit and got in two short rides on Zwift and one short but intense weight session:

    Screenshot_20200113-164002.png
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    I've had about 1100 calories so far today. Time for a solid dinner.
     
    got a ride in today before the rain hits tonight! Cut a tire which sucked, but oh well. Time for a new pump too, mine wont get over about 15psi which is not enough for my ass. I did make my 30 mile/wk goal finally...I was shooting for 20 today, but oh well.

    Yeah I am noticing the elevations with the Garmin Instinct tactical are kinda off , I did cut the ride short as the low tire was not fun. The outer loop on that trail is over 1000' I should have been 600ish for what I rode today.

    ride.jpg
     
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    Who's in charge of kicking my ass when I haven't been getting after it? Because I need an ass-kicking.

    Didn't work out Tuesday or Wednesday because of poor time management and improper task prioritization (the day job and some volunteering at my sons' school introduced some complexities, but that's a weak excuse). I did compensate a bit with a lengthy indoor ride yesterday:

    Screenshot_20200116-140214.png
    Screenshot_20200116-140235.png


    Didn't quite make it to the end of the planned route since I had to pick up my kids and go to Scouts, but it was still a respectable volume. I didn't quite accomplish my goal of low intensity; The legs felt good, so I did a couple short sprints in the middle of the ride and blew my heart rate right up to the redline. Eh, at least it was fun seeing a four-digit wattage number for a moment or two.
     
    Sweet you can ride on water lol!

    I need the ass kicking too, I ordered some garage gym gear and get the garage and shop rearranged this afternoon. Hopefully get a real workout in tonight, and ride the roads tomorrow. It's all a muddy mess here. I really need to get on the strength training. I bought a big duffle bag to fill with sand, the big rope, build a jump box, gonna build the pull up bar/rack this weekend, get some more kettle bells and some other basic crap. I'm really having a hard time getting motivated to get on the strength training. But I really want to make the March Enduro race, fitness is not huge at this race like the one at the end of the season in Oklahoma, but I figured the stronger I get, I'll just be faster and more a agile on the trail.
     
    Sweet you can ride on water lol!

    Yeah, the Zwift/Strava API is pretty good, but not perfect. I think the missing area on that map is the new desert flats section.

    Did a quick Sunday morning ride:

    Screenshot_20200119-134029.png


    I'm at 115 mines so far this year, but should be at 190 if I want to hit my goal.
     
    Great job E- Ill be following your progress man. You are not that far off target, months not over!
     
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    Another double-whammy day - two donuts, and two workouts. Started off with some indoor riding:

    Screenshot_20200120-212738.png


    And then a quick session in the weight room while the kids did their fitness class:

    IMG_20200120_171445.jpg
     
    Did some Zwifting yesterday:

    Screenshot_20200122-105804.png
    Screenshot_20200122-105837.png


    The Westminster sprint is usually a good place to hit a four-digit power number. Gotta go something to improve airflow or lower the temperature, though - I'm getting heat-soaked about 30 minutes into each workout, at which point my heart rate climbs and my power drops.

    Hit the weight room this morning:

    IMG_20200122_094734.jpg


    The weekly fat bike ride should happen tonight, although it's getting warm enough that the local trails might be too slushy and/or muddy. This winter has been weird.
     
    Finally got a ride in yesterday, just in time for it to rain last night!

    Me and my little riding buddy got 4 miles in. He got 4 miles of the toughest trails he has ever been on. Dinosaur state park is like half rock garden. He just graduated to the 26" wheels at Christmas. I'm gonna get the rest of the garage gym buttoned up by Friday. No excuses after that!
     
    What are you using for a indoor trainer? I have been starting to look into something.
     
    What are you using for a indoor trainer? I have been starting to look into something.

    I've got a Cyclops H2 smart trainer. This review is generally accurate:


    It's smooth, but loud. I'm sure that something better is now on the market, but I'll run this one until it breaks or the wireless connection becomes obsolete (so, like, six months from now).

    Did a heck of a fat bike ride the other night:

    Screenshot_20200123-105734.png


    The map shows that we rode along the edge of the lake, but with the recent flooding, we were actually on the lake. And since it hasn't been all that cold around here, the ice wasn't all thick. No one fell through, but there were several scary noises.

    I took yesterday (Thursday) off, but lifted this morning. Squat day sucks.
     
    It's been a busy seven days. I woke up last Sunday not feeling great, and was back in bed by noon with a 101F fever and some sort of stomach bug running through my gut. My appetite was about nil for the next 36 hours, so I went into my normal Monday afternoon lifting session feeling malnourished, and yet still had a solid (albeit short) session. <shrug> Apparently my fat ass has a few calories in reserve.

    Tuesday: 45-minute indoor ride (Zwift)
    Wednesday: 1:30 outdor ride (weekly fatbike ride with my buddies). A new guy showed up; he's about 5'8" and 350 lbs. The dude worked his ass off, and never gave up. If he keeps that up for another several months, he's gonna see some huge gains in his overall health.
    Thursday: No workout due to poor time management :( (I let a work project creep a bit too close to a deadline)
    Friday: 60-minute indoor ride (Zwift)

    My month-end totals are something like 205 miles total (combined indoor and outdoor rides), 9 weightroom sessions, and 23.75 hours total workout time. I'm reasonably satisfied with that.

    February is going to be a mess since we're doing a family vacation to Florida, but that's probably not a bad time to ease off the throttle since March and April should be big months.
     
    The past week:

    Sunday - 4-mile hike with the family. Might have strained my calf trying to chase down one of my boys after a snowball ambush.

    Monday - Actual outdoor real-world bicycle ride. Put about 22 miles on the gravel bike.

    Tuesday - Lifting. Tied my PR on deadlift (which was from about five years ago). Could have gone higher, but that wasn't the goal.

    Wednesday morning - Lighter weight session. No PRs.

    Wednesday evening - 15-mile fat bike ride with my buddies. We definitely had a good pace going for much of the ride - not 100%, but maybe a bit harder than I would have pushed solo.

    Thursday - Just some light bodyweight stuff with my son's Cub Scout den.

    Friday - Short fat bike ride.

    Saturday - Weights.
     
    Damnit I need to step it up

    7.8 miles in the dirt today on the easier trails with the kids
    8 miles yesterday on the trails the next Enduro race is on which is pretty much either technical rocky rooty climbs or hauling ass back down the same thing.
    Had about 18 miles total the week before.

    I need to get to lifting to get the leg power increased. I'm having hell going during the week right now. I felt weak riding yesterday, legs were just not there. On the flip side some suspension tuning paid off I was able to tune out most of the high speed harshness. There are some rocky descents with embedded and loose rock, that once your at the bottom your wondering how you kept it together.
     
    Had a productive last few days, I need to step up the time and weight in the garage gym, I don't want to push too hard a week and half out from the race. Finally got enough setup to use it. I am still working on convincing the wife I need a trainer. I am pretty much set on the Garmin NEO 2T as my bikes are all 1x12 which really reduces which trainers I can choose from.

    w.jpg
     
    Man, I really wish I was a week and a half out from a race! My first event will likely be the end of April.

    It's been a couple week since I've posted in this thread. Last week, I did a good job of digging myself into a deep hole prior to going on vacation with some fairly vicious workouts:

    Monday: An indoor ride up Alpe d'Zwift (the game's version of Alpe d'Huez; I did not break Pantini's record) followed by a short weight workout.
    Tuesday: An intense session in the weight room
    Wednesday: Some laps of Zwift's new Repack mountain bike course (a bit of a mini indoor enduro, to the extent that such a thing exists)

    Then I headed down to my brother-in-law's for his wedding last weekend, and effectively took off six days from training (other than spending a couple of hours in the pool each day, and some bodyweight work). It felt pretty damn good.

    Since my return on Wednesday, I did the usual night fat bike ride with my buddies (going from 87F in Florida at 3PM to 15F in Michigan at 8:30PM was jarring), a daytime fat bike ride yesterday, and then weights this morning.

    My totals so far this year: 18 weight workouts (on pace) and 327 miles on the bike (significantly behind pace). Gonna need to start putting on some gravel bike miles in the real world to catch up.
     
    Man, that looks like a ton of fun - now you really have me jonesing for the upcoming season (y)

    I'll probably do only one enduro this year - the Miner's Revenge weekend does a "triple crown" with downhill, XC, and enduro. Unfortunately, that type of racing still really hasn't caught in this area (largely because the terrain isn't well-suited to it). Too bad, because it's the type of racing that least-penalizes my weaknesses.
     
    E.Bryant: What app are you using to post your ride stats? Long time road cyclist and back to training for the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic in May. Turn 65 in March and will be my 10th time. Broke my femur in 2018 two weeks before the ride which required surgery. My rehabilitation goal was to do the ride in 2019 and managed to finish it albeit slower than prior years. Use Trainer Road app for indoor training with Garmin Vector 3 pedals which measure watts and when used with an Edge 520 provides very detailed analysis. If I figure out a way to upload the info to the thread I'll do so. Right now road rides are long low intensity rides for endurance with some intervals and hill climbs thrown in. Indoor trainer workouts are at Tempo for one hour.
     
    I'm pulling screen shots off my Garmin connect page.

    Me and the heathens got 6 miles in today and 30 minutes on the weights yesterday.
     
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    E.Bryant: What app are you using to post your ride stats?

    I'm using Strava. You can create an account and then link it up with your Garmin Connect account - after that, rides upload automatically.

    Congrats on the comeback from a major injury, and good luck at this year's event!
     
    Did a nice fat bike ride with a buddy on Saturday:

    Screenshot_20200222-150931.png


    I fear we may be at the end of the winter riding season - there isn't much snow left on the ground, and daytime temps are well above freezing. It may be gravel season soon, and while I enjoy those types of rides, I'll miss fat biking.

    Did a 55-minute Zwift indoor ride during lunch today, and then the usual Monday afternoon short (~40 min) weight session while the kids are doing their after-school fitness class.
     
    Since my last update:

    Tuesday: 45-minute weight session.
    Wednesday: 10.1-mile fat bike trail ride. It was frickin' icy this week; I went down hard a couple of times despite running studded tires. Fortunately, I stayed dry, which is more than I can say for one of the participants who went down while trying to cross an 18"-deep stream :eek:
    Thursday: 25.4-mile indoor ride on Zwift.
    Friday: 1-hour 49-minute annilation in the weight room. It went something like this:

    Back squats
    Front squats
    Barbell rows
    Barbell overhead press
    Sit-ups while holding a dumbbell in one hand, super-setted with walking lunges.
    Bent dumbbell row to standing bicep curl to overhead press while standing on Bosu ball, super-setted with static lunges (front foot supported on the Bosu ball and kettelbell held in opposite hand for resistance).
    Single-leg step-ups with cable row, super-setted with push-ups (narrow stance with hands on a muscle ball)
    Cable torso rotations, super-setted with dips
    Stomach curls using cable machine for resistance, super-setted with lat pulldowns
    Turkish get-ups

    That one hurt.
     
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    Almost 32 miles in 3 days. Race was Sunday, it was a good race. The transitions after the first two stages SUCK as your hiking back up the hills. I did not do as good as I wanted to, 3 hours of sleep did not do good for me. I was cramping up REALLY bad on the transition to the second to the last stage. 10 total stages on some rocky rough country is a bunch of fun. Only crashed once, battling the tree branches with my goggles on the back of my helmet (doing tons of good there) in a super soft corner and I washed out. Landed on my feet somehow. I found many of my weak spots, need to be training harder.
     
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    Last weekend, I finally got on the gravel bike and did about 38 miles in three hours. I would have liked to cover more distance (15-16 MPH average is typical), but ignoring this sign cost me some time:

    IMG_20200301_134503.jpg


    That sign means what it says and says what it means. Two miles of hike-a-bike through ankle-deep mud drove home a lesson.

    Monday I did a quick Zwift ride, didn't work out on Tuesday since I had a kid home sick with a stomach bug, did a solid weight session Wednesday morning followed by the weekly fat bike ride that night, didn't do a formal workout Thursday but did some bodyweight stuff and B-ball with my son's Scout den, and put in what felt like a half-assed weight session Friday.

    Today, I went for a casual mountain bike ride with a buddy and recorded this gem:

    Screenshot_20200308-163634.png


    That's a new PR, and I think there is more to be found with improved technique. Kinda satisfying to see work in the weight room carrying over to the bike.
     
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    Nice! gotta love a little hike with a bike!

    I hit a PR today 20.2 miles in 2:56 at Dino today. I need to be pushing hard to make the next Enduro I'm thinking about going to. Me and the Heathens got 7 miles in yesterday too.
     
    Well, the gym I attend is attached to the local high school, so it was closed last Friday until further notice :(

    Fortunately, it was getting time to taper off the strength program and transition into more aerobic work on the bike, and cycling is about as "socially distanced" as it gets :D I've also got some basic stuff at home (Bowflex dumb bells, balance ball, Bosu ball, etc.) that can be used for effective maintenance.

    Last week, I put in fairly typical work:
    Sunday: social ride with friends
    Monday: 1 hr hard effort on Zwift
    Tuesday: off due to sick kids at home
    Wednesday: weights in the AM, fat bike night ride in the PM (although with no snow on the ground, I didn't even bother with the fat bike)
    Thursday: off due to poor time management (work crap)
    Friday: Weight session. Felt a bit weak.

    Started off this week with another social mountain bike ride on Sunday. We had a mixed group of both adults and kids, so I cut a couple fast solo laps (~45 minutes or so right around my anaerobic threshold) and then did a couple casual laps. The latter laps were a riot; a few of us basically spent the whole time showing off our wheelies, bunny hops, etc., and I did a couple hill sprints that resulted in a peak power reading of 1425W.

    Got sick Monday (normal springtime head cold/allergies/sinus crud), work has been bonkers as we attempt to close out some big projects in the midst of chaos, and I'm still adjusting to the routine of having both boys at home full-time, so the schedule is a bit wack right now. Hoping to get back on track with the weekly ride tonight.
     
    Yeah this crap has been making it somewhat challenging. I am glad I had built up the garage gym. The rain hasnt let up to ride in the dirt so its been some boring pavement rides that I have to badger myself into going. All this is delaying my new Guerilla Gravity Smash from getting here as the guy I am buying it from lives in the Bay area....We have been told that we are working from home until notified otherwise. I just started following one of the Garmin stage 2 training plans, hopefully that will help me get on a better track. Hope you get over the crud quick! Spring has sprung here, the allergies will be here soon also.....

    Those social rides are fun! I need to find some more people to ride with down here. Nice thing about all this rain, im going to go do some more trailcutting on the place today, its way easier to hack through some of that stuff when its this wet.
     
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    First real climbing training ride for the year this past Sunday with 2,940' of elevation gain over 17 miles with 2000' the last 8 miles. Ride started in Hillsboro (5,237') and finished atop Emory Pass (8,132') . Legs felt good and power numbers were good compared to this time last year. Decided to bail on lifting at the gym for the next few months and will just either ride the trainer or on the road.
     
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    Holy crap - I do not remember a sinus infection kicking my ass quite like this one. Today was the first day in the past week I felt good enough to work out, so I did a hour on Zwift. Didn't hurt too badly, so I'm probably going to break quarantine tomorrow night for the weekly trail ride (the governor's executive order allows for outdoor exercise if we maintain six foot spacing).
     
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    Are you using a Netipot at all? Made a huge difference for me!

    I've had almost 40 miles on the road in the last week, just all road in the neighborhood since the corona crap and the trails are rivers right now. A couple garage work outs which I'm slacking on bad. Me and the heathens did get another 4-500 ft of trail cut and ready to ride, a new jump and big ass berm... Should be up to about a mile of trail hopefully dry enough to ride by Thursday or Friday. None of the local trails are going to open until the cities/counties call an all clear.
     
    I use the refillable squeeze bottles. They're kinda like a neti pot, but with the ability to apply more pressure. Gotta be careful with the application rate or else it can get really uncomfortable :eek:

    We're in unknown territory with regards to trail closures (or lack thereof). I suspect that the county parks will be closed, but the state game areas should still be open.
     
    Spent 3 hours at the range last Saturday instead of riding. Rode 43 miles Sunday morning before the winds picked up too much but still had to push a headwind coming back. Spring time in Southern NM is the windy season. I usually wind up pulling into the wind if I am riding with a group since it makes you work. A friend who I raced with for many years always would repeat to himself while riding into a headwind "the wind is my friend it makes me strong". Its true but when doing it is more of rationalizing the situation.

    Sinus infections are a bugger and generally deal with one or two each year. I have bad seasonal allergies which trigger the infection and get it treated before they get bad. Irrigation of the sinus cavities definitely help. My long time allergist who treated the infections always recommended to not to ride until the infection had run its course.