Thursday, October 27, 2005
One Week To Go
Today we received the last email notification from the organizers of the ride. That really got me pumped.
With only one week to go, there is essentially nothing I can do to improve my conditioning or my strength. This has been an incredibly disappointing summer and fall for training. I missed every single long ride I had hoped to do. Family commitments and assorted other personal issues got in the way. The last organized ride I did was in June. I have not even been on my road bike since early September. (The only saving grace was my weekend in Israel).
So, I have relied exclusively on my spin bike for the past two months. I have been doing 45 minute to one hour simulated climbs two or three times a week. I hope it is enough but there no time left for me to do anything about it if it isn't.
And, surprisingly, I actually put on a few pounds over the holidays. I am up to almost 136, 4 pounds heavier than my target. I hope to drop two to three of the extra lbs this week. I assume I will burn off the rest during the ride.
In terms of the ride itself, it seems significantly harder than last year's ride. The climbs (if you do all the option climbs) are much steeper and longer than last year's. On the other hand, the temparatures will almost certainly be significantly lower than the scorching temps we had to deal with in the Negev and the Dead Sea area. On the other hand, we might freeze our buns off in the mornings. On the same hand, we might get soaked.
I am extremely concerned about slick roads. During my recent trip to Israel I rode on some very tough hills that are part of the ride that had virtually no shoulders. Going downhill was downright scary. I don't need rain. I have purchased some cold weather gear and will be bringing my rain gear. But I don't need rain. Let it rain after I'm done.
I will probably check in one more time before I leave with some final thoughts.
With only one week to go, there is essentially nothing I can do to improve my conditioning or my strength. This has been an incredibly disappointing summer and fall for training. I missed every single long ride I had hoped to do. Family commitments and assorted other personal issues got in the way. The last organized ride I did was in June. I have not even been on my road bike since early September. (The only saving grace was my weekend in Israel).
So, I have relied exclusively on my spin bike for the past two months. I have been doing 45 minute to one hour simulated climbs two or three times a week. I hope it is enough but there no time left for me to do anything about it if it isn't.
And, surprisingly, I actually put on a few pounds over the holidays. I am up to almost 136, 4 pounds heavier than my target. I hope to drop two to three of the extra lbs this week. I assume I will burn off the rest during the ride.
In terms of the ride itself, it seems significantly harder than last year's ride. The climbs (if you do all the option climbs) are much steeper and longer than last year's. On the other hand, the temparatures will almost certainly be significantly lower than the scorching temps we had to deal with in the Negev and the Dead Sea area. On the other hand, we might freeze our buns off in the mornings. On the same hand, we might get soaked.
I am extremely concerned about slick roads. During my recent trip to Israel I rode on some very tough hills that are part of the ride that had virtually no shoulders. Going downhill was downright scary. I don't need rain. I have purchased some cold weather gear and will be bringing my rain gear. But I don't need rain. Let it rain after I'm done.
I will probably check in one more time before I leave with some final thoughts.
