Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Tuesdays for 2adazs

CTuesday mornings always seem to come a little early...MNF is always a hit in the dabbs household...and last night I decided that a little toddy would make the nite just right...then i woke up this morning..



workout #1... 6:25a I was out the door for my, much to my anticipation, for my early 10 minute warm up run...then back to the poor mans gym for a sweet little 55 min strentgh training sessions...felt good, better than expected!



Off to work for a god for sakin boaring ass day at WDAM...



workout #2...coach had a 1:10 ride planned with some low HR work focused on high cadence and pedal stroke...inside the ride was 10x :10 sec max spin/:50 sec recovery; 8x 1 min spin ups/1 min easy spin; 8x 1 min left leg @ 90 rpm/1 min right leg@ 90 rpm/1 min both @95 rpm...the first sets are easy...the 3 set is a mutha...those one legged drills at that high of a spin is really tough, especialy on the last 4 reps durning the last :20 seconds, OUCH!!!! It hurts SO good!


Sunday and Monday...

Sunday's plan was 2.5 hrs with 2x 15 min tempos at 60-70 rpms in Z2/3...the tempos are suppose to be done up a steady hill...but in Hattiesburg, MS, they're are no such things as long hills...longest one I have found in toughberg is about 5 minutes! So i have been trying to find different roads that keep going up but it's not happening...i will be moving the tempos to the trace from now on!

These pics are just the normal scenery I get to see out on the open road...I do love my country roads...hardly ever see any cars out her, especialy on the Sunday mornings...

This pic show the far away site of the Heritage Eagle Man Triathlon...my buddy won it...Sam Hudson!



More beautiful country side with blue skies and the cows of course!

This is the ass end of the 2nd 15 minutes tempo...great roads but just not quite long or steep enough...but what a great day for riding!

After the ride, I had to squeeze in an hour of yoga/stretching to finish up my week...so what better way than get that in while watching my Colts beat the Bolts for their 5th straight win!
Gettum Payton!
Carter decided to get in his mom's makeup so I made him pose for a few pics to blackmail him with when he gets older...I love being a dad! He's such a great son...I think this weekend I might try him out in the woods for a night and see what happens...mom thinks he'll get scared...I think he'll snuggle up to me in my sleeping bag and be prefect!


Monday's are kinda like a day off...so all that was planned was about 30 minutes of stability work and about 30 minutes of ST...I managed to get about 45 minutes of work...I was tired and just didn't feel like getting the last 15 in...more to come about Tuesday soon!


Saturday, November 22, 2008

Gotta LOVE mtb rides on Saturdays

The Saturday planned ride was simple...3:15 on the mtb mostly in z2 some z3...weather was perfect so wesson, betz and i decided to meet at ridgeland and ride a little...they were good sports about riding...hell i couldn't even keep up with betz on the hills, he was on his ss and had to go ahead and go...i had to keep my hr under wraps to keep within coach's plans.
The trails are awesome...sorry so much of my mug...that's my boy wesson behind me sporting his hunter orange, gun shots were going off in the morning when we got there...my defense to hunters is just to keep my trap running as much as possible.

I love dogs that will run the trails with their owner...this pooch was running for hours out on the trails today...good stuff



Just a mice view from my knee...love the dirty south trails!

A little workout info...HR and elevation...can you read this?


My two oldest babies...sharing a seat...but only for a minute, Carter, the boy, is in the process of getting really upset that sister Caroline, is cramping his style...they're great!




Thursday, November 20, 2008

Gearing up for the weekend

Oh what fun rollas are...it's easy to talk about it today, the day after the torture took place and another ride has replaced the foul memories of the 1.5 hrs that was prescribed by coach...the ride was going to be done outside but temps and late work hours force it me inside, or at least the garage! I had to warm up for 45 min then a nice z3 20 min tempo at 95-105 rpm...nailed it! Got a good sweat on too...at this time of year and training are at a premium, cool temps and low efforts keep the sweat at bay for the most part...tonight was a nice on fo sho!
A little side shot of the garage and my bike haven at my house...i love biking! How do you like the jersey...it reminds me of some good ole times before kids and a real job...road trip to kaliforna form the berg was off the hizzy fo reazza fo shizzy!

Today's workout was to be 1.5 hrs with 10x spin ups to 120 rpm in the smallest gear...not my favorite type ride fo sho but it, done...and the weather today was fabulous! It got up to about 74 today and nuttin but sunshine...made for a great way to end the day! I rode on the trace today which was very quite and perfect for the plan today!



Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Tuesday the 2 a day

Today was my true second 2 a day...i love saying that! It makes me feel so goal oriented and professional...cause why else would someone who does this training and racing thing on the side just for fun be already putting in 2 a days in November 08 for races that aren't happening until March 09 at the earliest...it's like my boy wesson and i were talking about...I just love training! Call me crazy but i love the structure it provides and I just love to ride and workout so it works???

This morning was my 1st attempt to getting up early to do 1 of the workouts planned today...I set the alarm for 6a...after 2 swats at the snooze I pulled myself out of bed around 6:20 and by 6:30 I was out the door for a 10 minute jog to warm up then back to the garage to do my 50 minutes of strength training...it went well! Starting to get stronger already!

Tonight's ride was short and very controlled! Only 1:10 rt scheduled but structured out the arse...10x 1 min max cadence sets, 8x 2 min spin ups, and 8x 3 min 1 leg drills...it went really smooth until the last few sets of the 1 legged drills...i could barely finish them...the hips were done...the felt just helpless after a while...good stuff!

I got very cold towards the end of the ride...only about 50 degrees but i was under dressed and brought the wrong gloves...my hands were frozen...hey i'm from south MS i don't do cold weather...i'll need to make a mental note to bring back up cloths in the car!

last few days

The weekend was fun. They're always too short but always fun! There was very little planned in the dabbs household for the weekend except for 2 rides(not very long), R and R, and FOOTBALL...i know, I like to participate in sports with spandex but i love to watch big dudes try and decapitate each other...i love the primal instinct that FB has inside the game...plus the battle in the trenches is the best!

Saturday was suppose to be 2.45 hrs on the mtb and had planned to meet with B Rad in Jackson to ride Ridgeland...but rain on Friday killed that for me...so at about 11a i got going...with winds in the 25+mph range and temps around 50 I headed out on the road. It was a pleasant 50 miler with not much activity happening...just spinning in z2 and putting some miles in...good times!

Sunday was not much more eventful...I love cooking breakfast for the family on the weekends, actually starting to do it more than just weekends...I figure mom cooks dinner and likes to sleep in so I can lend a hand here and there... ;-)
I got out on the road around 11:30a to get my 2.15 hrs in. I was to include 2x 10 min tempos at a slow cadence up a small hill...since the HR wasn't working i had to guesstimate the effort i was using but i think i got it pretty close...the cadence stayed around 65 rpm which was right on...could feel the burn in the hips and quads...

Monday was back to work and a pretty laxed day as far as training was concerned...just an hour of yoga...um, what? I am about as flexible as metal pole...the ole power lifter in me just don't bend in strange positions...but i'm always up for a challenge...i think.?. I warmed up for about 5-8 minutes then went into a series of flexibility positions...some felt good, some were easy, some sucked and hurt...i didn;t do those to long...like not at all. Ended up with about 35 minutes of pure yoga...i think i will monitor this and might start incorporating Pilate's and stretching to help out with hot spots...

So far so good...I'll post later o Tuesday's workout!

Friday, November 14, 2008

easy friday...i guess

i was enjoying today off from work...i love not working!

yesterday's workout was very interesting...i have never done one legged drills before so it was new and fun...

plan was 1 hours with 7 sets of...30 sec R, 30 sec L, 1 minute both...increasing rpm by 5 each set...and that's what i did...last set was hard...found lots of dead spots in the pedal stroke at 115 rpm with one leg...hamstrings were tight afterwards...but nice sweat as i did the workout on rollers.

today...was another two a day...with an hour of strength training and 30 minutes on the rollers afterwards...the strength workout was suppose to be an hour but even with 3 sets of the planned workout it only took me 40/45 minutes...but i did ride for 40 minutes by mistake...

another good day but only 5 days down out of 13 weeks...got a ways to go!!!

weekends planned rides should give me another 5 hours on the bike...my favorite!!!!!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

First 2 a Day!

Today was my first planned two a days...with a 1:30 z2 ride for a little recovery and my first planned strengthsession! I think i passed the test well and am ready to slow ratchet it up...little by little though...



The Ride...! It was done at lunch since I had morning meetings and afternoon shoots. I had planned to get out on the bike @ 11 but ran almost an hour late...got to be more timely. And by the time i got out the rain was on it's way...i got sprinkled on some but it wasn't until the last 20 minutes that i got poured on...thanks goodness it wasn't very cold, only about 65*.



The workout...! I was prescribed a series of upper body and core/stability exercises that would sure to not disappoint! I thought it would be pretty easy, it always seems that way after the first set...but anyway...it ended up being a nice 50 minute workout.



I am starting the workouts out a little slow since i'm either on the bike, doing yoga, or strength training 7 days a week...i mean, i'm still sore from Monday's workout! So i felt today's stuff about like tomorrow will be another day in the "slow and take it easy" mode for the work hours...got to keep the priorities, right?...bike then work! I promise to have pics soon!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Off season starts

Started the off seaon this week. Went with a pre built program from LW Coaching this year to change things up some. Yesterday was the 1st day of 91 days of specific training set up to help build my base up to help me not kick the rear spanked out of state! The real reason I went with a pre built plan is to take the guess work out of it for me. I have been doing my training on my own for several years and since i got the 3 little ones, who you will hear more about, and the whole job thing...i figured i would let someone else think for me plus they know what they're talking about more than i do!

Yesterday was a an hour of strength training with 30 minutes of stability work and 30 minutes of core work...it was tough. There were several exercises that I did that were new to me....but they felt great. I;m sore today, the day after...

Today was the lactate test. which would be found out thru a 20 minute TT...ouch! that wa my first tt all year...maybe even 2! It hurt...but i laid it all out...avg hr was 179bpm...hope i didn't set my self up for a brutal 13 weeks with max effort going based on this test...only time will tell!

Friday, November 7, 2008

24 HOCS

wow...my legs hurt today!
This is my 5th year to enjoy this race! I have been doing it since it was around and Brian's right...it keeps getting better and better! I have done it solo once(never again) and been on teams the 4 times. Either way is super tough both mentally and physically!
My first year was the horrid 72 hours of rain at clear springs...those of you who were there, i don’t to remind you but for those who weren't, let me just say that it rained for the 2 days leading up to the race and rained the whole time during the race...we also were doing 13 mile laps at the time...my team DNF'd due to lack of proper equipment...my brakes ripped through my rims cause my brake pads had completely disintegrated and were exposing the staples which acted like knives cutting through warm butter...it sucked!
My solo attempt was the next year...it was brutal! I ended up riding with someone who had done several solo races, so I thought I would just hold his wheel...mistake! After riding 9 out of the first 12 hours...I was completely shot! I sat down and never got back up!
Now, I'll give you all my perspective on this whole 24 hour deal from my team's point of view for this year... We have had great luck over the past several years at this race...Indian Cycle has taken the 1st place trophy home for the last two! We have had a core group of riders who have been on those teams, but some of them decided to back out for whatever reason...! So this year I had to make a new team...before anybody had dropped off the team for this year, I had one goal, get the core together, make it stronger and WIN! With that in mind, I called my good buddy wesson and asked him if he wanted to ride or help this year...he gladly answered "help"...so he was to be our team mom...the other racers were to be Max, Brad, myself, and the newest addition...BETZ! I knew that with that group of 4, we would be unbeatable...lots of good speed, lots of experience and some first time motivation coming from Betz...well...First, Max backed out...ok, I'll get Wesson back on the team, cause he was there last year and did great plus he's got such a great outlook on things, he makes a shitty situation funny! Wesson didn't really want to but stepped up to the plate and did a great job! Then, Brad dropped out...good lord...so I called Tanner, who was on the team last year and had done great but I knew he hadn't been riding as much but still decided to ask anyway...he said yes and was fired up...it's easy to be fired up 3 weeks before hand! So there you have it, our team was finally formed...Me(6x 24 hours races), Betz(newbie to 24 hour race), tanner(2x 24 hour race), and Wesson(3x 24 hour race)...The La-a Blazzers! The days leading up to the race were fun. We are all compiling lists of stuff we need/wanted and delegating them out to one another...that list was pretty funny! there was lots of talks about the what's, when's, and how's but for the most part it's pretty simple...racers go one after the other with ABSOLUTLY no down time at the transition area! (more to come on this) So Saturday finally gets here and we all show up about the same time at the campground...with a ton of stuff...way too much, but that's a good thing at these types of races! Since I was team captain, I guess, I had elected Betz to go first, me second, tanner 3rd, and Wesson last...but Betz was too nervous to go first and Wesson didn't want to get stuck doing an extra night lap due to light issues...so we shuffled things up a little...me first, betz second, wesson third, and t dog last... Once the race started, it was all about riding that bike! First set of laps went well...we had created a small gap on the first 3 laps but lost it all on the 4th...we managed to rebuild our lead some but lost our gap when we had two back to back chain breaks! Then night came...it was still a very manageable race even though we had our hands full, I was still optimistic! We were tied around 11p! I actually turned my second night lap with 2nd place...we stayed tire to tire the whole lap...we had built a small lead with wesson going back in the woods and then disaster hit! Just as I lay down for a few minutes, I hear this puking noise...I tell myself that it isn't one of my team mates...but it was...T Dog was fading fast and I knew we were in trouble...I had never had to fight with less men! Wesson and I talked and almost decided that we going to just call it and chill...pretty crappy on our part...Betz was out in the cold, dark woods and we didn't even go up to the transition area to tell him...just waited on him to get back to camp...well, once he got back, he was not happy! He told us he was going back out and for one of us to be ready...I was shutting down but Wesson, like always, stayed positive! Wesson, got me up and made me drive him to the trailhead to do his lap...I still wasn't sold on the idea...mind was playing tricks on me...I got back down to the camp and laid back down for about 10 minutes...Betz got back and was very nonchalantly talking me into doing another lap...I didn't want to at all...BUT, i summoned up a little strength and suited up, turned my 5th lap! The race was all but out of hand by this point...I think BC told me we were back by about 50 minutes...too much to pull back...once daylight got here, I found new life! Wesson finished up a nice, steady night lap, which was the last dark lap of the day, so I was turned out on to a new day with new light...I wanted to stay smooth and steady...I finished up and Betz went out. Wesson and I decided that I would do the next lap to build any lead possible on 3rd place then let him finish up on the last lap as more of a joy ride...he was getting tired...so I turned another...thinking that this was going to be my last lap, I tried to go out and do a little faster lap...turned in a 55 and though I was done...BUT, while we were waiting on Betz to get back for Wesson to go out, we noticed at the transition area, 1st place was really only up about 10 minutes up on us...after several slower laps form them and a few faster laps from Betz and I, we were WAY closer than I thought...so again, wesson talked me into going out and giving it my best to pull the leader back...I turned in a 53 minute lap and pulled back over 7 minutes from Team Buckwheat but to no avail...they won by 3 minutes...wow, what a close race!
It was a lot of work and fun at the same time...thanks brian for this experience!
JUST for a little shout out to the ladies...Clair on her big solo effort and the cougars...way to set the bar!