Are we there yet?



Just had a great discussion with my chiropractor on what is going on with my condition and what I need to do. In short and in a simplistic manner of his longer explanation was that I need to move positions more often both at work and cycling.

The past few nights I kind of went that approach with my L4 sets of 20's by alternating positions from the drops to the top bar every 5 minutes. While on the top bar I would also reach out to the hoods and that stretched out my torso a little. It was this constant changing of position that kept my muscles from completely locking down on me yet train at level. The mistake I have been making for my condition (degeneration in some lower lumbar discs) is that I am training or sitting in the same position for long periods of time and the surrounding muscle adapt to that position. The longer we go without correcting the more accute the problem becomes. (I realize I am telling you guys stuff that you already know and I knew as well, but I continue to fail at applying)

He really emphasized the Samson Stretch to open up the psoas because sitting at the computer and on the bike for these extended periods the surrounding muscles adapt to this poor posture. Next thing we know it is super difficult to stretch these muscles out to their correct position and why we feel discomfort in stretching because they have adapted to this poor posture. Once the muscle adapts to this poor position it wants to hold you there. Stuff it seems that swampy has already been adressing.

Training on the bike for me is actually less time than I spend in my office chair. I really need to make a consistent habit of getting up every 30 minutes or so, move around, walk here and there, do some Samson stretches and keep this from getting to the point of being accute. I have got to make this a habit period.
 
One subtle twist to the Samson stretch is to use your "back leg" to very gently pull yourself back up. Initially, it's best done when you're not at full stretch and if things are really tight, some assistance from your arms. Being close to a solid piece of furniture helps - preferably one without wheels ;) Keep the effort very light. This helps lengthen the psoas as it's used as you're pulling yourself back while the muscle is in an already extended state. You don't need to pull yourself up too far, 12" is enough. Try and keep the forward leg relaxed.

I'm lucky in the fact that we have height adjustable desks at work that allow me to sit and stand while working. We also have a program called "workpace" that enforces breaks based upon the amount of key/mouse entry.

Both the ergo team at work and my physio have stressed the importance of seating position too. A lot has been written about slouching but not too many people have stressed the importance of seat height. If you get the height right and the seat back angle correct then you're not using your psoas and aductors all day to work to compensate for your bad seated posture.
 
We had our 1st club TT last night. It was on our 14k course, a course that I use to gage progress throughout the season. Last year I was able to go 21'30" on a road bike with aero wheels and aero bars, no aero helmet or aero clothing. When I was prepping for this season I set a goal of going below 20'30", thinking that a TT bike, aero helmet, and skin suite would account for around 30".

I was disappointed when yesterdays wind forecast was the worst direction possible for the course and just figured I would go out and do my best and see what happens. Well, I was able to go 20'16", breaking my goal!! It felt good to hit a goal so early in the season, but now I am setting a new goal to go below 20', which I think given ideal wind conditions, I can do.
 
A skin suite... that sounds kinda kinky. For some reason I'm thinking a high end hotel suite in Vegas, a dozen naked nubile ladies in their early 20's and a well stocked bar and assorted 'candy'.

Nice ride on the TT. Given some more L5+ training you'll get sub 20. I have no doubt about that. I got sub 21 for 16km and I do believe we're about the same size. Some more time in the pain cave and you'll get it.

Speaking of ladies and the exquisite... I went back to my therapist of choice and had some choice deep tissue work done. My poor psoas, illiacus and aductors didn't know what hit them. The only words uttered by me were "You know what needs to be done, just ease into it and get it done - it'll hurt less than a 5 minute hillclimb"

Sadly, 60 minutes wasn't quite enough - but the worst of it was done and the immediate upside was that I was thinking that I could get a fair bit lower. Riding on the 'drops' with a lower position than an on tri-bars wasn't a problem. The problem is that (a) I can't get my stem any lower without work (b) I have the longest ride of my life next weekend and I aint making any changes.
 
Last week was the week of time trials. I followed up Thursday's TT with a much more important TT on Saturday. I knew going into it that having done a TT two days prior was not ideal, but made a conscious decision that that is what I would be doing and planned the rest of my week around having a very difficult tail end of the week (I also rode really hard on our 80 mile team ride yesterday). The TT on Saturday was the 1st of many races in the Michigan Bike Racing Association series that will go throughout the summer. To contend for the points series you need to have at least one TT, one crit, and one road race, there are not too many TTs that qualify for points and this was the only one that I had on my schedule, so I needed to do well. It was a 13.2 mile TT that was on a relatively flat course, but the weather was cold and damp.

I could tell right away that I was going to feel Thursday's TT when warming up, I hoped I could just suffer through it. Suffer I did, it was a very painful TT, especially the last 10 minutes as I am use to going at threshold for 20 minutes, so when I passed that mark my body and mind did not quite know what to make of it. I crossed the line at 30'04", enough to get me the win by 4 seconds in a very respectable Cat 3 field! What I was maybe more happy about was that out of 200 people I had the 5th fastest time, Pro/1/2 included and was only a half second off of the 4th fastest time, which was a Cat 1 that I have lots of respect for. So I now get to wear the points leader numbers for at least next weekends race, although I am not really sure how I feel about being marked.

All and all a great week, but after 2 TTs and going hard yesterday I am ready to take it a bit easy today, lol.
 
Nice job bgoetz!

Swampy, I hope you do well this week as far as getting tuned up for this big ride.

For almost two weeks now I have been trying to work out my issue with my lower lumbar issue and all the contracted surrounding muscle groups while still training. Each day I get a little better. I am walking normal, but there is still some discomfort. The muscle groups feel fatigued from the response to the injury. Plus the additional work being done on stretching. Saturday I joined 3 friends for an 80 mile route, but with the thought that I would drop out or shorten the miles if I had any issues. I was doing okay keeping up with their pace until mile 58. Because the route was rather flat my power output was not that high (paceline speeds were in the mid 20's mph), but at mile 50 on a slight incline the muscles around my lower back, glutes and hamstrings just locked down. When the road went flat the guys were too far in front for me to catch and they were starting to put the hammer down. I finished just a few minutes behind my friends. We ended up doing just 74 miles.

I had plenty of fitness, but with those muscle groups locking down on me I was not able to continue to hold their speed and I am super glad that I did not have more miles to the car.

I was going to take my bike on vacation with me next week as discussed before, but I think I will take the week off from heavy interval training. The place we are staying has a nice fitness center so I may do some light spinning, continue to stretch and just relax ocean side. So hopefully when I return it will be the pain of digging out of the low CTL hole (at a slow ramp rate) and not the pain of lower back issues.
 
Hey All,

Been a week as had to go to Chicago for another convention but now I have a straight run to the Gran Fondo at the end of the month and going to put in the miles with L3 and get some SST/L4 for good measure. I was getting a bit frustrated and ****** off in Chicago as to save money I have been staying in these Hilton Garden Inns and using their shuttle service to get around so no car. They have really no gym at all in them and none around the Rosemont area for me to walk to. She decided to show me my gift which was was scheduled for the race day.



It got me out of my funk and even though I landed by midnight was up at 6am on the bike putting in a couple of hours!! My CTL is at a lowly 55 but I expect big things in the next few weeks.

BG, nice numbers man, I am going to start to have to start living through you. Hope NOT! After this event I will know what I am made of and see if I can get back into more competitive events.

On the other side this thread starting to sound like some of my spine-health.com forum threads but honestly it is a good idea that it does. The body needs it as we beat it up way too much over the years. I have never seen that Samson Stretch but it is pretty much a variation on the cobra. I will give it a try. Need something new to mix in. When I go to these trade shows I am standing for hours on end on hard cement and than goo back to uncomfortable bed. So it beats me up but this week not so bad.

Felt, not sure what you mean by locking down cause most folks I know who have experienced a lock down is the "fetal position" type. I really have learned over the years though while working the muscles will help. The real deal is posture, standing more, and lots of cobras, mini-cobras and the like. The muscle pain is a reaction as far as opposed to the cause of the pain. I can not stress enough how much ice and heat are your friends. They will do much more than any set of exercises. I would suggest during your time off, stay off the bike and get a good old heating pad and an ice pack and just relax. I wear a support belt through out the day and I have graduated to a small one now so the core is obviously a big help and loosing the weight!!!

Which brings up swampy!! 154lbs and a beer gut!! Please I am now 180 and with all these conventions I can not seem to get back towards 160s. I must before the even! Be quiet swampy, want to kill you for thinking 154 is heavy!

-js
 
BG, if you find yourself faced with a couple of TT's in a couple of days then make sure that you get a couple of easy rides in. If you have an afternoon TT and can get an hour to ride in the morning prior to leaving for the event, do so, it'll make a lot of difference. L1 for most of the ride but include a few nice digs in there too. Back in TT crazy England there would be afternoon events on Saturday and events very early Sunday morning - so the prospect of there being only 12 hours between finishing one event and starting another was fairly common. A long warmup on Sunday was a must. 30 minutes riding prior to a 20 minute warm up.

Felt, take care of your back - before it "takes care" of you - and probably not in a nice way. Some quality pool time with some relaxing massages. Surprise your better half with some spa time - earn some brownie points and get a back rub in the process. :)

My only real prep for this week are to adjust the base-bars and get lots of sleep. I'm going to need plenty of that as there'll be no sleep on Friday night/Saturday morning and I'll probably be riding until late Saturday night. It'll be interesting seeing how the Weather Channel changes their forcast for Taylorsville, CA during the week... it's at 3,500ft and forcast to be 38F and showers. Given that the turn is 1,500ft higher it could get very chilly. Getting over 180 miles in before 10am seems like a alien concept - one I haven't got my head around yet. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/ROTF.gif
 
Originally Posted by jsirabella .


Felt, not sure what you mean by locking down cause most folks I know who have experienced a lock down is the "fetal position" type.
Yeah, I better rephrase as something else. It was not a full blown lock down, but performance dropped significantly and very fast at one particular point.
I went out on Sunday on a very flat MUP and was cruising along at a really nice pace and no discomfort at all during the ride.

I feel like things are getting better and with a break next week I should be ready to roll back into a good summer season.
 
Originally Posted by jsirabella .

Which brings up swampy!! 154lbs and a beer gut!! Please I am now 180 and with all these conventions I can not seem to get back towards 160s. I must before the even! Be quiet swampy, want to kill you for thinking 154 is heavy!
I am not 154 right now... Nowhere even close but 154 will be heavier than I'll be in Aug/Sept. ;) I'll be glad when the slew of long rides is over as they're becoming counter productive as far as training and weight loss goes.

I remember back in the days when men were men and sheep were scared, I'd tacked a 10lb weight onto a rack on my training bike and went out for a ride with a friend, who was 10lbs more than I. He reckoned I only went uphills faster because I was lighter - I reckoned that if he didn't complain as much he'd have more oxygen for use by his muscles... It was so much fun 1/2 wheeling him up the hills and taunting him with phrases like "are your brakes rubbing?", "do you have a slow puncture?", "I think you need better grease in your bearings", "forget to fill your tyres with helium today?"...
 
Big ride coming up... should be "interesting" Starts at 8pm on Friday and a rough guestimation has me hitting that first climb to Jarbo Gap (110miles - 2300ft) at around 1am...

I was looking for the wind forcast for those hills (windalert.com) and at first glance it didn't look like it'd be that windy - then I noticed that the scale wasn't the unsual 0 to 40 mph - it was 0 to 120mph. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/eek.gif Could be "interesting" - more interesting than the seemingly infitely long drag (about 90 miles) to Antelope Lake from 300 to 5000ft.



372miles... that'd be my longest ride by a good 120 miles.
 
swampy, I will be looking for your post ride report. That event is packed with challenges as if the miles were not enough by themselves. Looks like over one hundred miles of climbing starting around mile 80 and going past mile 180. Will someone be sharing this adventure with you, near you (target jersey ahead and/or the comfort of knowing someone is just behind you sharing in the sufferfest, support vehicles) or do you think you will be out there pacing solo?

I hope all goes well.
 
For now it's a case of "have powermeter, will travel..." but I'm sure I'll end up with a group of folks at somepoint in the ride.

The organizers have said for "safety reasons" that riders should be in groups of at least 3. That said, if a car can't see me lighting up the road like a "christmas tree on meth" then it's most probably that said car will plough into three riders... I know there's usually a couple of fast lads that hammer pretty hard so I might hang with them until the hills and then see what happens
 
Originally Posted by swampy1970 .

The organizers have said for "safety reasons" that riders should be in groups of at least 3.
As I was riding on the Colorado mountain roads I realized that if I went off the edge I would never be found.

That is the "safety" reason for asking people to ride in groups. Nighttime, downhills, unfamiliar roads, sharp turns. I can see the disaster coming. You always want someone near by looking out for you.

---

Have a good time at the event. And arrive home.
 
swampy, Been busy with a move of the office and just been putting in the miles but no time for the forum. I wanted to say Good Luck and Be Safe!

I can not imagine doing a ride like that, spending that many hours in the saddle. I had to write though to say, impressed and a good luck again.

-js
 
That was fun...

Just like the 400km, it really wasn't the start I was expecting...8pm start, sunsetting and 800 yards from the start and someone is on the front on the tribars pulling at 21mph.

The first 50 miles to the first rest stop were flat, cross winds and provided a nice view of the Sacramento Valley as the day descended into darkness. Ride wise not much to talk about - speeds were in the 19 to 23mph range with the big pack of riders splintering - some folks deciding it was a little to fast, some deciding to stick with friends. This was the first time that I'd sat draughting on the back bumper of a CHP cruiser as the Police provided a rolling ****** through a set of roadworks on Hwy113 - complete with disco lights! Sweet... A quick stop, fill the bottles - gotta remember to drink - and get some Ensure and a few other nibbles down the neck and it was off on the road again...

More of the same for the next leg to Oroville but with a few added rolling hills, interesting short sharp climbs up levies and a weird mechanical suffered by one of the riders - he what looked like an ancient speedplay looking pedal that I hadn't seen before. His pedal axle was still on the crank but his pedal body was on his shoe! The end nut, after almost a decade of use had worked loose and could be seen rattling around on the inside in the dark depths on the pedal. 15 minutes was spent out in the middle of nowhere trying to resolve that one but as expected it was a lost cause as noone had a socket with walls thin enough to fit inside the endcap and over the nut... We limped into Oroville hoping their famed SAG wagon would have some tools (we'd seen the SAG during the first leg) but he had two other events this weekend including the legends ride in Davis with Greg LeMond. Those who had done Davis events would have seen the old Father Christmas looking dude, in his red people carrier, roof rack, PA and warning lights - a great guy but sadly he'd not be there and the guys ride was done. 86 miles and 5 hours.

I knew that someone would lay the smackdown duing this next leg, 100 miles mostly gradually uphill, starting with the 9 mile climb of Yankee Hill/Jarbo Gap featuring a fair few miles of 6 and 7% average grades but I didn't expect several people driving on the front giving me plenty of L3 and L4 at 1am in the morning. After the descent off Jarbo, it was off to the long seemingly relentless grind up Hwy 70. Windy, cold, hard... the rest stop at Tobin wouldn't come soon enough. After Tobin is was more of the same, except the sun was coming up and fog was coming off the cold mountain river. Very chilly but picturesque with the high peaks still covered in snow. As soon as I saw the route sheet and saw "highway 89" I hoped it wouldn't be as bad as the other highway 89 - Monitor Pass, often used in the Death Ride and thankfully it wasn't but it was still hilly and the hammer was still being put down. Knowing that a flat section followed this few mile climb I decided to let some of the lads go up the road and use a few minutes of L3 to get back on, which is exactly what happened. Off 89 and onto the road upto the far turn and the final checkpoint on the outbound leg. A quick nibble, drink and signing of the Brevet card and it was off to the climb to the dam at Antelope Lake. This was like the worst part of Monitor Pass. 230 watts required just to keep 34x28 ticking over at 65rpm - just what the doctor ordered at 5,000ft, 187 miles and 13 hours... A quick look at the dam and the ace view and it was back down to Genesse for a spot of brunch...

The return back was more of the same - except we got to see all the countryside we'd missed during the hours of darkness. Sadly, the blustery winds on the way back down highway 70 meant that the hoped for 30+ mph cruising speeds weren't anywhere to be seen. That and cross winds from hell when we got on the flat, especially leading into Sutter. Knowing that you still have 70 miles to go and you're doing 10 mph leaning the bike into the wind isn't what the doctor ordered at this stage of the ride. Thankfully the winds shifted a tad and provided a nice final 20 miles of tailwind...

I was hoping for sub 26 hours and I got that - even with the group hanging around for the pedal issue and a couple of other minor mechanicals. The climb upto Antelope Lake was much harder than anyone expected and was a real kick in the nads. This was a new 'feature' of the 600km Davis Brevet, replacing a flat loop of road around Davis that used to be at the start. Issues with exceptionally bad road surface, punctures and unfortunately some accidents meant a re-route. Sure, it would have been easier to ride of flatter roads but the new stretch was both figuratively and literally breathtaking. I would have taken pictures but I forgot to power of my phone and many hours of "searching for signal" killed the battery.

All in all it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I though riding through the night would be very tiring as would be riding for over 24 hours but the only real concerns were due to riding on fairly rough roads for miles. Both big toe nails felt like they were on fire despite there being no toe nail to shoe contact. It looks as though the outside of the ball of my foot took a beating. Same deal with my hands - very achy and sore. Hopefully the numb fingertips will go sooner rather than later. It would seem as though the extra 200km over the last ride highlighted these ****les. Sore legs - well, kinda goes without saying that 22.5 hours of ride time would mean the ol' pins are stiff today but that's nothing a short ride, some stretching and quality feet up time won't fix...

One thing that was interesting was seeing some riders pulling into rest stops on the outbound leg as we were pulling in on the return leg, highlighting the fact that you don't need to be a long distance cycling hero - of which I certainly am not. To say it was an experience would be an understatement but I don't know if it'd be one I'd repeat or exceed but it would be something that I'd recommend riders to have a go at.



Duration: 22:33:50 (25:44:47)
Work: 9145 kJ
TSS: 651.2 (intensity factor 0.537)
Norm Power: 145
VI: 1.29
Pw:HR: n/a
Pa:HR: n/a
Distance: 374.678 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 456 113 watts
Cadence: 29 174 72 rpm
Speed: 0 43 16.7 mph
Pace 1:24 0:00 3:36 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 35 5 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 1044 137 lb-in
 
So after almost a week my fingertips have almost regained feeling and my right forearm no longer feel like lava is running through my veins...

... but already I'm thinking of something harder.
 
Originally Posted by swampy1970 .

So after almost a week my fingertips have almost regained feeling and my right forearm no longer feel like lava is running through my veins...

... but already I'm thinking of something harder.

/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif A bit late, but I enjoyed the ride report. Now to the next big event. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif


Just returned from vacation so now I need to start ramping up again. CTL dropped to 68, but my lower back feels a bit better so I hope to get back to some good endurance rides and my weekday indoor training routine. My plan is to ramp up slowly at first by not going over 90% FT for the first week or two and then ease back into some good L4's.

I also hope the TT bike is ready as I have an appointment for the fitting tomorrow. Maybe if he has it ready and has enough time for the fit I can take it for a short test ride in the afternoon or tomorrow.
 
Second on a bit late but life has been moving way too fast and I am just tired. My daughter is looking at colleges which means lots of travel. But this month has been really tough with the move of the production to NJ in a bonafide old pre WW2 factory and it needed lots of work and I am doing most of the moving right now as we have to get out of there by the end of this month.

swampy, that is an amazing report with some nice numbers to boot, I remember in my ride to boston the best part was to see the sun coming up. I am sure it must be the same for you. But to put that many hours in the saddle and no LB issues is nice. As for the arm issues, cork. It cures all when riding that many hours on the bike.

I got the gran fondo coming up and my CTL is at ~70. I now got the bike set up in the factory and it is fun! It will be here before I know it!

-js
 

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