RIDING YOUR SCRUNCHIE OFF: WEEK 2&3

The last couple of weeks saw some first for both of us.

We did our first group ride. Everyone's abilities and fitness levels differed so each one missioned on at his/her own pace stopping and waiting here and there.  Lida was able to ride some rather technical sections while I tried to be the extremist and ride everything which included stairs.  I didn't fall but did end up with a nasty tire roastie on my inner thigh...don't ask.

Single Track 1    Lida 0

We did 10k's on the beach front which was a great Sunday cruise.  Not difficult at all, but a good opportunity to set Lida's bike up and see how her new seat performs.  I'm happy to report that she finished without any discomfort considering she didn't wear cycle shorts. 

Beachfront Face

The temperature and humidity in Port Elizabeth is a little better at the moment and our normal weekly course is getting faster and funner. Well, until Wednesday. Lida didn't eat the whole day. You've guest it, she bonked and she bonked hard! After the single track she had to lay down, luckily her mind still functioned to remember not to lie on the spider infested grass, but rather in the road.  Welcome to the world of endurance athletes, my love! I've been there and it ain't no fun. So let this be a lesson to you kids, eat well!

I told you Lida can be stubborn and the very next day she was in the saddle again.  When I got home after work I found her on the couch with a peanut butter sandwich in the one hand and glass of Oros in the other. No bonking today! 
     We tried out a new track and wow was it awesome. We had our first taste of how awesome downhilling can be. We also had our first taste of how brutal hills can be...and cactus.  Lida was so concerned with her rear wheel while riding on the pavement that she didn't see the cactus. She rode through it and almost ended up in peak traffic in front of a car.  But she soldiered on and up the hill. So proud of her!

This weekend were off to Cape Town so no riding for us.  I think Lida deserves a rest before we kick it up a notch next week.

Enjoy the weekend, and go ride your scrunchie off!

Riding your scrunchie off Week 1

We chose the hottest and most humid week ever experienced in Port Elizabeth to start training. Daily the mercury pushed beyond 30 and the discomfort level up at 100%.  With the swimming pool temporarily off limits there is no relieve from the heat after a ride.

It's at this point that I was amazed at my wife's commitment to still get out there and ride.

Monday we set out for a relative easy 6km route. 50% road and 50% single track.  It's a steady climb on the road to the point where we enter the trail which brings as back to about a block away from our apartment.  It didn't take long before the sweat was pouring down our faces.  She found some relieve from the heat under some sprinklers in someone front yard. 

6km route

The single track is predominately downhill with a handful off sharp climbs which you really need to nail to get over them without loosing momentum.  Lida did well having to push the bike only on the last meter or what on one or two climbs.

When we joined the last stretch of road again the heat was just one to much for her and she jumped of the bike onto the grass in the shade...onto a spider nest. Soon some gnarly spiders were crawling all over her, but even this didn't phase her for a while, until she realized what was going on!  Before moving on she realized she lost her hair scrunchie during the ride, or did it maybe vaporize due to the heat?

Wednesday was another scorcher of a day and we did 8km on the road.  Yes, PE can be flat and we chose the flattest part of it, so it was a constant peddle all the way.  Great training for the race as the race is also very flat and sandy.  Lida made it home once again without too tired or sore legs and her scrunchie.

For the statisticians out there.  Lida's average heart rate on Monday was 157bpm with a max HR of 197bpm.  Theoretically her max HR should be 194bpm. It's a bit scary that it reached that high on a "easy" ride. I blame it on the heat.  But we will do the same route once a week and use it as a benchmark for fitness and skill progress.

Riding your scrunchie off

A month ago we bought mountain bikes.  And like most people my wife had a New Years resolution regarding fitness.  Her goal...To ride in a MTB race.

Now first for some background.  About a year and a half ago we also tried training her for a race. A 10km running race. Fair enough it was mid winter in Port Elizabeth, not a very nice place to be. She is not a morning person, almost puked after the first early morning run.  Then she couldn't even remember the afternoon that we ran the morning. Hows that for surpressing bad memories.  Other excuses included a buzzing in her ears. WHAT! It apparently goes away when she starts to sprint, but come on, you can't sprint if you can barely jog.  So after a few weeks she ran her scrunchie off and she quit.

I'm a fitness freak...She is not. She is a couch freak. Especially now that we have a nice new couch and she finished her honours degree.  So it can be rather difficult for me to always negotiate anything fitness related.  The plus point, she loves the outdoors just as much as me and can be rather stubborn if she wants to.

We are taking on this adventure with a couple of goals in mind.  Getting through this without divorce.  Getting her to the start line on 25 February still motivated means I need to control my enthusiasm for pushing hard when it comes to training.

The race we are entering is the MERRELL NORM-HUDLIN TRAIL 15km MTB ride.  We have 7 weeks to train.

Wish me luck...Wish US luck!

Ps. Follow our scrunch-tious adventures over the next 7 weeks.

Back on the Wagon

So it's a new year.  It seems that every year this time I find a need to let out on the little creativeness I possess.

I had a pretty successful 2011 regarding races. But towards the end of 2011 I already made a decision to try and do more runs to challenge myself and less focus on races. I want to discover new routes for training and try to run existing hiking routes fast. Hiking routes that is not part of a race. 

Routes that come to mind is the Jonkershoek Traverse Marathon, Boland Hiking Trial, summiting Groot Winterhoek Peak, Stellenbosch to Franschoek via the mountains.

It doesn't necessarily have to be fast.  I just want to do it. I can always go back and do it faster at a later stage.

Adventure and exploring needs to return to trail running.

Who's got some challenging routes in mind? Or knows about existing "challenge" routes that people set fastest known times for?