# Adrenalin: Round Two



## I Are Baboon (Apr 12, 2005)

Once again I'll be competing in the 24 Hours of Adrenalin mountain bike race in Dalton, MA on June 25/26.  I've been very consistent with the weight training since last year's race, but now that winter is done and biking season is here again, it's time to get to work riding.

My journal is for tracking my rides and my workouts.  I _just_ started to ride again last week.  The wife and I recently moved to a new town and I found a killer 35 mile road ride that will be great for training.  I'm also going to start riding my bike to work a couple times a week, which will be about 40 miles each way.  

Last year our team finished 11/20 in our category.  My best lap was 1:09.  My personal goal this year is to break one hour.  I'd like our team to score a top 10.

Here's my write up from last year's race:
http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/showthread.php?t=33379

The countdown is on...


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## I Are Baboon (Apr 12, 2005)

Elevation profile of my 35 mile training route.  I like this route because of the 1900 foot elevation gain in a 12 mile stretch.  Bike races are won and lost on climbs, and climbs are without a doubt my weak point.


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## crazy_enough (Apr 12, 2005)

Holy crap...Good luck, that sounds killer!
I mountain bike quite a bit, but surely not to that extent!!

What's ure lifting routine like during this phase of training?


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## I Are Baboon (Apr 12, 2005)

crazy_enough said:
			
		

> Holy crap...Good luck, that sounds killer!
> I mountain bike quite a bit, but surely not to that extent!!
> 
> What's ure lifting routine like during this phase of training?



Thanks!!

I don't really change my lifting routine too much.  I normally do a four day split:

Day 1:  Chest/triceps
Day 2:  Back/Biceps
Day 3:  Legs
Day 4:  Shoulders

Abs every other workout.  It usually takes me 6 or 7 days to finish one cycle.  The only difference during bike season is that I do not work legs since they get plenty of work on the bike, and I dump all non-bike cardio work.  Sometimes the weight training and the riding occur on the same day.  IMO, that is good for endurace training.  

I am definitely not as consistent during the bike season with my weight training.  I am happy with two or three workouts a week.  However, I have stopped weight training before during riding season and that is a HUGE mistake.  My performance on the bike is severly weakened when I am not following a weight training routine.


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## King Silverback (Apr 12, 2005)

Hey Brother, I'll be keepin an eye on ya!!! Sounds pretty killer, how do you train as far as Biking goes? What do you think about the Rams offseason pickups?


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## I Are Baboon (Apr 13, 2005)

Archangel said:
			
		

> Hey Brother, I'll be keepin an eye on ya!!! Sounds pretty killer, how do you train as far as Biking goes? What do you think about the Rams offseason pickups?



The Rams appear to be trying to beef up the defense, which is awesome because their defense sucked last year!  It's also good to see Orlando Pace signed to a long term deal.    

As far as training goes, my "training rides" get measured in distance and time.  As long as I can average more MPH and faster time than previous rides, it's progress.  It is very noticable when your legs and lungs start to get stronger.  Hills are not as hard and adding miles get easier.

Day 1 of training started off with a bang.  I had to bail on my post-work workout.  We had central air conditioning installed in our house, so I had to get home and clean up after those fuckers.  The floors were a mess.  Anyway, tonight will be a solo mountain bike ride.


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## P-funk (Apr 13, 2005)

damn, sweet journal IAB.  I am going to watch this.  I love this shit.


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## westb51 (Apr 13, 2005)

between miles 19 and 20 looks crazy. looks like 1/4 or 1/2 mile with 300 ft decline damn.  maybe you can get up to 88 mph and go back.... back to the future.  

good luck


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## I Are Baboon (Apr 13, 2005)

Thanks, guys!  I appreciate the kind words.

Actually, miles 17-23 is about six miles of pure downhill.  It's pretty cool being able to go that many miles without having to pedal.  Of course I crank like hell to see how fast I can go.  I topped out at 41 MPH and couldn't go any faster due to the limitations of my bike...I need bigger gears on my bike so I can hit 50+.


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## King Silverback (Apr 13, 2005)

Looks killer to me Brother!!! What kind of bike do you have? I used to ride just for fun and had both a Fuji Monterey, and Trek, I think thats the name, heck I havn't rode in 15 years. Keep it up. Will you have pics?


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## I Are Baboon (Apr 14, 2005)

Archangel said:
			
		

> Looks killer to me Brother!!! What kind of bike do you have? I used to ride just for fun and had both a Fuji Monterey, and Trek, I think thats the name, heck I havn't rode in 15 years. Keep it up. Will you have pics?



What kind of pics do you have in mind?  My body is not going to change too much while I prepare for the race.  I'll probably lose some weight, but that's about it.  

I have two mountain bikes and a road bike.  My mountain bikes are a Titus Quasi-Moto and a Rocky Mountain Spice, and my road bike is a Trek 2000.


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## I Are Baboon (Apr 14, 2005)

Well I had my first mountain bike ride since October last night (damn winter).  I have a long way to go before I am in race shape.  I was hurting last night.  I rode 8.5 miles, 90 minutes of ride time.  I had to keep stopping to catch my breath.  I'm not too worried about it though.  I lost a month of training before last years race due to a back injury and I raced just fine.

Elevation profile: (I love my nerd toys)


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## Triple Threat (Apr 14, 2005)

IAB, are you riding solo or is MBC doing this too?


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## I Are Baboon (Apr 14, 2005)

I am part of a five man team.  We each did four laps last year, but we're hoping to get in five this year.

MBC is not doing this race.  It's not really her thing.

I am in no kind of shape to do this solo, but I am hoping to someday.


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## King Silverback (Apr 14, 2005)

Pics of you raising this.............


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## PreMier (Apr 14, 2005)

Very cool, good luck!

Oh, and did you paint the bumper on your car yet


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## I Are Baboon (Apr 15, 2005)

Archangel said:
			
		

> Pics of you raising this.............



  Only we finish in the top 5.  





			
				PreMier said:
			
		

> Very cool, good luck!
> 
> Oh, and did you paint the bumper on your car yet





That's MBC's Explorer, and I told her to ditch the thing and get a new one.


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## I Are Baboon (Apr 15, 2005)

Worked chest, triceps, and abs last night.  Tonight I'll get in a quick back/bicep workout after work, then I have a 9:00 hockey game.  Wife and I took Monday off, so we have three days of riding ahead of us.


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## I Are Baboon (Apr 16, 2005)

We lost our hockey game last night.  Dammit, I'm the only one scoring goals on that team!!!  KIND OF HARD TO WIN WHEN NO ONE IS SCORING!


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## King Silverback (Apr 16, 2005)

That sucks, tell the rest of the team to start scorin   !!! How many teams race in that race?


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## I Are Baboon (Apr 19, 2005)

*First update in three days*

Lots of activity the past few days...

I took Saturday off.  Too much stuff to do around the house.

Sunday I did a 20 mile road ride with the wife.  It was her first ride since last year, so it was a light pace.  Definitely not a training ride.  I had a hockey game at night.  I scored three goals, but we tied 4-4.  Still no goal scoring help from the rest of the offense.    

Yesterday was weight training (chest/triceps) followed by another road ride.




			
				Archangel said:
			
		

> How many teams race in that race?



In total there will proabably be upwards of 100.  For our category though (Men, total age 150-199), there were 20 last year.


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## King Silverback (Apr 19, 2005)

Thats cool, I bet you finish in the top 2!!!


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## I Are Baboon (Apr 20, 2005)

Archangel said:
			
		

> Thats cool, I bet you finish in the top 2!!!



HEH, I wish.  Honestly, I think the best we can do would be 5 or 6.  There are very seasoned, serious competitors in the race.  We do it for fun.


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## I Are Baboon (Apr 20, 2005)

Worked back and biceps last night.  I weighed in at 173 this morning (down from 179 over the winter).  My goal is 165.  I stopped taking creatine last week to help shed the excess water weight.  Between losing some weight and dropping the creatine, my lifts are paying for it.  My lifts have gone down on pretty much every exercise this week.

Hockey game tonight, riding tomorrow and Friday.  Our other goal scorer will not be there tonight, so it looks like it's up to me (I actually won the league goal scoring and point scoring titles last season).


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## King Silverback (Apr 20, 2005)

I Are Baboon said:
			
		

> HEH, I wish.  Honestly, I think the best we can do would be 5 or 6.  There are very seasoned, serious competitors in the race.  We do it for fun.


Thats would be awesome though, wouldn't it? Heck the fact that your doin it makes you a winner in my book!!!


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## I Are Baboon (Apr 21, 2005)

Archangel said:
			
		

> Thats would be awesome though, wouldn't it? Heck the fact that your doin it makes you a winner in my book!!!



Thanks a lot, man.    A top five finish would land us on the podium (award winners).  Our team is the same as last year, but all five of us are busting our asses training for this thing so we'll do better than last year.


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## I Are Baboon (Apr 21, 2005)

Well another hockey game, another loss last night.  4-2.  I had a goal an an assist.  Once again, no one else on offense scored.  We also had only one extra player on the bench (no one showed), so I had to play damn near the entire game.  I was _exhausted._  I am about at my wit's end with this team.

On the plus side, halfway through the season, I am leading the league again in point scoring.

I have a road ride planned tonight and a mountain bike ride planned tomorrow.  I should probably think about taking a day off to rest, seeing how I am looking at 10 days straight of some kind of workout.


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## I Are Baboon (Apr 25, 2005)

*April 25 update*

Friday:  Had a nice MTB ride after work.  My legs felt GREAT!  It rained, so the conditions were wet and slick.  Got in about two hours of riding.  The ride was followed by a good training meal of burgers and beer.     

Saturday:  Took a much needed day off.

Sunday:  Hit the weights.  Shoulders day.

Tonight will be weights again, seeing how it's raining out.  Maybe I'll throw my bike on the trainer after I lift.


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## King Silverback (Apr 25, 2005)

Sounds and looks Good Brother Baboon!!! How do you feel like you recover after riding and weights? Just curious!!!


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## I Are Baboon (Apr 27, 2005)

Archangel said:
			
		

> Sounds and looks Good Brother Baboon!!! How do you feel like you recover after riding and weights? Just curious!!!



Thanks, man!  I guess my recovery really depends upon the type of ride I do.  For a long hard ride, I usually need the following day off for my legs to recover.  For casual rides, I can go every day.  Recovery from weights isn't really an issue, but if I do both on the same day (always weights first), my upper body gets very sore on the ride (shoulders and triceps).


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## I Are Baboon (Apr 27, 2005)

Did 20 miles on the road yesterday.  I went with the wife.  She is still shaking off early season tiredness, so the pace was casual.  My legs are feeling pretty good right now.  

Hockey game tonight.  I was bummed about hockey because I wanted to ride, but it turns out it's going to rain all day today.   

I drove the back roads into work today, looking for a good route to bike to work.  I found a pretty good 35 mile route, so I am going to try that next week.


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## King Silverback (Apr 27, 2005)

Awesome Brother!!! 35 miles to work huh? I'd be dying for sure    , keep it up!!!


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## I Are Baboon (May 4, 2005)

*May 4 update*

First update in a few days.

Thanks to crappy weather, my training has been limited to the gym.  I have not missed any workouts though:

April 29:  Weights (chest, triceps, abs)
April 30:  Weights (back, biceps)
May 1:  Weights (legs) and a hockey game
May 2 :  Rest day...much needed
May 3 (yesterday):  Weights (shoulders)
Today:  Weights planned for this evening (chest and triceps)

Tomorrow is my first bike commute to work.  The commute is 30 miles, but I am going to drive to a commuter lot to shave 10 miles off the trip.  I am not sure how I am going to feel after the ride, so I am going to play it safe and keep the ride to 20 miles each way.  If I feel ok, I'll do the full 30 mile commute next week.  "Bike to Work Day" is May 20 and I want to ride the full 30 miles by then.  60 miles/five hours of riding in a day is a lot for me.  I can't wait to try it though!

These bike commutes are going to be my true training rides.  I am going to go all out on them.


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## King Silverback (May 4, 2005)

Good luck, sounds like you have a pretty solid plan there!!! You'll be doin the 30 like it's nothin, have faith, I do!!!


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## I Are Baboon (May 5, 2005)

Archangel said:
			
		

> Good luck, sounds like you have a pretty solid plan there!!! You'll be doin the 30 like it's nothin, have faith, I do!!!



Thanks, man!

Well I did my first bike commute.  21 miles in 1:20, 15.9 MPH average.  I'm happy with that for my first time.  Now I'll try to beat that on the ride home.    The laps at the 24 hour race will be about 1:15 long, so this will be good training.

It was COLD when I started out this morning....like 35 degrees.  

Oh, I worked chest, tris and abs last night.


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## I Are Baboon (May 5, 2005)

I Are Baboon said:
			
		

> Now I'll try to beat that on the ride home.



The ride home was a little slower.  My legs got pretty tired near the end.

Ride time was 1:22 with a 15.3 average MPH.


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## King Silverback (May 5, 2005)

You where slacking!!!  
Only a 2 minute difference, after a day at work, on your first day attempted is Incredible in my book Brother!!! Keep it up


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## I Are Baboon (May 9, 2005)

*5/9/05 update*

Crappy weather plus Mother's Day this past weekend meant NO RIDING.     I did get to the gym Friday, Saturday, an Sunday though...

Friday:  Back, biceps, abs
Saturday:  Legs
Sunday:  Shoulders, abs

The weather is supposed to be awesome all this week, so I see lots of bike rides planned, starting with a 20 miler after work today.


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## King Silverback (May 9, 2005)

You'll do it with ease!!!


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## Pylon (May 9, 2005)

Man, that's some serious wheel time you're logging.  Nice work!


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## I Are Baboon (May 10, 2005)

Thanks, guys.  

I did my 20 mile route last night with total ease.  I need to do something about that route becasue it's an effortless ride.  I need to find some hills or something.


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## I Are Baboon (May 17, 2005)

*First update in a week...*

I have not been updating this because I've been really busy lately.

Anyway, my preparations for the race are going great.  I feel like I am already in better shape for the race than I was last year, and I still have five weeks to train.  I have only taken two days off this month, alternating between road riding and lifting weights.  Road riding is good for building leg stamina, but I am going to start really hitting the dirt this weekend.  I have not ridden a bike since last Wednesday, thanks to a week of rain.

I weighed in at 169 this morning, which means I have accomplished my goal of losing 10 pounds since winter.  Those 10 pounds came off rather easily, so I am going to try for five more.  Having 15 less pounds to lug around on a bike makes a WORLD of difference.  Less bodyweight + stronger legs = faster lap times.


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## King Silverback (May 17, 2005)

Solid plan, congrats on being better than you where last year, that has to make you feel even better!!! Wish I could lose 10 pounds as easy as you!!!


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## I Are Baboon (May 22, 2005)

*May 22 update*

Training is going well.  I mountain biked Friday and Saturday, about 25 miles and eight hours total on some tough New England terrain.  I'm pretty tired and sore this morning (my legs and back hurt).  I could use a rest day, but I have a hockey game tonight and I am hoping to hit the gym this afternoon.  

Current weight is 167 (down another two pounds...probably mostly water weight).


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## King Silverback (May 24, 2005)

Take care of that back!!! Lookin pretty solid there!!!


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## I Are Baboon (May 25, 2005)

Archangel said:
			
		

> Take care of that back!!! Lookin pretty solid there!!!



The sore back is not uncommon.  It's a combination of the full suspension on my bike and my back just getting tired.  At this race last year, my back got so sore before my last lap that I could barely stand.  But I sucked it up and put in a very solid final lap.


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## King Silverback (May 26, 2005)

Only about a month away now, any changes to your training as you get closer?


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## I Are Baboon (Jun 30, 2005)

My race was this past weekend.  Well I didn't do a very good job of keeping my journal updated, but I worked my butt of prepping for the race and it paid off.   

My personal goals were to shave 5 minutes off my average lap time from last year, and have one lap under an hour.  I managed to shave _8_ minutes off my average, which was much better than I had hoped for (I averaged 1:10, compared to 1:18 last year).  I did not break the one hour mark, unfortunately.  Something to shoot for next year.  Our team finished 7th, up from 11th last year.  Overall, I am very pleased with how I and my team did.

The course was fast and dry.  The killer is the first 4.5 miles, which are all uphill and in 97 degree heat.  The climb just doesn't seem to end.  I felt great during the race...I got plenty of sleep the night before and didn't get sick like last year.  I also didn't have to push my bike _at all_ on any of my laps and I made it up every climb on every lap (again, an improvement over last year).  

I had two problems during that.  First, I experienced unbelievably painful leg cramping during my 2nd lap.  The cramping was so bad, I fell off my bike and could not stand up.  I spent five minutes rolling around on the ground in pain.  A fellow racer stopped and gave me some electrolyte pills, then I managed to crawl back on my bike and finish the lap.  I loaded up on electolytes the rest of the race and did not cramp anymore.  The other problem was with eating.  You're just too tired to eat and have to force feed yourself.  I almost wanted to puke while eating, but I just kept stuffing down the food.  I held it down, and the nutrition was certainly helpful.

So, overall I am very happy with how I did, but I have more to shoot for next year.

Race pics are in my gallery.


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## Triple Threat (Jun 30, 2005)




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## tucker01 (Jun 30, 2005)

Congrats on the progress 

How far you off the leaders numbers?


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## I Are Baboon (Jun 30, 2005)

IainDaniel said:
			
		

> How far you off the leaders numbers?



The leaders kicked our asses.  They completed (I believe) four or five more laps than us.  Final results have not yet been posted....four focking days later.    

Thanks, guys!  It's amazing what training can do for a man.


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## King Silverback (Jun 30, 2005)

Awesome job!!! You shaved some serious time off there, I would say your training DEFINATLY paid off!!! Pics are great too!!!


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