random stuff

• Nike/Powerblast won the Raid World Championship Adv Race - they are amazing!
• Thespian, adventure racer, triathlete and my coaching client Jill Purcell and I hit Cyclocross 201 last night.. check her blog for the detes
• I am thinking about running the 90 miles of AT that goes South/North through Mass when I'm home for Thanksgiving
• Lance Armstrong quote "Every time I suffer I become a happier man."
• Homer Simpson quote "Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try. "
• RVG IS BACK!!! RVG/Cyril/Jen Ratay won the Explore the West race in Big Bear - Congrats to them! Read about it on RVG's blog
• I just recieved a shipment of Hammer Product for the 24 Hour Solo Mtn Biking World Championship. My nutrition sponsor Hammer Nutrition/E-Caps are awesome and they make the best products on the planet.

resting heart rate

Lately I've been monitoring my resting heart rate. If you keep track of it daily it's a great indication of fitness. An average male has a resting heart rate in the 70's, elite athletes in the 40's. The more fit you are the more efficient you become at using the oxygen you have, and the less your heart needs to pump. I have a tendency to overtrain, so more important to me is how it can indicate if you are overtraining. If you resting heart rate is say 10 beats higher than normal you may be overdoing it. Here is some background if you need it - Resting Heart Rate: The Closer to Zero, The Better. You take your resting heart rate when you first wake up, before you get up or move around ideally. This morning my resting heart rate was 40. This article states "athletes such as Lance Armstrong have resting heart rates in the 40's even in the high 30s." Lance's website says it's more like 32-34 (this is in his peak). Whoa..

What is yours? Here's how to take it manually you don't have a heart rate monitor.

*** updated ***
I was just reading a diary from Chris Carmichael written about Lance on July 11, 1999 during the tour de france. Interesting read here is a bit about lances resting heart rate "I keep close track of his waking heart rates. If there is a 3-5 bpm increase or decrease in his waking heart rate this could be an indication of dehydration, poor glycogen restoration or muscle fatigue. So far he has shown none of these fatigue indicators. Overall his resting heart rate is averaging 6-8 beat lower this year than it was in 1998. I believe this indicates a higher level of aerobic fitness and conditioning. Lance's heart rate has yet to exceed 38bpm upon waking and is averaging 36 bpm...We see this as phenomenal!"

ah.. yeah we do too Chris, we do too.

One word describes my motivation right now...

WORLDS

I'm trying to train smart and gain some final improvements as the 24 Hour Solo Mtn Bike World Championship approaches. It's just under 4 weeks away now, in Conyers, Georgia! I'm racing in the Professional category this year (last year I got 3rd in age group) and I don't want to be completely embarrassed ya know?

Fear of embarrassment is a great motivator.

After taking Wed the 6th off to make sure I completely recovered from the 74 mile run last weekend - I've started out this last phase of training pretty well:

Thurs: 40 road miles at heart rate level II
Fri: 87 road miles at hr level II
Sat: 20 road miles; morning intervals, afternoon hills, pre-dinner hills
Sun: 64 road miles at hr level II (great ride w/my buddy Cory Fraser -pictured)
Mon: 17 road miles easy

Why all the focus on hr level II? Well that is where my heart rate should be for the 24 hours I race in Georgia. This seems insanely low I know but this is endurance racing!

What is exciting is I've been feeling great during my training sessions (and hungry all the time). After each workout I am recovering extremely well too, with no muscle soreness or stiffness the next morning. I just get up and I'm ready to go again, feelin' groovey. I bet it's the recoverite from Hammer Nutrition.