JEP Coaching Scholarship Report: Week 2

This week was something of a recovery week, since SportVelo Camp last week was a lot of riding. The high point of the week was Saturday, when I did my first dirt ride and my relatively new cross bike got to be used for the first time off-road. I'd been using my cross bike as a commuter, but I finally got to put on the knobby tires and play in the mud on Arastradero's trails.

Monday 11/29
Prescribed: Rest Day
Actual: Rest Day

Tuesday 11/30
Prescribed: WO1: Defiance Crossfit, WO2: One hour active recovery
Actual: Good lifting session at Defiance Crossfit, then an easy commute to work as active recovery (47 minutes on the way in, 52 on the way home).

Wednesday 12/1
Prescribed: Low cadence climbing intervals, 2 hours total, WO2: Stretching
Actual: Did most of the intervals, but discovered (or re-discovered) that low cadence climbing, especially sitting, makes my lower back hurt quite quickly (I'm used to my lower back hurting, but generally only on longer rides with long climbs). The mystery of the lower back pain continues, though I did find that higher cadence climbing hurts less. Stretched some after, but should have done more.

Thursday 12/2
Prescribed: Defiance Crossfit, WO2: One hour active recovery with high cadence progressions
Actual: Good lifting session at Defiance Crossfit, did shorter sets with more weight. I'm getting better at box jumps. Then an easy commute to work as active recovery with HC progressions along the way.

Friday 12/3
Prescribed: Pedal Drills for 60min, Stretching
Actual: Had a long work day and didn't get to the workout until after 6pm, at which point I hopped on the rollers and discovered to my woe that I was far too tired mentally and physically to focus on riding rollers without falling off, so I stopped after only 15 minutes. Skipped the stretching and opted for sleep instead.

Saturday 12/4
Prescribed: Cyclocross skills, 2 hours in Arastradero
Actual: Rode there, so got an extra 30 minutes in on the road beforehand. Great dirt ride with Dan and Andi Smith, John Ford, Ted Burns, and Jose Soltren. It was my first time using my cross bike as a cross bike and for the most part it was great fun. I managed to not crash, though I had some close calls (at least in my opinion, since a few times I was scared out of my mind). It was nice to have such good friends along to help me out, teach me how to ride the trails, and wait for me when I was slow :-)

Sunday 12/5
Prescribed: 2 hour endurance ride, stretching
Actual: Nice easy 2 hour ride, just beat the rain. Stretched some, need to stretch more.

Weekly Totals:
Planned: 13:00:00
Actual: 11:38:54