Monthly Archive for July, 2008

Working on my blog earlier today and I blew it up! Well - not really as I got it back 3 hours later. Be careful with plug-ins and added PHP code laying around.

WP Super Cache has never worked on my setup (Windows 2003, IIS, MySQL), has to do with IIS not having “mod rewrite”. There may be a means to do it, however, that’s how I brought my site down. I’ll have to play later.

Looking back over this year’s STP versus prior year’s results, several things come to mind as to how I can repeat or even surpass my performance.

1. Don’t take training too seriously - really, the STP isn’t a race

2. Keep hydrated - you can always refill along the route

3. Eat at regular intervals  - this was every hour for me

4. Eat and drink what you train with - yes the STP offers free food and drinks, however, for a one day rider, eating something you are not used to can make getting on the bike difficult

5. Keep breaks short - less than 10 minutes to use the restroom and then get back on the bike, more than that and I tend to cool down and stiffen up

6. The night before verify everying - it should have been checked before leaving home to get to Seattle

7. I found that drinking a quart of chocolate milk before I goto bed and first thing in the morning before the STP really helps - I also skip a big breakfast, no need to have a brick in the stomach while riding

8. Obey all traffic laws

9. Don’t be afraid to pass - riding in a unorganized mass of cyclists is crazy especially when you can bypass the herd by going around them

10. Eat while riding - no need to stop just to open packaging, prepare ahead of time with ziplock bags

11. Train like you plan on riding - want to go fast, train that way

12. Get seat time - the more you are on your bike, the more comfortable the STP is

13. Carry extra cash, cell phone, patch kit, things you may not carry on a short ride - this is a double century after all and the support crew will not always be where you are

Polar has some great software that comes with the S720i, the ProTrainer. I’ve been using it since 2004 to track my rides and progress with cycling overall. They recently updated it for their newer heart rate monitors, the bad news  is that it costs to upgrade - I finally took the plunge today and purchased the new version. Logging into the software as a “coach” gives some additional info wich gives more insite to the graphs I generate.

Tonight I rode to one of my favorite PodRunner podcasts: Definitive 154 bpm (77 rpm)

Here is the new graph:

After the hard reset earlier today, looked like the s720i would be back to normal… Tonight’s ride proved that! Did a ride to a PodRunner podcast Running to Elysium 156 bpm (78 rpm), felt pretty good.

Swapped out the battery on Saturday and rode with it on Monday, went to download my data and found that it wasn’t recorded… a “mem full” on the display and no data to be had. Hmmm.

Called a Polar repair shop where I had sent my watch before and they gave me the instructions to hard reset the watch (simpel really, hold the reset switch for 3 seconds, then hold the lower left (stop) and the upper right buttons at the same time until it resets.

It’s back to normal now! Off to go ride now!