Final Ironman 70.3 Prep

I just have under 3 weeks to go for my second big objective of the year - The Ironman 70.3 Kansas. Training has been going well. My swim form is good and most importantly my running has been going extremely well. Betsy from Back and Bodyworks gave me the Evolution Running dvd and it has really helped. Now I just need to work on my brick workouts and get in some open water swims.

Finally got the old Triathlon rig built up yesterday and took her out on a little spin. She felt so good that I ended up doing nearly 3 hours. Lower back is paying for it this morning :-( For my triathlons this season I am going to be on my Javelin Assisi which I built up as TT rig. I have tried more triathlon specific bikes with steeper seat tube angles, but with all the climbing around here I feel a road bike works best.

Although my recent race result at the Robidoux Roundup does not reflect it, my training has been going well. I should not of even raced considering that I has just completed the 2008 Bike Week and put in about 20 extra miles of running. But I wanted to visit with the team and ride the new trails up in St. Joseph.

These final three weeks are very important. I have a very bad tendency to over train and not give myself enough time to recover between workouts. I have to remember that all the hard work is done and all I have to do now is focus on efficient workouts and getting plenty of rest.

Formula Off-Road

Formula Offroad Finland 2006 Dvd Teaser - More amazing video clips are a click away

Car Free Challange Results

Well, it's two wins in a row. Last weekends Hare Scrambles and I won the bike division of the Car Free Challenge. Yes, I am still the Champion :-). There were 545 riders participating in the bike division of the challenge.

5 years ago Eric Rogers and a few others got together and started the Kansas City Commuter Challenge. This year they changed the rules and added car pooling with mixed results. One guy logged his trip to Wisconsin as a car pool. Looks like they have since removed his miles and posted a comment that out of town miles do not count. I only bring this up because I am seriously thinking of not participating in the challenge next year. I'm just kind of getting tired of hearing folks and groups complaining about this one and that one making up errands or "how did he do that many miles", etc. I will continue to commute like I always do, but this might be my last commuter challenge. They say it is best to go out on top....

Individual Results - Bicycle Miles

All commuters
1	Chris Locke	Cow Town Cycling Team	331.00
2	Tom Awe	The Wheel Cyclery Team	306.51
3	Steve Cosentino	DST ChainGang	258.20
4	Ray Craighead	RSG Rollers	256.15
5	Jeffrey Haug	Cow Town Cycling Team	249.50

Some statistics from this years Car Free Challenge:

• Total Miles: 41,011
• People Registered: 1093
• People who have logged trips: 798
• Teams: 61
• Solo Commuters: 163
• First-timers: 216
• Carbon Dioxide saved: 38,877 pounds
• Gasoline saved: 2,278 gallons and $8,362
  

Bike Week 2008: Day 5

Final day of the 2008 Bike Week. Hurray! I am getting tired of awaking so darn early...

Actually I have enjoyed keeping the vehicles in the driveway and riding my bike. I have done a poor job so far this year of commuting in, but now I am in the habit of riding in and plan to do so at least 3 times a week.

For having nearly 300 miles in my legs I actually felt very good this morning. I think yesterday's intervals did me good. Even though my legs felt good I kept the effort level very low and plan to do the same on the return trip home. Heck, my butt even feel good that's to a plentiful supply of Chamois Butt'r. That is some good stuff

I have noticed several sections of graffiti during my rides this week. Some of this "artwork" actually looks very cool.







Things are looking good for me. I just got an email declaring it Chris Locke Day.

Daily Drawing Winners:

May 10th: Janie Oldberg of the Prairie Village Yacht Club team
May 11th: Megan Kegley of the MoBikeFed Wheel Wizards team
May 12th: Ken Sonnenschein, organizer of the annual Bike 4 the Brain ride
May 13th: Matt Schafer of the Patti Banks Associates team
May 14th: Joseph Istas, a carpool commuter with the Garmin Bleeding Edge (305) team
May 15th: Chris Locke Day:
#1. a bicycle commuter with the Garmin Bleeding Edge (305) team
#2. a bicycle commuter with the Cow Town Cycling Team

Cliff Drive is now open to only bicycles on the weekends. The "Grand Opening" if you will was yesterday. I didn't get a chance to go to it, but Cliff Drive is part of my route to work. Earlier in the week it was a mess, but by today the city had done a great job of cleaning it up. I wish we had more routes like this in Kansas City. Did not see any cyclist on my ride, but I did see a gentleman in a wheelchair enjoying the beautiful day.

Bike Week 2008: Day 4

Another solo ride in this morning.....I need to start paying attention more. I nearly got hit this morning. My fault entirely. In the early morning hours I sometimes go for miles without seeing anyone and you kind of start day dreaming.....

Some pictures and a test video from this mornings commute in:

Test video taken on the levee along Front Street.

Ride home was a little windy which was good for my planned interval workout. Intervals are one key item that I have left out of my training in preparation for the longer distance events that I did such as the Cohutta 100. Fartlek intervals were on tap today. The beauty of fartlek training is that the intervals are completely random, done according to how you’re feeling on any given day. Today I was feeling good on the hills so that is where I opened it up.

As I approached Riverside I started my cool down. I noticed at the new shops at Hwy 9 and Briarcliff there was a sign for a weekly farmers market every Thursday, so I decided to stop by and eat a Cliff bar to aid in my recovery. I saw this guy with a Cow on his truck selling beef. I went over to say hi and take a picture. Funny thing is he recognized me from earlier in the week when I took a picture of the CowTown T-Shirts. Small world sometimes....

Since Carolynn is getting her hair 'done', Christopher and I are going to ride to get dinner. A easy ride will do me good and help loosen up the old legs. Subway here we come....