Tabata intervals

The following post will be my impressions of using Tabata intervals to improve fitness.  I have to be up front that this is not going to be a formal, scientific review of the effectiveness of Tabata-style intervals vs other types of endurance training.  All it will be is my impressions reflecting back to previous years of cycling in comparison to this year.  There will be no "proof" given.

Just so ya know.

When I first got back into cycling in 2009, I saw a big jump in my fitness during that first season.  In the spring, a 15 mile ride was quite an accomplishment.  In October, I rode my first 100 mile ride.  That is substantial change in about 3-4 months.

This isn't all that surprising.  If anyone starts a new exercise program, they will always see a big boost in fitness in the early stages.

I think of it like climbing a mountain.  Climbing the first 1/3 of the mountain will seem pretty easy compared to climbing the last 1/3 of the mountain.  Building fitness is easy when you don't have much to begin with.  The more fit you get, the more work you have to put in to see further gains.

During the 2012 cycling season I spent most of my time on the bike just riding.  There was no particular speed I was aiming for.  There was no "structure" to my training.  Hop on the bike and go ride.  This attitude was undoubtedly influenced by my experiment with barefoot/minimalist running, which, admittedly, took up most of my mental energy.

Don't get me wrong.  I have absolutely nothing against a good ol' fashioned bike ride.  However, there did seem to be a downside to that strategy.

I lost speed.  Even when I would push myself a little harder, it didn't seem like I could go all that fast.  My average speed really dropped.  Most rides were in the 15 mph range compared to the mid 16 mph range.  Who wants that?

For this cycling season, I knew I had to do something different.  There were several reasons for this:

• Leah - with an infant and two older children, I didn't anticipate getting in a lot of long rides.  This has turned out to be true.  My current mileage totals for the year can attest to the fact that I haven't been on the bike much.
• Crazy Faith - when I decided to do the 12 hour charity ride for my church's Chrisitan Ed Ministry, I knew I needed to find a way to get as much out of each ride or run.  Quality over quanity.
• I don't like slow.  Simple enough.

What I needed was good quality workouts to make up for the lack of mileage.

In the past, I have heard about and done a few Tabata intervals.  You can find a description at this link.  The gist of it is this...go all out for 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds and repeat 7 more times.  It comes out to 4 minutes total.  Four minutes doesn't seem like too much.  You can nudge that 4 minutes into lots of different workouts.

I started using the Tabata intervals probably back in May or June.  The goal has been to do them either running or cycling a little more than once per week, which I have been successful at.

Has it helped?  I would have to say yes.  When I do a more casual ride, my pace is typically along the lines of 16.5 mph vs something in the mid 15's.  I certainly feel stronger on the bike.  Hills are still hills but it seems like I'm getting up them a little faster.

On several occasions, I have done rides between 15-25 miles which I treated like a time trial.  Basically, my goal was to go all out and see how fast I could go.  Those rides have been between 17.9-18.1 average mph.  I really don't think I could have done that pace last year.

As I mentioned above, I don't have any firm data to prove that I'm more fit.  I don't own a power meter so that I can compare 1 minute, 5 minute and 20 minute power outputs.  As cool as that would be to have, it is quite unnecessary.

What have the workouts looked like?  It has varied considerably.  Below are some examples:

• Jog to a nearby trail, do the Tabata, and jog back.  I usually take a longer route back home than I did to get to the trail.
• On the commute to work - a few times I have had extra time on my ride to work, so I've thrown in a Tabata.
• Long rides - I did one 30+ mile ride where I threw in a Tabata at around the 30 mile mark.
• Ride to a high school track, do a running Tabata, and ride home.  Once again, I have often taken a longer and more vertically challenging route home compared to how I got to the track.

This year has been the Year of Opportunity.  What I mean by Year of Opportunity is this...with a full time job, a wife and three little ones at home, finding time for workouts is tough.  I have had to take my opportunities where I can find them.  That is where the Tabata intervals have fit in so nicely.  I can think of one run that was about 22 minutes total between the warm up, Tabata, and the cool down jog home.  Twenty-two minutes.  That's all.  Many of these have been done after the kiddos are in bed.  I might not even start until 9 o'clock at night.

If I was in the mindset of "I have to do a least an hour or it won't be worth it" then there would be no workout.  I would end up being a schlub sitting on the couch.

Twenty-two minutes.  Done.

Do I want every ride/run/workout to be high intensity?  No.  That will lead to physical and mental burnout.  Sometimes you need to go out and Just Run or Just Ride.

In fact, I think that's what I'll do this afternoon.

An Ode to Sam the Singlespeed

No, I'm not going to get all poetic on you.  Not really my thing.

When I ride to work, it is typically on Sam the Singlespeed.  Sam is an early 90's Raleigh touring bike that has been converted over to a singlespeed.  There is a rear rack from which I hang a kitty litter bucket pannier with work clothes, my lunch and other odds and ends.

Sam was originally a 12-speed and was my first real road bike.  I rode him for a little more than a year, including doing my first century ride (The Colorburst around the Lowell/Rockford/Ada area).

Once I got Gimli the Road Bike, I didn't really know what to do with Sam.  I liked Sam, probably for sentimental reasons.  The switch to a singlespeed seemed pretty obvious.  It cost something like $25-30 at the LBS.

Whenever I ride Sam, I am reminded of how annoying gear shifting is.  You are always aiming for the "Golden Gear".  You know, that perfect gear that will allow you to glide along with practically no effort and at a high speed.

In case you are perplexed, that gear doesn't really exist.  You get glimpses of it every now and then when wind, weather, mood, and terrain mix together in that elusive mix that leads to cycling perfection.  These glimpses are fleeting, to say the least.

Sam just goes.  We don't worry about gears.  Sometimes we pedaling harder.  Sometimes we pedal along smoothly.  Other times we are not pedaling at all, just gloriously coasting down the hill, Sam and I.

Sam is reliable.  Sam is always there.  Gimli has always been more finicky (must be all those gears).  While Gimli is off getting a pedi-mani, Sam says, "Wanna go for a ride?"

Sam is heavy and slow and cumbersome.  He makes a series of odd noises.  I don't know where most of them come from.  They are just there.

Sam is not pretty.  He is scratched and dinged and dirty.  He gets a nice wash every now and then, but not often.  Still, he is always there.

Once I rode from Midland MI to Grand Rapids MI (107 miles) on Sam because Gimli had something or the other wrong with him.  One-hundred and seven miles on a singlespeed bike.  Sam handled it well.  Didn't even flinch.

Thanks Sam.

My Daughter, the Rabbit

(Full disclosure - my daughter is not actually a rabbit)

Today was one of the first instances of me doing something with one of the kiddos and us both actually, truly, fully having a good time.  Up until today, all of the fun things that I like to do have been modified to fit the abilities of my kids.  This has been done in the patient expectation of "Maybe someday I'll be able to enjoy this too".

Hannah has been doing much better on her bike after a rocky 3 1/2 years.  The last two nights, she has taken a ride around the neighborhood with Michelle and really enjoyed the ride.  It wasn't FFF (forced family fun).

She doesn't yet ride very fast so I thought why not run along side of her?  I can get a good workout, she gets a good bike ride and we can do it together.  Where is the downside?  I cannot see one.

The first lap around the big block went pretty well.  I was definitely playing catch up towards the end.  Hannah was even doing a really good job of taking the sharp 90 degree corners of the sidewalk.  We stopped briefly after the first lap and decided to do a second.  Hannah took off with a giggle and I pursued with a smile.  This was cool!

We were both having fun doing something we really enjoy, at the same time, without the need for modification!  Fabulous!

By the end of the second lap, Hannah was a long ways ahead of me.  I turned the second to last corner and heard very familiar crying.

Hannah had biffed it as she crossed a street and skinned up her knee.  Poor Hannah Bear!  We got her cleaned up, band-aided up and hugged up and all was well.

I can only hope this is a glimpse of what is too come.  Hannah is the oldest.  David and Leah are growing older and bigger each day.

I eagerly await the day where I can say, "Wanna go for a ride?" and the response is, "Yeah sure old man but can you keep up?"

Crazy Faith - a Ride for Christian Education

Earlier this year I joined the Christian Education Ministry Committee at Westend Christian Reformed Church.  At the second meeting I attended, we discussed ideas for fundraisers for this upcoming school year (2013-2014).  We discussed which of the old standbys we would continue with and whether there was anything new and fresh we could try.  If you talk to my wife, Michelle, she will tell you that every now and then I come up with some pretty crazy ideas.  Most of these involve cycling.

Guess what?  I had a crazy idea!  Here is my idea...What if I did a bike ride where I asked the congregation to pledge money on a per mile basis?  What if I picked some crazy-long amount of time, like say 12 hours?  Would this work?  Would the congregation respond positively?  Can I even ride that long?

When an ideas like this gets floating around my head, I can’t really get settled until I go and do it.  So I’m going to do it!  Saturday September 21st will be the first Crazy Faith - A Ride for Christian Education.  The basics are:

• I will ride my bike from 7 am until 7 pm
• During that time, I will attempt to cover as many miles as I can
• A GPS bike computer will track and record my ride
• My mileage estimate is 130-150 miles total (I've never done this before so I don’t really know; honestly I’m just hoping to make it 12 hours)
• The day will start with a ride that visits all of the schools that the Christian Ed Ministry currently contributes to.
• Following the initial tour of Christian Schools, I will be doing ~25 mile loops that will begin and end at Westend.
• During August, you will find a pledge form in your mailboxes asking for a $/mile pledge.  Please fill out the form and put it in Mike & Michelle Terrell’s box
• You will have the option of a flat donation
• Michelle & I will be pledging $2/mile
• All the funds raised will go toward helping church families pay for a Christian education for their children
• I will heartily welcome others who want to join me for an hour or two (or three or four!).  Find me if you are interested.
• I will ride rain or shine (Hooray for fenders!)
• I've created a Facebook event and Facebook page where I will post updates during the day
• On Sunday the 22nd, I’ll give a brief review of the day
• Why Crazy Faith?  Because it’s pretty crazy and I will need faith in God to make it successful!
• Any questions should go to Mike Terrell (mikeptocs@gmail.com)

Can you pledge 50 cents/mile?  Maybe a $1/mile?  Go crazy and pledge $5/mile!  I have faith in you!

I should be riding right now

It's 7:30 on a Saturday morning.  I'm an hour and a half into the ride I had planned on doing this morning except for the fact that I'm not.

When you are getting ready for a how-many-miles-can-I-cover-in-12-hours ride, you're not supposed to skip good quality training rides.  You're supposed to wake up incredibly early on Saturday and go out and ride hard until you puke.  You know, for the training effect.

The fact that this post even exists tells you that I have utterly rebelled against that notion this morning.  My bed was too comfy.  The coffee was too tempting.  Watching cartoons with the kids was too lovely to pass up.

Better luck next Saturday.

Commuting gets easier the more you do it. Whoda Thunk?

Commuting to work by bike has become more common as of late.  It is likely a combination of good weather, an accomodating schedule and an understanding wife.

One thing I have noticed, and this really shouldn't come as a surprise, is that the process is getting easier.  The evening prior, I can usually get everything ready that I need for the next day in about 10 minutes or less.  That includes clothing, wallet, pen, pocketknife, phone, and the bike.  I know what I need and where it needs to go.

One worry I had had was that commuting by bike would take too much extra time and, therefore, take time away from my family.  That is a no-no for me.  I don't want to be "that guy".  Realistically, commuting by bike means I have to leave about 10-15 minutes earlier than I typically would and it probably adds about 15 minutes to my commute home.

In return, I get about 50 minutes of good quality exercise, I save on gas, save wear and tear on my car, send a positive message to patient's/co-workers/ the general public and I send a good message to my kids (that one is pretty important by the way).

The pros definitely seem to outweigh the cons.

Oh, by the way, it can be pretty fun too!  Most of my ride is through the city.  That means I can modify my route on the fly in any of a hundred different ways.  The focus required to ride safely and pick the optimum route makes the ride feel...adventurous.

On a ride home last Tuesday, I beat an Escalade from Michigan & Lafayette to Coit & Ann Street.  I had to laugh.