For the last couple of months, I’ve slowly been adding running back into the mix to see how my back holds up and how I feel. I miss long-distance running and I was hoping I could get back to hour-long runs. I got up to ~45-minute trail runs, but I decided it just isn’t worth it. My back is not loving it I am ready to say goodbye…

I love running, but it is hard on the body. And, with an annular disc tear and a new found love of biking, I’d rather ensure I stay healthy for that and bike adventures. I am going to see what I can do around other bits for more high-intensity stuff.

Goodbye running.

I’ve been running or working out with Suunto watches, heart rate monitors, and food pods since 2007. I’ve been feeding data into their online platform called Movescount for a VERY long time. I decided I was done when they announced they are going to shut down Movescount without any way to get your data out. They also don’t sync with popular services, which annoyed the hell out of me. They are supposedly moving it all to some shittier version of Movescount called Sports Tracker, and they wanted to force me to use my phone to sync or something silly. Software is hard, especially when you sell great watches but don’t invest in why your customers buy the watches.

Anyway, I switched over to a Garmin 945 and couldn’t be happier. I was already using them for a bike touring computer so all good there!

For 2018, I did a total of ~404 hours of tracked workouts. I worked out 267 days out of 365 days in some form. This was a good year for working out and I smashed my old record of 265 days.

It would have been even higher but in December I got a cold for ~4 days and then the cough lingered for 3 weeks (plus 15 days travel). I will admit it has also been hard to figure out how to do the workouts I want to do while working full time and make sure I have a ton of time with my family. I’ll figure it out :).

Fun stats:

I rode 1,524.7 miles this year on my bikes.

In July I did 660 miles on my Burgundy bike trip in France. That was over 16 days and boy was my butt sore from all the riding.

I set a new personal record for my longest bike ride at 73 miles.

I hiked/walked 342 miles in 2019. Way less than the 741 miles in 2017 but I replaced a lot of that with biking. Calico doesn’t do as many stroller rides too.

I ascended ~60,000 feet while biking and 35,000 feet while walking/hiking.

Last year I did 68 strength training/rehab sessions, this year I managed 152. My back feels awesome, and as long as I keep these up and keep learning I am hopeful I can start some lite trail running at some point…

What are my workout goals for 2019?
I want to keep my back happy and stay in good enough bike shape to do a ton of mountain biking this spring/summer.

1. Keep doing my strength training / rehab 3x a week to keep my back healthy and get stronger to prevent future injury.

2. Ride my bike 3x a week to stay in good enough shape to do the longer fun rides. I’ve got a specific plan but that is my minimum goal.

3. Do a small bike tour in Valencia along the El Cid route this spring.

4. Ride my mountain bike a ton this summer. I am excited to be home this summer, and hopefully, Lucas and I can go on a bunch of rides. Slightly dependent on work.

5. Do one solo adventure hike a month (1 to 4 hours). I miss these and wanted to add them back. Good for thinking.

Past years: 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 workout summary.

When I did that last bike trip to France my legs held up pretty well, but my butt was sore as hell and that was the biggest factor in the ride from a pain perspective. The month before the trip I did 13 days on my bike, a total of 26 hours, with 5 rides over 30 miles. I don’t think that was enough to be as ready as I’d like to be…

On the ride, my average daily miles was ~41 miles and around 3 hours 20 minutes. What I can find online says that a good rule of thumb is to be doing 3 rides a week that mimic what you are going to do on the bike tour (for at least 2 to 3 weeks before). Or at least the mileage/time in some format. So if my training needs to ramp up to at least 3 rides a week of 40 miles / 3.5 hours that is ~120 miles a week, and more importantly around 10.5 hours on the bike.

I’ve been training hard for a solo bike tour of Burgundy France that I leave for in a few days. I’d rate myself a 6/10 for preparation. Her is what my training looked like:

April – 9 biking days / 108 Miles / 11 Hours / 0 rides over 30 Miles
May – 12 biking days / 248 Miles / 25 Hours / 3 rides over 30 Miles
June – 13 biking days / 316 Miles / 26 Hours / 5 rides over 30 Miles

I wish I had started training seriously a month earlier. I was dealing with a back injury flare up at the time, but I got that sorted and I am feeling great now (thanks to Jeff for a lot of rehab time + Dr. Helburg in Boulder). I am hoping to do around 40 to 60 miles a day, and if I need to take a day off I will. This is my first bike tour and I am really excited :).

Where am I headed?

My plan is to start in Dijon and head north to Migennes, then south along another Canal route, then jump on the EuroVelo 6, and then I think either that or another Canal route back to Dijon (to meet my family there).

I’ll to update later with how I packed, I am curious if I left enough room and packed the right stuff. It was a lot easier for the walking trip in Spain/UK.

I just finished a 4 hour 51 mile bike ride… which is my second longest ride ever after my epic 56 mile bike ride to Sherwood Forest (which I had no training for and had a fair bit of leg cramps at the end). So far training for my big July bike trip is going well, and I’ve slowly been pushing up the mileage. In May I got in 250 miles over 24 hours, and so far in June, I’ve got 150 miles in over 12 hours. My hope is that I can do 40 to 60 miles a day for ~19 days. Regardless it will be fun :).

I also took two classes last week, one on how to fix a flat, and one on basic bike maintenance. I feel good about being able to fix a flat, but not very confident on the rest.

I am loving my Salsa Marrakesh. I put gravel tires on it when I bought it and it has been a blast. I wish I could take it on the upcoming bike trip, I hope the bike I am renting is decent. I am definitely bringing my seat though as it is super comfy.

I went on a long ride today… I managed 43 miles in 3.5 hours. That was a bit of a stretch as I got a little lost coming home and was only aiming for ~35 miles. It was a beautiful day and I found a ton more gravel trails as well as some good dirt roads. I’ve got ~6 weeks left before my bike trip where I hope to do around 40 to 60 miles a day, so hopefully, I get there :). I am really happy that I am getting in better cardio shape finally, I miss running but this is slowly getting better and better.

Some other fun stats from my ride…
– 2300 feet of altitude gain… pretty flat.
– An average heart rate of 134. Although I spent 51 minutes of the ride in zone 4 with a heart rate between 144 to 161.
– Max speed of 30 mph, an average of 12 mph (I am not very fast, the racers blow past me!)

Pretty good workout for my heart on that last stretch…

I bought a new bike today! A Salsa Marrakesh and it is very fun to ride :). My current bike is a Giant 29er from 2011, so any bike I try feels like a massive upgrade. I bought this one to start training so I can try bike touring… I’ve got a trip planned for July in France and I am going to follow one of the smaller Euro Velo routes. Plus, I want to get in better cardio shape.

I had a good ride out at Marshall Mesa (which is only about 20 min away from my house!). A dude over at Boulder Cycle Sport suggested it and it is a great one for newbies like me :). I plan to do it fairly often given how close it is and it has a lot of good practice points.

There are some rocky parts, some technical parts, and a lot of just fun gravel roads and single track. It was good practice to stay on a line, do a little rock climbing stuff, and get in better shape. It is pretty exposed so if there are high winds I would avoid it. If the sun is out I think it will be fairly warm even in the winter. so here are a few from around the net…

Total ride 16.7 miles with an average speed of 9.3mph and a high of 24.2 miles per hour. Ascent/descent of a little over 1000 feet.

For 2017, I did a total of ~363 hours of tracked workouts. I worked out 265 days out of 365 days in some form. This was a good year for working out and I smashed my old record of 181 days. Having a baby helped as I walk him everywhere in his stroller and in Boulder that is a lot of hills :).

Fun stats:

I hiked/walked ~741 miles this year in ~264 hours (even better than 2015 when I walked Hadrian’s Wall).

I ascended 71,506 feet while walking/hiking.

I did ~68 strength training / rehab sessions. My back is feeling so much better!

What are my workout goals for 2018?

1. Go mountain biking a lot and see how I like it. I would like to find a sport to replace running.

2. Finish my 50km bike training program and keep that going. Then look at doing a long bike ride in Europe or the USA… maybe the Danube trail or Silver Route in the fall.

3. Keep doing my strength training/rehab 3x a week to keep my back injury healthy and get stronger to prevent future injury. Especially if I keep falling off my bike.

Past years: 2014, 2015, and 2016 workout summary.

The day started out cold and with little snow flurries, but by the time I got to the trail it was blue skies and beautiful. It was so warm I wore shorts and just a light pullover. I did this trail Dec 13th, and loved it so I decided to do it again. I am already in better shape and it felt good to be able to do more, and not feel so out of breath going up some of the hills. I also found this little Sandy Wash trail at the end and did it twice it was so much fun.

How much better shape? On Dec 13th I finished stage 1 of the ride in an hour and 20 minutes, this time it only took me an hour and 8 minutes.

Total ride 24.4 miles with an average speed of 9.6mph and a high of 25.7 miles per hour. Ascent/descent of a little under 2000 feet.

My Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars.

So the Lair O’ The Bear trail was rated intermediate, but I decided to go for it and it was tough. Initially, it is just a lot of climbing on some pretty intense terrain for a newbie, and over the 6 miles out to the turn around point, I had to walk about 5 spots. Usually, because a drop was a little too big for my confidence levels, or a little too rocky next to a 10 to 15-foot fall/roll, or because it was just super super rocky with a very tight line or no line I could see. I think once I am in better shape it will be more fun, but I was so winded by the time I got to some flowy stuff I was just spent.

I also made a mistake and did not realize it was 6 miles out and back, I thought it was 12 miles out and back. Thus giving less elevation intense elevation gain. Oh well as it will help me get in better shape. I also went a bit slower and did some practice over the same spots that I struggled with. Going back was fun, but with my current bike, a lot of pogo stick action.

Total ride of 13.15 miles with an average speed of 5.9mph and a high of 19 miles per hour. Ascent/descent of a little over 1700 feet. Maybe more telling is that when I look at my heart rate stats I spent 50 minutes in very hard and 1 hour and 3 minutes in very hard (avg heart rate 139, max at 161). I think my watch told me I should take a 37-hour break to recover, lol :).

PS. I did wear some fox launch pro knee pads I bought so that when I fall it won’t jack my knee like last week. So far they are ok, but going to see after a few more rides.

Boulder has a sweet 42-acre bike park called the Valmont Bike Park! I wish I had found this earlier… it has a ton of practice area if you are learning to mountain bike as well as some insane jumps and other technical stuff. It is easy to get to via the bike trail system too. Check out some pictures here. Just keep in mind for all the insane ones you see there are some really easy ones that just help you learn.

I was diagnosed with an annular disc tear in 2014 and I had to take a lot of time off so that could heal. I stopped running completely, and I really miss it (the pounding is just not the best for the injury…). I really want to find something that is as mentally rewarding as running and I am going to try mountain biking and some bike touring…

I am doing a couch to 50km bike training challenge I found online. The goal is to get in better shape and spend time on a bike :). I am just about to start week 3… so far so good. I did bust up my knee last week on a mountain bike trail, but that was also the closest I’ve gotten to the calm zone running can bring. The intense focus of going really fast downhill doesn’t let you think about anything else. Running for a long time is like that but a little more flowy.

My goal is…

1. Get in better cardio shape. Especially so I can ride longer, and at higher elevations since I live in Colorado.
2. I want to do the Danube Cycle Path at some point in 2018. So that would be a 600+ mile ride, and I’d want to do ~40 miles per day. If that is fun I want to do more of those long-distance cycle paths.
3. Hiking/walking is awesome, but if I bike I can go a lot further and see a bit more of the world. I want to get comfortable doing trail rides of 20 to 40 miles a day and see how that goes.

PS. You can download the 8 week program for couch to 50km here too. If you want a slower plan just double it and do week one for two weeks. I did that with a marathon training schedule many years ago too.