Training Log Archive: iansmith

I biked to MaRS to get vaccinated; I received the first of two Pfizer doses.

Longer ride (thought not long) around Toronto. The route was suboptimal, as several legs of it were infested with slow moving pedestrians or copious red lights. Still, it was pleasant to get out. I took 750 mL of water and two granola bars. I ate the granola bars, but after 65 km, so they weren't particularly useful. The temperature initially was around 10 C, but had cooled to perhaps 5 C by the end.

It was another warm day (10 C), so I went out on the usual York Mills - Victoria Park loop. However, near the end of the loop, I decided to descend and ascend the Bayview hill south of Moore Ave (and my usual Loblaws grocery store). The hill is about 65m in elevation, and while the street is busy, it is wide enough to be manageable. On the descent, I hit about 55 kph just as I came to a red light on Pottery Rd. I decided to continue all the way to the Brickworks before turning around. Ascending the 2.25 km with 65 m of climb took me 7:48, including a stop at the Pottery Rd red light. It is a good hill, though it's disappointingly short. If there were no red lights, I could probably do a round trip in 10 minutes.

After the hill bout, while returning on Moore, I had the amusing experience of being passed by a guy on a mountain bike carrying some enormous delivery bag. It looks like I was traveling at around 25 kph, and I cranked it up to 35 kph when I was passed. I chased him onto St. Clair, and noted a battery pack on his downtube when I passed him. Also, he accelerated onto Avoca out of a red light without pedaling, so the jig is up.

C • Cheating 4

Amazing article about a CSU running athlete written by a CSU running athlete:

https://journal.tracksmith.com/three-laws-of-motio...

C • Nice 1

Evening ride, 8 C. I saw a possum, fox/coyote, and raccoon. Getting out into the night was glorious, though my perineum and sit bones are not acclimated to the pressures of a conventional bike saddle.

First outdoor bike ride of the year! It was a balmy 12 C today, so I decided to head out. One of the screws on my aerobars had apparently stripped, so I removed them and rode in the drops and on the hoods. A possum started marching across Victoria Park, and despite my braking and swerving, I side swiped the poor little guy. To my relief, it seemed unharmed, turned around, and marched back into the shrub from whence it came. Garmin isn't downloading for some reason.

My fitness had clearly declined somewhat, and I noticed that my crank arms are somewhat larger on my actual bike than my stationary bike. But my bike was mechanically sound. I lacked red line discipline; I was too enthusiastic attacking climbs and quickly overdid it.

Easy session at setting 4. I read Wilson et al preprint on spike in controls for cfMeDIP-seq.

My running fitness has conspicuously declined since I started graduate school. While I still hope to set PRs in 5k, 10k, half marathon, and marathon distances, it will require a concerted running training regimen. It also looks like my orienteering competitive window has largely closed, though I still hope to compete at goat-type races and major European relays. That said, ultracycling has provided a promising new athletic outlet; riding for 300+ km per day is a new challenge and adventure that is attainable even as my physical abilities start to decline with age.

While I certainly haven't exhausted the potential of Ontario, which is oddly well-suited to ultracycling, I am eager to try new locations. Places that particularly appeal include Ireland, the Canary Islands, Switzerland, Scotland, the Rockies, New England, Mallorca, and Norway.

After biking, I decided to go for a quick run around Mt. Pleasant cemetery. The northern leg of my path was along the Kay Gardner Beltline trail, which was a sheet of ice for most of its length. I elected to keep running on it to stress my stabilizer muscles, and I negotiated it without incident.

Forty km at setting five between ten km warm up and cool down at setting 4.

Easy ride at setting 4. We roasted some veggies for dinner tonight.