Training Log Archive: riley

Push-ups, pull-ups, abs

@ Bridges. Started out strong, but my endurance is gone from only bouldering for so long...

Presented my thesis to the department faculty today. Rewarded myself with some bouldering.

Pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups, dips, 5sec crimp front lever hangs

My thesis project is killing me... I need to get out and do something soon.

Carson falls loop. Went swimming.

Planned on a longer ride, but some shit went down...

So I'm biking at night on some fire trails (sketch level 1), having a good time, running up steep hills, biking everything else full effort, just going for it. Then this giant gate appears in the middle of the fire road. It's like 15ft tall, barbed wire, but I'm still checking it out to hop over. I look up into the trees and there's a camera pointed right at me. Shit... Seriously, who does that?

Anyway, I don't want to get arrested, so I reverse my tracks until I find some singletrack leading god knows where. I'm hesitant, but I tell myself not to be a bitch and just go for it. Now I'm biking unknown tight and techy single track at night (sketch level 2).

The single track ends on the shoulder of a big mountain with a faint trail leading up through some grasses. Again, not about to bitch out, I keep going up. Now I'm riding off-trail at night with no idea where I am (sketch level 3).

I get near top of the mountain, throw my bike over a barbed wire fence, and when I finally crest the top the wind is freaking gale force. It's so strong I can barely stay on my bike, definitely over 40mph. There's still no sign of a trail, so I continue along the ridge, leaning like 10° into the wind the whole time, weaving all over the place when there are gusts (sketch level 4).

The ridge starts to narrow and the sides drop off, becoming single track with cliffs on both sides. My headlamp starts to die at this point, and I can only see about 30ft in front of me. The wind is still full on, so I'm essentially leaning over the cliff hoping there aren't any sudden gusts that blow me to my death. Still no idea where I'm going, but I'm not about to bitch out, because... come on. We've reached sketch level 5.

My headlamp totally dies so I replace the batteries, but they're just triple A's rather than the rechargeable pack and it ends up being even dimmer than before. The ridge starts to widen back to a fire trail (oh hell yes) and drop down into a valley. Then, right when it starts getting a bit steep my back brake pads disintegrate. Absolutely nothing happens when I squeeze the lever. Still got the front brakes though, so I'm good.

Of course, it turns into the steepest trail I have ever seen in my life. I shit you not, this thing was so steep that I was sliding down the whole thing. I couldn't even get off my bike because I would have just eaten it down the hill. I'm leaning waaay back trying not to flip over the handlebars thinking, "damn, I hope this thing isn't too long because I'm fucking committed now..."
It was the longest hill ever. Like 1000ft straight down.
Also, whoever originally graded the obscene-ass trail (I'm assuming in like 1850) put opposite banking on every single turn so you have to fight not to slide off a cliff. Fucking smart.
I can feel my front brakes losing power the whole way, and I'm thinking about how much it would hurt to slide 200ft on my face and then get impaled by a tree... It's full on sketch level 7. Then, when my brakes are basically gone, the trail just ends and I come sliding out onto a paved road.

I bitched out. Right then. Rode back home and didn't look back.
However, the trail continued up another ridge across the road, and I'm coming back for that biznatch on another night. If I can ever find it again...

C • haha 1

Push-ups, frenchies

Carson Falls loop.
Started off-trail uphill through some thick forest (dark green @ 25:00/mi, fun micro route-choice), then along a high ridge through rolling meadows with views of Alpine lake. Dropped down to Kent lake, then up winding singletrack through the redwoods next to Carson Creek. Swam under the waterfall at Carson falls, then climbed up the falls and took the trail at the top back to the ridge. Dropped down a random reentrant (better than coming up, pretty open woods) and ran on the road a bit to find my car. Awesome run.

NCG->Pumpkin Ridge->Sunnyside->Shadyside->Tucker
First longish run in a while. AnT is pretty damn low...

Warm-up, then sprinting to find my max HR. Fingertip pulse ox doesn't really work when you're all sweaty and moving though... Gonna have to do it again.

Hanging situps, pushups, pullups

Pushups, pullups, situps

Sun Valley ridge. Stoked on my new shoes.

C • shoes 2

Losing my endurance from the bouldering-only gym