I don’t know what in the heck has gotten into me lately. I’ve ridden my bike several times in the last few weeks… If you recall, one of my earlier posts was all about how I hate winter riding and training in the garage on the rollers and such. I still haven’t done that. I’m actually braving the cold and getting out there and doing it.
I posted some snow pictures from the last few days, too. Our weather has been extremely weird lately. This does not make for good training weather, however… that is what I need to motivate me sometimes. I won’t ride in the partially-miserable stuff, but when it snows or gets stupid-cold is when I like to get out there. Sometimes I do it, if for nothing else, than just to say I did it.
This feels a lot like unintentional training. I really haven’t made an effort to officially “train” for anything over the past few years, primarily because I have been busy with work and family, and can rarely make it to the races on weekends. Most of my riding has consisted of leading group rides. I think I only did around 5 “fast” rides in 2009, and the Roswell Criterium counted as two fast rides, since I raced two different categories. So, more and more riding is creeping in, including some fixed-gear stuff to get my spin back before the season starts.
I got involved with Andrew Smith, an endurance coach from Lifetime Fitness in Woodstock, GA, a few weeks ago. He came into the shop to pick up a few things and to tell us about the Team Kenda Pro Cycling p/b GearGrinder event at Lifetime on the 28th (which we have since gotten involved with). We talked a bit about the training and the facilities that are available at Lifetime, and our conversation progressed to the point where he invited me to do some VO2 Max Testing this Thursday at the gym. Now, it’s definitely sounding a lot more like training…
I don’t know what to expect, in regards to this testing. I think it will be good to have the test performed, just to see where I’m at, physically, before the season starts. Later in the season, I’ll go back and have the test done again, and see where my levels are at. I think that testing like this, and developing that referral system between the gym and us, will be good for our customers. Together, we will have a much wider range of services to offer our customers/clients, which is yet another extension of how our shop’s customer service level eclipses so many other bike shops in the Metro Atlanta area. Can’t hurt, right?
I’ll post pictures and a report of the testing after I finish it on Thursday. Can’t wait! The coffee pot is almost empty, so I’m going to bed. Thanks for reading.
PROBIKEWRENCH 
What to expect? pain – suffering – misery – and a number that humbles you and makes you understand why you cant keep up with Lance! 🙂 Outside of that – it should be fun!
Good for you, Josh. Go get the Vo2. Not sure if you’ll see much improvement within a season, but I’d be interested to see. If anyone can…YOU can, brother. You always had tons of potential….just need to carve out time to develop it. Keep us posted !