https://jamesclear.com/marginal-gains The title of this post is a variation on "marginal gains", the concept by which coach Dave Brailsford famously revolutionized British Cycling. It is discussed in various places including the book Atomic Habits, and there is an excerpt here. If you make multiple tiny improvements, say about 1% each, they can add up over … Continue reading Marginal Losses- How I Got Slower In a Year and a Half →

It has been a week since my injections, so I did a 64-minute ride on my recumbent and threw in some harder riding, including an attempt on a Strava segment, shown in blue on the overall map of my ride below. The segment is "around the Paradise block", flat and just over 2 km long. … Continue reading First Harder Ride Since Injections →

I'm keeping my riding easy for a few days until I see how well my injections worked. Today I went locally for an hour on my recumbent, it was nice and relaxing. So far so good on the SI joint, I walk a little more each day pain-free, and today am up to 18 minutes.

http://www.Amazon.com/books This post was inspired by the book Aging as a Spiritual Practice: A Contemplative Guide to Growing Older and Wiser, by Lewis Richmond. Aging can cause us to feel diminished. We can lose physical capacity, infirmities can start creeping in, and our sense of self-worth can decline in retirement if our work had supplied … Continue reading Transformation While Aging →

I had one last chance to enjoy a sixty-minute ride during our interlude of sunshine yesterday in the morning before my injections (which were scheduled for 12:30). Today I have to keep my activity "normal and nonstrenuous" so am taking a day off from riding. Then more rain will show up this weekend. Nice And … Continue reading Snuck In a Ride Before My Injections →

More on the continuing saga of the injury to my SI joint: I was referred by my doctor to a pain clinic and after evaluation, they decided to give me two injections, one in the lower spinal area in case the pain going down my leg is sciatica, and the other in the SI joint. … Continue reading Back Injections Scheduled →

The I Care Classis Century ride I signed up for in May has more hills than I normally do on my recumbent, so I thought I'd better get a little practice in. The two most challenging climbs on the route are up Willow springs road, and "Buffalo hill" on McKean road (the latter got his … Continue reading Hilly Recumbent Ride →

Since I signed up for the I Care Classic century this May I need to work on extending my long rides. So I went on a four-hour cruise on my recumbent. I went out and back on the Coyote creek trail, but since it is still flooded north of Bailey ave. I detoured around on … Continue reading Four-Hour Cruise →

I've been discussing performance-related activities lately, like seeing my times on local routes vs. the "Strava Leaderboard" for my 70-74 age group. But most of my training, probably about 90%, is at a comfortable pace, while only the remaining 10% is higher intensity. This is a typical training week for me lately: "UH" means upper … Continue reading My Typical Training These Days →

I repeated my effort on the Strava segment I created last week yesterday morning. I did everything I could think of to get a little faster, including pumping my tires up to the max, using stiffer shoes, and making sure I wasn't wearing anything that would flap in the breeze. But I also made one … Continue reading It’s Fun Moving Up the Strava Leaderboard →