Virtual Tour Group: Pit Of Despair

OK, It always takes 39 min to ride 10 miles! Windy, not windy, hot, cool, morning, evening, hydrate, don't hydrate. What's the deal? I have been at this for about a month now, and I can't get any faster. Even when I think I've done really well, I look at my watch and nope -- 39 minutes. grrrrr... any suggestions from you seasoned pros would be greatly appreciated.

I agree w/ Ehirning. Throw in some speed intervals. Also, try changing some gearing. Are you in the big ring or little ring? Try some of that. Intervals going through the gears will help too.

Keep at it, it'll come with time!

I have been reading a lot about cadence and transfer of power and all that. I thought the general view was higher rpms because of slow twitch vs. fast twitch muscles? I think the bottom line is that it's just hard, and it will take great effort and dedication to be satisfied with your accomplishments -- just like marriage, and grad school, and raising kids, and your career, and... -- you know, like life :-)

Patty, if you're going to argue cadence, I could make your head spin :)

In the world of triathlons, the general consensus is to keep a high cadence +90 which will/should match closely to your run cadence. This supposidly helps you keep your legs firing and not beat down on the muscles.

However, some will simply mash with a lower cadence 70-80 and still do well enough on the run. Their consensus is that the speed on the bike at that rpm will help them make up the time they will lose on the run.

Who knows.

I'd say ride at what you're comfortable with, enjoy it, and just keep at it. Throw some intervals in, and you'll improve. It's nothing but time in the saddle :)

Thanks guys, I rode 22 miles with my 78 year old dad this morning. Cadence shmadence, staying healthy enough to bike ride with my kid when I'm 78 is reason enough to keep riding -- so much cooler than a medal and a tech shirt. That being said, I did throw in quite a few intervals (19 - 20 mph) and I think that will definately help improve my time :-)

I'm out.

Head cold. Sinuses. Feeling like crap. Yea, it's not fun.

I've been sick and haven't felt like doing ANYTHING. I've gone on a couple 2.5mi runs with the wife while she gets ready for a 10k, but that's about it.

Soon, I'll be back.

Firefox 3.5 is SO much better. Solved many of the issues I was having. Thaks for the tip Steve!

September has been a whirlwind. Only 2 rides and it's the middle of the month! I need to get back on track.

Lost, I started riding at night last year. Got some decent lights and would head out after the kids were in bed. It adds a whole new dimension to riding. I do a lot of canal path riding here in Phoenix which are not well lit. Being only able to see what's in your little beam of light really makes it interesting!

Ehirning, I have lights. They're on the rear though. The only thing is that I'm not comfortable riding the roads in my city yet. They don't like cyclist.

I've been going to places where the cyclists are in abundance, or at least the drivers are used to seeing us. It makes a little bit of a difference, but requires me to drive 15-20mis to get there.

Hope the pinched nerve doesn't come back, Steve. Be careful.

I've been out all week again. This isn't fun. I ran Mon night and afterwards had a pretty bad limp. The shin/calf on my right leg siezed up and I couldn't put pressure on it. Felt almost like it did when I had the stress fracture last year. I decided I'd take the rest of this week off, and next week off to let it heal. Nothing but low impact strength, swimming, and easy biking. We'll see how that goes.

I haven't been to the dr. yet, but I've had 3 massages. Each one has hurt a little less, but they HURT bad! It's something in the muscle, just behind the tibia, about 4-6" above the ankle.

I have a race Oct 10th & Nov 7th if I can stay healthy. Nov 7th is my yearly 10k, so I really don't want to miss it!

Is the pain on the bone? As in, if you press on the bone 4-5" above the ankle, does it hurt? Or is the pain in the muscle?

If it's in the muscle, you could get a massage or two to get "shin splints released". It'll hurt like you won't believe, but it'll loosen the muscles in the leg and reopen the flexibility. That could help. Also, see a Physical therapist for some hip exercises.

If it's in the bone, you can do a couple of things.

1. Take a full week to two weeks off. Very limited impact to your leg. Biking is okay as long as you stay in the saddle. At the end of the week, check the point and see if the pain is the same or worse.

2. Obvious. Get an xray of both legs. Get a bone scan done. The bone scan will highlight "activity" and will reflect a possible stress fracture, or simply an overuse "hot" injury.

3. Consider a referrel to a pedorthist or podiatrist. Have your gait checked. Check for a considerable leg length discrepency. If this is the case, it's as simple as some custom insoles.

For reference, I've done all of them. I ran through shin splints and into a stress fracture. The xray didn't reveal it, but the bone scan did. Extremely "hot" marker on the bone scan in the same spot that caused pain in my leg. ON THE BONE.

I went 4wks in an air boot to avoid impact. I then went on a run/walk regimen to get back going again.

I also had my gait analyzed at my sports medicine office. They noticed I drop my hip and overpronate, which caused it. I dropped my hip because I had over 1/2" leg length discrepency which they've adjusted with insoles. I have custom cork insoles that I wear 24/7 and have worked wonders.

Currently, my leg just shows a little more activity in the right than the left. Obviously something is wrong, but the scan does not indicate a fracture of any kind. Merely aggrivated. Going back to look at my logs, I had two weeks where I jumped mileage - wk 1: 8mi, wk2: 12mi, wk3: 14mi. I simply did too much too fast and aggravated it. A couple of easy weeks and it should be back to normal.

Also, insurance will usually pay for most of it, except for the office visits.

Hopefully this will help. Feel free to keep asking. I don't mind one bit!