Cycling Summer Training Week 0

I suppose I haven't updated for a while so I can recap the last few month. After my very pesky hip/sciatia problem in the fall, I managed to begin running in late December. I spent much of my winter break in California running with the Caltech team. Unfortunately by the end of the stay in late January, my lack of preparation(i.e. bone density) and aggressive jump back into runnning left me with my 3rd metatarsal stress fracture in my running career. Enough was enough. With my ankle healed I decided that the only long term solution for me was cycling. I got my bike out to Massachusetts by March and even managed to catch the last half of the collegiate season out here. I may try to run seriously again in the future, but for now I think cycling will be the dominant sport here.

Stuart "Third at Nationals" McManus wrote me a training program to turn me into "a cycle-biking machine." I will begin this program starting on Monday. I spent much of the last month traveling, and while I didn't get in much cycling, I'm in OK shape from all the hiking/climbing I'd been doing. Last week, the Doyle group traveled to southern Vermont for a week long conference. One of the senior members of the group, Colin Connolly, is a former HUCA racer and was bringing his bike along, so I decided to throw my bike on his car and get some rides in the Green Mountains (Vermont, Ver-Mont, Green Mountains, get it?). So, here goes.

Sat 6/25/2011 - 5 Cutler - Lexington and back via the Minuteman trail up, Mass Ave back. 55 minutes.
Miles: 18

Sun 6/26/2011: Off to Gordon Conference, forgot my shoes (D'oh)
Miles: 0

Mon 6/27/2011: No Shoes, slept through the afternoon break session. Great Science! Drove back to Cambridge at night.

Tues 6/28/2011: Mt. Snow to Grout Pond (Green Mountains NF). Several shortish climbs but steep climbs (3 miles with a mile at 10% grade and another at 11% grade) and a 7 mile climb at 5-6%. 2000 feet total climbing. Light rain. 1 Hr 40 min.
Miles: 24

Weds 6/29/2011: Mt. Snow south to Jacksonville with Colin (!). Good pace, three flats in between the two of us. Hillier than we expected but nice weather and good riding. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4613527 .
Miles: 32

Thurs 6/30/2011: Colin took the bike back :(. Partying late and early talks are starting to take a toll on me. Slept through the afternoon break again.
Miles: 0

Fri 7/1/2011: Back to Cambridge, what would have been an afternoon run turned into drinking beer around lab and then an impromptu trip with the remaining beer and rental van to the beaches in northern MA. We made it up to Marblehead and spent a few hours hanging out by the lighthouses, drinking beer, and relaxing. It was great.
Miles: 0, Fried Clams eaten: 22

Sat 7/2/2011: Out to Concord via the HUCA loop, a bit of exploring, and back. Bonked a bit plowing through the wind on the way back, but otherwise a nice ride. Superb weather. I tried to keep a decent pace (HR 140-150) but this isn't quite sustainable yet. 2 hours and 40 minutes. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4619718
Miles: 40