Last Week of March!

Last week was definitely a rough one and by the time it was over I was beat. Normally I'm instructing Spin 3 times on Tuesday, 2 times on Wednesday, and then once on Friday. I try to get a treadmill run and/or swim in on Mondays and Thursdays and have been taking it easy on the weekends.

Due to these easy weekends I haven't been getting enough running in and started to question whether or not I should drop my distance in the Pittsburgh marathon to a half marathon. Well, I had planned on doing a long run Saturday to see where I stood. This was last Sunday. I was also going to shoot for an easier week since I was planning a long run. Of course, that easy week didn't happen.

I ended up subbing Spin on Monday & Thursday for a total of 8 classes last week (about 7 total hours on the bike). Still, I pushed for the run on Saturday and surprisingly felt really good. My knee is a bit sore, but some ice and Ibuprofen should do the trick. I've decided to take Sunday off and here is what the rest of my week looks like. As always, if you're around, feel free to let me know and come join a workout with me.

This Weeks Plan

Monday 5AM -Short Run (or maybe Yoga) & Swim

Tuesday 5AM -Core workout & Spinning -No PM

Wednesday -I won't be at LA Fitness in the AM but do plan on a short run sometime during the day

Thursday -Off, no workouts! My day job calls

Friday 5AM -Likely some light lifting followed by Spin Class

Saturday AM -15 mile run, probably similar to last Saturdays run

Nutrition/Diet

So this is somewhat new, but I'll try to let everyone know if I've found some new nutritional info that I think we could all benefit from.

As you probably know, I like to track what I'm eating (not all the time but every now and then) to make sure I'm eating enough of the right stuff. I use to be a big fan of LiveStrong.com and still think its an awesome database. However I recently started using www.myfitnesspal.com because it has an awesome, free Android App. So far its been very easy to use and I highly recommend it. You can keep track of workouts, food, etc. It even has a feature that lets you scan the bar code off the item you're about to eat and will add the calories to your online journal based on the bar code info. Check it out!

Join the ‘Space Monkey Mafia’ for this year’s MS 150, Keystone Country Ride to State College on July 23 & 24

Once again it’s time to register for the MS 150! I’m working on putting together a team of riders to:

1. Raise money for a great cause (you’ll be asked to donate or raise $250 + your registration fee)
2. Party it up in Altoona and State College over a long weekend
3. Promote training & cycling among my friends, and
4. Accept a challenge to push themselves further than they thought possible

Those reasons are listed in order of importance; however number 1 and number 2 are probably really a tie. That being said, I don’t think I need to expand any further on what a great organization National MS is. I have seen firsthand, and heard from a number of my friends/family who have seen firsthand, how this organization has made a difference in the lives of those fighting MS.

So, I’m hopeful that because we’re riding with such a great organization, raising a lot of money, and having a great time doing it, you’ll be willing to join the team! Simply follow the steps below and sign up today!

Also, as a shameless self-promotion, you’ve probably stumbled upon this site because I consider you a good friend & emailed you the link! Why not show some love back and click ‘follow’ at the bottom of this page, on the right hand side? Thanks and let’s saddle up!

Steps to Register

1. Click below to go to the MS 150 Site (http://bikepax.nationalmssociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=BIKE_PAX_homepage)
2. Click “Register” on the left side of the page OR “Register Today” on the right side of the page
3. Select “Pennsylvania - bike MS: Keystone Country Ride 2011”
4. Click “Join a Team” on the right side of the page (in a blue box)
5. Type “Space Monkey Mafia” next to the Team Name field and click “Search for a Team”
6. Our team will come up and you can click the “Join” link

It’s pretty simple from there. You will be asked to pick a registration type and the prices will be displayed. I chose the option without dinner because a number of us will probably venture into town from the hotel that night (I recommend you stay at the “Penn Stater,” I will be). They will also give you the option to add a 1 year subscription to Bicycling magazine for $6. $3 of this goes to MS so throw them and extra bone and select this option. You won’t be disappointed with the magazine!

Hope to see you on the ride!

Over Night Accommodations Recommendations

Friday July 22nd make your reservations at one of the following locations in the Altoona/Hollidaysburg area which is a short distances from the Hollidaysburg Jr. High School’s start and finish area.

Marriott Hotel 814-312-1800 Code: BIKEMS double occupancy $89, Click on Link (I’ll be staying here….anyone wanna split a room?)

Wye Motor Lodge 814-695-4407 Code: MS SOCIETY double occupancy $63. Plus tax, Single occupancy $52. plus tax

Ramada Inn 814-947-4530 Code: BikeMS double occupancy $89. Plus tax

Hampton Inn 814-941-3500 Code: MSB double occupancy $94. Plus tax

Saturday July 23rd make your reservations at one of the following locations in State College.

The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel $104, 1-800-233-7505 $104 Reference Code: NATG11C (I’ll be staying here…anyone wanna split a room?)

Days Inn Downtown State College on Pugh St., 1-800-258-3297 Reference Code: CGTOUR

There are a ton of other hotels in State College, but they do not have MS 150 discounts

15 Mile Saturday Run

Great run today on a pretty awesome course. Makes me feel pretty good for the Marathon that I haven't been training for!

Click Here for Run/Course Details

This Week

I've been going pretty easy lately and plan to pick it up just a bit this week. Here's my schedule, let me know if you want to join for any of the workouts

Monday -Run 5am, Spin 545am

Tuesday -Core 5am, Spin 545am, Spin 1215pm, Spin 645pm

Wednesday -?5am, Spin 545am, Spin 1215pm

Thursday -Run 5am, Swim 12pm

Friday -Lift Upper body 5am, Spin 545am

Pretty simple week! Also have new Spin mixes almost all week.

2011 Race to Any Place Results!

Highlights & Placement

Click here and check out the pictures on flickr!

Overall the Space Monkey Mafia came in 3^rd place with 228.04 miles! The only two faster teams were “Extreme Indoor Cycling” at 241.8 miles (in the Spin Health Club division) and Westinghouse 1 (in the Spin Open division). Our Space Monkey Mafia JV team finished 15^th overall which is awesome (there were 47 teams total). Both teams were placed in the “Spin Health Club” division, however we were actually supposed to be in the YMCA division. Had we been in the YMCA division, Space Monkey Mafia would have placed 1^st (in the division) and Space Monkey Mafia JV would have placed 7^th!

Thanks to everyone who participated in this year’s Race to Any Place. Together the Space Monkey Mafia teams raised over $1200 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Pittsburgh! Here is the full race report and recap in case you missed it!

Pre Race Problems!

As always, something had to go wrong before the race. It’s always a giant cluster when arriving and last year we competed in the Health Club division as a “K&G Athletics” team. When we arrived last year we found that the bikes in that division didn’t have “clip in” pedals. We scrambled to find a pair and got them put on at the very last minute.

This year the last minute excitement picked up. I had deciede at the beginning that we would register as a YMCA team (after all, I do instruct spinning there, they have better bikes, and give each team member an extra t-shirt). When I came into the lobby that morning I found Jack ready to jump over the registration table because the girl couldn’t find our check in packet. After some investigating we found our packets at the general registration table. Okay, no big deal….we moved them over to the YMCA table and went to find our bikes. Of course they weren’t with the rest of the YMCA division bikes, they were the rest of the “Spin Open division” bikes. They also were not the nice Star Trac Spinners like the other YMCA teams had nor were there clip in pedals!

Anyone who rides with clip ins knows this wasn’t something we could just ignore, they truly make a big difference. So again we scrambled to find pedals, only this year we had to find two sets! Luckily, and with only a few minutes to spare, we managed to find pedals, get them on, and get our first two riders ready to go (so much for an easy stretch and warm up before the start).

The Race

The race itself was a blast. Both our team started out strong. Rich rode the first leg for the Space Monkey Mafia and Jack took the first ride for the Space Monkey Mafia JV. I looked at Jack’s speed first. He was off to a strong start…nearly 38mph! I thought I’d then take a look at Rich. At first glance I saw 68! Something had to be wrong. I knew Rich was fast….but not that fast. Finally I realized our computer was reading kilometers per hour! We all had mileage and speed goals mapped out in miles per hour which meant now we had to do metric conversions! We quickly figured out that 65kmp was about 40mph and Rich was right on target. After the first 15 mintues I took over for Rich and Anne-Marie was up for the JV Team. I felt pretty strong through my first ride, keeping my speed around 68 kph. Anne-Marie was also moving quick on the JV bike. Rich jumped back on after my 15 minutes and Cindy took over on the JV team. Rich had a strong second ride, as did I, and after the first hour our team already had 42 miles racked up. The JV team wasn’t far behind us either.

Mike Z took over after my second ride and rode a strong 15 minutes. He was followed by Lisa and Gary M who both racked up some major miles. Gary E was up on the JV bike next and was moving pretty quick. I saw his mph between 37 & 40!

Unfortunately we had a JV team member unable to make it, so Rich and I rode in her place on the JV bike before Donna and Melissa stepped in to ride their legs.

Back on the Varsity team Lisa & Gary M were racking up miles. Mia stepped in after Gary’s last leg and was on fire! I don’t think I’ve ever seen her ride that fast, even in class! She was followed by Nicole who was averaging a strong 60kph and Lee at 62kph. Chuck and Chris were the next two varsity riders who also didn’t disappoint.

While all this was taking place on my bike, the JV side was racking up miles too. Peter, Jody and Penny each took to their bike after Donna and Melissa finished their cycles. All were riding between 32 and 36mph consistently. The final two JV riders, Tracy and Jami, finished up strong averaging about 34mph each. Jami had never even been to a Spinning class before! The team finished at 202 miles, a good distance above their 192 mile goal and just shy of the 213 stretch goal.

Varsity left its final hour up to Bill and Stefan. Both who are killer riders and two I knew would go all out until the end. They rode at almost 63kph for the final hour, helping us gain some much needed ground. At the end our team finished at 228 miles. That was above our 218 mile goal and pretty close to our 236.6 stretch goal.

All-in-all a great job by both teams! We performed better than anyone of us thought we would and I’m already looking forward to next year’s ride. Some of the JVers will definitely be moving up to the varsity squad and some of this year’s varsity players will have the chance to join a third team, the “Space Monkey Mafia Elite,” whose sole goal will be to win it all! You’ve got a year to prepare for whichever team you want to be on!

Thanks again to everyone who rode and I hope to see you at class and out on the road as soon as the weather breaks!

Look for a “Space Monkey Mafia” MS 150 team soon! You can bet you’ll be getting an email with the details on how to register!