Brian Rides Bikes

January 2010 – Month One of Marathon Training and Rides with Friends

Hello and Happy New Year Friends!

This month has been a change of pace for training, as I’m now switching gears not for a cycling event, but for a new focus: The Rock n’ Roll Marathon in June 2010!

In the previous months, the training had a 60:40 ratio of cycling to running, but with the months approaching, I have to set my game plan on tackling the biggest challenge I’ve ever faced, running 26.2 miles! So my new regimen is now more running focused, and the ratio has changed to 80:20 running to cycling.

While I definitely miss riding my bike as I only get a chance to ride either the Bailey or the Hi Fi once or twice a week, I know that I have to focus on the challenge ahead. So here’s my new schedule:

January 2010 – Mon/2-3 mile run; Tuesday/weight training; Wednesday/6 mile run; Thurs/Rest; Friday/16 mile run; Sat-Sun/Riding

February 2010 – Mon/3-4 mile run; Tuesday/weight training; Wednesday/7 mile run; Thurs/Rest; Friday/18 mile run; Sat-Sun/Riding

March 2010 – Mon/3-5 mile run; Tuesday/weight training; Wednesday/8 mile run; Thurs/Rest; Friday/20 mile run; Sat-Sun/Riding

April 2010 – Mon/3-5 mile run; Tuesday/weight training; Wednesday/8 mile run; Thurs/Rest; Friday/22 mile run; Sat-Sun/Riding

June 2010 – Mon/3-5 mile run; Tuesday/weight training; Wednesday/8 mile run; Thurs/Rest; Friday/18-20 mile run; Sat-Sun/Riding

I hope that my gameplan works well and I don’t burn out, and at the same time know that I’ve done enough to prepare myself for the long battle in June! I’ll tell you one thing about running. It’s perhaps the most miserable of endurance sports. On my long days, I leave my house with iPod, fuel belt, and running shoes and pound my feet into the concrete for 8 miles from Ocean View Hills all the way to the end of the Imperial Beach Pier and 8 miles back again in just under 3 hours. Have I seen any cool sites? Not really. Have I stopped to take a photo or two? Nope. Have I met some interesting people along the way? Maybe a couple of weirdos in I.B. But in and of itself, its not as social, scenic or fun as cycling. But it’s only until June:) Just as my buddy Mark Estrada and I agreed — after June, we’ll never have to run 26.2 miles again!

So what about the riding? Had a couple of great rides this month with some new friends and some old friends. Earlier this month, I had a chance to ride with the XX1090 riders, Qualcomm riders and the Church of Cycling for a QMDC Reunion Ride, which was an absolute blast. Riding alongside the friends I’ve made from June 2009 all the way to our amazing trip down the coast from San Francisco was a once in a lifetime experience, but more so rewarding when they become friends you keep well after the trip is over. We rode from our old stomping grounds of Solana Beach all the way to Del Dios Highway and back again. Big smiles all around, just they way it should be.

Mid January, I had a chance to ride with Mark Estrada, Edson Bandoy and newcomer Sam Magtanong on a loop from Poway to Del Mar and back around San Dieguito. Riding out with these fellas was a lot of fun and we’re all keeping the mileage up in preparation for the American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure coming up again this April. Team Follow will be returning the same riders as last year along with new goals for fundraising to find a cure for diabetes. Along with the previous riders, we’ll be joined by a bunch of new faces that we’re happy to have on the team. As a side note, Sam Magtanong did a great job hanging with speedsters like Estrada and Edson and his great cardio that he’s gained through torturous seasons of wrestling from RB High to Syracuse and military training definitely showed in his “no quit” attitude! Now all he needs is a pair of road shoes and road pedals so he can stop using his mountain shoes on his $2000 S-Works Tarmac:)

Had a great opportunity yesterday to ride out with the SWK Riders from here in the Chula Vista area along with the Mira Mesa Cycling Club on a 50 miler from Telegraph Canyon, up Honey Springs to Jamul and back. With about 30 riders there, I had an awesome opportunity to meet some new faces and ride alongside some great riders. My cousin Eugene and I took to the front as we usually do, trying to set the pace before the mountains, but as it usually goes, we always seem to fall into our own trap as taking too many pulls up front doesn’t leave a lot in the tank for the climb:) Luckily for me, I went into yesterday’s ride fresh off running a 16 miler (with a hangover) the day before, so my legs felt pretty awesome already.

Among some of the folks I got to ride with yesterday, I had a chance to ride with Ron Evangelista and Dan Layson, who I always enjoy riding with. These two guys are training for the Gran Fondo coming up around the corner and are the kind of riders, where no matter how fast you think you’re going, or how great of a climbing day you have, they’re always right on your rear tire the entire way. Along with them, I met a beast of a rider named Curt Josh, who I found out lives just down the street from me. The dude’s a stud athlete and an officer in the Army, and riding alongside and getting to know this guy who’s going to be leading his Infantry Division in Afganistan in a couple months was a great experience. A big congratulations goes out to him and his wife who are expecting their first child in a couple of months!

Overall, it was a great month in the books, and had it not been for the Chargers sad defeat at the hands of USC alumni and “The Most Interesting Man in the World” Mark Sanchez, it could’ve very well been the Chargers against the Saints, pitting a plethora of storylines from Rivers vs. Brees to LT vs. Reggie Bush, but I suppose that’ll be a story for another time. Thanks again to Nate Kaeding for yet again being the most automatic kicker throughout the NFL regular season, but missing the uprights in the post season. Ughh. Another gut-wrenching way to end a Chargers season:(

Until then friends, have a great weekend, a safe February 2010, enjoy Valentines Day with your special someone, and keep on riding, keep on running and keep on pushing towards your next goal!

-BB