Aging Up

Those of you with kids engaged in organized sports are familiar with the term "aging-up." Aging-up means as the competitor gets older he/she competes in an older appropriate age bracket. The sport I am most familiar with is AYSO soccer. AYSO groups kids in 2 year age categories starting with U5, preschool through U19, high school. As the kids get older they play in older categories.

Age brackets are not only for kids. When adults compete they race in one of several masters brackets (I have discovered that masters level is just a cleaver way of describing an older adult; marketing strikes again.) Specifically in cycling there are age and skill categories. The age brackets are every 5 to 10 years starting with 20+. The skill brackets are listed as Cat 1-5 with 1 being the most competitive. During the 4 man Time Trial I had the opportunity to compete in the open category, anyone can race there are no limits, a skill category like Cat 4/5 or an age category, 50-59. Part of the luck/skill in competing is choosing the correct group to compete in. Last year we would have medaled in the 50+ group but were ineligible because 1 team member dropped out due to injury and was replaced with a 32 year old. We came in 6th in the open category. Still not too shabby.

I had no idea that aging up is still a big issue even at the masters level. Sunday I was riding with the usual suspects. We began talking about the recent indoor Time Trial at VQ and I mentioned that 1 of the stronger older riders Geneo won the 65+ group. One of the other riders, Bob H who is an excellent rider and can ride with any A group, commented that he just turned 60. We knew that he was 60+ because we saw that he had won that group.

Then it hit me, Bob H just aged out of my category and 1 huge obstacle to my success had been removed. Wow, I felt really lucky to know that I was no longer competing against Bob, a superior cyclist. However the other riders in the 60+ group were bummed because they now had to ride against Bob. But there is a silver lining. Kevin L said "wait a minute this is great news. Our 4 man TT team has just become unbeatable, we are going to dump the slowest guy and use Bob!"

There it is again, the blessing and curse of aging-up. Who knew that aging-up would continue to dog me through my life. As Art Linkletter kinda said "Aging is not for sissies."

Update on Illness Fitness and Consistency

A quick update. I rode outside last Friday and had a great ride. I did 2 hours with my buddy Dennis. The goal was a 5x5s at 100% to 110% of LT. I was able to ride above my LT with ease, in fact the entire ride was done at tempo/zone 3 or greater. (For you non VQers that is riding at 3/4 max heart rate for the entire ride.)

I also went to the muscle doc who said, "man you have a small butt." My reply "Yaaaaaaah; eye roll." He said I was looking better and was more balanced but I needed to get more glutes into the action and less paraformis.

So the life of the amateur cyclist continues; more squats, more dead bug exercises, less paraformis and plenty of bike time. But I am feeling better and seeing some results. Its great to be on the upswing.

Illness Fitness and Consistency

Thankfully winter is almost over. January and February were brutal months because of the weather, I was sick and my Uncle passed, which made me the patriarch of the family. All those events took a toll on my consistency and my desire to workout.

The biggest drain on my riding resources was a persistent cold. The damn thing would not go away no matter what I did. I could workout but I had only 80% power or less during the exercises. (What a drag.) I tried mega doses of vitamin C, rest, steam, massages, drinking a ton of water and anything else people suggested. What worked was time. It took 6 weeks but the cold finally ended. I felt I was somewhat lucky because I did not have the hacking cough that many people had but dragging my butt around for 6 weeks was way too long.

I was also not able to consistently ride because my Uncle Buddy died. I visited him in Dallas when he was in hospice and then I attended the funeral. He was the oldest male of the family and now that moniker falls to me. It was sad to see Uncle Buddy in hospice, especially when I remembered the fun times we had together. However I am glad we had some time together.

The net result of the winter was that my fitness decreased. I know my fitness decreased because I could not finish the 40mn supermax test. At the 20mn mark I was having a hard time keeping my watts up. At the 30mn mark my legs gave out. That has never happened before. I just could not go on, my legs were toast. This was very discouraging especially because I work so hard. When I am most discouraged I feel that never has anyone worked so hard and made so little gains.

Since all of the trials and tribulations of winter it has taken me another 4 weeks of consistent work to regain form. Thankfully I am feeling better and I am riding with more confidence. Also my fitness has returned. The doctor said my vitals were great, HR 45, PB 106/60. Not too bad for an old guy.

So what is the moral of this winter tail of woe. Consistency is the key. That's it, no more to say. I'm back on the bike and back on the road. Bike Camp here I come.