Yep, thinking the same thing lately. All good info. Thanks

Forgive me for getting back on this thread after so long, but I was out making grotesque sums of moola. Anyway WTH are those sticks, where do you get em & how do you use em? are they like rollers, sorta a self massage type deal?

Yeah I'm in a fisticuff with father time, & that mofo takes no time off.

Just curious, wogster: You don't ever ride outdoors between early October and late May? That's some pretty good riding you're missing out on, if that's the case. I try to ride all winter, as long as the roads aren't icy or the cold isn't too extreme.

Yep.. You can get them many places online, and you roll your muscles.

Cool thanks, I wonder if a rolling pin would work in the interim?

It would do something, that's for sure. But these sticks have some flex - you choose models based upon size and such - and that certainly helps.

I do this on my own but I figured out a while back that pushing every day doesn't work and is very probably counterproductive.

BTW: Semper Fi, Air Wing 1968-1972, exciting times.

The most difficult thing for Marines to learn is that you don't have to go full bore all the time; it's OK to just do something for enjoyment.

I alternate swimming three to five miles per week with cycling 50 to 100 per week. I used to run 6 miles three times a week in between the other two but after the dog induced broken femur I can no longer run so I do my new elliptical train er three times a week for at least 30 minutes each time. I do one or two of these three workouts EVERY day. Today I swam a mile thsi morning, I am headed to the elliptical in just a moment.

Training for criterium racing is different from training for road racing is different from training for centuries/doubles/508/RAAM and they're all different from training to get fitter.

What are you training for?

Swing with the Wing! Semper Fi Brother! 0311 here so you know how miserable my existence was.

You sound like my shrink at the VA, she used those exact words. It's true though, I'll give you that.

After 21+ years as a Marine, its taken me more than a few years to 'unlearn' that training.

Nothing in particular, like the guy said Marines go balls to the walls at everything, all the time. I've got one of the best and worst neighborhoods for training. I have a severely damaged right leg, & so far 1/2 cent is all my knee can take "in my neighborhood" I know I could do a century on most urban & suburban terrain. But I really like my hood, there is no traffic, no stoplights 2-3 stop signs and the altitude gain per lap is incredible, 50 miles I've climbed over 6,000 feet. I want to do a century in my neighborhood, to me that is a major accomplishment by most standards, until I can do that I wont be participating on any group ride having to listen to some 145lb guy telling me "ON YOUR LEFT". It's a Marine thing, I weigh 200lbs solid weight and i want to at least stay with the lead group, not necessarily at the front, that will never happen but maybe the middle. This is a typical ride around my block or at least this is the route I am using now. https://connect.garmin.com/activity/123297628

Looking at your typical ride, I'll comment that doing that, and only that, is not going to build the aerobic base you want for doing longer rides. Especially at your size, the climbing pushes you into higher levels of effort, which burn glycogen rather than fat, and also rely more on fast twitch muscles. You need to be efficient at burning fat in order to go the longer distances while maintaining the performance you want. Your course may make you feel that you are conquering the terrain, but it is not training smart. As an example, I just went through an off-season period where most of my riding was high intensity: training criteriums and fast group rides with fast climbs. The fun stuff. My ability to go 70-100 miles at a high pace dramatically declined, because I trained myself to burn carbs, and became dependent on them. Relying on carbs is very limiting from an endurance standpoint. For me, if my body is in carb mode, I'm going to peter out after about 50 miles, or 2.5-3 hours. In fat burning mode, I do 80-90 mile trining rides and think "okay, what's next?"

So if your goal is to tackle the longer distances, you need to add in some long rides at easier efforts, as that is what will develop your aerobic capacity and endurance. Stretch your course into some of the flatter areas, as opposed to just doing that loop over and over. You are basically doing hill repeats every time out, and that is just not the proper way to train. Include some climbing, but make it a much smaller percentage of your total training. Once you have built a solid base, you'll find you will able to do that hilly route for much longer than you can now, because you will be using your resources more efficiently. It may seem counter-intuitive, but this approach will also help you keep up with the fast guys on group rides. You have to go slow to go fast, or as they say around here: riding slow in winter makes you ride fast in the spring.

Nobody with a competitive streak likes to be passed or dropped - it isn't just a Marine thing. But unless you never ever push yourself, and only ride with really slow people, then guess what? It's going to happen. Getting passed on a group ride isn't the issue. You are all riding together and sharing taking the lead. The issue is being dropped, when you can't keep up. And every cyclist out there that pushes him/herself has been dropped, over and over. Unless you always ride solo, you will be dropped. And if you only ride solo, and don't hide from the rest of the cycling population, you are going to hear "on your left". Embrace it as a part of learning and getting stronger/faster. Doing long easy miles will certainly help you hear it less frequently.

Your posts remind me a bit of a Marine Colonel hired into a company I had helped found. He had it in his mind that, as the new guy, he needed to be the first into the office. Well, my partner the CEO was an early bird, and as he saw our new hire arriving earlier and earlier, he quickly caught on to what he was doing, and came in even earlier, always there to offer a cheery hello when the Marine arrived. Eventually, the Marine realized he'd been had, but learned from it, and settled down to focus on what was really important. We had several Marines in the company, including one of the partners, and General Al Gray was on our board. I've never seen someone's entry into a room have as profound an affect on people as his did: the Marines' backs would stiffen so fast its a wonder they didn't injure themselves.

So take it smooth and easy for a good part of your riding: General Gray isn't watching!

Have a physical with a full blood test to make sure everything is in order--constant pain is not normal at any age!

When older, health can get out of order easily and without realizing it! It is true that it may take longer to recover after a good strong ride, but after 24 to 36 hours of rest, proper nutrition and hydration things should be back to normal.

Constant pain can indicate blood circulation problems to hormones imbalance and so many other possibilities.

I will never unlearn it!

Great post by the way, I totally forgot about the slow & fast twitch muscles and how they're fed. I studied kinesiology for a brief period. That's a good story, Marines are a breed apart aren't they?

I've taken to working one muscle group per day since I've gotten older. That way everything gets good maintenance and a full week to recover.

Marc