The month of March came and went before I knew it. Between the increased hours, travel and demand from work, the 3 birthdays, home improvements, cycling activities, and daily life in itself, it seems as though in a blink of an eye 30+ days can go by and here I sit looking back having a hard time believe all of the activities that were piled in to that time frame. The biggest events of the month were Amy’s, William’s and my niece Allison's birthdays. William is now over 1 year old and is growing like crazy (most likely because of all the pancakes he can eat). Amy being the best mom ever went above and beyond planning for William’s party which was a huge success. Some of Amy’s neatest ideas that came to fruition included “bee” cake pops, a “honey comb” cupcake cake, and a picture banner that included a picture of William each month up to his birthday. The party was a blast and all of William’s family and friends attended.
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| William's Honeycomb Birthday Cake |
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| Digging in the cake |
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| Amy's Bee Pops & Pretzels |
While there was a lot of partying we also continued to work on updates to the house, ultimately working towards putting the house on the market. Amy and I are looking to move a little closer to family but keeping the commute to work manageable. We’re currently eying up the West Bend area while keeping the Hartford area option open. Both areas are great “small-ish” cities that are good for raising William and there are plenty of rural roads for excellent cycling. Also, there’s no lake breeze to keep the temps cold like there is in Cedarburg. Last Sunday was a great example where it was 46 degrees in Cedarburg; however, when you headed further inland (10-15 miles) the temps were near the upper 60’s. Chill from Lake Michigan is not welcomed by this guy! On the cycling front, things have been less than consistent. Inconsistency has been the theme for March thanks to colds and travel for work. The beginning of the month led off with me being under-the-weather with a cold that affected my respiratory system (never good for training), followed by a week-long work trip to St. Pete, FL, and further followed by another week of recovering from the aforementioned cold. I did manage to get some longer rides in on the weekends when I felt better and because of the lack of time to train, picked the intensity up. The notable ride of the month was a ride that I did from Horicon to Cedarburg into a strong headwind for the entire 40 mile route. Only plus side to the ride was the fact the sun was out and it was warm with above average temps. Due to the strong headwind and lack of daylight I hammered the pedals kicking out big numbers. Primary stats include: Ride Time: 1:57:27; Ave. Power: 259 watts; Normalized Power: 278 watts; Ave. Cadence: 86 rpm; and Ave. Speed: 20 mph. This ride provide a boost to my overall morale and set my bar of expectations a bit higher.
The inconsistent nature of my training for the month however led me to what I perceived as my “poor cycling condition” (insert Amy laughing) but after Tuesday night’s functional threshold power (FTP) test, my perception was proved wrong. While the training may have been inconsistent, it was spot on for providing physiological gains. The gains were so much so that I was shocked by the numbers, mainly the % change in FTP. My average power output increased an amazing 27 watts over the course of a month for an increase of 8.56%. This FTP test was also a great motivating factor for my continued training which is becoming tougher as the weather gets nicer out but still spending most of my training hours in the basement.
In other great cycling news, William got his first bike! It’s a Strider bike that has no pedals but provides for kids the ability to push themselves with their feet while learning their balance. William’s maiden ride on the bike was successful with big smiles and laughs followed by the required “I have to taste this thing” by trying to eat the handlebar. William’s legs are a bit too short yet for him to fully utilize the bike on his own but he’ll grow into it quickly. His bike also matches his dad’s in its yellow and black paint scheme. Look for William to be flying by on a sidewalk or patch of grass nearby this summer. I’m sure the month of March had many other great events taking place but I cannot think of anymore at this time. On that note, THE END.
