2015 vs. 2016: What a Difference a Year (without injury) Makes

2015 was the year I learned that the IT Band is not a nerdy rock group.

I've seen a lot of posts this week about how many miles people ran in 2016 and people setting a goal to "run the year" (2,017 miles in 2017). I don't run much these days (if at all, for fear of inflaming my IT band, as I did in 2015) but this made me wonder how many miles I had ridden in 2016 and what my goal should be for 2017. I jokingly told one Facebook friend I would match her 2017 goal to run 2,017 miles -- on my bike -- but knew that would be far less than I had ridden this year so I need a better goal than that (like resolving to BEEFit)! 


So how many miles did I ride this year? Of course I tracked all my rides on my Garmin Edge 810 so was able to quickly look up my total miles for 2016 on Garmin Connect. I was actually surprised to see that I rode 3,737 miles this past year.

This screenshot of my 2016 rides from May to December shows the lead up to Cycle Oregon (Sept. 11-17) and maintenance rides through the end of November.

Without even going back and looking up past records I know that is the most I have ridden in one year. Given that I was close to 4,000, my daughter suggested I could set a goal to ride 4,034 miles (doubling up on 2017). I kind of like that idea but I spent a LOT of time on the bike this year (219 hours, 15 minutes and 52 seconds, to be exact) and am not sure how much more time I want to spend in the saddle!

By comparison I decided to look up 2015 miles. This time I was surprised how low they were. I only rode 1,779 miles in a year? How could that be? I didn't think I'd ridden fewer than 2,000 miles in a year since my first Ride the Rockies in 2005. 

This screensot of my rides from May to December 2016 paints a very different picture. My IT band injury put me out of commission for nearly five whole months!

So I looked at the calendar more closely and the answer was clear. I only rode NINE times between July 1 and December 1. Remember that IT band injury? Probably not, since I never wrote about it. So here goes...

All along the Water Tower in Chicago

One week after Ride the Rockies 2015 I was running in downtown Chicago. I love to run along the Miracle Mile and the trail along Lake Michigan. I was cruising along and stepped off a curb and felt something pull in my right hip. I limped along the remaining miles and could barely walk the next day. 

The run along Lake Michigan can be a little uneven in spots, which is one cause of IT band injuries (running on an uneven surface)

I tried riding a few times after but had knee pain that was unbearable. The IT band can wreak a lot of havoc when it is not happy! After reading up on it I decided rest was the best road to recovery and literally sat out most of July, August and September. The good news it worked! The bad news is I gained about 20 lbs. during all that sitting, and holiday eating. As a result it took me a lot longer than normal to lose my winter weight this past year. 

I wrote about why old guys get fat in winter several years ago, focusing on the hibernation theory. This year I think the answer is pretty obvious. I burned 170,310 fewer calories in 2015 (153,160) than 2016 (323,470). 

Getting out of bed to ride in winter is hard!

Fortunately I had more time to get into fighting weight before Cycle Oregon in September than I normally do for Ride the Rockies in June. I would have had a hard time hauling my ass over the mountains weighing 235 than I would at my normal 215!

Training for a ride in September meant that I stayed motivated throughout the summer and early fall. Typically I have a hard time getting back on the bike after my big event. This year I was determined not to let that happen and set a goal to ride at least 50 miles per week in October and November, which I did. I stepped that up to 75/week in December.

I like to set up my CycleOps trainer in front of the TV and watch the AFC West Champion Kansas City Chiefs! 

A lot of these miles were ridden on my CycleOps Fluid 2 indoor trainer, which involves constant peddling (riding outdoors it's normal to coast 10, 20, even 30 percent of the time and provides a great workout.

 

So here I sit on January 2, 107, weighing in at 223 lbs., ten pounds less than last year at this time and around my normal for this time of year. I want to get that back under 220 ASAP and hold it there until warmer weather returns and we emerge from hibernation!

The question is: which big ride am I going to do this year: Ride the Rockies or Cycle Oregon? Another possibility Jonny Rocker and I have discussed is doing our own ride, either self-supported or supported by our wives. Let me know if you have any suggestions for other week-long rides or planning your own route.

Ride on!

Daren