Training at Hains Point

[Tim Kelley]

@rcannon100 23326 wrote:

I say this with the greatest of affection for you two, but why do it if its boring If part of the training is dealing with the boredom, then there is something I dont understand. (And this really isnt meant to be a challenge – the next time we are sitting and having a beer, I would love to hear why you guys do it).)

For me, Hains Point centuries were great for preparation to do Ironman Florida, which has 112 miles of mostly flat and nondescript terrain/scenery. Being able to focus for extended periods of time was very helpful.

When I did it this year, I mostly wanted to get in 5 hours of quick saddle time without making many stops or dealing with much traffic. I drove the car down there, set up a cooler full of bottles and plenty of snacks/nutrition and could stop to refill whenever I needed. Personally, I don’t find it all that boring. I don’t ride with headphones, but I like making friends who are riding at a similar pace and can do some people watching from the aerobars.

[dbb]

@PotomacCyclist 23348 wrote:

I don’t consider a fox to be a threat, just a curiosity. Same with the ducks.

That is true for those of you that can cycle faster than a duck or a fox. For those of us who occasionally can’t, we might look like prey!

[txgoonie]

It if makes any sense at all, riding at Hains Point is to a cyclist what going to the track to do intervals is to a runner. It’s not really a place to enjoy a leisurely ride (although I will go there when I just wanna spin for a while b/c it’s a rather safe place to pedal mindlessly and I find watching the fast folks entertaining). It’s a place to do a structured workout. If you ride and ride and ride and never push your limits, you may be able to ride longer, but you’ll never ride faster or be able to summon the power for shorter, harder efforts.

Sorry to go back to the running analogy, but for years I was running a 9 minute/mile pace. I would pretty much run that pace no matter the length of the run. From 5k to half marathon, I could never go any faster and I never understood why. I thought by just running a lot I would automatically improve. Doesn’t work that way. My body was trained to run that speed b/c that’s all I ever did. Ahhh but when I started doing interval training at the track, my times started dropping significantly even at the longer distances. You have to teach your body to go faster by, well, going faster, and over time you’re able to withstand harder efforts for longer periods of time.

I go to Hains b/c my running fitness is a-okay, but it doesn’t entirely translate over into cycling. It’s a whole other set of muscles. I can ride for relatively long periods of time for a beginner b/c my cardio system is primed for that, but my legs become a quivering, gelatinous mess if I try to ride fast. I need to get my legs to keep up with my heart and lungs.

And as other folks have mentioned, the mental aspects of it are many. For me, it has been a toughening experience b/c no matter how fast I think I’m going, I always get passed. I can be close to max heart rate and still get passed like I’m standing still (Thursday evenings can be ego-crushing experiences if you’re not prepared). Plus, you really have to find your zen b/c I’m not sure that the rules for all the different users out there are clearly defined, so people do some pretty funky things.

I won’t pretend that it’s fun, but it’s also not fun being the caboose of every ride and feeling like you’re the scrub holding everybody up. I wanna actually enjoy long rides – that’s why I go.

[Dirt]

@PotomacCyclist 23348 wrote:

I wasn’t making a list of hazards, just some notable items. I don’t consider a fox to be a threat, just a curiosity. Same with the ducks. I think they’re funny to watch. I don’t even mind the water jets that much, especially on hot days.

Yup. I read it again with that in mind and it sounded much better in my brain. Sorry for misinterpreting.

Rock on!

[rcannon100]

riding at Hains Point is to a cyclist what going to the track to do intervals is to a runner

I guess that’s sort of what is in the back of my mind. I ran track and cross country in high school and college. Cross country in college meant running in sub freezing weather through the corn fields of Ohio. Boy was I glad I had grown a beard.

The Ultimate Frisbee team had a habit of raiding track members. People who were fast were good for the Ultimate team. I think I started playing Ultimate my sophomore year and played for 25 years. To me, the difference of a team sport with complexity, compared to the linear mono dimensional experience of track where most training is a solo experience – was tremendous. I liked track. And I liked getting into shape. But it was boring. I LOVED Ultimate and I loved playing a team sport. I only gave it up when the AARP police started enforcing the no-geezers-on-the-field rule.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@rcannon100 23358 wrote:

I guess that’s sort of what is in the back of my mind. I ran track and cross country in high school and college. Cross country in college meant running in sub freezing weather through the corn fields of Ohio. Boy was I glad I had grown a beard.

The Ultimate Frisbee team had a habit of raiding track members. People who were fast were good for the Ultimate team. I think I started playing Ultimate my sophomore year and played for 25 years. To me, the difference of a team sport with complexity, compared to the linear mono dimensional experience of track where most training is a solo experience – was tremendous. I liked track. And I liked getting into shape. But it was boring. I LOVED Ultimate and I loved playing a team sport. I only gave it up when the AARP police started enforcing the no-geezers-on-the-field rule.

I’m also not a fan of the solo “training” aspect of cycling. That’s why I spend most of my time riding places I’m either somewhat unfamiliar with, or places that I enjoy riding and find challenging…it keeps things interesting and I’m content with the fitness that it brings. My only concern for the time being is getting ready for this century. I’m confident I can do the distance and elevation, as I’ve done centuries before and I’ve done rides with nearly as much climbing before, but I’d like to have a solid time and not be dragging myself to the finish. So if I have to do some boring workouts at HP from now until September to accomplish that, I think that’s worth it.

[pfunkallstar]

@rcannon100 23358 wrote:

I guess that’s sort of what is in the back of my mind. I ran track and cross country in high school and college. Cross country in college meant running in sub freezing weather through the corn fields of Ohio. Boy was I glad I had grown a beard.

The Ultimate Frisbee team had a habit of raiding track members. People who were fast were good for the Ultimate team. I think I started playing Ultimate my sophomore year and played for 25 years. To me, the difference of a team sport with complexity, compared to the linear mono dimensional experience of track where most training is a solo experience – was tremendous. I liked track. And I liked getting into shape. But it was boring. I LOVED Ultimate and I loved playing a team sport. I only gave it up when the AARP police started enforcing the no-geezers-on-the-field rule.

I also ran cross country and could never wrap my head around why the hell I was running three miles to get back to the place I started. Also, that old-geezer rule gets invoked RIDICULOUSLY early nowadays. Slap a ring on your finger, go a little grey, and you are suddenly “gramps.”

[vvill]

I used to run cross country as well, until my knees started hating me.

Hains Pt is valuable because of the combination of low-traffic open road and central location. The wind is also interesting as some have mentioned. With all the hills in Arlington I tend to be relatively well sheltered from wind. One time I was riding Hains Pt thinking “jeez, I’m really fast today” until I went up the back stretch and realised it had all been tailwind. It is a bit boring but it’s better than a parking lot or a corporate office loop.

I don’t go often to Hains Pt but if you’re training for an event or just training in general it’s very handy to have. If you want some mileage, say for some kind of bike challenge it’s an easy way to get that too. The weekday lunch rides are tough too. Lots of keen cyclists in their local team kit pacelining – even in January. I’ve never managed to keep up with them. At best I’ll catch up to someone (else) that’s gotten dropped, and that’s my accomplishment.

[consularrider]

I think any kind repetative loop is less stimulating that something you’ve never seen before, but then there is little chance of getting lost.

I think the most I’ve ever done at Hains Point is 20 laps (part of my January 1st century ride). At other times I wll add some loops there when I am passing by on or going to the MVT, particularly if I am trying to stretch a ride say to hit a 50, 62 or 100 mile target. After five years of riding in this area, I still don’t find it mind-numbingly boring, just as I still enjoy long rides on the W&OD out to Purcellville. They both certainly beat the heck out of stationary riding, even with something good on the TV. I’m on the bike every day, so there’s only so much change of scenery you can get without putting the bike in a car and driving, something I try not to do. Besides, it’s always nice to have something you can fall back on that doesn’t require any planning or route mapping ahead of time.

I also want to add that I actually headed for East Potomac Park a couple times this spring and last spring in preparation for the Air Force Cycling Classic Crystal Ride. Since I do no racing and little “training,” I found I could come closer to timing issues with laps there (but without the Air Force Memorial Hill cimb ) than I could out on the road.

[rcannon100]

old-geezer rule gets invoked RIDICULOUSLY early nowadays

Ultimate Frisbee Masters is for kids over the age of 33. Grand Masters is for kids over the age of 40. In Washington DC the Grand Masters team is essentially not sustainable – they cant get players. I know it is counter intuitive that frisbee is a rough and demanding sport, but you actually take a beating. There are only two sports I know of with constant line changes: hockey and ultimate frisbee (and I knew a number of guys who loved playing both). It is almost entirely wind sprints, with hard cuts, and lots of dives landing on the ground. There are games during the evening at Washington & Lee HS in Arlington if you want exposure. DC’s “pro” team is Truck Stop.

I played ultimate until I was 46 with an aging group of fools. The last time I played, I literally could not walk for days – and then for the next few days I just hurt.

There are two factors that have brought cycling to the fore front in my life: (1) the replicants are teenagers and can their own butts home from school and (2) the need for exercise that does not beat the hell out of my body. I would be back on the ultimate field in a heart beat if I could.

[dbb]

I remain a big fan of Hains Point laps.

While riding in circles has its drawbacks, some of the nicest rides I have had have included Hains Point. Early in the morning, the scenery of the DC and Arlington skyline is breathtaking. If you get to the gate before they open it, you have open field running without cars. The regulars are, well, regular, allowing you to see the same people every morning. There is a gent that walks and we say hello every time we see each other when I ride HP.

I get some motivation from the faster riders in that I use them to set a faster pace for me (just about everybody is faster than me!) as I generally ride solo.

Because the HP laps are only 3+ miles, I can add miles quite incrementally, never finding myself spent but with 15 miles to go. As a result, I often find myself doing a lap or two more than I anticipated.

Even when the cars are speeding, they are still going rather slow and in your direction, making my rides significantly safer.

If we could only get the Park Police on board!

[Bilsko]

And now for a little Hains Point History, courtesy of GoDC: http://ghostsofdc.org/2012/06/26/why-is-it-named-hains-point/

On your next lap, dont forget to stop at the Girl Scout’s tea-house.

[jrenaut]

I accidentally turned right from my house this morning instead of left. Suddenly, I found myself on Hains Point. Funny how this always happens on the gorgeous days. It took me forever to get to work.

[PotomacCyclist]

A suggestion for the NPS or the sculptor: There are many copies of Rodin’s famous sculpture “The Thinker” around the world. So why can’t there be two copies of “The Awakening”? Hains Point needs its awakening giant again.

EDIT: Apparently there already is a 2nd copy of “The Awakening”. But it’s in Chesterfield, Missouri! So make a 3rd copy and put it in East Potomac Park.

[jrenaut]

@PotomacCyclist 23429 wrote:

A suggestion for the NPS or the sculptor: There are many copies of Rodin’s famous sculpture “The Thinker” around the world. So why can’t there be two copies of “The Awakening”? Hains Point needs its awakening giant again.

EDIT: Apparently there already is a 2nd copy of “The Awakening”. But it’s in Chesterfield, Missouri! So make a 3rd copy and put it in East Potomac Park.

What if we commission a new sculpture specifically for Hains Point – perhaps a superbiker shaking a fist at a tour bus?

[Author]

Posts