Good way to keep track of your outdoor activities and help support a worthy cause in the process...
http://www.plus3network.com/
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tough Week
Yesterday's class was a tough one. We did some interval work and finished off the class with 5 minutes at an 80% effort. It completely wiped me out. Apparently tomorrow night we are upping that to 20 minutes at 80%. I'm not quite sure how I am going to surive that. This is all supposed to prepare us for time trialing. Couldn't resist signing up for the January & February sessions - I love this torture.
Tonight, I am expecting another grueling workout. For some reason this class totally kicks my derriere. Perhaps it's because the computer controls all of the resistance on my bike and there is nowhere for me to hide with the instructor standing right in front of me the whole time. I am expecting to sweat buckets again (here comes the obnoxious girly part) which is rather annoying - it is guaranteed to ruin my hair (I just got it cut into a cute new style today) Maybe I should skip class and go out instead...
Tonight, I am expecting another grueling workout. For some reason this class totally kicks my derriere. Perhaps it's because the computer controls all of the resistance on my bike and there is nowhere for me to hide with the instructor standing right in front of me the whole time. I am expecting to sweat buckets again (here comes the obnoxious girly part) which is rather annoying - it is guaranteed to ruin my hair (I just got it cut into a cute new style today) Maybe I should skip class and go out instead...
Monday, December 15, 2008
I think I am crazy
...because I signed up for this half marathon and haven't even started training for it yet. this will be an insanely cold race.
http://www.hyannismarathon.com/
http://www.hyannismarathon.com/
Friday, December 12, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The computrainer is not my friend
Ok, so I've been doing these indoor training classes for a handful of weeks now, and I am finding them rather enjoyable. I decided, after receiving some insider information, to try one additional class during the week (that brings the total up to 3) where I would be hooked up to a computrainer (read: a trainer with a computer that monitors your every pedal). Yes, fun, high-tech stuff. I was quite sick last week, but decided to torture myself by going to class anyway. Little did I know that we'd be taking a baseline measurement of our fitness. Ugh. Just my luck. We did a gradual hill climb simulation and I failed at 175 watts. Hmm 175...that's a high number, I think to myself. Come to find out, that number on the relative power-wattage scale is rather low. So fine, I was sick, I'd hardly eaten all day I'll give myself the benefit of the doubt and know that it can only go up from there.
Not so fast there speed racer.
Today, we did a drill where we built upon our baseline failure measurement and pedaled away at a specified wattage and rpm for a period of time. The instructor gave everyone their target number and when she came to me, mine was significantly lower than everyone else's. I can deal with this, I think to myself. After all, I have really only been doing this for a short period of time (reality check: only about 3 months now). Problem was, I was surrounded by people who have been doing this for literally years (the guy right next to me had just completed his nth Ironman). Doesn't do much for one's confidence, let me tell you. I made it through the first set, but had a bit of difficulty keeping up with the rpm. At some point during the second set, I realized I just wasn't going to make it at that pace and signaled to the instructor to come over to my bike. "Can I drop it a bit?" I asked her. She took one look at me (my face was beet red, the beads of sweat rolled down my nose and streamed off the tip like a waterfall...and my heart rate was about as high as my failure wattage) and dropped me 20 watts. Ugh. My dignity had just left the building. I continued to struggle at this new level through the remainder of the session. When it was time to go, the instructor came over to me and said not to worry about the fact that I had to drop back (right) because my form was perfect (sure) and I would just need to work on my fitness which equated to more time in the saddle. Yes, I nodded, that was excruciatingly apparent. Until next time...
Not so fast there speed racer.
Today, we did a drill where we built upon our baseline failure measurement and pedaled away at a specified wattage and rpm for a period of time. The instructor gave everyone their target number and when she came to me, mine was significantly lower than everyone else's. I can deal with this, I think to myself. After all, I have really only been doing this for a short period of time (reality check: only about 3 months now). Problem was, I was surrounded by people who have been doing this for literally years (the guy right next to me had just completed his nth Ironman). Doesn't do much for one's confidence, let me tell you. I made it through the first set, but had a bit of difficulty keeping up with the rpm. At some point during the second set, I realized I just wasn't going to make it at that pace and signaled to the instructor to come over to my bike. "Can I drop it a bit?" I asked her. She took one look at me (my face was beet red, the beads of sweat rolled down my nose and streamed off the tip like a waterfall...and my heart rate was about as high as my failure wattage) and dropped me 20 watts. Ugh. My dignity had just left the building. I continued to struggle at this new level through the remainder of the session. When it was time to go, the instructor came over to me and said not to worry about the fact that I had to drop back (right) because my form was perfect (sure) and I would just need to work on my fitness which equated to more time in the saddle. Yes, I nodded, that was excruciatingly apparent. Until next time...
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Flat!
I've been waiting for this day with nervous anticipation...the day when I'm riding along and all of a sudden my tire pops and I go flat. I always imagined that this horrific episode would happen to me when I was out in the middle of nowhere, alone and on a very cold, windy (maybe even rainy) day. Well, when it did finally happen, what actually transpired was quite a different scenario.
Rewind to last week:
It all started when I was loaned a tire to use while riding on my trainer. This will be great, I thought. I'll unhook my wheel and throw the new one on and I'll be good to go... Imagine my surprise when I walk into my office and see a circular piece of rubber hanging on my office chair. Damn, where's the wheel? Apparently "you can borrow a tire" literally meant I was just getting a tire and I would be forced to practice swapping one out.
So later the following evening I decided to give it a shot. I was able to take my back tire off without any problems...smallest gear...check...unhook the brakes...check...unscrew the axle and take the wheel off the fork...chickety check. I released the air from the tube and took off my tire and got ready to put the new one on. Piece of cake...not really...30 minutes and 2 sore thumbs later, I managed to squeeze the tire around the wheel frame. I wiped the sweat off my brow and refilled the tube with air. Well, I thought to myself, at least I got some practice and now I know I can change out a tube and put the wheel back on.
The next evening was my indoor training class. I was pretty excited to give my handiwork its true test so I hooked up the back tire to the trainer and hopped on my bike. I began to pedal and all of a sudden I heard a loud !POP! whhssssshhhh ...Uh oh... "Hey, you just got a flat" my classmate says to me. My face dropped. He hopped off his bike and came over to inspect the damage. He suggested that it may just be a slow leak and refilled the tube with some air. I put the bike back on the trainer and thankfully was able to finish out the session without further interruption. In the back of my mind, however, I kept thinking that I'd have to do something about it before my next training session - which happened to be at 6am the next morning.
That brings us to today:
After a night of restful sleep, I awoke at 5:30am thinking to myself that there was no way I could change out my flat and make it in time for training. I half hoped that by some miracle, the tire truly hadn't flatted out and I'd be spared the embarrassment of asking someone in class to assist me. Unfortunately, my hopes were crushed when I squeezed the tire and felt the hard rim between my thumb & forefinger. What do I do now?!? And then, an idea hit me. Last night I was able to fill the tube with air and ride the full 90 minutes. Today's class is only 60 minutes. Surely the tube would last that long and I could just change it out when I got to work...brilliant!
When I arrived at Landry's, I filled the tube up with air and carried on as if I had a fully operational piece of riding equipment. I set up my bike and began the warm up. So far so good. I settled in as the workout began, thinking I was in the clear when all of a sudden I heard it... "tha thump...tha thump...tha thump..."
Craaaaaappp! I hopped off my bike and informed the instructor that somehow I'd just gotten a flat. "How in the world did that happen on your trainer?" he asked me. I innocently replied that I had no idea. During this time, another rider (who had one arm in a cast) hopped off his bike to find out what had happened. He kindly brought over a new wheel and asked me if I could swap them out. For whatever reason, probably out of sheer embarrassment, I replied no. He looked at me blankly. With his one good arm, he changed out the wheel for me and told me that he'd replace the tube once class was finished. Oh man. I'd just made this guy fix my bike with one hand. Mortifying.
Class finished without any further mishaps and my one armed classmate took my wheel to the back. He came out 5 minutes later, wheel hanging over his casted arm, pump in the other. He set them down in front of me and says "you'll have to pump". I looked at him quizzically and he replied by holding up his broken arm. "Oh...right," I say, my cheeks flushing a cherry red. I pumped the tire to 80psi because that was all I could do (even with my full weight on the handle, I wasn't able to get the bar down far enough to get it to 100). Then one-armed classmate threw the wheel back on my bike for me and told me I was all set to go. So I suppose in a way I lucked out that it happened while I was in a bike shop and there were plenty of people there who could fix it for me. ;)
Rewind to last week:
It all started when I was loaned a tire to use while riding on my trainer. This will be great, I thought. I'll unhook my wheel and throw the new one on and I'll be good to go... Imagine my surprise when I walk into my office and see a circular piece of rubber hanging on my office chair. Damn, where's the wheel? Apparently "you can borrow a tire" literally meant I was just getting a tire and I would be forced to practice swapping one out.
So later the following evening I decided to give it a shot. I was able to take my back tire off without any problems...smallest gear...check...unhook the brakes...check...unscrew the axle and take the wheel off the fork...chickety check. I released the air from the tube and took off my tire and got ready to put the new one on. Piece of cake...not really...30 minutes and 2 sore thumbs later, I managed to squeeze the tire around the wheel frame. I wiped the sweat off my brow and refilled the tube with air. Well, I thought to myself, at least I got some practice and now I know I can change out a tube and put the wheel back on.
The next evening was my indoor training class. I was pretty excited to give my handiwork its true test so I hooked up the back tire to the trainer and hopped on my bike. I began to pedal and all of a sudden I heard a loud !POP! whhssssshhhh ...Uh oh... "Hey, you just got a flat" my classmate says to me. My face dropped. He hopped off his bike and came over to inspect the damage. He suggested that it may just be a slow leak and refilled the tube with some air. I put the bike back on the trainer and thankfully was able to finish out the session without further interruption. In the back of my mind, however, I kept thinking that I'd have to do something about it before my next training session - which happened to be at 6am the next morning.
That brings us to today:
After a night of restful sleep, I awoke at 5:30am thinking to myself that there was no way I could change out my flat and make it in time for training. I half hoped that by some miracle, the tire truly hadn't flatted out and I'd be spared the embarrassment of asking someone in class to assist me. Unfortunately, my hopes were crushed when I squeezed the tire and felt the hard rim between my thumb & forefinger. What do I do now?!? And then, an idea hit me. Last night I was able to fill the tube with air and ride the full 90 minutes. Today's class is only 60 minutes. Surely the tube would last that long and I could just change it out when I got to work...brilliant!
When I arrived at Landry's, I filled the tube up with air and carried on as if I had a fully operational piece of riding equipment. I set up my bike and began the warm up. So far so good. I settled in as the workout began, thinking I was in the clear when all of a sudden I heard it... "tha thump...tha thump...tha thump..."
Craaaaaappp! I hopped off my bike and informed the instructor that somehow I'd just gotten a flat. "How in the world did that happen on your trainer?" he asked me. I innocently replied that I had no idea. During this time, another rider (who had one arm in a cast) hopped off his bike to find out what had happened. He kindly brought over a new wheel and asked me if I could swap them out. For whatever reason, probably out of sheer embarrassment, I replied no. He looked at me blankly. With his one good arm, he changed out the wheel for me and told me that he'd replace the tube once class was finished. Oh man. I'd just made this guy fix my bike with one hand. Mortifying.
Class finished without any further mishaps and my one armed classmate took my wheel to the back. He came out 5 minutes later, wheel hanging over his casted arm, pump in the other. He set them down in front of me and says "you'll have to pump". I looked at him quizzically and he replied by holding up his broken arm. "Oh...right," I say, my cheeks flushing a cherry red. I pumped the tire to 80psi because that was all I could do (even with my full weight on the handle, I wasn't able to get the bar down far enough to get it to 100). Then one-armed classmate threw the wheel back on my bike for me and told me I was all set to go. So I suppose in a way I lucked out that it happened while I was in a bike shop and there were plenty of people there who could fix it for me. ;)
Monday, November 17, 2008
Sunday Ride
Went for a ride yesterday...it was so windy I thought I was going to get blown over a couple times. What normally takes me 1hr 15 minutes, took almost 2 hours to finish. Good workout though.
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