Couldn't bring myself to get out of bed at 4:45 this morning. I can't wait until next Wednesday. My littlest guy is going to school so I can work out while he's gone. I also found out that 3 glorious days a week I can leave him for an "extended" day lasting until 2pm. Just think of how much working out I can get done in the time? Maybe I can add in some hot yoga.
When I finally did get up (6am) I had to get the kids out the door before working out. Since by then, I was confined to cartoon watching with the 4 year old, I drug the trainer back upstairs to give it a 2nd try.
I still found that it took some getting used to - it's boring & I'm constantly watching the clock - but I was able to get a solid 45 minutes of high cadence cycling in while watching the Today Show. I noticed that I get much hotter & sweatier sitting in the house. Hard to believe with as hot as it's been outside. The new saddle looks like it might be a keeper & I love, love, love the aero bars. I still need a place to put the clicker as down the back of my riding shorts isn't going to work long-term but overall, I'm happy with the results.
When I was done with my ride I had a brief moment of panic when it looked like my bike might be stuck in the trainer again but 5 seconds of careful pulling popped it out!
TODAY'S WORKOUT: 45 minute ride on trainer (+ cleaned the kitchen & did 2 loads of laundry!)
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Shout Out!
Yeah! I got my bike back - a big shout out to Brian over at Cycler's Cafe. He didn't even laugh too much when I tried to explain to him how I broke my bike getting it out of the trainer! He very patiently showed me how to put the chain & back wheel back on & he put on my aero bars & is letting me try out a new saddle. Apparently it's not completely normal to feel crippled after getting off the bike or to have it hurt to pee for a week after... He's ordering a new stem so I can sit more comfortably & a new part to my computer so it can be attached to my back wheel. I hate being on the trainer & not knowing how fast & far I'm going.
The new aeros are super cool. Very comfy. I'm hoping I can use them lots as they're way more comfy than keeping my hands on the bars. I'm certain it's going to make me so much faster ;)
Anyway - I'm off to a school meeting - my youngest is getting ready to start Pre-K. He's been the only one home for a couple of weeks & it's been tough to get workouts in. Starting next week I hope to have 3 luxurious hours every morning to squeeze my workouts into.
Till next time...
TODAY'S WORKOUT: 6.25 mile run followed by a nap to recover from getting up at 4:45 every morning.
The new aeros are super cool. Very comfy. I'm hoping I can use them lots as they're way more comfy than keeping my hands on the bars. I'm certain it's going to make me so much faster ;)
Anyway - I'm off to a school meeting - my youngest is getting ready to start Pre-K. He's been the only one home for a couple of weeks & it's been tough to get workouts in. Starting next week I hope to have 3 luxurious hours every morning to squeeze my workouts into.
Till next time...
TODAY'S WORKOUT: 6.25 mile run followed by a nap to recover from getting up at 4:45 every morning.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Did you ever want to boot kick your bike out the door?
As a mom of 5 children ranging from 4 to 18 with a husband who works all the time, it's sometimes hard to find the time to get my workouts in. To solve the running problem I've been getting up at 4:45 to run outside before I get the kiddos up for school. However, for the bike, I decided an indoor trainer would be necessary for those days that I just can't get outside.
After researching the options, I decided to get a Kinetic Road Machine fluid resistance trainer and promptly ordered one from trisports.com. As I waited impatiently for it to arrive, I decided that more equipment was necessary to make my Felt F75 into that magical machine that would have me zooming at pro speeds around Louisville. I settled on a set of Profile Carbon Stryke aero bars and ran out to the local bike shop to grab them. Although they offered to install them at the shop, I declined, saying that I was pretty mechanical.
Imagine how excited I was when I got home from the bike shop with my aero bars to find the trainer sitting on my doorstep. My evening was set - after I got the kids to bed I would assemble the trainer, install the aero bars & surely have time for a ride while I watched some tv.
9:00 - I was ready. Assembling the trainer was actually pretty easy. Not too many parts, decent instructions. I think I only put one part on wrong through the whole process. Next, I brought in the mat & wheel block, set everything up, wrestled my bike into the house, changed out the skewer on the rear wheel and set the bike into the trainer. Now it was about 10:00. How long could aero bars possibly take? I was well on my way to my first indoor ride.
10:00 - I opened up the parts box for the bars, laid everything out on the kitchen counter & read through the instructions for the 1st, 2nd & then 3rd times. Torque wrench? I don't think I have one of those. Shims? This is starting to sound complicated. I read through the instructions one more time, and then, failing to make any more sense of them, packed everything back into the box & promised myself I'd figure it out tomorrow. By then, it was 11:00 & I was too tired to ride. I set my alarm for 4:45 again and was off to bed.
Morning - no snooze for me today. I was excited - about to take my first indoor training ride. I quickly dress in my riding shorts & top, pull on my shoes, turn on the tv & hop on the bike. I start pedaling - hmmm - this is hard. I shift some gears around & then hop off the bike to adjust the tension. That's better. Now - starting to get into a groove I start flipping through channels to find something to watch. Settling on a program, I look around for someplace to put the clicker. Nothing - I decide to stick it in the top of my shorts - definitely not comfortable. Wow - I can't believe I've only been riding 5 minutes. My butt is starting to hurt. Then my hands. Then my arms. Back to my butt (and other parts). For the next 45 minutes, I dwell on what hurts. I wiggle & stretch. Arms up, down on the drops, sit upright - I could sure use those aeros. No good. Outside I never feel this way. Maybe this is why I hate the treadmill so much. Nothing but time to think about how miserable you are. And hot...5:45 - off the bike. I have 15 minutes to get the whole setup taken down & put away before I have to wake up the kids.
I open the quick release lever, slide back the thingie holding the right skewer in but can't get the left side out. Struggling, I try to slide the bike every which way but it's not budging. Then I notice that the back wheel is coming off the bike. I reach down to try to fix it & the chain drops off. What is going on? I spent about 20 mins like this trying not to damage my bike before I was finally able to pop it out of the trainer. In the meantime, the chain is off on the front & back & I can't get the tire back on. In disgust, I decide that I'll have to humbly take my bike into the shop to have them show me how to fix it. I might as well have them do the stupid aero bars too - and a new saddle - and an adjustment - anything to make it more comfie.
I take the bike out to the garage to put it in the car so I can drop it by the shop after I take the kids to school & realize that my SUV is gone (my husband is taking my oldest to college) & I'm left with his medium size sedan. Bummer. This is becoming comical. Not willing to give up at this point, I take off the front tire too, put both tires in the back seat & somehow wrangle the frame into the trunk without banging anything up. Kids up, out the door - off to the bike shop I go. I try to explain to them what happened but finally just give up. "Take it," I tell them. "I'll be by tomorrow at 4:00 to pick it up". So much for my mechanical abilities. I'm certainly going to have to work on that before next August. If I'd gotten a flat back tire today I think I'd still be sitting on the course...
TODAY'S WORKOUT: 45 minutes on trainer & 30 minute swim
After researching the options, I decided to get a Kinetic Road Machine fluid resistance trainer and promptly ordered one from trisports.com. As I waited impatiently for it to arrive, I decided that more equipment was necessary to make my Felt F75 into that magical machine that would have me zooming at pro speeds around Louisville. I settled on a set of Profile Carbon Stryke aero bars and ran out to the local bike shop to grab them. Although they offered to install them at the shop, I declined, saying that I was pretty mechanical.
Imagine how excited I was when I got home from the bike shop with my aero bars to find the trainer sitting on my doorstep. My evening was set - after I got the kids to bed I would assemble the trainer, install the aero bars & surely have time for a ride while I watched some tv.
9:00 - I was ready. Assembling the trainer was actually pretty easy. Not too many parts, decent instructions. I think I only put one part on wrong through the whole process. Next, I brought in the mat & wheel block, set everything up, wrestled my bike into the house, changed out the skewer on the rear wheel and set the bike into the trainer. Now it was about 10:00. How long could aero bars possibly take? I was well on my way to my first indoor ride.
10:00 - I opened up the parts box for the bars, laid everything out on the kitchen counter & read through the instructions for the 1st, 2nd & then 3rd times. Torque wrench? I don't think I have one of those. Shims? This is starting to sound complicated. I read through the instructions one more time, and then, failing to make any more sense of them, packed everything back into the box & promised myself I'd figure it out tomorrow. By then, it was 11:00 & I was too tired to ride. I set my alarm for 4:45 again and was off to bed.
Morning - no snooze for me today. I was excited - about to take my first indoor training ride. I quickly dress in my riding shorts & top, pull on my shoes, turn on the tv & hop on the bike. I start pedaling - hmmm - this is hard. I shift some gears around & then hop off the bike to adjust the tension. That's better. Now - starting to get into a groove I start flipping through channels to find something to watch. Settling on a program, I look around for someplace to put the clicker. Nothing - I decide to stick it in the top of my shorts - definitely not comfortable. Wow - I can't believe I've only been riding 5 minutes. My butt is starting to hurt. Then my hands. Then my arms. Back to my butt (and other parts). For the next 45 minutes, I dwell on what hurts. I wiggle & stretch. Arms up, down on the drops, sit upright - I could sure use those aeros. No good. Outside I never feel this way. Maybe this is why I hate the treadmill so much. Nothing but time to think about how miserable you are. And hot...5:45 - off the bike. I have 15 minutes to get the whole setup taken down & put away before I have to wake up the kids.
I open the quick release lever, slide back the thingie holding the right skewer in but can't get the left side out. Struggling, I try to slide the bike every which way but it's not budging. Then I notice that the back wheel is coming off the bike. I reach down to try to fix it & the chain drops off. What is going on? I spent about 20 mins like this trying not to damage my bike before I was finally able to pop it out of the trainer. In the meantime, the chain is off on the front & back & I can't get the tire back on. In disgust, I decide that I'll have to humbly take my bike into the shop to have them show me how to fix it. I might as well have them do the stupid aero bars too - and a new saddle - and an adjustment - anything to make it more comfie.
I take the bike out to the garage to put it in the car so I can drop it by the shop after I take the kids to school & realize that my SUV is gone (my husband is taking my oldest to college) & I'm left with his medium size sedan. Bummer. This is becoming comical. Not willing to give up at this point, I take off the front tire too, put both tires in the back seat & somehow wrangle the frame into the trunk without banging anything up. Kids up, out the door - off to the bike shop I go. I try to explain to them what happened but finally just give up. "Take it," I tell them. "I'll be by tomorrow at 4:00 to pick it up". So much for my mechanical abilities. I'm certainly going to have to work on that before next August. If I'd gotten a flat back tire today I think I'd still be sitting on the course...
TODAY'S WORKOUT: 45 minutes on trainer & 30 minute swim
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
And so it begins...
Each year, I'm always the one at my house watching Ironman Hawaii, crying as all the age group athletes triumphantly cross the finish. I think the pros are incredible, but I really get my inspiration from all the others. Stories like Sister Madonna Buder, Team Hoyt, Major David Rozelle (just to name a brief few) who can resist? Of course the one that consistently brings me to tears (I own the DVD) is Jon "Blazeman" Blais. Ever since watching him complete the race in 2005, I've remembered him saying:
Well, now that Louisville has an Ironman (it's inaugural was this past Sunday), what excuse do I have? Here's this great event, practically in my own backyard, that secretly I've always wanted to do. Combine that with the incredible call to action from Jon Blais & I can't resist. Never mind that I've never completed a triathlon. As my friends will tell you - if I'm going to go for it - I'm going big!
So - come along for the ride. Hopefully it won't be too bumpy along the way. I signed up, I'm in & I'm committed....(and maybe a little nuts!)
TODAY'S WORKOUT: 6.25 mile run & 45 minutes swim (plus lots of packing for teenager off to college)
“Live. More than your neighbors. Unleash yourself upon the world and go places. Go now. Giggle. No. Laugh. And bark at the moon like the wild dog that you are. Understand that this is not a dress rehearsal. This is it. Your life. Face your fears and live your dreams and take it all in. Yes, every chance you get. Come close. And by all means, whatever you do, get it on film.” John Blais - 2005 Ironman with ALS (Time: 16:28:58)
Well, now that Louisville has an Ironman (it's inaugural was this past Sunday), what excuse do I have? Here's this great event, practically in my own backyard, that secretly I've always wanted to do. Combine that with the incredible call to action from Jon Blais & I can't resist. Never mind that I've never completed a triathlon. As my friends will tell you - if I'm going to go for it - I'm going big!
So - come along for the ride. Hopefully it won't be too bumpy along the way. I signed up, I'm in & I'm committed....(and maybe a little nuts!)
TODAY'S WORKOUT: 6.25 mile run & 45 minutes swim (plus lots of packing for teenager off to college)
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