Saturday: Good company, nice meal, nice sights

This morning started at 6 something (I’m tired and can’t remember the time for sure). Mike and I went for a run outside this morning and enjoyed some of the cool air and hills. We then finished in the Gym with some weights and stretching. It was a nice start.

The last two mornings have been a harvest bar and a green apple for breakfast, so I’ve been hungry by the time lunch comes around. Today’s lunch was fish. It was good.

Tonight a friend of Mikes took us out to dinner (Mmmmm...!) and showed us around the town. I had a spicy tuna and it was very good. (Photo above.)We then drove around the city--it’s a beautiful place. It’s been sprinkling all day and was 37 when we were heading back tonight.

Tomorrow, Sunday, we will be going to church with Ted and will have lunch with him and his son. Then we’ll either go to the mountains or the beach. It should be a nice time of enjoying the beautiful out doors. The photos are of the city, and one is of my meal.

I may not be able to post again until Tuesday--not sure, but we’ll see.

Friday...in coffee Mecca

Before giving the exercise and health info for today, I want to touch on why I’m doing this blog. I am enjoying the process of thinking through my days and articulating some of the content for publishing here. And I enjoy taking pictures daily as I’ve long enjoyed photography. But really, it’s my hope that this blog will grow to not just be what I’m doing and my thoughts, but that you will share your experiences and thoughts through the comments for all of us see.

This is much like a ‘newspaper’ right now: where I put out my thoughts and readers read it. I think it would be neat if when you have a similar experience or something to share that you feel free to put it in a comment for the rest of us to read. In an effort to help that I’ve removed the comment moderation that was in place before a comment would be published. Now, if you want to comment and do so, you will see it post as soon as you push the publish button (and enter that text string). So, please feel free to add your thoughts to this blog. :-)

Today started at ~6:30 AM local time: last night ended with a walk in the cool of the night looking for a place to get something to eat. The meal was not too bad: a turkey sandwich and a basic side salad, but it was after 10 PM local time and it was almost midnight when I turned off the light.

The formal exercise today was first thing in the morning. I was able to run on a treadmill: 4 miles, no HR info, but I did manage two sprints at 12 mph for roughly a quarter mile each. The rest was some walking and the majority at a more reasonable pace for me. I was also able to do just a few exercises with some dumbbells. Dumbbells are nice as they require a little more muscle involvement to help with balance and movements. Then this evening after dinner I walked around exploring the area and looking for a grocery store, but didn’t find one.

Saddle testing...

Last night ended with 1:45 of time on the saddle to test it; and this morning started with 1:55 more on the saddle. 

The day today started at the normal time (4:41 AM) with the hopes of getting in 2 hrs on the bike and "tester" saddle. It takes a couple minutes to get dressed, make water bottles, put on the HRM, bike shoes and adjust the bike; so I was just a little short on the goal this morning. I rode for 1:30 at just a moderate steady pace watching a couple more episodes of SG Atlantis. 

The last 25 minutes was spent on more intense exercise: 10 reps of 1 minute hard with 1 minute of recovery. Then it was 3 more intervals in a much bigger gear for as long as I could ~ 30 seconds with a 1 minute recovery. And lastly it was a couple minutes in the biggest gear pedaling out of the saddle. It was a nice end to the time.

So I got 3:40 on the saddle since 8 PM last night and have come to the conclusion that I need to keep looking. The last 4 days of time on the trainer puts my time for this week at 6:55. Not being able to ride for the next few days is going to be weird, I will try running and swimming instead and not sure what else.

Wednesday: rest, dentist, clouds, a saddle, exercise, sleep

Thursday started with the alarm going off as normal: I got up, turned it off and sat at the end of the bed contemplating riding the bike again with the temporary MTB saddle. I decided I'd rather go back to sleep and try again to get a saddle (during the day) to try out (in the evening). It was nice to lay back down and sleep for another ~ 2 hrs. (Exercise for today comes at the end of the day.)

I had my dental appt at 9:45 and am glad to have a dentist that is skilled in his work. There was some pain involved, as is normally the case for me anytime I sit in that chair for more than 15 minutes. Today there were maybe 5 sharp twinges of pain. The first when I was getting numbed up: the shot was in the back of my mouth in my jaw but the pain was in the middle of my chin just below my lip - he explained that was common when the nerve was hit (he's a good shot as he's done that before and I stayed numb for several hours). The others came during the repair of two teeth with cavities. I also had a chipped front tooth strengthened -

 but there was no pain for that.

During lunch T. and I were doing some errands together. As I was leaving I thought about taking my camera, but decided I wouldn't needed (what a bummer...). Side note: Listen to yourself. While we were out and heading back, the sky was amazing with the texture of the swirling cloud cover. In the last 10 years I've seen similar clouds only 1 time! And those were similar, but not as amazing as yesterdays. I wish I could have captured it with my camera--it may have been one of the once in a lifetime events. It's disappointing to me to not have captured it to enjoy later and share, but I am glad that T. and I were able to see them and be out together hurrying home to get my camera as the storm front was blowing over and removing the cloud display. I hope you got to see it. It was truly amazing!

In preparation for riding today I sent a note to my friend G. again, asking to borrow a saddle for the night so I could try out a seat that I'm thinking about: he graciously said yes! It was almost 8 PM when I got to put the saddle on and start riding with it. I would ride for a little bit and then adjust it's position. I did this several times and then rode a moderately paced ride: 105 minutes, no HRM, cadence of 83 avg to 141 max, speed 16.2 avg to 27.3 max. It was close to 11 PM when I was laying down and a quick check of my O2 and HR showed 95 & 46: those are normal numbers for me at night, so that told me I didn't work to hard on the bike for my body to recover so quickly.

Reflecting on the day: the highlight with out question was seeing those amazing clouds, and not being by myself but having my wife with me.  (The photos of the clouds are after the front came through and only a shadow of how cool the ones earlier were to see!)

Tentative jersey design

Here's a sneak peek at the tentative design for the jersey for the upcoming Event.

Over 600 dollars for a prescription

As a reminder - this is a blog of my exercise and health adventures and experiences. It seems like today had little focus on exercise and more focus on health: specifically two different Dr. appointments.

The exercise was kind of normal for me: out of bed 8 minutes after the alarm, on the bike by 5:05 and rode for 115 minutes. I had to turn the fan on as it was almost 70 degrees. Now that I'm using my MTB saddle, it's been a little difficult to be really motivated as the saddle supports me, but still isn't the correct saddle for me. It makes it tough to work real hard. I'm not going to be able to ride Friday - Tuesday, so I'm a little disappointed that I'm not able (or willing to) push myself harder right now. It's not the quality time I'm wanting.

Part of being healthy in this country often involves seeing a Dr or three or four. I saw my primary care physician on Friday; went back on Monday to have blood drawn after fasting; and then today went to a dermatologist. I had some spots on my hands, arms and face froze last year and had some more done today. I also had a spot removed for a biopsy last year and today's exam showed that the spot wasn't clean skin yet; so I was prescribed and will start treating it with a cream...a very expensive cream. Thankfully it was only $30 with my copay, but the actual cost was over $600 for 6 grams of this cream...wow! It goes on nightly M-F and will cause my immune system to start attacking the bad cells. I will likely soon develop some visible and physical effects in that location (my right temple) as the medicine starts working. 

(Attached is the photo of the expensive Aldara cream and some samples of sunscreen that I need to be wearing-I didn't know they made 70.) And this afternoon I went to a 'XYZ' specialist. (You have to ask me personally about that one.) The XYZ Dr said that I'm OK and healing and nothing needs to be done! That's good news. 

Tomorrow I have a Dentist appointment to have some cavities removed and a chipped tooth fixed. The dental chair is one of my very least favorite chairs to sit in-ever. But, that should all be done by noon. And lastly, I will likely have a checkup with my Heart doctor before the ride in May, but that hasn't been set yet. It has been over 18 months sense my last echo (a long time for one who was having them every 6 months for a couple years) and check up. I had a great heart Dr when I was having problems Dr. Y. and have a great Dr. M. now that's working with me in my health.

Such has been my medical experiences these last days. I'm glad to be able to take care of them now so I can then move on to other life choices. The thoughts that consume my mind on exercise are trying to decide on and purchase a saddle; to decide on the transportation to and from the 6 day ride down the East Coast. There are also family concerns, work, ... more than can be managed well or so it seems that some things are always getting neglected or put off. The thought for today: Life is lived one choice at a time-hopefully one good one followed by another and another...

A Mental work out

(I updated my Title background picture: it's one of my favorite pre-juice photos.)

Today's entry involves exercise, but as a distraction for my body so my mind can do something else...

I awoke this morning 19 minutes after the radio had gone off. (I have the volume set very low so it doesn't wake or bother my wife.) This morning when I went to exercise, I decided to skip the weights and just ride instead. I was hoping to ride 2 hrs this morning (my plan for M-Th of this week), but only got in 80 minutes. Due in part to oversleeping and more fiddling on the saddle to get a more proper fit. 

The time on the trainer wasn't a hard work out physically, but rather was a time for reflection and talking with God. I didn't have any music playing, or the radio, or any movies to distract me mentally while I exercised. The exercise was like the background for the mental work; it was the distraction for my body so my mind could be on other things...to listen to my own thoughts, to ask God for help in areas that I struggle and to allow the thoughts and concerns of the day to have some attention.

What I learned wasn't some new revelation, but rather a reminder and a deeper understanding that I have a tendency to overeat. Many think I am very disciplined and in some ways I am-but I find that I still struggle with food. So that is where I spent a good portion of time in my mental work out this morning. I have discipline in place to help me--out of necessity. I enjoy eating healthy foods, but I tend to overeat. I still struggle with allowing myself to be hungry. The thought that came to me this morning was that food is like a drug (for me and others): it keeps me a little numb, it provides pleasure, it can help me feel better, it can help me to forget my troubles for a short time, it's addictive, it can kill me...it's a robber of life! When I'm nervous I can just eat and feel better (for a short while) with out dealing with the source of that nervousness. It's an escape...that ends in death.

Today I am going with out food--water only. I've gone through seasons in my life where I've fasted. The last few years much of my fasting has had a nutritional motivation: doing quarterly multi-day cleansing juice fasts, periodic daily fasts, etc. But recently Monday fasts have been drawn back to water only and with the purpose of a deeper relationship with God. I am desiring to allow a certain ambient hunger to be a part of my daily life. I have a saying that I would like to be a character trait: "To be hungry for God--not full of food." It's not an area that I want to increase in 'self-discipline' to let myself be hungry, but rather that it will become a part of who I am. I would like for the way I think about eating to be 'right'--that it's to sustain life in my body, not provide an escape to my real life. 

The thought for today: do some mindless exercise (like riding a stationary bike) to keep your body entertained so your mind can consider what needs to be considered. Live life to the fullest--that's what I want too.

Saturday, finally a long ride again: and even outside...

Today was the "Beauty and the Beast" ride. Some friends were doing the ride and I would have liked to, but just wasn't able to. But, I was able to get out today for a 3 and 1/2 hour ride, 60.5 miles before the wind and fatigue said it was time to stop. 

The ride had a bit of a late start (10 AM), but I was home by 2 PM (30 minutes of seat adjustments, eating, refilling water bottles, resting). There was a little bit of wind, but not to bad for the first couple hours. But the last bit of the ride was into the wind and up some hills. One of my favorite parts of today's ride was going over the lake, on the bridge. I had a little tail wind and the bridge starts after a short downhill. So I entered the bridge at around 26 mph with a cadence of 104 and exited the bridge at 31 turning 112. I enjoy riding at higher speeds (25+), and that portion over the bridge is one that I like to push myself on. My Garmin showed a calorie expenditure of 4447 calories for the ride. I think it's a little high, but 4000 would be believable. My HR had a max of 177 and 143 for the average. (Much higher than when I ride on the trainer.)

It was nice to be out riding again. I was a little queasy when I got home--I think this is due to the ride being challenging. I'm not where I was hoping I'd be with only 7 weeks until the 6 day ride, but it's where I'm at. I need to train with purpose and not just put in valueless time on the trainer--that time needs to count. I also need to get a replacement saddle soon, so I can work out the positioning. Tomorrow is a rest day. I'm looking forward to it.

(Photo is of my temporary saddle--off of my MTB, $20 value at Walmart; not bad on the MTB, looking forward to something better on my road bike.)

Friday...Family, Full, Fun and a Green Nose

Friday: a nice full day; work on fitting my bike, a Dr visit, Science Museum and a softball game. It was a fun day.

I started with taking off my narrow saddle and putting the $20 saddle from WalMart that was on my MTB onto my road bike. It looks a little out of place, but last year I rode my MTB with that saddle a fair bit; so I think it's a good interim saddle while I choose a replacement. So rather than get a ride in, I spent a good amount of time re-adjusting my saddle position (fore/aft and height). It was surprising to me how it felt so different; not just the saddle but the whole bike fit.

The Dr. visit: hmmm...I have a small growth or something that I've had for years but it's never concerned me before: early this week it started hurting and was larger, so I went to my Dr. to have it checked out. I have a referral to see a specialist and will call this next week to make an appointment. Enough said here.

Shortly after getting home we headed to the Science Museum with a car full. (Some of the photos are from the time there. The lizard one is very cool! It's a quilt!) The afternoon was spent there mostly walking around in the museum's. When we were done we let the kids play around the pond; ending with two of the kids falling into the pond...what a surprise that was-Not.  : )

Then we ended the day with our first Softball game. That is always fun and this year we have several that haven't played with us before. It's fun to play sports with other guys as you can learn a good bit about someones character during the heat of battle of a sporting activity!

 

We lost, but we didn't get run-ruled (where the other team is winning by so many runs during the game that they call it early). Being run-ruled is a terrible way to end a softball game. Nobody got hurt, we had a ton of fans cheering and it was a good performance for a first game.

We got home after 10 PM, but with just the three of us-we made popcorn and watched a movie. It was a late night but nice to be free. 

Sat-I'm aiming for a long ride out side, it's been 3 weeks since my last ride that wasn't on my trainer...

(I'm the one taking the photo, my wife is the one with the "Green Nose"! Why is her nose so cool, when my whole face is not??)

Two days gone...blink

Wow...has it really been since Tuesday with out a report? There goes my daily update record. It's been a different week with the kids out of school and home on Spring Break. The sleep routines are different as are almost everything else during the day and evening.

Wed: started with high hopes of Weights, bike and the batting cages. As it turned out I did do the weights in the morning, but with a full day and evening I was too tired to swing by the batting cages from my evening meeting and once home...I just wanted to go to bed: I was zonked out!

Th (today): started at my regular time again. I was wanting to have a long ride this morning and that's what happened: 2 hrs 10 minutes on the trainer. I was kind of cheating though as I bought my first DVD season of a TV show on Tuesday. So this morning I watched 3 episodes of Stargate Atlantis while I rode on my trainer. I am planning on doing multiple weekly rides of 2 hrs or more during the next weeks as I want to increase my time in the saddle. Especially after I get my new saddle. I also played catch with my oldest son as Softball Season starts tomorrow night (Friday). No 'pepper' contest tonight; just working the arms and refining the hand eye coordination. Tomorrow evening we'll go by the batting cages before the game; I think CC33 will likely join us too. The first game tomorrow night should be fun.

During today's ride I came to the conclusion that my seat (saddle) is probably to narrow and that is why I am having problems sitting on my bike for longer rides. I made an entry here that you can read to learn about "Sit Bones". (This entry is on the 6 Day 600 mile ride blog.) It was a full day with another trip to the Local Bike Store (LBS) during lunch. And, I may go again tomorrow as I would like to get a loaner saddle to try out for a long ride on Saturday. For now I am going to take my WalMart seat off of my MTB and put it on my road bike and try that tomorrow morning. I know it's wider, so it should be more comfortable to sit on. It's not a long term fix, but it's worth trying out while I decide on which saddle I should purchase for my road bike.

As for eating...today has been a struggle. I feel like I've been hungry and eating ALL Day!! Not what I want--but where I am. In addition to good nutritional foods I've had cookies, M&M's and ice cream. Not what I want to eat on a regular basis. When my schedule gets mixed up, one of the areas that gets hit hard is my eating; so does my exercise and my reading. I tend to need some routine or schedule to help keep my days balanced. I enjoy my extra time with the kids, but I will also be glad when the kids go back to school.

Family time...

Today was another 7 AM start; the kids were up late last night...so was I. We had plans to go to the zoo today, so I figured I could start my ride later than normal since I wasn't going into work today. So I have a brief and bland training report--then some thoughts from our trip to the zoo.

My training time today was nothing spectacular: I worked hard yesterday so 

I figured I'd take it a bit easy today and rode for 90 minutes with out my HRM-it wasn't hard pushing. Just turning in an easy gear around 85 avg cadence.  Tomorrow I plan on getting up at my regular time. Not sure yet if I'll just ride or do weights too. I'll decide in the morning based on how I feel.

With the kids home--we wanted to do somethings with them, so today we went to the zoo with the youngest kids (J-8 & B-10); they are the ones who've kind of missed out on doing things. The first thing we noticed was that many others also had decided to go to the zoo today: MANY!! 

The zoo is close to the freeway and the traffic was backed up onto the freeway, so we started waiting in lines before we even exited. After about 15 minutes of being patient and watching the light 20 cars ahead cycle through green lights with out anyone making it through, we started looking for another route. One was found with less traffic and we had the right of way. The parking was already full when we got there, so we were allowed to park along the curb (saving the parking fee and being very close to the entrance gate). It took over 30 minutes to get off the freeway and parked: maybe a total distance of 1/2 mile. 

One of the many nice things about the zoo is that you are allowed to bring in your own food and drinks. This is Great!! I had made lunch for the four of us, so we started there at the car before heading in and then brought snacks and water in with us. The highlight for the kids was riding the monorail at the end of the day. We had walked the whole park and it was nice to be shaded and sitting and still able to see the different animals. If we were wearing pedometers--I'm certain we would have been over 10,000 steps for the day.

We then were able to go out to eat (after driving in rush hour traffic). It was nice and good that we could do something special with B & J.

The photos are from today's trip to the zoo - just in case you were thinking we had a pet Gorilla! 

A Gorgeous Day

I had a different routine today: slept in until almost 7 then did the weights. Then to work with time on the trainer during lunch. It was a nice change of routine, but I'm planning on a longer ride in the morning tomorrow (on the trainer of course).

The time with the weights went with out any major events. I see it as part of keeping an overall balance and trying to keep some upper body strength. At times I've enjoyed it in the past, but lately it's just been maintenance work: due to the amount of time I'm spending and the types of exercises I'm doing. Not enough time or weight to really improve in strength. I've never tried to have a maintenance program with weights before, so this is new. But, with the ride out there, I'm more interested in the bike training getting the lion's share of the time.

The lunch bike ride on the trainer was productive and nice. This afternoon it was gorgeous out side: nice sun, little wind, super after much grey and wet. So I rode where I could see outside and had some fresh air...very nice. I rode for 68 minutes (would have like to ride longer but it was a long lunch break already). I did 10 intervals after warming up and doing a tempo ride for 10 minutes. The intervals were in different gears so my cadence was a little varied depending on the gear: avg cadence 87, max 127 (for the whole ride).  The max HR was 173. Towards the end of the ride I was able to maintain a pace with my HR in the 150's - that was nice to see. 

The pictures for today are of the HR and O2 from last night, and a shot of my arm while exercising on the bike. The arm shot is interesting to me as it shows all the water drops coming out of my pores. That arm had been wiped several times, as did my other arm, face and head. It's my opinion that my body is efficient at sweating; the purpose of which is to regulate body temperature, remove waste and cleanse the skin. So when I see my sweaty arm, I think how cool it is that things are working well! If I had stinky sweat I might have other thoughts, but with regular fasting, removing many unhealthy foods from my diet and regular exercise, my sweat doesn't smell bad; as long as you don't mind a little garlic...  :-)

My (Almost) first TRI

I awoke early yesterday morning, wanting to get everything ready and get out the door on time. It was dark and wet -- still ... rough weather for a Tri. (Don't tell anyone, but in the back of my mind I was glad the registration was closed early and today I was going as an encourager and historian - documenting and recording the adventure for CC33. (who was doing this for the first time) and for my other seasoned tri-athlete friends.) In the photo (M, R, C, CC33 and J). The short one in the front is the Birthday Boy. We did the annual meal at Cracker Barrel after the event...can you say all day breakfast (pancakes are his favorite)! And we got in our game of checkers too, one more year of still being the champ.

This was the first Tri that I was able to attend in it's entirety to be an encourager and take photos. It was very neat and I enjoyed it as much (in a different way) as if I had been a participant. Being St. Patrick's day, it started with a man in a Kilt playing bagpipes in the Natatorium! I captured 155 photos and videos...2.3 GB of memories. I am glad to say that all of my friends completed the event and one coming in 3rd in his age bracket!! It was a lot of fun. I like to encourage and was able to practice that for many people. I was even able to do some of the run with CC33 and share some of his experience and capture it on video...it was great to be able to do that.

If you've never been to or seen a Tri, they are quite amazing to watch. The people that participate are so varied in age, shape, level of fitness, equipment, etc. But even with the big differences, they all share a common desire to push themselves to finish an event that is challenging: physically and mentally. It's a great use of a morning--to go and observe and encourage.

As for my own training yesterday. It's wasn't much: 45 minutes on the trainer in the later PM hours of the night. The night before I saw mid 40's again for a resting HR before going to sleep. That continues to be encouraging. I'm also trying to push some of every ride. Yesterday that was a short period of high cadence, in addition to trying to maintain a decent cadence for the whole ride. I'm still not getting in my long rides (rides 3 or more hours long). I had hoped to have more of those by now, but ... I will continue to try to schedule them. Possibly next Sat will be a group ride of 62 miles. The total time on the bike for this week was ~7 hrs (will update this number with the actual later). Not a lot, considering what lies ahead in just over 50 days, but more than it was last week.

I came across some of my logs for previous rides, one in particular was for this past fall. I was able to see some times on some of my regular routes. One being a hill here that I used to do in just under 2 minutes and have recently taken almost 3 minutes to do: a full minute more - that's 50% slower. The only reason for that is I'm just not pushing as hard. Now that I know this, hard proof that I'm not training as hard as I've done in the past, I will be attacking that hill the next time I'm out to see where I'm really at. It would be a waste to be putting a lot of mediocre time on the bike and getting very little return for my time--I hope that is not the case. I haven't ridden on the road for a couple of weeks now, but I'm sure I will soon enough. Being able to find that previous time from last fall is one of the reasons I'm a strong believer and it's my practice to log my training information. I can't remember how I felt 6 months after the time and I tend to think I'm always doing my best...which just isn't always the case. So, as I've said before, I need to have a balance in my training, but it must have times of very intense and difficult training--a must for improvement! A must for keeping my body under the control and management of my mind.

Grey, but Great!

It's almost 9 PM and I'm just now getting to create today's entry, almost 16 hours later. I awoke to light rain and 40's. I'm glad to be training on my trainer as the weather makes it very difficult to ride outside with consistency: even with the difficulties of training alone, in doors, etc..., I'd rather be doing this than nothing.

This morning it was just bike time: 115 minutes; max HR 171, avg 127; max cadence 148, avg 87. Most of the time was just riding. Towards the end I added some sprints and a short time of riding out of the saddle. It was a good work out.

You can see the graphic (and link) to the Going the Distance blog on the right - I added that today. I am also going to be updating my countdown timer with my own JavaScript version of one. Excitement is building for the 6 Day ride. More details will follow as the days get closer and closer to zero.

It was gray and misty most of the day today--It was a Great Day Today!!! I'm happy to be alive and well.

Tomorrow is my son's BD and we're going to go to the TRI as spectators where I hope to get lots of good pictures and give lots of encouragement! And J. will do the same by my side. Then we'll share a meal and see what else we can do for fun together. It should be nice.

Training for the Mountains in Life

Last night my O2 and HR were 95 and 46. The lower HR I'm seems to be a combination of health, fitness level and current activity of my body (before going to sleep it mostly involves time of last eating or exercising). This is my growing understanding as I check these numbers every night and have done so for years now. So, seeing a 46 was good: it means to me that I'm healthy, getting more fit and my body wasn't working hard digesting some bedtime snack.

(The photo is of the bush out back: still having dead flowers from last year, new growth is coming out, even on this cold and wet morning. A picture of our lives.)

This morning was more in line with what has become my regular routine: up early, exercise (and get some focus), help with the kids, fix some breakfast, prepare lunch to take with me, etc... The time of exercise was a little different in that I decided to do the weights first; mostly because it was cold (40's) and I didn't want to get sweaty riding my bike then get cold using the weights. It was a nice change and may do the weights first on days that I do both: weights and ride. One the reduced weight training I'm doing now, I'm still maintaining the same weights and reps - which is completely acceptable to me. The time on the bike was another 20 minute time of 90+ cadence in a gear that put my HR in the 130 range. (I then adjusted my bike seat (saddle) more forward and a bit higher; then downward. Before I replace my saddle, I want to make sure I'm not sitting on it in the wrong place. It's almost like a golf grip, or the breathing part of a swim stroke: it's important to get it right.) Then it was 10 maximum effort sprints, usually in very short duration: 10 seconds to spin up, 15-40 seconds of very hard effort in my bigger gears turning 120+ cadence. I saw 42 mph as a max, but I am disappointed to consider the thought that my new resistance unit is starting to fluctuate in it's resistance. It's hard to say on the sprint intervals as there is normal fatigue - but it felt like more. Tomorrow I'll ride more of a steady pace and see if the problem is real or just fatigue from today's training. 

It was a good effort this morning. I was thinking more of the others who are doing the 6 Day 600 mile ride - 9 of us. It's going to be neat, challenging, fun, hard, a battle of the will and body, ... something significant! Ed who's training in 20 degree weather, Doug who's training in 70 degree weather ... all preparing and coming together for this event! Proper words escape me ... !

Consumed by food...?

I ended my juice fast today a lunch by making a salad (spinach, broccoli, carrot, sweet potato, crasin, red pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and 5 raw cloves of garlic) and shared it with my wife. It's important to end a fast and start eating again with easily digestible foods vs foods like animal products. It was 3 1/2 days and it served its purpose. 

It's always surprising to me how nice it is during a fast to not think or worry about food: what to eat, when, etc ... I did some refresher reading on different juices and other sources of health and nutrition information. Last year I was pretty consistent in regular fasting; and this juice fast has reminded me and encouraged me to get consistent again. And not always juice fasts, but water fasts too. 

So, with reluctance, I'll share some of the benefits of fasting for me: It's healthy for my body as evidenced in many ways, it's good for me mentally to have to struggle with my body and break the 'need' for eating, spiritually I have more time for reflection and seeking God. There are many many more reasons that support regular fasts, but I don't want to be that personal in a public forum. (I will be glad to talk with anyone personally about fasting if you would like.)

Now that "I'm allowed" to eat again, I want to be careful to not get consumed again in my thoughts. I want to continue to feel hunger and not eat to feel "full", or to feel "better". It's no surprise to read in the Bible of people who's god is their stomach (Philippians 3:19).

When was the last time you fasted? And when should you fast next (first)?

Rest Morning

Last night was a late night, as have been the last several ... so this morning was a morning off. It was nice to sleep in and listen to the thunder storm. 

I may exercise at lunch, but most likely I'll let today be a rest day and will plan on some time on the trainer and some weights tomorrow morning. 

The training chart is ruled by me - not the other way around! It's important that I remind myself of this and exercise than knowledge too.

Pushing hard, feeling sick...good.

Well, this morning was better. It had to be if I felt sick and had to sit down for a spell after getting off the bike...

It was the normal wake up time. My goal was 2 hours on the trainer this morning, but opted instead for 91 minutes of good effort instead of just 120 minutes of just getting the time in. What is most difficult for me is sustained effort - tempo training. So, after a couple miles of warm up that's what I did first: 20 minutes at a good HR (~130). Then recovered for a bit until the HR was down to around 120 and did another 20 minutes with the first half pushing hard and the second keeping the cadence up. 

Then is was max effort sprints: these I like more as I ignore the clock (mostly) and do a maximum effort for usually around 30 seconds. I use the lap button on my HRM and give myself the first 10 seconds to spin up to speed then I go all out for as long as I can: usually 20 - 40 seconds. This is where I can most see that my HRM isn't giving me all the information that I'd like to have. Once I start spinning slowly to recover, I can watch my HR continue to rise..1 beat, 3 beats ... 7 beats or more; all during the first 10-15 seconds of my recovery time. So, it's very difficult to measure my effort or even progress over the weeks. I know there is progress when I train like this because I know there is a loss when I stop! It was a good mental day today as I was listing to "Casting Crowns" and not watching any movie. Time goes more slowly; it is more difficult; it was a bit of a struggle as I wanted to stay focused and keep the effort up; it was a challenging time of good effort. When I was done and sat down to take of my bike shoes, I had to sit there and not move as I was starting to feel sick. This can happen to me when I push hard, so it was a welcome side-effect of good effort. The last 2 minutes on the bike were maintaining a cadence over 100 and watching my HR go up: 155, 158, 162, ... 171.

(The next step in training tools for me would be a Power meter. This would give me the amount of power that is being put out at any given time. So during a sprint I would know what my max power is and would be able to track that number as well as us it for training. But the unit I've been looking at (CinQo) costs a bit more than I paid for my whole bike! Yes ... they're expensive. I've sent them a note asking if they would consider a lease or loaner in prep for the 6 day 600 mile ride; and was glad that they didn't slam me for asking, but rather even left a little room for hope once the model for my bike is available-possibly later this month. That would be a Great training tool!)

Today is day 3 of the Juicing. Beets are very good during a juice fast, so today it will be more beets, carrots and lemon. I enjoyed a glass of grapefruit juice and a small protein drink. I've also got a pineapple, carrot, spinach drink to switch up with when I get tired of the beet taste. The theme for today is patience and kindness.

Time for a new start .. tomorrow

Today was the normal wake up time with a plan for 75 minutes on the trainer followed by a short time with the weights. 

Because it's so warm, I've been going through more than one water bottle - today was 1 1/2. The time on the trainer was good from a mechanical perspective: everything worked correctly, but from a mental perspective I realized that I have grown accustomed to an easy routine - just putting in the time. By easy I mean according to my HR I'm not pushing very hard (today was around 120 avg HR, where I should be seeing 140's). 

Today was a moderate ride and a Strong reminder that I need to engage my mind and will when I'm training; rather than watching a movie to help pass the time. How quickly and easy it is to settle for less...sigh... The weights were a little bit of a chore, but I know they are important and I did the full 30 minutes worth. It's nice to know I don't have to think about them again until Wed or Th.

After the exercise I had a protein drink - which I make myself. It's not a solid, but it's not a juice only either. None the less, it is what I've done in the past and am comfortable with it as I continue to exercise on a reduced calorie input. This is day two of my juice fast: the purpose of which is physical, mental and spiritual. 

The theme for today is patience.

Four For Fun a First

It's late, so it's going to be a short post tonight...especially since we loose an hour tonight.

(The first photo is of 4 different shoes [Left to Right]: road bike shoe, mountain bike (MTB) shoe, running shoe amd a softball cleat - all of which were used today. The second photo shows the dolls that visited today during my daughters "doll" party.)

Today was a neat day. It started with a ride and run with C in preparation for the Tri next Sat. It's the one that I was going to do also, but will instead go with my son (who's Birthday is that day) and I'll encourage and be the group photographer and videographer. It should be fun. But back to today: we started a little after 7 and rode for ~12 miles doing a mixture of riding: temp, sprints, recovery, etc. I was on my MTB. We then switched to running and ran ~2.5 miles. It was good preparation as C hadn't yet gone for a run right after biking. After that we each had one of my famous "Recovery Smoothies" [apple, orange, banana, almond, spinach, protein powder, carrots, soy milk, carob, blue berries, filtered water and ice]. 

Then it was off to softball practice - a little late. The doll party was in the middle of the day. Then around 8 PM I was able to ride my road bike on the new trainer for ~100 minutes averaging 18.5 mph. It works as it's supposed to...very nice. I'm glad to have a working trainer again. Those are the highlights of my exercise time today. 

As most people who know me know-I try to eat healthy in addition to having regular intense exercise. One of the ways I do that is by juicing. Last year I had some consistent juicing habits that were practiced monthly and others quarterly. This year I've been a bit lax with the juicer and I'm not sure why. But, I'm planing on starting a Juice fast tomorrow. I'm not sure if that would be of interest to others or not so I'm not sure how much I'll post here. In the past I have had times of a break from the exercise and other times I continued. My plan is to continue this time too. I bought some fresh vegetables (sweet potatoes, beats, kale, ginger, broccoli ...) and fruit (grapefruit, lemon, apple, ...) today in preparation. I used to use cabbage, but am seeing if the blood type info fits for me.  It's late.

Early Friday...

Previously, Friday mornings would have been time on the treadmill and then in the pool, but with the TRI being sold out, I've been reclaiming that training time. 

This morning started a little early, even for me. I tried getting more sleep, but eventually got out of bed 26 minutes before my alarm was to go off. With the extra time, I took my camera and tripod with me for my time on the trainer. My right cleat needed to be moved toward my heal and a little inward-something I've been wanting to fix for weeks. So I did this and that feels better. I set the camera up so I could take some video of my legs while pedaling - to see what the angle of my knee is. It has been a while sense I've looked all this up, but I remember 30 degrees of bend at the bottom of my stroke. So I capture some video and review it; change the camera placement and repeat. Eventually I have a frame that I can use. I then cut a paper triangle with a 30 degree angle. Using that paper triangle laid over the back of my camera I can see that my leg is indeed bottoming out at 30 degrees. This tells me that my seat is at the correct height. I have already confirmed that my knees are in the correct position in relation to the pedals. So, I now have the assurance that my saddle placement should be very close to "correct" according to the common settings.

With the position confirmed, I then rode for 30 minutes. Not to hard as it's very easy to get the resistance unit on the trainer to demand serious watts for any rotation-which quickly drains me. And with the new unit supposed to arrive today, I'm just not that motivated to have a hard workout on this trainer. After the ride I decided to do some leg weights. I haven't done those for several weeks and can tell it by the numbers from the last time and today: fewer reps today. That's good enough for this morning. If the new trainer unit comes today, I'll probably ride again this evening for a little bit. I'm really looking forward to having the trainer working again as it should be.

After playing with my camera taking some time-lapsed photos on the way in, I fix omelet's for two family members and myself.  Yummy!! (2 eggs, sharp cheddar, motzerlla, onion, red bell pepper, good (no nitrites or nitrates) turkey lunch meat, spinach, salt, cyan and black pepper).

Tomorrow morning C. and I are going to do a bike ride and run together. This is the last Sat before the TRI, so it will be a good run through for him, and it will be fun to do it together. Our last training together was with the weights...it was good. Them at 9 we'll both head off to softball practice together. It should be a fun morning.

Glad to be up today

A little more sleep can be a good thing...as was my story yesterday. I didn't set the alarm and was prepared to either sleep, or exercise if my internal alarm went off. Having our Granddaughter over primed me to the thought that it may be a night of reduced sleep for my wife and or myself. As it turned out, after she joined us around 3 AM, it was a fairly restful remaining mornings sleep and my internal alarm didn't go off until close to 7 AM.  Ahhh ... 7-8 hrs of sleep...that was nice!

This morning was a little different: I set the alarm last night as I didn't want to skip exercising today. It was a bit of a late night, so I'll be working off of ~6 hrs rest; but I have the reserves of yesterdays extra sleep. Today was time on the bike trainer and then 30 minutes of weights. The trainer is not working correctly and as a result I can either spin quickly (100 rpm) or I can push a little harder and have the resistance spike so quickly and sharply that only 15 seconds later I'm having to back off so that the resistance will lighten up. (I called the manufacturer yesterday to see when my replacement was coming and was told I should have it tomorrow: YAHOOO!!! I am looking forward to riding a proper unit again.) So, today it was mostly spinning with lighter resistance; thinking about my form and technique. Seventy five minutes went by pretty quickly. I then did my reduced weight routine: punching bag, hanging knee raises, bench press, pull-ups, triceps, and curls. I am thinking of adding a leg routine back in since (thank you to those who keep working with me on my sense/since issues) the run and swim days are removed from my training docket for now.

I've noticed that my overall resting HR has come down a bit. It used to be low 50's and now seems to be high 40's: 48, 49. I think that is a good indicator of the training progress. It'd be nice to see mid to low 40's by the time the 'Big Ride' comes in May.

It was a good start for the day today. Glad to be up at my normal time (+3 minutes). Glad to have time on the bike and do my weight routine. Glad to limit my ravenous appetite to my smoothie (soy milk, carrots, apple, pear, spinach, flax seed, carob powder, peanut butter, blue berries, protein powder and ice). Glad the rest of my family is doing well this morning. Looking forward to the rest of today.

My convictions for today are: be more forgiving and love those who are difficult for me to love.

Encouragement

It was a little late last night, but I still wanted to get up this morning and ride for a bit before going to breakfast - so it was the normal wake up time (alarm set at 4:41 AM). I rode for 65 minutes on a trainer that is oscillating from light to very hard resistance. Not the best for a good work out, but I think it still has value - certainly better than not riding at all. When it was light I would work higher cadences and when it got tough is would work on circles and consistent power / pressure. I am finding that I am continuing to enjoy riding: it's Fun.

[The sunrise was spectacular again this morning as we left for our "Cracker-Barrel" date.] We had a great time playing, talking and eating. Even leaving the house at 6:30 we still were a little short on time to do everything - so we missed our annual checker game this morning, but maybe we'll get it in tonight.

The thought for today, or the seed that was planted while riding my bike: "Your life is difficult so that the power of God may be revealed through it."

Wow...like the man born blind. That helps me and reminds me not to take the difficulties so personally, but as a part of Gods plan for my life; not in isolation, but being with God; in other words, my life and all the challenges that are a part of it, are part of His plan. Cool! Very Cool! That is a boost of encouragement to persevere that I can use.

Night exercise

It was after 8 PM today before I was able to have some time on my bike. My morning routine had to yield to the more important. So, I was glad to get in 75 minutes tonight. The trainer resistance unit changed resistance a few times, but I have been told a redesigned one should be on it's way soon. None-the-less it was nice: I actually enjoy my time riding. 

[The picture: what else is there to take a picture of at 10 PM?? Just me and my flashlight and my long exposure.]

My 2 hr Tuesday will have to yield to a family tradition of Birthday Breakfast at Cracker-Barrel with Dad! Another good thing to do instead of train / exercise. We're both looking forward to it. Maybe this year she'll beat me at a game of checkers...

Lastly, I did find out that the registration was closed and they would not allow me to participate. So, I'm re-thinking what I will be doing with my routine as it had two mornings of run and swim. I still like getting up early and have been doing this for 8 weeks or more now. I have gotten used to the routine and even like it. Life continue to be a challenge as many in my sphere have challenges in addition to my own. Such is a FULL life .. and for that I'm thankful.

Choosing which plates to keep spinning

Saturday ended up being a pretty full day, so I didn't have time to 'blog' my limited exercise activities...just racquet ball (RB). Due to the forecast of cold strong winds, I decided not to ride in the morning.  Instead I went and played RB with four others. I haven't played for several weeks. It was fun to do that again. (It didn't seem like to much, but I did wake up this morning with some aches and discomfort that surprised me; but crashing into the walls does take some getting used to!) I was hoping to swim some afterwards but a quick phone call home let me know the activities of the day required my involvement sooner than later, so there ended my exercise for the day. I was considering riding on the trainer later in the evening, but choose to trade that for a family movie (Madagascar 2) and pop corn - Good Trade! (The chart is not happy - missed 4 1/2 hrs of riding, but the family is.)

[The photo is my souvenir from the time of RB. This is the second time this person (you know who you are J) has drawn blood from my face in the RB court. Last time it was his racquet, this time it was the ball. That's why I wear safety glasses and am considering full leathers and some more safety equipment...!]

I've been thinking about the "blahs" that have been a struggle for me these last few days. I've been thinking about why I like to exercise. I've been thinking about what is important to me and what I would like to be important to me. "Do I train to be better than others, or to be as good as I can be?" It's a character question more than a training one - and one that I need to work through until I'm happy with my answer. And then I need to make that answer more than my belief in my head but my practice in life!

Since I do most of my training by myself, I have been letting myself get by with a reduced intensity. This isn't what I want, but to have intensity day after day in different events (riding, weights, running, swimming) is enormously challenging-especially training alone. So I'm at a place where I'm thinking and re-thinking about what I'm doing. The Saturdays are just going to fill up more as there are more soccer games to go to; training in the mornings yields to birthday breakfasts; life is pushing back - even against the early morning hours making it difficult to accomplish what I had hoped to accomplish. Time to reconsider what needs to be accomplished and what can be let go of.

So, the training may have to change, not sure yet. Not sure what it will look like. I think my Saturdays are going to be reclaimed by my family. I had hopes of a few 100 mile rides in preparation for the 6 day ride in may, but may have to train differently. Not sure what that looks like. What I am convinced of is that I need to get my intensity back for the times that I am able to train-I need to have some hard days of training every week. I also learned today that the registration for the TRI that I was planning on doing is closed. The four others that are doing it have registered, but I was waiting until I had a better idea on my swim time; and that date is still 9 days away. For now I will continue with the running and anti-drowning routines and we'll see if I get to participate. I will still go and encourage if I don't get to participate.

My life is a challenge for me: full of training in many domains where exercise is one of them, but a lesser domain. Still worthy of attention, but having it's place change when other 'higher' issues of life need my time. I have resolved long ago that I would not let my work rule my life. I have also resolved that I will not let exercise rule my life. As I said, my days are challenging and there are more things to do than time to do them; more people to interact with than time available; this is real life.

I need to continue to Look Up and not be overcome with the "Blahs" - an apathetic response to a challenging life full of promises, consequences and potential!!