Today was absolutely gorgeous outside! We've been getting thunderstorms a lot lately, but today was perfect. I was going to ride this morning, but we had to help a friend with a car emergency and then we babysat in the afternoon. I did manage to get out before the sun set and get in a quick 3 mile ride. I forgot to put on bug spray today though, so I think I got bit a few times. I stuck to the neighborhood again, weaving in and out of the streets near our house. I saw lots of kids playing basketball in the street. I cut my ride short because the sun was starting to set, and I don't have the gear to ride at night yet (light, reflective clothing, etc.), but I still got a decent workout. I've discovered that three miles is a good start for me for now. I get a workout and I can feel it in my legs for sure, but I'm not so sore that I can't get my bike up the stairs to my apartment afterwards!
I'm really enjoying riding so far. I drew up a chart of how many miles I need to be able to ride each week in order to be ready for the race. I'm aiming to be able to ride the full 40 miles about a month prior to the race, which is around the 15th of September. It seems pretty doable as long as I increase my mileage by about 1.5 miles per week. We'll see how it goes. I'm sure it'll be easier to add miles once I wake up my muscles a little! They're pretty mad at me right now. hahaha.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Training Day 2
I read online that beginner level cyclists should not ride more than 3 times per week at the beginning, and I thought that was probably a good idea. So my plan was to ride on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Monday came along with flooding rains. So no riding Monday. Then I decided to wait and see if the skies cleared up on Tuesday, and they did clear up in the evening. I went to go for a ride on Tuesday and decided I needed to ride to somewhere in particular. I had a package I needed to mail (just about 2 lbs), so I got it packed up and found a back way to the post office. It was going to be a challenge, but I figured I needed to push myself.
It started out well. I got used to using my hand signals, and I followed the advice of the bike safety guidelines I had found during the rain storm. I did well with traffic and tried to just keep pedaling no matter what. The small inclines were difficult. I'm still learning which gears are the most comfortable and how to shift between them more easily. I had to stop part way to get the water bottle I had stowed in my bag. Then I made it to the post office. There was no bike rack there, so I was going to lock my bike up to the fence. As I was untwisting the cable lock, I saw a bunch of these really nasty mean looking fire ants crawling up the fence post and along the edge of the walkway. I was thinking "No thanks. Been there. Done that. Never again." And I decided that it would be best to take the bike inside, since I didn't want to risk the fire ants getting my bike like they had that fence.
A very nice gentleman opened the door for me, and I got the package in the mail. Then my sister called me, so I rested for about 15 minutes. I'm glad she called, 'cause I probably would've gotten right back on the bike to go home otherwise, and I don't know that I would've made it. After we talked, I got my stuff ready to go, and this cute little girl came in with her mom and told me how cool my bike is. That made me smile, and I told her how cool her very pink cowboy boots were. She was so excited about showing me how her boots light up on the sides (like the light up sneakers, except the lights here were in the center of the flowers on the side). She danced and stomped around to show me the lights. It was very cute. I got the bike and got on the road. The inclines going home weren't as bad...mostly downhill, and then minimal incline the rest of the way. I made it home, and even carried the bike up the stairs to my apartment. At that point, my legs were definitely Jello. By the end, I had gone 5.4 miles!
Throughout this training so far, Ryan's been letting me use the iPod shuffle I bought him so I could listen to some music while I ride. It's really nice having songs that make me want to keep pedaling. We went through all my music and came up with a good training mix. I'm always looking for more great songs, so let me know if you have any suggestions anyone.
Last night, I played the Livestrong song, Maybe Tonight Maybe Tomorrow by Wideawake. The song was written by the lead singer to honor his friend who had cancer. Everytime I hear it, it's very emotional, but last night, it made me cry. I was thinking about Gpa and Avia, and everyone else I've ever known who was affected by cancer...thinking why I decided to do this race and why my goal is so high, etc. It's a great song. Go to www.livestrong.org/song to listen to it and read the lyrics & story behind the song, and then buy it from iTunes. All procedes from the sale of the song go to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. All $0.99.
It started out well. I got used to using my hand signals, and I followed the advice of the bike safety guidelines I had found during the rain storm. I did well with traffic and tried to just keep pedaling no matter what. The small inclines were difficult. I'm still learning which gears are the most comfortable and how to shift between them more easily. I had to stop part way to get the water bottle I had stowed in my bag. Then I made it to the post office. There was no bike rack there, so I was going to lock my bike up to the fence. As I was untwisting the cable lock, I saw a bunch of these really nasty mean looking fire ants crawling up the fence post and along the edge of the walkway. I was thinking "No thanks. Been there. Done that. Never again." And I decided that it would be best to take the bike inside, since I didn't want to risk the fire ants getting my bike like they had that fence.
A very nice gentleman opened the door for me, and I got the package in the mail. Then my sister called me, so I rested for about 15 minutes. I'm glad she called, 'cause I probably would've gotten right back on the bike to go home otherwise, and I don't know that I would've made it. After we talked, I got my stuff ready to go, and this cute little girl came in with her mom and told me how cool my bike is. That made me smile, and I told her how cool her very pink cowboy boots were. She was so excited about showing me how her boots light up on the sides (like the light up sneakers, except the lights here were in the center of the flowers on the side). She danced and stomped around to show me the lights. It was very cute. I got the bike and got on the road. The inclines going home weren't as bad...mostly downhill, and then minimal incline the rest of the way. I made it home, and even carried the bike up the stairs to my apartment. At that point, my legs were definitely Jello. By the end, I had gone 5.4 miles!
Throughout this training so far, Ryan's been letting me use the iPod shuffle I bought him so I could listen to some music while I ride. It's really nice having songs that make me want to keep pedaling. We went through all my music and came up with a good training mix. I'm always looking for more great songs, so let me know if you have any suggestions anyone.
Last night, I played the Livestrong song, Maybe Tonight Maybe Tomorrow by Wideawake. The song was written by the lead singer to honor his friend who had cancer. Everytime I hear it, it's very emotional, but last night, it made me cry. I was thinking about Gpa and Avia, and everyone else I've ever known who was affected by cancer...thinking why I decided to do this race and why my goal is so high, etc. It's a great song. Go to www.livestrong.org/song to listen to it and read the lyrics & story behind the song, and then buy it from iTunes. All procedes from the sale of the song go to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. All $0.99.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
First day of training
I rode my bike for the first time on Saturday. I went 3.5 miles in 24 minutes. Not too bad for my first day. My legs were complete JELLO afterward, but I really enjoyed the ride. I stuck pretty close to home, because the street near our house has a bike lane and there are some very small inclines to get me started. This certainly will be a challenge!
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