<p>Happy Birthday, MichaelNKat! And Sabaray, congrats to you and your husband for the teamwork! Hope the pup feels better soon. So glad to hear you’re mended and gearing up for hikes, idad. MoWC, your streaks are awesome but I’m happy you get well deserved rest days too. </p>
<p>My S1 just called to say he had taken a 20 mile bike ride this morning, but at the end he had hit something on the road, crashed, and now has a broken clavicle. Thank goodness he was wearing a helmet. </p>
<p>H and I went to the gym this morning. I ran 4 miles and did some arm and shoulder weights, then a bit of stretching and using the foam roller </p>
<p>PlantMom, so glad your son is okay! That sounds very frightening. I have to say that you and your H have set a very good example of teamwork. :)</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for your birthday wishes. Plantmom, so sorry to hear about your son. Hope he has an easy convalescence. Broken clavicles are the most common fractures for cyclists, so much so that it’s almost an initiation rite!</p>
<p>Oh no Plantmom! Those are calls we could do without. </p>
<p>2.5 miles in the spitting rain and wind. Came home and quick got the dog so I could get him out before it rained anymore. Another .2 miles with my pup bud as it started to actually rain near the end of our walk. So, 2.7 total for me, .2 jog for the dog. :)</p>
<p>Ran for 1:47 today. Longest time for a run ever. Still used my old hr strap. Today I managed to go at a much faster pace at a 127-130 hr. First mile was 11:44. The remainder were 12 and 13 plus. So I don’t know if I’m getting aerobically fitter or the hr strap was functioning properly or not. </p>
<p>Supposedly the new hr straps were delivered to the office this weekend. I’m hoping the net effect of this low hr training is not only to get faster but still manage to run the same volume at a faster pace. Who knows? I might be a marathoner some day. Still want to focus on Track for the next year . Have unfinished business!</p>
<p>Michael- No. My son hasn’t ramped up any running distance since the December hip surgeries. I had other friends who ran it, though. My son seems to be into fat tire mountain biking right now. </p>
<p>Happy b’day Michael; great job sabaray and Mr. sabaray (and hope the pup is OK); and healing wishes towards PlantMom’s son.</p>
<p>I ran in 5K races both this weekend and last weekend. What totally different experiences. Last weekend there were 100 runners; this weekend there were 3000+. The one today was so crowded, there were times when it was impossible to run my fastest. And the incredibly high humidity definitely affected my pace. </p>
<p>At the finish line were boxes and boxes of pizza. I could not imagine eating a pizza in that humidity after running. I had no problem walking away. </p>
<p>This weekend’s exercise was marching in the UC homecoming parade (but I only had to carry a piccolo–sousaphone would have been MUCH harder) and dancing at Oktoberfest. I found a friend who dances and we did a couple of polkas and a waltz. Very energetic polka-ing, it was…she is half my age and said I was wearing her out! :)</p>
<p>Plantmom, sorry about DS and also glad he was wearing a helmet. </p>
<p>I finally found a great biking trail today! The Katy Trail in Dallas should have been a no brainer, but I hadn’t been aware of how it had been improved and extended. For serious runners, there is now also a Peds only trail made of asphalt rather than concrete, so for those watching their knees and back, it looked like a good addition. It has some incline but nothing too hard. As you get closer to downtown, there are cafes and restaurants with outdoor patios where you can stop for a meal afterwards. I went 10.5 miles, and while it wasn’t easy, I was able to do it just fine. It took me an hour, and boy do I have some endorphins flowing. </p>
<p>If ever any of you are doing business in Dallas, try to get a hotel near the trail so you can get in a good run, walk, or ride. </p>
<p>The only caveat to me would be trying to find parking on the weekends, and the potential for crowding on the weekends. Probably should go really early.</p>
<p>^^^^abasket, I did forget to mention how literally lovely it was. Lots of trees and other plants. Water fountains at intervals, well marked, etc. </p>
<p>fireandrain, humidity bothers me a great deal more than heat does. I don’t think you’re alone in disliking it and suffering through it. </p>
<p>Pilates this morning, nice to have a break from running. Spent the majority of the morning at the vet’s office…sabapup has food allergies. So she’s now on an eight week diet of hypoallergenic food. Then we can start trying different foods to see which cause a reaction. H is going to be thrilled with that news. </p>
<p>Took a Yin Yoga class yesterday. Today, I did a fast mile walk on the treadmill (14:00) and then headed out to yoga with my daughter. This was a basic flow class, but it was more advanced than I’ve done before. Lots of inversions (headstands and handstands) that I can’t do and don’t think my 62-year-old body can handle. I just stayed in the pose that was the lead-up to the inversions. It was a good class and I will do it again. At the end of the class, the instructor told me she thought my modifications were really good ones. I did enjoy the class and I’ll go back since it’s fun to go with my D. (She’s staying with us while she’s doing a play in town.)</p>
<p>Questions for Michael–there’s a indoor cycling place here and the bikes are different from those I’ve used in the past. Here’s the description of the cycles at this studio: <a href=“http://www.nantucketfitness.com/the-bikes.html”>http://www.nantucketfitness.com/the-bikes.html</a>
My question–is this something a real klutz can actually do?? I’ve done spinning and I like it but never with equipment like this. It seem a little intimidating, but I’m wiling to give it a try.</p>
<p>Happy Birthday to all. Hope you figure out your dog’s allergy issues Sabaray. </p>
<p>^^^Wow, that looks cool. I was thinking today that working out on a stationary bike would be about as fun as watching paint dry, but that looks like an improvement.</p>
<p>The concept behind the RealRyder is not new but the execution is different from others that have attempted to provide “realistic” indoor cycling. For those new to cycling, whether indoor or outside, it’s important to develop good form to prevent injuries and all the movement of the RealRyder can present significant distractions from doing so. From a safety perspective, I would be cautious about new riders getting overwhelmed by all the pieces of learning proper indoor cycling form and learning to handle all the movement.</p>
<p>From another perspective, in my personal opinion, indoor trainers like the RealRyder or the Kurt Kinetic Rock and Roll (which allows a bike on a rear wheel training to move side to side as if out on the road) are more of a gimmicky way to avoid boredom and are distraction from the focused intensity that indoor cycling can provide. When I train indoors, I want to be able to push myself hard to hit my target training metrics without having to worry about anything extraneous to that. If I want intensity, I stick with a more static platform. If I want to work on balance and a smooth pedal stroke indoors, I would use a set of rollers that you place your bike on and ride as if you are outside. The RealRyder, Kurt Kinetic Rock and Roll, and others are in some respects a compromise of the two. And in terms of all the additional workout benefits, IMO, who cares. If I want to work fore, ill do core exercises off he bike. Same with arms.if I’m on the trainer, I just want to pedal hard and fast. </p>