<p>50 miles in about 3:18 riding time (not counting stops for drinks etc). I’m beat. Started relatively cool (72) but got up to 94 by the end. Lots of hills but beautiful countryside. We had a group of 5. My paralegal (strong rider) would NOT abandon the tiny kitten that came out in the road in the middle of the country. It had clearly been dumped and would be eaten by a coyote shortly. She put it down her jersey and road 20 miles with it. The end of the ride (last 8 miles or so) was HORRIBLE. We were on narrow roads and hit the church traffic just wrong. I felt like I was on the interstate. I was sure I was going to die. I didn’t yell at my husband or anyone else for getting us on that road (good move with one of my company’s top 4 executives with us…), though. And I’m still alive. We had some slow areas with a little gravel and, of course, the hills, but still averaged 14.9 mph. We did a lot of the return part on the Natchez Trace which has more bike traffic than car traffic and is smooth and gorgeous. Did I mention hills?</p>
<p>Yes- women distance runners get injured. So do men. My experience is that there isn’t much difference in the injury rate both at the elite level and the strongly competitive level (like me and my running friends). Our pelvic structure is different, but these days a well-trained runner can correct some of the imbalances.</p>
<p>You guys are impressive! I’m thinking about pumping up the tires and giving the bike a whirl this afternoon. My goals are a bit more modest. I’ll be happy with five miles and not blowing up the heart rate monitor! We’ll see if my fitness has improved…</p>
<p>I really don’t think you can ever compare cycling speeds. Every course is SO different. Terrain, traffic, road surface…all take a toll. I was the weakest rider of the group, and my goal was for them to not have to stop and wait for me. I hung on pretty well. There were parts of the ride where we could ride along together and chat, and parts where we were in single file (with me a little bit back) trying not to get dusted off the road by a giant pickup truck. I also don’t draft- I’m too afraid to be that close to another cyclist.
My husband achieved a top speed of 41mph on a downhill (and we climbed the other side). I won’t go that fast. I ride the brakes. 32mph for me.</p>
<p>Today is my off day since I worked out yesterday. Since I am doing the Challenge at my club I am trying to be super vigilant with the nutrition/diet part today. Measured out 1 cup of shredded wheat and 1/2 cup skim. Lunch was a one hundred calorie Deli Flat multi grain bun with 2 oz turkey breast and a slice of hot pepper cheese so I could get my calcium serving in for the day and then grapes and cherries. Drinking lots of water. It is miserable out today so I am hiding inside. Maybe I will do some light weights here at home…hard not to do anything!</p>
<p>Ya’ll put me to shame. I did my 5.3 mile old fat guy bike ride. Everyone was out riding. I got chicked, geezered, teened, tweened, and toddlered (with training wheels). I’m pretty sure an infant in a baby stroller passed me, and it was embarrassing when the old crippled lady with a walker and a poodle passed me, but I was noticeably stronger than the last time I did this loop. Only had to stop and pant at the top of one of the hills.</p>
<p>Cardinal Fang would be proud. I was too busy trying to keep from crashing to monitor my cadence for the entire ride, but the one time I was able to check it with the watch on a relatively flat stretch, I cranking along at about 85 rpms. I was able to keep it at 75 rpms or above for most of the ride except when I was coasting or running out of gas climbing the two steep hills. I was able to keep it going on the other hills, but with a bit of burn.</p>
<p>Oh, and the dropped handlebars weren’t anywhere near as uncomfortable as the last time I rode the thing two months ago. I even rode a good bit of the ride down on the drops. Maybe having fifteen pounds less belly than the last time I rode has something to do with that??? The gearing seemed “better” too!</p>
<p>I bet that bike has just changed along with you! :)</p>
<p>I have NEVER been comfortable on a bike, even back in my triathlon days. I always was too stretched out and don’t even get me going about the seat and how many saddles I tried. This go 'round H had me do a computerized fitting at the bike store. It cost about $200, but it was worth it. He got the exact measurements and built my bike accordingly. I am (almost) completely comfortable on the bike now. I wasn’t sorry to get my butt off the seat at the end today, but it all really works well.</p>
<p>It’s all the “plank on the stability ball” that I’ve been doing. Compared to that, “plank on the racing bike” is a piece of cake. Actually come to think of it, just about anything would be a piece of cake compared to plank on the ball. Lying on a bed of nails, walking barefoot across burning coals, all a piece of cake compared to plank on the ball.</p>
<p>Seriously, though… the riding position down on the dropped handlebars is all about the core. When I stiffened the core and straighted out the back, it was actually pretty comfy. Of course, I wasn’t on the bike very long.</p>
<p>nminn:</p>
<p>I’ll be prayin’ for ya’ on those intervals! Unless you are in really good shape, those interval workouts are going to kill you. A 2 to 1 ratio of work to rest is brutal. I wouldn’t even attempt that. Most trainers recommend 4 to 1 or 3 to 1 ratio of REST to WORK (i.e. work 30 seconds, rest 90 seconds) for newbies. I’ve worked my way down to 1 unit of work for 2 units of rest on the Airdyne and that’s brutal. My heart rate never drops below 90%. Don’t feel bad if you’ve got to rearrange those times a little bit.</p>
<p>I’m kind of chuckling thinking about me trying to do 2 minutes of side raises or front raises with 15 to 20 pound dumbbells. Either this chick is some kind of ripped or she hasn’t actually tried these workouts! My arms would be on fire after 45 seconds of side lateral raises with 15 pound dumbbells. I would start with 5 pound dumbbells if I were you. You can always grab the bigger ones for the second set!</p>
<p>Wow, lots of bikers here…and some really impressive distance and time. MOWC…I think I would be dead after that ride. Well we did about 25 miles yesterday on rough trails. Just a few hills but there was a big staircase (up and down) which gave my arms a workout! We averaged only about 10 miles per hour. Although I love breezing along on asphalt, I absolutely HATE riding with heavy traffic (it scares me). So I put up with rocks and grass and all sorts of fun surfaces - it’s just tougher to pedal through that stuff. </p>
<p>My back is feeling LOTS better these days. One thing I’m doing a full set of exercises every day to strengthen my lower back and glutes. I think it’s really helping. I read something online that said most folks focus on what they see in the mirror (belly, legs) and ignore that back side. And a lack of balance between the front and the back can contribute to poor spinal structure and a bad back. Anyway, so far so good.</p>
<p>idad…when you have time poke around that blog that the biking routine came from. Very interesting. Lots of science and talk about weight loss vs. fat loss. </p>
<p>Guess the woman who wrote the article is really something! Believe me…my routine will be different! This will give me something to strive for! Most of the blog seems to center around losing fat without losing muscle.</p>
<p>Very interesting blog. Thanks. I’m not big on all the nutrition science, but there is clearly a a lot of new territory being explored by the fitness pros in this area.</p>
<p>This paragraph on exercise struck me as being particularly useful:</p>
<p>Played two sets of doubles yesterday. Temps were only in the high-80s and it was fairly dry so it was pretty easy. I tried an old super-flexible racquet starting out and my arm screamed in pain so I went back to my super-heavy kinetic racquet and played the match with that. It looks like I’m going to be using this recovery racquet for a while.</p>
<p>The race day forecast is currently for occasional showers, highs in the upper 70s, lows in the upper 50s. That sounds great for a run, as long as there aren’t absolute downpours. I didn’t see any thunderstorms in the forecast. I do recall running this race before in a light rain - absolutely wonderful. Also recall running this in quite hot weather - that wasn’t so pleasant. At least it won’t be too hot.</p>
<p>On bicycling, if you’re going to do a lot of distance, it’s often a good idea to pack a toolkit and a spare inner-tube. It’s also good to know how to fix a flat (either with a patch or by replacing the inner-tube). You will obviously need a pump to re-inflate the tube. I have an old bicycle toolkit that I carried on long rides in case I needed to fix something on my bike or on another bike or if I wanted to make minor adjustments.</p>
<p>What a workout! My arms are like rubber! I started with my new and improved bike routine. Can’t do a lot of resistance without my knee screaming at me but I did increase a few levels and really worked hard trying to keep my rpms equal to my lower levels. Really raised my HR. Kept doing the intervals for 55 minutes and then decreased to lower level for 10 minutes to catch my breath and cool down! Started my new weight program too. Upped my weights and reps and did a whole circuit of bicep, tricep, chest, back and shoulder. I can feel the difference already. Will see if this pushes me for the rest of the week.</p>
<p>Wow. We are a walking wounded ward around here! Bad knees, spinal epidurals, tennis elbows. I guess this is the world of AARP fitness, huh? We should change the discussion from hi-tech workout shirts to heat wraps and ointments! I wonder if there interval training protocols for using a walker?</p>
<p>Went to Sports Authority to look over their running gear. I found a few clearance racks and picked up an Adidas Climacool (I think that’s the name) shirt for $7. Also picked up a pair of shorts for $21 - three to five inch seam with that very light material. It also had a decent-sized outer pocket with a velcro closure that looks more comfortable for a car key compared to the inner pockets that would press against your body. Still a lot more than I like to pay for shorts but maybe there will be a much better sale in October. I’m going to try the shorts and shirts out this afternoon. I’m hoping that the material is anti-chafe and that I won’t have to wear compression shorts underneath.</p>
<p>Have to jump in here to say D (my personal, Personal Trainer) is certified in the Metabolic Effect program. ME is based In Winston-Salem, NC, home of D’s alma mater, Wake Forest. During her sophomore year ME offered a weekend course to get certified, at no charge. D took the course so she wouldn’t have to pay a trainer to set her up on a program – she could do it for herself. The bonus was that she ended up with quite a few clients (students, faculty and staff) from Wake Forest. Wake paid her $25.00/hour, which provided a nice little income. She hopes to be able to do personal training while in grad school, too – the good part is the flexibility in scheduling.</p>