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Thursday, January 4, 2007
Publishing Note: Comment Feed
I've added a comment feed for this blog using the "blog of comments" method. There's a page element with it but you can get it at the following URL:
First Ride 2007!
Here I am on my first ride of 2007, and first cold weather ride (well, what passes for cold weather in SoCal). That me with my new Canari Eclipse Jacket, Canari Windfront Kneewarmers, and mostly hidden Evilcycling socks (by SockGuy).
Rode with my Garmin Edge 305 for the first time today. Used LoadMyTracks to pull the tracklog data to my Macbook, then gpsvisualizer to create an interactive map. Which I'm having problems embedding. Grrr.
So here's ride data from my Polar CS200 bike computer (don't have my Garmin mounted on the bike yet).
20070104
0901
Exe Time: 01:09:50
Mean HR: 123
Max HR: 146
HR Zone: none set, but 60-70% is 132-146 70-80% is 146-160
Kcal: 552
Distance: 16.2 miles
Mean Speed 13.9 mph
Max Speed: 22.3 mph
Mean Cad: 90
Max Cad: 113
Ride Time: 01:09:59
Nice easy ride today. I guess I spent the entire ride in the 60-70% of max heart-rate zone. Slight tailwind for the first couple miles which turned into a crosswind. Of course, that meant a headwind for the last part of the ride. Felt great on the way out, holding a 100 cadence fairly easily. When we turned around at the 8 mile mark, I briefly thought about pushing for another two miles. Glad I didn't. Though I wasn't ever in any trouble, my legs were fatigued at the end. I think the spin class doesn't train me for the sustained effort that road cycling takes.
I've completely failed to get my gpsvisualizer map embedded into this blog post. I think I'll just throw this up instead of letting it wither on the vine.
Cold Weather Gear
Two days ago, D.H. asked me why I hadn't been riding on the road, to which I replied: "It's frickin' cold!" Of course, to my sensitive Southern California skin, that means 50 degrees F (that's 10C for you ... people everywhere else in the world).
D.H.'s answer: "Let's ride on Thursday, but here's a list of stuff you need to buy first." Great, more $ on cycling! I headed down to Banning's Bikes yesterday with my list: wool socks, leg warmers, jacket, gloves with full fingers, and a second set of arm warmers (to layer on my first set). Banning walked me gently through the purchase, as always. He steered me towards knee-warmers (mid-calf to mid-thigh) instead of a full leg warmer. Instead of a sleeveless jacket, he suggested a windproof model with zip-off arms; Why buy a second set of arm warmers if the jacket sleeves are a layer? Gloves and socks were a snap (socks that say "Evil" were too cool to pass up). Damage was just over $120.
And now I need to meet D.H. in an hour for our ride. My legs are sore from Tue and Wed spin class as well as the not-residual soreness of Mon and Tue jogging. Can't imagine that I could do more than 20 miles, but I have dropped some weight since I last rode on the street, so maybe that will help.
Enough blathering. Time to suit-up!
D.H.'s answer: "Let's ride on Thursday, but here's a list of stuff you need to buy first." Great, more $ on cycling! I headed down to Banning's Bikes yesterday with my list: wool socks, leg warmers, jacket, gloves with full fingers, and a second set of arm warmers (to layer on my first set). Banning walked me gently through the purchase, as always. He steered me towards knee-warmers (mid-calf to mid-thigh) instead of a full leg warmer. Instead of a sleeveless jacket, he suggested a windproof model with zip-off arms; Why buy a second set of arm warmers if the jacket sleeves are a layer? Gloves and socks were a snap (socks that say "Evil" were too cool to pass up). Damage was just over $120.
And now I need to meet D.H. in an hour for our ride. My legs are sore from Tue and Wed spin class as well as the not-residual soreness of Mon and Tue jogging. Can't imagine that I could do more than 20 miles, but I have dropped some weight since I last rode on the street, so maybe that will help.
Enough blathering. Time to suit-up!
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Takes My Pain Away
Ah, the soothing vapors of Mineral Ice. Went to a spin class this morning at 24H Fitness. First class of the new year, so it was pretty full. The gym isn't going to be a fun place to be with all the resolutions to work out more. Trainer told me that it tails off by February. Awesome. Wait, no, that's sad. Sadly awesome.
Right, so that brings up the fact that I do spin classes, which are really challenging, on days that I have training sessions. I'm a gamer! I'm a gym-rat! Ok, maybe not a gym-rat. But I'm a gamer. Whatever the hell that means.
Tried to do some jogging again, but had to call it quits after 10 minutes of attempting. I'm getting some pain in my left knee, which my bro says could be a result of a tightening IT band. I hope it's that and not something worse. Ok, no jogging for a few days. Stretch.
Talked to D.H. this evening about riding later this week. His suggestion is to not run until I'm lighter. "Running is for small people. If you want to stop cycling, start running." That guy's a riot and a grump, but he's probably right. I just hate to give up on the idea that I can slowly ramp-up for a sprint triathlon starting now. D.H. also gave me a list of cold-weather riding gear to buy before we ride. Great, more $ on gear. Riding is a freakin' money pit sometimes.
Spin class tomorrow evening with R.B. from work. Oh, that reminds me, I biked to morning spin, work, and evening training. Didn't use the car until night ozoni with Moms. Not too big a deal. I wonder if I can ride to work twice a week until it rains. More often?
Damn, my legs are sore! I think the second shot at running was clearly an overreach. Which brings me back to Mineral Ice. Ahh 2% Menthol, you're the only friend I care about right now!
Right, so that brings up the fact that I do spin classes, which are really challenging, on days that I have training sessions. I'm a gamer! I'm a gym-rat! Ok, maybe not a gym-rat. But I'm a gamer. Whatever the hell that means.
Tried to do some jogging again, but had to call it quits after 10 minutes of attempting. I'm getting some pain in my left knee, which my bro says could be a result of a tightening IT band. I hope it's that and not something worse. Ok, no jogging for a few days. Stretch.
Talked to D.H. this evening about riding later this week. His suggestion is to not run until I'm lighter. "Running is for small people. If you want to stop cycling, start running." That guy's a riot and a grump, but he's probably right. I just hate to give up on the idea that I can slowly ramp-up for a sprint triathlon starting now. D.H. also gave me a list of cold-weather riding gear to buy before we ride. Great, more $ on gear. Riding is a freakin' money pit sometimes.
Spin class tomorrow evening with R.B. from work. Oh, that reminds me, I biked to morning spin, work, and evening training. Didn't use the car until night ozoni with Moms. Not too big a deal. I wonder if I can ride to work twice a week until it rains. More often?
Damn, my legs are sore! I think the second shot at running was clearly an overreach. Which brings me back to Mineral Ice. Ahh 2% Menthol, you're the only friend I care about right now!
Awkward
I had an odd situation come up today which I'm not exactly sure how to deal with. I received email today from one of my friends who's been incommunicado for the past three months. I responded as cordially as I could, but it was definitely difficult for me to be anything beyond cordial. It's difficult to reconnect without thinking:
Grr. Didn't I just spend part of an evening talking to EVH about this? I think my main conclusions on that evening were that there's not going to be a cathartic moment on this issue. Catharsis is for the movies.
One part of me is saying that losing weight is making me more hormonal and thus, more irritated by this situation. Another part is telling me that these friends knew about that too. 33 year-old me hates 16 year-old me who seems to be showing up to suggest emotional reactions on this issue. It's ironic, of course, that I was such a terrible friend at 16.
I honestly thought I had put this issue to bed. I can't control other people; I can't really control how I react emotionally; All I can do is make the best choices and plans that I can, and execute them as best I can. How do I do that in this situation? Oops, my philosophy breaks down, since it was emotionally painful enough for me to not want to think about it, much less plan out what I should do. Be cordial. Be friendly. Be emotionally guarded?
How horrible is it that my plan is to be emotionally walled-off? Is it better if I phrase it "emotionally protective?" Gah, thinking about this is like ripping off a band-aid and digging at a cut until it starts bleeding again. I'm too in-my-head on this issue.
Wow, is blogging about revealing feelings like this? It's truly embarrassing to do a brain-dump like this and have people I know read about it. JR and JR reveal amazingly personal things about their marriage and relationship that's humbling to read about. This crap I'm going through just doesn't seem that important, even to me. In my head. My body doesn't seem to agree, dumping adrenaline into my bloodstream at the hint of contemplating the situation.
One blogging down-side: I can usually spend three minutes a week thinking about this instead of most of a day planning to write and thirty minutes writing about it. Suck.
Today must be a day of re-connection, as I got a call from Hightop. Another Tech friend of ours is going to be in town tomorrow, but my plans are already set and I won't be able to meet up with them. How horrible is it that this is my afterthought of the day? Note to self: reconnect with Hightop when he gets back in town (three weeks, I think).
- What's the deal with dropping out on me?
- How much can I emotionally invest in our friendship knowing that every once in a while, you're just going to disappear?
Grr. Didn't I just spend part of an evening talking to EVH about this? I think my main conclusions on that evening were that there's not going to be a cathartic moment on this issue. Catharsis is for the movies.
One part of me is saying that losing weight is making me more hormonal and thus, more irritated by this situation. Another part is telling me that these friends knew about that too. 33 year-old me hates 16 year-old me who seems to be showing up to suggest emotional reactions on this issue. It's ironic, of course, that I was such a terrible friend at 16.
I honestly thought I had put this issue to bed. I can't control other people; I can't really control how I react emotionally; All I can do is make the best choices and plans that I can, and execute them as best I can. How do I do that in this situation? Oops, my philosophy breaks down, since it was emotionally painful enough for me to not want to think about it, much less plan out what I should do. Be cordial. Be friendly. Be emotionally guarded?
How horrible is it that my plan is to be emotionally walled-off? Is it better if I phrase it "emotionally protective?" Gah, thinking about this is like ripping off a band-aid and digging at a cut until it starts bleeding again. I'm too in-my-head on this issue.
Wow, is blogging about revealing feelings like this? It's truly embarrassing to do a brain-dump like this and have people I know read about it. JR and JR reveal amazingly personal things about their marriage and relationship that's humbling to read about. This crap I'm going through just doesn't seem that important, even to me. In my head. My body doesn't seem to agree, dumping adrenaline into my bloodstream at the hint of contemplating the situation.
One blogging down-side: I can usually spend three minutes a week thinking about this instead of most of a day planning to write and thirty minutes writing about it. Suck.
Today must be a day of re-connection, as I got a call from Hightop. Another Tech friend of ours is going to be in town tomorrow, but my plans are already set and I won't be able to meet up with them. How horrible is it that this is my afterthought of the day? Note to self: reconnect with Hightop when he gets back in town (three weeks, I think).
Monday, January 1, 2007
Bust
Well, plans broke down a bit. Trainer rescheduled from the morning to 5pm Tuesday. But I missed out on the Tuesday part and showed up today, Monday. Not too big a deal. Rode bike to mother's house for ozoni, then rode the bike to the mistaken appointment. Had planned to try jogging on the treadmill, so did 3 cycles of 2 minutes 3 mph walk, 5 minutes 4.7 mph jog (total of 21 minutes + 5 minutes cooldown). Felt really good, with the running portions pushing me to a heart-rate of 163, but no higher. Rode home with a smug feeling of moral superiority. Strange feeling to not use the car all day.
New Year, New Blog
After reading Mind on Fire, and pilgrimgirl, I've felt motivated to write ... something. Maybe this was rekindled by Ryan egging me on to write 5 minutes of stand-up comedy as well. I've always read that new bloggers have to mention the adage that the best way to improve one's writing is to actually write, so there's my mandatory mention.
I spent New Year's Eve with some new friends at "First Night Fullerton." Jaw-dropping hot-air balloon on Harbor, amazing midnight fireworks show, and a couple hours of serious wandering around. Really fun. Sis reminded me later that she was at The Olde Ship. Whoops.
Resolutions? In the past, it's seemed like a resolution was something that I was supposed to do in the past and wouldn't really do in the future. Over the last few years I've made so many positive changes in my life that the future seems suddenly filled with potential. I'm not sure that I've felt this positive for more than a decade. So the idea of a resolution doesn't quite jive with the way I've always emotionally reacted to them in the past ("yeah, I'm probably not going to actually follow through with that").
That being said, I'd like to:
I spent New Year's Eve with some new friends at "First Night Fullerton." Jaw-dropping hot-air balloon on Harbor, amazing midnight fireworks show, and a couple hours of serious wandering around. Really fun. Sis reminded me later that she was at The Olde Ship. Whoops.
Resolutions? In the past, it's seemed like a resolution was something that I was supposed to do in the past and wouldn't really do in the future. Over the last few years I've made so many positive changes in my life that the future seems suddenly filled with potential. I'm not sure that I've felt this positive for more than a decade. So the idea of a resolution doesn't quite jive with the way I've always emotionally reacted to them in the past ("yeah, I'm probably not going to actually follow through with that").
That being said, I'd like to:
- continue to live healthy
- live my life with more thought about spirituality
- compete in a sprint triathlon
- complete a "Century" ride (100 miles)
- take more pictures each week
- update this blog with consistency
- increase my social circle
- contribute positively to the communities I belong to
- take a vacation that requires an overnight stay
- take positive steps towards finishing my degree
- write 5 minutes of stand-up comedy
- Weekly weigh-in
- Workout with trainer in the morning
- Try jogging on the treadmill
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