Kindness of a Stranger

As someone who's new to biking, sometimes I'm not to great at checking every last detail before I hit the road.  On Sunday, I was riding along the San Luis Rey Bike Trail and a gentlemen rode up behind me.  He let me know that the skewers in my wheels were not locked!  I honestly wasn't 100% sure what he was talking about and I told him so.  We were about three miles from the end of the bike trail, so he offered to stop and help me there.  And THEN, he let me draft off of him for those last three miles!!  Never even got the guy's name, but I sure was happy that 1) he pointed out something that could have been a giant disaster and 2) that he was willing to interrupt his ride to help a total stranger.  

(photo from www.personalexcellence.com)

I have always had faith in the kindness of people, but it always makes me smile to see such a true example of it!  

100% sure the gentlemen who stopped does NOT read our blog, but if he ever happens to on to this page - THANK YOU!  

Goal Update - Week 3

As usual, it's time for my weekly goal update!  This really helps me stay accountable to myself!  Again, you won't find perfection here, but you'll find a lot of HEART and motivation to keep pushing myself.  

(photo from idlehearts.com)

Exercise Goals
1) Run 25 miles a week - So, as I've mentioned the previous two weeks, this was a bit ambitious!  This week I got in 16.67 miles total.  I even hit the treadmill one day to work on speed!  I'm not good at pacing myself for sprint workouts, so that's where the treadmill comes in handy.

2) Swim at least three times a week - Well, I got in two swims this week, both in the 50m pool on base and did a mile each time.  I'm really thinking about looking for a swimming coach because I know I need work on my technique to improve. 

3) Bike to and from work at least once a week - This didn't happen, BUT...on Sunday I did a 32.81 mile ride!  That's the furthest I've ever ridden in one stretch.  Note to self - pack more than one gel and carry more water if it's hot out!  Oh yeah, and sunscreen would have been a brilliant idea!

4) 10 dead-hang pull-ups - As always, I've been faithful to the Recon Ron Pull-up Program.  This week it called for five sets - 9, 7, 6, 5, 5 - and I got all five days in.  I was pretty sore this week, so I ended up kipping more than I probably should have.  

Nutrition Goals
1) One caffeinated drink per day - Doing great here and feeling good!  There are some days where I don't have anything caffeinated and don't even need it.

2) One carbonated drink per week - Oops...I messed up on this one and had two this week.  I had a Diet Mt Dew and a Lo-Carb Monster.  That's okay though, at least it wasn't every day!

3) Keep a food journal - I am in love with MyFitnessPal.  It's so easy to use, even to add in recipes to ensure you get an accurate calorie breakdown.  It also helps me to make smarter choices throughout the day about food!  

Brick It!

For anyone that’s ever done a triathlon or any training for a multi-sport event, you are familiar with the concept of the “Brick Workout.”  The idea is to do a bike workout immediately followed by a run. Or a swim, followed by a ride.  This is awful because your legs literally feel like bricks (or sometimes Jell-O).  Although it is completely evil, it is a necessary evil if you want to improve your overall times.  It helps your body get used to the transition from bike to run and can also help you improve your transition time between events. 

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For anyone new to this, here’s the basic gist (taken from this site):

1. Work up to it. A brick is for those who have been training and can complete the run and bike distance planned in the brick.

2. Make sure the brick isn't scheduled too close to any planned races. Bricks are very good training workouts and are very hard on the body. There should not be any races planned within two weeks of a brick workout to allow plenty of recovery time.

3. Get all the gear needed ready. Fill water bottles. Get your running shoes set up for when you come off the bike and are switching to running. Place anything else needed for the run, such as energy gels, next to your shoes.

4. Wear clothes comfortable for both sports. One of the points of a brick is to practice transitions for triathlons or duathlons. Any switching of clothing costs time in a race. Making the routine as close to it as it will be on race day is extremely helpful.

5. Drink plenty of fluids. Since this workout usually takes longer than biking or running alone, it is very important to drink enough. Also, bricks are a great time to practice race-day nutrition if you are training for a longer-distance race, such as an ironman.

6. Focus on the transition from bike to run. Since most duathlons and triathlons require it anyway, keep your helmet on until the bike is racked, or put away. Then take off your helmet and bike shoes, if you didn't remove them while still on the bike. Get your running shoes on and get going. This is a great time to test how your feet will react to running without socks! It saves about 40 seconds of transition time.

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7. Force the run at first. It never feels good the first 100 yards or so. Most of the time it feels like your legs just won't work. The normal rhythm will come, but until then just force leg turnover and warm your legs up. You will most likely surprise yourself when you review your Garmin and find out you were actually running faster than you thought you were. 

While I haven’t found the pool here on base yet, haha, I do have my bike and indoor trainer here and plenty of area to run.  I’ve only forced myself to do this workout twice because it felt so awful both times!  I suppose there’s only one way to make it less horrible though – do it more often! 

What do you do to motivate yourself into completing a workout that you really, really do not feel like doing?

My New Trainer

Last month, I got some money in a few birthday cards, and I immediately knew what I was going to spend it on. With the addition of the Weasel into my life, I do not get to ride my bike nearly as often as I would like. If I want to ride, I have to strap the bike to the Subaru and drive 30 minutes (we live in the country!) to drop her off at the hourly care facility, and then drive 10 more minutes to a decent place to ride all the while stressed out that I won't get back to the car in time to pick her up. Or, I can pay our sitter $10/hour to watch the Weasel and try to stay alive on the 55 mph road that we live off of. Neither option is all that enticing, so my bike has been collecting dust over the last year. 


Well now I'm the proud owner of this:

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It's the Travel Trac Century V fluid trainer and I'm thrilled with it thus far. First of all, there are hundreds of options out there for trainers, ranging from $100 to $3000. It was not an easy selection. I happened upon this guy on one of our local yardsale sites and the seller was asking for $90. What a steal, right? Well, after much communication, I finally managed to meet up with him and handed him a crisp $100 bill. He only had a $20 for change, so I got the trainer at an even better bargain...$80!!  

I've used it twice (and I'm about to hop on it now before the Weasel is up for the day). It's much more challenging than riding outside in my humble opinion. My garage is like a small sweat chamber, but I kept myself motivated by watching Ironman videos on my iPhone:) I'm about to steal Jason's small laptop that he took to Afghanistan so I can watch DVDs while I train. 

Now I've just got to build up my biking muscles so I can ride for longer than 20 minutes. It's a great way to cross train during nap time and now I can sign up for a triathlon without worrying about how I hardly trained on the bike. 

Do you have a trainer? Do you have any great workouts you do on the trainer? 

Cross Training

Running magazines often tout the benefits of cross training. It reduces stress on joints while still actively working out. It changes up your normal routine to keep you motivated. And somehow, it improves your running.

This morning, after a relaxing 3.2 mile jog with these girls:

I met up with a friend for a bike ride. Ideally, I'd like to ride twice a week; however, due to day care issues and daily life, I've been happy to knock out one per week. And luckily, our fearless Stroller Warrior leader, Steph Geraghty, rides with me. We rode 19 miles today (a bit shorter than we would have liked, but such is life) at about a 17-19 mph pace. Throughout most of the workout, we are able to ride side-by-side and chat, making it pass much more quickly. And although my legs were smoked at the end, I'm confident that it will improve my overall endurance and running. I also try to include some Crossfit workouts.  

What type of cross training do you do?