Ya Gotta Have Heart

Well, I did make it to Spin Class last night. In fact three of us did and opened ourselves up to Edmund The Terrible. Quite a workout. Since he had three middle age + guys in the room I think the fan was blowing around a little testosterone -- he pushed us hard. Of course, that is why we go and it is good to have a variety of instructors. And, maybe it is good to sweat through your dry layers on the way home.

I wore my heart monitor and it seemed to work in the gym this time. Initially it registered all over the place so I stopped using it but thought it best to try again. This time my numbers were 216 Max, 143 Avg. I managed to hang about 175 for the more intense lengthy sections and probably maxed on the jumps. Something to keep an eye on as I beef up the training schedule.

Tonight is Core with ET again... Lord help me.

Spin On

Dog Day Afternoon

I waited a day to post again to see where we ended up with Emily and her surgical consultation. It was good and bad. First, she does have arthritic hips, secondly, she may have been presenting discomfort from a torn cruciate in her knee. The good thing is that she now shows no symptoms of either. Until she presents with discomfort we will wait, rest her a week or so and get her back into her routine. Surgery is in her future but not sure when. Hopefully we can do the lesser of the hip surgeries and she will lead a comfortable life with her orange ball and the ability to sleep up on the couch.

It was another long day of waiting with the inability to be proactive in dealing with Emily so it zapped my energy some. Tonight I hope to spin and loosen up the legs some, burn some stress and keep an eye on the heart monitor.

Spin On.

Tripped Up Report

Finally -- road time! I was able to get in about 32 miles late Sunday morning and it felt pretty good. Temp was about 80º, low humidity and low wind. I did my standard Sanibel loop, but did not head to Captiva because I wanted to have an easy spin and keep the miles low. I guess it did feel good because my intent was to do 25 miles. The City of Sanibel has done a lot of work on the roads since I have, lots of fresh pavement meant for smooth rolling.

My one complaint is my new Trek Incite ACH cyclometer. It was a gift, which I really do appreciate, but the learning curve is steep due to poor instructions. In fact one section of the miniscule type actually has you refer back to another section -- in French. Pluses: built in heart monitor (more later), grade (Causeway climb is 5%) and altitude (not set right). Minuses: Having to rotate through all the displays -- speed and temp are the only one that stay on at all times, poor instructions and my biggest beef is that it stopped working when I stopped for recovery. I had it working fine, stopped for a Gatorade and when I got back on it was blank! Only the temp showed. I hit every combination of buttons but no luck. Finally, after a few miles and after the return climb it re-set itself to the power-save clock and I was able to start over from there....grrrrr. So, my trip data is not accurate or conclusive. I have to call Trek and get some instructions in English.

My heart rate did not exceed 185 bpm (on the climb which I did at about 14.4 mph -- it is short) but without a proper computer reading I am not sure if it was higher later in the ride -- but I don't think so. I averaged about 148.

Happy Monday, Spin On.

My Turn

I have spent a lot of time this past week stressing about my doggie issues. Thanks again for keeping in contact, Emily continues to get past her digestive infection and we are keeping a close eye on her hips, but she is happy again.

I felt better about things last night and had some renewed energy, so after some errands (vet, gas and grabbing a Chimay) I hit the trainer for the first time in weeks. Things were going pretty smooth -- iPod cranking, me cranking, closed-captioning cranking. I am trying to lift a page from Jason at Soiled Chamois and develop a name for the room (Stankment™ is taken) so it kept me occupied. I shifted gears up for 5 minutes of harder effort and my heart monitor shot up to 237 bpm! I eased back on the cadence and dropped it to 198 then steadily down to 151 -- which still seemed high. I was reminded of Jeff Kerkove's recent issue similar to mine and he ended up seeing a cardiologist! My Cateye monitor goes nuts sometimes in certain areas, due to interference I imagine, but never in the currently un-named spin room. I kept the monitor on for a while after my warm-down and my heart rate seemed normal. I felt a little weak at Spin Class today and tried not to over-do but I was not comfortable. I asked the instructor about the 237 and she said it might be stress of the week or dehydration but to keep an eye on it. I think it is stress too, but makes me wonder about all the other "false" reads I get on the road. If I stop posting, have a Chimay (or three) in my honor:)

And to my Team Mates -- we are not alone... can you say "Cowbell"?

Spin On

Dog Tales

After a long day of waiting an not being able to take any proactive action it was good to pick up Emily and head home. Her sister Sadie was very relieved as well. Good news is Emily has been eating well, walking on her leg again and wants to play with her infamous orange ball. She is still not quite herself but the pooch has a lot going on right now.

I got a look at the x-rays of her hips. Wow! The femoral head of her hip joints looks like the Elephant Man. There are indications of bone spurs that are the size of rose thorns... they are amazed she is moving! I am amazed that she played ball for almost 2 hours Sunday night. That probably brought on a great deal of irritation. Anyway, she is young(ish) and healthy so we will consult with a surgeon, hopefully next week. In the mean time we are getting her GI back in tact and loading her up with glucosamine. We have some pain meds, but want to use them sparingly.

While this blog is about riding, it is also about dogs, so I appreciate everyone's concerns and well wishes. Hopefully I will get a spin in tonight before a Belgian (or two) and then Spin Class tomorrow, a longer ride Sunday then in for Superbowl commercials:)

Speaking of blogs, todays entry at Soiled Chamois is one of the finest I have read!

Spin on.

Doggie Downer

Well we are having some problems with our Emily (she bears a striking resemblance to the Team R2R Lab). Her usually happy-go-lucky demeanor changed suddenly, she had an accident (or two) in the house and stopped eating and drinking. Not eating for a Lab is serious -- they are four-legged vacuums! Ran home to check on her and she was getting a swelling on her head. Of course our vet closes on Wednesdays... off the the 24 Hour Doggie ER we went. Four+ hours later she seems to have some infections in her digestive tract. By the way, the swelling went down by the time we got to the ER. We suspect the irritation may have been caused by her raid and subsequent consumption of a rabbit warren in our back yard. Antibiotics and a pat on the head and home we went. Both Emily and I were exhausted, but thankfully hungry. No training that night.

Today she woke up and would not stand on a rear leg! It did not stop -- we thought maybe it fell asleep and freaked her out a little, she is a worrier (gets it from her old man). Off to our vet. Blood work and x-rays indicate GI infection and most surprising to us "Horrible" hips. That may have spawned the bad leg. Now it is time to weigh options. We have to get a surgeon consultation to know just what to do but she can't loose more muscle mass. Poor baby.

All the anxiety an missed work means no Core Class for me tonight, maybe a spin on the trainer. This is very troubling for me because of the waiting an inability to be pro-active.

Thanks "Long Goat" for the updates on your health and training -- don't over-due!

Spin On

Diet-tribe

Man -- have I been off the diet wagon! With company in town my diet has gone out with the bath water and I am feeling it! Too many Belgians, carbs and red wine. I spiked to an all time weight high but have managed to work it back down some. My company has headed out -- great to see you Molly & Dan!! and now it is back to reality.

I did Spin Class on Saturday and eased off a little on the pressure. My left knee has been a tad sore -- manageable but I wanted to be cautious none the less. I think the impact of training classes and not the continual motion (and caloric burn) are irritating the area around the joint. I cannot spin tonight so I will gain another rest day (and probably another pound).

I know I sound like a broken recored, but I hope to get back to a riding routine within the week.

Hope you are recovering Brother Bob!

Spin on.