Rolling Along

Item One: Emily is feeling much better. She is playing with Shilo, going for walks and bugging us to play ball. Our goal is to keep her as quiet as possible but she makes that hard to do with her need for activity.

Item Two: I did get a ride in Monday -- 16 miles with increased average speed despite a strong head wind. That of course does mean I had a great tail wind from time to time as well. Felt schpänky to ride fast and fluid.

Item Three: The newest rendition of the '08 Team R2R jersey

Lastly: Looking forward to another Captiva Coffee Cruise with Spenghali Saturday. Always a pleasure to ride with the Team!

Spin On

So Fast

Friday was good. I was eager to get out of the office and ride and looking forward to the weekend. I got in about 16+ miles, hung out at home that evening with "the Girls".

Saturday, more changes at the gym. Spin class was moved to the main, hard floor, mirror filled weight room. It is bright and loud and not the least bit comforting. Add to the fact that you have to pull out the bikes and put them back each time -- it's just a pain. The new management is losing a lot of ground and support with the staff and patrons. I have a few months left before I evaluate my renewal. All that aside, class was good -- lots of resistance work.

From there it was off to stock up on Belgian ale and some wine for the evening. M&L were spending the night and friends were coming by with their dog for a little dinner and dog play. Started a little rocky when M fell coming up the steps. She was alright but it was scary and happened so fast. Of course, she could have lost a limb and still said "I'm all right" -- that's what Mom's do.

Got a bit touchy when Shilo met Henry for the first time. He is a little French Bulldog who barrels his way into everything -- including our home. After a few tense moments they worked it out. Emily was oblivious to the whole thing and wanted to play.

My partner called -- he never calls on a Saturday -- to say he was just coming back from the ER after having to lay his Harley down. He was sore, scraped and stitched but no major damage. Thank you Lord! The kicker is he was two miles from turning it in on trade for a boat -- two miles!! At least he is okay.

Today I found out a co-worker's seven month old was hospitalized with pneumonia. Again, it happened fast. From a cold to the ER. Be well Allison!

Sunday was a hang low day. poor Emily could barely move she was so sore from Saturday. It was her last Hurrah! before we decide on surgery. She slept most of the day on the couch, limped and held up her leg when she moved. I did chores and then just sat nearby in hopes of helping her feel better. When Nifi got home from errands we gave her a pain pill and she came around. It was pretty pitiful watching her want to play and not being able to walk more than a few feet. This morning she seemed better. Shilo needs play and Emily needs rest.

Congrats to Tom Boonen for the winning the Paris-Roubaix!

Things happen fast.

Spin On

Weekend Report

Friday was all about the bike. I took a weeks worth of "smoke breaks" to work on bike logos, jerseys and the redesign of the R2R web site. As the clock headed towards 5:00 I spent some tutorial time learning Dreamweaver as well -- daunting program.

Got home, changed and headed out for about 15 miles. The InSuck worked until I stopped, checked later and it was stuck in Set Mode. My only option is to take it in to Trek and have them look at it -- half and hour drive. Crap.

Spin Class with Edmund the Inhaler Saturday morning -- hard class. He like to sprint so our legs are going like sewing machines which tends to later have a systemic effect on me -- fatigue and nausea. Errands, lawn work and dogs to the vet. Later I linked up with Al to get my gear problem resolved. Apparently the cable came unwrapped inside the housing causing it to jam. We'll see, he is back tonight with a new cable. While he worked, I linked up with a very tasty Flying Dog Ale.

Sunday was a SLOW moving day. I forced myself to spend 40 minutes in the Rank Room and spin some crap out of my system. Dinner with M&L, dog walk -- caught in the rain, crash.

Spin On

Starts and Stops

Going back to Saturday, we had a good Spin Class. We worked on resistance which I prefer over speed and cardio. Felt good to push that morning. I finished up with a conversation with the person next to me who just came back from Colorado and fit in some Spin out there. He noted how "hard-core" they are about fitness an how they rebuked him for his form and positioning on the bike. Lower bars to simulate an actual bike, build up your back muscles and forget about listening to the music -- it is about keeping your body still, moving the legs.

Class ended with Joyce The Just announcing she was leaving the gym and this was to be her last class. She was just one of the many people there to succumb to new (poor) management decisions. I really hope they keep the spin classes going early. Best of luck to you, Joyce.

On the topic of the gym, I finally got a call from a trainer to work up a program with me. She is a triathlete and will develop and evolving program for me that will hopefully focus on climbing strength. I am considering pulling the trigger on that next week.

Despite my Trek Insuck computer not working (again) I got in a nice ride Sunday afternoon. Temps were clawing at 100ºF but as I got to the Island it cooled down thanks to a sea-breeze. Not sure the distance but I had a great tailwind on the way home and flew! I later tested the Insuck and think the problem lies in the fact that you must be rolling to turn it on. More to come on that.

Spinning tonight I hope, more later.

Spin On

Ups And Downs

First off, meet our newest Team R2R member, Shilo. We are very pleased to have her on our side and in our home. She is a great big, gentle gal and fast becoming Emily's new "sister".



More to come on Shilo as we all get better acquainted.

That was the ups, along with a great ride Wednesday eve. I worked on cadence, despite some head winds. Did about 15.5 in :50. I am not a fast rider, more a middle distance guy looking to finish. It felt great and the legs felt spänky.

The down? I woke up a lot that night, felt achy and warm. Couldn't get out of be the next morning. I had to call in sick and slept a lot. Still not 100% but couldn't be out another day. My mental focus has been wandering a bit and I know I am feeling some tension in my neck and shoulders. But, today is a work Fun Day retreat so I hope to get past all that, into the weekend and do some Spin Class and riding.

Spin On

Nothing Much

Last decent training session was Saturday Spin Class. Felt really good after missing the week before. I typically go through a warm up nutrition bottle and then water during class. Those are preceded by a bowl of oatmeal, coffee and a banana. Since I didn't have the banana, I flipped the liquids -- water for warm up and Zym for class. I think it worked pretty well. I often have to force myself to eat oatmeal and a banana so I felt "lighter".

Easter was nice with the folks and good food.

Monday is scheduled rest day (sorry I have taken more than my share lately). Tonight the lawn needs much attention so I will be riding the John Deere instead of the Carbon Suppository.

Nifi and I have been in the deep throws of deciding on a Lab Rescue dog. She is great and great big. Emily is showing some joint discomfort so no major news yet... stay tuned.

Spin On

Revival

Okay, it has been a while since I posted anything. Simply because it has been a long time since I trained. Last night was my first foray back to the gym for a week. I went to Core Class feeling weak and of course he kicked our butts with added weight challenges. I was able to do the extra lifting (for the most part) and feel pretty good today. Tomorrow might be another story.

I have been longing to get on the bike but with all the company it was not an option. Dr.T kicked a** on our landscape project -- a tireless worker. It was fun to get so much family time in though. I learned that my sister used to be a very diligent rider in her day putting on mile after mile. I also learned my mom had a pet goat (no, not me).

As for pets, Spin might be missed again Saturday as we head out to possibly adopt a new "sister" for Emily. We are hopeful that this trip yields results -- my brown girl is blue.

My focus now is Mountain Mama in August and getting over the terrain and raising funds for LLRoF. I feel I have to work on my legs and my mind to better deal with the suffering and pain without giving myself a mental "out" of any sort. I hope to do some lifting to accomplish that. Thinking of the tremendous effort of Jill's Ididarod in an inspiration.

Spin On