Race Against the Rain

My first ride from work to home. It was a race against the impending rain storm. How could I NOT get on the road bike when the temp was 64!? Ride was decent, quite a bit of headwind, of course. I felt like I spent all my reserves by mile 12, seemed like I was going so slow at that point. Real tired. Kept pushing. I guess I was just too excited to get off to a giant start. Looked up the last time I rode this route...Aug 21 of last year. Time 1:20:13. Beat it by about :45 and to top it off, I was not happy with the traffic and selection of stop lights I had to deal with today. Stop signs suck. I also should have not rode the section of trail that was not plowed over the winter (last 3 miles). It was thawed out pretty much, some spots still slicked up with slush, but snowmobiles have thrown gravel (BIG gravel) all over the place - had to ride cautiously so I didn't wipe out, catch a stick in the spokes or get a flat. I sent rocks flying off into the nearby woods, I could hear them, tire puncture threatening. Happily it did not happen. I flew through all of the last 5 or so stop signs in town to make sure I beat my time. Willing to scare any motorist that was driving the crossroads. Luckily I never saw a soul at the crossings. With all the disappointing starting/stopping and cautious riding I had to do, it's awesome to think in March, friggin' March, I'm riding at August level from last year. Killed it.

Animal Style

My goal today (Sunday afternoon) was to go for a "leisurely" 10-12 mile ride while the sun was (almost) out and roads were dry. Decided to try the heart rate monitor this time also. Upon hitting the roads with the mountain bike, things were road-bike quick right to start. After only about 5 miles in, I began to start looking for dirt roads (which were frozen/soft with ice melt sludge on top). It was fun. Mud slurp-age everywhere. I'm not sure if it was the time of day, or what I ate for breakfast/lunch, but I was a machine that couldn't be stopped. I think on a few occasions, I actually sped up to climb hills instead of slow down. I was focused and in the zone. Before I knew it, I had whipped down a nice 17 miles and felt great! Only reason I stopped back home is because of my lack of imagination on where to go to next. Already hoping for a dry/rain-free Thursday evening so I can venture home from work. My first commuter ride - nice now that the time has changed and I can get home before darkness sets in. PS - I love how my route below looks like a tired wang. PSS - check the calorie burn count...a cool 83 calories. Garmin must have thought I was burning Dilithium Crystals as fuel.

Run update.

I successfully made it to 3.5 miles today without taking a break. The hip felt better than usual. Cardio is tip top. Ran it in 36 minutes - just over 10 minute miles. I want to run the 10K in May in less than 60 minutes. So by then I should be up to the right pace and mileage to meet my goal. Ran next to George Costanza today...he smelled like a bowl of a$$holes. Had to turn on the fan to the dreadmill to get some fresh air in my face. Wanted to trow up.

Chili Willy.

This would have been a perfect day to have studded tires. Fresh 1/4 to 1/2"snow of snow overnight left lightly traveled side roads glazed up with ice. Had to ride extra gingerly in quite a few spots. This was a fun ride mainly because I had no route set and just started turning down roads I'd never been on before. I will have to do more of that, it was fun. The General is operating in top form now, I think all kinks have been worked out. For the last few miles I got on a main road into town that had been salted. Got more wet than I was hoping and splashed with brown mud/slush a few times, but not too bad. Bike is in the garage thawing out right now. Gotta hang it up and start preparing the garage for a fun day filled with friends & kids, bad food and alcohol.

Discovery.

So, I realized yesterday that all throughout this winter, I've had a very positive attitude towards most things and not lacking energy or drive like I have in past winters. Could it be that "seasonal affective disorder" is a complete farce and just some BS way to say "Mainly Fat Lazy People are Depressed"? I think so. Gee, yeah, lets coddle these people and give them an excuse to not be healthy, because they obviously can't face the fact that they are out of control and are too lazy to do anything about it. Thus ends the preaching from atop a soap box by Tony Maravolo. Thank you.

Road Bike Dusting

After a solid week of warm temps almost all the snow is gone from here. Roads being wide open, thought it would make for the perfect chance to get the road bike out. It was fun...and cold! I missed out on a group ride possibility yesterday afternoon in the 40ish degree weather, so I guess 23 with a windchill of 18 was my punishment. What a blast. You know it must be cold, when the cows stand and stare at you riding past, like WTF!? Can't wait for spring.

Run update.

Quick update on my running progress. Most of you may not know, but Remus talked me into running a race this spring. It's a 10K at the Bayshore (Traverse City). I have never done a race before and absolutely hate running. So, if it turns out to be the worst day of my life, I have one Matt Remus to thank. HA HA Just kidding. Anyways, I'm up to running 3 miles now. Almost half way there. My goal would be to be able to run 8 miles, so I can be assured that my 10K day will go w/o a hitch. I don't think I've ever run this far before. For me, it's ridiculous that I'm trying to pull this off. Retard.