Snowy death, I welcome you.
Well, maybe not the death part. But snow, horrible travel conditions, nasty wind ... whatever. I have very little on the training schedule this week, plus I'm off tomorrow. So no sweat there. Getting home tonight may be an issue, but driving slow is pretty easy.
And the rest of the week? Weekend highs in the upper 30s. No sweat. The roads will be clear. I'm just going to keep saying that. It'll work out.
The continuing saga of streaming all of our watchable content included catching the Northern Iowa basketball game last night. ESPN3, for all of its breadth of content, doesn't show what's on ESPNU. So we had to nab a feed from lord knows where.
But it worked ... sort of. The quality was not great and the feed was not entirely reliable. But it was better than nothing, and it didn't rely upon 70-some dollars per month. There has to be a better way, though. And we'll find it, I'm sure.
OK, time to go put chains on the Camry.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
It won't be long now
Mark mentioned last week that Rafal mentioned during a ride that we were pretty much on the home stretch of winter.
Looking back at last year's blog posts, it looks like things took a turn for the better midway through February. And last year was easily the worst winter I've experienced in a long while.
I've been thinking about that lately, because while I've put in my time on the trainer, it hasn't really seemed all that bad. Sure, there has been trainer time, but not that much - certainly not as much as people think.
But the very real possibility of being outside for the rest of the spring/summer isn't too big of a stretch.
Just a few more weeks. Thankfully, one of them is an easy week.
It won't be long.
Looking back at last year's blog posts, it looks like things took a turn for the better midway through February. And last year was easily the worst winter I've experienced in a long while.
I've been thinking about that lately, because while I've put in my time on the trainer, it hasn't really seemed all that bad. Sure, there has been trainer time, but not that much - certainly not as much as people think.
But the very real possibility of being outside for the rest of the spring/summer isn't too big of a stretch.
Just a few more weeks. Thankfully, one of them is an easy week.
It won't be long.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Oh, so close
When I completed the morning's writing work, my phone delivered an interesting little piece of information: 33 degrees. 6:45 a.m.
"Holy crap, I'm going to be able to get outside for today's workout," I thought.
I switched gears from preparing for a quick trainer ride to preparing for a quick hill workout on the monster down the street.
Just to be sure, though, I did a quick lap of the neighborhood when I got back from daycare. The climb was good. Yes! But what of the descents?
Wow. Sketchy, sketchy, sketchy. One corner/downhill actually had snow on it. The the rest of it was ice.
I know what you're going to ask - "why not go down that nice, clean hill you just climbed."
Well, two reasons: one was that only the uphill portion was clear - from people going to work that morning. The other is the driving habits of my neighbors, which kept me from riding down the hill on the left side.
These people drive crazy. And they drive fast. And even if I did have a clear road on which to travel, there's still a good chance I'd be mowed down.
So it was 50 minutes on the trainer. Ten-minute warmup and 40 minutes of short, steep hills. Ouch.
Good news, though: my knee feels good. I hit all of the numbers and I got to watch Jens Voigt ride off the front in the 2005 Fleche Wallone.
"Holy crap, I'm going to be able to get outside for today's workout," I thought.
I switched gears from preparing for a quick trainer ride to preparing for a quick hill workout on the monster down the street.
Just to be sure, though, I did a quick lap of the neighborhood when I got back from daycare. The climb was good. Yes! But what of the descents?
Wow. Sketchy, sketchy, sketchy. One corner/downhill actually had snow on it. The the rest of it was ice.
I know what you're going to ask - "why not go down that nice, clean hill you just climbed."
Well, two reasons: one was that only the uphill portion was clear - from people going to work that morning. The other is the driving habits of my neighbors, which kept me from riding down the hill on the left side.
These people drive crazy. And they drive fast. And even if I did have a clear road on which to travel, there's still a good chance I'd be mowed down.
So it was 50 minutes on the trainer. Ten-minute warmup and 40 minutes of short, steep hills. Ouch.
Good news, though: my knee feels good. I hit all of the numbers and I got to watch Jens Voigt ride off the front in the 2005 Fleche Wallone.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
The great escape
Typically, when it's all snowy and cold in Omaha, the biggest deterrent to riding outside is getting out of the neighborhoods and onto the open roads. What should be an easy five or 10 minutes often ends up being a snow-clogged, messy and dangerous ride.
Once I'm out, however, all is well.
That's pretty much how it went yesterday. I ended up riding west on Fort Street (the wider, three-lane part) to get to 144th. From there I headed north to Ida and then finally out of town. Pretty much every side street was sketchy sketchy sketchy.
I ended up with a pretty solid ride, though I might have been a bit overdressed. Wind chill was allegedly 21 or so when I left, but I warmed up pretty quick. Once again, the combination of Bontrager RXL booties and toe warmers was spot-on. It's pretty amazing jumping into the shower and not cringing when hot water hits your feet.
Oh ... the day's weapon of choice: Orange Crush. It's back and it's heavy — 20 pounds. A perfect training bike.
Once I'm out, however, all is well.
That's pretty much how it went yesterday. I ended up riding west on Fort Street (the wider, three-lane part) to get to 144th. From there I headed north to Ida and then finally out of town. Pretty much every side street was sketchy sketchy sketchy.
I ended up with a pretty solid ride, though I might have been a bit overdressed. Wind chill was allegedly 21 or so when I left, but I warmed up pretty quick. Once again, the combination of Bontrager RXL booties and toe warmers was spot-on. It's pretty amazing jumping into the shower and not cringing when hot water hits your feet.
Oh ... the day's weapon of choice: Orange Crush. It's back and it's heavy — 20 pounds. A perfect training bike.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Just about there
It's the last week of this second training phase, and even if I didn't have a calendar handy, I can tell.
Heavy legs, longer warmup times, good sleep. I'm tired. No, not overtired. I can just tell I've been working hard.
There's one week left in the "work" portion of Base 2, which means a long zone 3 session this morning, a long ride tomorrow — probably on a road of some sort — and then some power work and another long ride to close things out.
It's always hard to tell how fast you are before you get put into a real-world situation. I mean, I know how fast I am compared to this point last year and the year before, but how that compares to everybody else is anyone's guess.
We'll find out soon enough, I suppose.
Heavy legs, longer warmup times, good sleep. I'm tired. No, not overtired. I can just tell I've been working hard.
There's one week left in the "work" portion of Base 2, which means a long zone 3 session this morning, a long ride tomorrow — probably on a road of some sort — and then some power work and another long ride to close things out.
It's always hard to tell how fast you are before you get put into a real-world situation. I mean, I know how fast I am compared to this point last year and the year before, but how that compares to everybody else is anyone's guess.
We'll find out soon enough, I suppose.
Friday, January 21, 2011
TCB
Occasionally, when called upon to do so, I can be fairly productive. Most often, that sudden rush in productivity is because I completely over-committed myself.
Hey, like this week, for example.
At some point, my internal scheduling computer didn't notice that I'd accepted three freelance assignments, on top of other writing duties, riding duties, shop duties and trying to be a semi-respectable husband and father.
Today's list had me on the trainer at 5:15 ... blurg ... and then on kid duty by 6:30. Two phone interviews this morning for a story, then to the shop. And there's another interview coming along somewhere. Tonight I'll finish a story real quick-like, too.
On Sunday night, maybe, I'll jam those interviews into another story. And then I'll kick off another project.
Sure, it's money, which is always nice. New furnaces, showers and Camry suspensions don't pay for themselves. But man ... I need to check the schedule next time around. Or, you know, use my BlackBerry calendar a little more effectively.
Either way.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
So ... how's it going?
A few weeks back, I wrote about our switch from satellite TV to web-based programming (supplemented by a digital antenna or two for over-the-air programming).
How's it working?
Quite well, thanks. Netflix on the PS3 is slick and loaded with content. The DVDs we'd been renting from Redbox for Jack are all on there, plus a couple hundred more. Hulu Plus has a huge archive of TV shoes - I'm almost caught up on The Office now, for example.
The iMac is hooked up to the downstairs TV, ready for browser-only content (like the Tour de France). The picture quality isn't quite spot-on HD, but it's close.
The only real hiccup has been the upstairs antenna, which is surprising. That's the antenna which had been in place for nearly three years. It got moved downstairs for a couple of weeks, then came back upstairs. For whatever reason, it's not pulling in the NET channels well - or at all, sometimes.
An outdoor antenna may be the next investment, since it will also pull in Fox. For about 355 days a year, Fox is completely and utterly worthless. But it has the Super Bowl (mild importance), regular Saturday baseball games (a little more important) and at least half of the baseball players (more important). Are those few events worth $80 and a chunk of my time? Maybe, maybe not.
Anyway, the addition will be easy, because we already have a coaxial cable running from the roof to upstairs TV. I'll just have to yank the dish and mount the antenna. Shouldn't be a big deal.
With the exception of the NCAA championship football game, I haven't missed the dish at all. And even for that game, I would have had only a passing interest. I suspect it will be like that for other events, too.
So yeah, we might miss things now and then. But it's only TV. And I'll take the $45/month.
How's it working?
Quite well, thanks. Netflix on the PS3 is slick and loaded with content. The DVDs we'd been renting from Redbox for Jack are all on there, plus a couple hundred more. Hulu Plus has a huge archive of TV shoes - I'm almost caught up on The Office now, for example.
The iMac is hooked up to the downstairs TV, ready for browser-only content (like the Tour de France). The picture quality isn't quite spot-on HD, but it's close.
The only real hiccup has been the upstairs antenna, which is surprising. That's the antenna which had been in place for nearly three years. It got moved downstairs for a couple of weeks, then came back upstairs. For whatever reason, it's not pulling in the NET channels well - or at all, sometimes.
An outdoor antenna may be the next investment, since it will also pull in Fox. For about 355 days a year, Fox is completely and utterly worthless. But it has the Super Bowl (mild importance), regular Saturday baseball games (a little more important) and at least half of the baseball players (more important). Are those few events worth $80 and a chunk of my time? Maybe, maybe not.
Anyway, the addition will be easy, because we already have a coaxial cable running from the roof to upstairs TV. I'll just have to yank the dish and mount the antenna. Shouldn't be a big deal.
With the exception of the NCAA championship football game, I haven't missed the dish at all. And even for that game, I would have had only a passing interest. I suspect it will be like that for other events, too.
So yeah, we might miss things now and then. But it's only TV. And I'll take the $45/month.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
A new league record
As of 6:30 a.m., there are 53 comments on Monday's post. Fifty-three.
That's more than when Jack was born, more than when I crashed in Lincoln, more than when I broke my back, more than when I was canned. It's more than all of those combined.
Now, I'd argue that each of those events was more significant than Monday's post, which had a pretty simple message: shut up and ride your bike. I mean, you've got a birth, a bloody crash, a near-catastrophic injury and massive upheaval in those four posts.
Monday? Eh, it's just me being sick of hearing about how epic and hardcore your weekend ride was. The work you did was probably similar to the work I did. We both rode, we both made strides toward improvement.
Move on. (Wait, I have some rebuttals.)
Shim: I did talk about the boredom of Base 1 a lot. True. But you kept on reading, didn't you? It's that or I start talking about video game wins and losses. (Spoiler: There are no winners.)
Mark: You're right.
Marc: You're right.
Mike: You're right.
Other Mike: You're right, too.
Jonathan: Nope. You're wrong. (OK, you're right, too.)
Yes, you're all right. And because I promised on Twitter that I'd do it, everybody who posted within the first 50 comments gets a Stinger Waffle, to be picked up at the Great Trek Bicycle Selling Store of Omaha. I count 15 of you.
Thanks for reading. Now beat it.
That's more than when Jack was born, more than when I crashed in Lincoln, more than when I broke my back, more than when I was canned. It's more than all of those combined.
Now, I'd argue that each of those events was more significant than Monday's post, which had a pretty simple message: shut up and ride your bike. I mean, you've got a birth, a bloody crash, a near-catastrophic injury and massive upheaval in those four posts.
Monday? Eh, it's just me being sick of hearing about how epic and hardcore your weekend ride was. The work you did was probably similar to the work I did. We both rode, we both made strides toward improvement.
Move on. (Wait, I have some rebuttals.)
Shim: I did talk about the boredom of Base 1 a lot. True. But you kept on reading, didn't you? It's that or I start talking about video game wins and losses. (Spoiler: There are no winners.)
Mark: You're right.
Marc: You're right.
Mike: You're right.
Other Mike: You're right, too.
Jonathan: Nope. You're wrong. (OK, you're right, too.)
Yes, you're all right. And because I promised on Twitter that I'd do it, everybody who posted within the first 50 comments gets a Stinger Waffle, to be picked up at the Great Trek Bicycle Selling Store of Omaha. I count 15 of you.
Thanks for reading. Now beat it.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Lobotomy Jack
Look at this kid. Happy, healthy ... sitting before a pile of Christmas presents. We didn't know how well we had it. Less than a month ago, he'd go to bed without incident, follow directions without questions and — just for good measure — clean his plate at every meal.Over the last two weeks, however, he's been an absolute terror. Random freakouts are the norm, as is completely ignoring directions or just staring at you when you say something to him. Last night, somehow, he was up until 9:45.
What the hell?
There's no good explanation for it other than his age. He's 3. Three-year-olds do that sometimes. We've been pretty fortunate to avoid most of the really long stretches of bad stuff. It's been little phases, a week or two at a time.
But then it goes away and he's back to normal. Right now, I'd take that "in a phase" Jack over Devil Jack.
If I didn't have a couple of stories to write, I'd let him sleep in this morning and then have him stay home today. Not because I think I can fix it, but because the public must be protected.
I'm doing this for you, people.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Tough guys
On Friday nights the tweets pop up like dandelions:
"Meet at the BK bridge, 3 hours of gravel." Or maybe it's, "75 miles of Iowa gravel on tap. Who's in?"
Gravel is always involved, somehow, as are epic feats of strength. You know how epic those feats are because the follow-up tweets go like this: "3-plus hours of gravel, 15 degrees. 6 hours for the weekend. Hell yes!" There's almost always a picture of coffee, too.
Yay. Well done, boys. You got your work in.
Meanwhile, so did I. So did lots of people. And I didn't need to post pictures of coffee or complain about being cold or regaining feeling in my fingers/toes/ears/brain. Didn't you just brag about how awesome it was being outside?
Yes, I rode the trainer. I daresay it's a better and more focused workout than concentrating on not being cold for three hours. And yes, I'll be ready to go when it gets warm.
Just get your miles in. It doesn't matter how.
And nobody cares about your ice beard.
"Meet at the BK bridge, 3 hours of gravel." Or maybe it's, "75 miles of Iowa gravel on tap. Who's in?"
Gravel is always involved, somehow, as are epic feats of strength. You know how epic those feats are because the follow-up tweets go like this: "3-plus hours of gravel, 15 degrees. 6 hours for the weekend. Hell yes!" There's almost always a picture of coffee, too.
Yay. Well done, boys. You got your work in.
Meanwhile, so did I. So did lots of people. And I didn't need to post pictures of coffee or complain about being cold or regaining feeling in my fingers/toes/ears/brain. Didn't you just brag about how awesome it was being outside?
Yes, I rode the trainer. I daresay it's a better and more focused workout than concentrating on not being cold for three hours. And yes, I'll be ready to go when it gets warm.
Just get your miles in. It doesn't matter how.
And nobody cares about your ice beard.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Friday Discussion: Roller races
As a native Iowan, I've found myself going to bat for the state during my six-plus years in Nebraska. There are certainly jokes to be made at the expense of both states, but by and large they're both nice places to live.
But Iowa, I cannot defend you on this one: roller races. As in, you drive to a central location with your bike, race the equivalent of two miles (or whatever distance the promoter chooses) on the rollers and go home. The fastest time wins. Sounds more like a rapidly growing Omaha bar game (yes, I know they do it in other places, too) than an actual race.
Even worse, there are whole web pages devoted to roller races. Gearing charts, speed approximations ... ugh. Come on.
Consider this: most "races" last between 5 and 6 minutes. If you're good at roller races, that's great. That's nice for you. Really. But if that's your skillset, your wheelhouse, the race in which you excel, the other 55 minutes of that crit sure are going to be horrible.
My stance: Much like driving your bike somewhere to ride the trainer for two hours, roller races are pretty dumb.
Your stance: In the comments.
But Iowa, I cannot defend you on this one: roller races. As in, you drive to a central location with your bike, race the equivalent of two miles (or whatever distance the promoter chooses) on the rollers and go home. The fastest time wins. Sounds more like a rapidly growing Omaha bar game (yes, I know they do it in other places, too) than an actual race.
Even worse, there are whole web pages devoted to roller races. Gearing charts, speed approximations ... ugh. Come on.
Consider this: most "races" last between 5 and 6 minutes. If you're good at roller races, that's great. That's nice for you. Really. But if that's your skillset, your wheelhouse, the race in which you excel, the other 55 minutes of that crit sure are going to be horrible.
My stance: Much like driving your bike somewhere to ride the trainer for two hours, roller races are pretty dumb.
Your stance: In the comments.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
True climber
For whatever reason or another, I talk about food a lot. Probably it's because I like to eat. And probably because I ride a lot, which requires lots of food.
This, again, is about food. Sorry. And no, mom, I don't have a weight problem. I'm perfectly fine.
A few weeks ago on Competitive Cyclist, a "What's New" piece included an anecdote about eating lunch with a pro cyclist. The writer knew race season was coming up because the rider ordered soup for lunch. Not soup and salad, not soup and sandwich.
Just soup.
Interesting. Interesting. Also interesting: Campbell's Healthy Recipe soups have low sodium, low fat and not a ton of calories. They're also $1 for a two-serving can at Hy-Vee. Oh, and they taste good, too.
While that seems like a pretty huge gulf in calories in vs. the massive amount of calories out, you're right. That said, I've been wanting to drop a few pounds for a while now. Not because I'd be healthier, not because I'm at risk for anything. Nothing like that.
I just want to go faster. And if I'm already a decent climber, a few pounds less will surely be helpful, no? I have Snake Alley as my No. 1 goal for the year. It goes up, steeply, a lot. So there you go.
Also included on the menu: salad. I've always liked salad. But I have a few cookbooks full of actual salads (grilled chicken, vegetables, etc.) that we're just now making. Damn, they're good.
It all goes back to the good choice/bad choice lifestyle. I haven't had a soda in ... days, I think. Saturday, maybe? I have no idea. I haven't missed it yet. I'm sure I will in the summer, when it's 9,000 degrees.
Until then, it's soup and salad. Separately, as entrees.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Subject to change
I'm still well within the honeymoon period of Base 2, which means I'm motivated and energetic and all of that. That could take a turn at any moment, really.
But, even armed with that knowledge, I'm having a blast. Trainer time isn't horrible when you actually have something to accomplish. Base miles on the road are a bit of a drag sometimes - knowing you're in for three hours, minimum - and they're 10 times worse inside. They have to be done, though.
Having a specific workout for each day, though, is actually motivating. While I'm sure that motivation will wane sometime - possibly soon - it's pretty fun so far.
Yes, of course I'd rather be outside. That's not really a possibility right now. I'd also rather get my work in rather than spend three hours focusing on staying warm and being miserable in the process.
But, even armed with that knowledge, I'm having a blast. Trainer time isn't horrible when you actually have something to accomplish. Base miles on the road are a bit of a drag sometimes - knowing you're in for three hours, minimum - and they're 10 times worse inside. They have to be done, though.
Having a specific workout for each day, though, is actually motivating. While I'm sure that motivation will wane sometime - possibly soon - it's pretty fun so far.
Yes, of course I'd rather be outside. That's not really a possibility right now. I'd also rather get my work in rather than spend three hours focusing on staying warm and being miserable in the process.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Electric start
A brief synopsis of the day so far:
7 a.m. — rise, breakfast, etc.
8:45 a.m. — on the bike; two hours of steady zone 2 with little bits of zone 3 tossed in for good measure.
11:15 a.m. — headed outside to remove the snowbank at the end of the driveway. Snowblower gassed up and prepared, and on the first pull ... RIP! That puppy is fired up and roaring. But the handle and pull-cord are in my hand still, no longer attached.
Well, that's an issue.
Our snowblower is a fine machine, though it's a little persnickety upon startup. Too much — or too little — choke and it'll stall out and sputter to a stop ... which it did about a minute after I ripped the cord from the engine.
Great.
"Ah, just get out the shovel, you pansy." That's fine logic, but I'll direct you to this x-ray. The vertebra with the arrow is the linchpin — it holds the rest together. Barely. And dudes with things like that don't shovel. It's just the way things are.
As I was facing a week's worth of back pain, I remembered the electric start on the snowblower. Unlike my grandma's old Lawn Boy, it doesn't have a battery. I didn't know that. I just assumed it didn't work, and since the cord worked fine until a few minutes prior, I didn't worry about it.
But as I looked closer, I saw it had prongs for an extension cord. Huh. So I plugged it in and hit the button.
Jackpot.
The driveway is clear, my back feels good and the salad I had for lunch afterward was tasty.
12:33 p.m. — time to write.
7 a.m. — rise, breakfast, etc.
8:45 a.m. — on the bike; two hours of steady zone 2 with little bits of zone 3 tossed in for good measure.
11:15 a.m. — headed outside to remove the snowbank at the end of the driveway. Snowblower gassed up and prepared, and on the first pull ... RIP! That puppy is fired up and roaring. But the handle and pull-cord are in my hand still, no longer attached.
Well, that's an issue.
Our snowblower is a fine machine, though it's a little persnickety upon startup. Too much — or too little — choke and it'll stall out and sputter to a stop ... which it did about a minute after I ripped the cord from the engine.
Great.
"Ah, just get out the shovel, you pansy." That's fine logic, but I'll direct you to this x-ray. The vertebra with the arrow is the linchpin — it holds the rest together. Barely. And dudes with things like that don't shovel. It's just the way things are.
As I was facing a week's worth of back pain, I remembered the electric start on the snowblower. Unlike my grandma's old Lawn Boy, it doesn't have a battery. I didn't know that. I just assumed it didn't work, and since the cord worked fine until a few minutes prior, I didn't worry about it.
But as I looked closer, I saw it had prongs for an extension cord. Huh. So I plugged it in and hit the button.
Jackpot.
The driveway is clear, my back feels good and the salad I had for lunch afterward was tasty.
12:33 p.m. — time to write.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Punching in
Base One, in the Friel book, is some kind of godawful boring.
It's all long, steady miles with some high-cadence and one-leg drills thrown in for good measure. Had I not started doing that stuff in June, I'm sure it wouldn't be so bad.
But since my race season effectively ended on the slimy spot of death on the West Papio trail, I've been doing nothing but long miles ever since. Bleh.
But Base Two started today, which means it's time to add a small amount of spice to the proceedings: tempo intervals.
The word "interval" makes some guys get all "older brother who is smarter than you and knows what's best for you and will let you know about it," which is fine if your definition of interval means only "high-intensity death sprints."
Those intervals will come, but not until April at the earliest. Right now, intervals are long, moderate-intensity grinds - zone 3, if you're keeping track. It was 30 minutes at that tempo today. By the time we get to the heavy stuff, it'll be 60 minutes and then some.
Step by step, the edge gets sharper.
It's all long, steady miles with some high-cadence and one-leg drills thrown in for good measure. Had I not started doing that stuff in June, I'm sure it wouldn't be so bad.
But since my race season effectively ended on the slimy spot of death on the West Papio trail, I've been doing nothing but long miles ever since. Bleh.
But Base Two started today, which means it's time to add a small amount of spice to the proceedings: tempo intervals.
The word "interval" makes some guys get all "older brother who is smarter than you and knows what's best for you and will let you know about it," which is fine if your definition of interval means only "high-intensity death sprints."
Those intervals will come, but not until April at the earliest. Right now, intervals are long, moderate-intensity grinds - zone 3, if you're keeping track. It was 30 minutes at that tempo today. By the time we get to the heavy stuff, it'll be 60 minutes and then some.
Step by step, the edge gets sharper.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Slowly, softly
It's a rest week in the 'ol training plan. Normally it's needed mentally and physically. I'm actually feeling pretty strong and solid and all of that, so I rode with a little more intensity earlier in the week.
The last couple of days, though, have been all about rest. Recovery, too. For about a week or so, my left knee has been a little angry; a little irritated.
I think I may have found the culprit, too: stretching. I've been focusing on flexibility and core strength, given my back issues. And while I wouldn't say I've been aggressive in my stretching, it has been done regularly.
Of course, for the previous 33 years of my life, I've been doing no stretching whatsoever. So some hamstring stretches on a semi-daily basis ... yeah, that'd do it. The pain in my knee is consistent with that type of stretch.
So today was an easy spin on the trainer and some core work that didn't involve the hamstrings. I'll probably do the same thing tomorrow and hopefully get out on Sunday. If not, I'll live.
On Monday, finally, we get to real workouts.
The last couple of days, though, have been all about rest. Recovery, too. For about a week or so, my left knee has been a little angry; a little irritated.
I think I may have found the culprit, too: stretching. I've been focusing on flexibility and core strength, given my back issues. And while I wouldn't say I've been aggressive in my stretching, it has been done regularly.
Of course, for the previous 33 years of my life, I've been doing no stretching whatsoever. So some hamstring stretches on a semi-daily basis ... yeah, that'd do it. The pain in my knee is consistent with that type of stretch.
So today was an easy spin on the trainer and some core work that didn't involve the hamstrings. I'll probably do the same thing tomorrow and hopefully get out on Sunday. If not, I'll live.
On Monday, finally, we get to real workouts.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Swing and a miss
One of the side benefits of having a pair of PS3s in the house is, predictably, gaming. I've always loved video games and have spent many an hour with a controller in my hands.
That said, I'm not a "gamer," at least within the confines of the current definition. I don't plow through dozens of games in the span of a year. In the life span of my old system, a PlayStation 2, I owned a total of 10 games. Many of those were updated versions of the same franchise. So, really, it was more like four games.
And they were always sports games. EA Sports in the mid-2000s had a good thing going. But when it lost the MLB license, I started to lose interest. As recently as November, I was still playing MVP Baseball 2005, the least EA-made MLB game.
The first game played on the PS3? Red Dead Redemption. (Brief synopsis: You're a former outlaw tasked by the government with rounding up your old gang and cleaning up the west. The locals despise both the government and the outlaws. There are lots of bullets.)
Game number two: Back to baseball. MLB 2010: The Show. This game, when it was originally released on PS2, was a turd. Just ... bad. After playing a demo for the new version, though, I was in.
In real life, I was never really a very good hitter. Too slow, too little coaching, all of that. I had a nice arm, could catch most anything and could run pretty fast, but that's it.
As it turns out, I can't really hit anything in this video game, either. I have games where I'm hitting everything in sight to both fields. A few home runs, even. But then the next game I get one hit. One? And it was an infield hit, to boot.
True, the learning curve on new games is sometimes steep. And when you consider how many new things I've had to learn in video games over the past five years (that would be none), my complete lack of ability makes sense. It also explains the many, many deaths of my character at the outset of Red Dead Redemption.
Task list by Opening Day: Learn how to dominate this game.
One has to have goals.
That said, I'm not a "gamer," at least within the confines of the current definition. I don't plow through dozens of games in the span of a year. In the life span of my old system, a PlayStation 2, I owned a total of 10 games. Many of those were updated versions of the same franchise. So, really, it was more like four games.
And they were always sports games. EA Sports in the mid-2000s had a good thing going. But when it lost the MLB license, I started to lose interest. As recently as November, I was still playing MVP Baseball 2005, the least EA-made MLB game.
The first game played on the PS3? Red Dead Redemption. (Brief synopsis: You're a former outlaw tasked by the government with rounding up your old gang and cleaning up the west. The locals despise both the government and the outlaws. There are lots of bullets.)
Game number two: Back to baseball. MLB 2010: The Show. This game, when it was originally released on PS2, was a turd. Just ... bad. After playing a demo for the new version, though, I was in.
In real life, I was never really a very good hitter. Too slow, too little coaching, all of that. I had a nice arm, could catch most anything and could run pretty fast, but that's it.
As it turns out, I can't really hit anything in this video game, either. I have games where I'm hitting everything in sight to both fields. A few home runs, even. But then the next game I get one hit. One? And it was an infield hit, to boot.
True, the learning curve on new games is sometimes steep. And when you consider how many new things I've had to learn in video games over the past five years (that would be none), my complete lack of ability makes sense. It also explains the many, many deaths of my character at the outset of Red Dead Redemption.
Task list by Opening Day: Learn how to dominate this game.
One has to have goals.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Good vs. bad
I don't need to loose weight, really. And for the most part, I eat fairly healthy. But, like everybody, I have lapses.
Take that dinner from last week: Little Smokies and whiskey. Probably not the best choice. Grazing on cookies? Not the best choice. When sweet food (cookies, candy, bagels) comes into the shop, it takes a lot of effort not to eat it all.
Why? Because it's there.
On one of my freelance assignments from the newspaper, I interviewed a UNO professor who focuses on health and fitness - specifically on women's health issues. Like most good health professionals, she advocates making lifestyle changes, not diet changes.
At the core of that is the decision-making process. Healthy choice or unhealthy choice? Good or bad?
Little Smokies and whiskey? Bad choice. A run the next day, no cookies, no excess calories? Good choice.
More importantly, if you make a bad choice - not riding, not eating right, whatever - don't beat yourself up and feel crappy about it. Fix it at the next opportunity.
So for the last two weeks, I've been thinking about the good choice/bad choice dynamic. Last night at supper, we had burgers. I usually have two, because ... well, because they taste good. I make damn fine burgers. But I had one.
I've been leaving soda out of my lunch bag. I only have one a day when I have it, anyway, but I've had one in the last few days total. Beer? Haven't had one since New Year's Eve. No ice cream since Christmas.
Eric and I were talking about the guilt factor yesterday on that ride. With so much internal motivation to be good at something - to work hard at it - it's only natural that you'd feel bad if you miss a day or don't perform to expectations.
But you know what? That guilt is misplaced. We all make bad decisions, sometimes fairly regularly. Just fix it the next time around. Pretty soon it's more good than bad.
Take that dinner from last week: Little Smokies and whiskey. Probably not the best choice. Grazing on cookies? Not the best choice. When sweet food (cookies, candy, bagels) comes into the shop, it takes a lot of effort not to eat it all.
Why? Because it's there.
On one of my freelance assignments from the newspaper, I interviewed a UNO professor who focuses on health and fitness - specifically on women's health issues. Like most good health professionals, she advocates making lifestyle changes, not diet changes.
At the core of that is the decision-making process. Healthy choice or unhealthy choice? Good or bad?
Little Smokies and whiskey? Bad choice. A run the next day, no cookies, no excess calories? Good choice.
More importantly, if you make a bad choice - not riding, not eating right, whatever - don't beat yourself up and feel crappy about it. Fix it at the next opportunity.
So for the last two weeks, I've been thinking about the good choice/bad choice dynamic. Last night at supper, we had burgers. I usually have two, because ... well, because they taste good. I make damn fine burgers. But I had one.
I've been leaving soda out of my lunch bag. I only have one a day when I have it, anyway, but I've had one in the last few days total. Beer? Haven't had one since New Year's Eve. No ice cream since Christmas.
Eric and I were talking about the guilt factor yesterday on that ride. With so much internal motivation to be good at something - to work hard at it - it's only natural that you'd feel bad if you miss a day or don't perform to expectations.
But you know what? That guilt is misplaced. We all make bad decisions, sometimes fairly regularly. Just fix it the next time around. Pretty soon it's more good than bad.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Rest week?
I just looked at the training schedule a little bit ago. Rest week, huh?
Wow, that was quick. Of course, it feels like I've been resting for the last 10 days, between Christmas travel, work and home projects. So yeah ... no resting this week. I'll take a day off, but by and large I'm going to ride through it.
Base 2 starts on Monday, which means - finally - actual workouts. I like riding and all, but steady cruising with not a lot of intensity can wear on you. It's probably worse since I started doing that in August.
But anyway, all is well, feeling light/fit/whatever. Outside miles on tap for later today. Whee!
Wow, that was quick. Of course, it feels like I've been resting for the last 10 days, between Christmas travel, work and home projects. So yeah ... no resting this week. I'll take a day off, but by and large I'm going to ride through it.
Base 2 starts on Monday, which means - finally - actual workouts. I like riding and all, but steady cruising with not a lot of intensity can wear on you. It's probably worse since I started doing that in August.
But anyway, all is well, feeling light/fit/whatever. Outside miles on tap for later today. Whee!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Revolution
Though I do have original thoughts from time to time — often once or twice a week — I cannot claim ownership of most of the inspiration for this post. Many have done it before us. I'm merely a follower.
We got rid of our DirecTV subscription and turned to the internet for almost all of our content.
Gasp!
Yeah, welcome to 2009. Truth be told, though, it's something I've wanted to do for a while now. There's been one hangup in that plan, though: sports. How will we watch the Cubs? What about the Tour? What about just turning on a college football game in the fall? And will it be in HD? We've had HD for three years now. We're not turning back.
We got a PlayStation 3 in November as part of a basement remodel, ostensibly for gaming, but also because we needed a DVD player down there anyway. As I explored its capabilities more, though, dumping DirecTV made more and more sense. There's a TON of on-demand content from Netflix and Hulu Plus, and it costs $16 per month. Total. We can get live local programming in HD via a digital TV antenna.
But what of the Cubs? MLB.tv, the streaming arm of Major League Baseball, has a season pass for $100. That's for all the games, not just the Cubs. And if its broadcast in HD, you get it in HD. The only thing we're missing is the Royals, since we're in their broadcast territory. If you've seen the Royals since, 0h, 1985, you know that's not really a loss.
The Tour can be handled online, too — Versus offers an HD streaming package for $35. A tether to the computer will handle that. And ESPN3 — another streaming channel (thanks for the info Ben and Jeremy) — will fill in the gaps, though not in full HD. But considering how much we actually, truly watch ESPN, it's not a big deal.
The only real problem in all of this was what to do about the upstairs TV (we have a split-level house, which basically has a formal living room and a finished basement/family room). Since we use both spaces equally (upstairs in the early evening, like when Jack is playing and we're cooking), we wanted content on both TVs.
We started checking into a Mac Mini, which could use the TV as a monitor and do everything the PS3 can do, plus store more movies and music. But after going through the specs and looking at an $800 computer, we reconsidered. "Why does it cost so much to mimic the features built into the PS3?"
— Original thought ahead! —
"Wait. Wait wait wait! Why don't we just get another PS3? It's $300. The only thing we'll be missing on the upstairs TV is ESPN3 and the Tour (which are web-browser only). It's less than half the price of a computer and way easier to use."
Jackpot.
We went to the Furniture Mart on Saturday to get a couch for the basement, picked up another PS3 and got to business. We pulled the plug on DirecTV later in the afternoon.
Initial costs aside — $300 for the PS3, $35 for the computer-to-TV cables and $40 for another digital TV antenna — we'll be knocking $45/month off of our monthly bills. And as far as I can tell, we're not really missing anything. If anything, we have way more to watch.
Like I said above, we're far from the first members of this bandwagon. But damn if it doesn't feel good to not have to pay that $78 bill every month.
We got rid of our DirecTV subscription and turned to the internet for almost all of our content.
Gasp!
Yeah, welcome to 2009. Truth be told, though, it's something I've wanted to do for a while now. There's been one hangup in that plan, though: sports. How will we watch the Cubs? What about the Tour? What about just turning on a college football game in the fall? And will it be in HD? We've had HD for three years now. We're not turning back.
We got a PlayStation 3 in November as part of a basement remodel, ostensibly for gaming, but also because we needed a DVD player down there anyway. As I explored its capabilities more, though, dumping DirecTV made more and more sense. There's a TON of on-demand content from Netflix and Hulu Plus, and it costs $16 per month. Total. We can get live local programming in HD via a digital TV antenna.
But what of the Cubs? MLB.tv, the streaming arm of Major League Baseball, has a season pass for $100. That's for all the games, not just the Cubs. And if its broadcast in HD, you get it in HD. The only thing we're missing is the Royals, since we're in their broadcast territory. If you've seen the Royals since, 0h, 1985, you know that's not really a loss.
The Tour can be handled online, too — Versus offers an HD streaming package for $35. A tether to the computer will handle that. And ESPN3 — another streaming channel (thanks for the info Ben and Jeremy) — will fill in the gaps, though not in full HD. But considering how much we actually, truly watch ESPN, it's not a big deal.
The only real problem in all of this was what to do about the upstairs TV (we have a split-level house, which basically has a formal living room and a finished basement/family room). Since we use both spaces equally (upstairs in the early evening, like when Jack is playing and we're cooking), we wanted content on both TVs.
We started checking into a Mac Mini, which could use the TV as a monitor and do everything the PS3 can do, plus store more movies and music. But after going through the specs and looking at an $800 computer, we reconsidered. "Why does it cost so much to mimic the features built into the PS3?"
— Original thought ahead! —
"Wait. Wait wait wait! Why don't we just get another PS3? It's $300. The only thing we'll be missing on the upstairs TV is ESPN3 and the Tour (which are web-browser only). It's less than half the price of a computer and way easier to use."
Jackpot.
We went to the Furniture Mart on Saturday to get a couch for the basement, picked up another PS3 and got to business. We pulled the plug on DirecTV later in the afternoon.
Initial costs aside — $300 for the PS3, $35 for the computer-to-TV cables and $40 for another digital TV antenna — we'll be knocking $45/month off of our monthly bills. And as far as I can tell, we're not really missing anything. If anything, we have way more to watch.
Like I said above, we're far from the first members of this bandwagon. But damn if it doesn't feel good to not have to pay that $78 bill every month.
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