I Must Be Nuts! My AIDS/LifeCycle Training Blog

End of Weeks 4 and 5

So, it's the end of weeks four and five.  I didn't get a chance to update at the end of week four due to being in Oklahoma City for my mock prosthetic board exams.  So, that week was a bit of a wash as far as training goes.  My goal was only 10 miles, but I ended up doing only 5 of those.  And then last week, I just didn't feel like riding that much, so I made 17 of my 20 miles.  It was a bit of an off two weeks, but I must say that it ended on a good note.  My training weeks end on Sundays and yesterday I rode 7.6 miles--that's twice around the trail.  Two times what I was riding when I started training a month ago. 

Oh, and yesterday was my first day with my new SPD clipless pedals.  I didn't even fall off!  (I did, however, fall off Saturday just once when I was trying them out in the garage). Anyway, that's it for this update.  I hope to have more next weekend!

End of Week 3

Ah, the end of the third week!  I'm feeling much more confident about the ride this week.  I finally made it to 5.1 miles on Tuesday, after taking Sunday and Monday off because of the heat.  Then 5 again on Thursday and 5.6 today!  I only have to ride 1.3 miles tomorrow to make my week's goal of 17 miles (my training week actually ends on Sunday since I first started on a Monday). 

I've lost about a pound this week, which is fine with me.  As long as I'm not gaining weight, I'm fine with that part.  I'm slowly learning how to eat for the ride.  My cycle buddy, Jo, sent me some info on hydration and nutrition, so I'm trying to follow that.  I have finally sort of leveled off on my water drinking during the ride.  No more feeling bloated.  The best part is that lately after finishing 5 miles per ride, I've felt great when I got home and the next day. 

I've been making several adjustments to my bike this week to try to alleviate some tailbone pain.  I expect some ischial tuberosity (sit bone) pain, but tailbone pain isn't normal.  I still have to fix my handlebars. . . I did something to them that made my hands go a little numb today.  The good news is that I finally worked my seat up to a good height.  I was initially afraid of falling over, so it was way too low and, boy, was that inefficient? 

I'm still sitting at $60 dollars for donations, but my boss talked to me yesterday about trying to get the company to sponsor me.  So, I'm going to e-mail one of the marketing folks and ask her if the company will contribute, and if not is it okay for me to use company e-mail to ask the folks who I know in the company to personally contribute.

So, soon I will need to find a longer trail.  Once I get to where I can go around the 3.8 mile track twice I will get too bored to go any more.  And?  Winter is coming.  Normally, I love the cold weather, but I'm worried about how much training I'll be able to get in.  As long as it doesn't snow too much, I should be alright for a while.  I'm not yet comfortable riding on roads with cars, so I have to work on that. 

Next week is the fourth week, so that means I have to back off on the mileage.  I have a goal of 10 miles.  It doesn't seem like much at this point.  Three weeks ago, I would have struggled for all ten miles.  The best part is that the timing is perfect.  Next weekend I have to go to Oklahoma City for my mock board exams, so I will be away for three days, anyway.  Perfect timing. 

End of Week 2

Well, it's the end of my second week of training already.  It went pretty well up until today.  The temperature has just been rising all week and today it's in the middle to upper 80s.  I rode the bike this morning, but only for the 3.8 miles of the loop.  Honestly, today was a bit disappointing.  I think the heat really got to me. 

Thursday I finally rode 4.5 miles.  The only way I could do it was to ride a short part of the loop, turn around, and then ride the entire loop from there.  That way I couldn't decided at the end to just not go further, and I have to finish the loop anyway.  So, I've built up to the one day of 4.5 miles, but just for that one day.  Tomorrow is supposed to be really hot, as well, so since I've already passed my goal of 13 miles for the week by going 15.6 (and my mileage week ends on Sunday), I'm going to rest tomorrow and get back into it Monday when the temperature is supposed to start backing off.  So far, I haven't had a problem reaching my mileage goals, but I have had a problem reaching my time goal.  I am not riding as many hours as I've set out to, but the miles are still there.  Go figure. 

Next week my goal is 17 miles and then it backs down to 10 for the following week.  That's what they suggested on www.aidslifecycle.org in the training section--to build up for three weeks and then back off to almost half for a week.  Luckily, my week to back off is the week that I go to Oklahoma City to take my mock board exam, so the timing is great. 

I only lost about a pound and a half this week, but at least I'm still losing.  The day that I rode longer was the day that I had a salad from McDonald's for lunch instead of my normal lunch.  I think I might not have been eating enough and maybe that's why I'm wearing out so quickly on my rides.  So, my plan is to eat more, and then hopefully I can ride more!

Oh, and I got some great riding gear from Lisa Dodson.  Thanks so much!

And. . . thanks to Adrienne and Rickey for supporting me in the ride!