90!

Hi. It’s Laura.

It was not really a happy Monday.

It was my day for the morning dog walk. Don't get me wrong, I love the dog. I spend a lot of time with him and most of the time he is great. Our morning walks are generally always the same, to Central Park, up to & around the great lawn and then home. All told it’s about 3miles.

I would prefer the morning to have been warmer. As a matter of fact, I would prefer every day to be warmer for that matter. Please don't misunderstand, I like cold. I am skier; I need the cold for snow to happen. But ski season is over and it is nearly May. It’s time to be outdoors without freezing

It should be at least 10 degrees warmer (yes, I am going to whine for the entire time today).

Once again I have shifted around my run and my ride to avoid rain. The original forecast for Tuesday rain apparently is now not happening. So Monday's workouts included a 1200 meter swim and a 65 minutes bike ride with hill repeats.

The temperature Monday morning was 42 degrees. 42 degrees is an incorrigible child for cyclists. I am also not a fan of wind and riding or running [Editor’s note: It sucks for golf too].

Ok, back to the day. I walked the dog, came home for breakfast and somehow it turned into that day. I sat and the dining room table shivering, tired and unable to get myself out to ride. I knew I was going to be cold. Postponing to later in the day was not really going to be much better as the high for the day was only going to be 50 with 13 MPH winds. Ugh. To make matters worse, I found my wind chill calculator that I use for skiing. The winds were 13 MPH, my average speed is 15 MPH which equals a total of 28 MPH. Add the temperature, and that takes my ride down to 27 degrees. I decided to swim first but the idea of getting into the pool for my swim and being wet was also not thrilling me.

I finally got motivated to swim. At 8:15, in the morning the pool should not be that crowded. The pool water was cold so it didn't help my start. Being tired, I decided to spend my time in the medium slow lane. I should not have been there. I was moving pretty quickly for being so tired. I stayed because I thought that, as my swim went on, and it was a long one, I would slow down. Apparently not. I am sure I upset a few people by swimming on top of them. It would not have been that bad had the woman, that the lifeguards moved to the slow lane, actually stayed there. She was very insulted that they called her slow, "I’m slow? Am I really that slow?” Some days I'm the jackass. I should have moved but by the time I knew I wasn't going to slow down, I was done. Even my cool down was fast.

I don't know if it happens to everyone, but I shake after I swim (not from cold but from exertion). So it’s always important for me to eat afterwards (it’s important to eat within 30 minutes of the end of your workout but that is a different entry). I put together my cottage cheese and strawberries when I accidently knocked the French press onto the pantry floor. Glass meets tile. Ugh. The last thing I needed right now was to clean up glass. I am shaky, needing to eat, and now have to clean up a small, harrowing mess. Not happy Monday.

Mess cleaned, food eaten. Onto the ride, almost. The dog and I headed over to EMS. Yes, it’s time. I finally broke down and bought shoe covers for my cycling shoes. My cycling shoes are meant for warmer weather. Almost the entire top is mesh, so when you are moving at 15 MPH they get very cold.

With the morning almost gone, I knew I have got to go and get this done. I have too much work to do daily to move the bike ride to another day. Believe me, I thought about it. But a 15 mile ride on top of a 7 mile run is just not going to work for a Tuesday.

I dress in: skull cap, UnderArmour base layer, Fila slightly insulted windbreaker, slightly insulted running pants, bike shorts on top, gloves, gator and shoe covers. All Black to absorb as much sun as possible. I may as well have put on a ski outfit.

Off I went. But not before I dropped my keys down the hall way stairs. 5 flight of stairs. Did I really need this? I am already cranky, cold and tired.

Thankfully the park was quiet. I knew I had 65 minutes to ride and had to do hill repeats. Two big loops (6.2 mi each) and one little loop (1.7 mi) to round out the day. I was not cold in any parts that were covered. My face and finger tips tell a different story.

And so did my ride. Are you familiar with cadence?

In cycling, cadence is the number of revolutions of the crank per minute. Roughly speaking, this is the rate at which a cyclist is pedaling or “turning the pedals”. Cadence is related to wheel speed, but it is a distinct measurement.

I used to ride for speed and now I ride for cadence. An average cadence for a pro cyclist is about 90. Lance Armstrong's cadence was never higher than 110. A recreational cyclist’s is somewhere between 60-80. it take a little time to get accustomed to having your legs move that quickly when you start cycling for cadence. You adapt quickly. Once you see results you will happily stick to it. A nice high cadence in a big gear and you are going far and going fast.

I have been averaging 84/85 on my rides this year where as last year I was in the 70's

Today, I get to brag a little here, I was able to maintain 90 in the park. WOOHOO. If you are familiar with the hills in Central Park, you will WOOHOO too.

Once I left the park, I slowed down considerably and it brought my average to 89. But still!

For all of the hemming and hawing and carrying on that I went through Monday morning, I guess it was necessary for me today to get me out the door and perform.  I can’t say that the day didn’t kick my butt, it did.  I was exhausted at the end of the day and suffering from a little bit of wind burn in the face.  It was  early to bed for me.

You are stronger than you think you are.

 

 

Play hard!

Laura