Why Won't the Weather Cooperate?

We've had some nice weather this spring here in Texas. Unfortunately, most of it has been during the week. This weekend was no exception. We planned for two rides this weekend. Then I woke up in middle of the night Saturday morning to a torrential downpour. Guess we'll get to sleep in. The bummer is that you eat a certain way Friday night, skip happy hour, and go to bed early in order to be prepared for an early morning ride on Saturday morning. By noon, you wouldn't know that it had rained all night, but looking at the roads, there were still puddles everywhere.

Saturday afternoon we confirmed the weather forecast for Sunday morning and determined it wasn't possible to ride on Sunday. That ended up being a good decision. The winds were 20+ mph for the day on Sunday. I'm a wimp in the wind!

So another weekend of not riding. Next weekend is the Dallas MS 150. I've offered my services as a team photographer for Pete's team, The Feisty Devils.

It is what it is...

Some of you may have noticed that the "weight lost" goal hasn't changed. Pete asked me a couple of weeks ago (brave man, but he did it well) when I was going to start weighing myself on the home scale so I could more regularly update this goal. I already had a plan, so I was quick with my answer! After my next doctor's appointment.

Well, that appointment was this week. Truth of the matter, I wasn't worried about this appointment at all. Have I been making all of the right diet choices? No, but they have been better and I've been taking the Lipitor prescription, so my cholesterol shouldn't be suffering too bad, plus I've been getting some exercise lately, which is better than the none of before.

Blood work was done at the lab last week, but I hadn't received the results in the mail yet. Humbling moment happened when the nurse weighed me. Four months ago when I went in, she politely put the large weight on 200 and then started to adjust the small one from there. Without a word, I moved the large weight to 250, smiled and let her do the detail work. This time, I was ready to move it back to 200, but knew there was no way I'd lost that much already. Well, I wasn't ready for the number to have gone up from the original weight four months ago, let alone the down two pounds (over Christmas mind you) of two months ago.

While waiting for the doctor to arrive in the exam room, I had plenty of time to prepare myself for the scolding to come. I tried to convince myself it was because I had an afternoon appointment, and the others had been before lunch. Then I remembered! I've been building muscle! The dress size is down! It's okay. So, I convinced myself, could I convince the doctor?

First, we went over my cholesterol scores. Full disclosure blog, so here goes!
Total Cholesterol: November - 253 "High"; January - 156; April - 147
Triglycerides: November - 102; January - 97; April - 102
HDL Cholesterol: November - 62 "High"; January - 54; April - 54
VLDL Cholesterol: November - 20; January - 19; April - 20
LDL Cholesterol: November - 171 "High"; January - 83; April - 73
So, the doctor was pleased with those results and said I was to stay on the Lipitor, it was obviously working well.

She didn't go there, so I did!
Ali says sheepishly, "I wasn't happy today to see that my weight has gone up since November."
Doctor replies, "You've been biking! You're building a lot of muscle."
Ali says, "Good, that's what I'd hoped."

We then proceeded to a conversation on biking, how to increase my aerobic biking workout, how to increase my calorie burning, and now I'm pretty much on doctor's orders to get bike shoes, clips and clip pedals. Shopping opportunity!

So, I weighed myself the next morning. There is a difference between the home scale and the doctor's office. But now I've recalibrated. So, now I will weigh twice weekly. My thought is Friday mornings and Monday mornings. Essentially, before and after the bike weekend rides.

Pete and Ali training ride for distance and speed planned for Saturday morning. Then we have a group ride on Sunday morning for the bike skills and enjoyment of a ride. I'm looking forward to Sunday! I think Saturday is going to be a bit of a wake-up call to me for not at least getting on the trainer this week after traveling for two weeks.

Goals
Today's Miles: 0
Total Miles Achieved: 80.3
Financial Investment: $216.39
Total Weight Loss: +3 (but down at least one size!)

Amazing Houston Bike MS

Everyone involved in the Bike MS events in the Lone Star Chapter has told me what a sight to see the Houston to Austin ride is. It is honestly indescribable. The event "sold out" in 11 days back in October at 13,000 riders. That is just amazing to me. I've heard it is the largest fund-raising bike ride in the country.

They have three official starts on the first day. We started from Rhodes Stadium. I say "we" meaning "the team Pete was biking with". I was simply the team photographer and Trinity flew in from Seattle to be my chauffeur (and apparently, camera hauling assistant.) As Pete says, "the Houston event is just a machine." He's right!

Imagine, if you can, standing on the side of a country highway, and the only thing you see for as far as you can see in both directions is bicyclists. They took over the shoulder and the right lane. Usually riding three or four wide, but sometimes six wide! If a cyclist saw you hold up a camera, they were all smiles, waves, thumbs up and "thank you!" It was truly rewarding.

Sadly, because of the size of the ride, I lost a bit of the reason for the ride. But, it's an event to experience. The finish line in Austin is just amazing! Not that that finish line itself is anything special, but they do have a tent area near the finish line for clients with MS. It was amazing to be standing there at the chute watching riders come in and some would stop short of the finish line, shake hands with some of the MS people in the tent, share a smile, hug, laugh, or photo and then hop back on their bikes and pedal the last ten yards across the line.

Pete and I learned a few lessons about packing for the out-of-town bike events (like checking for one right and one left glove!) Trinity and I learned some lessons about photographing a bike event (where is the sun going to rise?) I learned a lot about biking in groups and loved the camaraderie of being part of a team. Thanks Mike!

So, I got a bit of an energy boost and more motivation to keep on training and make this event in October happen! I have to say that I am so proud of Pete for pedaling the entire 155 miles in two days this weekend. He had not been training enough this winter and I've been holding him back this spring as I try this biking thing. He had not pedaled more than 21 miles in a day since October. He made it through the winds and to the finish line with no complaints (and even rode half of Saturday without gloves.) It truly shows what proper training can do and the drive and energy you can pull from a team around you is amazing!
I won't be biking next weekend as we're off to San Diego. Watch for more updates after the trip!

It's the Little Things

Quick update. My schedule yesterday didn't allow me to really eat dinner until 9 p.m. By then, it's too late to digest and get on the trainer, or so I justify to myself. So I've had two days of rest from the bike. I absolutely have to get on the trainer tonight because I'm not going to be on the bike all weekend.

At lunch today, Michelle and I swing by Dress Barn. New one just opened and they're having a special sale at this location. Girl math, again! Anyway, I need a dress for the baptism next weekend, so I tried one on. It's nice, but I thought it seemed a bit big. The clerk went and got me one size smaller, and another dress that suddenly looked cute across the store. The smaller size fit!

Even better, the second dress was a little big, so I sent her for a smaller size yet. Wouldn't you know, this one is two sizes smaller than my usual size! Woo-hoo!!! I'm feeling high on life about now and am definitely going to be on the bike connected to the trainer tonight. Hopefully it's not all become muscle weight so I can claim some actual pounds lost when I get in to the doctor later this month.

It's the little things that make your day! That and smelling my beautiful flowers from Pete!

Goals
Today's Miles: 0
Total Miles Achieved: 80.3
Financial Investment: $216.39
Total Weight Loss: 2 (but down at least one size!)

Great Sunday Group Ride

Last night, I invited my parents to the Sunday ride. That meant we needed to add Mom's bike to the bike rack on truck and take it with us. Dad wanted to ride his recumbent bike. That will not fit on the existing rack on the truck, or the new roof rack, so he had to clean out the bed of his pick-up. We put air in the tires of both bikes and loaded them up for the morning.

This morning we loaded up (it's so much easier when I do the water and Gatorade the night before) and headed out. First, we picked up Rob, Marissa, and baby Vincent (a.k.a. Baby Franco) loaded their bikes on to the truck, and then headed to the meeting point at Target. Jack and Paula beat us there. Dave and Sierra followed shortly. My parents were late! Not to worry, it gave everyone time to run in to Starbucks for that last minute energy boost.

We headed out to Cibolo and began the process of unloading eight bikes from one vehicle, inspecting the variety of bikes, and then gearing up for the ride. We're beginning to work together as a team in that effort, but we're not there yet. Pete takes the lead and I run sweep making sure we don't leave anyone behind. After a brief railroad track crossing speech, we're off again. Finally across the tracks and the highway, we're off. Mom was amazed we'd already gone a mile at this point.

Finally across the tracks and the highway, we're off to enjoy a good ride with some beautiful weather. The group quickly divides into the hammerheads (fast group) and the slower ones who were enjoying the scenery. However, the whole group did a good job of waiting at each rest stop for the entire group and giving the slower ones a chance to rest and recover.

I was glad that we made it to the first stop sign which is 3.4 miles out. At that point, everyone decided to continue on. The group did well. Slow and steady wins the race was the plan of attack, and it worked. Dad struggled to ride slow, but did well trying to stay with Mom. He even took to off-roading a bit to slow him down. Mom just kept of trucking and stopped when she needed to. Robert and Marissa did great and baby Vincent was styling with his shades on in the trailer (rumor has it he even took a bit of a cat nap.) Sierra and Dave were awesome. Despite bikes that don't fit them well, they seemed to enjoy the ride, despite a couple of sore butts. Paula and Jack struggled a bit with shoes and pedals, but then became the hammerheads of the group.

I am so proud of everyone who rode today. Everyone toughed out the rough road and the sore butts, the aching feet and legs, and even the "heavy" traffic at the beginning of the ride. At the end of the day, the group did 13 miles in an hour and 42 minutes of pedaling. We averaged 7.5 miles an hour, but every single rider made the entire trip.

Afterwards, a bunch of us headed to Mom and Dad's for sandwiches. We had quite the spread thrown together with ham, turkey, and cheese sandwiches, some mini sausages, chips and dip. Then we had cheesecake, strawberry shortcake or three different types of ice cream for dessert. We were tired, well fed and ready to call it a good day!

Personally, I woke up with a numb pinkie finger today. I don't know if it's from riding, or my carpal tunnel and how I slept, or a combination of the two. So, one more thing to watch. I wore the new "bike" shoes again today. Although it was a slower ride, I did notice the soreness in my foot again, so I guess those are not going to work. Better to learn that on cheap shoes. So, now I know what having shoes that fit, sort of, will do to me when I ride. Tonight, after dinner, my legs are a bit more sore and tighter than I thought. But I rode 31 miles this weekend, so I should be sore!

Goals
Today's Miles: 13
Total Miles Achieved: 80.3
Financial Investment: $216.39
Total Weight Loss: 2

The Thrill of an Achievement

The weather today was beautiful! Perfect for a ride, but even more perfect to be out hunting for wildflower fields for photography shots. The truck went in for some work yesterday and wasn't ready last night. It was then promised by 10:30 - 11:00 today. That meant we got to sleep in this morning and planned for a ride around noon. The weather looked to be better after 11 a.m. anyway, and the winds lighter. Perfect! Ha!

You don't realize how much easier it is to get up in the morning and go ride than it is to get up in the morning, fix breakfast, do some housework, take a nap, and then go ride until you try it. Yikes! As we headed out to pick up the truck, actually seeing how blue the sky was, how bright the fresh green vegetation is, and envisioning how perfect the wildflowers are made the idea of riding even more of a challenge. In order to talk ourselves out of skipping the ride, I got online to confirm where the recent wildflowers sightings were located. None of them were anywhere near us, so it wasn't worth the effort. Okay, off to ride!

We were late enough arriving at the usual parking lot, that all of the other riders had already gone home for the day. I have the tennis shoes on to test how the pain in my foot takes the long ride. We head out! I'm feeling good. I know the route. The weather is beautiful. I'm ready to ride. At our first water break (3.4 miles), we check the numbers. It's taken us 17 minutes and I'm averaging a speed of 11.5 miles per hour. Wow! Last week, I was in the 9-10 mph range. I'm excited. And so far, no foot pain, so it must be the shoes.

We start off again, but we've just made a left turn, and now we have a head wind. Ugh! Pete moves in front to break the wind and I try to maintain the pace. I do pretty well for awhile, then the wind shifts and we have a crosswind. Oh well. Chugging along, I notice that we're coming up to the spot where the pavement changes. This is the butt and padded shorts test. We not only pass the 6.2 mile mark where I turned around last week, but we keep on going.

At 7 miles it's water time. Now you see why people wear those Camel Backs so they can drink and keep on riding. I'm feeling the ride in my thighs this time. However, my butt is fine and besides knowing I'm using my legs, I'm doing well. I want to keep on going. I originally told Pete that today's goal was to meet last week's distance, so I've already achieved the goal. I'm told that the next decision point is at 8.5 miles at the drag strip.

When we get to the drag strip, I'm still feeling good and energized too. However, the numbers tell me that I should call this half-way. I have three options:

1. turn back and go the way I came (a known route)
2. continue on with Pete and cross over I-10
3. take the I-10 access road, a rough road, and meet Pete when he catches me

I opt for the third option. It sounds like a reasonable shortcut, not a lot of extra miles and a change of scenery. I'm warned that one of the roads can be a mental challenge, but I'm ready for it. Physical challenge may not be good this late in the ride, but if it's a mental challenge, I know Pete can talk me through it. Armed with my verbal directions I watch him ride up and over the overpass, and I continue under it to ride the access road.

What a road! Talk about bumpy. Not having a rearview mirror, I've trained my ear to listen for approaching cars. Unfortunately, with the interstate right there, I can't distinguish what's on the access road and what's on the interstate. I stick to the shoulder and hope for the best. I'm riding a slower pace as the road is rough, I know Pete is going further than I am, and I'm ready for a brief break. Interestingly, riding along an access road, you can read the signs on the interstate that tell you how far to your exit. Made for a helpful hint having not ridden that part of the ride before. And thankfully, only one pick-up truck came along, so I was good.

I make my turn and am now watching the signs for my next turn. I come to a T in the road and there are no street signs. Hmm... well, it doesn't make sense to double back, so I take the instructed left and hope for the best with visions of being lost in the country on a bicycle. Thankfully, the second mailbox has the full street address, so I confirm I have made the correct turn. I approach a stop sign and assume this is my next turn, but wouldn't you know, NO street sign! Can't a girl catch a break? This is the intersection where I said I would wait for Pete if he hadn't caught me yet. Thinking about the route, it makes sense that this should be the turn, so I make the turn and see a tree up ahead that provides some nice shade and a good rest point to wait for Pete to catch up.

He comes around the bend and we continue on. This is the part of the ride that he said would be a mental challenge. Right away, I have my first real hill (and he'd argue about it being a "real hill"). I know that he can't go as slow as I will, so I'm not about to try to keep up with him. I'm determined to pedal to the top though. Watching my cadence, I downshift one gear when the cadence gets low and then my cadence pops back up. This also helps me to not focus on the crest of the hill. However, I eventually hit first gear, and I'm not to the top yet, so now I have to just keep pedaling. I made it. I'm out of breath and we just left a break! It doesn't take long though and we're back in line and moving right along. We come to another hill and I go through the same thing. This time I'm a bit more ready for it, but still out of breath at the top and my thighs are burning now.

Finally, it's time for another rest. I'm beginning to think I may have made the wrong call and should have turned back and called it a shorter ride. My legs are getting tired, but I'm at 14 miles. Pete tells me that we are now half a mile from our usual first break. That's good news and energizes me a bit. I have hope that I can make it now. So we head for the last leg.

When I hit 15 miles, I shout out. I'm so excited! I met last week's goal and I'm feeling good about it. Sadly, I think that was a bit of adrenaline kicking in. By 15.5 I'm tired and can't keep up. I'm not falling too far behind, but I have to down shift occassionally to keep my legs going. As we near the next intersection where we have an option to go straight (the way we came out) or take a left for a different route, but same mileage, Pete gives me the option. The only thing I can think about it the little rise that I pushed myself on last Sunday. I know that my legs can't handle that now and I ask to go straight and take a break at the gas station.

We take another water break at the gas station. I'm at about 16.7 miles and I'm tired. I know I can make it now though. We just have to cross the highway and then it's truly the home stretch. Ready, we cross the highway and I'm ready to roll in to the parking lot. The little town is always so nice to roll through, but maybe that's because it means you're almost done. As we get to the elementary school, my mileage is showing 17.6. That just won't do, so I pedal to the end of the road, turn around and take the long way through the parking lot. Hmm... still not enough. Two more loops and the mileage clicks over to 18 miles! Yay!!!

I feel great about the distance today. Oddly, I feel good about the burning in my thighs. I'm excited about the increase in my average speed. Pete tells me he's proud of me. It makes for a great ride when I was ready to go shoot wildflowers today instead. It shows me that the consistent work on the trainer paid off.

I did notice that as I got tired I tended to lean on my hands more and therefore, my thumbs are sore now. I'll learn in time not to do that. But, the new gloves were an improvement. I don't know if it's the fit, or because they're women's gloves, but I'll take it. The padded shorts were definitely worth it and now I need to think about a second pair with different padding. The sneakers seemed to work better. I'll try the "bike shoes" tomorrow to see if it's my techinque or the shoes for the shorter, group ride.

Goals
Today's Miles: 18
Total Miles Achieved: 67.3
Financial Investment: $216.39
Total Weight Loss: 2

Day Two of the Trainer

I wasn't sore today and although I'm proud of the ten miles yesterday, I've been thinking I need to push myself tonight. After dinner, and some down time to digest, I figure I better head up to the workout room. I'm beginning to realize this week that not only do I need to better watch my eating habits for riding, but I need to better schedule my time so that I'm not riding at midnight.

It's a few minutes after nine and I head up. CSI was on earlier tonight, so I pull it up on the DVR and think I'm set. Then I climb onto the bike and sit down. Oh look, I'm sore! After a bit of squirming and adjusting, I find a somewhat survivable position to ride. I use the opening scene and credits to warm-up, fast forward through the commercial break, and then I'm off. Yeah right!

I did pick up my cadence to 72, but that was about as fast as I could take it tonight. My right elbow began to feel uncomfortable while I was riding. I've yet to remember to take my gloves upstairs and I notice that I hold the handle bars super tight when I'm on the trainer. I'm thinking the elbow could be some jerking around from my riding on the trainer and holding on so tight.

I also wore sneakers today instead of the "bike shoes" purchased last week. Last night I notice an uncomfortableness (almost a cramp, but not quite) in the ball of my right foot. I want to figure out if it's the shoes or the trainer. At this point, I'm undecided, but I did not have the same pain today. We'll try the sneakers on Saturday on the road and see what happens.

As the last commercial break came on, I was ready for a break, but the mileage looked too low to me. I pushed myself to a cadence of 85 for the remaining 3/10 of a mile to get to a round number and felt better about taking a break for the remaining commercials at that point.

So, a slower cadence and fast forwarding through most of the commercials, and a sore butt, I only pedaled for 8.5 miles today in about 45 minutes. Not bad, but I'll have to get better if I'm going to make it to Corpus Christi in six months.

Goals
Today's Miles: 8.5
Total Miles Achieved: 49.3
Financial Investment: $216.39
Total Weight Loss: 2

Learning the Trainer

After two days off of the bike, it was time to get back on. I told Pete last night that I would ride the trainer tonight, so after dinner he reminded me I needed to go ride. Oh yeah! I'm definitely not in the habit yet. I change my clothes, grab my water bottle and we head upstairs. He shows me how my bike goes on the trainer, adds the remote control holder to my handle bars, and gives me some tips.

Unfortunately, no episodes of CSI had been recorded on the DVR. Thankfully, I timed it just right and an episode of CSI: NY was starting in three minutes. Perfect! I climb on and start pedaling. Pete warned me that riding the trainer is boring. Great. Not the motivation I need to ride. I had planned on watching CSI as I ride on the trainer. I enjoy the show, but get frustrated that I can't multi-task while watching it because I miss some minor details if I'm not watching closely. Turns out, this was a great plan!

I used the commercial breaks as the allowed break and water time. I only got off the bike during the commercial break at the bottom of the hour. I managed to maintain a cadence of 75 for most of the hour. I pushed myself for about a half mile to maintain a cadence of 83. I've still never seen 90 on the cadence meter, but that will come. Then I used the ending of the episode where they neatly wrap-up the whole case, as my cool down time. I pedaled about a mile in that time and lowered my cadence to 65 for that time.

Ten more miles pedaled, one episode of CSI:NY, and a higher cadence all in an hour! Now I have to do it again tomorrow night. We'll see if that's as smooth.

Goals
Today's Miles: 10
Total Miles Achieved: 40.8
Financial Investment: $216.39
Total Weight Loss: 2