It's been a while since I updated, but I've still been steadily working.
I. Riding
II. Personal Trainer
I. I rode about 30 miles again last Saturday on the W&OD Trail doing the same Route from Bluemont out towards Reston. On the way back, some guys passed me with RAGBRAI jerseys. I caught up with them in Vienna and talked for a few minutes. They call themselves "Team Nasty" and only do it in even numbered years. They said I'd be fine, just to remember that I've got all day to finish. Good deal.
II. I made a big and costly step - I not only decided to join a gym, I decided to get a personal trainer. I went regularly to the gym at App and with Marshall's help, I did well. I didn't realize how well I had done until I had gained it all back. So, I knew I needed someone that knew what to do and would stay on top of me. I joined Fitness First, right around the corner from my work on 19th Street NW. It's fairly inexpensive and they have what I need... no frills. I also signed up with David, who's giving me a great deal between now and the race for 3x-a-week sessions. Hopefully I can get some weight off in the right places and some muscle on to make the ride easier. Even after that, I'll probably continue, just not at the 3x level...I don't have that much money.
That's it for now. I'll update more. But with my weekends being full coming up, I'm not sure what kind of outdoor riding I'll get to do. I'll mostly, probably, be in doors on the trainer or a bike at the gym (really cool - real courses and other racers... not just a fat seat where you sit and read a magazine).
Thanks for coming by.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Sunday, June 3, 2007
So far
Training has been off and on since I got my bike at Christmas. I had one heck of a semester, my last in grad school. On top of that, I'm also very out of shape and Boone is very cold in the winter. So, my riding for many months was limited to a trainer inside. I did learn to play Super Nintendo while riding on the bike though...
My first outdoor ride came at spring break in early March. Once the trip to New Mexico fell through, I made my way back down to UNCW. I was able to ride 17 miles in less than two hours along River Road. Lots of fast traffic and lots of wind, but I made it.
I attempted to ride outside in Boone sometime after that (not exactly sure what day). Needless to say it was very unsuccessful. My community was at roughly 3500 feet in elevation and it was again quite windy. I didn't make it far.
I moved up here to DC about two weeks ago but had been traveling and unpacking until earlier this week. I researched and decided I would follow a ride I found in a book that seemed like it was way out in the country and about 35 miles in length. I was so wrong on so many accounts that day. It was hell trying to find my way out of town on the proper road, then once I got almost to Purcellville, VA, I realized I had forgotten my helmet. With some help from my dad on the phone, I found a bike shop only to find out they were waiting on a new shipment of helmets that would come later that week. Also, I found out that Loudon County had grown ridiculously since the book was written about ten years ago and nothing is 'country' anymore. So I rode back to Leesburg and bought a helmet there and proceeded to ride on the W&OD Trail.
The W&OD Trail is a paved 'park' from Arlington to Purcellville, or about 45 miles. It's popular for walkers, bikers, runners, rollerbladers and even horseriders. So I hopped on it and rode about ten miles from Leesburg to Purcellville and back for a total of about 21 miles. Then I treated myself to Moe's, completely negating any healthy aspect of the ride.
Saturday I went out to the trail again, only this time I started in Arlington at Bluemont Park. I rode just over 15 miles up to Reston before turning around, for a total of about 31 miles. There was a little more terrain and I did a little better than on Thursday.
So, up to this point in DC, I've ridden a total of 52 miles. Not bad, but not enough. I have to work on my hills. Also, I need to keep reminding myself that RAGBRAI is not a race but rather simply a ride... no need for speed and no need to worry about where I am in the pack. If I finish 10,000th, so what, at least I finished.
My first outdoor ride came at spring break in early March. Once the trip to New Mexico fell through, I made my way back down to UNCW. I was able to ride 17 miles in less than two hours along River Road. Lots of fast traffic and lots of wind, but I made it.
I attempted to ride outside in Boone sometime after that (not exactly sure what day). Needless to say it was very unsuccessful. My community was at roughly 3500 feet in elevation and it was again quite windy. I didn't make it far.
I moved up here to DC about two weeks ago but had been traveling and unpacking until earlier this week. I researched and decided I would follow a ride I found in a book that seemed like it was way out in the country and about 35 miles in length. I was so wrong on so many accounts that day. It was hell trying to find my way out of town on the proper road, then once I got almost to Purcellville, VA, I realized I had forgotten my helmet. With some help from my dad on the phone, I found a bike shop only to find out they were waiting on a new shipment of helmets that would come later that week. Also, I found out that Loudon County had grown ridiculously since the book was written about ten years ago and nothing is 'country' anymore. So I rode back to Leesburg and bought a helmet there and proceeded to ride on the W&OD Trail.
The W&OD Trail is a paved 'park' from Arlington to Purcellville, or about 45 miles. It's popular for walkers, bikers, runners, rollerbladers and even horseriders. So I hopped on it and rode about ten miles from Leesburg to Purcellville and back for a total of about 21 miles. Then I treated myself to Moe's, completely negating any healthy aspect of the ride.
Saturday I went out to the trail again, only this time I started in Arlington at Bluemont Park. I rode just over 15 miles up to Reston before turning around, for a total of about 31 miles. There was a little more terrain and I did a little better than on Thursday.
So, up to this point in DC, I've ridden a total of 52 miles. Not bad, but not enough. I have to work on my hills. Also, I need to keep reminding myself that RAGBRAI is not a race but rather simply a ride... no need for speed and no need to worry about where I am in the pack. If I finish 10,000th, so what, at least I finished.
First post
I decided to create this blog to keep a record of my training for the 35th RAGBRAI. I also hope to use this during the actual trip to record the hard work, the fun, the soreness and so on.
For those that don't know, RAGBRAI stands for Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. The ride literally crosses the whole state, from river to river, starting in the west (usually) in towns along the Missouri River and ending in the east at the Mississippi River. Apparently the cool thing to do is to dip your back tire in the Missouri River at the beginning and your front tire in the Mississippi River at the end. Started by the Des Moines Register newspaper in the 1970s, it now has about 10,000 registered riders annually. This year, I'm one of those... wristband number 90306.
I'm not doing it alone, because Lord knows, I certainly would have found a reason to back out by now. I'm going with my former UNCW roommate Jim and at least, his friends Jon and Blake. They are all from Mason City, Iowa, and did the ride in 2000. We decided to do it this summer before we start the real world (although we all pretty much have already started it).
In all, this year's ride route has been labeled the flattest ever (thank you, God). Nonetheless, the days are long and believe it or not, Iowa does have some hilly terrain. For more information about the route including mileage, check out http://www.ragbrai.org/route-chart.html. The shortest day is the last day, from Dyersville to Bellevue, and its 56.6 miles. The longest day is the second day, from Spencer to Humboldt, and its 77.4 miles. The total estimated mileage for the route is 477 miles.
Most of you have seen me and I'm not Captain Fitness. So, I know I have to work hard to get to a point where I can complete the ride comfortably and reach one of my main goals of the ride: not dying.
I was grateful to receive a road bike for Christmas from my Santa-like parents. It's a 2006 Novara Divano... nothing special - Novara is REI's brand. But, it was fairly inexpensive and it has worked well so far. I also received the fancy clip pedals and a trainer. I've added other accessories along the way including the fancy shoes that clip into the pedals and oh yes, the totally sexy bike shorts (you will never see me where them unless you see me on my bike).
This post is now long enough. The next one will be about some of the work I've done so far and some of my plans between now and July 22. Thanks for stopping by and keeping me motivated.
For those that don't know, RAGBRAI stands for Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. The ride literally crosses the whole state, from river to river, starting in the west (usually) in towns along the Missouri River and ending in the east at the Mississippi River. Apparently the cool thing to do is to dip your back tire in the Missouri River at the beginning and your front tire in the Mississippi River at the end. Started by the Des Moines Register newspaper in the 1970s, it now has about 10,000 registered riders annually. This year, I'm one of those... wristband number 90306.
I'm not doing it alone, because Lord knows, I certainly would have found a reason to back out by now. I'm going with my former UNCW roommate Jim and at least, his friends Jon and Blake. They are all from Mason City, Iowa, and did the ride in 2000. We decided to do it this summer before we start the real world (although we all pretty much have already started it).
In all, this year's ride route has been labeled the flattest ever (thank you, God). Nonetheless, the days are long and believe it or not, Iowa does have some hilly terrain. For more information about the route including mileage, check out http://www.ragbrai.org/route-chart.html. The shortest day is the last day, from Dyersville to Bellevue, and its 56.6 miles. The longest day is the second day, from Spencer to Humboldt, and its 77.4 miles. The total estimated mileage for the route is 477 miles.
Most of you have seen me and I'm not Captain Fitness. So, I know I have to work hard to get to a point where I can complete the ride comfortably and reach one of my main goals of the ride: not dying.
I was grateful to receive a road bike for Christmas from my Santa-like parents. It's a 2006 Novara Divano... nothing special - Novara is REI's brand. But, it was fairly inexpensive and it has worked well so far. I also received the fancy clip pedals and a trainer. I've added other accessories along the way including the fancy shoes that clip into the pedals and oh yes, the totally sexy bike shorts (you will never see me where them unless you see me on my bike).
This post is now long enough. The next one will be about some of the work I've done so far and some of my plans between now and July 22. Thanks for stopping by and keeping me motivated.
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