Busy week: First week of the spring semesters and trying to learn the new Body Traning Systems programming to get ready for the launch this morning. All went well and smooth, it just stresses me out.
With Group Ride I always feel that once I learn a season set, then it is just a matter of presenting it in an entertaining way; I forget the coaching element. The feedback I got Thursday was a good reminder of that, so I thought this morning went much better.
With Centergy, I still feel out of my element, but much better than two years ago. Yesterday we went through a practice launch and I, again, I thought today went much better. The difference today was working through yesterday's soreness-- I woke up this morning with a sore back and didn't really connect why until we started the workout today.
To get ready for the launch this week, I eliminated the swim workouts for Tuesday and Thursday and running and the strengthh workouts I wanted to build in. Next week.
I'm getting back into the swing with new students again, but by the time i finally get to know the names of the sophomores, my student teacher will take over and I won't know any of them. Cest la vie.
Saw Avatar last night.
Keep the wheels on the road; until next week.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Gettin' serious...
I told my wife today that since I finished the last piece of birthday cake today that the holiday season was officially over and it was time to get serious. We both need to make a mindful commitment to being smarter about what to eat and how much.
As for training, things have been going well though the snow days seem to put a damper on things. I actually have plenty at my house that I could easily log a lot of training time in my basement, but there is something in my head that wants to keep home and the training field separate.
So let's recap some simple, but challenging goals:
1. Blog every week--I didn't go into the shop today, but I did remember to blog (here I am).
2. Don't procrastinate.
3. Quit making excuses--like trying to separate home with the training field...just shut up, get on the trainer and ride!
Talking with my training partner Paul, I think I have my event calendar more solidified than before. Here it is...
1. I was going to do the February 7 Lifetime Fitness Indoor Triathlon, though I was thinking that this was a bit early. However, I did think it would be a good benchmark to then check progress at the next one on April 11. But I think that I am only going to do the April IT...falling back on the thought that February is too soon, but also with timing of other upcoming events.
2. Paul and I were looking at the Siouxperman Tri in Sioux Center, IA, on May 1--sprint distance but a pool swim, and the price was right. Paul found the date for the Bluff Creek Tri in Boone, IA, on May 23. There is a choice of sprint or Olympic distance and we'll probably do the latter. I think this would be a better one for the sole reason that it is an open-water swim. This will also be a little over a month after the LTFIT, and two weeks before KS. This is a USAT event.
3. Boys Town Memorial Day Run. This has become a family tradition, but it may just be a training run for me with one week to go before KS.
4. KS Half Ironman. This is what the whole season is for. This is also the week before my possible trip to Europe...so what better way to recover than cavorting through Europe. USAT event.
5. MS Ride with team Moxie. This is a fun ride, but wouldn't it be fun to do back-to-back 100s?
6. Mayor's Triathlon? Haven't decided on this one...I don't like the bike route so much on the trail; but Paul mentioned doing this as a team.
7. First Annual Omaha Triathlon. Olympic distance, so not as intense as KS. USAT event.
8. Black Squirrel would be fun to FINISH this year.
And after that, mostly tapering down with some fun things like CCRun, a Omaha Marathon race (10k or half-m), BNB, and who knows what else. The big things will be done before September. I think that may be busy enough.
As for training, things have been going well though the snow days seem to put a damper on things. I actually have plenty at my house that I could easily log a lot of training time in my basement, but there is something in my head that wants to keep home and the training field separate.
So let's recap some simple, but challenging goals:
1. Blog every week--I didn't go into the shop today, but I did remember to blog (here I am).
2. Don't procrastinate.
3. Quit making excuses--like trying to separate home with the training field...just shut up, get on the trainer and ride!
Talking with my training partner Paul, I think I have my event calendar more solidified than before. Here it is...
1. I was going to do the February 7 Lifetime Fitness Indoor Triathlon, though I was thinking that this was a bit early. However, I did think it would be a good benchmark to then check progress at the next one on April 11. But I think that I am only going to do the April IT...falling back on the thought that February is too soon, but also with timing of other upcoming events.
2. Paul and I were looking at the Siouxperman Tri in Sioux Center, IA, on May 1--sprint distance but a pool swim, and the price was right. Paul found the date for the Bluff Creek Tri in Boone, IA, on May 23. There is a choice of sprint or Olympic distance and we'll probably do the latter. I think this would be a better one for the sole reason that it is an open-water swim. This will also be a little over a month after the LTFIT, and two weeks before KS. This is a USAT event.
3. Boys Town Memorial Day Run. This has become a family tradition, but it may just be a training run for me with one week to go before KS.
4. KS Half Ironman. This is what the whole season is for. This is also the week before my possible trip to Europe...so what better way to recover than cavorting through Europe. USAT event.
5. MS Ride with team Moxie. This is a fun ride, but wouldn't it be fun to do back-to-back 100s?
6. Mayor's Triathlon? Haven't decided on this one...I don't like the bike route so much on the trail; but Paul mentioned doing this as a team.
7. First Annual Omaha Triathlon. Olympic distance, so not as intense as KS. USAT event.
8. Black Squirrel would be fun to FINISH this year.
And after that, mostly tapering down with some fun things like CCRun, a Omaha Marathon race (10k or half-m), BNB, and who knows what else. The big things will be done before September. I think that may be busy enough.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Naming bikes...
First, happy new year. As 2010 moves in, one of my few resolutions is to be better with consistently posting on this blog. I think I will make it a Saturday, at the shop thing to do. So here is my first post for the new year:
My friend Stephanie recently purchased a bike thru ebay (which she eventually sent back) and she was pondering what to name the new bike. I scoffed at this practice as I was rewrapping the bars on her old bike--Barbie.
So I started thinking of my bikes and realized that they all--but one--already have names. So here they are:
The first two are not very exciting, but I think they are fitting. The first is my Raleigh One-Way. I just think that One-Way is an apt name. It is a one-speed commuter with a flip-flop rear wheel. I like the color and look of it with the Brooks features and fenders. The name also reminds me of the character name Rerun from the old TV show What's Happening.
The second is my Gunnar Roadie. Gunnar is the name of Richard Schwinn's dog and a characiture of him is the logo of the company and it is on the front of the headtube. We always refer to it as the Gunnar, so it kinda stuck. Like man's best friend, it is the truest bike I have--smooth ride. I just wish I rode it more...I should, but that is the way it goes sometimes.
The third is probably the most unique bike I have because of its origins. The frame--we believe--is an old Shogun from the late 70's. A friend had it repainted and realized it was too big for him and offered it to me, but at the time I didn't need a new bike. Three years later, he claimed he got rid of his bikes and said I could have the frame. So I started piecing it together with old parts of mine, old and NOS parts from Olympia, and a few new items. I always referred to it as "the Frankenstein bike," and EdBiLLy coined the moniker FraNkEnBiLLy--perfect. Had I known I was going to build this one up, I probably would have not invested in One-Way. However, this bike is not comfortable past 10 or so miles, whereas One-Way can go quite a distance.
FraNkEnBiLLy is unique when one first sees it, the next is one that needs a closer look. There was the remains of an old, 1989 Bianchi Campione hanging upstairs at the shop and I had once entertained the thought of putting new components on it as a new bike. Ed talked me into investing in a Gunnar instead--so I did. But I couldn't get this one off my mind. One day I was riding my old mountain bike around Lake Zorinsky and I realized I was using only two gears: the front middle or big chain rings and one gear in back. I thought that this would be a neat way to recreate this Bianchi: as a double-single. Knowing that I would need a chain tensioner in the rear, I found the one I ordered in the catalog--the description said it was perfect for a "dingle" set...just as I was doing. So "Dingle" seemed to be a prime way to refer to this ride. We discovered something else about this bike: in the fork there is some metal shaving, so when one tips the bike up a jingle is heard. Thus, it is the "dingle with a jingle."
Here's the story on the last named bike (for now). Last summer I sold my mountain bike; last winter I won a spot in the Leadville Trail 100-mile mountain bike race. I needed a bike. I really didn't want to buy a new bike for one event and probably not ride it much again, but I still needed a bike. I was wandering the shop and saw this IronHorse hanging in the back. "Can I have that one?" and Ed said "Sure." The story is that a "customer" rode in and this mavhine looking to test ride one of our bikes. We usually do not hold on to a license or credit card for test rides, but Ed did ask this guy for one (he just had a bad feeling). But the guy said, "You've got my bike right there"; so Ed let him go and he was never seen again. He stole one of ours and we assume he had stole this one as well and now i was going to ride it in onne of the most grueling bike races ever (which I never did). I think that there is only one name for this bike: Rob.
The last bike pictured is my Trek 2300. It is the bike that I have had the longest, and I can think of no name for it. Any suggestions?
The new Kestrel does have a name, but I am waiting for the big reveal to disclose its label...but I think you'll like it.
My friend Stephanie recently purchased a bike thru ebay (which she eventually sent back) and she was pondering what to name the new bike. I scoffed at this practice as I was rewrapping the bars on her old bike--Barbie.
So I started thinking of my bikes and realized that they all--but one--already have names. So here they are:
The first two are not very exciting, but I think they are fitting. The first is my Raleigh One-Way. I just think that One-Way is an apt name. It is a one-speed commuter with a flip-flop rear wheel. I like the color and look of it with the Brooks features and fenders. The name also reminds me of the character name Rerun from the old TV show What's Happening.
The second is my Gunnar Roadie. Gunnar is the name of Richard Schwinn's dog and a characiture of him is the logo of the company and it is on the front of the headtube. We always refer to it as the Gunnar, so it kinda stuck. Like man's best friend, it is the truest bike I have--smooth ride. I just wish I rode it more...I should, but that is the way it goes sometimes.
The third is probably the most unique bike I have because of its origins. The frame--we believe--is an old Shogun from the late 70's. A friend had it repainted and realized it was too big for him and offered it to me, but at the time I didn't need a new bike. Three years later, he claimed he got rid of his bikes and said I could have the frame. So I started piecing it together with old parts of mine, old and NOS parts from Olympia, and a few new items. I always referred to it as "the Frankenstein bike," and EdBiLLy coined the moniker FraNkEnBiLLy--perfect. Had I known I was going to build this one up, I probably would have not invested in One-Way. However, this bike is not comfortable past 10 or so miles, whereas One-Way can go quite a distance.
FraNkEnBiLLy is unique when one first sees it, the next is one that needs a closer look. There was the remains of an old, 1989 Bianchi Campione hanging upstairs at the shop and I had once entertained the thought of putting new components on it as a new bike. Ed talked me into investing in a Gunnar instead--so I did. But I couldn't get this one off my mind. One day I was riding my old mountain bike around Lake Zorinsky and I realized I was using only two gears: the front middle or big chain rings and one gear in back. I thought that this would be a neat way to recreate this Bianchi: as a double-single. Knowing that I would need a chain tensioner in the rear, I found the one I ordered in the catalog--the description said it was perfect for a "dingle" set...just as I was doing. So "Dingle" seemed to be a prime way to refer to this ride. We discovered something else about this bike: in the fork there is some metal shaving, so when one tips the bike up a jingle is heard. Thus, it is the "dingle with a jingle."
Here's the story on the last named bike (for now). Last summer I sold my mountain bike; last winter I won a spot in the Leadville Trail 100-mile mountain bike race. I needed a bike. I really didn't want to buy a new bike for one event and probably not ride it much again, but I still needed a bike. I was wandering the shop and saw this IronHorse hanging in the back. "Can I have that one?" and Ed said "Sure." The story is that a "customer" rode in and this mavhine looking to test ride one of our bikes. We usually do not hold on to a license or credit card for test rides, but Ed did ask this guy for one (he just had a bad feeling). But the guy said, "You've got my bike right there"; so Ed let him go and he was never seen again. He stole one of ours and we assume he had stole this one as well and now i was going to ride it in onne of the most grueling bike races ever (which I never did). I think that there is only one name for this bike: Rob.
The last bike pictured is my Trek 2300. It is the bike that I have had the longest, and I can think of no name for it. Any suggestions?
The new Kestrel does have a name, but I am waiting for the big reveal to disclose its label...but I think you'll like it.
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