I finished - but with this...

Procrastination

We're all guilty of of, but why does it always bite me in the ass?  Saturday was lovely weather.  bright and sunny with delicate wispy clouds and about 12*C.  Perfect cycling weather.  But typical me, i put it off.  There was so much other stuff i wanted to get done on Saturday.  And i got a lot done too. I was up at 7am, you think i could have fitted an hours ride in but no, i filled my day with other things like soil shopping and planting seeds.  Building a bookcase and baking some bread among other things.

So Sunday arrives and after getting back in to bed to read for 45 minutes - very uncommon for me to stay in bed, but it was so warm and cozy and i need to 'get in to' my book still - i get up to see its over-cast.  It was a little damp on the ground in the morning too, it must have rained just a little.  The temperature was cooler.  Again, i put off the ride, the day wasn't enticing me outside.  I had some recipes i wanted to try.  Mushroom pate - for Tuesday night when the girls come over and choux pastry.  I don't recall ever making it, maybe once before i couldn't eat gluten.  But now, when what you can't have you want more of, i really want to have gougere.  An éclair or cream puff wouldn't go down too badly either!

So it was 3pm by the time i started getting ready for my ride.  I mapped my route - it was a 20 miler this week - and packed my saddle bag that i hope i never need to use.  I carry a spare inner tube; pressurised gas to inflate; tyre levers; a patch kit; Alan keys; sports beans; £1; lip balm.  And today i packed my camera.

My ride took me in to Wales for 3 miles, in and out in a jiffy.

I moved my bottle cage from my mountain bike to my road bike - something i have been meaning to do for ages, as i don't need liquid on my 3 minute ride to work which i use my mountain bike for.  I strapped Sally on to the handle bars and locked up the house.

20 miles later i got home, elated and wondered why the hell i had put if off. I love being out there peddling the roads.  Even with big head winds on the return journey.  Even with a really painful hip and lower back.  Its damn fun and 80 minutes goes by pretty fast too.

Just go on the ride and stop thinking about it!

Yesterday was a bit of a success failure mix.  I couldn't sew the top i wanted as i have lost the pattern i was going to use and going to buy one wasn't going to happen.  I got my machine out and did sew some running mittens however.  Also a head band with little ipod pocket so its neat and out of my way.  I'm really pleased with that.  The mittens are a semi success.  I wanted something that i could take off but not carry. My hands get cold for the first mile or so then they warm up a lot and gloves end up being too warm and get sweaty.  If i'm running long, my hands then get cold again, especially if the temp drops and my fingers start to hurt.  I asked for running/cycling gloves for Christmas and got some great ones, but they are too warm to run in.  So..... i sewed these mittens that i can slip my hand out of and fold under the wrist band that stays on my wrist.  Therefore i don't have to carry them, they are ready to be pulled back on at any moment.  They aren't exactly what i had planned, but function just fine.

As for cycling, i didn't go.  It wasn't until today, after i made the effort to go out for a ride that i realised why i was so fed up yesterday.  I didn't really do much yesterday. Mooched around the house, half contemplating going out for a ride but generally just killing time on the net, baking some muffins, sitting around.  I thought i was enjoying myself at times but in the background was the feeling of being fed up.

So today came, i got my bike out for the first time on the roads in AGES.  It was chilly so i used my head band, gloves and new bike wind breaker jacket.  I pumped up my tyres, loaded my saddle bag and changed my seat height up a notch.  I mapped out a route of 16 miles and headed out.  

Cursing myself for not putting my balaclava on, my face was so cold.  As my rosy cheeks acclimatised my hands started to get cold.  The gloves are good, but not that good.  Eventually my hands were okay again, once the warm blood got pumping through them again.  But then my feet started to feel the cold.  I haven't got round to putting my bike shoes and clips on* so was wearing my running trainers. That breath-ability we long for in running shoes just lets cold air stream in like i'm standing under a freezer fan when on a bike.  By half way through the ride they were painfully cold and my 3/4 i couldn't feel them any more.

Never the less, I really enjoyed my 16.71 miles.  The roads were fine, not too busy. I didn't have to stop for any traffic lights, in fact, i only went through one set - boy do i love living in the country! I was sweaty and burned 900+ calories and felt fantastic. 

Jeff and i then had lunch, i made a prandicle** and preceded to eat two portions. Cycling makes me hungry!  We then popped in to town to the market to grab some veg.  Popped in to the Halifax to inquire about a mortgage and had a lovely day.  It was in town, i had a little spring in my step.  It could have been the sun shinning in my face, my husbands hand in mine, but i really believe that a great deal was due to my bike ride.  I really do enjoy it when i have started the day with a good workout.  It gives me a high all day. There is nothing like it.

I'll do best to remember that i never regret a workout, only the ones i miss.

After every workout i feel good. 

 

*The shoes i have are not really mine, they are loaners from the bike shop that i got my bike from 9 months ago who still have yet to provide me with shoes and clips of my own, that i paid for.  He says he cound't get my size and was waiting for the 2011 line to come out(said this in June 2010).  I'm not complaining any more as the shoes he gave me are his race shoes and way more expensive than the ones i assume i will eventually get.  They are in really good condition and very light.  He is very forgetful, so i'm guessing he will only realise that i am still waiting for my shoes when he enters a race and can't find his stuff.  

**

Prandicle: small meal

1 year Anniversary

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of me running.  I signed up for the Great North Run then on 23 Jan 2010 i started my training for a the Blarney Run 5K.  In March 2010 i ran it in 30:30 and i was hooked.  Over the last year sticking to exercise has been no trouble at all.  Yes there are the occasional days when i don't want to go. Sometimes i don't go, others i force myself.  The days i force myself always feel better, but i am learning that i shouldn't beat myself up about skipped workouts as long as i am happy.  I'm far from addicted to working out. I'm still not one who will go crazy if i didn't run in a week, but if i do leave it for a while, it feels fantastic to be out on the road again, or even on the dreadmill.

Adding swimming and cycling - with a purpose - to my workout routine has been a lot of fun and i have found i do enjoy having three focuses.  At first i missed the running all the time and would prefer to go on a run than on a ride.  But now i feel like i enjoy them equally.  The three disciplines are very different and i enjoy them for different reasons.  I look forward to summer time cycling again, but am enjoying the spin classes.

With regards to weight, i'm actually about the same, maybe 5lbs lighter (i have no scales right now) but i am infinitely fitter and my body shape has changed a bit.  My bum is a better shape and my thighs a little different, there is a bit of  gap that i have never had before.  But that isn't my focus. If i am never any lighter or thinner than i am right now, i'm okay with that - i suppose - but if i were to loose my fitness, then i'd be pissed.  I enjoy the fact i can climb stairs for ages without catching my breath. I love that if someone were to chase me, i may be able to out run them (don't really know who would be chasing me but i have thought of it a few times!) I love that running a 10K feels like nothing (well, not nothing, but i could do it any day of the week, in fact i could do it every day if i wanted to).

In fact, since Sunday and my PB i really want to train for a half marathon again. I want a sub 2 hour HM. So i plan to get some longer runs in over the next couple of months.  Gonna make them out doors runs on a weekend and look in to a HM that i may be able to join.  I'm happy where i'm getting with my swimming and cycling for my Triathlon so it won't take the focus away from that.

So all in all, with regards to exercise, this past year has been the best of my life. The only time in my life i have continuously exercised.  I have totally enjoyed it.  It has given me moments to be proud of. Gave me a better body.  Given me experiences i have shared with friends and family that i wouldn't have found in other places.

And it all started with a spontaneous act of signing up for a half marathon.

What Was I Thinking?

So i believe this morning i stated that i was planning a two hour bike ride. Yeah right, two bloody hours, not likely mate!  I spent all day moping around the house missing my husband, we skyped last night for the first time and it just made me miss him a ton. I haven't seen him in a month now, and who knows when the next time will be.

Anyway, i eventually got myself in the mindset and planned a route that would be about 45-50 minutes. Given my mood, i thought that was a success right there.  Undecided on whether to take my phone or not - i have no pockets or stash place yet - i stuffed a fiver in my bra (which i just retrieved as i wrote this) and it stayed surprisingly dry. It would be just my luck to get a puncture (another thing i don't have is a repair kit) in the middle of somewhere and no phone and no one to call if i did have one (my parents are out of town).

But i got out there. Eventually.

I missed my turn off and ended up in Filey, a seaside town up the road (south) from Scarborough.  That was 7 miles. I was tempted to take a look around, its been 15+ years since i was in Filey, but my legs decided 14 miles were going to be just fine and round the round-a-bout i went heading back to the 'borough.  It was about mile 10 i looked at Sally, and saw i had only done 42 minutes where it felt like i'd been riding for 70+ minutes. And i still had 4 to go and some hills to boot.

I feel a whole lot better for going out, though my girly bits do not! I gotta get me some cycling shorts!

14.29miles in 1:04:04 avg pace 13.4mph

What, I'm leaving the country? When....?

Just hit me i'm leaving in 4 weeks. Yup 4 weeks, that's not long.  In fact i would go as far as saying that's pretty fucking close.  Like breathing down your neck close, and its not fresh minty breath either.  Its the you've known for a long time but now its hit you in the face, old cigarettes and coffee breath.  I have lived here 6 years, almost to the day. I arrived on March 22nd 2004 in Milwaukee WI and in 27 days i will be gone, forever.  At least from Milwaukee forever, but most likely the states as a whole.

Well then...

Tuesday i went snowboarding. I have movie's and pictures but can't find the cable for my camera. I bought the usb adapter today online, so when it arrives i will post them.  I tried a jump - that's a good video. Its a damn fine 3.5 hour gluteus workout, all that crouching,  i'm still sore today.

Wednesday i ran 4.4 miles - my longest yet, in 49.25.  It felt good to run for so long, i didn't walk once.  There were mild hills both up and down. Looking forward to doing some speed work, i've not been following my schedule per say and have missed two sessions.

And today i cycled 12 miles in and hour (with a 20 minute break at my old work place).  Which hurt my ass of course, but in that good pain kinda way.  I used to do 15 miles in an hour - where did that go?