Perseverance

The conditions were perfect and set for a 4:00 ride on Saturday with some friends.  I had done some work on my bike earlier in the week to get it prepared for the weekend, and it seemed perfect and ready to roll.  We set off at 11:30 into blistering headwind and an ice-like snow.  The plan was to head out for 2:00 straight into the wind and then flip around and take the tailwind home.  All was well until about 1:20 into the ride, and then I ran into a problem.  If you look closely at the picture below you can se what my issue was.

If you can't quite make out the problem I'll break it down for you- my chain broke.  It just snapped right at one of the links.  Thankfully, I was able to avoid any injury when this happened.  But my ride was over as we were traveling without a chain tool.

Now my goal for the day was 4:00.  With my chain incident, my ensuing pick from the park and a work commitment later in the day, there was no chance that I could get back outside and finish the time.  So my options were three:

1) Ride the stationary trainer at night for 2:40 so I would total the day out at 4:00
2) Flip Saturday and Sunday's training.  Saturday = 4:00 & Sunday = 1:30.
3) Forget about the plan/goal for the day and just accept 1:20 of ride time.

In a recent comment I was asked about my motivation and where does it come from?  There are a lot of areas and ways that I use to motivate myself, and the one I drew upon yesterday/today was my love of setting goals and accomplishing them.  I receive a tremendous amount of satisfaction when I set up a training goal and then work hard to achieve it.  Knowing that about myself there were really only 2 options above that would have worked for me, either #1 or #2.

I choose #2.  I looked at the forecast and Sunday looked like it was going to be similar to Saturday. So late Saturday night I prepared my gear, fixed my bike, packed a chain tool and readied everything so I could head out Sunday when I was done seeing clients.

This time the preparation and the execution worked perfectly.  And it actually turned into a great ride because the snow started falling heavily about an hour into the ride, and I love riding in the snow.  All totaled up, it snowed about 3" in the 4:10 of ride time for the day.

-Jason

Late Night Training

Everyone I know and associate with has a very busy life.  Jobs, kids, social activities and even daily errands suck up most of our time.  And more often than not I have people tell me that their busy lives leave them with too little time to exercise.  To that I say,"make the time!"  There are always plenty of obligations and commitments to keep us from doing one thing or another, but I have yet to meet the person who could not carve an opening into their schedule to fit something in that they wanted to do.  My schedule was particularly busy yesterday.  What that meant was that I was going to have to start and finish my workout later in the evening.  Later was/is starting at 9:15 and finishing up at 11:15.  I didn't think twice about doing it, and I didn't hesitate when I needed to start.  I set aside the time, made a workout plan and executed it.  It was as simple as that, and I would suggest that it could be the same for everyone else too.  Know what you need, make the time and crush your workout.

-Jason

Active Day

Just wanted to let everyone know that it was a very active day out there today.  I got in 2 hours on the mountain bike with a friend.  The dirt roads were dialed- hard packed and no dust!  And the temperature was great- mid 70's and sunny.  Here are some other accomplishments:

☆ Kathy is doing a half marathon tomorrow- I'm giving her credit for that, for today, because she also did a resistance training workout and a short walk today.

☆ Tommy, aka Blackjack, put in 106 miles on his bike today.

☆ Michelle put in a 6 mile early morning walk.

☆ Greg did 53 miles on his cyclo-cross bike on the rail trails.

I know there were a lot more people putting in time today.  What did you do?  Let me know about it.

-Jason

Sunny Workout

I happen to know a number of people who do not seem to be too effected by the weather.  Overcast, rain, snow, slush or whatever, the weather just doesn't seem to bother them.  However, I know way more people, myself included, who need sunshine and/or warmth to put them at their best.  This morning was one of the rare sunny and almost warm mornings that we have had this year.  And these conditions helped someone who needed a sunny push in the right direction.

When I got to this client's house this morning I could tell right out of the gate that she was not in the best of workout moods.  Actually, that's putting it kindly.  One of the first things she said to me was, "It took everything I had not to call you this morning and cancel."  I told her that it was great that she didn't and let's see what we could get through.  We both agreed that a short walk outside, in the sun, might help kick start her mind and body.  So we walked.  And it was really nice out.  The sun and the ever increasing temperature seemed to help pick up our pace, and with that I could tell her spirit was picking up too.  When the walk was over I was ready to head in and get to work with some weights and exercise bands, but she had a different plan.  She laid down right in the sun covered grass and said, "I want to train here.  Can I?"  I replied, "I think it is a great idea."  And train on the lawn, in the bright sun, is what we did.  It was great and it was just what she needed.

Are you weather effected?  Let me know about it.  I love to hear how people deal with tough environmental situations.

-Jason

A DJ AT A Workout

I mentioned in an earlier post about how music may be one of the stimuli that helps you get focused and drives you through your workout.  This past Wednesday was a day when this point was heavily driven home to me.  There were three separate events that each, in their own way, showed the potential importance of music on training.

The first involves a couple I train, and the above picture is their iPod that is used during each and every workout.  When I make my way down to their basement gym, the first thing I do, even before setting down my backpack or taking off my coat, is to check the workout playlist that has been assembled.   And the next thing I do is cue up the first song.  This couple loves training to music, and they always have a playlist put together and are ready for me to DJ the way through their workout.  Sometimes there are fast songs, and sometimes there are slower songs, but there are always songs that they find motivating in some way.

The second example is from my own workout.  The never-ending winter wreaked havoc on another planned outdoor training ride.  Rain/sleet/snow and 33 degrees was more than I could stomach, or tolerate, for an outdoor ride.  So I was left with having to do a long ride inside after work.  I generally don't mind riding indoors, or even riding indoors for long periods.  What was making this ride potentially tough was a 20 minute full-effort exertion that needed to be completed.  I knew the best way to stay focused was going to be having the iPod ready to rock out some melodic motivation.  And ready it was.  The music that I had lined up for the harsh 20 minutes, predominantly from the band Muse, pushed me to open up my legs and lungs.  And because of its power, I was able to set a new personal record.

The third example comes from my post-ride reading and stretching.  I was reading through a variety of rider blogs and came upon this post by an American amateur who is racing in Europe.  This guy is serious about his music and using it to help himself focus on his training.  He writes that when he uses music during training he just loops the same song over and over.  How many times do you think he repeats it? Once? Twice? Three times? Nope, this guy goes right to his happy place by looping his songs for two hours at a time!  That is serious.  I think I am going to give that a try on my next solo two-hour ride.

Do you have a favorite song or band that gets you motivated?  What about a playlist that you use to get you going?  I'd love to hear about them.  Feel free to post your musical motivators in the comments below.

-Jason

Any Time & Any Place

I had a client come in last night who had a specific request for her training - she wanted to work out her arms and then do some cardiovascular work.  That's an easy enough request to make happen, but I was a little taken back by it.  Why?  Well, I was thrown off because this particular individual is one, like many, who is not a fan of upper-body training.  So for her to come in, and request it right out of the gate, was a little surprising.

I said we could make that happen, then asked, "Why are we skipping the lower body?"  She replied,  "When I was home last night watching some TV, I decided to lay on the floor and do a variety of leg exercises."  She told me she did straight leg raises, inner thigh raises, outer thigh raises and hip extensions.  She said it was easy and only took her 20 minutes to get through it all.  I said, "Excellent work!", gave her a high five, and got her going on training her upper-body.

The point to take from that exchange is that you can fit in some exercise in almost any time and place.  Too often, I have people tell me that they don't have the time to workout.  After years of hearing a variety, and probably every possible excuse, I have lost my ability to be tactful.  The response that I now use when I hear that statement is, "Yes you do.  You just don't want to do it.  We all can make time to do the things we want to do."  I know it might be a little crass, but I know it is the truth.  Even with the most jam-packed schedule, there is time every night for some stretches, or time during the day for a 10 minute walk, or time before work for some resistance training.  The time is there if you want to make the workout happen.  It does not have to be a lot of time, but it does have to be consistently undertaken.  If you consistently make the time, a lot or even a little, you will realize the benefits with your fitness and health.

-Jason

San Francisco Trip Itinerary

The late winter leading into the early Spring is historically a time when I notice the motivation of my clients, my friends, and sometimes myself, starting to dip.  I think it is the combination of the cold weather, short days and the lack of sunshine that starts weighing on everyone and bringing them down.  Regardless of how I may feel, I try to always keep a positive attitude flowing to help keep everyone on the right path.  As everyone around here knows, this has been a tough job this winter.  I have had to punch through the cold, cloudy rides and bitter morning drives all while keeping a smile on my face and a positive outlook.  How have I been able to do it?  Well, in addition to being rather optimistic by nature, I have been using a trip I have planned to help keep the enthusiasm topped off.  I planned a trip this Spring to go see my friend Rich in San Francisco.  To quote him,"It is going to be a bike training camp!" and based on the ride itinerary in the email he sent me the other day, it looks to be just that:

Day 1: Paradise loop and maybe a Headlands -  ~ 50 miles

Day 2: Alpine -  55 miles

Day 3: Nicasio -  70+ miles

Day 4: Marshall -  ~ 100 miles

TOTAL:  ~ 280 miles

Now that is a trip!  I know that is not exactly the same plan most people would have if they were going to San Francisco, but it works for me.  And it gets me psyched and it clicks on the inner enthusiasm that gets me through the day!  I would recommend that everyone find that trip, fitness goal, or even bathing suit that puts your mind in the right place and use that enthusiasm to help keep you going.

-Jason

Afternoon Ride

One of the benefits of working for yourself is having the opportunity to carve out holes in your schedule for your own exercise.  I have always taken advantage of this and I feel it is one of the things I do that helps keep me balanced.  Today was a day I was happy I had the opportunity to get in a ride, but not so happy with the weather that was awaiting us-

For those out there not in the know, the 23 degree temperature is not the big problem with that picture.  The biggest issue is the 11 degree windchill!  That's 11 degrees if you are just standing there. If you factor in the speed we are riding at into the wind, it leads to some real cold body parts.  And to make things worse, I had a 3 hour ride on the schedule for today.  I was really going to be pushing into some discomfort.  Fortunately, I had a couple of friends with me to help pass the time.  We headed out ~12:00 and immediately felt the presence of the wind.  It seemed to be everywhere and more often than not, right in our faces.  I quickly realized that 3 hours might be a bit ambitious in that kind of environment, and I was making mental plans to finish off the ride on the indoor trainer later in the night.  Despite the wind and cold the minutes continued to pass and we eventually found ourselves in a position to either stop riding at ~1:45 or push on.  If we continued it was going to mean another full 1:00 out there in the cold, but we decided to do it to finish the ride off properly.  The funny thing about the last 1:00 was that we essentially rode a big loop and it felt like we were riding into a headwind the entire time!  We did manage to limp our frozen selves back to our cars and ended up with a ride total of 2:45 and ~43 miles.

Please feel free to send me any questions you may have about proper gear selection for cycling in conditions like today or contact me with any question you may have about anything fitness related.

-Jason