Ok, so...two things.
1: this is the LifeCycle 9500HR. As you can see, the sitting posture on this machine is way more
aggressive than newer versions. It’s way closer to the stretched out
aero position of a tribike and I love it. I can’t find these in gyms
anymore (because the newer versions are more upright and
comfortable...blah) but I was lucky to hit the one gym that still has
one. When I first got back into triathlon years ago, that I started
training in the winter, I spent HOURS on this bike. Tonight was like
sitting in an old friend. You know what I mean.
2: if you know me, I
have a lot of trouble with “moderation”. And getting back to training is
as much about training your heart as training your muscles. The bulk of
tonight’s workout was lower HR. I need to do more workouts like this.
Ugh. This slow-build, “moderation” thing is gonna kill me. I want
nothing more than to kick my ass on a long back ride or run. Soon, I
hope.
I
hate a lot of things about living in New England...but there’s
something about running in the last hours of the day, as the sun
stretches to hold on, seeing your breath in the chill air that’s pretty
awesome.
You know, between hacking up from the cold air in the bottom of
your lungs and the fact that it’s sunset at 4:30pm!!!
And for the
first time in ever, I actually listened to the advice I give other folks
and went for an easy 3 miler as I get back into the groove of training
again. There’s this lake near me and the “loop” is a great run and
provides some awesome fall views. The new ‘do is cool...but that air was
COLD on my head. Guess I’ll need to grab a beanie next time! The last
few days have been great since I’m back to training, doing yoga, getting
sleep, meal prep’ing, getting tasks done and pulling my head out of my
ass. Momentum is indeed funny thing.
So I have an issue with “moderation”.
The last few weeks I’ve been wearing myself out mentally then going to smash my bags at the gym, all while cutting back on calories. Seems I kinda ran myself in the ground. So, I decided to take a week off. Spend time reading, writing, sketching and not obsessing over everything I ate. It was nice but I feel like I put on 50lbs and generally feel worse than when I decided to take some time off. Is that even possible. Is this some weird hurdle that I need to get over and will then start to feel normal?
Back to the gym I go. I short lift then onto the bike for some cardio...then a core workout when I got home...because, you know, I hate myself of course. Let’s see if I can find some balance this time.
The day? Absolute garbage.
People...I never cease to be amazed by their ignorance or laziness. The cure? Well I thought a workout would be the most productive use of my energy.
The weather has been garbage and more importantly so have the roads so there's no way I'm gonna put one of my cherry bikes in it/on it. I was hoping to get in a 30 miler but i'll settle for 28 and call if a good evening.
I don't know when spring or even summer is going to show up at this point. With all this snow and cold I'm expecting to get more snowshoeing in. In a couple days when we're gonna get hit with more even more snow...
I felt like absolute garbage all day.
I don’t know why or how but it felt like a got a flu bomb overnight. I spent most of the day laying about, drinking lots of fluids and sleeping...but enough is enough.
I didn’t know what I was going to do but I knew I had to do something. So an hour on the treadmill with a core/rehab workout chaser it is. At this point it’s not about mileage or pace (yes, even writing that kills a little piece of my soul) it’s about sustained, low heart rate effort. Mission accomplished. NyQuil and bed for me.
I’ve never known anyone to become an Army Infantryman then on to being a Special Operations guy who “enjoyed” hiking. After things like 12, 20, and 30 mile “forced marches” while wearing combat loads/rucksacks leads most guys NOT to look around and take in the beauty of nature or the locale, rather it makes most guys (including myself) look around and tell fellow Soldiers and anyone that will listen...”when I get out of the Army I’m never doing this sh*t again, EVER”! Hence the reason I haven’t done anything “outdoorsy” or hiked in almost two decades.
Then, a couple weeks ago, out running on a snow trail at Mt. Washington, I stopped and looked around and was like “damn this is gorgeous and I’m having a blast, I need to do this as much as possible”. After the run I promptly went to the local @llbean outlet and tried to buy out the store. Hahaha. So I “kitted up” and hit the trails at Mt. Wachussett today. What started out as a “quick” hike just to try equipment and take it easy...turned into a 3 hour long hike over all sorts of terrain because you know...NATURE. Just gorgeous even on an overcast, chilly day. Did I bite off more than I could chew? Absolutely I did and I’m gonna pay for it but it was worth it. Much better than that amount of time spent in the gym for sure!
