Cycling is just the bestest

Sure I swim, I run, I bike, I lift, I yoga...but cycling, cycling is what I love. It was my first love. As a geeky teenager I got my first bike and realized the joy of long, hard rides...just me, my bike and the road. There's no hill too high, not distance insurmountable. There's just something about hearing thh hum of the tires on the road and the mechanical click, click, click of upshifting and downshifting...that just makes everything right in the world. There ain't much on the planet that makes me as happy as a long ride on my bike. I haven't taken my S5 out on the road yet much this year and since it was a nice day I figured it was the perfect time to go for a ride. What started out as an easy ride, turned into a 90 minute, 30 mile, time trial. I just felt too good not to push it and see where my fitness is at. Nice to be back on the bike and getting after it.

Feedback Sports NAILED it. Finally, a REAL training tool created by cyclists for cyclists!

Cyclist are always forced to train indoors for whatever reason: weather, temp, targeted training sessions, multiple training sessions or just because you can't get in a ride during daylight hours. That means that you were either gonna use a set of rollers (not for the faint of heart), an indoor trainer (which I HATE because it puts pressure on a bike's rear triangle/hub/axle) or you head to the gym to ride the bike there. But, if you were watching the Tour de France coverage you might've seen THIS! It's the Omnium Trainer from@feedbacksports. This thing is awesome, no wonder it's used by the pros!!! It's sleek, attaches to the bike via the front fork (way less stress on the bike frame) hasmagnetic rollers that increase resistance as you pedal harder AND it's collapsible and fits into a carry bag which means it's perfect for small spaces (houses/apartments) AND you can travel with it. Honestly, I HATE trainers but when I saw this during the TDF coverage I was like "yes, someone finally gets it", I've got to get one of those! Go check out their website "feedbacksports.com" to see this and all the other great products they have. FYI, their customer service is AWESOME!!!

Never give up the fight

It's always going to be difficult...anything worth doing ALWAYS is! The way you win the war is never giving up the fight.

I'm not like everyone else...I'm worse

I'm like everyone else. Well, actually I'm way worse. I berate myself for every workout or lack of workout I've done. Are the training events too intense? Not intense enough? Am I fit enough? Too fat? Am I tired, run down or just being lazy? In the cycling/swimming/triathlete world I am not the exception to the rule...I'm just better at self doubt than most. 

But, it's always about learning and getting better. I have been struggling to get back in some type of training rythm and was hoping to get a real long run in today. How long? 7 miles sounded good on paper. But, after realizing I was a lil smoked from yesterday's swim and that the day was getting hotter than expected, I cut the run to 5 miles and I throttled back to a 8:55 pace to get through it. Then, taking the time to walk, stretch and cool off post run rather than just stopping. Little things, little wins.