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Re: Training for NEW Dallas Rock n' Roll Half-marathon, 3/14/10

guest — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:32:46 GMT

What happened to this summer? Seems like I only slacked off for a little while, & here we are well into the month of October - sheesh!

There certainly has been next-to-nothing worth reporting: my new Nike shoes didn't hold up; I went ahead & ordered another pair of Gel Kayanos a couple of wks ago. They feel much better but still, after hiking around all day on concrete at the State Fair last weekend, my R heel was KILLING me...

So I have only been to the gym once last week & today. Even worse, my little women's-only gym which was so convenient for a quick lunchtime visit has closed down - another victim of the recession.

Guess I no longer have to feel guilty about "split loyalties" - thankful to Hubby for getting us that family membership at Snap Fitness!

I put in 25 min on elliptical today + 10 min on weight circuit - gotta start somewhere.

Re: Training for NEW Dallas Rock n' Roll Half-marathon, 3/14/10

guest — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:40:17 GMT

OK, I get it - spam!

Another slow n' painful 25-min session on TM... I'm gonna die out there...

& if Paul is still reading this thread, I'm sure he's wondering why the he!! I'm not wheeling the ol' bike out of the garage to at least do a little cardio... Well, the strange coincidence is that A.) a county judge just moved into our neighborhood, and B.) they are repaving our road.

Of course it's not completely impassable, just awkward to have to haul the bike out by truck to either end of my road (approx 2 mi either way), to get out on normal pavement.

Back to work for me now,

Val

Re: Training for NEW Dallas Rock n' Roll Half-marathon, 3/14/10

guest — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:22:19 GMT

Right now, building back up to 13.1 mi seems like an unachievable goal - even the lil' 5K I signed up for in 2.5 wks sounds like a far piece!

My painful feet are only tolerating a slow n' easy EOD schedule at best... I tried it on the TM yesterday WITH my orthotics, and they did seem to help.

I will just have to alternate running days w/eliptical to build my cardio endurance back up.

But I DO feel MUCH better after trying out a new local chiropractor - she got me in & out in 20 min, & mostly relieved my stiff neck & aching L shoulder (I did myself harm last weekend when I went to visit a friend & slept on a bad mattress). The chiro I had been seeing also seemed to do good work, but he always wanted to rope me into the Whole Shebang of getting a massage & spending a little over an hour - so a lot of times it came down to "Gym vs Chiropractic"!

Val

Re: Training for NEW Dallas Rock n' Roll Half-marathon, 3/14/10

guest — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:44:42 GMT

Made it by the gym Saturday for a "quickie session": 20 min on elliptical, 10

min on circuit...

The best I could manage on a busy day when I couldn't leave my sweet lil' dog in

the car too long!

I vacillated between amusement & irritation at the soccer-mom who came in just

ahead of me, intent on accomplishing the same thing (20 min on elliptical): she

had her 3 or 4-yr old in tow!

Now a couple of wks ago, they have posted new signs all over the gym:

"Your child must fulfill BOTH requirements to be here:

A.) 14 yrs old

B.) A member of the gym"

I'm sure they have done this to stop exactly this type of behavior - I have

every sympathy for the poor woman trying to get in a workout, but if her child

wandered off & hurt himself, guess who would get sued???

She had parked her kid beside her machine w/a coloring book & all was well for

about 10 min, then he started getting bored, questioning "if she was almost

done" at increasingly shorter intervals!

As I said, it was kinda cute & kinda irritating at the same time... After all,

when MY son was that age & I had an after-work-hrs activity I wanted to do, I

would line up a babysitter!

I managed to make it by the gym TODAY for a quick "limp" on the TM, another 20 min... Laurie (gym owner) waylaid me to get me signed up for a local 5K on 9/19 - it will be good for me to have a short-term goal.

Val

Re: Training for NEW Dallas Rock n' Roll Half-marathon, 3/14/10

guest — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:48:06 GMT

Wow, where'd she go??? Boy, it's been one he!! of a week (I'm going to fool you, ignorant little censoring computer program!)

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/Hunt_County_Flight_Instructor

This is where things get REALLY complicated - Jim Phillips was the estranged husband of my ex-husband's GF (ahem, that would be Sue, the "grieving widow" - NOT!). Don't ask me to explain the intricacies of their relationship, but apparently they had come to some sort of "arrangement": they never divorced & Jim spent substantial amounts of time w/my son Zach as well as Alex, the Russian orphan whom my ex & Sue adopted. (That group photo of Jim w/the 3 kids shows Zach on the L, Alex on the R, & his grandson in the middle)

Anyway, Zach understandably has taken Jim's death very hard - he was like a surrogate grandfather. I went to the funeral yesterday both to support Zach as well as to pay my respects to a man who had been a good friend in years past (we used to all camp out together for rides, just one big happy family!). He had told me on the one occasion he & I got to have a private chat (when Zach was about 6 mos old) that he hoped to ride this one out; he wanted to avoid divorce court at all costs so he wouldn't have to lose HIS ranch. (I could relate)

All this, I guess, is a roundabout way of making excuses for my absences from the gym this past week... I did manage to make it in this AM for 30 min on the elliptical, it doesn't hurt my R foot! Then I went by the tennis courts to hit a few volleys w/my dad for Father's Day. The only things I proved in about 20 min were that I'm woefully rusty, plus I need to buy a proper pair of court shoes if I plan on taking up tennis again - I tripped in my high-traction running shoes & almost took a header! On that concrete court, THAT would have been graceful...

I was also browsing around when Peran & I were doing a little bit of shopping last night, trying to find the new MIzuno model - no luck, looks like I'll have to drive to N Dallas. I really want to try 'em on instead of just ordering 'em sight unseen!

Maria, I thought I saw your car this AM - tried to call you but cell ph went straight to VM. Hope everyone had a nice Father's Day.

Val

Training for NEW Dallas Rock n' Roll Half-marathon, 3/14/10

guest — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 23:25:33 GMT

OK, time to start a new thread guys... I've taken the 1st step, PONYING UP MY ENTRY FEE, ha ha!

Seriously, though, I need to go back to my podiatrist to re-inject my R foot, it's killing me again. May also be time for new shoes - my lil' Mizunos have held up well (!!) since I've strictly reserved 'em for GYM USE, but they ARE 6 mos old. ("Nice shoes, low mileage!")

I am also making a serious effort to follow low-carb guidelines bcz SOMETHING'S gotta GIVE! On impulse I ordered a DVD from Amazon: "Fathead" - it's good, but Tom Naughton also has a website, http://fathead-movie.com/ which has most of the info for free!

Glad the new job is going alright, Maria - I had an interesting encounter at CVS Pharmacy the other day, if you had been home I'd have stopped by & bent your ear. As it is I ought to blog about it "in all my spare time", ha ha.

But for now I'm going to town to visit the gym, and make a grocery store run for supplies... Starting to face down a new goal is always exciting.

luv Val

Re: Training for MS 150 Frisco to Ft Worth (for the slow recreational cyclist)

guest — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:57:40 GMT

Sorry, Paul - I am so far behind on my emails, it's not even funny! (so I won't even insert a wink or smiley-face here)

I had all good intentions to get out & do our lil' local 5K last Sat, but my weekend schedule was disrupted when the Jeff Dunham show I'd promised my boy was moved to FRIDAY night (conflict w/Mavs game???) so we were out pretty late. It just wasn't worth it to rush ourselves outta bed & get 'er done - although I'm even more regretful now, hearing that Miss Maria scored a FIRST PLACE FINISH!! Woo-hoo!

I was teasing my cycling partner Karen that we had to go rack up some mileage to justify all the work we've had done on our bikes, but both of us got caught up in the whirlwind of activities this MD weekend. I did manage to catch the new Star Trek movie which this old Trekkie highly recommends. Other than that, I'll have to check the scheduling of the SA half-marathon - if it's a "non-Zach" weekend I'll definitely plan on it. (I may have to go as a spectator anyway if it means I can see you, Paul in a skirt - insert wolf whistle here!) We also went toScarborough Faire last Sat which means I got to see a lot of guys in kilts.

Better get back w/my business today - I have idly thought about looking for a purely selfish, non-charity type cycling event like, let's say the Hotter N' **** 100 in August in Wichita Falls, but that's just an idle fantasy at this point... "Since I don't have a 100-mile horse conditioned at this point, maybe I'll just put in 100 miles on my bike!"

We even got the horses out for a short workout - Zach rode Mr Champ & did absolutely fine, as I thought he would! The Quig-monster had a short bucking spell at the onset, but then he actually settled down & acted like a well-broke horse. I have a new protege in the form of my neighbor's new GF's 12-yr old daughter - I have been letting her ride my old campaigner Wynk, & she has been having a blast. After a few more rides I will let her try out Lily-mule - if she gets serious about endurance I don't know if my old Wynk-man has any more high-mileage rides left in him @ age 24?

Val

Re: Training for MS 150 Frisco to Ft Worth (for the slow recreational cyclist)

guest — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:08:20 GMT

Ha! An "impulsive" 150... 40 mi sounds more reasonable - bcz if anything I am going into this year's MS 150 even MORE woefully undertrained than last year! I am hoping for a big biomechanical advantage w/my reconditioned road bike, we'll see...

In any case I'll just do the best I can w/out making myself completely miserable - it's for a good cause anyway! I should be able to get in a short gym visit today, followed by an all-out "train to exhaustion" course tomorrow... Carbo-load on Fri, then hopefully not bonk out Sat!

Last weekend I got in another good 50-miler on Baraq - even though he dumped me less than 2 mi into our 2nd loop (i.e. about 27 mi), RAN AWAY, & had to be retrieved by a group of trail riders! By the time I hiked back into camp we had lost almost an hour - but I saw that he was unhurt, I was unhurt (except for my pride), we still had plenty of time on the timeclock, so we went back out to finish the ride! (I earned a special "Hard Luck" award at that night's ride mtg) That's OK, it's all about the T-shirt after all

Anyway, I'd better get on w/things to stay on schedule today - hopefully post about my progress manana and/or Friday.

Val

Re: Training for MS 150 Frisco to Ft Worth (for the slow recreational cyclist)

guest — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 01:46:04 GMT

Hey Maria:

I'm glad you posted; I need to tie in a direct link so I will be more diligent about updates!

But I saw you 2-day on Ovilla Rd - I was heading over to Cedar Hill to pick up my bike... I took it in last week & of COURSE they're swamped w/everyone who's getting ready for the MS 150 (as well as everyone else who just wants to tune up their bikes & get OUT in this beautiful weather! Anyway, my good pal Brian rec a stem extension on handlebars to raise the whole thing 6" (I had 'em up as high as they could go yet it still wasn't high enough) - then of course he had to bring it to my attn that I was riding on (gasp!) a MAN'S saddle! (Actually he was very diplomatic - he asked me how that seat was working for me, & BTW did I know it was a man's?!? Yes, actually I did - but I told him quite honestly that I hadn't put enough mileage on the bike to really tell whether it was going to cut me in two or not! So he just happened to show me a special anatomically-designed woman's saddle & for a mere $34.99, what else could I do but pop it on?!?

I've quit adding up how much I've invested in my lil' $152 eBay special - oh, no I haven't => that was another $164 w/improved handlebars, new wraps, spare tube & carrier to strap under the seat (Karen told me I could NOT opt out if I happened to suffer a flat!), Chamois-Butt cream, and a few packs of Energy beans - I know they'll feed us well on the ride but what the heck, they looked good!

And Karen has set out to undermine me again - she found a guy in Flower Mound w/a garage full of vintage road bikes & made off w/a Nishiki in mint condition for $200. .. Now I myself have never HEARD of a "Nishiki" - guess it's Japanese? - but it is a nice-looking bike, obviously well-cared for. So last night I was lumbering along on my old hybrid, trying to keep up w/her! At least I wasn't squealing & flinching every time we came to a stretch of rough road, of which there's plenty in our neighborhood! We will probably have only one chance to match up head-for-head on our road bikes this weekend before The Real Deal comes along. Oh well, we've hardly trained at all but we'll concentrate on having a good time nonetheless. If I'm brave, I'm debating taking my bike to work w/me & riding it over to the gym! Double cardio, yee-haw!

Val

Re: Training for MS 150 Frisco to Ft Worth (for the slow recreational cyclist)

guest — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:34:31 GMT

Ha ha - finally had a chance to go read your story, Paul! We have a lot in common - you see, since I've DONE so many 50's in years past, I'm really really bad in these hectic times to cut out those intermediary training rides - yep, speed work too! that make it MUCH easier to cling to your steed for 50 miles...

It's really a quantum leap - I've said before that LD (25 mi) is FUN, adding on those NEXT 25 mi makes it HARD WORK! So today (Day 2) is always the worst in terms of stiffness/soreness - I can feel every muscle of my core balancing apparatus, and last night's short bike ride was TORTURE...

Karen & I just took the 7-mi short loop bcz we were burning daylight, but I've got a few adjustments to make. It feels like the seat is the correct height, but I couldn't get the handlebars high enough to feel comfortable. Since my head/neck already felt as if I had two tight cords along the back of my neck holding everything together, it was sheer misery to assume the posture of a racing cyclist - I told Karen I felt like a galley slave, chained to my oar! At least I only crashed once trying to unclip from those fancy pedals - thankfully I was going zero MPH, dismounting to walk up a steep hill - but I gave my L elbow a pretty good whack. But there I lay in the middle of the road, trying to kick the bike off the top of me before the next bluebonnet-sightseer came around the bend & flattened me - pretty comical!

I think I'll get one of those V-bar extensions so I can sit in a more upright posture - still debating whether I'm going to switch that narrow racing saddle for my anatomic split-seat model....

Better get on w/my day now, I'll try to make in by the gym for a nice limbering-up stroll on the TM...

Val

Active Community: Message List

Re: Training for *NEW* Dallas Rock n' Roll Half-marathon, 3/14/10

Re: Training for *NEW* Dallas Rock n' Roll Half-marathon, 3/14/10

Re: Training for *NEW* Dallas Rock n' Roll Half-marathon, 3/14/10

Re: Training for *NEW* Dallas Rock n' Roll Half-marathon, 3/14/10

Re: Training for *NEW* Dallas Rock n' Roll Half-marathon, 3/14/10

Training for *NEW* Dallas Rock n' Roll Half-marathon, 3/14/10

Re: Training for MS 150 Frisco to Ft Worth (for the slow recreational cyclist)

Re: Training for MS 150 Frisco to Ft Worth (for the slow recreational cyclist)

Re: Training for MS 150 Frisco to Ft Worth (for the slow recreational cyclist)

Re: Training for MS 150 Frisco to Ft Worth (for the slow recreational cyclist)

Re: Training for NEW Dallas Rock n' Roll Half-marathon, 3/14/10

Re: Training for NEW Dallas Rock n' Roll Half-marathon, 3/14/10

Re: Training for NEW Dallas Rock n' Roll Half-marathon, 3/14/10

Re: Training for NEW Dallas Rock n' Roll Half-marathon, 3/14/10

Re: Training for NEW Dallas Rock n' Roll Half-marathon, 3/14/10

Training for NEW Dallas Rock n' Roll Half-marathon, 3/14/10