Sunday, April 20, 2008

Day two of  my new jogging regime.  My six intervals were couched within an hour walk on the treadmill.  I followed my treadmill time with some core and light weights.  This will make a nice addition to my cycling.  If I get two days in a week per sport, I'll be happy.  Especially since I'm walking 3-4 days a week.  Eventually, I want to start getting up earlier on Tuesdays to jog.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

This was day one of a new regime that will have me jogging for 30 minutes 3 times a week by June 1st.  It is the program that my Orthopedic surgeon (who also happens to be a running coach) created for me when I had stress fractures in both legs (2005).  I'm staying on the treadmill which makes finding soft surfaces easy.  I've been walking quite a bit since October so I have some base.  None the less, my legs complained.  The first week I'm just jogging 1 minute with 2 minutes walking for 5 or six sets.  It feels good to have a new goal!

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Julie and I agreed to talk at 10:00am and decide where and when we would ride.  So I managed to get some homework done in the morning; good thing too, since the two chapters for one class are 45 pages each!  Great reading...just took some time.  Julie and I met up at Soaring Eagle park (aka Beaver Lake) at 10:45am.  We stayed on the upper half and did two loops.  It was very fun.  This is my second mountain bike ride of the season and I can already see my skill improving.  The first time around the loop I pushed my bike up most of the hills and walked many of the TTF's (Technical Trail Features).  The second time around I made it up the first 3 hills and walked the fourth.  I also rode over one of the roughest parts of the trail.  So I'm excited to be back riding.  I'm amazed at how quickly the mountain bike skills come back.  The best thing is that my hand did not hurt at all the whole ride.  total ride time was  1 hour and 30 minutes.  I'm still huffing and puffing at the top of each  climb...I actually find it quite funny...to get so winded.  Soon enough I'm sure I'll be able to ride without breaks.  The weather was wonderful and Beaver was mostly dry.  I finished the day with 5 hours of homework.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Today was mostly paying bills and finishing my taxes.  I finally finished it all up around 4pm and took a nice long hibernation nap (you know, the naps where your not sure you are going to get up).  I was definitely tired from riding Friday.  It is going to take a few weeks riding 3 times a week before I can start riding 2 days back to back.

Friday, April 11, 2008

I rushed home from work, picked up the Juliana (my cross country bike) and headed to Tolt for my first single track ride of the season.  I met Julie at her house and we rode from there.  I was a little apprehensive since Tolt is where (in October) I tore the ligament in my hand.  The climb (IAB, Its a bitch) was as long as I remember.  I walked most of it.  We took the road clockwise (East and South roads) Rode Dancing and I-90 (rode some in the next section over) and then rode back to the main road.  To get home we rode Bypass and MLR.  Then rode home via the North road.  I started out a little nervous and shaky and walked several sections I usually ride. But by the end I was riding really well.  We stayed on dry easy trails.  The descent on IAB was good.  My hand was tired and sore by the end  (especially on the descent).  But overall my hand didn't complain as much as it had the ride before. Total time was two hours and I was wiped by the end (even a bit before the end).  When Julie said we would ride Bypass and MLR, I wondered if I would make it...but I did.  It is good to be back on single track...even if it is easy single track.

Best thing about this weekend was getting in two days of riding!

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Seujan invited me out for a road bike ride and I was able to keep pace with her for over 12 miles!...did I mention she was running?  Actually she invited me to keep her company on her long run.  I have not been on the road bike since just before I had the plate and screws taken out of my ankle in August so I've been feeling a bit eager and a little apprehensive about getting back on the bike and clipping in...plus my hand hurts a bit when I mountain bike and I thought it might be worse on the road bike.  Or at least these are the stories I've been telling myself. So keeping her company sounded like a great way to get back on the bike!  I decided I wanted to ride the last half of her run and then finish with a strong ride back to Marymoore from the Log boom.  I had a very nice ride to log boom, and it was great to catch up with Seujan.  She graciously offered to transport me to Marymoore; I declined thinking to myself...why not, I already ridden 15 miles...a nice ride in the car would be good. So declining the ride (like a real biker) I started for Marymoore.  The first 10 miles went well.  I was able to keep my cadence up and was cruising along.  I hit a head wind the last 5 miles, and my right calf started to complain...it was at this point I decided I had two choices.  a) I could limp back to the car or  b) I could ride through the headwind and the pain and finish strong.  I thought to myself, well if Seujan can finish a 24 mile run strong, I surly can finish a 28 mile bike ride strong; so I shifted in to a harder gear, and stood up so I could pick up some needed speed and momentum.  I finished strong and by the time I got off the bike both calves and hamstrings were talking.  It was a great ride.  It was really good to get 4 hours of saddle time.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Julie and I rode the Preston - Snoqualmie trail from Preston to Snoqualimie and back.  It was a total of 12 miles.  As we left Preston I noticed that we were steadily descending for many miles...and I knew the ride back was going to be up hill.  The trail is mostly down hill for the first 6 miles then uphill into Snoqualmie.  So we spent a good amount of time climbing and descending.  It was an interesting ride with a nice view of Snoqualmie falls.  I'll file it away as a done that! type of ride.  It is interesting that I have no desire to ride it again...yet I ride the Snoqualmie Valley Trail, Sammamish Trail and Burke Gillman trail all the time and never tire of them...go figure.

Wow, it has been a while since I blogged

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Today I walked up the hill from downtown to Capital hill (about 10 blocks).  The hike up the hill is getting easier and I'm trying to walk a bit faster.  I get this walk 4 days a week...which is a nice way to start the week.  One caveat: if it is pouring rain then I catch a bus.  

Today I scrambled out of work at 4:30pm and hiked half way down the hill and then caught a bus the rest of the way....Made it home by 5:30 and out to Fall City with my mountain bike by 6:00pm.  Rode a fairly quick 45 minute ride.  Which is 10 minutes off of Sunday's time (of course it was snowing on Sunday and it was cold).  Managed to get my heart rate up to 85% on the climb which is the highest it has been in a while.  The ride out is about 1.5 mile hill followed by a mile of gradual (seems flat) incline.  So the ride home is all downhill.  It feels great to be back on the bike. 

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

I had class today, so my exercise was a hike from the convention center up to capital hill.  I made the mistake of walking up Boren...boy is it a steep walk.  At the end of the day I scuttled back down the hill.  20 minutes each way. I can't meander on Tuesday or I'll miss my bus and be late for class.

by the way, both of my classes this quarter promise to be great.  1) Entrepreneurship fundamentals 2) Investments.   Both are electives.  I only have 6 classes left.  2 required and 4 electives.  My hope is to keep taking finance classes.  

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Rode for about an hour out of Fall City an up to the Snoqualmie Valley Trail.  The 1.5 mile climb was tough...but I climbed it in my middle chain ring without stopping.  I can tell I haven't worked hard in a while.  It was a great ride (oh yea...great ride in the snow and rain).  Yes it was cold, none the less, it was great to be on the bike.  I rode the Juliana (I'm sticking to it for a while...no sense in riding a heavy bike).

Friday, March 22, 2008

Rode with Julie on the  East Lake Sammamish Trail (in the heavy rain).  rode for 1.5 hours and I was toast.  Averaged about 70-75 % MHR.  Good news is that my hand didn't hurt (although it was sore afterwards).