HOT..HOT... MILES

Part of our Team. Look at the Mountains in the background!!

Scott with Joe (68 years young) enjoying an after ride beer

I am completely loving the team I am training with. The miles are building and the heat is not letting up.

Once I recover from this past weekends ride adventure to the Lake on Saturday and then a return ride back on Sunday morning I will fill you in on the heated details. I will note that the route was like a mind bender roller coaster. One roller after another. My butt will feel it in the morning for sure.

Sugar update:

Week three of carving the sugars out is complete. I actually find that I am not having to put a ton of effort towards making good selections. Easy to pass up on the sweets which is freaking weird people!! . Not even trying I have dropped 4 lbs. but will have to watch that number. Currently 5'6" and 121 lbs.

Off to another week.

Robin

Comfort Blanket

Each Tuesday I arrive to ride with the Spinners Club and jump into the 16-17 avg. pace for our 34 mile ride. Each week as we finish I tell myself that “next week” I am going to move up in pace. I am at a point where I know I have more push in my legs. My goal on these Tuesday night rides is to push myself and get a bit stronger and faster. And just like that as I get my gear all on and I again jump into the 16-17 pace group and scold myself for wrapping myself up in this comfort blanket.

Last night I had talked myself into the same… until Scott said let’s just do it and just like that we rolled out with the 17-18 group. Amazing I felt great and never felt as if I were over my head. At the half way point we were at an average pace of 18.5 mph. We finished at 18mph. Legs were not trashed and energy was high. Ready for another repeat of this next week!!

Tonight I am hitting the weights and then diving into some chores at the house. For some odd reason the cleaning fairy does not visit our house and our bathroom needs a deep cleaning. I will be bringing out the yellow gloves for this.

Robin

Carving Out vs. Cutting Out

To clarify my recent post about the sugar deal I am “carving out” not “cutting out” sugars in my diet. What that means is that I have limited unnecessary sugars such as:

Hard Candy

Chocolate anything

Now I chose:

Whole Wheat Pasta vs. White Pasta

Whole Wheat Bread vs. White Bread

Beer and Wine (limiting to 2 per week)

Honey vs. white or brown sugar

Etc..etc.

Basically when I pasta (for example) I eat the correct portion and chose wheat. Anyone can justify eating mounds of pasta or carb loaded foods but in reality your body can only store so much fuel and the rest just stores as ... fat. Add in the tons of veggies I am eating each day and I just feel tuned into my bodies needs right now.

Now anytime you change things up your body will respond. My body loves junior mints, Hershey bars, chocolate covered anything but I will limit it to a true treat rather than a eat it when I feel like it food. So far I have had no sweet treats.

All of this came about when I bonked big time on a team ride a few weeks ago. I could have made a million excuses but in reality it normally boils down to food and hydration. A bottle of wine over two nights is not a smart pre-ride fuel. Sorry folks.

I am able to tell that my energy is level. I am not crashing in the afternoon and I feel … “clean”. One other thing I have noticed is that when I take in my main carbs at breakfast and lunch and go much lighter on them for dinner I sleep better not feeling so stuffed or heavy. My rides are even and the bonking has not returned. So whether all of this is 100% correct I know that my body is responding well so I am going to go with it.

Example of today’s food:

Coffee (this is the only sugar I use and it is down to two small spoons)

Oatmeal with cup of peaches

Carrots

Soup (loaded with veggies, brown rice and turkey) along with a large Spinach Salad

Rice Cake (2) with Almond butter spread (ground fresh with no added salt) (like peanut butter but made with almonds)

Chicken Breast grilled, large garden salad with homemade olive oil dressing

Chamomile Mint Tea with a dab of honey

LOTS OF WATER

Off to get ready for our ride with the Spinners Club Group. It’s going to be a HOT one.

Robin

Bring It On...

This will be a BIG week in numbers for me. Bike..bike..baby!!

Tuesday – 35 miles with Greenville Spinners Club

Thursday – 20 miles of intervals with a few hill building climbs

Saturday – 65 miles to Lake with Team and sleep over

Sunday – 65 miles back from Lake with Team … then crash.

Should come in with at least 185 miles. Highest week to date. Weight training will happen this week but I am thinking that no running will take place.

Things have really heated up and with that I have managed to stay super hydrated before, during, and after all of my rides last week. If only I could have a computer in the bathroom at work it would save me on a lot of back and forth trips. No joke!!

I am now moving into week 2 of carving out the sugars and I am thrilled to say that the weekend did not get me. I managed to stay on track and did not have to work extra hard to do so. I did enjoy 2 beers ( the only alcohol I had for the entire week) and had a very small serving of ice cream yesterday. What I am most proud of is passing on fudge brownies and a box of junior mints that Scott bought for me. They are still unopened. The big question would be whether I can tell any difference… YES!! I just feel better in general. Less bloated. Energy is very even. I just might be onto something. :))))

Robin

Sharing the Road

Afternoon storms have really rocked our area these past two weeks which does not mix well with cycling. I will spare you the frustrating details of packing and planning.... well maybe not.

This week I did manage to get 30 miles in on Wednesday with Scott and a friend. Several sections of the ride became a little tricky as we dogged downed power lines and trees. Not fun when you are dropping down hills with turns. Still the ride was great.

On Thursday I had plans to meet a teammate for another 30 miles and just as I rolled into the park so did the thunder. So the ride was ditched and I headed home. The closer I got to the house I realized it was clear skies ahead. I called my son and he quickly changed clothes and was ready to roll as I pulled into the neighborhood. Let me point out that this would be his first ride on Scott’s road bike. Clips and all. After some short instructions we headed out. Although he was a bit nervous on the road with cars and such we made a turn rather quickly onto a side country road and opened it up. Things were going well until the thunder sounded and we knew we needed to head back. Long story short… he LOVED it. Can bet that he will be joining me on future rides very soon.

This weekend they are calling for clear skies so that means LOTS OF MILES. Bring it! Saturday we have a team ride with a local bike shop and will ride 70 miles. Sunday I have a few options of 30 mile rides and will have to see what works best being that it is Father’s Day.

Sugar update: I have successfully managed to carve out just about all of the evil sugars for 6 days. Have had no beer. No wine. Just a nice clean diet and tons of water each day. Amazing that following day 4 things started to get easier and I am feeling great.

Have a fantastic weekend. Happy Father’s Day to all of the guys out there.

Robin

Rotten Elastic

I must confess.. it has been 6 years since I last purchased a swim suit. Although I did replace my racer back Nike swim suit last year I do not believe that counts. We are less than 3 weeks from vacation and I thought I would try on one of the suits only to realize that the elastic had dried out and basically was officially done. SO… as much as I HATE trying on swim suits I have no choice. This blows!

On another subject.... I would say that I eat a rather healthy diet. Love me some fresh veggies!!! Fried items never touch my lips. Not big on chips. Doing good limited the alcohol intake these days. So why am I having withdraws from carving out the sugars? Was I taking in more than I thought and now my body is protesting?! Four days into this and I just caught myself sucking on a honey packet that I used in my afternoon tea. At least it made me laugh.

Robin

Ready for Another

I LOVE THIS TEAM!

How can riding with a bunch a cycling crazies be a bad thing? IT'S NOT!! We meet early Saturday morning to roll out at 7:30am. Destination – LAKE, food, and some beer. This is a group that knows how to ride, push it, and then have fun. In all about 30 riders went the 58 mile distance. We had an option of adding on 18 extra miles but once we could see the lake everyone quickly ditched that idea. The heat cranked up as is neared high noon and the lake provided a fast cool down. Best part… repeat of this same ride in two weeks – except the next trip will involve an overnight stay at the lake and then a repeat of the ride back into town the following morning. SWEETTTT!

Final totals for last week:

Bike: 135 miles

Run: 10 miles

I need to do a shout out to Grey. So many bloggers have passed along tons of useful information and just here recently Grey provided me with some that reminded me that I need to do what I know. Mainly I will mention that hydrating before a ride or run is extremely important. With Summer here I am becoming very aware of this. I can proudly report that I went into the ride Saturday fully hydrated. Urine was clear and frequent bathroom stops kept me updated to this. Thanks for the priceless tools!!

Robin

SPOILED

Our Teams have been formed for the Challenge to Conquer Cancer ride and our training is in full swing. Saturday I met up with some of our team members and we began our 68 mile ride to Saluda and back. This ride offers miles of gradual climbs with maybe two or three nice jumps in grade to make sure you are working hard. I loved how we all worked together and things just clicked on the ride. It was such a enjoyable experience. At the middle point we stopped for a quick snack and bathroom break. For the first half of the ride the clouds protected us but as we headed back we were not so lucky. With about 8 miles do go the heat began to zap me. I was hitting my fluids pretty hard but mentally I was suffering. Not sure if it were all of the GU but I began to get nauseous and I just wanted to reach the car and dive into a bucket of ICE. The ride was great and once I was in the car and headed home I began to feel better. A quick stop at the store for some Ginger Ale and Ice hit the spot.

Sunday offered a nice 18 mile recovery ride with a 2 mile run. Very enjoyable and my legs felt great.

With all of the upcoming organized rides I realize that I will quickly become spoiled by having SAG vehicles and a ton of riders to share the roads with. We even are planning night rides I am really looking forward to all of the weeks of training with this group. My team ROCKS!!

Week in Totals:

Run: 12 miles

Bike: 125 miles

On to another week…

Robin

Liquid FIVE

In an effort to not repeat the same post over and over…. I Ride… I Run I thought today I would post my Favorite Five Liquid Loves….

1. Starting my morning with a Cup Of Love is the only way for me.

2. Chamomile Mint Tea at 1:30pm like clockwork for an afternoon break.

3. Water… need I say more. Tons of water.

4. Cytomax Recovery Sports Drink. Tangy Orange for me.

5. NEW (to me) Michelob Ultra Fruit Infuser Beer. Tuscan Orange 107 calories.

Know what you LOVE people. :)))

So rain has moved in today and with that brings a trainer ride tonight following a brief/wet run. This weekend rides are shaping up nicely. Our team will be doing a 66 miles ride with plenty of hills on Saturday. Sunday will be a recovery ride and then we start the fun all over again.

BRING IT.

Robin

I RUN...

Last week I laced my shoes up to head out with our 15 year old son for a run. I am never one to turn down joining him for a workout. In fact, it is during our runs that we share the best conversations. I allow him to talk and I listen. This motion is at first foreign to me. I have enjoyed weeks of just cycling but after a few strides it all begins to click again. I remember why I began this in the first place and I love the feeling of each step. I am flooded by thoughts of years of racing and training. I still have it. Not the endurance base and speed exactly but the drive. So each day we have arrived home and laced up for another few miles and the minutes become effortless as the conversation begins. What a gift.

Yesterday I ran with Scott. It has been sometime for him as well. Yet with each step we ran and we never stopped. Parts of it were not easy. It was hot. Paces were always identical…yet we ran and we finished together.

Today we will join the Spinners Group for our weekly ride but this week we are adding a short run following our ride. Just a little something to mix it up.

Robin