Dead Weight

YOU GUYS. I think it's going to be in the 50s and not raining on Sunday which means I'll get to brush off the cobwebs and ride my bike! I'm so excited. I think I really needed a few weeks away from riding to really get excited about it again. I've been really enjoying spinning classes lately which is always a bad sign - it means I've forgotten what a real ride feels like.

In the meantime, shall I bore you with more weights talk? Last night I deadlifted 115lb. I deadlifted Jennifer Aniston. This is HUGE for me, considering that a year ago I couldn't even begin to pick up the 70lb pre-set bar at all. I couldn't even conceive of it. My goal is to deadlift my bodyweight and I'm pretty close to that goal.

I was feeling pretty great about this last night until I looked over and the skinny dude next to me was deadlifting FOUR HUNDRED pounds. Sheesh. Whatever. Showoff.

I'm currently working on strength gains, so I'm doing four sets of four reps. Four reps isn't much, so you really have to lift a lot to make it work. I'm stuck at 25lb dumbbells for my dumbbell bench press. It's just too much of a jump to 30lb weights - I can't get them lifted in place. I wish my gym had smaller increments because I can't see how I'm going to make that leap.

Have I bored you enough yet? Anyway, I PROMISE I'll come back to you with a ride report after Sunday. I am determined to spend some time on my bike. In the meantime, check out the photos my husband took the other day when it was all icy and foggy:

Deep Dark Cycling Secret

Here's a secret: I don't actually like to suffer.

Which is why I have a 40 degree rule when it comes to outdoor cycling. I am...what is the word? A wuss. A WUSS. I don't like to be cold, my joints don't like it, my lungs don't like it, my toes don't like it. DO NOT WANT. On New Year's Day I broke that rule and went out with the group for a cold, cold ride, regretting it almost immediately. I don't really have the right gloves or shoes for cold weather and ten minutes into the ride I couldn't feel my fingers (which is grand when they are what pull your brake levers) and I couldn't feel my feet, also important.

I whined, just a little bit. But I stuck with it and eventually everything warmed up except my toes, which just went completely numb, solving that problem. We didn't stay out too long and I was 100% relieved to get back into the warm house full of post-Christmas cookies and whatnot. Gah. I haven't ridden since then. I learned my lesson. I am not currently training for anything and I have two gyms at my disposal, so why suffer?

I don't want to dread the idea of riding my bike, so instead I've been working really hard at the gym. I've been taking three spinning classes every week and continue to lift weights three times a week. It's been enough to keep me fit and the spinning, while not a perfect substitution for riding, at least keeps those muscles going and keeps my bike butt from going soft.

The saddest part: that the photo above? That was taken in DECEMBER. Not long before Christmas. It's so sad that one day it's warm enough to go out in short sleeves and two weeks later the high temperature is 20. What is that? Bleh. Hurry up, spring.

More weight, please.

Hi! So I got a really interesting comment from Jennifer after my last post asking about weight training and gym boredom. I feel you Jennifer, because for the longest time I only took classes at the gym - any solo workout requiring self-motivation was really hard and really boring.

Here's the thing with the weightlifting I've discovered:

1. Most machines are completely bullshit useless. Those Nautilus machines? A waste of time. Now, they're certainly better than nothing, but unless you are a 6 foot tall man, they aren't going to fit you correctly. Also, why would I spend an hour isolating small muscle groups when I can do full-body compound movements (that work EVERYTHING) in half the time?

2. 20+ reps of anything is too many reps. I can't count that high and I get bored. 6-8 reps is a whole different story. I know I can't squat much weight 20 times, but I'm certainly willing to challenge myself for 6 measly reps. That's practically nothing! I should put more plates on the bar. This is how I think: 4-6 reps is a fun challenge, 15-20 reps is pure torture. (I should add this: I used to do B0dyPump and really loved it, but you can only lift so much weight for such high reps. Eventually you top out and need to go heavier and slower. That's what I did.)

3. Getting strong is fun, but being strong is awesome. When you start lifting as a weakling (which I was) and then six months later you can bang out a set of tricep pushups, it feels fantastic. it's even better when you can pick up a really heavy box without even thinking about it. I still have a long way to go, but the changes motivate like nothing else.

4. For a cyclist (especially for a mountain biker like me who doesn't get in long endurance miles) there is no better winter workout than weighted leg work. Again, no press machine, no stupid leg extension machine, do the real work that will allow a full range of natural motion and will force you to work ALL the supporting muscles in your legs, not just the big ones. I'm talking about squats, lunges and step-ups. My hill climbs have gotten so much better since I started lifting.

5. If the gym bores you but you know you have to build some muscle and improve that bone density (Hi, Jennifer!) please consider a program. For me, doing a program is like having a trainer tell me what to do, but it's cheaper and less flaky. I have my exercises, my reps, my instructions, I just need to go and do it. I really recommend The New Rules of Lifting for Women because it's a great place to start and will give you a base of knowledge about lifting like nothing else. I also like that the first six weeks of workouts only takes about 30 minutes each. (Hint: if it seems too easy, you aren't lifting enough weight.)

6. If a program is too much commitment, that's okay. You can always do something like this:

Working out in a dilapidated one-room shack

or if you're a beginner, this:

A weight-lifting routine for beginners


PS. If you saw Jennifer's comment and wondered what story she was talking about, it's here.

Who even counts November, anyway?

Yeah, I missed a month. I haven't been posting here because, as I've said before, it's hard to write about riding the same trails over and over again. I have achieved a few small milestones, though. You know that crazy cement bridge I swore I'd never ride? Yeah, I ride that now. It wasn't a momentous thing, I just kind of rode it one day and ever since then I've felt obligated. I can also ride down the big insane ramp thing, but not so much up it. That just seems harder than it's worth right now. Maybe in the spring.

We've been riding on Sundays, my usual winter ride day, weather permitting. I've been enjoying doing the longer rides (2 1/2 hours is long for me, shut up) with the old gang even if it means I'm hobbling around for the rest of the day. It's worth is to get the fitness in, to get out in the world, to get warm even when it's cold out. Last weekend it was cold and raining, however, and I don't play that. I didn't even leave the house last Sunday.

As for other stuff, I've finished The New Rules of Lifting For Women program and started a new one called Power Training. It's very similar but I get to pick my own exercises which I like because I'll be damned if I ever do another front squat/push press. Hateful. I am required to do front squats which are also hateful, but not as much.

My most recent workout looked something like this:

Squat Jumps - 4 sets of 5 reps
Romanian Deadlifts - 60/6, 65/6, 75/6, 85/6
Dumbell Row (single arm) - 20/6, 25/6, 25/6, 30/6
negative chin-ups - 2
assisted chin-ups - 60/6, 60/6 (meaning, I had the assisted machine set at 60lbs, so I was lifting my body weight minus 60lbs. Woo.)

Then I did a bunch of ab work and 20 minutes of high intensity intervals on the stepmill. Then I scraped myself off the floor and went home for dinner. The End.

Did you think I'd forgotten?

Stop being so grumpy about the lack of posts. I really just haven't been riding anywhere new or exciting. No races, no adventures, just the usual one or two rides a week on local trails. If we didn't have such nice trails around here I'd be forced to go elsewhere, but what can I say? I'm a lucky girl.

We did have one weird thing happen at Powhite last week. K and I were squeezing in an after-work ride and when we got to the top of the hill we heard the sound of gunshots from the neighborhood off to the left. It was one gun, shot after shot after shot. NOT what you want to hear in the middle of a park in the middle of the city. What the hell? It was worse that we couldn't even tell what direction it was coming from or if we were near enough to worry. Bullets gotta come down somewhere. We scrammed out of there and made it home safely.

The light is fading fast, isn't it? A month ago we could ride until 7:30 without having to worry about lights or reflectors and now we have to leave for home by 6:45 because the woods are too dark to see the trail. I have no interest in night-riding (and no funds for a good headlight) so after this week it's going to be weekends only. Sadness. Back to spinning class for me.

It was a great summer, though, and I can ride Northtrail -> Buttermilk -> Buttermilk Heights with my eyes closed. I know all the secrets! Now, if I try to ride it in the other direction it's a totally different trail, so maybe that's what I'll work on this winter. That, and riding Forest Hill again. Too much poison ivy for me.

Here are some photos from, um, August that I should have posted in...August:

Helmet hair at it's finest:

OMG UPDATE.

My bike is getting plenty of use this summer, in case you've been worried. I've just completely run out of ways to write about riding the same trails week after week. My husband and I are boring creatures of habit and we're generally pretty happy riding the local trails over and over again. It's almost never boring except when it is.

I can say with absolute authority that I have LOVED not worrying about training for races this year. Just riding to ride has been so much more fun. (Now, I'm not saying I'll never race again, just not right now.) I'm doing decently well with my riding this summer and I think the weight-lifting has only helped me to be a stronger cyclist - I'm certainly a better climber for it. I'm on Stage 6 of the lifting program I've been doing since February and this stage is focused on working towards doing a chin-up. I can tell you with great confidence that I am nowhere NEAR being able to do a chin-up, but then again, I've never tried before. Even chin-up negatives (where you start at the top of the bar and lower yourself) are stupidly hard for me and I hang there like a sad, limp frog. But I try.

In other news, Kenny and I did actually, honest-to-God travel somewhere different to ride when we had some time off a few weeks ago. Naturally, forgot the camera, so no pictures. We went to Freedom Park in Williamsburg for the first time. Man, those are my kind of trails - no crazy stuff, no scary climbs, just miles and miles of twisty fun single track. We were the only ones out there except for a herd of deer and one adventurous turtle. We spent the afternoon riding and cleared out every single spiderweb for the after-work ride crowd. You're welcome, folks.

And now, here's the other kind of riding I've been doing.

Urban Assault, Paula style

Hi kids! Last weekend was the Urban Assault race, the race I won last year. My friend Paula races Expert and she did the race this year even though I declined. She's adept at winning (though she'll protest this until she's blue in the face) and this race was no exception. This girl races to win, rather than my lame strategy of racing-to-maybe-finish. Anyway, because I did not attend, I asked Paula to be my guest blogger today! Here's her race report:

I’m not generally the blogger type but since a few of my teammates have written about their recent Xterra/Urban Assault race experience, I thought I would give it a go. It was HOT HOT HOT on Saturday. Given the temperatures over the past several weeks, I thought I would have been prepared. I guess saying to myself and many others that “the heat doesn’t bother me” came back to punish me with a vengeance. So much for positive thinking…!

There were only two of us in my category but I came to realize that this had no bearing, whatsoever, on my pre-race jitters. There could have been 20 of us, and it wouldn’t have made a difference. That being said, nerves all aflutter, we were off! I, like Brad, almost bought it over the first berm. Now Brad, being in the beginner category, had an excuse, I did not. I should have known better but I was already on the right side and would have had to go around the whole field of one other person to get into a position in which I didn’t have to launch over the berm. Thinking I would lose precious time doing this, I thought I was playing it smart to go right over the berm.

Continuing the race, down the gravel road…hmmm, everyone says this is where you can gain precious time, being a roadie and all. Well, when it feels like it’s 110 degrees out and you are gasping for breath, this may not be the case. Who knows, I managed to pass a few people and climb the stairs, 9 flights. (I had counted them before, I was prepared.) I wasn’t prepared for my first crash though. I had 12 feet of clearance after I crossed the bridge. Normally, this is not an issue. For some reason, I looked right at the concrete wall and my left handlebar clipped it. Don’t ask me why, perhaps hyper anaerobicism (my new word).

Down I went, with a group of Sport guys behind me. Oh well, what good is a crash if there’s no one to see it? Continuing on, I manage to almost make it up the steep clay hill (my definition of “almost” being over the first big hump), out to Riverside drive and down the dreaded rocky descent. I hate this descent, but phew, I made it down, no, on second thought I didn’t, out of nowhere some guy decides to pass me on the inside, takes the turn too wide and plows into me.

Never asking me if I am o.k., the guy gets back on his bike and pedals away. I yell a few choice words after him, I mean the adrenalin and all…they weren’t real pleasant but I got my point across.

Back on my bike, yikes, what is this horrible pain in my side? Have I fractured a rib? Will it puncture my lung? I’m short of breath, I’m dizzy…no maybe that’s just the heat. “I guess it’s not excruciating pain I say to myself” so I decide to continue on. On to Forest Hill, this was pretty uneventful although my ribs are feeling the climbs. I reach the end and, given that I did an endo there last year in front of the crowd, I decide I will not give them a show this year. I prudently dismount to go back into the tunnel. O.k., I’m past most of the real technical stuff, now I can really start to gain some time.

Ouch, what is this pain in my legs? Am I cramping, has my newly-deflated lung robbed my muscles of the precious oxygen they need? Drink, drink, drink I say forgetting all about the two Cliff shots that would have been of great benefit, I continue on. Down that gravel road (again) up the stairs, this time clearing the concrete wall with ease. I finish Buttermilk, cross over the Nickel Bridge, Northbank….legs are really starting to cramp but I am reaching the end…I pick it up here, I mean I want to look like I rode the race that fast the entire time as I cross over the finish line. The heat is excruciating but I am done! Some guy I have never seen before comes up to me with a bottle of COLD water and tells me this is the last one there is…I am too stunned to thank him as much as he deserves…I am finished. (Until next year that is!)

(Note how she doesn't mention she won? That Paula. I'll have photos to post as soon as PhotoBucket stops freaking out. )