21st in a row!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

I’ve read or heard somewhere that it takes 21 days to make something a habit. I don’t know about that, but it has been 21 days since I began this little crusade. That’s 21 straight days of regular aerobic exercise. That’s a new record for me, too. Even in my Iron Man training days, I would take the occasional day off to recover and rest. Who says you get wiser as you get older? I know from experience that guys don’t.

Today was more like a late Spring day with temperatures in the mid-60’s and plenty of sun. I thought I would celebrate exercise becoming a habit by taking a longer ride. My plan was to go around 3 hours and maybe 45 miles or so.

There was a decent wind blowing and, of course, it was in my face. My experience with wind is that no matter what direction you travel – even on an out and back, the wind is always in your face. Maybe because I start out into it and it wears me down so that it feels like it’s still blowing in my face for the return trip. I don’t know.

I headed into the valley again and came up Old Mill in 6 minutes. That was a decent effort, but I would probably pay the price for my aggression later in the ride.

Note: If you’re going on the longest ride you been on in over six months, don’t push up the biggest hill on the ride, especially if it’s in the first 20 minutes. That’s just plain stupid. Yet, my friend, camping and training partner, John, would say “what would Lance do?” Well – Lance wouldn’t gain all the weight I’ve gained and he’d kick ass on the little hill I was sweating up and be wondering where his chain was (another note: when you’re really feeling great and riding like a beast – you ask your training partner to look down and see if you have a chain on the bike since it feels sooooo easy).

Anyway, I’m up that hill, but starting to slow. I rode this same course the day before and I know how far I had gotten in the first hour. As I approached that point and checked my watch, I wasn’t surprised to find that I was about five minutes off the pace. Now…this was kinda on purpose. I mean I knew there was a strong head wind (probably 5 mph – yeah, I’m a wuss) and I was going longer so I was saving something for the return trip. I did not want to experience a ‘bonk’ (cyclist term for low glucose/blood sugar levels – the fuel of the aerobic muscle) and the subsequent major slowing that would occur. I’ve had them before and they’re ugly. The muscles store enough glycogen (sugar) to keep going for 1.5 to 2 hours. Training and a diet high in carbohydrates can push that out further, but I wasn’t really there yet.

So…I hit the turnaround and took it up a notch. Bonk, my ass. It had taken 1:25 to get there and I wanted the return to be faster than 1:20. A five-minute negative split on my 21st straight day would be an accomplishment in my book. And…the wind was at my back – where it belonged! I was cruising back and feeling good. I’d hit the occasional snow melt with the accompanying spray covering my legs, but that chilly water felt refreshing. I had no problems with energy on the return, making it in 1:15 – a 10-minute negative split!

Now, though, was the moment of truth. As much as I hate the scale, it beaconed. I wanted to know if I was down after 21 straight days, but I didn’t want bad news when I was feeling this good. Throughout the last three weeks, I’ve watched what I’ve eaten, but I’ve been less than a saint about it. I still maintain that ‘Iron Man’ mentality, which for me said “you’re training so much you can eat anything you want”. It’s what had put me at 206 pounds when I began this odyssey. Oh – to hell with it. I climbed on.

Blinking, blinking…197.

Hot damn. Down another two and nine pounds in three weeks. To celebrate, I went out for a walk with Holly and Dakota. Okay...it would have been a bowl of ice cream...but I'd already finished the container.

Bike duration: 2:40:00. Walk duration: 25 minutes.

Training Heart Rate: 135 bpm for bike. 70 bpm for the walk.

Calories burned during workout: 2,400 for the bike. 125 for the walk.