Thank God it’s Spring. Now I can get my bike out and ride in some decent weather. Oh…wait a minute. We never had a winter and I never stopped riding.
It was another amazing day as the temperatures climbed into the lower 80’s again…breaking all kinds of Northeast Ohio records. This is the part of global warming I like since time outdoors riding is infinitely better than the trainer. On the flip side, if it means the summer temperatures will be running around 100 degrees for weeks on end, I’d gladly put time on the trainer through the winter. Time will tell. For now, I’ll continue to take full advantage of great riding weather.
Which I did with a ride through Gates Mills and on to my Mulberry course. I’d ridden it in pr time on my last out and decided that I needed a little restraint to avoid cramping legs. I rode conservatively through my first hour and found myself only two minutes behind my record pace. I still held myself in check and ended just that way…two minutes off the course record…and feeling good about my conditioning.
I drove to the Metropark to meet Savannah for a Survival Workout. She’s been talking about it since our first one, saying she was a little sore but looking forward to trying again. I started with a new push-up pr of 80, but with the inverted positioning and the blood pooling in my head, felt like it would pop towards the end. I dropped my feet from the rail and looked up at Savannah, holding up eight fingers.
“Dad…you’re head’s purple…and I’m sure you did more than 8,” she said.
“Eighty,” I mumbled as I climbed to my feet and headed for the pull-up branch and she began her dips.
She did 13 push-ups and 20 dips…both numbers higher than her first effort, which pleased her greatly.
“Just challenge yourself to do one or two more every time you come out. Having a goal makes you do more…and that’s what brings the improvement,” I said.
She pushed herself harder on the picnic table hops…she’d practiced them in the playground near our house the previous day..and managed 12 in sixty seconds. She’d struggled trying to shimmy the swing set pole the first time and that pattern continued. She just didn’t possess the upper body strength, even when using her legs, to pull herself up the pole.
“Did Heidi make it to the top?” she asked, wondering if her sister was stronger than her.
“Yeah…but she was using her legs and seemed to have a better grip with them,” I said.
She tried the swing set abs exercise, saying it was her favorite. Everyone seems to feel that way. It involves hooking your feet on the swing seat, face down and in the push-up positions and then bringing your knees towards your chest as your butt moves up. Balancing on your hands and conducting this move forces the involvement of upper body muscles and the core working together…something you’d like to make happen in as many different exercises as you can…the point of the Survival Workout…functional movements.
Savannah noticed the time…about 7:30 p.m. and worried that we wouldn’t be home in time for the beginning of ‘Survivor’. As we began picking up the pace for the return to the car, I noticed a huge presence overhead and looked to see an eagle. I excitedly pointed it out to her…and got the typical Rolf girl response.
“It’s really just a bird, dad,” she said.
Aagghhh. Holly poisons another one.
Survival Workout: 60 minutes. Bike duration: One hour and 45 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100-150 for SW and 80 for the hike.
Calories burned: 600 for SW, 1475 for the bike.
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