Friday, August 05, 2011
I drove to Akron after work to pick up Heidi and on the way home, tried to convince her she should join me in the woods for the Survival Workout. I wanted her to experience it, but I also want her to photograph the different exercises I perform for a brochure and web site I’m creating. “Next weekend for sure,” she said as a way of mollifying me. It was hot and she was supposed to join Savannah on a baby sitting tour, which to her way of thinking was a better gig.
I got to the park late, which is good in that its cooler and on a Friday night, there are few people around…providing more serenity. I started with pull-ups and hit double digits…10…though barely. Still…I was thrilled since I couldn’t do one when I started the blog. I’m always looking for ways to measure improvement. We need positive feedback and knowing I can do a couple of more of anything helps keep me focused and excited that my program is working.
It turned out to be a good…not a great…workout. I just wasn’t getting the reps I wanted to, but did what I could. Maybe the heat…maybe just a little tired from hard workouts in the heat earlier in the week. No big deal because tomorrow should be a tough double of chopping trees and digging out roots at Mimi’s followed by a ride of some duration. The forecast unfortunately remains “hot as hell”.
I received information from John that I reported incorrectly on his Oreo consumption in a previous blog. As readers know…I strive for accuracy. He claims he eats no more than half a pack of cookies each night, which I challenged. “Well…maybe two-thirds some nights.”
Survival Workout duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100 to 150 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 600
Monday, August 8, 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
"Honda's done..."
Thursday, August 4, 2011
I called Dan late in the day and he indicated he’d have the Honda done before dark. “I’m just gonna take a long ride out to see you then and I’ll get there around 8. What’ll I do if you’re not done?” He’s always done when he says he will be…but if he wasn’t, it would be too dark to ride home. “Guess I’ll give you a ride,” he said. He says little, which is okay because I say so much.
I left around 6:30 p.m. and took a route that would take around 90 minutes. It gets dark by 8:30 p.m. now, so I was cutting it close…I don’t ride in the dark. Things were going well and I was riding strong about 45 minutes from his place when I felt the back tire going flat. I can get flats when I’ve got my bike in the car, but this was the first one since John gave me his bike. The rear tire…its always the rear tire because its such a bitch to change…was flat. Fortunately, I’d purchased two tubes on my last trip to the bike store and quickly went about changing it out. I quickly noticed the tire was thread bare…why I hadn’t seen this earlier I don’t know…and hoped the new tube would make it to Dan’s. I re-inflated…able to put about 90 pounds with a hand-held pump and well below the 125 psi I prefer…and got on the road. Having low pressure in the back tire slows you down since the tire is now flattening out more and putting more rubber in contact with the road…friction slows you. I was worried I’d never get to Dan’s before dark, so started pushing harder. I came across a pack of four riders working together and hammered past them. I pulled into Dan’s drive as dark was closing in around us. I was feeling twitchy and asked him for something to drink with sugar and salt in it. “Got water,” he said. “You don’t have anything else? What do you put on your cereal in the morning,” I wondered. He looked at me as if I’d gone daft. “Water,” he said…again.
I left Dan for home…a civilized place where people put milk on their cereal…and made a great smoothie and fried up some catfish fillets in an egg and corn meal batter. It was actually pretty good. I’d weighed in after my shower…the first time in over a week because I was sure I was up some from all the dessert I’d eaten over the weekend…but again I was down. I’m not at 182 pounds and the 170’s are seeming like a reality. My friend Randy is concerned that I’m placing too much emphasis on the weight and should re-introduce some junk food into my diet, but I explained to him (we were texting) how the smoothies were my junk, which I loved, and the weight was coming off without a lot of effort. His texts suggested that I should also relax and enjoy the workouts instead of pushing so hard all the time…but I don’t push the biking so much though I do try to beat old pr’s on the Survival Workout.
His points were well made, though. Often time’s people get too wrapped up in pushing all the time and injuries follow. Or the intensity is so great…diet or exercise…that it can’t be maintained. I’m not feeling that way on either front…which is good. Thanks for worrying, Postman…and do your run today.
Bike workout: One hour and 40 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 130 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1,500.
I called Dan late in the day and he indicated he’d have the Honda done before dark. “I’m just gonna take a long ride out to see you then and I’ll get there around 8. What’ll I do if you’re not done?” He’s always done when he says he will be…but if he wasn’t, it would be too dark to ride home. “Guess I’ll give you a ride,” he said. He says little, which is okay because I say so much.
I left around 6:30 p.m. and took a route that would take around 90 minutes. It gets dark by 8:30 p.m. now, so I was cutting it close…I don’t ride in the dark. Things were going well and I was riding strong about 45 minutes from his place when I felt the back tire going flat. I can get flats when I’ve got my bike in the car, but this was the first one since John gave me his bike. The rear tire…its always the rear tire because its such a bitch to change…was flat. Fortunately, I’d purchased two tubes on my last trip to the bike store and quickly went about changing it out. I quickly noticed the tire was thread bare…why I hadn’t seen this earlier I don’t know…and hoped the new tube would make it to Dan’s. I re-inflated…able to put about 90 pounds with a hand-held pump and well below the 125 psi I prefer…and got on the road. Having low pressure in the back tire slows you down since the tire is now flattening out more and putting more rubber in contact with the road…friction slows you. I was worried I’d never get to Dan’s before dark, so started pushing harder. I came across a pack of four riders working together and hammered past them. I pulled into Dan’s drive as dark was closing in around us. I was feeling twitchy and asked him for something to drink with sugar and salt in it. “Got water,” he said. “You don’t have anything else? What do you put on your cereal in the morning,” I wondered. He looked at me as if I’d gone daft. “Water,” he said…again.
I left Dan for home…a civilized place where people put milk on their cereal…and made a great smoothie and fried up some catfish fillets in an egg and corn meal batter. It was actually pretty good. I’d weighed in after my shower…the first time in over a week because I was sure I was up some from all the dessert I’d eaten over the weekend…but again I was down. I’m not at 182 pounds and the 170’s are seeming like a reality. My friend Randy is concerned that I’m placing too much emphasis on the weight and should re-introduce some junk food into my diet, but I explained to him (we were texting) how the smoothies were my junk, which I loved, and the weight was coming off without a lot of effort. His texts suggested that I should also relax and enjoy the workouts instead of pushing so hard all the time…but I don’t push the biking so much though I do try to beat old pr’s on the Survival Workout.
His points were well made, though. Often time’s people get too wrapped up in pushing all the time and injuries follow. Or the intensity is so great…diet or exercise…that it can’t be maintained. I’m not feeling that way on either front…which is good. Thanks for worrying, Postman…and do your run today.
Bike workout: One hour and 40 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 130 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1,500.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Giving up Oreos and losing nine pounds...
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
John and I were talking about his recent trip to Fenway Park and our last bike ride when he mentioned his weight. “I’m down nine pounds in nine days,” he said. I know this seems impossible unless you know John and his addiction to Oreo cookies. “Dude…I sit down to the computer around 10 p.m. every night and eat an entire package of them…with milk, of course,” he told me recently. “Seriously? Every night? An entire package?” I found it hard to believe, but he assured me it was true. And we’re talking one of those packages with three rows of cookies…I don’t know…60 or so? Why the guy isn’t a diabetic I don’t know. Why he doesn’t weigh more than 160 pounds when he IS eating them…I really don’t understand. Anyway…he hasn’t eaten any in nine days and I sense a crash on the horizon.
Then I’m riding home with my nephew and his two friends last Friday and they get to talking about Chicken McNuggets…the 50-pak. “Wait…what? Did you say you ate a 50-pak at one sitting?” Matt responded that he’d been challenged by Nathan and had to answer the challenge. They’d been at Cedar Point and stopped after leaving the park. He was given the ride home to Mentor to complete the task…which he did as they were exiting. I looked up the nutritional information on a McNugget…and it’s ugly. Each piece has 46 calories, 2.9 grams of fat and 101 mg of sodium. That’s 2,300 calories and 145 grams of fat in one hour! Oh…and the guy’s a rail, though I don’t think he eats this way too often. Still…I’m gagging thinking about it.
I got back to the park for the Survival Workout and was pleased to do nine pull-ups at the start. Double digits just around the corner. I’d had a couple of days away from the routine since losing my car so I figured to be fresh and pop off some big numbers on my lifts. Instead, I found that because of the rain, the rocks and logs were too slippery for me to keep a good grip and I was doing fewer reps, instead. My knee has been feeling really strong of late, so I did work in the picnic table hops…though I kept it to only 10 repeats to see what tomorrow brings. I also managed to break my three-set push-up record with 142 repetitions.
Later that night, I discovered Jack had consumed the last banana…which I’ve found to be critical to the smoothie recipe. I needed something though, so I started loading the blender. I put in an orange, a mushy apple, yogurt, some blueberries and apple cider. I figured the combination of fruit would be a bad taste but good for me and was surprised to find that it was really tasty. Maybe I don’t have to have bananas.
A final note: Kim texted to say she was riding through canyon lands and desert near Hanksville, Utah. She has five more days on the bike before going to Las Vegas to catch a flight home. If there not already, they’ll soon be over 3,000 miles of riding.
Survival Workout duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100 to 150 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 600
John and I were talking about his recent trip to Fenway Park and our last bike ride when he mentioned his weight. “I’m down nine pounds in nine days,” he said. I know this seems impossible unless you know John and his addiction to Oreo cookies. “Dude…I sit down to the computer around 10 p.m. every night and eat an entire package of them…with milk, of course,” he told me recently. “Seriously? Every night? An entire package?” I found it hard to believe, but he assured me it was true. And we’re talking one of those packages with three rows of cookies…I don’t know…60 or so? Why the guy isn’t a diabetic I don’t know. Why he doesn’t weigh more than 160 pounds when he IS eating them…I really don’t understand. Anyway…he hasn’t eaten any in nine days and I sense a crash on the horizon.
Then I’m riding home with my nephew and his two friends last Friday and they get to talking about Chicken McNuggets…the 50-pak. “Wait…what? Did you say you ate a 50-pak at one sitting?” Matt responded that he’d been challenged by Nathan and had to answer the challenge. They’d been at Cedar Point and stopped after leaving the park. He was given the ride home to Mentor to complete the task…which he did as they were exiting. I looked up the nutritional information on a McNugget…and it’s ugly. Each piece has 46 calories, 2.9 grams of fat and 101 mg of sodium. That’s 2,300 calories and 145 grams of fat in one hour! Oh…and the guy’s a rail, though I don’t think he eats this way too often. Still…I’m gagging thinking about it.
I got back to the park for the Survival Workout and was pleased to do nine pull-ups at the start. Double digits just around the corner. I’d had a couple of days away from the routine since losing my car so I figured to be fresh and pop off some big numbers on my lifts. Instead, I found that because of the rain, the rocks and logs were too slippery for me to keep a good grip and I was doing fewer reps, instead. My knee has been feeling really strong of late, so I did work in the picnic table hops…though I kept it to only 10 repeats to see what tomorrow brings. I also managed to break my three-set push-up record with 142 repetitions.
Later that night, I discovered Jack had consumed the last banana…which I’ve found to be critical to the smoothie recipe. I needed something though, so I started loading the blender. I put in an orange, a mushy apple, yogurt, some blueberries and apple cider. I figured the combination of fruit would be a bad taste but good for me and was surprised to find that it was really tasty. Maybe I don’t have to have bananas.
A final note: Kim texted to say she was riding through canyon lands and desert near Hanksville, Utah. She has five more days on the bike before going to Las Vegas to catch a flight home. If there not already, they’ll soon be over 3,000 miles of riding.
Survival Workout duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100 to 150 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 600
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Another long ride...
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
With the car in the shop I found myself stranded until my neighbors’ with the pool came to the rescue. They have this extra car sitting in the driveway that only seems to get used in inclement weather…when Pat doesn’t want to take out the sports car or one of his motorcycles. We’ve got a pretty special friendship and when I asked about using the car, they were happy to lend it. Now…I’ll take my own car to the park, do a workout, and climb back in all sweaty after placing a couple of layers of towels on the seats…but I didn’t want to do that to their car so I skipped the Survival Workout and came home after work. This is usually a bad idea for me…I start to get caught up in what’s happening around the house and never do a workout…but I wasn’t going to let that happen. Holly was gone to Akron with the remaining vehicle so I had no good way to get to the park (I could ride but I don’t want to leave the bike unattended while I do the workout) so I decided I’d ride the bike.
I opted for the Auburn Road route and when I reached the intersection of Auburn and Wilson Mills, decided that Dan probably needed a visit from me so I could check the progress on the Honda. I pulled in his driveway to see he wasn’t there and the Honda was on the blocks and disassembled. I called him and he informed me it was definitely the water pump and he’d probably have it together the next day. “Are you riding my bike?” he asked. I assured him the 20 years he’d left it collecting dust in his attic had done nothing good for it and that I’d have it for a little while longer before anyone rode it…safely. “You and I will be riding together before this summer is over,” I warned before hanging up to finish the ride.
I’d had some cramping in my quads for the first time in a long time during my ride with John on Sunday, so I was expecting to get some more. I rode pretty hard and was three minutes ahead of what he and I had done after climbing the monster hill up Kirtland/Chardon Road. I stopped at the cemetery briefly to fill my water bottles and pushed on. Surprisingly, I completed the ride with no cramping despite the extreme humidity and the length (2 hours and 30 minutes) of the ride. I went for an immediate swim once home and then started eating all the wrong foods. I had a couple of pieces of pizza and two turkey breast and tomato sandwiches. The sandwiches weren’t too bad…I shouldn’t have eaten the bread, but I’d let myself get too hungry and had nothing real Paleo in the house. I did wash it down with an excellent smoothie I made with a banana, a cup of blueberries, yogurt and apple cider. Long bike rides tend to cover a lot of eating sins.
Bike workout: Two hours and 30 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 130 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 2,200.
With the car in the shop I found myself stranded until my neighbors’ with the pool came to the rescue. They have this extra car sitting in the driveway that only seems to get used in inclement weather…when Pat doesn’t want to take out the sports car or one of his motorcycles. We’ve got a pretty special friendship and when I asked about using the car, they were happy to lend it. Now…I’ll take my own car to the park, do a workout, and climb back in all sweaty after placing a couple of layers of towels on the seats…but I didn’t want to do that to their car so I skipped the Survival Workout and came home after work. This is usually a bad idea for me…I start to get caught up in what’s happening around the house and never do a workout…but I wasn’t going to let that happen. Holly was gone to Akron with the remaining vehicle so I had no good way to get to the park (I could ride but I don’t want to leave the bike unattended while I do the workout) so I decided I’d ride the bike.
I opted for the Auburn Road route and when I reached the intersection of Auburn and Wilson Mills, decided that Dan probably needed a visit from me so I could check the progress on the Honda. I pulled in his driveway to see he wasn’t there and the Honda was on the blocks and disassembled. I called him and he informed me it was definitely the water pump and he’d probably have it together the next day. “Are you riding my bike?” he asked. I assured him the 20 years he’d left it collecting dust in his attic had done nothing good for it and that I’d have it for a little while longer before anyone rode it…safely. “You and I will be riding together before this summer is over,” I warned before hanging up to finish the ride.
I’d had some cramping in my quads for the first time in a long time during my ride with John on Sunday, so I was expecting to get some more. I rode pretty hard and was three minutes ahead of what he and I had done after climbing the monster hill up Kirtland/Chardon Road. I stopped at the cemetery briefly to fill my water bottles and pushed on. Surprisingly, I completed the ride with no cramping despite the extreme humidity and the length (2 hours and 30 minutes) of the ride. I went for an immediate swim once home and then started eating all the wrong foods. I had a couple of pieces of pizza and two turkey breast and tomato sandwiches. The sandwiches weren’t too bad…I shouldn’t have eaten the bread, but I’d let myself get too hungry and had nothing real Paleo in the house. I did wash it down with an excellent smoothie I made with a banana, a cup of blueberries, yogurt and apple cider. Long bike rides tend to cover a lot of eating sins.
Bike workout: Two hours and 30 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 130 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 2,200.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Gotta love old cars...
Monday, August 1, 2011
It was another hot, sultry day and driving in dress clothes to an appointment, I found it necessary to turn on the air conditioning in the Honda…only the Honda didn’t think this was such a good plan. I’d noticed that it wasn’t particularly cold air that was shooting into my face from the vent when my eyes wandered to the temperature gauge and noticed it was flirting with the red zone. I immediately pulled over the car in some shade and went about investigating the cause. The radiator was down a quart even though it was only a month old, so I filled it and called Dan. “Are the fans working when it gets hot? Maybe I forgot to plug it back in when I put in the new radiator,” he said…a little worried he’d screwed up. He hadn’t and it was working. We agreed I’d stop out that night for him to have a look.
With the air conditioning off, I made my way to my next appointment without incident. At the day’s end, I headed for Mimi’s to see what interesting work she had for me. She wanted me to take down what she’d called trees and I called big bushes…with a chainsaw. I looked at them…and at her…and said I could bite through them. “I don’t want you hurting yourself,” she kept saying but I guess she forgets what a finely tuned physical specimen I am. “I’m a finely tuned physical specimen, Mimi…this is no big deal. Get a dump truck to drop 5 yards of mulch in the driveway too and I’ll spread it after I’ve pulled out these ‘trees’,” I told her.
With that, I left for Dan’s. I wanted to get there quickly and get back to the park to do the Survival Workout before dark. He hopped in the car after checking under the hood and seeing nothing so we could put it to the test. With the air conditioning on full tilt, we went for a ride. Of course it worked perfectly and there was no sign of overheating. I was backing out of the driveway to go home when I saw Dan bending to the ground, putting his finger into something where my car had been, and waving me back into the driveway. In short order, he discovered the water pump was leaking…and the Honda was staying. “Should have brought your bike,” he said as I called Holly to come and rescue me. While we were waiting for her to arrive, I made Dan climb over his garage in the storage area and pull his bike out. It was a beautiful Univega with Dura Ace components…which are the best. I told him I’d take it home and get it road ready while he was fixing the car and then we’d ride. “Deal,” he said.
Holly and I drove to Chagrin Falls for dinner at Joey’s, but once seated and having reviewed the menu, decided that it was too pricey. I’m not cheap, but I hate paying $20 for a piece of lasagna. I do know what goes into it…and it ain’t worth THAT much. We ended up at Yours Truly instead where I ate salmon, a salad and the oriental vegetables…very Paleo.
Bottom line…no exercise though I have now set up Saturday to be a major calorie burner in Mimi’s yard. If I add a bike or Survival Workout to that day, I’ll easily make up for missing today. Sometimes…shit happens.
It was another hot, sultry day and driving in dress clothes to an appointment, I found it necessary to turn on the air conditioning in the Honda…only the Honda didn’t think this was such a good plan. I’d noticed that it wasn’t particularly cold air that was shooting into my face from the vent when my eyes wandered to the temperature gauge and noticed it was flirting with the red zone. I immediately pulled over the car in some shade and went about investigating the cause. The radiator was down a quart even though it was only a month old, so I filled it and called Dan. “Are the fans working when it gets hot? Maybe I forgot to plug it back in when I put in the new radiator,” he said…a little worried he’d screwed up. He hadn’t and it was working. We agreed I’d stop out that night for him to have a look.
With the air conditioning off, I made my way to my next appointment without incident. At the day’s end, I headed for Mimi’s to see what interesting work she had for me. She wanted me to take down what she’d called trees and I called big bushes…with a chainsaw. I looked at them…and at her…and said I could bite through them. “I don’t want you hurting yourself,” she kept saying but I guess she forgets what a finely tuned physical specimen I am. “I’m a finely tuned physical specimen, Mimi…this is no big deal. Get a dump truck to drop 5 yards of mulch in the driveway too and I’ll spread it after I’ve pulled out these ‘trees’,” I told her.
With that, I left for Dan’s. I wanted to get there quickly and get back to the park to do the Survival Workout before dark. He hopped in the car after checking under the hood and seeing nothing so we could put it to the test. With the air conditioning on full tilt, we went for a ride. Of course it worked perfectly and there was no sign of overheating. I was backing out of the driveway to go home when I saw Dan bending to the ground, putting his finger into something where my car had been, and waving me back into the driveway. In short order, he discovered the water pump was leaking…and the Honda was staying. “Should have brought your bike,” he said as I called Holly to come and rescue me. While we were waiting for her to arrive, I made Dan climb over his garage in the storage area and pull his bike out. It was a beautiful Univega with Dura Ace components…which are the best. I told him I’d take it home and get it road ready while he was fixing the car and then we’d ride. “Deal,” he said.
Holly and I drove to Chagrin Falls for dinner at Joey’s, but once seated and having reviewed the menu, decided that it was too pricey. I’m not cheap, but I hate paying $20 for a piece of lasagna. I do know what goes into it…and it ain’t worth THAT much. We ended up at Yours Truly instead where I ate salmon, a salad and the oriental vegetables…very Paleo.
Bottom line…no exercise though I have now set up Saturday to be a major calorie burner in Mimi’s yard. If I add a bike or Survival Workout to that day, I’ll easily make up for missing today. Sometimes…shit happens.
Monday, August 1, 2011
John hits a wall...
Sunday, July 31, 2011
John has been consistently kicking my butt on our rides since he go his new, ultra lightweight bicycle a couple of months ago. As Lance would say though “it’s not about the bike” and it isn’t entirely. I’m riding as well as I have in years, but John has been training diligently and it’s paying off. Still…I’d like to kick his ass on a ride again.
We headed out in the heat of the afternoon for a long ride. My plan was to take the Waite Hill course and continue on to Auburn Road south and come back along Pekin. This could take 3 hours and included a lot of hills. I was feeling strong at the start, but purposely held back…trying to spin the legs and avoid the cramps I’ve been getting in my quads when I go out too hard. John has always been the hare…he goes hard early. We made our way to the monster hill on Kirtland/Chardon Road and he motored ahead. Towards the top of the 1.5 mile climb, I noticed I was reeling him in. We pulled into All Souls Cemetery to refresh our water bottles and short break. When the break ran to ten minutes, I suspected John wasn’t feeling well, though he didn’t say anything. We headed out, picking up Auburn south and making our way towards Pekin. On another long climb, I noticed he was dropping way back. Now…my first reaction was to bury him entirely…but I’m not that kind of guy so I slowed at the top and allowed him to catch up. “I’m bonking dude…is there anywhere we can get some Gatorade or something?” We were kind of in the middle of no-freaking-where and I said, “we’re kind of in the middle of no-freaking-where” when I remembered there was Speedway service station with a grocery at the intersection of Auburn and Rt. 87. “We’ll have to ride another mile out of the way and up some more hills…but for you, I’ll do it,” I said.
We rode slowly and were almost there when I asked John if he had any money. “Oh…shit…I think maybe…” he said. Once we stopped, he found a ten-dollar bill in his bag so we went inside and grabbed fruit drinks and a Cliff Bar. He drank two bottles and rested in the shade for 30 minutes before we began again…still 20 miles from home.
Bonking is unpleasant. It occurs when you’ve been doing some kind of aerobic exercise for an extended period of time…let’s say two hours of hard riding over a hilly terrain…and your blood sugar levels are running low. The energy you need to keep your leg muscles firing hard begins to wane and your performance suffers quickly. I’ve been there on more than one occasion and once it hits, there is little you can do except to slow down and try to replace the carbs. The ride home would be long and painful, but he’d get through…and he did.
We arrived back home after 3 hours of riding and headed for the pool. I made John a smoothie to complete his recovery and sent him home. I continued to burn calories though as I cleaned out my shed so that I could move things from the garage to make way for my new exercise station I was building there…more on that later. I continued to pour sweat as I worked and did so for the next two hours. In all, I probably dropped 10 pounds of water throughout the day and would have to be careful to replace it all before another bout in the unrelenting heat wave that has smothered the city.
Oh yeah…I had more of Holly’s dessert, too.
Bike workout: Three hours.
Training Heart Rate: 130 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 2,500.
John has been consistently kicking my butt on our rides since he go his new, ultra lightweight bicycle a couple of months ago. As Lance would say though “it’s not about the bike” and it isn’t entirely. I’m riding as well as I have in years, but John has been training diligently and it’s paying off. Still…I’d like to kick his ass on a ride again.
We headed out in the heat of the afternoon for a long ride. My plan was to take the Waite Hill course and continue on to Auburn Road south and come back along Pekin. This could take 3 hours and included a lot of hills. I was feeling strong at the start, but purposely held back…trying to spin the legs and avoid the cramps I’ve been getting in my quads when I go out too hard. John has always been the hare…he goes hard early. We made our way to the monster hill on Kirtland/Chardon Road and he motored ahead. Towards the top of the 1.5 mile climb, I noticed I was reeling him in. We pulled into All Souls Cemetery to refresh our water bottles and short break. When the break ran to ten minutes, I suspected John wasn’t feeling well, though he didn’t say anything. We headed out, picking up Auburn south and making our way towards Pekin. On another long climb, I noticed he was dropping way back. Now…my first reaction was to bury him entirely…but I’m not that kind of guy so I slowed at the top and allowed him to catch up. “I’m bonking dude…is there anywhere we can get some Gatorade or something?” We were kind of in the middle of no-freaking-where and I said, “we’re kind of in the middle of no-freaking-where” when I remembered there was Speedway service station with a grocery at the intersection of Auburn and Rt. 87. “We’ll have to ride another mile out of the way and up some more hills…but for you, I’ll do it,” I said.
We rode slowly and were almost there when I asked John if he had any money. “Oh…shit…I think maybe…” he said. Once we stopped, he found a ten-dollar bill in his bag so we went inside and grabbed fruit drinks and a Cliff Bar. He drank two bottles and rested in the shade for 30 minutes before we began again…still 20 miles from home.
Bonking is unpleasant. It occurs when you’ve been doing some kind of aerobic exercise for an extended period of time…let’s say two hours of hard riding over a hilly terrain…and your blood sugar levels are running low. The energy you need to keep your leg muscles firing hard begins to wane and your performance suffers quickly. I’ve been there on more than one occasion and once it hits, there is little you can do except to slow down and try to replace the carbs. The ride home would be long and painful, but he’d get through…and he did.
We arrived back home after 3 hours of riding and headed for the pool. I made John a smoothie to complete his recovery and sent him home. I continued to burn calories though as I cleaned out my shed so that I could move things from the garage to make way for my new exercise station I was building there…more on that later. I continued to pour sweat as I worked and did so for the next two hours. In all, I probably dropped 10 pounds of water throughout the day and would have to be careful to replace it all before another bout in the unrelenting heat wave that has smothered the city.
Oh yeah…I had more of Holly’s dessert, too.
Bike workout: Three hours.
Training Heart Rate: 130 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 2,500.
Please don't be a kidney stone...
Saturday, July 30, 2011
I rolled out of bed around 7 a.m. to head for the park and a meeting with my nutritionist, Bob, for a Survival Workout. He’s in great shape and I knew I’d be pushing harder than usual both to assure him of a good workout…and to do more than him. I was changing when I began to feel a dull ache in the right side of my lower back…about the place where the kidney resides. I’ve gone through kidney stones on two separate occasions and know the pain pretty well and this was feeling a lot like that. As I drove to the park, the pain became more acute, but I continued on hoping it was something else. Bob called to say he was running late…he always is…so I started doing some of the workout hoping it would alleviate the pain. Amazingly, it seemed to. By the time Bob arrived, I’d done a set of push-ups, dips and rows with my log. I showed him what to do and he jumped in. I spotted the perfect pull-up limb across from our cars…it’s been there since I started coming here and I don’t know how I’ve missed it…so we both did a set. I managed a new pr with 8 and he could only do 6…excellent. He was a little disappointed in the performance but I reminded him he’d already done over 60 push-ups, 40 triceps dips and rowing with a 100-pound log. “Besides that Bob…I’m close to 60 and you’re not that far behind,” I reminded him.
We headed down the trail where, after demonstrating the high hop I perform as a power move for the gluts, discovered he had a two-inch vertical. “Seriously…that’s all the higher you can jump? Watch me again and do this,” I scolded. He watched and tried some more…but despite a body fat of about 7 percent and having excellent conditioning, he couldn’t go up.
We lifted rocks and logs (he brushed dirt from his hands like a little girl) as we proceeded down the trail. When we reached the point for abdominal work, I noticed him scanning the ground for the least dirty place to plant himself. “Bob…its all dirt and that’s part of the workout. Just drop and go,” I said, covered in sweat and mud and not caring a hoot. Reluctantly he found a spot and went to work. I had him doing some more jump ups while I watched…still avoiding explosive moves that could inflame the meniscus…and egging him on to do more, faster. I wanted to puke him out and I know I can…he’s in that good of shape. We made our way back to the car and Bob passed on the last sets of lifts claiming that his neck hurt a little from the overhead rock press. I cut him some slack, but continued to do all my sets…more to show off than anything. Once back to the cars, he complimented me on the workout and commented on my conditioning. “You can really see that you’ve lost a lot of fat from the workouts and the Paleo Diet. I can see the cut again,” he said. I beamed inside from the compliment. Bob has known me since my triathloning days…so he knows what I’m aiming for.
As I drove home, the back pain returned. I had to get to the Beaver Marsh for my volunteer work as a Wildlife Watcher for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, but I was beginning to wonder if that would happen. I drove there in some pain, but it never seemed to get any worse so I went with it. If it is a kidney stone, it could be the result of all of the sweating and not getting proper rehydration. I continued to sweat for the next two hours in the sun though I had remembered to bring water and went through 32 ounces.
That night Holly and I joined a couple at Blossom for the Cleveland Orchestra where I managed to eat poorly. Holly had made some amazing dessert that included two kinds of pudding, peanut butter, butter, chocolate fudge and a graham cracker and something crust. It was heavenly and I couldn’t resist…well didn’t anyway. I knew I’d be riding long tomorrow with John and just decided what the hell…I’d burn it off then. Sometimes…I do these things, but now the focus is there and it will be okay.
Survival Workout duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100 to 150 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 600
I rolled out of bed around 7 a.m. to head for the park and a meeting with my nutritionist, Bob, for a Survival Workout. He’s in great shape and I knew I’d be pushing harder than usual both to assure him of a good workout…and to do more than him. I was changing when I began to feel a dull ache in the right side of my lower back…about the place where the kidney resides. I’ve gone through kidney stones on two separate occasions and know the pain pretty well and this was feeling a lot like that. As I drove to the park, the pain became more acute, but I continued on hoping it was something else. Bob called to say he was running late…he always is…so I started doing some of the workout hoping it would alleviate the pain. Amazingly, it seemed to. By the time Bob arrived, I’d done a set of push-ups, dips and rows with my log. I showed him what to do and he jumped in. I spotted the perfect pull-up limb across from our cars…it’s been there since I started coming here and I don’t know how I’ve missed it…so we both did a set. I managed a new pr with 8 and he could only do 6…excellent. He was a little disappointed in the performance but I reminded him he’d already done over 60 push-ups, 40 triceps dips and rowing with a 100-pound log. “Besides that Bob…I’m close to 60 and you’re not that far behind,” I reminded him.
We headed down the trail where, after demonstrating the high hop I perform as a power move for the gluts, discovered he had a two-inch vertical. “Seriously…that’s all the higher you can jump? Watch me again and do this,” I scolded. He watched and tried some more…but despite a body fat of about 7 percent and having excellent conditioning, he couldn’t go up.
We lifted rocks and logs (he brushed dirt from his hands like a little girl) as we proceeded down the trail. When we reached the point for abdominal work, I noticed him scanning the ground for the least dirty place to plant himself. “Bob…its all dirt and that’s part of the workout. Just drop and go,” I said, covered in sweat and mud and not caring a hoot. Reluctantly he found a spot and went to work. I had him doing some more jump ups while I watched…still avoiding explosive moves that could inflame the meniscus…and egging him on to do more, faster. I wanted to puke him out and I know I can…he’s in that good of shape. We made our way back to the car and Bob passed on the last sets of lifts claiming that his neck hurt a little from the overhead rock press. I cut him some slack, but continued to do all my sets…more to show off than anything. Once back to the cars, he complimented me on the workout and commented on my conditioning. “You can really see that you’ve lost a lot of fat from the workouts and the Paleo Diet. I can see the cut again,” he said. I beamed inside from the compliment. Bob has known me since my triathloning days…so he knows what I’m aiming for.
As I drove home, the back pain returned. I had to get to the Beaver Marsh for my volunteer work as a Wildlife Watcher for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, but I was beginning to wonder if that would happen. I drove there in some pain, but it never seemed to get any worse so I went with it. If it is a kidney stone, it could be the result of all of the sweating and not getting proper rehydration. I continued to sweat for the next two hours in the sun though I had remembered to bring water and went through 32 ounces.
That night Holly and I joined a couple at Blossom for the Cleveland Orchestra where I managed to eat poorly. Holly had made some amazing dessert that included two kinds of pudding, peanut butter, butter, chocolate fudge and a graham cracker and something crust. It was heavenly and I couldn’t resist…well didn’t anyway. I knew I’d be riding long tomorrow with John and just decided what the hell…I’d burn it off then. Sometimes…I do these things, but now the focus is there and it will be okay.
Survival Workout duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100 to 150 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 600
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