Carbon Fork

Wahoo! First Morning Pre-Work Ride

One of the things I live for is my early morning, pre-work rides during the spring and summer. Here in the MidAtlantic, it gets light reasonably early, giving me time to sneak in a bike ride before work. In June and July, I can be on the bike at 5:30 am. It's only April, though, so sunrise is a bit later. Nevertheless, this morning I was in the saddle by 6, under clearing skies. Temps were in the mid-50s . . . good enough for shorts, arm warmers, and an orange jacket (for visibility).

Funny thing is, I thought it was supposed to rain overnight, so I really wasn't planning to ride. Last night the XM weather channel was predicting 1/4" of rain, starting after midnight. And when I woke up this morning, I could have sworn I heard rain on the roof. The radio, though, spoke of clearing skies and warmish temps. I went downstairs and checked the kitchen window thermometer. 55 degrees. I checked the back deck (A sheltered space that stays wet long after rainfall has ceased). Dry.

Hmmm. Maybe the XM weather guys accidentally read the weather report for somewhere else. Bonus for me, though.

It's amazing how the chance for a bike ride erases that early morning sluggish, just-out-of-bed feeling.

Traffic was very light this morning, and the birds were singing their little hearts out (dawn birdsong is one of the neatest aspects of early morning rides, IMO). It's still cherry blossom season, and the cherry trees are still flowered, for the most part, though the blooms are past their peak. Daffodils are out, as are azaleas. Early a.m. spring rides sure are beautiful.

Except for the roadkill, of course. Today's body count: one freshly-killed raccoon.

I stopped at the Kentlands Starbucks for a quick skim mocha, just before heading back home. Across the square, one of those "Be All You Used To Be" Seargent's programs was just wrapping up. I encounter these guys from time to time on my pre-work ides. The participants run through the streets, do triceps push-ups on street curbs, and perform stretching exercises in the middle of a side street. Looks like fun, if you're into that sort of thing. Me, I'd rather be on the bike, and I prefer a well-outfitted weight room. I applaud them, though, for getting out early and doing their thing.

Total ride time: 53 minutes. Pace: 14.1. Distance: 12.65 miles. Not too bad. Knee feels OK. Not a peep from my sciatic nerve. (Therapy starts May 6.)

I probably won't get to ride again until Saturday. Hubby is going to do an organized ride this weekend, but I need to be in the office. I should be able to bike over to Weight Watchers and get a few miles in before I have to head downtown.

Evening W&OD

No good deed goes unpunished, y'know.

I had volunteered to look over a return that I wasn't scheduled to review, just because I had (I thought) gotten caught up and was feeling optimistic about getting everything done by May 15th. I wrapped it up late yesterday. So, what happens? Today I get sandbagged with 5 additional returns that have to go out by May 15, that I didn't know about.

By all rights, I should have stayed late to get a jump-start on everything. But hubby and I had made plans to bike after work.

Ahh. There's nothing like a good bike ride after a frustrating day at the office.

We parked at Bluemont Park, in Arlington, and set out westward on the W&OD trail. Our plan was to do about 10 miles out, and 10 miles back. It was windy, but it didn't seem too bad, going outbound. We really flew along some parts of the trail. After 11 miles, we turned around . . . and found out why we had been going so fast.

Even though it felt like we were biking into the wind, we had actually had a tailwind. One of those sneaky, swirly ones.

Ugh. The return trip was s-l-o-w, for about the first 5 miles. That part of the trail has a slight upgrade, eastbound, and with the wind, it felt like a steady mountain climb.

Fortunately, once we got past Vienna, the trail veered off to the left a bit, and the wind became more crosswise. The last 3 miles were pretty fast. We did 22.24 miles total at a 13.1 pace (the wind slowed us down, as did the numerous trail/road intersections between Arlington and Vienna).

We had dinner at Sushi Zen. I had a TNT roll and some nigiri (and part of hubby's rainbow roll).

One last thing.

We stopped at the Whole Foods in Vienna for a rest stop. There's a bench in a little park right by the store, with this plaque:

I don't know whether the accident was at the nearby intersection, or if it happened elsewhere. But what a reminder to do what you want to do NOW, rather than putting off for later:

"Here's to having everything you want in life just because you said so."

Do it now. Don't put it off.

Deep Freeze

Well, OK, it wasn't literally freezing, but it was close. 37 degrees when I set out this morning at 6: 45 am. This is late April, dammit! Not acceptable.

But I went out anyway, because I have to go to work today (I'm in 7-day-a-week mode right now) and I wanted to get some miles in. Have I mentioned that I get cranky when I can't bike for a few days?

Thought I was through with this stuff for a while: polartec Pearl Izumi leggings, polartec shirt, bright orange wind jacket. Gloves. Earband.

Nope.

But it actually wasn't so bad, once I got going. My core body never got cold, though my feet and fingers were a bit stiff once I finished up. And it was brightly sunny (and clouding over as I write this . . . we are getting rain in a bit . . . another reason for hustling out the door early).

I did a ride out Seneca, but not to the end. 17.38 miles total. My knee felt OK, but I'm now beginning to feel something strange in my right hip, where I sit on the saddle. Could be some sciatica. I admit I've not been doing my back exercises as often as I should be.

Roadkill count: 1 dead bird. That's weird; they don't usually get into a contest with motor vehicles. I was pleased to see that the raccoon is finally gone from the Rt. 28 bike lane. (There's nothing more malodorous than, er, "vintage" roadkill.)

My pace was 13.6. I worked hard, but was a bit sluggish. I didn't do much standing on hills; didn't feel really up to it. Perhaps it was my workout yesterday: I did 30 minutes dreadmill running at the gym yesterday, 15 minutes elliptical, and my usual 1.25 hours of weightlifting. That was fun (as was Rock Bottom Brewery afterward) but after this morning's ride, I think tomorrow will be a rest day. Just as well -- I've lots to do toward the May 15 deadlines. And I'm running my usual sleep deficit.

Useless bit of trivia: the Romantics' "What I like About You" will give you a near-perfect 12 minute pace, if you run in time to the music.

* * * * *

Coda: I found out a short while ago that it snowed today in Charleston, WV (my home town) and Pittsburgh. Guess I got off lucky.

Yep, I got PT

I guess the news today wasn't too bad. The orthopod I went to today said my knee problem is probably degenerative changes under the kneecap . . . and possibly a 'loose body' floating around in the joint. (That could account for the fact that sometimes it bothers me and sometimes it doesn't.)

But, he said my knee does appear a little tender on the IT band side (well, yeah, the way he kept poking on it, sure it started hurting). I'm going to get therapy for the IT band for 6 weeks, to see if there's any improvement.

Also got my right arm looked at. That could be bad; he said it's probably a rotator cuff injury. I'm to get therapy on that, too.

Oh, joy. Could be worse, though. I could still be a fat couch potato. I'll take the therapy part, thankyouverymuch.

Ride to Poolesville

Hubby and I decided to bike to Poolesville today. It was a nice day, and I figured my knee wouldn't hurt me too much. We ended up doing about 32 miles. Taking Partnership Road all the way to White's Ferry Road is a much shorter way to go . . . last year when we did the Poolesville ride, we did about 40 miles, as we took some side roads.

I think this weekend was the kickoff of the "roadkill" season. Dead raccoon yesterday; dead 'possum today. And the road debris still hasn't been swept up yet, though I understand the county is working on it. Sure hope it's cleaned up soon; the bike lanes in Rt. 28 are bad, where there's a curb and no where for the debris to go.

Short 'n Sweet

We have a party to go to tonight, so we did just a quick ride today. Out Seneca road, quick turnaround, and back. Knee is hurting me a little, but I can live with it. Doc visit this coming Thursday. Bet I get a round of therapy.

Ride to DC

Today being another gorgeous day, hubby and I decided to bike from our home in upper Montgomery County down to DC. Once there, I planned to spend some time in my office, taking care of a few things (it's still busy season for me and will be until mid-May).

It was really fun. From garage door to my office was a little over 28 miles. We first stopped at a local Starbucks for caffeine (and I needed some sustenance: I was running only on a spoonful of peanut butter) . . . also, it was still COLD. About 45 degrees, and I was in bike shorts. I would rather freeze my ass off for a few miles, than suffer in hot leggings on a 70+ degree day.

Our dalliance at Starbucks allowed the temperature to rise a bit, so that when we started out again, it was a lot warmer.

The next stop was Bethesda Bagels. I had an asiago cheese bagel with light cream cheese, and hubby had a bialy with some pepper salmon, butter, and cheese. This turned out to be a late breakfast/early lunch.

Afterward, we headed down the [very crowded] Capital Crescent trail. We were slowed considerably by all the runners, bikers, bladers, and what-have-yous. After we got a few miles down, though, the traffic thinned out, and we were able to make better time. We reached my office without incident. Hubby went off to spend some time at a bookstore, and I got about 3 hours of work done.

After I wrapped up at the office, we biked over the bridge to Rosslyn, via Georgetown. Ugh. The streets in G-town were clogged with cars, and people were walking everywhere. Nevertheless, we made pretty good progress, and made it through and across the bridge faster than the cars did. We biked up the Custis trail for a bit, then diverted off the trail over to Clarendon. Ah, the delights of dining al fresco! We had a lovely early dinner at Boulevard Woodgrill -- hubby had a bacon cheeseburger and fries, and I had grilled sea bass over sticky rice, with green beans. And . . . a bite of his mac 'n cheese (yeah, he had that too), 5 of his fries, and the tomato slices off his burger. Hubby does not "do" tomatoes.

After our meal, we headed back into DC, and back through G-town (no other way unless we wanted to make a huge diversion). Ugh, again.

After we escaped Georgetown's clutches for the second time in one day, we headed up Connecticut Avenue, intent on hitting one of the Red Line stops. Traffic was fairly heavy, but we managed. We hopped on Metro at Cleveland Park after a quick Starbucks stop, and made it to the Shady Grove terminus just as the sun was setting. We quickly loaded our bikes in the RAV, and drove home. (No doubt you were wondering how we would get home . . . we parked the RAV at the station last night, aren't we clever?)

Total for the day: 41 miles. I've already exceeded, in the first 10 days of April, all of March's mileage. Things are definitely looking up.

Right now I'm enjoying a glass of wine, along with triscuits, cheese, and some Newman-O's. After tallying up what I ate during the day, I found I didn't eat nearly enough. I'm not going to break even for the day, but a little underage won't hurt, and it'll make my entire week approximately breakeven.

I burned about 5500 calories this week. That's what happens when the weather improves! Oh, and when I find time to do my swimming drills . . .

Triple Header of a Different Sort

Another gorgeous day! I decided to bike to Weight Watchers . . . so out the door I went at 7:15. A quick stop at Panera to get a scone, then to WW, to eat the scone and sit with my friends while we waited for the meeting to begin. Topic today was how to add more "activity" and "movement" to your day. Jim, our leader, observed that WW tends to stay away from the word "exercise," perhaps because it tends to scare folks away.

After the WW meeting was over, I biked back home the long way, via Rt. 28. I did some laundry, worked on a file for a couple of hours, then headed for the gym at Rio to do some swim practice.

On my coach's advice, I had purchased zoomer fins Friday evening, to help me with my kick. (As a bicyclist, I tend to kick like a cyclist in the water; no surprise there.) The fins put my legs in the correct position to kick, so that I can concentrate on form. And while they propel me through the water a little faster, they don't make the workout any easier.

This means, of course, that I was practically panting at the end of each lap. I got 35 minutes of swimming drills in, and was pretty shaky by the time I got out of the pool.

After my swim, I decided I needed some dark chocolate M&Ms. Mmmmm.....

Revived and enjoying a chocolate buzz, I decided to do weights, as long as I was at the gym. After all, hubby wasn't going to be home from bridge for a while. I did 70 minutes of lifting. All in all, I burned about 1180 calories for the day.

I'm off in a few to have a nice dinner and a fancy, calorie-laden martini. Ah, the rewards of EXERCISE (let's call it what it is, OK?).

Rest Day

Today was another pretty nice day, until evening, when the rain started.

It would have been nice to get out . . . but I do have to remain gainfully employed. Fortunately, I enjoy my job, and it's flexible enough that I can sneak a little riding in here and there.

So, today I just looked at the nice weather. I've gone at it hard for several days, and today I just needed to rest.

Hopefully I can ride some this weekend.

I also have to try to fit some swim practice in. Maybe Saturday . . . still have to buy those zoom fins. Coach says my form is great, I just have problems with my kick. Bikers tend to "pedal" in the water. I'm not quite that bad, but I still have issues with proper leg position.

Guess I'm still primarily a roadie. Swimming is fun, but there's nothing better than biking.

A Triple-Header

Ah . . . spring. Ahhh . . . spring fever.

I had it bad today. Spring fever, that is. So, what was I gonna do, but work at home and get out on the bike? It was a gorgeous jewel of a day, with temps in the mid-80s. For mid-April, it doesn't get any better. What's more, it doesn't stick around long, so ya gotta enjoy it while you can.

I got up at 5:30 am and was working away by 6:30. I figured I could get quite a bit done while it was still a bit too cold to ride. About 9:30, I decided it was warm enough. I set out on an "errand" run -- bank, pharmacy, Starbucks. About 7.5 miles in all. I was chilly at first, but I warmed up quickly (as did the day).

After I got back, I got some more work done, and fixed a lunch of chicken salad and mandarin oranges, as well as a "chaser" of 6 nonpareils. (Hey, I'm no dummy -- I know the value of "Vitamin Ch.")

A couple of hours later I set off again, this time to do slightly more distance. I did the Rt 28 ride with a quick turnaround, then stopped at an on-the-way-home Starbucks to get an iced mocha. What a ride -- the breeze was balmy, temp was 85, low humidity. (Yeah, I know, enjoy THAT while I can. DC wasn't built on a swamp for nothing.) I did about 14.5 miles, the last mile or so with a painful right knee. <sigh>

Back home again, more work. Unfortunately, most of that consisted of waiting for Prosystem files to open up via the Citrix connection. I have absolutely no idea why they take so long . . . but I could have gone out for another ride, I swear, while I was waiting.

Hubby came home about 4:30, so off we went together, this time to Old Town for a beer at the local brewpub. I had a pint of amber lager. We biked back home very carefully, as I, for one, was feeling the drink slightly. Ride was a little over 6 miles -- just about equal to the calories in the beer.

I fixed a quick dinner of pasta with smoked turkey, peppers, onions, and grated cheese. Sat down and figured my total mileage for the day: over 28 miles. Between yesterday and today, I've already biked more than half of my distance for ALL of March.

I did ice my knee a couple of times -- after the second and third rides. I think there may be a 'scope in my near future. But, one thing at a time. We'll see what the doc says.

Tomorrow, I'll be back in the office. But hey, that's not so bad. After all, a day like today makes everything worthwhile. The fact that last year at this time I was limping around with a ruptured disc, made the day even sweeter.

Ah . . . spring. :-)