(imported from FB, used original posting date)
I've been wanting to write a blog for some time now. The problem is that I just don't think that I have that much to say. What would be the focus of my blog? Who the heck would read it? Then it occurred to me that maybe I should blog just for me. If other people read it, great, if not, that's fine too.
While adding Notes to Facebook may not considered a "real" blog, it is a blog in the most literal sense. After all blog is just an ongoing narrative, an online dairy of sorts. Facebook is not as open as blogspot but what the heck. I plan to write about my training for the MS150 here, along with other things that are going on in my life.
This month, I begin training in earnest for the MS150. I signed up for it way back in January. The Tour de Cure is behind me now and I know that I can do the 150 miles. What I feel that I need to work on is consistency. I've been saying that speed is the problem but really, I'm pretty close to where I was this time last year in terms of speed. Well, sometimes I am. I just don't know how it's going to be from ride to ride.
I think of the Fourth of July as the real kickoff to my MS150 training. It's as if all of the riding done before that time was base miles. Part of the reason for this thinking is that when I rode my first MS150, my first ever 100k was the Firecracker that year. The other reason is that there are 100k rides to be had about every weekend from the Fourth of July until Labor Day, so the Raleigh area riding season is really in full swing now.
After my first MS150 in 2005, I had some back problems. In an effort to keep those problems at bay, I started working with a coach. Her name is Maija but after the McDonald's is healthy ad campaign with Maya the Virtual Coach, my husband started to refer to her that way. Maija lives near me but 99% of what we do is via e-mail. She sends me a set of workouts every two weeks.
This week was an odd one because of the mid-week metric century. Last weekend's assignment was three hours on Saturday and 90 minutes on Sunday. Saturday's ride went well. I averaged 17.2 which is spot on. I feel that I should be in the low 17s so I was happy with that. I rode comfortably. The route that I did was Beaver Creek-Mt Gilead Church-Mt Pisgah Church-Davis . It was a new route for me but kind of a variation on a theme. Sunday was a different story. I averaged only 16.5 and was pretty upset with myself about it. It was windy -- 12 mph -- but this time I year I feel that I should be a strong enough rider to not let that be a problem. Maija and Kevin both told me not to be so hard on myself. I ordered some brainwashing materials in an effort to get my head screwed on right. I've struggled with these weird off days since my surgery and I need to do something.
Training on Monday and Tuesday was spin class. Easy effort on Monday, steady pace on Tuesday with a core workout. The Firecracker was Wednesday and Thursday (steady pace) was spin and core again. Friday is my off day right now so I had "alternate schedule" which means more sleep and less gym.
This weekend Kevin is out of town doing some whitewater kayaking -- I don't do roller coaster or whitewater kayaking. I lined up have two On Call Team Car drivers -- Sydney and my mom. That way if I am riding and get into trouble I have someone to call. As it turns out, a friend of mine -- Sandra in the Firecracker photos -- is riding the distance that I want to tomorrow. I plan to join her. My assignment for this weekend is two hours on Saturday and 90 minutes on Sunday. I usually do about 100 miles a weekend this time of year but the mileage is lower due to the 62 midweek miles.
In addition to my training, I have been thinking a lot about my fundraising letter. I have rewritten it twice and it's still pitiful. I want for it to be very concise but I also would like to get some emotion into it. I do the MS150 because it is fun, that's true, but I truly was inspired by a friend of mine who was diagnosed with MS in about 2003. Cathy is very active and athletic and it broke my heart when she started to have health issues. I was shocked when the diagnosis finally turned out to be MS. I've known other people with the disease but they were more internet buddies or people that I knew in passing. Cathy is an agility friend who loves hiking with her dogs. She canoes with them and really would rather by hanging out the woods with her her canine crew than doing about anything else. I worry for her and with her and really do want to help support people with MS.
I've been wanting to write a blog for some time now. The problem is that I just don't think that I have that much to say. What would be the focus of my blog? Who the heck would read it? Then it occurred to me that maybe I should blog just for me. If other people read it, great, if not, that's fine too.
While adding Notes to Facebook may not considered a "real" blog, it is a blog in the most literal sense. After all blog is just an ongoing narrative, an online dairy of sorts. Facebook is not as open as blogspot but what the heck. I plan to write about my training for the MS150 here, along with other things that are going on in my life.
This month, I begin training in earnest for the MS150. I signed up for it way back in January. The Tour de Cure is behind me now and I know that I can do the 150 miles. What I feel that I need to work on is consistency. I've been saying that speed is the problem but really, I'm pretty close to where I was this time last year in terms of speed. Well, sometimes I am. I just don't know how it's going to be from ride to ride.
I think of the Fourth of July as the real kickoff to my MS150 training. It's as if all of the riding done before that time was base miles. Part of the reason for this thinking is that when I rode my first MS150, my first ever 100k was the Firecracker that year. The other reason is that there are 100k rides to be had about every weekend from the Fourth of July until Labor Day, so the Raleigh area riding season is really in full swing now.
After my first MS150 in 2005, I had some back problems. In an effort to keep those problems at bay, I started working with a coach. Her name is Maija but after the McDonald's is healthy ad campaign with Maya the Virtual Coach, my husband started to refer to her that way. Maija lives near me but 99% of what we do is via e-mail. She sends me a set of workouts every two weeks.
This week was an odd one because of the mid-week metric century. Last weekend's assignment was three hours on Saturday and 90 minutes on Sunday. Saturday's ride went well. I averaged 17.2 which is spot on. I feel that I should be in the low 17s so I was happy with that. I rode comfortably. The route that I did was Beaver Creek-Mt Gilead Church-Mt Pisgah Church-Davis . It was a new route for me but kind of a variation on a theme. Sunday was a different story. I averaged only 16.5 and was pretty upset with myself about it. It was windy -- 12 mph -- but this time I year I feel that I should be a strong enough rider to not let that be a problem. Maija and Kevin both told me not to be so hard on myself. I ordered some brainwashing materials in an effort to get my head screwed on right. I've struggled with these weird off days since my surgery and I need to do something.
Training on Monday and Tuesday was spin class. Easy effort on Monday, steady pace on Tuesday with a core workout. The Firecracker was Wednesday and Thursday (steady pace) was spin and core again. Friday is my off day right now so I had "alternate schedule" which means more sleep and less gym.
This weekend Kevin is out of town doing some whitewater kayaking -- I don't do roller coaster or whitewater kayaking. I lined up have two On Call Team Car drivers -- Sydney and my mom. That way if I am riding and get into trouble I have someone to call. As it turns out, a friend of mine -- Sandra in the Firecracker photos -- is riding the distance that I want to tomorrow. I plan to join her. My assignment for this weekend is two hours on Saturday and 90 minutes on Sunday. I usually do about 100 miles a weekend this time of year but the mileage is lower due to the 62 midweek miles.
In addition to my training, I have been thinking a lot about my fundraising letter. I have rewritten it twice and it's still pitiful. I want for it to be very concise but I also would like to get some emotion into it. I do the MS150 because it is fun, that's true, but I truly was inspired by a friend of mine who was diagnosed with MS in about 2003. Cathy is very active and athletic and it broke my heart when she started to have health issues. I was shocked when the diagnosis finally turned out to be MS. I've known other people with the disease but they were more internet buddies or people that I knew in passing. Cathy is an agility friend who loves hiking with her dogs. She canoes with them and really would rather by hanging out the woods with her her canine crew than doing about anything else. I worry for her and with her and really do want to help support people with MS.
