Motivation. It is difficult to determine what it is that drives us. Okay, not always. After all, I know why I’ve been exercising these last two months. I want to be stronger and faster on the bike, and it would nice if my weight would eventually fall in line with that of an active lifestyle.

Today was difficult. I felt tired and sluggish (prior to the margaritas). I can’t put my finger on it, but motivating myself to work out is an incredible challenge. I did manage to get myself to do some strength training for 25 minutes. While most of it was at an honest, hard effort, I just couldn’t follow through at the end of the workout. I felt so…sluggish.

I was going to do a 35-minute cardio blast, but I just didn’t have the energy to do it. I tried to get myself to do it, but I opted for a coney dog and margaritas, instead. I could feel guilty about it, but I did mention self-forgiveness, earlier this week. Also, I plan to meet with some friends, tomorrow afternoon, to ski. I am really looking forward to that, and I know that it will make up for today’s lost cardio workout.

By the way, looking at the above picture of me riding my ex-Trek Fuel Ex-8 (2008) on the Ma Maki trail in Copper Harbor makes me terribly homesick.

This year, since I am spending a couple more months weight training than I did last year, I’ve decided to find some additional exercises and work through them on a six-week cycle. Monday began the first six weeks.

The following is my current upper body workout routine. I have enlisted the help of Morrie (the Moron, as in Moronacity) to help me illustrate these exercises. You’ll have to excuse Morrie. He has a bit of a Buddha from a little too much time off and a little too much partying at the KBC.

The following numbers are “sets x reps, weight”:

Shoulder Front Raises; 3 x 8, 12

Military Presses; 3 x 10-12, 12

Bent-Over Rear Deltoid Raises; 3 x 12, 8

Dumbbell Curls; 2 x 10, 12

Triceps Kickback; 2 x 12, 8

Lat Pulldown; 2 x 12, setting 6 on the machine
(I don’t know how much weight this is)

Good Morning; 3 x 12, 15

Man, that Morrie looks like he can lift a lot of weight. Look at the size of those dumbbells!

I knew I had to make today happen, rather than just letting today occur. I chose to pack my forgotten backpack last night. I prepared pancake mix the day before yesterday and prepped the coffee pot last night. Whenever I have to get up early, I need coffee.

This morning, I woke up at 5:30, threw some pancake mix in the pan, started the coffee pot, and provided breakfast for the dogs. I ate two pancakes, drank a mug of coffee, let the dogs out for a potty break, and washed my hair. I then threw on some winter-friendly clothing and headed out to the driveway with my scoop in hand.

I couldn’t justify snowblowing since we only had about an inch-and-a-half of snow. The snow was also light and fluffy versus heavy and wet, so a scoop was sufficient. I let Cori, aka “Little Red,” in the house because she wanted none of this. My trusty, black dachshund, Marji followed me as I began pushing the scoop down the dark, quarter-mile driveway along a tire track, occasionally throwing the excess snow off to the side of the driveway. I cleared the area in front of the mailbox, and then headed back down the driveway to clear another tire track. The minute I turned around, Marji took off for home; so much for trusty. By the time I got back inside, it was 7:20. I let Cori out for one last potty break and put them both “nigh-night” in their kennel. I grabbed some yogurt with granola and a cup of coffee for the road.

I arrived safely to my 8:00 Biochemistry class. Yes, 8:00 am is too early for biochemistry, just in case you were wondering. I forgot to take my coffee to class, so I finished the barely-warm coffee when I got back to my truck at 9:30. Then, it was off to the Student Development Complex for a little weight lifting.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was lifting the same weight with the same number reps and sets as I had last spring at the end of my program. I changed the weight for two exercises because the proper weights weren’t available for use for the one, and the other is very difficult and I chose to start at a slightly lower weight, which was a good idea. I took a shower and headed home for lunch. With everything out of the way, all I have left to do is study and do the dishes.

This will most likely be my routine for the majority of Tuesdays through the rest of the year. Come January, my schedule will change and I will look at adding a day, changing my weight training days to Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Today’s accomplishment is a great achievement simply because making that first day of a program happen is the most difficult in starting a training program. Prepping for, and carrying out plans proves to my psyche that it really isn’t that hard. Another excellent benefit of today’s accomplishments is that I feel great, I’ve regained my self esteem, and I feel ready to begin working toward my spring cycling goals.

Podium Finishes For All My Races In My Age Group; First Place Age Group Finishes For the Keweenaw Chain Drive, Great Deer Chase, and Fat Tire Festival

I was a little skeptical about this goal, but I chose to go for it anyway. Unfortunately, I didn’t train quite as well as I could have, but it was pointed out to me that “that is what ever racer says.” Ok, point taken.

Since my race results aren’t currently posted due to my spectacular Internet service provided by HughesNet (or not provided, you pick), I will give a quick rundown of my age group finishes.
• 1st – Pontiac Time Trial
• 2nd – Iola Bump & Jump
• 2nd – Cable Off-Road Classic
• 5th – Hanson Hills
• 2nd – Keweenaw Chain Drive
• Superior Bike Fest
o o 3th – Twilight Criterium
o o 7th – 35-mile Road Race
o o DNF – 16-mile Mountain Bike Race
• 4th – 12 Hours of Potluck Coed Team
• 3rd – Ore to Shore
• 1st – The Great Deer Chase
• 5th – Copper Harbor Fat Tire Festival
• 3rd – Tour da Woods

While I didn’t reach my 1st place goals, I showed improvement in every race that was previously done. The Great Deer Chase is questionable – I think the course was longer this year. I was quite disappointed in the Copper Harbor Fat Tire Festival placing, because that is the race of the year for me. However, I noticed that one of the ladies who beat me was behind me last year. Her time improved quite a bit. New goal: beat her.

Several people have been harassing me to do the longer races, especially Ore to Shore. I am considering this; however, there are some very important factors to consider. While I haven’t had many issues with my knees and back this year, there has been some pain. Longer rides on difficult terrain (massive hills) do irritate my knees. Lots of climbing agitates my back muscles creating knots, especially in my shoulders. These are ailments that can affect my daily riding and decrease quality of life by creating minor debilitations. Personally, I like feeling well.

This winter, it is my goal to increase my average workout time to 2.5 hours with a 3.5 hour workout once every other week. This will be in the form of skiing. I will also ride my bike or indoor exercise bike once per week to maintain those cycling muscles. When spring comes around, I’ll reassess my situation and determine which races I will do.

Lose Fifteen Pounds

This didn’t happen. I lost five and was floating between 165 and 170 all summer. I did get smaller, however. I bought smaller clothes and have been wearing those. With the exception of the last month (gained 10 pounds), I’ve been doing quite well. Currently, I am trying to get back down to 165. I really don’t think that will take long. However, losing that other ten pounds will be another story. 2008 isn’t over, yet. I’ve got over three months to get the ball rolling and keep it that way. Looking back through my blog to see what has worked for me, I will do the following:
• Drink more water and hot tea without sugar or other tasty additions.
• Work out a way to fit in those ten hours per week of ride/ski time.
• Cut down on beer. Cut waaaaay down on beer.

Excess weight is horribly frustrating. I could be much faster if I could drop the pounds. The other issue is that I wouldn’t be so self-conscious while wearing my cycling gear. I hate that, especially during lap races, like cyclocross, when all of your male teammates are watching you. Grrr. Fortunately, my team is very supportive of me.

Become a Stronger Climber

This is a goal I really did meet. I will still continue to tackle those hills, but I think weight is becoming more and more of a factor as my strength increases. The stronger I get, the more beneficial weight loss would be. Here are my hill achievements:
• Made it up scary, steep hills at the Iola race where most of my competition had to walk.
• Cleared Kerby’s/Woodchip/that big hill at the end of Ore to shore. It feels pretty good to do this while everyone else is walking and cheering you on.
• Cleared Quincy Hill. I ride White Street and 41 to Quincy Mine and beyond during my commutes.

This goal has been met with obvious results. I don’t think I’ll make another climbing goal until the weight starts dropping, again.

Use the Bicycle as My Primary Mode of Transportation

My solution to this has been not to go anywhere. I did do a couple of bike rides to Tech and Swedetown and combined the commuting with some mountain biking. That didn’t happen too much, though. I did most of my mountain biking at Churning Rapids (close to home) or Copper Harbor where I stayed for extended periods just enjoying the scene. I have commuted to work and school several times. My time management skills are rather poor, however, so I’ve been doing a lot of driving, lately.

My goal is to develop a system that will make my morning commute preparation much easier or non-existent. I need to learn to ready things the night before so I can get out the door without running late.

I have commuted 260 miles to date.

Include Cross Training to Balance It All Out

I’ve been pretty good about doing yoga until lately. I’ve failed miserably at getting those one-a-week walks in. Weight training doesn’t start until cyclocross season is over.

I don’t think I’ll do much about this. I am having a hard enough time fitting in my ride time, so that is what I need to concentrate on. I’ll begin weight training in November or December. I’ve found it to be quite beneficial to my cycling and look forward to doing it again.

The fact is I know better. When living in the Upper Peninsula, expecting not to see any snow in early April is a pipe dream. Just as the wheel tracks in my driveway were opening up to muddy potholes, the heavy, wet snow began falling from the sky. Driving down my driving, I noticed how beautiful the view was. Two inches have fallen already. The bright side is that I no longer have to scrutinize the ground for dog poop as I walk out to my garage. Two little dachshunds are poo machines that contribute excessive fertilization of the non-existent lawn surrounding the entryway to my house. Not only does the snow make this natural fertilizer highly visible, it covers the existing fertilizer that I diligently sidestep.

A great benefit of snow is the high visibility of the dog poo one wishes to avoid stepping in.

Spring fever? Check. Sick of snow? Check. Need exercise? Check, check, check, exclamation point! It’s not that I don’t enjoy the snow and no longer want to ski. It’s that I’m tired of throwing on layers of clothing and driving to the nearest ski trail for fun. I’d much rather leave my front door with minimal preparation to get my exercise. It’s time for a compromise. I am going to weight train instead.

I have been weight training at Michigan Tech since January and showing wonderful results in strength gains. I haven’t been going lately because I’ve been riding, or at least trying to ride in between snow and rainfalls. I also believe it is time to go on a maintenance program since riding season has officially begun, even though there is snow on the ground. Snow or no snow, it is here. Heck, my first race is this coming Sunday.

A good sign of the spring thaw, icicles forming as the snow melts off of the roof.

Many of us have already started riding. All we need is a cleared off road and sunny sky to motivate us. With spring in the air, many of us are thinking about the dreaded “T” word – training. Ok, this early in the year, most of us are enthusiastic about the “T” word, and we’re very much looking forward to it.

This is the time of the year when we map out our goals and decide how we are going to meet them. I had already verbalized my goals for 2008 by the end of last year’s cyclocross season. I started out with the bigger goals, then I moved onto the little goals that will help me get there.

My Cycling Goals For 2008

• Podium finishes for all my races in my age group; first place age group finishes for the Keweenaw Chain Drive, Great Deer Chase, and Fat Tire Festival
• Lose fifteen pounds
• Become a stronger climber
• Use the bicycle as my primary mode of transportation
• Include cross-training to balance it all out

Race Finishes

I had podium finishes for all of my races last year except for Ore to Shore, when I took seventh. It is difficult to improve when your goals are the same as your results from the previous year, so instead of stating “I want a podium finish for all of my races,” I raised the bar to achieve first place in all the races I previously placed in. Realistically, I may not achieve the second part of this goal this year, so it’s a great goal to carry over to next year. I am certainly off to a good start.

Lose Weight

Last year, my goal was to lose twenty pounds, and I did it! I gained five back after about a week, and I gained ten more while on antibiotics this winter. I’ve lost the antibiotic weight already, so I’m still down fifteen pounds. In a nutshell, I am at my 2007 cycling weight.

My goal for 2008 is to lose an additional fifteen pounds. My goal was originally twenty pounds, but I feel fifteen is a much more realistic weight loss goal. I currently weigh 170 pounds, and my body loves this weight. Fifteen pounds would bring me down to 155, a weight I haven’t been for over ten years.

Losing this excess weight will do a lot for my cycling. This has been my greatest motivator. I’ve found that putting in at least eight hours a week on the bike helps me to easily achieve weight loss.

Become a Stronger Climber

Most places are fairly flat with some hills thrown in. The Keweenaw is the opposite: many hills with a few flats here and there. It is difficult to find a flat section of road to train on. For this reason, most of the cyclists in my area are very good. Even the mediocre cyclists are good by other people’s standards. We get a hill workout every time we ride. How we use those hills is what separates us.

This year, I plan to tackle the most difficult hills with enthusiasm and gratitude.

Commute

With rising gas prices and my goals of become a better, stronger rider, it makes perfectly good sense to ride my bike to work (6 miles) and school (11 miles). School will automatically give me four twenty-two mile road rides per week. With careful planning, I may lengthen that commute a couple times a week.

Even though there is still snow on the ground, the weather is warmer and some have already begun riding to work and school.

Balance My Training Regimen

Cycling alone can help you achieve a muscle imbalance thus setting you up for injury. This winter, I began incorporating a regular yoga routine along with weight training into my week. The yoga promotes muscle balance by maintaining flexibility while minimizing the possibility of pain and injury. I began an upper body weight training program to strengthen the muscles that tighten the most while cycling. I figure that a stronger upper body would minimize the muscle-tightening that is throwing my body out of alignment, because the added strength would minimize the stress (this is my own theory). It also makes climbing easier.

That’s a lot!

It may seem like I have a lot of goals for 2008. However, I really only have one pinnacle goal, while the remaining goals serve as the plan for achieving that goal. It is much easier to achieve the bigger goal in little steps. The best part? I’m making positive lifestyle changes that will benefit me not only physically, but financially as well.