Last Wednesday, while cooling down after our workout, I asked whether I could add some cycling to my training. This is one area that I’ve really let go over the past few months – mostly due to time limits – but with the marathon getting closer and closer, I want to build a bit more quad strength to help support the muscles surrounding the knee, especially after being off last summer with an knee injury.
Kevin pointed out that my road miles are important right now but I could do a long cardio session on my windtrainer; he indicated that he would put one on this week’s training plan in lieu of a run.
Yesterday, I opened my e-mail anticipating a 40 or 50 minute ride planned for tonight. Nope, it was an 80 minute ride! “I should have known,” I thought, “since 50 minutes on the road equates to 75 or 80 minutes on a bike.” I haven’t been on my windtrainer since the beginning of January; this was going to hurt. All day, I dreaded the evening ride.
I worried which muscles might be sore afterwards. I wondered if this would tire my quads, rendering me useless for tomorrow night’s tempo. And I thought about the bottle of Anti Monkey Butt powder in my bathroom, wondered if it has an expiry date and, if so, whether or not it has passed.
Once home from choir practice with Skipper and Little Ironman, I gave Skipper a list of things to do and put LI in front of the electronic babysitter so that I could mount the saddle. Then, with Green Day playing on my ipod, I spun the back wheel and watched the time: 20 minutes, 25 minutes, 41 minutes – half way there! I played music and mindgames until there were 19 minutes left, then 12, then 6, 5, 3, and done.
Eighty minutes later, I was finished! This was the first time ever that I have been on my windtrainer for more than an hour – twenty minutes more!
When I first started teaching, my principal once said, “If you don’t want to know the answer, then don’t ask the question.” Twenty years later, this still holds true. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked.
