I'm doomed

Who did I marry and how did I get so lucky?

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Biking while sick (take that Dr. Anonymousness)

Turns out I wasn't really getting better. I ended up having to go back to the doctor. She proceeded to tell me that I was more sick than I felt (still not sure how I feel about that). Anyway, she put me on all sorts of drugs, sprays, and inhalers. She also told me I had to stop biking. When I asked if I really had to stop biking and if all of the prescriptions were necessary, she scared me with visions of pneumonia and long term breathing problems.

In the end, I promised to fill all of her prescriptions as long as I was allowed to keep biking. A deal was struck and off I went.

My crazy pile of meds.

It turns out the stuff really is helping me out. I only wake up once or twice a night now, and have minimized my coughing (much to Liz's delight). I have to go back on Monday for a checkup because the doctor said I had to. I also asked if this was necessary, and she insisted that it was. She used the pneumonia word again to help convince me.

Final thought, nasal sprays really creep me out.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

tea

The doctor told me to drink lots of tea. This won't be a problem. (plus the last post was a bit of a downer without a picture)

I'm really happy with my current selection. Liz and I just finished up a cool jasmine tea with some kind of white flowers in it, but there are still lots of choices. I also love that out of all the teas in the picture, the ones I like the best are the ones given to me by friends! How's that for sentimental.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Getting better all the time

I've haven't been blogging much because of the holidays and because I haven't been biking AT ALL. Yikes. It's to the point where I think I'm loosing my fitness level. Yesterday I walked up three flight of stairs and almost had to sit down to catch my breath.

I've also had a bad cold for the past week, and I don't think that has helped. Anyway, now I'm some antibiotics for the infection. I think it is helping. We'll see if I can get better quicker and back on the bike now.

For all of you who voted, I haven't forgotten about the winter cycling goal! I just haven't figured out how to start it yet. Since we have our first real snow today, I probably should start soon. more on this later.

Puckered out

Liz says "too much coding makes Liz a tired girl." Yes, that is my prelim on the table...with a Liz on my prelim.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Hmmmm. .. Chocolate

I got my ride this afternoon. It was threatening rain the whole day, so I'm actually really happy about getting outside to ride. One thing is for sure, it is now cold out. I've been wearing tights and some under-layers, but today really called for shoe covers and a hat. Maybe next time I'll remember to wear those. I now realize I like riding in cold weather almost as much as riding in really hot weather. You just don't sweat near as much!

Due to it being cold and staring to rain, I didn't stop to take a picture. In its place is the post-ride recovery snack picture.

(Notice how the prelim paper is lurking in the background. It everywhere...... )
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Email explosion

My email is killing me. This morning I got 46 emails all of which needed response emails. My fingers are going to be tired by the end of the day.

Road closed

My first thought was, "What road can be closed to a true cyclist?"

Turns out the answer to that question was indeed: This road.

I surpassed the sign and a half mile later there was a lot of big machinery digging really big holes in the middle of the road. The backhoe was more below ground than above. The gaze from the construction workers ( who looked knee deep in mud) made it clear that my spandex kit was not as near as intimidating as it was during the pre-ride photo in front of the mirror.

New people to this blog...... VOTE for my winter goal!!!!! (on the left)

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Attempt at Intimidation

The fact that it is Veteran's Day meant I had extra time for pre-ride shenanigans. Who looks totally pro? I do. Now if only I looked this good after my bike ride.....

If there was a thought bubble it would read..."I'm going to eat this ride for dessert."

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Yup

I guilted myself into getting on the bike just so I could post about a biking adventure. Unfortunately, I had a client after work, so I wasn't able to bike outside. On the bright side, I think that my client is making lots of progress. It's nice when people get better. In fact, I think I was getting more excited about her progress than she was.

Anyway, I got home and hopped on the bike. I watched NCIS in HD!!!!! It's going to be a good winter. I also decided that gym towels are too small, and not just a little too small. I need ones that are at least 3 times as big (zoolander anyone?) A small towel is simply infuriating. After about 20 minutes it becomes worthless. Then I'm stuck with the decision of using a gross towel for the next 40 minutes or just being really gross.

= way too small

but today I discovered the perfect solution. Welcome yourselves to the era of the the Beach towel sized gym towel. Every time I wiped my brow I was met with a nice dry piece of heavenly cloth.

see. Three times as big

or I could use a shamwow

I will bike tonight.

I will bike tonight. I will post about it. There, now I have no excuses. (the plan was to bike this morning. Hahahaha. I even asked Liz to wake me up. When she did so, I vaguely remembering being borderline belligerent. Sorry Liz!)

A poll

The poll is me trying something new. I can't decide what the winter goal should be, so based on the overwhelming commenter feedback and my own personal interests, I have chosen my top 5. (For a reference point... I bike around 16 to 18 mph on my trainer)

Option 1: Bike to Amanda's house! Roughly 750 miles + hills. I might get a surprise at the end of it.

Option 2: Every year people bike across the continental United States in about 8 days. I'd be willing to let the 3000 mile trip take all winter. At the end a special dinner or something cool.

Option 3: I love Camp Roger because they help bring children into God's nature. I used to work there, and still find myself missing it often. I like giving Camp Roger some of my money, so maybe I could get some other people to donate on my behalf. It's 260 miles so maybe get people to sponsor specific miles of the trip. They need help with their camper scholarship fund which is in the red.

Option 4: I love psychology. The SURF center is a local non-for-profit organization that works with individual recovering from drug and alcohol problems. They just got evicted from their downtown location because of the lack of donations this year. Not sure exactly how to structure this one, but since they are local I could be more involved.

http://www.hs.facebook.com/pages/Surf-Center-Inc/109136229143831?v=info

Option 5: The Fat Cyclist (see side bar link) raises lots of money for cancer research through the Livestrong organization. His wife died of cancer last year, so obviously we share some passions. I could train to do an indoor century and see if people would donate some money to see me do it.

OK... your turn..... vote on the side. It's anonymous, so even if you never read this blog, please vote. I'm not sure how much my vote will count for in the end. That depends on how many people vote.

Still Alive!?!

Who knew, but grandpa Farve is still alive, throwing TDs, and forcing games into OT at the last second.

or

After last week, I think the is more althetic tape, bone pins, and padding than actual human flesh and blood. I'm pretty sure the NFL should have a rule about letting robots (at least old ones) play football.

Run Down

Liz is out of town this weekend to visit family up in Chicago. It is weird being home alone. I've just been eating left overs and trying really hard not to make a huge mess of the apt in her absence. (trying doesn't equal succeeding, so I'll be cleaning up this afternoon in a big way.)

This morning I played in the praise band at church for the first time. It went ok. I wasn't the only acoustic playing, so that helped calm me down a whole lot. There is one song that I worked out a cool picking line to go over top of the other guitar's strumming. I think everyone liked it. All in all it well enough to do it again in the future.

I have and haven't been biking a lot lately. I'm sort of in a Mon, Wed, Thurs groove. I could have biked this weekend, but I was either dreaming of biking or doing homework. Maybe I'll get outside tomorrow.

Last thing, the prelim process is the worst. Without Liz's help, I am sure that I would not be able to finish it. Thank goodness we are already married and she is stuck with me!!!

Goals

As the winter season is quickly approaching, I'm trying to think of some motivating goals to help me stay on the bike through the winter. Liz has frequently, and correctly so, noted that I do better when I am working towards a goal. It's true. I find it much easier to get up and going when there is something that I'm training for or working towards. Up until now, it has always been getting in shape for racing, but winter training is more focused on simply logging miles on the bike. A simple mileage goal is not good enough to motivate me. I just know it wouldn't do the trick. There isn't enough excitement of an end point. When you get to 400 miles there is no celebration and it's just time to keep going.

So.... What does everyone (all 10 people that read this blog) think would be a good goal for the winter? I've been thinking about trying to ride the Race Across America route indoors, I could track my progress on a map. There is a clear end point. However, I'm not sold on that idea yet. In fact, I'm sure there is something better. Lot of cyclists are motivated to bike by combining their passion/hobby with their altruism. Case and point: fatcyclist.com and drums up money huge amounts of money for cancer research. (+1 for improper idiom) While an endeavor of this nature is way more scary, I wonder if I too could use something that I enjoy doing to benefit others. Talk about motivating!!!!! (I really had to resist typing "MO..TI...VATE...ING")

This is where I need help though..... I'm looking for ideas that people have. I'm lucky enough to know that that people who read this blog know me well enough to know my personality and what types of things might make for a meaningful and compelling winter training period (+3 for three "knows" in a sentence.) If you don't know me, I'm glad you have managed to read this far in the post! please feel free to leave ideas too.

Leave your ideas in the comments (even if they are ridiculous!)

Also a thought LIVESTRONG????

Still off the bike

I'm just wasting time before leaving for church for praise team practice. I really like going t the practices, but I'm not sure I'll ever play in church. It will probably happen eventually, but I'm in no rush.

I've been off of the bike for 2.5 weeks now. My back still hurts but less so than last week. I'm hopeful that in the next week I'll be feeling back to normal. It's crazy how long it has taken for this to get better. I might try doing some short intervals on the trainer starting tonight or tomorrow, but we'll just have to see.

Well, now it is time to go.

comcast

My phone call with Comcast

Me: Hi Comcast, I'm thinking of upgrading my cable
Them: Great, but you owe us hundreds of dollars in back fees.
Me: WHAT!!!!! I have my last bill right here. It says I use the autopay option. This makes no sense
Them: you are correct sir, but the bank must have denied the drafts
Me: it's a credit card number.
Them: well you must have changed credit cards without knowing
Me: !?!? How come this is not reflected in my bill?
Them: We are not sure sir, but you owe us money immediately otherwise we will have to disconnect your service.
Me: Time to talk to a manager

...........

2 hours later that is sorted out. Late fees removed.

.........

Them: So are you ready to upgrade you cable package now
Me: Can't say that I am. I have to go.

Whoops

Liz and I went to take the garden down this morning. To our great surprise we had tons of watermelon waiting to be picked. We picked the three largest ones and let nature have the rest. There were also a ton of green peppers on the plants. I honestly didn't think there would be anything green in the garden following the drought we've been having. Liz wondered if the warm weather we've been having spurred a bumper crop.

While we were pulling out stakes, I must have twisted weird because all of a sudden there was a large amount of pain coming from my back. I tried to keep working on the little stuff, but the spasms kind of kept coming, so Liz decided we needed to go home. In hindsight, I think she was right.

So now I'm sitting on the couch blogging. Liz basically makes me promise not to move whenever she can't see me. It's not really painful just a bit uncomfortable.

IMG00030-20100922-1819.jpg

Time trial start line spectators.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

IMG00031-20100922-1819.jpg

Start line at the fall time trial series
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Time Trial Season

I finally broke 26 minutes flat for my 10 mile time trial time. I went all out tonight and it paid off. A really fast person started 1 minute after me. At the 5 mile turn around he was about 30 behind me. I really didn't want to get passed so I pushed really hard. Every time I looked over my shoulder he was a bit closer so I had to try a bit harder. In the end he beat me by 2 seconds. It stinks being passed at the finish line, but who has to complain when you shatter your own PR.

Here is a graph of my 3 years of the same 10 mile time trial. There are 5 time trails in the series and I usually quite when it gets too cold.

IMG00027-20100921-1717.jpg

I should had been a farmer

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

IMG00028-20100921-1718.jpg

It will eat you

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

It happened

I am finally able to make my big announcement. It took a bit longer than I was led to believe, but who cares.

https://sites.google.com/site/purduecyclingclub/home

Ta Da!!!!!!!!!

Ride in the rain

I just finished the best ride of the year. It was fast, long (for me), lung busting, leg screaming and amazing. Did I mention it rained the whole time?!!!! There came a point around mile 30 when I stopped caring about all the mud that was getting sprayed in my face from the wheel in front of me because the draft was that important. It felt like I didn't even need to drink water because there was always so much getting in my mouth from my helmet and the spray from the road. Anyway, I'm filthy.... and happy. There were only three of us riding today (probably because of the steady downpour), so there was no hiding in the pact and drafting for the whole ride. About the time you recovered from being on the front it was time to take another pull. I was pretty happy with my performance. I certainly wasn't the strongest rider, but I was able to take respectable pulls and keep the line moving forward.

I tried to find a video to show water getting kicked up by a bike wheel, but I don't think anyone is willing to sacrifice their camera to the elements.

While we were pushing hard, I clocked us going between 25-27 mph. Then my odometer short circuited due to excess rain. My shoes felt like they had little lakes in them.

Ohhh... Because of the wind we executed a eschalan. It's a special form of drafting to deal with strong side winds.. This was only he second time I've ever done one, so I was happy for the practice.

IMG00021-20100901-0817.jpg

It has to be a good day when you see this if front of you

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Heat wave?

You can't really tell, but the picture is a field of cuddly looking goats(clicking on the picture helps a lot). They seemed both terrified and super curious about me. Today's ride was down right awful. 92 degrees is a bit too hot for me. I cut my ride by 4 miles and still had trouble mustering up the energy to get home (don't worry..I did get home). I think it was a rough ride because of the wind, heat, tired mind, and tired body. Luckily tomorrow will be an easy ride.

I ran out of water with 10 miles to go so I did something I've never done before. I stopped at a house because the family was having a water fight in the front yard, and asked to use their hose to fill up. The mom was super nice and got me cold water form inside. I hate stopping, but I was starting to feel a bit dehydrated so it was ultimately the correct choice. I don't think I've ever tasted cold water that was so refreshing!

Goats!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Saturday ride

This is Indiana cycling. Blue sky, Corn Fields, and long roads.

I took this at mile 20 on the way home from my ride. I accidentally participated in 5 miles of the Wabash River Ride 64 mile route. If you squint you can see one of them ahead of me. I passed a lot of them, but only because they were going more than twice as far as I was. It was nice seeing a steady stream of riders participating in the ride. I think I'll try to do it next year. I did 30 miles in total at a good clip (19.6mph).

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

IMG00016-20100827-1604.jpg

This is what I found when I got home today. Who knows how long Penny has been staring the other cat down.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

I guess I lied

What I thought was going to happen, did not happen. whoops. If it does happen in the future, I'll be sure to let everyone know.

a hard ride

What happens when you don't keep riding during the second half of the summer? You get SLOW!

Today's ride was a rude awakening. It was a harder ride, but it shouldn't have been as hard as it felt. Quite frankly, I was in poor form each up hill, during each sprint (although, sprinting would indicate that I actually went faster for some amount of time), and when riding in the pack. I was gassed and sucking wind for the last 10 miles. I think the worst part was feeling that some people I knew on the ride just assumed I'd be in shape and ready to go.

Last year, I don't think I would have blinked at a 20mile ride at 22-28mph. That's probably not true. Either way, I'll just have to grind it out till I get get the fitness back.

I keep meaning to take a picture before the ride of the group, but I always chicken out. I think about taking one during the ride, but the groups have been a bit unstable. sooner or later a photo op will arise.

First club ride of the semester

I went on a short club ride yesterday. I like going to the very first ride because it will be the largest ride by far for the year. There were maybe 6 new people on the ride. It was an easy paced ride so the hardest part was helping everyone get comfortable riding in a double pace line. A perfect pace line is like a well oiled machine that allows for constant speed/effort and equal work load spread out among the people on the ride. Yesterday wasn't perfect but it got the job done. There was a lot of braking then pedaling to hard to catch up then more breaking. It had an accordion feel to it, but that's the joy of the first ride.

The hardest part of the ride was the fact that I was 7 minutes late and had to work to find and catch up to the group. I think a couple of people didn't recognize me when I discretely latched on to the back of the pack and were concerned that I was so out of breath within the first 15 minutes of the ride.

No picture from the ride so here is a video of the pro executing a perfect rotating paceline. When it works like, that it gets real fun.

There will be some big news later this week in regards to my publicity as a cyclist. I can't say more right now so you will have to tune back later. (try Thursday) I'm x-cited, so you should be too.

My 20th first day of school

Well, another year has started. Oddly enough, my schedule is about the same during this semester as it was during the summer. I have a few extra obligations, but I'm not taking any formal classes this semester. No tests and no papers, just clients, prelim, research, and teaching. All in all not so bad as long as I can stay on top of the research and prelim.

Campus sure is busy though. My parking pass was ultimately clutch this morning. I was grinning like a fool all the way up to the top of the parking garage.

New Desk

Here is the new desk that is in our aptartmnt. I made sure to put some paper and my computer on it so that it looks like I'm working hard. Thanks Dad and Pat for driving it down to us!!!!!!

Growing up this desk lived in the basement of my house. I was always fascinated by all the secret stuff that the drawers held. We are talking graph paper, slide rulers, old pens, protractors, and more. I didn't know how to use any of that at the time so I think it was just extra cool since it was dad's old work stuff.

I guess I won't have an excuse not to finish my prelim now.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Long Day

It was an incredibly long day. It involved lots of errands and spending lots of money. However, Liz and I do now have new tires on the car, the knowledge of why our AC in the car doesn't work (and never will), a new haircut, a trip to the post office, and more.

I'm really glad that I went for my bike ride relatively early this morning because it was so hot and steamy after 10:00am that I would have never ventured outside willingly.

I'm really sick of school. I had to go back into work after dinner and it really wasn't fun at all. I'm clinging to the hope that the harder I work now the easier my upcoming year will be and the sooner I'll get to internship.

I've started thinking about where I want to apply for internships. I don't even know how to begin to make decisions that large.


Almost every sentence has multiple "I"s in them. Sorry. I know that makes for bad/boring reading but I'm going to bed now.

I can email pictures straight to my blog!

Well, this phone is getting dangerous

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T


Same place different season... click here

Test

This is a test of the blogging from my phone option. Hopefully this will magically appear on my blog.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Liz making something yummy

How exciting.

Picture

Picture

10th place

I took 10th place in a race today. There were maybe 40 or 50 riders. It was a slow race with no breakaways. I was ok with that. I fell on an uphill segment (going nice and slow). I only skinned my knee. No big deal. I worked with various guys from other teams to catch back up. By the time I caught up to the main group, I was pretty toasted. I was fourth place around the last turn, but didn't have any sprint in the legs.

From one of my First Posts

The Wind

Today's ride was rough. The wind was gusting at 22 mph. Even when not going straight into it, it throws you around. It feels like you are always fighting to go straight and to stay upright. Your front wheel suddenly has a mind of its own. Then I got to grind out my way home going oh so slow. My legs ached and I cut the ride short. I didn't even feel bad about it.

I did some practice corners and got around one going 25.7 mph. That's a bit better than last week, but it would help if I did it with others. It will come along though if I keep at it.

That's all for the night. What would you know I'm sitting here on the couch watching Masterpiece Classic again. Oh, Sean Bean.

I need this semester to wrap up pronto.

Pre Practice Race Picture

In my head I'm thinking, "If I could just better corner, I could open a can of whoop-A"

(Picture taken by Chris U.)

Crit practice

Today the team held some practice racing. My few observations.

1. I am really bad at turning corners going fast. (I ended up in the grass twice)

2. I'm getting faster. In one of the practice races, I took off on a 3.5 lap solo breakaway. I ended up third.

3. I'm tired. Real practice with real riders = real fatigue.

4. Over the two hours, my corners got a little bit better. More practice needed.

5. Did I mention I was off the front in one of the races. It made my day.

6. I am a tall rider. Even when drafting, my whole head catches the breeze. It slows me down.

7. Practice races don't count for anything except practice. There aren't even bragging rights for winning(that I know of).

PBS

Now that the NCAA basketball tournament has pruned the field down to 4 teams, there isn't 8 hours of basketball a week that I can watch. Following the Duke game, Liz and I were left with a difficult decision of what to select from the Sunday evening TV lineup. The choices were slim. We ended up on PBS for the remainder of the night. We started with Men in kilts singing about Ireland. The crowd shots were amazing. Who knew there were people so into Irish music. Their were people so overjoyed that they expressed it by standing in their seats and twirling in circles. I would have to agree that it was more entertaining than Josh Groban or Andre Bocelli.

(Outlining that what they are doing is entertainment in the title? Questionable.)

This was followed by Nature. This is a program that I am very happy to watch. I was particularly pleased that it was about monkeys this week. I like the animal episodes above the location specific, end of world, or plant ones.

This was followed by a Masterpiece Classic starring none other than Sean Bean. I don't know who that is, but Liz seemed happy about it. I watched it, but I couldn't hear the dialogue so I was pretty lost. I believe it was about a British soldier (Sean Bean?) who was in India trying to save a girl. It was oddly gory for a PBS show. Many people were executed. My final thought is PBS may be the only channel that still has shows that require viewers to pay attention in order to know where the plot is going.

May I present Sean Bean and his weird coat (which he apparently wears in many different episodes)

Finally, I (Liz went to bed long ago) ended up with Life On Mars. My first thoughts were, "why is PBS going to run a show that was just canceled on ABC?" (Yes, it was that bad). Turns out that PBS was showing the original British version of Life on Mars. I guess ABC figured that if The Office was a hit, than any BBC series would be a hit stateside. Here is proof that this is bad logic. Sub-par BBC shows, I know since I've now see it, don't translate into suddenly great award winning ABC shows. CRAZY.

The nagging question is why didn't the channel ever get changed? I was on the bike (for what seemed like forever) and the remote was beyond my reach. I hate the rain.

Saturday

I went for a nice long ride today with some people from the Purdue club. We rode for just under 3 hrs. It amazes me how far I've come since getting my bike. I used to think spending 3 hrs on the bike was crazy talk, but it turns out that it isn't.

I felt really good on the few hills. I think that this is real evidence of the training plan working. I wasn't exactly flying up them, but I felt strong. All in all a good day without much homework but lots of riding.

I had to change my tire this morning so that is the picture. It's a bit redundant but I didn't want to lug around the camera for three hours.

Classic upside down bike. Liz wasn't thrilled that I was working on it on the carpet. She didn't by my excuse that I wanted to see the end of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

Not to much new

This week has been a hassle with the car. Liz and I always figure out solutions in the end, but there are times when 2 cars would make the machine run more smoothly. It turns out you can't bike in clinic clothes.

Liz and I have also started discussing our garden plans for the summer. So far we have agreed on having a garden, and planting beans, peppers, and some tomatoes. Beyond that we are having a heated debate about the presence of radishes, potatoes, egg plants, corn, and brussel sprouts. I'm making in sound more dramatic than it really is.

My training plan is going well. I made it through the first week. Today was another sustained sprint day. I did three 10 minute intervals. Oddly enough the intervals were not so bad, but the recovery ride home was tough. My legs gave what they had and were finished.

Here is a funny picture I saw today.

One of These is Not Like the Others

Yesterday, I got up early to get my ride done and over with. It was still below 40 degrees so I bundled up and got out the door. It was chilly, but after about 20 minutes my legs started to thaw out and I was getting happier about being awake and outside.

Then I heard a really metallic twang. I was pretty sure I knew what it was so I stopped to inspect my wheels. Sure enough, one of my spokes had snapped. It amazes me how quickly a wheel will go out of true when a spoke breaks. Anyway, I coasted home and watch cycling on TV. It was the first spring classic race in Italy. The Milan San-Remo is 190 miles long. Ouch. Liz and I got my wheel fixed later that day and I got my "real" ride in later in the afternoon. (What homework?)

Today it is supposed to rain. I'm guessing I'll end up having to ride inside. At least there is basketball to watch.

The culprit.

Annoying Video

I'm not sure why that degree commercial played automatically when you came to my blog. What I do know is that the videos that play automatically at espn.com drives me batty. I think it is a control thing. I want to pick what I want to listen to, and I don't want Liz to know every time I refresh the espn.com homepage. She never believes that I'm doing homework with the Sportcenter theme blaring out of my computer while I frantically push the mute button.

Anyway, my apologies. The video has been changed to a hyper link

Yesterday's ride

Here are pictures from yesterday's ride. There were a whole bunch of really good photo opportunities so I took two sort of boring ones.

The longer Liz and I have lived here in West Lafayette the more and more of these we see. I remember when I first started biking that it would take a 3 hour round trip to get to the farm, but now you get get out and back well within 2 hours.

It amazes me overtime how huge these things are. I would like to think that this is a complete solution to our dependence on foreign oil, but I don't think it ever will go that far. For now, I just hope that it continues to bring money into Indiana.

Overall, my ride was very hard but good. I hit the wind (the windmills are here for a reason) on the way home and had to spend a considerable amount of time trying to shut down my mind so I wouldn't pay attention to how hard I was working just to go so slow.

And in NCAA news;

Boiler Up! Purdue looked pretty good... most of the time... in the second half. The only thing that matters is that final score though. We'll see how they do next round.

Interesting commercial

Kind of cool commercial. Liz and I agreed that instead of reattaching at the end he should have just grabbed the front wheel and continued on his way on one wheel.

Degree video here... without hyperlink. Sorry.

And it is almost like someone at degree saw this video on their break

Spring Break Training

Since I don't have school, I have more time to make food. It's a good thing to since I've been super hungry the past few days. Liz will vouch for this. Yesterday resulted in a Lasagna dinner at 4:30pm followed by another Jimmy Johns dinner at 8:30pm, then a bag of popcorn at 9:45, a healthy dose of food guilt at 10:00, and a redemption orange at 11:00pm. Somewhere in there I had a 5 or 6 chips ahoy cookies (Thanks Elizabeth S.)

My training book warned that I might get more hungry because of the increase in activity, but I figured I would get hungry after I started training hard and not before I started the program. I've never been one to question what the stomach wants so I went ahead and made a big lunch full of carbs and protein to fuel my ride later today.

Here is a picture of lunch.

We have:

1 grilled cheese

2 pickles

1 apple sauce cup

1 can of potatoes (I threw on some olive oil later to give them some taste)

1 yogurt for dessert (not pictured)

I would like everyone to notice the genius features of the monkey plate. One are for ketchup and one ear for pickles. The face for the main course. It helps keep me organized, and thus it is my favorite plate.

Now if only Liz could get me to make dinner. har har har. Tonight is fish and coucous. I think. It depends on what is in the freezer and cabinets, and what Liz makes, with me helping of course.

Spring Break... Deep Thoughts

For the past 7 years (yikes!), I've made the same annual mistake. Each year, I dutifully tell myself that over spring break I will be productive and a "good" student. Then, without fail, I don't get much done. The problem is that I push back a lot of stuff to work on over these breaks. The end result is a lot of work that doesn't get done till the day or two before the end of the break. It's not the best system, but at least it's consistent. It's too late to change now since I'll be graduating in the next couple of years (yikes!)

Double "yikes" bonus

Spring Break

I dropped Liz off at work this morning and then came home and promptly fell asleep on the couch. Whoops. I woke up and freaked out because I had been planning on getting a variety of things done this morning and suddenly it was morning no more.

I did start my training program today. I did two long sprints. It turns out that roast beef and tortilla chips are a recipe for disaster. My stomach was extremely unhappy during the second sprint.

Now I'm off to go see a client and get some real work done. No picture today. It wasn't worth it.

Thank goodness the days are getting longer

More light! More light. Push back the setting sun.

I'm able to get rides in now even if I start at 5:30pm. This is great except for the fact that I've lost a fairly good reason to not bike. For some reason it's not real safe to bike at night... even when inside.

Here is a picture from the same spot I took a picture from awhile ago. There is much less snow.

Here is the free range apartment complex cat named Claude. He was chasing the dry leaves that were blowing in the wind. Yeah, he's a dumb cat.

And Penny really doesn't like him or the fact that I was taking his picture.

A nice day

I got out for a a 36 mile ride today. I wasn't really planning on going that far, but it was so nice outside. There were a lot of other riders outside which is always nice to see. I ran into the same group of 20 riders from the Wabash Cycling Club three times. I think they were going for a really long ride, so they were going really slow. I felt bad that I kept sprinting past them, but they probably didn't even care. I postponed the start of the my new training a week. I want the peak results to coincide with my summer races.

I forgot the camera on today's ride so there isn't a picture. Whoops.

Now back to my homework. I'm reading about all the paper work that I am required by law to keep for all of my therapy sessions. I can sum it up quickly. 1) Keep record of everything. 2) Understand that despite your best efforts you are still breaking some rule or law and could be sued.

Trying some new stuff

Next week I'm going to try to start a more focused and regular training routine. I'm really nervous about it. First, I know that I often come home and sit down on the couch and don't get on my bike when I should hop on right away. The training comes out of a book that Liz got me for my birthday and is geared towards athletes who don't have 15 hours a week to train. The down side of the program (or upside) is that when you are training it is very high intensity which doesn't always feel so good. I'm excited to see if i can stick with it and if it improves my ability to race better this summer.

Last night I used my brand new cycling mat. I was all I would wish for out of a big mat. I was not slippery, it was quiet, and it was large enough that I didn't have to worry about sweat accidentally getting on the carpet. Liz let me move the couch over towards the door to make room for it. I tried my Christmas dvd again. I made it farther this time than last. If I could have grunted out another 16 minutes, I would have gotten through it. Next time though I think I'll get it. My only grip with the dvd workout is that the people in the video clearly aren't trying as hard as they should be. After each sprint they sit back and smile and chat with each other. I on the other hand am worrying Liz while making weird throat nosies during each rest time. Yes, it's really that hard, but I still really like it. It will fit well with the new training program.

I don't have any pictures right now because I'm at school. My first client canceled, so I'm wasting time before my second client. Oddly enough, the one that needs to be coming to see me the most is the one who often misses the session, and the one who really is about ready to go off on his own keeps coming like a Swiss clockwork. Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy.

It's My Birthday!

Thanks to everyone who called, texted, or otherwise wished me well today. It was a good day filled with work. I rode my bike to school which always makes me happy. I'm not sure why it just does. The funny thing is that I can't even claim to do it in the name of being environmentally friendly because I usually make a special trip back to school later to pick up my books and computer. By riding my bike, I'm actually make a larger carbon footprint. I don't mind though because I like doing it that much.

I did a few things out of the ordinary to celebrate my birthday at work. First, I took a secret nap in the lab for 30 minutes after lunch. hmmmm.. the joy of secret naps. I can hear people working in the hallway, and they don't even know that there is a grad student just a few feet away reclining in a lazy boy. Second, I left work early and went for an extra long bike ride. My treat to me. I saw a bunch of other riders, but I was glad to be solo today. I knew that I was in a bit of a spot when I noticed a leaf rolling down the road in the same direction as I was going and as fast as I was moving. As expected, when I turned around there was a wicked head wind. It's ok though, spring is upon us (at least in Indiana)!

My post ride birthday picture. I make a rookie mistake and did not straighten my jersey. tisk tisk

I Am Not Lost! I Think?

The roads dried out today so I bundled up and went out for a ride. I learned a little bit about my training routine.

1.I'm never again eating eggs and bacon on the same day I plan on riding my bike.

2. In addition, I'm not to eat a whole frozen pizza by myself ever again under any circumstances. I did let Liz have a piece of the pizza, but it didn't help.

So I had a bit of heartburn, but I fully admit that I deserved it.

Here is the picture of the day. It was at the base of the big hill that I ride up. It is a good sized hill, and you can see a bit of it in the background (the hill, not the road I bike up). It made me feel good that total strangers knew that I wasn't lost. I'm on their road, and as long as I drive safe everything will be ok.

Sleepless

I have always considered myself a champion sleeper. But like most people on this earth, I have a couple of nights here and there when I'm not tired even when I should be. Tonight is one of those nights. They rarely happen (maybe because Liz and I don't have any kids?), but I figured why not do something instead of laying in bed staring at the ceiling. Here is a list of things I'm thankful for at this very minute....

1. A really good past week at school

2. Being all caught up on all my grading (if only for one or two days)

3. Living in a deadly quiet apartment complex

4. Getting better at doing my devotions at night

5. Emergency roadside assistance (we are covered through phone and car insurance... that's a lot of free towing!)

6. Paying someone else to do my taxes. I don't care how much it costs. I don't want the headache.

7. Coffee during the day(good or bad)

8. Good tea at night (only good)

9. The fact that almost all the snow melted today

10. My bike

11. The fact that my wife never snores

12. Really vivid dreams that make me ask Liz weird questions when she wakes up in the morning while I still sleep (How exactly do you respect people from Tennessee?)

13. Fluffy pillows

14. Watching Penny attack Liz's yarn

15. James Taylor

16. Excedrin (or now called the Saturday Production Stimulator)

17. Food. The more the better.

See wasn't that fun!

Maybe someday we'll buy some kids for a psuedo farm

weak sauce.... I know but it is 1:30am so cut me some slack.