To THE PAIN!

I actually think I used this title once before. (March 2009 when I started hitting the gymn again.) But, the movie is such a good one, and there really isn't anything else that describes my thoughts.

First - I learned a valuable lesson this last week - just because someone isn't a "follower" of my blog doesn't mean it's not being read. Second: I have a nasty habit of opening my mouth a little bigger to stick my foot in a little further.

I've realized that when I write here I tend to "tailor" my comments to my percieved audience. I guess that comes from talking about money all the time. However, this is really supposed to be me talking to me - and letting whoever wants to drop in to this crazy, mixed-up part of my head listen in.

A big THANK-YOU goes out to Duanne for his help in getting my computrainer back up and going. I've been without a computer to run it (it's OLD stuff, and I just didn't have anything old enough to run it!) since my "friends" from the RCMP stopped by and siezed it. - he gave me an old laptop and POOF! I'm off and riding in my basement again. It's so much better than my rollers. I like rollers - great for improving my form and balance - but long rides on the rollers make things go a little numb, and standing for any length of time is difficult.

Of course, the disappointing thing is how far down my performance numbers are from a year ago!

I love my computrainer - it's basically a regular rear-tire mount bicyle trainer - except that for the resistance there's a cable that runs to this cool little box, and that runs to a computer. As the terrain changes (up hill or downhill - or even drafting!) the resistance is adjusted. All the while it monitors and records heart rate, cadence, watt output, leftleg/rightleg balance, time, etc. (and shows it all on the screen while hammering along.)

So this morning I went for a little 30km ride with a little climb in the middle. I was disappointed that my average wattage output has slipped by 60-65 watts. My max is almost half what it used to be. I worked hard this morning - and now that I've got it set-up, I can work hard again and get those numbers up in time to do some racing. Johnny, LOOK OUT! I'm coming for ya man!

On another note: I've gotten my numbers back from my DEXXA scan. Wow. I guess I'm going to have to hit the gymn. I've got some serious muscle imbalances. Pretty hard to correct those through running or cycling. The news wasn't all that great - but at least it tells the whole story and I know where I'm at now. I hope to be able to have another one this summer and that it'll tell a whole different story.

A special thank-you to my wife who is always so encouraging when I get down about where I'm at.