And it cuts like a knife

"My school colors were clear. We used to say, "I'm not naked, I'm in the band."" -- Stephen Wright

I swear it felt like I was sitting on an axe. Maybe even on a Henckel or Wüstof, the Santoku type. When I started getting back into the bike groove a month ago, I could feel my ass bearing a lot of unnecessary weight. It gave me saddle sores for the first week. I certainly needed to lose quite a few pounds to get my bones, joints and the rest of my body to a better comfort level.

But today's workout was a lot better. My butt's pretty used to my Tailbone saddle. Who gives a sh*t that it's not a performance seat. I like it. And it's plush enough to negate the necessity of bike shorts. When I feel I deserve it, I'll upgrade to a Fizik.

All aside, I'm finally organizing and charting my working routines. Microsoft Excel seems like a nice program for holding the data and converting it to graphs (still, I'm looking for something better). I'll eventually start posting charts of my progress.

Trying to get into the groove

“My wife was afraid of the dark... then she saw me naked and now she's afraid of the light.” -- Rodney Dangerfield

Well thank the Lords of Kobol* I did something today. (*Yes, I'm a Battlestar Galactica new series fan.) I did the bike trainer this morning and lifted some weights this evening.

As I'd said before in my last post, I need to be better organized at keeping track of my workouts this season. In previous years at the gym, I kept track on how hard, how fast and how long my sessions were, like on the treadmill. Then I'd just play the "top that workout" game on my next session where I would take it ever so slightly up a notch. And so on. That I enjoyed.

But this year, I don't know. I just don't feel like writing anything down. At least until tonight. And it's because I feel I'm lacking in tools to measure my performances. My cyclometer is a bit flaky; my swimming is...well...I just swim; and my running...frankly, I'm at a loss on how to accurately gauge my outdoor runs. It was soooo much easier at the gym with the machines; just press level 1 the first week, then level 2 the second week, etc; or enter 6.0 mph on the treadmill one day, then 6.1 mph the next day, etc. Nice small incremental improvements. But outdoors, how do you increase your running by 0.1 mph? This, I must figure out and get used to.

A different year, a different environment. A gym rat no more am I.

* * *

Workout--Thursday, 4/14/06:
Bike Trainer: 60 minutes, 12.70 miles
25 min: Warmup
23 min: Hill Intervals--

4:08 min, HARD (standing on highest gears,
pedal cadence to Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield)
3:26 min, Easy (recovery, sitting on lowest gears,
recovery to Love, love, love by Tristan Prettyman)
2:36 min, HARD (standing..., Unwritten...)
3:26 min, Easy (recovery...)
2:36 min, HARD (standing..., Unwritten...)
3:26 min, Easy (recovery...)
3:06 min, HARD (standing, cadence to Good Times by Tommy Lee)

12 min: Cooldown

Weights (my first day):
Bench Press: 45 lbs (bar only), 25 reps x 10 sets
Shoulder Side Raises: 13 lbs, 10 reps x 5 sets
Situps: 15 reps x 5 sets

Need to get the ball rolling

Yeah, I worked out a few times since my last entry. Did interval training on my bike trainer. But I haven't logged them yet.

Analysis: I need an organizing routine. And I'm a bit lazy.

I'll be a reborn triathlete yet.