Ahhhh.

Another good ride this morning.  2 hours.  I am noticing that my cadence is picking up! Also I am able to get out of the saddle better.  In one of the training videos coach Robbie has me doing intervals with two 30 second segments of out of the saddle work.  The first couple of times I tried it I wasn't able to make the whole 30 seconds and now I can!!! I have one more week at 2 hours and then I up it to 2.5.  It is great to have the support of my wonderful family throughout this whole period in my life.  Thank you for allowing me the alone time, I know it's a lot to ask.  I also want to thank the extended family for encouraging me and all my friends for their encouragement as well.

Jeremy got small weights for Christmas...I am thinking about adding them in as I ride.

TGIF

Yeah - It's Friday!  Hopefully Jim's jury duty will finish up today.  It seems to have really taken a toll on him emotionally.  He still can't talk about the case but he did tell me that in his initial questioning they asked him a lot about being an engineer - I guess they were counting on him being the logical un-emotional one.  If he's the most un-emotional  one - I'd hate to be in that courtroom.

On to my training, I did ride my 45 minutes yesterday.  It was a great day yesterday, Jeremy and I had physicals for our new insurance.  Of course we had to weigh in.  Both the doctor and nurse were in shock when I weighed in.  They both asked what in the world had I been doing.  I officially lost 20 pounds since October!  Those kind of results are really encouraging.  I'm looking forward to yoga today with Jman...maybe we will wait til tonight and have Jim do it with us.

Yesterday at Jeremy's dance class, the parents of one of his classmates were there waiting with me.  His dad is a cyclist and is training for a 1/2 iron-man.  After some talk came up he mentioned something to his wife about her starting a 'body-sculpting' class.  He said she would feel like an idiot for the first couple classes.  While not a nice comment I know where he is coming from.  I always hated doing fitness classes because I always felt like I was the worst one in the class.  So I never stuck with it.  I think that's why I like cycling so much.  It's something I can do on my own, and yet when I feel ready I can join a group and have others to ride with.

Sick day

Well I skipped yoga on Monday and used the day to recover.  I did ride today for 45 minutes and am feeling better.  I'm sure it was just a quick 'too much stress lately' bug.  Jim got selected for jury duty, so he will be home at an early hour these next few days so I should be able to yoga tomorrow.  I got into genealogy researching again last night...been a week or so!  This year I am working on cleaning up my database, and of course chasing the ever elusive parents of William Fain Rountree.  With Jim actually having vacation time, I am thinking about a trip to FLA, maybe incorporating a day to go research in GA.

Ultra proud today.

I had every excuse in the book to not ride today - I didn't sleep well, I'm fighting a cold, I was up late and we have company.  But I was a good girl and got on the trainer for 2 hours.

Our company is here because it was Jeremy's birthday yesterday.  I can't believe he is 4 years old already.  We had such a great time partying with his friends at Chuck-E-Cheese and then we came home and he and Nana (whose birthday was on Thursday) got to open more presents.  We also had our official family portraits made on Saturday.  We never had them before because I wouldn't let myself be photographed.

A great weekend and more Star Wars to come!

great week so far...and Saturday is gonna be awesome!

I've been good at following my training schedule with 45 minute rides Tuesday and today, with yoga on Monday and tomorrow.  Monday's yoga was fun as it became a competitive sport between myself and Jim.  I kicked his bum!  It is so weird being that person, I've never been better than Jim at anything physical before.

It was nice last night to be able to attend a genealogy lecture by Karen Krugman @ http://genealogyframeofmind.blogspot.com/.  She does a great job and it's nice knowing a fellow misplaced genealogist (especially from Georgia and Florida).  Now I am really looking forward to getting some research time in...gotta figure out when though.  I am out of time this week as parents, brother and in-laws are coming up for the weekend to celebrate Jeremy's 4th birthday!  So I guess I should quit writing this and get cleaning.

2 hours done!

Well I made my 2 hours today.  I started off with the Real Rides 101 for half an hour and then watched Independence Day (up to July 4th).  I don't know when I will quit being surprised at how much better I feel after riding.  I guess I have 37 years of denial to make up for.  This week is gonna be busy as we are getting ready for Jman's 4th birthday and all the company that it entails - lots of cleaning coming my way, but I will not skimp on my training...it takes priority.

Yoga and Cycling and Snow Shoveling...Oh My

Wednesday morning we woke up to close to a foot of snow on the ground.  I had a half an hour to get as much shoveling done as I could.  That was a workout.  On Thursday Jeremy and I were home pretty much all day so I did get 40 minutes on the bike.  Today we will be doing yoga together on the wiifit, after nap that is.  I'm forcing a nap today because the little man is insistent on watching Star Wars tonight.  I'm a little worried about the next one (episode 3).  I think it is the darkest of all of them but he's done surprising well with the others.

First ITouch Blog

I am writing from the basement where I just got off the trainer. I've had a fun day with little man and love how I can count on him to get me to the basement. I just can't resist "mommy you can ride your bike while I play trains".

Wii Yoga

Had my first Wii Yoga session today.  I was very pleased with the rankings I got - Yoga Trainer and Yoga Master!  I would have never thought of myself that way.  I am starting to doubt that I will make 100 miles...just seems like waaaaay too much, but I will not give up.  I want to be that amazing story of the woman who in a year and a half went from not being able to ride 5 miles to riding 100.  I'm just a little scared.

Week 1 done

Just got off the bike after 1.5 hours.  Next Sunday I am upping it to 2 hours.  This time I watched the movie 'Chasing Legends'.  What a great film.  I don't see how anyone who watches it can't fall in love with cycling.  It explains the Tour de France following team HTC Columbia, for newbies they explain the strategy and team aspect that most don't know about all while keeping the excitement level up.  BTW I am in love with Mark Cavendish almost as much as Lancelot!

I will be starting yoga on the Wii on my off days - starting tomorrow.

On another note, Jeremy's buddy Reece is coming over to play today and he is sooo excited.  Both boys are out shoveling the driveway right now.  I am Alpha-testing a new FB game called Family Village, it is supposed to be along the line of Farmville and such but with a family history aspect.  I'll let ya'll know what I think.

Almost Sunday

It's Saturday night and I just finished 39 minutes on the bike, getting ready for tomorrow's 1.5 hour ride.  I just feel sooooo much better after a ride - no matter how long it.  I also like how when I ride I just love water!  It is something I have always wanted was to drink more water instead of coke and it is happening.  I wish all my friends could know what a good feeling it is.  Why oh why did I take so long to find my bliss.

Thursday Jan 6th

Today I was scheduled to ride for 30 minutes.  I did 40.  I really like the video!  Robbie took me through some hill intervals...ouch!  After that the video went into stuff a beginner should know like changing tires, bike safety, and what to wear.  I already knew most of it although I haven't had to change a tire yet.  The point I found most interesting was, of course to wear bike shorts, but also to wear nothing under them.  An order to go commando!

Our day in the Mathieu house is also going to consist of starting a 1000 piece train puzzle.  Gotta go get started!

Fun Ride

Just finished 35 minutes on the trainer.  I had been using Robbie Ventura's Race Day training video which I love but decided to also download his Ride 101 video from http://realrides.tv/ and used that one today.  I really like the first 35 minutes and am looking forward to watching the rest.  Thanks to Robbie for putting these videos out!

Monday, Wednesday and Fridays

My MWF's will be my down days.  Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays will be short rides to keep my legs moving.  Today I will ride for 30 min.  The rest of the day will be spent cleaning, researching, and party planning for my little man's 4th bday.  I still can't believe I'm gonna do this.  Last year at this time I couldn't ride a bike for more than 5 minutes...and now I'm getting ready for 100 miles!!!  It was so funny last night to be the one encouraging Jim to keep working out and to press on - "it's always hard to get started".  What a role reversal for us!

The start of the New Year

Well last year in June I bought my Giant Cypress for riding around town.  I didn't realize how addicted I would become and by October I was riding my first organized ride - 30 Mile Blue Water Ramble.  My resolution for this year is to ride the 100 mile BWR.  I am gonna use this blog to keep me accountable.  Yesterday, Sunday Jan 2, I rode on the trainer for an hour and a half.  During the week I will ride short rides but Sundays will be my challenge days.

This blog may contain other items of interest to me including: Genealogy, Astronomy or Tequila...with me you never know what you'll get.