Monday, December 7, 2015

Week 8 of base building for races next year

This week was a lesson in patience. I started off the week with a bad cold- congestion, low grade fever and an annoying as hell cough so I did what any smart person would do and take a few rest days and pound the NyQuil/DayQuil. That regiment of rest, meds, and hot baths paid off because by day 4 I was nearly good as new. Was I frustrated I couldn't continue building my workouts, sure. But taking care of myself for the big picture was way more important. One week of greatly reduced workouts isn't going to impact the long term goals I have.

This past weekend also marked our 11th Mikkeller Running Club run! As always, a great group of folks showed up for our 3 mile run + beer afterwards. We also had a white elephant exchange which was a blast. Our next run is January 2 at Northdown. Join us & bring your friends!

Workouts:

Monday: REST
Tuesday: 14 miles cycle
Wednesday: REST
Thursday: REST
Friday: 16 miles cycle
Saturday: 10 miles cycle, 3.3 mile run
Sunday: 15 miles cycle

58.30 miles total, 4:08.09 total time
55 cycle miles, 3:38
 3.3 running miles, 29:17


Goals:
Continue building, but with more focused workouts.

Ride outside again (if the weather is agreeable!)

Practice clipping in/out of my bike so I can avoid falling like I did on Sunday.

Snapshots:

The first half of the week was a whole lot of nothing because of the cold, I even missed my company holiday party {sad face} but life got way more interesting as the week rolled on.

Goofing on the CTA platform on our way to MRC Chicago. I squealed with excitement when I saw the holiday train approaching, but it blew by us. Womp womp.


Sunday the weather was high 30's so I took my bike outside for its 2nd ride. Everything was smooth sailing for a while. I stopped around mile 5 to fix my gloves and continued on. Around mile 11 I decided to take a photo of the skyline from Jackson Park because it was a gorgeous day. When I stopped, I unsuccessfully tried to unclip from my pedals- my weight shifted the wrong way and I fell over in seemingly slow motion on my left side. My elbow/hip were hurting, and my knee suffered a scrape- all from a ridiculous fall!

I took my photos and rode home. The bruise on my hip is awesomely grotesque. A strange thing about this fall is my right knee and hip are hurting worse than my left side. Today I saw a bruise on the inside of my right knee where it hit the frame. Sheesh!

After cycling, we went out to enjoy the weather and the remainder of our Sunday. We started for brunch at Corridor Brewing where we enjoyed their delicious beer and food. Post brunch we found some unicorns- some bourbon county regal rye at a local store, and then went to the Goose Island taproom for a few more beers. Ending the night at Urbanbelly for some soul hugging ramen was the perfect ending to this week.



-Xaarlin

9 comments:

  1. Everyone does the clipping out fall at some point! It'll take a bit of practice to make it part of muscle memory- but shows you're a real cyclist :) Great job w/ your training and listening to your body! Nothing you skip now on a single day truly matters in light of your race in September. It's all about building the habit and ability to be able to build more come spring. Keep consistent through the holidays so you can build with even more vigor in January and beyond!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hehe thanks for the kind words :) I thought I had it down- but clearly I'm not 100% yet with the clip in -out process. There will definitely be some practice sessions in my future. It's difficult to have to take unplanned days off- but as you mentioned, they won't hurt for the long run. I just need to remember that.

      Delete
  2. "When I stopped, I unsuccessfully tried to unclip from my pedals" - Unclip BEFORE you come to complete stop ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sage words of advice! I usually unclip one foot before coming to a complete stop since I can't touch the ground while on the seat. (Which is what I should have written to be clearer) I just need to practice more :)

      Delete
  3. I've made that exact mistake on my bike and fell into my husband so he cushioned my fall. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lucky you had the cushioning :) the asphalt wasn't as forgiving!

      Delete
  4. Ack, I had nasty sinus crap going on last week too! Must be in the air! Great shots by the lake!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bummer to hear that you were under the weather! I am glad you are feeling better now. Also bummer to hear about the bike fall. The concept of clipping in to your pedals has always terrified me for this very reason. I know that feeling of falling over in slow motion - it's happened to me when I've taken tumbles while running, etc. I wish you a speedy recovery from the scrapes and bruises!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am happy you are feeling better after the rest! Where is the picture of this nasty scrape? ;) You will get the hang of unclipping soon!

    I hope I see the holiday train this year! :)

    ReplyDelete