Week 2 of training has come and gone! This week felt a little long but also flew by. Here’s a look at some of the more notable things I did this week:
Sunday: I went to the gym with zero plan, worked a little bit of everything, only did what I enjoyed, and left feeling much better than I had the past few times– imagine that! I spent the rest of the day getting some things done around my apartment and we got a few inches of snow. Most importantly, I finally finalized my thesis committee! Yay!
Monday: Ultra lazy day. We got more snow so I decided to do my 1.5 hr/20 mi easy ride at home using my trainer. Trainer rides are 10000% harder than outdoor rides and even worse than stationary bike rides because it’s harder to get as much variation in the resistance to simulate hills (at least with my set-up, which includes a “dumb” trainer. There are very pricey smart trainers that can adjust resistance and simulate terrain). I put off riding because I needed to clean my bike, which is a workout in and of itself in my tiny apartment. I finally got myself on the bike but split the ride into thirds with lengthy breaks in between to distract myself from the fact that I was spending an hour on my bike going nowhere.
Side note: rides on the training plan are usually listed with a time and a distance. This ride was listed as 1.5 hr/20 mi and I did it in about an hour of riding time, but that’s because I was trying to get it over with as quickly as possible! Outdoor rides will typically align more with the recommended time.
Tuesday: Another pretty low-key day. I went to the gym in the afternoon and did some upper body strength work before getting a COVID test and snagging some free N95 masks at the student center.
Wednesday: My crowded schedule actually got me up and out of bed early to head to the gym. The weather was pretty dreary so I unfortunately had to do another 15 miles on a stationary bike. It was a tempo ride, though, so it went by somewhat quickly. I watched an episode of I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, a documentary based on the true-crime novel of the same name. I highly recommend both!
Thursday: Rest day! I drove home to Maryland so I could spend time with my family for my birthday (and my grandpa’s birthday) next week. There was on-and-off wintery weather the whole 10 hours but that still wasn’t as annoying as my cat, who decided the safety of her kennel was not satisfactory and instead rode shotgun for most of the ride:
Friday: There was a 10 mile recovery ride on the calendar today but between the bitter cold, not having a trainer, and feeling pretty low energy-wise after saying goodbye to a friend who is moving to Florida, it wasn’t happening. I walked for about 45 minutes on the treadmill instead.
Saturday: Thanks to my dad and Beth, I actually got out and did 20 miles in the cold. Well, almost 20 miles– between the four activity trackers we had we got four different distance totals and mine came up a bit short. It was sunny and nice to ride down on the base again, but the wind down by the water was chilly!
Mileage: 57.09 miles/3 rides (skipped one 10 mile ride)
Lessons learned:
- The next few weeks of cold weather cycling are going to be very tough mentally.
- My cat is extremely dramatic.
- I am very lucky to have a flexible schedule that allows me to visit home during the semester :)
Until next week!
Lauren
Lauren Bikes America 