springfieldsghost’s blog

80 degrees humidity 86 percent heat index 82

Bicycle ride today 5.5 miles, 30 minutes, average speed 10.5 miles per hour. Felt good to ride with Tessa but since she had not been bike riding lately she did not want to do more than 5 miles. Hopefully we will do more later this week.

We went to the seminar tonight for "strength training at home for running and cycling". It was interesting and we both got a stretch band to work with for strength training. The exercise sheet also had several exercises and directions to do them. This will come in handy when the weather is bad this winter. I also need to invested in some weights 3, 5, and 7 pounds size should be more than adequate for us.

Tomorrow I need to walk/jog to keep that part of the training going. That is really the part I hate, hate, hate, I can't tell you how much I hate it. I do have to admit it is easier than it was in the beginning.

This makes it even more important to get the basement ready for winter. ASAP

68 degrees Humidity 88 percent Wind chill 68 degrees

Bike ride today and I went with my mom (she's 66 years old) so the pace was different and we were on a route I had not done in years. We had a great time.

Went 15.17 miles, average speed 8.2 miles per hour, and it took us 1 hour and 51 minutes. Since this was the first ride on my bike since the tune up from the bike shop it was good to take it easy and feel the difference in the bike.
It rides, shifts, and just feels so much better. They adjusted the rear brake too and it worked much better.

All together it was great weather and every thing feels good. Tomorrow I will need to walk/jog and it is also my first day back at work after a week on vacation. I will begin training harder this week as we are getting closer to biathlon day.
School starts for me August 25 and my girls go back to school that day also, it will be a challenge to keep training, do school work, job, and all the other things a mom does.
WOW I think I need more hours in the day and a couple more hands. lmao

66 degrees Humidity 83 percent Wind Chill 66 degrees

YEA!! :) This evening I walk/jogged 2 miles in 26 minutes and 2 seconds. I know that is only a 13 minute mile but since I have never done 2 miles on foot, concentrating on speed, consistency, and non stop this is amazing.
I feel good about the run but I could feel the impact on my knees and ankles in the second mile, it was not a pain but I slowed down some on the jogging to give it a rest.

We still do not have our bikes back from the shop and I did walk a lot at the fair today, with a small case of sunburn to show for it.

I will call the shop tomorrow to check on bikes and will just keep running until the bike is back. I just cannot spend a lot of time on my mom's bike because the seat is just too painful.

Monday August 11th 5:30 pm

Bicycle ride 4.5 miles, 30 minute ride on my mom's bike. I would have went on a longer ride but I hate her bike seat.

Today was veterans day at the fair. They had several programs to honor veterans today. I could not make it to everything but the displays set up by the museum and manned by veteran volunteers were totally awesome. The girls got dogtags made and are still wearing them. They had the every thing you could think of set up for display. They gentleman at the civil war table left an impression on many  people today. When I arrived at the table he is dressed as a soldier, I asked him how the war was going and he did a good job playing his part. He explained about how to load his rifle and how long it took, if he was lucky he could fire 3 rounds in one minute. He said the hard tack was not very good.
The world war II display was the largest but they had one gentleman there who had his flight suit and helmet from flying in Vietnam. He was very eloquent also. Everyone did a great job and answered questions all day long. The the daily parade featured the veterans and their families. It was good to see them honored properly by most people. Not everyone but plenty were standing and clapping for the men and women in the parade. My mom and aunt went to one part of the program where the governor spoke to the veterans and the men and women serving now. Since he is not a popular governor here in town that part did not thrill my mom and aunt but it was a great day.
I am thankful everyday for the men and women who serve our country but it is so cool to think about how long our military has been around.

59 degrees Humidity 83 percent Wind Chill 59 degrees
(just hours ago this was heat index not wind chill-heat index will be back)

Jogged most of the mile tonight but at a slow pace because I wanted to see if I could jog the whole mile. I couldn't do the whole mile but I did at least 3/4 of the mile at a jog. the time was 13 minutes 43 seconds. AWESOME :)
The bikes are still at the bike shop getting their check up. I hope they call tomorrow I want us to get fitted and go on a bike ride while the weather is still so nice. It's August and it will not stay cool for long.
I have been walking a lot at the fair the last couple of days so my feet are killing me and my Achilles tendon feels like it is cramping up, I am taking ibuprofen for the inflammation and hope when I start biking again this will help to stretch the tendon.

I am posting this late tonight so not sure of conditions at start of biking today.

79 degrees Humidity about 80 percent

Not a bad weather day today did ride today but only for about 30 minutes again and then slowed down and transitioned to a small jog today. I did not jog for long just until it felt like I was in the groove and my body could keep up the jogging with out a struggle.

Then I went to the fair watched part of the parade and then walked around checking things and people out. I was so glad the weather was so cooperative today and made the first day of the fair so wonderful. The girls rode several rides and we will be going back tomorrow.

74 degrees Humidity 85 percent Heat Index 79 degrees

Went for a bike ride tonight but today I just pushed myself as much as possible to keep the same pumping pace, cadence, for 30 minutes straight, shifted up and down on the inclines to keep my pace the same. I did have to stop and rest for a couple of minutes at the 15 minute mark but after that I was OK. When the 30 minutes were up then I walked/jogged for 20 minutes. It was not a bad run but it wasn't much over a mile so I was very slow today. I am tired right now and I know I will have a busy day tomorrow.

State Fair parade and the kids want to go, I don't want to go. I want to go to the bike trail and get spend some time with serious bikers and get some information on shifting gears for uphill/downhill biking.
Who knows maybe I can get someone to take them to the fair and then meet them later.
TTFN

84.9 degrees humidity 90 percent Heat Index 101 degrees

Nasty weather today and not supposed to be any better tomorrow but not quite as hot
.
So we ran a timed mile tonight. Tessa finished her mile wading through the thick atmosphere in 9 minutes and 47 seconds. I finished my mile in 11 minutes 49 seconds and I totally stopped for a water break for at least 10 seconds it was way to hot and we were sweating like water fountains.

Biathlon seminar tomorrow on Cycle repair 101 should be interesting.

I can't wait for next week because I will be on vacation and the state fair is next week for entertainment.

76 degrees Humidity 76 percent Heat Index 77 degrees

Today was hot but it cooled off after 6:00 pm soooooo I finally got to ride my bike. (I really should have cut the grass but I wanted to have fun) OMG it felt fantastic to be pedaling down the street instead of jogging on my own two feet. Since I could not bike all week I only rode 5.2 miles it took 30  minutes, average for me, but today I also walk/jogged 1 mile after the bike ride. It took me 12 minutes and 44 seconds to finish the mile but this is the first time I have tried to both bike and walk/jog on the same day and especially back to back. Knowing I was getting close to home I stopped pedaling occasionally and stretched and stiffened each leg a couple of times and the transition wasn't too bad. I am sure if I practice the transition more I can get a better time on the walk/jog. I am sure I will feel some pull in my muscles tomorrow but I don't think it will be too bad.

Sept 14 is only 43 days away and I know it will fly by.

75 degrees Humidity 89 percent Heat Index 80 degrees

Tessa and I just finished our mile walk/jog and today we bought a stop watch to see how we are doing in our training run.
Tessa finished in 9 minutes 44 seconds and I finished in 11 minutes 45 seconds, the best I've ever done in my life. My heart rate was a little high but was back down to a respectable level in less than 3 minutes, I consider that a very good recovery for my age, weight, and lack of exercise while I have worked and raised my girls.

If the weather would cool down soon we will start riding the bike a couple miles and then practice transitioning to the run, but the weather forcast is not looking good for that. I will keep the walking lunges in my routine to continue to build up the pushing muscles for the hills on the bike ride.