Most people hate cold weather - I love it.
Always have.
Makes me feel more alive.
I wouldn't like it all of the time - I'd get tired of it... but change is good - keeps things fresh.
I was out for a run recently and it was cold - no one in sight.
It was quiet. I heard a tree moving with the wind. I heard the subtle flow of the river.
Everything around me seemed dead - I love the contrast of how full of life I feel when I am running in the winter. I am this warm body moving through the cold air.
A cloudy day intensifies the effect.
A run on a winters night is surreal - the dark against the white snow. My body warming the cold air. The air so clean - the smell of nothing... and then suddenly the wonderful smell of a wood burning fire.
The silence against may rampant thoughts.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
getting the most out of your Garmin "Workouts" Feature
Ok, I'm a gadget freak sometimes - at other times, I want nothing between me and the great outdoors.
But in the winter, when I'm stuck inside training on my bike, I tend to play with my gadgets a bit more.
Now Garmin sports devices come with software called Training Center. This software has some really nice features when using it with the Garmin.
The main one I want to talk about today is the Workouts. If you haven't used this, give it a shot.
I've never used this feature outdoors and not sure that I would bother.
But indoors, it is fantastic!
Why? Because you can set up your workout using the Training Center Software, download it to your Garmin Device, then run the workout when you are on your Bike trainer in the basement watching TV.
Why? Because if you're really tired of using those Training DVDs, you can program the exact same workout into your Garmin and watch 24 or a full length movie and just let your Garmin tell you what to do next.
So how does it work? It's pretty easy, but let me screen scrape one of my workouts and I'll explain how I workout against it....
For this workout (I call it Strength/Speed), I do 2 mins in Heartrate zone 1, 5 minutes in HR2, and 3 mins in HR3 (ok, the graphic doesn't show all of that, but trust me it's there and it does show up on your Garmin). After that warmup, I rest for 2 minutes then go to a big/hard gear keeping my Cadence between 60 and 70 for 3 minutes. I do this 8 times, then I move to the fast feet, where I rest for a minute and kick the cadence up to 100-110 for 2 minutes - I do this 6 times. Then I do a cool down.
Piece of cake! The Garmin beeps at me when it is time to change, and tells me if I'm going to fast or slow. You can set this up for Cadence, Speed, HR, Distance. (You need to add extra Garmin hardware to do all of this - or you can just go by Heart Rate or use the cyclometer and go by time).
So set up some nice workouts on your Garmin and watch something good on TV instead of following those boring training videos!
Next Time - Garmin Training Partner
But in the winter, when I'm stuck inside training on my bike, I tend to play with my gadgets a bit more.
Now Garmin sports devices come with software called Training Center. This software has some really nice features when using it with the Garmin.
The main one I want to talk about today is the Workouts. If you haven't used this, give it a shot.
I've never used this feature outdoors and not sure that I would bother.
But indoors, it is fantastic!
Why? Because you can set up your workout using the Training Center Software, download it to your Garmin Device, then run the workout when you are on your Bike trainer in the basement watching TV.
Why? Because if you're really tired of using those Training DVDs, you can program the exact same workout into your Garmin and watch 24 or a full length movie and just let your Garmin tell you what to do next.
So how does it work? It's pretty easy, but let me screen scrape one of my workouts and I'll explain how I workout against it....
For this workout (I call it Strength/Speed), I do 2 mins in Heartrate zone 1, 5 minutes in HR2, and 3 mins in HR3 (ok, the graphic doesn't show all of that, but trust me it's there and it does show up on your Garmin). After that warmup, I rest for 2 minutes then go to a big/hard gear keeping my Cadence between 60 and 70 for 3 minutes. I do this 8 times, then I move to the fast feet, where I rest for a minute and kick the cadence up to 100-110 for 2 minutes - I do this 6 times. Then I do a cool down.
Piece of cake! The Garmin beeps at me when it is time to change, and tells me if I'm going to fast or slow. You can set this up for Cadence, Speed, HR, Distance. (You need to add extra Garmin hardware to do all of this - or you can just go by Heart Rate or use the cyclometer and go by time).
So set up some nice workouts on your Garmin and watch something good on TV instead of following those boring training videos!
Next Time - Garmin Training Partner
Saturday, January 10, 2009
on the trails again
The early dawn twillight woke me this morning. It must have been 7 or so.
Ate some cereal with frozen blueberries and read the paper.
I was cold - didn't want to ride yet, so fixed the treadmill (a couple of washers) and the eliptical (paper in the roller track).
It took some doing, but I finally convinced myself to go for that MTB ride in the cold (30 degrees - not so bad).
Got to the end of the driveway and decided to go back and fill my tire.
The first mile is mostly downhill and it chilled me to the bone.
2 miles in, the tongue from my shoe was bugging me - must be twisted - I stopped and fixed it - cold hands.
3 miles in, I had to dismount - construction zone on a little used gravel road that I take.
On the trail I felt totally out of my element - it's been a while. Ground was frozen, lots of leaves still, light dusting of snow on the trails.
Just not feeling it, but going to stick it out, just relax and enjoy it.
45 minutes in, my balance comes back, finding some nice new trails, an old stone building where the trail runs through - kind of neat.
A few more climbs, feeling good. Rarely dismounting. Feeling the trails, not having to think about it so much, just riding, not so tense.
Back at home, nice lunch, play Wii with Sena. Good day.
Ate some cereal with frozen blueberries and read the paper.
I was cold - didn't want to ride yet, so fixed the treadmill (a couple of washers) and the eliptical (paper in the roller track).
It took some doing, but I finally convinced myself to go for that MTB ride in the cold (30 degrees - not so bad).
Got to the end of the driveway and decided to go back and fill my tire.
The first mile is mostly downhill and it chilled me to the bone.
2 miles in, the tongue from my shoe was bugging me - must be twisted - I stopped and fixed it - cold hands.
3 miles in, I had to dismount - construction zone on a little used gravel road that I take.
On the trail I felt totally out of my element - it's been a while. Ground was frozen, lots of leaves still, light dusting of snow on the trails.
Just not feeling it, but going to stick it out, just relax and enjoy it.
45 minutes in, my balance comes back, finding some nice new trails, an old stone building where the trail runs through - kind of neat.
A few more climbs, feeling good. Rarely dismounting. Feeling the trails, not having to think about it so much, just riding, not so tense.
Back at home, nice lunch, play Wii with Sena. Good day.
Friday, January 9, 2009
January Doldrums
Not a lot of motivation this year yet. Limited running (Doctor's orders); not enough daylight to ride during the week; too cold to ride regularly anyway; I quit the gym 6 months ago; no training plan; treadmill and eliptical broken; new car doesn't have a bike rack; I haven't signed up for any races yet; ate loads of unhealthy food over the holiday and gained 10lbs... too many excuses.
So tomorrow, I'll fix the treadmill and hopefully fix the eliptical. We'll have some snow, so either I'll go for a MTB ride locally or ride on the trainer; lift some weights.
So tomorrow, I'll fix the treadmill and hopefully fix the eliptical. We'll have some snow, so either I'll go for a MTB ride locally or ride on the trainer; lift some weights.
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