Actually, it's not for lack of activity that I haven't put anything down. Somewhat to the contrary and add in a day that mentally tried to kick my ass yesterday and it just wasn't a good combination. In any case, its all good.
Saturday I was really trying hard to put together a group to hit Climb Iowa. Miranda had bought me an all day pass including some lessons, gear, and the whole shebang. I figured I might as well put it to good use on a day that would make most people huddle for warmth inside rather than attempting to get some time in on my back. Funny enough, everyone seemed to be in a pretty quiet state this weekend so I found the Livestrong event at Jordan Creek. 3 hours of grinding it out on my trainer with a bunch of like minded people, what could be better?! Actually, I had about as good a time as you can when perched on your bike going nowhere, yet sweating buckets for 3 solid hours. I picked a nice spot out by the ropes so I could keep an eye on the onlookers to make sure I wasn't going to be rushed by some hot mom that was so turned on by spandex and leg fur she couldn't resist throwing me down and having her way with me right there... OK so maybe I'm exaggerating just a teensy bit. Actually, I figured it would give me easy access to the outside world if I needed a short break and would let me watch the people wondering just what kind of crazy soul would torment themselves with this kind of idiocy.
Funny enough, there were plenty of fellow idiots, err cyclists, just like me willing to sit and sweat for 3 hours. By all appearances there were 60+ of us packed in like sardines. The PRC girls were well represented and set up camp next to me which gave me some good conversation. It would seem I was the only guy racking the Death Squad Jersey, but at least we had someone there putting on a spectacle. I did manage just shy of 3 hours total time spent including a pretty killer 2 hour set followed up with a 1 hour zone 4 interval set. Ughh, I was definitely feeling cooked by the time I got done. A bottle of Heed, a couple hammer gels, and copious amounts of water barely covered the energy expenditure considering I skipped lunch due to the noon start time. Soon enough though we were done and loading back up. A good way to get a nice block of training time in for sure. It beat the hell out of forcing myself into the basement for yet another spin and netted me almost 60 miles as well.
Sunday was forecast to be another cold one and I really wasn't feeling the bike after Saturday. So, I hooked up with Pete for an hour jaunt through Raccoon River Park. We started off working the deepest snow we could find along the hiking trails. Luckily they were punctuated with a sweet fluffy layer of 3" powder from the night before and we weren't having to look too hard for resistance. On our first pass we joked a bit about walking out on the lake and Pete was pretty adamant about being able to do without that particular feat. Seems he's not the most comfortable on frozen water. I can't say as I blame him, but years of ice fishing must have tempered my fear a bit and I'm relatively comfortable on it. Even more so when we've had the temps as low as they've been lately and for most of the season. On the second pass we ventured out on the ice and captured some of the best powder, resistance, and pictures of our journey.
A couple hearty souls enjoying 8 degrees and -1 windchills!
Look ma, I'm standing on ice!
What, me worry?
We hit it relatively good for a solid hour before having to part ways. I had a driveway still calling my name while Pete was off to church. I bogged out on doing anymore workouts the rest of the weekend and carried that process right through yesterday. I did make it into the gym this morning, but yoga tonight is getting cut with nobody to watch little one. I should still get an hour+ on the bike tonight though after she hits the sack.I'm off to land of northeast Iowa tomorrow (Dubuque) for work again and I hope I'll be back in time to keep up with my planned outdoor ride. At least the weather doesn't appear it will be working against me. Here's hoping.
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