Two Wheel Blogs

It snowed tonight ... sort of. Flakes were falling with the rain, but they melted as soon as they hit the ground, if not before. I managed to drag myself to the Y for the first time in a long time. Too long a time, actually.

It was a year ago that I first committed to getting fit. I'd had my knee operation on August 28th. I'd spent six weeks on crutches. I had done all the physical therapy my insurance would pay for. I was soft, weak, and doughy. Fortunately, I joined in a "Biggest Loser"-style weight loss challenge at work. The challenge would start December 1st and run through March 1st. I used that as an incentive to clean up my act: to start eating less and better, and to start exercising regularly.

So I started hitting the Y, and hitting it hard. I would go everyday and ride the stationary cycle for at least an hour. I was aiming for the maximum fat burn range which, for my age, was a heart rate of 110. Initially, it didn't take many rpms to get my heart rate up to 110. (Did I mention I was out of shape?) But gradually, fitness started to take hold. Suddenly, I found I had to ride harder, producing more rpms, to get my heart rate in the target zone. I kept it up through March, then took it outside on my road bike once the weather warmed. Riding often and hard all summer, I got in possibly the best shape of my life.

Then October happened.

Man, that month just messed with me. I got out to ride only four times, I think, yet I couldn't work up the enthusiasm to hit the Y. So I lost a lot of my hard-earned fitness. It was bound to happen once the weather turned cold and wet, but I was not ready for it to happen so fast. Fortunately, November has brought better weather and cyclocross. That has helped slow my loss of fitness, if not stop it altogether. Now, it's time to turn the trend around.

I plan to do two more cyclocross races (Hermann this Sunday, then Concordia on Saturday 12.19) and maybe the CXMAS ride on Sunday 12.20. After that, I plan to continue to ride my cyclocross bike this winter as conditions permit. I may even break out the road bike if I get a warm, dry day. But mainly, I plan to spend a lot of time at the Y, riding the bike that goes nowhere and lifting weights. A lot of weights. Most of them with my right leg.

My goal is to get in good enough shape to compete in the Lions Club Biathalon in Highland, Ill., on Memorial Day. For biathletes, it's a 5-mile run, 15-mile ride. I've only competed as a runner before. But I only want to do it if I can I complete the 5-mile run in a respectable time. Right now, I'm defining "respectable" as five 8-minute miles. I may revise that definition before May, but right now, 40 minutes is the goal.

The important thing is committing to it, to owing the goal, and accepting the necessity of doing what's necessary to reach it. That means a lot of hours at the Y, spinning the pedals on the bike, moving the weights. Last year, I found the resolve to do it, and it paid off. It's time to find it again. It's time to recommit.

One day down. One hundred and seventy-one to go.