Well, fall is definitely here. Since the clouds rolled in on Wednesday afternoon, it has been gray, and raining intermittently. Before then, it’s been sunny almost every day for the past two months or so. Now it’s cool and gray—and it will be so for the next couple of months with the sun piercing through the clouds only seldom. But, I actually like seasonal changes… And even if the weather is comparatively bad, I can always go to the gym—which is exactly what I did today. I ran the standard 5k then did 5 miles on the bike in 15 minutes while watching the Yankees / Red Sox game. Boston was up 2-1 in the 4th I think by the time I finished.

Total: 5.1k (3.0mi Run) + 5mi Bike (gym); ~550 calories; 142 lb.

Spin class today. A lot of muscle work today - had the break on pretty high for many intervals...

[Backdated on 09/30/05]

Total: 15mi Bike (spin class); ~500 calories.; 142 lb.

Just went for a little leisure-type ride along Elliot Bay. This is a picture I took on my cell phone. Can you see the hidden jewel?

[Backdated on 09/30/05]

An afternoon 5 mile run today -- my legs felt VERY heavy. I think the ride yesterday caused that, but I've felt worse on other occasions, although not since I've started keeping this blog. But I wanted to go for 5 even, and I did, so that's what counts. I'm sure I'll enjoy my next run more :-).

Total: 5.0 mi Run; ~500 calories; 141 lb.

I had about 3 hours to kill before going to work, so I went for the around-the-lake loop I previously rode on September 18th, and the first time September 11th. I was going for speed this time again, primarily because I didn't want to get to work late. I finished at 2:23:21 (device stops when going less than 3mph -- at a few stops signs and lights; I didn't stop to take a break as on the 18th), translating into 16.5mph, the total distance being 39.4 mi. On September 18th I clocked in at 2:27:12, but I think my GPS started working about 1-2 minutes earlier because the signal caught on earlier. So I think I only finished about 2:30 minutes ahead of last week. That's pretty amazing for over 2 hours and it also means that I probably can't finish too much faster -- say below 2:15 -- for that run. I really think I can get 20mph for a 40-50 mile ride, but on a road with little traffic, pedestrians, and stop signs/lights. Even though my device stops below 3mph, I often have to slow down considerably before I reach a light or when I see pedestrains or slower bike traffic. That's OK, no big deal at all :-), I like that ride a lot, but I do want to find a route where there's little traffic and where I can get to 20mph. At this point the Baindbridge Island loop is the best candidate...

I'm having trouble with extrapolating GPS data again; to be posted later.

Here's a low-resolution sattelite picture - best for large areas and not very accurate for smaller ones (thus it appears as if I biked on water :-) - with the estimated slope. Unfortunately the GPS stopped reading signals when I was going up the steepest slope right after Lap 1 on Juanita Dr. on the east side of Lake Washington. I think parts of it may have been 6%+. Also,



Total: 39.4 mi Bike; 1482 calories; 140 lb.

An easy run today early in the morning today -- haven't done a run this early in a VERY long time. A little cool, about 50 degrees, but it felt comfortable because it was sunny and the air crisp. You can see the elevation graph up close if you click on the image. The start of this regular run of mine that goes along Puget Sound is a hill -- I live about 200 feet above the water on the top of a steep hill. I think it's definitely safe from a tsunami. Actually I don't even know if the past tsunamis that have hit the west Pacific coast, including Washington state, have reached Seattle. Worth looking into...

Total: 4.60 mi Run; ~450 calories (113 shown because the Forerunner was set for biking and I forgot to switch it to run mode; 144 lb.

LiveStrongrrrrl

I found this cool site. Actually it's my friend from NYC who went with me on a couple of bike rides a couple of weeks ago. Keep it up Livestrongrrrrl!

P.S. No workout today

The pedals my bike are very similar to the ones shown on the left: they're called SPD-SL and made by Shimano. They're the preferred type of clipless pedals for road bike racers. I didn't know that -- the reason I have them is that my father got a new bike and gave me his old pedals attached to the old bike. We have the same shoe size :-), so he gave his shoes also because he upgraded his when he bought the bike.

Some gyms have stationary bikes that have the SPD-SL pedals on one side, and the standard SPD (shown on the right side) on the other. Unfortunately, all the bikes at my gym have the standard SPD, so I've been wearing standard sneakers which can fit on the other side of the SPD clip into a strap-on. Or so I thought, because today I found out that there is one bike that has SPD-SL pedals! So perhaps I'll start wearing them to class. On the other hand, it might be worth investing in SPD-compatible shoes because it'll give me more flexibility to sit where I want to in the classroom because it's not that easy to move around the bikes.


Total: 15mi Bike (spin class); ~500 calories.; ??? lb. (forgot to take a measurement)

I did the standard ~14-15 mi. bike ride that goes through Magnolia, Discovery Park, the Locks, Ballard, Fremont, and back to Belltown. It's possible that I reached my top speed today: 42.4 mph while going down a hill in Discovery Park. There's a long and pretty steep hill right before leaving the park and heading toward the Locks, which connects Puget Sound with Lake Union. I usually ride it very cautiously because the road twists to the right quite sharply and can get crowded by strollers, sometimes accompanied by dogs. But today I went down very fast and could tell the difference, so I think the speed reading is somewhat accurate, although the straight line shown indicates that the signal was being blocked for a while by the trees. Discovery Park is on the upper-left hand side of the map and the purple color indicates that speed.

Total: 14.3mi Bike; 524 calories; 142 lb.

I got a couple of new toys recently: sports glasses with my prescription and the iPod Shuffle with a Gig hard drive. I have never ever ever had any sports glasses which, now that I think about it, surprises me greatly because as a teenager I was very active and played various sports and then strated getting back into running starting in about 2001, almost a 10 year break. I've worn glasses since 3 years old--that's why I'm baffled as to why I never bothered getting them, although I remember thinking about it when I was in middle school I think.

Anyway, the ones I got are called Rec Specs Maxx. I've never heard of them before but since they sold them at Lenscrafters I assume they must have a pretty sizeable marketshare for prescription sports glasses. I took them out for a run today shortly before sunset and they felt great. They're kind of big but it doesn't bother me because the lenses are big and they're very lite.

Today was also the second day that I took out a brand new iPod shuffle! I've had a very tiny Panasonic SD-80 mp3 player for a long time. Unfortunately it broke down a few months ago and I've been waiting to get a new one ever since. Lucky for me, my brother won an iPod at some contest and he already had one. It was a great gift and I am very surprised how well it's fitted for active exercising. That's was why I got the Panasanic--it was tiny, comfortable, lite, and had a belt clip and strap on that came with it. The Shuffle just has a string which you put around your neck but it is so light that you don't need to strap it to anything even when running! The only recommendation is that you put it under your shirt so it jiggles less. The rechargable battery light is amazing on this thing and of course I like the shuffle part, but you can also play your songs in the order you put in on the device.

It's much more fun to exercise now with music and the new glasses! I am almost as excited as when I was a kid waiting for gifts on Christmas Eve.

Total: 4.63mi Run; 466 calories; 143lb.

As on last Sunday, I biked with distance in mind, and in fact rode the same route as last week: a loop around Lake Washington (not the whole lake though). Actually, I also wanted to make record speed today, and I did: 16.1 mph. Now, I have to post a disclaimer. My forerunner automatically pauses if my speed drops below 3 miles per hour. I recently found out about this very useful feature, and now my actual speed will be more accurate because time spent waiting for the traffic light to change will not be counted. I think probably 3-5 minutes would have been added to the total time without that feature enabled. That of course means that my previous speeds are understimated somewhat.

Still, the only other ride I can think of that matched this one would be the Bainbridge Island loop on August 8th where I clocked in 15mph. I felt very good today and did not stop once, the exception being traffic or stop lights. I actually thought I could be closer to 20mph... but I'm still very satisfied with the ride. BTW, there is a slight difference between the distance today vs. last week: 39.4mi vs. 40.1mi. I think that's because last week there were a few times when I went
back to make sure me and my friend were going the right way.

Total: 39.4 mi Bike; 1478 calories; 142.5 lb.

"He had to do it!" That was the great commentator of the Tour de France Phil Ligget referring to Armstrong winning one of the mountain stages in the 2004 Tour de France. He ended up winning 5 stages that year. It was defnitely my favorite Tour of all time because Armstrong was clearly going after stage wins, not just the yellow jersey / overall classification.

Many people say that 2003 was the best because it wasn't clear that Armstrong would win. That tour was spectacular - Armstrong had the yellow jersey by 15 seconds for a couple of stages and only ended up winning by just over a minute. In fact, his amazing stage win that more or less cemented winning the tour was preceded by a very hard crash when a fan's bag cought his handlebars. It really looked like Lance wasn't going to recover from that one for a minute or two, but Ulrich waited for him up the hill, showing great sportsmanship. Lance's favor from 2001 - when he waited for Jan after a crash - was reciprocated. Of course, one cannot forget the crash that Lance almost had but miracously avoided the same year while speeding down a hill when he just barely avoided the fallen cyclist in front of him by cutting across a field and rejoining the race further down. "That was unbelievable!", co-commentator Paul Sherwin yelled in his microphone.

Great moments indeed from the Tour with Lance there. I'll surely miss him next year (I don't believe the recent stories that he might be coming back).

Back to the workout ;-). I had to do it - that is, I had to go for my regular ~15 mile bike ride this afternoon. It cleared up and it was too nice not to go even though my legs were a bit sore from a pretty active week. I'm having trouble extrapolating the GPS data into a visual, so the satellite image will come later.

[Edit 09/18/2005: Here's an image from the Garmin Logbook software instead of a satellite image]



Total: 14.1 mi Bike; 527 calories; 142 lb.

I am writing this post one day later than the date shown. Yesterday I went to spin class the second time this week. I think I'd like to keep it at that rate because 1) I want to vary my workouts between biking and running, and 2) I like to exercise outside too.

This is a picture of the cycling room at my gym prior to the class. If you can tell where this is, hopefully I'll see you there!

Total: 15mi Bike (1 hr. spin class); 650 calories; 142 lb.

This is a picture of the front apparatus of a treadmill. I took on my cell phone immediately after I finished running 5k (3.1 miles) It took me about 27 minutes. I did a little bit of a different routine this time: I started at 6.0mph then increased .5mph every .5 miles. So from 2.0-2.5 miles I was running at 8.0mph. Then at 2.5 miles, I decreased the speed to 7.0mph then to 6.0mph at 2.75 miles.

Immediately afterwards, I hit a stationary bike. Here's a picture of it:

The two most important readings as far as I am concerned are RPM (rotations per minute) and the heart rate. Unfortunately I didn't have my heart rate monitor with me, so I only put down my hands on the portion of the handle bar that read the heart rate a couple of times. The RPM readout on the picture indicates a speed of 64, when I was cooling down. I adjusted the workout as I went along because this was the first time I have used this particular type of stationary bike. In summary, I had the intensity at about 5 out of 10 and was doing 100 RPM for 5 miles. It took me almost exactly 15 minutes. The calorie readout is only 173, which is not much, but I can confirm that I left a puddle of sweat underneath the bike.

Total: 5k (3.1mi) Run + 5mi Bike; ~550 cal.; 142 lb.

A spin class can be very fun, but also very difficult. That was definitely the case today judging by the enormous puddle of sweat that was at the bottom of the bike at the end of the class. Since I plan to go to spin classes more frequently as the weather gets worse in the fall and winter, now might be a good time to try to equate the effort to a bike ride outside. I think the 14.8 mile ride I did on September 3 is comparable because it's a route I've done a few times and it usually takes me exactly an hour to finish.

Total: 15mi Bike (1 hr. spin class); 650 calories; 142.5 lb.

Went to the gym today. I was going to do the standard 5k, but felt pretty good after the first mile so I went for 5 miles, which by the way is not that easy for me on the treadmill; as I mentioned before, it can get quite boring and after about half an hour I start feeling like a lab rat. Here's the breakdown of the treadmill speed I ran:
Mile 1: 6.0 mph
Mile 2: 7.0
Miles 3&4: 8.0
Mile 5: 7.0 and 6.0

Total: 5.0mi (+.25mi cooldown); approx. 43 minutes; 600 cal; 144.5 lb.

Well, Sundays always seem like good days for long runs or rides. So today I tried for the first time to go around Lake Washington. It was only about 60-65 degrees and cloudy, so it was a comfortable ride. And I had company to join me, so it was more fun. The total distance was only 40 miles - I thought it'd be a little longer because I've done 50 miles going just past Chateau St. Michelle without doing a loop (see August 5 and 12).

Total: 40.3 mi; 1367 calories; 143.5 lb.

Gym again today - this time a cycling class, the first one I've gone to at this gym. It was very good and I pushed pretty hard. I left a big puddle of sweat underneath the stationary cycle :-). No data for this ride...

I went to the gym today. It was a nice 5k run on the treadmill. I think I'll start to record time for 5k runs. I actually find it much easier to run outside than on a machine - it's supposed to be the opposite because of the lower resistance on a treadmill, but for me the monotony makes it harder. I remember the same in high school when I was running track - it was much more boring than cross-country where the courses differed almost every time.

Total: 3.1m Run; 400 calories; 143.5 lb.

Did about ~30 miles today with my friend on Bainbridge Island! Another beautiful day, probably one of the last ones of the summer. I'll either post a photo from the ride or a satellite image later.

Total: ~31.0m Bike; ~1100 calories; 145 lb.

[Edit 09/09/2005: Here's the photo!]

Did a quick & short bike ride today to test my friend's new bike. Nice 5 mile sunset ride...

I'm back-dating this post - I forgot to put it up on Sunday (it's Tuesday). I used to live in a building that had a gym inside it, and used to go there from time to time when the weather was bad. The new place where I live doesn't have one so I just signed up for a gym membership. The first day: I ran on a treadmill. I'll try to get a picture of the gym some time - it has a nice view of Puget Sound.

Total: 3.1m Run; 400 calories; 146 lb.

I'm back! I had a great cross-country road trip and I actually didn't miss working out that much, although there were beautiful, unpopulated vistas throughout South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana that looked perfect for biking. Today I did the standard ~15 mile bike ride from downtown to Discovery Park, across the Locks to Ballard, down to Fremont, then back to downtown.

Oh, I almost forgot. I also had a couple of great workouts at a gym in New York City a week and a half ago: I ran on the treadmill and biked in a cycling class.

Total: 14.8m Bike; 636 calories; 146 lb. after workout.