Tag Archive: Fitness

Mountain Biking and Text Messages

(click photo to make larger)

I met some very cool people last week, when I attended the Orange County Startup Princess event. One of the women was Carrie from This Mama Makes Stuff. I got a message from Carrie on Twitter yesterday. She asked me if I wanted to go mountain biking with the girl’s on Wednesday night. I replied with yes, and that I would most likely be there, in a matter of words.

Oh, and the trail we are riding, “Three Bitches”.

I’m a little apprehensive and cautious about this whole “trail ride”. A few years ago, ok more than five, I had a mountain biking accident. I was riding the Whiting Ranch Trail with Angry Husband. I was coming down from a hill. I was going at a medium pace, and must have hit a rock or something. All I know is that all of the sudden I went over the handle bars of my bike and landed with the bike on top of me. It was a few minutes before Angry Husband discovered me at the bottom of the hill. He had taken a different route.

I could barely walk and thought that I broke my hip or something. I was scraped up, bruised, and in pain. I had him take me to the ER for tons of x-rays. Luckily, my hip was not broken and I would survive. My bike on the other hand, had a cracked fork, and bent pedals. My helmet was also cracked down the middle. I took my bike to REI for service. They had never seen a fork so damaged. I think it was a manufacturer’s defect in reality, and not the accident. Maybe my fork caused the accident, I don’t know.

I never really got on my bike after that. About six months ago, I thought maybe, I would start training for triathlons. I got my bike serviced and inspected. And there it sat, or actually hung in my garage rafters.

After tweeting Carrie, I had this texting conversation with Angry Husband. I was at work, hence the texting.

ME: Ok..I got invited to go mtn. biking wed night at 6. Am I ready?

AH:
physically or psychologically?

ME: Both?

AH: lol, well your bike works fine..well it did 6 months ago when you had it tuned up. i will pull it down tonight or tomorrow and see if anything needs fixed..as for the mental aspect you are on your own..

ME: Yea, I prob need some new shorts as well.

AH: you should go for a test ride tomorrow day to get refreshed on the bike, so you don’t look like a total dumbass out there and fall on your face.

Well I went into the garage this morning. Angry Husband had not checked out my mountain bike. Fail. I wrangled it down and inspected it. Sigh. Both of my tires were flat. I could not locate the pump. So I walked with the bike about a mile to the gas station.

I then went on my ride. I did about 3-4 miles around my local area. My body was not used to riding a bicycle at all. I didn’t realize how bad my knees were from running. I’m a mess. I really need to stretch more. After riding, I worked on stretched out my legs/knees/body. I was also not used to the shifting.

Also, I will have to drive Angry Husband’s “angry truck” to the trail site. I don’t have a bike rack on my Tahoe. Sigh. My old car, I had a sweet rack.

Carrie said we would take breaks. I hope they have sympathy on me. I will have to strap my cellphone onto the front of the bike for “emergency purposes” aka “HELP!”.

Wish me luck tomorrow night!

Revamping My Workout Routine

So I have been on this night shift aka swing shift for 3 months now, almost 4. Luckily I go back to day shift in early January. It has really wrecked my metabolism and work out routine. I tell everyone that I gain weight on nights and no one believes me. Luckily,I’ve managed to maintain my weight loss. BUT, I haven’t lost anything either.

My treadmill will finally be fixed on Wednesday, aka tomorrow. It took a really long time to get the parts. It’s probably the warranty issues with Precor. I’m going to try and rely on my treadmill for bad weather and/or cold days.

I’m a member of 24 Hour Fitness. I have been for quite some time. I really started using my membership last January. I’ve kinda got bored with my routine at the gym though. My friend, Lindsay, who is a super tri-athlete type chick recently recommended a class to me. She said that I needed to try the 24Lift class at 24 Hour Fitness.

I haven’t done a fitness class since I was in college. I took some of those 1 credit classes to beef up my units so I could graduate. But, I said, what the heck, I will try it. So last Thursday, I attended my first 24Lift class. 24Lift is a class that “utilizes barbells and hand weights to strengthen and sculpt all muscle groups”.

I got to the class as a newbie not knowing what to expect. Luckily there was a very nice woman to help me out. I asked her what a need. She told me that I need to set up a step bench, load the barbell with some weights, and grab (3) different sizes of hand weights. So I set up all the equipment and was ready to go. The instructor was very informative. It was very easy to keep up with the class as someone who had never done one. I hate that jumping into a class, where everyone knows everything and everyone type feeling. It was really one of the hardest workouts I’ve ever done. I laugh because one of her quotes during the class was, “On Friday morning, you are going to wake up and your hamstrings are going to say, Hello, It’s Friday.” I definitely felt that way on Friday and all throughout the weekend.

I re-evaluated myself on Monday. I realized that I loved this class and want to try and do it at least two times a week. I figured Tuesday and Thursday were the best days for me, since they are my days off until 2010. I don’t want to go at night, because the gym is EXTREMELY crowded then. So I got up at 5am today, and went to a 5:30am class. Yes, I’m crazy.

I went through the class and came home in time to take Angry Toddler to preschool. I went to breakfast and then came home. I was sooo tired from the class, that I took a 4 hour nap. Working out really tires me out.

My Weekend Recap

Last Friday was my Birthday. I had a total meltdown but overcame it around 6pm that night. I then worked Food and Wine Night for the Junior League. I had a great time hanging out with new friends, networking, and it took my mind off some things.

Saturday, I took Angry Toddler out for a haircut and some donuts. I finally found someone that can cut his hair the way I like it. It’s the local Barber in the city I work in. They are cheap too! Much better than those kid’s haircutting places. I worked Saturday night and it was sooooooo busy.

Sunday, well, I slept, went to the gym for a quick work out, and then well, worked again.

Monday. I hung out with Angry Husband during the day. I did some Birthday shopping for a friend and we went to lunch. Then, I worked again. We solved a pretty big case last night so I am over the moon!!!

I finally went to the place where I bought my treadmill last night. I’m still having issues with it. Luckily, it’s covered for parts for 10 years, but not labor. They are sending someone out tomorrow to come and see what the problem is. They said 50% of their issues were routine maintainance. I hope so. I miss my treadmill. Sometimes, I just don’t feel like getting in my car and driving to 24 Hour Fitness.