Today I pushed myself harder than ever before.

On the recumbent bike I rode 11.7 miles... on random hills. I rode for 45 minutes. The workout level ranged from 1 - 14. On that bike I've never done better than workout level 5! I couldn't believe it... even while I was riding I couldn't believe that I was powering through it!

It's been 6 weeks since I've been on that bike (have been riding the bike at home instead - which is just slightly more difficult).


Which just goes to show me... I need to push myself more! The more I push myself, the farther I'll go!


Today I lmost rode a half-marathon! Guess what I'm going to try sometime next week!

week's cycling report: week of 2-1-10

Monday
Bike: 20 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 6 miles
How did I feel? Slightly injured - knee is tender today.

Tuesday
Bike: 20 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 7 miles
How did I feel? Better than yesterday

Wednesday
Bike: 30 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 10 miles
How did I feel? Good!

Thursday
Bike: 35 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 12 miles
How did I feel? Really good - going fast is fun! (Who knew this body could move that fast?!)

Friday
Bike: 20 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 7 miles
How did I feel? It's been a great week of daily exercise. I'm so proud of myself!!!

week's cycling report: week of 1-25-10

Monday
none to report

Tuesday
none to report

Wednesday
none to report

Thursday
Bike: 20 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 6 miles
How did I feel? Getting going again is tough!

Friday
Bike: 30 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 7.5 miles
How did I feel? Glad I eased back into it with only 2 days this week. Next week is back to normal.

week's cycling report: week of 1-11-10

Monday
none - woke up with migraine

Tuesday
Bike: 30 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 7 miles

Wednesday
Bike: 30 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 7.5 miles

Thursday
Bike: 30 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 10 miles
How did I feel? Feeling great!

Friday
Bike: 20 minutes. Cardio setting, level 1
Distance: 6.5 miles
How did I feel? Wow - this cardio setting is so much more intense than the weight loss setting. But I'll get the hang of it!

week's cycling report: week of 1-4-10

Monday
Bike: 20 minutes. Cardio setting, level 2
Distance: 5 miles.
How did I feel? bleh, it kicked my butt. This was harder than I remembered.

Tuesday
Bike: 20 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 5 miles
How did I feel? A little more manageable today.

Wednesday
Bike: 20 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 6 miles
How did I feel? Yeah - farther today than yesterday! Which means, moving faster!

Thursday
Bike: 20 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 6 miles
How did I feel? feeling good

Friday
Bike: 20 minutes. Weight loss setting, level 1
Distance: 6 miles
How did I feel? Proud of myself for working out 5 days in a row and making visable progress each day!

my bikes of choice

At home - I use this bike. It's by Nordic Track.

At the gym - I use this bike. It's by SportsArt Fitness. (And it's dang expensive! Which is why I use a Nordic Track at home.)



Why did I choose to cycle on a recumbent bike?

For many reasons:

1) I have a bad knee = stair stepper isn't a good idea (I've tried - and it hurts a bit too much to ever want to get back on that machine.)

2) Feel pretty strongly that walking with this bad knee (and all of this excesss weight on said bad knee) is probably going to make it worse.

3) The gym I go to has a ton of machines - I'm too fat to fit into most of them and use them correctly.

4) The recumbent bike works my heart rate up, I can sit there for 30-45 minutes on end and not get bored (as long as I have my iPod with me and good upbeat tunes to listen to).

5) The last time I lost weight (or was it the time before?!) the bike worked rather well for me. It just feels right... so bike it is!


When am I going to work out?

My shift at work starts at 6 am. And I am blessed enough to have a gym/locker room at work.

So my alarm goes off at 3:45 am everyday. The teeth get brushed, I don the workout wear (old tshirt and Dansk bootleg cut yoga pants), I read a little news on the laptop, and I make my coffee for the road (don't judge me).

I arrive at my work building/the gym around 4:45 am ... and I'm alone in the gym. (Yes, that's by choice! No one wants to see this blubber pedaling away on a bike and going nowhere - no one! I promise!)

I get my ride in and make it the locker room and to my seat just in time. It's 6 am - time to get the show on the road.