Saturday, January 15, 2011

Good Grief - It has been a long time!

Wow.  Here it is, a new year, January 15, 2011, and this is my first post since August 27, 2010.  But, I have a somewhat legitimate excuse....family issues.


Damn.  I read my last entry - I was riding so well with the guys, riding really strong, looking forward to an exciting cyclocross season, working with Taylor on training, and BAM!!  It all came to a damn standstill Labor Day weekend.  


Long story - short.  My Dad has dementia/Alzheimers, his wife (my step-mom) couldn't deal with him anymore and she laid it all on me that weekend.  "Come get him.  Do something with him.  I don't want to live with him anymore."  And, so it began.


I managed to ride 10-12 times in September, but that was it, pretty much for the remainder of the year.  My Dad was doing all kinds of crazy things and I was being pulled in every which direction trying to make the right decisions concerning him & his well being (he's now in an assisted living facility here in Raleigh.  Things aren't great - he wants to move to Greenville, SC and I'm not letting him.  Otherwise doing well).  October came & went with me doing 2 rides.  November came & went with one ride under my belt.  December came & went with one ride.  So discouraged and depressed about cycling at that time - here I had 7 bikes in my house, I was a really strong rider and now, I'm not getting to ride any, I've been off the bike for 3 months - felt like giving up.


7 bikes?  Yep.  I bought a 2008 Specialized Era FSR the first of September and then a Quintana Roo Tequilio TT bike mid September.  Have yet had the pleasure of riding the mtb, but got to ride the TT bike quite a bit in September.  Looking forward to doing some TT's this spring/summer.


As for being off the bike for 3 months and feeling bad...I'm not a quitter.  Kept in touch with Dallas through all the Dad issues and I had decided, come January 1, 2011, I was going to get my ass in gear and do something.  Ride the trainer for at least 30-45min on Tuesday & Thursday and try to get out for an hour or so each day on the weekends.  I've not been exactly successful, but I'm definitely doing a lot better.


Dallas contacted me 12/31 and wanted to know if I wanted to get out for a New Year's Day ride??  Hell Yes. :) There were 6 of us total riding - Dallas, Randall, Grady, Ricky, Philip & myself.  OMG.  I knew I was in for a serious hurting cause these guys have been able to continue riding, hitting Umstead on the weekends or the mtb trails.  But, I was determined to do the best I could and despite only riding 3 times in the last 3 months - I did damn good. :)


33 miles in 1:50+ hr, a 17.5 avg.  The pace was a bit hot for the first 18mi - I didn't think I'd make it back if it continued that way and told Dallas.  Grady, Randall, & Philip went on ahead and finished up the ride with a 19+ avg.  19+ in the dead of winter.  Dallas & Ricky got me back at a decent pace.  Anyways...since then, I've tried to ride the trainer 2x/week and start a run/walk program.


Run/walk??  Yep.  I have decided to try a duathlon!  The first one is 3/5 down in Waxhaw, NC and it's 2mi/19mi/2mi.  I'm on week 3 of the program and should be able to do the 2mi by then.  The ride part should be fairly easy for me, at least I hope so!  


What else?  That's pretty much it, in a nutshell.  Keep getting some cycle time in my butt & legs via trainer & road and I'm going to be strong again!  Haven't really planned any rides like I had in  the past years - I might do 1 or 2 organized rides, but not sure.


Hope everyone that reads this is doing well and having a great start to the New Year!!

3 comments:

nic said...

WOW - glad you are okay and your TT bike sounds really rad. Was thinking about you recently and I am glad you updated. :)

skiffrun said...

Okay, who are you that has usurped this blog? We all knew it was a cert that there'd never be another post.

You are too fast -- on the bike, I mean.

wolfpack said...

Yes, nic, the TT bike is awesome!! A very fast ride and I'm looking forward to getting back on it and doing a bit of training for some TT's at Lowe's.

Skiffrun - LOL. I wish I were fast, but 3 good months off the bike and I feel slow. But, it is winter and I've always been slower during that time.

I might try to keep up the postings...maybe once a week or so. :)