#23) Walter Mitty, LSD & Me

Today's Workout

I) Warm-up: 15 min of Abs, assisted chin-ups/dips

84 cals HR Max 139 (85%) Avg 107 (65%) 

II) SciFit Handcycle 75 mins@ Lvl: 5 13.95 mile 

791 cal HR Max 137 (84%) Avg 127 (77%)

I guess I have some explaining to do about the title "Walter Mitty, LSD & Me". First and foremost, I'm not talking about that electric Kool-aid LSD. that you're thinking of... I'm talking about a training program referred to as Long Slow Distance (LSD). This exercise routine is used by long-distance runners or bicyclists to improve aerobic endurance. The work-out is performed at constant level of moderate intensity for an extended period of time.

Forgive me if I have mentioned this in an earlier post but one of the limitations I face is fatigue brought on  because of MS and I hope this will help me work around that issue. I realize that almost all people who exercise get tired and hit the "wall". Improvement is achieved when they are able to break through that wall. With my MS, once I hit the "wall" my muscles (legs especially)  turn rubbery and shut-down.

This past season most of my rides were about a 1hr to 1.5hr in duration and covered less than 15 miles. I am hoping that with the combination of weight training and gradually increased training rides, I will be able to work around the fatigue issue and ride further and longer, or longer and further, I really don't care which.

This is where my "Walter Mitty" reference comes into play.  The  Prairie Path offers a number interesting 20 to 30 mile long rides. If I were really adventuresome I could try to ride the entire 149 mile route (Red line). However my goal for this summer is more reasonable.

I have signed up to ride in the Bike MS Tour de Farms 2014 in the latter part of June. There are a couple of different distance options to select from: 12, 35, 50, 75, 100 or 125 miles. I have chosen to ride the 35 mile course for now, but if my current training efforts are successful, I might try to ride the 50 mile route.

My 27 mile excursion around Nantucket last fall is the longest ride I've done to date. That was an all day affair that included a couple of beach side rest-breaks and browsing around the fishing village of Sconset, but the actual riding time was a little over 3 hours.
If I remember the ride correctly there was one long (2 mi?) gradual uphill section, some time spent sightseeing   and a couple of detours along sandy unpaved beach trails which accounts for the 9mph average speed.



The routes for the 2014 Tour de Farms ride haven't been posted yet, but I found the 2013 route on Mapmyride.com. Not surprisingly, the route follows paved roads and highways as it runs through relatively flat north-central Illinois farmland. Although this ride is not meant to be race, the Mapmyride review notes that best time for this route was 2.75 hours which equates to an average speed of 12.68mph. (Presumably by a bicycle) I feel confident about the 35 mile route and I still have 5 months to try to build up to the 50 mile ride.

Earlier this week I watched a movie that really has my Walter Mitty imaginary juices flowing.
 "Ride the Divide" chronicles the 2700 mile race along the Great Continental Divide from the Canadian border down to the Mexican border. I realize that this is not in the realm of possibilities given my age and condition but it sure is something to dream about.


MUSIC
"On the Road Again" Canned Heat
"Are You Sure Hank Done it This Way" Waylon Jennings

#22) Pocketa Pocketa Pocketa

First things first:

Today's workout

So I can better track my progress, I broke my exercise session down by activity:

I) Matrix CrossTrainer (pseudo running):

20mins; 1.05 miles* (pr); 243 calories; HR max=156 avg=138

II) Weights

26mins: 234 calories; HR max=141 avg=121

Abs, chest, deltoids, leg press, quads

III) Scifit Handbike (sprints level4.5)

32min; 408 calories; HR max=169 avg=144

Why the pocketa pocketa pocketa "Secret Life" allusion?

I'm afraid that my imagination may be "running" ahead of my capabilities.

I realize that I have used the cross trainer only a handful of times, but I can't help but fantasize about one day running again. The reality of my limitations (spastic weak legs, balance and fatigue issues) might be too difficult to surmount, but one never knows unless....

Anyway, I'll give myself a few more weeks of training before I take the next step.

Today's Music  

Slap And Tickle Squeeze 

(The video is so 1979)

I'm Going Home (Live Woodstock) Ten Years After 

(OK I admit it, I spun this track over and over again, playin' air guitar a la Walter Mitty) 

#21) Know Limits > No Limits

I know it doesn't seem like we have turned the seasonal corner, what with the recent "Polar Vortex" phenomenon of record low temperature readings and heavy snowfall that has all the climate change deniers crawling out of the woodwork, but if you  take a moment you can see that each morning daybreak comes earlier and evening the sun dips below the horizon a minute later than.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I will be outdoors riding any time soon, but it's a comin' so I feel the need to become more disciplined with my training routine.

I continue to alternate between strength training of my slow twich muscles and cardio workouts. My primary focus is on my arms, shoulders and chest but I throw in some abdominals and leg exercises. To help motivate myself with my weight-training routine I think back some of the hills I encountered last season and how tired I got as I neared the crest.

The Polar heart monitor I received as a Christmas gift is helping me monitor and refine my cardio training efforts. Hence the title "Know Limits > No Limits" (As in, it's better to know your limits than to blindly forge ahead.) I have had little experience tracking my heart's performance prior to getting the heart monitor gift.

Using the standard 220-age=Max Heart Rate, my MHR is 164bpm.
And what I am learning in writing this blog is that I might be pushing a bit too hard. Take my last 60 minute spinning only workout. I rode 12.30 miles, burned 848 calories, my maximum HR was 167bpms and my average hr was 143bpm. Meaning my training was at the upper end of the anabolic threshold range, nearly to the Red-Line zone.

I don't know why but every time I go for my 60min spin I try to increase either the distance traveled or calories burned. On some days I combine a mini-strength workout with a 30 minute interval training program....

I have just begun using the elliptical cross-trainer for  a change of pace. Damn, it's almost like running but the stride
motion doesn't require you to utilize your hamstring muscle when you lift your heels while taking a step. Its more of a sliding shuffle or maybe like cross-country skiing. I loved running, but MS induced spasticity in my hamstrings makes that impossible. I never thought that I would be happy with a twenty minute mile, but that's what I did on my second session.

I was so disappointed with my performance that I tried to do a 30 minute interval session at level 5 instead of level 4... I made it through (barely) but it took a full 5 minute cool-down 

before I felt like standing up...

Again KNOW LIMITS is of greater importance than NO LIMTS

MUSIC

Billy Idol White Wedding Live

Fleet Mac Tusk

#20) Nothing Compares to...

#19) Just One More Time

I really thought I would be able to get in a few more spins before the elements would make it too difficult and uncomfortable to ride, but as is typical in Chicago, the seasons have changed rather abruptly. These rapid changes are especially true with the spring/summer & the fall/winter transition. Winters are cold and too long while summers are too hot and not long enough. But your picture perfect spring and fall days are few and far between. There never seems to be a gradual progression as the seasons change. If you're lucky there will one week of your stereotypical spring or fall days. This fall we didn't even get that. The week when the fall foliage was peaking the skies were clouded over so I wasn't able to take the pictures that I had hoped to.
During my rides this summer I had scouted out some great locations for fall pictures at both the arboretum and the forest preserve but the sun never seemed to cooperate.
I am still hoping to get out for a ride but it is difficult with shorter daylight hours and falling temperatures.

So once again I am back to the gym routine.

I will try to alternate between strength training and aerobics, doing weights 3 days a week and ride the bike for 2 days, and switch it up the next week doing 3 cardio and 2 strength. And this off-season I have a better idea of which muscle groups need extra work.

But I really want to get out
 Just One More Time
by The Derailers

#18) What I write about when I write.. (with apologies to Haruki Murakami)

 

"Summer of 42" grass-scape Nantucket, MA

Way back in August, more specifically, way back on August 5^th, I found the inspirational crutch I needed to help me with my writing of “The Handcycle Diaries.” That was the day I began reading Haruki Murakami’s “What I Write About When I Write About Running.” The book is a memoir of Murakami’s running experiences woven around his growth and development as a writer. I was anxious to gain some insight on how someone develops as a writer. What really struck me on that hot August 5^th day as I was sitting on a beach in Lake Forest, Illinois (yes, there are beaches in Illinois) were the very first words I read from his book: August 5^th… Was it Karma, serendipity or just a plain old “shit happens” event, I don’t know. But the irony of the August 5^th occurrence fired up my creative process. I could use “What I Write About…” as a template for Handcycle Diaries.

The karma/serendipity/shit happens theme was still in play of when I placed a bookmark to save my spot in the book. The bookmark itself was a rather innocuous marker that one sees near the cash register at bookstores. This particular marker had been inserted into a collection of short stories that my mother had given me for my birthday. 

One side of the paper bookmark was an advertisement for the bookstore where the book was purchased; on the flipside, a quotation that read, “One informed reader is worth a thousand boneheads.” Handwritten in ink below that quotation was a note from my mother that simply said “A thought for today. Love Mother.” I know that was a pretty standard quote to extol the virtues of reading but what grabbed me was the relevance of these quotations to the discussion that took place with my family on the car-ride to the beach.

 

B&W Milkweed Herrick Lake Forest Preserve

As we drove to the beach we listened to an AM station so we could get updated traffic and weather reports. The headline story of the day was the ever-growing NSA scandal and I voiced my worries about the invasion of privacy that was occurring. The family was nonplussed by the news and opined that I “spend too much time reading the New York Times and watching MSNBC.” That bookmark, with the quotation and note from my mother, helped ease my anxiety over my families’ reaction to the NSA scandal but it increased my bewilderment over the karma/serendipity/shit happens time-warp that I found myself in.

But I digress, back to “What I Write About”. My first realization was that a memoir is a looking back, best of highlight piece where the writer has the luxury picking and choosing what to include, whereas a journal is a real-time log of events. Other than that, I can see some similarities in our writing styles and Murakami even includes the titles of the music that he uses for motivation while running just like I had been doing at the ending of my blog posts.

So for the next couple of months I will post writings about the various trails I have taken and also how this new-found passion has effected me, both physically and mentally.

With that I leave you with two songs: (Don’t read anything into these selections, other than, I really like the sound.)

Excitable Boy by Warren evon

and

Country Death Song by The Violent Femmes

#17) Seasons come and seasons go

Damn, it wasn’t that long ago that I was worrying about staying cool and keeping my system properly hydrated on my rides…Through trail and error I finally came up with a cooling system that provided me enough relief from the heat but that didn’t make look like a suicide bomber with an explosive vest. I found that placing a frozen gel pack on the seatback worked the best. It is uncomfortable at first until the rockhard pack begins to thaw.

I knew enough to avoid the hottest part of the day and forgo riding if the heat index was too high. I placed a water-soaked bandana under my helmet and wore a cooling band around my neck. On top of that I kept a wet rag in my tool bag to wash off my face if I became overheated. Using a commonsense approach of paying close attention to weather conditions and utilizing cooling tools I wasn’t as effected by the summer weather as I feared.

But now it is a whole new ballgame as I try to find the proper mix of clothing to keep warm but not overheat .

For me, the ideal temperature band ranges from 55f to 75f. My big decision when temps fall within that range is whether to wear a short-sleeved or long-sleeved t-shirt.

When temperatures drop below the mid-50’s I wear a long-sleeved jersey as a base and then a short sleeved t-shirt on my torso. I also have a pair arm sleeves to keep my arms warm, which I can peel off once I get warmed-up. My only issue with the drop in

temperatures is that hands are extremely sensitive to cold, turning white and numb when temps are below 50. (Raynaud’s Syndrome caused by MS?) and I haven’t found the optimal glove combination that prevents calluses while keeping my hands warm. I am certain I will find a solution to this problem so I can continue to get out as long as the trails are clear of ice and snow.

The only other thing that has changed is the subject matter of my pictures...From this....

Sconset Fisherman's Shack

Two ladies on a log Nantucket, MA

On the trail near Provincetown, MA

 To this....

Milkweeds Herrick Lake Forest Preserve

Two Ducks Herrick Lake Forest Preserve

Two ducks Reverse Image Herrick Lake Forest Preserve