Mr. "No-Walk" 5K! :-)

Sunday, April 03, 2011

Got up and at 'em this morning, cycled down to Otsiningo, changed out of my sweats into shorts & T-shirt and nailed my first 5K!

Took it nice & easy...wrapped up in a blistering 40 mins...lol. But you know, this has been a goal of mine since news of Just a Short Run arrived: to jog a 5K without needing to stop and walk. Doesn't really matter the speed, just to know I can do it! Unfortunately due to financial considerations and costs of traveling I didn't join in the JASR fun down Pittsburgh way, but that doesn't mean I can't still nail that goal!

As usual I went into the run with a very cautious and skeptical frame of mind. Just like yesterday's bike ride, more holding back. At least I succeed in pushing myself into action nonetheless even though I get in my own way with this kind of thinking. I can't help but wonder what I might accomplish if I didn't downplay my capabilities so much...?

So, now that I know I can DO a 5K (in the privacy of my own run with only a few others along the trail as witnesses...lol) what's next?

Well another member of our local SparkTeam was hoping for another member to join her in the 5K run. Although we have others doing the 1/2 marathon, there haven't been others (that I'm aware of) doing the 5K. I've been dragging my feet long enough...I'm IN! :-)

Details about the run here:
www.sparkamerica.com/city_resources_
detail.asp?resource=9421

Had some great tunes as usual helping me out...Springsteen's "57 Channels" with it's driving beat and Petty's "Runnin' Down a Dream" and bunches of others. One artist I thought I'd mention is someone probably new to most of you: Luciana Souza. She has a marvelous album titled "Brazilian Duos" in which she sings with some of the BEST guitarists in Brazil. Romero Lubambo being my very favorite player. Many of the songs have such a light, festive sound...don't know a word of Portuguese, but I know what music makes my heart sing!

Here's a few links to check out:

A short clip, but you can see Lubambo just SINGING through his guitar:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdNgJjl1n1s
Longer clip here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC3OfWbB6Z0
And a full song here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKZbiEZn0JY

After the run I changed back into sweats & jacket and cycled the longer way home via the River Road loop which has steep uphill finale for some more standing climbs...shakier today after doing the 5K, but figure I gotta keep building those quads! :-)

Hope everyone had a SPARKIN' weekend! Mine continues into tomorrow morning as I'm flexing my Thurs. night rec time (saw the movie Limitless with my clients) and am taking tomorrow morning off to head to Riverwalk Athletic Center for an indoor workout since it's going to be a rainy day.

I am so SO grateful for this stunning weekend intro to SPRING!!

Don

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What's a Wog?

Saturday, April 02, 2011

On today's bike trip to Marathon we rode through the village of Killawog. My mental lint of the day was: How in the world did they come up with that name?

Wikipedia to the rescue: "The name Killawog referred to a young resident who had died in the town in a buggy accident, and a racial slur, however, no one really protested the new name, and it has stuck." Go figure!

Today was an absolutely *PICTURE PERFECT* day for my first ride of the season! I was in desperate need for it too...the past 3 days have been EXTREMELY busy and demanding and I had three days of NO WORKOUTS!

I was beating myself up for this and being very negative and insecure wondering if I would even be up for the challenge of a 40 mile ride, first one of the season after doing NOTHING for three days. I even found myself wondering if I could ENJOY riding like I have in the past...! It's scary how easily one can slide down the slippery slope of stinkin' thinkin'...

Silly me! Had a GLORIOUS ride with around 15 other bike club members.



It was a two-parter: For the longer ride some started in Chenango Forks (my backyard...!) and for a shorter ride we picked up a bunch in Whitney Point who joined us for our ride to Marathon for the Maple Festival today.



I had some nice stretches in which I felt the old mojo returning: yeah, I could hit the road for days on end and find my piece of heaven on two wheels! :-)

Re-learned my checklist of necessities to take...headed off on my bike with my eyes welling right up with tears: forgot my sunglasses! I always ride with sunglasses that pretty well cover my eyes so they don't tear up so much. Back to the car to get 'em. Take off again...felt great, wind through my hair...say WHAT? HELMET! Forgot my HELMET! Turned back again to the car for my helmet. FINALLY READY! :-)

I was near the head of the pack most of the way. Nippy at first but I shouldn't have worried, warmed right up. Every stop I shed my helmet and jacket down to ye olde t-shirt and sweat pants to cool down.

Along the way there were a couple of good sized hills (not KILLER, but demanding) so I decided to test my Spinning skills and do something I haven't yet done on my bike: Standing Uphill Climbs! Whew! Knocked my socks off, but great to celebrate the strength in my legs to be able to do this!

I learned a tip from a fellow member of the club regarding one of cyclists' biggest fears: the dreaded dog chase! He takes a dog whistle! :-)

I didn't stay in Marathon for long. With a bazillion pancakes with maple syrup going down it seemed to be a typical American food spectacle just loaded with unhealthy fare.



So I stretched, watered up and hit the road for my return with another club member who joined me. On my homeward journey I took a few pics as it just seemed incredible to have snow still here & there in April.



Everything seemed so MARCH-like that I couldn't help but think of my favorite song to celebrate spring:

First by the maestro composer himself, Jobim:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFGQtGJZto8

Next two different performances by Oscar Castro-Neves (my favorite rendition of the song!)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kKwubZ8B_M
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g3-7M51Tns

And last, a more hip-hop update courtesy Sergio Mendes (for riding in the car, playing loud with the windows down!):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ef36fKxxZo

Tomorrow promises to be another great day and I plan to mix it up a bit: ride my bike down to Otsiningo and take a crack at jogging a 5k and ride home.

Wish me luck! :-)

Don

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Sparkin' @ the Health Fair!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Our agency hosted a health fair which was held at one of our church halls with a number of health-related services presenting. I set up a table with some SparkPeople flyers and a copy of The Spark and answered folk's questions as they came by.

One of the coolest things I did after a while was to browse some of the other tables and chat with folks. I discovered that even the insurance companies that were there were very interested in SparkPeople. Of course for self-serving reasons (e.g. saving a $!), but felt that it would be most worthwhile passing along information to the people they cover to promote healthy lifestyles which would prevent rising costs to the company's bottom line!

I also discovered that our local Co-operative Extension regularly holds classes for low-income, disadvantaged people on shopping for healthy, low-cost foods. They were intrigued by such a comprehensive and FREE service as SparkPeople which could be promoted to those attending their classes.

I networked with a home health nurse who was part of a Parish Nursing service who felt that SparkPeople was a promising service to recommend to their clients (and staff as well...lol!).

All in all, a very fruitful couple of hours!

Don

PS...My Specialized Tricross is tuned up, new chain and ready for another awesome cycling season!! Picked it up tonight...too late for a ride...still pretty chilly out there but hoping I can work in a ride this weekend...!

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Christmas In March!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Our bike club just posted their ride schedule for April and May...21 rides planned...woo hoo! I'm like a kid looking through the catalog for stuff I want for Christmas...only WAY BETTER! :-)

Here's a link to our latest newsletter and even if you're from outside our area if you want to consider joining us on any of the rides membership is only $3 a year and $30 for a lifetime membership...can't beat it with a stick!

www.southerntierbicycleclub.org/imag
es/STBC_Spring_2011_Newsletter.pdf

Don

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And STILL No Bike Ride Yet...!

Monday, March 21, 2011

I was going to ride my bike to our bike repair workshop yesterday...would've been a 50 mile round trip to Hallstead, PA on a gloriously sunshiney day...

BUT: 1st bike emergency of the year (at least it happened at home...lol) no pump for my tires which had grown slack over the winter! My frame pump wasn't working and neither was the floor pump I bought @ Dick's...taking it back and sticking with my bike shop, Chenango Point, for my supplies. Sometimes pinching pennies doesn't pay!

And as it turned out I learned enough at the repair workshop that it was probably for the best that I HADN'T ridden my bike as all those miles I racked up last year had stretched my chain to a limit I wouldn't have wanted to push PLUS there's a possible problem with wheel bearings that need attention.



Although I didn't learn enough to actually DO these things at least I learn enough to know when they need to be DONE! Ounce of prevention and all that...

On Saturday I had fun Spreading the Spark by bringing a fistful of Spark flyers to the Riverwalk Athletic Center. They were fine allowing me to leave them there...on their counter, in the magazine rack, etc.

Then it was off to our local mall where they were having a Health Fair. Unfortunately we did not know about it in advance so we didn't have a table reserved for SparkPeople, but another fistful of flyers were scattered about by yours truly on benches, nestled into the faux shrubbery, etc...lol! I saw a number of folks picking them up and reading...we can hope! :-)

I also had the pleasure of touching base with a couple of our revved and SPARKING members NIKANN7493 & LADYGWEN25!

So no, I DIDN'T pull the covers up over the head and go back to sleep on this snowy, spring Monday morning in March...just really, REALLY wanted to...lol!

Don

ps...and YES bringing my bike in for a "tune-up" today!

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