The winter is young, but it has not been kind. Snow, rain, more snow and brutually cold temperatures have kept even the faithful, the undeterred from venturing outdoors. While I'm no Eskimo, I'm not afraid of the cold and in fact have had a couple of great 4+ hour rides in sub 30 degree temperatures over the past couple of weeks. But when the thermometer drops into the mid to low twenties and the weather man starts talking that nasty four letter word, W-I-N-D, well, then, for me it's a wrap. I'm going back to bed, and I mean that literally.
That brings me to my topic of discussion. How much intestinal fortitude does it take to ride the trainer for 2+ hours? The answer, a lot. No matter who you are, how fast you ride, your race category, your weight, age, sex, who you know or what kind of ice cream you eat, bike trainer workouts suck, period.
I've come to the realization that for the next couple of months, unless I pack up and leave town for warmer climates (which I am considering) if I am going to have any shot having a fun and enjoyable season, I am going to have to face the music and ride the trainer. Granted, for certain kinds of workouts, a trainer can be a really efficient way of meeting specific objectives and it does give you any opportunity to get caught up on a movie or two that you've missed. All that being said, I still consider it to be a mind numbing inhumane way to exercise.
On another note, the ING Miami Half-Marathon is on the calendar for January 31st. I haven't done much running, and it seems as though every time I do run outside, I come home with some weird minor injury which prevents me from running again for a few days. I wonder if they'd let me do the entire race on a treadmill. Probably not. Anyway, short run tomorrow followed by nice long run on Sunday. I may take a page from my friend Andrew's book and run the Manhattan half marathon as a "bandit." Registration is overrated.
That brings me to my topic of discussion. How much intestinal fortitude does it take to ride the trainer for 2+ hours? The answer, a lot. No matter who you are, how fast you ride, your race category, your weight, age, sex, who you know or what kind of ice cream you eat, bike trainer workouts suck, period.
I've come to the realization that for the next couple of months, unless I pack up and leave town for warmer climates (which I am considering) if I am going to have any shot having a fun and enjoyable season, I am going to have to face the music and ride the trainer. Granted, for certain kinds of workouts, a trainer can be a really efficient way of meeting specific objectives and it does give you any opportunity to get caught up on a movie or two that you've missed. All that being said, I still consider it to be a mind numbing inhumane way to exercise.
On another note, the ING Miami Half-Marathon is on the calendar for January 31st. I haven't done much running, and it seems as though every time I do run outside, I come home with some weird minor injury which prevents me from running again for a few days. I wonder if they'd let me do the entire race on a treadmill. Probably not. Anyway, short run tomorrow followed by nice long run on Sunday. I may take a page from my friend Andrew's book and run the Manhattan half marathon as a "bandit." Registration is overrated.
