mamaof5
06-28-2008, 07:08 AM
Once upon a time I was a cyclist. It started out commuting as a teenager. When I saved up enough money for a car, I spent it on a nicer bike. I never raced or trained, but I rode 100-200 miles per week and stayed in shape through winters. Then kids came along- 5 of them. For seven straight years I was pregnant for at least part of the calendar year. I sold my bike nearly eight years ago, and haven’t been on since- until yesterday. Now I want to quickly get back to and surpass my old level. Yesterday I rode 40 slow, fairly flat miles. Today my husband left at 6:15 a.m. so I only managed to squeeze in about 20 minutes on hills around the house before he left. I can ride in the mornings M-F between about 6:00- 7:30 then shower at the office before work. We have a gym in the building, so I might be spending one or two of those days doing strength training instead. I should usually be able to get a ride in on Saturday mornings between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.- until our cold winter sets in.
I imagine I’ll be riding alone. There are a lot of cyclists in my building, but they are total hammers: racers, ex-Olympians, etc. The only girls I’ve known to hang with them are Allison Dunlop and Jenny Longo. Any chance I would ever be able to hang by just putting some time in on the saddle? Or is my only hope to do some serious training? I figure I’ll start working on some intervals in a few weeks. How long until I can stomp up hills and just be fast? How many miles is a lot, and what’s not? How many of those miles need to be serious rides? Is there any benefit to just tooling along sometimes? With Carmichael Studios a few blocks to the west and the Olympic Training Center a few blocks east of my office, I’m right in the middle of some pretty serious athletes.
I’m short, thin and eat great, but I am seriously lacking in strength and endurance. Sorry for the long introduction! I just need a few pointers and a lot of encouragement- without too much technical jargon at this point.
I imagine I’ll be riding alone. There are a lot of cyclists in my building, but they are total hammers: racers, ex-Olympians, etc. The only girls I’ve known to hang with them are Allison Dunlop and Jenny Longo. Any chance I would ever be able to hang by just putting some time in on the saddle? Or is my only hope to do some serious training? I figure I’ll start working on some intervals in a few weeks. How long until I can stomp up hills and just be fast? How many miles is a lot, and what’s not? How many of those miles need to be serious rides? Is there any benefit to just tooling along sometimes? With Carmichael Studios a few blocks to the west and the Olympic Training Center a few blocks east of my office, I’m right in the middle of some pretty serious athletes.
I’m short, thin and eat great, but I am seriously lacking in strength and endurance. Sorry for the long introduction! I just need a few pointers and a lot of encouragement- without too much technical jargon at this point.