consistency or lack of it in training

[smilingcat]

I need to get my self more disciplined. My riding has been erratic this whole season. ride and train for month or two then "life" interrupts. Mostly from work. so my training has been on and off and right now its been off for about a month grrrr..

so thinking of joining a club and start back on club rides. This will force me to get back onto a regular riding schedule. LBS I like to support tends to go places for training ride to make it interesting for their customer base. It's not what I'm looking for. My time is precious so I would much prefer to start and end near my house.

And I'm also picky about the club I ride with. I hate blowing through the lights and stop sign. I'm also very critical of riding in two pace line when the road is narrow. Two pace line with rotation --> four abreast. not smart and not being considerate. I think I'm still okay in riding in tight pack and tight pace line but only one pace line.

Maybe I'll call around and see and go for intro rides... I want to get back into shape at my old age drop about 20pounds. I would like to use my TT bike! I just can't bear with the idea of riding a nice racing machine and the rider is a blob (me). Maybe I'm bit of an elitist. ride a nice machine, you better look as good as your machine... my pet peeve. Clydsdale/Athena plus rider on a high end racing machine. nothing worse than seeing men with their beer gut hanging way out and crushing their racing machine and wheels with only 12 or 16 spokes.

Maybe I just have an unhealthy hangup. My brother-in-law would tell me "shut up. Stop yakking and RIDE!" easier said I think.

maybe I'll use the holiday shutdown at my office to kick start my solo training... club ride on Saturday or Sunday, solo training during the week. maybe join something more laid back like Leukemia Society training rides.

I just need someone to kick my butt back onto the bike. GO RIDE.. sure

why don't I have that desire?? I used to train in cold drizly rain. Ride in fog. Ride when it was icy cold. ride when it was blazing hot... Now I'm worse than a fair weather rider. What happened to the fire in me? Just rhetorical questions for me.

I think I'll do the Cinderella ride again next year. That was fun. Sometimes I get excited about crits sometimes nahhh... maybe I just don't want to face the fact that I've fallen so much. Watching is exciting thinking about dropping others or the chase or the jump out of the turn then I think nahhh too much work...

I'm not depressed emotionally so not to worry about that. but I just can't get over the blahhh feeling about get my butt out on the road.

thank you for letting me ramble on. Rabling like this is helpful at times. I'm not even sure if I want to post this... oh what the heck!! here goes.

smilingcat

[OakLeaf]

This is probably sacrilege here ;) but maybe you just need a break from cycling. Why not try another sport for a while? Team sports are something COMPLETELY different - maybe there's an adult soccer or basketball league in your area? Or just someplace where they have pickup games on the weekends?

Or if it's just that you don't have the motivation to train, train, train on the bike, mix it up with one or more individual sports. That's me right now. (Actually right this very now I shouldn't even talk, because I've been down with a cold for a week, and there's travel coming up that's going to get in the way of daily workouts, but anyway.) NORMALLY, what I'd do is ride a couple of days a week, run a couple of days, teach aerobics a couple of days, do Pilates a couple of days. If the weather's crummy I can go to the gym for either cardio or strength or both. Do you like to swim? What about surfing?

I don't really get much stronger at anything when I'm not doing it three days a week, and if I'm actually training for an event I bump up that particular sport. But it keeps me from getting burnt out, which is a high priority for me after my MAJOR burnout on the bike years ago.

[redrhodie]

((((smilingcat))))

Do you ever ride with a friend? I'm finding it a great way to motivate me. Even if I don't feel like riding, I'll go because I know she's waiting for me. Then, the miles just fly by, and I'm getting faster and stronger.

[indysteel]

Even in just the few years I've been riding, I definitely feel like my motivation ebbs and flows. When I start to feel more ebb than flow, I do my best to change my routine up in some way to prevent a full-on burn out. I also benefit on some level from taking a break from road riding for weeks/months at a time during winter.

So I agree with Oakleaf that maybe you just need a break from it altogether. Sometimes, you have to miss something to appreciate it again. The good ol' absence makes the hard grow fonder mentality.

Otherwise, just get out there. Don't worry about how you look on your TT bike. And if you prefer to ride a certain way, I would suggest putting together your own group rides or see about leading a ride yourself--with your rules.

Good luck. I hope you feel like getting back in the saddle--literally and figuratively--soon.

[tulip]

It's easy to say, Just Ride! But harder to do--believe me I know!

Can you work riding into your daily routine, like commuting or running errands by bike? You don't have to ride miles and miles for it to "count". Even around the block is better than nothing.

The only thing that raises a flag for me is if you are going to ride your TT bike in group rides. That's pretty dangerous.

[Fujichants]

Smilingcat, I am also having a hard time getting back into it...I use any excuse I can to not get on my bike. And then, I feel guilty.

Riding Turnbull Canyon and the surrounding area with a small group tomorrow...but do I feel like it? Nooooo.

Watch me squirm my way out of this ride. I am praying for lots of rain so I have a legitimate excuse not to go. Don't want to wipe out on the way down the canyon.

GO RIDE just doesn't do it for me because I get on the bike and I tell myself how I can't wait for it to be over.

[AllezGirl]

ride a nice machine, you better look as good as your machine... my pet peeve. Clydsdale/Athena plus rider on a high end racing machine.
smilingcat

My current weight puts me into the Atherna category. I ride and race a top of the line Tarmac S-Works.

FWIW...you can judge the size of my azz and how it looks perched upon my $5,000 bike as it rides away form you. At least I'm riding. :cool:

[smilingcat]

My current weight puts me into the Atherna category. I ride and race a top of the line Tarmac S-Works.

FWIW...you can judge the size of my azz and how it looks perched upon my $5,000 bike as it rides away form you. At least I'm riding. :cool:

:LOL: well I did get off my duff today and went for real easy casual riding and it was refreshing and enjoyed it. At my height, nearing Athena weight is not good. I didn't mean to offend anyone by my comment. Years ago I knew a girl who went to the nationals. she was a big girl and she may have been an Athena class rider. She used to sing this jingle about walking down the sidewalk and cracking the sidewalk. She was all muscles though.

And I'm just a land whale... :(

now I have to go out and ride next three days to jump start my riding. I need to find my groove.