New, Out of Shape, Happy & Tired

Howdy, I think I'm mainly posting because I need the motivation to keep riding my bike. :o
I got it last fall and decided on a mountain bike because I'm in the pacific northwest and figured I could always ride a mountain bike on the pavement but a road bike wasn't going to be very happy on a mountain.. Life happened and for more than 6 months my bike's sat abandoned and lonely. Last friday I decided it was time I did something about being horribly out of shape, and that I actually use my beloved bike that I was bouncing off the walls about when I first got her. so....somehow my mountain bike has begun a double life, when she's unused she looks like a pretty little specialized rockhopper. Then I cajole her into her secret life as a roadbike. So far she's been much more accepting of it than my body has.
I road ten miles and wanted to die. my sit bones hurt. I spent most of saturday and sunday standing.. Monday I went for a 5 mile ride and was pretty sure I'd survive and not fall over dead immediately. It was pretty great. I decided I needed to ride a century!
So, now my boyfriend thinks I've lost my mind... I rode ~10 miles tuesday, wednesday, thursday, and today. Tomorrow I'm going to sloth and Sunday I'm hoping to survive 20 miles.
So far I feel great other than being exhausted. No joint pain, no bad pain, just tired cranky muscles, which makes a day of slothing Saturday seem divine. Just trying to psych myself up. So far, week 1 has been wonderful. I hope my attempt at a longer ride, for me, Sunday goes well, and that week 2 treats me kindly.
Guess I'm just hoping people will wish me luck and be encouraging ;) I feel sort of like I've lost my mind from thinking I'm going to die after 10 miles to wanting to do a century a few days later. But I'm really enjoying the time I spend on my bike, and for some reason it's important to me to do this.

Well I'll wish you luck because I can totally relate. I bought my bike at the beginning of April and have been riding 4-5 times a week since then. I am 46 and was quite out of shape but I am loving it and boy am I ever seeing some improvement - so you can do it and it *will* get easier! I could barely ride 6 miles without a rest break at first but now I can 30+ miles with ease and I'm slowly increasing that every weekend.

I have a mountain bike too for similar reasons but I have semi slicks because I ride mainly on the road and I really found that is helping. I think I want a road bike deep down though... :) I have found having a bike computer and recording info about every ride on bikejournal.com has helped me see my growth and improvement.

So good luck, and keep at it!! (This site - TE - has tons of info and support..)


Barb

Welcome JoyfulGirl!
You definitely haven't lost your mind - you've just joined the rest of us here who really like riding our bikes. Clearly your bike has decided she wants to be moving, and she wants you to be moving with her!

As far as your goal of riding a century goes - that's a fine goal, but make sure to work up to the distance (as opposed to trying to ride a century right now). It sounds like you're on your way...

--- Denise

Welcome to cycling. It is important to give yourself a break every few days. When you ride, you actually tear your muscles down a little. When you rest, your muscles build back up - plus add a little. It's like they're saying "Whoa, she might want to do this again, so we better get some recruits in here."

Be sure that you are not pushing big gears (e.g., peddling against a lot of resistance) because your knee ligaments & tendons need time to get strong too. Ligaments & tendons don't acclimate as quickly as muscles, so be gentle.

Most of all, have fun. You are wearing a helmet, right?

You haven't lost your mind. It's easy to get caught up in setting bigger goals for yourself and I think it's great! I'm just starting out as well and yesterday I did my longest ride so far...32 miles. I'm aiming for a century too! Just listen to the advice of the wise women here at TE and I'm sure that you'll do great!

Brandy

Howdy again!
Kelownagirl- Hey, congrats on 30+ miles, gives me hope<G> it's nice to see other people who start small. I'm only 26 but I seem to have the cardiovascular system of a sloth. That's what I get for curling up on the couch, reading, and eating oreos I guess ;) I'm dreaming of slicks among many other things. No job right now though, but at least it gives me more time to ride eh?

Denise- I just want to make it through 20 miles on Sunday. The pie in the sky goal is a century in 10 weeks, realistically I will just be happy if I can make it by the time it starts snowing and I abandon myself to snowboarding. And yeah, that bike sure has a will of her own. "Wake up, bum, it's 6 am, get outta bed." she calls not so sweetly while I'm trying to doze. Oh well, I love her anyway.

Dogmama- I was figuring one long ride each weekend and 1 day of complete rest each weekend and then a slack riding day sometime in the week, that sound ok? Actually I'm going to post my goal for next week and maybe you or someone else can tell me if it's just down right silly. I learned the big gear thing the hard way. And had to remind myself that there's no pride in doing something that's too hard, doing it wrong, and hurting yourself.. my knee hurt after wednesday's ride.. I'll cheerfully use the granny gear on a flat if I need to after that. Luckily it feels fine now.

Appreciate the helmet concern but for the record- I AM screwloose but I wouldn't set foot on a peddle without my helmet. I chose against it when I first started snowboarding. A few weeks later I spent the night in the ER harfing with a concussion. At this point... if a sport has the option of wearing a helmet I buy one, name it, call it my beloved, and don't like to be parted from it. And also call myself lucky that throwing up and having an amazing headache was all it took to teach me that lesson.

Brandy- Yeay for another 30+ miler! I really want to be at that point!


My goals for the next week are pretty simple really.. if I don't make them, I don't make them, but I surely won't if I don't try.
I can only sustain a pace of 10 mph right now. It's disgruntling. I can go for 14 mph for about a mile and at that point I'm ready to curl up in a ball and look for somewhere convienent to buy coffee and sit and not move. so... My plan for the next week is.. Sleep alot tomorrow :D
20 miles sunday at a leisurely and frequent stopping to take picture toodling pace, just so I can KNOW that I can survive 20 miles.
Monday- 15 miles at my comfortable 10 mph pace
Tuesday- I want to do 10 miles alternating miles between 14 mph and whatever pace I need to feel human by the end of the mile and so on.. It's my gentle concept of intervals, just so that I can see it really won't kill me to push myself and I actually can travel faster than my comfy speed without spontaneous combustion
Wednesday- a lazy 10 mile ride at any speed that doesn't involve breaking a sweat and frequent stops to take pictures, smell flowers, and all that
Thursday- repeat wednesday
Friday- 15 miles at my comfy speed again, like on Monday.

I guess I'm hoping over time doing that my comfy speed will gradually increase to reach my goal speed, maybe it's just wishful thinking though heh.

for anyone who read through that though, thank you, if it's just down right weird, counterproductive, or insensible please let me know. :) In the very beginning of activities there seems to be a period where you progress in leaps and bounds.. like. last week I couldn't imagine surviving the ten miles. and this week I'm excited about 20. You get a brief window where you can see yourself doubling your ability in a short period of time, I guess I want to take advantage of that... habit, perserverence, and routine are hard for me to establish in myself... Really helps to see immediate payoff to build those things in me so I can see long term payoff I guess. Hope that makes sense and doesn't sound too silly..

Sounds like you are focused and setting yourself realistic goals, Joy

I see you are calling your planned Wednesday ride a "lazy 10 mile..."

Riding at the pace you describe is called "active recovery" and if you are not wanting a day off the bike, but want to rest yourself after a hard ride or race, then a slow-paced ride is EXACTLY what you should do.

You are right about the most progress happening in the early stages, the first few months or the first year will see your greatest improvements - after that you need more and more power to achieve small improvements...

Great to hear your enthusiasm

I think you could do a Century in 10 weeks. I'd do my long Sunday ride like this: 20,25,30,35,40,50,60,70,80,Century. 50, 60, 70 will probably be tough. Eat a lot during the long rides!! I'd get at least two rest days during the week. And 10,15 or 20 miles the other days. And that's building up quite quickly, so watch very carefully for any aches and pains that don't resolve by the next ride. And if things don't go exactly on schedule, do the metric Century option, 62 miles, and you're well on your way for the next one that comes up!

Nanci

Way to go! Sounds like you have a plan! I have not ridden 100 miles yet, not even in my racing days. I'm quite impressed, can I follow your training schedule?

-tulip

I too have been riding a mtn.-type bike. Actually a "comfort bike". When I tried to do a 100k ride with my sister, she insisted that I would need slicks. She was right. They helped a lot. Then yesterday I test rode a bike with bigger and narrower wheels. Wow! What a feeling! Suddenly I was doing ... well, I didn't have a bike computer on so I don't know how fast I was going, but it definitely a lot more than 10mph in spite of putting in less effort. But no need for speed envy yet. Here's the up side to riding a mountain bike even though you want to go fast: As you train on a mtn bike you will nevertheless pick up speed on the road, and you will be WAYYYY fast when you land that dream job and can afford a road bike. :D Meanwhile, you'll have fallen in love with the mt. bike, but you could keep her for riding on park trails, doing the shopping, working out ... :)

I also have a mountain bike and since I spend more time on the road than anywhere else, I've changed to slick tires. Does a true road bike, or even a hybrid bike with 700 tires really make a big difference as compared to a mountain bike with 26" slicks? I"m new to this and what I have is all I've ever ridden so I don't know any better. :o

Yes - you will have less rolling resistance.

Joyfulgirl, congratulations on your rides! You have made great progress just by putting your goals - lofty or otherwise - in writing. Like Nancy, I think a century is definitely do-able, but the mtn. bike might not like it too much.

How did your Sunday ride go?

Cheering for you from Virginia... :D

If you cannot get a road bike well before your century (to get comfy and all), then get slicks for your mountain bike and have a blast!

Don't borrow a road bike for the century. Ride the bike you are comfortable on and that is set up for you. If you have the time and money to get a road bike and get to know it well before your century, than do that. Otherwise, reward yourself after the century with A NEW BIKE!

Congratulations!

to make a long story short. it seems i have the flu. harf harf harf. i am a moron and went for a bike ride sunday morning anyway. 15 miles. felt great to get outside, the sun was shining. not the wisest decision however. i've already been scolded by friends and family. not feeling so great today. I'll be back on my bike later this week. It's no fun to have someone handing you gingerale and saying I TOLD YOU SO. i will now go write on the blackboard "I will listen to other peoples concerns about my well being" 100 times.

I gotta say though.. the bike ride was great!

http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/getwell.gif Being sick is no fun. I understand the eagerness to get out there despite what your body is screaming at you, but you need to take care and get better. Hang in there. http://www.tinklebelle.com/Smilies/images/bigarmhug.gif

Oh, so sorry you're sick! Good on you for at least giving it a try, though. Give yourself time to rest and get better...

Hi Joyfulgirl
Do the century!!!

I had not ridden much for a few years, but could always jump on a bike and do 10 or 20 miles. When I decided to get back into cycling -- a friend convinced me in March that we could be ready for a century by May and we did it! That was a few years and a few centuries ago. It is a real ego booster to have done a century!

So hang in there. I do recommend listening to your body and don't feel bad about missing a day of riding, if you are sore.

Barb

Ah, you'd probably be even sicker if you hadn't gone out and gotten some sun.

100 miles on a mountainbike is somewhat ambitious (even 62 if you're thinking metric century) - but on the other hand, when I was unemployed, I made TONS of progress in riding 'cause I could go out for half an hour in the morning and then go out in the evening for an hour or so. I did my first century that October... more than ten weeks and I had already had 2 years of casual riding under my belt... so go for the goal, but even if you don't get there, you're way ahead of what last year's slothful body could handle! I know that at some point, at dawn, it wasn't my *bike* saying "please, a ride?" it was that strange new body saying "yea! it's dawn! let's ride!" and though I have always had a lot of energy, gettin gout of bed before noon went AGAINST my very nature... my poor brain didn't know what to do except go along with it!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JoyfulGirl

to make a long story short. it seems i have the flu. harf harf harf. i am a moron and went for a bike ride sunday morning anyway. 15 miles. felt great to get outside, the sun was shining. not the wisest decision however. i've already been scolded by friends and family. not feeling so great today. I'll be back on my bike later this week. It's no fun to have someone handing you gingerale and saying I TOLD YOU SO. i will now go write on the blackboard "I will listen to other peoples concerns about my well being" 100 times.

I gotta say though.. the bike ride was great!

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hey Joyful girl,
good for you for going riding anyway!! it didn't kill you and i'll bet it didn't make you sicker.
So next week add 5 more miles and see how much better it is when you feel better!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by maggiedatongue

I also have a mountain bike and since I spend more time on the road than anywhere else, I've changed to slick tires. Does a true road bike, or even a hybrid bike with 700 tires really make a big difference as compared to a mountain bike with 26" slicks? I"m new to this and what I have is all I've ever ridden so I don't know any better. :o

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it does, less rolling resistance plus--with the larger wheel base--you cover more ground w/each pedal stroke.

I am glad you are asking questions--it is how we learn! welcome to the cycling community, maggiedatongue.

joy: I am sorry to hear you are sick. keep it up, though, it gets easier. you've been given great advice about pacing yourself. I think most of us that have been riding a long time, do have slow riding days or take days off.