Back in the saddle

[mamaof5]

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.

[sundial]

With Carmichael Studios a few blocks to the west....

Hi mom of 5. Whew! I got tired just reading about your busy life. Sounds like you are on the right track for getting back into the swing of things. You are highly motivated and that will definitely help your training. Since you are located near the Carmichael Studios, why not contact them and set up a session or two with a trainer? What better advice could you get than to have 1 on 1 training with them? If I recall correctly, anyone that purchases a Carmichael book, they are entitled to a free (or discounted) session with a trainer online. If I were you, I'd take advantage of the opportunity to research and possibly train with the area facilities. Good luck and glad to hear you are back on a bike.

[mamaof5]

[QUOTE=sundial;332965]Since you are located near the Carmichael Studios, why not contact them and set up a session or two with a trainer? What better advice could you get than to have 1 on 1 training with them?QUOTE]

I would LOVE to go to Carmichael, and someday I will. But right now I am providing for a family of 7 by myself- in the real estate industry, no less. So money is just too tight right now. Poor hubby had to sell one of his bikes for me to buy mine... Hopefully the market will pick up sooner rather than later. Right now I need free coaching!
Thanks so much for the reply. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited to be back- even if the guys will be kicking my butt for a while.

[Jiffer]

I would post a thread asking for people's favorite cycling books. I have a book called "Base Building for Cyclists" that is really good. Here's a link to it on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Base-Building-.../dp/193138293X

I believe there is great benefit to "just tooling along sometimes". Riding a bike should be FUN!!! If you are always pushing, pushing, pushing ... you'll probably get burned out eventually. You need those "tooling along" rides just to get out and enjoy yourself or you might find yourself getting tired of riding all together. Also, the "tooling along" rides are very helpful the day or two after a hard ride when you need to recover your muscles.

Good luck and HAVE FUN!!!!