Week 22: Day 7 - 31 May 2020

• morning run = 5.53 miles; time = 1:25:35; average pace @ 15:32
• walked dogs = 2.7 miles total
• yoga = 1 hour

Running: 

Total Weekly Mileage: 19.95

Total Monthly Mileage: 75.54

Total Yearly Mileage: 328.24

Total Shoe Mileage: 181.8

Cycling: 

Total Weekly Mileage: 136.92

Total Monthly Mileage: 362.84

Total Yearly Mileage: 1,328.54

Total Bike Mileage: 700.38

Unsurprisingly, I'm a little bit sore, but not as bad as I expected.

Week 22: Day 6 - 30 May 2020

• morning ride = 73.84 miles; time = 4:49:03; average speed @ 15.3 mph
• walked dogs = 2.6 miles total

I had a full bike fitting two weeks ago. I scheduled a follow-up appointment this morning because my left foot is still hurting and my hands are still going numb. These things should not be happening after a full bike fitting. My bike needed to come with me whether I drove or rode in. The appointment was in Long Beach, CA, but I didn't want to start from my house because I wasn't quite ready to do a 90+ mile ride just yet. So I drove to a park in Anaheim (I left my car there) and started my ride towards Long Beach as most of the ride would be on the Santa Ana River Trails (only pedestrians and bikes are allowed on here) and took surface streets for 12 miles (one way). My hands got numb for a little bit in the beginning and my foot was fine riding into Long Beach. I really wanted to get some sort of exercise in and do a long ride which was why I did this ride. This ride was supposed to be closer to 71 miles, so the extra two miles were on a trainer at the appointment. I didn't pay attention to the timer so I couldn't subtract anything from the total ride time. During the appointment, we made some adjustments, but wouldn't know until I started my ride back to my car.

Anyway, this was my longest ride (more than 63 miles...I did a 63 mile ride with a group) and this was my first longest solo ride. I was slowly dying around mile 50. I think this was because I was carrying too much weight (too much water) and I was trying to keep up with another cyclist. My left foot which felt fine for the first half of the ride also started to hurt around this time. When I got back onto the Santa Ana River Trail, there was a shaded/covered bench near the entrance. So I stopped by that to massage my feet a little. My foot felt fine until almost near the end. In general, foot problem or not, I was already starting to really struggle during the last 10-12 miles. I was fine with food and hydration, but I was getting muscle fatigue and getting tired. I had to stop anyway to massage my foot so I could finish my ride. I think I may need to make another follow up appointment because my foot shouldn't be hurting, but I'm going to try for another outdoor ride next weekend to make sure? Also, my bike is still acting a little bit weird in a certain gear. I need to take my bike into Jax (bike shop) for a basic tune-up anyway - the first tune-up is free and I can see that I need to replace the chain (it's sagging a little bit) from all the hills that I ride on.

Week 22: Day 5 - 29 May 2020

• morning run = 5.34 miles; time = 1:21:30; average pace @ 15:16
• walked dogs = 2.6 miles total
• yoga = 1 hour
• warm up on rollers = 3 miles

I didn't know this yesterday, but my derailleur is a tiny bit messed up because it is on the right side of my bike and has a hard time with shifting (it wants to go to the next gear but can't) because my bike fell down on the right side. I'm somewhat attempting to "fix" the problem without breaking something and having to spend more money than necessary. I'll find out tomorrow when I do an outdoor road ride and hope that a road ride is different.

Week 22: Day 4 - 28 May 2020

• morning run = 4.84 miles; time = 1:18:01; average pace @ 15:06
• walked dogs = 2.5 miles total

I had planned to ride on my rollers today (after work), however, I was upset about something that someone said. I started to ride on my rollers, but a few minutes into it, my whole bike and I fell off. It had always been only my front tire falling off, but my whole bike fell off this time. My right ankle and right hand felt sore (my hand felt better after a few minutes), and there is a bruise on my right arm. I was also going to do some yoga after riding on rollers, but decided against it since I was in a bad mood.

Week 22: Day 2 - 26 May 2020

• easy recovery ride on rollers = 6 miles; time = 28:53; average speed @ 12.5mph
• walked dogs = 2.6 miles total
• yoga = 1 hour
• warm up on rollers = 3.1 miles; time = 14:21

Unsurprisingly, I was sore this morning, but not as bad as I was expecting considering that I did a 4 mile run and a 54 mile challenging/hilly ride yesterday. I did an easy recovery ride on my rollers and thought that I would struggle riding on it this morning, but felt surprisingly okay.

Week 22: Day 1 - 25 May 2020

• morning run = 4.24 miles; time = 59:37; average pace @ 14:04
• morning solo ride = 54.08 miles; time = 4:18:03; average speed @ 12.6mph
• walked dogs = 2.4 miles total
• yoga = 50 minutes

Two weekends, I had a bike fitting done. After doing three outdoor rides, I think it's safe to assume that I need to go back for a follow-up appointment. My hands are still numb from riding on rollers (most of the time, they're fine during outdoor rides) and my left foot is still hurting from doing outdoor rides (it's fine riding on rollers because I don't ride on rollers long enough). The bike fit guy said that if I was still having these issues, I need to go back for a follow up until these issues are fixed. It's no fun to ride when you're uncomfortable and/or in pain.

Week 21: Day 7 - 24 May 2020

• walked dogs = 2.7 miles total
• indoor ride - roller training = 7.1 miles; time = 28:10; average speed @ 15.1mph
• warm-up = 3 miles; time = 14:27
• yoga = 1 hour

Running:

Total Weekly Mileage: 16.77

Total Monthly Mileage: 55.59

Total Yearly Mileage: 308.29

Total Shoe Mileage: 161.85

Cycling: 

Total Weekly Mileage: 42.62

Total Monthly Mileage: 225.92

Total Yearly Mileage: 1,197.62

Total Bike Mileage: 563.46

I had originally planned to do an outdoor ride, except someone (not me) threw my helmet away. I knew exactly where I put it and it wasn't there anymore and there were usually only two spots I would leave it at. I looked in other places where I could have possibly left it, but my helmet was nowhere to be found. This made me made because I had this helmet for two and a half months and it was very expensive (something like $70). It was still in very good condition and the irony was that there were other bike helmets so much older (cracked/chipped, fading colors, etc) that should be thrown away, but still being kept for no reason. I ended up getting a new one from Target. I'm not really sure why I have such a problem with bike helmets from Target? I feel like "you get what you pay for"? I hope this isn't the case, but I was only able to find one adult size helmet. Target is out of stock on bikes, and now out of stock on adult bike helmets since I took the last one. They still have a few children's bike helmets even though they don't have any kids' bikes in stock. I needed to pick up a few other items (shampoo/conditioner and food) from Target anyway.

Week 21: Day 6 - 23 May 2020

• morning run = 7.04 miles; time = 1:48:55; average pace @ 15:28
• walked dogs = 2.5 miles total

Many trails, if not all, have recently reopened for hikers, trail runners, and mountain bikers. I haven't done any runs on any "real" trails for awhile and when I do get out for a trail run, I like to go to Chino Hills State Park and I usually like to go very early (at sunrise) in the morning. I was really considering scrapping my run and going home immediately after I arrived and parked my car at the main gate (walk-ins sunrise to sunset, gate opens for cars 8am to 5am winter hours, or to 7pm summer hours). There were already two cars parked there (the people were already inside) and two more cars pulled up and parked within one minute after me. While running inside the park, I made a turn off the main road to run on a trail (this trail deadends after 3/4 mile). When I got back to the main road to finish my run, there were so many people running, walking, or mountain bike riding. This was two miles in the park from the main gate. I'm used to having the park to myself and usually see nobody until near the end of my run and 10-15 cars parked in the street by 7am/8am. There was no street parking left when I was done with my run this morning. It may be because it's a holiday weekend and people don't want to stay home. I also feel like this is how the gyms are with the first two weeks of January, being so busy and crowded. I hope trails become quiet and less busy in a few weeks like how gyms become quiet and less busy by the end of January.

Week 21: Day 5 - 22 May 2020

• indoor ride - roller training = 7 miles; time = 27:13; average speed @ 15.5 mph
• warm up = 2 miles (time = 10:35)
• walked dogs = 2.7 miles total
• yoga = 1 hour
• warm up on rollers = 3 miles= time = 14:27

Did a ride on my rollers early this morning. I'd like to think that on workdays that I don't do runs, I'll do a ride on my rollers. I'm not sure how long this will last because sometimes I'd like to sleep in. I thought about doing yoga in the morning before work, but decided that doing cardio would actually wake me up better instead.

Week 21: Day 4 - 21 May 2020

• morning run = 3.35 miles; time = 49:55; average pace @ 14:55
• walked dogs = 2.6 miles total
• indoor ride - roller training = 7 miles; time = 27:32; average speed @ 15.3mph
• warm up = 2 miles (time = 9:18)

I put in a new battery for my speed sensor. I am not sure what is wrong with my sensor, but it's still randomly disconnecting from my Garmin. It usually only happens during my warm up. My warm up ride is missing 1/10 mile.

Week 21: Day 3 - 20 May 2020

• walked dogs = 2.5 miles total
• indoor ride - roller training = 5.5 miles; time = 20:37; average speed @ 16mph
• warm up = 3 miles
• yoga = 1 hour

I originally had wanted to do an indoor ride on my rollers this morning. I did a two mile (10 minute) warm up first. Got off my bike to turn on my fans and put on some sleeves to keep my arms dry. I was cold before I started, but got hot and sweaty quickly during the warm up. Five minutes later, I find a flat on my bike. I was disappointed. I thought about just going back to bed, but decided that it was better to get it fixed this morning instead of waiting until after work when I could do something else like do a ride on rollers and yoga. At least, I was productive either way this morning.

After work, I attempted to another warm up. It was supposed to be three miles, but only one mile got recorded My Garmin was having communication problems with my speed sensor and I don't know why. It would auto pause and auto start randomly during my ride, even though I kept pedalling and didn't stop.

Week 21: Day 2 - 19 May 2020

• morning run = 3.03 miles; time = 46:53; average pace @ 15:21
• walked dogs = 2.6 miles total

I've come to realize that I should have done an active rest day yesterday (basically just walk my dogs and maybe do yoga). My legs are still sore. I tried to do some roller training (ride on rollers) today, but my legs weren't having it. So I'm going to do yoga and walk my dogs tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'm going to roller train, but definitely no running.

Week 21: Day 1 - 18 May 2020

• morning run = 3.35 miles; time = 54:16; average pace @ 16:16
• walked dogs = 2.6 miles total
• yoga (for recovery + stretching) = 55 minutes
• warm up (ride on rollers) = 3 miles; time = 18:00

I felt fine during and after the ride yesterday. I woke up sore this morning. I don't know what speed or cadence I should be doing for an easy, recovery ride on rollers, so I just did a simple warm up followed by yoga for some recovery and stretching.

Week 20: Day 7 - 17 May 2020

• morning ride = 43.61 miles; time = 3:34:17; average pace @ 12.2 mph
• yoga (post-ride recovery + stretching) = 55 minutes
• walked dogs = 2.5 miles total

Running: 

Total Weekly Mileage: 15.44

Total Monthly Mileage: 38.82

Total Yearly Mileage: 291.52

Total Shoe Mileage: 145.08

Cycling: 

Total Weekly Mileage: 67.63

Total Monthly Mileage: 183.30

Total Yearly Mileage: 1,155.00

Total Bike Mileage: 520.84

In March, I had a basic bike fit for my bike. They basically just adjusted the seat height and made sure that my knees were perpendicularly over the pedals. I made them check my knees over the pedals. Otherwise, they wouldn't have bothered. I had a basic bike fitting from someone else with my now old bike (which is forever lost), so I had an idea what went into a basic fit. I had a full bike fitting yesterday with Nate, the Bike Fit guy, from Long Beach Bike Fit. What he did was make some changes so that my posture on my bike was in a better position so I could ride more efficiently and more comfortably which also meant that I would ride faster. I also had to get insoles for my shoes. When I do group rides, we make frequent stops for regroups and water/potty break so the slower riders can catch up. When we stop, I unclip both feet so my feet always feel fine during group rides. When I ride alone, I only unclip my right foot for stop lights/signs. I always get pain in my left foot when I want to keep going. When I want to keep going because I don't have to wait for anyone, I have no need to unclip my left foot. My only guess on why my left foot gets pain and my right foot never does is because I don't stop frequently when I ride alone. I have to unclip my right foot so I can wait at stoplights, but rarely unclip my left foot just because. Sometimes my hands go numb. I don't hold onto my handlebars tightly, but it may be the hand positioning on my bars? Nate said that my hands shouldn't go numb for any reason unless I'm gripping the bars too tightly. I did a ride today to test out the new changes/posture and gun for some PRs. My hands are still going numb and I'm still getting pain in my left foot. I may need to do one or two more road rides to see if this is still an ongoing problem or if it's just because my body is freaking out and overreacting to the new changes. If I'm still getting numbness or pain in my hands and left foot, I need to make a follow up appointment until these issues are fixed. My right foot felt tight and is sore now because of the insoles (my right foot doesn't understand that it needs the insole in the shoe). My arms (forearms and biceps), elbows and shoulders, and hamstrings felt tight during the ride. I'm pretty sure that these new "pain" is from my body freaking out and overreacting to the new changes and I just need to get used to the new changes.

Week 20: Day 5 - 15 May 2020

• morning run = 4.11 miles; time = 1:02:15; average pace @ 15:09
• walked dogs = 2.6 miles total
• indoor ride - roller training = 6.02 miles; time = 25:36; average speed @ 14.1 mph
• warm-up = 3 miles (15 min 18 secs)

When I've finally figured out which gear that I like to be in while riding on rollers, I can hold my balance for a while. I only bumped my elbow in the wall for a little help (once at mile 3-1/2, and once at mile 4-1/3), but I can't ride on rollers without any side assistance (even with a wall on one side and open on the other side) yet...without freaking out. Now I just need to get used to having my cadence at 80 rpm (reps per minute). I saw online that if I wanted to do any kind of speed work, 80 rpm is considered a warm-up or cool down and then 115 rpm is tempo or sprint or whatever. 80 rpm is not considered warm-up....that's like a medium to hard effort for me and I'm sore the next day just trying to do 80 rpm for six to eight miles.

Week 20: Day 4 - 14 May 2020

• morning run = 4.22 miles; time = 1:-1:46; avergage pace @ 14:39
• walked dogs = 2.6 miles total
• yoga = 1 hour five minutes
• 15 minute warm up (ride on rollers)

I did a pre-yoga "warm up" ride on rollers (will do an actual ride tomorrow). I'm trying to figure out this whole warm up thing on rollers before doing any actual physical activities. I'm very bad at doing warm ups because I'm extremely lazy doing them even though I know that I need to do them. Of all the brands that I looked at, they all said that rollers were really good for warm ups and recovery rides. I was interested in using mine for recovery rides and I really liked the idea of doing a warm up on these before runs. I saw a comment for a video from someone who created it to show how to ride rollers and the person (viewer) said that doing a warm up on his trainer before his runs was very beneficial. So I knew exactly what I was doing and why I got rollers (and why I got Tacx). After I got my rollers and did a ride or so on them, I saw somewhere online that doing speed work like tempo and sprint repeats (or interval training) on rollers was great. I really hate doing speed work, so it will take a lot of convincing and work for me to do any speed work, but someone suggested that I did speed work if I wanted to keep up with my faster friends which is something that I want to do.

Week 20: Day 3 - 13 May 2020

• walked dogs = 2.7 miles total
• indoor ride - roller training = 8 miles; time = 35:44; average speed @ 13.5 mph
• yoga = 1 hour

I think I need to remind myself to do a warm-up first before riding in a harder gear when I'm riding on rollers. Last Friday, I guess the two missing miles - that didn't get recorded - ended up being like a warm-up because they were in an easier gear. I was able to ride faster (15mph) in a harder gear afterwards.

Week 20: Day 2 - 12 May 2020

• morning run = 4.08 miles; time = 57:05; average pace @ 14:17
• walked dogs = 2.6 miles total
• indoor ride - roller training = 4 miles; time = 20 min; average speed @ 12mpj
• yoga = 1 hour

I've somewhat advanced for my roller training. I can handle riding in the doorway. A standard hallway is slightly wider than the doorway.  I moved onto the hallway, except the hallway that I used wasn't that much wider than the doorway. However, there was a banister on one side and it was lower than elbow level. I had a rough start and was leaning too much towards the banister side, but was fine once I got started. I was doing fine until my front tire fell off. I did pretty good holding my own for four miles. I didn't ride farther than that because I wasn't feeling it. I will feel better and will try again tomorrow after I get some extra sleep because I'm not running in the morning.

Week 20: Day 1 - 11 May 2020

• morning run = 3.03 miles; time = 46:45; average pace @15:15
• walked dogs = 2.6 miles total

I originally wanted to do a hilly run, but couldn't do it. I was feeling a bit sore and struggled to do a flat easy run.

Week 19: Day 7 10 May 2020

• cycling = 45.07 miles; time = 3:32:11; average speed @ 12.7mph
• walked dogs = 2.7 miles total

Running:

Total Weekly Mileage: 18.26

Total Monthly Mileage: 23.38

Total Yearly Mileage: 276.08

Total Shoe Mileage: 129.64

Cycling:

Total Weekly Mileage: 66.18

Total Monthly Mileage: 115.67

Total Yearly Mileage: 1087.37

Total Bike Mileage: 453.21

I did this ride last month. It had 3,000 feet in total elevation. At the time of this ride, I was "dying". I didn't ride very much for three to four weeks prior, so I lost a lot of strength/power and endurance. To make things worse for myself, I didn't hydrate enough and I didn't hydrate (with electrolytes) properly, so I stopped a lot. I think it took me five hours with all the stops (four hours without the stops) to complete the ride. I felt way better on this ride this time around.

Week 19: Day 6 - 09 May 2020

• morning run = 5.07 miles; time = 1:13:25; average pace @ 14:29
• walked dogs = 2.6 miles total
• yoga = 53 minutes

Today was the first time that I did the majority of my exercises in the morning and did a lot of nothing for most of the day with a short nap. Felt nice.

Week 19: Day 5 - 08 May 2020

• walked dogs = 2.6 miles total
• indoor ride - roller training = 7.07 miles; time - 28:11; average speed @ 15.1 mph
• yoga = 49 minutes

I'm missing two miles from my ride. My speed and cadence sensors mysteriously disconnected from my Garmin. I forgot to take note of the time, so I can't add the distance and time to my "real" ride.

Week 19: Day 4 - 07 May 2020

• morning run = 6.03 miles; time = 1:30:45: average pace @ 15:02
• walked dogs = 2.6 miles total
• indoor ride - roller training = 6.4 miles; time = 34:00; average speed @ 13.3 mph

65 degrees and humid at 4:30 this morning. Why do spiders only make their webs in warmer weather??!! Getting spiderwebs all over my face, arms and legs really "bugs" me out.

Week 19: Day 3 - 06 May 2020

• morning run = 3.3 miles; time = 50:09. average pace @ 15:12
• walked dogs = 2.7 miles total
• yoga = 1 hour

Just updating this....that is all.

Week 19: Day 2 - 05 May 2020

• walked dogs = 2.6 miles total
• indoor ride - roller training = 8 miles; time = 36:18; average speed @ 13.2 mph
• yoga = 1 hour

I finally found a "strong" fan that would help me stay cool during my indoor rides and I found it at Lowes. I don't know why I didn't think to look there first. I went to Lowes to get a 2x4 wood so I could have an easier time getting on my bike and I would feel like I was getting on my bike like it was outdoors. The frame makes my bike two inches taller and the frame is narrow all around, so it's hard for me to balance on the frame and get on my bike. Anyway, I didn't use the 2x4 yet, but I didn't realize that I had to use the fan on the highest setting for it to help me stay cool. I'll remember tomorrow.

Week 19: Day 1 - 04 May 2020

• morning hilly run = 3.86 miles; time = 1:00:39; average pace @ 15:41
• walked dogs = 2.7 miles total

I suck at updating this.

I got a set of "rollers" eleven days ago and they look like this...my bike "sits" on top of that and both wheels spin simultaneously so it feels like you're riding outdoors. But riding a bike on them is harder than it looks. It's like learning how to ride a bike all over again. I still need more work/training on them before I can ride in an open space without some kind of side barriers or assistance, but I'm doing better than day one. I got rollers because they worked on technique, balance and performance (something that I need to work on). I got this specific brand because the center of each roller is slightly concaved to help the tires stay centered and not going off the sides.

I also started doing yoga last week. I found a youtube channel from someone who does classes...yoga for cyclists. He has a website and a yoga studio in Santa Cruz, CA. Currently, he doesn't have any classes at his studio due to quarantine, so he has been doing live streaming for facebook and youtube. He has a schedule for his live streaming on his website. He also records his live streaming for the people who wish the follow along, but not during the time slot for his live streaming. Since he is unable to have in-person classes at his studio, he is taking donations. (on paypal paypal.me/gabrielreesebenjamin on Venmo @Gabriel-Benjamin-3). I decided to follow his youtube channel because I'm a cyclist. Also, many of the yoga poses that cyclists do also can be applied for runners. I've only done two videos, twice, so far. I think last week I was doing a little too much...four days of running, four days of yoga and almost everyday, except one day, for riding (outdoors and roller training). I tried to go out for a ride (outdoors), but I was feeling very unmotivated and did a slightly less than five miles which was very unlike me to do such a very short ride. I need to cut back...maybe on the roller training?