One of the things I’ve been learning with this Optibike challenge is that you need to persevere despite the obstacles that are in your way. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had the unfortunate and somewhat embarrassing problem of three internal hemorrhoids that have been present for some time, but were aggravated when I first started riding the bike for obvious reasons. I decided that, since I am in this for the long haul, I needed to get them taken care of before I start to put a lot of miles on the bike. The process my doctor recommended was banding, which was done one at a time with a 3 week healing time after each banding procedure. My last of 3 procedures was completed yesterday. As long as I heal properly, I can start riding the bike in about 3 weeks.

In the meantime, I have been learning some lessons and getting some ideas about what to do when I travel and just can’t figure out a way to get on a bike. As Coach Traci recommended to me, I have been walking, doing core exercises, and stretching along with a better diet and LOTS of water… in fact, the only beverage I have consumed since last July is water, and lots of it each day!

Lesson 1: Walking outside is a better workout and much more enjoyable, even if the weather is a bit challenging at times. When I am in San Diego, weather is usually not a major obstacle. It is great to be outdoors and it gives you a taste of how much fun it will be to get on the bike and explore at a much faster pace.

Lesson 2: On some days, the weather or your schedule make it impractical to walk outside. Even if you are fully capable of riding a bike, I have found that a great way to utilize the waiting time at airports is to walk. It helps to build your leg strength for biking as well and certainly is far better than just sitting around bored at the airport.

Lesson 3: There are many creative ways to get a good walk in… Later, I am sure I will explore more creative ways to get a bike ride in as well. Last week, I was staying at a hotel in Jeffersonville, Indiana near the Ohio River. I met my brother for dinner in Downtown Louisville, Kentucky. My wife and I took a nice walk across the Clark Memorial Bridge over the Ohio River, didn’t have to mess with parking, and got a 2.5 mile round-trip walk in the process. In addition, I was also able to spend time walking through and around the production facilities at work with the bonus of getting to spend time with co-workers. We have speedometers and odometers on our bikes. I invested in a basic pedometer to keep track of my steps during this time. The pedometer and walking will be good tools to continue to work out at other times where I just can’t get on the bike for whatever reason.

For those of you who have been fortunate enough to be riding all of this time, I have a lot of catching up to do. In the meantime, I am enjoying my walking. Today, I set my record for the year by walking 4.5 miles! I look forward to joining you on the road soon!

Prior to exercising I like to stretch out. My favorite stretch is the Hamstring Stretch from a lying down position. This is easy to do and doesn?t hurt my back.

To do this:
First lay flat on your back.Then bend one leg up and put your hands behind that legs thigh.

Position your thigh so it is perpendicular with the floor.

Straighten your leg until a stretch is felt in the back of your thigh.

At this point if you bend your toes up, you will also feel a stretch into your calf.

To make the stretch even feel better, pull your thigh up towards your chest.

Hold it there for about 30 seconds.

Repeat this hamstring exercise about 3 times then switch to the other leg and repeat the whole process.

I feel better already!

My calves tend to get extremely tight. I have found that, especially after any activity, this stretch (or even a similar version on a curb or small step) really helps. I found this information on-line. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of all of the information, but it seems to work for me. The author is Jon-Erik Kawamoto.

Of course, my calves are much sexier than these (at least my wife tries to convince me that is true!)

“Contrary to popular belief, static stretching should not be performed in the warm-up. Static means not moving; therefore, a static stretch is a pose held to improve flexibility. Static stretching actually cools the body down and does not reduce muscle stiffness; that’s why it shouldn’t be done before activity. Recent studies have shown that static stretches actually reduces force production and decreases power output. This method of stretching is still important to promote flexibility; however, people just have the timing wrong. These types of stretches should be performed during the cool down. The cool down follows the practice or competition and should consist of 5-10 min of jogging and static stretches. The cool down prevents the pooling of blood in the veins, reduces the amount of metabolic waste left in the muscles and reduces the amount of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). It is recommended that static stretches should be held for 20-30 seconds and performed twice per side.

Jon-Erik Kawamoto”

 

My previous posts have been about how bad the weather has been. Now I continue my weather reports with how that completely took a turn this last week when it was sunny every day! Praise the lord! I was able to get out every day and ride without a poncho. In fact, some mornings were warm enough (above 50 degrees Fahrenheit) that I didn?t even have to wear a jacket. I?ve even starting wearing my open finger Pearl Izumi cycling gloves. Nice!

But now that it is warm outside there is another problem when riding home in the early evening . Bugs! Just today I slammed into several swarms of them when I was doing around 28mph. Splat! A whole bunch just littered my right arm. Bam! Got one in the eye. Whoosh! That last one hit my lip but at least it slid off and didn?t go in? Oh well, whats wrong with a little extra protein in the diet. I?m learning quickly that it is better to breath through your nose and keep your mouth shut.

Current Odometer Reading: 526 miles

I really enjoyed our introductory phone call on March 24 with Coach Traci. She sounds awesome! I completed my homework by responding to her questions. Here were my responses to her questions:

What’s important to me about my health and fitness?

Optimal Health

Why?
So I can glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

Why?
So I can have the most impact on others.

Why?
So I can participate fully in life.

Why?
So I can be a good example for my family, friends, co-workers, and others.

Why?
So I can EXPLORE without physical and mental limitations (work and personal life)

Why?
So I can enjoy more and have others around me enjoy me more.

Why did I enter this contest?

Accountability – Provides a clear goal with a certain date of 3/1/2012

Why?
The competition will give me structure.

Why?
The desire to win will push me to achieve more than I might on my own.

Why?
WHEN I win, I will be able to give my winnings to help bring more clean water to those who otherwise might not have access (Edge Outreach.)

Why?
I love riding a bike. In the condition in which I started, the Optibike makes it possible to ENJOY biking again. When I used to ride a bike with my friend David as a teenager, we didn’t do it for fitness. We called it “EXPLORING” because we simply went riding for fun and to explore whatever we might find.

Why?
The time frame gets me past the short term and reminds me this is a long term goal. Yet, it is short term enough to keep in my sights.

Why?
Not knowing what the coaching would be like, I was open to whatever help and guidance I could get with a coach. After the phone call on March 24, I am so glad I entered the contest and decided to go with Silver level coaching from Traci!

A photo of me with my Optibike:

I am not able to ride the bike just yet. After following up with Traci, she recommended walking outside at least 4 days a week for starters. I started last Monday and have gone 8 days straight with a nice walk outside. I started at 33 minutes and had enough! As of today, I am walking faster and was able to go a full hour! I can’t wait to get back on the Optibike!

Here is the rain poncho and pants I?m using to help keep the rain off of my nice work clothes. Notice the yellow rain cover over the TopPeak pannier bags in the back. I also have gloves on to keep those fingers warm in the chilly morning air. On this particular day it stopped raining just before this picture was taken. Then I made it all the way into work without even another rain drop falling. At least I was prepared. On the way home later I had left the poncho off since the sky looked even clearer. Of course, about a mile from home it started to sprinkle then came down heavy for the last 1/4 mile.  I?ve decided I like riding in the rain better than riding in strong winds. Its fun!  You just have to be a bit more careful.

Current Odometer reading: 456 miles!

I started off last week with Jury duty and was finally done on Thursday. That didn?t leave but a few days to commute to work. There still has been lots of rain coming down around here all week. Today I did commute to work and it was crazy getting home. The rain had stopped and the sun was peeking through but the wind was the worst it has ever been for this Optibike ride. It must have been blowing directly at me for most of the 14 mile trip home.  I was getting a real workout trying to keep up at my normal pace. I was only able to top out at about 18 mph in Fast mode which is about 10 mph slower than I?m used to doing on that route. If I was on a regular bike I?m sure I would have been going backwards. Now I know why I didn?t see any other bike riders along that bike trail today. I would rather ride in the rain with a little wind then with no rain and a terrible wind like that. Thank goodness I had an Optibike!

Last week, my son, Bo was in San Diego for Spring Break. Unlike his daddy, he and his brother are tremendously fit. They play full-court basketball for hours at a time, are very athletic, and work out regularly. Bo is 22 and Max is 19. Bo took my Optibike for a few rides when he was here. His report, “That bike is tight, Dad!” He had such a glow on his face and genuinely loved the experience. I had my first hemmy procedure and it looks like it will be about 2 months before I am back on the bike after that process is complete. In the meantime, I am trying to build my leg and core strength through stretching, core exercises, walking, and an elliptical. Frankly, I am glad that most of the formal walking and elliptical training is short-term because I LOVE the Optibike. I am using these few months to get in condition to enjoy my Optibike even more. Without the motivation to get back on the bike, I would have a hard time sticking with the mundane workouts in a gym.

One of the members of my support team (Dale G.) sent me the following information. With his permission, I am posting it here for anyone that might want some ideas about how to keep track of their miles.  Thanks Dale!

One of the things that motivated me most when I started riding a bike again as an adult was to tally up the miles I had ridden and keep track of them. As I got started my initial goal was to ride 200 miles per month and 2400 per year. Those numbers eventually became 500 & 6000 but that takes some time of course.

I have used a site called Dailymile (www.dailymile.com) for a while now. While we are all flush with various social media sites this one is pretty good. It lets you “friend” people and compare to others in your area that are doing the same exercises as you etc. You can tie it in to Facebook/twitter. It has a very simple interface and if you have a Garmin or Nike+ it can sync with that. After you put you info in it makes nice charts and graphs, etc:

There are ample opportunities to encourage and be encouraged. I think it’s fun to keep track of what others are doing and it gives you the chance for some fun completion if you are so inclined.

 

For this last week I have been riding back and forth into work everyday except for one day. It was raining too hard on one of those days and although I have ridden into work before in the rain I still have not found it easy to get through a ride and stay dry. The poncho I have doesn?t keep all the rain off of my clothes. Its not completely waterproof. After several minutes in heavy rain it will start soaking through. I can?t wait until this weather improves. Any suggestions from others out there who regularly bike in the rainy weather?

I like to take my bike out at lunch to ride around and visit various locations to eat. I am continuing to work on my diet plan. I don?t starve myself. I?m just being more careful about what to eat. I have to watch my glucose levels closely though since if I don?t have enough carbs in a meal, especially for lunch, then by the late afternoon my levels can drop too low. After I have taken the bike around at lunch I feel invigorated after coming back to work and it makes getting through the rest of the afternoon easier. The nice thing about this electric bike is that I can ride as hard as I want then I can rest when needed letting the bike continue on then I can get back to pedaling for a further workout. It doesn?t feel like a hard workout though since it is so fun to ride. I can arrive at work without feeling too tired then I can scream home later having fun all the way and work up a real sweat if I want to.