Hello Everyone,
One sentence kept repeating through my head during the long ride today. “The wind is my friend.” I figured if I keep telling myself the wind is my friend, maybe…just maybe I will believe it. After 5.5 hours of head wind, I determined the wind was not my friend.
Initially, the goal was to head out from the house, swing by and pick up Dr. Crane and cycle over to the DFW airport for a flat and fast ride. Anticipating sun with some wind, we embarked on another cycling adventure. To our dismay, Mother Nature had a sense of humor and slapped down clouds along with 20 mile an hour head winds which conveniently managed to change direction and remain blowing in our face the majority of the mornings ride. Naturally, as we were rolling back to the house, the sun appeared, the winds became calm and a beautiful day began. Annoying to say the least however we did keep tradition and have our quick coffee stop.
In thinking about the wind, it really isn’t so bad after all….just not my friend. Humans devised high speed wind tunnels to further research how to achieve the best aerodynamics from cars to tri bikes. The low down on the wind tunnel is it helps determine complex interactions between high-speed, velocity-controlled stream of air and the forces exerted on a solid object.
The next time you have on your triathlon gear, remember the wind. Thanks to wind tunnels with a ton of data as a result, we have the ability to create some of the fastest bikes, the most aerodynamic helmets and fabrics offering the least amount of drag. In fact, there are now skin suits proving better aerodynamics than shaved skin. By the way, you are free to use that statement the next time you look down and realize you forgot to shave your legs. ;)
Finally, tomorrow is the Fort Worth CowTown half, full and ultra marathon distance. After my training run, we will be out there cheering on the participants with cowbells in hand. Good luck to the participants and may the wind be at your back bringing you right to the finish line!
Have a great week everyone and as always – talk to ya next week!
Janet
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
The Journey To A Texas IronMan
Hi Everyone,
It’s the time of year when more and more cyclists of all levels are hitting the pavement in Texas. Some folks have been training all winter while others have dusted off the bike and are ready for a season of fun.
I recently read an article about the 3-foot passing law and if the law is truly effective. What the law entails is a driver must safely pass a cyclist with a minimum of three feet between the car and bike. Sounds like a good idea right?
While the concept is a good start, there is a catch. If a driver does not follow the three foot minimum and an incident occurs, the driver can be fined only if witnessed by law enforcement. The concern is if a cyclist is rear ended, without the witness of a police officer, the driver could very well avoid being ticketed yet the cyclist could very well loose his or her life. There are reported cases where this very scenario has occurred.
I have mentioned in past blogs of driver’s buzzing (veering too close) cyclists. The “I’ll show you” or "get out of my way" aggression is unfortunate. Thing is, it’s not just the driver's mentality. There are cyclists who are unfortunately adding to the problem. So before we get too far into the season, here are a few friendly reminders to all my cycling friends:
Wear a helmet every time you are on your bike. No bargaining on this topic.
Cycle single file. Cyclists do not have the right to take up road space preventing cars from passing.
Ride as far to the right as possible with the flow of traffic.
Know the route ahead of time. Drive your intended route and note any disruptions on the road i.e. pot holes, construction or blind curves.
Follow the rules of the road. If you come to a stop sign, stop. No California stops and yes, we are all guilty of this one.
Dress in bright colors. If you are cycling early morning or early evening, wear reflective clothing. The more reflective, the better.
Always take the high road as not every driver will turn out to be a compatible road mate. If a jerky driver decides to buzz you, there is not much you can do. Sinking to their mentality by letting them know of your discontent however places you at the same jerky level. Karma will catch the jerky driver and the jerky cyclist as well. Keep good karma and take the high road.
Finally, spend a few minutes reviewing the rules of the road for your state. The reminders could very well save someone’s life and your life as well.
Talk to ya next week,
Janet
It’s the time of year when more and more cyclists of all levels are hitting the pavement in Texas. Some folks have been training all winter while others have dusted off the bike and are ready for a season of fun.
I recently read an article about the 3-foot passing law and if the law is truly effective. What the law entails is a driver must safely pass a cyclist with a minimum of three feet between the car and bike. Sounds like a good idea right?
While the concept is a good start, there is a catch. If a driver does not follow the three foot minimum and an incident occurs, the driver can be fined only if witnessed by law enforcement. The concern is if a cyclist is rear ended, without the witness of a police officer, the driver could very well avoid being ticketed yet the cyclist could very well loose his or her life. There are reported cases where this very scenario has occurred.
I have mentioned in past blogs of driver’s buzzing (veering too close) cyclists. The “I’ll show you” or "get out of my way" aggression is unfortunate. Thing is, it’s not just the driver's mentality. There are cyclists who are unfortunately adding to the problem. So before we get too far into the season, here are a few friendly reminders to all my cycling friends:
Wear a helmet every time you are on your bike. No bargaining on this topic.
Cycle single file. Cyclists do not have the right to take up road space preventing cars from passing.
Ride as far to the right as possible with the flow of traffic.
Know the route ahead of time. Drive your intended route and note any disruptions on the road i.e. pot holes, construction or blind curves.
Follow the rules of the road. If you come to a stop sign, stop. No California stops and yes, we are all guilty of this one.
Dress in bright colors. If you are cycling early morning or early evening, wear reflective clothing. The more reflective, the better.
Always take the high road as not every driver will turn out to be a compatible road mate. If a jerky driver decides to buzz you, there is not much you can do. Sinking to their mentality by letting them know of your discontent however places you at the same jerky level. Karma will catch the jerky driver and the jerky cyclist as well. Keep good karma and take the high road.
Finally, spend a few minutes reviewing the rules of the road for your state. The reminders could very well save someone’s life and your life as well.
Talk to ya next week,
Janet
Thursday, February 10, 2011
The Journey to a Texas IronMan
Hello Everyone,
This week was all about the swim. On one of the longer swim workouts, I ended up swimming my fastest time to date. Coming from zero yardage two years ago all the way to swimming a personal best per 100 yard average was one thing however to complete it with a 3500 yard workout was icing on the cake. I tease when I say I brought gills with me to the swim. This time, I think I grew gills. Just when my head starts to worry about finishing this beast of a race, a major confidence builder appears. How cool is that?
The long rides have kicked in and Sundays have become an all about the bike day. Part of the tradition with Dr. Crane is visiting one Starbucks on the route. She grabs one of the specialty coffee…mocha, lota stuffa in a cup then there is me…straight black. The next part of the tradition is I end up shopping in the store, she laughs at me while waiting for her coffee which is short of a science project and I continue to shop away looking at all the cute little things on the shelves. The tradition continues by me saying I am going to come back and purchase the cute little must have collections only to completely forget about it the minute we leave the shop. Rest assured, on Sunday around 11:00am central time, the above will occur in the exact sequence.
Thanks to the weather lately, a lot of running on the treadmill has become routine. Learning I am not fan 2-3 minutes into the treadmill session really makes for a long hour of running. When I am short on workout time, I sometimes jump on the treadmill at work. This becomes quite an event as employees take great pleasure in walking past me waving hello as they are sucking down a chocolate candy bar. I tell you, that is just love right there. Here is someone trying to get in a few miles, sweating like a polar bear in the middle of the desert only to be taunted with a Kit Kat. That’s okay, I know where their cubicles are - I will get them back.
So that about wraps up this week’s adventure. Valentine’s day is this Monday – do something special for that someone special and while you are at it, do something special for you! Now get up from your computer and get to it!
Talk to ya next week,
Janet
This week was all about the swim. On one of the longer swim workouts, I ended up swimming my fastest time to date. Coming from zero yardage two years ago all the way to swimming a personal best per 100 yard average was one thing however to complete it with a 3500 yard workout was icing on the cake. I tease when I say I brought gills with me to the swim. This time, I think I grew gills. Just when my head starts to worry about finishing this beast of a race, a major confidence builder appears. How cool is that?
The long rides have kicked in and Sundays have become an all about the bike day. Part of the tradition with Dr. Crane is visiting one Starbucks on the route. She grabs one of the specialty coffee…mocha, lota stuffa in a cup then there is me…straight black. The next part of the tradition is I end up shopping in the store, she laughs at me while waiting for her coffee which is short of a science project and I continue to shop away looking at all the cute little things on the shelves. The tradition continues by me saying I am going to come back and purchase the cute little must have collections only to completely forget about it the minute we leave the shop. Rest assured, on Sunday around 11:00am central time, the above will occur in the exact sequence.
Thanks to the weather lately, a lot of running on the treadmill has become routine. Learning I am not fan 2-3 minutes into the treadmill session really makes for a long hour of running. When I am short on workout time, I sometimes jump on the treadmill at work. This becomes quite an event as employees take great pleasure in walking past me waving hello as they are sucking down a chocolate candy bar. I tell you, that is just love right there. Here is someone trying to get in a few miles, sweating like a polar bear in the middle of the desert only to be taunted with a Kit Kat. That’s okay, I know where their cubicles are - I will get them back.
So that about wraps up this week’s adventure. Valentine’s day is this Monday – do something special for that someone special and while you are at it, do something special for you! Now get up from your computer and get to it!
Talk to ya next week,
Janet
Friday, February 4, 2011
The Journey to a Texas IronMan
Hello Everyone from icy, snowy Texas.....
It’s not very often the words icy, snowy and Texas are in the same sentence so I will get it in while I can. Much of the nation was hit this week with yet another curve ball by Mother Nature. Take this moment to do something nice for the environment like planting in early spring, pick up trash or find alternate energy saving ways to avoid emissions like riding your bike to work or share a ride to work. You get the picture, maybe she will settle down if more folks start giving back on a regular basis. Okay, it was worth a shot.
So the skin suit arrived this week. What arrived in the size of a small jewelry box, a non neoprene material presented itself. This one piece number does run a size small so I am glad I followed advice and ordered up a size. Thanks Coach!
Sliding into this daunting garment was an interesting task. My dog sat patiently watching me wriggle and squiggle into this scrap of material. I was laughing pretty hard as I tried to get this thing over existing curves. Once in the skin suit, I dared to look in the mirror with a result of hey…not bad followed by a large smile by my spousal unit. So I guess it is okay for public viewing. Luckily I will be hidden in the water for most of the time I will be wearing the suit.
Getting out of the suit was much easier. It is now hanging in the closet awaiting its first use in water. At least the wardrobe for the first third of the race is complete. Now to shop for the bike and run portions- whoo-hoo!
With the inclement weather this week and now into Superbowl weekend, a lot of indoor training has and will continue. I have decided my love hate relationship with the indoor cycle trainer is now in dislike mode. Although the training videos are good, there is simply no substitute in riding outdoors on the road. Even with the cold weather planned for this weekend, if the roads are clear, I will be outdoors with Celeste the super tri bike well layered in warm clothing.
That about wraps it up, have a safe productive week!
Talk to ya next week!
Janet
It’s not very often the words icy, snowy and Texas are in the same sentence so I will get it in while I can. Much of the nation was hit this week with yet another curve ball by Mother Nature. Take this moment to do something nice for the environment like planting in early spring, pick up trash or find alternate energy saving ways to avoid emissions like riding your bike to work or share a ride to work. You get the picture, maybe she will settle down if more folks start giving back on a regular basis. Okay, it was worth a shot.
So the skin suit arrived this week. What arrived in the size of a small jewelry box, a non neoprene material presented itself. This one piece number does run a size small so I am glad I followed advice and ordered up a size. Thanks Coach!
Sliding into this daunting garment was an interesting task. My dog sat patiently watching me wriggle and squiggle into this scrap of material. I was laughing pretty hard as I tried to get this thing over existing curves. Once in the skin suit, I dared to look in the mirror with a result of hey…not bad followed by a large smile by my spousal unit. So I guess it is okay for public viewing. Luckily I will be hidden in the water for most of the time I will be wearing the suit.
Getting out of the suit was much easier. It is now hanging in the closet awaiting its first use in water. At least the wardrobe for the first third of the race is complete. Now to shop for the bike and run portions- whoo-hoo!
With the inclement weather this week and now into Superbowl weekend, a lot of indoor training has and will continue. I have decided my love hate relationship with the indoor cycle trainer is now in dislike mode. Although the training videos are good, there is simply no substitute in riding outdoors on the road. Even with the cold weather planned for this weekend, if the roads are clear, I will be outdoors with Celeste the super tri bike well layered in warm clothing.
That about wraps it up, have a safe productive week!
Talk to ya next week!
Janet
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Brooks Defyance Shoes Win!
Exciting news for Brooks shoes once again. The Brooks Defyance 4 receives Runner’s World Editor’s Choice award!
Runner’s World magazine provides runners of all levels detailed reviews which encompasses laboratory and runner testing from shoes to apparel to every tech gadget a runner could ever need.
In a recent release, the Defyance 4 neutral style shoe won the coveted award. Read on for more details regarding the Editor’s Choice award announcement.
At Healthy Steps, we are proud to carry Brooks running and walking shoes. The quality and consistent performance in each of the Brooks shoes we offer to our patients and customers helps keep their feet moving in the right direction. Congratulations Brooks, I am sure we will hear of many more awards in the future!
Happily Training for the 2011 Texas IronMan in Brooks shoes,
Janet
Runner’s World magazine provides runners of all levels detailed reviews which encompasses laboratory and runner testing from shoes to apparel to every tech gadget a runner could ever need.
In a recent release, the Defyance 4 neutral style shoe won the coveted award. Read on for more details regarding the Editor’s Choice award announcement.
At Healthy Steps, we are proud to carry Brooks running and walking shoes. The quality and consistent performance in each of the Brooks shoes we offer to our patients and customers helps keep their feet moving in the right direction. Congratulations Brooks, I am sure we will hear of many more awards in the future!
Happily Training for the 2011 Texas IronMan in Brooks shoes,
Janet
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