I've Got to Bring It

As part of my muni comeback I have been doing P90X like I did in the past. Actually, I finished it yesterday! I'm proud to say I only skipped one Ab Ripper due to being sick, and I substituted the dreadfully long 90 minute yoga for the 30 minute yoga from P90X3. I always did the Stretch X on rest day instead of nothing. My 14 year old daughter Kessa joined me for most of it and helped motivate me to not skip any days.

I'm definitely stronger and more fit than when I started, and I feel it's the required base fitness I need to now get into shape specifically for muni. To me that means more cardio and leg strength.
Today Kessa and I started Insanity, again like I did in the past. Day 1 is the first fit test. Holy cow I forgot how intense it is. I did well but my lungs got worked out so much I'm coughing and sneezing like I have a cold and I want to expel the crap in my lungs. I'm hoping that it's a good thing, and that it passes soon.

One Wheel, Too Icy

Yesterday was a day of thawing that got to over 40°F but we're back to cold, low 20's. Today I thought I'd duplicate my last neighborhood ride and maybe do the walking trail loop a twice this time.

Unfortunately the trail was a bit too icy and wet for my liking. It almost looks ok on the sides but it's inconsistent and drifting onto the wet ice just yanks the wheel out from under me. No good.

Maybe it would have gotten better further on, or if I started on the other side of the loop. But I also noticed my saddle was loose and so, all signs pointed to just being done and I headed back home.

2.8 miles

Rebooting Again

I've been working on making a muni comeback! More about that later, but for today, I did a short ride in my neighborhood. I rode my Oregon fat tire on the road and on the nearby snow-covered walking trail.

There was enough snow and boot-prints on the trail that make it a challenge but still rideable with a fat tire. I had one UPD in a place where the snow got deeper. I kept the ride short as I'm easing back into it.

3.4 miles

Not Too Tired But Currently 2 Tired

I've been feeling too out of shape lately, so over the past few weeks I've been dieting and lost a few pounds. Of course I also need exercise and muni always comes to mind for that. At the same time my youngest daughter has been wanting to ride her bike farther so we've done a few rides from our house to some easier trails. Specifically down the street to the Chiyoda Trail, Bird Sanctuary Trail, and Hojack Trail.
So no muni, but I hope to build up my endurance and get back into it as the weather gets cooler.

I don't see how to embed maps from MapMyRide anymore, but here are the links to our bike rides:

11 miles
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/6839789188

12 miles
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/6854685220

It was interesting to see some changes on the Hojack. About midway through there has "always" been a set of stairs that lead down to the John Ungar Trail. It's a small loop, less than 0.5 miles, with some boardwalks, if I recall. I've only been there a few times, long ago. I never felt the trail was worth the effort of dismounting and walking down stairs. But on our recent rides I saw there's now a path leading down there, a few hundred feet before the stairs. I just dug into the spring Friends of Webster Trails newsletter and it does mention:

The Town received a donation to acquire land adjacent to the John Ungar trail. We will build a trail on this land in memory of Michael Johnson.

So that's something I can explore on my muni soon.

Also at the end of the Hojack the old railroad bridge that crosses Lake Rd has been removed. The land had been reshaped to instead slope down from the Hojack to the road. Googling reminds me there has been construction on Lake Rd over the past few years, to do things like widen it, and removing the bridge was part of that. Too bad there wasn't a destination right there. Like a park or ice cream shop. It's still a dead end.

We counted animals we saw on the trail today. 😀
1 ground hog
3 squirrels
7 bunnies
8 chipmunks

Beat the Heat

 I guess I'm supposed to ride more often. It is supposed to get up to 86F today and it was in the 70's this morning so I decided to ride. Again, I went to Webster Park and Whiting, and modified my route a bit. I incorporated more trails that were tougher to push myself more. I did well and again felt like I had a little more endurance than last time.

It is still a little discouraging to not be able to climb some of the hills I used to. I truly believe some have gotten steeper from erosion. I'm also remembering my performance on my 24", not this 26" with a fat tire. But also, there's no doubt I am not doing the workouts I used to do. I might get back into those.

I rode 7.8 miles.

Cool Ride

What a great temperature for riding today! It was something like 57F and a slight breeze. I was chilly at first and wore a long sleeve over my short sleeve shirt, but removed it, as anticipated, near the end of my first mile.

I should have checked my tire pressure before leaving the house. I guess I have a small leak because my tire was way softer than at the end of my last ride. Maybe the temperature change was enough to lower the pressure though. It was my fat tire and thankfully I always bring a mini pump in my CamelBak. And thankfully the pump worked very well. The presta valve stem on my tube unscrews way too easily and when I removed the plastic cap on it, the whole stem came out and I lost most of the air. It's no big deal to put it back, but with the small pump and a fat tire I was worried it was going to take forever to fill but it was only a minute.

I took a similar path as last time, through Webster Park and into Whiting, but added green trail down and back. On that trail I felt my leg muscles bordering on cramping and had to easy up on hill climbing, but overall I felt a little more in shape than the last ride. I haven't been working out though, so it might just be the cooler temperature helping me.

6.5 miles

Another Ride

I rode again, this time in Webster Park and Whiting. It was a bit hot and humid. I did fine, but avoided the more difficult trails. I will need to work hard to get back to where I was in my prime muni days.

MapMyRide - 4 miles