Category Archives: Cycling

The Good Times Are Not Over Yet

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The coming weeks are full of excitement in the Box house. I work two more shifts, and then I’m off for almost two weeks via trades and vacation. So we’re going to live it up. Here are some of the highlights:

  1. Hotter’N Hell 50 – It’s finally here! Jenny and I are heading to Wichita Falls Friday afternoon and having dinner with some of my cousins. Then we’ll get up early Saturday morning with Chuck and Jeff for the Hotter’N Hell race. Our 27-mile Goatneck warm-up race last month went great. Due to various issues, I haven’t been able to do any rides longer than 35 miles, but Jenny has done 40, and I’m confident we can finish the 50-miler on Saturday. We launch at 7:05am and hope to finish by 10:30am, averaging 15-16 mph.
  2. Beach Trip? – This is still in the discussion stage, but we might try an overnight trip to the beach with the boys on Sunday to somewhere on the Texas Gulf Coast, probably Galveston. This trip has two main purposes – 1) a test flight with both the boys in their car seats to prep for Disney World, and 2) to let them experience the ocean for the first time. The flights to Hobby are so open that we could each have our own row, the hotels are cheap, and the beaches shouldn’t be crowded.
  3. Back to School – The boys are off school this week, and they return next Tuesday. Jonathan is getting new teachers, but Brenden will keep the same one he had this summer. I guess technically Brenden will be in pre-K? Jenny starts her final prereq for nursing school on Monday, a microbiology class with lab that she’s really excited about. Like before, she’ll be in class Monday and Wednesday nights. In a related note, both boys will get promoted to new classrooms at church as well. Jonathan moves from the blue hall to the green hall. Brenden moves from the green hall to Zone Jr. Weird!
  4. US Open Trip – My mom, aunt Kathy, and I are flying to New York a week from Thursday for the US Open Tennis Championships. We have tickets for three night sessions and two day sessions, which should consist of second- and third-round action. Mom and I went to the Open in 2006 and had a blast even though the entire second day got rained out. Kathy is a big tennis fan like us, and we are thrilled at the chance to return for this year’s tournament. I hope to catch Clijsters, Sharapova, Djokovic, and Federer, among others. I also hope to sneak in a morning run in Mecca, aka Central Park (we’re staying just to the south), with the countless other runners and cyclists who work out there. Many thanks to my loving and patient wife Jenny for watching the hooligans for the weekend while I go play! (don’t feel too badly for her – I’m making it up to her in November when she goes to Vegas on a girls’ trip)
  5. Refocus on Running – After the bike race, I’ll need to shift my focus back toward running as I prepare for my next footrace, the Whispering Pines 25k trail run at Tyler State Park. It’s been difficult to run much this summer due to the heat, a whiny hip flexor, and most of all my cycling for Hotter’N Hell. But I just did an eight-miler on Friday with no pain anywhere, so I have hope. The temperature is dropping. My hip is growing stronger and tougher. If I can increase my long run by about 1 mile per week between now and October 13, I should be ready to rock.

The Week Ahead

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This is a crazy but very exciting week for the Box household. Here is our agenda:

Monday – the boys start swim lessons at the Grapevine public pool. They’ll go five days a week, thirty minutes a day for the next two weeks unless we have something else going on. They took a few lessons last year, but these will be a bit more involved.

Tuesday – We hope to close on our refi around lunchtime! Then we’ll pick up the boys from school and go to Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine. This will be the boys’ first night in a hotel and first night sharing a bed with each other, and I’m not sure how it will go. We’ll do our best to wear them out in the indoor water park.

Wednesday – Play at Great Wolf in the morning, nap, and then swim lessons.

Thursday – Jenny has Mommy Day, so I’ll be taking the boys to and from school and then to swim lessons. (oh boy…help, Jenny, what do I do?!?) While they’re at school, I hope to run or do some yoga and then meet my mom and her parents for lunch. That night, our babysitter is coming over to watch the boys while we see The Dark Knight Rises at Studio Movie Grill.

Friday – I hope to visit the office of Gary Tylock to discuss getting LASIK for my right eye. Yep, I finally decided to go for it. In the afternoon, I’m taking Brenden to his friend Landry’s birthday party at 4:00. Then we’re hosting Brenden’s 4th birthday party at 6:30 while the DVR records the Olympic opening ceremony. Jenny’s parents are taking the boys home that night because…

Saturday – Jenny and I plan to ride in our first organized bicycle ride, The Goatneck in Cleburne. We’ve already gone farther in training than the 27 miles we signed up to ride there, so I’m confident we can finish this one. We’ll spend the rest of the day trying to recover and watching the Olympics.

How Fit is Fit Enough?

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Today’s First World Problem: I enjoy too many different types of exercise.

You already know I love running. I’ve backed off a bit this summer due to a slightly sore hip and the Texas heat, but I still hit the trail a couple times each week. After Hotter’N Hell, I’ll start running more to prepare for the big trail run in October.

My new road bike is a blast to ride, and with Hotter’N Hell 50 coming Aug 25 and a 27-mile warmup race called The Goatneck (?) on July 28, I’m trying to ride three times a week.

So that makes two activities, both of which make my muscles stronger but potentially tighter. To help them stay loose and maintain muscular balance, I’ve been practicing yoga at Jenny’s gym once a week with her guest pass. I’ll probably join eventually once they offer a good deal. So now I’m up to three activities.

As you might have wondered, since I already run and ride, why not add swimming and become a triathlete? I’ve never been a competitive swimmer, but I could probably learn. Or why not take up tennis to strengthen my core further and add some upper-body activity? Or why not hit the weight machines to support all the other work I’m doing?

So far no one has offered to sponsor me as a full-time athlete, and to be honest, I’m not exactly holding my breath. So I still need to make a living. Plus my body needs sleep and food from time to time. And I have two cute little boys and a loving wife and want to spend time with them. My grass grows (much to my chagrin) and needs to be mowed. I go to church and spend time with friends and family.

Something has to give, which leads me to today’s question:

How fit is fit enough?

How would you decide? Does working out four, five, or six days a week make you fit enough? What about three hours a week? Five? Ten? Is it being able to fit into your preferred pant size? Is it winning races in your preferred sport(s)? Is it being satisfied when you look in the mirror? Is it being satisfied with how you feel? Is it a heart rate, blood pressure measurement, or cholesterol level? Is it being able to run/ride/swim a certain distance or lift a certain amount of weight? Is it not being tired at the top of the stairs or being able to pick up your children or grandchildren?

I’m still working through this question myself and suspect it will take a little while to find the right balance. I definitely need to limit my activity to some extent, so don’t look for me in the Hawaii Ironman anytime soon. Rest days are important, so I’ll need at least one or two each week. Perhaps some days I’ll ride a bit and then run a bit, or maybe ride to the gym for a yoga class.

For those of you who do exercise, how do you decide how much to do?

Things I’ve Learned Lately

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  1. If you ever get overconfident regarding your own abilities, try applying them in another discipline and see how you do. Due to my running and cycling, I’d convinced myself that my legs were pretty strong. Then I went to a hot yoga class with Jenny at her gym. My legs were sore for two days afterward.
  2. My original hybrid bike (Specialized Sirrus Elite, size XL) weighed 27 pounds. My new road bike (Trek 2.3, size 58cm) weighs 21.6 pounds. Jenny’s bike (Specialized Dolce Elite, size 51.5cm) weighs 21.6 pounds as well.
  3. We tried a test ride on Friday right after we brought the new bikes home. I hit 26mph on a flat at near max effort. I never came close to that speed on a flat with my hybrid. It felt like I was flying. I liked it.
  4. If someone can watch our boys for the night, Jenny and I plan to ride the Hotter’N Hell 50 mile race on August 25. It will be a challenge, but with our current fitness levels and ten weeks to train, I think we can finish it. As a warmup, we might do a shorter race in late July at Texas Motor Speedway.
  5. There’s a thing called sprouted grain bread that my friends are eating on their new diet. They say it’s easier to digest and better for your body. Bread made from sprouted grain is more expensive, but they say it’s worth it. According to Livestrong, it’s similar to whole wheat bread with a few added benefits.
  6. A $6 bottle of sparkling white wine can be just as tasty as a $45 bottle of real champagne, maybe even more so.
  7. We don’t use our beautiful wedding-present champagne flutes enough. There’s always something to celebrate if you look for it.
  8. An easy way to feel guilty is to ignore a panhandler on the corner and then drop $4 on a cappuccino at Starbucks.
  9. Gloria’s in Oak Cliff has fantastic Mexican and Salvadorian food and great service. It seems to be in an old firehouse and still has a fire pole. (no, they won’t let you slide down, maybe due to their strong margaritas). We ate there with Jenny’s family for her parents’ 40th anniversary, her brother-in-law’s birthday, and her father’s birthday. The only downside was the forced valet parking. Living in the suburbs has spoiled me in the parking department.
  10. Brenden and Jonathan will be in school three days a week starting in July: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. This will help Brenden get ready for kindergarten next year (WHOA) and give Jenny a little more free time.

Faster, Daddy, Faster!

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I’ve really enjoyed cycling over the last several months. Usually I try to ride about an hour a week as crosstraining. Lately, I’ve been riding a lot more to rest a hip flexor that’s a bit sore. It’s great to have a fun, cardio-based alternative to running.

But something happened during all those miles on my bike. I realized that I enjoy going fast. And far. And it’s fascinating to use my iPhone to track how fast and far I go. And I don’t like riding on gravelly trails or other uneven surfaces.

In other words, it’s time to upgrade from my excellent Sirrus hybrid to a true road bike. And I’m bringing my wife with me.

We went out to Bicycles, Inc. this week and test rode several models. Neither of us had ever ridden a roadie before. Jenny’s last bike was a mountain bike from over a decade ago, designed to be rugged and durable for off-road riding. My hybrid is tough like a mountain bike but with thinner, lighter wheels and a lighter frame. A road bike is a whole different animal designed for speed – an even lighter frame and wheels, lower handlebars, and a more aggressive stance. Jenny and I climbed on our test bikes and felt like we’d saddled a rocket. They want to go fast. Riding a roadie feels a bit like driving a race car that will take off if you don’t work to rein it in.

Yes, please.

Jenny is looking at the Specialized Dolce, and I’m looking at the Trek 2 series. Bicycles, Inc. takes trade-ins like a car dealership, so I will say goodbye to my beloved Sirrus and apply the funds toward something even faster. When the boys are in school and I’m awake, Jenny and I hope to ride together. Maybe we’ll even try to race together someday, perhaps Hotter ‘n’ Hell 2013 or one of the races in the Dallas area.

On Not Being a Lump

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If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else. – Laurence J. Peter

Inertia is a powerful force, perhaps one of the most powerful and underrated forces. The World English Dictionary defines inertia as “disinclination to move or act”. An inert thing simply keeps on keepin’ on. Inertia is one of the main reasons we have trouble getting anywhere on time with our kids, we sit on our growing butts in front of the TV instead of working out, we don’t study unless there’s a test coming up, and we spend years in a church or job or relationship that isn’t right for us instead of searching for another.

It’s difficult to me to just be and let life happen. It will happen, but if I don’t take some control over it, don’t try to affect its outcome somehow, I’m more likely to be unhappy with the results. I’m a goal-oriented person. I’m happier when I’m working toward a specific goal, even if I don’t achieve it. My job doesn’t lend itself well to concrete goals, and I’m no longer in school with a handy GPA by which to rate myself, so I motivate myself with fitness goals, especially races. THE NEXT RACE helps me haul myself out to the trail a few times a week instead of being a lump in front of the computer.

I tell you about my upcoming races not because I expect you to join me, although you’re certainly welcome, but to help keep me accountable. So here are my race plans for the next six months:

  1. Jingle Bell Run in Dallas, Dec 21 – We’re making this a family event. Jenny and the boys will walk the 5k course, I will run, and we’ll enjoy the Christmas spirit near the Hilton Anatole. Goal: Break 23 minutes for the first time
  2. Cowtown Half-Marathon in Fort Worth, Feb 26 – Enough talk. Enough speculation. It’s on. 13.1 miles on a cool February morning. Right now I plan to run-walk, which I’m 95 percent sure will allow me to go the distance. My progress in training over the next few months will determine the run-walk mix. Goal: Finish under 2:30
  3. Fast and Furious Duathlon at Joe Pool Lake, Apr 15 – When I got my bike, I wasn’t really interested in racing. But then I discovered how fun it could be to go fast. And then I discovered the duathlon, a run-bike race. It’s a triathlon without the swimming, which doesn’t really appeal to me anyway. This one is on a smooth, flat course that should produce fast times. I tried a simulation of the event on Saturday by running 2 miles, riding 6.5, and running 2. It felt great! Running is more physically challenging for me, so the ride broke up the runs into more manageable segments and gave my knees a rest. I hope to compete in the long distance: 5k run, 19 mile ride, 5k run. Goal: Finish under 1:50

So there you have it. I can train for speed over the next six weeks to prepare for a good time at the Jingle Bell Run and switch to long-distance running through February. I’ll stay on the bike during this time to strengthen my legs, burn some fat, and give my knees a break while still fitting in cardio work. After Cowtown, I’ll aim for a balance of running and riding to train for the duathlon. Running should be my stronger event, but I hope to put up a decent ride as well.

Eyes on the prize, baby.