So it’s 11 degrees in Middle Tennessee.  If you read the last blog, you know what kind of experience I had with the cold weather.  You also read that I conceded the battle of the temperature and gave in to the sorry notion that I did have minimal temperature in which to bike, run, and of course, swim.  I’m over that, I get it.

Today’s workout session was the swim/bike brick.  Again, 11 degrees, so off I trot to the Sports Com pool/weight room where the stationery bikes are.  Not terrible happy about it, but resigned to the circumstances as they are:  It is what it is.  I made the vow that the most recent post was going to be the whiningest of all, so I’ll have to back down on this one.  If I can.

I used the new swimming toy – the portable lap counter you attach to the side of the pool.  It can count laps, keep time/split times, calculate calories burned, etc.  I thoroughly enjoyed playing with that.  It can track most anything you program it to, and I think it will be really useful on the long swims.  The swim itself was great if short, just a half-mile.  I swam in my trisuit, and as soon as my 18 laps were over, I hopped out of the pool, ran to the locker room, put on my cleats and went running upstairs to the bike.

The gym where I work as a massage therapist is clean and shiny and chrome-y and hip: Murfreesboro’s version of GloboGym from the movie Dodgeball.  The gym where I work OUT is old and dingy and dated and I love it:  Average Joe’s from the same movie.  There are a whopping two bikes in this gym, one upright and one recumbent.  When I went flying up into the workout area, there was already someone on the upright, so I get on the recumbent, set it to be moderately difficult to sustain 15 mph, and start spinning.  I had my tunes in, the small suspended TV was set (mute) to ESPN.

I was bored in 90 seconds.  90 seconds of approximately an hour and a half of cycling. 

I watched Eagles/Raven/Steelers/Cardinals highlights.  I watched people on the track.  I watched people lift weights.  I listened to an entire Jim Gaffigan album.  Still bored.  I got the workout done, the 20 miles knocked down.  I’m sure I will have to do this again sometime this winter, but it really is a close call between the cold and the boredom, and the cold edges out the boredom by a fraction as a deterrent to outside REAL cycling.

Week two done.  You may have noticed a missing swim workout this week if you are keeping close tabs.  It was to have been yesterday, along with a strength training workout.  I went to the gym with the intention of doing both, complete with all gear and equipment, did the weights workout, headed to the pool, and remembered the pool closes from 1-3….grrrrr.  Knew that.  Lesson learned.  Again.

Thanks for reading.