MSers Training in 2014

[Veronica]

Hi all! Just to give you all a chuckle for this Monday.....my friends I rode with on Saturday decided, when they were waiting ahead for me, on my nickname/ theme song....."Low Rider" .....
"Low rider don't use no gas now, low rider don't drive too fast."....... ey, yay, yay...

[Marinadca]

Larry - My MS ride was in June and I did not participate this year (I got my trike 2 weeks before hand but it was the catalyst for getting it, as I was so bitter about Steve doing MY ride with MY team and me sitting out for the 3rd year in a row).

I do wonder if the shorter days have something to do with my motivation issues. I was away visiting family for a week and after a week of fried food and little exercise I am feeling a little more like some yoga and other stuff, still hating the trainer though. I just hate to waste the time I have and it turns into a giant negative feedback loop of fail.

[pawpaw]

Larry- I have been trying to get my DH to get a pedicure with no success. I agree that it is one of the nicest decadent self indulgences.
Marina- I hear you on the lack of motivation. I can't seem to do anything except bike. My yoga card is about to expire, my abs are weak, but I don't care. I think the weather has something to do with it. It is just too nice out to go inside.
This has definitely been the year of the bike for me. On Saturday I did my 6th century for the year and 5 of them were on the single bike. I have ridden well over 3000 miles this season and am currently the top female mileage rider in our cycling club. We did do another donut ride- this one from our house to Frank's donuts in a nearby town. Those donuts are definitely worth the ride.
Another month in the cycling season- maybe 500 more miles...
Pell

[teena marie]

Hi all,

Work has been getting in the way of training as well as a drop in temperature which has hampered my outdoor swimming. Although cold water has magical effects on my body, I get too cold so that climbing up the ladder is a challenge. I think it's time to get the indoor pool operational. I looked at the wetsuit option but they are true torture devices when it comes to getting it on.

It looks like great training all around although I detect that change of season feeling for many of us. 2 weeks ago when the weather became cold, I was really in the dumps. It's a transition time for sure.

Pell, the donut rides sound truly bizarre. I'm glad the last ride was an improvement but I can't think of a more unhealthy food to pair with cycling!

Larry, pedicures are the best. Most men dismiss them as too girly. Good for you to experience the benefit.

Dave, this is long overdue. Congratulations on the triking.

Take care all and continue with the marvelous training,

Teena Marie

[Marinadca]

Random Tip Teeny.... I like to scuba dive but getting a wet suit on (wet, dry, whichever) is the worse struggle ever. I got an item like this... http://www.scuba.com/US/scuba-gear-4...-pqxoCCRTw_wcB and it just slips on and off. So much better.

[teena marie]

Thanks,Marina! I just spoke with the company. I'm not sure for this season but I'll see.

[Veronica]

Hi all: So NYC BikeMS was yesterday and it was the debut of “Low Rider”…me and my trike. Of course my lack of any noteworthy speed was a great concern for me since we get to ride traffic free around Manhattan, but it is on major routes (the West Side Highway and the FDR) and they give us a time limit to get through these before they are re-opened to traffic. Our joke was that no one on the team knew Mayor Di Blasio personally to see if they could give me an extra hour or two…. And I didn’t want to have to come into the finish on the bus….NO WAY!!

I talked to my physical therapist Herb who of course was riding with me about continguency plans and he didn’t like my idea of bailing out on the FDR and heading cross-town at 125th Street if the bus was breathing down our backs…. I wasn’t crazy about riding cross-town either but I didn’t want to get stuck on the bus for the rest of the ride. So what happened?

Well, the morning started as they always do….too early, not enough coffee, meeting up with the team at 6:45 am. It was 46 degrees at 7 am, and only got to 61 for the day, and with a wind that wouldn’t quit all day. But what a sunny bright day. Instead of starting at the back of the pack as I did in the past for safety sake, I started in the middle …This was fun already……We rode enforce (over 4,000 of us) down the West Side Highway, past the Freedom Tower, under Battery Park through the tunnel and then out and UP my first hill…..Not bad, I thought! And several of my team mates agreed that I was so far keeping a good speed.

Well, we rode on, and I just kept pedaling away nonstop, and watched more and more riders pass me by…I was really happy, so elated to be back on this course which has become like a “home” to me over these years…. I would periodically ask my friend Larry if there was anybody left behind us, he would look back for a second or so, and then look at me and say “There’s more back there”……

This continued all the SLOW way up the FDR to around 95th Street when I asked again. He answered that same way “Yeah, there are people back there”, but this time I glanced in my rear view mirror. Yes, he was right, there WERE more behind us….THE BUS and its entire entourage of: truck for the bikes, motorcycle cops and EMS….. At this point, it was FUNNY to realize that they were going to gobble me up. I had been spinning nonstop for the past two hours, loving it, but getting tired of the scenery! The ride marshal rode up beside me and gently broke the news to me that they needed to put me on the bus. I laughed and agreed, Herb said he was coming with me, and I sent Larry, my brother Charlie and some of my other friends on ahead to enjoy the ride. But I also asked the sag team if they could then unload our bikes at the rest stop where we were heading so I could then continue over to the west side and to the finish. I was so happy to hear them say “Of course!!” So Herb and I got on the bus and yucked it up all the way to the stop….maybe 5 miles ahead.

At Inwood Point Park we quickly got the truck driver to give us back the bikes, used the “facilities” and off we went again, up a short steep hill right out of the park like a pair of geriatric mountain goats….slow and steady…. We found a few of my friends along the way who waited around to see if I would reappear and we tried the run home down the Henry Hudson.

I did pretty well for awhile at least as there were some really nice flats and downhills where I just flew….Now, of course, I already had a plan for this side of Manhattan. If we could just get to the part of the highway that is level with the Hudson, we could get onto the public bike trail that goes right along the river and would bring us directly to the finish, with no time constraints or rolling hills to stress us out.

Problem with my plan at this point was that we had more inclines to climb before this, and looking in the rear view, I saw the flashing lights again of the posse about to get me … Two ride marshals soon were riding on either side of me, saying I still could ride, but if the motorcycle cop got to me, I would need to stop…. Mr. Cop was about three feet from me off my left….making obnoxious engine revving noises as he almost couldn’t stay upright trying to match my speed ( can you call what I was doing “speed”??) …. But I just kept pedaling, with “Low Rider” running thru my head….The marshals talked me through the incline that takes you under the George Washington Bridge, I made the crest, shoved it in my big gear, and flew downhill, and watched Mr. Cop get farther and farther away…… for all of about one minute….. Slowly the Pac Mac procession got right up to me, and the marshal again, very gently announced I needed to end it and pull over….

So Herb and I did…… The MS Society rep who had been riding in the bus came out, and said that the whole bus had been cheering me on saying “ Come on you can do it, oh, just keep going!!”….. So I told her that I really didn’t want to come in via bus and could they just pull over and unload us AGAIN when we were flush with the bike trail. She told me that it was the truck driver’s decision as he was the lead vehicle. When he came around to get our bikes, I asked him. He broke into the biggest grin, and said “ABSOLUTELY, I can do that!” Herb and I got on the bus for the second time……and everyone applauded. This was getting to be really funny!

A mile up the highway, the truck pulled over, and the driver came back to the bus to help me off. I told him that his smile ,when I asked for this, made my day, and he said “I’m a cyclist myself, so I KNOW what this means to you…happy to help you make it.” Can you believe this?? Three of our friends who knew I planned this, were there chatting with some of the NYC cops who were security for the ride, and told them what my deal was and what I wanted to do. As I got on the trike and looked to see where the trail was, there was a very large city cop standing in front of me on my right just slightly smiling, with his hand down to give a “low five” to Low Rider…..as we "slapped skin" I grinned, and I saw that his smile got a little bigger.

With that we were on the trail and ditched the posse, and we rode the final three miles or so dodging the runners and other cyclists zooming by, while enjoying a spectacular view of the Hudson along the Upper West Side of Manhattan. When we finally rolled into the Finish, I saw my brother and my “adopted’ brother Larry (our childhood friend) standing on a wall cheering me on…..and ahead of me was a good group of my other buddies who had ridden…. And tears just rolled down my face…. I did it…. I finished on my trike….with a little help from my friends. And now I am gonna seriously think of getting an electric assist….. I don’t want to go “bus hopping” again next year...

[teena marie]

Oh my God, Veronica. There are no other words.

Absolutely the biggest congratulations. Beyond inspirational.

Teena Marie

[AMFADVENTURES]

That is a fantastic story Veronica, I was with you all the way, what perseverance! Congratulations on rolling across the finish line. Bet it felt good.

Larry

[Marinadca]

That is a fantastic story Veronica....go you!!!

[pawpaw]

Fabulous story Veronica- Tears are rolling down my cheeks.
Pell

[Veronica]

Ok, so triking is pretty much done for outside this year... I am ordering the accessory I need to make my Kinetic trainer accept the 16" wheels, and will bring my riding inside.

NOW, I am switching gears into skiing..... Any other skiers out there besides Dave...( oh, sorry, you're a Boarder, right?) I am in the midst of preparing for a Big Adventure, and going out to Breckenridge Dec 1-7 to take part in the Hartford's Ski Spectacular event for skiers with disabilities. The group I ski with goes out there to take part in teaching, and one of the instructors thought I would love this.... so what the heck, I am going! I'll take daily morning classes, and have signed up for a clinic in ......Sled hockey!!....Just for the thrill of it.....not looking to add a sport to my repetoire... Should be really an amazing week of being totally surrounded by people with physical issues just doing what they want to do and not letting the "facts" get in the way...and I hope to get some good pointers on sking with the outriggers. It'll be a sweet reunion with Breck for me, as this was one of the first places I learned downhill, before the Dx, but with MS rearing its ugly head just at the wrong times. Would love to hear if there are others out there that are either going, or who ski...

[AMFADVENTURES]

Veronica, I am green with envy, hope to hear all about the skiing. I used to do quite a lot of skiing. Unfortunately, just as I was getting really good on the double black diamond moguls, they took out one of my knees. So it goes. I am still good at 'apres ski' though so if you get bored up there, drop me a line.

I've been getting out 2 to 3 times per week on the bike. I may not be keeping my hours or mileage up but I have been consistent about hitting the hills twice a week. I've been doing a range of hill intervals anywhere from 2 minutes to twenty minutes and trying to hold certain power and heart rate levels on them, always with full recovery between intervals. The idea is to increase leg strength and it may be working although the increase I've seen so far is only in the range of a percent or two. I plan to build this kind of strength building interval work into my training next year, I can already see I'm going to need some steeper hills though.

I've also started planning for the off season. I'm going to concentrate on core building and a few plyometric exercises. Plyometric's are exercises based around having muscles exert maximum force in very short intervals of time, with the goal of increasing both speed and power - Wikipedia. There are several of both the core and plyo exercises I can't actually do yet so I'm going to have to enlist the help of a personal trainer or, if I'm lucky, the hot blond yoga chick to get me started. Anyway, that's the current plan and I am starting to shift into off season mode.

One of the plyo exercises is called a squat jump. From a squat position you jump up explosively throwing your arms in the air getting as high off the ground as you can. Do 2 sets of 10 reps in rapid succession. I surprised myself by getting about an inch and a half off the ground and being able to do 1 set of 3 reps. Funny!

[teena marie]

Hi all,

Life has been hectic and training has been minimal. I've been concentrating on turning everything from laundry to cleaning the cat litter as exercise. Strengthening has been squats and core twists holding a 10 pound weight. My indoor pool has just been set up and yesterday was my first swim. How glorious to move my body in water again. It's been a month since the outdoor pool was too cold. One thing that was encouraging-the stairs were easier.

Veronica, the skiing sounds like so much fun. As Larry said, green with envy pretty much sums it up. I do a little cross country skiing in the country on weekends. The skiis I have at present are difficult to put on as well as being too slippery. I just found these skiis-shorter, wider an bindings that you can wear regular snow boots. http://altaiskis.com/products/the-hok/

Larry, how great you are still able to be outdoors on your bike. Green with envy yet again! Your plyo exercises sound interesting. I worked with a trainer last year who did Olympic weight training and he described something similar. I'm all for the idea of working with a trainer. I hope to find someone for the winter.

As usual, bravo to all and take care,

Teena Marie

[ActiveMSers]

You guys never cease to amaze me. My training has restarted nicely after my recent holiday. Today I worked my upper body doing lots of standing weight work, which really challenges my balance. Exercised for 1:20, 55 minutes in the cardio zone, averaging 117 BPM. I'm doing more walking work on my lower-body days based on the great recommendations here, which I'll be plugging in the next newsletter. Thanks everyone!