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| Get a room, trees. |
It's like thousands of people have been walking around banging erasers together, creating a plume of yellow dust that cakes everything it comes into contact with. My recent runs have ended with my mouth and lungs coated with this crap and everywhere I go someone asks, "Are you OK?? Have you been crying?"
No, Ma'am. These are tears of joy.
Someone asked if I was running the Georgia Marathon or Half Marathon on St. Patrick's day. I laughed. Willingly choke on tree sex while running for almost four hours? Not right now, thanks.
Other than my 31-day running goal I actually don't have anything major on the horizon and with temperatures breaking records along with the pollen count, I hesitate to undertake any kind of major mileage. My foot is still being an ornery little ____, reminding me of its less than stellar physical condition and I don't know that I can see anyone for it without a referral.
So I'm setting my sights on the fall or winter for my next big race and I might actually make it a full marathon. I'd like to do better with maintaining my average mileage throughout the summer and be able to start logging longer runs once we break through the hottest part of the next season.
In the meantime, I still look forward to teaching my classes even when the weather is nice enough that I should be riding outside. Fortunately, I'm not the only one whining about aching sinuses or itchy eyes so hopefully we'll have a good turnout tonight. I put together a selection of songs I like to blast in my car with my windows open during that brief stretch of time (about 3 weeks) between needing to rely on heat or air conditioning to be comfortable. Seriously, it was in the 40's just a couple weeks ago. Now, it's 81.
Anyway, this week's list is full of turn-up-the-volume-worthy songs and a healthy dose of climbs. Pollen might be all that's in the air around Atlanta but there is a little love in my playlist. As in, I love my climbs and I am sharing that love with you. Watch out for songs 5-8: There's a nice 15-minute endurance challenge that, if you push through without slowing down for a break, will burn 46,234 calories. Or, something like that.
Spring Fever Spin
"Curbside Prophet" Jason Mraz - warm up, flat road, alternate legs for 30s. each.
"Are You Gonna Be My Girl" Jet - add a gear, continued warm-up going through all 3 positions (pos1 on verse, 2 on bridge, 3 on chorus). Add one more gear half-way through the song if you aren't starting to break a sweat.
"Sugar We're Going Down" Fallout Boy - first light climb, add 2 gears on the chorus and pick up the pace in pos3, take one off and sit for the next verse. Repeat this pattern (+2, -1) adding a little more toward the end if you're not at medium-high resistance.
"Brasileira" Veron & Praia Del Sol - two sets of runs; first on a semi-flat road (don't be afraid to add a gear or two to make it harder) while seated for 1 min, recover, then add another gear or two and take it up to pos3 to run for one more minute. This is the first effort to really get the heart rate up so try to push it up to the 80-90% range.
"Uprising" Muse - first big climb; start at medium resistance at what will feel like a slow and easy cadence (on the beat). Same as the first climb we'll add 2 gears and stand and climb on the chorus, take just one off for the verse when we sit. As it gets harder try to stay on the pace!
"Perfect Situation" Weezer - dial the resistance back to medium for isolation drills; we'll start seated, take it up to a light jog in pos2 for the bridge and on the chorus attempt to take out the bounce (moving just the legs, not the upper body). Don't do this if you have knee issues or are new to indoor cycling.
"Dream On" Aerosmith - still holding at medium resistance, we're going to climb to the max, adding resistance every 45s or so until the need overtakes us to stand up in pos3 to finish the climb.
"I Wanna Be Sedated" Ramones - time to flatten out and flush out those legs, but do NOT let that heart rate come down! You have to hold on and push through these sprints to earn your break!
"The Golden Age" Asteroid Galaxy Tour - alternating riding in the seat and out of the saddle (in pos2 or pos3, whatever you want) between the chorus and verses with light resistance, allowing the HR to come down a little. Keep it at a moderate pace, though!
"Bright Lights" Matchbox Twenty - I've wanted to use this song for a long time but can't find my CD for the life of me so today I finally caved and purchased this track in the meantime until the album shows up somewhere. We're going to climb one last time, starting seated at medium resistance and standing up in pos3 and adding one gear for the chorus. Leave it on when you sit and keep up your pace as you push up over this last, not quite as steep, bump.
"All My Life" Foo Fighters - Flat road (or a little more for control & a challenge), sprint on the chorus. The goal is to get that HR up to 90% of your max or - if you don't wear a monitor - breathing hard and not wanting to attempt to talk.
"Starlight" Muse & "#34" Dave Matthews Band - cool down and stretch.
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Happy Spring!
What's your favorite song/artist to blast when driving around town?
I like to turn heads, so it might be "Baby Got Back" as I rock it in my swagger wagon.
(For the record, I don't actually drive a minivan... I drive an actual wagon. Don't hate.)
2 comments:
Anything Will Smith is my jam when the weather turns. :)
Aaaww yeah... gettin jiggy wit it!
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