Whooops! I let myself get negligent here, and my website postings dwindled. :-/ In addition, my biking slacked off a bit, too. . . guess the two are related. I find that it's much harder to get myself to post if I haven't done what I'm supposed to do!
I haven't gone on any hour-long bike rides in a few weeks. To compensate (somewhat), I rode my bike to the coffee shop a few times. The odometer kept track of my distance and mph . . . but I'm not home now, so that may have to wait until the next post. I was thinking about behavior change interventions and wondering whether there was a predictable time when most people stop doing the new thing (2 months? 4 weeks?) -- surely, it depends on how much a person wants to change and how difficult the change will be to implement. I *wanted* to ride my bike that often, but I found myself going back to my habitual forms of exercise -- jogging, dancing, yoga.
Did anyone else find that? I mean, did anyone else intend to do a specific health behavior (like biking) but compensate with another "healthy" behavior when you didn't meet your goal (jogging, etc.)?
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Week Five
So, the Stroller Strides (is that the name?) workout was totally fun, and I was sore! We may've looked like a band of crazy-folk though, for a bit as Bahman was pushing Sami up a hill in a stroller, while she was waving like a beauty queen! But it was totally worth it. Priceless.
Last week I had a cold, so I slacked off on my exercise a lot. I did decide to go for a bike-ride again, though, and I figured that I'd just to go the same place I'd been before. The weather was a bit cloudier than the first time I went, and *really* windy. I'm convinced that's why I went slower. :) Also, it was a bit harder to breathe with my head stopped-up from the cold, but I was definitely in the healing stages by then, so I thought that it was safe to do the ride. Here are my stats:
Avg. speed: 12 mph
Max speed: 18.8 mph
Distance: 12.563 miles
Time: 1:02:53
My new goal is to (a) find a group to go with, and (b) buy a bike rack. I'll have to take a picture of the bike all crammed into the back seat of my Honda Accord -- and it always gets bike grease on the seat!
Last week I had a cold, so I slacked off on my exercise a lot. I did decide to go for a bike-ride again, though, and I figured that I'd just to go the same place I'd been before. The weather was a bit cloudier than the first time I went, and *really* windy. I'm convinced that's why I went slower. :) Also, it was a bit harder to breathe with my head stopped-up from the cold, but I was definitely in the healing stages by then, so I thought that it was safe to do the ride. Here are my stats:
Avg. speed: 12 mph
Max speed: 18.8 mph
Distance: 12.563 miles
Time: 1:02:53
My new goal is to (a) find a group to go with, and (b) buy a bike rack. I'll have to take a picture of the bike all crammed into the back seat of my Honda Accord -- and it always gets bike grease on the seat!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Fourth Week
Well, busy-ness seems to have set in and has been short-circuiting my cycling goals! I decided to firm up the goal. The new one is:
1 hour of cycling each weekend.
Ideally, I'd go with a group -- but that hasn't quite panned out yet. I had friends in town last weekend and was sick this weekend. However I did go to a Bikram Yoga class. (Do I get points for that? :))
Since this post is incredibly boring, I'm going to go read some other folks' and hopefully make some encouraging comments.
Oh! And I'm going with a few of the girls from class to a salsa class this week -- so exciting!!
1 hour of cycling each weekend.
Ideally, I'd go with a group -- but that hasn't quite panned out yet. I had friends in town last weekend and was sick this weekend. However I did go to a Bikram Yoga class. (Do I get points for that? :))
Since this post is incredibly boring, I'm going to go read some other folks' and hopefully make some encouraging comments.
Oh! And I'm going with a few of the girls from class to a salsa class this week -- so exciting!!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Take Two
Well, this time was actually worse than the first! :-/
I found a new group -- Beach Cities Cycling Club, http://www.bccclub.org/ -- which looked like they were open to new members. They start in Redondo Beach and ride for a few hours, starting at 9:00am. I expected that it would take me between 15 to 20 minutes to get there. Well, it took 35. I was already pushing it in terms of time. As I arrived, I saw the group gathered together in the parking lot. Everyone was dressed in tight black biking pants and neon-colored wind breakers. (It was about 40 or 50 degrees this morning.) I didn't see a parking place, so I drove around the corner and found something that I'd hoped wound land me a ticket.
I ran around to the other side of my car to get my bike out of the back seat. I really need a bike rack because every time I put the bike in the car, I get bicycle grease all over the seat, and it's cumbersome to get the bike in and out. Well, I was trying to get the thing out of the back seat, and the Beach Cities Cycling club rode right past me. Some folks smiled to say "hi". My bike was partially assembled -- no tire -- and I was clearly not ready yet. Sigh.
This has been a bit of a difficult week, so I just didn't have it in me to go on a ride by myself. I went home and ran the shortest run possible -- 11 minutes and 23 seconds -- just so that I would have something to post on my blog.
Well, I learned how long it takes to get to Redondo beach and the value of a bike rack. I appreciate about this class how I sort of have to keep trying for my goal, rather that throwing in the towel early because I've not been particularly successful yet. I've been on one great ride, though, and discovered a group that I might be able to join. So, all hope is not lost! Maybe next weekend. :o)
I found a new group -- Beach Cities Cycling Club, http://www.bccclub.org/ -- which looked like they were open to new members. They start in Redondo Beach and ride for a few hours, starting at 9:00am. I expected that it would take me between 15 to 20 minutes to get there. Well, it took 35. I was already pushing it in terms of time. As I arrived, I saw the group gathered together in the parking lot. Everyone was dressed in tight black biking pants and neon-colored wind breakers. (It was about 40 or 50 degrees this morning.) I didn't see a parking place, so I drove around the corner and found something that I'd hoped wound land me a ticket.
I ran around to the other side of my car to get my bike out of the back seat. I really need a bike rack because every time I put the bike in the car, I get bicycle grease all over the seat, and it's cumbersome to get the bike in and out. Well, I was trying to get the thing out of the back seat, and the Beach Cities Cycling club rode right past me. Some folks smiled to say "hi". My bike was partially assembled -- no tire -- and I was clearly not ready yet. Sigh.
This has been a bit of a difficult week, so I just didn't have it in me to go on a ride by myself. I went home and ran the shortest run possible -- 11 minutes and 23 seconds -- just so that I would have something to post on my blog.
Well, I learned how long it takes to get to Redondo beach and the value of a bike rack. I appreciate about this class how I sort of have to keep trying for my goal, rather that throwing in the towel early because I've not been particularly successful yet. I've been on one great ride, though, and discovered a group that I might be able to join. So, all hope is not lost! Maybe next weekend. :o)
Sunday, January 24, 2010
The first attempt
Well, that didn't go quite as I thought! But at least the views were beautiful. (See the pictures that I took with my mobile phone.) Although I prepared just like the West LA Cyclist website suggested (tire tubes, water, energy bar), I didn't quite pull the ride off right. I checked the schedule . . . that was for the old post in December about the beginner's ride. Ugh! The meetup group changed the time and they left at 10:30am instead of 11:30am. At first I was deflated, but this very kind woman told me where the bike path was and suggested that I just ride on it myself.
So, I did. :o)
My decision to pursue the ride was certainly influenced by the fact that I'd committed to it for this course -- decidedly a good thing. The site, Marina del Ray, was GORGEOUS, and I'd never been before. I didn't go nearly as far as the group would've gone, but here are my stats:
Time: 1:15:09
Avg Speed: 17.9
Distance: 22.382
Now, you'll notice that I have no units for the speed and distance. . . that's because I don't know what they are yet. But I'll figure it out soon. :o) This week has been a challenge because I was getting a grad school application complete and trying to find a second job. So, my exercise slipped a bit -- normally, I run every morning. I usually like to make it to at least one dance class each week, too, but I've only made it once in the past few weeks because work has been so busy. After Feb. 1st, though, things will calm down significantly!
I think that I'll make my goal to go on 1 bike ride each weekend that lasts for at least 1 hour. I am hoping to add 1 yoga class in, too, but we'll see how ambitious I get after this last hurdle.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The Beginning
Goal: To become a cyclist -- at least for a semester! I hope to be able to bike long distances, get in better shape, become more open to picking up new physical activities, and make friends who might share the hobby.
Plan of Action: Attend a Meetup.com beginner's cycling meetup. Then, try to figure out how to go on 1 ride each week. (The group has more advanced rides other weeks in the month. So, I'll need to find something else, too.) I'll set a more definite goal for mileage after I go on the first ride, which is 27 miles. The social support of a group will be a big help!
Motivation for change: (a) physical -- cyclists have great legs :), (b) increase cardiovascular fitness, (c) possible fat loss -- tummy! :), (d) social -- get over the awkwardness of joining a fit group of people whom I don't know and enjoy it.
Influential person(s): (a) a friend who's into cycling, and (b) the couples I've met who ride together -- they just have the loveliest of relationships.
3 Barriers and Plans to Deal with them:
(a) Time -- I have a busy job. Although it's part-time, I'm always "on-call" and it's hard to plan time for not working. I'm also applying to graduate school, and have the rest of my life going on, too. My plan to deal with this is to schedule it with other people so that the social pressure will help keep me moving toward my goal (and be more fun!)
(b) emotional -- I don't have any friends who ride, and the prospect of hopping into a new social group with people who're different from me is a bit daunting. I spent my life as a dancer, and they have very different attitudes about physical activity for health (vs. for art) than athletes do. My plan for dealing with this is practice, i.e. hanging out with physically active types and not thinking that they're weird. :-P
(c) physical -- 27 miles is a long way to ride! I generally look forward to being sore, so that's not an enormous issue. But when I exercise a lot, I really need to get 8 hours of sleep, with my busy-ness, I fear that I'll be causing more problems to my body by exercising without getting proper rest than I increase health. My plan for this is to become a better time-manager (see item (a)) so that I learn how to prioritize tasks during the day. I'll need to get done the essential things, but I have to let non-essentials slide if I'm going to sleep 8 hours each night (or at least allow myself sufficient catch-up time on the weekends).
After having written all of this, I realize that I mis-read the directions!!! I was only supposed to report on ONE of these points for the first blog. :-P Next time, I'll flesh out my plans more clearly for the goal and plan of action. Also, I might have an update about my first ride. This, of course, will involve my going by the bike shop to get my bike tuned up. Given the rate at which I tend to accomplish personal tasks, this could take a century. I'm always shoving my personal stuff aside to get work done. But since I don't have a century, I suppose that 4 days will have to do. :o)
Plan of Action: Attend a Meetup.com beginner's cycling meetup. Then, try to figure out how to go on 1 ride each week. (The group has more advanced rides other weeks in the month. So, I'll need to find something else, too.) I'll set a more definite goal for mileage after I go on the first ride, which is 27 miles. The social support of a group will be a big help!
Motivation for change: (a) physical -- cyclists have great legs :), (b) increase cardiovascular fitness, (c) possible fat loss -- tummy! :), (d) social -- get over the awkwardness of joining a fit group of people whom I don't know and enjoy it.
Influential person(s): (a) a friend who's into cycling, and (b) the couples I've met who ride together -- they just have the loveliest of relationships.
3 Barriers and Plans to Deal with them:
(a) Time -- I have a busy job. Although it's part-time, I'm always "on-call" and it's hard to plan time for not working. I'm also applying to graduate school, and have the rest of my life going on, too. My plan to deal with this is to schedule it with other people so that the social pressure will help keep me moving toward my goal (and be more fun!)
(b) emotional -- I don't have any friends who ride, and the prospect of hopping into a new social group with people who're different from me is a bit daunting. I spent my life as a dancer, and they have very different attitudes about physical activity for health (vs. for art) than athletes do. My plan for dealing with this is practice, i.e. hanging out with physically active types and not thinking that they're weird. :-P
(c) physical -- 27 miles is a long way to ride! I generally look forward to being sore, so that's not an enormous issue. But when I exercise a lot, I really need to get 8 hours of sleep, with my busy-ness, I fear that I'll be causing more problems to my body by exercising without getting proper rest than I increase health. My plan for this is to become a better time-manager (see item (a)) so that I learn how to prioritize tasks during the day. I'll need to get done the essential things, but I have to let non-essentials slide if I'm going to sleep 8 hours each night (or at least allow myself sufficient catch-up time on the weekends).
After having written all of this, I realize that I mis-read the directions!!! I was only supposed to report on ONE of these points for the first blog. :-P Next time, I'll flesh out my plans more clearly for the goal and plan of action. Also, I might have an update about my first ride. This, of course, will involve my going by the bike shop to get my bike tuned up. Given the rate at which I tend to accomplish personal tasks, this could take a century. I'm always shoving my personal stuff aside to get work done. But since I don't have a century, I suppose that 4 days will have to do. :o)
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