Freezing in Chicago

Roadwork yesterday was 35 minutes in some serious cold. I had an appointment that ran too long this morning and have a meeting this evening, so I won't get to the gym today. If I can squeeze it in, I'll get some roadwork in this icy weather. If not, I'll get back to gym training tomorrow morning. The evening is already reserved for a few buddies coming over to watch hockey and have a beer or two.

It's cold outside, but invigorating. The key, I think, is to keep moving. Once I get a warm hat that covers more of my handsome mug, I'll be riding my bike along the lakefront trail again, assuming, of course, that there isn't a lot of ice. I don't mind an intense ride in the cold, but sliding on ice that's often invisible--and possibly falling down hard after sliding--or becoming a human popsicle (aka frostbite sufferer) don't appeal to me. I thoroughly enjoy a good, tough challenge, but I'm not that desperate for fun!

Monday's Training Update--Highlights

I haven't been updating the blog a lot lately due to work and other things going on. However, training continues. Here's the update for the last week or so. Everything isn't included, just the highlights.

Saturday, December 6

I went for another two-hour bike ride, this time with my good friend, Mark. Riding with a buddy made pedaling the two hours easier. Also, Mark's more familiar with the trail, so I followed him and didn't go off the trail twice like I had done the previous Sunday. Plus, he set a good pace--one that was a little slower than he and I would normally ride, but was manageable and provided enough of a workout. I am still getting used to those moderately longer rides, so Mark would probably bury me in a race. Even so, he's a great guy and it's fun riding with him.

Thursday, December 11

This was a gym training day. Here's today's recap:

• 34 minutes of roadwork
• 4 rounds on the heavy bag
• 3 rounds of shadowboxing
• 3 rounds on the uppercut bag
• 3 rounds on the double-end bag
• 4 rounds of stretching

I like training on the weekday mornings. The gym is less crowded and it looks like mornings may be a good time to get some sparring practice, which is really the missing piece of my training puzzle.

Friday, December 12

30 minutes of roadwork today

Saturday, December 13

Another gym day. Saturday mornings are getting crowded at GoTime. I'm happy to see it, for the owners' benefit, but I like training when there are fewer people around. I might be able to get some sparring on Saturdays, too, but it would probably have to be prearranged since Ray, the head boxing coach, has a lot of individual sessions. Maybe I can work in a session with him and some sparring time with other gym members. I'll have to look into that.

As for the workout, here it is:

• 90 minutes of roadwork (it felt really great to be outside on Saturday)
• 4 rounds on the heavy bag
• 3 rounds of shadowboxing
• 2 rounds on the uppercut bag
• 2 rounds on the double-end bag

Sunday, December 14

A rest day.

Monday, December 15

20 minutes of roadwork. It was short, due to very cold temperatures outside and intense sinus congestion that had been bugging me all day. In the past, I have often sucked it up and fought through that kind of pain and forced myself to do a full workout. However, I found that I almost always ended up losing training time because my sinuses would protest and stay clogged even longer. These days, I rest up and recover and then hit it hard the next time. The training plan calls for a good gym workout on Tuesday, so I want to be rested and ready for that.