Back in Business!

It seems like this has become a pattern...I haven't blogged in a week because I have so much going on with work, kids, studying and the day to day chores. I wanted to give a quick update of what's been going on around here lately.

Our youngest was sick on Friday with a fever and runny nose which kept him up on off through out the night. He seems to be doing much better now and is feeling good and happy again. James (our second son) turned 3 on Saturday and we had a birthday party for him at our house. Sunday we went to a birthday party for a friend's daughter who turned 6.

I started running again last week and made sure to take it slow at first. The first day back (after 5 weeks off) I ran only 1 mile, but it was great and I felt strong and had absolutely no pain in my leg at all. Last night I ran 3 miles on the treadmill and that felt good too. I am happy to say that I'm back in business!! My plan now is to run and bike on alternate days and do the HardCore workout everyday.
These are the new PJs that the boys got from their favorite daycare provider Ms. Lorretta. They were so excited to get them and had to put them on. I told Lorretta she must really love them...considering she is a Cowboys fan! she said she got a lot of grief from her husband when he saw these in the house.

My happy little guy.

This is James on his new "Big wewoh" bike that he got for his 3rd birthday!

I love this photo of my hubby reading to the boys before bed!!

I'm 40!

I turned 40 on Friday and I feel great! I am excited about the year ahead. I think I'm probably in the best shape of my life.

It was discouraging when I first realized that I was injured from running (5 weeks ago), but I'm not sure if I would have found my love of biking had that not happened. I think biking compliments running very well. I am looking forward to doing both, in fact I think I am going to try running again tonight. I haven't felt any pain in my leg in the past week and I'm thinking that it's probably healed now. I think I will go to the gym and try a short run on the treadmill to see how it goes.

My husband picked up a computer for my bike and he even installed it for me...it took awhile for him to do it, but it's done now and it's great. I ended up getting the one that I mentioned before, the CatEye Strada Cadence...it does everything I wanted including; Cadence, Current speed, Maximum speed, Average speed, Odometer, Trip distance,Trip distance 2, Elapsed time and Clock and you can use it on the trainer and outside.

My Bike Rides & A Question

I went for my first bike ride with my new bike last Saturday and it was so much fun! The weather was really nice and so was the view. I rode on the W&OD trail. I knew it wouldn't be a slow ride before I started! It was fun to see how fast I could go and it was fun to pass people. I was surprised at first how easy it was to ride up the hills, I guess all those spin classses and long rides in the gym paid off. Another thing that is really great is the fact that I don't even notice the seat! it is so comfortable that I don't even think about it. At one point while I was riding I realized that I was smiling!! I was just so happy to be outside and riding on a beautiful day...I must have looked funny to people passing by me.

Sadly, that was my first and only ride outside. All other rides have been in my garage on the trainer! By the time I get home from work, get dinner on the table, play with the boys, get all boys bathed and in bed it is too dark out to go for a ride outside. It doesn't get light outside early enough for me to ride in the morning before work. I guess for now I must be content with riding on rollers during the week and riding outside on weekends. I think I need to decorate the garage a bit though; I may need some motivational posters put up. Right now my set up is the fan and tv in front of me while I listen to my tunes on the ipod.

Question for you bikers out there...is there an inexpensive cycle computer type thing that I can clip on the bike while on the trainer to track miles, pace, HR, etc...? I have a Garmin that does all that stuff when riding outside, but I want to be able to do the same while training indoors...maybe the CatEye Strada Cadence Cycle Computer?

Busy, Busy, Busy

Wow! I haven't posted anything in over a week! I have been so busy getting the boys ready for school. Yesterday was the first day of preschool for James and the first day of Kindergarten for Charlie. They are now going to the same school. They both seemed excited to be going and did well once we got there and dropped them off at each of their classes. I'm hoping they both have a great year, meet lots of new friends and learn lots of new things.

I've also been pretty busy with work, studying for a certification for work, and riding the bike. I actually rode 109 miles last week! All those mile were done at the gym, mostly on the stationary bike and some on the bike in spin class. One day last week I rode for 2 hours at the gym. I posted my workout on Dailymile and Andrew made the comment "soon they'll take the training wheels off and let you go out on the road!" That's so funny!! I'm actually wondering what it will be like to ride outside in the fresh air with the breeze blowing and the sun on my face. I haven't ridden a bike outside in probably 9 years.

I'm so excited! My husband actually ordered a bike for me for my birthday (40th)! Hopefully I will have it by this weekend!!

My New Plan (and a random photo)

Rub a dub, dub, 3 boys in the tub!

Our youngest is sick and I'm at home this week. I'm trying to catch up on all of the blogs that I follow and I'm slowly making my way around.

I've decided that I'm going to stick to riding the bike during my break from running. I'd like to try the pool running eventually, but I'm not able to do it at my gym and I don't really want to pay to go somewhere else since I already have a membership here.

Here's what my new plan looks like:

Monday - 1hr. spin class
Tuesday - 1hr. ride + core workout
Wednesday - 30 min. ride
Thursday - 1hr. 30 min. interval ride + core workout
Friday - 1hr. 30 min. interval ride
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - 1hr. spin class + core workout

Thanks to Bicycling Magazine for this new workout plan, it should keep me busy! I've been keeping an eye out for the type of bike I want to get. I probably won't be able to actually get my own bike until the end of the year and even though I won't be able to ride much outside then my husband has an indoor bicycle trainer that I can use.