We’ve been having a bout of bad weather in & around casa de batzer. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself with regards to my yard (this can be read as a statement of fact: that am I bad at keeping up with the yard1).
Anyway, with bad weather, I have to improvise my workouts. I should be running more because I have the Virginia Wine Country half-marathon in less than two weeks. But, I hate running in the rain.
Wait, that’s not really true – I don’t mind working out in the rain, as long as I’m already sweaty by the time the rain starts. Starting a run in the rain? It sucks donkey balls. But if it rains as I’m running? The precipitation is actually welcome.
(I should note that my first 5k, and my first successful 100k bike ride were both done in torrential downpours, so you’d think I could bring back happy memories of accomplishment to get myself going, but no, I hate starting a workout in the rain)
Anyway, because I hate starting runs in the rain, and because the weather sucks so bad that the grass on my yard is over a foot tall in some areas (again, totally the weather’s fault, and not my own lazy predilections), I find myself spinning in the mornings. A few years ago, I found a spinning bike on eBay, and I’ve been very happy with the purchase — I can get a really good workout, while watching a movie, without ever moving. During those mornings that I feel that I need to work out, but can’t bring myself to run, I spin.
This was one of those mornings.
I decided to watch the original Rocky as I did my work on the spinning bike, because, well, why not? And I was going along pretty good. And then I went to stand, out of the saddle, and my right cycling shoe accidentally unclipped from the pedal. I immediately slowed down, but my legs were in motion — well, one leg was in motion and the other was flailing about. And then the pedal hit the shin of my right leg. And the flywheel kept on spinning.
I posted the picture to Twitter, so I won’t repost it here, but, basically, a metal pedal scraped along the length of my right shin. At first, I thought “ow,” and stopped spinning. And I tried to walk it off . . . but that didn’t go so hot. So then I looked it & saw the blood . . . and EEEK!
So I sat down.
But, Rocky was on. And would Rocky have let a little scrape get in the way of his training? Heck no. I cleaned myself up, increased the resistance, and pedaled slowly, but surely, for another 15 minutes.
I really don’t think this freak accident is going to affect me, in the least, for my half-marathon, but I keep thinking that the very thing that I chose to do, to help my running, nearly brought the running to an end.
I used to run on my treadmill (may she rest in peace) while watching action movies with the subtitles on. My favorites were football and fighting movies. I highly recommend Friday Night Lights, Gladiator, Armageddon, etc.
Also, I LOATHE riding a bike. Too harsh on the girly bits. LOL
My bike saddle . . . I don’t know how to explain it, because it is just a piece of leather, no padding, with a hole cut out of it. For the male anatomy, it looks like a torture device . . . but it’s treated me very, very well through the years. It just took some getting used to.
My issue with subtitles while I watch a movie is that I can’t tweet while I do it, because I have to read what’s on the screen. That said, horror/adventure movies are way up on my list of guilty pleasures as I work out.
I need a spin bike. Seriously. …or a stand.
BTW, why not get sweaty before the run: start with some pushups to get warm and then jumping jacks. I don’t care how conditioned you are, 50 jumping jacks will warm up ANYONE! Then that rain will feel awesome.
And yes, I just did 40 jumping jacks in my dress, with the hem down to the floor. Lets not talk about clumsy.
Because getting sweaty before the run, so that I don’t mind running in the rain just doesn’t click for me. It’s like my body would know that I’m trying to fool it, and that’s no fun at all.
I bought the spinning bike, over a stand, because it’s a whole lot easier to get the spinning bike situated for me, then Duffy, than a bike would be. In fact, I’m pretty sure she & I can’t use a bike with the same frame, at all. But, the spinning bike at home is very, very handy.
When I’m at the gym, I do jumping jacks onto a step at the very end of a circuit training workout . . . by the time I get to that, I was pretty sweaty, by the time I’m done, I’m barely able to walk upright.
Being from Portland, I got used to and pretty good at navigating outdoor runs in the rain.
However, I took a few nasty spills on wet gravel. Convinced I still have small bits of rock embedded in my knee.
I have some pretty serious nerve issues with my right arm, and while investigating what happened, they took an X-ray of my right hand, and there was something in there . . . a tiny little bit of pebble, from a spill as a kid. I had always assumed it was a callus against the knuckle that I rested my pencil against as I wrote.
My only nasty spill on my bike was in a bad rainstorm . . . went to stop, and hydroplaned. That wasn’t fun . . . fortunately, it wasn’t enough to keep me from my bike just a few minutes later (once I was able to convince myself that I was ok)
I’d be done the minute I got hurt, totally done. I ran twice in the rain and I was BEYOND proud of myself. I posted pics of myself all over the interwebs, as though no person in the existence of man had ever run in the rain before. But I hated it the entire time 🙂 Also, you amaze me that you work out so early. AMAZE.
Well, it’s “work out early, or don’t work out,” and, well, I kind of really dig the runner’s high, and the benefits that come from working out. But, it’s always a struggle to convince myself that I shouldn’t just go back to bed. Always.
I’ll come mow your lawn!
I’m an excellentish law mower. Ish.
My lawn is in a very, very sad state these days. Seriously, there’s a patch that has gone to seed, it’s so long.
Now that I’m over whatever-the-heck I did to myself, I’m hoping to take little bits of time to do small portions of the lawn. We’ll see how successful I am.
Oh no! OUCH!
I love the Rocky motivation! Think that would work for me? 🙂
“Gonna Fly Now” is, perhaps, the only tune that I absolutely need to have on a marathon playlist . . . you can’t listen to that song and not get pumped up, no matter what it is that you’re trying to convince yourself to do.
I once drank several raw eggs in a glass like Rocky.
(Or maybe it was just the one egg. Either way, it was gross.)
My point is, Rocky is awesome.
But not a real guy.
Be gentle with yourself.
I actually took my time getting back . . . my leg still looks fairly raw, but it’s nearly healed — I might just have another scar to go with the plethora of other scars I have.
I’ve never, ever done the raw egg thing.
Yuck and oh no and poor you! I can’t believe you kept spinning. Well, I suppose I can since you run marathons and all.
And gardening is overrated. Says the lady with dead flowers.
Gardening is, most certainly overrated . . . but I’m harboring a truly irrational hatred of all things weed lately. Like, I’m finding that I dislike Mary-Louise Parker because she stars in a show called Weeds, and I hate weeds, because they are everywhere — in my lawn, in my flower beds, in my vegetable garden.
Grrrrrr.
But, yeah, I kept spinning . . . it’s insanity, pure & simple.
Quit showing off, you.
I am such a wimp that if that happened to me (which it wouldn’t because I hate anything with pedals), I would lie on the floor and mope until the hubs came home and fed me cake.
I am pitiful.
Mmmmmmmm, cake.
Ughhh that sucks! Hopefully it heals up pretty quickly. Apparently you have to buy Neosporin, not the store brand, or according to their commercials you’ll have gangrene within a week. Just saying.
Is that like needing to buy Kikkoman soy sauce? Because I ran into a series of random internet advertisements with some Kikkoman super hero (I couldn’t understand a word of what was happening). They were bizarre, but I’m actually afraid that some masked man will show up and pummel me if I don’t buy “the good stuff.”
I think I used an entire tube of Neosporin on this damn injury.
Rocky – he’s such an inspiration to us all.
He truly is.