Peloton Bike+ →

Finally, after all these years of riding my friend’s and using hotel gyms’ Peloton bikes, I’m pulling the trigger first thing tomorrow morning. So if you didn’t know, this is the new Peloton Bike+. Also, if you wanted a cheaper, less expensive Tread, they also released that.

What’s really cool is that they have a $700 trade-in program and are automatically refunding those who bought the now “regular” Peloton $350 price differnce plus tax. So awesome! And yes, I have have a small investment in stocks and options which are what I’m going to be using to buy this new bike.

Post Marathon Runs

Getting on a redeye the following day after a marathon that you didn't train for isn't necessarily the best way to "recover." During the day, I even did a light jog trying to exchange my season tickets for some awesome seats at the the night's Padre game. Dreading the flight, I wasn't necessarily hurting that much and the flight was relatively easy as I was upgraded to first class. I wore my Injinji Compression socks which helped a lot and found myself walking again with a normal gait. The quads and hamstrings weren't bothering me too much when I got off of the flight which was a good feeling. Tight yes, but limping, no. Well, this last four day trip allowed for two days of running. Tuesday was a straight recovery and it was in Jackson, MS (not MI) so it wasn't like there was an outdoor path or the best of indoor exercise facilities. Wednesday was a fun day. Over 20 hours in Washington D.C. always proves to have some good times and it all started with an awesome lunch. Mentioning "best" and "chinese" to the captain there was no convincing. We headed over to Sichuan Pavilion on K Street and gorged on some awesome Chinese food. We even got 10% off our bill because we had finished and left before 12:30pm! That's what I call a lunch special. I'm always happy when the company I bring enjoy their food. We agreed to head back and hang out at the hotel before the afternoon happy hour so I lounged around a bit up until my planned 15 minute treadmill run; a breaking in of not only my shoes, but my fresh off a marathon legs. Did I mention that I ran the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon?

I put on my brand spanking new Newton Running Shoes and made my way downstairs to the basement. I stretched a little bit and got onto the treadmill at an easy 6.0 then decided that I should run a little faster. I finished with a feel good pace finishing @ 18 minutes w/ 1.94 miles completed. Since I programmed the machine for 15 minutes, it gave me a 3 minute cool down and I increased my speed to 10.0 to try to make it to the 2 mile mark but it forcefully stopped. I got off of the treadmill, stretched, did a few other quick workout but felt great!

I took a quick shower, dressed and headed back downstairs. It was a balmy 98F in DC with an index of 100 or so and after the shower, I was still perspiring like a dog. Mixed in with the heat, I was just soaking. The walk to Georgetown didn't prove any cooler.

The next day, after a long MSP-IAH flight blocking in at just over two hours, I found out that we were next to Memorial Park in Downtown, Houston. After reading reviews, I was convinced that I had to check this course out which clocks in at just under 3 miles. I'm all about running outside and since this was an awesome running trail, why not? I was able to once again easily convince the captain that it was a good idea to sweat it out on the track, in the heat and that I would stay pace with him.

Good stuff all around! As the reviews on yelp pointed out, there are a lot of great athletes of all experience levels and a bunch of shirtless doods. Lots of spandex to be had, you'd think that there was a 5K going on! I decided that I wanted to actually reach the 5K mark and taking it easy on the trail with my Newtons, I was just in for a the loosening up.

After a good 11 min mile, we waited for the van driver to pick us back up and then I proceeded to do 20 mins on the bicycle finishing just over 7 miles. Good stuff! I think I'm on my way to some good workout routines & habits! I'm addicted by the way to working out again! Feeling good and staying fit. Now, only if I can keep a steady diet and do without some of the overeating and indulging that goes on a couple nights a week! =)

My First Hotel Brick

Now was the time to start an awesome overnight workout regiment. Staying at the Hilton in Downtown Toronto which has an awesome gym and accommodating facilities, I was determined to finish what would become my first hotel brick. The pool was pretty much full around 11:00am with the ensuing Caribana 2010 Festival going on and people checking in, but the indoor cycling machine and treadmill was available for full utilization! Sleep last night was almost a lost cause as I went to bed at 2:00am and woke up at 5:00am. Three hours of sleep wasn't that much, but at I was rested well enough to conduct one flight from Atlanta to Toronto. I knew that I needed some nutrients so I grabbed a quick airport breakfast of Corned Hash, Potatoes, Scrambled Eggs & a Biscuit somewhere on the Atlanta A Concourse then headed to the plane. I ate enroute, we landed smoothly, took the local shuttle downtown to the airport (25 minutes) where I took a light nap, checked-in, got to my room and quickly put on workout clothes.

I did so because I knew that if I laid down for just 1 minute, I would fall asleep. I got on the indoor cycling machine and started hammering. I set the timer at 1 hour knowing that I could at least get my 20K/12.2 miles in and around 30 minutes, I started really hurting. I could feel that my lack of sleep wasn't contributing to the ideal body feeling but I kept on going. I finished w/ approximately 16.73 miles in 65 minutes (5 minute cooldown) but I have to say that the riding position is far from the real thing. Not sure if that's going to affect my actual rides but the workout did do a number on my thigh burn.

I had to refill my water bottle during the transition but in order to do so, I had to swap out the water jugs on the cooler. I took a little bit of a breather and started a light jog at 6.0. My legs were definitely a little mushy but I increased the pace to 6.5 and felt great! At mile 2.0, I hit a wall but I kept on going. I increased to 7.0, then to 8.0 at the last quarter and did a long cool down stretching at the same time. 3.63 miles total!

There was a point in the transition that I was going to skip the run altogether, but I was proud of myself that I kept on going. I even walked another 4-5 miles with the crew around Downtown! I have to head to bed early for a 4:50am van ride back to the airport so, goodnight for now. I might wake up early and do some upper body or maybe some early morning yoga streches in the room. Good times in training.