Woke up at 5:15 to a super foggy morning in Radford at Mick’s magical house. Tried to figure out the American Cycling Assoc map but at that hour it was really confusing…we made do after coffee. Said goodbye to our gracious hosts. I hope we keep in touch!
Stopped at Wade’s supermarket for breakfast and to fill water bottles. We finally hit the road at 8 when Jacob exclaimed “2nd star on the right and straight on til morning!”.
First part of the ride we hit Draper mountain. Long step climb and the worst part was the lack of view at the overlook due to fog. Oh well.
We found some construction on Rt 11 and the traffic worker said “aint never had to stop no one on bicycles before!”
Turned back on to the historic bike route 76 and found the most gorgeous cascading hills and farms. Small quiet road 654 was my favorite.
We stopped at an apple market at the top of a hill. I got an apple for a snack and veggies for dinner. Jacob was a bit tired and took a 3 min nap. Totally revived him, thank goodness!
We then rode (KILLED) 30 miles mostly descending, both of us felt strong. We found a cadence that worked for us (at least on the down hills).
At one point when I was waiting for Jacob for a minute our two, I start hearing carnival the music to the “Do your ears hang low?” song. Then 30 seconds later I see Jacob leading an ice cream truck down the road!!! (what??) I thought this was the funniest thing ever…piper of ice cream.
There were no warm showers hosts available in the area and no campgrounds, so we Super 8’d it.
Did laundry, cooked and ate dinner and were in bed by 9:15. No mechanical issues and dry conditions. A GOOD DAY!
Blog
Bike Day 4
We started out in Buchanan VA. Our stuff *mostly dried out…athough it was raining outside! We woke up at 5:30, and started the day warm and dry.
Stopped in Troutville at a small grocery store for a bathroom/snack break and signed their “hikers and bikers guestbook”. Passed a church named “God’s House”.
Rode thru Roanoke. It’s huge! Took forever to get past the traffic and stop lights. Who knew? We also had a slight detour when we missed a turn. No biggie, got back on track quickly. We then hit Christiansburg mountain. Yikes. 14 minute climb at my lowest gear. Not easy. We stopped for subway afterwards which tasted delicious. Also Jacob called Mick from the warm showers website. Lucky us, he was willing and able to host us for the night. We just had to make it to Radford about 23 miles away. No prob! We hit the ultimate jackpot with or host family. His house is awesome. There’s a butterfly tree in front and it backs up to the river. Mick’s wife, Lee, cooked soup for dinner. We ate out on the deck with them and their other houseguests and we talked with them about our adventure as well as their own. Mick has done the xcountry ride twice. Once each direction, of course. He’s also biked from Radford to Boston to met Lee for a wedding…just cuz:) Their basement tenant Tom works at a bike shop and has also done the xcountry ride. He gave us some sound advice on biking and staying sane. Very cool folks! Crawled in our sleeping bags with full bellies feeling grateful for the kindness of strangers. Amazing.
Bike Day 3
Well, it rained. ALL night and then all day. Jacob woke me up at 4:45a. Tent was soaked thru and I was sleeping in a puddle. Spent the first hour drying clothes and packing up.
Had to climb up a half mile steep to get out of camp. Jacob’s spirits were very low but he pulled it together and we made it to 7-11. The brazilian dark coffee tasted A-mazing and felt better even though we were wet.
Rain started to die down a little after noon. We ride thru Lexington and took a pic at the VMI track.
Day three had 3 broken spokes total. One bright spot was a store at the top of “Fancy Hill”. We picked up a tomato and bacon for dinner and cheese for Jacob’s snack.
Had to cut the day in half due to rain and the broken spokes. Called it quits in Buchanan and checked into a motel to dry out the gear. Beautiful view of the mountain over highway 81. Jacob worked on the bike while I cooked dinner. Then I slept like a rock! Tomorrow will be better:)
Bike Day 2
We cooked and ate oatmeal for breakfast at 5:30 without getting out of sleeping bags!
Jacob decided that Robin is the hummingbird and he is the duck from Peter and the Wolf, since I’m a perky morning person.
Fisher hill was a bigger climb than yesterday.
We rode apart for the first half of the day. Caught up with each other at least every 5-8 miles.
Rode thru Strasburg VA and toasted Stephen with nuun electrolytes and water.
Jacob busted 2 more spokes do we needed to reroute to harrisonburg for bike parts.
Church signs “if you’re going to heaven, take someone else with you”, “our idols have too many medals and not enough scars”
Staying at an amusement park style campground with fishing, hot tub, domesticated bunnies, DJ playing macarena. Will need to bike up .5 mile of the steepest hill yet to get back to route 11 in the morning.
JMU guy took a picture of me stretching (without asking permission), then said “that just went viral”
Saw a busted target style shelf on the street and I said “looks like it’s past it’s shelf life” waaa waaa!
Bike Day 2
We cooked and ate oatmeal for breakfast at 5:30 without getting out of sleeping bags!
Jacob decided that Robin is the hummingbird and he is the duck from Peter and the Wolf, since I’m a perky morning person.
Fisher hill was a bigger climb than yesterday.
We rode apart for the first half of the day. Caught up with each other at least every 5-8 miles.
Rode thru Strasburg VA and toasted Stephen with nuun electrolytes and water.
Jacob busted 2 more spokes do we needed to reroute to harrisonburg for bike parts.
Church signs “if you’re going to heaven, take someone else with you”, “our idols have too many medals and not enough scars”
Staying at an amusement park style campground with fishing, hot tub, domesticated bunnies, DJ playing macarena. Will need to bike up .5 mile of the steepest hill yet to get back to route 11 in the morning.
JMU guy took a picture of me stretching (without asking permission), then said “that just went viral”
Saw a busted target style shelf on the street and I said “looks like it’s past its shelf life” waaa waaa!
Bike Day 1
Church sign “trust your lifeguard if he walks on water”
License plate LUV 2DAY
12:40p Rt 743 Millville rd 1.3 miles down a gravel road (Jacob looked at it and said “THIS road?? This is gonna suck balls!” Aaand it did. I lost control and nearly fell… Jacob busted a spoke.
He fixed it outside a polo farm Llangollen while we listened to the refreshments.
11 minute STEEP ridiculous mountain climb!!!
Met a man who has been walking for 8 months (from California heading to Massachusetts after his wife and daughter were killed in a car crash)
Swimming at the battle of cedar creek campground pool. Our site is next to a lake and has a swing set.
Jacob thinks native Americans should start a football team and call it “the Whitey crackers”
Garmin vs Robin
Garmin vs. Robin
One of my great running buddies is sooooo attached to his Garmin, he is known to all as “Garminowitz” (Hi Rich!).
On July 10, 2011 I bought myself a brand-spankin-new Garmin 310xt GPS watch for running and tri training. I posted a picture on the facebook with the caption “Forget diamonds, Garmins are a girl’s best friend!” I was psyched to track my progress and use the tool to get faster. This thing does everything. It gives real-time min/mile and mile/hr pacing, splits, mileage, calories burned, and workout reports uploaded to the computer to share with (brag to) friends.
I learned quickly that my competitive/ego-driven brain did not get along with this tool. I got angry with the watch. When I raced, I usually averaged around 7:30 miles running depending on distance, and 20 mph biking. Granted, I was well aware that I trained at a considerably lower speed, but I wasn’t prepared for how MUCH slower.
I took the watch out to play for the first time on a 15 mile SLR (Saturday Long Run with the DCRoadRunners) around Battery Kemble Park in DC. At the end of a great run with friends in the awesome July heat/humidity, the watch told me I averaged 10:15 min/miles…… What the heck? My first thought was: “THE WATCH LIES! Or it’s broken. Man that’s sloooooow.” It was a punch in the face. Jeez, what was I doing out there, smelling roses?!? Did that even count as a run? On subsequent runs, I paid close attention to my pacing, checked the watch frequently and sped up when I didn’t like the numbers it was telling me. Basically, any time it registered over a 9:30 mile, I sped up…out of vanity. Haha…but seriously, for real.
So round 1 in the “Garmin vs Robin” event goes to the Garmin. I think that new obsession with pacing contributed to the injury I suffered a few months later. There was no such thing as “slow jog days”. I upped my tempo runs and speed work and tried to maintain a “decent pace” (whatever that means) on long runs. Instead of listening to the body for feedback, I let the Garmin dictate my pace…let it drive me into the ground and into an injury.
Since I’ve been healthy again, I have chilled out on using the Garmin. I’m almost ready to try it again. This time I will have a different mindset and game plan. The “decent pace” on long runs is one that feels good to my body – not LOOKS good on the report. I now know myself. If I feel good, I will push, regardless of what a watch says. If I feel crappy, I know I need to chill the heck out and relax. I will try using the Garmin as a “restrictor plate” on long runs or easy runs. Instead of speeding up when it tells me I’m going slow, I will use it to slow down on days I’m supposed to be taking it easy. I’ll try taking it to the track for short bursts of speed. If I don’t like the “results” the watch tells me, it’s getting turned off. There’s a balance out there somewhere that will allow me to take advantage of the spiffy shiny GPS toy… I know it, just gotta find it. Mark my words: Round 2 is going to Robin!
OBX Rainy Workout
Whaaaa? Woke up to thunder and rain at the beach. Boo. While rain does not automatically mean a “no-go” for me… today, instead of hitting the road for day 4-in-a-row of running (not a smart idea for me anyway!), I took my workout to the front stoop undercover. Rain might be a blessing in disguise – I had a great workout! Time for the sun to come out NOW!
UPDATE!! Caroline saw how awesome I felt this morning and asked me to train her thru the same routine. Videos of the moves at http://www.youtube.com/user/robinhersh1 (I’m working on rotating some videos but the internet at the beach is not so hot…)
Here’s what I did:
OBX rainy total body workout:
4 Rounds MRT (metabolic resistance training 15-20 sec rest in between each exercise – about one minute rest in between rounds, we did a similar circuit at the Radiance Retreat)
I used 15lb dumbbells:
Deadrows 15
Lunges 15 each leg (I did backward-stepping holding weights at the sides)
Pushups 15
Squat-press 15
3 rounds RBT (rest based training – rest only when you need until you can go again)
10 squat jumps
10 burpees
60 sec hover plus toe taps
60 sec bicycle crunches (30 sec slow 30 sec fast)
2 rounds RBT
Tube woodchops – 10 each side
Tube squat with alternating leg lift (45 degrees back) 10 each side
Tube leg lift one side – 20 each side
Side plank hip lifts – 30 sec each side
Weighted bridges (dumbbell on “lap”) 20
Stretch and lacrosse ball rolling
My Rock Award
Have I mentioned how much I like winning stuff?
At the 2010 Giant Acorn Triathlon I killed it and won an age group award! Heck Yeah! Sadly I couldn’t stay for the ceremony (due to a previous obligation i.e. tailgating for a UMD football game with Karin, to be exact – Go Terps, unless they play UVA, of course). When I found out that I had won, I called and asked to have the hardware mailed to me. It cost me $7 in shipping. Whatever…I thought “It’ll be a nice addition to my collection – super shiny and show-off-able”. I might even wear the medal around the house for a bit, just for fun!
When the package arrived a week later, it was like Christmas morning. Grown up Robin all-smiles like a kid, as I tore open the packaging and bubble wrap to behold my award and….wait for it….it was a rock. A rock with the Tri logo on it. It felt like I got coal in my stocking. WTF? Not even any inscription of “Robin came in second in her age group and ROCKS”, no medal to wear around my neck, no plaque to hang on the wall. Just an EFFING ROCK. How are people gonna know what this means?
So the question is, who really cares about the rock? Answer (after a gut check and mindset shift): only Me. Why did I feel the need for everyone and their mother to know about my successes? Purely the big-head ego part of myself wanting validation?? I checked that attitude quickly.
But it IS nice to have a physical object acknowledging something I worked hard for to achieve. I personally know what that rock symbolizes – a PR at the time, a “sprint to the finish” to race ahead of another age-grouper who I knew had passed me on the bike (grrrr), a proud “all-out, nothing left on the pavement” kind of effort. Priceless memories and I display the rock proudly. Who cares if it means nothing to anyone else? On the very rare occasion when a houseguest asks a question like “what the heck is that rock doing there?”, I’m able to indulge a bit and tell my story of triumph!
The rock kinda rocks!
Radiance Retreat Fat Loss Tips
I attended a truly inspiring Radiance Retreat last weekend in Asheville, NC – With Jen Sinkler of Thrive, Jill Coleman of Jillfit.com, Neghar Fonooni of Eat, Lift and be Happy. Here are my big bullet takeaways on NUTRITION for Fat Loss:
MY 3 fav nutrition tips from the retreat:
1) Move where you can, so you can move where you can’t
2) Find foods that make you feel good before, during and after you eat them
3) Ritualize, do not habitualize
#1 – Move where you can, so you can move where you can’t. This idea can apply to weightlifting, running, nutrition, as well as a myriad of other activities. If we have a “big hairy audacious goal” (credit Good to Great by Collir) we seek to achieve in life, how do we get there? Especially if it seems practically unattainable? Go first where you can – take steps you are capable in the direction of the goal – not giant leaps, in order to bring yourself closer to the goal, so the goal will be closer to you. Then make sure you have perspective. As you are taking the steps closer to the goal, it is crucial to know that “slow progress is still progress”. Imagine your life as a balloon – attempt to fill it up too fast by leaping too far away towards a goal, and you pop it! (i.e. get injured by running/lifting too much too soon, or binge eat after trying a “crash diet”)
#2 – Eat foods that make you feel good before, during and after you eat them. Sure, plenty of foods make us feel good before we eat them. Just thinking about chocolate chip cookies sends warm fuzzy feelings throughout the brain – comfort chocolate, sugary deliciousness. The first few bites of that cookie also feel A-mazing. What happens a few bites in and after the cookie is sometimes a problem. You know that “sugar-high then sugar-crash, followed by more sugar and salt cravings later on” routine? And the “I know that’s going straight to my hips and booty” kind of guilt? Eff that guilt! (right, Neghar?) Pasta can also have this effect on the body. It sounds so good and usually tastes great too, but afterwards the belly is bloated without totally feeling “satisfied” and causes more sugar cravings, heart burn, belly aches, and sometimes leads to a “continuous meal” until bedtime. No bueno. What is muy bueno is figuring out clean foods that please the palette as well as the physique. High protein, high fiber, high water, low/clean carbs is where it’s at.
#3 Ritualize, do not habitualize. Soooo, when is it ok to “cheat” or “reward” ourselves with some yummy (but not necessarily fat-loss-friendly) goodness? The Fat Loss Guru ladies spoke of “ritualizing cheats” instead of making them habits. A habit would be something like coming home from work and immediately cracking beer or pouring a glass of wine. Or perhaps it’s finishing dinner and, without really thinking about it, going straight to the freezer for that nice big scoop of ice cream and chocolate sauce (this is me on some days!). These habits, once they’re formed, can turn deadly for fat loss. On the other hand, planning ahead for that one reeeeally special “treat meal” per week will not only satisfy cravings in the moment, but can help us keep on track during the week – knowing that special meal is right around the corner. Know exactly what you will have for your treat, when you will have it, and make it gooooood.
Guru’s fav tips:
Jen’s tips:
1) Add, don’t subtract (look for ways of adding good things to your life – activities, friend time, meditation… instead of just subtracting food)
2) Move where you can, so you can move where you can’t
3) Bust out the crock pot (easy-peasy delicious dinners)
Jill’s tips:
1) Overindulgence is directly related to deprivation
2) Don’t look for easy. You learn that thru practice. (habit-hacking)
3) Perspective – slow progress is still progress
Neghar’s tips:
1) First bite rule (stop eating when it no longer tastes as good as it did the very first bite/sip)
2) Eyelashes are not shovels (you are allowed to throw away food!)
3) Find foods that please your palette and your physique
Robin Hersh Fitness 