Take care of yourself

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I think I'm going to sneak out to the driving range now. I'm in a shitballs mood. Killing golf balls sounds like fun.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

A year or two ago, that was my favorite stress release. Work, kids, life, whatever had me pissed? I'd go and drop $7.50 for a bucket of 100 balls and see if I could drive a few of them into the mountainside at the back of the driving range. You probably saw it a time or two while you drove to Holt Arena from the Holiday Inn.

Good times.

Now, I haven't dusted off the clubs since we moved from that lovely town you admire so much.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Damn, that felt good. I was killing with my driver. Ah yes. Very good stress relief.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I envy you, I wouldn't object to pounding a bucket right now.

I might go for the cyclist version of a bucket of balls on Thursday. The first time trial of the season is scheduled. Just 8 miles of straight flat road along the Great Salt Lake. Go nuts for 18-20 minutes and worry about the burn after it's over.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Has anyone ever found it difficult to add muscle/strength while simultaneously doing a lot of cardio? Any dietary strategies to counteract this?

Specifically, I can't improve my bench and I'm thinking the four miles of running a day might be the culprit. Or I'm just an aging wussbag.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Zimbabwe, I'm no nutritionist, but I'd suggest scaling up your caloric intake. More protein shakes, protein-heavy foods, etc. Also, how heavy are you training on the bench? You have to gradually work your way up to increasing your max by working heavy weights. If you are used to doing eight reps of 185, bump it up to 205 and try to get as many reps as you can there, even if it's only three or four. And so on.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

It was a few minutes before 8 o'clock and the choices I mulled were A) Taco Bell and start back a regular rotation at the gym tomorrow or B) get off my goddamn ass and go to the gym then go to the store to buy fruits and veggies and nuts and eggs, and get healthy again. I had to drive in the same direction for either choice. I had to make a left into the Taco Bell lot to either get a grilled stuff'd burrito and 5 hard taco supremes, or keep going toward the gym.

I chose B. Did the heartiest load of ab-work in 2-plus months. Lifted a little. Eliptical. A bit of the stairmaster. No bike (I know, Idaho, and I'm trying to rekindle my love for the bike. Right now it's not there.). Then I went to the store and bought the fruits and veggies and nuts and eggs. So, here we go again to the Town of LiveSTRONGville.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

If the bikelove ain't there, it ain't there.

I went to a crit race yesterday and got my arse absolutely handed to me on a platter.

The only saving grace is that the A Flight of the race had three cyclists that will be in the Tour de Georgia including one TdF Yellow Jersey wearer. Those kids were flying around the course. Lots of fun to watch them school all the wannabes like me.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

So, Idaho, since you're a bike nut, do you make sure your sports section is represented by the sport? Most sports editors don't give a flying fuggat about biking until the final jaunt toward Champ d'Elyses (sp?).

I'll get on the bike tomorrow. I don't want to avoid it.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I write a cycling column/notebook for the outdoors section. And, once or twice a year, write a feature on a local cyclist or a cycling event. If one of the local pros does something important -- like win the national time trial championship, I'll make sure the slot knows about it and fire off a 5-10 inch story.

I also try to sneak in a triathlon/multisport story or two per year into the sports page as well -- usually during the slow season when only MLB and MLS is going on.

I don't try to over do it, though. We have soccer fanboys that push their love of the beautiful game a little too much and I don't want to be them.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

There's a summer cycling league up here, about 20 miles south of here. They use a car racetrack for their oval. It's an Ivy League area, so many cyclists here. You'd love it here.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Sounds like our neck of the woods. There is a NASCAR wannabe track where they have a weekly crit race on Tuesdays. Then there is a Wednesday crit race at the DMV drivers training course -- nasty hill every lap -- and then Thursday alternates with a time trial on a flat, straight road near the lake and a 5-mile hill climb in Park City.

They award points for those who place each week and it's very competitive. We also have about 15-20 weekend road races ranging from small stage races to 200-mile single day marathons and 15-mile, 4,000 foot climbs.

Lots of stuff here. We have a big stage race almost on the level of Tour de Georgia, but they couldn't get enough sponsors this year after an ownership change.

I've only been into cycling for a year or two, but I'm trying to make it my little niche (along with some other minor sports) so I am pretty much needed by the paper. Anyone can cover a baseball or football game, but covering speedskating, cycling and triathlon isn't something any old reporter on the desk can do properly.