Feb 03, 2006 11:52
last night we had our second ever clandestine cycling team training workout. top secret because we're not a team yet (the director of athletics said monday is the day, though!), and not everyone there had had a physical clearing them to participate (liability for injury).
initially it was three and three gender-wise (the eastern collegiate cycling conference only recognizes two genders), but then dina had to leave for waterpolo practice after a half hour, which was sad because she was on the bike across from me.
the rest of us, plus a random pre-med student named alan from upstate who just wanted to do a structured workout, did a total of two hours and six minutes, including a ten-minute resistance interval that really kicked my ass. i think it will help me with climbing, though. i definitely need to work on my climbing.
before the resistance interval we did spinup intervals again, and over fruit salad after our 40-minute stretching session, alex told me that i spin really fast now. i think skinny kids are naturally better at faster cadences, but i know i've gotten a lot better because it's something i've been working on specifically. when we did that workout the first time, i was really uncomfortable with the feeling of spinning as fast as i can, so i've been trying to acclimate myself to it both on the stationaries and in real life. now it feels a lot more natural to get up to high cadences, like 150-160 (maybe i even hit 170?) pedal strokes per minute. i spin a lot faster now.
my ass hurts, somewhat from the shitty saddles, but mostly from working on proper spinning technique, which is as much about pulling up and back on the other side of the circle as it is about pushing down and forward on the front side. my quads are getting [relatively] huge now. like enormous [for me]. everyone who usually sees me in regular clothes always makes some remark about how skinny my legs are when they see me in cycling shorts or tights. but i feel bigger, goddamn it, just let me think i'm a muscle man!
when i woke up it was raining, but now there is actually some sun going on. i don't know what that's about, but i might just have to put my pedals back on my bike and go outside. probably back to central park, provided no cabbies try to kill me this time. after he cut me off, stopped short right in front of me, almost sideswiped me, and then ran a red light to chase me down, i got in a kicking/spitting/shouting match with a guy wednesday whose only intelligible insult was "godless bitch!" i'd say i won, but he honestly seemed like he would have run me over had he been able, which is really scary and is probably going to make me think twice about ever facing off with a motor vehicle operator again. i hate cars. it's also nyu cycling's policy not to antagonize drivers, so on group rides i will definitely have to behave myself better. i just hate cars.
the end.