TR Training: Week #1 Numbers

Total Saddle Time: 13 hrs, 24 minutes
Total Mileage: 162.3 miles
Total Elevation Gain: 3850 feet
Weight Loss: -1.2 pounds [edit: corrected]

Of the 13:24 saddle time, 6:05 was spent riding the trainer on my road bike and the rest was all on the mountain bike outdoors on trails and forest roads. It was a good week with 5 straight days of training, followed by a recovery day in which I just spun in a low gear on the road bike for 20 minutes to loosen up. I then capped the week off with a 2 hour trainer ride today in which I alternated low resistance, high cadence spinning for 20 minutes with 10 minutes of higher resistance, higher effort spinning.

Being that before this week I was riding only once or twice a week (at most), I'm pleased with how the week went. I can feel the leg muscles getting their life back and also feel a little fat melting away -- especially on those trainer rides! And I'm actually pleased that despite Thanksgiving and the inevitable gorging on snacks and food, I finished the week with a slight bit of weight loss.

Oh, and one more thing about riding the trainer today. I would have never thought my toes would get cold and start to go numb, but it was so cold outside that even riding inside my garage with the doors closed, my toes were freezing up. The rest of me was soaked in sweat, but my toes were like ice. And speaking of ice, my TR teammate rode for about three hours in what amounts to a windy, freezing, snow and sleet storm outside. Way to go, Ken! That's determination! As soon as I get the winter mtn bike shoes I ordered online, I'll be out there too!