Training Film

The weather outside is frightful . . . so we have been relegated to riding the trainers in the basement for our long weekend rides. We have watched some Bronco games (sometimes naughty, sometimes nice) and also caught up on several movies. NetFlix rocks.

Here are several films we’ve watched in past month:

Wall-E was really enjoyable – and there was almost no dialog so the roar of the CompuTrainers wasn’t too distracting.

Breaking Away - a cycling classic from 1979.

Marathon Challenge - a dozen people, none of whom exercise regularly, train for the Boston Marathon.

Spirit of the Marathon - follows 6 people during their preparation for the Chicago Marathon.

Both marathon movies are quite inspirational – they mirror in many ways the training that Phil and I endure preparing for Leadville. If you don’t build a proper base, you just can’t finish a long endurance event. Both movies show that motivation matters, but ultimately staying healthy and injury-free makes all the difference.

The Flying Scotsman - [Johnny Lee Miller was Angelina Jolie’s first husband – which is totally irrelevant, but an interesting tidbit, nonetheless.]
For many of his 37 years Graeme Obree possessed single-minded passion for one thing, bicycling's hour record. Obree broke that record twice--in 1993 and 1994--but instead of being heralded as the revolutionary champion he was, Obree was lambasted and ridiculed. This movie is about him.

Bee Movie was only so-so. I was never a Seinfeld fan, so take my opinion with a grain of salt . . .

I’ve focused on motivating or funny films so far. The dramas might make an appearance as time goes on.

If you have any suggestions for other films to help us endure the hours, drop me a note or submit a comment - thanks!

Massage

Now that I’m back on-line I updated the Double Cross post (dated November 13) to add photos from the events. Check it out.

As masters level athletes (for those of you snickering, okay – “mature,” “arthritic,” “past our prime” . . . you get the picture . . . ) Phil and I have found that recovering from hard efforts takes longer than it used to.

When we’re too worn out to give our best effort we have found that failing to allow ourselves adequate recovery time is far more damaging to our training progress than missing a workout. But like many recreational athletes, we hesitate to rest, certain that the workout we skipped is the one we absolutely needed to ensure our ultimate success.

Given that we take over 9 months to train for Leadville, that is a pretty silly notion, but one we battle nonetheless.

So while we struggle to find the balance between proper periodized training and recovery, we have become firm believers in the rejuvenating properties of massage. Most athletes who can afford regular massages swear by them.

The one caution I have for you is that you should allow at least 3 days between having deep muscle work done and any event in which you hope for a good result. The deep tissue work helps to move lactic acid out of the muscles, but it leaves you with legs of lead the next day. If you do plan to have a massage the day before an event, be sure to speak with your massage therapist about keeping the pressure light and focusing on relaxation.

A Holiday Miracle

Amazing.

Really.

After only 7 weeks (when it was supposed to take less than 10 days) I have my new home computer.

Note to self (and to all readers) do not shop at Best Buy. I have had the privilege of suffering through inadequate and down-right poor customer service experiences in the past, but this experience with Best Buy truly elevated poor customer service to an art.

'Nuff said.

I'm back online and will be ramping up the blog as we head toward the new year and the looming Leadville 100 registration deadline . . .