Marc's Public Blog - Biking, Running, Rollerblading and other Exercising

Current Music: Trance Nation 2002
Current Mood: Burning Calories feels good sometimes

So, I recovered my mountain bike from the store after they installed a brand new shifter, anti-thorn tubes, tuffies (protection between the tube and the tire), and did a full tuneup.
While it's a mountain bike, and I can't expect road bike-like performance on it, I was able to tell on my ride to work that I was definitely getting faster on it (not that much its weight in my opinion, but the fact that it had less overal drag and friction in its moving parts).
It was $230 (ugh!), but considering that I paid zilch for it, it's not a bad price of a good mountain bike like this (it's the red one )

Stats going to work:
Heart rate 162bpm avg / 198bpm max
Distance: 9.3km
Speed: 26.5kph avg / 43.8kph max
Time: 20:06s
(that included jumping a fence that was put in the middle of the west entrance I usually take, but I was probably also in better physical shape this morning)

Stats come back to work and riding directly to 24H fitness in sunnyvale (on Lawrence):
Heart rate 156bpm avg / 178bpm max
Distance: 12.3km
Speed: 28.4kph avg (woot!)/ 39.6kph max
Time: 26:23s

Step Class:
Heart Rate: 165bpm avg / 190bpm max
Time: 1H

I'm still not getting over that step class. It was my (somewhat distant) second preferred class from a while ago (like more than a year), and I got right back into it, did all my double spins, and other modifications on top of the teacher's routine, as if I had never left.
However, the 30mn intense bike ride from work, plus the high temperature in the room, and probably the fact that I just don't do 4H of step a week anymore, made it so that I started to struggle a bit 30mn into the class and while I was still nailing quadruple jump rotating V-steps, I could tell that I was barely making them (then again, I've never seen anyone try to follow me and do them too, so... ;-D), and 40mn into the class, I just had to stop and drink, I was sooo dehydrated (usually, I can finish the class on my before the class drink).
But seriously, I have no right to complain, I did quite well considering that I hadn't done that class for more than a year, and astonishingly, while I did all the bad rotating steps that got me in trouble in the first place, my knee (which I'm icing up anyway as I'm typing this) isn't in pain. I know I wouldn't get away with 4H of this per week, but this is still great news.

Also, while waiting for the class, I tried a few chin ups to see if I could still do them, and I managed 8, one more than I've ever done (and the last time I tried was probably 18 months ago). Schweet ;-)