Today I went to a free sports psychology clinic by Carrie Cheadle . I think everybody takes away something different from a clinic like this depending on what you need at the time.
What was most interesting to me was the relaxing methods. I had heard of most of them before but hadn't really thought of applying them methodically when I needed to most. The part I liked best was the active relaxing. We sat in our chairs and worked up the body, first pressing the toes hard into the ground for 5 seconds and then relaxing, then one at a time, the feet, legs, glutes, shoulders, fists, eyes, eyebrows, and jaw. Each time we would clench or tighten followed by relaxing while taking deep breaths and slow exhales. Wow I felt better already. So now I need to do this a few times before each race to calm down before I get too stressed out.
We also practiced breathing techniques and relaxing while riding by consciously making the hands and face relax. When I was warming up a the track once last summer I heard one of the coaches yelling "relax your fingers, relax your toes". I tried it and it made an immediate difference in how my whole body felt.
We also learned how to think positive thoughts in practice to make it automatic in the race.
It was a good clinic but I also learned that the people around me all have great ideas that work for them that can help me too.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Frosty Cold and Bike Polo
I didn't ride today - took the day off since it froze over night. I am conservative w/ ice due to past team crashes. It's a bonding experience I really don't want to have again.
Last Sunday was pretty marginal. I rode but there was a lot of frost at the start of the ride that made me nervous. It was a gorgeous day though and I loved feeling the sun!
Then, Thursday I was walking back from the store late at night and I saw a bunch of cyclists under I-5. I went over to check it out and they were playing bike polo. There were two games going on each with 6 riders. They all were riding one-handed with a mallet in the other hand. The mallet looked like a croquet mallet and the ball was about the size of a tennis ball. They were trying to get the ball between a set of cones. We watched from a safe distance. They were riding full speed swinging the mallet at the ball and sometimes, just like in the Ballard Crit they used the curb as part of the course. It was fun to watch. They were very good bike handlers and seemed to have no fear at all. We looked it up on the Internet and found that they play every Thursday night. I might spectate again but I'm not at all tempted to play - ok maybe just a little....
Last Sunday was pretty marginal. I rode but there was a lot of frost at the start of the ride that made me nervous. It was a gorgeous day though and I loved feeling the sun!
Then, Thursday I was walking back from the store late at night and I saw a bunch of cyclists under I-5. I went over to check it out and they were playing bike polo. There were two games going on each with 6 riders. They all were riding one-handed with a mallet in the other hand. The mallet looked like a croquet mallet and the ball was about the size of a tennis ball. They were trying to get the ball between a set of cones. We watched from a safe distance. They were riding full speed swinging the mallet at the ball and sometimes, just like in the Ballard Crit they used the curb as part of the course. It was fun to watch. They were very good bike handlers and seemed to have no fear at all. We looked it up on the Internet and found that they play every Thursday night. I might spectate again but I'm not at all tempted to play - ok maybe just a little....
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Cougar Mt - Cold Foggy and Sunny!
Everybody was happy when we got to the top of Cougar Mt and saw the sun! We climed Cougar because we are having a temperature inversion which means it gets warmer as you go up - at least in theory. That didn't explain the frost and snow we saw though. Some of the road was frosty so we doubled back after reaching the top instead of taking the steep side back down.
We paused half way and saw an amazing sight. There were a bunch of trees that looked like cherry trees that had iced up. The sun was just hitting them and melting the ice which was falling off of the branches creating what looked like snow showers under the trees. In the bright sunlight they glittered. It felt magical. It was very cold though so we couldn't hang out to enjoy it very long. The ride down was very very cold! Couldn't wait for the next hill to warm us up again.
We stopped at the bathrooms before heading back across Mercer Island and saw some sailboats out. The sun was just breaking through the fog in the lowlands. We finished the ride in the sun!
Below is a map from a ride last year that is very close to the route we took today.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
The fun bunch
It was a muddy ride again but the rain wasn't bad at all so I was happy. You can see the mud splattered faces after the ride.
Stopped at a gas station for "fuel".
After the ride we cleaned off the bikes the "green" way with rain from Annette's rain barrel. We should get some carbon credits for that!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Outside again
We rode outside again but had to take some unusual routes to avoid flooded areas. It was a good chance to see some new roads. Although the one really steep hill that Annette took us up I wouldn't mind not seeing again! I usually know where we are and know how to pace myself up each hill. But this one was steep and longer than I expected. My legs really burned by the top.
The roads are still very dirty and there is still snow on the side of the road. We always call out potholes so that the riders behind you can avoid it but now we call out Craters as well as potholes.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
The best car chase movie
I saw the best movie car chase ever - 40 minutes worth! The car chase in Gone in 60 Seconds (1974 version) is way better than the car chase in Bullitt - and better than either version of the Italian Job.
I rode trainer again today if you haven't guessed. A good car chase can really get your heart pumping!
It's snowing again in Seattle! I was surprised at how quickly it started sticking. Even though it didn't start during the day I think it's good to be cautious and stay inside sometimes.
We were going to race at Burnaby at the indoor track on Friday but I guess they had a power outage and the roof collapsed. Their roof is a bubble that is supported by air pressure from compressors. No racing there for a couple of weeks at least.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Potholes!
Today was my first ride other than commuting. It was supposed to freeze last night but I was happy to see it didn't so there wasn't any new ice - just stuff that still hasn't melted. There were a few new potholes on my commute but there are some really bad ones on Lake Washington Blvd. Something to keep an eye out for whereever you are riding.
Today was really cold but nice riding. It was just me and one teammate. Without a big group you really do a lot more work riding the same distance. It was good for avoiding the potholes though! We did a fairly short ride because I had a flat and my back tire wasn't looking too good. I'm glad we kept it short because I had to take a nap afterwards. Maybe it was the cold weather that made me extra tired. It felt good to sleep. I'm ready to ride again tomorrow but the computer models show us really getting drenched in the afternoon. I hope they are wrong.
Today was really cold but nice riding. It was just me and one teammate. Without a big group you really do a lot more work riding the same distance. It was good for avoiding the potholes though! We did a fairly short ride because I had a flat and my back tire wasn't looking too good. I'm glad we kept it short because I had to take a nap afterwards. Maybe it was the cold weather that made me extra tired. It felt good to sleep. I'm ready to ride again tomorrow but the computer models show us really getting drenched in the afternoon. I hope they are wrong.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
