Justin's advice...

Just got this e-mail from Justin as I sent him a panicked "ohmygod, I feel horrible and I am missing workouts all over the place!!"
Kelly,
Feel better soon! This is prime getting sick season. I wish you a speedy recovery. Please keep missing your workouts until you feel better. If you were to do anything, it would be to try and work out at the same times as your workouts are currently scheduled, just at a much lower workload and duration. You would be doing this to only keep up your routine and to help reduce stress. It would not be training per se.

Kindergarten

That's right....I have registered Matthew in Kindergarten. This makes me sad. But a happy sad. Happy because he is a vibrant, healthy, inquisitive, full of energy, little kid. But sad because he is growing up so fast. I dragged myself....and I mean dragged...myself to the registration night last night. Sat at the back hacking and sniffling away. The things you do for your children... He is registered in a school that specializes in fine arts and it is a Catholic school.........aaaaaaaaaand, my dad has read this and just fainted!! It is apparently a very good school with an amazing reputation. We don't talk/do much with religion etc. in our house, so it can't hurt that he learns that stuff somewhere...right? I wonder if they will let him wear his skull and cross bone hat there...? Just a thought. Anyway, no training done whatsoever the last two days. I am not feeling well at all. Don't plan on doing anything for another couple of days...I am one of those people that just needs to cool it and recover completely. So, here's to a few days off and getting healthy again!!

HOLY SHIT, it's COLD!!!

I apologize for cursing but seriously....it is f-ing cold today. Minus 46 with the windchill. I am home sick today. Have managed to stay up for the morning, got Matthew to and from playschool and both boys to daycare, and now I am going to crash. I feel like bloody HELL! So did not get my run in today...most likely I am done for a few days. crappy.

I LOVE Rest Days

Yes...I do. I did not understand the importance of rest days until about now. After my swim yesterday, I picked up some groceries, got home tidied up the house (because a bomb hits it everytime I am gone) and my friend Trent called and invited us to....the POOL!! He had some free passes so I bundled up the kids and we went back to the pool for the majority of the afternoon. He was there with his brother and his 8 month old nephew. It was so funny watching these two grown men attend to a little one with their big fumbly hands. But good for them, the little one was not expected and his parents are not a couple so I give Trent and his brother credit for wanting and trying really hard to be a part of the kid's world. On the agenda this week is a run tomorrow, which will be on the treadmill as it is a blizzard here in Toon Town, a swim Wed morning, book club Wed night and I can't remember after that. But I do know that I have snagged some tickets to the ballet on Saturday. I am so cultured. I can hear you all snickering from here!

one more thing...

I figured out how to make the Heart Rate info larger on the garmin. Now I can see it and I don't have to slow to a walk and steady my hand to read it...!

annoyed

Did not feel all that great this morning but got up and got to the pool anyway. The workout wasn't too bad, what I did of it. I am starting to get annoyed with our swim coach as he is on my case about something pretty much every single workout. I don't hear him doing that to anyone else. Last week it was that I wasn't giving the leader enough time...but I guess it is alright for everyone else behind me to swim up my butt? This week, I wasn't swimming even enough wrt pace times. I was TIRED today!! And SICK!! I told him this!! Get off my back!! Even one of the guys in my lane asked me why is he so hard on you...and I have no idea. I even left a bit early today as I was pissed off and went and sat (and pouted) in the hot tub...then I got kicked out of the hot tub as I was not part of the "public swim". But the good news...........157. WHOOP!!!

Geesh....

Got up to head out for a run today. I had decided I was going to start going to meet the gang that runs at 7:00am as that is my normal time to go out and wouldn't it be nice to see others out there when it is dark. Well, I saw them for about 30 seconds. I was totally expecting that and didn't mind. For me, it was a terrific run. Surprisingly, as I had slept like hell and did not feel good at all when the alarm went off. The weather was cold, but once my fingers warmed up and my lungs adjusted, I was good. Shannon had come out as well and it was nice to run with her. She is training for Boston in April. I know my running has improved and I like running with others now and again to see where I am at. Because it is hard to tell when I am on my own so much. Anyway, the garmin info says this: 4.82 miles; 44 minutes and 41 seconds; average 9:16 minute miles (holy shoot, this is really good for me!!); max pace 7:01 minute miles (huh? I have never ran that fast,,,ever!) ; average HR 159...so it was right in my steady state pace range, the higher end, but I wasn't killing myself. AWESOME! Going sledding today with the boys, so after my bike ride yesterday and this run today...my legs will have interesting things to tell me tonight.

Multi-tasking

Got up early today as I had to get my bike workout in. The workout was 4 sets of the muscle tension drill for 6 minutes with 4 minutes easy riding in between. Then 3 sets of fast pedalling for 2 minutes and 2 minutes easy. A couple of the easy riding intervals, I actually jumped off my bike to put laundry in the washer and dryer....you do what ya gotta do to get it all done! But it went good, I think I saw a muscle in my leg the other day...I kid you not...I was at the pool and happened to catch a glimpse of myself and yup, there was a muscle there!! It was very exciting. Going for a run tomorrow with the gang at 7:00am. I am actually nervous about this!! I will for sure be the slowest runner there..BY FAR!! I am seriously considering getting up early and WARMING UP!! But I guess in order to run faster you have to run faster. Just going to meet some folks and maybe have breakfast and coffee with them later...pick their brains about triathlon stuff...

Wednesday bike ride

I have not been great at making it to my cycling class on Wednesday nights. I just cannot get the family home and fed and organized in time for me to get there by 6:00pm. But I have been doing the workouts at home, so that must count for something??!! Yesterday, I went to pick up the boys and my little one was sick. We got home, he did not want to eat, so I put him in the bath tub and then we cuddled on the couch for a good chunk of the evening. They want to grow up so fast and I want them to be little for so long. Not many years will I have left for when they want to cuddle so I did not get onto the bike until well after 7:00pm. Yuk. I HATE working out that late!! And my legs were tired at the start...maybe from all the bouncing I did in the morning...But got the workout in and had a HOT bath to make sure I was good and tired and had a terrific sleep!! Slept a solid 8 hours! This never happens....so I feel good today!

Bounce!!

And that is what I did off the bottom of the pool at swimming today. Woke up, showed up but the workout was a bunch of drills and stuff and even some backstroke and breaststroke...? Sorry, but those triathletes just cannot do any other stroke but the free style! Did not really get into it but it was good to hit the water and stretch things out. Going to get on my bike tonight...seriously! I missed yesterday so on it I must go. JP sent me an e-mail this week "Are you ready to pump it up a bit?" Good lord...
I have invited a local radio person to read this blog as he is signed up for the Frank Dunn race as well. I don't actually know him personally but hear alot about him and his training through some mutual friends. He also speaks a bunch about his two sons on the radio and I love it as, of course, I have two boys and it is just fun listening to someone else who is trying to raise a couple of boys into good men. He talks about his training on the radio a bit and it is absolutely hilarious!! He says he is already at 100 meters for swimming so how hard can 1500 meters be...? Should I tell him about the time I did that swim when it was plus 3 degrees, and the lake was very rough with whitecaps and I had to wait for the crests of the waves in order to breathe? Thank-god I was on a relay that year and headed back to the hotel after my swim for a hot breakfast and a hot shower!!

Oops...

I woke up early this morning after tossing and turning ALL NIGHT...but that is nothing new...with good intentions to get on my bike. I kinda had a funny feeling like if I did not go back to bed I might get sick in the next day or so. You know, that tickle in the back of your throat and the dry cough. And some nastiness had been flying through my house so back to bed I went!! I cannot afford to get sick, just too busy and too much on the go that if I miss one bike workout in January, I would rather that than miss a bunch next week. The long and the short, nothing to report on training...hopefully I can get out to swimming tomorrow morning and then a bike ride tomorrow night. There is a group that goes out running on Saturdays at 7:00am which is a perfect time for me and I am thinking of joining them this weekend. The only thing...they are super-dee-duper FAST! I am just really disliking running in the dark by myself so my plan is to show up (with my iPod) and be back for coffee by 8:00!! Cause it's all about the coffee afterwards...

What will this feel like in May/June?

Cause I am frigging beat after my swim today! And JP tells me these weeks so far are conservative! Yikes. My escapades Friday night did not help, I am just too old to be out too late, the recovery time is far too long! Anyway, on to the swim workout. 4000 meters today. Holy. We did a warm-up and the main set was 4x600 meters broken up into some swim, some drill and some kick. Everyone, I want you to try this at home...take a flutter board and hold it in front of you with both hands on the board, in the middle of it. Now tip the board up so half of it is in the water and half out. Now kick for 50 meters. This my friends, is the "tombstone". And I say, let the tombstone Rest In Peace! After my bike ride and my run on Saturday, my legs were DONE! I just could not keep up for the entire workout and had to take a couple of breaks. But got the mileage in, so this is good. We were at a different pool today as the other one was booked for a swim meet and I could not find a scale to weigh in. So I have no numbers today. bummer.

Tired and hung-over

But got my run in today. Holy smokes that was punishing!! The Buble concert was fantastic last night and I would highly recommend to everyone to catch his show. But I drank too much and was out too late. My kids spent the night with grandma so I did not have to contend with them this morning. I needed help with this run so headed out to meet the gang at the Roastery...that would be GrantB...me and GrantB...thank-you to my tri-buddies for coming out, that would be NONE of you, to save me!! Anyway, once I got out of my groggy state and got going, it was a terrific morning and great run, GrantB was actually good to talk to...I think I have found someone to vent with about my work that is not at my work that understands my work...does that make any sense? Not sure if that will happen often, but he did lend a listening ear today and had some great insights on a couple of things. This is going to be a loooong day!!

Something is happening to me...

The trusty alarm went off today at 5:15am. And I popped out of bed to jump onto my bike...yes, you read that correctly, I was actually excited to get to my bike workout!! What the H...!! I popped a movie in and did an hour on the bike. But now I know, I cannot watch a movie when I have a specific workout to do, maybe an endurance ride but today I would slow my pedalling and my heart rate would go way down when there were parts that I was trying to listen to in the movie and not really concentrating on the task. The workout was 4 sets of 6 minutes of the Muscle Tension drill with 4 minutes in between. And then 3 sets of fast pedalling, for 2 minutes and then easy for 2 minutes. Was a good workout, sweat like a rockstar! But getting more confident on that bike...seriously, a few weeks ago, an hour workout on the bike was a bit overwhelming. Now, it just feels good to get it done!
Off to see Michael Buble tonight. I really like his stuff and I am looking forward to the concert. The last concert I went to was in October, Def Leppard, that's right my loyal readers...I am and 80s gal through and through!! I LOVE those old 80s bands!! But I don't think I will wear my earplugs to Buble.

Rest days are the best days

Another rest day today. Whoop! But I can't sleep so here I am fooling around on the computer and writing on the blog. I did not get out to my cycling class last night...WHAT? You say? Nope. Trying to get out of work on time, and picking up kids and getting them fed and getting the husband home on time....is just too much somedays. BUT...I did the workout at home. A warm up and then 2 sets of 4 intervals of 4 minutes in zone 3 and two minutes in zone 2. My legs are super tired today. Not really all that sore, just tired. JP's words of advice have rang through my head this week...you have to get your body used to working when its tired. We do block workouts (rather than brick workouts for right now). So a couple of hard workouts over a couple of days and then a rest day. Which is today! And then another bike tomorrow, a hard run on Saturday and swim on Sunday, then Monday is another rest day.

So proud!!!

Just got off the phone with my brother and he is entering his first triathlon next summer!! He has chosen to do Frank Dunn up at Waskesiu...should I tell him how hard that race is? Nope!! He can read it here himself! Anyway, all joking aside, he is very athletic and very fit and should have no troubles with this race. Can't wait for next August, that is going to be a fun weekend up at the cabin!!
Got my swim in today. Was a good swim...several 100s on our pace time. I like those workouts as I feel like I am working hard and accomplishing something with keeping my pace consistent. And obviously from my last post, I needed to clear my head a wee bit!! Also got some advice from the coach, he says I need to think I am swimming in a tunnel. My arms swing out too much when I get tired and honestly, I can hear my right forearm hit the water when I get tired. He said to think nice high elbows, tight arms like a boxer, don't throw "haymakers" the entire time...I wasn't real clear on that analogy but whatever. Also discussed wardrobe strategy with one of the gals coming to Buble on Friday. Going to be a fun night!!

blah blah blah blah

I don't really have much to write about training except that I got my run in today. Was a good run, felt really good, the weather was perfect. Have just been on the phone for over an hour with a client that lost her husband two months ago to cancer. He was mid-40s. She is totally overwhelmed and lost. I am having to walk her through every single step of getting his estate and investments looked after. She has no handle on what they had or where or how it was invested. I don't mind, as this is what I am paid to do and I love my job, helping people sort through this crazy, confusing and frustrating world of finance. Just a bit bummed out as I get leaned on all the time (kids, family, friends,clients) and I struggle with who am I supposed to vent to? You know? A few years ago, I had a client lose her husband in an accident while they were on a holiday. I cried when I got the news. That first meeting with her to start the estate settlement process was one of the hardest I have ever done. I have learned that when people go through hard times like this, they often need someone to just gently take their hand and lead the way...and it just feels like (today) it is always ME!! I need a hand too!!
Okay...small vent is done...thanks for reading.

Week Three

Got this from the Carmichael group today: Negative self-talk, which includes: focusing on things outside of your control, worrying about what your competitors may think, or focusing on the outcome instead of the process, decreases your self-confidence, motivation, and ultimately, performance. So, stop that "stinkin' thinkin'" and replace the negative comments with positive ones, and you will train and race better.

I have made it into week number three. And I SLEPT last night...the entire night!! I have not slept an entire night for several years. The biggest reason I excercise...is so I SLEEP. On the agenda this week...a run tomorrow, a swim and bike ride on Wednesday, a bike ride on Friday, Michael Buble concert Friday night, run Saturday morning. No problem!! My 5 year old starts his activities this week as well...swimming (of course, do you think I would have a kid who does not know how to swim?) tonight, and gymnastics tomorrow night.

My body hurts....

And we haven't even gotten to the hard stuff yet! Friday, the training plan called for an hour endurance ride. I did not get up in the morning to do it and made a deal with myself to do it after work. So immediately after getting home, I got into my bike gear, got the kids fed and watered and got them a couple of activities to do...would they last the hour? Probably not, but I jumped on the bike anyway. Got 30 minutes in. Saturday was my cycling camp. We did some core work and riding on the track for the first hour. I actually did not get on the track as my tire was flat and it took a few minutes to get some air into it. And the core workout was not really a workout, more like some suggestions for excercises. But was a good review. Then onto the trainer. My legs feel that workout today!! Holy cow. The very best part was the pizza and the hot tub at Chris' house afterwards. That was fun and relaxing. Up and off to the pool this morning and as soon as I hit the water I knew it was going to be difficult to last the entire workout. My legs and back were TIRED! But still got about 3400 meters in. Not my best effort but JP told me on Friday right now we are just putting the mileage in and expect to get tired. His advice was to always start the workout. If I get to 20-30 minutes and I am still not into it, then quit. Something is wrong, too tired, getting sick etc. And it is not worth pushing through it. But 90% of the time I will finish the workout. Rest day tomorrow..thank god. 160...shitty.

Friday conversation with JP

So, finally, JP has opened the gates a tiny bit. He actually chuckled today when I told him a short story about my cycling skills. But he did get into a 20 minute technical explanation on the pedal stroke on the bike. Who knew that riding a bike could get so complicated??!! I lost him totally, in about 45 seconds and had to ask him to repeat himself a few times so I could get my brain around what he was telling me. I even found myself taking several notes on things to look up after the conversation. We also talked a bit of scheduling as the date for our local race, Spin on Spadina has been posted, June 15. I wanted to know what the strategy was around that race being that it is just 3 weeks from The Big One. He said, to absolutely sign up and do it. I will probably be doing it tired so the things to focus on would pacing, nutrition, transitions, form. He thought it was a great idea to do that event, so do it I will. Other than that, he told me to e-mail him right after my mini-camp this weekend as he is going to adjust my schedule next week depending on how the camp went.

grumpy

I did go to my cycling class last night. But wow...I was grumpy!! I think maybe it was a good thing I went out of the house, because no one would have been able to stand me and my mood. Do you ever have one of those days where you just get annoyed at everything and when you think about it for about 3 seconds, the things you are annoyed at really are trivial? This was me late yesterday afternoon. However, I felt okay once I got there, got set up and chatted for a few minutes with my friend Chris...who is lots of fun and cheery and just put me in a better mood instantly when I saw her. Thank GOODNESS!! The workout was a warm-up, then 4 sets of 5 intervals of 1 minute in zone 4 and 1 minute in zone 2. Then a 5 minute easy ride. And to finish it all off some core work and a relaxation excercise. We had to visualize ourselves on our bikes in a race. Me...on a bike...in a race....not exactly relaxing!! Which I think had something to do with my dream last night, I was in the transition area after the swim and my two non-triathlon friends Colleen and Carmen were also there in transition. They were helping me with my fashion choices for what to wear on the bike. We took so long figuring out what I should wear, I missed the cut-off time!! Looking forward to the cycling camp this weekend and the hot tubbing afterwards! YeeHaw!

Swim on Wednesday morning

JP tells me I should try to get out to one more swim during the week, so I have chosen Wednesday mornings. It is a long course swim which is okay because it marginally feels like open water swimming...especially when I get run over by GP as he trys to pass someone in his own lane...shoulder checks are critical when trying to do that....just a tip. Anyway, didn't really matter as I did not have a good swim. I was tired and just could not get any get up and go. But I was there, got in about 2400 meters...watched the kids in the Goldfins finish their workout. Wow...I do not remember being that small!! One gal looked like she was doing 200m Fly sets...holy god!! Off for a bike workout tonight.

Tuesday morning run

Got up at at it this morning and got my 55 minute run in. It was minus 17 degrees out today. I tried to take a picture of myself after the run all frosted up, but they were a bit goofy and by the time I had found the memory card, pulled the camera out, got set up, most of the ice had melted off my face and head. The run felt good, okay, not the first 10 minutes, but after I found the groove, went pretty good. This was the only run on my schedule this week. Going to try to get out for a swim tomorrow am and I have my cycling class tomorrow evening. Then a cycle on Friday and a cycling mini-camp on Saturday for 2 hours...I think I may take a barf bucket to that one. The schedule says an hour on the trainer, then some work on the track at the field house, then some of my fave...core work. And I am thinking, dinner and drinks afterwards!! I'm telling you, if I do not have abs of friggin steel by spring/summer after all of this, I will be seriously pissed. Someone asked me last week if I wanted to just look good or have a good race...my answer (sarcastically) was that I wanted to look good, of course!! DUH!!?? Kind of like The Universe said the other day...when you walk by with confidence, others will see you and think "...just like that". Or something like that, can't remember exactly what it was...

Week Deux

Here I am faced with my second week of the Carmichael via Justin training plan. Week one went pretty good. Everytime I post about a workout, JP has also asked me to do a Core Workout. 15 minutes. I have to ask him if he is kidding (but I doubt it) because I can only hold those poses for about 15 seconds!! He says when I have "mastered the excercises" he will give me more. Seriously, the entire thing takes me about 7 minutes....my core sucks. BUT when I was at the pool yesterday, my guts felt tight and stronger than ever before, so I will work my way up to the 15 minutes I am supposed to be doing. I need to go bikini shopping again to keep my motivation keen on this one!!
And I jumped onto the scale yesterday at the pool. I do not own a scale because I know I am the type of person that will get onto it every day and then be dissappointed when the number is not what I had hoped. I try to remember to get onto it every week after my swim. So here is MY number....gulp....stagger....hesitate....spit....159.5 Let's see where it goes after all this training is done!!

3400 meters at the pool today

But that is not the story from today. I came up on an embarrassing situation at the pool this morning. I showed up just a few minutes late and while getting my cap and goggles on, I was absently staring off into space as I had been up most of the night with a sick kid, and one of the guys in the group was in the water near the end of the pool. I was looking down, but not really AT him, and he yanked his swim trunks out to adjust the drawstring and...well...I...ummm....saw "the junk"!! AHHHH!! It was one of those moments, I quickly looked away and around to see if anyone else was looking at me because I am sure the look on my face once my brain registered what was happening was an odd one. He does not often show up for swimming and I don't know him at all, so I was horrified that this had happened!! Not that I would have felt any better seeing some of "the junk" of the guys I have gotten to know...but you know what I am saying, right? Anyway, the swim overall was good. The main set was 5 x 400 with some drill and pull stuck in the middle. It turned out to be mostly a straight swim for me for each 400 as I was having trouble keeping up with being so tired.

Saturday morning bike workout

Up and at it today and onto the bike. I need a name for my bike. Seems like everyone has a name for their bike, so far I call mine "The Yellow Cervelo". The workout called for 3 sets of the Muscle Tension Drill and 3 sets of the Fast Pedal Drill. I can hear my dad's voice..."always do more than they ask" So I did 4 sets of each. Not because I think I am any kind of cyclist but I get on the bike most times out of pure terror as I do not want to embarrass myself in July! I am starting to lose that fear a wee bit after speaking to Justin. Yesterday I asked him why I am not running much as I have that Hypo Half coming up. He says "You can run a half marathon. I am not worried about that. Just wait, because you are going to run a fast one in May. This one is for fun." Who would have EVER thought I would run a half marathon FOR FUN!!! Kind of puts a new perspective on things for me. And of course"fast" is relative. I told him I wanted to go under 2 hours in May. I was close once (and three months pregnant) so with some help now, and no baby on the way, maybe this will be the year!!

Garmin Manual: Appendix: Page 53

"It can withstand immersion in 1 meter of water for 30 minutes. Prolonged submersion can cause damage to the unit. After submersion, be certain to wipe dry and air dry the unit before using or charging. Note: This product is not intended to be used while swimming.

2nd conversation with Justin

Just finished my weekly conversation with Justin. We have been e-mailing back and forth all week and I like the idea of speaking every week on the phone so we have set Fridays as our day to talk. I had e-mailed him my "discussion points" before our telephone call because I am a total nerd. I have concluded that JP does not have much of a sense of humor as I have tried to be funny and I get that awkward dead silence at the other end. So, I just put on my "work voice" and get down to business. And he doesn't like to chat. I am learning that the Carmichael group is dead serious about what they do and they weren't hired to be my friend, so I guess I understand the dead pan reaction. But a laugh once in awhile would be nice...no? Anyway, he was happy with how things have gone so far. We have tweaked my schedule a bit more as I have a mini-training camp coming up with my Wednesday night cycling. He says he wants me to concentrate on what I am not good at right now as it is going to take alot of time. Lots and lots of biking....like 4 hours next week!! YAK!! He wants me to send him my Garmin info once a week so he can "see exactly what I am doing." So far, so good!! Although I have not done my core workout yet today, but will get to it as soon as the kids are in bed!!

Garmin SAYS.........

Got my 50 minute run in this morning. I am really sick of running in the dark. When does it start getting light again in the mornings? I have to look that up because I am really not enjoying the dark. It is kinda spooky. But the positive is that it was an absolutely beautiful morning weather-wise. Only about minus 7...no wind...and calm. Had a great run.
Info from Garmin:
49 minutes 49 seconds - okay, I did not time my cool down!!
5.05 miles
Average pace: 9:54 minute miles
Average HR: 151 beats per minute - this was to be a steady state run with my HR in between 148 and 158..so right on target, I guess
Max pace: 8:13 minute miles - I think this must have been when I had to sprint across Broadway to beat an oncoming car!!
Max HR: 166
Calories burned: 637

The Wiggles

Got up and did a short run today, only about 33 minutes. Somebody has played with my alarm and I did not hear it go off so I had to stumble out of bed, grab my gear and get out of the house in a big hurry to even get those 33 minutes done! Was supposed to go to the Wednesday morning swim with the tri-gang but that does not get started again until next week. And I did a second workout yesterday after my bike ride. Yes....I....did!! After sitting on my butt for the majority of the afternoon watching college football (now I see why some prefer college football over the NFL, lots of turnovers, mistakes and general craziness makes for good games!!) I put one of our Wiggles DVDs in for Luke (19 months). He LOVES The Wiggles. For those of you with no kids or older kids, The Wiggles are an Australian musical group of 4 men who play instruments and dance around like goofballs but my little one gets SO excited at even the mention of them. Look them up on YouTube and make fun of them all you want but they did $30 million in sales last year...4 college friends who can each play an instrument have managed to tap into the minds of little boys worldwide. So we danced and jumped around the basement for about 45 minutes while the DVD was on...you know, jump on one leg, wave your hands in the air, do "The Flap", very simple crazy stuff. And Luke giggles and laughs and does his best to imitate which is so very cute.

Hellooooo 2008!!!!!!!!!!

I know you have all been waiting patiently at your computers, for this post...did she or didn't she get on her bike today, the first day of 2008? What excuse did she come up now? Well I am pleased to report that I did in fact do my bike workout today! It is true...I had to remove the laundry that had accumulated on my bike over the last few weeks...I am ashamed to tell you that. But it is DONE! A bit of a warm-up then 3 sets of the Muscle Tension Drill for 6 minutes each with a 4 minute easy pedal in between. The MT drill is done at a really low cadence, 50-55, in a really tough gear. You are also to elevate your bike about 4-6 inches. The idea is to concentrate on your pedal stroke and keep your heart rate no higher than 135. The video on the website was really good at explaining it and showing how to get your bike set up...so with a phone book and a large children's hard cover of bedtime stories, I was set. The hard part was to keep my heart rate low...JP said DO NOT let it get above 135...he was pretty adamant about this point so I had to really concentrate on the pedal strokes and breathing to keep the old heart in check. Then it was 4 sets of Fast Pedalling for 1 minute with a 2 minute easy pedalling in between. This one was fun because I kept calling out to the boys "Am I winning?" And my 5 year old was very excited to see me pedalling so fast and cheered the entire time!! I have been training my 19 month old to say "GO Mom GO!!" and pump his fist in the air. So every time he sees me in workout gear, this is what he says and does. And I LOVE IT!!