January 28, 2009

Imbalance

You hear a lot about imbalance in sport - muscle imbalances, flexibility imbalances, etc. We're always striving to achieve balance and symmetry. I discovered today that I suffer from a serious case of imbalance when it comes to dealing with my bike.

I can ride 100 miles but can barely change a tire. If my chain were to drop and I didn't have a guy with me, I'm not sure I could get it back on. I carry a little bag of tools on my bike but wouldn't have the first clue what to do with any of them. I virtually taught myself to swim, signed up for an Ironman and hired a coach, yet realized today I had no idea how to use my tire pump. How can this be?

I think my lack of skills is largely due to a couple things: (1) There is often someone - preferably a man - willing to help with such things so most of us can get by indefinitely without the need to sharpen these skills; (2) It's not fun or interesting so I give it lesser priority. I'd rather ride the bike than tinker around with it.

After a bit of a struggle, I conquered the tire pump and felt rather accomplished. Perhaps this spring I'll focus a bit of time on basic bike maintenance so I can feel more confident and independent on the road.

After a short trainer ride and a fitness evaluation with a personal trainer, I headed into the city for what would end up being my longest swim yet. I decided to shoot for 3,000 yards as long as my shoulder felt up to it. I broke it into sets of 250, 500, 500, 250, 250, 500, 500 and 250 to avoid getting bored. This was an important accomplishment for me. It was the first time I've felt like I'm finally getting past my injury.

Another couple days like today and my long lost motivation might return.

Biking (trainer)
Time - 30:00

Swimming
Distance - 3,000 yards
Time - 1:00:07

1 comment:

  1. 3,000 yards!
    Oh, my, that sounds like a marathon in the pool to someone who hates swimming as much as I do. But I'm going to try to follow your lead tomorrow, Kristen. If I drown it's your fault. Happy training!

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