Experiences with Muscle Soreness, but a Total Lack of Sound Advice

Goal: 8.00 km Actual: 14.12 km (8.825 miles)

Okay.... So I was relieved today, because my arm soreness subsided... Well, specifically, my tricep soreness -- the soreness that would not let me completely lift a tomato to my mouth without some help from my neck -- had subsided. This is a good thing. A coworker of mine, who I would consider to be in enviable shape for his age, informed me that as you get older, your muscles will not just be sore after a work out longer, but also wait longer to tell you about it. You'll get to your height of soreness 2 to 3 days after your workout instead of the next day. I just turned 34 last April. This is about the age you start learning these things from your co-workers. I guess I shouldn't feel bad at all. One of my friends, only a year younger than me, and in better shape than most people ever are in their entire lives, apparently is detecting signs of aging in himself. "I just can't work out like I used to." I usually have no idea what limitations he's facing to be honest. Well, I know maybe one thing about him that I would consider to be a sign of aging, and though it would hold some people back, I imagine it might frustrate him, but not hold him back.

So, what was I getting at anyway? Oh, well right when I came in from biking.... like 5 minutes before I started this blog entry, my arms were taking a breather from supporting me on the handle bars and they immediately announced to me that I was going to have trouble getting a tomato up to my mouth again. (I have no idea what is with me and putting tomatoes up to my mouth... Just keep reading. ;) ) After having sat a spell to write this blog entry, I am beginning to have my doubts that this is the case. I can flex my fist pretty close to my shoulder, which is a good sign..... Yesterday, I had a solid 30 degree angle going and my fist did not want to get any closer. I put my triceps on ice for a short while -- like 10 minutes, because that is such an awkward place for an ice pack -- and then hoped for the best. I am clueless to tell you whether it was ice or time that did the trick. Other cyclists are suffering worse and far more interesting travesties as I write, so on to other things.

The "challenge" of today's route was to bike some on the East side of Juan Tabo.... At least cross the street for crying out loud. So I biked up the trail all the way to the dip and came back. If you haven't caught wind of this already, I worry much, much, much too much. I wonder if that's why my parents bought me the Sweet Pickles' Worried Walrus book. It was cute. I think he worries about something that will happen while he's riding a bike too. I was exhausted, but I think the small amount of anxiety I had about the whole thing just made me slightly more exhausted than I should've been. The incline really was not all that bad.
So, here I go again today biking in low visibility conditions wearing dark colors. The clouds were trying to convince me it could rain in Albuquerque by dashing some water on me. When it became nearly dark, my thoughts were "Hmmmm.... I am not ready to give up biking just yet. I've reached my goal of 8, so I could stop, but I don't really want to." I varied between my living on a bike thought, where I just tried to keep the bike going, then I would forget and try to see how fast I could pedal the bike uphill. I think I'm getting the gears and that I had them backwards before. Going uphill, you switch to a lower gear, which means a smaller gear so that it gets easier to pedal. I am starting to get it now, but it's taken a while for me to learn.... I've noticed that I slow down when I am going uphill, so I switch to a higher gear so I can get more gumption out of my pedalling. You know the results, however. You make it uphill.... You make it uphill faster.... But your muscles are a lot more sore and you exhaust a lot faster. I am keeping this in mind. I had tried switching to a lower gear because I was getting tired and then I would get flustered because it would take me 5 rotations to go 2 inches. I think, perhaps, I was switching my gears down too quickly. It's also simply possible that my gears need some kind of maintenance that I am not aware of yet. Being my third year that I've owned this bike. That's entirely possible. I really should buy and read a biking 101 book, I suppose. I am glad I've made it as far as I have. :)
One final thing before I get some supper. I made it past 20 miles per hour!!! I made it past 20 miles per hour!!! Nope, I did not pedal that speed uphill or anything.... That was a downhill speed. It's good for me, though, because I don't like to go so fast I feel out of control. That was definitely my next experience for the day. Today was also my first day of biking through drizzle. I've forgotten what it's like to voluntarily be out in the rain and not care. Okay, well, here, it is just as often as not accompanied by thunder and lightning so I don't usually consider it real safe to be out in. Today, there was no lightning.... just rain. It felt good.