Week of 12/27/09 - Holiday Travel and Spinning - 80 Miles

Winter douldrums and the hollidays kept me inside again all week.  Wonderful donation to start the week from Sue Firlotte and Bob Sands.  Sue and Bob are dedicated Leo's Legacy riders and among our closest friends.  Monday saw an off day and some unexpected proposal activity at work. A typical 20 mile, 1 hour spin on Tuesday to some 70's music.  More work and packing resulted in no ride for Wednesday.  Thursday saw the long drive to Maine.  Christmas day was spent at Mark & Carol's house ... lots of great gifts and family fun.  A nice 20 mile spin to Cyclo-Club spinning class #1.  Educational and good variation from start to finish.

The weekend saw another 40 miles with Cyclo-Club spinning class #2 on Saturday and some classic rock on Sunday. Cyclo-Club includes regular podcasts that are available to the public.  Listen to the latest Cyclo-Club podcast on holiday tips and how to avoid the holiday chubbies:

CLICK to Listen

Only 4 hours and 80 miles ... 6,500 will need 70 additional miles over the next four days.

Week of 12/20/09 - Winter Spinning and Blizzard - 125 Miles

Winter weather and a major snow storm kept me inside spinning on the trainer.  A  solid week with 6+ hours of bike time and 125 miles on the odometer.  On Monday, I logged 20 miles to the new Ray Romano show "Men of a Certain Age."  I guess I relate to it as the show depicts three guys in their late 40's. Thanks to Gary Calabreese for a donation ... he has sponsored me for 5 years!  Tuesday was spent working and on the website as well as fundraising. Donations received from Jim Leonard (silver level) and Barbara Eberhard (4th year). 

On Wednesday I pushed 25 miles to a new Criminal Minds epsiode.  My high school friends from USY jumped on board the donation train ... thanks to Bob Sulloway and his wife Gail (2nd year) for a silver level donation and Carol Fishman (3rd year).  Carol's mom is a lung cancer survivor.  She and her doctor caught it when it was at stage 1A! We are glad she went in for a chest x-ray after a nagging cough.  If she hadn't, then she would probably not be alive now. Lung cancer is so deadly because generally it's not found until stage 3 or 4 when it's too late. She is one of the rare success stories. She was a former smoker, but she hadn't smoked for 27 years.  My ride helps researchers with new and better detection testing.

Thursday was an active recovery day with some Cyclo-Core training and a short 12 mile spin to Jeff Dunham on Comedy Central.  Leah and I love his characters particularly Jose (on a stick), Peanut, and Achmed ... "I kill you."  Friday included intervals and one leg drills to some great old 1970's songs.  Thanks to Fred and Catherine Chiccone for theor generous silver level donation.  I have ridden on their Tour de Cure team for the Amercian Diabetes Association.  Their grand daughters have Type 1 diaabetes.  Besides the American Lung Association, it is the other charity I work hard for.  The snow started falling around 10PM.  The snow came down all day on Saturday and when it finsihed around midnight, we had almost 2 feet.  Quite a storm for the mid-atlantic.  I spun hard for 27 miles to the Ford Ironman champsionships on NBC.  Great inspirational stories and amazing athletes.

I wrapped up the week with some leg drills and tempo work to football.  Lot of extra exercise thanks to shoveling too.

Week of 12/13/09 - Winter Spinning - 120 Miles

Weather and family committments kept me inside the whole week.  With winter here, this will be the norm.  I have started using Cyclo-Core warm-up routines and will slowly add more core work outs.  Monday was a rest day with some late night work on my website - Mark's Ride Across America.   On Tuesday I spun for 20 miles to The Biggest Looser.  Pretty amazing stuff.  The winner lost more than I weigh ... 239 pounds.  The transformations are something to see.  The show has helped so many people.  I also officialy launched my website and opened my secure donation page.  Over the coming months, I will execute an agressive fund raising plan to help the American Lung Association improve the quality of life for families living with lung disease. Pledges raised will help search for cures, keep kids off tobacco, and fight for laws that protect the air we all breathe. The work of the American Lung Association helps to save lives every day.  I hope you will join me in my effort to raise $25,000 to help make a difference in the lives of millions of adults and children who are living with chronic lung disease and asthma every day. CLICK HERE to go to my secure on-line web page for donations.

I received my first major corporate sponsorship from Lancesoft, Inc. LanceSoft is an ISO 9001-2000 certified global IT Services and Solutions Company. LanceSoft is based in Herndon, Virgina and operates out of 15 locations in US, Europe, Asia Pac and India. They were also my lead sponsor for the 2007 Trek Across Maine. Thanks also to Matt McGoey from All American Bikes in Damascus, Maryland for a donation and discount off future purchases.  I bought my last two bikes from Matt and use his shop for service.

On Wednesday I spun another 20 miles to my favorite TV show, Criminal Minds.  I continued sending my first wave of fund raising announcements.  Thanks to Mary Bowden and Brian McElyea for donations.  I also had a great conversation with the president of VBT Active Vacations in Bristol, Vermont.  I hope to see them as a significant sponsor real soon.  Thursday saw more spinning (21 miles) to a great new show on the History Channel that I really like called Pawn Stars. Check it out.  Another 20 miles to Washington Capitals vs. Carolina Hurricanes hockey on Friday (Caps win 4-3 in OT) as well as some of Leah's favorite show on Food Network ... Unwrapped.  Thank you Judy Johnson and my Uncle Ernie Gotthardt (he has pledged every year I have ridden for the Amercian Lung Association) for donations.

The weekend included some catch up work on a proposal for the Maryland statewide health information exchange.  I also worked hard on building my website.  Saturday included a fast 15 mile spin watching the Eloise christmas movie with Leah.  I wrapped up the week with a 24 mile effort to a few more episodes of Pawn Stars and a little of the Giants/Eagles game (Eli looses again). Thank you Rakesh Malik for a donation (two years running).

120 miles of spinning and lots of work on launching my web site and fund raising efforts.

Week of 12/06/09 - Weather & Family Committments = Spinning - 145 miles

December arrived and brought chili and wet weather.  On top of that, family committments took top priority and kept me inside for all but one day.  On Monday I rode about an hour (20 Miles) while watching the Patriots and Saints game.  The Saints are definitely for real, and the Patriots do not have the personnel they once did.  Tuesday saw another 15 Miles spin with Meatloaf on the stereo and the Victoria's Secret "fashion" show on the TV.  Most of those girls need to eat a cookie!  Of course there were a few that, well ... umm, never mind. Heidi Klum was classy and looked good for just having had another baby.  No risque pics on my blog ...

Wednesday was a rest day.  I spent the evening reviewing materials at Cyclo Club.  I hope to incorporate more pre- and post-ride exercises along with their core conditioning routines over the winter.  The club also includes great spin sessions and tons of helpful material on nutrition, riding technique, workouts, and more.  On Thursday, the weather finally cooperated with temperatures in the mid 50's.  It was pretty windy, with some gusts greater tan 25 miles per hours.  I pushed through for a solid 28 mile ride in and around Laurel.  I went past the Laurel Race Track, Montpieler Mansion, Laurel Hospital, and downtown.

 

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The weekend included signifcant family committments and weather not condusive to riding outside. Spinning was a good way to relax and destress. On Friday, I rode with Coach Troy to Spinervals 14 - Totally Time Trial. Strong 1 1/2 hours and 32 miles. Saturday saw a more relaxed aerobic pace to Spinervals 16 - Aero Base Builder, 29 miles. I spent some late night computer time loking at other training DVDs. There are a few virtual rides (with web cams) that I may try out. I wrapped up the week with a very fast hour spin (22 miles) to some classic rock and music from the 70's. Only outside 1 day ... motivation remained high wirh 145 training miles.