Turtle on Wheels

I finally dragged myself to the gym yesterday, after some subtle prodding. I rolled out of bed at 6:15, threw workout stuff and my credit card in my gym bag, and walked across Hyde Park in the refreshing 16-degree morning air to the University of Chicago’s Ratner Athletic Center.

I bought the 3-month membership because A) it was cheapest, B) I only need to work out just long enough to build up my fitness and endurance to a moderate level , and C) by May, all of my focus will be on biking and I won’t need to be in the gym as much. It’s a nice and fairly new place–plenty of aerobic equipment, a big weight room, Olympic-sized (or close to it) swimming pool, and so on. It’s just a 15-minute walk from my apartment building and once the snow melts (if it ever does), I can cut that time in half with my bike.

I worked out for 45 minutes on the elliptical and weights, and I came out of the gym feeling surprisingly refreshed. In fact, I walked into work a couple hours later with a bit of a George Jefferson-swagger: “Aw yeah, I’m so hardcore that I went to the gym this morning in this Arctic weather.” Overall, the workout went far better than I thought it would and I seriously considered scrapping the gradual build-up in my training schedule–why not go full steam ahead and work out every day or so?

But then I woke up this morning and my shoulders were singing hymns of pain. So yeah, no gym today. Baby steps. . . .

So amend what I said earlier: it may be icy and cold outside, but given that my fitness level is just a step above “sloth,” my training starts Monday. This (admittedly basic) epiphanic decision was the result of the MS Bike Tour Expo that my friend Laura and I attended yesterday afternoon at St. Ignatius Prep. (Laura will be biking the MS 150 Bike Tour with me–in fact, she’s the one who got me to do it in the first place.) Surprisingly enough, Laura and I were the only ones there, so we were able to talk for awhile with the MS 150 volunteers on hand.

They were nice and incredibly informative about training and equipment, and afterwards, I felt much more confident about doing the ride. They said all levels of cyclists participate and it turns out that we still have plenty of time to train according to the 10-week training schedule they gave us.

But even though their 10-week training program doesn’t officially start until early April, I’ll need to be at a good aerobic fitness level by then. And aside from walking to my work office, the most activity I’ve done this winter is walking from the kitchen to the armchair. So on Monday, I’m heading over the Ratner Athletic Center to sign up for a 3-month membership and start getting into shape. In other words, the majority of my posts from here on out will probably be litanies of pain and soreness. Onward!

So this will be a chronicle of my efforts to train for the 150-mile MS Bike Tour, a.k.a. “Tour de Farms” this June. I’m riding to help out this incredibly worthy cause and also as a personal goal to become an active cyclist. If you’re able and inclined to donate to my fundraising goal for the MS Society, I’d be most appreciative! Just visit my personal page or email me for more information.

But if you don’t have the funds, please do check out this blog every so often for edification/curiosity/a daily dose of humor. As you might guess from my blog’s title, it’s going to be an interesting transformation from couch potato to two-wheeled Wonder Woman. It’s still winter in Chicago right now–27 degrees is considered “mild”–so my bike won’t be emerging from storage for at least a couple more weeks. But I’ll still try to post some interesting things in the meantime. Who knows, I might post a few things about life in Chicago as well.

As a concluding caveat, this is my first public blog, so bear with me. Thanks for your support!