Saturday, October 13, 2007

Bee Bike Break Through


Beau has had this bike since he was one and half. He has long wanted to ride the bike but gave up figuring out how pretty soon after he got it. Periodically we would revisit bike riding but he couldn't figure out the pedaling and steering. He was very frustrated by this so I haven't pushed it since I figured it had something to do with motor planning. His speech problem is a motor planning issue so it made sense that being able to pedal a bike wouldn't come easy for him since it--like speech--requires bilateral thinking--or something along those lines. Of course him knowing how to swim and swim well kinda throws a wrench in that theory.


But Beau has a history of not being able to do something at all and then in the span of an hour being able to do it and do it well. He went from not crawling at 7 months to crawling and crawling up the stairs in an afternoon. Same with walking. He waited until he could run to even bother with walking. And it was the same with swimming at the age of 2. He jumped in the pool and just started swimming. What I am saying is that there is never really a process that you see. It is like something clicks and he can do it. And yesterday the bike clicked for him. He and Parker spent the afternoon having races with the bike and the big wheels. And Beau was pissed that Parker beat him. Every time. He actually started crying and told me to tell Parker to let him win. I told him that wasn't how you win and that he needed to practice until he could win. So he practiced riding all day yesterday. Ryan was blown away when he came home from work and saw Beau flying down the sidewalk on his bike. This morning Beau woke up demanding to ride.

Pop and Lala took both kids to the Greenway and he rode a little over 4 miles. I finished up my bike ride and set out on a short brick. I caught up to them and ran back with them. Beau could totally keep up with me. I am so excited that I finally have 2 kids that can ride bikes. This means that they can ride their bikes and I can run along side them. This has long been my dream.
Now to get rid of both their training wheels. I am going to work on Beau first because he is the natural daredevil and Carmella will get rid of hers if her little brother rides without.

And, yes, they do both have helmets. We left them in Pop's truck. So they are resigned to riding in the driveway til I get them back.

And yes, I know they need new bikes. Santa's elves are working on that as I write this.

But enough about the kids. Let's talk about my workouts this week. I think, I had a great week. Maybe could have run a little more but I think the runs I got in were very good quality:

Sunday: 6 miles moderate pace. Rolling hills course.

Monday: Suppose to be a run bike swim day but the bike didn't workout. So I did my speed workout: 10k on the treadmill in 45 minutes flat--no incline. Then I swam a little over a mile.--35 minutes total. I typically turn out a mile in 26-30 minutes in the pool. I sprinted out the last 100. It felt fabulous. I love how efficient I feel in the water. The problem with the swim is convincing myself to get in the pool. The whole getting wet part bothers me. But once I get in the pool it is all good.

Tuesday: 10 miles--I don't know the pace. Rolling hills course. It was easy.

Wednesday: Sick kid day.

Thursday: 24 mile at 8:48 pace. Rolling hills course. Then I took Lola for a mile easy jog/walk cool down. And then Beau and walked to the school to get Carmella from Brownies. There and back it is a mile. It was very tired and kinda done with being on my feet but I think walking after a long run is important. It seems to help speed my recovery. I had also done an ice bath.

Friday: Little stiff in the leg and had a lot of work to do. Walked Carmella to school. Beau wanted to race. I couldn't run. At all. Decided a bike ride would be best. But as it worked out I only had time for a quick run before getting the kids from school. So I put in 3 miles in 26 minutes--flat out and back with 2 little hills course. Not enough of a workout. So later I went to the gym and turned out a 5k--no incline. I started out walking and then gradually increased. I hit the 1 mile at 9:13. Kept increasing and hit 2 miles at 15:58. Kept pressing I finished up at 22:28. A true negative split. Then I hit the weights for some upper body toning. Got in shoulders, triceps, biceps, upper and lower back. Finished up with stretching out the hips and legs.

Saturday: 24 miles on the bike at the Greenway. I don't know my time but it was pretty crowded so I couldn't really kick it up. I finished up with a 2 mile run--flat out and back.

Totals:
Swim: mile+
Bike: 24 miles
Run: 54 miles

Good, strong week.

4 comments:

  1. Our running and biking are inverses. I'm glad you had a good week. You were due.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That is so cool. I love it when Matthew joins me on my runs with his bike. He's not quite as happy when I am riding, as I push him a little :-O

    ReplyDelete
  3. I remember Wayne had a post in his blog where he trained his kids on a pedal-less bike, here's the link: http://scootersweightloss.blogspot.com/2007/06/teaching-my-son-to-bike.html

    Should be helpful as it teaches balance and leg strength.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bruce! Thanks! That is a fabulous idea. Or thanks, Wayne . . .

    ReplyDelete