Cassandra: I did the same thing as mom this week and split my mid-week ride in two, riding the trainer for 46 minutes on Wednesday night after my nutrition class and 47 minutes on Thursday morning after waking up. I needed the Wednesday night ride; for some reason, after class, my mind was on fire. I just couldn't wind down. I needed something to burn off all of my energy. And for the most part, my ride accomplished that. For once, I didn't wear my heart-rate monitor but I was riding at about a 140-bpm pace. I did the same thing on Thursday morning. I tell you, it is harder to work out in the morning when you just wake up and your muscles are cold. But, it is a good way to shake off sleep and get your energy up for the day. I rode at more of a 150-155 bpm pace that morning, with limited soreness from the night before.

I am having a persistent training pain in my left hip, which seems to get worse when I ride. Originally, the pain started after my first-ever kickboxing class. Now, it just doesn't seem to go away. It feels like a charlie-horse in my hip/lower back, coming on whenever it feels like it and pulsing until I do something like stretch or roll on the foam roller that Dennis got to stretch his IT band. I think I need to focus more on stretching and proactively rolling on the foam roller a few times a day to keep the pain away.

This weekend I am headed up to Bellingham and mom and I are planning on riding together on Saturday. It will be our first outside training ride together! Keep your fingers crossed for good weather!