i know it's been awhile since i checked in. training has really been up and down ... a lot of false starts and random little problems (arches, ankles, etc.) that sidetracked me for a few days here and there.
the biggest problem by far has been getting comfortable on the bike. i've never been a very strong cyclist -- always felt pretty wobbly up there. with my shoulder injury, it had been a good 5 years since i'd been on a bike at all. plus, now, the stakes are quite for me. if i fall while biking (or while doing anything else, for that matter), i am very, very likely to suffer a serious injruy to the shoulder. so that fact is never far from my mind, which makes me even more nervous.
all of which is to say that it's been much harder than i'd anticipated to get back into biking. while i've been doing a spinning class (the other kind) at my gym the last 2 months, it didn't translate at all to the not-freaking-out part of bike-riding.
but this week ... with spring finally upon us ... has been a bit of a breakthrough week for the bike. i started off the week literally just riding my bike up and down the street while terry yelled various encouraging tidbits like "don't look down!" and "remember -- motion is propelling yourself forward!" then i graduated to rides around the neighborhood and down to the Coastal Trail.
i'm still not super comfortable on the bike, but it's improved A LOT in the last week.