What movies do you run to?

For whatever reason, it seems to rain nearly every day here in Houston this year, but I still train by running on my treadmill and riding in my bike trainer. One of the things I've found out is that my free time is so compressed I now have a rule that I don't watch TV unless I'm working out, or done working out.

A lot of people have told me that they couldn't do that (ride three or four hours on a trainer or run hours on a treadmill), so I guess it's just something about the way I'm wired.

One of the things I do is get rental movies and watch them while I train. I've found some movies are better than others - especially for hard and long workouts. Anything with running in it is good -- The Amazing Race (any season), the LOTR (2nd one, especially). Battle scenes are good - like most of the Star Wars and Matrix movies, although sometimes there can be some irritating quiet spots. I also enjoy comedies.

One huge hit - I usually watch the Tour de France every year. At this rate, I'll have to get a DVD and watch it over my Christmas holiday.

Bike fit = 20%+ more watts!

I know it's been a while since my last post. Work has been busy. Today I went for a bike fitting at the local bike shop. The fitter takes a look at your form and then mucks around with your seat, handlebars, stem, etc to get you more "aero" and more powerful.

To make a long story short, I went through the process and even in the store I noticed I had more power. So I went home and put the bike in the computrainer and did my ride. My heart wasn't working any harder, but I was putting out more watts - over 20% more power. I knew my fit was bad, but I didn't think it was that bad. I'm a believer. I think I'll make my next goal to put out more watts than my weight in pounds for an hour aerobic ride.

In other fun news, my back tire is showing the tread, which means I've finally worn out a tire before I ruined/punctured the tire.

Also - the other day I used a CO2 cartridge to repair a flat, and I thought my tire had reflatted, but the guys at the shop told me that CO2 just leaks out like that. Who knew? You're just supposed to empty the tire when you get home and refill it. Hmm. Learn something new every day.