Two Problems and Possible Solutions

I'm definitely not liking not having internet access at the apt; hopefully I can do something about that this weekend.

Yesterday I noticed two things that I think Will can help me with if I let him. At least, that will be my goal while we have the chance to workout together (and I have him to push me hard and make sure I'm doing it right).

1. My cadence on the bike is slow. In other words, I'm not turning the pedals over as quickly as I probably should be and definitely not as fast as some of the other stronger riders. This is due mostly to my desire to power through everything (which means I'm not shifting gears like I should be to make it easier to pedal) and less to my actual ability to pedal quickly. Although powering through isn't all bad, it ends up wasting a lot of energy that I'm going to need while running.
2. I keep my shoulders up while I run, most notably so when I go immediately from bike to run (which means I'm probably doing the same on the bike). Subconsciously, I must be thinking that it will keep me from leaning forward, and most likely it's the result or cause of my running tense.

Here's where Will comes in.

1. On the leg exercises (or really all of them), I need him to keep telling me to do the reps fast. Somehow I need that to be drilled into my head (it's getting there, else I probably wouldn't have noticed or thought about my cadence). So even if I say truthfully that I am going as fast as I can, I want him to not let me convince him.
2. I also need him to keep reminding me to keep my shoulders down. It really is more comfortable to do so, and I don't know why I have such trouble remembering this.

I'm hoping that I can work on these things over the next couple weeks (which are not going to be enough, but I'll take what I can get) and then be able to remember them on my own. Maybe he'll have other ideas, too, that will help.

Here's an interesting note on focus, courtesy of Focus on the Family. Search "Tiger Woods and Focus."

The afternoon ride was decent:

• 1:15:06 total
  
• 22.11 miles (Franklin, Mack Hatcher, Hillsboro, Del Rio, New Hwy 96, Old Charlotte Pike, Del Rio, Cottonwood, Hillsboro, Mack Hatcher, Franklin)
• 17.6 mph

I tried to keep my cadence around 90 rpm, but I don’t have cadence on my computer and I didn’t calculate it at all. I really need to work on keeping a high cadence. I was also trying to not hunch over, because yesterday after my ride while I was running, I felt really hunched over, I’m sure because that’s how I was riding. I definitely need to work on that!