Many runners and cyclists swear that they start to go crazy training indoors after just a few minutes. I never used to like running indoor track, except for the occasional race. At Beloit, we ALWAYS trained outdoors because our indoor track was a nightmare. At Madison, I was able to do weekly speed workouts in The Shell. And when I thought the indoor track was boring, running on the treadmill was even worse. I would get bored after just 30 minutes. Yikes!
Ironically, I haven’t felt that way on the indoot bike trainer. I’ve done 4 hour rides indoors without going nuts. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I’m new to year round training on the bike. Maybe it’s because I’ve got some great Tour de France DVDs to watch. Whatever the reason, I’ve posted some pictures of my “training dungeon” in the basemet of our building (our building is 100 years old, so I guess you can call it a dungeon).
My bike setup includes a Computrainer on a homemade stand hooked up to an old PC. I’ve got the computer rigged to both a monitor and TV. I can then use a program like Ergvideo and display the Computrainer data on the monitor and the video window on the TV. I’ll write a review of Ergvideo later. I have found it to be a cool program and great training tool that simulates real rides and workouts. Although I can ride virtual courses on the Computrainer 3D program, it’s not as effective as the Ergvideo. I also watch Tour de France DVDs and old TV shows on the DVD player when I’m doing longer rides.
The treadmill is new and mosly used by Rose. She had never ran on a treadmill before we got this one. She had the same attitude about training indoors that I used to have. It was funny to watch her at first, but now she’s plugging along and runs on the treadmill for an hour and doesn’t get bored. I have a friend’s wife who’s the same way. I don’t understand it, but then guys look at me weird when I said I did 4 hours on the indoor trainer.
How will things feel in March? Good question. If it’s 30 and raining, I’ll be happy to be indoors. However, I sure hope it’s sunny and 50. Until then, I’m riding with Lance up the Plateau de Beille.
