To Infinity and Beyond - Becoming a Better DopeyBadger (Comments Welcome)

[kleph]

How you experience the final miles is going to depend on your training and your goal. If your training goes well and your goal is just to finish and enjoy the experience, it's quite possible miles 23-26 are not much different from the earlier ones, and you're never in significant pain. Plenty of ordinary runners have mastered the marathon enough that merely completing 26.2 miles is relatively easy for them. A runner in my club has done 180+ full marathons and has plans for many more. On the other hand, if your training goes poorly, even a goal of just finishing could be tough, and of course if your goal involves a target time which challenges you, the final miles will be tough even if you're fully-trained.

this really hits the nail on the head from my experience. i made the mistake of running my very first marathon with a target time and wasn't even close to ready for what those later miles had in store for me. it was a complete disaster and i'm lucky i wasn't injured. my next one i trained just for the distance and had a much more enjoyable race but, ironically, blew my time out the water because i wasn't struggling at the end like before.

my most recent race was with a time target despite a years-long layoff and those final miles were as tough as advertised. the difference being i knew what to expect. one option would be to refine my performance and training to improve my time and i'm tempted. but with goofy looming i'm going for an "ordinary runner" approach so i can complete those races comfortably rather than fast.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Fit is DEFINITELY important - the most important thing, actually. I've never been "pre-fit" for a bike the way @FFigawi described, but I did test ride a bunch of roadies and decided which one I liked the best, and then found both of my bikes slightly used in the frame size that I needed. But every bike I own (other than my Townie), I've taken to my local bike shop and had it professionally adjusted to fit me - my bike shop in FW does fitting for free with a tune-up service for a bike not purchased from the shop, so it's nice to wheel it out knowing it's perfectly fit to me and that everything is clean and in good working shape.

So which of these services sounds more like what you're describing?

https://www.eriksbikeshop.com/trufit-new-bike-sizing.aspx ($60)
https://www.eriksbikeshop.com/body-geometry-road-bike-fit.aspx ($260)
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/precision_fit/?avad=55963_b1379c775 (Unknown?)

Is that the silver one? It seems like a good deal to me just based on all the components that seem to be included (especially if you're anywhere close to a size 11.5 shoe)

Yea, this one:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/326347431274401

I'm a size 10.5 in a normal shoe. Would that be close enough?

Is the Raleigh r700 this one, and thus a 2002 bike? Would that make it similar in age to the 2001 Kestrel then? Couldn't find an age on the Windsor "Riot".

https://www.bicyclebluebook.com/searchlistingdetail.aspx?id=91306
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/322895428517357

The Kestrel is easily the closest (right by my work). The Windsor and Raleigh are about an hour away.

 

[FFigawi]

Like this, but before going out and finding a bike?

https://www.eriksbikeshop.com/trufit-new-bike-sizing.aspx
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/precision_fit/

Yes, exactly like that. The Trek one is probably aimed at selling you a Trek bike, but doesn't mean it won't be useful for you. Either of them look like they will give you the numbers you need to find out which frame geometry suits you best. Some frames might be the right size seattube-wise but not long enough in reach, which mean you'd be riding more upright and hunched up than desired, for example.

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

The Trek one is probably aimed at selling you a Trek bike

Was about to say the same thing. I would lean towards the sizing at Erik's over the full fitting...I would rather put the extra $200 towards my bike. That said, I already know how a bike should feel.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Yes, exactly like that. The Trek one is probably aimed at selling you a Trek bike, but doesn't mean it won't be useful for you. Either of them look like they will give you the numbers you need to find out which frame geometry suits you best. Some frames might be the right size seattube-wise but not long enough in reach, which mean you'd be riding more upright and hunched up than desired, for example.

Was about to say the same thing. I would lean towards the sizing at Erik's over the full fitting...I would rather put the extra $200 towards my bike. That said, I already know how a bike should feel.

Sounds good. I'll try to do it on Saturday and see what happens.

 

[Chasing Dopey]

@Keels and I discussed this a bit. Fitzgerald is a very "hard sell" kind of guy and his sales tactics really turned me off, so I ultimately didn't get the program when I was really almost ready to shell out for it with a little more consideration.

Same here! The guy is trying to make a living, and I get that, but those types of online programs (and the pitch they all seem to use) gets old fast. But I did glean some good stuff from him in general. Adding that to what I've read here and there leads me to conclude: don't overthink it.

All this bike talk is making my wallet hurt.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I think I found the place to go! They've got a few used options...

https://budgetbicyclectr.com

 

[Keels]

I think I found the place to go! They've got a few used options...

https://budgetbicyclectr.com

View attachment 359045

Looks like a great choice! You should definitely be able to something that works for what you want and in your price range, and also make sure it's a great fit for what you want to do.

Good luck!

 

[DopeyBadger]

So still chugging away on the old bike and trainer. The trainer has started to leak fluid, so it might be a sign that we're nearing good timing to update it. Did 2:54 hours the week after Chicago and did 4:52 hours the week after. Intended on going to get fitted for a bike last weekend, but the builder called and we hit a bit of a snag with the landscaping. We did indeed need to build two retaining walls and it boiled down to we couldn't hire an outside place to build it, so I needed to. So I tightening the purse strings until the house is finished in case some other things come up in the last few weeks. It also meant I had to drop back on the biking since I was doing more manual labor then I've done in a looooong time in my life. I'm not a strong person, but moving 250x 54 pound blocks and shoveling ~28,000 pounds of sand/gravel the last two days has been quite tiring. But thankfully, yesterday we finished (almost).





The address plaque came in:



G painted her bedroom:



The cabinets were delivered (accents will be rose gold):



Accents will be black and we also decided on a white subway tile backsplash with a "crystal shimmering grout" (

).



And then the countertops came in:





Originally the master and G's bathroom were suppose to have faux marble countertops. But the order was delayed beyond when we were hoping to move in. So the builder pulled some strings and got us granite bathroom counters instead:





As of right now, we're scheduled to move-in in two weeks (Nov 9th)!

G has had big news as well. On Wednesday we got a call from the talent agency saying GE Healthcare wanted to book G for a photoshoot on Thursday (less than 24 hrs). So we dropped everything and made it happen. She didn't even have to audition for this role as they found her and just booked her. She played a child patient on a new MRI machine. She needed to act nervous before going on the machine, then the nurse needed to calm her down explaining it would be ok, then she needed to lay on the machine (she had to lay still for over 2 hours!), and then she needed to have happy shots post-MRI showing that it wasn't all that bad. Apparently she did really well and everyone applauded her when she was finished. The photoshoot people said G was amazing and one of the few kids they've ever worked with who would look at the person she was talking to (nurse) during the photo shoot instead of mom/dad. We said that's because she was actually talking to the person. On and on and on. She apparently recited the entire "Room on the Broom" book to the poor guy. LOL! But she had fun and is looking forward to her next opportunity.

 

[roxymama]

Great Job G!

I am really digging the choice of Ohana on your address plaque.

Maybe you should start a cross fit club in your backyard and tell everyone that today's workout is cinder block lifting???

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

Congrats all around!

And the absolute perfect levelness of your wall shows in the pics. Take a bow, master builder.

 

[TeeterTots]

The house looks great! Congrats to your little movie star!!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Great Job G!

I am really digging the choice of Ohana on your address plaque.

Thanks! A nice Disney touch.

Maybe you should start a cross fit club in your backyard and tell everyone that today's workout is cinder block lifting???

LOL! And add in wheel barrow pushes up a steep hill with a couple hundred pounds of sand/gravel too. Sounds like a great idea!

Congrats all around!

Thanks!

And the absolute perfect levelness of your wall shows in the pics. Take a bow, master builder.

Can't take all the credit for sure. The builder and assistant were there doing there thing. They were the true professionals. I was just the "muscle". But we did quite a bit of time on the second level trying to get all the wobble out of the top blocks. Just a mm or two, but enough to annoy me. And really any wobble is a concern for longterm longevity.

The house looks great! Congrats to your little movie star!!

Thanks!

 

[avondale]

So still chugging away on the old bike and trainer. The trainer has started to leak fluid, so it might be a sign that we're nearing good timing to update it. Did 2:54 hours the week after Chicago and did 4:52 hours the week after. Intended on going to get fitted for a bike last weekend, but the builder called and we hit a bit of a snag with the landscaping. We did indeed need to build two retaining walls and it boiled down to we couldn't hire an outside place to build it, so I needed to. So I tightening the purse strings until the house is finished in case some other things come up in the last few weeks. It also meant I had to drop back on the biking since I was doing more manual labor then I've done in a looooong time in my life. I'm not a strong person, but moving 250x 54 pound blocks and shoveling ~28,000 pounds of sand/gravel the last two days has been quite tiring. But thankfully, yesterday we finished (almost).

View attachment 361080

View attachment 361075

The address plaque came in:

View attachment 361072

G painted her bedroom:

View attachment 361078

The cabinets were delivered (accents will be rose gold):

View attachment 361079

Accents will be black and we also decided on a white subway tile backsplash with a "crystal shimmering grout" (

).

View attachment 361077

And then the countertops came in:

View attachment 361081

View attachment 361076

Originally the master and G's bathroom were suppose to have faux marble countertops. But the order was delayed beyond when we were hoping to move in. So the builder pulled some strings and got us granite bathroom counters instead:

View attachment 361074

View attachment 361073

As of right now, we're scheduled to move-in in two weeks (Nov 9th)!

G has had big news as well. On Wednesday we got a call from the talent agency saying GE Healthcare wanted to book G for a photoshoot on Thursday (less than 24 hrs). So we dropped everything and made it happen. She didn't even have to audition for this role as they found her and just booked her. She played a child patient on a new MRI machine. She needed to act nervous before going on the machine, then the nurse needed to calm her down explaining it would be ok, then she needed to lay on the machine (she had to lay still for over 2 hours!), and then she needed to have happy shots post-MRI showing that it wasn't all that bad. Apparently she did really well and everyone applauded her when she was finished. The photoshoot people said G was amazing and one of the few kids they've ever worked with who would look at the person she was talking to (nurse) during the photo shoot instead of mom/dad. We said that's because she was actually talking to the person. On and on and on. She apparently recited the entire "Room on the Broom" book to the poor guy. LOL! But she had fun and is looking forward to her next opportunity.

Nice to see the progress on your house! I can't believe it's almost done already!

Congrats to G! Superstar!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Nice to see the progress on your house! I can't believe it's almost done already!

Soooo close.....

Congrats to G! Superstar!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

So close to moving in. Loved the story about G reciting the entire book to the person. Great stuff.

 

[DopeyBadger]

So close to moving in. Loved the story about G reciting the entire book to the person. Great stuff.

Thanks! She's a hoot!

 

[SarahDisney]

House is looking good!

I know I've said this before, but ... let me know when it's time for me to go see G on Broadway

 

[DopeyBadger]

House is looking good!

Thanks!

I know I've said this before, but ... let me know when it's time for me to go see G on Broadway

I feel like sooner than we think.

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

Coming along nicely!

aybe you should start a cross fit club in your backyard and tell everyone that today's workout is cinder block lifting???

I was totally thinking cross fit when I was reading this. Pictured Billy throwing the cinder blocks into place, then taking a sledgehammer to the wall.