01.31.07

Spent lunch on the spin bike in the fitness center today. Felt strong and had a soaked shirt at the end.

Met with Patti the director of Audiology for ACH and we talked about some ideas for tieing in the ride to raise awareness for hearing impairment. I think it's going to be awesome!

It's snowing outside so tomorrow will be a long drive to the office.

01.30.07

Spin class at 12:30 was sold out plus... Melissa worked us like dawgs! We did spin drills then I stayed over to work on some high tension climbing. Legs were shot afterwards!

Already looking forward to her trying to kill us on Thursday...

01.28.07 Fr-Fr-Fr-Freezing cold training ride

This was crazy fun! Well, fun after I warmed up a bit.

Start temp: 33 degrees with wind chill 22. Wind gusty at 18mph out of the NNW.
Total miles: 38.4
Average speed 15.4

Route: Burn's Park over by the dog park.
To Big Bridge
To Maumelle (problems with hearing aid shutting off)
Back to river
To Ft Roots hill
Back up the hill again to Ft Roots
To Pulaski Tech
To Valley View, climbed 2x (gears jumped on 2nd climb)
Back along river

All in all it was a great day to be out. Really cold but clear and sunny!

01.25.07

Got home too late to ride so it was training night on the spin bike.
Time: 1 hour ... or 2 episodes of That 70's Show
Average Speed: 16.4

Heart rate still higher than I want.
Dropped a pound this week

Concerns: Matt G. gave me the weather model for the next couple of weeks and it's going to be really cold! Snow?!

Updated training calendar and emailed to Coach for approval. Said he likes it.

This weekend will be a Saturday morning ride due to the expected rain during the afternoon.
Sunday afternoon I'll be down riding the river. Temps are supposed to be lower 40's. Just dandy!

01.23.07

A beautiful sunset greeted my training ride this afternoon. I headed out to the Kevin McReynolds Sports Complex in Sherwood where I live to ride laps. It's a quite place except for occasional walkers. A huge parking lot that is well lit and safe feeling.

The ride started cold but I warmed up fast and got a full hour in and kept an average of 16.3 mph.

All in all it was a great training ride.

I got the rough sketches for the ride jersey and it will be the jersey to own this year. I can't wait!

By the way, the date is now Thursday, June 28th. This is due to me having some outpatient surgery on April 12th which would have been right in the middle of my most intense training period so we just pushed it back a month.

This weekend will see us on the bike for several hours both Saturday and Sunday. The weather is supposed to be in the low 50's and sunny. Makes me a happy camper. Probably will ride out to Scott/Keo/England area for anywhere from 40 t 60 miles on Saturday.

Geo out...

01.21.07

Sunday afternoon training ride.
Finally the rain stops! I was able to get out of the river trail and ride 42 miles this afternoon. Climbed several hills. Some places still had wet areas and some places had mud from where the river flooded last weekend.

Weight: 175
Average speed: 15.3
Miles 42
Weather: Start was 42 degrees, cloudy
End was 38 and the sun starting to break through.

Good ride!

A note from Chris Irons

(Left to Right) Chris and Rebecca Irons, and Keith Moore.

All are riding the River 2 River for Arkansas Children's Hospital

The opportunity to participate in a great cause, doing something you love with great people, doesn't come along often. I have ridden many miles with my good friend Geo. I can't think of a better reason for the two of us to add more miles to this friendship. Arkansas Children's Hospital provides the greatest of services. I have a close family member who spent time working in the Emergency Room. She would talk about the heart breaking moments when the children would arrive. It would bring a tear to your eyes as you listened to those stories. The stories about the miracles performed were just as emotional. What greater cause can you support, than one that takes care of our children?

01.17.07

Still working on getting more weight off. I bought a new stationary bike for the house and it's really awesome. It makes it nice to be able to ride indoors.


Things are starting to come together for the ride and sponsorships and begun to express interest.


Jon is working on the jersey design and I really think this will be one of the most sought after jerseys in central Arkansas this spring. When I get the final design then I'll post it.


Here's some Q & A stuff:

When's the ride? May 24th.

Why on a Thursday? Several reasons. Most folks will be in school or at work so the roads will be less traveled than they would be on the Saturday afterwards which is the Saturday before Memorial day.

Where are you starting? On the Oklahoma side of the Arkansas River. We'll ride over the bridge into Arkansas hence over the "River"

How long will it take you? At 15 mph average it will be about 22 hours. And yes, it's all in one day.

Will others be riding with you? Yes, that's the great think about this ride. I have several good friends riding and i invite anyone who wants to to ride any of the ride they feel up to.

Do you have a coach? Yes, I have an awesome coach named Mark Rogers. His a Tri-athlete and good motivator.

What's your fundraising goal this time? $10,000. More is even better!

What part of the hospital is it going to? I'm thinking Audiology. The reason for this group is because of my hearing impairment. They worked with me this past year and I was fitted for a super behind the ear hearing aid that allowed me to hear things that I've not heard since I was a child. I'm also looking at a cochlear implant in the ear I'm deaf in. I'll talk more about this in upcoming blogs.

Thanks for reading and I'll update soon!
Geo.

Tuesday night lap ride

I tried something different and found I enjoyed it. With it being dark and myself not liking to put my nike on the trainer and spin indoors, I scoped out a parking lot that was empty but well lit. I found just the place... Kevin McReyonlds Sports Complex behind Sylvan Hills High School. It's a great parking lot with an incline and mostly clear of glass and derbis.

Average speed: 16.7
Time: 55 minutes

More later...

The training has begun!

It's funny how you begin training for a ride like this months out. I spent lunch in our fitness center at the hospital and did a 30 minute solo spin which was easy then a 30 minute spin class where Melissa pushed us pretty hard. A freind of mine, Laura, was on the bike across from me and she was eating it up. Super strong spinner today. I kept working to keep the pace with her but she was kicking it. I was laughing about it with her husband Adam in the locker room after class. He was out on the basketball court with the Tues/Thurs lunch crowd.

Anyway, my coach sent me the training schedule today and it's serious training! This month isn't to bad but watch this!

Feb Saturdays have me on the bike for 6, 3, 6, 7 hours on Saturdays

March Saturdays have me on the bike 8, 3, 8, 9 hours on Saturdays

April Saturdays have me (you ready for this) 10, 3, 10, 11, 12 hours on Saturdays

In May I taper off and then May 24th is the big ride!

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more as I train to fight for kids!