Today was the last leg of the Tour de France and Lance does it again for the 6th time. It was today that I decided to give the legs and groin a small workout after 6 weeks of inactivity due to the hernia. I detached my bike from my dry trainer (device that allows you to ride your bike stationary in your home) and took to the streets but was hampered a bit by the fact my right gear lever was not working so I only had three gears. Off to the bike shop I went and lucky for me it was only 4 blocks away. After a 30-minute delay, I took to the streets and decided to take the scenic route. Here in Toronto there is a bike path that runs parallel to Lake Ontario for about 30kms. I was in no shape to do the whole trek. I decided I was going to go at a leisurely pace and take in some of the scenery…if I felt discomfort I would turn around and head home. I was smart to pick this route because it was flat…I did a couple of hills on the way to the bike store and I wasn’t comfortable standing up on the bike to make the hills. Ten minutes into the track along the lake path, I had a big smile on my face because I felt like a small part of me had decided to come back into my body after a short leave of absence (funny what endorphins can do to you). I had friends say I wasn’t my usual self and they were right…lack of exercise make’s Mikey very glum. I’ve been popping Catechol and taking B12 to keep my stress levels down and my mood up for the last 6 weeks, but good aerobic exercise is the easiest and cheapest method of stress control for all O’s.

After venturing out for 40 minutes I returned home and prepared myself some (8oz) freshly made carrot juice mixed with some club soda. I had a very large meal today 5 hours prior to my ride of rice with a light tomato sauce and veal (shoulder cut) with sweet potato and Spanish onions with a mixed green salad with olive oil and apple cider vinegar (just a touch). I posted a lamb recipe blog sometime back in April which you can use the same ingredients and cooking instructions with the shoulder veal cut (which I did).

Here’s a closing fact about Lance Armstrong’s resting heart rate…. ready…32 beats per minute. It goes as high as 190 bpm when he is on the bike. I am nowhere near that but my smile today on the bike was as big as his when he crossed the finish line.