A Trainer Ride Brought To You By Eminem

Until such time as the cycling room is complete (it's ready for primer!) Paul and I have been setting up our trainers and bikes on rubber mats in the living room in front of the television so that we can watch shows on the DVR to help pass the time. 

Last weekend was no exception and we had a 1 hour 10 minute trainer ride to be followed by a 20 minute transition run on the workout schedule.  The bikes were all set up and ready to go and Paul had just run out to return a movie that had to be back before noon.  I turned the t.v. on to see what the choices were on the DVR when suddenly the screen went black and the sound turned off.  What the...?  I tried turning it off then turning it back on again (Paul's an IT guy - reboot is the first thing I always try).  Nothing but 60 inches of nothingness then suddenly, a little red light at the bottom near the power light.  Lamp?  Automatically I turn to the Internets and find that LCD rear projection televisions have what amounts to a lightbulb that makes the picture work (that's as technical as I'm getting).  My quick research reveals that they last a year or so and cost about $395 to replace.  Now we've had that tv at least three years so perhaps we don't watch as much television as the average family?  And $395?  Not a huge amount of money but I had just booked our Italy trip (plane fare and hotel in Rome - squeeee) the night before and have started registering for the races I'm doing this season.  Add this glorified lightbuld and it was becoming a banner month for AmEx activity.  Paul arrives home and does his own Internet searching and fiddles around behind the television for a bit and low and behold removes what looks like a halogen lightbuld from this door thingy at the back (again, the technical term for it).  One shake of it confirms it's kaput since I don't think it's supposed to rattle and I'm back to the Internet looking for a replacement.  Fortunately I find a website that is Canadian and offers free shipping and the bulb is only $169.  What made me laugh was that for $1 you could upgrade to Expedited Shipping which would guarantee you delivery in 1-2 days.  Evidently people do not want to be without their televisions for long! 

Two hours later we're finally ready to get to this workout but now I'm worried.  How do I get through this trainer ride without watching something?  I've been on a treadmill before - surely I will fall over and die from boredom trying to do something that was really meant to be done outside, inside!  I had to suck it up - having a Coach means entering your workout results in Training Peaks which means having to report when you don't get to a certain workout and I just couldn't imagine logging, "Couldn't get to this workout today because my television isn't working".  Somehow didn't seem like a good excuse for an "athlete" to use.

We hopped on and started the workout.  I plugged my earphones into my iPhone and hoped for the best.  I'm not normally one who works out to music.  Even when running alone I don't bring music and cycling with music (outside) seems downright foolish to me but I totally loved it!  Mind you, I had to cycle through the 300+ songs and pick the ones that were suitable so that I didn't end up trying to get through a particularly tough spot in the workout while listening to Air Supply or Jessica Simpson - don't judge.  I found that Eminem was particularly helpful and ended up listening to a couple of his tunes, like Lose Yourself and Love The Way You Lie (with Rihanna) on repeat during the tough parts.  The workout went by really quickly and the next thing you know it was over and I was ready to throw on some layers and hit that run.  I didn't bring the music because I don't have any kind of holder for the iPhone and I would be devastated to drop it or hurt it somehow as I big, red, puffy heart my iPhone.  I think I would like to try maybe bringing my old Nano out for future solo runs but seeing as I usually run early in the morning when it's still dark I'm not sure it's safe to not be able to hear what's going on around me.

In any event I'm putting together a playlist of songs to use on the trainer and maybe for running.  Suggestions are welcome and my musical tastes are varied (remember the Air Supply and Jessica Simpson?).  What songs motivate you?