I'm undisciplined about a lot of things in my training. Speedwork, tempo runs, and cross-training among them. (I've got long, slow, distance down though!) But I think I've found my cross-training for the rest of the summer and fall, though.
Today, Chris (my wife for any newer readers) and I took a gorgeous 12-mile bike ride on the York County Heritage Rail Trail. Our ride took us an hour and a half, but we weren't looking to set any land-speed records. In fact, I am much more likely to set a speed record for flying over my handlebars and smashing into a tree. We just wanted to explore this new (to us) place to ride and make sure we left enough energy in the tank to get back to the trail head in downtown York, since the ride out seemed mostly downhill. The way back didn't seem as hilly as I thought it might, though, so next time we can push our pace a little bit more and or head further south -- the trail goes 20 miles down to the Maryland line.
(I'm not so confident on the bike, yet. Here I fell behind as we crossed the street.)
We didn't go quite as far as we'd planned, but it was gorgeous ride on a beautiful day, and I'm looking forward to more adventures on the rail trail this summer. Great idea, Chris. I'm glad I tagged along!
(We turned around just south of the Howard Tunnel, one of the many interesting sights along the trail.)
I went for a 12-mile bike ride today, and let's just say that Lance Armstrong climbing the Alps I am not.
It was the longest bike ride I've taken since our honeymoon, when my wife and I took an 18-mile ride in the Jamaican Blue Mountains (of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee fame). But, that ride was all downhill. So, this was the longest hilly ride I've taken in about 18 years, since I got my driver's license and my bike was all but forgotten. And I'm going to feel it tomorrow. If you know the number of Floyd Landis' pharmacist, it would be a huge help.
On this warm, humid morning a bike ride was definitely more pleasant than a run would have been. I rode in the same neighborhood where I do most of my running, and I think the uphills are harder on a bike, but the downhills are easier and more fun. My original plan was to do two laps of my normal running course, but since my front brakes are really only for show I decided not attempt some of these steep downhills. Then, since biking proved to be harder than I remembered and my bike does not shift so well anymore, I decided I would stop at 10. At 10 miles, I felt pretty good and decided that finishing out the hour would probably be a good place to stop.
If I decide to do the Catfish Sprint Duathlon on July 10 it's a 1.5 mile run, a 14.5 mile bike ride, and a 3.1 mile run. This was a good start, but there's no way I was going to be able to run a 5K after today's ride. It's certainly feasible, I just need to do a better job of finding time for blood doping riding
(We turned around just south of the Howard Tunnel, one of the many interesting sights along the trail.)
