Today my wubby and I went on our second bike ride of the year. Our first one was a 15 mile ride in January, right after we got back from winter break. Due to the cold and snow we had to wait until today for attempt number 2. The weather was a balmy -2C when we started and it got as warm as 3C (37F). We rode from State College to Bellefonte (13 Miles) in about an hour and had a great time. In Bellefonte we met with a good friend and had a delicious lunch at Cafe on the Park, which is pretty much my favorite place to eat in the whole wide world. After 1 1/2 hours we reluctantly decided to brave the cold for a second time.
The ride back starts with some small hills and soon reaches a hill known around here as "Seibert Road". This is a continuous hill of almost 1 mile (0.95 to be exact) with a mix of very steep climbs and mild climbs. Its challenge is usually compounded by the extra large lunch consumed beforehand and today was no exception. In honor of my triathlon resolution, I decided to go at it twice. Hopefully, between now and August I will be able to master 20x Seibert and live to tell the tale. Overall, I was pretty happy with the ride. It was nice to get out of the gym. I was however disappointed at how slow I was. Less than 12mph average. I need to get this to >15mph before August...
The awesome wubby that has agreed to encourage me on my triathlon adventures was not as happy. He bike-commutes to work every day and is used to riding short distances in the cold. He was not a fan of the brutal cold wind on some of the more flat sections. Also, in his words, awesome wubby thought "his determination (psychological edge) would help him keep up with me by sheer force of will". So on the way to Bellefonte, he raced ahead, showing off. It caught up with him on the way back. Now his arms are sore and his pride is hurt. In the wubby's words, "the ride beat the c--p out of me".
The rest of the week was pretty uneventful. After Monday's disappointing run, I had a lukewarm 20 miles on the bike at the gym on Tuesday followed by an awesome "indoor brick" on Wednesday. I call my "indoor brick" a 10 mile ride on the gym bike, followed by 2 miles on the treadmill, followed by another 10 miles on the bike and another 2 miles on the treadmill. On Thursday morning I went swimming but I had not had my morning coffee and had a Dr.'s appointment and cut my workout short. 1.600 yds instead of 2,400.
On Thursday afternoon, I went indoor running with my friend Dan again. This time, I let him run at his pace and did not try to keep up. He lapped me 3 times in 16 laps... I followed my "good resolutions" from Monday's debacle. So I started slow and went at my pace and made sure I did not have an empty belly. My laps were 10:48, 10:32, 10:38, 10:58, 10:54 and 09:50. I probably should have run miles 4 and 5 much faster but Dan and I were talking and having a good time. I did try to accelerate the last mile and went increasingly fast. Our last lap was 1:10 and felt very fast. I did not know I could run that fast! I am still terribly slow at running, but I am seeing some improvement and am enjoying it tremendously.
Friday, I did a paltry 20 miles on the bike trainer. I was supposed to do more but I got hungry and cold and I knew we were going to do 25 miles + today (my official day off) so I let it go.
All it all this was a great week. I managed 4,200 yards of swimming, 85 miles of biking (highest so far) and 18 miles of running for a grand total of 10 hours. I still have my long run tomorrow which I am hoping will take place outside, weather permitting.
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