Brrr...

The weather has been a bit schizophrenic the past couple of weeks.  Hot one day, cold the next, nice the next.  I've run in the rain and I've biked in the windy cold.  So I'm having to put together my cold-weather gear.  But it's actually pretty nice doing my workouts in the cooler weather.  I don't get as sweaty.  And I feel I can go faster.

To that end, I'm also working on increasing my running pace.  My during the week workouts are going to be intervals where I alternate running and walking.  For the running segments I will be trying to run harder and faster than my usual pace.  I've done it once so far and I was able to achieve the goal of running faster for short segments.

The weekends I'm going to try to start alternating long runs and long bikes.  I want to join in with the group rides from my local Trek shop.

Need for speed

I know that I titled my blog "Run when chased..." but my fits of athleticism has expanded into cycling.  I am also being encouraged by others to expand into triathlons.  Despite my participation in the Tin Man Triathlon, my lack of swimming skills will keep me from jumping into that arena for now.
Backing up a little, two weeks ago I had to travel for professional reasons.  Between the MS Bike ride and that trip, I didn't do any biking.  I gave myself a rest.  I still ran, though.  During my trip, I did get up on a stationary bike once, availed myself of the treadmill a couple of times, and ran outside once.  I felt really good about keeping up my fitness goals while travelling and running a meeting (which was completely stressful for me).

And now to this weekend's main event.  About mid-week I decided to sign up for a Brest Cancer Awareness ride which was being hosted by the local Trek Bicycle stores yesterday.  I did a 25 mile ride from the Peachtree City store.  It was fun and a good opportunity for a nice long ride (compared to the 5 miles I usually accomplish during the week).  And it reinforced my desire for a road bike.

So...meet my new gear:

It's my new road bike!  It's so light!  I've got new pedals and shoes to go with it!  I will be Speedy Gonzalez!  And I will not hurt so bad on the hills!  Now I just have to get better at getting into my pedals and shifting (it's a completely different system than my mountain bike).

I plan on occasionally joining the group rides out of my local Trek shop so I can continue getting in some long rides.  And I'm still running and preparing for my half-marathon in February.

Athlete?

First off, I'm not going to be doing weekly workout reviews.  Rest assured, I'm still keeping up with everything.  Just nothing new or exciting is going on with the workouts.  If there's something new to report on that front, I will.  The next big event I have on the schedule will be in February.

In the mean time, I will try to put up some thoughts on my efforts, in general.  To that end...

Last week, I got called an athlete.  Me and athlete have never been put together in the same breath before.  My previous athletic endeavors have been limited to playing softball in fifth and sixth grades.  And I played catcher, so it wasn't like I had to run around the field a lot.  For my two PE requirements in college, I took fencing and gymnastics.  So while I still consider myself a novice in my athletic endeavors, I can see how far I've come in five months.

I can run continuously for over an hour.  I've done a triathlon (it wasn't pretty, but I did it).  I've run faster than I ever have before (or since) in a 5K.  I rode my bike 66 miles over two days (at a decent pace, too).

There hasn't been any big trick to it.  I had a plan and I had a gradual build-up to my goal (which was originally just the running).  And I definitely see results.  I couldn't have done as well with the biking this weekend without the conditioning I got with the running.

So, yeah.  I guess I'm an athlete.

I like to ride my bicycle...

This weekend was the big MS: Bike Cox Atlanta ride at Callaway Gardens.  We had a great time.  The first day was 34 miles, which involved approximately 2 hours, 45 minutes of ride time but took longer due to two break points.  There were some killer hills, especially in the last 12 miles.  Some members of the team did 60 miles and some did 102 miles, but we all finished and did well.  The rest of the day after finishing my ride was spent cheering the other groups as they finished.

The second day involved a 32 mile ride.  Everyone on the team who didn't do the 102 mile ride on Saturday, with the exception of two, did the 32 mile ride.  Two people just did the Saturday ride.  I was sore from the day before, but felt good once I got moving.  This time, the ride took approximately 2 hours, 30 minutes.  Again, there were two break points and then we waited at the end for the whole 32-mile group to gather and ride into the finish as one.  Then we waited to cheer in the 64-mile team mates (same guys who did the 102 miles on Saturday).

We got cool medals at the end.  I'm sore today, but feel accomplished.  I've already signed up for next year's ride.  My goal is to save up for a road bike so I don't have to haul my mountain bike (which is heavier) up those hills again. (If anyone is interested in helping me with this goal, feel free to contribute :-) ).

The week leading up to the ride was my typical alternating bike and run days with Xfit class on Tuesday and Thursday.  I didn't do anything on Friday as I wanted to rest up.  And I needed to pack and travel.  Today has been a well-deserved rest day.  I'll start back up with a gentle run tomorrow.