156 Miles, Say What?

I certainly didn’t set out to fall in love with cycling, and I didn’t set out this week to ride over 150 miles, but I’ve found that pushing myself on my bike fills the void of no longer being able to run 20 miles on a Saturday morning just for the fun of it.

 

Overview of the Week

Before discussing each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll down for daily details…

 

Sunday

It was 45° and sunny when I rolled into the parking lot at 9 AM to meet my friends for a local ride on the streets around our community. I’d planned on taking a rest day, but when I found out that two of my running friends were joining and the starting location was an easy ride from my home, I chose to join in on the fun – FOMO is real, ya’ll. We had a wonderfully relaxing ride and I wrapped it up with 30 miles at an average speed of 14.7 MPH.

 

Monday

I started the first day of my 4-minute run/2-minute walk intervals after a month of a 3/3 ratio (since July I have been increasing my running time by 1 minute and decreasing my walking by a minute). It was 53° when I headed out at 5 AM and I started out with a thin nylon shell which got hung on my mailbox after the first mile. Typical for me though, my hands weren’t up for shedding my gloves. Can I just mention how bummed I was that I didn’t wear my bright green/yellow gloves, especially since I decided to take a post-run picture.

I finished my 4-mile workout at a 10:56 average pace and feeling great for the rest of the day which is always a huge relief when I increase the running time in my intervals. Later in the day I lifted weights and did my physical therapy homework.

 

Tuesday

I set out to ride about 40 miles at on the W&OD Trail with my friend Amy, but felt great after dropping her off near her home so I continued to ride until I hit 55 miles, my longest ride yet. It was 42° when we started at 8 AM and as it gradually warmed, the weather felt perfect to push myself on a longer ride. I finished the ride with an average speed of 15.1 MPH.

 

Wednesday

It was 48° when I headed out at 5:30 AM for my 4-mile 4-minute run/2-minute walk intervals which I ran at an average pace of 10:36. A nice little hole in my morning schedule allowed me to lift and do my physical therapy homework between clients.

 

Thursday

My biking friend Betsy and I did our usual 15-mile loop on the W&OD Trail at 1 PM. I am not a very good afternoon exerciser, but my morning was packed and it was the first opportunity I had to meet her unless we’d ridden at 6 AM when it was pretty chilly. It was 66° at 1 PM, but well below 60° in the early morning (60° is Betsy’s cutoff temp so our days of riding together this fall/winter may be numbered). We finished our ride with an average speed of 14.7 MPH which surprised me because it seemed like I was working a lot harder.

 

Friday

A cardio-free day, I lifted weights and did my physical therapy homework in the morning between clients and teaching my balance and stretching class. Once finished with work, I met my friend Craig for an outdoor lunch. It was great catching up and reminded me of how much I miss my friends whom I don’t either run or ride with during this pandemic.

 

Saturday

My friend Amy and I joined about 12 other cyclists at 7:30 AM at a local bike shop in Leesburg for a group ride sponsored by the Prince William Cycling Club. This week’s 56-mile ride took us through three states with a stop by Harpers Ferry. It was hilly (almost 3,000 feet of elevation gain) which slowed us down to an average speed of 13.8 MPH. There are a few stories worth sharing and I hope to recap this ride later in the week.

 

I was super excited to set another distance PR on this ride.

 

Here’s What You Might Have Missed

In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…

 

Questions:
  • • Is fall bringing cooler temps to where you live?
  • • Have you been able to meet friends for lunch/dinner? If so, indoor or outdoor? ~ I have yet to eat indoors at a restaurant since the pandemic hit.
  • • Did you happen to run in a live race this week?

 

And that’s my rundown… Have a great week!

 

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I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!