If I Can’t Run…

If I can’t run, I might as well ride, right? And that’s exactly what I did, totaling 132.3 miles over four rides for the week. Broken down, they included one event, one hill workout, and two chill rides. Would I rather be running? Of course. Am I glad I love cycling so much? Absolutely, it fills a much needed void for this endurance junkie.

 

Overview of the Week

Before getting into each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll beyond the infographic for daily details…

 

Sunday

Cycling: 42.39 miles
• Average speed: 12.1 MPH
• Bike: Salsa Warbird
• Surface: gravel
• Elevation gain: 2,589 feet
• Start time: 9:42 AM
• Location: Loudoun 1725 Gravel Grinder, Middleburg, VA
• Weather: 70° and partly cloudy, turning rainy and dropping to mid-60’s, rain eventually stopped and it climbed back to 72° and sunny
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves

My husband and I participated in our fourth Loudoun 1725 Gravel Grinder, and as in past years, had a blast. Somewhat unexpectedly, rain pelted us between miles 22 and 32 transforming us from dust covered to mud splattered (zoom in to see the mud freckles, even on my glasses). My biggest success of the day was crossing Butchers Branch while riding rather than carrying my bike as in past years. My biggest mistake was in not taking a picture of my filthy mud covered bike at the end of the ride.

Photo credit: Bruce Buckley

2022 – Carrying bike across Butchers Branch

Monday

Strength training: 1 hour of full body

Walking: 2.1 miles
• Average pace: 16:18 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 108 feet
• Start time: 7:56 AM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 72° and sunny with a delightful breeze
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

While on my morning walk on our neighborhood trail, this young fox ran ahead of me, turning every few seconds to look back to see if I was still following. Eventually, he met a lady pushing a stroller toward him and ran off the trail and into the trees.

 

Tuesday

Cycling: 31.26 miles
• Average speed: 12.9 MPH
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 1,539 feet
• Start time: 9:40 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Ashburn/Leesburg loop with Thomas Mill and Woodburn climbs
• Weather: 68° and mostly sunny, climbing to 69° and mostly cloudy
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves

Gardening: 1½ hours

First it was a couple of years of power line work and now it’s the laying of fiber optics cables along the W&OD Trail. It’s always entertaining, but rarely a slowdown so I just smile and wave at the workers as I ride by.

 

Wednesday

Strength training: 1 hour of full body

Walking: 3.06 miles
• Average pace: 15:22 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 107 feet
• Start time: 9:41 AM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 75° and mostly sunny with low humidity, climbing to 78°
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

While climbing one of the hills on my bike the day before, I rode past a fully loaded mulberry tree but didn’t want to stop and have to restart on an 8% grade. It reminded me that I needed to walk past the mulberry trees in our neighborhood so I could stop for a snack so I planned Wednesday’s walk accordingly.

 

Thursday

Walking: 4.05 miles
• Average pace: 16:02 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 210 feet
• Start time: 5:29 AM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 63° and clear
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

Cycling: 32.34 miles
• Average speed: 13.8 MPH
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 1,152 feet
• Start time: 9:34 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Ashburn/Hamilton loop
• Weather: 81° and sunny, climbing to 88° and mostly sunny
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves

It was a chilly morning as I ventured out for my early morning weekly virtual cardio workout with Kim. We compared sunrises, but the hour difference in our locations gave me an unfair advantage.

Collage credit: Kim

I hustled back out after a couple of hours of work for a ride that included no hill training, no intervals, and no expectations; just ride for fun and it was epic. I finished the ride 41% acclimated to the heat.

 

Friday

Strength training: 1 hour of total body

Balance and stretching: 45 minutes

Gardening: 1 hour

 

Saturday

Cycling: 26.31 miles
• Average speed: 14.9 MPH
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 771 feet
• Start time: 9:13 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Sterling/Leesburg loop
• Weather: 74° and sunny with low humidity, climbing to 79°
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves

After thinking for several days that my mild scratchy throat and body aches were the result of grass allergies (locally, lawn grasses bloom in early June and I have grass allergies), I woke up pretty sure it was actually a cold. I begged out of the longer gravel ride we had planned, opting instead to keep it short and easy. Just like with the previous few days, though, I felt quite good by mid-day and for the rest of the day.

 

Last Week’s Blog Posts

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

 

Questions:
  • • Do you have seasonal allergies? If so, which ones hit you hardest? ~ blooming grasses and ragweed for me
  • • Would you ride or carry your bike across Butchers Branch? ~ My shoes and socks were already soaking wet from the rain, so I thought, “I’m already wet, why not try riding across?”
  • • Did you run in race this weekend? ~ no

 

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!

 

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