Breaking up the Drive
When my husband asked if I’d like to take our bikes with us and stop for a ride on our way home from the farm, it seemed like a great way to break up the ride. I’d run the trails at Carvins Cove back in the fall of 2021 and I remembered there were gravel fire roads which would be a great place to ride.
After parking at a trail head, readying our gear and bikes, we quickly realized upon getting on the trail that it was a mountain bike trail and far too technical for my skill level. We quickly created a plan B and drove to the main park entrance where we rode on the fire roads which were much easier to navigate, yet plenty technical with lots of little washed out gullies and areas of loose gravel.
Our ride was a lot of fun and we were glad the brought our bikes and gear with us even if it made for a very late return home that evening.
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
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Cycling: 42 miles
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Average speed: 15.5 MPH
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 7:27 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 66° in the basement, 69° and drizzly outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra
Despite recently saying that once the Great American ride was over that I wouldn’t get on my spin bike again until fall, rain kept me inside and on the bike that goes nowhere. Catrina accurately called it when she said, “I say enjoy your post-challenge break… but let’s be honest, your spin bike might not get quite the rest you think it will.” Good call, Catrina, good call.
What started as a 20-something mile ride turned much longer when I thought about the upcoming week and that I wouldn’t be able to work out for a couple of days due to traveling to the farm (my husband hadn’t suggested bringing our bikes with us yet). I also made sure to fit in a strength training session because we’d be leaving the house super early the following day and didn’t want to get up any earlier than the already scheduled 4:30 AM.
Monday
Drive to the farm
Tuesday
Drive home from the farm
Cycling: 17.45 miles
• Bike: Salsa Warbird
• Average speed: 7.9 MPH
• Surface: gravel
• Elevation gain: 1,575 feet
• Start time: 2:02 PM
• Location: Carvins Cove trails
• Weather: 81° and mostly sunny, climbing to 83°
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
As I mentioned in the opening paragraphs, my husband and I stopped midway on our drive home from the farm for a ride on the gravel fire roads in Carvins Cove. At 91 feet of climbing per mile this ride was plenty challenging even though it was on the shorter side for us.
Wednesday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Walking: 2.03 miles
• Average pace: 14:49 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 114 feet
• Start time: 9:47 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 73° and hazy
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor
Gardening: 2:05
This was a jam packed day with clients (make-up sessions from being out of town on Monday and Tuesday) followed by transplanting some miniature rose bushes I brought home from the farm.
Thursday
Cycling: 40.08 miles
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Average speed: 13.3 MPH
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 1,785 feet
• Start time: 10:09 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Ashburn/Hamilton loop with Thomas Mill and Quail Creek jaunts
• Weather: 79° and sunny, climbing to 87°
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
I had begged off meeting Kim for our weekly virtual cardio workout so I could sleep in (I slept until 7 AM!). After training my only client of the day, I headed out with my husband for a ride. It was on the hotter side compared with previous weeks, but at least the high humidity hadn’t arrived yet. Once finished, my Garmin said I was 29% acclimated to the heat.
Friday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Balance and stretching: 45 minutes
Walking: 3.11 miles
• Average pace: 16:11 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 145 feet
• Start time: 8:14 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 72° and cloudy, climbing to 77°
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor
When I texted Kim to see if she was up for a walk, I caught her out on a run. We chatted and earned the Garmin Weekend 5K badge; although, I primarily walked and only ran at street crossings. When I changed my run to a walk in the Garmin Connect apt, my badge disappeared. LOL
Saturday
Cycling: 42 miles
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Average speed: 16.1 MPH
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 9:45 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 65° in the basement, 73° and cloudy outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra
This ride earned me both the Garmin Global Wellness Day and June Weekend 40K badges.
And as luck would have it, it started to rain about the time I needed to leave to walk to church so I drove instead. It was so gross and humid out and I was secretly happy to drive.
Last Week’s Blog Posts
In case you skipped checking in on my blog these past weeks, here’s what you missed…
Questions:
- • Have you ever done a mid-trip workout during a mundane drive? ~ We’ve stopped a few times over the years to either run or ride our bikes while driving to and from the farm.
- • Do badges motivate you? ~ I’m pretty self motivated, but must admit that I do enjoy seeing those cute little badges. 😉
- • Which workout did you feel was most successful this week? ~ The Carvins Cove ride was quite the workout!
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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The badges don’t motivate me, but I appreciate getting them, if that makes any sense.
Peloton has been really bad for my outdoor cycling time — it’s just so much easier to hop on the bike in my basement. Plus with our rainy — and now smokey — weekends, it’s been hard to get outside
Breaking up a long drive with a ride or a walk is always a great idea. I hate long car rides! I am not motivated by the Garmin badges and rarely check them out. The Peloton badges are fun to see pop up especially when I am not expecting them
Mmm, I’ve definitely gotten out for a walk in the middle of a long drive. I don’t think I’ve ever run though, because I would end up all sweaty and then have to sit in the car again… ew. A mid-trip bike ride sounds perfect!
You had a lot of riding this week- it’s funny that you did end up back on the spin bike after all. It’s definitely convenient, and you don’t have to worry about the weather!
I actually had the 40K badge pop up yesterday, but I kind of blew it off since I’d ridden almost three-times the distance, LOL. I’m glad we were able to “sweat” together on Friday 😉
Nope on the badges. I don’t even use my Garmin unless I’m racing.
My best workout was my 5k on Saturday.
Kudos to you on your rides and walks this week.
When we toured colleges for my son we did indulge him by finding things around those areas to do, like ride mountain bikes, which is quite the detour from college touring! So fun that you and your husband do all the cycling things. What a great sport to enjoy together!
I don’t look at the Garmin badges often. I hadn’t noticed that I got the Garmin Wellness day badge until just now.