~ Runfessions ~ A collection of statements admitting that one is guilty of a variety of running crimes… It’s time again to join in on the fun and clear my conscience of recent running, biking, fitness, nutrition, and life in general faux pas. I know I’ll feel better when I’m done, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll give […]
Our Favorite Trail The W&OD Trail has practically become a second home to Bill and me during our many years of running and cycling. The almost 45-mile long Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park runs from Shirlington to Purcellville and consists of a paved two-way trail with a parallel gravel horse trail. Over the […]
Cardio Junkie in the Making Strength training and cardio 2 to 3 times per week has been a part of my routine since the my early 20’s; however, intense cardio wouldn’t become a way of life until I started training for my first marathon when I was 39. Sure, I ran regularly, but without a […]
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links… Embracing Options Back in the day, 12 miles was a short run for me. These days, 12 miles is an exciting weekly running total. As I transition to cycling from exclusively running, I’m slowly letting go of my “run all the miles” attitude and embracing my love for […]
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links… Will a New Garmin Make Me Faster? Friday afternoon Bill went out to run errands and came home with a new bike Garmin (affiliate link) for me! My old Garmin came within 2% of its battery dying when I rode the Reston Century and I was nervous that […]
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links… Years of Abuse Led to a Solid Routine I’ve been talking about skin cancer a lot this summer and a short tutorial on how I protect my skin from further damage seems like a good topic to cover. Of course, following the advice of someone who abused her […]
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links… I’m Not a 100-Year-Old Rider When I posted the following picture of my Garmin (affiliate link) to my Facebook after the Reston Century, my friend laughed and commented that now that I’ve ridden a century, I’m a centurian; to which I replied, “Not to be confused with a […]
Disclaimer: This 2021 Reston Century Tour recap contains affiliate links… Picking the Right Distance In its 38th year, the Reston Century Tour, organized by Reston Bike Club (RBC), has four distances from which to choose – century, 80 miles, metric century, and half metric century. Bill and I completed our first organized metric century […]
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links… Send Positive Vibes My Way We’ll be heading out for the Reston Century shortly after this publishes so if you’re reading this prior to our expected finish time of around 2 PM, please send positive vibes my way! Overview of the Week Before discussing each day’s workouts, […]
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links… Fueling, My Biggest Challenge As a marathoner, I always said, “Point me in a direction and I can run forever.” Bonking when running was never a problem, but when cycling… Learning how to avoid bonking while cycling versus running took a little while for me to figure out. […]
A Simple Training Plan Always looking to for a challenge and to push it to the next level, Bill and I registered for the August 22nd Reston Century. My training plan was pretty simple… • Spend more time in the saddle with three to four rides per week • Ride at least one 70-miler • […]
I’ve Been Down This Road Before Shortly after returning home from Tuesday morning’s bike ride I got the call I was expecting, but with additional information I didn’t anticipate. Just five days earlier I’d had a biopsy on a new growth on my upper lip – both my dermatologist and I suspected it was a […]
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links… Missing Most of the Olympics I put my sleep as a priority a couple of years ago and even bought a Fitbit (affiliate link) to track my sleep. I have a long way to go to get the recommended 8 hours per night, but I’ve come a long […]
It’s time to sit down once again with a beverage of your choice and chat – I’ll remind you that I don’t like coffee or tea so my drink of choice today will be water. Let’s chat about things other than just running, cycling, training, and complaining about our most recent injuries. Sound good? […]
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links… Becoming Familiar with Two of the Four Climbs There will be four significant climbs during the Reston Century: • Woodburn Road – .9 miles long (11% steepest, 4.5% average grade) at mile 31 • Taylorstown Road – 1.3 miles long (17.7% steepest, 6.1% average grade) at mile 61 […]
Training for My First Century Always looking to for a challenge and to push it to the next level, Bill and I registered for the August 22nd Reston Century. My training plan is pretty simple – spend more time in the saddle with 3 to 4 rides per week and to get a 70-miler under […]
Disclaimer: This 41-Mile Mount Weather Climbing Tour recap contains affiliate links… Destination: Top of the Mountain Mount Weather is easily identifiable from the many roads traversing western Loudoun County and is often a convenient landmark during our gravel rides. From down below, the open clearing on the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains is […]
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links… Crazy Sleep Numbers Just for fun I have to show how my Fitbit is suddenly whacked out with tracking my sleep. It died on Thursday, but I successfully reset it and it started working fine until today’s weird naps. Saturday’s (shown as today) 10:23 PM – 5:47 AM […]
The Rare Outlier Even though the deafening sound of cicadas had dwindled to a mere hum by early July, we still hear the rare outlier making his presence known as we’re mostly able to return to enjoying the peace and quiet of our back yard. My History with Cicadas In 1987, long before referring […]
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links… Fourteen Miles, High by Today’s Numbers Still sidelined from last week’s removal of a squamous cell carcinoma on the top of my left shoulder, I couldn’t ride my bike or use my left arm while strength training. Not one to just sit around, I worked around my restrictions. […]
