Sunday, May 25, 2008

Great Long-weekend Sunday

I woke up today feeling super giddy because Boyfriend had agreed to come south to Woodside with me to ride 15 miles on our bikes. There's a portion of Canada Road that they close to traffic on Sundays (it's called Bicycle Sunday, I believe) but even better than that is the fact that the road has a wide, smooth shoulder, very few stop signs, little traffic, lots of other cyclists, and little rollers to start getting me in bike-worthy shape.

I'm probably not going to be riding much further than 20-25 miles at a time in the next few months so 15 is a good distance for me. I have a duathlon coming up way too fast and need to start getting some more time on the bike accomplished.

I had done this route once before with the Velo Girls on their Mellow Velo beginner ride. I think today it felt a little easier than when I did it with them at the beginning of the month. I even successfully drank from my water bottle while on the move! Previously I waited to grab a drink at stop signs (which is torture for me since I usually carry a bottle when running and sip on a whim). I am still also figuring out the art of shifting. My new saddle was much more comfy than the old one though the jury is still out on whether it is The One. It's harder than my old one so my sit bones need some time to adjust. But other, err, softer areas felt much better which is a big plus. I do have padded cycling shorts but think that maybe the problem is too much padding? I'm planning on picking up a pair of tri shorts soon and will try those out.

I am a plodding runner and had secret hopes I would be a superstar on the bike, but no go on that. I get steadily passed on the bike the same as on the run. Oh, well. It was a nice dream.

After lunch I went for a 5 mile run. I've still been having issues with lethargy and feeling in a little bit of a running funk lately so was very happy to finally have a good run today. I ran a 9:28 pace and felt good. I was supposed to run a short tempo tomorrow but I think I'll consider today's run my tempo effort and do a longer, slower run tomorrow instead.

Today I also watched the first video that Steve Runner posted. I'm not sure if anyone here listens to his podcast (and if you don't you really should!) but I never knew he was playing the harmonica himself! I found that totally awesome!

And now, for the bunny fans:


Mario's condo has a door on the upper level that I utilize to do quick meet and greets. It warms my heart when he comes running over when I open it and either stands up like this in the window to see me or sometimes he'll rest his chin down on the opening and close his eyes in contentment.

Hey, who said you could stop! More head rubs!

1 comment:

Runner Leana said...

Your bunny is adorable! Good luck training for the du. I signed up for one this weekend on a whim and now I'm all nervous...