Speaking of a bike ride, last week was a step back week, which means that my long run was only 12 miles and the total mileage for the week was a lot lower than this upcoming week. This did give me a little bit more freedom and I ran with it (ha! no pun intended).
On Sunday, I ran a 5k for Jill's Virtual St Patrick's Day run. It was a great day for it and I gave it my all, finishing in 21:46.
Then I bought a few more accessories for the bike (U-lock and cushy seat cover), I took it out for it's first REAL ride. I have been using it to run errands, like going to the grocery store or library, which are only about a mile from my house. There is one big hill between my house and the grocery store though and I can ride all the way up it one way but coming back it is steeper on that side and I have had to walk it up.
So I was pretty nervous about attempting a longer bike ride. There were a few things I worried about.
(1) That I would get hit by a car. Other people on the road don't always pay attention! I know this, because as a runner, I have come VERY close to being hit a few times. I always feel a bit smaller when a bus comes within a few inches of me. I feel very small in fact.
(2) That I would have to walk up all the hills. Ah, failure, how we fear thee.
(3) That my butt would be on fire by mile 4. Hence the new cushy seat cover.
The Beast, with a new hat for the seat and a fancy St. Patty's day U-lock.
As a runner, we have the same issues. Chafe, pains, fear of failure, and feelings of fragility. So I am used to them. So I said to myself that it is no different than what I am used to, and I got to it. My running friend broke her toe and she asked me if I wanted to ride to a pub that was about 16 miles from my house. Why not? You only live once. YOLO!
It went well. In fact, it went better than I thought it would. I did NOT get run over. We started in Oakland, going through the town for about 7 miles before we got to the SF Bay Trail, where we stayed until we reached Richmond. We stopped for a St. Patrick's day beer at a local pub and then we headed back. We tackled one big hill on the way back and I didn't get off the bike once. The cushioned butt pad was fabulous!
Point Richmond
When I got back to Oakland, I had a humongous burrito and then headed for my final two miles to get home. Unfortunately, the last mile has another fairly steep hill (0 ft - 200 ft in about a half a mile) and I just couldn't do it. These legs were toast and they had really started to realize it when I sat down to eat the burrito. But I made it. So that's one ride over.
See that hill at the very end? It was brutal!
Total miles: 41.4
Average speed: 11.3 mph
I am pretty excited, because I have always thought I would like to try a triathlon, but it's the biking that was my biggest fear. Now I just need to get over this week's "hill" in my Boston Training (and the Marathon itself) and then I can work on getting better at my biking skills!
What did you do for St. Patrick's Day? Have you ever done a long bike ride? How do you combat butt soreness?
