On the Bike

The past 2 weeks have seen me mixing it up a little between the pool, bike, and run, but the distances have been on the bike. While out of town, I was able to find a pool to swim this week and did 24 laps, which is the equivalent of a little over a quarter mile. I need to get more time in the pool to make sure that I have the stamina for it. I have never done more than a half mile in the pool and the 1/2 Ironman is 1.2.

For two consecutive weeks, I have done 21 miles on the bike riding from home to the canal path between Lambertville and Washington Crossing. The hill coming out of Lambertville is brutal, but I persevered today and didn't have to stop. It hurt, but I was able to push through. I didn't measure the distance of the hill alone, but I estimate it at a good 1/2 mile of significant incline. The whole ride I was burning my quads and my heart rate was fairly low, which I think is a good sign and way for me to increase the strength of my legs. I have consistently found, even when running, that my leg strength is much more of a problem than my cardio strength. I rarely am pushing my heart rate into the 140's.

Time this week for 21 miles on the bike was 1:30:00, which puts me at 12 mph. Not a great pace and I am hoping that it was slowed because of the hills and the fact that I am riding a hybrid bike on a dirt/stone path. I don't know how a road bike on a mostly flat, purely road course will translate in speed, but I have a long way to go if I am truly doing 12 mph. At that rate, it would take me 4.5 hours to complete the bike portion of the race in October.

When I got back from the ride, I jumped off the bike and started to run. Not a long way, but enough to see what sort of jello my legs would be...it was pretty interesting, but not unmanagable. I don't know if it will be different after doing 56 miles, though.

Down to 4 months of training before the race. I have to step up the training... I'm coming to get you Mike Ferranti...