On the Bike Again

Met up with the group for a Thursday evening run last night. A group of 6 headed down Kelly Drive to just passed the Strawberry Mansion bridge . From here we made a mad and idiotic dash across Kelly Drive (E. Mikes idea) and headed up the hill there into Farimount Park. The pace picked up a bit here and we cruised back to the Art Museum for 6.3 miles in 50 mintes. My legs felt great.

I think I may have finally gotten a handle on running slow on easy days and fast on hard days.

This was my last run for the month and gives me a total of 163 miles. A huge total for me in March and it actually is the 3rd most mileage I've logged for any month. I was kind of surprised by this when I looked back over my training but the only two months with more miles were the ones leading up to the marathon last fall. The good thing is that the mileage then really felt like training and now it just feels like me enjoying running.

In other big news I got my ass out on my bike today. I came down with a mysterious illness this morning that required me to call out of work. Luckily as soon as I got out of bed I was back to my old self and ready to enjoy a 72 degree day.

I spent a good chunk of the morning brickpointing my porch. I really thought it was going to be dreadful but I think just about anything done outside on the first 70 degree day of the year can be enjoyable. While doing this I saw several bikers cruising down my block and it got me itching to go for a ride. I bagged the remainder of my work with a promise to myself to finish it as soon as possible and got my bike out.

I was expecting the bike to need a decent tune-up but after a little oil here and some air there my bike was good to go. I haven't been mountain biking since about early July of last year and I wasn't sure what to expect. I didn't want to kill my legs but I didn't want to be a bitch either so I figured I would stop when I hit a happy medium.

I really do love riding the trail of the Wissahickon. I think it has something to do with the struggle of the uphills paired with the reward of flying down the treacherous descents. I set out at a moderate pace I decided to take the trails out to Vallley Green. I fell in behind some other bikers moving at a decent pace and tailed them for a few miles to the turn around. I had really expected to be spent by this point but I felt great and decided to cross the creek for the return.

I pushed a little more on the way back, really building a good burn in my thighs. Damn it is fun flying down those hills just about out of of control and hoping a rock does fly into your shin. I did have one fall on a steep uphill, just couldn't keep my balance and my foot wouldn't unclip fast enough. Other than that it was a great ride. 10 miles in 1 hr. I definitely wasn't flying but even when I am in my best bike shape I don't do this loop much faster 55 minutes.

I don't plan on doing to much biking until after Broad Street but today was to nice to pass up.