Shorts On The Bike

I could go on and on about why I didn't get up this morning and go biking, but instead I'll say I thought it was too cold and I didn't get up. End of story. Plus, I knew it'd warm up as the day went on and I was really more keen on biking in warmer weather. So, after work today, that's what I did. I donned my bike shorts (not tri shorts), a long-sleeved shirt and a short-sleeved shirt and headed off to the Park. And that's it! I didn't wear tights ... just shorts! Whoo hoo for warmer weather. (Don't worry, I'm realistic and know that this is just temporary, but I'm going to take full advantage while I can). I think it was just under 70 when I left the apartment.

When I got to the Park, it was crammed with cars and pedestrians. I continually remind myself that this is why I should get up early and go, but obviously sometimes that's just not enough. I realized pretty quickly that the idea of hanging out in the lower part of the Park just wasn't on the agenda for the day. But that's okay because I need the hill practice and doing repeats on the Harlem Hill was probably exactly what I needed.

So, I think I did the Hill 5 times. Not a ton of practice, but enough. I stayed in the middle ring (in the front) the whole time and tried to keep it in the middle of the front ring instead of switching all the way to the easiest side. I wanted to convince myself to do the Hill in the big ring, but I just got back to biking and since I want to have a big biking weekend, I figured that I shouldn't blow out my legs quite yet.

In all today, I didn't get a lot of riding in since I wanted to get home before it started to get dark. I realize that it's funny that I don't mind riding in the dark in the morning, but that's because I'll see about five cars total. Riding in the dark at rush hour is a totally different story. Really not my cup of tea. Even if the weather won't be getting that much better as time goes on at least the days will be getting longer!

I'm not quite sure what my plan for tomorrow is. I do know that after work I want to go pick up my race number for Saturday's 10K that I'm running. I also would like to take advantage of the good weather this weekend and go on a bike ride to New Jersey to tackle some of the hills there. I guess I'll see how it goes! Real half-Ironman training starts next week! Then I'll be better at knowing what to do and when to do it.

Biking
Time: 51:39
Distance: 11.70 miles
Pace: 13.59 MPH
Calories: 448
Maximum HR: 169
Average HR: 146
Total Distance Biking: 13.16 miles