Back on July 13th I did that 2.5 mile run on our gravel road out in front of our house. I averaged an 8 minute mile on this run. Yesterday I went out and ran on a path we keep mowed back in our woods. This course is fairly hilly and the path is not very smooth. I measured it on my mountain bike and one lap is exactly 0.5 miles. So yesterday I went out and did 2 laps. I ran a 7.5 minute mile.
So I am improving and I wasn't as sore today. If I do the Du-State-Du I will need to get my times down in the 6.5 to 7 minute mile rate to be competitive.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Run/Bike/Run
I have been giving some thought to participating in the Du-State-Du, which is held at Loud Thunder State Park in Rock Island. My friend, Mark has invited me the last two years to do the biking leg and he would do the running part. My schedule the last two years hasn't allowed me to participate.
This event is a duathlon, which includes a 2.0 mile run, followed by a 15.0 mile bike ride and then finishing with a 2.0 mile run.
After returning from Colorado I began running behind my house on a path I keep mowed in our woods. This path is roughly 0.4 miles long and I have been doing two loops. This didn't seem to cause any difficulties, so yesterday I took out on the gravel road in front of our house and did 2.5 miles. My time for this run was 21 minutes, which translates into an 8.5 minute mile. If I want to be competitive in a duathlon I need to get down below 7 minutes.
I found this to be extremely difficult and I have some sore muscles and ligaments today. I haven't did any running since high school (40 years ago). Back then I was a sprinter and did the 100 and 220 yard dashes and the 120 and 180 yard hurdles. I tried to think back and can't remember ever running this length (2.5) of a run before. My cardio-vascular system is accustomed to exercising at a high heart rate. The difficult thing is that you use different muscles when running vs. biking. My feet are a little sore today, but I used an old pair of tennnis shoes that weren't designed for running. Today I went to a running store in town and purchased a pair of shoes designed specifically for running.
I plan to do some more running this week and possibly some running during RAGBRAI and will evaluate how I am progressing and decide whether to enter the DU State Du race and do the whole thing or to enter with my friend and enter the team section and just do the biking leg.
This event is a duathlon, which includes a 2.0 mile run, followed by a 15.0 mile bike ride and then finishing with a 2.0 mile run.
After returning from Colorado I began running behind my house on a path I keep mowed in our woods. This path is roughly 0.4 miles long and I have been doing two loops. This didn't seem to cause any difficulties, so yesterday I took out on the gravel road in front of our house and did 2.5 miles. My time for this run was 21 minutes, which translates into an 8.5 minute mile. If I want to be competitive in a duathlon I need to get down below 7 minutes.
I found this to be extremely difficult and I have some sore muscles and ligaments today. I haven't did any running since high school (40 years ago). Back then I was a sprinter and did the 100 and 220 yard dashes and the 120 and 180 yard hurdles. I tried to think back and can't remember ever running this length (2.5) of a run before. My cardio-vascular system is accustomed to exercising at a high heart rate. The difficult thing is that you use different muscles when running vs. biking. My feet are a little sore today, but I used an old pair of tennnis shoes that weren't designed for running. Today I went to a running store in town and purchased a pair of shoes designed specifically for running.
I plan to do some more running this week and possibly some running during RAGBRAI and will evaluate how I am progressing and decide whether to enter the DU State Du race and do the whole thing or to enter with my friend and enter the team section and just do the biking leg.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Post Colorado
Well, my Colorado bike tour #4 is in the bag. This year a friend, Tony from Detroit, joined me. We rode 5 days in the San Juan Mountains. The weather was good and we had no mechanical issues with our bikes and no health issues. I did come down with a sinus infection upon my return from the dry Colorado humidity back to Iowa's oppresive heat/humidity.
I have been taking it pretty easy since I returned. I have spent 5 days off the bike and have only rode 3 times with a total of 43 miles. I have did some jogging and hiking on the days I didn't ride.
Today I went for a short 10 mile ride before we celebrated our grand-kids birthday this afternoon. Evan turned 5 and Lydia turned 8. I set a new personal best today of 21.7 mph on a hilly course that had 135' of ascent. I eclipsed my old record of 19.7 mph by two-miles per hour (a 10% improvement). Not sure if it was my Cherioos for breakfast that did it or maybe I gained some leg strength from all the mountain climbing last week in Colorado. Back in June I reached 21.3 mph on a 15-mile triathlon coarse, but usually when you are racing against competitors your adrenalin is pumping and you do much better than riding by yourself.
Our son-in-law, Casey visited with his doctor this week after completing two chemo treatments over a 2-month period. We were looking for a good report, but found out he needs to go in next week for more chemo. Please hold up Casey and Jody in your prayers.
I have been taking it pretty easy since I returned. I have spent 5 days off the bike and have only rode 3 times with a total of 43 miles. I have did some jogging and hiking on the days I didn't ride.
Today I went for a short 10 mile ride before we celebrated our grand-kids birthday this afternoon. Evan turned 5 and Lydia turned 8. I set a new personal best today of 21.7 mph on a hilly course that had 135' of ascent. I eclipsed my old record of 19.7 mph by two-miles per hour (a 10% improvement). Not sure if it was my Cherioos for breakfast that did it or maybe I gained some leg strength from all the mountain climbing last week in Colorado. Back in June I reached 21.3 mph on a 15-mile triathlon coarse, but usually when you are racing against competitors your adrenalin is pumping and you do much better than riding by yourself.
Our son-in-law, Casey visited with his doctor this week after completing two chemo treatments over a 2-month period. We were looking for a good report, but found out he needs to go in next week for more chemo. Please hold up Casey and Jody in your prayers.
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