Thursday, May 16, 2013

Necessary Breaks

I haven't blogged since my Indy half race recap because I was on a semi-running break.  I didn't necessarily need a break physically, just more mentally.  Training for the half marathon, which then didn't go quite my way, took a toll on me mentally.  I love running and I want to keep loving running.  Which means that sometimes, you need to step back, focus on other loves, and then return.  Usually upon a running return (a small one, not a long one due to injury), your body feels better and your mind feels better.  You can't wait to get out.  You feel good!  If your lucky, the weather is perfect!

So I took a few days off, mostly an entire week.  But I did run one day...my Thursday run group of course!  And I ended up doing a double run that day since Ragnar is sneaking up on me!  So I did an easy 3 in the morning and and easy 3 in the evening. My first ever double run day.
F'N Runners ... we are a fun group!

But I wasn't just sitting at home doing nothing!  I found a new love!  Ok...it's not as strong as my love for running but it definitely is fun and great cross training.  Cycling!  (Note: don't say biker around a cyclist!  They will have your head!).

I had a mountain bike that I didn't properly take care of.  It's difficult to ride, the gear changer wasn't working, and my tires were flat.  Derek helped fix up my mountain bike as best he could.  It's so rusted, the gear shifters still don't work but he fixed the breaks and the tires.  But to ride that bike for even a mile is a HUGE effort!  And from past experience riding a friends road bike, I know road bikes are SO MUCH EASIER to ride!  But they can be really expensive. At least the really good ones.  I don't want to spend $500 or a few thousand dollars on a bike.

I decided to buy a cheap one online.  Sure, it won't be the best or the fastest but it will be better than riding my mountain bike!  It came in last Friday and Derek picked it up from my house and put it together so I could use it for a 16 mile bike ride in Joliet the next day!  I ended up riding 20 miles that day and felt really good.  The ride was really crowded (2,000 people signed up and it was free), so most of the time, I was going pretty slow.  But I have taken the bike out several times just in Derek's neighborhood (since the bike is living at his house for now).  I can't wait to take it to the trail and ride a bit faster! 
Picture of my bike...from the website
Hm...not sure how the dear boyfriend feels of our pictures put up on a blog but ...whatever.  I'm a blogger.  Therefore, I blog!  We went for a bike ride the other day and "happened" upon a small waterfall.  Perfect opportunity to get some cheesy photos!  I love them!



Candid shot
My road bike is the first white one.  I won't turn this blog into a cycling blog but you may hear more stories regarding my cycling adventures!

Combining running and cycling...I have signed up for the Tinley Park Duathlon in June.  It's a fun race (from what I hear) and not super serious.  It's a 2 mile run, 11 mile bike, 2 mile run.  Not too bad.

BUT...what else did I do?  I signed up for the Naperville Triathlon in August (again!).  This was the triathlon I signed up for last year but dislocated my shoulder 3 weeks before and therefore couldn't do it (due to the swim).  It was going to be my first "real" triathlon (I had competed in one of those indoor small ones early in 2012).  I was really disappointed when I couldn't do it.  And also, I had no consideration that I could do one this year after dislocating the shoulder twice in February.  But after going to the gym last week and swimming 750 meters, I realized that maybe I could do the triathlon which is a sprint and only has a 400 meter swim!  The triathlon was really expensive since it's fairly late in the registration process but I almost felt like I had to do it...like a come-back for missing it last year!  Redemption tri!! 

3 comments:

  1. We all need to take a break sometimes. I am glad your run love didn't leave you forever! I love the pictures on this post! I also love your rode bike. I really need to look into getting a better bike. Mine is not the best and it is definitely not a rode bike. I have had it for like 11 years. Any recommendations on finding a good price? Good luck in your upcoming evens. You will be great!

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    1. Jodi, I had help on searching for the road bike since I know virtually nothing. And as you can see, it's a guys bike. When looking really cheap, the style and color are really limited. We were looking on Ebay and Amazon (but listings for Walmart and stuff came up too. These are new bikes and had to be put together. I'll send you the link on my bike or something so you can have an idea.

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    2. Thanks Amanda. I will watch for the link!

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