Fall riding

First off, if any of my two readers (hi mom!) are interested in buying a Powertap wheel, please leave a comment with your email address and I'll get in contact.

Moving on, I've got in a pair of decent rides over the weekend: 3 hours on Saturday followed by an hour run and 5 hours on Sunday. Saturday I rode by PE, riding right at the level where my breath begins to deepend (typically just under 130 bpm). I ran nice and slow for the hour. On Sunday, I rode 5 hours at the same effort as Saturday, this time with a HRM. I averaged 126 bpm. Despite the low effort level, 5 hours still takes a toll on the legs. Nice scenery while riding this time of the year.

Monday I did an easy hour of running (132 bpm avg. and something like 8:30 per mile) followed by a few strides. Later on, I rode an hour recovery ride with Stacey. No need to push things when my next race isn't for almost 6 months.

Yesterday was an interesting workout. I rode for 2:10 and did 8 x 5 min. in my 53 x 12. I expected a HR of 150 bpm or so with a fairly low cadence (~60 rpm, though that's just be best guess). However, my HR rarely went above 140 bpm. Pushing harder to raise my HR was tough - maybe my legs are just too weak. At any rate, it was a good enough workout to tire my legs out a bit. However, I'll try this workout again soon and push really hard to see where my HR goes.

I also got in one impromptu sprint while riding down a dirt road when I noticed a pair of dogs dashing out of the woods right toward me. As I started sprinting I looked back to see one of the dogs just a few feet away, and to make matters worse he appeared to be gaining on me! With a surge of adrenaline, I picked up my pace. Two or three seconds later, I looked back a second time to see the dog giving up the chase. Fortunately for me the dog must have lacked self confidence, as I'm pretty sure he could have caught me had he kept going.

Now I'm off for a long run wearing my new bright orange hunting hat with a few Competitor radio shows on my iPod. Maybe I'll also listen to some Fujiya & Miyagi and the Junior Boys. (Incidentally, Stacey and Maggie - the dog, not Stacey's friend Maggie - are having a dance party in the kitchen to "In the Morning". Stacey's doing what I can only describe as some sort of fishing manuever.)