As I mentioned last week, I'm trying to really intently train for the ride this year, so no skimping on workouts. Here's two of my biggest accomplishments from last week:
Sunday - 54.1 miles (biking) - Well I didn't really mean to end up in Cedarburg...
Picked up my road bike yesterday and had planned to take it for a 25 mile spin today. I was especially nervous as I got pedal clips for the first time and am terrified of falling. The guy at the shop yesterday said to take 2-3 days to get used to them, but that wasn't going to jive with my schedule. I practiced quite a bit in Juneau Park, going from tree to tree yesterday, and felt fairly confident when I started this morning.
To my surprise, I think I have the move down! And wow, it really does make a difference in your ride.
I was also a little nervous going back out there after so many months of running and just casually biking. But really, this was like going back to an old friend. We picked right back up again where we left off. And this time I had the strength to keep pushing and explore whole new territory.
My goal last year was to find the Interurban Trail, and today I finally did. I couldn't stop then and pushed myself about 11 miles up it until I hit downtown Grafton and thought that I should probably turn around and head back (all I was running on was a strawberry rhubarb muffin). The weather, the sights, the smells, they all were just too nice to NOT be out there all day.
Honestly, one of my favorite parts of biking is watching the scenery change. On nice days, I love watching people in different areas of the region take it all in. I especially love that the people in the poorest neighborhoods always seem to be having the most fun and enjoying life, while in the richest area there's nary a soul to be seen. I love watching the cultural shifts from perfectly coiffed white children playing soccer on their manicured facility in Cedarburg to Latino families playing a pickup game of the same sport in a Milwaukee County Park to African-American kids playing hoops on school court in Riverwest. Just getting to be a silent passerby whizzing through the socioeconomic fabric of Milwaukee, well it's one of the coolest parts of being on two wheels.
That and the very cool part of the ominous clouds holding off for my entire ride. I look forward to my next adventure!
Not my best run mentally, even though I did fine physically. Really confusing set up and apparently the organizers were unaware of the lacrosse game going on at Hart Park, so the whole route had to be changed and we lost .7 of the 3k. It was hot, I have blisters and my allergies were in full effect. At least I had a group of great friends to go with and we had a super fun day afterward. Plus the proceeds all went to United Way & UPAF.Total mileage for last week: 60.04
Total workouts: 6
You can continue to push me by clicking the link to donate online here.
Or make me hustle more and attend this event on Friday, May 7, 2010 • 5:30 PM to 9 PM - Guest Bartending for the Arts @ AJ Bombers
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