Training Log Archive: PG

Phil suggested a two-hour ride at a social pace, and I was game, though certainly not trained. But he was kind enough to get a flat at about 80 minutes, so there was a nice long rest at that point while a real professional changed a tire. So what if the things he's really good at don't include changing a bike tire. It was sunny, it was pleasant, it wasn't my bike. :-)

Thirty miles was more than enough, but fortunately the pace was not too demanding. Perhaps more demanding for Phil, could he really go that slow for two hours? Turns out he could.

Nice route, says the one who chose it. Many of my favorite spots, back roads with little or no traffic and gentle hills. Cave Hill was the one exception, but I put it in a low enough gear and eventually the top arrived. I suppose it helped that I was distracted by two guys who came riding past me, side by side, chatting away. Nothing remarkable, except I could hear them when they were still a quarter-mile behind. They were just really loud. Gail sometimes suggests that I am talking too loudly, but I was way out of these guys' league. But going up a hill, generally any distraction is a good thing.

I suppose I need to start doing more riding to get a bit of conditioning. But I'm in no hurry. I'm doing a pretty heavy workload of run/walks right now and don't want to overdo things. :-)

Hemenway Road.

From the Leverett Co-op to the high point in Rattlesnake Gutter, and back. Another good outing, none of the exhausted feeling. Walked maybe three or four minutes in bit and pieces.

Mount Toby jeep trail. Always a good choice when there is a strong northwest wind.

Walked up to the top of North Sugarloaf, jogged down. Good outing, seemed to tolerate it OK.

North Silver Lane.

From the gate at the start of the jeep road up Mt. Toby. Much less of a struggle today. May have something to do with the fact that I walked for quite a while before I even considered running, and then ran nothing that was even slightly uphill. Certainly more pleasant.