Tour de California

It's been a few days and many miles since my last post! Where have I been? All-frickin-over!

Starting last week:

Saturday BIKE 17.5 miles/1:06:36/15.8 MPH

Zach and I hit the roads last weekend for a long-ish bike ride around the San Ramon Valley. We rode the first half on the road, which was a new experience for me. The road isn't too busy, and there is a nice bike lane, but it still made me a little nervous. At one point there was a big downgrade and we were FLYING at over 25 MPH! But I remained focused and calm and didn't crash. Whoo hoo! But I was mentally a little wore out after all that, so we took the bike path home. :)

Sunday 4.0 miles/36:33/9:09 pace

and 450 yard swim (approx) in 10:19

Sunday we headed out to Livermore's Lake Del Valle- a nice recreation area only a few miles away but it feels like real wilderness. We did a tough but beautiful trail run then jumped in the warm lake and swam a few lengths of the designated swimming area. It was really fun just to get out and play for a few hours in the sunshine!

TOTAL miles for last week: 21.35

PLUS 27.5 miles bike and ?? m swim

A great week for me! :)

Then, Monday I was off to even sunnier Southern California. I ran in one of my favorite areas- Santa Monica's beach path. It was very hot down south but it's always perfect at the coast.

Monday 10.0 miles/1:26:39/8:40 average pace

I felt pretty good the whole time and ignored my splits to keep it easy and relaxed. I ran pretty consistent between 8:30-9:00, with the last two miles fast: 8:15 and 7:57. Nice finish- and I didn't even use my inhaler!

Tuesday I was up in Aguora Hills, where American record holder (in the marathon and many other distances) and my personal favorite runner Deena Kastor went to high school. Cool!

Tuesday 4.0 miles/34:54/8:44 average pace

I ran on the Cheeseboro Canyon trail in Aguora Hills. It was HOT and the trail was pretty much completely exposed to the sun. It wasn't too hilly, but a gradual incline up into the canyon, and a nice drop on the way back down. My splits reflected this- 9:00-9:30 on the way up, just over 8:00 on the way down. I was working pretty hard due to the heat, so I took a few breaks to drink my gatorade and stand in what little shade I could find. Whew, what a run!

I finally made it back to the Bay last night and managed to drag myself out for a real short easy bike ride- about 5.0 miles in 25 minutes or so. I practiced riding with no hands, which I can barely do. It seems like a good way to work on my balance. Does anyone know of any other bike drills for balance or bike handling? It seems so silly, but it really helps me to do things like ride with one or no hands, practice turning tight circles, etc... I'm sure the most important thing is to just get out there and ride!

So I've been multisporting all over the great state of California, and I've got lots more fun workouts lined up. Today (in a couple hours, actually, do I ever work??) I am going to a SF Giants game then meeting Zach for a run in the city.

Have a great week everyone! :)