I'm back!!

Hi all!

No, I did not get eaten on my vacation :)...I just got sidetracked. I'm still not back into the full swing of what I'm supposed to be doing for my half marathon training. I've not been running like I should be...but I have been biking!

Two of my friends at work are riding in the "Tour de UP" this week- a bike event where you bike 60 miles a day for 6 days out of 7 (they give you a rest day on Wednesday). I'm doing it next year. I would be doing it this year if I weren't getting married in 6(!) weeks and therefore have no money and no time. Anyway, because they are biking in it, the last two weeks have been a final push for them to be fully trained- i.e., they were cramming in a TON of long rides in preparation. I went along with them for two of them.

The first time was this-


(Image from CardioTrainer for Droid)


The second time was supposed to be just a repeat of the first...but we took a wrong turn and added about 6 miles to the route. (The route is too big for me to get in one screen shot...I could zoom out but you really lose the scale of the thing)



(Images from MapMyRun.com)


So, these two bike trips got me thinking about the differences between running and biking. First off, biking is WAY easier. Which, I knew, but I didn't really think too much about. What I mean is this- the longest I've ever ridden on a bike before these two trips was 7 miles. Now, just consider that for a second...I went from 7 miles to 12 miles with no issues. Not only was my longest previous ride 7 miles, but since that ride, I've ridden no more than 3 miles at once. My 7 mile ride was about 2-3 months ago.

Then, on the next ride (which was two days later) I went from 12 miles to 18. After neither of these trips was I sore or tired or in any way felt as if I had done a strenuous workout. In fact, I've been more tired after a fast 2 mile run.

So lets do some math, because math is our friend! I went from 7 to 12, which is a 71% increase in mileage. Then, I went from 12 to 18, which is a 50% increase. Overall, I went from 7 to 18, which is a 158% increase.

Now, what if I could do that with my running? Right now, I can comfortably run 5 miles with no issues during or after. That would be going from 5 to 8.55 to 12.85 miles over the course of three days. I could be ready for a half marathon in one, two weeks tops!!

So anyway, now I'm interested in how cyclists train. For runners, increasing mileage by 10% each week (with a cutback week every fourth week) is pretty standard. What is standard for cyclists? Does anyone who reads my blog know?

Now, I should mention that I'm not saying biking 18 miles is easy. However, I run. I climb ridiculous amounts of incredibly steep stairs. I lift 50lb dogs by myself, and restrain up to 142lbs of dog (thats the biggest dog I've had come in yet). In short, I'm in shape. The best shape of my life.

And also, I just realized the whole scale of me saying "I rode 18 miles and wasn't sore". That's from Harrison, MI to Clare, MI (I grew up in Harrison). Holy crap.

I love running and what it has done for me!!