Duathlon training, week 1

On January 2 I went for my first bike-run training day. I used a free app called Map My Ride to track miles and speed, which was kind of cool. My biking circuit is 3.5 miles, and I did it twice in just over half an hour, which was my target training time. The split time tracker makes it look like I was really slow at the beginning, but really I didn't know how to use the app very well and so part of that was me dinking around in the driveway. Then, early in the ride as I adjusted the volume on Pandora, I knocked my phone out of its holster and it fell on the ground. I was lucky it didn't get run over by the car that was coming through right after! I'll use the extra security bands for future rides.

Once my ride was done, I stripped off my outer jacket and helmet but kept my knit hat and gloves for the 10 minute run, which was about 1.25 miles (one time around my running circuit.) My legs were a little janky-feeling at first, but they sorted themselves out. I kept a slow and steady pace, pleased that I didn't feel like I needed to drop to a walk at any point. I did get passed by a lady pushing a double stroller. Show-off.

Yesterday was a run-only day for 25 minutes. I did two times around my circuit plus some extra to get to the right time. The weather out was near 30 degrees, but after the first lap I was pretty warm.

Today I was scheduled for a 30 minute bike ride. It's rainy miserable out, so I tried out my new set-up in the basement, which is a craft room, laundry repository, random item collection site, occasional office, now a workout space. I have an old 10-speed that has a similar saddle feel as the bike I think I'll be using for the duathlon on a Crescendo Fitness trainer for days when I can't ride outside. When I have bike-run days when the weather is crappy, I'll head to Planet Fitness. Today was bike-only, so I gave my home rig a try. I watched last night's episode of the Rachel Maddow Show, and the time flew by.

Those are the highlights from the last couple of days. I'm a little sore but not too sore. I'm still encouraged and enthusiastic. On to week two!

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