A good double...

Sunday, February 28, 2016

I’d had a pretty good exercise week, having gotten on the trainer twice for one-hour rides and hitting the Metro Park for the Survival Workout on another day.  I’d also managed a long hike and realized that I average 11,000 steps per day at the farm, as reported by my ‘Health’ application on my IPhone.

Still…that’s not nearly enough and I knew it.  I’d managed a reasonably healthy diet through the weekend in spite of a family wedding, my nephew Nathan is now married, and all the eating that goes with it.  I’m now dating a wonderful lady who thinks that my eating habits could be improved, to put it mildly (she is maniacal and it could be a good thing if I survive the changes). 

Sunday proved to be an amazing exercise day for the end of February.  The temperature hit the low sixties, but the wind was whistling at high levels.  I took off on the bike knowing that I’d be facing the gale over the final miles of the ride…and I wasn’t disappointed.  I spent the last 45 minutes in an all-out effort comparable to riding up hill.  It sucked.  I climbed off the bike and walked inside, exhausted, and when I climbed the stairs to take a shower, was reminded of the differences between riding a trainer inside without hills and wind and the real thing.  My thighs rejected every step.

I picked Kimberly up and we drove to the North Chagrin Reservation where we spent the next 90 minutes hiking off-trail, climbing hills and dropping down into deep ravines that separated them.  I could feel the ride in every step I took uphill…and it reminded me of the importance of training for climbing in the Adirondacks.

I returned home to a dinner of eggs and toast and headed to bed early and tired.  It was a good day, but a day that pointed out the neglect of my training over the past few months.  I feel re-energized though, and am ready to start putting in the training I need to do. 
       
Bike duration: 1 hour and 40 minutes. Hike duration: 90 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 135 bpm riding and 75-90 hiking.
Calories Burned: 1250 biking and 500 hiking.