Glastonbury Running

Back in the (Bike) Saddle

Well, I've managed to find a way to keep the body tuned despite my three issues: the ongoing (but gradually abating) achilles problem, the kickball-strained butt muscle and now the strained calf muscle, presumably the result of all the limping around caused by the butt muscle.

Yesterday, on a whim I dusted off the old Trek 1000 road bike, lubricated the chain and pumped up the totally-deflated tires before riding off into the sunrise.  It's probably been close to a year since I took the bike out for a spin, but I was surprised by how easy it was to get back into the rhythm.  And I was especially surprised by the fact that it didn't seem to irritate my various and sundry running injuries.  So I went on a 12.7-mile spin around Glastonbury and then hopped on the bike again this morning for 7.3 miles.

Also, since I've limited my bike workouts to 45 minutes or less (no sense in pushing my luck) I've been able to spend the extra early morning time spiffing up the yard.  I've weeded, trimmed the lawn, started cleaning out the garage, picked up hundreds of sticks & twigs and swept the driveway.  Lots of little things since I wisely decided not to use loud machines at 5am, but they've added up to a much nicer-looking yard.  And all of this while listening to NPR, and occassionally some live John Mayer on the MP3.  In fact, this morning I also climbed up on the roof (very quietly) and finally cleaned out the gutters which had gotten so bad that they actually had weeds growing in them!

So I have to say I've really been enjoying the recovery period.  I can now pull into the driveway without trying to avoid looking at the yard, I'm caught up on the news, Amy's pretty pleased AND I'm still getting in some workouts.

Hey, at 36 is it too early to retire from competitive running?!

A Road Racer's First Charity Bike Ride

First of all, I would like to extend an enormous "thank you" to all those who sponsored me in the Brain Tumor Society's 50-mile "Ride for Research" which took place in Waltham, Massachusetts yesterday.  The local Glastonbury community really pulled together this year for Jake Gainey, a local 7 year-old Hopewell School student who suffers from a pediatric brain tumor and assembled nearly 100 riders to form "Team Jake".  I was able to collect just over $1,200 for the cause, Team Jake collected over $152,000 (2nd most successful team in the event) and the event itself generated approximately $1.3 million for brain tumor research! 

I have been a competitive runner for nearly 20 years and this was my first time participating in a charity bike ride.  It was very strange to take in the road race atmosphere (registration tables, pre-race food, bib numbers, athletic people milling around, etc.) but not have those familiar pre-race jitters.  Actually, I ended up losing track of time and as I was suiting up the gun went off and I panicked when I saw hundreds of cyclists taking off without me!  For maybe 5 seconds I was a basket case as I scrambled to finish getting my things on, which would have been appropriate if it was a 5K road race.  But then I realized that there were no age groups, no trophies...not even a time clock!  So I slowed down, took my sweet time, high-fived the kids and shoved off in a leisurely manner.

That we're-not-in-Kansas-anymore feeling stayed with me for most of the ride.  Instead of trying my best to tear through the field I simply sidled up to a few riders wearing the Team Jake t-shirts and started chatting.  Then 10 miles into the course we hit our first "rest station", which is the equivalent of a water station in a road race.  I'm used to grabbing a cup of water, slurping it down and chucking the cup on the side of the road without breaking stride.  This was a bit different.  At this station we stopped and parked our bikes, grabbed a couple fluffer-nutter sandwiches and a bottle of Powerade, sat down, stretched, chatted with other riders, posed for pictures, waved at the riders who were skipping the station (fools!) and then grabbed some more food (there's a strong possibility that I actually gained weight on this ride).  I think we spent about 15 minutes there before joining the throng again.  Admittedly, I developed the shakes as I tried to adjust my brain to this entirely new concept of a rest station and fought the urge to rush back out there, but it didn't take long for the shakes to subside.

Instead of picking people off, strategizing and timing my finishing kick, I rode easily and chatted with many people from all over the region (and one couple from Tennessee) who shared sad yet inspiring stories about how brain tumors had profoundly touched their lives in one way or another.

The only downside to the day was that the weather was downright awful.  Temperatures in the low 50's and steady rain for most of the ride.  It was much worse than Boston last month because there was more precipitation and you also had to deal with the wind-chill factor that comes with bike riding.  I usually enjoy riding downhills, but the 25-30 mph downhills are absolute torture when all of your clothes are plastered to your body with cold rain.  Nonetheless, I toughed most of the course out with a rider named Susan (Jake's father's cousin) and there was a huge sense of relief when we arrived back at ride headquarters.

I have no idea how much time it took me to cover the 50-mile course, what my average speed was or where I finished in the field (although Amy was in the process of organizing a search party when I finally finished, so I was apparently near the very back of the pack!).  Nonetheless, this will probably end up being the most "successful" athletic event in my training log this year.  Why?  Because I managed to raise a four-figure amount for a very worthy cause, got in a long (albeit miserable) bike ride and met a lot of wonderful people whom I wouldn't have met otherwise.  My advice to other road racers: shift gears every once in a while and get involved in one of these charity events! 

I'm a Proud Bike-Commuter!

The efforts of the Central Connecticut Bicycle Alliance (CCBA) to promote biking to work this week has successfully recruited at least one Glastonbury cyclist.  Cycle-commuting is an idea that I have been kicking around for quite a while but just never had the inspiration to actually start doing it.  But following the CCBA's bike-to-work initiative finally ended the procrastination and I officially started Wednesday.

Unfortunately, Wednesday was not the best day to start bike-commuting.  The morning ride was wonderful.  I especially enjoyed flying by cars that were backed up at the Route 17-Main Steet intersection.  Then the ride home was a nightmare.  Around 4:45pm I looked out my office window towards East Hartford and saw what appeared to be nightfall approaching quickly.  So I stepped up my efforts at getting my stuff together and dashed out the door with my bike as fast as I could.  I then hopped on the bike and sprinted toward South Glastonbury as hard as I could with the intention of outriding the storm for the 3.5-mile distance home. 

But I only got as far as the Hubbard Green before the rain started coming down in sheets.  That didn't bother me too much...I've ridden in the rain before and it's a bit miserable, but you can do it safely if you slow down.  It was really the thunder, lightning and cracking tree branches that started to bother me and I took shelter under the overhang at the Connecticut Audubon Society and hung out with the director, Judy Harper, for a little while.  About half an hour later, the sky was still rumbling but not as often, so I took my chances and jetted home.  Although I was still alive, Amy treated me to a tongue-lashing for my stupidity.

Then yesterday morning I rode to the fountain at the corner of Main & Hebron to check out the CCBA's Glastonbury bike-to-work event.  It drew about 20 people and I enjoyed hearing other cyclists' bike-commuting stories while enjoying Dunkin Donuts coffee, muffins and bagels.  Susan Karp was there and Chip Beckett spent time explaining the town's bike path efforts.  It was a fun little event and it was nice to know that I was now part of another little, local fitness-oriented community.

If you'd like to get in some extra training time, save some gas, help save the environment by burning calories instead of fuel, and have fun passing idling motorists stuck in traffic then log onto the CCBA's website for some cycle-commuting tips and join the bike-to-work revolution!

I Love Cycling!

A few years ago I made an observation...there were a lot of guys in their mid to late 40's complaining about their knees.  As I had just entered my 30's, I found this to be a bit troubling and I decided it was time to make a pre-emptive strike.  It wasn't long before I incorporated cycling into my training.

I find that cycling two or three times a week offers a wonderful break from the joint-pounding that comes with running (that's assuming I don't fall off the bike).  It also allows me to travel twice as far as I can while I'm running, and therefore facilitates exploring far-off places.  There's also less chance of stomach problems because your body isn't bouncing up and down for a long time...my stomach's pretty sensitive.  And the speed certainly appeals to me.  There's nothing like the feeling of grabbing the aerobars, tucking into a streamlined position and cranking as hard as I can on a straight, flat stretch of newly-paved road.  Ahhh...

Alas, there are a couple of downsides to cycling.  The first one is that on any given ride you run the risk of experiencing a serious mechanical issue that cannot be adequately addressed with a roadside repair (at least not with my limited mechanical skills).  There are few things more frustrating than being in the middle of a great ride, far away from home, and suddenly blowing a flat.  Just the thought of it is making me grit my teeth as I sit here.  And second, cycling doesn't seem to get my heart rate up nearly as high as running does.  This is just a guess, but it feels like I need to cycle about two miles to get the same aerobic workout that I get from running one mile.

I have developed an emotional attachment to my Trek 1000 road bike.  It is Trek's cheapest entry-level road bike and you can buy it new in the $700 - $800 range, which you quickly realize is a bargain when you start shopping around for road bikes.  It's relatively light with a carbon seat post and front fork.  It certainly won't allow me to be a threat at the Tour de France this summer, but I'm very happy with its performance.  I'm also very happy with the shop where I bought it, which is Bicycles East in the Buck's Corner Shopping Plaza in South Glastonbury, and they are now offering free bike clinics every Saturday morning from 9:30am to 10:00am.

For any readers who are interested to cycle-commuting, all the information you could possibly need for biking to work in Connecticut is found at the Central Connecticut Bicycling Alliance's website.  You can also refer to that site for the big "Bike to Work" event at the green in Glastonbury (corner of Main and Hebron) this Thursday from 6:30am to 8:30am.  I will be there...I plan on cycling the 3.4-mile route from home to the green and then the .01 mile stretch from the green to my office.