an easter morning workout...

Sunday morning:

Kristen decided to run the hills of Barrington "Home Economist" 10.6 mile loop as her first serious run since she recovered properly from her 50k race on April 4th to get in some proper hill running before the Flying Pig marathon next month. Since I ran a quick paced 15 miler at the lakefront the day before I saw this as a perfect time to test the Ridley Dean tt/tri bike in the hills of Barrington as I prepare for the Galena Duathlon next month. A few runners were out there this Easter morning as K started to run the loop with some fellow runners. It took me a few extra minutes to bundle up as best I could as temps were at 31 degrees at 7am but luckily little wind was present. As I headed out of the parking lot on the bike even with two sets of gloves on my fingers were cold and luckily that was it. I took my time warming up as I chatted for a moment or two with friends as I approached them heading out on the hilly loop run. As I caught up to K & friends I checked in quickly that all was well as I then headed outbound towards my hilly training workout on the bike.

My ride was focused on getting used to the bike mainly on the hill climbing portion and making sure I have the right rear cassette (gears) on the rear wheel hub. The SRAM 11-28 gearing is perfect for hill climbing in our region and will work very well out in the hilly Mississippi Valley region near Galena. As for the bike itself it worked and performed flawlessly beyond what I expected especially in the hill climbing portion whether I stayed in the saddle or stood up on the pedals climbing the hills. The best part is being able to climb a steep hill at a good pace without going an-aerobic which is very critical out on the Galena bike course…the bike allowed me to do this perfectly this day. I rode for 19.55 miles in 1:11:22 which is an average pace of 16.4mph as I hit a max speed on long coasting downhill at 30.3mph. My average HR was recovery low at 112bpm with a max HR of only 144bpm during a long sitting hill climb.

As I spotted Kristen about 4 miles from finishing the run I checked in once again that all was well I then headed back to the car as I was finally getting chilled after attacking the hill repeats. I loaded up the car and put on some warmer clothes as I chatted with some runners that had finished already. K finished up a very solid & strong run as a group of us were hanging around talking. I saw my friend Ben whom then showed up to get in his long run for the day as he is preparing for IM Madison in September. Afterwards K and I stopped at Panera for some warm food & coffee to warm up…

A great Easter morning!

b