Beautiful Day, Easy Ride
Last night I went to the gym and did some strength work for the first time in a long while. It certainly wasn’t a weight-lifting workout like I used to do (even earlier this year), but it did feel good to be something other than cardio and push-ups. I warmed up on the bike and then spent 15-20 minutes stretching and doing core and abs. Then I did pull-ups, dips, pull-downs, lateral raises and tricep pushdowns. I think that was it. I wanted to avoid doing lower body work, just to give my legs more time to recover and repair.
The forecast for today called for a beautiful day – sunny and relatively warm. The forecast was correct – this morning was fantastic. We got up and took Charlie to the dog park for a while, then came home and had a small lunch. Then, I took the bike outside for a ride – my first outside ride in a few weeks, I think. I was pretty psyched to be able to ride outside, and be able to ride in shorts and a short-sleeve jersey. It was a little cool when the wind was blowing, but not so cold that I would have wanted to be wearing any more layers. I rode out to the West Side Highway and then up to the Park, where I did two loops, and then added a lap around the smaller, lower loop. Then I rode leisurely home. While I was in the Park, I tried not to push it too much; I kept my cadence high and mostly kept my heart rate in Zone 2 (around 118-120). It felt great to get out there. The Park, as expected was totally jam-packed with cyclists, runners, walkers, tourists, families, horse carriages, pedi-cabs, etc. That makes it a little challenging, especially because none of the people walking pay any attention to what’s going on around them and the damn pedi-cabs do whatever and go whereever they want. It was great to get outside – what a better training environment it would be without the snowy, cold winter that’s surely coming our way.
Ride – November 11
Time: 1:25
Distance: 23 miles
Average heart rate: 117
Course: West Side Highway to Central Park
Conditions: Beautiful, sunny, low-to-mid 60s.