Since I was a little under the weather this Saturday both literally (it was raining) and figuratively (I was dealing with a nasty cold), it seem like the perfect time reflect on the year of the Cyclo-Runner. With the first quarter of 2016 “done and dusted” as the British might say, I can say it’s been an interesting three months. And by interesting, I mean it’s been a blast.
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| A good day for reflection. |
What are the numbers? Well, how about 301 miles of running and 653 miles on the bike. While the running miles are great, the cycling miles are a little below what I was hoping for at this point in the year. To be honest, it’s the weather that’s been the issue and not the additional time spent running. We’ve had a very wet winter and that always means fewer miles on the bike.
While 653 miles of cycling is not child’s play, it’s not enough to meet my goal of 4,000 miles (I adjusted this down from the original goal of 4,500) this year. In doing the math you could see that I’m on pace to reach just 2,612 miles. Knowing I'm behind is where my goals have been mentally tough. I know I’m behind my goal in cycling miles because every time I go into my Strava account it tells me so and it makes want to hit the road. In fact, thanks to Strava, I know that I am 371 miles behind my goal, which is a little concerning at times.
However, I knew that there would more running and less riding for the first three months. I knew in advance I would be behind my goal in cycling. That was the plan. And, while I would prefer to have a few more cycling miles on the books, I also know that there will be many, many miles of cycling to come now that the days are longer and warmer. What I need to do now is to not panic and stick with the plan.
The other half of the Cyclo-Runner equation is doing just fine. At 301 miles I am 46 miles ahead of my goals and on track for 1,204 miles for the year. I’m pretty sure that won’t happen. Once again, the plan was to run long in the first part of the year, cycle more through the summer, and finish the year running strong in autumn.
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| My growing collection from runs. |
In theory that’s how it was going to work. The reality is I’m enjoying my runs so much that I’m not sure I want to back off any time soon. I’ve gone for long solo runs on the trails of our local state parks. I’ve run with friends both old and new. I set a personal record with my first sub 2-hour half marathon. My last run was a 10.2-mile race in Sacramento where I turned in a time of 1:26:22 with an average of 8:28 minute miles, which was my fastest long distance run by far.
Another reason the running may stay higher is that I’ve signed up for my first marathon, the California International Marathon on December 4th. In an effort to stick to my plan, I purposely select one later in the year. This means I can keep up the cycling miles all summer and still have plenty of time to train.
There you have it. As expected, I am ahead of my running goals but behind on cycling. Still, it’s been a great start to the year and I can’t wait to see what adventures the next three months will bring. If it’s anything like the first three months this is going to be a great year.
Ciao!
