So I took it easy on Friday and Saturday. I was a little sore from the 3.1 mile run I did on Thursday, so rather than push myself and risk injury, I took 2 rest days. I could have started week 2 of the 100 pushup challenge, but I decided to start week two on Monday night.
I went for a 2 mile run last night. I set my pace to 13 minutes, and I was able to run the entire way without taking walking breaks. Something interesting happened at one point. I was running along Hoadly Road and there was a guard rail. It looked like the brush was cut back enough so I could run behind it, so I made my way down behind the guard rail for extra protection from the oncoming traffic. I was cursing along and about 2 minutes in, something horrible smelling hit me like a ton of bricks. I looked down and saw what appeared to be a partially decomposed skull of a deer. It freaked me out a bit. So I ran a little farther, then jumped over the guard rail and ran the rest of the way on the side of the road.
When I run again on Tuesday, I play on increasing my distance to 2.5 miles to see if I can run at a 13 minute pace for 32 minutes.
One thing I noticed since I stopped taking the walk breaks is that my knees feel like they hurt more now. I will try stretching more before and cooling down longer after my run.
I went for my blood work today in preparation for my physical next Tuesday. Hopefully everything comes back clean and my numbers are all good. I also plan to ask the Dr about getting the moles around my neck removed, as well as looking at the lump in my hand/wrist. I played golf this Saturday and my wrist didn't hurt the way it did the 1st time I played a few weeks ago. So I don't think it's anything serious.
Over the weekend I got a new bike. I treated myself and got a Trek 3500. I rode it a bit yesterday and noticed a huge difference between my old Raleigh and my new bike. Much easier getting up hills, pedaling on flat ground seemed a lot smoother and overall it seems like each pedal stroke I made was a lot more efficient. The two biggest things that are different about the bike are
1) My old bike had shifters built into the handles that I would twist to shift gears. The new bike has shifter levers that I can click up or down to change gears.
2) My new bike has disc brakes as opposed to the old caliper brakes. Braking seems much smoother.
Something else I learned was that when I am in 1st gear, my right shifter should be on either 1, 2 or 3. If I'm in 2nd gear my right shifter should be on 2, 3, 4 or 5 and if I'm going downhill and I'm in 3rd gear, my right shifter should be on 3, 4, 5 or 6. One other thing the guy at Old Town Bicycles told me was that I should have my seat up higher. Basically as high as I can go so that I can stand on my tippy toes. So I will raise my seat a bit to maximize each pedal stroke.
I found a training guide online. They recommend riding for 6 miles for a few weeks, then each week thereafter increase my 2 miles. Last week on my old bike, I was only able to ride about 3 miles before I ran out of gas. It will be interesting to see if I can make it 6 miles on the new bike.
Total Time: 25:56
1st Mile: 12:47
2nd Mile: 13:03
Total Distance: 2 Miles
