Group Run and a Bike Ride

So I finally got some decent sleep last night and made it out to the BCR Group Run this morning.  We met up at the Saucon Rail Trail.  I like running there.  It was the first day of trout season, so it was very busy at the Water Street Park.

The weather was outstanding this afternoon.  Unfortunately, not so much this morning.  The good thing is there was no wind and the sun was out.  The temperature was right around the freezing mark.  I would actually take that all winter though.

I wore some long pants, a heavy long sleeve Nike shirt, headband and and gloves.  I knew I would be warm once we got going and I was.  I ended up taking off the headband and gloves.

As usual, Chris took off ahead of everyone.  I weaved through the pack and was second in line.  I was planning a nice and easy 5 or 6 miles.  I was surprised when I heard someone coming up from behind me.  The only one I knew in the group that could probably do that was Mel and he often runs slower.

Not too long into the run, I was passed by the guy.  It turns out it was Jerry, who has run the LVRR Group Run with me a couple times.  That made a lot more sense.  If I really wanted to work, I could've stayed with him.  I had no interest in doing so though.  It was just an easy day.

The rest of the run was solo.  That's one of the issues I often face.  I'm too slow to run with Chris, but faster than most of the other people.  It is sometimes a reason that I don't look forward to the group run as much as I could.  There were a few people that I could've run with, but they had started out earlier.  Whenever I do have company, this group run is always so much better and seems to fly by so much faster.

My calves were starting to feel better lately.  That is, until my run on Thursday night.  After that, they were sore.  They were very sore for most of this run too.  I was really struggling.  I think that part of the reason for that is that my body isn't used to running so early in the morning.  Everything feels stiff.  Whatever the case, it definitely didn't help the run.

I just looked forward to getting to the turnaround point.  Most of the way out was pretty uneventful.  I passed a couple of the other runners coming in the opposite direction.  They had started earlier.  I knew going out was tougher because it is slightly uphill.

Finally, I was 2.5 miles out and I turned around and started heading back.  Coming back wasn't as easy as I had hoped.  It was easier, but my calves definitely still were sore.  Maybe all the building up of mileage that I've been doing lately has been the issue.

I watched all the guys fishing on the way back.  They had started casting at 8 AM.  I didn't notice anyone pulling in any fish.  When I got to mile 4, things finally started feeling better.  My legs came around.

I was back to the park before I knew it.  I added up my weekly mileage in my head.  I realized that if I added a half mile by going the other direction, I could go over 37 miles for the week.  That's just what I did with a nice and easy out and back.

Even though I was running alone most of the time, it was still a good run.  I did go to breakfast and enjoyed chatting with everyone.  After breakfast, I took a two hour nap.

I just had to take advantage of the nice weather in the afternoon.  I headed out to Riverview Park to ride my bike.  I decided that I would ride the 15 mile loop around Easton (than I just ran recently).  There was actually more wind than earlier in the day.  It was cold, but more than anything, it was just hard to ride against.  I was fairly fast on the flat and downhill sections, but I'm quite weak going uphill.  I barely made it up the hills at Hackett's Park.  Since my tires are thin, I did have to be careful where I rode.  My tires held up though.

I love doing these double days.  Now that I got my bike working again and it is getting warmer, I hope to ride more.  Perhaps I can improve with some cross training and save my legs.  My left quad was sore early in the ride, but everything felt good after some time.

I hope to be able to get a 13-16 mile run in sometime tomorrow.  I'd like to run on the D&L Trail.  I have to work at lunchtime though, so I'd have run early.  It is either that, or run later.  It is supposed to rain in the afternoon though.  It will be a busy Easter Sunday.

Run
5.5 miles - 45:49 (8:20 pace)
Bike
15 miles - 1:11:09 (4:45 pace)