Training Log: 25.1

Monday 4/21: Bike commute to work. 32 minutes x 2, tempo pace

Another lovely day, another chance to ride my bike to work. I took yesterday off after Saturday's long run. Felt a bit sore today, but the ride in was good and I felt a bit stronger, even, than on Friday.

Allow me to take as a point of departure this phenomenon, the way that biking on non-fresh legs can somehow still result in a stronger performance. It's a curious thing, really. And something I wouldn't have believed if I hadn't experienced it many times now. It doesn't happen with running, in my experience.

I mention all of this because I am truly looking forward to being done training for a marathon. I don't plan on having a conversion experience during or after the race either...though some have warned me it might happen. I think I have exactly one marathon in me.

There are two reasons for this, both of which work together:

1) I've run and raced and trained to run and race before in my life, so none of this is entirely new even if the distance and pain is accordingly different

2) The bike. It's waaaay better.

There are many reasons for #2, including the fact that suffering on the bike can be taken to levels that I just can't sustain for any amount of time while running. But the simple truth is that I don't love running. But I love riding my bike(s). After having been a runner and had as my only endurance sport experience running road races, cross country, and track, I didn't see the cycling thing coming. But there it is. When I am bearing down and out of my head with effort on the bike, odds are you'll see a smile on my face too. When the same is true of running, I may not smile for the rest of the day.

So what I'm saying is...sorry running. I'm looking forward to going to the prom with you on Saturday May 24th. But after that, can we just be friends?