Tonight was run with an exercise in keeping my HR in specific zones for specific time periods. I did 20 minutes in zone 1, 25 minutes zone 2 and 25 minutes zone 3. I was able to hold the zones for the most part. It was a good, if somewhat slow, run. I am finally able keep myself in zone 1 without walking - which I am totally psyched about.
Distance: 6.39 miles
HR: 164/183
09 February 2009
08 February 2009
I-90 Biking Excursion
My workout for the day was to be an easy 2 1/2-3 hour bike ride. I decided this was the perfect opportunity to discover how to get to the I-90 Floating Bridge bike path. (When someone first told me to bike on I-90 I thought they were crazy! Who bikes on an interstate - then I discovered there is this cool multi-use path that goes from Seattle to Mercer Island along I-90.) I memorized some basic directions to get me there and then set off. I figured that I could either find the entrance on my own or there would be enough other crazy cyclists out there I could ask them. I should probably mention that it was only in the low 40s today.
I clipped right on through my usual route to downtown - even cruised over the West Seattle bridge in good time. From there I headed up S. Jackson through the ID (International District for the non-Seattlites). This, in and of itself, is a bit of an adventure. I seem to be quite the bum magnet on a normal day, then add a bike and stoplights and it can be just a smidge unnerving. I made to through unscathed and headed up the hill towards my destination of 18th Ave. My "instructions" told me to take this to Dearborn and then Dearborn to Hiawatha Place to hit the trail. Other than biking up a decent hill only to ride back down it 2 blocks later, this worked out swimmingly.
I took off on the trail and realized that I had no idea where to go on it - there were several Ts. I asked a kind gentleman who was out for a Sunday afternoon cruise how to get to the bridge path. He reminded me to cross 23rd Ave and MLK and then I would see the entrance to the tunnel. Ah yes, I had been enjoying myself so much I had momentarily forgotten my instructions. Off I went and arrived onto the bridge path without any further incident.
The path has hills at both ends and levels off in the middle! It was great fun to come down the hill and start speeding across the bridge. It is a bit chilly right now as the breeze off the water definitely brought down the temperature. I was loving it though - felt very freeing as it was the first path I had been on all day that I could just fly and not worry about cars, stoplights, etc. I met a couple of cyclists heading back to Seattle and a woman out running with her lab. (Why is it that labs are always running with a ball in their mouths?)
Once I came up the other side and officially arrived on Mercer Island, I checked my watch to discover that it had only taken me 50 minutes to get out there. I asked another cyclist who was stopped where the path went and he gave me some basic directions - although his trail would have taken me on a 50 mile loop! I don't think I can bike 50 miles in under 2 hours *just* yet! :) A good goal for later! I did bike for another 20 minutes on the island and then turned around to head back to West Seattle.
The trip back was great as well! I came out of the tunnel, back in Seattle, with a huge grin on my face. I'm certain the other cyclist were wondering what was up with me - I was giving everyone a big ol' smile as I met them! I arrived back in West Seattle with only 1:40 on the watch. I grabbed a gel to give me a boost and ended up with my only PowerBar Gel. It was an experiment to see how my body would react in comparison with my typical GU gels. Suffice to say, I will *not* be consuming any more PowerBar Gels. One it tasted horrible and two, about 15-20 minutes later my body apparently agreed with my taste bud assessment.
I had headed out to Alki Beach to add some miles and time. I pushed until I reached the 2 hour mark and then turned around to head back to the house. It is a steady climb back to our neighborhood and then one quite gnarly hill up to our street. I needed to bring my HR back down to zone 1/2, so I took it easy all the way back. I ended up doing 33.61 miles in 2:41:24. Not fast, by any stretch, but this was to be a zone 1/2 spin kind of workout plus an exploration ride.
Below is my attempt to trick Google Maps into drawing my route. It is only off in mileage by about 1 mile and it gives one the basic idea. I *need* a Garmin! ;)
View Larger Map
I clipped right on through my usual route to downtown - even cruised over the West Seattle bridge in good time. From there I headed up S. Jackson through the ID (International District for the non-Seattlites). This, in and of itself, is a bit of an adventure. I seem to be quite the bum magnet on a normal day, then add a bike and stoplights and it can be just a smidge unnerving. I made to through unscathed and headed up the hill towards my destination of 18th Ave. My "instructions" told me to take this to Dearborn and then Dearborn to Hiawatha Place to hit the trail. Other than biking up a decent hill only to ride back down it 2 blocks later, this worked out swimmingly.
I took off on the trail and realized that I had no idea where to go on it - there were several Ts. I asked a kind gentleman who was out for a Sunday afternoon cruise how to get to the bridge path. He reminded me to cross 23rd Ave and MLK and then I would see the entrance to the tunnel. Ah yes, I had been enjoying myself so much I had momentarily forgotten my instructions. Off I went and arrived onto the bridge path without any further incident.
The path has hills at both ends and levels off in the middle! It was great fun to come down the hill and start speeding across the bridge. It is a bit chilly right now as the breeze off the water definitely brought down the temperature. I was loving it though - felt very freeing as it was the first path I had been on all day that I could just fly and not worry about cars, stoplights, etc. I met a couple of cyclists heading back to Seattle and a woman out running with her lab. (Why is it that labs are always running with a ball in their mouths?)
Once I came up the other side and officially arrived on Mercer Island, I checked my watch to discover that it had only taken me 50 minutes to get out there. I asked another cyclist who was stopped where the path went and he gave me some basic directions - although his trail would have taken me on a 50 mile loop! I don't think I can bike 50 miles in under 2 hours *just* yet! :) A good goal for later! I did bike for another 20 minutes on the island and then turned around to head back to West Seattle.
The trip back was great as well! I came out of the tunnel, back in Seattle, with a huge grin on my face. I'm certain the other cyclist were wondering what was up with me - I was giving everyone a big ol' smile as I met them! I arrived back in West Seattle with only 1:40 on the watch. I grabbed a gel to give me a boost and ended up with my only PowerBar Gel. It was an experiment to see how my body would react in comparison with my typical GU gels. Suffice to say, I will *not* be consuming any more PowerBar Gels. One it tasted horrible and two, about 15-20 minutes later my body apparently agreed with my taste bud assessment.
I had headed out to Alki Beach to add some miles and time. I pushed until I reached the 2 hour mark and then turned around to head back to the house. It is a steady climb back to our neighborhood and then one quite gnarly hill up to our street. I needed to bring my HR back down to zone 1/2, so I took it easy all the way back. I ended up doing 33.61 miles in 2:41:24. Not fast, by any stretch, but this was to be a zone 1/2 spin kind of workout plus an exploration ride.
Below is my attempt to trick Google Maps into drawing my route. It is only off in mileage by about 1 mile and it gives one the basic idea. I *need* a Garmin! ;)
View Larger Map
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
